for the hope's sake which is laid up in store for you in heaven, of which hope ye have heard before by the true word of the gospel,

that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God’s grace in the truth.

You learned it from [our representative] Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf

For this reason, since the day we heard about this, we have not stopped praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the full knowledge of God's will with respect to all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

so as to walk worthily of the Lord unto all well-pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing by the true knowledge of God;

Since His power is so glorious, may you be strengthened with strength of every kind, and be prepared for cheerfully enduring all things with patience and long-suffering;

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

in whom we have redemption through his blood, that is to say, forgiveness of sins,

So He existed before all things, and through Him all things are held together.

He is also the head [the life-source and leader] of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will occupy the first place [He will stand supreme and be preeminent] in everything.

For it was the Father's gracious will that the whole of the divine perfections should dwell in Him.

And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

So you, who were once estranged from Him, and hostile in disposition as shown by your wrongdoings, He has now reconciled

yet Christ has now reconciled you [to God] in His physical body through death, in order to present you before the Father holy and blameless and beyond reproach—

if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister.

Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

of which I became a minister, according to God's stewardship which was given to me for you, to complete the word of God,

[This message is] the secret which has been kept hidden throughout the ages and generations, but has now been revealed to God's saints [i.e., His holy people].

It is His will that they should understand the glorious wealth which this secret holds for the Gentiles, in the fact of Christ's presence among you as your hope of glory.

We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

For this I labor [often to the point of exhaustion], striving with His power and energy, which so greatly works within me.

For I wish you to know how great a conflict I have in behalf of you, and those in Laodicea, and so many as have not seen my face in the flesh;

so that their hearts may be encouraged, united in love and into all the wealth of the full assurance of insight into the knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ,

And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.

For I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ.

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

See that there be no one who shall lead you away as a prey through philosophy and vain deceit, according to the teaching of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ.

For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ,

in him you have been circumcised with no material circumcision that cuts flesh from the body, but with Christ's own circumcision,

And you, being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, I say , did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses;

So, do not allow anyone to judge [i.e., condemn] you for what you eat, or what you drink, or regarding [your non-observance of] a [yearly] festival, or a [monthly] "new moon" observance, or a [weekly] Sabbath day.

which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ's.

Do not allow anyone, who delights in acting humble [i.e., living an ascetic life] and who worships angels, to rob you of your reward [in heaven]. [Note: This "angel worship" could mean holding angels in high regard because of their role as God's messengers, or the claim that God can be approached only through angelic intermediaries]. He places great importance on what he [claims to] see [i.e., visions], being inflated with pride by his fleshly mind for no [good] reason.

and not holding firmly to the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and ligaments, grows with God's growth.

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were still living in the world, do you submit to rules and regulations, such as,

Which say there may be no touching, tasting, or taking in your hands,

Such prohibitions appear reasonable where there is a desire for self-imposed service, and so-called 'humility,' and harsh treatment of the body, but are of no real value against the indulgence of our earthly nature.

So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God.

For you died [with Christ, See 2:20], and your life is [now] hidden with Christ in [fellowship with] God.

[So], when Christ, who is your [or, "our" source of] life, appears [i.e., at His second coming], then you people also will appear with Him in splendor [i.e., in heaven].

So put to death and deprive of power the evil longings of your earthly body [with its sensual, self-centered instincts] immorality, impurity, sinful passion, evil desire, and greed, which is [a kind of] idolatry [because it replaces your devotion to God].

Because of these, God’s wrath comes on the disobedient,

But now you must rid yourselves of every kind of sin--angry and passionate outbreaks, ill-will, evil speaking, foul-mouthed abuse--so that these may never soil your lips.

and have clothed yourselves with the new self which is being remoulded into full knowledge so as to become like Him who created it.

Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering;

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always].

And, whatever you say or do, do everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus; and through him offer thanksgiving to God the father.

Children, always obey your parents; for that is pleasant to see in those who belong to the Lord.

Fathers, do not provoke your children, so that they will not become discouraged.

You know that from the Lord you will receive reward of the inheritance, for you are the Lord Christ's slaves.

For he who does wrong will be punished for his wrongdoing, and [with God] there is no partiality [no special treatment based on a person’s position in life].

Praying, at the same time, for us also, - that, God, would open unto us a door for the word, so that we may speak the sacred secret of the Christ - for the sake of which also I am in bonds,

so that I may reveal it, as it is necessary for me to speak.

Let your word be always with grace, seasoned with salt, so as to know how ye ought to answer each one.

Tychicus, our much-loved brother, a trusty assistant and fellow servant with us in the Lord's work, will give you every information about me.

I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are and so that he may encourage your hearts.

Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)

and from Jesus, who is called Justus. These are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision (Jewish Christians), and they have proved to be an encouragement and a comfort to me.

Epaphras, who is one of you, a slave of Christ Jesus, greets you. He is always contending for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured in everything God wills.

Luke, the dearly-loved physician, salutes you, and so does Demas.

When this letter has been read among you, see that it is read in the church of the Laodiceans; and also that you in turn read my letter [that is coming to you] from Laodicea.

And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. May grace (God’s unmerited favor and blessing) be with you.

[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.

Being conscious, my brothers, dear to God, that you have been marked out by God's purpose;

Because our good news came to you, not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Spirit, so that you were completely certain of it; even as you saw what our behaviour to you was like from our love to you.

And you yourselves began to follow, not only our example, but the Master's also; and, in spite of much suffering, you welcomed the Message with a joy inspired by the Holy Spirit,

So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.

For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

and to await the return from Heaven of His Son, whom He raised from among the dead--even Jesus, our Deliverer from God's coming anger.

But, as you will remember, after we had already met with suffering and outrage at Philippi, we summoned up boldness, by the help of our God, to tell you God's Good News amid much opposition.

But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

nor seeking glory from men, neither from you nor from others, when we might have been a charge as Christ's apostles;

Although we could have been a burden as Christ’s apostles, instead we were gentle among you, as a nursing mother nurtures her own children.

So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto 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, how devoutly and righteously and blamelessly we became to you who believe,

Even as you saw how, like a father with his children, we were teaching and comforting you all, and giving witness,

to live lives [of honor, moral courage, and personal integrity] worthy of the God who [saves you and] calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

And for this cause we also give thanks to God unceasingly that, having received the word of the report of God by us, ye accepted, not men's word, but, even as it is truly, God's word, which also works in you who believe.

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 the Lord Jesus and the [Old Testament] prophets and also drove us [apostles] out [of Thessalonica and Berea. See Acts 17]. They are not pleasing to God and are hostile to all people,

forbidding us from speaking to the Gentiles (non-Jews) so that they may be saved. So, as always, they fill up [to the brim] the measure of their sins [allotted to them by God]. But [God’s] wrath has come upon them at last [completely and forever].

But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.

So we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us.

For who is [the object of] our hope or joy or our victor’s wreath of triumphant celebration [when we stand] in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? Is it not you?

So when we could endure it no longer, we decided to remain behind in Athens alone;

and sent Timothy, our brother and God's minister in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith;

[so that] no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For [you] yourselves know that we are appointed for this,

And when we were with you, we said to you that trouble was before us; and so it came about, as you see.

So when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter somehow tempted you and our toil had proven useless.

But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:

That's why, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we have been encouraged about you by your faith.

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we have in God's presence because of you?

Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith?

so that He may strengthen and establish your hearts without blame in holiness in the sight of our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints (God’s people).

Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

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

so that each of you knows how to control his own body in sanctification and honor,