1 Thessalonians 1:1–4:18

Thanksgiving for These Believers

^1aPaul and ^bSilvanus and ^cTimothy,

To the ^dchurch of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: ^eGrace to you and peace.

^2aWe give thanks to God always for all of you, ^bmaking mention of you in our prayers;

³constantly bearing in mind your ^awork of faith and labor of ^blove and ^1csteadfastness of hope ²in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of ^dour God and Father,

⁴knowing, ^abrethren beloved by God, ^bHis choice of you;

⁵for our ^agospel did not come to you in word only, but also ^bin power and in the Holy Spirit and with ^cfull conviction; just as you know ^dwhat kind of men we ¹proved to be among you for your sake.

⁶You also became ^aimitators of us and of the Lord, ^bhaving received ^cthe word in much tribulation with the ^djoy of the Holy Spirit,

⁷so that you became an example to all the believers in ^aMacedonia and in ^bAchaia.

⁸For ^athe word of the Lord has ^bsounded forth from you, not only in ^cMacedonia and ^dAchaia, but also ^ein every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.

⁹For they themselves report about us what kind of a ^1areception we had ²with you, and how you ^bturned to God ^cfrom ³idols to serve ^4da living and true God,

¹⁰and to ^await for His Son from ¹heaven, whom He ^braised from the dead, that is Jesus, who ^crescues us from ^dthe wrath to come.

Chapter 2

Paul’s Ministry

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

²but 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.

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

^4abut 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.

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

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

⁷But we ¹proved to be ^2agentle ³among you, ^bas a nursing mother ⁴tenderly cares for her own children.

⁸Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to ^aimpart to you not only the ^bgospel of God but also our own ¹lives, because you had become ²very dear to us.

⁹For you recall, brethren, our ^alabor and hardship, how ^bworking night and day so as not to be a ^cburden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the ^dgospel of God.

¹⁰You are witnesses, and so is ^aGod, ^bhow devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we ¹behaved toward you ²believers;

¹¹just as you know how we were ^aexhorting and encouraging and ^1bimploring each one of you as ^ca father would his own children,

¹²so that you would ^awalk in a manner worthy of the God who ^bcalls you into His own kingdom and ^cglory.

¹³For this reason we also constantly ^athank God that when you received the ^bword of God which you heard from us, you accepted it ^cnot as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, ^dwhich also performs its work in you who believe.

¹⁴For you, brethren, became ^aimitators of ^bthe churches of God in Christ Jesus that are ^cin Judea, for ^dyou also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, ^eeven as they did from the Jews,

^15awho both killed the Lord Jesus and ^bthe prophets, and ¹drove us out. ²They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men,

^16ahindering us from speaking to the Gentiles ^bso that they may be saved; with the result that they always ^cfill up the measure of their sins. But ^dwrath has come upon them ¹to the utmost.

¹⁷But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a ¹short while—^ain ²person, not in ³spirit—were all the more eager with great desire ^bto see your face.

¹⁸¹For ^awe wanted to come to you—I, Paul, ^2bmore than once—and yet ^cSatan ^dhindered us.

¹⁹For who is our hope or ^ajoy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His ^1bcoming?

²⁰For you are ^aour glory and joy.

Chapter 3

Encouragement of Timothy’s Visit

¹Therefore ^awhen we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at ^bAthens alone,

²and we sent ^aTimothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith,

³so that no one would be ¹disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that ^awe have been destined for this.

⁴For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; ^1aand so it came to pass, ²as you know.

⁵For this reason, ^awhen I could endure it no longer, I also ^bsent to ¹find out about your faith, for fear that ^cthe tempter might have tempted you, and ^dour labor would be in vain.

⁶But now that ^aTimothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of ^byour faith and love, and that you always ^cthink kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you,

⁷for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith;

⁸for now we really live, if you ^astand firm in the Lord.

⁹For ^awhat thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account,

¹⁰as we ^anight and day keep praying most earnestly that we may ^bsee your face, and may ^ccomplete what is lacking in your faith?

^11aNow may ^bour God and Father ^cHimself and Jesus our Lord ^ddirect our way to you;

¹²and may the Lord cause you to increase and ^aabound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you;

¹³so that He may ^aestablish your hearts ^bwithout blame in holiness before ^cour God and Father at the ^1dcoming of our Lord Jesus ^ewith all His ²saints.

Chapter 4

Sanctification and Love

^1aFinally then, ^bbrethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to ^1cwalk and ^dplease God (just as you actually do walk), that you ^eexcel still more.

²For you know what commandments we gave you ¹by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

³For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you ^aabstain from ¹sexual immorality;

⁴that ^aeach of you know how to ¹possess his own ^2bvessel in sanctification and ^chonor,

⁵not in ^1alustful passion, like the Gentiles who ^bdo not know God;

⁶and that no man transgress and ^adefraud his brother ^bin the matter because ^cthe Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also ^dtold you before and solemnly warned you.

⁷For ^aGod has not called us for ^bthe purpose of impurity, but ¹in sanctification.

⁸So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who ^agives His Holy Spirit to you.

⁹Now as to the ^alove of the brethren, you ^bhave no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are ^ctaught by God to love one another;

¹⁰for indeed ^ayou do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to ^bexcel still more,

¹¹and to make it your ambition ^ato lead a quiet life and ^battend to your own business and ^cwork with your hands, just as we commanded you,

¹²so that you will ^1abehave properly toward ^boutsiders and ^2cnot be in any need.

Those Who Died in Christ

¹³But ^awe do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who ^bare asleep, so that you will not grieve as do ^cthe rest who have ^dno hope.

¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, ^aeven so God will bring with Him ^bthose who have fallen asleep ¹in Jesus.

¹⁵For this we say to you ^aby the word of the Lord, that ^bwe who are alive ¹and remain until ^cthe coming of the Lord, will not precede ^dthose who have fallen asleep.

¹⁶For the Lord ^aHimself ^bwill descend from heaven with a ^1cshout, with the voice of ^dthe archangel and with the ^etrumpet of God, and ^fthe dead in Christ will rise first.

¹⁷Then ^awe who are alive ¹and remain will be ^bcaught up together with them ^cin the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always ^dbe with the Lord.

¹⁸Therefore comfort one another with these words.