¹Finally then , brothers, we beg and exhort you in the Lord Yeshua, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God , that you abound more and more .

²For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Yeshua.

³For this is the will of God : your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality ,

⁴that each one of you know how to control his own body in sanctification and honour ,[#4:4 literally, possess his own vessel]

⁵not in the passion of lust , even as the Gentiles who don’t know God ,

⁶that no one should take advantage of and wrong a brother or sister in this matter ; because the Lord is an avenger in all these things , as also we forewarned you and testified .

⁷For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification.

⁸Therefore he who rejects this doesn’t reject man , but God , who has also given his Holy Spirit to you .

⁹But concerning brotherly love , you have no need that one write to you . For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another ,

¹⁰for indeed you do it towards all the brothers who are in all Macedonia . But we exhort you , brothers, that you abound more and more ;

¹¹and that you make it your ambition to lead a quiet life , and to do your own business , and to work with your own hands , even as we instructed you ,

¹²that you may walk properly towards those who are outside , and may have need of nothing .

¹³But we don’t want you to be ignorant , brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep , so that you don’t grieve like the rest , who have no hope .

¹⁴For if we believe that Yeshua died and rose again , even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Yeshua.

¹⁵For this we tell you by the word of the Lord , that we who are alive , who are left until the coming of the Lord , will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep .

¹⁶For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout , with the voice of the archangel and with God ’s shofar. The dead in Messiah will rise first ,

¹⁷then we who are alive , who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever .

¹⁸Therefore comfort one another with these words .