2 Thessalonians 2:3

2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes ¹  and the man of lawlessness ²  is revealed, the son of destruction. ³ 

2 Thessalonians 2:9-11

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.

[2:3]  ¹ tn Grk “for unless the rebellion comes first.” The clause about “the day” is understood from v. 2.

[2:3]  ² 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.

[2:3]  ³ tn Or “the one destined for destruction.”

[2:9]  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.

[2:9]  ⁵ tn Grk “every miracle.”

[2:10]  ⁶ tn Grk “deception for/toward.”

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Grk “they did not accept the love of the truth.”

[2:11]  ⁸ tn Grk “and for this reason.”

[2:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “a working of error.”