For we know, brothers so beloved by God, that He has chosen you,

so that you became examples to all the believers in Macedonia and Greece.

(1:7) For the message of the Lord has rung out from you, not only in Macedonia and Greece, but everywhere the report of your faith in God has been told, so that we need never mention it.

For you know yourselves, brothers, that our visit to you was by no means a failure.

For another reason too, we, as far as we are concerned, are constantly giving thanks to God; that is, when you received the message you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the message of men but as the message of God, as it really is, which keeps on working in you who believe.

For you, brothers, followed the example of God's churches in Judea that are in union with Christ Jesus, for you too have suffered the same sort of ill-treatment at the hands of your fellow-countrymen as they did at the hands of the Jews,

by trying to keep us from speaking to the heathen, so that they may be saved, so as always to fill to the brim the cup of their sins. But at last God's wrath has come upon them.

Because we did want to come to see you; I mean, that I myself, Paul, wanted again and again to come, but Satan prevented it.

so that none of you might be deceived amid these difficulties. For you knew yourselves that this is our appointed lot,

for when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were going to be pressed with difficulties, and it took place, as you know.

That was why, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for I was afraid that the tempter had tempted you and our labor might be lost.

But now, since Timothy has just come back to me from you, and brought me good tidings of your faith and love, and told me how kindly you remembered me and that you are longing to see me as much as I am to see you,

this is the very reason, namely, through your faith, brothers, that I have been encouraged about you, in spite of all my distresses and crushing difficulties,

as night and day I continue to pray with deepest earnestness and keenest eagerness that I may see your faces and round out to completeness what is lacking in your faith?

so that He may strengthen your hearts to be faultless in purity in the sight of God, when our Lord Jesus comes back with all His consecrated ones.

For it is God's will that you should keep pure in person, that you should practice abstinence from sexual immorality,

that each man among you should learn to take his own wife out of pure and honorable motives,

that no one should do wrong and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord takes vengeance for all such things, as we told you before and solemnly warned you.

so that you may live influentially with the outsiders, and not be dependent on anybody.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then through Jesus, God will bring back with Him those who have fallen asleep.

For on the Lord's own authority we say that those of us who may be left behind and are still living when the Lord comes back, will have no advantage at all over those who have fallen asleep.

for you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord is coming like a thief in the night.

But you, brothers, are not in darkness, so that that day, like a thief, should take you by surprise;

who died for us, so that whether we still live or sleep we may live in fellowship with Him.

Take care that none of you ever pays back evil for evil, but always keep looking for ways to show kindness to one another and everybody.