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1Th_5:13. Καὶ ἡγεῖσθαι αὐτούς ] is by Theodoret, Estius, Grotius, Wolf, Baumgarten, Koppe, de Wette, Koch, Bloomfield, and others, connected with ὑπερεκπερισσῶς , “and to esteem very highly, to value much,” to which ἐν ἀγάπῃ is added as a supplementary statement, to express that this esteem is not to be founded on fear, but on love, or is to express itself in love. But the requirement to esteem highly is already, 1Th_5:12, expressed by εἰδέναι . Add to this that ἡγεῖσθαι , in order to denote the idea of high esteem or regard, requires an additional clause, as περὶ πλείονος , or περὶ πλείστου ; but the adverb ὑπερεκπερισσῶς cannot represent that additional clause. We must therefore, with Chrysostom, Oecumenius, Theophylact, Beza, Flatt, Pelt, Schott, Olshausen, Alford, Hofmann, Riggenbach, and others, unite ἡγεῖσθαι with ἐν ἀγάπῃ , by which, along with the duty of high esteem, 1Th_5:12, the duty of love toward the rulers of the church is specially brought forward. The formula ἡγεῖσθαι τινὰ ἐν ἀγάπῃ , to hold a person in love, to cherish toward him a loving disposition, is not without harshness, but has its analogy in the genuine Greek construction, ἔχειν τινὰ ἐν ὀργῇ (Thucyd. ii. 18). Others less suitably compare ἡγεῖσθαί τι ἐν κρίσει , LXX. Job_35:2.
διὰ τὸ ἔργον αὐτῶν ] for their works’ (office) sake, i.e. first, on account of the labour which is connected with it; but secondly and chiefly, because it is an office in the service of Christ.
εἰρηνεύετε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ] preserve peace among yourselves, comp. Rom_12:18; 2Co_13:11; Mar_9:50. ἐν ἑαυτοῖς is equivalent to ἐν ἀλλήλοις , see Kühner, II. p. 325; Bernhardy, Syntax, p. 273. The words contain an independent exhortation to be separated from the preceding, the apostle passing from the conduct enjoined respecting rulers, to the conduct enjoined generally of the readers to one another. Chrysostom, Theodoret, Faber Stapulensis, Zwingli, Calvin, Bullinger, Balduin, Cornelius a Lapide, Ernest Schmid, Fromond., and others, adopting the reading ἐν αὐτοῖς (see critical note), have indeed explained it: “preserve peace with them, the presbyters,” but without grammatical justification, because for this εἰρηνεύετε μετʼ αὐτῶν would be required, comp. Rom_12:18.