2 Thessalonians 2:9

2:9 The arrival of the lawless one ¹  will be by Satan’s working with all kinds of miracles ²  and signs and false wonders,

2 Thessalonians 3:3

3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and he ³  will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

2 Thessalonians 1:3

Thanksgiving

1:3 We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, ⁴  and rightly so, ⁵  because your faith flourishes more and more and the love of each one of you all for one another is ever greater.

2 Thessalonians 2:8

2:8 and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord ⁶  will destroy by the breath of his mouth and wipe out by the manifestation of his arrival.

2 Thessalonians 2:3

2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes ⁷  and the man of lawlessness ⁸  is revealed, the son of destruction. ⁹ 

2 Thessalonians 2:7

2:7 For the hidden power of lawlessness ¹⁰  is already at work. However, the one who holds him back ¹¹  will do so until he is taken out of the way,

2 Thessalonians 1:2

1:2 Grace and peace to you ¹²  from God the ¹³  Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

2 Thessalonians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul ¹⁴  and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians ¹⁵  in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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.

[2:9]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Grk “every miracle.”

[3:3]  ³ tn Grk “who.”

[1:3]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Grk “as is worthy.”

[2:8]  ⁷ 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.

[2:3]  ⁹ tn Grk “for unless the rebellion comes first.” The clause about “the day” is understood from v. 2.

[2:3]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Or “the one destined for destruction.”

[2:7]  ¹¹ 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”).

[2:7]  ¹² 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.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ¹⁴ 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.

[1:1]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ map For the location of Thessalonica see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[1:12]  ¹⁷ tn Or “by means of.”