2 Thessalonians 1:6

1:6 For it is right ¹  for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

2 Thessalonians 2:5

2:5 Surely you recall ²  that I used to tell you these things while I was still with you.

2 Thessalonians 2:1

The Day of the Lord

2:1 Now regarding the arrival ³  of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, ⁴  we ask you, brothers and sisters, ⁵ 

2 Thessalonians 2:14

2:14 He called you to this salvation ⁶  through our gospel, so that you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ 

2 Thessalonians 3:3-4

3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and he ⁸  will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 3:4 And we are confident about you in the Lord that you are both doing – and will do – what we are commanding.

2 Thessalonians 1:5

Encouragement in Persecution

1:5 This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, to make you worthy ⁹  of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering.

2 Thessalonians 3:1

Request for Prayer

3:1 Finally, pray for us, brothers and sisters, ¹⁰  that the Lord’s message ¹¹  may spread quickly and be honored ¹²  as in fact it was among you,

2 Thessalonians 3:10

3:10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this command: “If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.”

2 Thessalonians 1:10-11

1:10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired ¹³  on that day among all who have believed – and you did in fact believe our testimony. ¹⁴  1:11 And in this regard we pray for you always, that our God will make you worthy of his calling ¹⁵  and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith,

2 Thessalonians 2:2-3

2:2 not to be easily ¹⁶  shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, ¹⁷  to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes ¹⁸  and the man of lawlessness ¹⁹  is revealed, the son of destruction. ²⁰ 

2 Thessalonians 2:13

Call to Stand Firm

2:13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters ²¹  loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning ²²  for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

2 Thessalonians 3:6

Response to the Undisciplined

3:6 But we command you, brothers and sisters, ²³  in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined ²⁴  life ²⁵  and not according to the tradition they ²⁶  received from us.

¹ tn Grk “if in fact/since,” as a continuation of the preceding.

² tn Grk “You do remember, don’t you?”

³ tn Or perhaps “return” (cf. CEV).

⁴ tn Grk “our gathering with him.”

⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

⁴ tn Grk “to which,” referring to the main idea of v. 13.

⁵ sn That you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. For Paul the ultimate stage of salvation is glorification (Rom 8:30).

⁵ tn Grk “who.”

⁶ tn Grk “so that you may be made worthy.” The passive infinitive καταξιωθῆναι (kataxiwqhnai) has been translated as an active construction in English for stylistic reasons.

⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

⁸ tn Or “the word of the Lord.”

⁹ tn Grk “may run and be glorified.”

⁸ tn Or “marveled at.”

⁹ tn Grk “because our testimony to you was believed.”

⁹ tn Or “your calling.”

¹⁰ tn Or “quickly, soon.”

¹¹ tn Grk “as through us.”

¹¹ tn Grk “for unless the rebellion comes first.” The clause about “the day” is understood from v. 2.

¹² tc Most mss (A D F G Ψ Ï lat sy) read ἁμαρτίας (Jamartia", “of sin”) here, but several important mss (א B 0278 6 81 1739 1881 al co) read ἀνομίας (anomia", “of lawlessness”). Although external support for ἁμαρτίας is broader, the generally earlier and better witnesses are on the side of ἀνομίας. Internally, since ἁμαρτία (Jamartia, “sin”) occurs nearly ten times as often as ἀνομία (anomia, “lawlessness”) in the corpus Paulinum, scribes would be expected to change the text to the more familiar term. At the same time, the mention of ἀνομία in v. 7 and ὁ ἄνομος (Jo anomo", “the lawless one”) in v. 8, both of which look back to v. 3, may have prompted scribes to change the text toward ἀνομίας. The internal evidence is thus fairly evenly balanced. Although a decision is difficult, ἀνομίας has slightly greater probability of authenticity than ἁμαρτίας.

¹³ tn Or “the one destined for destruction.”

¹² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

¹³ tc ‡ Several mss (B F G P 0278 33 81 323 1739 1881 al bo) read ἀπαρχήν (aparchn, “as a first fruit”; i.e., as the first converts) instead of ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς (ap’ arch", “from the beginning,” found in א D Ψ Ï it sa), but this seems more likely to be a change by scribes who thought of the early churches in general in this way. But Paul would not be likely to call the Thessalonians “the first fruits” among his converts. Further, ἀπαρχή (aparch, “first fruit”) is a well-worn term in Paul’s letters (Rom 8:23; 11:16; 16:5; 1 Cor 15:20, 23; 16:15), while ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς occurs nowhere else in Paul. Scribes might be expected to change the text to the more familiar term. Nevertheless, a decision is difficult (see arguments for ἀπαρχήν in TCGNT 568), and ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς must be preferred only slightly.

¹³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

¹⁴ tn Or “unruly, out of line.” The particular violation Paul has in mind is idleness (as described in vv. 8-11), so this could be translated to reflect that.

¹⁵ tn Grk “walking in an undisciplined way” (“walking” is a common NT idiom for one’s way of life or conduct).

¹⁶ tc The reading “you received” (παρελάβετε, parelabete) is found predominately in Western witnesses (F G 1505 2464 pc), although the support of B and the Sahidic version strengthens the reading considerably. The reading “they received” is found in two different forms: παρελάβοσαν (parelabosan; in א* A [D*] 0278 33 pc) and παρέλαβον (parelabon; in א² D² Ψ 1739 1881 Ï). (παρέλαβον is evidently a correction of παρελάβοσαν to the more common spelling for the third person aorist form). The external evidence is divided fairly evenly, with παρελάβετε and παρελάβοσαν each having adequate support. Internal evidence leans toward “they received”: Given the second person reading, there is little reason why scribes would intentionally change it to a third person plural, and especially an archaic form at that. There is ample reason, however, for scribes to change the third person form to the second person form given that in the prior context παράδοσις (paradosis, “tradition”) is used with a relative clause (as here) with a second person verb (see 2:15). The third person form should be regarded as original.