4 Masters, treat your bondservants1 justly and fairly, aknowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
Further Instructions
2 bContinue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, cpray also for us, that God may open to us a ddoor for the word, to declare the emystery of Christ, fon account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is ghow I ought to speak.
5 hWalk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 iLet your speech always be gracious, jseasoned with salt, kso that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Final Greetings
7 lTychicus will tell you all about my activities. mHe is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant2 in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may nencourage your hearts, 9 and with him oOnesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.
10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of pthe circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always qstruggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand rmature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 sLuke the beloved physician greets you, as does tDemas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers3 at Laodicea, and to Nympha and uthe church in her house. 16 And vwhen this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to wArchippus, “See that you xfulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”
18 yI, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. zGrace be with you.
1 Thessalonians
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
2 For you yourselves know, brothers,1 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,2 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 gentle3 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 sconstantly4 for this, that when you received the word of God, which you theard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men5 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,6 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!7
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.
3 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
4 Finally, then, brothers,1 awe 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:2 that you abstain from fsexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body3 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,4 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.
