1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
",""],["","2We always thank God for all of you, remembering you in our prayers
",""],["","3and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
",""],["","4Brothers who are beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you,
",""],["","5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction—just as you know we lived among you for your sake.
",""],["","6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.
",""],["","7As a result, you have become examples to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
",""],["","8For not only did the message of the Lord ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone out to every place, so that we have no need to say anything more.
",""],["","9For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God
",""],["","10and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.
",""]],[["","",""],["","1You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not in vain.
",""],["","2As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.
",""],["","3For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives or trickery.
",""],["","4Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts.
",""],["","5As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!
",""],["","6Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.
",""],["","7On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children.
",""],["","8We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us.
",""],["","9Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
",""],["","10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.
",""],["","11For you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children—
",""],["","12encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
",""],["","13And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as the true word of God—the word which is now at work in you who believe.
",""],["","14For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,
",""],["","15who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,
",""],["","16hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.
",""],["","17Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense.
",""],["","18Therefore we wanted to come to you—indeed I, Paul, tried again and again—but Satan obstructed us.
",""],["","19After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
",""],["","20You are indeed our glory and our joy.
",""]],[["","",""],["","1So when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left on our own in Athens.
",""],["","2We sent Timothy, our brother and minister for God, and our fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,
",""],["","3so that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this.
",""],["","4Indeed, when we were with you, we kept warning you that we would suffer persecution; and as you know, it has come to pass.
",""],["","5For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and caused our labor to be in vain.
",""],["","6But just now, Timothy has returned from his visit with the good news about your faith, your love, and the fond memories you have preserved, longing to see us just as we long to see you.
",""],["","7For this reason, brothers, in all our persecution and distress, we have been reassured about you, because of your faith.
",""],["","8For now we can go on living, as long as you are standing firm in the Lord.
",""],["","9How can we adequately thank God for you in return for our great joy over you in His presence?
",""],["","10Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking from your faith.
",""],["","11Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you.
",""],["","12And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows,
",""],["","13so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
",""]],[["","",""],["","1Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. So you should do so all the more.
",""],["","2For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
",""],["","3For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality;
",""],["","4each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
",""],["","5not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;
",""],["","6and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.
",""],["","7For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.
",""],["","8Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who has given you His Holy Spirit.
",""],["","9Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
",""],["","10And you are indeed showing this love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more
",""],["","11and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.
",""],["","12Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.
",""],["","13Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.
",""],["","14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
",""],["","15By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep.
",""],["","16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.
",""],["","17After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.
",""],["","18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
",""]],[["","",""],["","1Now about the times and seasons, brothers, we do not need to write to you.
",""],["","2For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
",""],["","3For while people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
",""],["","4But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief.
",""],["","5You are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
",""],["","6So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober.
",""],["","7For those who sleep, sleep at night; and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.
",""],["","8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation.
",""],["","9For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
",""],["","10He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.
",""],["","11Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing.
",""],["","12But we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who work diligently among you, who preside over you in the Lord and give you instruction.
",""],["","13In love, hold them in highest regard because of their work. Live in peace with one another.
",""],["","14And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.
",""],["","15Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.
",""],["","16Rejoice at all times.
",""],["","17Pray without ceasing.
",""],["","18Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
",""],["","19Do not extinguish the Spirit.
",""],["","20Do not treat prophecies with contempt,
",""],["","21but test all things. Hold fast to what is good.
",""],["","22Abstain from every form of evil.
",""],["","23Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
",""],["","24The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.
",""],["","25Brothers, pray for us.
",""],["","26Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
",""],["","27I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the holy brothers.
",""],["","28The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
",""]]]}