1 Thessalonians 2:9
“For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Paul recalls how he worked night and day to support himself so that his preaching would cost them nothing.
What Does 1 Thessalonians 2:9 Mean?
Paul asks them to remember his 'labour and travail,' words that carry the sense of exhausting, painful toil. He worked 'night and day' at his own trade so that he would not be 'chargeable,' a financial burden, to anyone. He earned his bread with his hands even as he gave them the gospel freely.
This is love made visible in sweat and long hours. Paul could have claimed support, but he chose to wear himself out rather than place a weight on a young church. He wanted nothing to obscure the freeness of the good news; the gospel of God came to them as a gift, not a sale. There is a deep integrity in a messenger who refuses to profit from the message. Paul's tired hands preached as loudly as his words, showing the Thessalonians that he sought them and not theirs, and that the grace he proclaimed was truly grace.
In the Original Language
mochthos (μόχθος), 'travail' -- wearisome, painful toil, labor that drains and exhausts.