Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy:

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

Grace to you and peace.

We always thank God for all of you, remembering you constantly in our prayers.

We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ,

knowing your election, brothers loved by God.

For the Lord’s message rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything,

for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

On the contrary, after we had previously suffered, and we were treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, we were emboldened by our God to speak the gospel of God to you in spite of great opposition.

Instead, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please men, but rather God, who examines our hearts.

For we never used flattering speech, as you know, or had greedy motives—God is our witness—

We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.

For you remember our labor and hardship, brothers. Working night and day so that we would not burden any of you, we preached God’s gospel to you.

You are witnesses, and so is God, of how devoutly, righteously, and blamelessly we conducted ourselves with you believers.

we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to walk worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

This is why we constantly thank God, because when you received the message about God that you heard from us, you welcomed it not as a human message, but as it truly is, the message of God, which also works effectively in you believers.

For you, brothers, became imitators of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, since you have also suffered the same things from people of your own country, just as they did from the Jews

who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us; they displease God and are hostile to everyone,

And we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you concerning your faith,

But now Timothy has come to us from you and brought us good news about your faith and love and reported that you always have good memories of us, wanting to see us, as we also want to see you.

How can we thank God for you in return for all the joy we experience before our God because of you,

Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you.

May He make your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Amen.

Finally then, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received from us how you must walk and please God—as you are doing—do so even more.

For this is God’s will, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality,

not with lustful desires, like the Gentiles who don’t know God.

For God has not called us to impurity but to sanctification.

Therefore, the person who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who also gives you His Holy Spirit.

About brotherly love: You don’t need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.

to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,

Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.

Give thanks in everything,
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

but test all things.
Hold on to what is good.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.