Paul's Commendation for Their Growth

1 Paul, Silvanus, [1] ⓚ and Timothy: ⓛ To the church of the Thessalonians ⓜ in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace. [2]

2 We always thank God for all of you, making mention of you constantly in our prayers.

3 We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, ⓝ your work produced by faith, ⓐ your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⓑ

4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved ⓒ by God, ⓓ that he has chosen you, ⓔ

5 because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, ⓕ and with full assurance. You know how we lived among you ⓖ for your benefit,

6 and you yourselves became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message ⓗ with joy from the Holy Spirit.

7 As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia ⓘ and Achaia. ⓙ

8 For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith [3] ⓚ in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything,

9 for they themselves report [4] what kind of reception ⓛ we had from you: how you turned ⓜ to God from idols ⓝ to serve the living ⓐ and true ⓑ God

10 and to wait ⓒ for his Son ⓓ from heaven, whom he raised from the dead ⓔ  — Jesus, who rescues us ⓕ from the coming wrath. ⓖ