en_tn/1th/01/09.md

For they themselves

Paul is referring to the churches that already existed in the surrounding regions, who have heard about the Thessalonian believers.

they themselves

Here "themselves" is used to emphasize those people who had heard about the Thessalonian believers. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-rpronouns)

what kind of reception we had among you

The abstract noun "reception" can be expressed as the verb "receive" or "welcome." Alternate translation: "how warmly you received us" or "how warmly you welcomed us" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy)

you turned to God from the idols to serve the living and true God

Here "turned to ... from" is a metaphor that means to start being loyal to one person and stop being loyal to someone else. Alternate translation: "you stopped worshiping idols and started serving the living and true God" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor)