Book of Common Prayer

He thanks God for their faith and love, and prays for the increase of the same.

1 Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy.

To the congregation of the Thessalonians who are in God our Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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

³ We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because your faith grows exceedingly, and every one of you swims in love toward another between yourselves, ⁴ so that we ourselves rejoice over you in the congregations of God – over your patience and faith in all the persecutions and tribulations that you suffer, ⁵ which is a sign of the righteous judgment of God, that you are counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer.

⁶ It is surely a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to those who trouble you; ⁷ and to you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shows himself from heaven with his mighty angels, ⁸ in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to those who do not know God, and to those who will not heed the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ These shall be punished with everlasting damnation, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, ¹⁰ when he comes to be glorified in his saints and to be made marvelous in all who believe, because our testimony to you was believed even the same day that we preached it.

¹¹ Therefore we pray always for you, that our God would make you worthy of the calling, and would fulfil all pleasure in goodness and the work of faith with power, ¹² so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in him, through the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵³ And every man went to his own house.

A woman is caught in adultery. Christ delivers her. The freedom of those who follow Christ. They accuse him of having the devil with him, and go about to stone him.

8 And Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, ² and early in the morning came again into the temple. And all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. ³ And the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery, and set her in the midst, ⁴ and said to him, Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, even in the act. ⁵ Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned. What therefore do you say?

⁶ And they said this to bait him, to have something to accuse him of.

Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. ⁷ And while they continued asking him, he lifted himself up and said to them, Let him who is without sin among you, cast the first stone at her. ⁸ And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

⁹ And as soon as they heard that, they went out one by one, the eldest first. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the centre. ¹⁰ When Jesus lifted up himself again and saw no one but the woman, he said to her, Woman, where are they, your accusers? Has no one condemned you? ¹¹ She said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.