Paul's First Letter to the
THESSALONIANS

1 Thessalonians 1 From Paul, Silas, and Timothy--
To the people of the church in Thessalonica, who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
May grace and peace be yours.

The Life and Faith of the Thessalonians

²We always thank God for you all and always mention you in our prayers. ³For we remember before our God and Father how you put your faith into practice, how your love made you work so hard, and how your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is firm. ⁴Our friends, we know that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own. ⁵For we brought the Good News to you, not with words only, but also with power and the Holy Spirit, and with complete conviction of its truth. You know how we lived when we were with you; it was for your own good. ⁶You imitated us and the Lord; and even though you suffered much, you received the message with the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. ⁷So you became an example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸For not only did the message about the Lord go out from you throughout Macedonia and Achaia, but the news about your faith in God has gone everywhere. There is nothing, then, that we need to say. ⁹All those people speak about how you received us when we visited you, and how you turned away from idols to God, to serve the true and living God ¹⁰and to wait for his Son to come from heaven--his Son Jesus, whom he raised from death and who rescues us from God's anger that is coming.

The Peaceful Kingdom

Isaiah 11 The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new king will arise from among David's descendants.

²The spirit of the LORD will give him wisdom
and the knowledge and skill to rule his people.
He will know the LORD's will and honor him,
³ and find pleasure in obeying him.
He will not judge by appearance or hearsay;
⁴ he will judge the poor fairly
and defend the rights of the helpless.
At his command the people will be punished,
and evil persons will die.
⁵He will rule his people with justice and integrity.

⁶Wolves and sheep will live together in peace,
and leopards will lie down with young goats.
Calves and lion cubs will feed together,
and little children will take care of them.
⁷Cows and bears will eat together,
and their calves and cubs will lie down in peace.
Lions will eat straw as cattle do.
⁸Even a baby will not be harmed
if it plays near a poisonous snake.
⁹On Zion, God's sacred hill,
there will be nothing harmful or evil.
The land will be as full of knowledge of the LORD
as the seas are full of water.

The Exiled People Will Return

¹⁰A day is coming when the new king from the royal line of David will be a symbol to the nations. They will gather in his royal city and give him honor. ¹¹When that day comes, the Lord will once again use his power and bring back home those of his people who are left in Assyria and Egypt, in the lands of Pathros, Ethiopia, Elam, Babylonia, and Hamath, and in the coastlands and on the islands of the sea. ¹²The Lord will raise a signal flag to show the nations that he is gathering together again the scattered people of Israel and Judah and bringing them back from the four corners of the earth. ¹³The kingdom of Israel will not be jealous of Judah any more, and Judah will not be the enemy of Israel. ¹⁴Together they will attack the Philistines on the west and plunder the people who live to the east. They will conquer the people of Edom and Moab, and the people of Ammon will obey them. ¹⁵The LORD will dry up the Gulf of Suez, and he will bring a hot wind to dry up the Euphrates, leaving only seven tiny streams, so that anyone can walk across. ¹⁶There will be a highway out of Assyria for those of his people Israel who have survived there, just as there was for their ancestors when they left Egypt.

Hymn of Thanksgiving

Isaiah 12 A day is coming when people will sing,
"I praise you, LORD! You were angry with me,
but now you comfort me and are angry no longer.
²God is my savior;
I will trust him and not be afraid.
The LORD gives me power and strength;
he is my savior.
³As fresh water brings joy to the thirsty,
so God's people rejoice when he saves them."

⁴A day is coming when people will sing,
"Give thanks to the LORD! Call for him to help you!
Tell all the nations what he has done!
Tell them how great he is!
⁵Sing to the LORD because of the great things he has done.
Let the whole world hear the news.
⁶Let everyone who lives in Zion shout and sing!
Israel's holy God is great,
and he lives among his people."

God Will Punish Babylon

Isaiah 13 This is a message about Babylon, which Isaiah son of Amoz received from God.
²On the top of a barren hill raise the battle flag! Shout to the soldiers and raise your arm as the signal for them to attack the gates of the proud city. ³The LORD has called out his proud and confident soldiers to fight a holy war and punish those he is angry with.
⁴Listen to the noise on the mountains--the sound of a great crowd of people, the sound of nations and kingdoms gathering. The LORD of Armies is preparing his troops for battle. ⁵They are coming from far-off countries at the ends of the earth. In his anger the LORD is coming to devastate the whole country.
⁶Howl in pain! The day of the LORD is near, the day when the Almighty brings destruction. ⁷Everyone's hands will hang limp, and everyone's courage will fail. ⁸They will all be terrified and overcome with pain, like the pain of a woman in labor. They will look at each other in fear, and their faces will burn with shame. ⁹The day of the LORD is coming--that cruel day of his fierce anger and fury. The earth will be made a wilderness, and every sinner will be destroyed. ¹⁰Every star and every constellation will stop shining, the sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will give no light.
¹¹The LORD says, "I will bring disaster on the earth and punish all wicked people for their sins. I will humble everyone who is proud and punish everyone who is arrogant and cruel. ¹²Those who survive will be scarcer than gold. ¹³I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place on that day when I, the LORD Almighty, show my anger.
¹⁴"The foreigners living in Babylon will run away to their homelands, scattering like deer escaping from hunters, like sheep without a shepherd. ¹⁵Anyone who is caught will be stabbed to death. ¹⁶While they look on helplessly, their babies will be battered to death, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be raped."
¹⁷The LORD says, "I am stirring up the Medes to attack Babylon. They care nothing for silver and are not tempted by gold. ¹⁸With their bows and arrows they will kill the young men. They will show no mercy to babies and take no pity on children. ¹⁹Babylonia is the most beautiful kingdom of all; it is the pride of its people. But I, the LORD, will overthrow Babylon as I did Sodom and Gomorrah! ²⁰No one will ever live there again. No wandering Arab will ever pitch a tent there, and no shepherd will ever pasture a flock there. ²¹It will be a place where desert animals live and where owls build their nests. Ostriches will live there, and wild goats will prance through the ruins. ²²The towers and palaces will echo with the cries of hyenas and jackals. Babylon's time has come! Her days are almost over."

The Happiness of a Good Person

Psalm 112 Praise the LORD!

Happy is the person who honors the LORD,
who takes pleasure in obeying his commands.
²The good man's children will be powerful in the land;
his descendants will be blessed.
³His family will be wealthy and rich,
and he will be prosperous forever.

⁴Light shines in the darkness for good people,
for those who are merciful, kind, and just.
⁵Happy is the person who is generous with his loans,
who runs his business honestly.
⁶A good person will never fail;
he will always be remembered.

⁷He is not afraid of receiving bad news;
his faith is strong, and he trusts in the LORD.
⁸He is not worried or afraid;
he is certain to see his enemies defeated.
⁹He gives generously to the needy,
and his kindness never fails;
he will be powerful and respected.
¹⁰The wicked see this and are angry;
they glare in hate and disappear;
their hopes are gone forever.