2 Thessalonians 2:4

2:4 He ¹  opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat ²  in God’s temple, displaying himself as God. ³ 

2 Thessalonians 1:5

Encouragement in Persecution

1:5 This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, to make you worthy ⁴  of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering.

2 Thessalonians 1:2

1:2 Grace and peace to you ⁵  from God the ⁶  Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

2 Thessalonians 1:6

1:6 For it is right ⁷  for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

2 Thessalonians 2:13

Call to Stand Firm

2:13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters ⁸  loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning ⁹  for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

2 Thessalonians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul ¹⁰  and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians ¹¹  in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:11

2:11 Consequently ¹²  God sends on them a deluding influence ¹³  so that they will believe what is false.

2 Thessalonians 1:8

1:8 With flaming fire he will mete out ¹⁴  punishment on those who do not know God ¹⁵  and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 1:12

1:12 that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to ¹⁶  the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 3:5

3:5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts toward the love of God ¹⁷  and the endurance of Christ. ¹⁸ 

2 Thessalonians 1:3-4

Thanksgiving

1:3 We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, ¹⁹  and rightly so, ²⁰  because your faith flourishes more and more and the love of each one of you all for one another is ever greater. 1:4 As a result we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you are enduring.

2 Thessalonians 1:11

1:11 And in this regard we pray for you always, that our God will make you worthy of his calling ²¹  and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith,

2 Thessalonians 2:16

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,

[2:4]  ¹ tn Grk “the one who opposes,” describing the figure in v. 3. A new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the personal pronoun (“he”) and translating the participle ἀντικείμενος (antikeimeno") as a finite verb.

[2:4]  ² sn Allusions to Isa 14:13-14; Dan 11:36; Ezek 28:2-9 respectively.

[2:4]  ³ tn Grk “that he is God.”

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Grk “so that you may be made worthy.” The passive infinitive καταξιωθῆναι (kataxiwqhnai) has been translated as an active construction in English for stylistic reasons.

[1:2]  ⁷ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁸ 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.

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “if in fact/since,” as a continuation of the preceding.

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

[2:13]  ¹⁴ 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.

[1:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ¹⁷ map For the location of Thessalonica see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[2:11]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and for this reason.”

[2:11]  ²⁰ tn Grk “a working of error.”

[1:8]  ²² 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.

[1:8]  ²³ sn An allusion to Jer 10:25, possibly also to Ps 79:6 and Isa 66:15.

[1:12]  ²⁵ tn Or “by means of.”

[3:5]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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.

[1:3]  ³¹ 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).

[1:3]  ³² tn Grk “as is worthy.”

[1:11]  ³⁴ tn Or “your calling.”