"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
— 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)
1 Thessalonians 5:11 is the "encourage one another and build each other up" verse, Paul's short instruction to a young church that was already doing it. This page gives the verse, what the key words mean, where it sits in 1 Thessalonians 4-5, and a plain reading. For more on the theme, see Bible verses about encouragement, Bible verses for encouragement, and Love and encouragement.
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The verse
The King James reads: "Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do."
"Encourage" (KJV "comfort") is parakaleo (G3870), literally to call alongside, and used for comforting, urging, and encouraging. "Build up" (KJV "edify") is oikodomeo (G3618), the ordinary word for building a house.
Where it sits in 1 Thessalonians 4-5
The Thessalonian believers were grieving members who had died. Paul answered with the hope of the resurrection and Christ's return, and ended, "Therefore encourage one another with these words" (1 Thessalonians 4:18).
Chapter 5 continues with the day of the Lord, which "will come like a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Paul reminds them, "God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him" (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10). Verse 11 begins with "therefore": because of that hope, keep encouraging each other.
What the verse is saying
Encouragement here is not general positivity. It rests on something specific: Christ died for them, and they will live together with him. Paul wants believers to keep reminding each other of that.
"Build each other up" makes it a shared project, like many hands working on one house. And "just as in fact you are doing" shows Paul is not scolding them; he is telling them to keep going. Hebrews makes a similar call: "let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds... encouraging one another" (Hebrews 10:24-25).
Questions people ask
What does 1 Thessalonians 5:11 say?
In the NIV it says, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." The KJV reads, "Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do."
What does "build each other up" mean?
The Greek word oikodomeo means to build, as in building a house. Paul uses it for helping one another grow stronger in faith and life.
Why does the verse start with "therefore"?
It points back to verses 9-10: God appointed believers for salvation through Jesus, who died so that they may live together with him. That hope is the reason to encourage one another.
Who were the Thessalonians?
They were a church in Thessalonica, a port city in Macedonia (northern Greece), that Paul started on his second missionary journey (Acts 17:1-9).
What verses go with 1 Thessalonians 5:11?
1 Thessalonians 4:18 ("encourage one another with these words"), Hebrews 10:24-25 (spur one another on), and Hebrews 3:13 ("encourage one another daily") are close companions.
