Biblical Prophecy Resource Center - The Holy Bible

Pauls First Letter to the Thessalonians

Chapter 2

¹For you yourselves know, brothers, our visit to you wasn’t in vain, ²but having suffered before and been shamefully treated, as you^a know, at Philippi, we grew bold in our God to tell you the Good News of God in much conflict. ³For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in deception. ⁴But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts. ⁵For neither were we at any time found using words of flattery, as you^a know, nor a cloak of covetousness (God is witness), ⁶nor seeking glory from men (neither from you nor from others), when we might have claimed authority as apostles of Christ. ⁷But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother cherishes her own children.

⁸Even so, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you, not the Good News of God only, but also our own souls, because you^a had become very dear to us. ⁹For you^a remember, brothers, our labor and travail; for working night and day, that we might not burden any of you, we preached to you the Good News of God. ¹⁰You^a are witnesses with God, how holy, righteously, and blamelessly we behaved ourselves toward you who believe. ¹¹As you^a know, we exhorted, comforted, and implored every one of you, as a father does his own children, ¹²to the end that you^a should walk worthily of God, who calls you into his own Kingdom and glory. ¹³For this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when you^a received from us the word of the message of God, you^a accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also works in you who believe. ¹⁴For you^a, brothers, became imitators of the assemblies of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus; for you^a also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews; ¹⁵who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out, and didn’t please God, and are contrary to all men; ¹⁶forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved; to fill up their sins always. But wrath has come on them to the uttermost.

¹⁷But we, brothers, being bereaved of you for a short season, in presence, not in heart, tried even harder to see your face with great desire, ¹⁸because we wanted to come to you—indeed, I, Paul, once and again—but Satan hindered us. ¹⁹For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Isn’t it even you^a, before our Lord Jesus^b at his coming? ²⁰For you^a are our glory and our joy.

^a In the original language, this word is plural.
^b TR adds “Christ”

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Last updated on December 31, 2008 at 6:25 PM