A modern English translation drawn directly from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Translated word-for-word where possible, by a committee with scholarly oversight.
Uses the same source texts as the ESV, NASB, and most academic Bibles, including the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the Nestle-Aland critical edition.
2 Thessalonians 1
2 Thessalonians 1 is the opening chapter of the fifty-third book of the Bible. The 12-verse chapter opens Paul's follow-up letter to the Thessalonian church with a thanksgiving, encouragement for those suffering persecution, and a warning of judgment on those persecuting them.
The chapter opens with Paul writing alongside Silas and Timothy. He addresses the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, the same greeting used in his first letter.
The thanksgiving follows. Paul says he and his coworkers ought always to thank God for the Thessalonians, and rightly so, because their faith is growing more and more and the love each of them has for one another is increasing. Among the churches, Paul says he boasts about the Thessalonians' perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions they are enduring.
The chapter then describes the persecutions as evidence of God's righteous judgment. The Thessalonians' suffering will count toward being considered worthy of the kingdom of God. God will repay those who afflict them with affliction in return, and give relief to those who are afflicted along with Paul and his coworkers.
The chapter then turns to the return of the Lord Jesus. He will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in blazing fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel. They will be punished with everlasting destruction, shut out from the presence of the Lord. On that same day, Jesus will be glorified in his holy ones and marveled at among all who have believed.
The chapter closes with Paul's prayer that God will count the Thessalonians worthy of his calling and fulfill every desire for goodness and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of the Lord Jesus may be glorified in them and they in him.
Verse 1. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Verse 2. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 3. We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.
Verse 4. That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring.
Verse 5. All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
Verse 6. After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
Verse 7. and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
Verse 8. in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
Verse 9. They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might,
Verse 10. on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our testimony.
Verse 11. To this end, we always pray for you, that our God will count you worthy of His calling, and that He will powerfully fulfill your every good desire and work of faith,
Verse 12. so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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