Parallel Bible results for "1 thessalonians 2"

1 Thessalonians 2

New Revised Standard NRS

1 You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain,

2 but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition.

3 For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery,

4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts.

5 As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed;

6 nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others,

7 though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.

8 So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.

9 You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

10 You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers.

11 As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children,

12 urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

13 We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God's word, which is also at work in you believers.

14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own compatriots as they did from the Jews,

15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out; they displease God and oppose everyone

16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins; but God's wrath has overtaken them at last.

17 As for us, brothers and sisters, when, for a short time, we were made orphans by being separated from you—in person, not in heart—we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face.

18 For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, wanted to again and again—but Satan blocked our way.

19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?

20 Yes, you are our glory and joy!

The Message Bible MSG

1 So, friends, it's obvious that our visit to you was no waste of time.

2 We had just been given rough treatment in Philippi, as you know, but that didn't slow us down. We were sure of ourselves in God, and went right ahead and said our piece, presenting God's Message to you, defiant of the opposition.

3 God tested us thoroughly to make sure we were qualified to be trusted with this Message.

4 Be assured that when we speak to you we're not after crowd approval - only God approval. Since we've been put through that battery of tests, you're guaranteed that both we and the Message are free of error, mixed motives, or hidden agendas.

5 We never used words to butter you up. No one knows that better than you. And God knows we never used words as a smoke screen to take advantage of you.

6 Even though we had some standing as Christ's apostles, we never threw our weight around or tried to come across as important, with you or anyone else.

7 We weren't aloof with you. We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children.

8 We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did.

9 You remember us in those days, friends, working our fingers to the bone, up half the night, moonlighting so you wouldn't have the burden of supporting us while we proclaimed God's Message to you.

10 You saw with your own eyes how discreet and courteous we were among you, with keen sensitivity to you as fellow believers. And God knows we weren't freeloaders!

11 You experienced it all firsthand. With each of you we were like a father with his child,

12 holding your hand, whispering encouragement, showing you step-by-step how to live well before God, who called us into his own kingdom, into this delightful life.

13 And now we look back on all this and thank God, an artesian well of thanks! When you got the Message of God we preached, you didn't pass it off as just one more human opinion, but you took it to heart as God's true word to you, which it is, God himself at work in you believers!

14 Friends, do you realize that you followed in the exact footsteps of the churches of God in Judea, those who were the first to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ? You got the same bad treatment from your countrymen as they did from theirs, the Jews

15 who killed the Master Jesus (to say nothing of the prophets) and followed it up by running us out of town. They make themselves offensive to God and everyone else

16 by trying to keep us from telling people who've never heard of our God how to be saved. They've made a career of opposing God, and have gotten mighty good at it. But God is fed up, ready to put an end to it.

17 Do you have any idea how very homesick we became for you, dear friends? Even though it hadn't been that long and it was only our bodies that were separated from you, not our hearts, we tried our very best to get back to see you.

18 You can't imagine how much we missed you! I, Paul, tried over and over to get back, but Satan stymied us each time.

19 Who do you think we're going to be proud of when our Master Jesus appears if it's not you?

20 You're our pride and joy!