1 Thessalonians 4
New King James Version
Plea for Purity
4 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus (A)that you should abound more and more, (B)just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; 2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
3 For this is (C)the will of God, (D)your sanctification: (E)that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 (F)that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 (G)not in passion of lust, (H)like the Gentiles (I)who do not know God; 6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord (J)is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. 7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, (K)but in holiness. 8 (L)Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, (M)who[a] has also given us His Holy Spirit.
A Brotherly and Orderly Life
9 But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for (N)you yourselves are taught by God (O)to love one another; 10 and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, (P)that you increase more and more; 11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, (Q)to mind your own business, and (R)to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 (S)that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
The Comfort of Christ’s Coming
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen [b]asleep, lest you sorrow (T)as others (U)who have no hope. 14 For (V)if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him (W)those who [c]sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you (X)by the word of the Lord, that (Y)we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are [d]asleep. 16 For (Z)the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with (AA)the trumpet of God. (AB)And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 (AC)Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them (AD)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus (AE)we shall always be with the Lord. 18 (AF)Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Footnotes
- 1 Thessalonians 4:8 NU who also gives
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13 Died
- 1 Thessalonians 4:14 Or through Jesus sleep
- 1 Thessalonians 4:15 Dead
1 Thessalonians 4
New Living Translation
Live to Please God
4 Finally, dear brothers and sisters,[a] 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. 2 For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3 God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. 4 Then each of you will control his own body[b] and live in holiness and honor— 5 not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. 6 Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife,[c] for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. 7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 8 Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9 But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other,[d] for God himself has taught you to love one another. 10 Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers[e] throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more.
11 Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. 12 Then 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
13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died[f] so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For 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.
15 We 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.[g] 16 For 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[h] will rise from their graves. 17 Then, 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. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
Footnotes
- 4:1 Greek brothers; also in 4:10, 13.
- 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.
- 4:6 Greek Never harm or cheat a brother in this matter.
- 4:9 Greek about brotherly love.
- 4:10 Greek the brothers.
- 4:13 Greek those who have fallen asleep; also in 4:14.
- 4:15 Greek those who have fallen asleep.
- 4:16 Greek the dead in Christ.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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