Children, obey your parents [as God’s representatives] in all things, for this [attitude of respect and obedience] is well-pleasing to the Lord [and will bring you God’s promised blessings].

You fathers [Note: By implication, this would include both parents] should not stir up your children [i.e., irritate or exasperate them], so that they do not become discouraged.

You must persevere in prayer and by this means stay wide awake when you give thanks.

Tychicus will tell you all about my affairs. [Note: This man probably delivered this letter as well as the one to the Ephesians. See Eph. 6:21]. He is our dearly loved brother and faithful minister and fellow-slave in [the service of] the Lord.

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

[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.

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.

that you read the epistle from Laodicea. give Archippus this instruction from me, take care to discharge the function, you

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.

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].

For we were never found using flattering words at any time, as you know, nor did we try to cover up any greedy desires. God can testify [to this].

Longing for you in this way, we determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own souls, because you had become dear to us.

And we also thank God continually for this, that when you received the word of God [concerning salvation] which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of [mere] men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe [exercising its inherent, supernatural power in those of faith].

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"].

this I Paul have frequently attempted, but Satan has been my obstacle.

so that no one would be unsettled by these difficulties [to which I have referred]. For you know that we have been destined for this [as something unavoidable in our position].

For even when we were with you, we forewarned you, saying, "We are soon to suffer affliction;" and this actually happened, as you well know.

Because of this, I too, no longer covering over it, sent in order to know your faith, lest somehow he who tempts was tempting you, and our labor became in vain.

But, Timothy having just now come to us from you, and having brought us good tidings of your faith and love, and that ye have good remembrance of us at all times, longing to see us, as we also to see you??7 for this reason, brethren, we were comforted over you, in all our tribulation and distress, through your faith;

because of this, brothers, we were encouraged toward you in all our affliction and necessity through your faith.

Now, brothers, we ask and beg you, in the face of our union with the Lord Jesus, as you once received from us how you ought to live so as to please God -- as indeed you are living -- to continue to live this life better and better.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification, for you to abstain from fornication,

not to gratify sensual passion like the Gentiles in their ignorance of God ??6 no one is to defraud or overreach his brother in this matter, for the Lord avenges all these sins, as we told you already in our solemn protest against them.

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 whoever rejects this teaching is rejecting not man but God who continues to put His Spirit in you.

But about loving the brothers, there is no need for me to say anything to you in this letter: for you have the teaching of God that love for one another is right and necessary;

As indeed you do love all the brothers in Macedonia. But I exhort you, brothers, to abound in this yet more.

[We also urge you to] make it your aim to live a quiet life, and to attend to your own business matters, and to work with your hands, as we urged you. [Note: Possibly this exhortation was directed toward the tendency of some people there to neglect ordinary responsibilities in view of an imminent return of Christ].

In this way you will live a decent life before outsiders and not be in need.

For this we say to you in the word of Lord, that we who are alive, who remain for the coming of the Lord, will no, not precede those who became asleep.

For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

So continue encouraging one another with this truth.

But you, brothers, are not in the dark, for this day to overtake you like a thief.

for all of you people belong to the light; you belong to the daytime. We do not belong to the night or to darkness. [Note: In this passage "light" and "daytime" refer to spiritual illumination, while "darkness" and "night" refer to spiritual ignorance].

But we make this request to you, my brothers: give attention to those who are working among you, who are over you in the Lord to keep order among you;

Make it a habit to give thanks for everything, for this is God's will for you through Christ Jesus.

He who calls you is trustworthy and He will do this.

I solemnly charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

[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.

Brothers, at all times we are obligated to thank God for you. It is right to do this because your faith is growing all the time and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

Therefore, we speak of you with pride among the churches of God for your steadfastness [your unflinching endurance, and patience] and your firm faith in the midst of all the persecution and [crushing] distress which you endure.

This is a proof of God's righteous judgment, His aim being to let you show yourselves worthy of His kingdom, for which you are suffering; since,

and to reward with rest you who are afflicted, along with us. This will take place at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful angels,

On that day Jesus will return to be honored by His saints [i.e., God's holy people] and to be marveled at [i.e., in reverence] by all those who had believed [in Him]. [This will happen] because you have believed our testimony to you [about Christ].

With this in view we are always praying for you too, that our God may make you worthy of His call, and by His power fully satisfy your every desire for goodness, and complete every activity of your faith,

[We pray this] so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored by you, and that you will be honored by Him, according to the unearned favor of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do not let anybody at all deceive you about this, because that cannot take place until the great revolt occurs and the representative of lawlessness is uncovered, the one who is doomed to destruction,

the adversary of every being that is called a god or an object of worship, and so overbearing toward them as to enter God's sanctuary and take his seat there, proclaiming himself to be God??5 do you not remember that when I was with you, I used to tell you this?

Do you not remember that while I was with you I used to tell you this?

And you know what restrains him now [from being revealed]; it is so that he will be revealed at his own [appointed] time.

For this mysterious lawlessness is already at work [or, "this lawlessness is already secretly at work"]; but the one who is holding it back [will continue to do so] until he is removed.

The coming [of this lawless person] is according to the work of Satan, [and will be] attended by all kinds of powerful [i.e., miraculous] signs and false wonders,

This is why God sends them a misleading influence till they actually believe what is false,

and to this end He called you by our preaching of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

and we have this hope in the Lord, that you will still continue to observe the directions we give you.

[We did this], not because we did not have a right [to support], but so we could become an example for you to imitate.

For when I was with you, I gave you this direction, "If a person refuses to work, he must not be allowed to eat."

If anyone refuses to obey what we have said in this letter, mark that person and stop having anything to do with him, so that he will feel ashamed of it.

This greeting is in my own hand, Paul's; it is the mark in every letter of mine. This is my handwriting.

This is my handwriting. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

[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].

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

Some individuals have wandered away from these things into empty arguments and useless discussions,

knowing this, that law is not laid down for righteous men, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the irreverent and sinful, for the impious and profane, for father killers and mother killers, for man killers,

This accords with the glorious gospel of the blessed God that was entrusted to me.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has granted me [the needed] strength and made me able for this, because He considered me faithful and trustworthy, putting me into service [for this ministry],

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

But because of this I obtained mercy, so that in me, the foremost, Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering for an example of those who were going to believe in him for eternal life.

This is the instruction which I entrust to you, my son Timothy, which is in accordance with the prophetic utterances formerly made about you, that you may, aided by them, continue to fight the good fight,

To do this you must hold firmly to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith.

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].

This then I exhort thee first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings he made for all men;

This is the right thing to do and it pleases God our Saviour,

who gave himself for the redemption of all mankind: this is what was to be promulg'd in due time:

It was for this testimony that I myself was appointed a herald and apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), to be a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Therefore, I want the men to pray in every place [i.e., in all worship assemblies. See verses 1-2], lifting up holy hands without being angry or argumentative. [Note: This passage stresses both the physical and spiritual aspects of prayer].

but with good deeds; for this is appropriate for women who profess to be pious.

however the women may be saved by educating their children, and persevering themselves in faith, in charity, in holiness and chastity. this may be depended upon as true.

This is a saying to be trusted: "Whoever aspires to the office of pastor desires an excellent work."

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.

Deacons, in the same way, are to be serious in their behaviour, not false in word, not given to taking much wine or greatly desiring the wealth of this world;

Though I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you this,

But if I am long in coming, this will make clear to you what behaviour is right for men in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of what is true.

And without question the revealed secret of godly living is great. [It is this]: He [i.e., Christ, or God], who appeared in a fleshly body [was] vindicated [of false charges] by the Holy Spirit; [He was] seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed in throughout the world [and finally] was taken up into glory [i.e., heaven].

for in this way it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

If you point this out to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, living on the principles of the faith and the excellent teaching you have had.

This is a saying to be trusted and deserves to be accepted by all.

To this end we are toiling and struggling, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Saviour of all mankind, especially of believers.

This is what you must urge and teach.

Hold firm to thyself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this thou will save both thyself and those who hear thee.

But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in the treatment of their own families, and to pay the debt they owe their parents or grandparents, for this is acceptable to God.

Give orders to this effect, so that no evil may be said of anyone.

No widow under sixty years of age should be put on this roll. A widow must have had but one husband,

Keep the young widows off this roll, for when they get to indulging their lower nature in opposition to Christ, they want to marry,

Thus, they bring the judgment [for being untrustworthy] on themselves because they have broken their previous pledge. [Note: This probably refers to younger widows who pledged themselves to fulfill some important church activity and then quit suddenly to get married. But some suggest it refers to them leaving the faith and marrying a non-Christian].

At the same time, they also learn how to be lazy while going from house to house. Not only this, but they even become gossips and keep busy by interfering in other people's lives, saying things they should not say.

The elders who lead [the church] well should be considered deserving of double honor [Note: This probably refers to financial support in addition to the honor of the office], especially those who work hard at [preaching] the word and at teaching it.

Those who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters as deserving of full respect. This will prevent the name of God and Christian teaching from being discredited.

Those whose masters are Christian believers must not treat them with disrespect, because they are brothers; nay, rather slave for them the better because those who get the benefit of their services are believing and beloved. Continue to teach and preach this.