1 Thessalonians 2
2
Paul’s Ministry
1For you know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you has not been ineffective (fruitless, in vain), 2but after we had already suffered and been outrageously treated in Philippi, as you know, yet in [the strength of] our God we summoned the courage to proclaim boldly to you the good news of God [regarding salvation] amid great opposition. 3For our appeal does not come from delusion or impure motives, nor [is it motivated] by deceit [our message is complete, accurate, and based on the truth—it does not change]. 4But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel [that tells the good news of salvation through faith in Christ], so we speak, not as [if we were trying] to please people [to gain power and popularity], but to please God who examines our hearts [expecting our best]. 5For as you well know, we never came with words of flattery nor with a pretext for greed—God is our witness— 6nor did we seek glory and honor from people, neither from you nor from anyone else, though as apostles of Christ we had the power to assert our authority. 7But we behaved gently when we were among you, like a devoted mother tenderly caring for her own children. 8Having such a deep affection for you, we #2:8 Or resolved to.were delighted to share with you not only God’s good news but also our own lives, because you had become so very dear to us.
9For you remember, #2:9 Lit brethren.believers, our labor and hardship. We worked night and day [practicing our trade] in order not to be a [financial] burden to any of you while we proclaimed the gospel of God to you. 10You are witnesses, and so is God, how unworldly and just and blameless was our behavior toward you who believe [in our Lord Jesus Christ]. 11For you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you just as a father does [in dealing with] his own children, [guiding you] 12to live lives [of honor, moral courage, and personal integrity] worthy of the God who [saves you and] calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
13And we also thank God continually for this, that when you received the word of God [concerning salvation] which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of [mere] men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe [exercising its inherent, supernatural power in those of faith]. 14For you, #2:14 Lit brethren.brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same [kind of] persecution from your own countrymen, as they did from the Jews, 15who #2:15 Jesus Christ willingly gave up His life for our salvation by allowing Himself to be tortured and killed.killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and harassed and drove us out; and [they] continue to be highly displeasing to God and [to show themselves] hostile to all people, 16forbidding us from speaking to the Gentiles (non-Jews) so that they may be saved. So, as always, they fill up [to the brim] the measure of their sins [allotted to them by God]. But [God’s] wrath has come upon them at last [completely and forever]. [Gen 15:16]
17But since we were taken away from you, believers, for a little while—in person, but not in heart—we endeavored, with great longing to see you face to face. 18For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again [wanted to come], but Satan hindered us. 19For who is [the object of] our hope or joy or our victor’s wreath of triumphant celebration [when we stand] in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? Is it not you? 20For you are [indeed] our glory and our joy!
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1 Thessalonians 2
2
Paul’s Work in Thessalonica
1Brothers and sisters, you know that our visit to you was not a failure. 2Before we came to you, people in Philippi abused us with insults and made us suffer. You know all about that. And then, when we came to you, many people there caused trouble for us. But our God gave us the courage we needed to tell you his Good News. 3When we encourage people to believe the Good News, it’s not out of wrong motives. We are not trying to trick or fool anyone. 4No, we did it because God is the one who gave us this work. And this was only after he tested us and saw that we could be trusted to do it. So when we speak, we are only trying to please God, not anyone else. He is the one who can see what is in our hearts.
5You know that we never tried to influence you by saying nice things about you. We were not trying to get your money. We had no greed to hide from you. God knows that this is true. 6We were not looking for praise from people—not from you or anyone else.
7When we were with you, as apostles of Christ we could have used our authority to make you help us. But we were very gentle#2:7 But … gentle Several Greek copies have “But we became babies.” with you. We were like a mother caring for her little children. 8We loved you very much, so we were happy to share God’s Good News with you. But not only that—we were also happy to share even our own lives with you. 9Brothers and sisters, I know that you remember how hard we worked. We worked night and day to support ourselves, so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we did the work of telling you God’s Good News.
10When we were there with you believers, we were pure, honest, and without fault in the way we lived. You know, just as God does, that this is true. 11You know that we treated each one of you the way a father treats his own children. 12We encouraged you, we comforted you, and we told you to live good lives for God. He calls you to be part of his glorious kingdom.
13Also, we always thank God because of the way you accepted his message. You heard it and accepted it as God’s message, not our own. And it really is God’s message. And it works in you who believe. 14Brothers and sisters, you are just like God’s churches in Judea.#2:14 Judea The Jewish land where Jesus lived and taught and where the church first began. I mean that you were treated badly by your own people, just as those believers in Christ Jesus were treated badly by other Jews— 15the same Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets. And they forced us to leave their country. They are not pleasing to God, and they are against everyone else. 16And they are trying to stop us from teaching those who are not Jews. They don’t want them to be saved. But they are just adding more and more sins to the ones they already have. Now the time has come for them to suffer God’s anger.
Paul’s Desire to Visit Them Again
17Brothers and sisters, we were separated from you for a short time. But even though we were not there, our thoughts were still with you. We wanted very much to see you, and we tried very hard to do this. 18Yes, we wanted to come to you. I, Paul, tried more than once to come, but Satan stopped us. 19You are our hope, our joy, and the crown we will be proud of when our Lord Jesus Christ comes. 20You bring us honor and joy.
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