Greeting

Paul, Silvanus,[a](A) and Timothy:(B)

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

Grace to you and peace.[b]

Thanksgiving

We always thank God for all of you, making mention of you constantly in our prayers. We recall, in the presence of our God and Father,(D) your work produced by faith,(E) your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.(F) For we know, brothers and sisters loved(G) by God,(H) that he has chosen you,(I) because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit,(J) and with full assurance. You know how we lived among you(K) for your benefit, and you yourselves became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message(L) with joy from the Holy Spirit. As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia(M) and Achaia.(N) For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith[c](O) in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything, for they themselves report[d] what kind of reception(P) we had from you: how you turned(Q) to God from idols(R) to serve the living(S) and true(T) God 10 and to wait(U) for his Son(V) from heaven, whom he raised from the dead(W)—Jesus, who rescues us(X) from the coming wrath.(Y)

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 Or Silas; Ac 15:22–32; 16:19–40; 17:1–16
  2. 1:1 Other mss add from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
  3. 1:8 Or in every place news of your faith
  4. 1:9 Lit report about us

Greeting

From Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy.

To the Thessalonians’ church that is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace to all of you.

Thanksgiving to God

We always thank God for all of you when we mention you constantly in our prayers. This is because we remember your work that comes from faith,[a] your effort that comes from love, and your perseverance that comes from hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father. Brothers and sisters, you are loved by God, and we know that he has chosen you. We know this because our good news didn’t come to you just in speech but also with power and the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know as well as we do what kind of people we were when we were with you, which was for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord when you accepted the message that came from the Holy Spirit with joy in spite of great suffering. As a result you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The message about the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia but in every place. The news about your faithfulness to God has spread so that we don’t even need to mention it. People tell us about what sort of welcome we had from you and how you turned to God from idols. As a result, you are serving[b] the living and true God, 10 and you are waiting for his Son from heaven. His Son is Jesus, who is the one he raised from the dead and who is the one who will rescue us from the coming wrath.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 Or faithfulness
  2. 1 Thessalonians 1:9 Or to become slaves of

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.