The Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians

1    FROM PAUL, Sylvanus, and Timothy to the congregation of Thes-     
     salonians who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.     
        Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus      
     Christ.       
        Our thanks are always due to God for you, brothers.  It is right that we      
     should thank him, because your faith increases mightily, and the love you     
     have, each for all and all for each, grows ever greater.  Indeed we boast      
     about you ourselves among the congregations of God's people, because      
     your faith remains so steadfast under all your persecutions, and all the     
     troubles you endure.  See how this brings out the justice of God's judge-     
     ment.  It will prove you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed     
     you are suffering.       
        It is surely just that God should balance the account by sending trouble     
     to those who trouble you, and relief to you who are troubled, and to us       
     as well, when our Lord Jesus Christ is revealed from heaven with his      
    mighty angels in blazing fire.  Then he will do justice upon those who      
     refuse to acknowledge God and upon those who do not obey the       
     gospel of our Lord Jesus.  They will suffer the punishment of eternal ruin,     
     cut off from the presence of the Lord and the splendour of his might,      
     when on that great Day he comes to be glorified among his own and      
     adored among all believers; for you did indeed believe the testimony we     
     brought you.     
        With this in mind we pray for you always, that our God may count      
     you worthy of his calling, and mightily bring to fulfilment every good pur-      
     pose and every act inspired by faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus      
     may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God     
     and Lord Jesus Christ.    

2    AND NOW, BROTHERS, about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and     
     his gathering of us to himself: I beg you, do not suddenly lose your heads      
     or alarm yourselves, whether at some oracular utterance, or pronounce-     
     ment, or some letter purporting to come from us, alleging that the Day of     
     the Lord is already here.  Let no one deceive you in any way whatever.  That     
     day cannot come before the final rebellion against God, when wickedness    
     will be revealed in human form, the man doomed to perdition.  He is the       
     Enemy.  He rises in his pride against every god, so called, every object of    
      men's worship, and even takes a seat in the temple of God claiming to be       
     a god himself.         
        You cannot but remember that I told you this while I was still with you;       
     you must now be aware of the restraining hand which ensures that he shall     
     be revealed only at the proper time.  For already the secret power of wicked-     
     ness is at work, secret only for the present until the restrainer disappears     
     from the scene.  And then he will be revealed, that the wicked man whom the      
     Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, and annihilate by the      
     radiance of his coming.  But the coming of that wicked man is the work pf       
     Satan.  It will be attended by all the powerful signs and miracles of the Lie,      
     and all the deception that sinfulness can impose on those doomed to      
     destruction.  destroyed they shall be, because they did not open their        
     minds to love of the truth, so as to find salvation.  Therefore God puts them       
     under a delusion, which works upon them to believe the lie, so that they       
     may all be brought to judgement, all who do not believe the truth but make     
     sinfulness their deliberate choice.        

     BUT WE ARE BOUND to thank God always for you, brothers beloved by      
     the Lord, because from the beginning of time God chose you to find     
     salvation in the Spirit  that consecrates you, and in the truth that you     
     believe.  It was for this that he called you through the gospel we brought,      
     so that you might possess for your own the splendour of our Lord Jesus    
     Christ.         
        Stand firm, then, brothers, and hold fast to the traditions which you have     
     learned from us by word or by letter.  And may our Lord Jesus Christ him-      
     self and God our Father, who has shown us such love, and in his grace has         
     given is such unfailing encouragement and such bright hopes, still     
     encourage and fortify you in every good deed and word!       
3       And now, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have       
     everywhere the swift and glorious course that it has had among you, and       
     that we may be rescued from the wrong-headed and wicked men; for it is not     
     all who have faith.  But the Lord is to be trusted, and he will fortify you and      
     guard you from the evil one.  We feel perfect confidence about you, in the      
     Lord, that you are doing and will continue to do what we order.  May the     
     Lord direct your hearts towards God's love and the steadfastness of Christ!        
        These are our orders to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus      
     Christ: hold aloof from every Christian brother who falls into idle habits,    
     and does not follow the tradition you received from us.  You know your-       
     selves how you ought to copy our example: we were no idlers among you;      
     we did not accept board and lodging from anyone without paying for it;     
     we toiled and drudged, we worked for a living night and day, rather than      
     be a burden to any of you — not because we have not the right to main-     
     tenance, but to set an example for you to imitate.  For even during our stay    
     with you we laid down the rule: the man who will not work shall not eat.    
     We mention this because we hear that some of your number are idling     
     their time away, minding everybody's business but their own.  To all such      
     we give these orders, and we appeal to them in the name of the Lord Jesus       
     Christ to work quietly for their living.          
        But you, my friends, must never tire of doing right.  If anyone disobeys     
     our instructions given by letter, mark him well, and have no dealings with     
     him until he is ashamed of himself.  I do not mean treat him as an enemy,     
     but give him friendly advice, as one of the family.  May the Lord of peace      
     himself give you peace at all times and in all ways.  The Lord be with     
     you all.       
        The greeting is in my own hand, signed with my name, PAUL; this     
     authenticates all my letters; this is how I write.  The grace of our Lord     
     Jesus Christ be with you all.      

The New English Bible (with Apocrypha)
Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, 1970