1 Thessalonians · Majority Standard Bible
1 Thessalonians 2 Majority Standard Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
MSB Majority Standard Bible
WEB World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)
PT1904 Patriarchal Text 1904 (accented, eBible edition)
1 You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not in vain.
1 For you yourselves know, brothers, our visit to you wasn’t in vain,
1 Αὐτοὶ γὰρ οἴδατε, ἀδελφοί, τὴν εἴσοδον ἡμῶν τὴν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὅτι οὐ κενὴ γέγονεν,
2 As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.
2 but having suffered before and been shamefully treated, as you know, at Philippi, we grew bold in our God to tell you the Good News of God in much conflict.
2 ἀλλὰ προπαθόντες καὶ ὑβρισθέντες, καθὼς οἴδατε, ἐν Φιλίπποις, ἐπαρρησιασάμεθα ἐν τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν λαλῆσαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν πολλῷ ἀγῶνι.
3 For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives or trickery.
3 For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in deception.
3 ἡ γὰρ παράκλησις ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐκ πλάνης οὐδὲ ἐξ ἀκαθαρσίας, οὔτε ἐν δόλῳ,
4 Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts.
4 But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News, so we speak—not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts.
4 ἀλλὰ καθὼς δεδοκιμάσμεθα ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ πιστευθῆναι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, οὕτω λαλοῦμεν, οὐχ ὡς ἀνθρώποις ἀρέσκοντες, ἀλλὰ τῷ Θεῷ τῷ δοκιμάζοντι τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν.
5 As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!
5 For neither were we at any time found using words of flattery, as you know, nor a cloak of covetousness (God is witness),
5 οὔτε γάρ ποτε ἐν λόγῳ κολακείας ἐγενήθημεν, καθὼς οἴδατε, οὔτε ἐν προφάσει πλεονεξίας, Θεὸς μάρτυς,
6 Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.
6 nor seeking glory from men (neither from you nor from others), when we might have claimed authority as apostles of Christ.
6 οὔτε ζητοῦντες ἐξ ἀνθρώπων δόξαν, οὔτε ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν οὔτε ἀπὸ ἄλλων, δυνάμενοι ἐν βάρει εἶναι ὡς Χριστοῦ ἀπόστολοι,
7 On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children.
7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother cherishes her own children.
7 ἀλλ᾽ ἐγενήθημεν ἤπιοι ἐν μέσῳ ὑμῶν, ὡς ἂν τροφὸς θάλπῃ τὰ ἑαυτῆς τέκνα·
8 We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us.
8 Even so, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not the Good News of God only, but also our own souls, because you had become very dear to us.
8 οὕτως ὁμειρόμενοι ὑμῶν εὐδοκοῦμεν μεταδοῦναι ὑμῖν οὐ μόνον τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχάς, διότι ἀγαπητοὶ ἡμῖν γεγένησθε.
9 Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and travail; for working night and day, that we might not burden any of you, we preached to you the Good News of God.
9 μνημονεύετε γάρ, ἀδελφοί, τὸν κόπον ἡμῶν καὶ τὸν μόχθον· νυκτὸς γὰρ καὶ ἡμέρας ἐργαζόμενοι πρὸς τὸ μὴ ἐπιβαρῆσαί τινα ὑμῶν ἐκηρύξαμεν εἰς ὑμᾶς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Θεοῦ.
10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.
10 You are witnesses with God how holy, righteously, and blamelessly we behaved ourselves toward you who believe.
10 ὑμεῖς μάρτυρες καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ὡς ὁσίως καὶ δικαίως καὶ ἀμέμπτως ὑμῖν τοῖς πιστεύουσιν ἐγενήθημεν,
11 For you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children—
11 As you know, we exhorted, comforted, and implored every one of you, as a father does his own children,
11 καθάπερ οἴδατε ὡς ἕνα ἕκαστον ὑμῶν ὡς πατὴρ τέκνα ἑαυτοῦ
12 encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
12 to the end that you should walk worthily of God, who calls you into his own Kingdom and glory.
12 παρακαλοῦντες ὑμᾶς καὶ παραμυθούμενοι καὶ μαρτυρόμενοι εἰς τὸ περιπατῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἀξίως τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ καλοῦντος ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ βασιλείαν καὶ δόξαν.
13 And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as the true word of God—the word which is now at work in you who believe.
13 For this cause we also thank God without ceasing that when you received from us the word of the message of God, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, God’s word, which also works in you who believe.
13 Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς εὐχαριστοῦμεν τῷ Θεῷ ἀδιαλείπτως, ὅτι παραλαβόντες λόγον ἀκοῆς παρ᾽ ἡμῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐδέξασθε οὐ λόγον ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ καθώς ἐστιν ἀληθῶς, λόγον Θεοῦ, ὃς καὶ ἐνεργεῖται ἐν ὑμῖν τοῖς πιστεύουσιν.
14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,
14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the assemblies of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus; for you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews
14 ὑμεῖς γὰρ μιμηταὶ ἐγενήθητε, ἀδελφοί, τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν οὐσῶν ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, ὅτι τὰ αὐτὰ ἐπάθετε καὶ ὑμεῖς ὑπὸ τῶν ἰδίων συμφυλετῶν καθὼς καὶ αὐτοὶ ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων,
15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,
15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out, and don’t please God, and are contrary to all men,
15 τῶν καὶ τὸν Κύριον ἀποκτεινάντων Ἰησοῦν καὶ τοὺς ἰδίους προφήτας, καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐκδιωξάντων, καὶ Θεῷ μὴ ἀρεσκόντων, καὶ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ἐναντίων,
16 hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.
16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, to fill up their sins always. But wrath has come on them to the uttermost.
16 κωλυόντων ἡμᾶς τοῖς ἔθνεσι λαλῆσαι ἵνα σωθῶσιν, εἰς τὸ ἀναπληρῶσαι αὐτῶν τὰς ἁμαρτίας πάντοτε. ἔφθασε δὲ ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἡ ὀργὴ εἰς τέλος.
17 Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense.
17 But we, brothers, being bereaved of you for a short season in presence, not in heart, tried even harder to see your face with great desire,
17 Ἡμεῖς δέ, ἀδελφοί, ἀπορφανισθέντες ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν πρὸς καιρὸν ὥρας, προσώπῳ οὐ καρδίᾳ, περισσοτέρως ἐσπουδάσαμεν τὸ πρόσωπον ὑμῶν ἰδεῖν ἐν πολλῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ.
18 Therefore we wanted to come to you—indeed I, Paul, tried again and again—but Satan obstructed us.
18 because we wanted to come to you—indeed, I, Paul, once and again—but Satan hindered us.
18 διὸ ἠθελήσαμεν ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ἐγὼ μὲν Παῦλος καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δίς, καὶ ἐνέκοψεν ἡμᾶς ὁ σατανᾶς.
19 After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Isn’t it even you, before our Lord Jesus at his coming?
19 τίς γὰρ ἡμῶν ἐλπὶς ἢ χαρὰ ἢ στέφανος καυχήσεως ἢ οὐχὶ καὶ ὑμεῖς ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ [Χριστοῦ] ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ παρουσίᾳ;
20 You are indeed our glory and our joy.
20 For you are our glory and our joy.
20 ὑμεῖς γάρ ἐστε ἡ δόξα ἡμῶν καὶ χαρά.
Cross references (20)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 2 Thessalonians 3:1; Philippians 2:16; Habakkuk 2:13; 1 Corinthians 15:58; 1 Corinthians 15:2
- 2 Acts 4:13; Acts 16:22–24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Acts 17:2–9; 1 Peter 2:14–16
- 3 2 Corinthians 2:17; 2 Corinthians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:5–6; 2 Corinthians 12:16–18
- 4 Galatians 1:10; Romans 8:27; Galatians 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:14; Psalm 17:3
- 5 Romans 1:9; 2 Corinthians 12:17; Acts 20:33; Galatians 1:20; 2 Peter 2:3
- 6 Galatians 1:10; John 5:44; John 5:41; 1 Thessalonians 2:9; Philemon 8–9
- 7 Isaiah 66:13; 2 Timothy 2:24–25; 1 Thessalonians 2:11; Isaiah 49:23; 2 Corinthians 10:1
- 8 1 John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 12:15; Philippians 2:17; Romans 1:11–12; Hebrews 13:17
- 9 2 Thessalonians 3:7–9; 2 Corinthians 11:9; Acts 18:3; 2 Corinthians 12:13–14; 1 Timothy 4:10
- 10 1 Peter 5:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; 2 Corinthians 1:12; Titus 2:7–8; Acts 20:18
- 11 1 Corinthians 4:14–15; Hebrews 13:22; 1 Timothy 5:21; 2 Timothy 4:1–2; 2 Thessalonians 3:12
- 12 Ephesians 4:1; 1 John 2:6; 1 John 1:6–7; 2 Thessalonians 2:13–14; 1 Thessalonians 4:12
- 13 Hebrews 4:12; Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 Peter 1:25; 1 Peter 2:2
- 14 1 Thessalonians 3:4; Hebrews 10:33–34; Hebrews 5:7–8; 2 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Corinthians 8:1–2
- 15 Matthew 5:12; Luke 11:48–53; Acts 7:52; Acts 2:23; Luke 13:33–34
- 16 Acts 17:13; Acts 14:19; Acts 14:5; Malachi 4:1; Matthew 23:32
- 17 Colossians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 5:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:6; Romans 1:13; 1 Thessalonians 3:10–11
- 18 Romans 15:22; Romans 1:13; Revelation 2:10; Zechariah 3:1–2; 2 Corinthians 11:12–14
- 19 Philippians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Philippians 2:16; 2 Corinthians 1:14
- 20 2 Corinthians 1:14; 1 Corinthians 11:7
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
The teacher ought to do nothing with a feeling of being burdened, that tends to the salvation of his disciples. For if the blessed Jacob was buffeted night and day in keeping his flocks, much more ought he, to whom the care of souls is entrusted, to endure all toils, though the work be laborious and mean, looking only to …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 13 (1889)
For to this purpose said that dispenser of Thine,--begetting children by the gospel, --that he might not always have them "babes," whom he would feed on milk, and cherish as a nurse; "be ye transformed," saith He, "by the renewing of your mind, that he may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." Therefore Thou …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
… for ye also have suffered the same things of your own fellow-countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have driven us out; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men." Which same point here also Christ hath established.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
Hear that he descended: "I became a babe in the midst of you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children." For we see both nurses and mothers descend to babes, and although they be able to speak Latin, they shorten the words, shake their tongues in a certain manner, in order to frame childish endearments from a methodical language; because …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888)
This Paul also was laying to their charge, when he said, "Who both killed the Lord, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us." Moreover, that they may not say, "He is an adversary of God, and therefore we do not come," hear what they say who are bidding them; that it is the father who is making the marriage, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)