A modern English translation drawn directly from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Translated word-for-word where possible, by a committee with scholarly oversight.
Uses the same source texts as the ESV, NASB, and most academic Bibles, including the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the Nestle-Aland critical edition.
1 Thessalonians 1
1 Thessalonians 1 is the opening chapter of the fifty-second book of the Bible. The 10-verse chapter opens Paul's earliest surviving letter with a warm greeting and an extended thanksgiving for the young church in Thessalonica.
The chapter opens with Paul writing alongside Silas and Timothy. He addresses the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, and offers grace and peace to them.
What follows is an extended thanksgiving that runs through the rest of the chapter. Paul says he and his coworkers always thank God for the Thessalonians, mentioning them in their prayers and remembering before God their work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul reminds them of how the gospel came to them. It came not only in word but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction. The Thessalonians, in turn, became imitators of Paul and his coworkers and of the Lord. They received the message in much affliction but with joy from the Holy Spirit, and they became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
The chapter closes with Paul describing the reputation the Thessalonians have gained throughout the region. People everywhere are talking about how Paul was received in Thessalonica, how the Thessalonians turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and how they are waiting for his Son from heaven, Jesus, who rescues them from the coming wrath.
Verse 1. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.
Verse 2. We always thank God for all of you, remembering you in our prayers
Verse 3. and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 4. Brothers who are beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you,
Verse 5. because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction—just as you know we lived among you for your sake.
Verse 6. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.
Verse 7. As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
Verse 8. For not only did the message of the Lord ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone out to every place, so that we have no need to say anything more.
Verse 9. For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God
Verse 10. and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.
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