Open English Translation 1TH Chapter 2

2 Brothers and sisters, you yourselves know that our going to Thessalonica wasn’t wasted, 2 [ref]but after previously suffering and being mistreated in Philippi, we spoke boldly at your place with God’s help, to tell you all the good message from God despite a lot of opposition there. 3 As we recommend a change in your lifestyles, we don’t do it with deception or impurity or deceit, 4 but since God has approved us and entrusted the good message to us, that’s what we talk about. We don’t aim to bring pleasure to people, but rather to bring them to God—the one who approves our inner motives. 5 As you all know, we never once came with a message of flattery, nor did we come under any pretenses (God is our witness) trying to get anything from you, 6 nor did we try to earn respect from people—neither from you all nor from anyone else 7 even though we could request support as ambassadors of Messiah. But we became unsophisticated among you, just like children, or like a breast-feeding mother who cherishes her own children. 8 So in longing for you all like that, we were happy to share with you all—not only the good message from God, but also exposing our own lives because you all became dear to us. 9 Brothers and sisters, you’re remembering our work and the hardship that we endured, working day and night so that we wouldn’t burden any of you as we proclaimed good message from God.

10 You’re all witnesses, and God also, as to how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we were to the believers, 11 just as each one of you who’s a father to his own children has known 12 how to encourage and to console them. We testified to you so that you all would live lives worthy of God—the one who invited you into his kingdom and to share his honour.

13 We also never stop thanking God that when you accepted God’s message that you heard from us, it wasn’t a message from humans, but truly was a message from God who is working in all of you who believed. 14 [ref]Brothers and sisters, you became imitators of the other assemblies of God in Yudea which are founded on Messiah Yeshua. You all suffered the same things from your own countrymen that the strict Jews did to them. 15 [ref]They executed their own prophets as well as the master Yeshua. They drove us out, displeasing God and contrary to all people— 16 forbidding us from telling non-Jews that they need to be saved so that they stay in their sins, but God’s severe anger will finish them off.

17 But we, brothers and sisters, have been cut off from you for a while, but only physically and not in our hearts, in fact we long to see you even more. 18 We wanted to come and see you all—I, Paul, even tried twice to come—but Satan held us back. 19 Because who is it that encourages and pleases us and that we can brag about? Won’t it be you all there in front of our master Yeshua when he returns, 20 because you all make us both happy and proud.