Parallel Bible results for "1 thessalonians 4"

1 Thessalonians 4

New Living Translation NLT

1 Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more.

2 For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

3 God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.

4 Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor—

5 not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.

6 Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before.

7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.

8 Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

9 But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another.

10 Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more.

11 Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.

12 Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.

13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.

14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.

16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.

17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.

18 So encourage each other with these words.

Common English Bible CEB

1 So then, brothers and sisters, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to keep living the way you already are and even do better in how you live and please God—just as you learned from us.

2 You know the instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

3 God's will is that your lives are dedicated to him. This means that you stay away from sexual immorality

4 and learn how to control your own body in a pure and respectable way.

5 Don't be controlled by your sexual urges like the Gentiles who don't know God.

6 No one should mistreat or take advantage of their brother or sister in this issue. The Lord punishes people for all these things, as we told you before and sternly warned you.

7 God didn't call us to be immoral but to be dedicated to him.

8 Therefore, whoever rejects these instructions isn't rejecting a human authority. They are rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

9 You don't need us to write about loving your brothers and sisters because God has already taught you to love each other.

10 In fact, you are doing loving deeds for all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. Now we encourage you, brothers and sisters, to do so even more.

11 Aim to live quietly, mind your own business, and earn your own living, just as I told you.

12 That way you'll behave appropriately toward outsiders, and you won't be in need.

13 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about people who have died so that you won't mourn like others who don't have any hope.

14 Since we believe that Jesus died and rose, so we also believe that God will bring with him those who have died in Jesus.

15 What we are saying is a message from the Lord: we who are alive and still around at the Lord's coming definitely won't go ahead of those who have died.

16 This is because the Lord himself will come down from heaven with the signal of a shout by the head angel and a blast on God's trumpet. First, those who are dead in Christ will rise.

17 Then, we who are living and still around will be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet with the Lord in the air. That way we will always be with the Lord.

18 So encourage each other with these words.