Children, obey your parents in all things, for this pleases the Lord.

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 am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know our circumstances 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, cause it to be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

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

This farewell greeting is in my own hand, from Paul. Remember that I am still a prisoner. Spiritual 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 to wait for his Son whom he raised from the dead to come back from heaven. This Jesus is the one who rescues us from the coming wrath.

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.

For this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when you received from us the word of the message of God, you accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also works in you who believe.

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.

that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you know that we are appointed to this task.

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.

For this cause I also, when I could not stand it any longer, sent that I might know your faith, for fear that by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor would have been 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;

for this cause, brothers, we were comforted over you in all our distress and affliction 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, that you abstain from sexual immorality,

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 take advantage of and wrong a brother or sister in this matter; because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as also we forewarned you and testified.

Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given his Holy Spirit to 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;

In fact, you are showing love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia, but we urge you, brothers, to keep on doing this even 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 tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left to the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen 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;

In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.

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

I solemnly command you by the Lord that this letter be 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 an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of God, to the end that you may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which you also suffer.

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].

To this end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire of goodness and work of faith, with power;

[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 the secret of this lawlessness is already at work, but only until the person now holding it back gets out of the way.

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,

Because of this, God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie;

And in this purpose he gave you a part through the good news of which we were the preachers, even that you might have part in 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.

not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example.

For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: "If anyone will not work, neither let him eat."

If any man does not obey our word in this letter, note that man, that you have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed.

The greeting of me, Paul, with my own hand, which is the sign in every letter: this is how I write.

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 command is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and unfeigned faith;

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

as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers,

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 true saying, and by all means worthy to be received, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief:

However, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might display all his patience, for an example of those who were going to believe in him for eternal life.

This instruction I commit to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which led the way to you, that by them you may wage the good warfare;

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;

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;

who gave himself as a ransom for all men. This is what was testified to at the proper times,

And of this I became a preacher and an Apostle (what I say is true, not false,) and a teacher of the Gentiles in the true faith.

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 faithful saying: if a man seeks the office of an overseer, he desires a good 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 saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance.

For to this end we both labor and strive, because we have set our trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

This is what you must urge and teach.

Pay attention to yourself, and to your teaching. Continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn first to show piety towards their own family, and to repay their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of 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.