1 Paul exhorteth the Thessalonians to proceed in their endeavours to please God by a holy and just conversation. 9 He commendeth their love to one another, entreating them to abound in it, 11 and quietly to follow their respective callings. 13 And that they might not sorrow for the dead, as men without hope, he briefly describeth the resurrection of the just, and Christ's second coming.
1. Furthermore then awe 1beseech you, brethren, and 2exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that bas ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, cso ye would abound more and more.
2. For ye know dwhat commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
3. eFor this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
4. That every one of you should know how to fpossess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
5. gNot in the lust of *concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
6. That no man hgo beyond and 3defraud his brother 4in any matter: because that ithe Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
7. For jGod hath not called us unto kuncleanness, but unto holiness.
8. He therefore that 5despiseth, ldespiseth not man, but God, who mhath also given unto us his holy Spirit.
9. nBut as touching obrotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are ptaught of God to love one another.
10. And indeed ye do qit toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye rincrease more and more;
11. And that sye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;
12. That tye may walk honestly toward uthem that are *without, and that ye may have lack 6of nothing.
13. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are vasleep, that wye sorrow not, even as others xwhich have no hope.
14. For yif we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which zsleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15. For this we say unto you aby the word of the Lord, that bwe which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not *prevent them which are asleep.
16. cFor the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of dthe archangel, and with the *trump of God: eand the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17. Then we fwhich are alive and remain gshall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so hshall we ever be with the Lord.
18. Wherefore i7comfort one another with these words.
Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
1. Τὸ λοιπὸν οὖν, ἀδελφοί, ἐρωτῶμεν ὑμᾶς καὶ παρακαλοῦμεν ἐν Κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ καθὼς παρελάβετε παρ᾽ ἡμῶν τὸ πῶς δεῖ ὑμᾶς περιπατεῖν καὶ ἀρέσκειν Θεῷ, ἵνα περισσεύητε μᾶλλον.
2. οἴδατε γὰρ τίνας παραγγελίας ἐδώκαμεν ὑμῖν διὰ τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ.
3. τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ ἁγιασμὸς ὑμῶν, ἀπέχεσθαι ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς πορνείας·
4. εἰδέναι ἕκαστον ὑμῶν τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σκεῦος κτᾶσθαι ἐν ἁγιασμῷ καὶ τιμῇ,
5. μὴ ἐν πάθει ἐπιθυμίας, καθάπερ καὶ τὰ ἔθνη τὰ μὴ εἰδότα τὸν Θεόν·
6. τὸ μὴ ὑπερβαίνειν καὶ πλεονεκτεῖν ἐν τῷ πράγματι τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ· διότι ἔκδικος ὁ Κύριος περὶ πάντων τούτων, καθὼς καὶ προείπαμεν ὑμῖν καὶ διεμαρτυράμεθα.
7. οὐ γὰρ ἐκάλεσεν ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεὸς ἐπὶ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἁγιασμῷ.
8. τοιγαροῦν ὁ ἀθετῶν οὐκ ἄνθρωπον ἀθετεῖ, ἀλλὰ τὸν Θεὸν τὸν καὶ δόντα τὸ Πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ τὸ Ἅγιον εἰς ἡμᾶς.
9. Περὶ δὲ τῆς φιλαδελφίας οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε γράφειν ὑμῖν· αὐτοὶ γὰρ ὑμεῖς θεοδίδακτοί ἐστε εἰς τὸ ἀγαπᾷν ἀλλήλους·
10. καὶ γὰρ ποιεῖτε αὐτὸ εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς τοὺς ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ. παρακαλοῦμεν δὲ ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, περισσεύειν μᾶλλον,
11. καὶ φιλοτιμεῖσθαι ἡσυχάζειν, καὶ πράσσειν τὰ ἴδια, καὶ ἐργάζεσθαι ταῖς ἰδίαις χερσὶν ὑμῶν, καθὼς ὑμῖν παρηγγείλαμεν·
12. ἵνα περιπατῆτε εὐσχημόνως πρὸς τοὺς ἔξω, καὶ μηδενὸς χρείαν ἔχητε.
13. Οὐ θέλω δὲ ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ἀδελφοί, περὶ τῶν κεκοιμημένων, ἵνα μὴ λυπῆσθε, καθὼς καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ οἱ μὴ ἔχοντες ἐλπίδα.
14. εἰ γὰρ πιστεύομεν ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἀπέθανε καὶ ἀνέστη, οὕτω καὶ ὁ Θεὸς τοὺς κοιμηθέντας διὰ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἄξει σὺν αὐτῷ.
15. τοῦτο γὰρ ὑμῖν λέγομεν ἐν λόγῳ Κυρίου, ὅτι ἡμεῖς οἱ ζῶντες οἱ περιλειπόμενοι εἰς τὴν παρουσίαν τοῦ Κυρίου, οὐ μὴ φθάσωμεν τοὺς κοιμηθέντας.
16. ὅτι αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος ἐν κελεύσματι, ἐν φωνῇ ἀρχαγγέλου, καὶ ἐν σάλπιγγι Θεοῦ καταβήσεται ἀπ᾽ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ οἱ νεκροὶ ἐν Χριστῷ ἀναστήσονται πρῶτον·
17. ἔπειτα ἡμεῖς οἱ ζῶντες, οἱ περιλειπόμενοι, ἅμα σὺν αὐτοῖς ἁρπαγησόμεθα ἐν νεφέλαις εἰς ἀπάντησιν τοῦ Κυρίου εἰς ἀέρα· καὶ οὕτω πάντοτε σὺν Κυρίῳ ἐσόμεθα.
18. ὥστε παρακαλεῖτε ἀλλήλους ἐν τοῖς λόγοις τούτοις.