1 Thessalonians 4

1 Finally, 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.

Finally then, brothers, we beg and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, that you abound more and more.

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

For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

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

For this is the will of God: your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality,

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

that each one of you know how to control his own body in sanctification and honour,

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

not in the passion of lust, even as the Gentiles who don’t know God,

6 and 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.

that no one should take advantage of and wrong a brother or sister in this matter; because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as also we forewarned you and testified.

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

For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification.

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

Therefore he who rejects this doesn’t reject man, but God, who has also given his Holy Spirit to you.

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

But concerning brotherly love, you have no need that one write to you. For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another,

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

for indeed you do it towards all the brothers who are in all Macedonia. But we exhort you, brothers, that you abound more and more;

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

and that you make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, even as we instructed you,

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

that you may walk properly towards those who are outside, and may have need of nothing.

13 Brothers, 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.

But we don’t want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don’t grieve like the rest, who have no hope.

14 For 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.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

15 By 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.

For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep.

16 For 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.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first,

17 After 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.

then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever.

18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Therefore comfort one another with these words.