2 Thessalonians 2

Now, brothers and sisters, we have something to ask you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and about our being gathered together to him.

1Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

NoteThe King James "we beseech you ... by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" sounds like an oath, as though Paul were begging them in the name of the second coming. The Greek preposition here means "concerning" or "with regard to": the coming, and the gathering to him, are the subject Paul is about to discuss, not the thing he swears by. The word translated "coming" is parousia, which in ordinary Greek meant the official arrival of a king or emperor at a city, an event a town prepared for and went out to meet.

2Do not let your thinking be shaken so easily, and do not be alarmed by any spirit, or spoken message, or letter that seems to come from us, claiming that the day of the Lord has already arrived.

2That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

Note"Shaken in mind" translates a verb used of a ship torn loose from its moorings or a building knocked off its foundation; the point is being dislodged from settled thinking, not merely upset. "At hand" in 1611 English could mean "already here," and that is what the Greek verb means: the claim Paul is denying is not that the day is near but that it has already begun. "By spirit" means a message delivered as prophecy in the assembly. "Letter as from us" means a letter forged in Paul's name, which is why he signs the end of this letter in his own handwriting.

3Do not let anyone fool you in any way. That day will not come until the great turning away happens first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the one who is headed for destruction.

3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Note"A falling away" translates apostasia, a word used for political rebellion or revolt as well as for abandoning a religion; "the rebellion" and "the great defection" are both within its range. "Son of perdition" is a Hebrew way of speaking in which "son of" means "characterized by" or "destined for": the son of destruction is the man marked out for ruin. The same phrase is used of Judas in John 17:12. The King James follows manuscripts reading "man of sin"; other early manuscripts read "man of lawlessness," which is why the rendering beside it says that.

4He sets himself against everything that is called a god or that people worship, and he lifts himself above it all. He even takes his seat in God's temple, publicly declaring that he himself is God.

4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Note"That is worshipped" translates a noun meaning an object of veneration: a shrine, an image, a sacred site, anything before which people bow. It is broader than "a god." The word for "temple" here is not the whole temple complex but the inner sanctuary, the building itself where the deity was held to dwell. Readers in the first century would have heard this against a live memory: the emperor Caligula had ordered his own statue set up in the Jerusalem temple about a decade before this letter, and the order was only canceled at his death.

5Do you not remember that I told you these things while I was still with you?

5Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

6And you know what is holding him back right now, so that he will be revealed only at his proper time.

6And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

Note"Withholdeth" in 1611 meant to hold back or restrain, which is not what "withhold" means now. Note also that here Paul speaks of a restraining thing, neuter in Greek, while in the next verse he speaks of a restraining person, masculine. He says his readers already know what he means. We do not, and the language itself does not settle it.

7The hidden power of lawlessness is already at work. But the one who is holding it back now will keep on holding it back until he is taken out of the way.

7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

Note"Let" in 1611 English meant to hinder or obstruct, the opposite of its modern sense; "he who now letteth will let" means "the one who restrains will go on restraining." The old sense survives only in the tennis term and in the legal phrase "without let or hindrance." "Mystery" translates a Greek word meaning something concealed and then disclosed to insiders, not a puzzle to be solved: the lawlessness is already operating, but out of sight.

8Then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and wipe him out by the blazing splendor of his arrival.

8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Note"That Wicked" is the King James way of writing "the wicked one," a person, not wickedness in general. "The spirit of his mouth" uses a Greek word that means breath, wind and spirit alike; here it is breath, and the phrase echoes Isaiah 11:4, where the coming ruler kills the wicked with the breath of his lips. "The brightness of his coming" pairs two words that both meant a royal arrival: epiphaneia, the shining appearance of a god or a monarch showing himself in public, and parousia, the state visit itself.

9That lawless one comes by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, and with signs and false wonders,

9Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

Note"Lying wonders" does not necessarily mean the wonders are faked. The Greek phrase means wonders belonging to the falsehood, that is, displays of real force that serve a lie and point people toward it.

10and with every wicked trick aimed at those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth, which would have saved them.

10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

Note"Deceivableness" is an obsolete noun meaning deceit, the act of deceiving, not a capacity to be deceived. "They received not the love of the truth" describes refusing to welcome the truth as something to be loved, a stronger claim than simply failing to be convinced by it.

11For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion, so that they believe the lie,

11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

NoteThe Greek says "the lie," with the article, not "a lie" among many. "Strong delusion" translates a phrase meaning an active working of error, the same noun for "working" used of Satan in verse 9.

12and so judgment falls on all of them, who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in doing wrong.

12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Note"Damned" in 1611 meant condemned or sentenced in a judgment, a legal word, without the narrowed modern sense of being consigned to hell. The Greek verb here is the ordinary one for a court reaching a verdict against someone.

13But we ought to thank God for you always, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved. This comes through the Spirit setting you apart and through your believing the truth.

13But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

Note"From the beginning" renders two Greek words that differ by a single space in the oldest manuscripts, which were written without gaps between words. One division gives "from the beginning"; the other gives "as firstfruits," meaning the first portion of a harvest, and would mean the Thessalonians were the first converts of their region. Ancient copies are split, and the choice cannot be settled from the letters alone. "Sanctification" means being set apart, marked off for a particular use, rather than moral improvement as such.

14He called you to this through the good news we preached, so that you would share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

14Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

15So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold on tightly to the teachings we handed down to you, whether we spoke them to you or wrote them in our letter.

15Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

Note"Traditions" translates paradosis, meaning something handed over and passed on from one person to the next. In the first century it was the ordinary word for transmitted instruction, whether by mouth or in writing, and carried none of the modern suggestion of old custom or mere habit. "Epistle" simply means letter.

16Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and by his kindness gave us comfort that never ends and a good hope,

16Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,

Note"Consolation" and the verb "comfort" in the next verse are the same Greek root, which covers comforting, encouraging and urging someone on; English needs two words where the Greek has one family. "Grace" translates charis, a favor given freely to someone who has no claim on it.

17encourage your hearts and make you strong in every good word and every good thing you do.

17Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

Note"Stablish" is an older form of "establish." The Greek verb means to set something firmly in place, to prop or brace it so it cannot be shifted, and it is the same image as "stand fast" in verse 15.