Passage

2 Thessalonians 2.8

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

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"6. And now ye know that which restraineth, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season. 7. For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way."

"8. And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming;"

"9. even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10. and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:6-10, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"6. Now you know what is restraining him, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season. 7. For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one who restrains now, until he is taken out of the way."

"8. Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and destroy by the manifestation of his coming;"

"9. even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10. and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:6-10, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"6. And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. ^{withholdeth: or, holdeth} 7. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way."

"8. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:"

"9. Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:6-10, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"6. and now, what is keeping down ye have known, for his being revealed in his own time, 7. for the secret of the lawlessness doth already work, only he who is keeping down now [will hinder], till he may be out of the way,"

"8. and then shall be revealed the Lawless One, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the manifestation of his presence,"

"9. [him,] whose presence is according to the working of the Adversary, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders, 10. and in all deceitfulness of the unrighteousness in those perishing, because the love of the truth they did not receive for their being saved," (2 Thessalonians 2:6-10, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle + Silas + Timothy
Audience: Christian believers in Thessalonica
Location: composed in Corinth; addressed to Thessalonica
Time period: composed c. AD 51-52

Theological reading

Key words

G2673 - katargeo, katargeo (Strong's G2673). Also appears in: Luke 13.6-9, Romans 7, 1 Corinthians 6.
G2962 - kyrios, kyrios (Strong's G2962). Also appears in: Matthew 1.20, Matthew 1, Matthew 6.24.
G3952 - parousia, parousia (Strong's G3952). Also appears in: 1 Corinthians 15, Philippians 2, 1 Thessalonians 5.23.
G4151 - pneuma, pneuma (Strong's G4151). Also appears in: Matthew 1.18, Matthew 1.20, Matthew 3.16.

Quoted in

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.