1 Thessalonians 2:13

2:13 And so ¹  we too constantly thank God that when you received God’s message that you heard from us, ²  you accepted it not as a human message, ³  but as it truly is, God’s message, which is at work among you who believe.

1 Thessalonians 1:6

1:6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, when you received ⁴  the message with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, despite great affliction.

¹ tn Grk “for this reason,” which seems to look back to Paul’s behavior just described. But it may look forward to v. 13b and mean: “and here is another reason that we constantly thank God: that…”

² tn Grk “God’s word of hearing from us.”

³ tn Paul’s focus is their attitude toward the message he preached: They received it not as a human message but a message from God.

⁴ tn Or “after you received.”