Thessalonians-2 Chapters

1 | • ¹From Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God, our Father, and Christ Jesus, the Lord.

²May grace and peace be yours, from God, the Father, and Christ Jesus, the Lord.

³Brothers and sisters, we should give thanks to God at all times for you. It is fitting to do so, for your faith is growing, and your love for one another is increasing. ⁴We take pride in you among the churches of God because of your endurance and your faith amid persecution and suffering. ⁵In this, the just judgment of God may be seen; for you must show yourselves worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are now suffering.

The Judgment and the Coming of Christ

•  ⁶Indeed, it is just that God repays with affliction those who persecute you, ⁷but to you who suffer, he will grant rest with us, when the Lord Jesus will be shown in his glory, coming from heaven and surrounded by his court of angels. ⁸Then, with flaming fire, those who do not recognize God will be punished and do not obey the gospel of Jesus, our Lord.

⁹They will be sent to eternal damnation, far away from the face of the Lord and his mighty glory. ¹⁰On that day, the Lord will be glorified among his saints and reveal his wonders through those who believe in him, that is, through you who have received our testimony.

¹¹This is why we constantly pray for you; may our God make you worthy of his calling. May he, by his power, fulfill your good purposes and your work prompted by faith. ¹²In that way, the name of Jesus, our Lord, will be glorified through you, and you through him, according to the loving plan of God and Christ Jesus, the Lord.

2 | • ¹Brothers and sisters, let us speak about the coming of Christ Jesus, our Lord, and our gathering to meet him. ²Do not be easily unsettled. Do not be alarmed by what a prophet says, or by any report, or some letter said to be ours saying the day of the Lord is at hand.

³Do not let yourselves be deceived in any way. Apostasy must come first when the man of sin appears, ⁴that instrument of evil, who opposes and defiles whatever is considered divine and holy, even to the point of sitting in the temple of God and claiming to be God.

⁵Do you not remember I spoke of it when I was still with you? ⁶But you also know what prevents him from appearing until his due time. ⁷The mystery of sin is already at work, but the one who restrains it, at present, has to be taken away. ⁸Then, the wicked one will appear, whom the Lord will sweep away with the breath of his mouth and destroy in the splendor of his coming. ⁹This lawless one will appear with the power of Satan, performing miracles and wonderful signs at the service of deception. ¹⁰All the deceits of evil will then be used to ruin those who refused to love the truth and be saved. ¹¹This is why God will send them the power of delusion, that they may believe what is false. ¹²So all those who chose wickedness instead of believing the truth will be condemned.

Persevere in Faith

•  ¹³But we must always thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters in the Lord. For God chose you from the beginning to be saved through true faith and made holy by the Spirit. ¹⁴To this end, he called you through the gospel we preach, for he willed you to share the glory of Christ Jesus, our Lord.

¹⁵Because of that, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold to the traditions we taught you by word or letter. ¹⁶May Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has loved us, and God our Father, who, in his mercy, gives us everlasting comfort and steadfast hope, strengthen you. ¹⁷May he encourage your hearts and make you steadfast in every good work and word.

3 | ¹Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the word of God may spread rapidly and be glorified everywhere, as it was with you. ²May God guard us against wicked and evil people since not everyone has faith. ³The Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and keep you safe from the evil one. ⁴Besides, in the Lord, we have this confidence that you are doing and will continue to do what we order you. ⁵May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ.

Let Everyone Work

⁶We command you, beloved, to stay away from believers living in idleness, contrary to the traditions we passed on to you. ⁷You know how you ought to follow our example: we worked while we were with you. ⁸Day and night we labored and toiled not to burden any of you. ⁹We had the right to act otherwise, but we wanted to give you an example.

¹⁰Besides, while we were with you, we said clearly: If anyone is not willing to work, neither should that one eat. ¹¹However, we heard that some among you live in idleness—busybodies, doing no work. ¹²In the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord, we command these people to work and earn their own living. ¹³And you, brothers and sisters, do not weary doing what is right.

¹⁴If someone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take note and do not have anything to do with him so that he may be ashamed.

¹⁵However, do not treat him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

¹⁶May the Lord of peace give you his peace at all times and in every way. May the Lord be with you all.

¹⁷I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is my signature in all my letters. This is how I write.

¹⁸May the grace of Christ Jesus our Lord be with you.