1 Thessalonians 4

1 Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more.

Finally then, brothers, we urge and exhort you in the Lord Jesus: as you received from us how you ought to behave and please God, do so even more

2 For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

—you know what instructions we gave you through Sovereign Jesus.

3 For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality;

Now this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you stay away from fornication;

4 each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,

that each of you know how to gain possession of his own ‘vessel’ in sanctification and honor,

5 not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;

not in lustful passion (like the heathen who do not know God);

6 and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.

that no one trespass and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such behavior, as, indeed, we have already told you and warned you.

7 For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.

Because God did not call us for uncleanness, but by holiness.

8 Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.

So then, the rejecter is not rejecting man, but God, the very One who gave you His Holy Spirit.

9 Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.

Now about brotherly love you do not need to be written to, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another,

10 And you are indeed showing this love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more

because in fact you are doing so toward all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Still, we exhort you to do even more, brothers,

11 and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.

to make it a point to be peaceable and to mind your own business, to work with your hands (as we instructed you),

12 Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.

so that outsiders may be well impressed by your life style, and that you may have no lack.

13 Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.

Now then, brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who have ‘fallen asleep’, so that you do not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.

14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.

Because since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, just so will God bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.

15 By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep.

For this we say to you by a word of the Lord, that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will absolutely not precede those who have fallen asleep;

16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.

because the Lord Himself—with a commanding shout, with the archangel's voice and with God's trumpet—will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first;

17 After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

then we who are still alive, who are left, will be snatched up together with them in clouds to meet the Lord in the air. In precisely this way we will always be with the Lord.

18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

So then, comfort one another with these words.