With these words Paul reassures the Thessalonians that his concern for them was not limited to desire and thought. He had, in fact, done all he could to return to the city to see them and minister to them face to face. Once again, Paul expresses himself with words that convey the strength of his affection for the vulnerable new believers. The Greek sentence structure places the main action—we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you—between two adverbial phrases: περισσοτέρως/perissoterōs (at the beginning of v. 1 Thessalonians 2:17b), and ἐν πολλῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ/en pollē epithumia (at the end of 1 Thessalonians 2:17b).¹ We could translate (rather literally) like this:

Supremely (περισσοτέρως/perissoterōs), we exerted ourselves to see you face to face, with deep longing (ἐν πολλῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ/en pollē epithumia).

The adverb περισσοτέρως (perissoterōs) indicates that an action is characterized by its extreme or surpassing degree,² in this case informing the Thessalonians that Paul had made a supreme effort to come and see them.

The phrase ἐν πολλῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ (en pollē epithumia) means with much desire. The word ἐπιθυμίᾳ (epithumia) is used most often to indicate a strong negative desire (lust, craving), but it can also be used, as here, to denote a strong positive desire;³ the adjective πολλῇ (pollē) (much) further intensifies its meaning. These adverbial phrases form a frame which highlights the intensity of Paul’s effort and the depth of his desire to see the Thessalonians.