1 PAUL’S FIRST LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY IN THESSALONICAa. Greeting From Paul, Silvanus,b and Timothy, to the community of the Thessalonians,c who are in God our Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you!
2 Praise for the Thessalonians’ Faith and Example We give thanks to God for you all the time, as we mention you in our prayers.
3 In front of our God and Father, we’re constantly remembering your faithful behavior, your loving hard work, and your hopeful endurance.d
4 Because we know you’re chosen,e brothers and sisters, loved by God.
5 After all, the good news we brought you didn’t just come to you in words-far from it. It also came with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with great forcefulness.f Because you know what we were like for your sake, when we were with you.g
6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord. You were welcoming the message despite a lot of outside pressure,h with the joy of the Holy Spirit.
7 As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedoniai and in Achaia.j
8 In fact,k the message about the Lordl didn’t just ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has gone out everywhere, to the point that we don’t need to say anything.
9 Because people tell the story about us-about what a warm welcome we had from you. They tell how you turned from idols to God-to serve the living and true God.
10 And you’re waiting for God’s Son to come from heaven: Jesus, the One that God raised from among the dead. He’s the One who saves us from the wrath of God that’s coming.
1 Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonica Now you know, brothers and sisters, that the welcome we had from you wasn’t for nothing. Just the opposite.
2 As you know, before we came to you, we had suffered and had been humiliated in Philippi.a Yet thanks to our God,b we were totally open in telling you God’s good news, in the midst of lots of opposition.
3 Because our appeal to you didn’t come out of self-deception, filthiness, or dishonesty.
4 No-we tell the good news to the extent that we’ve been proven faithful by God to do so. It’s not as though we’re trying to please human beings-not at all. We’re trying to please God, who’s the One who tests our hearts.
5 And as you know, we never used flattering words-nor did we misrepresent greedy motives.c God is our witness.
6 And we didn’t try to get recognitiond from people-not from you, nor from others.
7 We could have imposed ourselves, as apostlese of Christ. But we didn’t. We were gentlef with you,g like a nursing mother that gently cares for her children.
8 We felt so drawn to you!h We were glad to give you not just the good news, but our own lives! That’s how dear you were to us.
9 After all, brothers and sisters, remember our sweati and hard work. We worked night and day, so that we wouldn’t be a burden to any of you, as we preached God’s good news to you.
10 You-and God-are witnesses to the holiness and integrity and faultlessness of our conductj towards you believers.
11 You know equally well how we treated each one of you-
12 encouraging you and comforting you like a father treats his own children. And we implored you to conduct yourselves in a way worthy of God, who is callingk you to God’s own sovereign rule and glory.
13 And that’s also why we constantly thank God. Because you accepted the message of God that you heard from us. You welcomed it-not just as a human message,l but as exactly what it really is: God’s word. And it’s producing resultsm in those of you who believe.
14 Because brothers and sisters, you’ve followed in the footsteps ofn God’s communities in Christ that are in Judea.o Because you’ve also experienced exactly the same sufferings from your own fellow nationals as they have from the Judeans-
15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and severely persecuted us.p They’re not pleasing to God, and they’re at odds with all humanity!
16 They’ve been trying to keep us from talking to the Gentiles so that they’ll be saved-so their sins are right up to the rim all the time. And God’s wrath has come on them completely.q
17 Paul Wishes he Could Visit them Again Well, brothers and sisters, we’re cut off from your for a little while-in terms of physical presence,s but not in terms of our heart. We’ve been incredibly anxious to see your faces again-we’ve been feeling very urgent about it.t
18 We’ve really wanted to visit you. (I, Paul, wanted to come two different times-but Satan blocked us.)
19 After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crownu to be proud of? Aren’t you yourselvesv our crown, in front of our Lord Jesus, when he comes?
20 Because you’re our pride and joy.
1 So, when we couldn’t stand it anymore, we thought it was best that we stay behind in Athens by ourselves.
2 And we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s helpera in the good news of Christ. He came to strengthen you, and to encourage you inb your faith.
3 That way, none of you would be upset by the persecution you were experiencing.c After all, you yourselves know that we’re destined for this.
4 Because even when we were with you, we were telling you ahead of time that we’re going to be persecuted. Which, as you know, is exactly what happened.
5 And that’s why, when I couldn’t stand it any longer, I sent Timothy to find out aboutd your faith. I was worried thate the tempter had tempted you, and our hard work would turn out to be for nothing.
6 But Timothy has just now come back to us from you. And he’s told us the good news of your faith and your love. And he tells us that you always have good memories of us-that you really want to see us, just as much as we want to see you.
7 So thanks to your faith, brothers and sisters, we’ve been encouraged about you, in the midst of all our hardships and persecutions.
8 Because now we live, if you’re standing firm in the Lord.
9 After all, how can we thank God enough to pay back all the joy that we have in front of our God because of you?
10 Night and day, we’re praying as hard as we possibly can, that we’ll be able to see your face-and equip you in whatever ways your faith needs it.f
11 Now may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus personally guide our path to you.
12 And may the Lord increase your love and make it overflowg for one another and for everyone-just as much as we love you.
13 And may that love serve to strengthen your hearts. May they be faultlessly holy in front of our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus, with all his holy ones. Amen!h
1 Living in a Way That Pleases God Finally, then, brothers and sisters, we want to ask you, and call on you in the Lord Jesus, to do something. As you know, you’ve accepted teaching from us about how you should livea in order to please God. And you’re livingb just that way. We want you to increase what you’re doing even more.
2 After all, you know what instructions we gave you from the Lord Jesus.
3 Because it’s God’s will for you to become holy-that you should keep away from sexual immorality, and
4 everybody should be intimate with their own spousec in holiness and honor.
5 It shouldn’t be in lustful passion, like the Gentiles, who don’t know God.
6 Don’t break boundaries and cheat with somebody else’s spouse.d Because the Lord is the judge who is going to punish all these sorts of offenses-just as we’ve warned you, and warned you in all seriousness.e
7 Because the Lord didn’t call you in filthiness, but in holiness.
8 So the person that defies that command isn’t defying a human being-they’re defying God, who gives you the Spirit of God.f
9 But as for loving your fellow Christians,g you don’t have any need for me to write to you. Because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
10 And you’re doing exactly that, even for all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. We just call on you, brothers and sisters, to increase what you’re doing even more.
11 And consider it an honor to live in quiet generosity, and to take care of your own affairs. And work with your own hands, just as we instructed you.
12 That way, you’ll conduct yourselves decently in front of outsiders, and you won’t need anything from anyone.h
13 The Coming of the Lord Jesus Now brothers and sisters, we don’t want you to be uninformed about those who’ve passed away.i We don’t want you to grieve, like everybody else who doesn’t have hope.
14 Because if we believe that Jesus died and rose, then God, through Jesus, in the same way, will also bring with Jesus those who’ve passed away.j
15 And we’re telling you this by the Lord’s own teaching:k we who are left alive at the Lord’s coming will not precede those who’ve passed away.l
16 Because In the blink of an eye, With the call of an archangel, With the trumpet of God, The Lord himself is going to come down from heaven, And the dead in Christ are going to rise first.
17 Then we, who’ve been left alive, Are going to be snatched away with them into the clouds, To meet the Lord in the air. And so from then on we’ll always be with the Lord.
18 So encourage each other with these sayings.
1 But as for the times and the dates, brothers and sisters, you don’t need me to write to you.
2 Because you already know very wella that the Day of the Lord is coming just like a thief in the night.b
3 When they’re saying, “Peace and security,” suddenly destruction is going to come for them. It’ll be like a pregnant woman in laborc.-and they’re not going to getd out of it!
4 But brothers and sisters, you’re not in the dark. So that day isn’t going to come up on youe like a thief.
5 Because you’re all people who belong to the light, and to the day.f We’re not of the night, or of the darkness.
6 So let’s not sleep like everybody else-just the opposite. Let’s keep watch and be sober.
7 After all, people who sleep, sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night.
8 But we people of the day should be sober. We should wear the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation.g
9 Because God hasn’t destined us for anger-just the opposite. We’re destined to be saved by our Lord Jesus Christ,h
10 who died on our behalf. So it’s the same whether we live or whether we pass away:i we’re going to live with him.
11 So encourage each other, and build each other up, just as you’re doing already.
12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge the people who work hard for you, care for you in the Lord, and give you wise counsel.
13 And hold them in the very highest esteem because of their work. Be at peace with each other.
14 And we call on you, brothers and sisters, to warn people who are undisciplined. Comfort people who are discouraged. Stay loyal to people who are weak. Be patient with everyone.
15 Make sure that nobody pays back nastiness with nastiness.j Just the opposite: always seek out the good for one another, and for everybody.
16 Final Encouragements and Challenges Be joyful all the time.
17 Pray continuously.
18 Give thanks in all circumstances, because that’s God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Don’t smother the Spirit.
20 Don’t despise prophecies:
21 test everything, and hold on to what’s good.
22 Keep away from every appearance of evil.
23 And may the God of peace personally make you holy, through and through. And may your whole spirit, soul and body be protected, so that you’ll be free from blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 The One who called you is faithful, and is going to do it.
25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us too.k
26 Final Greeting Say hello to all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss.
27 I put you under binding obligation in the name of the Lord: have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.
28 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!l