2 Thessalonians 2:7-12

2:7 For the hidden power of lawlessness¹ is already at work. However, the one who holds him back² will do so until he is taken out of the way, 2:8 and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord³ will destroy by the breath of his mouth and wipe out by the manifestation of his arrival. 2:9 The arrival of the lawless one⁴ will be by Satan’s working with all kinds of miracles⁵ and signs and false wonders, 2:10 and with every kind of evil deception directed against⁶ those who are perishing, because they found no place in their hearts for the truth⁷ so as to be saved. 2:11 Consequently⁸ God sends on them a deluding influence⁹ so that they will believe what is false. 2:12 And so¹⁰ all of them who have not believed the truth but have delighted in evil will be condemned.¹¹

¹tn Grk “the mystery of lawlessness.” In Paul “mystery” often means “revealed truth, something formerly hidden but now made widely known,” but that does not make sense with the verb of this clause (“to be at work, to be active”).

²tn Grk “the one who restrains.” This gives a puzzling contrast to the impersonal phrase in v. 6 (“the thing that restrains”). The restraint can be spoken of as a force or as a person. Some have taken this to mean the Roman Empire in particular or human government in general, since these are forces that can also be seen embodied in a person, the emperor or governing head. But apocalyptic texts like Revelation and Daniel portray human government of the end times as under Satanic control, not holding back his influence. Also the power to hold back Satanic forces can only come from God. So others understand this restraint to be some force from God: the preaching of the gospel or the working of the Holy Spirit through God’s people.

³tc ‡ Several important witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western traditions, as well as many other witnesses, read ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) after κύριος (kurios, “Lord”; so א A D* F G L^c P Ψ 0278 33 81 104 365 1241 2464 pc latt sy co). But there is sufficient evidence in the Alexandrian tradition for the shorter reading (B 1739 1881), supported by the Byzantine text as well as Irenaeus. Although it is possible that scribes overlooked ᾿Ιησοῦς if the two nomina sacra occurred together (kMsiMs), since “the Lord Jesus” is a frequent enough appellation, it looks to be a motivated reading. NA²⁷ places ᾿Ιησοῦς in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

⁴tn Grk “whose coming,” referring to the lawless one. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek construction, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁵tn Grk “every miracle.”

⁶tn Grk “deception for/toward.”

⁷tn Grk “they did not accept the love of the truth.”

⁸tn Grk “and for this reason.”

⁹tn Grk “a working of error.”

¹⁰tn Grk “that.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹¹tn Grk “be judged,” but in this context the term clearly refers to a judgment of condemnation (BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α; cf. KJV “that they all might be damned”). CEV views the condemnation as punishment (“will be punished”).