6So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober.7For those who sleep, sleep at night; and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation.9For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.10He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.11Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing.

Christian Living

12But we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who work diligently among you, who preside over you in the Lord and give you instruction.13In love, hold them in highest regard because of their work. Live in peace with one another.14And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.15Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.

16Rejoice at all times.17Pray without ceasing.18Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.19Do not extinguish the Spirit.20Do not treat prophecies with contempt,21but test all things. Hold fast to what is good.22Abstain from every form of evil.

Final Blessings and Instructions

23Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

24The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.

25Brothers, pray for us as well.

26Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.27I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

28The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Greetings to the Thessalonians

1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.4That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring.

Christ’s Coming

5All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.6After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,7and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels8in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.9They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might,10on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our testimony.

11To this end, we always pray for you, that our God will count you worthy of His calling, and that He will powerfully fulfill your every good desire and work of faith,12so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Man of Lawlessness

1Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers,2not to be easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has already come.3Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.4He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.5Do you not remember that I told you these things while I was still with you?6And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way.8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.9The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,10and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.