Chapter One
Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus to the assembly of the Thessalonians in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are always giving thanks to God about all of you, making mention of you in our prayers, ceaselessly remembering your work of faith and labour of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ before our God and Father, knowing, brethren beloved by God, your election. Because our joyful news didn’t come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full assurance even as you know what we were among you for your sake: and you became imitators of us and of the Lord, having accepted the word in much tribulation with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you have become patterns to all those believing, in Macedonia and Achaia, for from you the word of the Lord has sounded out not only in Macedonia and Achaia but also in every place your faith towards God has spread abroad so as we have no need to say anything, for they themselves relate about us what entrance we have to you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead: Jesus who delivers us from the coming wrath.
Chapter Two
For you yourselves know brethren, our entrance which we had to you, that it hasn’t been in vain, but even having suffered before and having been insulted even as you know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak to you the joyful news of God, in much conflict. For our exhortation wasn’t of error nor of uncleanness, nor of deceit but even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the joyful news, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but rather God who proves our hearts. For neither at any time were we with a word of flattery, even as you know, nor as a pretext for covetousness, God be witness, nor seeking glory from men, neither from you nor from others though having power to be burdensome as apostles of Christ. But rather we were gentle among you as a nurse would cherish her own children. So yearning for you we were pleased to have imparted to you not only the joyful news of God, but even our own souls because you have become dear to us.
For you remember brethren our labour and toil: for working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the joyful news of God. You and God are witnesses how holily and righteously and blamelessly we were with you who believe, even as you know how we were exhorting you and consoling and testifying to each one of you, as a father his own children, so you would walk worthy of God who is calling you to his own kingdom and glory. Because of this too we give thanks to God ceaselessly that having received the word of God as you heard it from us you accepted it not as the word of men but rather even as it truly is - God’s word, which also works in you who believe.
For you became imitators brethren, of God’s assemblies which are in Judaea in Christ Jesus, in that you too have suffered the same things from your own countrymen even as they too from the Jews, who have killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out and are not pleasing God and are against all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles so that they might be saved, so as to fill up their sins always and the wrath has come on them decisively.
And we brethren, having been bereaved for a short time of your presence, but not in heart, were even more eager to see your face with great desire, so that we wanted to come to you, even I, Paul, and Satan hindered us not once but twice. For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Aren’t even you in the presence of Jesus Christ at his coming? For you are our glory and joy.
Chapter Three
So then putting up with it no longer, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, and sent Timothy our brother and minister of God and our fellow worker in the joyful news of Christ, so as to establish you and encourage you about your faith, so that no one is moved by these tribulations, for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this, for indeed when we were with you we told you beforehand we were about to suffer tribulation even as it came to pass and you know. Because of this I too, no longer forebearing, sent to know your faith lest perhaps he who tempts has tempted you and our labour should be in vain.
But now Timotheus having come to us from you, and having announced to us the joyful news of your faith and love and that you have always good remembrance of us, longing to see us even as also we you. Because of this, brethren, we were comforted about you, in all our tribulation and distress through your faith, for now we live if you are standing fast in the Lord. For what thanksgiving we can give to God about you for all the joy with which we rejoice on your account before our God, night and day praying exceedingly to see your face to perfect the things lacking in your faith! And may God himself, both our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you to increase and abound in love towards each other and towards all, even as we too towards you, to establish your hearts blameless in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
Chapter Four
For the rest then brethren we ask you and beg you in the Lord Jesus, even as you have received from us how you ought to walk and please God, so that you would abound more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is God’s will: your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication, each of you to know how to keep his own vessel in sanctification and honour, not in passionate lust as the nations who don’t know God, not to go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter, because the Lord is the avenger about all these things even as also we told you before and have fully testified.
For God hasn’t called us to uncleanness but to sanctification. So then he that puts this aside isn’t putting man aside but God, who has also given his Holy Spirit to us.
Now about brotherly love you’ve no need for me to write to you, for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another. For you too do this towards all the brethren in the whole of Macedonia, but we beg you brethren to abound more, and to aspire to be quiet and to do your own things and to work with your own hands even as we enjoined you, so that you may walk as is fitting towards those outside and may have need of no one.
And I don’t want you to be ignorant brethren about those who have fallen asleep, so that you aren’t grieved even as the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. For we say this to you in the word of the Lord, that we, the living, who remain to the coming of the Lord, will in no way anticipate those who are fallen asleep, because the Lord himself with a shout of command, with an archangel’s voice and with the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise first, then we the living ones remaining, together with them will be caught away in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we will be always with the Lord. So comfort each other with these words.
Chapter Five
But about the times and the seasons brethren you have no need to be written to, for you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they are saying ‘Peace and security!’ then suddenly destruction comes upon them, as labour to her that is with child, and in no way will they escape. But you brethren aren’t in darkness so that the day should overtake you like a thief, you are all sons of light and sons of day, we aren’t of night nor of darkness! So then we shouldn’t sleep like the rest but rather we should stay awake and be sober, for they that sleep, sleep in the night and they that are drunk get drunk at night, but we being of the day should be sober having put on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of the hope of salvation, for God hasn’t appointed us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we watch or sleep we may live together with him. So then comfort each other and build up one another even as also you do.
And we ask you brethren to know those labouring among you and taking the lead for you in the Lord and advising you, and to esteem them very highly in love on account of their work. Be at peace in yourselves, but we beg you brethren, admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint hearted, support the weak, be patient towards all.
See that no one pays evil for evil to anyone but always follow good both towards one another and towards all, rejoice always, pray unceasingly, in everything give thanks for this is God’s will in Christ Jesus for you; don’t quench the Spirit; don’t set prophesies at nought; test all things, hold fast to the good; abstain from every form of wickedness.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one calling you is faithful who will also perform it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I adjure you by the Lord that the letter be read to all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you in truth.
First to the Thessalonians written from Athens
This translation,
from the Greek Text used for the ‘Authorized’ or ‘King James’ Version
Copyright © David Lawrie 1998
Chapter One
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the assembly of Thessalonians in God our Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
We must thank God always about you brethren even as it is fitting, because your faith is increasing extremely and the love of each one of you all abounds towards each other, so that we ourselves boast about you in God’s assemblies because of your endurance and faith in all your persecutions and afflictions which you are bearing: an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of God so you may be reckoned worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering, if at least it is a righteous thing for God to recompense affliction to those who oppress you, and to you who are oppressed rest with us, in the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with angels of his power, in a fire of flame taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the joyful news of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will suffer the penalty, everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, when he will have come to be glorified in his saints and be wondered at in all those who believe, (because our testimony to you was believed) in that day.
For which we pray always for you so that our God may count you worthy of the calling, and fulfil every good pleasure of goodness and the work of faith with power, 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 of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Chapter Two
Now we ask you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, that you be not quickly shaken in your mind nor troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as if from us, as that the day of Christ is present. No one should deceive you in any way, because it is only if the apostasy has come first and the man of sin has been revealed: the son of perdition, the one opposing and exalting himself above all called God or an object of veneration, so as for him to sit down in the temple of God, as God, setting up himself that he is God.
Do you not remember that yet being with you I said these things to you? And now that which restrains you know for he will be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already working, only he who is restraining at present until he go out of the midst, and then will the lawless one be revealed - whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth and abolish by the appearing of his coming - whose coming is according to the working of Satan in every power and signs and wonders of falsehood, and in every deceit of unrighteousness in those who are perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as they might be saved.
And because of this God will send to them a working of error so they will believe what is false, so that all who did not believe the truth, but delighted in unrighteousness, may be judged.
And we ought to give thanks to God always about you brethren, beloved by the Lord, that God chose you from the beginning to salvation, in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth to which he has called you, through our joyful news, to the obtaining of our Lord Jesus Christ’s glory. So then brethren, stand firm and hold fast the traditions you have been taught whether through word or through our letter.
And our Lord Jesus Christ himself and our God and Father who loved us and has given everlasting comfort and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.
Chapter Three
For the rest, pray brethren for us so that the word of the Lord may spread and be glorified even as also with you, and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil men for not all have the faith. But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and keep you from evil. And we trust in the Lord as to you, that you are both doing and will do the things we charge you. And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.
And we charge you brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you withdraw yourselves from every brother walking in a disorderly manner and not according to the tradition he received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us because we didn’t behave in a disorderly manner among you, nor did we eat free bread from anyone, but in labour and toil working day and night in order not to be burdensome to any of you. Not that we do not have authority but rather so that we might give ourselves as a pattern to you to imitate us.
For also when we were with you, this we charged you that if anyone does not want to work: neither let him eat. For we hear some are walking among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but being busybodies. Now such we charge and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that working with quietness they may eat their own bread.
And you, brethren, do not lose heart in well-doing; and if’ anyone does not obey our word through the letter, mark that man and do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed. And do not count him as an enemy but rather admonish him as a brother.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace always, in every way. The Lord be with you all.
The salutation of Paul by my own hand which is the sign in every epistle: thus I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with you all. Truly.
Second to the Thessalonians written from Athens.
This translation,
from the Greek Text used for the ‘Authorized’ or ‘King James’ Version
Copyright © David Lawrie 1998
