Whatever you do [whatever your task may be], work from the soul [that is, put in your very best effort], as [something done] for the Lord and not for men,

This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah; and he did what was good, right, and true before the Lord his God.

In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him,

And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].

He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord. He who eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains for the Lord and gives thanks to God.

So then, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of [our great] God.

In word

comfort and encourage and strengthen your hearts [keeping them steadfast and on course] in every good work and word.

Little children (believers, dear ones), let us not love [merely in theory] with word or with tongue [giving lip service to compassion], but in action and in truth [in practice and in sincerity, because practical acts of love are more than words].

Giving

giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints (God’s people) in the Light.

having been deeply rooted [in Him] and now being continually built up in Him and [becoming increasingly more] established in your faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing in it with gratitude.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith [your trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness] is being proclaimed in all the world.

always giving thanks to God the Father for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

Through Him, therefore, let us at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name.

You [believers], like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house for a holy and dedicated priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.

Whoever speaks [to the congregation], is to do so as one who speaks the oracles (utterances, the very words) of God. Whoever serves [the congregation] is to do so as one who serves by the strength which God [abundantly] supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified [honored and magnified] through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

God

[I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son].

and that every tongue will confess and openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (sovereign God), to the glory of God the Father.

Paul, Silvanus (Silas), and Timothy,To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being from God].

For to which of the angels did the Father ever say,

“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten (fathered) You [established You as a Son, with kingly dignity]”?

And again [did He ever say to the angels],

“I shall be a Father to Him
And He shall be a Son to Me”?

Whoever denies and repudiates the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses and acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

General references

Beloved, you are acting faithfully in what you are providing for the brothers, and especially when they are strangers;