2 Thessalonians Chapter 1
Greeting
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
God will judge sinners at the coming of Christ
3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.
4 Therefore we ourselves boast about you among God’s churches for your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
5 All this is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering.
6 For it is just in God’s sight to repay with tribulation those who trouble you,
7 And to you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power,
10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at among all who have believed (because our testimony among you was believed).
11 For this reason we always pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling and fulfill by his power every good purpose of his and every work of faith,
12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians Chapter 2
Manifestation of the man of sin
1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters,
2 not to be easily shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word or a letter seemingly from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
3 Let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
6 And now you know what is restraining him, so that he may be revealed in his own time.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains him will do so until he is taken out of the way.
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
9 The coming of the lawless one is in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie,
10 and all sorts of wicked deception for those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie,
12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
Chosen for salvation
13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a good hope,
17 comfort your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.
2 Thessalonians Chapter 3
May the word of God be glorified
1 Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.
2 Pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith.
3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.
4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you.
5 May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and the patience of Christ.
The duty to work
6 Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.
7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you,
8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
9 We did this , not because we did not have the right to do so, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate.
10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
11 We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy at all; they are busybodies.
12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn their own living.
13 And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.
14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed.
15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
Final blessing
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.
17 This greeting is in my own hand, Paul’s, which is the signature in all my letters; this is how I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.