I Thessalonians 1-3

I Thessalonians 1

¹Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

²We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;

³remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labour of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father;

⁴knowing, brethren beloved of God, your election,

⁵how that our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; even as ye know what manner of men we shewed ourselves toward you for your sake.

⁶And ye became imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost;

⁷so that ye became an ensample to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia.

⁸For from you hath sounded forth the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith to God-ward is gone forth; so that we need not to speak anything.

⁹For they themselves report concerning us what manner of entering in we had unto you; and how ye turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true God,

¹⁰and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivereth us from the wrath to come.

I Thessalonians 2

¹For yourselves, brethren, know our entering in unto you, that it hath not been found vain:

²but having suffered before, and been shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we waxed bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God in much conflict.

³For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:

⁴but even as we have been approved of God to be intrusted with the gospel, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God which proveth our hearts.

⁵For neither at any time were we found using words of flattery, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness, God is witness;

⁶nor seeking glory of men, neither from you, nor from others, when we might have been burdensome, as apostles of Christ.

⁷But we were gentle in the midst of you, as when a nurse cherisheth her own children:

⁸even so, being affectionately desirous of you, we were well pleased to impart unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were become very dear to us.

⁹For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: working night and day, that we might not burden any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.

¹⁰Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and righteously and unblameably we behaved ourselves toward you that believe:

¹¹as ye know how we dealt with each one of you, as a father with his own children, exhorting you, and encouraging you, and testifying,

¹²to the end that ye should walk worthily of God, who calleth you into his own kingdom and glory.

¹³And for this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when ye received from us the word of the message, even the word of God, ye accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also worketh in you that believe.

¹⁴For ye, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judaea in Christ Jesus: for ye also suffered the same things of your own countrymen, even as they did of the Jews;

¹⁵who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drave out us, and please not God, and are contrary to all men;

¹⁶forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved; to fill up their sins alway: but the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

¹⁷But we, brethren, being bereaved of you for a short season, in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more exceedingly to see your face with great desire:

¹⁸because we would fain have come unto you, I Paul once and again; and Satan hindered us.

¹⁹For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of glorying? Are not even ye, before our Lord Jesus at his coming?

²⁰For ye are our glory and our joy.

I Thessalonians 3

¹Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left behind at Athens alone;

²and sent Timothy, our brother and God’s minister in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith;

³that no man be moved by these afflictions; for yourselves know that hereunto we are appointed.

⁴For verily, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we are to suffer affliction; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

⁵For this cause I also, when I could no longer forbear, sent that I might know your faith, lest by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labour should be in vain.

⁶But when Timothy came even now unto us from you, and brought us glad tidings of your faith and love, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, longing to see us, even as we also to see you;

⁷for this cause, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our distress and affliction through your faith:

⁸for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.

⁹For what thanksgiving can we render again unto God for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;

¹⁰night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face, and may perfect that which is lacking in your faith?

¹¹Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way unto you:

¹²and the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we also do toward you;

¹³to the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.