Final Exhortations and Greetings

¹² We ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who labor among you, and are appointed over you in the Lord, and instruct you. ¹³ Esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves. ¹⁴ Now we exhort you, brothers, warn those who are unruly, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak, and be patient toward everyone. ¹⁵ See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone. But always seek to do good to one another and to all.

¹⁶ Rejoice always. ¹⁷ Pray without ceasing. ¹⁸ In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not despise prophecies. ²¹ Examine all things. Firmly hold onto what is good. ²² Abstain from all appearances of evil.

²³ May the very God of peace sanctify you completely. And I pray to God that your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it.

²⁵ Brothers, pray for us. ²⁶ Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. ²⁷ I command you by the Lord that this letter be read to all the holy brothers.

²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Salutation

1 Paul, and Silas, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Judgment at Christ’s Coming

³ We are bound to thank God always for you, brothers, as it is fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you abounds toward each other. ⁴ So we boast about you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you are enduring.

⁵ This is evidence that God’s judgment, being righteous, will count you worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are suffering. ⁶ It is a righteous matter with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, ⁷ and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, ⁸ in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ They shall be punished with eternal destruction, isolated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, ¹⁰ when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be marveled at by all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.

¹¹ Therefore we always pray for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling and with power fulfill all your good desires and works done by faith, ¹² so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Man of Lawlessness

2 Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and concerning our gathering together unto Him, we ask you ² not to let your mind be quickly shaken or be troubled, neither in spirit nor by word, nor by letter coming as though from us, as if the day of Christ is already here. ³ Do not let anyone deceive you in any way. For that Day will not come unless a falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself as God.

⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? ⁶ Now you know what restrains him that he might be revealed in his time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already working. Only He who is now restraining him will do so until He is taken out of the way. ⁸ Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth, and destroy with the brightness of His presence, ⁹ even him, whose coming is in accordance with the working of Satan with all power and signs and false wonders, ¹⁰ and with all deception of unrighteousness among those who perish, because they did not receive the love for the truth that they might be saved. ¹¹ Therefore God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie: ¹² that they all might be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Chosen for Salvation

¹³ But we are bound to always give thanks to God for you, beloved brothers of the Lord, because God has from the beginning called you to salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief of the truth. ¹⁴ To this He called you by our gospel, to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or by our letter.

¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, who has loved us and has given us eternal consolation and good hope through grace, ¹⁷ comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

Pray for Us

3 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may quickly spread and be glorified, even as it did with you. ² And pray that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, for not all men have faith. ³ But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. ⁴ We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will do the things which we command you. ⁵ May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Warning Against Idleness

⁶ Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother who walks in idleness and not according to the tradition that he received from us. ⁷ For you know how you should follow us. For we were not idle among you, ⁸ neither did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but we worked tirelessly and toiled night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ We did this, not because we did not have that right, but to make ourselves an example for you to follow. ¹⁰ For when we were with you, we commanded you that if any will not work, neither shall he eat.

¹¹ For we hear that there are some among you who live in idleness, mere busybodies, not working at all. ¹² Now, concerning those who are such, we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ that they quietly work and eat their own bread. ¹³ But you, brothers, do not be weary in doing good.

¹⁴ If anyone does not obey our word in this letter, note that man, and do not socialize with him, so that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵ Still, do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

Benediction

¹⁶ Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.

¹⁷ I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is the distinguishing mark in every letter: So I write.

¹⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

⁴ He lectured in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded Jews and Greeks.

⁵ When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul was pressed by the Spirit and testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. ⁶ But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your heads. I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁷ Then he departed from there and entered the house of a man named Justus, one who worshipped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. ⁸ Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians, who heard, believed and were baptized.

⁹ The Lord spoke to Paul in the night through a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent. ¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one shall attack you and hurt you, for I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ So for a year and six months he sat among them, teaching the word of God.

¹² When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews in unity attacked Paul and brought him to court, ¹³ saying, “This man is persuading men to worship God contrary to the law.”

¹⁴ When Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “O Jews, if it were a matter of a misdemeanor or serious crime, I would rightly bear with you. ¹⁵ But if it is a question of words and names and your law, look into it yourselves. For I do not intend to be a judge of these matters.” ¹⁶ So he drove them out of court. ¹⁷ Then all the Greeks seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. But none of these things mattered to Gallio.

Paul’s Return to Antioch

¹⁸ Yet Paul remained many days. He had his hair cut in Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow. Then, bidding farewell to the brothers, he sailed to Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. ¹⁹ He arrived at Ephesus and left them there. But he himself went into the synagogue and lectured the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to remain for a while longer, he did not consent, ²¹ but, bidding farewell, said, “I must by all means attend this upcoming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return to you if God wills.” And he set sail from Ephesus. ²² When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.

²³ After spending some time there, he departed and passed through the entire region of Galatia and Phrygia in sequence, strengthening all the disciples.