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1 Thessalonians 2:1–6

Paul’s Ministry

1 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our 1acoming to you bwas not in vain,

2 but after we had already suffered and been amistreated in bPhilippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God cto speak to you the dgospel of God amid much 1eopposition.

3 For our aexhortation does not come from berror or cimpurity or 1by way of ddeceit;

4 abut just as we have been approved by God to be bentrusted with the gospel, so we speak, cnot as pleasing men, but God who 1dexamines our hearts.

5 For we never came 1with flattering speech, as you know, nor with aa pretext for greed—bGod is witness—

6 nor did we aseek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as bapostles of Christ 1we might have 2asserted our authority.

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1 Thessalonians 2:1–6 — The New International Version (NIV)

You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority.

1 Thessalonians 2:1–6 — English Standard Version (ESV)

For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:1–6 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain: But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention. For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness: Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:1–6 — New Living Translation (NLT)

You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition. So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.

For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.

1 Thessalonians 2:1–6 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict. For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit.

But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:1–6 — New Century Version (NCV)

Brothers and sisters, you know our visit to you was not a failure. Before we came to you, we suffered in Philippi. People there insulted us, as you know, and many people were against us. But our God helped us to be brave and to tell you his Good News. Our appeal does not come from lies or wrong reasons, nor were we trying to trick you. But we speak the Good News because God tested us and trusted us to do it. When we speak, we are not trying to please people, but God, who tests our hearts. You know that we never tried to influence you by saying nice things about you. We were not trying to get your money; we had no selfishness to hide from you. God knows that this is true. We were not looking for human praise, from you or anyone else,

1 Thessalonians 2:1–6 — American Standard Version (ASV)

For yourselves, brethren, know our entering in unto you, that it hath not been found vain: but having suffered before and been shamefully treated, as ye know, at Philippi, we waxed bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God in much conflict. For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: but even as we have been approved of God to be intrusted with the gospel, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God who proveth our hearts. For neither at any time were we found using words of flattery, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness, God is witness; nor seeking glory of men, neither from you nor from others, when we might have claimed authority as apostles of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:1–6 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

For ye know yourselves, brethren, our entering in which we had to you, that it has not been in vain; but, having suffered before and been insulted, even as ye know, in Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the glad tidings of God with much earnest striving. For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile; but even as we have been approved of God to have the glad tidings entrusted to us, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, who proves our hearts. For we have not at any time been among you with flattering discourse, even as ye know, nor with a pretext for covetousness, God is witness; nor seeking glory from men, neither from you nor from others, when we might have been a charge as Christ’s apostles;

1 Thessalonians 2:1–6 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

You know, brothers and sisters, that our time with you was not wasted. As you know, we suffered rough and insulting treatment in Philippi. But our God gave us the courage to tell you his Good News in spite of strong opposition. 

When we encouraged you, we didn’t use unethical schemes, corrupt practices, or deception. Rather, we are always spreading the Good News. God trusts us to do this because we passed his test. We don’t try to please people but God, who tests our motives. As you know, we never used flattery or schemes to make money. God is our witness! We didn’t seek praise from people, from you or from anyone else,

1 Thessalonians 2:1–6 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

For you yourselves know, brothers, that our visit with you was not without result. On the contrary, after we had previously suffered, and we were treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, we were emboldened by our God to speak the gospel of God to you in spite of great opposition. For our exhortation didn’t come from error or impurity or an intent to deceive. Instead, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please men, but rather God, who examines our hearts. For we never used flattering speech, as you know, or had greedy motives —God is our witness — and we didn’t seek glory from people, either from you or from others.

1 Thessalonians 2:1–6 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others,

1 Thessalonians 2:1–6 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

For you yourselves know, brothers, our reception with you, that it was not in vain, but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, just as you know, we had the courage in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. For our exhortation is not from error or from impurity or with deceit, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, thus we speak, not as pleasing people but God, who examines our hearts. For never did we come with a word of flattery, just as you know, nor with a pretext of greediness (God is witness), nor seeking glory from people, neither from you nor from others.

1 Thessalonians 2:1–6 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

Brothers and sisters, you know that our visit to you was not a failure. You know what happened earlier in the city of Philippi. We suffered, and people treated us badly there. But God gave us the boldness to tell you his good news. We preached to you even though people opposed us strongly.

The appeal we make is based on truth. It comes from a pure heart. We are not trying to trick you. In fact, it is just the opposite. God has accepted us to preach. He has trusted us with the good news. We aren’t trying to please people. We want to please God. He puts our hearts to the test.

As you know, we never praised you if we didn’t mean it. We didn’t put on a mask to cover up any sinful longing. God is our witness that this is true. We were not expecting people to praise us. We were not looking for praise from you or anyone else.

As Christ’s apostles, we could have caused you some expense.


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