How the Thessalonians Welcomed the Gospel

¹³ Here is another reason why we constantly give thanks to God: When you received God’s word, which you heard from us, you did not accept it as the word of humans but for what it really is—the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. ¹⁴ For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in union with the Messiah^[a] Jesus. You suffered the same persecutions from the people of your own country as they did from those Jews ¹⁵ who killed the Lord Jesus and the^[b] prophets, who have persecuted us, and who please neither God nor any group of people, ¹⁶ as they try to keep us from telling the gentiles how they can be saved. As a result, they are constantly adding to the number of sins they have committed.^[c] However, wrath has overtaken them at last!