13 And (A)we also thank God constantly[a] for this, that when you received (B)the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it (C)not as the word of men[b] but as what it really is, the word of God, (D)which is at work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers, (E)became imitators of (F)the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For (G)you suffered the same things from your own countrymen (H)as they did from the Jews,[c] 15 (I)who killed both the Lord Jesus and (J)the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and (K)oppose all mankind 16 (L)by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always (M)to fill up the measure of their sins. But (N)wrath has come upon them at last![d]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Or without ceasing
  2. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women
  3. 1 Thessalonians 2:14 The Greek word Ioudaioi can refer to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, who opposed the Christian faith in that time
  4. 1 Thessalonians 2:16 Or completely, or forever

13 Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.

14 And then, dear brothers and sisters, you suffered persecution from your own countrymen. In this way, you imitated the believers in God’s churches in Judea who, because of their belief in Christ Jesus, suffered from their own people, the Jews. 15 For some of the Jews killed the prophets, and some even killed the Lord Jesus. Now they have persecuted us, too. They fail to please God and work against all humanity 16 as they try to keep us from preaching the Good News of salvation to the Gentiles. By doing this, they continue to pile up their sins. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last.

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