# as a mother comforting her own children

Just as a mother gently comforts her children, so Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy spoke gently to the Thessalonian believers. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile]])

# In this way we had affection for you

"This is how we demonstrated our affection for you"

# we had affection for you

"we loved you"

# We were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives

Paul speaks of the gospel message and his life and the lives of those with him as if they were a physical object that one could share with others. AT: "We were pleased not only to tell you the gospel of God but also to spend time with you and to help you" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])

# you had become very dear to us

"we cared for you deeply"

# brothers

Here this means fellow Christians, including both men and women.

# our labor and toil

The words "labor" and "toil" mean basically the same thing. Paul uses them to emphasize how hard they worked. AT: "how hard we worked" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-doublet]])

# Night and day we were working so that we might not weigh down any of you

"We worked hard to make our own living so you would not need to support us"

# translationWords

* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/goodnews]]
* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/god]]
* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/brother]]
* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/other/labor]]
* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/other/preach]]