2 Thessalonians 2:7-17

2:7 For the hidden power of lawlessness ¹  is already at work. However, the one who holds him back ²  will do so until he is taken out of the way, 2:8 and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord ³  will destroy by the breath of his mouth and wipe out by the manifestation of his arrival. 2:9 The arrival of the lawless one ⁴  will be by Satan’s working with all kinds of miracles ⁵  and signs and false wonders, 2:10 and with every kind of evil deception directed against ⁶  those who are perishing, because they found no place in their hearts for the truth ⁷  so as to be saved. 2:11 Consequently ⁸  God sends on them a deluding influence ⁹  so that they will believe what is false. 2:12 And so ¹⁰  all of them who have not believed the truth but have delighted in evil will be condemned. ¹¹ 

Call to Stand Firm

2:13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters ¹²  loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning ¹³  for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 2:14 He called you to this salvation ¹⁴  through our gospel, so that you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵  2:15 Therefore, brothers and sisters, ¹⁶  stand firm and hold on to the traditions that we taught you, whether by speech or by letter. ¹⁷  2:16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, 2:17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you ¹⁸  in every good thing you do or say. ¹⁹ 

¹ tn Grk “the mystery of lawlessness.” In Paul “mystery” often means “revealed truth, something formerly hidden but now made widely known,” but that does not make sense with the verb of this clause (“to be at work, to be active”).

² tn Grk “the one who restrains.” This gives a puzzling contrast to the impersonal phrase in v. 6 (“the thing that restrains”). The restraint can be spoken of as a force or as a person. Some have taken this to mean the Roman Empire in particular or human government in general, since these are forces that can also be seen embodied in a person, the emperor or governing head. But apocalyptic texts like Revelation and Daniel portray human government of the end times as under Satanic control, not holding back his influence. Also the power to hold back Satanic forces can only come from God. So others understand this restraint to be some force from God: the preaching of the gospel or the working of the Holy Spirit through God’s people.

³ tc ‡ Several important witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western traditions, as well as many other witnesses, read ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) after κύριος (kurios, “Lord”; so א A D* F G L^c P Ψ 0278 33 81 104 365 1241 2464 pc latt sy co). But there is sufficient evidence in the Alexandrian tradition for the shorter reading (B 1739 1881), supported by the Byzantine text as well as Irenaeus. Although it is possible that scribes overlooked ᾿Ιησοῦς if the two nomina sacra occurred together (kMsiMs), since “the Lord Jesus” is a frequent enough appellation, it looks to be a motivated reading. NA²⁷ places ᾿Ιησοῦς in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

⁴ tn Grk “whose coming,” referring to the lawless one. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek construction, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁵ tn Grk “every miracle.”

⁶ tn Grk “deception for/toward.”

⁷ tn Grk “they did not accept the love of the truth.”

⁸ tn Grk “and for this reason.”

⁹ tn Grk “a working of error.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “that.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹¹ tn Grk “be judged,” but in this context the term clearly refers to a judgment of condemnation (BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α; cf. KJV “that they all might be damned”). CEV views the condemnation as punishment (“will be punished”).

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.

¹⁴ tn Grk “to which,” referring to the main idea of v. 13.

¹⁵ sn That you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. For Paul the ultimate stage of salvation is glorification (Rom 8:30).

¹⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

¹⁷ tn Grk “that you were taught whether by word or by letter of ours.”

¹⁸ tn Grk simply “strengthen,” with the object understood from the preceding.

¹⁹ tn Grk “every good work and word.”