unfoldingWord_en_BP_Paratext/UST/531THust.SFM

\id 1TH EN_UST en_English_ltr Thu Feb 02 2023 13:19:45 GMT-0600 (Central Standard Time) tc
\usfm 3.0
\ide UTF-8
\h 1 Thessalonians
\toc1 The First Letter to the Thessalonians
\toc2 First Thessalonians
\toc3 1Th
\mt1 1 Thessalonians
\c 1
\p
\v 1 \add I,\add* Paul, \add write this letter to you,\add* and Silas and Timothy \add are with me\add*. \add I send this letter\add* to \add you,\add* the group of believers in the city of Thessalonica. God the Father has united you to himself and to the Lord Jesus the Messiah. \add May God continue to be\add* kind to you and \add make you\add* peaceful.
\p
\v 2 We pray for you persistently. \add When we do,\add* we consistently thank God for all of you.
\v 3 We thank our God and Father for what you do because you trust \add in him\add*. \add We thank him\add* for the way that you help people because you love \add them\add*. \add We thank him\add* for the way that you patiently endure because you confidently expect our Lord Jesus the Messiah \add to come again\add*.
\v 4 \add We thank God because\add* we know that he chose you, fellow believers whom God loves.
\v 5 \add We know that God chose you,\add* because when we told you the good news, we did not just say words. Rather, the Holy Spirit also powerfully worked \add through us\add*, and we were sure that the good news was true. In the same way, you remember how we acted to help you when we were with you.
\v 6 As for you, you acted as we do and as the Lord \add Jesus\add* did. Specifically, when you believed the good news, you suffered greatly, but the Holy Spirit caused you to rejoice.
\v 7 Because \add you acted in those ways\add*, all the believers in the provinces of Macedonia and Achaia want to act as you do.
\v 8 In fact, many people \add who live\add* in the provinces of Macedonia and Achaia have heard the message about the Lord \add Jesus\add* because of you. Even more, people in very many places have heard about how you trust in God. As a result, we do not need to tell people anything \add about what God has done for you\add*.
\v 9 Indeed, those same people tell others about how well it went when we visited you. \add They say that\add* you stopped caring about other gods \add and began to focus on\add* God so that you could worship and obey him, the only real God.
\v 10 Further, \add they say that you focused on God\add* so that you could eagerly anticipate when God’s Son \add will come back\add* from \add where he is in\add* heaven. God made Jesus alive again, and Jesus is the one who will save us \add who believe in him\add* at the time when God will punish people \add for their sins\add*.
\c 2
\p
\v 1 Fellow believers, you surely remember that when we visited you, it was very productive.
\v 2 As you remember, when we were in the city of Philippi, people hurt us and abused us. However, our God made us confident when we told you the good news from God, despite how hard it was \add to do\add*.
\v 3 \add When\add* we encouraged \add you to believe the good news, we did\add* not convince you to believe an incorrect message. \add We did\add* not say or do unclean things. \add We did\add* not deceive you.
\v 4 Rather, we speak as people whom God has tested and approved to proclaim the good news. We are not \add trying\add* to please people. Instead, \add we are trying to please\add* God. He is the one who tests what we think and desire.
\v 5 In fact, when we visited you, we did not flatter you or pretend not to want money. You remember \add that this is true\add*, and God testifies \add that it is true\add*.
\v 6 \add We did\add* not desire that people would honor us. \add We did not desire this\add* from you or from anyone else.
\v 7 Since the Messiah sent us to represent him, we could have required you to obey us and give us whatever we wanted. However, when we were with you, we acted as gentle as babies. \add We were\add* like mothers who lovingly take care of their children.
\v 8 Since we care for you in those ways, we delighted to share the good news from God with you. Even more, \add we delighted to share\add* our own lives \add with you\add*. \add That is\add* because we started to love you \add very much\add*.
\v 9 Fellow believers, \add I know that\add* you recall how hard we labored. We worked all day long so that we would not have to bother any of you \add by asking for money\add*. \add That was how we acted when\add* we told you the good news from God.
\v 10 Both you and God can testify that we did what was good and right \add when we were\add* with you who trust \add in God\add*.
\v 11 You remember that \add we behaved\add* toward every one of you as a father \add behaves toward\add* his own children.
\v 12 \add That means that we\add* were teaching you and urging you so that you would live the way that God wants \add his people to live\add*. He is the one who invites you to participate in his kingdom and in how great he is.
\p
\v 13 Further, we consistently thank God that you accepted what you heard about God in our message. You did not consider it to be a merely human message. Rather, \add you considered it to be\add* a message from God, which is what it really is. This message is changing you who trust \add in God\add*.
\v 14-15 Now \add unbelieving\add* Jews not only killed the prophets \add long ago\add*, but they also \add recently\add* killed the Lord Jesus and forced us to leave \add your city\add*. These unbelieving Jews also persecuted the believers \add who live in the region of Judea\add*. In fact, fellow believers, you have become like these groups of believers in Judea whom God has united to Jesus the Messiah. \add That is\add* because people from your own country persecute you, just as \add the unbelieving Jews persecuted the believers in Judea\add*. These \add unbelieving\add* Jews do not please God, and they act against most people.
\v 16 They try to stop us from telling \add the good news\add* to non-Jews, \add which we do\add* so that God saves non-Jews. So, \add these unbelieving Jews\add* consistently continue to sin. However, God will completely punish them!
\p
\v 17 In contrast, fellow believers, we very eagerly desired to be with you in person, even though we had to leave you for a little while. Although we were physically absent, we always thought and cared about you.
\v 18 Indeed, we wanted to visit you. Specifically, I myself, Paul, \add tried to visit\add* several times. However, \add each time,\add* Satan stopped us \add from visiting\add*.
\v 19 \add We wanted to visit you\add* because it is you who enable us to hope and to rejoice and to say great things about you, who honor us. \add We know that this will be true\add* when our Lord Jesus examines everyone after he returns to this world.
\v 20 Indeed, you honor us and make us rejoice!
\c 3
\p
\v 1 So then, because we \add felt like we\add* could not possibly wait any longer, we decided that just Silas and I should stay behind in the city of Athens.
\v 2 Then, Silas and I had Timothy visit you. \add He is\add* our fellow believer and serves God by \add proclaiming\add* the good news about the Messiah. \add We had him visit you\add* so that he could support and encourage you as you trust \add in God\add*.
\v 3 That way, when people hurt \add you\add*, you do not become unsure \add as you trust in God\add*. In fact, you are well aware that \add God\add* already decided that people would hurt us \add believers\add*.
\v 4 \add You are well aware of that\add* because, while we \add apostles\add* were visiting you, we warned you ahead of time that others were about to hurt us \add believers\add*. You are well aware that this is exactly what occurred.
\v 5 Because \add others have hurt us believers\add*, and because I \add felt like I\add* could not possibly wait any longer, I had \add Timothy\add* visit you. \add I wanted\add* to learn if you were still trusting \add in God\add*. \add I was concerned that\add* the devil might have \add succeeded in\add* tempting you \add to stop trusting in God\add*. \add If that were true,\add* how hard we had worked among you would have accomplished nothing!
\p
\v 6 However, Timothy recently returned to Silas and me after visiting you. He gave us good news about how much you trust \add God\add* and love \add each other\add*. \add He told us\add* that whenever you think about us, it makes you happy. \add He also told us that\add* you desire to be with us, just as we \add desire to be with\add* you.
\v 7 Fellow believers, because of what \add Timothy told us\add*, although people were persecuting and hurting us often, God used how you continue to trust \add in him\add* to encourage us that you \add are doing well\add*.
\v 8 Indeed, since you continue \add to trust\add* in the Lord \add Jesus\add*, we feel much better now!
\v 9 In fact, we cannot thank God enough for you! We are extremely happy about you \add whenever we pray\add* to our God.
\v 10 All day long we urgently ask \add God\add* to allow us to visit you and help you increase how much you trust \add in God\add*.
\p
\v 11 \add We pray that\add* God our Father and our Lord Jesus will enable us to visit you \add again\add*!
\v 12 \add We pray that\add* the Lord \add Jesus\add* will cause you always to love each other and all people more and more. That is how we love you!
\v 13 \add We pray those things\add* so that God will make you spiritually strong. \add That way,\add* God our Father will consider you to be faultlessly pure. \add He will do that\add* when our Lord Jesus returns to this world, \add bringing\add* with him everyone who belongs to him. May it be so!
\c 4
\p
\v 1 So then, fellow believers, \add here is\add* the rest \add of what I want to write to you\add*. \add When we visited you,\add* we taught you how you should behave in a way that honors God, and that is how you are behaving! Now we urge you, because God has united you to the Lord Jesus, to continue to behave in this way more and more.
\v 2 You remember what we commanded you \add to do as we spoke\add* for the Lord Jesus.
\p
\v 3 For example, God desires that you act in pure ways. That means that you should not have improper sex.
\v 4 \add That also means that\add* you all should learn to control how you desire to have sex. \add That way,\add* you will be acting purely and honoring \add God\add*.
\v 5 \add You should\add* not have any improper sex that you greatly desire. That is what non-Jews who do not trust in God do.
\v 6 \add You should do what God desires\add* concerning having sex so that you will not sin by mistreating a fellow believer. \add You should avoid sinning in that way\add* because the Lord \add Jesus\add* will punish \add all people who have\add* any kind of improper sex. We already declared that to you \add when we were with you\add*.
\v 7 Indeed, God chose us so that we would belong to him. \add He did\add* not \add choose us\add* so that we would do impure things.
\v 8 So then, anyone who disobeys \add what we have commanded you\add* is not \add simply\add* disobeying a human. Rather, \add that person is disobeying\add* God. He is the one who sends the Holy Spirit to you.
\p
\v 9 We do not have to tell you anything about how to care for fellow believers. \add That is\add* because God instructed you so that you care for each other.
\v 10 \add That is\add* also because you \add already\add* care for all the fellow believers throughout Macedonia \add province\add*. Fellow believers, we exhort you \add to care for fellow believers\add* even more.
\v 11 \add We\add* also \add exhort you\add* to try very earnestly to live peacefully, to focus on your own tasks, and to earn what you need to live. In fact, \add that is\add* what we told you to do \add when we were with you\add*.
\v 12 \add We urge you to do these things,\add* so that you can set a good example toward those who do not believe in the Messiah \add by how modestly you live.\add* Then you would not have to depend \add on others\add* to provide what you need \add to live\add*.
\p
\v 13 Also, \add our\add* fellow believers in the Messiah, we want you to be aware about \add what will happen to\add* believers in the Messiah who are dead. You should not be like the rest of humanity, which does not believe in the Messiah. They are deeply sad because they do not confidently expect that people will resurrect after death.
\v 14 Certainly, we \add apostles\add* are convinced that Jesus died and resurrected. This is why we also are convinced that God will \add resurrect\add* the dead people who are united to Jesus. Then God will send them back with Jesus \add when he returns to earth again\add*.
\v 15 In fact, what we \add apostles\add* are now telling you is a message from the Lord \add Jesus himself\add*. When the Lord \add Jesus\add* comes again\add , all believers in the Messiah will greet him\add*. First, those \add believers in the Messiah\add* who have \add already\add* died will certainly greet him, and then we \add believers in the Messiah\add* who are still alive.
\v 16 \add This is how\add* the Lord \add Jesus\add* will come down from heaven: the Lord \add Jesus\add* himself will personally give the command \add for all to resurrect\add*. The chief angel will shout. God’s trumpet will blast. Then \add all\add* the dead who are united to the Messiah will be the first to resurrect \add from the earth\add*.
\v 17 After that, God will snatch up all of us believers in the Messiah who are still alive on earth so that we can meet the Lord \add Jesus\add* in the air. Both groups of believers in the Messiah will meet together on the clouds. This is how we will remain together with the Lord \add Jesus\add* forever!
\v 18 As a result, you must encourage each other with this message!
\c 5
\p
\v 1 \add Now I want you to be aware of the timing of our Lord’s return to earth\add* Our fellow believers in the Messiah, we do not \add really\add* need to write \add anything\add* to you about the specific time \add of our Lord’s return\add*.
\v 2 This is because you yourselves already know accurately about the time when the Lord \add Jesus\add* will come back. You also know that he will come \add unexpectedly\add*, like when a robber comes at night.
\v 3 \add The Lord Jesus\add* will come at a time when people are saying, “\add We are\add* safe and secure!” Then, suddenly, God will overwhelm and destroy them! It will be similar to when a pregnant woman cannot escape being overwhelmed by labor pains. In the same way, those people can never escape \add when God destroys\add*!
\v 4 However, \add our\add* fellow believers in the Messiah, you are not people who are unaware of what will happen, like when people are in the darkness. This is why, when the Lord Jesus returns to earth to punish the people who do not belong to him, he will not surprise you as if he were a thief.
\v 5 \add Since\add* you are all God’s children, \add you should live ready for Jesus to return to earth\add*, like people who are in the light or awake during day are aware of what is happening. We are not \add Satan’s children,\add* who live unaware of what will happen, like people at night or in the darkness \add who cannot perceive as well\add*.
\v 6 So, this is why, \add as God’s children, we must live ready for what will happen. We must\add* not live unaware of what will happen like the rest of humanity, who are just like people who are sleeping. Instead, we must stay alert and remain attentive, \add expecting Jesus to return to earth\add*.
\v 7 It is well known that when people are unaware of what will happen, it is \add usually\add* at night, when they are sleeping. And when people get drunk, they are not ready for what will happen. They \add usually\add* get drunk at night, \add when they cannot perceive things as well\add*.
\v 8 But \add we who are ready for the Lord Jesus to return to earth do not live unaware of what will happen like these people. Since\add* we are ready, we must remain attentive. We must fully arm ourselves \add like soldiers\add*. Faithful love \add towards God should cover our chests\add* like a breastplate. Being confident \add that God\add* will save us \add should fully protect our heads\add* like a helmet.
\p
\v 9 Since \add we are his people,\add* God did not destine that he would punish us \add for our sins\add*. Instead, he destined that our Lord, Jesus the Messiah, would preserve and save us.
\v 10 Jesus died in our place so that we would live \add forever\add* with him. \add This is true,\add* whether we are alive or dead \add when he returns to earth\add*.
\v 11 Since this is true, continue to habitually encourage and support each and every one \add of your fellow believers in the Messiah\add*!
\p
\v 12 Finally, \add our\add* fellow believers in the Messiah, we request that you give recognition to your spiritual leaders who work hard among you, in the same way you would give recognition to the Lord \add Jesus\add*. You should also give them recognition because they continually warn and instruct you \add about living like believers in the Messiah should\add*.
\v 13 Because \add of how hard\add* they work \add for you,\add* we also request \add that\add* you abundantly love your spiritual leaders by being considerate of them. \add We also urge\add* that you keep living peacefully with each other.
\p
\v 14 \add Our\add* fellow believers in the Messiah, we now urge that you warn and instruct those who live inappropriately. We \add also\add* urge that you cheer up those who are discouraged. We \add also\add* urge that you support those who are weak. We \add also\add* urge that you live patiently with every one \add of your fellow believers in the Messiah\add*.
\v 15 If someone treats you badly, make sure that you do not treat them badly in return. Instead, whenever \add you can,\add* actively look for ways to kindly treat every \add fellow believer in the Messiah\add*.
\p
\v 16 Be joyful all the time!
\v 17 Constantly pray!
\v 18 Keep giving thanks to God in every situation! Indeed, God desires for all of you who are united to Jesus the Messiah to do all these things.
\p
\v 19 Do not \add try to stop\add* the \add Holy\add* Spirit \add from working among you. That would be like someone trying to\add* extinguish \add a fire\add*!
\v 20 \add In other words,\add* do not scorn prophecies \add that the Holy Spirit gives to other believers in the Messiah\add*!
\v 21 \add Instead,\add* keep evaluating all \add of the prophecies and\add* retain \add only\add* those that prove to be excellent.
\v 22 Refrain from any thing that appears to be wicked!
\p
\v 23 In summary, we pray that God will personally make you live like people who completely belong to him. God is the one who gives his people peace. We also pray that God will preserve you completely innocent for the time when our Lord Jesus the Messiah arrives on earth again.
\v 24 The faithful God \add continually\add* summons all of you \add to live like those who completely belong to him. So, you can be certain that\add* he will also do \add whatever is necessary for you to be able to live like those who completely belong to him\add*.
\p
\v 25 \add Our\add* fellow believers in the Messiah, we also ask that you keep praying for me, for Silas, and for Timothy!
\v 26 When you meet together \add for worship\add*, affectionately greet each of your fellow believers in the Messiah in a way that is appropriate for those who belong to God.
\v 27 I want you to swear an oath to the Lord \add Jesus\add*, that you will read this letter to all the believers in the Messiah \add among you\add*!
\v 28 May our Lord Jesus the Messiah \add continue to\add* act kindly toward all of you!