2 Thessalonians 1-3

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 ^(A)Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

³^(B)We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers,^[a] as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. ⁴Therefore ^(C)we ourselves boast about you ^(D)in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith ^(E)in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

The Judgment at Christ's Coming

⁵This is ^(F)evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be ^(G)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— ⁶since indeed God considers it ^(H)just ^(I)to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷and to grant ^(J)relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when ^(K)the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven ^(L)with his mighty angels ⁸^(M)in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those ^(N)who do not know God and on those who ^(O)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹They will suffer the punishment of ^(P)eternal destruction, ^(Q)away from^[b] the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, ¹⁰^(R)when he comes on ^(S)that day ^(T)to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our ^(U)testimony to you ^(V)was believed. ¹¹To this end we ^(W)always pray for you, that our God may ^(X)make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every ^(Y)work of faith by his power, ¹²so that the name of our Lord Jesus ^(Z)may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Man of Lawlessness

2 Now concerning ^(AA)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our ^(AB)being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,^[c] ²not to be quickly shaken in mind or ^(AC)alarmed, either ^(AD)by a spirit or a ^(AE)spoken word, or ^(AF)a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that ^(AG)the day of the Lord has come. ³^(AH)Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, ^(AI)unless the rebellion comes first, and ^(AJ)the man of lawlessness^[d] is revealed, ^(AK)the son of destruction,^[e] ⁴who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, ^(AL)proclaiming himself to be God. ⁵Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. ⁷For ^(AM)the mystery of lawlessness ^(AN)is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. ⁸And then ^(AO)the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus ^(AP)will kill with ^(AQ)the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by ^(AR)the appearance of his coming. ⁹The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan ^(AS)with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰and with all wicked deception for ^(AT)those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹Therefore ^(AU)God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe ^(AV)what is false, ¹²in order that all may be condemned ^(AW)who did not believe the truth but ^(AX)had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Stand Firm

¹³But ^(AY)we ought always to give thanks to God for you, ^(AZ)brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you ^(BA)as the firstfruits^[f] ^(BB)to be saved, ^(BC)through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. ¹⁴To this he called you through ^(BD)our gospel, ^(BE)so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵So then, brothers, ^(BF)stand firm and hold to ^(BG)the traditions that you were taught by us, either ^(BH)by our spoken word or by ^(BI)our letter.

¹⁶Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, ^(BJ)who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good ^(BK)hope through grace, ¹⁷comfort your hearts and ^(BL)establish them in every good work and word.

Pray for Us

3 Finally, brothers,^[g] ^(BM)pray for us, that ^(BN)the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored,^[h] as happened among you, ²and ^(BO)that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For ^(BP)not all have faith. ³But ^(BQ)the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and ^(BR)guard you against ^(BS)the evil one.^[i] ⁴And ^(BT)we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. ⁵May the Lord ^(BU)direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Warning Against Idleness

⁶Now we command you, brothers, ^(BV)in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(BW)that you keep away from any ^(BX)brother ^(BY)who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. ⁷For you yourselves know ^(BZ)how you ought to imitate us, because ^(CA)we were not idle when we were with you, ⁸nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but ^(CB)with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. ⁹It was ^(CC)not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves ^(CD)an example to imitate. ¹⁰For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: ^(CE)If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. ¹¹For we hear that some among you ^(CF)walk in idleness, not busy at work, but ^(CG)busybodies. ¹²Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.^[j]

¹³As for you, brothers, ^(CH)do not grow weary in doing good. ¹⁴If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and ^(CI)have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵^(CJ)Do not regard him as an enemy, but ^(CK)warn him as a brother.

Benediction

¹⁶Now may ^(CL)the Lord of peace himself ^(CM)give you peace at all times in every way. ^(CN)The Lord be with you all.

¹⁷I, Paul, write ^(CO)this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. ¹⁸^(CP)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Footnotes

2 Thessalonians 1:3 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters
2 Thessalonians 1:9 Or destruction that comes from
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 3:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 6, 13
2 Thessalonians 3:1 Or glorified
2 Thessalonians 3:3 Or evil
2 Thessalonians 3:12 Greek to eat their own bread

Proverbs 1

English Standard Version

The Beginning of Knowledge

1 ^(A)The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

²To know wisdom and instruction,
    to understand words of insight,
³to receive instruction in wise dealing,
    in ^(B)righteousness, justice, and equity;
⁴to give prudence to ^(C)the simple,
    knowledge and ^(D)discretion to the youth—
⁵Let the wise hear and ^(E)increase in learning,
    and the one who understands obtain guidance,
⁶to understand a proverb and a saying,
    ^(F)the words of the wise and their ^(G)riddles.

⁷^(H)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Enticement of Sinners

⁸^(I)Hear, my son, your father's instruction,
    and forsake not your mother's teaching,
⁹for they are ^(J)a graceful garland for your head
    and ^(K)pendants for your neck.
¹⁰My son, if sinners ^(L)entice you,
    do not consent.
¹¹If they say, “Come with us, ^(M)let us lie in wait for blood;
    ^(N)let us ambush the innocent without reason;
¹²like Sheol let us ^(O)swallow them alive,
    and whole, like ^(P)those who go down to the pit;
¹³we shall find all precious goods,
    we shall fill our houses with plunder;
¹⁴throw in your lot among us;
    we will all have one purse”—
¹⁵my son, ^(Q)do not walk in the way with them;
    ^(R)hold back your foot from their paths,
¹⁶for ^(S)their feet run to evil,
    and they make haste to shed blood.
¹⁷^(T)For in vain is a net spread
    in the sight of any bird,
¹⁸but these men ^(U)lie in wait for their own blood;
    they ^(V)set an ambush for their own lives.
¹⁹^(W)Such are the ways of everyone who is ^(X)greedy for unjust gain;
    ^(Y)it takes away the life of its possessors.

The Call of Wisdom

²⁰^(Z)Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
    in the markets she raises her voice;
²¹at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
    at ^(AA)the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
²²“How long, O ^(AB)simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will ^(AC)scoffers delight in their scoffing
    and fools ^(AD)hate knowledge?
²³If you turn at my reproof,^[a]
behold, I will ^(AE)pour out my spirit to you;
    I will make my words known to you.
²⁴^(AF)Because I have called and ^(AG)you refused to listen,
    have ^(AH)stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
²⁵because you have ^(AI)ignored all my counsel
    and ^(AJ)would have none of my reproof,
²⁶I also ^(AK)will laugh at your calamity;
    I will mock when ^(AL)terror strikes you,
²⁷when terror strikes you like ^(AM)a storm
    and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
    when distress and anguish come upon you.
²⁸^(AN)Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
    they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
²⁹Because they ^(AO)hated knowledge
    and ^(AP)did not choose the fear of the Lord,
³⁰^(AQ)would have none of my counsel
    and ^(AR)despised all my reproof,
³¹therefore they shall eat ^(AS)the fruit of their way,
    and have ^(AT)their fill of their own devices.
³²For the simple are killed by ^(AU)their turning away,
    and ^(AV)the complacency of fools destroys them;
³³but ^(AW)whoever listens to me will dwell secure
    and will be ^(AX)at ease, without dread of disaster.”