1 Thessalonians 5:3 (DRB)

Passage

For when they shall say: Peace and security; then shall sudden destruction come upon them, as the pains upon her that is with child, and they shall not escape.

Nearby Context

1 Thessalonians 5:1 But of the times and moments, brethren, you need not, that we should write to you:

1 Thessalonians 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord shall so come as a thief in the night.

1 Thessalonians 5:3 For when they shall say: Peace and security; then shall sudden destruction come upon them, as the pains upon her that is with child, and they shall not escape.

1 Thessalonians 5:4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief.

1 Thessalonians 5:5 For all you are the children of light and children of the day: we are not of the night nor of darkness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "peace", "security", "sudden", "destruction", "come", and "upon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "peace", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "For yourselves know perfectly that the day..." into verse 4's "But you brethren are not in darkness...", so "shall" and "peace" belong inside that flow. In 1 Thessalonians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "peace" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.