1 Thessalonians Cross References - ISV

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy.
To: The church of the Thessalonians in union with God the Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.
May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!
² Paul’s Prayer for the ThessaloniansWe always thank God for all of you when we mention you in our prayers. ³ In the presence of our God and Father, we constantly remember how your faith is active, your love is hard at work, and your hope in our Lord Jesus the Messiah is enduring. ⁴ Brothers whom God loves, we know that he has chosen you, ⁵ for the gospel we brought did not come to you in words only, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. Indeed, you know what kind of people we proved to be while we were with you, acting on your behalf.
⁶ You became imitators of us and of the Lord. In spite of a great deal of suffering, you welcomed the word with the joy that the Holy Spirit produces. ⁷ As a result, you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸ From you the word of the Lord has spread out not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place where your faith in God has become known. As a result, we do not need to say anything about it.
⁹ For people keep telling us what kind of welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve a living and true God ¹⁰ and to wait for his Son whom he raised from the dead to come back from heaven. This Jesus is the one who rescues us from the coming wrath.

²⁷ We have therefore sent Judas and Silas to tell you the same things by word of mouth.

³² Then Judas and Silas, who were also prophets, said a lot to encourage and strengthen the brothers. ³³ After staying there for some time, they were sent back with a greeting from the brothers to those who had sent them.

⁴⁰ while Paul chose Silas and left after the brothers had entrusted him to the grace of the Lord.

¹ Timothy Joins Paul in LystraPaul also went to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish wife whose husband was a Greek. ² Timothy was highly regarded by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium. ³ Paul wanted this man to go with him, so he took him and had him circumcised because of the Jews who lived in that region, since everyone knew that Timothy’s father was a Greek.

¹⁹ When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities who met together in the public square.

²⁵ Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

²⁹ The jailer asked for torches and rushed inside. Trembling as he knelt in front of Paul and Silas,

¹ Paul and Silas in ThessalonicaPaul and Silas traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. ² As usual, Paul entered there and on three Sabbaths discussed the Scriptures with them. ³ He explained and showed them that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead: “This very Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Messiah.”
⁴ Some of them were persuaded and began to be associated with Paul and Silas, especially a large crowd of devout Greeks and the wives of many prominent men. ⁵ But the Jewish leaders became jealous, and they took some contemptible characters who used to hang out in the public square, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. They attacked Jason’s home and searched it for Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the people. ⁶ When they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials and shouted, “These fellows who have turned the world upside down have come here, too, ⁷ and Jason has welcomed them as his guests. All of them oppose the emperor’s decrees by saying that there is another king—Jesus!”
⁸ The crowd and the city officials were upset when they heard this, ⁹ but after they had gotten a bond from Jason and the others, they let them go.

¹¹ These people were more receptive than those in Thessalonica. They were very willing to receive the message, and every day they carefully examined the Scriptures to see if those things were so.

¹³ But when the Jewish leaders in Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul also in Berea, they went there to upset and incite the crowds. ¹⁴ Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed there.
¹⁵ Paul in AthensThe men who escorted Paul took him all the way to Athens and, after receiving instructions to have Silas and Timothy join him as soon as possible, they left.

⁵ But when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself entirely to the word as he emphatically assured the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.

²² Then he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed in Asia a while longer.

⁴ He was accompanied by Sopater (the son of Pyrrhus) from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia.

⁷ To: Everyone in Rome, loved by God and called to be holy.
May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!

² To: God’s church in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified by the Messiah Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah—their Lord and ours.

¹ Paul Greets the Church in CorinthFrom: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.
To: God’s church in Corinth, and to all the holy people throughout Achaia.

¹⁹ For God’s Son, Jesus the Messiah, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No.” But with him it is always “Yes.”

² and all the brothers who are with me.
To: The churches in Galatia.

²² But the churches of the Messiah that are in Judea did not yet know me personally.

² May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!

¹ Greetings from Paul and TimothyFrom: Paul and Timothy, servants of the Messiah Jesus.
To: All the holy ones in Philippi, along with their overseers and ministers, who are in union with the Messiah Jesus.

¹ Greetings from PaulFrom: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy.
To: The church of the Thessalonians in union with God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.
² To: Timothy, my genuine child in the faith.
May grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Messiah Jesus, our Lord, be yours!

² To: Timothy, my dear child.
May grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Messiah Jesus our Lord be yours!

²³ You should know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he comes soon, he will be with me when I see you.

¹² Final GreetingThrough Silvanus, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written this short letter to encourage you and to testify that this is to be the true grace of God in which you are to stand firm!

³ What we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you, too, can have fellowship with us. Now this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus, the Messiah.

¹ GreetingsFrom: Jude, a servant of Jesus the Messiah, and yet a brother of James.
To: Those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept safe by Jesus, the Messiah.

⁸ Paul’s Prayer and Desire to Visit RomeFirst of all, I thank my God through Jesus the Messiah for all of you, because the news about your faith is being reported throughout the world. ⁹ For God, whom I serve with my spirit by preaching the gospel about his Son, is my witness how constantly I mention you

¹⁷ But thank God that, though you were once slaves of sin, you became obedient from your hearts to that form of teaching with which you were entrusted!

⁴ You are RichI always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given you by the Messiah Jesus.

¹⁵ Paul’s Prayer for the EphesiansTherefore, because I have heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ I never stop giving thanks for you as I mention you in my prayers.

³ Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the PhilippiansI thank my God every time I remember you, ⁴ always praying joyfully in every one of my prayers for all of you

³ Paul’s Prayer for the ColossiansWe give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, praying always for you, ⁴ Paul’s Prayer for PhilemonI always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers,

²⁰ Jacob served seven years for Rachel, but it seemed like only a few days because of his love for her.

²⁶ After all, to the person who is good in God’s sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner he gives the troublesome task of acquiring and accumulating in order to leave it to someone who is good in the sight of God. This also is pointless and chasing after the wind.

⁷ Mighty bodies of water cannot extinguish love, rivers cannot put it out. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, he would surely be viewed with contempt.

²⁷ Do not work for food that perishes but for food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal on him.”
²⁸ Then they asked him, “What must we do to perform God’s works?”
²⁹ Jesus answered them, “This is God’s work: to believe in the one whom he has sent.”

¹⁵ The Promise of the Helper“If you love me, keep my commandments.

²¹ The person who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I, too, will love him and reveal myself to him.”
²² Judas (not Iscariot) asked him, “Lord, how is it that you are going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”
²³ Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. Then my Father will love him, and we will go to him and make our home within him.

¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you’ll abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

¹⁵ Jesus Speaks with PeterWhen they had finished breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Peter told him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus told him, “Feed my lambs.”
¹⁶ Then he asked him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter told him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus told him, “Take care of my sheep.” ¹⁷ He asked him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was deeply hurt that he had asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” So he told him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you!”
Jesus told him, “Feed my sheep.

¹⁹ Therefore, repent and turn to him to have your sins blotted out,

³¹ and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard. God has remembered your gifts to the poor,

⁷ eternal life to those who strive for glory, honor, and immortality by patiently doing good;

³ Not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ endurance produces character, and character produces hope. ⁵ Now this hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

²⁴ For we were saved with this hope in mind. Now a hope that can be observed is not really hope, for who hopes for what can be seen? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet observe, we eagerly wait for it with patience.

¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in trouble, and persistent in prayer.

⁴ For everything that was written long ago was written to instruct us, so that we might have hope through the endurance and encouragement that the Scriptures give us.

¹³ Now may God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace as you believe, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you.

²⁶ but now has been made known through the prophets to all the gentiles, in keeping with the decree of the eternal God to bring them to the obedience that springs from faith—

⁴ Love is always patient; love is always kind; love is never envious or arrogant with pride. Nor is she conceited, ⁵ and she is never rude; she never thinks just of herself or ever gets annoyed. She never is resentful; ⁶ is never glad with sin; she’s always glad to side with truth, and pleased that truth will win. ⁷ She bears up under everything; believes the best in all; there is no limit to her hope, and never will she fall.

¹³ Right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that the work that you do for the Lord isn’t wasted.

¹⁷ At least we are not commercializing God’s word like so many others. Instead, we speak with sincerity in the Messiah’s name, like people who are sent from God and are accountable to God.

¹⁴ The love of the Messiah controls us, for we are convinced of this: that one person died for all people; therefore, all people have died. ¹⁵ He died for all people, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for the one who died and rose for them.

⁷ Indeed, the more your faith, speech, knowledge, enthusiasm, and love for us increase, the more we want you to be rich in this work of kindness.
⁸ I am not commanding you but testing the genuineness of your love by the enthusiasm of others. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. Although he was rich, for your sakes he became poor, so that you, through his poverty, might become rich.

⁴ He gave himself for our sins in order to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father.

⁶ for in union with the Messiah Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters. What matters is faith expressed through love.

¹³ For you, brothers, were called to freedom. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity to gratify your flesh, but through love make it your habit to serve one another.

⁹ Let’s not get tired of doing what is good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest—if we do not give up.

¹³ How the Thessalonians Welcomed the GospelHere is another reason why we constantly give thanks to God: When you received God’s word, which you heard from us, you did not accept it as the word of humans but for what it really is—the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. ¹⁴ For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in union with the Messiah Jesus. You suffered the same persecutions from the people of your own country as they did from those Jews

⁶ Paul Rejoices about the ThessaloniansBut Timothy has just now returned from visiting you and has told us the good news about your faith and love. He also told us that you always have fond memories of us and want to see us, just as we want to see you.

³ Endurance in AfflictionBrothers, at all times we are obligated to thank God for you. It is right to do this because your faith is growing all the time and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

¹¹ With this in mind, we always pray for you, asking that our God might make you worthy of his calling and that through his power he might help you accomplish every good desire and faithful action.

³ This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

³ Paul’s Advice for TimothyI constantly thank my God—whom I serve with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you in my prayers night and day, ⁴ recalling your tears and longing to see you so that I can be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first existed in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced that this faith also exists in you.

⁵ because I keep hearing about your love for all the saints and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus. ⁶ I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every blessing that is ours in the Messiah. ⁷ For I have received considerable joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed, brother, through you.

¹¹ Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fail by following their example of disobedience.

¹⁰ For God is not so unjust as to forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have ministered to the saints and continue to minister to them. ¹¹ But we want each of you to continue to be diligent to the very end, in order to give full assurance to your hope.

¹⁵ And so he obtained what he had been promised, because he patiently waited for it.

³⁶ For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will you can receive what he has promised.

⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, reverently prepared an ark to save his family, and by faith he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith.
⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered Isaac—he who had received the promises was about to offer his unique son in sacrifice,

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵ because he preferred being mistreated with God’s people to enjoying the pleasures of sin for a short time. ²⁶ He thought that being insulted for the sake of the Messiah was of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, without being afraid of the king’s anger, and he persevered because he saw the one who is invisible.
²⁸ By faith he established the Passover and the sprinkling of blood to keep the destroyer of the firstborn from touching the people.
²⁹ By faith they went through the Red Sea as if it were dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do this, they were drowned.
³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.
³¹ By faith Rahab the prostitute did not die with those who were disobedient, because she had welcomed the spies with a greeting of peace.
³² And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. ³³ Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, received promises, shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ put out raging fires, escaped death by the sword, found strength in weakness, became powerful in battle, and routed foreign armies.

²¹ equip you with everything good to do his will, accomplishing in us what pleases him through Jesus, the Messiah. To him be glory forever and ever! Amen.

³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ But you must let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it does not prove itself with actions, is dead.
¹⁸ But someone may say, “You have faith, and I have actions.” Show me your faith without any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. That’s fine! Even the demons believe that and tremble with fear. ²⁰ Do you want proof, you foolish person, that faith without actions is worthless? ²¹ Our ancestor Abraham was justified by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar, wasn’t he? ²² You see that his faith worked together with what he did, and by his actions his faith was made complete. ²³ And so the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” And so he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You observe that a person is justified through actions and not through faith alone. ²⁵ Likewise, Rahab the prostitute was justified through actions when she welcomed the messengers and sent them away on a different road, wasn’t she? ²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without actions is also dead.

⁷ Be PatientSo be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious crop from his land, being patient with it until it receives the fall and the spring rains. ⁸ You, too, must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the coming of the Lord is near.

⁴ Instead, it should be the inner disposition of the heart, consisting in the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which God values greatly.

³ And everyone who has this hope based on him keeps himself pure, just as the Messiah is pure.

¹⁸ Little children, we must stop expressing love merely by our words and manner of speech; we must love also in action and in truth.

²¹ Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of God.

³ For this demonstrates our love for God: We keep his commandments, and his commandments are not difficult,

² ‘I know what you’ve been doing, your toil, and your endurance. I also know that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles, but are not, and have found them to be false. ³ You have endured and suffered because of my name, yet you have not grown weary. ⁴ However, I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.

¹⁹ ‘I know what you’ve been doing—your love, faithfulness, service, and endurance—and that your last actions are greater than the first.

¹⁰ Because you have obeyed my command to endure, I will keep you from the hour of testing that is coming to the whole world to test those living on the earth.

²⁸ And we know that for those who love God, that is, for those who are called according to his purpose, all things are working together for good.
²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that the Son might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined, he also called; and those whom he called, he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

²⁵ As the Scripture says in Hosea, “Those who are not my people I will call my people, and the one who was not loved I will call my loved one.

⁵ So it is at the present time: there is a remnant, chosen by grace. ⁶ But if this is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of actions. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.
⁷ What, then, does this mean? It means that Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking, but the selected group obtained it while the rest were hardened.

⁴ just as he chose us in the Messiah before the creation of the universe to be holy and blameless in his presence. In love

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love for us ⁵ even when we were dead because of our offenses, made us alive together with the Messiah (by grace you have been saved),

⁶ I am convinced of this, that the one who began a good action among you will bring it to completion by the Day of the Messiah Jesus. ⁷ For it is only right for me to think this way about all of you, because you’re constantly on my mind. Both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, all of you are partners with me in this privilege.

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

³ In the presence of our God and Father, we constantly remember how your faith is active, your love is hard at work, and your hope in our Lord Jesus the Messiah is enduring.

¹³ At all times we are obligated to thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you to be the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through faith in the truth.

⁹ He saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our own accomplishments, but according to his own purpose and the grace that was given to us in the Messiah Jesus before time began. ¹⁰ Now, however, that grace has been revealed through the coming of our Savior the Messiah Jesus, who has destroyed death and through the gospel has brought life and release from death into full view.

⁴ In grace our Savior God appeared, to make his love for mankind clear. ⁵ ‘Twas not for deeds that we had done, but by his steadfast love alone, he saved us through a second birth, renewed us by the Spirit’s work,

² the people chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying action of the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus, the Messiah, and to be sprinkled with his blood.
May grace and peace be yours in abundance!

¹⁰ So then, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election certain, for if you keep on doing this you will never fail.

² The wicked one arrogantly pursues the afflicted, who are trapped in the schemes he devises. ³ For the wicked one boasts about his own desire; he blesses the greedy and despises the LORD.

¹¹ so will my message be that goes out of my mouth— it won’t return to me empty. Instead, it will accomplish what I desire, and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

²⁰ Then his disciples went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message by the signs that accompanied it.

⁷ However, I’m telling you the truth. It’s for your advantage that I’m going away, because if I don’t go away, the Helper won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ When he comes, he will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment— ⁹ of sin, because they don’t believe in me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I’m going to the Father and you will no longer see me; ¹¹ and of judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
¹² “I still have a lot to say to you, but you cannot bear it now. ¹³ Yet when the Spirit of Truth comes, he’ll guide you into all truth. He won’t speak on his own accord, but he’ll speak whatever he hears and will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said, ‘He will take what is mine and declare it to you.’

³³ He has been exalted to the right hand of God, has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, and has caused you to experience what you are seeing and hearing.

⁴⁴ Gentiles Receive the Holy SpiritWhile Peter was still making this statement, the Holy Spirit fell on all the people who were listening to his message. ⁴⁵ Then the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the gentiles, too, ⁴⁶ because they heard them speaking in foreign languages and praising God. Then Peter said,

¹⁵ “When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he was first given to us. ¹⁶ Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ Now if God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, who was I to try to stop God?”
¹⁸ When they heard this, they calmed down, and praised God by saying, “So God has given repentance that leads to life even to gentiles.”

²¹ The hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

¹⁴ A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple goods, was listening to us. She was a worshiper of God, and the Lord opened her heart to listen carefully to what was being said by Paul.

¹⁸ When they came to him, he told them, “You know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day I set foot in Asia. ¹⁹ I served the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews.

³³ I never desired anyone’s silver, gold, or clothes. ³⁴ You yourselves know that I worked with my own hands to support myself and those who were with me. ³⁵ In every way I showed you that by working hard like this we should help the weak and remember the words that the Lord Jesus himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for the salvation of everyone who believes, of the Jew first and of the Greek as well.

¹⁶ on that day when God, through Jesus the Messiah, will judge people’s secrets according to my gospel.

¹⁸ For I am bold enough to tell you only about what the Messiah has accomplished through me in bringing gentiles to obedience. By my words and actions, ¹⁹ by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of God’s Spirit, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of the Messiah from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum.

²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, the Messiah is God’s power and God’s wisdom.

² For while I was with you I resolved to know nothing except Jesus the Messiah, and him crucified. ³ It was in weakness, fear, and great trembling that I came to you. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not accompanied by clever, wise words, but by a display of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.

⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept everything growing.

¹⁶ You know that you are God’s sanctuary and that God’s Spirit lives in you, don’t you?

⁹ For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display in last place, like men condemned to death. We have become a spectacle for the world, for angels, and for people to stare at. ¹⁰ We are fools for the Messiah’s sake, but you are wise in the Messiah. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. ¹¹ We are hungry, thirsty, dressed in rags, brutally treated, and homeless, right up to the present. ¹² We wear ourselves out from working with our own hands. When insulted, we bless. When persecuted, we endure. ¹³ When slandered, we answer with kind words. Even now we have become the filth of the world, the scum of the universe.

²⁰ for the kingdom of God isn’t just talk, but also power.

¹⁹ Although I am free from everyone’s expectations, I have made myself a servant to all of them to win more people. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew in order to win Jews. To those under the Law I became like a man under the Law, in order to win those under the Law (although I myself am not under the Law). ²¹ To those who do not have the Law, I became like a man who does not have the Law in order to win those who do not have the Law. However, I am not free from God’s Law, but I’m subject to the Messiah’s law. ²² To the weak I became weak in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some of them. ²³ I do all this for the sake of the gospel in order to have a share in its blessings.

³³ just as I myself try to please everybody in every way. I don’t look out for my own benefit, but rather for the benefit of many people, so that they might be saved.

⁷ To each person has been given the ability to manifest the Spirit for the common good. ⁸ To one has been given a message of wisdom by the Spirit; to another the ability to speak with knowledge according to the same Spirit; ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit; ¹⁰ to another miraculous results; to another prophecy; to another the ability to distinguish between spirits; to another various kinds of languages; and to another the interpretation of languages. ¹¹ But one and the same Spirit produces all these results and gives what he wants to each person.

⁶ who has also qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, which is not written but spiritual, because the written text brings death, but the Spirit gives life.

¹ Treasure in Clay JarsTherefore, since we have this ministry through the mercy shown to us, we do not get discouraged. ² Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not use trickery or pervert God’s word. By clear statements of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God.
³ So if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are dying.

³ We are God’s ServantsWe do not put an obstacle in anyone’s way. Otherwise, fault may be found with our ministry. ⁴ Instead, in every way we demonstrate that we are God’s servants by tremendous endurance in the midst of difficulties, hardships, and calamities; ⁵ in beatings, imprisonments, and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights, and hunger; ⁶ with purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness; with the Holy Spirit, genuine love, ⁷ truthful speech, and divine power; through the weapons of righteousness in the right and left hands; ⁸ through honor and dishonor; through ill repute and good repute; perceived as deceivers and yet true, ⁹ as unknown and yet well-known, as dying and yet—as you see—very much alive, as punished and yet not killed, ¹⁰ as sorrowful and yet always rejoicing, as poor and yet enriching many, as having nothing and yet possessing everything.

⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not those of the world. Instead, they have the power of God to demolish fortresses. We tear down arguments ⁵ and every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive in order to obey the Messiah.

⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that person be condemned! ⁹ What we have told you in the past I am now telling you again: If anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that person be condemned! ¹⁰ Am I now trying to win the approval of people or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be the Messiah’s servant.
¹¹ Jesus Himself Gave Paul His MessageFor I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin. ¹² For I did not receive it from a man, nor was I taught it, but it was revealed to me by Jesus the Messiah.

² I went in response to a revelation, and in a private meeting with the reputed leaders, I explained to them the gospel that I’m proclaiming to the gentiles. I did this because I was afraid that I was running or had run my life’s race for nothing.

² I want to learn only one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the actions of the Law or by believing what you heard? ³ Are you so foolish? Having started out with the Spirit, are you now ending up with the flesh? ⁴ Did you suffer so much for nothing? (If it really was for nothing!) ⁵ Does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you because you do the actions of the Law or because you believe what you heard?

⁵ Through the Spirit by faith we confidently await the fulfillment of our righteous hope,

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.

¹⁷ I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the most glorious Father, would give you a wise spirit, along with revelation that comes through knowing the Messiah fully. ¹⁸ Then, with the eyes of your hearts enlightened, you will know the confidence that is produced by God having called you, the rich glory that is his inheritance among the saints, ¹⁹ and the unlimited greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰ which he brought about in the Messiah when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realm.

¹⁰ For we are God’s masterpiece, created in the Messiah Jesus to perform good actions that God prepared long ago to be our way of life.

²⁰ Now to the one who can do infinitely more than all we can ask or imagine according to the power that is working among us—

¹³ For it is God who is producing in you both the desire and the ability to do what pleases him.

⁹ Likewise, keep practicing these things: what you have learned, received, heard, and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.

² Because they are united in love, I pray that their hearts may be encouraged by all the riches that come from a complete understanding of the full knowledge of the Messiah, who is the mystery of God.

¹ Paul Recalls His Visit to the ThessaloniansFor you yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a waste of time. ² As you know, we suffered persecution and were mistreated in Philippi. Yet we were encouraged by our God to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. ³ For our appeal to you does not spring from deceit, impure motives, or trickery. ⁴ Rather, because we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, we speak as we do, not trying to please people but God, who tests our motives.
⁵ As you know, we did not come with flattering words or with a scheme to make money. God is our witness! ⁶ We did not seek praise from people—from you or from anyone else— ⁷ even though as apostles of the Messiah we might have made such demands. Instead, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother tenderly caring for her own children. ⁸ We cared so deeply for you that we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but our very lives. That is how dear you were to us. ⁹ Brothers, you remember our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not become a burden to any of you while we proclaimed the gospel of God to you. ¹⁰ You and God are witnesses of how pure, honest, and blameless our conduct was among you who believe. ¹¹ You know very well that we treated each of you the way a father treats his children.

¹³ How the Thessalonians Welcomed the GospelHere is another reason why we constantly give thanks to God: When you received God’s word, which you heard from us, you did not accept it as the word of humans but for what it really is—the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. ¹⁴ With this purpose in mind, he called you through our proclamation of the gospel so that you would obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

⁷ For you yourselves know what you must do to imitate us. We never lived in idleness among you. ⁸ We did not eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, with toil and labor we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to any of you. ⁹ It is not as though we did not have that right, but we wanted to give you an example to follow.

¹² Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for other believers in your speech, behavior, love, faithfulness, and purity. ¹³ Until I arrive, give your full concentration to the public reading of Scripture, to exhorting, and to teaching. ¹⁴ Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy when the elders laid their hands on you. ¹⁵ Think on these things. Devote your life to them so that everyone can see your progress. ¹⁶ Pay close attention to your life and your teaching. Persevere in these things, because if you do so, you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

⁸ Meditate on Jesus, the Messiah, who was raised from the dead and is a descendant of David. This is the gospel I tell others.

¹⁰ For that reason, I endure everything for the sake of those who have been chosen so that they, too, may receive the salvation that is in the Messiah Jesus, along with eternal glory.

⁵ ‘Twas not for deeds that we had done, but by his steadfast love alone, he saved us through a second birth, renewed us by the Spirit’s work, ⁶ and poured him out upon us, too, through Jesus the Messiah our Savior true.

³ how will we escape if we neglect a salvation as great as this? It was first proclaimed by the Lord himself, and then it was confirmed to us by those who heard him, ⁴ while God added his testimony through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

¹¹ But we want each of you to continue to be diligent to the very end, in order to give full assurance to your hope.

¹⁸ so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us. ¹⁹ That hope, firm and secure like an anchor for our souls, reaches behind the curtain

²² let us continue to come near with sincere hearts in the full assurance that faith provides, because our hearts have been sprinkled clean from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

¹⁶ Practical Christian LivingDo not be deceived, my dear brothers. ¹⁷ Every generous act of giving and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father who made the heavenly lights, in whom there is no inconsistency or shifting shadow. ¹⁸ In accordance with his will he made us his children by the word of truth, so that we might become the most important of his creatures.

³ Our Hope and Joy are in the MessiahBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah! Because of his great mercy he has granted us a new birth, resulting in an immortal hope through the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah, from the dead

¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you in regard to the things that have now been announced to you by those who brought you the good news through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things that even the angels desire to look into.

³ Do not lord it over the people entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock.

¹⁹ Therefore we regard the message of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp that is shining in a gloomy place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

¹⁴ Alluring a Wayward Wife“Therefore, look! I will now allure her. I will make her go out to the wilderness, and will speak to her heart.

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me continuously.

²⁹ Jesus said, “I tell all of you with certainty, there is no one who has left his home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields because of me and the gospel ³⁰ who will not receive a hundred times as much here in this world—homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields, along with persecution—as well as eternal life in the age to come.

¹² Jesus the Light of the WorldLater on, Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right because that is what I am. ¹⁴ So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you must also wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I’ve set an example for you, so that you may do as I have done to you.

¹⁶ I will ask the Father to give you another Helper, to be with you always. ¹⁷ He is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. But you recognize him, because he lives with you and will be in you. ¹⁸ I’m not going to forsake you like orphans. I will come back to you.

⁴¹ They left the Council, rejoicing to have been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the Name.

³¹ So the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace. As it continued to be built up and to live in the fear of the Lord, it kept increasing in numbers through the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

⁵² Meanwhile, the disciples continued to be full of joy and the Holy Spirit.

⁵ But the Jewish leaders became jealous, and they took some contemptible characters who used to hang out in the public square, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. They attacked Jason’s home and searched it for Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the people. ⁶ When they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials and shouted, “These fellows who have turned the world upside down have come here, too, ⁷ and Jason has welcomed them as his guests. All of them oppose the emperor’s decrees by saying that there is another king—Jesus!”
⁸ The crowd and the city officials were upset when they heard this, ⁹ but after they had gotten a bond from Jason and the others, they let them go.
¹⁰ Paul and Silas in BereaThat night the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.

¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with the Messiah—if, in fact, we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
¹⁸ God’s Spirit Helps UsFor I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.

¹⁶ So I urge you to imitate me.

¹ Be Imitators of MeImitate me, as I do the Messiah.

¹ The Collection for the Christians in JerusalemWe want you to know, brothers, about God’s grace that was given to the churches of Macedonia. ² In spite of their terrible ordeal of suffering, their abundant joy and deep poverty have led them to be abundantly generous.

⁵ We did not expect that! They gave themselves to the Lord first and then to us, since this was God’s will.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

¹ So be imitators of God, as his dear children.

¹⁷ True and False TeachersJoin together in imitating me, brothers, and pay close attention to those who live by the example we have set for you.

² and send Timothy, our brother who works with us for God in the gospel of the Messiah, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, ³ so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions, for which you are aware that we were destined. ⁴ In fact, when we were with you, we told you ahead of time that we were going to suffer persecution. And as you know, that is what happened.

⁴ As a result, we rejoice about you among God’s churches—about your endurance and faith through all the persecutions and afflictions you are experiencing.

⁹ It is not as though we did not have that right, but we wanted to give you an example to follow.

³⁴ For you sympathized with the prisoners and cheerfully submitted to the violent seizure of your property, because you know that you have a better and more permanent possession.

⁶ You greatly rejoice in this, even though you have to suffer various kinds of trials for a little while,

⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,

¹³ Who will harm you if you are devoted to doing what is good?

¹¹ Praise for DemetriusDear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The person who does what is good is from God. The person who does what is evil has never seen God.

¹³ When they came into the city, these men went to the upstairs room where they had been staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

¹² and from there to Philippi, an important city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We were in this city for several days.

¹ Paul in CorinthAfter this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

² For I know how willing you are, and I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year, and your enthusiasm has stimulated most of them.

⁹ When I was with you and needed something, I did not bother any of you, because our brothers who came from Macedonia supplied everything I needed. I kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and I will continue to do so.
¹⁰ As surely as the truth of the Messiah is in me, my boasting will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.

⁸ From you the word of the Lord has spread out not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place where your faith in God has become known. As a result, we do not need to say anything about it.

¹⁰ In fact, you are showing love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia, but we urge you, brothers, to keep on doing this even more.

¹² Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for other believers in your speech, behavior, love, faithfulness, and purity.

⁷ Always set an example for others by doing good actions. Teach with integrity and dignity.

⁹ Jethro rejoiced over all the good that the LORD had done for Israel in delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians.

³ Many groups of people will come, commenting, “Come! Let’s go up to the Temple of the God of Jacob, that they may teach us his ways. Then let’s walk in his paths.”
The Rule of God from Jerusalem “Instruction will proceed from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

⁷ “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the one who brings news of peace, who announces good things, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’

¹⁹ “I will put up signs among them, and from them I will send survivors to the nations—to Tarshish, Libya, and Lydia, (who draw the bow), to Tubal and Greece, to the far off coastlands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. Then they will proclaim my glory among the nations.

⁸ Paul’s Prayer and Desire to Visit RomeFirst of all, I thank my God through Jesus the Messiah for all of you, because the news about your faith is being reported throughout the world.

¹⁴ How, then, can people call on someone they have not believed? And how can they believe in someone they have not heard about? And how can they hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵ And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are those who bring the good news!” ¹⁶ But not everyone has obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah asks, “Lord, who has believed our message?” ¹⁷ Consequently, faith results from listening, and listening results through the word of the Messiah.
¹⁸ But I ask, “Didn’t they hear?” Certainly they did! In fact, “Their voice has gone out into the whole world, and their words to the ends of the earth.”

¹⁹ For your obedience has become known to everyone, and I am full of joy for you. But I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

³⁶ Did God’s word originate with you? Are you the only ones it has reached?

⁴ Such is the confidence that we have in God through the Messiah.

¹ An Example to FollowFinally, brothers, pray for us—that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly, and that it may be honored the way it is among you.

¹² Demetrius has received a good report from everyone, including the truth itself. We, too, can testify to this report, and you know that our testimony is true.

⁶ The Vision of Angels Sounding a WarningThen I saw another angel flying overhead with the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.

¹⁷ Concluding InvitationThe Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”
Let everyone who hears this say, “Come!”
Let everyone who is thirsty come!
Let anyone who wants the water of life take it as a gift!

²⁶ For what mortal man has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire like we did, and lived?

²⁶ David asked the men who were standing by him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? Indeed, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

³⁶ Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he defied the armies of the living God.”

² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When may I come and appear in God’s presence?

² I desire and long for the Temple courts of the LORD. My heart and body sing for joy to the living God.

¹⁷ “Humanity’s haughtiness will be humbled, male arrogance will be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. ¹⁸ Their idols will utterly vanish. ¹⁹ “They will enter caverns in the rocks and holes in the ground to escape the presence of the terror of the LORD, to escape the splendor of his majesty when he arises to terrify the earth. ²⁰ At that time, mankind will throw their silver and gold idols that their fingers have made as objects of worship to the moles and to the bats. ²¹ They will enter caverns in the rocks and clefts in the cliffs, to escape the terror of the LORD and to escape the splendor of his majesty, when he arises to terrorize the earth.

⁴ Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to mock the living God, and perhaps he will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard. So lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives in this city.”

¹⁷ Extend your ear, LORD, and listen! Open your eyes, LORD, and look! Listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.

¹⁰ The LORD is the true God; he’s the living God and the everlasting king. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

¹⁹ LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in a time of difficulty, to you the nations will come, and from the ends of the earth they’ll say, “Surely our ancestors inherited deception, things that are worthless, and in which there is no profit.”

²⁶ “I hereby decree that in every area of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, who endures forever. His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed, and his dominion continues forever.

¹⁰ Despite this, the number of the people of Israel will be like ocean sand, which can neither be measured nor counted. And the time will come when instead of it being said, ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said, ‘You are children of the living God.’

¹¹ The LORD will incite them to terror, because he will cause all the gods of the earth to waste away. They will worship him, every person in his own home, including even the coastlands of the nations.”
The LORD’s Rebuke to Cush and Nineveh

²⁰ Future Visits by Nations to Jerusalem“This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘In the future, people will come, including residents of many cities, ²¹ and they will travel from one place to another place and say, “Let’s go quickly to pray in the presence of the LORD and to inquire of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.’ And I will go, too. ²² Many people and powerful nations will come to inquire of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies in Jerusalem, and to pray in the presence of the LORD.”’”
²³ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘In the future, ten men speaking all the languages of the nations will grab hold of one Jewish person by the hem of his garment and say, “Let us go up to Jerusalem with you, because we heard that God is with you.”’”

¹¹ Even so, from where the sun rises to where it sets my name will be great among the Gentiles. Incense will be brought to me everywhere, along with pure offerings, because my name will be great among the Gentiles,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

¹⁵ “Men, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings with natures like yours. We are telling you the good news so you’ll turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.

¹⁷ I’ll continue to rescue you from your people and from the gentiles to whom I’m sending you. ¹⁸ You will help them understand and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan’s control to God, so that their sins will be forgiven and they will receive a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

²⁶ In the very place where it was told them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called children of the living God.”

² You know that when you were unbelievers, you were enticed and led astray to worship idols that couldn’t even speak.

¹⁶ What agreement can a temple of God make with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said: “I will live and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” ¹⁷ Therefore, “Get away from them and separate yourselves from them,” declares the Lord, “and don’t touch anything unclean. Then I will welcome you.

⁸ However, in the past, when you did not know God, you were slaves to things that are not really gods at all. ⁹ But now that you know God, or rather have been known by God, how can you turn back again to those powerless and bankrupt basic principles? Why do you want to become their slaves all over again?

⁵ for the gospel we brought did not come to you in words only, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. Indeed, you know what kind of people we proved to be while we were with you, acting on your behalf.
⁶ You became imitators of us and of the Lord. In spite of a great deal of suffering, you welcomed the word with the joy that the Holy Spirit produces.

¹ Paul Recalls His Visit to the ThessaloniansFor you yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a waste of time.

¹⁰ To this end we work hard and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, that is, of those who believe.

²² Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to tens of thousands of angels joyfully gathered together,

² The kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and those living on earth became drunk with the wine of her immorality.”

¹⁸ “LORD, I’m waiting for your salvation.”

²⁵ “As for me, I know that my Vindicator is alive; And he, the Last One, will take his stand on the soil. ²⁶ Even after my skin has been destroyed, clothed in my flesh I will see God, ²⁷ whom I will see for myself. My own eyes will look at him— there won’t be anyone else for me!— He is the culmination of my innermost desire.”

⁸ he has swallowed up death forever! Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces, and he will take away the disgrace of his people from the entire earth.” for the LORD has spoken. ⁹ “And you will say at that time, ‘Look! It’s the LORD! This is our God! We waited for him, and he saved us. This is the LORD! We waited for him, so let us rejoice, and we will be glad that he has saved us.”

²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he is the one who will save his people from their sins.”

⁷ But when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he told them, “You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

²⁵ Now a man named Simeon was in Jerusalem. This man was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the one who would comfort Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

⁷ John would say to the crowds that were coming out to be baptized by him, “You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

¹¹ They asked, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you saw him go up into heaven.”

²⁴ But God raised him up and put an end to suffering of death, since it was impossible for him to be held by it,

¹⁵ and you killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses to that.

²¹ He must remain in heaven until the time of universal restitution, which God announced long ago through the voice of his holy prophets.

¹⁰ you and all the people of Israel must understand that this man stands healthy before you because of the name of Jesus from Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead.

³⁰ The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. ³¹ God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

⁴⁰ but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear— ⁴¹ not to all the people, but to us who were chosen by God to be witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

³¹ because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world with justice through a man whom he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

⁴ and was declared by the resurrection from the dead to be the powerful Son of God according to the spirit of holiness—Jesus the Messiah, our Lord.

²⁵ He was sentenced to death because of our sins and raised to life to justify us.

⁹ Now that we have been justified by his blood, how much more will we be saved from wrath through him! ¹⁰ For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life!

²³ However, not only the creation, but we who have the first fruits of the Spirit also groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

³⁴ Who is the one to condemn? It is the Messiah Jesus who is interceding on our behalf. He died, and more importantly, has been raised and is seated at the right hand of God.

⁷ Therefore, you don’t lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus the Messiah to be revealed.

⁴ he was buried, he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures—and is still alive!— ⁵ and he was seen by Cephas, and then by the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he was seen by more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. ⁷ Next he was seen by James, then by all the apostles, ⁸ and finally he was seen by me, as though I were born abnormally late.
⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and not even fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted God’s church. ¹⁰ But by God’s grace I am what I am, and his grace shown to me was not wasted. Instead, I worked harder than all the others—not I, of course, but God’s grace that was with me. ¹¹ So, whether it was I or the others, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
¹² The Resurrection of the DeadNow if we preach that the Messiah has been raised from the dead, how can some of you keep claiming there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then the Messiah has not been raised, ¹⁴ and if the Messiah has not been raised, then our message means nothing and your faith means nothing. ¹⁵ In addition, we are found to be false witnesses about God because we testified on God’s behalf that he raised the Messiah—whom he did not raise if in fact it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then the Messiah has not been raised, ¹⁷ and if the Messiah has not been raised, your faith is worthless and you are still imprisoned by your sins. ¹⁸ Yes, even those who have died believing in the Messiah are lost. ¹⁹ If we have set our hopes on the Messiah in this life only, we deserve more pity than any other people.
²⁰ But at this moment the Messiah stands risen from the dead, the first one offered in the harvest of those who have died. ²¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man.

¹³ The Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, “A curse on everyone who is hung on a tree!”

²⁰ Our citizenship, however, is in heaven, and it is from there that we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

¹⁸ He is also the head of the body, which is the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself might have first place in everything.

⁷ As a result, you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

⁷ even though as apostles of the Messiah we might have made such demands. Instead, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother tenderly caring for her own children.

¹⁶ as they try to keep us from telling the gentiles how they can be saved. As a result, they are constantly adding to the number of sins they have committed. However, wrath has overtaken them at last!

¹⁶ With a shout of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of God’s trumpet, the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and the dead who belong to the Messiah will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

⁹ For God has not destined us to receive wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,

¹ Complete the Task Entrusted to YouIn the presence of God and the Messiah Jesus, who is going to judge those who are living and those who are dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly appeal to you

¹³ as we wait for the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus the Messiah.

²⁸ so the Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. And he will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly wait for him.

²⁷ but only a terrifying prospect of judgment and a raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God.

²¹ This is, in fact, what you were called to do, because: The Messiah also suffered for you and left an example for you to follow in his steps.

¹⁸ For the Messiah also suffered for sins once for all, an innocent person for the guilty, so that he could bring you to God. He was put to death in a mortal body but was brought to life by the Spirit,

¹² as you look forward to and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved and the elements will melt with fire.

¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to have the Lord find you at peace and without spot or fault.

⁷ Look! He is coming in the clouds. Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him.So be it! Amen.

¹⁸ the living one. I was dead—but look!—I am alive forever and ever! I have the keys of Death and Hades.