Passage

2 Thessalonians 1

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

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; 2. Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3. We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, even as it is meet, for that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another aboundeth; 4. so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which ye endure; 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, 10. 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; 12. that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, ASV)

WEB

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the assembly of the Thessalonians in God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3. We are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers, even as it is appropriate, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of each and every one of you towards one another abounds; 4. so that we ourselves boast about you in the assemblies of God for your perseverance and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you endure. 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, 10. 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; 12. that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, WEB)

KJV

Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2. Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; 4. So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: 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; 10. 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} 12. That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, KJV)

YLT

Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, to the assembly of Thessalonians in God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2. Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ! 3. We ought to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because increase greatly doth your faith, and abound doth the love of each one of you all, to one another; 4. so that we ourselves do glory in you in the assemblies of God, for your endurance and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye bear; 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, 10. 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, 12. that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, 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

The first chapter is one long sentence of thanksgiving that turns into a theodicy.

Thanksgiving under pressure (1:3-4). Paul thanks God that the Thessalonians' faith is "growing abundantly" and their love "increasing," and says he boasts about their endurance in the other churches. The commendation is specific rather than formulaic, and it establishes that the letter's later corrections are addressed to a church he genuinely admires.

The evidence argument (1:5). Their endurance is called "evidence of the righteous judgment of God." The logic is not that suffering earns anything, but that a world in which the faithful are harmed and the harm stands forever would not be a just world; the endurance itself points forward to a settling.

The reversal (1:6-10). Affliction returns to the afflicters and relief comes to the afflicted, at the unveiling of the Lord Jesus. This is the chapter's centre of gravity, and it is offered as comfort to people under real pressure, not as speculation about the fate of strangers.

The prayer (1:11-12). The chapter ends not with a warning but with a request that God would count them worthy of his calling and fulfil every good resolve, "so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him." The mutual glorification in verse 12 is a striking formulation and sets up the letter's whole pastoral aim.

Function within the letter. Chapter 1 establishes that the future is secure before chapter 2 corrects a false claim that the future has already arrived. The order is deliberate: reassurance first, then correction.

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.

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Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

G0166 - aionios, via 2 Thessalonians 1.9
G0602 - apokalypsis, via 2 Thessalonians 1.7
G0622 - apollymi, via 2 Thessalonians 1.9
G3952 - parousia, via 2 Thessalonians 1.7
G5219 - hypakouo, via 2 Thessalonians 1.8

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.