1 Thessalonians 2:9

labour and travail—The Greek for "labor" means hardship in bearing; that for "travail," hardship in doing; the former, toil with the utmost solicitude; the latter, the being wearied with fatigue [GROTIUS]. ZANCHIUS refers the former to spiritual (see I Thessalonians 3:5), the latter to manual labor. I would translate, "weariness (so the Greek is translated, II Corinthians 11:27) and travail" (hard labor, toil).

for—omitted in the oldest manuscripts.

labouring—Greek, "working," namely, at tent-making (Acts 18:3).

night and day—The Jews reckoned the day from sunset to sunset, so that "night" is put before "day" (compare Acts 20:31). Their labors with their hands for a scanty livelihood had to be engaged in not only by day, but by night also, in the intervals between spiritual labors.

because we would not be chargeable—Greek, "with a view to not burdening any of you" (II Corinthians 11:9-10).

preached unto you—Greek, "unto and among you." Though but "three Sabbaths" are mentioned, Acts 17:2, these refer merely to the time of his preaching to the Jews in the synagogue. When rejected by them as a body, after having converted a few Jews, he turned to the Gentiles; of these (whom he preached to in a place distinct from the synagogue) "a great multitude believed" (Acts 17:4, where the oldest manuscripts read, "of the devout [proselytes] and Greeks a great multitude"); then after he had, by labors continued among the Gentiles for some time, gathered in many converts, the Jews, provoked by his success, assaulted Jason's house, and drove him away. His receiving "once and again" supplies from Philippi, implies a longer stay at Thessalonica than three weeks (Philippians 4:16).