1 Thessalonians 4

Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

1Now, brothers and sisters, we ask you something. We say it in the name of the Lord Jesus. We taught you how to live in a way that makes God glad. You are living that way. Keep doing it more and more.

2For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

2You know the rules we gave you. They came from the Lord Jesus himself.

3For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

3God wants you to be holy, which means set apart for him. So stay away from sex that is wrong.

4That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

4Each of you must learn to control your own body. Keep it clean and treat it with honor.

NoteThe KJV says "possess his vessel." Here "vessel" means a person's own body.

5Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

5Do not let strong, wrong wanting rule you. That is how people who do not know God live.

6That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

6No one should cheat a brother or sister in this. The Lord punishes people who do such things. We told you this before, and we warned you.

7For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

7God did not call us to live in a dirty way. He called us to be holy.

8He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

8So if someone says no to this teaching, he is not saying no to a person. He is saying no to God. God is the one who gives you his Holy Spirit.

9But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

9You do not need me to write about loving each other. God himself has taught you to love one another.

10And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;

10And you really do love all the believers all over Macedonia. But we ask you, brothers and sisters, to love even more.

11And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

11Try hard to live a quiet life. Take care of your own work. Work with your own hands, just as we told you.

NoteThe KJV says "study to be quiet." Back then "study" meant to aim at something or try hard, not to read books.

12That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

12Then people outside your group will see that you live well. And you will not have to depend on anyone.

13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

13Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about believers who have died. Then you will not be sad the way other people are. Those people have no hope.

Note"Asleep" here means people who have died. The letter uses sleep as a gentle way of saying it.

14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

14We believe that Jesus died and came back to life. So we also believe this: God will bring back with Jesus the believers who have died.

15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

15The Lord himself gave us this word, and we tell it to you. Some of us will still be alive when the Lord comes. We will not go ahead of the believers who have died.

NoteThe KJV says "shall not prevent them." In 1611, "prevent" meant to go first or go ahead of, not to stop.

16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

16The Lord himself will come down from heaven. There will be a loud command. There will be the voice of an archangel, a leader among God's angels. There will be the trumpet of God. And the people who died believing in Christ will rise first.

17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

17After that, those of us who are still alive will be lifted up too. We will go up together with them in the clouds. We will meet the Lord in the air. And we will always be with the Lord.

18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

18So cheer each other up with these words.