Beginning

Greetings of Grace and Thanksgiving

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.

³ We ought always ^(F)to give thanks to God for you, ^(G)brothers, as is only fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the ^(H)love of each one of you all toward one another increases all the more, ⁴ so that we ourselves ^(I)boast about you among ^(J)the churches of God for your ^[a]perseverance and faith ^(K)in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.

God’s Righteous Judgment

⁵ This 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. ^6 [b]Since ^(N)it is right ^[c]for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷ and to give rest to you who are afflicted ^[d]and to us as well ^(O)at the revelation of the Lord Jesus ^(P)from heaven ^(Q)with ^[e]His mighty angels ^(R)in flaming fire, ⁸ executing vengeance on those who ^(S)do not know God and to those who ^(T)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ These will pay the penalty of ^(U)eternal destruction, ^(V)away from the presence of the ^[f]Lord and from the glory of His might, ¹⁰ when He comes to be ^(W)glorified ^[g]in His ^[h]saints on that ^(X)day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our ^(Y)witness to you was believed. ¹¹ To this end also we ^(Z)pray for you always, that our God will ^[i](AA)count you worthy of your ^(AB)calling, and fulfill all your ^(AC)good pleasure for ^(AD)goodness and the ^(AE)work of faith with power, ¹² so that the ^(AF)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.

The Man of Lawlessness

2 Now we ask you, ^(AG)brothers, with regard to the ^[j](AH)coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our ^(AI)gathering together to Him, ² that you not be quickly shaken in your mind or be alarmed whether by a ^(AJ)spirit or a ^(AK)word or a ^(AL)letter as if from us, to the effect that ^(AM)the day of the Lord ^(AN)has come. ^3 (AO)Let no one in any way deceive you, for it has not come unless the ^[k](AP)apostasy comes first, and the ^(AQ)man of lawlessness is revealed, the ^(AR)son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above ^[l](AS)every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the ^[m]sanctuary of God, ^(AT)exhibiting himself as being God. ⁵ Do you not remember that ^(AU)while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? ⁶ And you know ^(AV)what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. ⁷ For ^(AW)the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only ^(AX)he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. ⁸ And then that lawless one ^(AY)will be revealed—whom the Lord ^[n]Jesus ^(AZ)will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the ^(BA)appearance of His ^[o]coming— ⁹ whose ^[p]coming is in accord with the working of ^(BB)Satan, with all power and ^[q](BC)signs and false wonders, ¹⁰ and with ^[r]all the deception of unrighteousness for ^(BD)those who perish, because they did not receive the love of ^(BE)the truth so as to be saved. ¹¹ And for this reason ^(BF)God sends upon them a ^[s](BG)deluding influence so that they will believe ^[t]what is false, ¹² in order that they all may be ^[u]judged who ^(BH)did not believe the truth, but ^[v](BI)took pleasure in unrighteousness.

^13 (BJ)But we should always give thanks to God for you, ^(BK)brothers beloved by the Lord, because ^(BL)God has chosen you ^[w]as the first fruits ^(BM)for salvation ^(BN)through sanctification ^[x]by the Spirit and faith in the truth. ^14 [y]It was for this He ^(BO)called you through ^(BP)our gospel, ^[z]that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ So then, brothers, ^(BQ)stand firm and ^(BR)hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether ^(BS)by word of mouth or ^(BT)by letter ^[aa]from us.

^16 (BU)Now may our Lord Jesus Christ ^(BV)Himself and God our Father, who has ^(BW)loved us and given us eternal comfort and ^(BX)good hope by grace, ^17 (BY)encourage your hearts and ^(BZ)strengthen them in every good work and word.

Disobedient Brothers

3 ^(CA)Finally, brothers, ^(CB)pray for us that ^(CC)the word of the Lord will ^[ab]spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; ² and that we will be ^(CD)rescued from ^[ac]perverse and evil men, for not all have ^[ad]faith. ³ But ^(CE)the Lord is faithful, who will strengthen and guard you ^[ae]from ^(CF)the evil one. ⁴ And we have ^(CG)confidence in the Lord about you, that you ^(CH)are doing and will continue to do what we command. ⁵ And may the Lord ^(CI)direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.

⁶ Now we command you, brothers, ^(CJ)in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you ^[af](CK)keep away from every brother who walks in an ^[ag](CL)unruly manner and not according to ^(CM)the tradition which ^[ah]they received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to ^(CN)imitate us, because we did not act in an unruly manner among you, ⁸ nor did we ^(CO)eat ^[ai]anyone’s bread ^[aj]without paying for it, but with ^(CP)labor and hardship we kept ^(CQ)working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; ⁹ not because we do not have ^(CR)the authority, but in order to offer ourselves ^(CS)as a model for you, so that you would imitate us. ¹⁰ For even ^(CT)when we were with you, we used to command this to you: ^(CU)if anyone is not willing to work, neither let him eat. ¹¹ For we hear that some among you are ^(CV)walking in an unruly manner, doing no work at all, but acting like ^(CW)busybodies. ¹² Now such persons we command and ^(CX)exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that ^(CY)working with quietness, they eat their own bread. ¹³ But as for you, ^(CZ)brothers, ^(DA)do not lose heart in doing good.

¹⁴ And if anyone does not obey our word ^[ak](DB)in this letter, take special note of that person ^(DC)to not associate with him, so that he will be ^(DD)put to shame. ¹⁵ And yet ^(DE)do not regard him as an enemy, but ^[al](DF)admonish him as a ^(DG)brother.

¹⁶ Now ^(DH)may the Lord of peace ^(DI)Himself continually give you peace in every ^[am]circumstance. ^(DJ)The Lord be with you all!

¹⁷ The greeting ^(DK)is in my own hand—^[an]Paul, which is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write. ^18 (DL)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.