1 Thessalonians 2:5-20
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 2
5For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is our witness— 6nor did we seek honor from people, either from you or from others, though we could have asserted our authority as apostles of Christ. 7But we proved to be gentle among you. As a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children, 8in the same way we had a fond affection for you and were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.
9For you recall, brothers and sisters, our labor and hardship: it was by working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, that we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how devoutly and rightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers;
11just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children,
12so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
13For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of mere men, but as what it really is, the word of God, which also is at work in you who believe.
14For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews,
15who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all people,
16hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always reach the limit of their sins. But wrath has come upon them fully.
17But we, brothers and sisters, having been orphaned from you by absence for a short while—in person, not in spirit—were all the more eager with great desire to see your face.
18For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, more than once—and Satan hindered us.
19For who is our hope, or joy or crown of pride, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? Or is it not indeed you?
20For you are our glory and joy.
King James Version
Chapter 2
5For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness: 6Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. 7But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: 8So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. 9For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. 10Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: 11As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, 12That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.
13For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
14For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:
15Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:
16Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
17But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.
18Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.
19For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?
20For ye are our glory and joy.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 2
5For we never used flattering speech, as you know, or had greedy motives —God is our witness — 6and we didn’t seek glory from people, either from you or from others. 7Although we could have been a burden as Christ’s apostles, instead we were gentle among you, as a nurse nurtures her own children. 8We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 9For you remember our labor and hardship, brothers and sisters. Working night and day so that we would not burden any of you, we preached God’s gospel to you. 10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how devoutly, righteously, and blamelessly we conducted ourselves with you believers. 11As you know, like a father with his own children, 12we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to live worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
13This is why we constantly thank God, because when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you welcomed it not as a human message, but as it truly is, the word of God, which also works effectively in you who believe.
14For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, since you have also suffered the same things from people of your own country, just as they did from the Jews
15who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us. They displease God and are hostile to everyone,
16by keeping us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. As a result, they are constantly filling up their sins to the limit, and wrath has overtaken them at last.
17But as for us, brothers and sisters, after we were forced to leave you for a short time (in person, not in heart ), we greatly desired and made every effort to return and see you face to face.
18So we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us.
19For who is our hope or joy or crown of boasting in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?
20Indeed you are our glory and joy!
New Living Translation
Chapter 2
5Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! 6As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.
7As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children.
8We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.
9Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you.
10You yourselves are our witnesses — and so is God — that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers.
11And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children.
12We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory.
14And then, dear brothers and sisters, you suffered persecution from your own countrymen. In this way, you imitated the believers in God’s churches in Judea who, because of their belief in Christ Jesus, suffered from their own people, the Jews.
15For some of the Jews killed the prophets, and some even killed the Lord Jesus. Now they have persecuted us, too. They fail to please God and work against all humanity
16as they try to keep us from preaching the Good News of salvation to the Gentiles. By doing this, they continue to pile up their sins. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last.
17Dear brothers and sisters, after we were separated from you for a little while (though our hearts never left you), we tried very hard to come back because of our intense longing to see you again.
18We wanted very much to come to you, and I, Paul, tried again and again, but Satan prevented us.
19After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you!
20Yes, you are our pride and joy.
English Standard Version
Chapter 2
5For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed — God is witness. 6Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
9For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
10You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers.
11For you know how, like a father with his children,
12we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
13And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
14For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,
15who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind
16by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved — so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
17But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face,
18because we wanted to come to you — I, Paul, again and again — but Satan hindered us.
19For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?
20For you are our glory and joy.
New International Version
Chapter 2
5You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority.
7Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children,
8so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.
9Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.
11For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,
12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
13And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.
14For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews
15who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone
16in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.
17But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.
18For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way.
19For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?
20Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
New King James Version
Chapter 2
5For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness— God is witness. 6Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. 8So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 9For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.
10You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe;
11as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children,
12that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
13For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
14For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans,
15who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men,
16forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.
17But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire.
18Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us.
19For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?
20For you are our glory and joy.
