Night Watch Devotion

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
¹ Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
² O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
³ But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.
⁴ Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
⁵ Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD.
⁶ There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”
⁷ You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.
⁸ In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
¹ Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him;
² the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
³ The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.
⁴ As for me, I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
⁵ My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die, and his name perish?”
⁶ And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
⁷ All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me.
⁸ They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him; he will not rise again from where he lies.”
⁹ Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
¹⁰ But you, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them!
¹¹ By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
¹² But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.
¹³ Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen. (ESV)

Of David.
¹ To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.
² Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
³ Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts.
⁴ Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward.
⁵ Because they do not regard the works of the LORD or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them up no more.
⁶ Blessed be the LORD! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
⁷ The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
⁸ The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
⁹ Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

A Psalm of David.
¹ Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
² Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
³ The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
⁴ The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
⁵ The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
⁶ He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
⁷ The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
⁸ The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
⁹ The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
¹⁰ The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
¹¹ May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple.
¹ I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
² O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.
³ O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.
⁴ Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.
⁵ For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
⁶ As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”
⁷ By your favor, O LORD, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed.
⁸ To you, O LORD, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
⁹ “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!”
¹¹ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
¹² that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever! (ESV)

¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.
⁶ But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
⁷ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’
¹⁰ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
¹¹ Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’
¹² But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
¹³ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (ESV)

¹⁴ “He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
¹⁵ My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed, as torrential streams that pass away,
¹⁶ which are dark with ice, and where the snow hides itself.
¹⁷ When they melt, they disappear; when it is hot, they vanish from their place.
¹⁸ The caravans turn aside from their course; they go up into the waste and perish.
¹⁹ The caravans of Tema look, the travelers of Sheba hope.
²⁰ They are ashamed because they were confident; they come there and are disappointed.
²¹ For you have now become nothing; you see my calamity and are afraid.
²² Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’? Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?
²³ Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary’s hand’? Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless’?
²⁴ “Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone astray.
²⁵ How forceful are upright words! But what does reproof from you reprove?
²⁶ Do you think that you can reprove words, when the speech of a despairing man is wind?
²⁷ You would even cast lots over the fatherless, and bargain over your friend.
²⁸ “But now, be pleased to look at me, for I will not lie to your face.
²⁹ Please turn; let no injustice be done. Turn now; my vindication is at stake.
³⁰ Is there any injustice on my tongue? Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity? (ESV)

²² After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing.
²³ John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized
²⁴ (for John had not yet been put in prison).
²⁵ Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification.
²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.”
²⁷ John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.
²⁸ You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’
²⁹ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.
³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease.”
³¹ He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.
³² He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.
³³ Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.
³⁴ For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.
³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
¹ Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John
² (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples),
³ he left Judea and departed again for Galilee.
⁴ And he had to pass through Samaria.
⁵ So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
⁶ Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. (ESV)

¹³ But the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
¹⁴ These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben.
¹⁵ The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon.
¹⁶ These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years.
¹⁷ The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans.
¹⁸ The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years.
¹⁹ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations.
²⁰ Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father’s sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years.
²¹ The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
²² The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
²³ Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
²⁴ The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the clans of the Korahites.
²⁵ Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites by their clans.
²⁶ These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said: “Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts.”
²⁷ It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.
²⁸ On the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
²⁹ the LORD said to Moses, “I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.”
³⁰ But Moses said to the LORD, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”

¹ And the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.
² You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land.
³ But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,
⁴ Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.
⁵ The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”
⁶ Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the LORD commanded them.
⁷ Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
⁸ Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’”
¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.
¹¹ Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts.
¹² For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.
¹³ Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
¹⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.
¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water, and stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him. Take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent.
¹⁶ And you shall say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed.
¹⁷ Thus says the LORD, “By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.
¹⁸ The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”’”
¹⁹ And the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”
²⁰ Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood.
²¹ And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
²² But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
²³ Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.
²⁴ And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.
²⁵ Seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.
² But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs.
³ The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls.
⁴ The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’”
⁵ And the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!’”
⁶ So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.
⁷ But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
⁸ Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the LORD to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.”
⁹ Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.”
¹⁰ And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.
¹¹ The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.”
¹² So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the LORD about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh.
¹³ And the LORD did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields.
¹⁴ And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.
¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
¹⁶ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’”
¹⁷ And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt.
¹⁸ The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast.
¹⁹ Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
²⁰ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.
²¹ Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.
²² But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.
²³ Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”’”
²⁴ And the LORD did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.
²⁵ Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.”
²⁶ But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the LORD our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?
²⁷ We must go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as he tells us.”
²⁸ So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me.”
²⁹ Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.”
³⁰ So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD.
³¹ And the LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained.
³² But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go. (ESV)

⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people.
⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.”
⁴⁹ And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him.
⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.
⁵¹ And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
⁵² Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
⁵³ Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?
⁵⁴ But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”
⁵⁵ At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me.
⁵⁶ But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.
⁵⁷ Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered.
⁵⁸ And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end.
⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death,
⁶⁰ but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward
⁶¹ and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’”
⁶² And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”
⁶³ But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy.
⁶⁶ What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.”
⁶⁷ Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him,
⁶⁸ saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?” (ESV)

⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
⁸ the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
⁹ the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
¹¹ Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
¹² Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
¹³ Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.
¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. (ESV)

¹ Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.
² For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
³ For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
⁴ that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
⁵ not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;
⁶ that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.
⁷ For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.
⁸ Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
⁹ Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another,
¹⁰ for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more,
¹¹ and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,
¹² so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
¹³ But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
¹⁵ For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
¹⁶ For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

¹ Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.
² For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
³ While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
⁴ But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
⁵ For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.
⁶ So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.
⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
⁹ For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
¹⁰ who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.
¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
¹² We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,
¹³ and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.
¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
¹⁵ See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
¹⁶ Rejoice always,
¹⁷ pray without ceasing,
¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit.
²⁰ Do not despise prophecies,
²¹ but test everything; hold fast what is good.
²² Abstain from every form of evil.
²³ Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
²⁴ He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
²⁵ Brothers, pray for us.
²⁶ Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
²⁷ I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

¹ Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
³ We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.
⁴ Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.
⁵ This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—
⁶ since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
⁷ and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
⁸ in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
⁹ They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
¹⁰ when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.
¹¹ To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power,
¹² so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
¹ Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,
² not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
³ Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
⁴ who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
⁶ And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.
⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.
⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
⁹ The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,
¹⁰ and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
¹¹ Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, (ESV)