2 Tesalonika 2:5

2:5 Surely you recall ¹  that I used to tell you these things while I was still with you.

2 Tesalonika 3:13

3:13 But you, brothers and sisters, ²  do not grow weary in doing what is right.

2 Tesalonika 3:7

3:7 For you know yourselves how you must imitate us, because we did not behave without discipline ³  among you,

2 Tesalonika 3:4

3:4 And we are confident about you in the Lord that you are both doing – and will do – what we are commanding.

2 Tesalonika 1:4

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 Tesalonika 3:18

3:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. ⁴ 

2 Tesalonika 1:5

Encouragement in Persecution

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

2 Tesalonika 2:13

Call to Stand Firm

2:13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters ⁶  loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning ⁷  for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

2 Tesalonika 1:6

1:6 For it is right ⁸  for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

2 Tesalonika 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 Tesalonika 3:3

3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and he ¹⁰  will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

2 Tesalonika 1:11

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

2 Tesalonika 3:16

Conclusion

3:16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.

2 Tesalonika 1:3

Thanksgiving

1:3 We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, ¹²  and rightly so, ¹³  because your faith flourishes more and more and the love of each one of you all for one another is ever greater.

2 Tesalonika 2:6

2:6 And so ¹⁴  you know what holds him back, ¹⁵  so that he will be revealed in his own time.

2 Tesalonika 2:14

2:14 He called you to this salvation ¹⁶  through our gospel, so that you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁷ 

2 Tesalonika 3:10

3:10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this command: “If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.”

2 Tesalonika 3:15

3:15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. ¹⁸ 

2 Tesalonika 3:1

Request for Prayer

3:1 Finally, pray for us, brothers and sisters, ¹⁹  that the Lord’s message ²⁰  may spread quickly and be honored ²¹  as in fact it was among you,

2 Tesalonika 3:9

3:9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give ourselves as an example for you to imitate. ²² 

2 Tesalonika 2:17

2:17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you ²³  in every good thing you do or say. ²⁴ 

2 Tesalonika 1:2

1:2 Grace and peace to you ²⁵  from God the ²⁶  Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

2 Tesalonika 3:14

3:14 But if anyone does not obey our message through this letter, take note of him and do not associate closely with him, so that he may be ashamed.

2 Tesalonika 1:7

1:7 and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed ²⁷  from heaven with his mighty angels. ²⁸ 

2 Tesalonika 3:5

3:5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts toward the love of God ²⁹  and the endurance of Christ. ³⁰ 

2 Tesalonika 3:11

3:11 For we hear that some among you are living an undisciplined life, ³¹  not doing their own work but meddling in the work of others. ³² 

2 Tesalonika 3:6

Response to the Undisciplined

3:6 But we command you, brothers and sisters, ³³  in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined ³⁴  life ³⁵  and not according to the tradition they ³⁶  received from us.

2 Tesalonika 2:15

2:15 Therefore, brothers and sisters, ³⁷  stand firm and hold on to the traditions that we taught you, whether by speech or by letter. ³⁸ 

2 Tesalonika 3:8

3:8 and we did not eat anyone’s food without paying. ³⁹  Instead, in toil and drudgery we worked ⁴⁰  night and day in order not to burden any of you.

2 Tesalonika 1:10

1:10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired ⁴¹  on that day among all who have believed – and you did in fact believe our testimony. ⁴² 

2 Tesalonika 2:2-3

2:2 not to be easily ⁴³  shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, ⁴⁴  to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes ⁴⁵  and the man of lawlessness ⁴⁶  is revealed, the son of destruction. ⁴⁷ 

2 Tesalonika 2:1

The Day of the Lord

2:1 Now regarding the arrival ⁴⁸  of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, ⁴⁹  we ask you, brothers and sisters, ⁵⁰ 

2 Tesalonika 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,

¹ tn Grk “You do remember, don’t you?”

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

³ tn This is the verbal form of the words occurring in vv. 6 and 11, meaning “to act out of line, in an unruly way.”

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.

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

⁷ 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.

⁸ tn Grk “if in fact/since,” as a continuation of the preceding.

⁹ tn Or “by means of.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “who.”

¹¹ tn Or “your calling.”

¹² 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).

¹³ tn Grk “as is worthy.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “and now,” but this shows the logical result of his previous teaching.

¹⁵ tn Grk “the thing that restrains.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “to which,” referring to the main idea of v. 13.

¹⁷ sn That you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. For Paul the ultimate stage of salvation is glorification (Rom 8:30).

¹⁸ tn That is, as a fellow believer.

¹⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

²⁰ tn Or “the word of the Lord.”

sn “The word of the Lord” is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said. Here the phrase has been translated “the Lord’s message” because of the focus upon the spread of the gospel evident in the passage.

²¹ tn Grk “may run and be glorified.”

²² tn Grk “an example for you to imitate us.”

²³ tn Grk simply “strengthen,” with the object understood from the preceding.

²⁴ tn Grk “every good work and word.”

²⁵ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

²⁶ 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.

²⁷ tn Grk “at the revelation of the Lord Jesus.”

²⁸ tn Grk “angels of power,” translated as an attributive genitive.

²⁹ 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.

³⁰ 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.

³¹ tn Grk “walking in an undisciplined way” (“walking” is a common NT idiom for one’s way of life or conduct).

³² tn There is a play on words in the Greek: “working at nothing, but working around,” “not keeping busy but being busybodies.”

³³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

³⁴ 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.

³⁵ tn Grk “walking in an undisciplined way” (“walking” is a common NT idiom for one’s way of life or conduct).

³⁶ 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.

³⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

³⁸ tn Grk “that you were taught whether by word or by letter of ours.”

³⁹ tn Grk “we did not eat bread freely from anyone.”

⁴⁰ tn Grk “but working,” as a continuation of the previous sentence. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started with the word “Instead” in the translation.

⁴¹ tn Or “marveled at.”

⁴² tn Grk “because our testimony to you was believed.”

⁴³ tn Or “quickly, soon.”

⁴⁴ tn Grk “as through us.”

⁴⁵ tn Grk “for unless the rebellion comes first.” The clause about “the day” is understood from v. 2.

⁴⁶ 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.

⁴⁷ tn Or “the one destined for destruction.”

⁴⁸ tn Or perhaps “return” (cf. CEV).

⁴⁹ tn Grk “our gathering with him.”

⁵⁰ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.