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I. Address

Chapter 1

Greeting.[a] Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:(A) grace to you and peace from God [our] Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving. [b]We ought to thank God always for you, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith flourishes ever more, and the love of every one of you for one another grows ever greater.(B) Accordingly, we ourselves boast of you in the churches of God regarding your endurance and faith in all your persecutions and the afflictions you endure.

This is evidence of the just judgment of God, so that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are suffering.(C) For it is surely just on God’s part to repay with afflictions those who are afflicting you, and to grant rest along with us to you who are undergoing afflictions, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his mighty angels, in blazing fire, inflicting punishment on those who do not acknowledge God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.(D) These will pay the penalty of eternal ruin, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power,(E) 10 when he comes to be glorified among his holy ones[c] and to be marveled at on that day among all who have believed, for our testimony to you was believed.(F)

Prayer. 11 To this end, we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith,(G) 12 [d]that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him,(H) in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.

Footnotes

  1. 1:1–2 On the address, see note on Rom 1:1–7 and cf. 1 Thes 1:1.
  2. 1:3–12 On the thanksgiving, see note on Rom 1:8 and cf. 1 Thes 1:2–10. Paul’s gratitude to God for the faith and love of the Thessalonians (2 Thes 1:3) and his Christian pride in their faithful endurance (2 Thes 1:4–5) contrast with the condemnation announced for those who afflict them, a judgment to be carried out at the parousia (2 Thes 1:6–10), which is described in vivid language drawn from Old Testament apocalyptic. A prayer for the fulfillment of God’s purpose in the Thessalonians (2 Thes 1:11–12) completes the section, as is customary in a Pauline letter (cf. 1 Thes 1:2–3).
  3. 1:10 Among his holy ones: in the Old Testament, this term can refer to an angelic throng (cf. also Jude 14), but here, in parallel with among all who have believed, it can refer to the triumphant people of God.
  4. 1:12 The grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ: the Greek can also be translated, “the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul, Silas[a](A) and Timothy,(B)

To the church of the Thessalonians(C) in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.(D)

Thanksgiving and Prayer

We ought always to thank God for you,(E) brothers and sisters,[b] and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.(F) Therefore, among God’s churches we boast(G) about your perseverance and faith(H) in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.(I)

All this is evidence(J) that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy(K) of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just:(L) He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you(M) and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven(N) in blazing fire(O) with his powerful angels.(P) He will punish(Q) those who do not know God(R) and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.(S) They will be punished with everlasting destruction(T) and shut out from the presence of the Lord(U) and from the glory of his might(V) 10 on the day(W) he comes to be glorified(X) in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.(Y)

11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you,(Z) that our God may make you worthy(AA) of his calling,(AB) and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness(AC) and your every deed prompted by faith.(AD) 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,(AE) and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.[c]

Footnotes

  1. 2 Thessalonians 1:1 Greek Silvanus, a variant of Silas
  2. 2 Thessalonians 1:3 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 2:1, 13, 15; 3:1, 6, 13.
  3. 2 Thessalonians 1:12 Or God and Lord, Jesus Christ