1 Thessalonians 1

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.

To the Thessalonian church in union with God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. May God bless you and give you peace.

2 We always thank God for all of you, remembering you in our prayers

We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all;

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.

recalling continually before our God and Father the efforts that have resulted from your faith, the toil prompted by your love, and the patient endurance sustained by your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

4 Brothers who are beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you,

Friends, whom God loves, we know that he has chosen you,

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.

because the good news that we brought came home to you, not merely as so many words, but with a power and a fulness of conviction due to the Holy Spirit. For you know the life that we lived among you for your good.

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.

And you yourselves began to follow, not only our example, but the Master’s also; and, in spite of much suffering, you welcomed the message with a joy inspired by the Holy Spirit,

7 As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

and so became a pattern to all who believed in Christ throughout Macedonia and Greece.

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.

For it was from you that the Lord’s message resounded throughout Macedonia and Greece; and, more than that, your faith in God has become known far and wide; so that there is no need for us to say another word.

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

Indeed, in speaking about us, the people themselves tell of the reception you gave us, and how, turning to God from your idols, you became servants of the true and living God,

10 and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.

and are now awaiting the return from heaven of his Son whom he raised from the dead – Jesus, our deliverer from the coming wrath.