Greetings to the Thessalonians 1Paul, Silvanus,a and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2Grace and peace to you from God our Fatherb and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing. 4That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring. Christ’s Coming 5All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels 8in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might, 10on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our testimony. 11To this end, we always pray for you, that our God will count you worthy of His calling, and that He will powerfully fulfill your every good desire and work of faith,
12so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.c 1 a That is, Silas 2 b SBL, NE, and WH God the Father 12 c Or the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ. The Man of Lawlessness 1Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers, 2not to be easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has already come. 3Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed. 4He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5Do you not remember that I told you these things while I was still with you? 6And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival. 9The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder, 10and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. 11For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie, 12in order that judgment may come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness. Stand Firm 13But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginninga to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth. 14To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15Therefore, brothers, stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter. 16Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope,
17encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed. 13 a Or God has chosen you as the firstfruits Request for Prayer 1Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor, just as it was with you. 2And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men; for not everyone holds to the faith. 3But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.a 4And we have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. 5May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. A Warning against Idleness 6Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you receivedb from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you, 8nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9Not that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate. 10For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.” 11Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies. 12We command and urge such people by our Lord Jesus Christ to begin working quietly to earn their own living. 13But as for you, brothers, do not grow weary in well-doing. 14Take note of anyone who does not obey the instructions we have given in this letter. Do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed. 15Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. Signature and Final Greetings 16Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. 17This greeting is in my own hand—Paul. This is my mark in every letter; it is the way I write. 18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.c 3 a Or from evil 6 b Or they received 18 c BYZ and TR include Amen. The Berean Bible (www.Berean.Bible) Berean Study Bible (BSB) © 2016, 2018 by Bible Hub and Berean.Bible. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Free downloads and licensing available. See also the Berean Literal Bible and Berean Interlinear Bible. Bible Hub |
    |