2 Thessalonians 1:8

1:8 With flaming fire he will mete out ¹  punishment on those who do not know God ²  and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 1:6

1:6 For it is right ³  for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

2 Thessalonians 2:10

2:10 and with every kind of evil deception directed against ⁴  those who are perishing, because they found no place in their hearts for the truth ⁵  so as to be saved.

2 Thessalonians 1:10

1:10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired ⁶  on that day among all who have believed – and you did in fact believe our testimony. ⁷ 

2 Thessalonians 3:12

3:12 Now such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and so provide their own food to eat. ⁸ 

2 Thessalonians 3:14

3:14 But if anyone does not obey our message through this letter, take note of him and do not associate closely with him, so that he may be ashamed.

2 Thessalonians 1:3

Thanksgiving

1:3 We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, ⁹  and rightly so, ¹⁰  because your faith flourishes more and more and the love of each one of you all for one another is ever greater.

2 Thessalonians 2:2-3

2:2 not to be easily ¹¹  shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, ¹²  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 ¹³  and the man of lawlessness ¹⁴  is revealed, the son of destruction. ¹⁵ 

2 Thessalonians 2:13

Call to Stand Firm

2:13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters ¹⁶  loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning ¹⁷  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, ¹⁸  in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined ¹⁹  life ²⁰  and not according to the tradition they ²¹  received from us.

¹ tn Grk “meting out,” as a description of Jesus Christ in v. 7. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 8 in the translation.

² sn An allusion to Jer 10:25, possibly also to Ps 79:6 and Isa 66:15.

³ tn Grk “if in fact/since,” as a continuation of the preceding.

⁵ tn Grk “deception for/toward.”

⁶ tn Grk “they did not accept the love of the truth.”

⁷ tn Or “marveled at.”

⁸ tn Grk “because our testimony to you was believed.”

⁹ tn Grk “that by working quietly they may eat their own bread.”

¹¹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

¹² tn Grk “as is worthy.”

¹³ tn Or “quickly, soon.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “as through us.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “for unless the rebellion comes first.” The clause about “the day” is understood from v. 2.

¹⁶ 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.

¹⁷ tn Or “the one destined for destruction.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

¹⁸ 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.

¹⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

²⁰ 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.

²¹ tn Grk “walking in an undisciplined way” (“walking” is a common NT idiom for one’s way of life or conduct).

²² 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.