Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians

1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.

2 We always thank God for you all as we make mention of you in our prayers, 3* continually recalling your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ before our God and Father, 4 knowing, brothers loved by God, your choosing, 5 that our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in Holy Spirit and profound conviction, as you know what we were like for your sake when we were among you. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word with joy over the Holy Spirit while in much trouble, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaea. 8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded out not only in Macedonia and Achaea, but in every place the news of your faith toward God is out, so that we have no need to talk of anything; 9 for they themselves report about us what sort of entrance to you we had, and how you turned to God from the idols to belong to a live and genuine God 10 and to await his Son from heaven, the one he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us out of the coming wrath.

2 For you yourselves, brothers, know about our entrance to you, that it was not a failure, 2 but after we had suffered beforehand and been outrageously treated, as you know, at Philippi, we were bold enough in our God to speak God’s gospel to you in a hard struggle. 3 For our exhortation is not a result of crankiness nor of uncleanness, nor by way of a trick; 4 but as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel message, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who assays our hearts. 5 For we never dealt in flattering talk, as you know, nor in excuses for moneymaking, God knows, 6 nor tried to get glory from men, either you or others, when we could have made ourselves important as apostles of Christ, 7** but behaved gently in your midst; as a woman cherishes her own children, 8 so yearning over you we were willing to pass out to you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives too, because you had become darlings of ours.

9 For you remember, brothers, our toil and trouble: it was while working night and day so as not to be burdensome to any of you that we proclaimed God’s gospel among you. 10* You are witnesses, and so is God, in what godly and honest and irreproachable fashion we behaved toward you who believe,— 11 you know how it was,—animating each one of you as a father would his own children and comforting you and admonishing you 12 that you should walk worthily of the God who is calling you to his own reign and glory.

13 And for this reason we too thank God continually, that when you had from us a hearsay report of God you received it as not men’s word but, as it positively is, God’s, the same that is taking effect in you believers; 14 for you, brothers, showed yourselves imitators of the churches of God that there are in Palestine in Christ Jesus, because you too suffered the same things from the men of your own race as did they from the Jews, 15 those who both killed the Lord Jesus and drove us out, and do not please God and are in opposition to all men, 16* forbidding us to speak to the foreigners that they may be saved, so as to fill up their sins always. But wrath has overtaken them, absolutely.

17 But we, brothers, bereaved of you for a moment’s space in face, not in heart, made it our very special concern, with strong desire, to see your faces; 18 because we did mean to come to you—I, Paul, once and twice too—and Satan blocked us. 19 For what is our hope or joy or wreath of triumph, or are you not such, before our Lord Jesus at his coming? 20 for you are our glory and joy.

3 For which reason we could stand it no longer, but were fain to be left alone in Athens, 2 and sent Timothy, our brother and God’s helper in the work of the gospel of the Christ, to reinforce your firmness and encourage you in your faith, 3 for nobody to be flurried with these distresses—for you know that this is what we are here for; 4* for even when we were with you we told you beforehand that we were to be distressed, and so it turned out, as you know. 5 This was why I myself could stand it no longer and sent to find out about your faith, for fear the Tempter had tempted you and our hard work would not amount to anything. 6* But when just now Timothy came to us from you and brought us the good news about your faith and love, and that you always keep us in kind remembrance, longing to see us just as we do to see you, 7 at this we were cheered up on your account, brothers, in all our difficulties and distresses, by your faith; 8 because we are alive now if you stand firm in the Lord. 9 For what adequate thanks can we return to God for you in view of all the joy we feel because of you before our God, 10 night and day making very special prayers for the chance to see your faces and set right the shortcomings of your faith? 11 And may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, clear our road to you; 12* and may the Lord give you increasing and surpassing love for each other and for everybody, the same as we have it for you, 13* to stabilize your hearts in blameless holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his holy.

4 For the rest, then, brothers, we request you and urge you in the Lord Jesus that as you had word from us how you have to walk and please God, just the way you are walking, you will do better and better. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is God’s will, your sanctification, your keeping clear of unchastity, 4** your each knowing how to get his own mate in a dedicative and respectful spirit, 5 not in passion of desire just the same as do the nations who do not know God, 6 so as not to encroach and victimize one’s brother in the business, because the Lord is an avenger of all those things, as we told you beforehand and admonished you. 7 For God did not call us on terms of uncleanness but in sanctification; 8 consequently the disregarder is not disregarding a man but that same God who puts his Holy Spirit in us. 9 But as to brotherliness you are in no need of being written to, for you yourselves are taught by God to love each other— 10 for you do, all the brothers in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do better and better, 11 and to make it your ambition to keep quiet and attend to your own affairs and work with your own hands, as we instructed you, 12 in order that you may behave creditably toward outsiders and not be in want of anything.

13 But we do not wish you to be ignorant about those who have gone to their rest, brothers, in order that you may not grieve the same as the others do, who do not have a hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and arose, so also will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have gone to their rest. 15 For we tell you this on the Lord’s word, that we the living who survive till the Lord’s coming shall not be ahead of those who have gone to rest, 16 because the Lord himself will come down from the sky with a word of command, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and first the dead in Christ will rise, 17 then we the living who survive shall together with them be snatched up in clouds to meet the Lord in air, and thus we shall be with the Lord always. 18 So cheer each other on with these words.

5 But as to the times, brothers, how long and when, you are in no need of being written to, 2 for you yourselves definitely know that as a thief comes in the night, so comes the Day of the Lord. 3 When they say “peace and safety,” then destruction is upon them suddenly, as the birth-pang comes upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness, to have the Day catch you as a thief does; 5 for you are all of you sons of the light and of the day. We do not belong to the night nor to the darkness; 6 so then let us not sleep as the rest do, but keep awake and sober. 7 For sleepers sleep in the night, and drinkers are drunk in the night; 8 but let us, who belong to the day, keep sober, putting on the armor of faith and love and as helmet the hope of salvation, 9* because God did not destine us to his anger but to be preserved by salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ 10 who died for us in order that whether we were awake or asleep we might along with him be alive. 11 Wherefore cheer each other on and each one build the next one up, the same way you are doing.

12 And we beg you, brothers, to know those who do the hard work among you and take the lead in your affairs in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to hold them very specially in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the disorderly, cheer up the fainthearted, stand by the weak, be patient with everybody; 15 see that nobody pays anybody back a bad turn for a bad, but always make good your object, toward each other and toward everybody.

16 Be always joyous, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will in Jesus Christ toward you. 19 Do not put out the fire of the Spirit; 20 do not scorn prophesyings; 21 but try the quality of everything, hold on to what is good, 22 reject every bad article.

23 And may he, the God of peace, sanctify you to perfection, and your spirits and souls and bodies be kept faultlessly safe and sound at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is trustworthy, and do it he will.

25 Brothers, pray for us too.

26 Give our greetings to all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 I adjure you by the Lord that the letter be read to all the brothers.

28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

MARGINAL NOTES TO FIRST THESSALONIANS