1 Thessalonians 2

¹Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor, just as it was with you.

¹⁶as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

¹³Is it not indeed from the Lord of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

²By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

¹³And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is also now at work in you who believe.

¹³When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus.

²²The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods.

²³And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely.

¹²For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.

²As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

³explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he declared.

¹⁴or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.

¹⁵For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.

²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

¹⁷For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.

²Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

⁷For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.

⁵As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!

⁶Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.

¹⁶Be that as it may, I was not a burden to you; but crafty as I am, I caught you by trickery.

¹⁷Did I exploit you by anyone I sent you?

²Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one.

¹⁰Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

²⁷And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

⁷On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.

¹⁴Guard the treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

³You have tried my heart; You have visited me in the night. You have tested me and found no evil; I have resolved not to sin with my mouth.

¹⁷I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You.

⁹God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you

¹⁷Did I exploit you by anyone I sent you?

³³I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.

²⁰I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is no lie.

³In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.

¹²cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;

¹³of cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; of wine, olive oil, fine flour, and wheat; of cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages; of bodies and souls of slaves.

¹⁰Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

⁴⁴How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

⁴¹I do not accept glory from men,

⁹Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

⁸So although in Christ I am bold enough to order you to do what is proper,

⁹I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.

¹⁰This is why I write these things while absent, so that when I am present I will not need to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.

¹³As a mother comforts her son, so will I comfort you, and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”

²⁴And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.

²⁵He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.

¹¹For you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children—

²³Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”

¹Now by the mildness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am humble when face to face with you, but bold when away.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

²³gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

¹⁶By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

¹⁵And for the sake of your souls, I will most gladly spend my money and myself. If I love you more, will you love me less?

¹⁷But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.

¹¹For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,

¹²that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

¹⁷Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.

¹As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

⁷For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you,

⁸nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

⁹And when I was with you and in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. I have refrained from being a burden to you in any way, and I will continue to do so.

³and he stayed and worked with them because they were tentmakers by trade, just as he was.

¹³In what way were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was not a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!

¹⁴See, I am ready to come to you a third time, and I will not be a burden, because I am not seeking your possessions, but you. For children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

¹⁰To this end we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, and especially of those who believe.

¹⁵The governors before me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them bread and wine plus forty shekels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people. But I did not do this, because of my fear of God.

³not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

⁵because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction—just as you know we lived among you for your sake.

¹²For this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.

⁷In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity,

⁸and wholesome speech that is above reproach, so that anyone who opposes us will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us.

¹⁸When they came to him, he said, “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I arrived in the province of Asia.

¹⁰You, however, have observed my teaching, my conduct, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my perseverance,

¹⁴I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children.

¹⁵Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

²²I urge you, brothers, to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have only written to you briefly.

²¹I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to maintain these principles without bias, and to do nothing out of partiality.

¹I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom:

²Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.

¹²We command and urge such people by our Lord Jesus Christ to begin working quietly to earn their own living.

²⁰David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you before all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.

¹As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:

⁶Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.

⁶If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

⁷But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

¹³But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth.

¹⁴To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹²Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.

¹⁰And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.

¹²For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

¹⁷Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

²³For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

²⁵but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.

²Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

²⁸But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

⁴Indeed, when we were with you, we kept warning you that we would suffer persecution; and as you know, it has come to pass.

³³Sometimes you were publicly exposed to ridicule and persecution; at other times you were partners with those who were so treated.

³⁴You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you yourselves had a better and permanent possession.

⁷During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.

⁸Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered.

⁴That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring.

¹Now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the churches of Macedonia.

²In the terrible ordeal they suffered, their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity.

²²I was personally unknown, however, to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.

¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

⁴⁸So you are witnesses consenting to the deeds of your fathers: They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.

⁴⁹Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and others they will persecute.’

⁵²Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—

²³He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.

³³Nevertheless, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day, for it is not admissible for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem.

³⁴O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

³¹So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets.

³²Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.

¹³But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that Paul was also proclaiming the word of God in Berea, they went there themselves to incite and agitate the crowds.

¹⁹Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, presuming he was dead.

⁵But when the Gentiles and Jews, together with their rulers, set out to mistreat and stone them,

¹“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”

³²Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.

¹⁶Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

⁵For although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I delight to see your orderly condition and firm faith in Christ.

³Although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.

⁶But just now, Timothy has returned from his visit with the good news about your faith, your love, and the fond memories you have preserved, longing to see us just as we long to see you.

¹³I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you (but have been prevented from visiting until now), in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

¹⁰Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith.

¹¹Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you.

¹⁵And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering.

²²That is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.

¹³I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you (but have been prevented from visiting until now), in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

¹⁰Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

²And the Lord said to Satan: “The Lord rebukes you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you! Is not this man a firebrand snatched from the fire?”

¹²But I will keep on doing what I am doing, in order to undercut those who want an opportunity to be regarded as our equals in the things of which they boast.

¹³For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

¹⁰“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus told him. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

¹Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you must stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

¹³so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Amen.

²³Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁶as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

¹⁴as you have already understood us in part, that you may boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of our Lord Jesus.

²³But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him.

¹⁴as you have already understood us in part, that you may boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of our Lord Jesus.

⁷A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.