1 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, ⁱwe were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and ^jwe sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker¹ in the gospel of Christ, to ^kestablish and exhort you in your faith, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that ^lwe are destined for this. 4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, ^mjust as it has come to pass, and just as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the ⁿtempter had tempted you and our labor would be ^oin vain.

Timothy’s Encouraging Report

6 But ^pnow that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and ^qlove and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you— 7 for this reason, brothers,² in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you are ^rstanding fast in the Lord. 9 For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly ^snight and day that we may ^tsee you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?

11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, ^udirect our way to you, 12 and may the Lord ^vmake you increase and abound in love ^wfor one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that ^xhe may ^yestablish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the ^zcoming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

A Life Pleasing to God

1 Finally, then, brothers,^{3 a}we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that ^bas you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what ^cinstructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For ^dthis is the will of God, your ^esanctification:⁴ that you abstain from ^fsexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body⁵ in ^gholiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of ^hlust ⁱlike the Gentiles who ^jdo not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an ^kavenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who ^lgives his Holy Spirit to you.

9 Now concerning brotherly love ^myou have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been ⁿtaught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live ^oquietly, and to ^pmind your own affairs, and to ^qwork with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and ^rbe dependent on no one.

The Coming of the Lord

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are ^sasleep, that you may not grieve as others do who ^thave no ^uhope. 14 For ^vsince we believe ^wthat Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,⁶ that ^xwe who are alive, who are left until the ^ycoming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For ^zthe Lord himself will descend ^afrom heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the ^btrumpet of God. And ^cthe dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them ^din the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 ^eTherefore encourage one another with these words.

You Will Not Abandon My Soul

A Miktam¹ of David.