1 Thessalonians 2:11–15

¹⁴I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.

¹⁵For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

²²And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words.

²¹I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.

¹²Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

¹I CHARGE thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

²Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

²⁰And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.

⁷But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:

¹¹Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

²⁸But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.

¹¹Now, my son, the Lord be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the Lord thy God, as he hath said of thee.

¹²Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God.

¹³Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.

⁹¶ And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

¹FURTHERMORE 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.

⁷And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.

¹³I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;

¹⁷Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

²And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort.

²And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece,

¹⁴¶ And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.

¹⁶And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,

¹⁷So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

¹⁹And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight.

¹⁰¶ My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

¹⁵My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

¹MY son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

¹MY son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

¹THE words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.

²What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?

³Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

⁴It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:

⁵Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

⁶Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.

⁷Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

⁸Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.

⁹Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

¹HEAR, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.

²For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.

³For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.

⁴He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

⁵Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

⁶Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.

⁷Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

⁸Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.

⁹She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

¹⁰Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

¹¹I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.

¹²When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

¹MY son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:

²That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

¹MY son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

¹MY son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.

²⁴¶ Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.

¹¹Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

¹⁵These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

⁶Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

¹⁷This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

⁹Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;

⁶He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

¹I THEREFORE, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

⁶If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

¹³But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

¹⁴Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹²That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

¹⁰But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

²⁴Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

¹¹Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:

¹²That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁰That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

²And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

⁸For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

⁹God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁵But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

¹⁶Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

¹FURTHERMORE 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.

⁶As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

¹⁶This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

²³And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

²⁴Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

⁹But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

²⁷Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

⁹Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

⁹Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

²⁸And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

³⁰Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

¹²For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

¹⁷So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

²³Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

²⁵But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

²As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

²⁸But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

⁴⁸And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

³And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

¹⁸But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

¹¹These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

¹⁴And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

⁶Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:

²¹And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

⁴For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

⁵Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

²We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;

³Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

⁵For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

⁶And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:

⁷So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.

⁸For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

⁹For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;

¹⁰And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

¹⁶For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

¹⁷For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

¹⁸And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

¹⁹We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

²⁰Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

²¹For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

¹⁹And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

⁴⁰¶ He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

¹⁷But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

¹⁸Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

³²¶ And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

³Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

¹⁷Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

¹¹Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

²⁰For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

²That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

³³Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.

⁴⁴¶ And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

¹⁴¶ And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

³⁰And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

³¹And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

³²And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

³³And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

³⁴And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

¹⁸Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.

¹⁹And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?

²⁰For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.

⁴¹¶ Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

¹⁸Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

¹⁶As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee.

¹⁴Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

²⁸The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord.

²⁹Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

¹AND it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

¹³And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

¹⁴And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

⁸First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

⁹For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

⁴For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

³³Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.

³⁴For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.

⁷Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

⁸Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

⁴So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:

¹MOREOVER, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;

²How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.

²²And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judæa which were in Christ:

¹⁷But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.

⁶And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:

¹NOW about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.

²And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

³And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)

¹PAUL, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

¹PAUL, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

¹⁹¶ Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.

¹NOW when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

²And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

³Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

⁴And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

⁵¶ But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

⁶And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

⁷Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Cæsar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

⁸And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

¹³But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.

¹AND Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judæa and Samaria, except the apostles.

¹AND Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

³¹Then had the churches rest throughout all Judæa and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

³As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

¹³Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:

¹²Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

⁵²Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

⁴⁸Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.

⁴⁹Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

⁵⁰That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

⁵¹From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

⁵²Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

⁵³And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:

²³Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

³³Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

³⁴O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

¹⁵And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

²⁰And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

³¹Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.

³²Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

³³Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

³⁴¶ Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

³⁵That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

³⁷O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

²⁵Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

³And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)

³⁰The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

⁸¶ And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.

⁵But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

¹⁸And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.

¹⁹And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:

²⁰And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.

²¹And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.

¹⁰Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

¹²Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:

³⁵And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

³⁶Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.

³⁷But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

³⁸But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

³⁹And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.