1 THESSALONIANS

1 THESSALONIANS somebody

New Living Translation

NLT | 1 THESSALONIANS 1

NLT | 1 THESSALONIANS 1 somebody

1
Greetings from Paul
1This letter is from Paul, Silas,#1:1 Greek Silvanus, the Greek form of the name. and Timothy.
We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
May God give you grace and peace.
The Faith of the Thessalonian Believers
2We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. 3As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4We know, dear brothers and sisters,#1:4 Greek brothers. that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. 5For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance#1:5 Or with the power of the Holy Spirit, so you can have full assurance. that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you. 6So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. 7As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia.#1:7 Macedonia and Achaia were the northern and southern regions of Greece.
8And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, 9for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God. 10And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.

New Living Translation

NLT | 1 THESSALONIANS 2

NLT | 1 THESSALONIANS 2 somebody

2
Paul Remembers His Visit
1You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters,#2:1 Greek brothers; also in 2:9, 14, 17. that our visit to you was not a failure. 2You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition. 3So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.
4For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. 5Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! 6As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.
7As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children#2:7 Some manuscripts read we were gentle. among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children. 8We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.
9Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you. 10You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. 11And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. 12We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory.
13Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.
14And then, dear brothers and sisters, you suffered persecution from your own countrymen. In this way, you imitated the believers in God’s churches in Judea who, because of their belief in Christ Jesus, suffered from their own people, the Jews. 15For some of the Jews killed the prophets, and some even killed the Lord Jesus. Now they have persecuted us, too. They fail to please God and work against all humanity 16as they try to keep us from preaching the Good News of salvation to the Gentiles. By doing this, they continue to pile up their sins. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last.
Timothy’s Good Report about the Church
17Dear brothers and sisters, after we were separated from you for a little while (though our hearts never left you), we tried very hard to come back because of our intense longing to see you again. 18We wanted very much to come to you, and I, Paul, tried again and again, but Satan prevented us. 19After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you! 20Yes, you are our pride and joy.

New Living Translation

NLT | 1 THESSALONIANS 3

NLT | 1 THESSALONIANS 3 somebody

3
1Finally, when we could stand it no longer, we decided to stay alone in Athens, 2and we sent Timothy to visit you. He is our brother and God’s co-worker#3:2 Other manuscripts read and God’s servant; still others read and a co-worker, or and a servant and co-worker for God, or and God’s servant and our co-worker. in proclaiming the Good News of Christ. We sent him to strengthen you, to encourage you in your faith, 3and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. But you know that we are destined for such troubles. 4Even while we were with you, we warned you that troubles would soon come—and they did, as you well know. 5That is why, when I could bear it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out whether your faith was still strong. I was afraid that the tempter had gotten the best of you and that our work had been useless.
6But now Timothy has just returned, bringing us good news about your faith and love. He reports that you always remember our visit with joy and that you want to see us as much as we want to see you. 7So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters,#3:7 Greek brothers. because you have remained strong in your faith. 8It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.
9How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence. 10Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith.
11May God our Father and our Lord Jesus bring us to you very soon. 12And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. 13May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen.

New Living Translation

NLT | 1 THESSALONIANS 4

NLT | 1 THESSALONIANS 4 somebody

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Live to Please God
1Finally, dear brothers and sisters,#4:1 Greek brothers; also in 4:10, 13. we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. 2For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. 4Then each of you will control his own body#4:4 Or will know how to take a wife for himself; or will learn to live with his own wife; Greek reads will know how to possess his own vessel. and live in holiness and honor— 5not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. 6Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife,#4:6 Greek Never harm or cheat a brother in this matter. for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. 7God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 8Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other,#4:9 Greek about brotherly love. for God himself has taught you to love one another. 10Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers#4:10 Greek the brothers. throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more.
11Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. 12Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.
The Hope of the Resurrection
13And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died#4:13 Greek those who have fallen asleep; also in 4:14. so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
15We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.#4:15 Greek those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died#4:16 Greek the dead in Christ. will rise from their graves. 17Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18So encourage each other with these words.

New Living Translation

NLT | 1 THESSALONIANS 5

NLT | 1 THESSALONIANS 5 somebody

5
1Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters,#5:1 Greek brothers; also in 5:4, 12, 14, 25, 26, 27. we don’t really need to write you. 2For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. 3When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.
4But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief.#5:4 Some manuscripts read comes upon you as if you were thieves. 5For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. 6So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. 7Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. 8But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.
9For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. 10Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. 11So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
Paul’s Final Advice
12Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. 13Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.
14Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.
15See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.
16Always be joyful. 17Never stop praying. 18Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
19Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20Do not scoff at prophecies, 21but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22Stay away from every kind of evil.
Paul’s Final Greetings
23Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 24God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.
25Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us.
26Greet all the brothers and sisters with a sacred kiss.
27I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters.
28May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

New Living Translation