1 Thessalonians 2:7b-1 Thessalonians 2:8 reads: Like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
Many English translations compares we were gentle among you
(1 Thessalonians 2:7a) with a nursing mother taking care of her own children
(1 Thessalonians 2:7b). However, the words used to express the comparison in Greek indicate that the comparison is between a nursing mother taking care of her own children
and being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you.
In other words, the mother’s qualities are a model of affection and sharing, not of gentleness. Paul uses the nurse-mother as an illustration of the affection and care (1 Thessalonians 2:8) that he and his coworkers showed toward the Thessalonian believers.
7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.