A Life that Pleases God

4 [^LFinally; or Now then; Furthermore] Brothers and sisters, we taught you how to ·live [walk] in a way that will please God, and you are living that way. Now we ask and ·encourage [urge; appeal to] you in the Lord Jesus to ·live that way [excel; abound] even more. ² [^LFor] You know what ·we told [instructions/commands we gave] you to do ·by the authority of [^Lthrough] the Lord Jesus. ³ ·God wants you to be holy and [or For this is God’s will, your sanctification:] to stay away from sexual sins. ⁴ He wants each of you to ·learn to control your own body [or take a wife for yourself; or live with your own wife; ^Lgain/possess his own vessel] in a way that is holy and honorable. ⁵ ·Don’t use your body for sexual sin [^L…not in lustful passion] like the ·people [^LGentiles] who do not know God. ⁶ Also, do not ·wrong [exploit; transgress] or ·cheat [take advantage of] another ·Christian [^Lbrother (or sister)] in this way. The Lord ·will punish people who do those [^Lis the avenger concerning these] things as we have already told you and ·warned [solemnly testified to] you. ⁷ [^LFor] God did not call us to ·a life of sin [^Limpurity], but to holiness. ⁸ ·So [Therefore] the person who ·refuses to obey [disregards; rejects; despises] this teaching is not simply ·disobeying [disregarding; rejecting; despising] ·a human being [human authority], but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

⁹ We do not need to write you about ·having love for your Christian family [^Lbrotherly love], because God has already taught you to love each other. ¹⁰ And truly you do love the ·Christians [^Lbrothers (and sisters)] in all of Macedonia [1:7]. Now we encourage you, brothers and sisters, to ·love them [excel; abound; v. 1] even more. ¹¹ ·Do all you can […and to aspire] to live a peaceful life. ·Take care of [Attend to; Mind] your own business, and ·do your own work [^Lwork with your hands] as we have already ·told [instructed; commanded] you. ¹² If you do, then you will ·win the respect of [or live a respectable/proper life before] ·unbelievers [^Loutsiders], and you will not have to depend on others for what you need.

The Lord’s Coming

¹³ Brothers and sisters, we ·want you to know [do not want you to be uninformed] about those ·Christians who have died [^Lwho sleep; ^Ca euphemism for death] so you will not ·be sad [grieve], as ·others [^Lthe rest] who have no hope. ¹⁴ [^LFor] We believe that Jesus died and that he rose again. ·So, through him, God will raise with Jesus those who have died [or So God will bring with Jesus those who have died/^Lfallen asleep in him]. ¹⁵ What we tell you now is ·the Lord’s own message [^Lby the word of the Lord]. We who are ·living [still alive] when the Lord comes again will [^Lcertainly; surely] not go before those who have ·already died [^Lfallen asleep]. ¹⁶ The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud ·command [or shout], ·with [or accompanied by; or preceded by] the voice of the archangel [^Ca leading or ruling angel; Dan. 10:13; Jude 9], and with the trumpet call of God. And ·those who have died believing [^Lthe dead] in Christ will rise first [1 Cor. 15:51–57]. ¹⁷ After that, we who are ·still alive [or alive and are left] will be ·gathered [caught; taken] up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And [^Lso; in this way] we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ So ·encourage [comfort] each other with these words.