Greeting

Paul, (A)Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the (B)Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

(C)Grace to you and peace.

The Thessalonians' Faith and Example

(D)We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly[a] (E)mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before (F)our God and Father (G)your work of faith and labor of (H)love and (I)steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, (J)brothers[b] loved by God, (K)that he has chosen you, because (L)our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and (M)in the Holy Spirit and with full (N)conviction. You know (O)what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And (P)you became imitators of us (Q)and of the Lord, for (R)you received the word in much affliction, (S)with the (T)joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord (U)sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth (V)everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of (W)reception we had among you, and how (X)you turned to God (Y)from idols to serve the living and (Z)true God, 10 and (AA)to wait for his Son (AB)from heaven, (AC)whom he raised from the dead, Jesus (AD)who delivers us from (AE)the wrath to come.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Thessalonians 1:2 Or without ceasing
  2. 1 Thessalonians 1:4 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters

(A)From Paul, Silas, and Timothy—

To the people of the church in Thessalonica, who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

May grace and peace be yours.

The Life and Faith of the Thessalonians

We always thank God for you all and always mention you in our prayers. For we remember before our God and Father how you put your faith into practice, how your love made you work so hard, and how your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is firm. Our friends, we know that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own. For we brought the Good News to you, not with words only, but also with power and the Holy Spirit, and with complete conviction of its truth. You know how we lived when we were with you; it was for your own good. (B)You imitated us and the Lord; and even though you suffered much, you received the message with the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. So you became an example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia. For not only did the message about the Lord go out from you throughout Macedonia and Achaia, but the news about your faith in God has gone everywhere. There is nothing, then, that we need to say. All those people speak about how you received us when we visited you, and how you turned away from idols to God, to serve the true and living God 10 and to wait for his Son to come from heaven—his Son Jesus, whom he raised from death and who rescues us from God's anger that is coming.

Paul, Silas[a](A) and Timothy,(B)

To the church of the Thessalonians(C) in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace and peace to you.(D)

Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ Faith

We always thank God for all of you(E) and continually mention you in our prayers.(F) We remember before our God and Father(G) your work produced by faith,(H) your labor prompted by love,(I) and your endurance inspired by hope(J) in our Lord Jesus Christ.

For we know, brothers and sisters[b] loved by God,(K) that he has chosen you, because our gospel(L) came to you not simply with words but also with power,(M) with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know(N) how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us(O) and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering(P) with the joy(Q) given by the Holy Spirit.(R) And so you became a model(S) to all the believers in Macedonia(T) and Achaia.(U) The Lord’s message(V) rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.(W) Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned(X) to God from idols(Y) to serve the living and true God,(Z) 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven,(AA) whom he raised from the dead(AB)—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.(AC)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Thessalonians 1:1 Greek Silvanus, a variant of Silas
  2. 1 Thessalonians 1:4 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 2:1, 9, 14, 17; 3:7; 4:1, 10, 13; 5:1, 4, 12, 14, 25, 27.