2 Thessalonians 1:9

1:9 They ¹  will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, ² 

2 Thessalonians 1:2

1:2 Grace and peace to you ³  from God the ⁴  Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

2 Thessalonians 3:2-3

3:2 and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil people. For not all have faith. 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and he ⁵  will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

2 Thessalonians 1:7

1:7 and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed ⁶  from heaven with his mighty angels. ⁷ 

2 Thessalonians 2:2

2:2 not to be easily ⁸  shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, ⁹  to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here.

2 Thessalonians 2:13

Call to Stand Firm

2:13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters ¹⁰  loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning ¹¹  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, 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.

[1:9]  ¹ tn Grk “who,” describing the people mentioned in v. 8. A new sentence was started here in the translation by replacing the relative pronoun with a personal pronoun.

[1:9]  ² tn Or “power,” or “might.” The construction can also be translated as an attributed genitive: “from his glorious strength” (cf. TEV “glorious might”; CEV “glorious strength”; NLT “glorious power”).

[1:2]  ³ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁴ 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.

[3:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “who.”

[1:7]  ⁷ tn Grk “at the revelation of the Lord Jesus.”

[1:7]  ⁸ tn Grk “angels of power,” translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:2]  ⁹ tn Or “quickly, soon.”

[2:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “as through us.”

[2:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

[2:13]  ¹² 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.

[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.