1 Thessalonians 1 (BHT-ATN)

“To: The Assembly of the Thessalonians”

1 From: Paul and Silvanus and Timothy.

To: The assembly of the Thessalonians in union with God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

To all of+ ᵖyou+ grace, and peace.

“We Give Thanks to God at All Times for All of You”

2 We give thanks to God at all times for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers constantly, 3 remembering your deeds prompted by faith and your hard work motivated by love and your patient endurance produced by hope in our Lord Jesus the Messiah, in the presence of+ our God and Father; 4 being certain, brothers and sisters loved by God, about his choice of you,+ 5 because our gospel came to you not merely with fine-sounding talk,+ but indeed with acts of power+ and with the Holy Spirit and with full conviction of its truth+—just as you know for certain+ what kind of men we showed ourselves to be while we were with you in order to help and serve+ you. 6 And as for you, you followed our example, and that of the Lord himself, welcoming the message, despite great trial and suffering, with the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. 7 As a result, you became an example to all the believers in the provinces of Macedonia and Achaia. 8 From you, in fact, the message about the Lord has echoed forth not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia! No, the news about your faith+ in God has spread everywhere—so much so that we don’t even have to tell people about it.+ 9 Indeed, they themselves are telling others about the fruitful results of our visit to you and how you turned to God from idols, so that you could serve the God who is living and true+ 10 and wait expectantly for his Son to come down+ from the heavens, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.+

+1:1“All of” is drawn from the plural “you” here.+1:1Unless otherwise marked (through superscript—ˢyou), all second person pronouns are in the second person plural.+1:3Or before.+1:4Cf Ac 10-11, 15:14; Col 3:12. Though there were both Jewish and Gentile believers in Thessalonica (see Ac 17:4), Paul is focusing his attention here on Gentile believers (see v 9 below). Cf Eph 1.+1:5Lit in word, or in speech, or in an act of speaking. Looking to BDAG for the more specific sense of λόγος ( logos) here (see BDAG, 599, sv 1.a.α.). Cf 1 Co 2:1-5, 4:18-21; 2 Co 11:6.+1:5Translating in the same way as at 1 Co 2:5 (see translation and note there). Cf also UBSHS (1 Th), 10.+1:5Cf Ac 14:27, 15:3-4, 15:12-14; 1 Co 2:1-5, 4:18-21.+1:5“For certain” is included in translation here to make the comparison with the “knowing” of v 4 (signaled by καθὼς́ [ kathōs]; see, eg, L-N, 64.14) clear, since οἶδα ( oida) was translated as “certain” there. Paul’s point here is that God had furnished proof to them of His acceptance of the Gentiles; likewise, Paul’s life and that of his companions had furnished proof to the Gentiles of the reliability of the message/ministers that God had sent to them.+1:5Lit for the benefit/sake of you. The preposition here is functioning as a marker of benefaction (see, eg, L-N, 90.38). Cf HCSB, ISV, NCV, NET, TEV. Cf also Php 2:4; translation and notes at 2 Co 5:13.+1:8Lit your faith in God. ME. In English, we don’t usually speak of someone’s “faith” going out. The meaning here is that the news about their faith and example has spread (see ESS [1 and 2 Th], 27; UBSHS [1 Th], 13). Cf TEV.+1:8Lit so that we do not have need to speak anything. Cf ESS (1 and 2 Th), 28; UBSHS (1 Th), 14.+1:9Cf Is 44:6-23; Jr 10:1-16; Ac 14:15; Rm 6:1-23.+1:10IT. Cf ISV, NCV.+1:10Cf Rm 4:25; 1 Co 6:9-11; Ga 1:4; Eph 5:1-20; Col 3:1-11; 1 Th 1:10, 4:3-8; 2 Pt 3:14-15; 1 Jn 2:1-2; Re 19:7-9, 21:7-8.