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Encouragement in Persecution

This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, to make you worthy[a] of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering. For it is right[b] for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed[c] from heaven with his mighty angels.[d] With flaming fire he will mete out[e] punishment on those who do not know God[f] and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They[g] will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength,[h] 10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired[i] on that day among all who have believed—and you did in fact believe our testimony.[j]

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Thessalonians 1:5 tn Grk “so that you may be made worthy.” The passive infinitive καταξιωθῆναι (kataxiōthēnai) has been translated as an active construction in English for stylistic reasons.
  2. 2 Thessalonians 1:6 tn Grk “if in fact/since,” as a continuation of the preceding.
  3. 2 Thessalonians 1:7 tn Grk “at the revelation of the Lord Jesus.”
  4. 2 Thessalonians 1:7 tn Grk “angels of power,” translated as an attributive genitive.
  5. 2 Thessalonians 1:8 tn Grk “meting out,” as a description of Jesus Christ in v. 7. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 8 in the translation.
  6. 2 Thessalonians 1:8 sn An allusion to Jer 10:25, possibly also to Ps 79:6 and Isa 66:15.
  7. 2 Thessalonians 1:9 tn Grk “who,” describing the people mentioned in v. 8. A new sentence was started here in the translation by replacing the relative pronoun with a personal pronoun.
  8. 2 Thessalonians 1:9 tn Or “power,” or “might.” The construction can also be translated as an attributed genitive: “from his glorious strength” (cf. TEV “glorious might”; CEV “glorious strength”; NLT “glorious power”).sn An allusion to Isa 2:10, 19, 21.
  9. 2 Thessalonians 1:10 tn Or “marveled at.”
  10. 2 Thessalonians 1:10 tn Grk “because our testimony to you was believed.”

This shows that God’s judgment is right, and that you will be considered worthy of God’s kingdom for which you are suffering. After all, it’s right for God to pay back the ones making trouble for you with trouble and to pay back you who are having trouble with relief along with us. This payback will come when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his powerful angels. He will give justice with blazing fire to those who don’t recognize God and don’t obey the good news of our Lord Jesus. They will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the Lord’s presence and away from his mighty glory. 10 This will happen when he comes on that day to receive honor from his holy people and to be admired by everyone who has believed—and our testimony to you was believed.

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