1 P aul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

This letter is from Paul and Silas and Timothy. It is to the church in the city of Thessalonica that belongs to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 G race to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

May you have loving-favor and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 W e ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater;

We must give thanks to God for you always, Christian brothers. It is the right thing to do because your faith is growing so much. Your love for each other is stronger all the time.

4 t herefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.

We are proud of you and tell the other churches about you. We tell them how your faith stays so strong even when people make it hard for you and make you suffer.

5 T his is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.

God wants you to prove yourselves to be worth being in His holy nation by suffering for Him.

6 F or after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

He does what is right and will allow trouble to come to those who are making it hard for you.

7 a nd to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,

He will help you and us who are suffering. This will happen when the Lord Jesus comes down from heaven with His powerful angels in a bright fire.

8 d ealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

He will punish those who do not know God and those who do not obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 T hese will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,

They will be punished forever and taken away from the Lord and from the shining-greatness of His power.

10 w hen He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.

On the day He comes, His shining-greatness will be seen in those who belong to Him. On that day, He will receive honor from all those who put their trust in Him. You believed what we had to say to you.

11 T o this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power,

For this reason, we always pray for you. We pray that our God will make you worth being chosen. We pray that His power will help you do the good things you want to do. We pray that your work of faith will be complete.

12 s o that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

In this way, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be honored by you and you will be honored by Him. It is through the loving-favor of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.