Paul's Ministry
1For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain: 2But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention. 3For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: 4But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. 5For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness: 6Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. 7But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: 8So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.
9For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. 10Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: 11As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, 12That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.
13For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. 14For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: 15Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: 16Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
Paul's Longing to Visit
(Romans 1:8-15)
17But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. 18Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us. 19For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? 20For ye are our glory and joy.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Paul’s Ministry
1 For you yourselves know, brothers, our visit to you wasn’t in vain, 2 but having suffered before and been shamefully treated, as you know, at Philippi, we grew bold in our God to tell you the Good News of God in much conflict. 3 For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in deception. 4 But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts. 5 For neither were we at any time found using words of flattery, as you know, nor a cloak of covetousness (God is witness), 6 nor seeking glory from men (neither from you nor from others), when we might have claimed authority as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother cherishes her own children. 8 Even so, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you, not the Good News of God only, but also our own souls, because you had become very dear to us.
9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and travail; for working night and day, that we might not burden any of you, we preached to you the Good News of God. 10 You are witnesses with God, how holy, righteously, and blamelessly we behaved ourselves toward you who believe. 11 As you know, we exhorted, comforted, and implored every one of you, as a father does his own children, 12 to the end that you should walk worthily of God, who calls you into his own Kingdom and glory.
13 For this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when you received from us the word of the message of God, you accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also works in you who believe. 14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the assemblies of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus; for you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews; 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out, and didn’t please God, and are contrary to all men; 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved; to fill up their sins always. But wrath has come on them to the uttermost.
Paul’s Longing to Visit
17 But we, brothers, being bereaved of you for a short season, in presence, not in heart, tried even harder to see your face with great desire, 18 because we wanted to come to you—indeed, I, Paul, once and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Isn’t it even you, before our Lord Jesus at his coming? 20 For you are our glory and our joy.
Paul’s Ministry
1 You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not in vain. 2 As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.
3 For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives or trickery. 4 Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts. 5 As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness! 6 Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it. a
7 On the contrary, we were gentle among you, b like a nursing mother caring for her children. 8 We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us.
9 Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed. 11 For you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children— 12 encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
13 And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as the true word of God—the word which is now at work in you who believe.
14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men, 16 hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them. c
Paul’s Longing to Visit
17 Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense. 18 For we wanted to come to you—indeed I, Paul, tried again and again—but Satan obstructed us. 19 After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? 20 You are indeed our glory and our joy.
Footnotes:
6 a Or although as apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you ; SBL, NE, and WH include this phrase with verse 7.
7 b WH and NA we were like young children among you
16 c Or at last the wrath (of God) has come upon them.
Paul's Ministry
1For yourselves have known, brethren, our entrance in unto you, that it did not become vain, 2but having both suffered before, and having been injuriously treated (as ye have known) in Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the good news of God in much conflict, 3for our exhortation is not out of deceit, nor out of uncleanness, nor in guile, 4but as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the good news, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God, who is proving our hearts, 5for at no time did we come with speech of flattery, (as ye have known,) nor in a pretext for covetousness, (God is witness!) 6nor seeking of men glory, neither from you nor from others, being able to be burdensome, as Christ's apostles. 7But we became gentle in your midst, as a nurse may cherish her own children, 8so being desirous of you, we are well-pleased to impart to you not only the good news of God, but also our own souls, because beloved ye have become to us,
9for ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail, for, night and day working not to be a burden upon any of you, we did preach to you the good news of God; 10ye are witnesses -- God also -- how kindly and righteously, and blamelessly to you who believe we became, 11even as ye have known, how each one of you, as a father his own children, we are exhorting you, and comforting, and testifying, 12for your walking worthily of God, who is calling you to His own reign and glory.
13Because of this also, we -- we do give thanks to God continually, that, having received the word of hearing from us of God, ye accepted, not the word of man, but as it is truly, the word of God, who also doth work in you who believe; 14for ye became imitators, brethren, of the assemblies of God that are in Judea in Christ Jesus, because such things ye suffered, even ye, from your own countrymen, as also they from the Jews, 15who did both put to death the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and did persecute us, and God they are not pleasing, and to all men are contrary, 16forbidding us to speak to the nations that they might be saved, to fill up their sins always, but the anger did come upon them -- to the end!
Paul's Longing to Visit
(Romans 1:8-15)
17And we, brethren, having been taken from you for the space of an hour -- in presence, not in heart -- did hasten the more abundantly to see your face in much desire, 18wherefore we wished to come unto you, (I indeed Paul,) both once and again, and the Adversary did hinder us; 19for what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? are not even ye before our Lord Jesus Christ in his presence? 20for ye are our glory and joy.
Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonica
¹ You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. ² We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you His gospel in the face of strong opposition. ³ For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. ⁴ On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. ⁵ You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness! ⁶ We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. ⁷ Instead, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children. ⁸ So we cared for you because we loved you so much. We were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.
⁹ Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. ¹⁰ You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless we were among you who believed. ¹¹ For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, ¹² encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into His kingdom and glory.
Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ Faith
¹³ And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. ¹⁴ For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews ¹⁵ who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone ¹⁶ in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way, they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.
Paul’s Longing to See the Thessalonians
¹⁷ But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. ¹⁸ For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. ¹⁹ For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? ²⁰ Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
Footnotes:
1.“Outrageously treated in Philippi” (verse 2) refers to the physical abuse and imprisonment Paul and Silas faced in Philippi (Acts 16:22-24). Despite this, they continued to preach boldly in Thessalonica, driven by their calling from God.
2.“Not trying to trick you” (verse 3) contrasts Paul’s ministry with the practices of false teachers, who often used deception to gain followers. The Greek word dolos suggests deceitful, manipulative practices. Paul asserts the purity of his motives in proclaiming the gospel.
3.“Like a nursing mother” (verse 7) emphasizes Paul’s gentle care for the Thessalonians. The Greek word trophos refers to a mother who nurses and nurtures her children, highlighting Paul’s tender, loving approach in his ministry.
4.“Encouraging, comforting, and urging” (verse 12) reflects the way Paul acted like a father toward the Thessalonians, nurturing them spiritually. The Greek word parakaleo conveys encouragement, paramythion conveys consolation, and martureo means to bear witness or urge with authority.
5.“Imitators of God’s churches in Judea” (verse 14) underscores the solidarity the Thessalonians shared with the early Jewish Christians who faced persecution for their faith. The Thessalonian believers endured similar hardships as they turned from idols to serve Christ.
6.“Wrath of God” (verse 16) refers to God’s judgment, which Paul indicates has already begun. This phrase reflects the seriousness of opposing the spread of the gospel, as God’s wrath is directed against those who hinder salvation for others.
7.“Satan blocked our way” (verse 18) shows Paul’s recognition of spiritual opposition in his efforts to return to Thessalonica. The Greek verb egkopto means to hinder or cut off, indicating an intentional effort by Satan to prevent Paul’s reunion with the Thessalonian believers.
