Final Instructions and Benediction

¹² We ask you, brothers, ^(A)to respect those who labor among you and ^(B)are over you in the Lord and admonish you, ¹³ and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. ^(C)Be at peace among yourselves. ¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers, admonish ^(D)the idle,^{[a] (E)}encourage the fainthearted, ^(F)help the weak, ^(G)be patient with them all. ¹⁵ See that ^(H)no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always ^(I)seek to do good to one another and to everyone. ^16 (J)Rejoice always, ^17 (K)pray without ceasing, ^18 (L)give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ^19 (M)Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not despise ^(N)prophecies, ²¹ but ^(O)test everything; hold fast what is good. ²² Abstain from every form of evil.

²³ Now may ^(P)the God of peace himself ^(Q)sanctify you completely, and may your ^(R)whole ^(S)spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at ^(T)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^24 (U)He who calls you is faithful; ^(V)he will surely do it.

^25 (W)Brothers, pray for us.

^26 (X)Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

²⁷ I put you under oath before the Lord to have ^(Y)this letter read to all the brothers.

^28 (Z)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Greeting

1 ^(A)Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

^3 (B)We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers,^[a] as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. ⁴ Therefore ^(C)we ourselves boast about you ^(D)in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith ^(E)in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

The Judgment at Christ's Coming

⁵ This is ^(F)evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be ^(G)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— ⁶ since indeed God considers it ^(H)just ^(I)to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷ and to grant ^(J)relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when ^(K)the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven ^(L)with his mighty angels ^8 (M)in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those ^(N)who do not know God and on those who ^(O)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will suffer the punishment of ^(P)eternal destruction, ^(Q)away from^[b] the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, ^10 (R)when he comes on ^(S)that day ^(T)to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our ^(U)testimony to you ^(V)was believed. ¹¹ To this end we ^(W)always pray for you, that our God may ^(X)make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every ^(Y)work of faith by his power, ¹² so that the name of our Lord Jesus ^(Z)may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Man of Lawlessness

2 Now concerning ^(AA)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our ^(AB)being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,^{[c] 2} not to be quickly shaken in mind or ^(AC)alarmed, either ^(AD)by a spirit or a ^(AE)spoken word, or ^(AF)a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that ^(AG)the day of the Lord has come. ^3 (AH)Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, ^(AI)unless the rebellion comes first, and ^(AJ)the man of lawlessness^[d] is revealed, ^(AK)the son of destruction,^{[e] 4} who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, ^(AL)proclaiming himself to be God. ⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶ And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. ⁷ For ^(AM)the mystery of lawlessness ^(AN)is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. ⁸ And then ^(AO)the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus ^(AP)will kill with ^(AQ)the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by ^(AR)the appearance of his coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan ^(AS)with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰ and with all wicked deception for ^(AT)those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ Therefore ^(AU)God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe ^(AV)what is false, ¹² in order that all may be condemned ^(AW)who did not believe the truth but ^(AX)had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Stand Firm

¹³ But ^(AY)we ought always to give thanks to God for you, ^(AZ)brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you ^(BA)as the firstfruits^{[f] (BB)}to be saved, ^(BC)through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. ¹⁴ To this he called you through ^(BD)our gospel, ^(BE)so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ So then, brothers, ^(BF)stand firm and hold to ^(BG)the traditions that you were taught by us, either ^(BH)by our spoken word or by ^(BI)our letter.

¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, ^(BJ)who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good ^(BK)hope through grace, ¹⁷ comfort your hearts and ^(BL)establish them in every good work and word.

Pray for Us

3 Finally, brothers,^{[g] (BM)}pray for us, that ^(BN)the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored,^[h] as happened among you, ² and ^(BO)that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For ^(BP)not all have faith. ³ But ^(BQ)the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and ^(BR)guard you against ^(BS)the evil one.^{[i] 4} And ^(BT)we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. ⁵ May the Lord ^(BU)direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Warning Against Idleness

⁶ Now we command you, brothers, ^(BV)in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(BW)that you keep away from any ^(BX)brother ^(BY)who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know ^(BZ)how you ought to imitate us, because ^(CA)we were not idle when we were with you, ⁸ nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but ^(CB)with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ It was ^(CC)not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves ^(CD)an example to imitate. ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: ^(CE)If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. ¹¹ For we hear that some among you ^(CF)walk in idleness, not busy at work, but ^(CG)busybodies. ¹² Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.^[j]

¹³ As for you, brothers, ^(CH)do not grow weary in doing good. ¹⁴ If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and ^(CI)have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. ^15 (CJ)Do not regard him as an enemy, but ^(CK)warn him as a brother.

Benediction

¹⁶ Now may ^(CL)the Lord of peace himself ^(CM)give you peace at all times in every way. ^(CN)The Lord be with you all.

¹⁷ I, Paul, write ^(CO)this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. ^18 (CP)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

⁴ And ^(A)he reasoned in the synagogue ^(B)every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

^5 (C)When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul ^(D)was occupied with the word, ^(E)testifying to the Jews that the Christ was ^(F)Jesus. ⁶ And when they opposed and reviled him, ^(G)he shook out his garments and said to them, ^(H)“Your blood be on your own heads! ^(I)I am innocent. ^(J)From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” ⁷ And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius ^(K)Justus, ^(L)a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. ^8 (M)Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together ^(N)with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. ⁹ And the Lord said to Paul ^(O)one night in ^(P)a vision, ^(Q)“Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, ^10 (R)for I am with you, and ^(S)no one will attack you to harm you, for ^(T)I have many in this city who are my people.” ¹¹ And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹² But when Gallio was ^(U)proconsul of Achaia, ^(V)the Jews^[a] made a united attack on Paul and ^(W)brought him before the tribunal, ¹³ saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to ^(X)the law.” ¹⁴ But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious ^(Y)crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. ¹⁵ But ^(Z)since it is a matter of questions about words and names and ^(AA)your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” ¹⁶ And he drove them from the tribunal. ¹⁷ And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

Paul Returns to Antioch

¹⁸ After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of ^(AB)the brothers^[b] and set sail for Syria, and with him ^(AC)Priscilla and Aquila. At ^(AD)Cenchreae ^(AE)he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. ¹⁹ And they came to ^(AF)Ephesus, and he left them there, but ^(AG)he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. ²¹ But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you ^(AH)if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.

²² When he had landed at Caesarea, he ^(AI)went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. ²³ After spending some time there, he departed and ^(AJ)went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, ^(AK)strengthening all the disciples.