May you have unearned favor and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

In [fellowship with] Christ we have redemption [i.e., we have been bought back from Satan] through His blood, and have forgiveness of sins according to the abundance of God's unearned favor,

which He exerted when raising Christ from the dead and seating Him at His right side in the heavenly realms [i.e., heaven itself].

For you have been saved by God's unearned favor, through [your] faith, and that [salvation] was not the result of your own doing; it was the gift from God.

[Remember] that you were at that time without Christ; [you were] excluded from citizenship in the nation of Israel; [you were] foreigners regarding the Agreements of [God's] promises. You had no hope and were without God in the world.

But now [that you are] in [fellowship with] Christ, you [Gentiles], who were once far away [from God], have been brought near [to Him] through the blood of Christ.

And Christ came and preached peace to you [Gentiles], who were far away [from God], and peace to those [Jews] who were near [to Him].

[Note: Paul here digresses from his prayer, begun in 1:15-16, to explain the circumstances of his being a prisoner on behalf of these Gentiles]. [I assume] you have heard about my commission [to minister] to you, which was given to me by God's unearned favor.

from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its name. [Note: Here Paul resumes the prayer he began in verse 1].

The One who descended [i.e., from heaven to earth] is the same One [i.e., Christ] who also ascended high above the all the heavens, so that He could fill the entire universe [with His presence]).

From Him all [members of] the body are properly joined together by every supporting ligament, as each part contributes to the growth of the body and builds itself up through [mutual] love.

Their understanding [of spiritual things] is darkened and excluded from the [spiritual] life that God gives, because of the ignorance in their minds and the stubbornness in their hearts.

Do not allow unwholesome [Note: The Greek word for "unwholesome" is "rotten, diseased"] language to come from your mouth, but only what is helpful for building up those who need it, so that you can impart favor [i.e., benefit] to those who listen [to you].

So, put away from you all [kinds of] bitterness and anger and wrath and brawling and slander, along with all [kinds of] malice [i.e., bad attitudes],

So, it says, "You who are asleep, wake up and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you [i.e., illuminate you]." [Note: The foregoing words may have been an early saying, used at someone's immersion, which included the ideas of "rising up" (See Col. 2:12) and "illumination" (See Heb. 6:4)].

Do not serve them only when you are being watched, just to gain their approval, but as slaves of Christ, doing what God wants from your heart.

knowing that whatever good deed a person does, he will be rewarded for it from the Lord, whether he is a slave or a free person.

May there be peace and love, with faith, to the brothers [there] from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

[This letter is from] Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, [and is being sent] to all the saints [i.e., God's holy people] who are at Philippi [Note: This is a town in present-day northeastern Greece, and the first place in Europe where Paul established Christianity], along with the overseers [Note: These men were also called elders, shepherds or pastors] and deacons.

May unearned favor and peace be upon you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

for your sharing [with me] in [carrying on] the work of the Gospel from the first day [I left there] until now. [See 4:14-16].

having been full of qualities of righteousness, which come from Jesus Christ and produce honor and praise to God.

Some people, indeed, are proclaiming Christ out of envy and strife [i.e., out of rivalry], while others do it from goodwill.

For I know that, through your requests [in prayer] for me and the help provided by the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, this situation will result in my being rescued [i.e., released from imprisonment].

So, I am in a dilemma between the two choices. [On the one hand] I have the desire to depart [from this life] and be with Christ [in heaven], which would be far better.

So, [whatever happens], live your daily lives in such a way as to be worthy of the Gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or remain absent from you, I will hear about you, that you are standing firm in one spirit [i.e., united in purpose, and] contending with one mind for the faith of the Gospel [i.e., for the body of Christian teaching].

Is there anything to be encouraged about by being in [fellowship with] Christ? Is there any comfort from His love? Is there any sharing with the Holy Spirit? [Have you received] any affection and compassion [from Christ]?

Do not do anything from rivalry or from empty conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves.

But I hope in [harmony with the wishes of] the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I could be encouraged when I learn of your situation [i.e., when Timothy returns with news from Philippi].

But I am fully persuaded in [harmony with the wishes of] the Lord that I, myself, also will go to you soon. [Note: Paul here expresses the hope of being released from imprisonment, in spite of previous hints that he might be put to death. See 1:20; 2:17].

[I was] circumcised eight days after I was born; [I am] from the nation of Israelites; from the tribe of Benjamin and of Hebrew ancestry [i.e., an outstanding Hebrew]. As far as the law of Moses is concerned, [I am] a Pharisee [i.e., a strict sect of the Jewish religion].

and to be found in [fellowship with] Him, not having a righteousness of my own, acquired by observing the law of Moses, but one acquired through believing in Christ. This righteousness, which comes from God, is based on faith.

I am pushing onward toward the goal for the prize of the upward call [i.e., to heaven] from God in [fellowship with] Christ.

But we are [really] citizens of heaven and we are waiting for a Savior [to return] from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

And [when you do], the peace from God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and thoughts [from anxiety] in [fellowship with] Christ Jesus.

You people should do those things which you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and [then] the God [who gives] peace will be with you.

But I have everything [I need], and in abundance; I am fully supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts that you sent, [which are like] a fragrant-smelling sacrifice, acceptable and very pleasing to God.

[This letter is from] Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will, and [from] our brother Timothy,

[and is being sent] to the saints [i.e., God's holy people] and faithful brothers in [fellowship with] Christ [who live] at Colosse. May you have unearned favor and peace from God our Father.

You learned [this truth] from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow-slave, who is a faithful minister of Christ [to you] on our behalf.

He rescued us from the domain of [spiritual] darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son whom He loves,

through whom we receive redemption [i.e., are bought back from Satan], which is the forgiveness of [our] sins.

And He is the head of the [spiritual] body, the church. He is [its] source, the firstborn One from the dead [i.e., the first one to return to life, never to die again], so that He could rank first [in importance] over all things.

And though you were once estranged [from God] and were enemies [of His] in your mind because of your evil deeds,

yet now God has reconciled [you] to Himself through the death of Christ's physical body in order to present you holy, without fault and free from just blame before Him [on judgment day].

[This will happen] if you continue in the faith [Note: This means either "continue to observe God's teaching" or, "continue to believe"], firmly grounded and established, and not moved away from the hope offered by the Gospel message, which you have heard and which was preached to people throughout the entire created world under heaven. I, Paul, was made a minister of this Gospel.

For even though I am absent [from you] in body, still I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing and observing [i.e., with my mind's eye] your orderly behavior and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

[This happened when you were] buried with Christ in [the act of] immersion, from which you were also raised up with Him through [your] faith in the accomplishment of God, who raised Him up from the dead.

He is not holding on [firmly] to the head [i.e., Christ, the head of the church], from whom the entire body, being nourished and supported by its ligaments and joints, is caused to grow in size by God.

If then you people have been raised up together with Christ [i.e., from your burial in immersion, See 2:12-13 with Rom. 6:4], pay attention to the things that are above [i.e., heavenly things], where Christ is seated at the right side of God.

But now you also should stop practicing them: anger, wrath, malice, slander, filthy language from your mouth.

knowing that you will receive from the Lord a [spiritual] inheritance as a reward, [for] you are [really] serving the Lord.

[He is coming], together with Onesimus our faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. [Note: This could mean either "from your town" or, "a fellow-Christian"]. They will tell you about everything that is happening here.

And when this letter has been read to you people, see that it is read in the church of the Laodicians also. And see that you read the letter [coming] from Laodicia also. [Note: This could have been a reference to the letter to the Ephesians].

[This letter is from] Paul, and Silvanus and Timothy, [and is being sent] to the church of the Thessalonians [Note: This was a town in present-day northeastern Greece] in [fellowship with] God, the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May God's unearned favor and peace be upon you.

For the Lord's message sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith toward God [also] spread everywhere [else], so that we do not have to say anything [about you].

For those people themselves report on what kind of a reception we had from you, and how you people turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God.

And [they tell how you are] waiting for His Son [to come] from heaven, the One He raised up from the dead --- this Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath [of God].

But [even though] we had already suffered and been mistreated at Philippi [See Acts 16:19-24], as you people know, we had the boldness, [with help] from God, to tell you His message in spite of much struggle [i.e., opposition].

[And] we were not looking for honor from people, either from you or from anyone else, even though, as apostles of Christ, we could have become a burden [to you]. [Note: The idea seems to be that the apostles could have claimed financial support, but chose not to].

And because of this we also thank God continually that, when you people received the message of God, which you heard from us, you did not accept it as a message from [mere] human beings, but as it truly is, the message from God, which is at work in you believers.

For you brothers became imitators of the churches of God in Judea, which are in [fellowship with] Christ, for you people also suffered the same things from your own countrymen that they did from the Jews,

for they [even] try to prevent us from speaking to the Gentiles, so that they can be saved. [In doing this] they are always piling up one sin on another. But the wrath [of God] has come upon them at last [or, "completely"].

But brothers, after we were separated from you for a short time --- in person but not in spirit --- we became all the more eager [to come to you] and strongly desired to see you in person. [Note: The word "separated" here denotes the traumatic experience of a child being forcibly removed from its parents. It had been about six months since Paul left Thessalonica under adverse circumstances].

But now Timothy has returned to us from you and brought us good news about your faith and love, and [reported] that you have good memories of us. [He told us that you are] longing to see us, just as we also long to see you.

Finally then, brothers, we request and urge you, in [the fellowship of] the Lord, that you should live [dedicated lives] and please God. Just as you people received direction from us [on doing this], see that you [continue to] do it more and more.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again [from the dead], [we also believe] that God will bring [back to life], along with Jesus, those in [fellowship with] Him who have fallen asleep [in death].

For we say this to you by [the authority of] the word of the Lord [Note: Paul was either quoting what Jesus had previously said, or was giving a revelation he had received from the Lord. See I Cor. 14:37], that we [Christians] who are [still] alive, who are left [on earth] when the Lord returns, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. [Note: The point Paul is making is that the living will not be "changed" (I Cor. 15:51-52) and taken to heaven before the dead are raised].

For the Lord Himself [i.e., Jesus] will come down from heaven with a commanding shout [Note: This probably refers to Jesus' voice. See John 5:25, 28], [and] with the archangel's voice [i.e., Michael. See Jude 9] and with the sound of God's trumpet; [at this] the dead in [fellowship with] Christ will rise [from the dead] first.

Then, we who [will still] be alive, that are left, will be caught up together with them into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so [from then on] we will always be with the Lord.

[This letter is from] Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, [and is being sent] to the church of the Thessalonians in [fellowship with] God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

May you have unearned favor and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

and to provide [future] rest for you, along with us, who are afflicted. [This will occur] when Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire [i.e., at His second coming], accompanied by His mighty angels.

They will pay the penalty of never ending destruction, being banished from the presence of the Lord and from His mighty splendor.

we request that you people do not become shaken up in your mind, nor alarmed, either by a spirit [i.e., by some prophetic prediction], or by a report, or by a letter supposedly from us, that the day of the Lord [i.e., when Jesus returns] has already come.

Do not allow anyone to deceive you in any way, for it will not occur until the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness becomes evident. [Note: This "rebellion" refers to a significant falling away from the teaching and practice of true Christianity (See I Tim. 4:1), characterized by the rise of an authoritarian religious leader]. This man is doomed to be destroyed

[But] for now, there is something holding him back [i.e., holding back the man of lawlessness from emerging, See verses 3-4], and you people know what it is. [It is restraining him] so that he will not be revealed until his own [due] time.

But we ought to thank God for you always, brothers [who are] dearly loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning [Note: Some manuscripts use the Greek word for "firstfruits" instead of "beginning" here, but it is difficult to know in what sense the Thessalonian Christians were "first"], in order to be saved through being set apart by the Holy Spirit and through belief of the truth [of the Gospel].

So then, brothers, stand firm [in the faith], and hold onto the [inspired] traditions which you were taught, whether by word [of mouth] or by a letter from us.

And [pray] that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, because not everyone has faith.

But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one [Note: The Greek says just "the evil"].

Now we command you, brothers, in the name [i.e., by the authority] of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you people stay away from every brother [or sister] who lives an idle life [See note on I Thess. 5:14], and not according to the [inspired] tradition which you received from us.

[This letter is from] Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope [of never ending life. See Titus 3:7].

[It is being sent] to Timothy, my true son in the faith [i.e., in the realm of Christianity, not in a physical sense]. May you have unearned favor, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

But the goal of this instruction is [to] love [God and people] from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith.

Some people have strayed away from these things and have turned aside to useless discussions.

Among these people are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered over to Satan [Note: This probably refers to withdrawing fellowship from them. See I Cor. 5:1-5], so that they would learn not to speak against God [anymore].

But she [i.e., womankind] will be saved [from condemnation, in spite of the "curse" of suffering pain] through childbearing [See Gen. 3:16], provided they [i.e., all women] continue to have faith and love and holiness, along with discretion.

Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of [only] one wife, sober-minded [Note: When this word, used here figuratively, is used in its literal sense, it means to abstain from intoxicating drinks], sensible, respectable, hospitable, capable of teaching.

He must also have a good reputation among outsiders [i.e., non-Christians], or else he could fall into reproach [i.e., from worldly people] and [therefore] into the devil's trap.

Now the Holy Spirit specifically says that in later times [Note: "Later times" in the New Testament usually refers to the period following the first coming of Christ and the establishment of the church], some people will fall away from the faith [i.e., the true teaching of Christianity]. They will pay attention to deceitful spirits [i.e., lying people] and the teaching of evil spirits.

And on top of that, they learn to be idle, going around from house to house; and not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things they should not be.

For some [young widows] have already turned away [from their commitment to God] to serve Satan.

Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it comes from two or three witnesses.

And those slaves who have believing masters should not despise them, since they are [Christian] brothers, but rather they should serve them all the more [faithfully]. For those [masters] who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved [by them and God]. Teach and exhort people regarding these things.

If anyone teaches a different doctrine [i.e., from what has been urged above], and does not agree to [proclaim the] sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to teaching that is godly [i.e., in harmony with godliness],

For, loving money is a source of all kinds of evil, [and] some people who crave it have been led astray from the faith, and have stabbed themselves [in the heart] with many sorrows.

But you, man of God, run from these things [See verses 3-10], and pursue right living and godliness, having faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.

which some people have claimed [to have], and in doing so have strayed from the faith. May [God's] unearned favor be upon you.

[This letter is from] Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to [the ministry of proclaiming] the promise of never ending life, which is [obtained] through [fellowship with] Christ Jesus.