How to read this page

An Intertextuality Pair — one connection between two passages, shown as linked verse cards: the Later text and the Earlier text it quotes, alludes to or echoes. The Significance essay explains why the link matters and where it points in Christ.

Reference Type— how explicit the link is: Quotation, Allusion, or Echo
Connection Method(s)— how it carries meaning: e.g. Typology, Promise-Fulfillment, Analogy, Longitudinal Theme
Found via— where the connection was identified, e.g. the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge or an Anchor-Text Network

Graph View — tap the constellation icon in the top bar to see this page's connections as a web of light: gold points are passages, and the coloured threads are the connection types. Click any type in the graph's own legend to filter it in or out, and use the expand control for the full-screen night sky.

New to a term? The Glossary explains every abbreviation and term on the site in plain words.

Intertextuality Pair

2 Thessalonians 3:5 → 1 Chronicles 29:18

Echo

Later text

2 Thessalonians 3:5BSB

May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.

Earlier text

1 Chronicles 29:18BSB

O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this desire forever in the intentions of the hearts of Your people, and direct their hearts toward You.

+ 3 more earlier texts

Earlier text

2 Chronicles 12:14BSB

And Rehoboam did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.

Earlier text

19:3BSB

However, some good is found in you, for you have removed the Asherah poles from the land and have set your heart on seeking God."

Earlier text

20:33BSB

The high places, however, were not removed; the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their fathers.

Walk the Square · a single-voice walk of this pair around the Clowney square14:05

Significance

Paul's prayer "May the Lord direct your hearts" draws from OT covenant language where "direct your/their hearts" describes people turning their hearts to the Lord or God turning people's hearts to himself (2 Chronicles 12:14; 19:3; 20:33; 30:19), most directly paralleling 1 Chronicles 29:18 where David prays God would "direct their heart to you," reflecting the biblical understanding that maintaining spiritual orientation requires divine assistance. The verb "direct" (kateuthynai) is used metaphorically for spiritual condition and orientation—Paul prays the Lord would establish their hearts toward God's love and Christ's perseverance, addressing their fundamental spiritual need. This emphasizes the necessity of divine assistance in maintaining faith: the Thessalonians cannot keep themselves spiritually focused through willpower alone but need the Lord to continually reorient them toward the love that secures them and the example that guides them. Pastorally, Paul prays not for changed circumstances but for changed hearts—not for relief from trials but for inner strength to endure faithfully, demonstrating wisdom about prayer priorities.

Found via: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Echo
Connection Method(s): Analogy