The Jews planned things against me, and this gave me much trouble. But you know that I always served the Lord, sometimes with tears. I never thought about myself first.
If you people of Judah don’t listen to the Lord,\par I will hide and cry.\par Your pride will cause me to cry.\par I will cry very hard.\par My eyes will overflow with tears.\par Why? Because the Lord’s flock {\cf2\super [111]} \par will be captured.\par
If my head was filled with water,\par and if my eyes were a fountain of tears,\par I would cry day and night\par for my people that have been destroyed.\par
But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was telling the word of God in Berea, they came to Berea too. The Jews from Thessalonica upset the people in Berea and made trouble.
But the Jews \{that did not believe\} became jealous. They hired some bad men from the city. These bad men gathered many people and made trouble in the city. They went to Jason’s house, looking for Paul and Silas. They wanted to bring Paul and Silas out before the people.
He stayed there three months. He was ready to sail for Syria, but some Jews were planning something against him. So Paul decided to go back through Macedonia to Syria.
So be careful! Always remember this: I was with you for three years. During this time, I never stopped warning you. I taught you night and day. I often cried for you.
The seven days were almost finished. But some Jews from Asia {\cf2\super [428]} saw Paul in the temple {\cf2\super [429]} area. They caused all the people to be upset, and they grabbed Paul.
Greetings from Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus. God called me to be an apostle. {\cf2\super [1]} I was chosen to tell God’s Good News {\cf2\super [2]} to all people.
When I wrote to you before, I was very troubled and unhappy in my heart. I wrote with many tears. I did not write to make you sad. I wrote so that you could know how much I love you.
Now do you think I am trying to make people accept me? No! God is the One I am trying to please. Am I trying to please people? If I wanted to please people, I would not be a servant of Jesus Christ.
People everywhere tell about the good way you accepted us when we were there with you. Those people tell about how you stopped worshiping idols {\cf2\super [3]} and changed to serve the living and true God.
So now these people are before the throne of God. They worship God day and night in his temple. {\cf2\super [60]} And the One (God) who sits on the throne will protect them.