ἀδιαλείπτως

From the study of 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Range of meaning

An adverb built from a- ('not') and dialeipō ('to leave an interval, to stop for a while, to let a gap open'). So it means 'without intermission, constantly, unremittingly.' In actual use it describes something that keeps coming back and is never given up, not only something that never pauses physically. BDAG glosses it 'constantly, unceasingly.' In the New Testament it appears only in Paul: Rom 1:9, 1 Thess 1:2–3, 2:13 and 5:17. The related adjective appears at Rom 9:2 ('unceasing anguish') and 2 Tim 1:3 ('unceasing remembrance').

Against the English

'Without ceasing' (KJV, BSB, WEB, ESV, NASB), 'continually' (NIV, YLT) and 'never stop' (NLT) are all fair. To a modern ear, though, 'without ceasing' easily sounds like a literal, unbroken stream with no gaps at all. The Greek word was regularly used for things done over and over and persistently, not only for things with no physical pause.

How it drifted

The English is not wrong, but it invites a stopwatch reading. From the 4th century some ascetic groups took the phrase literally. The Messalians or Euchites ('pray-ers') reportedly gave up work in order to pray all the time, and the Akoimetoi ('sleepless ones') kept prayer going around the clock in shifts. Others moved the other way and made it an 'attitude' or an inner disposition instead of actual praying. Both readings reach past what the word itself says.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Maccabees 12:11 (2nd–1st century BC) is the clearest parallel. Writing to the Spartans, Jonathan the Hasmonean leader says: 'we remember you adialeiptōs at every opportunity, at our feasts and on the other fitting days, at the sacrifices we offer and in our prayers.' 'Unceasing' there plainly means faithful remembrance at every regular occasion of prayer. 2 Maccabees 3:26 uses it for men flogging Heliodorus 'continuously,' blow after blow. Paul's own usage settles the point: in 1 Thess 1:2–3 and 2:13 he tells the same readers that he thanks God and remembers them in prayer adialeiptōs. He clearly does not mean that he did nothing else while making tents and preaching (2:9). Commentators also often cite a papyrus use of the related adjective for a nagging, recurring cough, but the Maccabean and Pauline examples are the firmer evidence. Ignatius (Ephesians 10:1, early 2nd century) repeats the command: 'pray unceasingly for other people.'

From the study of Romans 1:9

Range of meaning

Unceasingly, constantly, without letting up. It was used of things that recur regularly or persist, not only of things that are literally continuous. Medical writers and papyri use the word group for a persistent cough or a recurring illness, and for regular payments or duties.

Against the English

"Without ceasing" (KJV) can sound like literally nonstop prayer. "Constantly" (BSB, NIV) is closer to the sense of a regular habit that is never dropped.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Macc 12:11, in a letter from the Jewish high priest Jonathan to the Spartans: "we remember you unceasingly at every season, at the feasts and on other fitting days, at the sacrifices we offer and in our prayers". This is almost exactly Paul's formula. Paul also uses it in 1 Thess 1:2–3, 2:13, 5:17. Moulton–Milligan (a dictionary drawn from the papyri) and BDAG give the "persistent / recurring" usage.