ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

2 Thessalonians 1.7-9

Book: 2 Thessalonians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

5. which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 6. if so be that it is righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you,

7. and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, 8. rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: 9. who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

  1. when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day. 11. To which end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfil every desire of goodness and every work of faith, with power; (2 Thessalonians 1:5-11, ASV)
WEB

5. This is an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of God, to the end that you may be counted worthy of God’s Kingdom, for which you also suffer. 6. Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay affliction to those who afflict you,

7. and to give relief to you who are afflicted with us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, 8. giving vengeance to those who don’t know God, and to those who don’t obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus, 9. who will pay the penalty: eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

  1. when he comes to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired among all those who have believed (because our testimony to you was believed) in that day. 11. To this end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire of goodness and work of faith, with power; (2 Thessalonians 1:5-11, WEB)
KJV

5. Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 6. Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;

7. And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, his: Gr. the angels of his power 8. In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: taking: or, yielding 9. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

  1. When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. 11. Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: count: or, vouchsafe (2 Thessalonians 1:5-11, KJV)
YLT

5. a token of the righteous judgment of God, for your being counted worthy of the reign of God, for which also ye suffer, 6. since [it is] a righteous thing with God to give back to those troubling you, trouble,

7. and to you who are troubled, rest with us in the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven, with messengers of his power, 8. in flaming fire, giving vengeance to those not knowing God, and to those not obeying the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ; 9. who shall suffer justice, destruction age-during, from the face of the Lord, and from the glory of his strength,

  1. when He may come to be glorified in his saints, and to be wondered at in all those believing, because our testimony was believed among you, in that day; 11. for which also we do pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of the calling, and may fulfil all the good pleasure of goodness, and the work of the faith in power, (2 Thessalonians 1:5-11, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul the Apostle, writing with Silvanus and Timothy named as co-senders (1:1); Paul takes the pen himself for the closing greeting (3:17).
  • Audience: The church at Thessalonica, capital of the Roman province of Macedonia and a free city on the Via Egnatia. Paul had planted the congregation only months earlier (Acts 17:1-9) and left the city under duress; the believers were still under local pressure, and had been unsettled by a report that the day of the Lord had already arrived (2:2).
  • Location: Most probably Corinth, where Silvanus and Timothy were with Paul (Acts 18:5), written shortly after 1 Thessalonians.
  • Time period: c. AD 50-52. The date is anchored by the Gallio inscription at Delphi, which places the proconsulship of Achaia held by Gallio (Acts 18:12) at roughly AD 51-52.

Theological reading

These three verses are a single sentence in Greek and should be read as one movement: relief for the afflicted, and reckoning for those afflicting them.

The two groups in verse 8. "Those who do not know God" and "those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus" are joined by a construction that most naturally reads as two descriptions rather than two separate populations, though some read it as distinguishing Gentiles from those who have heard and refused. Either reading leaves the criterion moral and relational rather than merely informational.

"Eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord." The preposition apo in verse 9 carries the whole exegetical weight. Read as separation, the sentence describes exclusion away from the Lord's presence; read as source, it describes ruin issuing from that presence. The Greek permits both, and the wider passage supplies support for each, since verse 9 also speaks of "the glory of his might" while verse 10 has him coming to be glorified in his saints. Honest treatment of the verse notes the ambiguity rather than resolving it by preference.

Fire and glory in the same clause. Verses 7 to 9 draw on the standard Old Testament theophany vocabulary of flaming fire and attending angels. Paul does not invent a new picture of the end; he applies an existing one to Jesus, which is a substantial christological claim made in passing.

Pastoral function. The passage is not a detached doctrine of hell. It is written to people being harmed, and it says that the harm is seen, is not final, and is not morally neutral.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.