1 Thessalonians — The Coverdale Bible (1535)

1 Thessalonians is Paul’s letter of encouragement on holiness and the coming of the Lord. In Coverdale’s Bible of 1535 it stands in the New Testament under the heading “The first Epistle of the Apostle S. Paul to the Tessalonians”. Coverdale’s summary of the chapters stands before the text; the 1535 Bible has no verse numbers, so the text keeps its own paragraphs, in 5 chapters, with the marginal notes and references printed after each chapter.

The summe of this Epistle.

• Chap. I. He thanketh God for them, that they are so stedfast in faith and good workes, and receaue the gospell with soch earnest.
• Chap. II. He putteth them in mynde of the godly conuersacion that he led amonge them when he preached the gospell vnto them, thanketh God that they receaue his worde so frutefully, and excuseth his absence.
• Chap. III. He sheweth how greatly he was reioysed, whā Timothy tolde him of their faith and loue.
• Chap. IIII. He exhorteth them to stedfastnesse, to kepe them selues from synne and vnclenly cōuersacion, to loue one another: rebuketh ydilnesse, and speaketh of the resurreccion.
• Chap. V. He enfourmeth them of the daye of dome and cōmynge of the LORDE, exhorteth them to watch, and to regarde soch as preach Gods worde amonge them.

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Chapter 1

[B] PAVL and Siluanus and Timotheus.

Vnto the cōgregacion of the Tessalonyans, in God the father and in the LORDE Iesus Christ.

Grace be with you, and peace from God oure father and from the LORDE Iesus Christ.

⁽¹⁾We geue thankes vnto God allwaye for you all, makynge mēsion of you in oʳ prayers without ceassynge, and call to remembraunce youre worke in the faith, and youre laboure in loue, & youre pacience in hope, ⁽²⁾ which is oure LORDE Iesus Christ before God oure father: Because we knowe (brethren, beloued of God) how that ye are electe:⁽³⁾ for oure Gospell hath not bene with you in worde onely, but both in power and in the holy goost, and in moch certayntie, as ye knowe after what maner we were amonge you for youre sakes.

And ye became the folowers of vs and [B] of the LORDE: and receaued the worde in moch affliccion with ioye of the holy goost: so that ye were an example to all that beleued in Macedonia and Achaia. For frō you was the worde of the LORDE noysed out, not onely in Macedonia & Achaia, but ī all quarters also is yoʳ faith ī God spred abrode so that it nedeth not vs to speake eny thinge at all. For they them selues shewe of you, what maner of entrynge in we had vnto you, and how ye are turned vnto God from ymages, for to serue the lyuynge and true God, and to loke for his sonne ⁽⁴⁾ from heauē: whom he raysed vp from the deed, euen Iesus, which hath delyuered vs frō the ⁽⁵⁾ wrath to come.

Notes to Chapter 1

⁽¹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽²⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽³⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁴⁾ Act. 1. b

⁽⁵⁾ Ioh. 8. c

Chapter 2

FOr ye youre selues (brethren) knowe [A] of oure intraūce vnto you, how that it was not in vayne, but as we had suffred afore, &⁽¹⁾ were shamefully intreated at Philippos (as ye knowe) we were bolde in oure God,⁽²⁾ to speake vnto you yᵉ Gospel of God with moch stryuynge. For oure exhortacion was not to brynge you to erroure ner yet to vnclennes, nether was it with gyle: but as we are alowed of God, that the Gospell shulde be commytted vnto vs to preache, euen so we speake, ⁽³⁾ not as though we wolde please mē, but God, which tryeth oure hertes.

For we haue not gone aboute with flateringe wordes (as ye knowe) ner wayted for oure owne profit (⁽⁴⁾ God is recorde) nether soughte we prayse of men, nether of you ner of eny other, whan we mighte haue bene chargeable vnto you as the Apostles off Christ, but we were tender amonge you.

Like as a norsse cherisheth hir children,[B] euen so had we hartely affeccion towarde you, and wolde with good wyl haue dealte vnto you, not onely the Gospell of God, but oure lyues also, because ye were deare vnto vs.

Ye remembre brethren oure laboure and trauayle.⁽⁵⁾ For daye and nighte wroughte we (because we wolde not be chargeable vnto eny of you) and preached the Gospell of God amonge you. Ye are witnesses, and so is God, how holyly and iustly and vnblameable we behaued oure selues amōge you that beleue: as ye knowe, how that as a father his children, euen so exhorte ⟨illegible⟩ and besoughte euery one of you that ye wolde walke worthely before God, which hath called you vnto his kyngdome & glory

For this cause thanke we God without ceassynge, because that whā ye receaued of vs the worde of the preachinge of God, ye receaued it not as yᵉ worde of men, but (euē as it is of a trueth) the worde of God, which worketh in you that beleue.

[C] For ye brethren are become the folowers off ⁽⁶⁾ the congregacions off God which in Iewry are in Christ Iesu, so that ye haue suffred euen like thinges of youre kynsmen, as they haue suffred of the Iewes. Which as they put the LORDE Iesus to death, and their awne prophetes,⁽⁷⁾ euen so haue they persecuted vs also, and please not God, and are cōtrary to all men, ⁽⁸⁾ forbyddinge vs to speake vnto the Heythen that they mighte be saued, to fulfill their synnes allwaye: for the wrath is come vpon them allready vnto yᵉ vttemost.

But we (brethren) for as moch as we haue bene kepte from you for a season, as concernynge the bodely presence, but not in the hert, we haue haisted the more with greate desyre to se you personally. Therfore wolde we haue come vnto you, (I Paul) two tymes, ⁽⁹⁾ but Sathan withstode vs. For who is oure hope, or ioye, or crowne of ⁽¹⁰⁾ reioysinge? are not ye it in yᵉ sighte of oure LORDE Iesus Christ at his commynge? Yes ye are oure prayse and ioye.

Notes to Chapter 2

⁽¹⁾ Act. 16. c

⁽²⁾ Act. 17. a

⁽³⁾ Gal. 1. b

⁽⁴⁾ Phil. 1. b

⁽⁵⁾ Act. 20. ⟨illegible⟩ 2. Tess. ⟨illegible⟩. a

⁽⁶⁾ Heb. 10. d

⁽⁷⁾ Mat. 23. d

⁽⁸⁾ Act. 17. a. b

⁽⁹⁾ Dan. 10. b

⁽¹⁰⁾ Phil. 2. b

Chapter 3

[A] WHerfore sence we coulde no longer forbeare, we thoughte it good to remayne at ⁽¹⁾ Athens alone, & sent Timotheus oure brother and mynister of God, and oure helper in yᵉ gospell of Christ, to stablysh you and to comforte you in youre faith, that noman shulde be moued in these troubles: (for ye youre selues knowe, that we are euen appoynted there vnto. And whan we were with you, we tolde you before, that we shulde suffre tribulacion, euen as it is come to passe, & as ye knowe.) For this cause seynge I coulde no longer forbeare, I sent, that I mighte haue knowlege of youre faith, lest happly the tempter had tempted you, and lest oure laboure had bene in vayne.

But now that Timotheus is come frō you vnto vs, and hath shewed vs of youre [B] faith and loue, & how that ye haue allwaye good remembraunce of vs, desyringe to se vs as we also longe to se you: therfore brethren we haue consolacion in you in all oure trouble and necessite thorow youre faith. For now are we alyue, yf ye stonde stedfast in yᵉ LORDE. For what thankes can we recompēce to God agayne for you, because of this ioye that we haue concernynge you before oure God? We praye exceadingly daye and nighte, that we mighte se you presently, and fulfill that which is lackynge in yoʳ faith.

God himselfe oʳ father & oʳ LORDE Iesus Christ gyde oure iourney vnto you. But the LORDE increace you, & make you flowe ouer in loue one towarde another, and towarde all men (euen as we do towarde you) that yoʳ hertes maye be stable and vnblameable in holynes before God oure father, at the commynge of oure LORDE Iesus Christ with all his sayntes.

Notes to Chapter 3

⁽¹⁾ Act. 17. c

Chapter 4

FVrthermore we beseke you brethren [A] and exhorte you in the LORDE Iesus, that ye increace more and more, euen as ye haue receaued of vs how ye oughte to walke and to please God. For ye knowe what commaundementes we ga⟨illegible⟩ue you by oure LORDE Iesus Christ. For this is the ⁽¹⁾ will of God, euen youre sanctifienge, that ye shulde absteyne from whordome, ⁽²⁾ yᵗ euery one of you shulde knowe how to kepe his vessell in holynes and honoure, & not in the lust of concupiscence, ⁽³⁾ as the Heythen which knowe not God. And that no man go to farre, ner defraude his brother in bargayninge. For the LORDE is the auenger of all soch thinges, as we haue sayde & testified vnto you afore tyme. For God hath not called vs to vnclennesse, but vnto holynes. ⁽⁴⁾ He therfore that despyseth, despyseth not man, but God, ⁽⁵⁾ which hath geuen his holy sprete in to you.

But as touchinge brotherly loue, ye nede [B] not that I wryte vnto you,⁽⁶⁾ for ye youre selues are taught of God to loue one another: yee and that thinge ye do vnto all the brethrē, which are thorow out all Macedonia. But we beseke you brethren that ye increace yet more and more, and that ye study to be quyete, and to medle with youre awne busynesse, ⁽⁷⁾ and to worke with youre awne hādes, as we commaunded you, that ye maye walke honestly towarde thē that are without, and that nothinge be lackynge vnto you.

We wolde not brethren that ye shulde be ignoraunt concernynge them which are fallen a slepe, that ye sorowe not as other do which haue no hope. For yf we beleue that Iesus dyed and rose agayne, euen so thē also which slepe by Iesus, shal God brynge with him. For this we saye vnto you in the worde of the LORDE, ⁽⁸⁾ that we which lyue and are remaynynge in the cōmyng▪ of the LORDE, shal not come yer they which slepe. ⁽⁹⁾ For the LORDE himselfe shal come downe frō heauen with a shoute and voyce of yᵉ Archangell and with the trompe of God,⁽¹⁰⁾ and the deed in Christ shal aryse first: then shal we which lyue and remayne, be caught vp wᵗ them also in the cloudes, to mete the LORDE in the ayre, and so shal we euer be with the LORDE. Wherfore comforte youre selues one another with these wordes.

Notes to Chapter 4

⁽¹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽²⁾ ⟨illegible paragraph⟩

⁽³⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁴⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁵⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁶⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁷⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁸⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽¹⁰⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

Chapter 5

BVt of yᵉ tymes and seasons (brethrē) it is no nede to wryte vnto you. For ye youreselues knowe perfectly, that ⁽¹⁾the daye of the LORDE shal come euen as a thefe in the nighte. For whan they shal saye▪ Tush, It is peace, there is no daunger, ⁽²⁾then shall soden destruccion come vpō thē, euen as the payne of a woman trauaylinge with childe, and they shal not escape. But ye brethren are not in darknes, that that daye shulde come on you as a thefe. Ye are alltogether children of lighte, and children of the daye. We are not of the night, nether of darknesse.

⁽³⁾ Therfore let vs not slepe as do other, but let vs watch, and be sober. For they that slepe, slepe in the nighte: and they that be dronken, are dronken in the nighte. But let vs which are of the daye, be sober, armed wᵗ the brestplate of faith and loue, and with yᵉ helmet of hope to saluacion.

[B] For God hath not appoynted vs vnto wrath, but to optayne saluacion by yᵉ meanes of oure LORDE Iesu Christ▪ which dyed for vs: that whether we wake or slepe, we shulde lyue together with him. Wherfore comforte youre selues together, and edifye one another, euen as ye do.

We beseke you brethren,⁽⁴⁾ that ye knowe them which laboure amonge you, and haue the ouersighte of you in the LORDE, and geue you exhortacion, that ye haue thē the more in loue for their workes sake, and be at peace with them. We desyre you brethrē, warne them that are vnruly, cōforte the feble mynded, forbeare the weake, be pacient towarde all men.* So that none recompence euell for euell vnto eny man: but euer folowe that which is good, both amōge youre selues and to all men.

Reioyse alwaye, praye contynually, ⁽⁵⁾ in all thinges be thankfull: for this is the wyll of God in Christ Iesu towarde you. ⁽⁶⁾ Quēch not yᵉ sprete: despyse not propheciēges: proue all thīges, & kepe yᵗ which is good. Abstayne frō all suspicious thinges. The very God of peace sanctifye you thorow out. And I praye God, that youre whole sprete, soule & body be kepte blameles vnto yᵉ cōmynge of oure LORDE Iesus Christ. ⁽⁷⁾ Faithfull is he which hath called you, which wil also do it. Brethren, praye for vs. Grete all the brethrē with an holy kysse. I charge you by yᵉ LORDE, that this epistle be red vnto all yᵉ holy brethren.⁽⁸⁾ The grace of oure LORDE Iesus Christ be with you, Amen.

The first Epistle to the Tessalonians, sent from Athens.

Notes to Chapter 5

⁽¹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽²⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽³⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁴⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁵⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁶⁾ ⟨illegible⟩

⁽⁷⁾ 1. Cor. 1. a and 10. b

⁽⁸⁾ 2. Tess. ⟨illegible⟩. b

Colophon

This page is an archival transcription of the printed text, not a Good Works Translation. Source: Biblia the Byble, that is, the holy Scrypture of the Olde and New Testament, faithfully translated in to Englyshe (M.D.XXXV; STC 2063.3), translated by Myles Coverdale, the copy in Cambridge University Library, keyed and encoded by the Text Creation Partnership (EEBO-TCP Phase I, text A10349, 2005) and released under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 public-domain dedication.

14 places illegible in the Cambridge copy were filled from Samuel Bagster’s 1838 page-for-page reprint of the edition (archive.org, holyscriptures00cove), only where the reprint’s reading is certain; each fill is listed on this room’s Supplied Readings page; 24 places are still marked ⟨illegible⟩ (2 in the text, 22 in the marginal notes).

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