1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:9

Contemporary English Version

1 ^(A) From Paul, Silas,^[a] and Timothy.

To the church in Thessalonica, the people of God the Father and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I pray that God will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

² We thank God for you and always mention you in our prayers. Each time we pray, ³ we tell God our Father about your faith and loving work and about your firm hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Thessalonians' Faith and Example

⁴ My dear friends, God loves you, and we know he has chosen you to be his people. ⁵ When we told you the good news, it was with the power and assurance that come from the Holy Spirit, and not simply with words. You knew what kind of people we were and how we helped you. ^6 (B) So, when you accepted the message, you followed our example and the example of the Lord. You suffered, but the Holy Spirit made you glad.

⁷ You became an example for all the Lord's followers in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸ And because of you, the Lord's message has spread everywhere in those regions. Now the news of your faith in God is known all over the world, and we don't have to say a thing about it. ⁹ Everyone is talking about how you welcomed us and how you turned away from idols to serve the true and living God. ¹⁰ They also tell how you are waiting for his Son Jesus to come from heaven. God raised him from death, and on the day of judgment Jesus will save us from God's anger.

Paul's Work in Thessalonica

2 My friends, you know our time with you wasn't wasted. ^2 (C) As you remember, we had been mistreated and insulted at Philippi. But God gave us the courage to tell you the good news about him, even though many people caused us trouble. ³ We didn't have any hidden motives when we won you over, and we didn't try to fool or trick anyone. ⁴ God was pleased to trust us with his message. We didn't speak to please people, but to please God who knows our motives.

⁵ You also know we didn't try to flatter anyone. God himself knows what we did wasn't a cover-up for greed. ⁶ We were not trying to get you or anyone else to praise us. ⁷ But as apostles, we could have demanded help from you. After all, Christ is the one who sent us. We chose to be like children or like a mother^[b] nursing her baby. ⁸ We cared so much for you, and you became so dear to us, that we were willing to give our lives for you when we gave you God's message.

⁹ My dear friends, you surely haven't forgotten our hard work and hardships. You remember how night and day we struggled to make a living, so we could tell you God's message without being a burden to anyone.