2 Thessalonians 2
English Standard Version
The Man of Lawlessness
2 Now concerning (A)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our (B)being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,[a] 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or (C)alarmed, either (D)by a spirit or a (E)spoken word, or (F)a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that (G)the day of the Lord has come. 3 (H)Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, (I)unless the rebellion comes first, and (J)the man of lawlessness[b] is revealed, (K)the son of destruction,[c] 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, (L)proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For (M)the mystery of lawlessness (N)is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then (O)the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus (P)will kill with (Q)the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by (R)the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan (S)with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for (T)those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore (U)God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe (V)what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned (W)who did not believe the truth but (X)had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Stand Firm
13 But (Y)we ought always to give thanks to God for you, (Z)brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you (AA)as the firstfruits[d] (AB)to be saved, (AC)through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through (AD)our gospel, (AE)so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, (AF)stand firm and hold to (AG)the traditions that you were taught by us, either (AH)by our spoken word or by (AI)our letter.
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, (AJ)who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good (AK)hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and (AL)establish them in every good work and word.
Footnotes
- 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 13, 15
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Some manuscripts sin
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Greek the son of perdition (a Hebrew idiom)
- 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Some manuscripts chose you from the beginning
2 Thessalonians 2
International Standard Version
The Lawless One
2 Now we ask you, brothers, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[a] and our gathering together to him, 2 not to be so quickly upset[b] or alarmed when someone claims that we said,[c] either by some spirit, conversation, or letter that the Day of the Lord has already come. 3 Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, for it will not come unless the rebellion[d] takes place first and the man of sin,[e] who is destined for destruction,[f] is revealed. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object of worship. As a result, he seats himself in the sanctuary[g] of God and himself declares that he is God.
5 Don’t you remember that I repeatedly told you about these things when I was still with you? 6 You know what it is that is now holding him back, so that he will be revealed when his time comes. 7 For the secret of this lawlessness is already at work, but only until the person now holding it back gets out of the way. 8 Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord[h] will destroy with the breath of his mouth, rendering him powerless by the manifestation of his coming.
9 The coming of the lawless one[i] will be accompanied by the power of Satan. He will use every kind[j] of power, including miraculous signs, lying wonders, 10 and every type of evil to deceive[k] those who are dying, those who refused to love the truth that would save them.[l] 11 For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie. 12 Then all who have not believed the truth but have taken pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned.
13 At all times we are obligated to thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you to be the first fruits[m] for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through faith in the truth. 14 With this purpose in mind, he called you through our proclamation of the[n] gospel so that you would obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.[o] 15 So then, brothers, stand firm, and cling to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth[p] or by our letter. 16 May our Lord Jesus, the Messiah[q] himself, and may God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort[r] and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good action and word.
Footnotes
- 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Or Christ
- 2 Thessalonians 2:2 Lit. shaken in mind
- 2 Thessalonians 2:2 Lit. as though by us
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Or apostasy
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Other mss. read man of lawlessness
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Lit. the son of destruction
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Or temple
- 2 Thessalonians 2:8 Some MSS read Lord Jesus
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9 Lit. His coming
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9 Lit. In every kind
- 2 Thessalonians 2:10 Lit. every evil deception
- 2 Thessalonians 2:10 Lit. so that they might be saved
- 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Other mss. read from the beginning
- 2 Thessalonians 2:14 The Gk. lacks proclamation of the
- 2 Thessalonians 2:14 Or Christ
- 2 Thessalonians 2:15 Lit. by word
- 2 Thessalonians 2:16 Or Christ
- 2 Thessalonians 2:16 Or encouragement
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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