1-thessalonians 2:7
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherishes her children:
American King James Version (AKJV)
But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherishes her children:
American Standard Version (ASV)
But we were gentle in the midst of you, as when a nurse cherisheth her own children:
Basic English Translation (BBE)
But we were gentle among you, like a woman caring for her little ones:
Webster's Revision
But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:
World English Bible
But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother cherishes her own children.
English Revised Version (ERV)
But we were gentle in the midst of you, as when a nurse cherisheth her own children:
Clarke's 1-thessalonians 2:7 Bible Commentary
But we were gentle among you - Far from assuming the authority which we had, we acted towards you as a tender nurse or parent does to a delicate child. We fed, counselled, cherished, and bore with you; we taught you to walk, preserved you from stumbling, and led you in a right path.
Instead of ηπιοι, gentle, many MSS., and several versions and fathers, have νηπιοι, young children. But this never can be considered the original reading, the scope of the place being totally opposed to it. It is the Thessalonians whom the apostle considers as young children, and himself and fellow laborers as the nurse; he could with no propriety say that he was among them as a little child, while himself professed to be their nurse.
Barnes's 1-thessalonians 2:7 Bible Commentary
But we were gentle among you - Instead of using authority, we used only the most kind and gentle methods to win you and to promote your peace and order. The word here rendered "nurse," may mean any one who nurses a child, whether a mother or another person. It seems here to refer to a mother (compare 1 Thessalonians 2:11), and the idea is, that the apostle felt for them the affectionate solicitude which a mother does for the child at her breast.
Wesley's 1-thessalonians 2:7 Bible Commentary
2:7 But we were gentle - Mild, tender. In the midst of you - Like a hen surrounded with her young. Even as a nurse cherisheth her own children - The offspring of her own womb.