2 Thessalonians 1:2

1:2 Grace and peace to you ¹  from God the ²  Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

2 Thessalonians 3:18

3:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. ³ 

2 Thessalonians 2:1

The Day of the Lord

2:1 Now regarding the arrival ⁴  of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, ⁵  we ask you, brothers and sisters, ⁶ 

2 Thessalonians 2:14

2:14 He called you to this salvation ⁷  through our gospel, so that you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸ 

2 Thessalonians 1:12

1:12 that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to ⁹  the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 3:5-6

3:5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts toward the love of God ¹⁰  and the endurance of Christ. ¹¹ 

Response to the Undisciplined

3:6 But we command you, brothers and sisters, ¹²  in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined ¹³  life ¹⁴  and not according to the tradition they ¹⁵  received from us.

[1:2]  ¹ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ² tc ‡ Most witnesses (א A F G I 0278 Ï lat sy sa) have ἡμῶν (Jhmwn) after πατρός (patros), reading “God our Father,” in apparent emulation of Paul’s almost universal style. The omission of the pronoun (the reading of B D P 0111^vid 33 1739 1881 pc) seems to be the original wording of this salutation. As well, the intrinsic evidence also supports the shorter reading: If 2 Thessalonians is authentic, it was one of Paul’s earliest letters, and, if so, his stereotyped salutation was still in embryonic form (see discussion at 1 Thess 1:1). NA²⁷ places the word in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[3:18]  ³ tc Most witnesses, including some early and important ones (א² A D F G Ψ Ï lat sy), conclude this letter with ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”). Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, the witnesses for the omission are among the best mss (א* B 0278 6 33 1739 1881* 2464 sa), giving sufficient base to prefer the shorter reading.

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “return” (cf. CEV).

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “our gathering with him.”

[2:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

[2:14]  ⁷ tn Grk “to which,” referring to the main idea of v. 13.

[2:14]  ⁸ sn That you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. For Paul the ultimate stage of salvation is glorification (Rom 8:30).

[1:12]  ⁹ tn Or “by means of.”

[3:5]  ¹¹ tn The genitive in the phrase τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ (thn agaphn tou qeou, “the love of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“God’s love”) or an objective genitive (“your love for God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, the emphasis would be on believers being directed toward the love God gives which in turn produces increased love in them for him.

[3:5]  ¹² tn The genitive in the phrase τὴν ὑπομονὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ (thn Jupomonhn tou Cristou, “the endurance of Christ”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“Christ’s endurance”) or an objective genitive (“endurance for Christ”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, the emphasis would be on believers being directed toward the endurance Christ showed which in turn produces endurance in them for him.

[3:6]  ¹³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

[3:6]  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.

[3:6]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “walking in an undisciplined way” (“walking” is a common NT idiom for one’s way of life or conduct).

[3:6]  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.