1 Thessalonians 1

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the assembly of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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 give thanks to God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers,

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

3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and perseverance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.

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 We know, brothers loved by God, that you are chosen,

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

5 and that our Good News came to you not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and with much assurance. You know what kind of men we showed ourselves to be 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 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,

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 so that you became an example to all who believe in Macedonia and in Achaia.

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

8 For from you the word of the Lord has been declared, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone out, so that we need not to say anything.

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 concerning us what kind of a reception we had from you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a 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 wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead: Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.

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