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

Greetings

From:[a] Paul, Silvanus,[b] and Timothy.

To: The church of the Thessalonians in union with God the Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.[c]

May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[d] be yours!

Paul’s Prayer for the Thessalonians

We always thank God for all of you when we mention you in our prayers. In the presence of our God and Father, we constantly remember how your faith is active,[e] your love is hard at work,[f] and your hope in our Lord Jesus the Messiah[g] is enduring.[h] Brothers whom God loves, we know that he has chosen you, for the gospel we brought[i] did not come to you in words only, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. Indeed,[j] you know what kind of people we proved to be while we were with you, acting on your behalf.

You became imitators of us and of the Lord. In spite of a great deal of suffering, you welcomed the word with the joy that the Holy Spirit produces.[k] As a result, you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. From you the word of the Lord has spread out not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place where your faith in God has become known. As a result, we do not need to say anything about it.

For people[l] keep telling us what kind of welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve a living and true God 10 and to wait for his Son whom he raised from the dead to come back[m] from heaven. This Jesus is the one who rescues us from the coming wrath.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Thessalonians 1:1 The Gk. lacks From
  2. 1 Thessalonians 1:1 I.e. Silas
  3. 1 Thessalonians 1:1 Or Christ
  4. 1 Thessalonians 1:1 Or Christ; other mss. lack from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah
  5. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 Lit. your work of faith
  6. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 Lit. your labor of love
  7. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 Or Christ
  8. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 Lit. the endurance of hope of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah
  9. 1 Thessalonians 1:5 Lit. our gospel
  10. 1 Thessalonians 1:5 Lit. Just as
  11. 1 Thessalonians 1:6 Or the joy of the Holy Spirit
  12. 1 Thessalonians 1:9 Lit. they
  13. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 The Gk. lacks to come back