4. ὑμεῖςδέκτλ.] Ὑμεῖς emphatic, and conjoined with the following ἀδελφοί suggesting a direct contrast to the unbelieving men of v. 3: cf. Ephesians 4:20. Whatever the past state of the Thessalonians may have been, in the eyes of the Apostles they are no longer (οὐκἐστέ) in darkness, the reference being not merely to mental ignorance (Thdt. τὴνἄγνοιαν), but, as the sequel shows, including also the thought of moral estrangement from God (Chrys. τὸνσκοτεινὸνκαὶἀκάθαρτονβίον). For the general thought cf. 2 Corinthians 6:14, Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:12. Τὸ (for ὁ) σκότος, rare in good Attic writers, is the regular form in the N.T.: cf. LXX. Isaiah 42:16. ἵναἡἡμέρακτλ.] It is possible to give ἵνα here its full telic force (cf. 2:16) as indicating the Divine purpose for those who are still ἐνσκότει, but it is simpler to find another instance of its well-established late ecbatic use, ‘ so that the day …’ : see the note on 4:1. Ἡἡμέρα can only be ‘ the day’ already referred to (v. 2), the day par excellence, the day of judgment, while for καταλάβῃ (Vg. comprehendat, Beza deprehendat) of ‘ overtake’ in a hostile sense cf. Mark 9:18, John 12:35, and the saying ascribed to the Lord ἐνοἷςἂνὑμᾶς, καταλάβω, ἐντούτοιςκαὶκρινῶ (Just. M. Dial. 47). ὡςκλέπτας] By an inversion of metaphor by no means uncommon in the Pauline writings (cf. 2:7b note), the figure of the ‘ thief’ is now transferred from the cause of the surprise (v. 2) to its object, the idea being that as the ‘ day’ unpleasantly surprises the thief who has failed in carrying through his operations, so ‘ the day’ will ‘ overtake’ those who are not prepared for it. The reading however, though well-attested, is by no means certain, and the dependence of the whole passage on Matthew 24:43 (Luke 12:39) may be taken as supporting the easier κλέπτης (WH. mg). Weiss (Textkritik p. 17) regards ὑμᾶςὡςκλέπτας as a ‘ purely mechanical conformation.’