Asetena A Ɛsɔ Onyankopɔn Ani
1Anuanom, asɛm a etwa to ne sɛ musuaa ɔkwan pa a ɛsɛ sɛ mofa so tena ase a ɛbɛsɔ Onyankopɔn ani. Na saa pɛpɛɛpɛ na morebɔ mo bra. Enti yɛde yɛn Awurade Yesu din srɛ, hyɛ mo sɛ monyɛ mma ɛmmoro nea moreyɛ mprempren no so. 2Munim nkyerɛkyerɛ a esiane Awurade Yesu tumi nti, yetumi kyerɛkyerɛɛ mo.
3Eyi yɛ Onyankopɔn pɛ a ɔwɔ ma mo. Ɔpɛ sɛ moyɛ kronkron na motwe mo ho fi aguamammɔ ho. 4Ɛsɛ sɛ musua sɛnea mohyɛ mo ho so na obiara atumi ne ne yere atena wɔ kronkronyɛ ne anuonyam mu. 5Monntena ase akɔnnɔ anibere so te sɛ abosonsomfo a wonnim Onyankopɔn no. 6Onyankopɔn akyide no bi nso ne sɛ, ɛnsɛ sɛ mo mu biara sisi ne yɔnko, efisɛ sɛ obi yɛ saa a, Onyankopɔn bɛtwe nʼaso denneennen sɛnea yɛadi kan abɔ mo kɔkɔ no. 7Onyankopɔn amfrɛ yɛn se yɛmmɛbɔ aguaman, na mmom ɔfrɛɛ yɛn se yɛntena ase ahotew mu. 8Ɛno nti, obiara a ɔbɛpo saa nkyerɛkyerɛ yi no mpo onipa, na mmom ɔpo Onyankopɔn a ɔma mo ne Honhom Kronkron no.
9Ɛho nhia sɛ mɛkyerɛw mo afa ɔdɔ a ɛsɛ sɛ modɔ mo nuanom asuafo no ho. Onyankopɔn akyerɛ mo ankasa ɔkwan a ɛsɛ sɛ mofa so dodɔ mo ho mo ho. 10Na moada saa ɔdɔ no adi pɛpɛɛpɛ akyerɛ anuanom a wɔwɔ Makedonia no nyinaa. Nanso anuanom, yɛsrɛ mo sɛ monkɔ so nnodɔ mo ho mo ho mma ɛmmoro saa. 11Momma ɛnyɛ mo botae sɛ mobɛtena ase dinn na moahwɛ so adi mo dwuma de abɔ mo ho akɔnhama sɛnea yɛaka akyerɛ mo dedaw no. 12Sɛ moyɛ saa a ɛbɛma wɔn a wɔnyɛ asuafo no afɛre mo na moremmisa nea ehia mo nso mfi obiara nkyɛn.
Awurade Ba No
13Anuanom, yɛpɛ sɛ yɛka nokware a ɛfa wɔn a wɔawuwu no ho kyerɛ mo, sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a morenni ho awerɛhow te sɛ wɔn a wonni anidaso no. 14Yegye di sɛ Yesu wui, na ɔsɔree bio. Enti sɛ Onyankopɔn de Yesu ba bio a, ɔde wɔn a wonyaa ne mu gyidi ansa na wɔrewu no bɛka ne ho aba. 15Awurade nkyerɛkyerɛ a yɛreka akyerɛ mo no ne se, da a Awurade bɛba no, yɛn a yɛte ase yi renni awufo no anim kan. 16Awurade no ankasa de ɔhyɛ a ano yɛ den, ɔbɔfo panyin nteɛmu ne Onyankopɔn torobɛnto nnyigye fi ɔsoro bɛba fam. Wɔn a wɔawuwu wɔ Kristo mu no bɛsɔre kan, 17na wɔaboaboa yɛn a yɛte ase bere no ne wɔn a wɔasɔre no ano wɔ omununkum mu ahyia Awurade wɔ wim. Na saa na yɛne Awurade bɛtena daa. 18Enti momfa saa asɛm yi nkyekye obiara werɛ.
Living to please God
1As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4that each of you should learn to control your own body4:4 Or learn to live with your own wife; or learn to acquire a wife in a way that is holy and honourable, 5not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6and that in this matter no-one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.4:6 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
9Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: you should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Believers who have died
13Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
