Greeting

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace.

The Thessalonians’ Faith and Example

2 ^aWe give thanks to God always for all of you, ^bconstantly¹ mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your ^cwork of ^dfaith and labor of ^elove and steadfastness of ^fhope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, ^gbrothers² loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also ^hin power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. ⁱYou know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you ^jbecame imitators of us and of the Lord, for ^kyou received the word in much affliction, with the ^ljoy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has ^mthe word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but ⁿyour ^ofaith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of ^preception we had among you, and how you ^qturned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to ^rwait for his Son ^sfrom heaven, whom ^the raised from the dead, Jesus who ^udelivers us from the ^vwrath to come.

Paul’s Ministry to the Thessalonians

1 For you yourselves know, brothers,³ that our ^wcoming to you was not ^xin vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated ^yat Philippi, as you know, we had ^zboldness in our God ^ato declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. 3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved ^bby God to be ^centrusted with the gospel, so we speak, ^dnot to please man, but to please God who ^etests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery,⁴ as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—^fGod is witness. 6 Nor did we ^gseek glory from people, whether from you or from others, ^hthough we could have made demands as ⁱapostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle⁵ among you, ^jlike a ^knursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God ^lbut also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

9 For you remember, brothers, our ^mlabor and toil: we worked night and day, ⁿthat we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 ^oYou are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and ^pcharged you to ^qwalk in a manner worthy of God, who ^rcalls you into his own kingdom and glory.

13 And we also thank God ^sconstantly⁶ for this, that when you received the word of God, which you ^theard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men⁷ but as what it really is, the word of God, which is ^uat work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers, ^vbecame imitators of ^wthe churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For ^xyou suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,⁸ 15 ^ywho killed both the Lord Jesus and the ^zprophets, and ^adrove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind 16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to ^bfill up the measure of their sins. But ^cwrath has come upon them at last!⁹

Paul’s Longing to See Them Again

17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to ^dsee you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our ^ehope or ^fjoy or crown of ^gboasting before our Lord Jesus at his ^hcoming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.

Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill?

A Psalm of David.