1 Thessalonians 3

¹⁵Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

⁵For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and that our labor might have been in vain.

¹⁷Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense.

⁹If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.

¹³I had no peace in my spirit, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

²²So the Lord could no longer endure the evil deeds and detestable acts you committed, and your land became a desolation, a horror, and an object of cursing, without inhabitant, as it is this day.

²²strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

²³Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.

²¹Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know about me and what I am doing.

²²I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may encourage your hearts.

¹⁹Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I learn how you are doing.

²⁰I have nobody else like him who will genuinely care for your needs.

¹⁰If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, just as I am.

¹¹No one, then, should treat him with contempt. Send him on his way in peace so that he can return to me, for I am expecting him along with the brothers.

¹Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he found a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father.

¹⁴The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea.

¹⁵Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

²²strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

³Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.”

³³I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

¹³Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

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.

¹⁴For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,

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.

²As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.

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.

¹“I have told you these things so that you will not fall away.

²They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.

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.

⁵All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

¹³When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.

¹⁴But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.

³The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

¹¹in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

⁶I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—

⁷which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of 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.

¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.

²Now I commend you for remembering me in everything and for maintaining the traditions, just as I passed them on to you.

⁷How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

⁵And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.

³and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁵Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.

⁸God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

⁴who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

⁴I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father has commanded us.

⁸For now we can go on living, as long as you are standing firm in the Lord.

⁹How can we adequately thank God for you in return for our great joy over you in His presence?

⁶But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus,

⁷and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he had received from you. He told us about your longing, your mourning, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced all the more.

⁹For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men.

¹⁰We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored.

²³Are they servants of Christ? (I am speaking as if I were out of my mind.) I am so much more: in harder labor, in more imprisonments, in worse beatings, in frequent danger of death.

²⁴Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.

¹³Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.

²³if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

¹¹I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.

²³Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

²¹For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

¹⁵Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

¹²Let the fields exult, and all that is in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy

¹³before the Lord, for He is coming—He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.

¹⁴But I will always hope and will praise You more and more.

¹⁵My mouth will declare Your righteousness and Your salvation all day long, though I cannot know their full measure.

²We always thank God for all of you, remembering you in our prayers

³and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷For this reason, brothers, in all our distress and persecution, we have been reassured about you, because of your faith.

⁸For now we can go on living, as long as you are standing firm in the Lord.

¹⁸Then King David went in, sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?

¹⁹And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O Lord God, You have also spoken about the future of the house of Your servant. Is this Your custom with man, O Lord God?

⁹In fact, we rejoice when we are weak but you are strong, and our prayer is for your perfection.

¹⁰in my prayers at all times, asking that now at last by God’s will I may succeed in coming to you.

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

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

³⁰Now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.

³¹Pray that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,

²⁵Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,

²⁴Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are fellow workers with you for your joy, because it is by faith that you stand firm.

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

⁶in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

³²For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

¹⁶Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope,

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.

³²Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.

²⁶Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,

⁸Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

³We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.

¹⁵Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.

²²But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—

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.

²⁷and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.

¹⁹After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?

¹⁴Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones

⁷Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.