2 Thessalonians 1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

2 Thessalonians 1

Thanksgiving for Faith and Perseverance

 ^1(A)Paul and ^(B)Silvanus and ^(C)Timothy, To the ^(D)church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

 ^2(E)Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 ³We ought always ^(F)to give thanks to God for you, ^(G)brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the ^(H)love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater;

 ⁴therefore, we ourselves ^(I)speak proudly of you among ^(J)the churches of God for your perseverance and faith ^(K)in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.

 ⁵This is a ^(L)plain indication of God's righteous judgment so that you will be ^(M)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.

 ⁶For after all ^(N)it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

 ⁷and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well ^(O)when the Lord Jesus will be revealed ^(P)from heaven ^(Q)with His mighty angels ^(R)in flaming fire,

 ⁸dealing out retribution to those who ^(S)do not know God and to those who ^(T)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

 ⁹These will pay the penalty of ^(U)eternal destruction, ^(V)away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,

 ¹⁰when He comes to be ^(W)glorified in His saints on that ^(X)day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed--for our ^(Y)testimony to you was believed.

 ¹¹To this end also we ^(Z)pray for you always, that our God will ^(AA)count you worthy of your ^(AB)calling, and fulfill every desire for ^(AC)goodness and the ^(AD)work of faith with power,

 ¹²so that the ^(AE)name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2

Man of Lawlessness

 ¹Now we request you, ^(AF)brethren, with regard to the ^(AG)coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our ^(AH)gathering together to Him,

 ²that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a ^(AI)spirit or a ^(AJ)message or a ^(AK)letter as if from us, to the effect that ^(AL)the day of the Lord ^(AM)has come.

 ^3(AN)Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the ^[a](AO)apostasy comes first, and the ^(AP)man of lawlessness is revealed, the ^(AQ)son of destruction,

 ⁴who opposes and exalts himself above ^(AR)every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, ^(AS)displaying himself as being God.

 ⁵Do you not remember that ^(AT)while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?

 ⁶And you know ^(AU)what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.

 ⁷For ^(AV)the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only ^(AW)he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

 ⁸Then that lawless one ^(AX)will be revealed whom the Lord will slay ^(AY)with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the ^(AZ)appearance of His coming;

 ⁹that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of ^(BA)Satan, with all power and ^(BB)signs and false wonders,

 ¹⁰and with all the deception of wickedness for ^(BC)those who perish, because they did not receive the love of ^(BD)the truth so as to be saved.

 ¹¹For this reason ^(BE)God will send upon them a ^(BF)deluding influence so that they will believe what is false,

 ¹²in order that they all may be judged who ^(BG)did not believe the truth, but ^(BH)took pleasure in wickedness.

 ^13(BI)But we should always give thanks to God for you, ^(BJ)brethren beloved by the Lord, because ^(BK)God has chosen you ^[b]from the beginning ^(BL)for salvation ^(BM)through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

 ¹⁴It was for this He ^(BN)called you through ^(BO)our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 ¹⁵So then, brethren, ^(BP)stand firm and ^(BQ)hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether ^(BR)by word of mouth or ^(BS)by letter from us.

 ^16(BT)Now may our Lord Jesus Christ ^(BU)Himself and God our Father, who has ^(BV)loved us and given us eternal comfort and ^(BW)good hope by grace,

 ^17(BX)comfort and ^(BY)strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

2 Thessalonians 3

Exhortation

 ^1(BZ)Finally, brethren, ^(CA)pray for us that ^(CB)the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you;

 ²and that we will be ^(CC)rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.

 ³But ^(CD)the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from ^(CE)the evil one.

 ⁴We have ^(CF)confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you ^(CG)are doing and will continue to do what we command.

 ⁵May the Lord ^(CH)direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.

 ⁶Now we command you, brethren, ^(CI)in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you ^(CJ)keep away from every brother who leads an ^(CK)unruly life and not according to ^(CL)the tradition which you received from us.

 ⁷For you yourselves know how you ought to ^(CM)follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you,

 ⁸nor did we ^(CN)eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with ^(CO)labor and hardship we kept ^(CP)working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you;

 ⁹not because we do not have ^(CQ)the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves ^(CR)as a model for you, so that you would follow our example.

 ¹⁰For even ^(CS)when we were with you, we used to give you this order: ^(CT)if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.

 ¹¹For we hear that some among you are ^(CU)leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like ^(CV)busybodies.

 ¹²Now such persons we command and ^(CW)exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to ^(CX)work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.

 ¹³But as for you, ^(CY)brethren, ^(CZ)do not grow weary of doing good.

 ¹⁴If anyone does not obey our instruction ^(DA)in this letter, take special note of that person ^(DB)and do not associate with him, so that he will be ^(DC)put to shame.

 ¹⁵Yet ^(DD)do not regard him as an enemy, but ^(DE)admonish him as a ^(DF)brother.

 ¹⁶Now ^(DG)may the Lord of peace ^(DH)Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance ^(DI)The Lord be with you all!

 ¹⁷I, Paul, write this greeting ^(DJ)with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write.

 ^18(DK)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.