kleptes denotes a person who steals or breaks in, and supplies a comparison for an unforeseen arrival.

The term most often identifies a person associated with stealing, taking what is entrusted, or breaking into a house; its plural form can place such people among those who steal or threaten stored treasure. In a smaller cluster, it supplies the comparison “like a thief” for an arrival whose timing is not known or that comes unexpectedly.

1. A person who steals or breaks in · dominant

   The singular and plural nominative forms identify persons who steal, take entrusted money, or enter by breaking in. In John 12:6 the APB renders the clause “he was a thief” while describing someone carrying what was put into the moneybag; in Matthew 6:19 it renders thieves who “break in and steal,” and in John 10:10 it describes the thief as coming “that he may steal and kill and destroy.”

   1 Corinthians 6:101 Peter 4:15John 12:6John 10:10Matthew 6:19Luke 12:39
2. Comparison for an unanticipated arrival · common

   The singular nominative form occurs in comparisons introduced by “like” or “as,” where the surrounding clauses stress an unknown hour, darkness, or the need to watch. In 1 Thessalonians 5:2 the APB renders the day of the Lord as coming “like a thief in the night,” while Revelation 3:3 pairs the comparison with not knowing “at what hour” the coming occurs.

   1 Thessalonians 5:21 Thessalonians 5:42 Peter 3:10Revelation 16:15Revelation 3:3

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the supplied verses, the APB regularly presents the noun as “thief” or “thieves,” including contexts of stealing, money, and housebreaking. In the comparison passages it renders “like a thief” or “as a thief”; these are renderings of whole clauses proof of a separate English equivalent.