Greetings to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 1:1–10)
1 UST { I,} Paul,{ am writing this letter.} Silas and Timothy{ are with me. We are sending this letter} to{ you,} the group of believers in the city of Thessalonica, who belong to God our Father and to{ our} Lord Jesus the Messiah. BSB BSB: Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 UST { May} God our Father and our Lord Jesus the Messiah{ continue to be} kind to you and{ make you} peaceful. BSB BSB: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 UST Our fellow believers, we should thank God very frequently for you{, and we certainly do}! It is very appropriate that we should do this, because you are trusting in the Lord Jesus more and more, and because every one of you is loving each of the others more and more. BSB BSB: We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.
4 UST As a result, we keep proudly talking about you to the other groups of believers belonging to God. We tell them how you patiently endure{ suffering} and how you continue trusting in the Lord Jesus, even though other people continually cause you to suffer. BSB BSB: That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring.
Christ’s Coming 5 UST { We can clearly see that God has made you able to stay faithful to Jesus while people make you suffer.} From that we know that God judges justly, because it means that he considers you to be worthy of being part of his people forever. That is what you are suffering for. BSB BSB: All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
6 UST Since God judges justly, he will certainly also cause suffering for those people who are making you suffer. BSB BSB: After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
7 UST He will also cause the people who are afflicting you to stop doing it. He will also do that for us. This will happen when our Lord Jesus shows himself to everyone as he returns from heaven with his powerful angels. BSB BSB: and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
8 UST Then with blazing fire he will punish those people who have rejected God, those who refuse to accept the good news about our Lord Jesus. BSB BSB: in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
10 UST { This will happen} when the Lord Jesus comes back from heaven at the time that God has decided. As a result, all we who are his people will praise him and marvel at him.{ You will be there, too,} because you believed us when we told you the things about Jesus that we knew to be true. BSB BSB: on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our testimony.
11 UST We frequently ask God{ to strengthen you spiritually so} that you might praise Jesus like this. We pray that the God whom we worship will make you worthy to be the new people that he has invited you to be. We pray that he will empower you to accomplish every good thing that you want to do because God has inspired you to do it. BSB BSB: To this end, we always pray for you, that our God will count you worthy of His calling, and that He will powerfully fulfill your every good desire and work of faith,
12 UST We pray this because we want you to praise our Lord Jesus, and we want him to honor you. This will happen because the God whom we worship and our Lord Jesus the Messiah are exceedingly kind to you. BSB BSB: so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.