they were holding up under (they manifested the grace of ὑπομονή, endurance; see on 1 Thess. 1:3; 4:14) all their distresses, armed, as they were, by faith in God and in his promises. These distresses are here characterized as persecutions (used by Paul also in Rom. 8:35; 2 Cor. 12:10; 2 Tim. 3:11), which is the more specific term, and afflictions, which is the more general term. The latter may also indicate the result of the persecutions. These afflictions are the “tribulations” caused by the