Chapter 1

¹Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Thessalonian church in union with God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; God bless you and give you peace.

²We always thank God for you all when we mention you in our prayers, ³for we can never forget before our God and Father your energetic faith, your loving service, and your unwavering expectation of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴For we know, brothers whom God so loves, that he has chosen you, ⁵for our preaching of the good news did not come to you as mere words but with power and the holy Spirit and full conviction—you know the kind of life we lived among you for your good. ⁶And you followed the example set by us and by the Lord, for though our message brought you great trouble, you welcomed it with joy inspired by the holy Spirit, ⁷so that you set an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Greece. ⁸For the Lord’s message has rung out from you not only over Macedonia and Greece, but the story of your belief in God has gone everywhere, so that we never need to mention it. ⁹For when people speak of us, they tell what a welcome you gave us, and how you turned from idols to God, to serve a true and living God, ¹⁰and to wait for the coming from heaven of his Son, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, our deliverer from God’s coming wrath.