2 Thessalonians

Chapter 1

¹ Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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

³ We should always give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is appropriate, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love each of you has for one another increases. ⁴ So we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions, and in the tribulations that you are enduring. ⁵ This is evidence of God's righteous judgment, so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. ⁶ For indeed, it is righteous for God to return affliction to those who afflict you, ⁷ and relief to you who are afflicted with us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels ⁸ in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey to the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will be suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. ¹⁰ He will do this when he comes on that day to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at by all those who believed, because our testimony to you was believed. ¹¹ Because of this we also pray continually for you, that our God may consider you worthy of your calling and with his power he may fulfill every good purpose and every work of faith. ¹² We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Chapter 2

¹ Now about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to be with him, we earnestly appeal to you, brothers, ² that you not be easily shaken from your thoughts or troubled, either by a spirit or by a message, or by a letter that seems to be coming from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has already come. ³ Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not come until after the falling away comes, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. ^{[1] 4} This is he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped. As a result, he sits in the temple of God and exhibits himself as God. ⁵ Do you not remember that when I was with you I told you these things? ⁶ Now you know what restrains him, so that he will be revealed only at the right time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already working, only there is someone who restrains him now until he is taken out of the way. ⁸ Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring him to nothing by the revelation of his coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be due to the work of Satan with all power, signs, and false wonders, ¹⁰ and with every kind of evil that deceives those who are perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ For this reason God is sending them a powerful delusion so that they will believe a lie ¹² and so that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but instead took pleasure in unrighteousness.

¹³ But we should always give thanks to God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved through the sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. ^{[2] 14} He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ So then, brothers, stand firm and hold tightly to the traditions that you were taught, whether by word or by our letter.

¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, ¹⁷ comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

Chapter 3

¹ Now, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may rush and be glorified, as it also is with you, ² and that we may be delivered from unrighteous and evil people, for not all have faith. ³ But the Lord is faithful, who will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. ⁴ We have confidence in the Lord about you, that you both do and will continue to do the things that we command. ⁵ May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.

⁶ Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you avoid every brother who walks irresponsibly and does not live according to the traditions you received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know it is proper for you to imitate us, because we were not disorderly when we were with you. ⁸ We did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but we worked night and day in labor and toil, so we might not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ We did this not because we have no authority, but we did this in order to be an example to you, so that you may imitate us. ¹⁰ For when we were with you, we commanded you, "The one who is unwilling to labor must not eat." ¹¹ For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at labor, but busybodies. ¹² Now such ones we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that they should labor with quietness and eat their own bread. ¹³ But you, brothers, do not become tired of doing well. ¹⁴ And if anyone does not obey our word in this letter, take note of him and have no association with him, so that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵ Yet do not consider him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

¹⁶ Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all. ¹⁷ I, Paul, write this with my own hand, which is the mark on every letter I write. ¹⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.