1 Thessalonians 4, side by side

¹Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more.

¹Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

²For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

²For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

³For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality;

³For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

⁴each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,

⁴That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

⁵not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;

⁵Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

⁶and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.

⁶That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

⁷For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.

⁷For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

⁸Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.

⁸He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

⁹Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.

⁹But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

¹⁰And you are indeed showing this love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more

¹⁰And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;

¹¹and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.

¹¹And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

¹²Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.

¹²That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

¹³Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.

¹³But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

¹⁴For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.

¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

¹⁵By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep.

¹⁵For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

¹⁶For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.

¹⁶For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

¹⁷After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

¹⁷Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

¹⁸Therefore encourage one another with these words.

¹⁸Wherefore comfort one another with these words.