2 Thessalonians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul ¹  and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians ²  in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1:6

1:6 For it is right ³  for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

2 Thessalonians 1:9

1:9 They ⁴  will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, ⁵ 

2 Thessalonians 3:3

3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and he ⁶  will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

2 Thessalonians 3:5

3:5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts toward the love of God ⁷  and the endurance of Christ. ⁸ 

2 Thessalonians 3:18

3:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. ⁹ 

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¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

² map For the location of Thessalonica see JP1-C1; JP2-C1; JP3-C1; JP4-C1.

³ tn Grk “if in fact/since,” as a continuation of the preceding.

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn Grk “who.”

⁷ 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.

⁸ 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.

⁹ 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.