1 Thessalonians 4

Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to ^[a]walk and please God (just as you actually do ^[b]walk), that you excel still more.

As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.

For you know what commandments we gave you ^[c]by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from ^[d]sexual immorality;

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;

that each of you know how to ^[e]possess his own ^[f]vessel in sanctification and honor,

that each of you should learn to control your own body^[a] in a way that is holy and honourable,

not in ^[g]lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God;

and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.

and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.^[b] The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before.

For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but ^[h]in sanctification.

For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;

Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.

for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more,

And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more,

and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you,

and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: you should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you,

so that you will ^[i]behave properly toward outsiders and ^[j]not be in any need.

Those Who Died in Christ

so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

Believers who have died

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep ^[k]in Jesus.

For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive ^[l]and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a ^[m]shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive ^[n]and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever.

Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Therefore encourage one another with these words.