2 Thessalonians 3

¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

² tn Or “the word of the Lord.”

sn “The word of the Lord” is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said. Here the phrase has been translated “the Lord’s message” because of the focus upon the spread of the gospel evident in the passage.

³ tn Grk “may run and be glorified.”

⁴ tn Grk “who.”

⁵ tn The genitive in the phrase τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ (thn agaphn tou qeou, “the love of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“God’s love”) or an objective genitive (“your love for God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, the emphasis would be on believers being directed toward the love God gives which in turn produces increased love in them for him.

⁶ tn The genitive in the phrase τὴν ὑπομονὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ (thn Jupomonhn tou Cristou, “the endurance of Christ”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“Christ’s endurance”) or an objective genitive (“endurance for Christ”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, the emphasis would be on believers being directed toward the endurance Christ showed which in turn produces endurance in them for him.

⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

⁸ tn Or “unruly, out of line.” The particular violation Paul has in mind is idleness (as described in vv. 8-11), so this could be translated to reflect that.

⁹ tn Grk “walking in an undisciplined way” (“walking” is a common NT idiom for one’s way of life or conduct).

¹⁰ tc The reading “you received” (παρελάβετε, parelabete) is found predominately in Western witnesses (F G 1505 2464 pc), although the support of B and the Sahidic version strengthens the reading considerably. The reading “they received” is found in two different forms: παρελάβοσαν (parelabosan; in א* A [D*] 0278 33 pc) and παρέλαβον (parelabon; in א² D² Ψ 1739 1881 Ï). (παρέλαβον is evidently a correction of παρελάβοσαν to the more common spelling for the third person aorist form). The external evidence is divided fairly evenly, with παρελάβετε and παρελάβοσαν each having adequate support. Internal evidence leans toward “they received”: Given the second person reading, there is little reason why scribes would intentionally change it to a third person plural, and especially an archaic form at that. There is ample reason, however, for scribes to change the third person form to the second person form given that in the prior context παράδοσις (paradosis, “tradition”) is used with a relative clause (as here) with a second person verb (see 2:15). The third person form should be regarded as original.

¹¹ tn This is the verbal form of the words occurring in vv. 6 and 11, meaning “to act out of line, in an unruly way.”

¹² tn Grk “we did not eat bread freely from anyone.”

¹³ tn Grk “but working,” as a continuation of the previous sentence. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started with the word “Instead” in the translation.

¹⁴ tn Grk “an example for you to imitate us.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “walking in an undisciplined way” (“walking” is a common NT idiom for one’s way of life or conduct).

¹⁶ tn There is a play on words in the Greek: “working at nothing, but working around,” “not keeping busy but being busybodies.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “that by working quietly they may eat their own bread.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

¹⁹ tn That is, as a fellow believer.

²⁰ tn Grk “The greeting in my hand, Paul, which is a sign in every letter, thus I write.”

sn Up to 3:17 the letter was dictated by Paul but written down by a secretary or amanuensis. But Paul took up the pen and wrote vv. 17-18 personally to authenticate that it was his (how I write in every letter). See similar indications in 1 Cor 16:21; Gal 6:11; and Col 4:18.

²¹ tc Most witnesses, including some early and important ones (א² A D F G Ψ Ï lat sy), conclude this letter with ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”). Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, the witnesses for the omission are among the best mss (א* B 0278 6 33 1739 1881* 2464 sa), giving sufficient base to prefer the shorter reading.