1 Thessalonians 2:9-16

New International Reader's Version

⁹ Brothers and sisters, I am sure you remember how hard we worked. We labored night and day while we preached to you God’s good news. We didn’t want to cause you any expense. ¹⁰ You are witnesses of how we lived among you believers. God is also a witness that we were holy and godly and without blame. ¹¹ You know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. ¹² We gave you hope and strength. We comforted you. We really wanted you to live in a way that is worthy of God. He chooses you to enter his glorious kingdom.

¹³ We never stop thanking God for the way you received his word. You heard it from us. But you didn’t accept it as a human word. You accepted it for what it really is. It is God’s word. It is really at work in you who believe. ¹⁴ Brothers and sisters, you became like the members of God’s churches in Judea. They are believers in Christ Jesus, just as you are. Your own people made you suffer. You went through the same things the church members in Judea suffered from the Jews. ¹⁵ The Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets also forced us to leave. They do not please God. They are enemies of everyone. ¹⁶ They try to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles. These Jews don’t want the Gentiles to be saved. In this way, these Jews always increase their sins to the limit. God’s anger has come on them at last.