4 Therefore, brothers, just as you learned from us how you had to live in order to please God, and just as you are living this way now, we ask you — indeed, united with the Lord Yeshua, we urge you — to keep doing so more and more. ² For you know what instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Yeshua. ³ What God wants is that you be holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality, ⁴ that each of you know how to manage his sexual impulses in a holy and honorable manner, ⁵ without giving in to lustful desires, like the pagans who don’t know God. ⁶ No one should wrong his brother in this matter or take advantage of him, because the Lord punishes all who do such things — as we have explained to you before at length. ⁷ For God did not call us to live an unclean life but a holy one. ⁸ Therefore, whoever rejects this teaching is rejecting not a man but God, indeed, the One who gives you the Ruach HaKodesh, which is his.

⁹ Concerning love for the brothers we do not need to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other; ¹⁰ and you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do it even more.

¹¹ Also, make it your ambition to live quietly, to mind your own business and to earn your living by your own efforts — just as we told you. ¹² Then your daily life will gain the respect of outsiders, and you will not be dependent on anyone.

¹³ Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people ¹⁴ do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way God, through Yeshua, will take with him those who have died. ¹⁵ When we say this, we base it on the Lord’s own word: we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who have died. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; ¹⁷ then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ So encourage each other with these words.

5 But you have no need to have anything written to you, brothers, about the times and dates when this will happen; ² because you yourselves well know that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ When people are saying, “Everything is so peaceful and secure,” then destruction will suddenly come upon them, the way labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there is no way they will escape.

⁴ But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that the Day should take you by surprise like a thief; ⁵ for you are all people who belong to the light, who belong to the day. We don’t belong to the night or to darkness, ⁶ so let’s not be asleep, like the rest are; on the contrary, let us stay alert and sober. ⁷ People who sleep, sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us stay sober, putting on trust and love as a breastplate and the hope of being delivered as a helmet.^{[a] 9} For God has not intended that we should experience his fury, but that we should gain deliverance through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, ¹⁰ who died on our behalf so that whether we are alive or dead, we may live along with him. ¹¹ Therefore, encourage each other, and build each other up — just as you are doing.

¹² We ask you, brothers, to respect those who are working hard among you, those who are guiding you in the Lord and confronting you in order to help you change. ¹³ Treat them with the highest regard and love because of the work they are doing. Live at peace among yourselves; ¹⁴ but we urge you, brothers, to confront those who are lazy, your aim being to help them change, to encourage the timid, to assist the weak, and to be patient with everyone.

¹⁵ See that no one repays evil for evil; on the contrary, always try to do good to each other, indeed, to everyone.

¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Pray regularly. ¹⁸ In everything give thanks, for this is what God wants from you who are united with the Messiah Yeshua.

¹⁹ Don’t quench the Spirit, ²⁰ don’t despise inspired messages. ²¹ But do test everything — hold onto what is good, ²² but keep away from every form of evil.

²³ May the God of shalom make you completely holy — may your entire spirit, soul and body be kept blameless for the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. ²⁴ The one calling you is faithful, and he will do it.

²⁵ Brothers, keep praying for us.

²⁶ Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

²⁷ I charge you in the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

²⁸ The grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you.

1 From: Sha’ul, Sila and Timothy

To: The Messianic Community of the Thessalonians, united with God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah:

² Grace to you and shalom from God the Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

³ We have to keep thanking God for you always, brothers, as is appropriate; because your trust continues to grow greater, and the love you each have for one another continues to increase. ⁴ Therefore, we boast about you in the congregations of God because of your perseverance and trust in all the persecutions and troubles you are going through. ⁵ This is clear evidence that God’s judgment is just; and as a result, you will be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God for which you are suffering. ⁶ For it is justice for God to pay back trouble to those who are troubling you, ⁷ and to give rest along with us to you who are being troubled, when the Lord Yeshua is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels ⁸ in a fiery flame. Then he will punish those who don’t know God,^[a] that is, those who don’t listen to the Good News of our Lord Yeshua and obey it. ⁹ They will suffer the just penalty of eternal destruction, far away from the face of the Lord and the glory of his might.^{[b] 10} On that Day, when he comes to be glorified by his holy people and admired by all who have trusted, you will be among them, because you trusted our witness to you.

¹¹ With this in view, we always pray for you that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill by his power every good purpose of yours and every action stemming from your trust. ¹² In this way, the name of our Lord Yeshua will be glorified in you, and you in him, in accordance with the grace of our God and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

2 But in connection with the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and our gathering together to meet him, we ask you, brothers, ² not to be easily shaken in your thinking or anxious because of a spirit or a spoken message or a letter supposedly from us claiming that the Day of the Lord has already come. ³ Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way.

For the Day will not come until after the Apostasy has come and the man who separates himself from Torah has been revealed, the one destined for doom. ⁴ He will oppose himself to everything that people call a god or make an object of worship; he will put himself above them all, so that he will sit in the Temple of God and proclaim that he himself is God.^[c]

⁵ Don’t you remember that when I was still with you, I used to tell you these things? ⁶ And now you know what is restraining, so that he may be revealed in his own time. ⁷ For already this separating from Torah is at work secretly, but it will be secretly only until he who is restraining is out of the way. ⁸ Then the one who embodies separation from Torah will be revealed, the one whom the Lord Yeshua will slay with the breath of his mouth^[d] and destroy by the glory of his coming.

⁹ When this man who avoids Torah comes, the Adversary will give him the power to work all kinds of false miracles, signs and wonders. ¹⁰ He will enable him to deceive, in all kinds of wicked ways, those who are headed for destruction because they would not receive the love of the truth that could have saved them. ¹¹ This is why God is causing them to go astray, so that they will believe the Lie. ¹² The result will be that all who have not believed the truth, but have taken their pleasure in wickedness, will be condemned.

¹³ But we have to keep thanking God for you always, brothers whom the Lord loves, because God chose you as firstfruits for deliverance by giving you the holiness that has its origin in the Spirit and the faithfulness that has its origin in the truth. ¹⁴ He called you to this through our Good News, so that you could have the glory of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

¹⁵ Therefore, brothers, stand firm; and hold to the traditions you were taught by us, whether we spoke them or wrote them in a letter. ¹⁶ And may our Lord Yeshua the Messiah himself and God our Father, who has loved us and by his grace given us eternal comfort and a good hope, ¹⁷ comfort your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed.

3 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the Lord’s message may spread rapidly and receive honor, just as it did with you; ² and that we may be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has trust. ³ But the Lord is worthy of trust; he will make you firm and guard you from the Evil One. ⁴ Yes, united with the Lord we are confident about you, that you are doing the things we are telling you to do, and that you will keep on doing them. ⁵ May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and the perseverance which the Messiah gives.

⁶ Now, in the name of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah we command you, brothers, to stay away from any brother who is leading a life of idleness, a life not in keeping with the tradition you received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you must imitate us, that we were not idle when we were among you. ⁸ We did not accept anyone’s food without paying; on the contrary, we labored and toiled, day and night, working so as not to be a burden to any of you. ⁹ It was not that we hadn’t the right to be supported, but so that we could make ourselves an example to imitate. ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: if someone won’t work, he shouldn’t eat! ¹¹ We hear that some of you are leading a life of idleness — not busy working, just busybodies! ¹² We command such people — and in union with the Lord Yeshua the Messiah we urge them — to settle down, get to work, and earn their own living. ¹³ And you brothers who are doing what is good, don’t slack off! ¹⁴ Furthermore, if anyone does not obey what we are saying in this letter, take note of him and have nothing to do with him, so that he will be ashamed. ¹⁵ But don’t consider him an enemy; on the contrary, confront him as a brother and try to help him change.

¹⁶ Now may the Lord of shalom himself give you shalom always in all ways. The Lord be with all of you.

¹⁷ The greeting in my own handwriting: From Sha’ul. This is the mark of genuineness in every letter, this is what my handwriting looks like.

¹⁸ The grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you all.