* **as when a mother comforts her child** - Just as a mother gently comforts her children, so Paul, Silvanus and Timothy spoke gently to the Thessalonian believers. (See: [[en:ta:vol1:translate:figs_simile]])
* **we had affection for you** - "we loved you"
* **you had become very dear to us** - "we cared for you deeply"
* **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: [[en:ta:vol2:translate:figs_doublet]])
* **we worked night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you** - "we worked hard to make our own living so you would not need to support us"