1 Thessalonians 4:12–14

⁵Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

¹²Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

¹⁷Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

⁷Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

¹³Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

¹⁶Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

¹⁷For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

¹¹And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

²²Abstain from all appearance of evil.

⁸Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

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

¹⁰Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.

¹LIKEWISE, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;

⁷Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?

⁸I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.

⁹And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.

²⁰Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us:

²¹Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

⁸Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

¹²For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?

¹³But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

²And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

¹⁵For 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.

¹⁰Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

¹⁸Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

¹⁹If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

⁴And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

⁶After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

⁶⁰And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

¹²That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

¹¹¶ Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.

¹¹These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

¹²Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.

¹³Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

¹MOREOVER, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

³⁶For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

²⁵For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

²⁶And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

²⁷Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

²⁴Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

⁵²And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

²¹Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.

¹⁰So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.

⁸For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

³²The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.

¹³Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

⁸But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

²And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

¹⁶Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.

¹⁷Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.

¹⁸So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.

²⁸Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.

¹NOW concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

¹⁹But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

²⁰Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

⁵²And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.

⁵³And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.

³³¶ And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

¹YE are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.

²For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

³⁵And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

²¹And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

¹¹But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

²⁰For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

²¹Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

¹⁹Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

¹³We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

¹⁴Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

¹³But 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.

¹³To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

¹⁷Then 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.

¹⁸I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

¹³And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

¹⁴And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

¹⁵To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

¹²Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

¹³But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

¹⁴And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

¹⁵Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

¹⁶For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

¹⁷And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

¹⁸Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

¹⁹If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

²⁰But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

²¹For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

²³But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

³¹And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

¹NOW we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

¹⁵And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

¹⁹¶ Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.