2 Thessalonians 1
Paul, Silvanus and Timothy to the assembly of the Thessalonians — grace and peace. They ought to give thanks: faith grows exceedingly, love increases, and they boast in the assemblies of the endurance and faith shown in persecutions and afflictions. This is evidence of God’s righteous judgement — affliction repaid to those who press, relief to the pressed: at the revelation of the Lord Jesus with the angels of his power in a flame of fire, giving justice to those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel; they will pay the penalty of eternal ruin from the face of the Lord — in that day when he comes to be glorified in his holy ones. Prayer — that God count you worthy of the calling and fulfil every good pleasure of goodness and work of faith in power, so that the name of the Lord Jesus is glorified in you, and you in him.
Why this rendering
2Thess.1.3 Observation
Syntactic observation
Παῦλος καὶ Σιλουανὸς καὶ Τιμόθεος τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ Θεσσαλονικέων ἐν θεῷ πατρὶ ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ· χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Εὐχαριστεῖν ὀφείλομεν τῷ θεῷ πάντοτε περὶ ὑμῶν, ἀδελφοί, καθὼς ἄξιόν ἐστιν, ὅτι ὑπεραυξάνει ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν καὶ πλεονάζει ἡ ἀγάπη ἑνὸς ἑκάστου πάντων ὑμῶν εἰς ἀλλήλους, ὥστε αὐτοὺς ἡμᾶς ἐν ὑμῖν ἐγκαυχᾶσθαι ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τοῦ θεοῦ ὑπὲρ τῆς ὑπομονῆς ὑμῶν καὶ πίστεως ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς διωγμοῖς ὑμῶν καὶ ταῖς θλίψεσιν αἷς ἀνέχεσθε — Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the assembly of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought to give thanks to God always for you, brothers, just as is worthy, because your faith grows exceedingly and the love of each one of you all toward one another increases, so that we ourselves boast about you in the assemblies of God for your endurance and faith in all your persecutions and the afflictions which you bear. The opening has the words of 1 Thess 1:1; only ‘our’ (ἡμῶν) on the Father and the ‘from’ of the greeting differ · ⸀πατρός (the Received Text ‘our Father’) is the base text’s reading. Εὐχαριστεῖν ὀφείλομεν ‘we ought to give thanks’ — 1 Thess 1:2 ‘we give thanks’ with Rom 15:1 ‘ought’ added · καθὼς ἄξιόν ἐστιν ‘just as is worthy’ — Acts 13:25 ‘worthy’. ὑπεραυξάνω occurs once in the New Testament — Col 1:6 ‘grow’ with ὑπέρ, ‘exceedingly’ · πλεονάζω is 1 Thess 3:12 ‘increase’ as there (what was prayed for there is recorded here as done). ἑνὸς ἑκάστου πάντων ὑμῶν ‘of each one of you all’ — all three rendered. ⸂αὐτοὺς ἡμᾶς⸃ ‘we ourselves’ · ⸀ἐγκαυχᾶσθαι occurs once in the New Testament (the Received Text has καυχᾶσθαι) — Gal 6:14 ‘boast’ with ἐν- prefixed · neither rendering carries the prefix (recorded). ὑπομονῆς καὶ πίστεως ‘endurance and faith’ — two of the three words of 1 Thess 1:3. διωγμοῖς is Matt 13:21 ‘persecution’ · θλίψεσιν ‘affliction’ · αἷς ἀνέχεσθε ‘which you bear’ — the verb of 2 Cor 11:1 ‘bear with’, here with afflictions rather than people as its object.
Rendering options · 3
Basis Unlike 1 Thess 1:2 ‘we give thanks’, here both ‘ought’ and ‘worthy’ stand — not reduced to one.
Basis ‘Grow’ as fixed at Col 1:6, with ὑπέρ as ‘exceedingly’ — the place where 1 Thess 3:12 ‘increase and abound’ is fulfilled.
Basis The familiar rendering.
Rejected The ‘beyond’ of ὑπέρ vanishes — cutting the grain of this letter’s ὑπέρ compounds (1 Thess 3:10 · 5:13).
Lost in translation
ἐγκαυχᾶσθαι (v.4) — the ἐν- prefix. ‘Boast’ is the same rendering as Gal 6:14 καυχάομαι.
ὑπεραυξάνει (v.3) — ὑπέρ shows in ‘exceedingly’ and αὐξάνω in ‘grows’.
πλεονάζει (v.3) / 1 Thess 3:12 πλεονάσαι — ‘increase’ shows the same verb.
ἑνὸς ἑκάστου πάντων ὑμῶν (v.3) — ‘each one of you all’ keeps all three.
θλίψεσιν (v.4) · θλίβουσιν · θλιβομένοις (vv.6-7) — ‘affliction / press / pressed’ split one root.
Why this rendering
2Thess.1.7 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἔνδειγμα τῆς δικαίας κρίσεως τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰς τὸ καταξιωθῆναι ὑμᾶς τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ, ὑπὲρ ἧς καὶ πάσχετε, εἴπερ δίκαιον παρὰ θεῷ ἀνταποδοῦναι τοῖς θλίβουσιν ὑμᾶς θλῖψιν καὶ ὑμῖν τοῖς θλιβομένοις ἄνεσιν μεθ’ ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ ἀποκαλύψει τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ ἀπ’ οὐρανοῦ μετ’ ἀγγέλων δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ ἐν φλογὶ πυρός, διδόντος ἐκδίκησιν τοῖς μὴ εἰδόσι θεὸν καὶ τοῖς μὴ ὑπακούουσιν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ, οἵτινες δίκην τίσουσιν ὄλεθρον αἰώνιον ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ κυρίου καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ — evidence of the righteous judgement of God, that you be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; if indeed it is righteous with God to repay affliction to those who press you, and to you who are pressed, relief together with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power, in a flame of fire, giving justice to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will pay a penalty, eternal ruin, from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his strength. ἔνδειγμα occurs once in the New Testament — ‘evidence’ (a different word on the root of Rom 3:25 ἔνδειξις ‘showing’) · verbless, set onto the sentence before. δικαίας κρίσεως ‘righteous judgement’ · καταξιωθῆναι is Luke 20:35 · Acts 5:41 ‘be counted worthy’ as there · ὑπὲρ ἧς καὶ πάσχετε ‘for which you also suffer’. εἴπερ ‘if indeed’ is the word of Rom 8:9 · 17 · δίκαιον παρὰ θεῷ ‘righteous with God’ · ἀνταποδοῦναι is 1 Thess 3:9 ‘repay’ — affliction for affliction, relief for the pressed · θλίβουσιν / θλιβομένοις ‘press / pressed’ are the two voices of Mark 3:9 · 2 Cor 1:6 · ἄνεσις is 2 Cor 2:13 ‘relief’. ἐν τῇ ἀποκαλύψει ‘at the revelation’ — the noun of Rom 2:5 · ⸂φλογὶ πυρός⸃ ‘a flame of fire’ (the Received Text reverses the order, ‘fire of flame’) — Acts 7:30 ‘flame’. διδόντος ἐκδίκησιν ‘giving justice’ — Rom 12:19 ‘justice’ as there · the participle hangs on the Lord Jesus · two groups (those not knowing God · those not obeying the gospel) with two articles — whether one group or two is left open. δίκην τίσουσιν ‘will pay a penalty’ — δίκη, the word of Acts 28:4 ‘Justice’, here a penalty (site-rule) · τίνω occurs once in the New Testament, ‘pay’ · ὄλεθρον αἰώνιον ‘eternal ruin’ — 1 Thess 5:3 ‘ruin’ · ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ κυρίου ‘from the face of the Lord’ — whether ‘away from’ or ‘proceeding from’ the text does not settle · ‘from’ holds both.
Rendering options · 4
Basis The preposition allows both ‘away from’ (banishment) and ‘proceeding from’ (the source of the ruin) — ‘from’ holds both.
Basis A familiar gloss.
Rejected ‘Shut out’ is not in the text — it closes one way.
Basis The site-rule under Acts 28:4 ‘Justice’ — here a penalty paid · τίνω ‘pay’ carries the sense of a price.
Basis The base text’s order — the Received Text’s ‘fire of flame’ is not rendered.
Lost in translation
ἔνδειγμα (v.5) — a verbless noun set onto the sentence before. ‘Evidence of …’ keeps it verbless.
θλίβουσιν / θλιβομένοις (vv.6-7) — ‘press / pressed’ show one verb in two voices.
ἀποκαλύψει (v.7) — the noun of Rom 2:5 ‘revelation’. ‘At the revelation’ keeps the noun.
δίκην (v.9) / Acts 28:4 δίκη — one word split as ‘penalty / Justice’.
ἀπὸ προσώπου (v.9) — between ‘away from’ and ‘proceeding from’. ‘From’ holds both.
τοῖς μὴ εἰδόσι … καὶ τοῖς μὴ ὑπακούουσιν (v.8) — two articles. ‘Those … and those …’ carries both.
Why this rendering
2Thess.1.11 Observation
Syntactic observation
ὅταν ἔλθῃ ἐνδοξασθῆναι ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ καὶ θαυμασθῆναι ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς πιστεύσασιν, ὅτι ἐπιστεύθη τὸ μαρτύριον ἡμῶν ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς, ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ. εἰς ὃ καὶ προσευχόμεθα πάντοτε περὶ ὑμῶν, ἵνα ὑμᾶς ἀξιώσῃ τῆς κλήσεως ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν καὶ πληρώσῃ πᾶσαν εὐδοκίαν ἀγαθωσύνης καὶ ἔργον πίστεως ἐν δυνάμει, ὅπως ἐνδοξασθῇ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐν αὐτῷ, κατὰ τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ — when he comes to be glorified in his holy ones and to be marvelled at in all who believed — because our testimony to you was believed — in that day. To this end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of the calling and fulfil every good pleasure of goodness and work of faith in power, 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. ἐνδοξάζομαι stands in these two places of this letter in the New Testament (vv.10 · 12) — the passive of δοξάζω ‘be glorified’ with ἐν- prefixed · ‘in’ (ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις · ἐν ὑμῖν) repeats the prefix separately · the prefix is not carried (recorded). θαυμασθῆναι ‘be marvelled at’ — the passive of Matt 8:10 ‘marvel’. ὅτι ἐπιστεύθη τὸ μαρτύριον ἡμῶν ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς is a parenthesis — ‘who believed’ (πιστεύσασιν) and ‘was believed’ (ἐπιστεύθη) touch on one root · μαρτύριον is 1 Cor 1:6 ‘testimony’. ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ‘in that day’ comes last and hangs on ἔλθῃ — the rendering keeps it last. εἰς ὃ ‘to this end’ · ἀξιώσῃ τῆς κλήσεως ‘count you worthy of the calling’ — one root with v.5 καταξιωθῆναι ‘be counted worthy’ (ἀξιόω / καταξιόω) · the verb of Acts 15:38 ‘think it right’, here of people · κλῆσις is Eph 1:18 ‘calling’. πᾶσαν εὐδοκίαν ἀγαθωσύνης ‘every good pleasure of goodness’ — whose good pleasure (God’s · yours) the text does not say · ‘good pleasure’ as at Phil 1:15 · ἀγαθωσύνη is Gal 5:22 ‘goodness’ · ἔργον πίστεως is 1 Thess 1:3 ‘work of faith’ as there. ἐνδοξασθῇ τὸ ὄνομα … ἐν ὑμῖν, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐν αὐτῷ ‘the name … in you, and you in him’ — glory in one another · a facing construction. τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ has one article over two names — ‘our God and the Lord Jesus Christ’ as two, or ‘our God and Lord, Jesus Christ’ as one, is left open · the rendering keeps the order and does not close it.
Rendering options · 3
Basis One article over two names — readable as two persons or one · keeping the text’s order leaves both paths.
Basis Reading the single article as one person.
Rejected It closes the two-person reading (earlier in the verse ‘our Lord Jesus’ and ‘our God’ stand apart).
Basis One root with v.5 καταξιωθῆναι ‘be counted worthy’ — sharing ‘worthy’ · Acts 15:38 ‘think it right’ is said of a course of action.
Lost in translation
ἐνδοξασθῆναι · ἐνδοξασθῇ (vv.10 · 12) — the ἐν- prefix. ‘Be glorified’ is the same rendering as the passive of δοξάζω.
πιστεύσασιν / ἐπιστεύθη (v.10) — ‘believed / was believed’ keep one root.
καταξιωθῆναι (v.5) / ἀξιώσῃ (v.11) — ‘be counted worthy / count worthy’ keep the root.
εὐδοκίαν (v.11) — God’s or yours, left open. ‘Good pleasure’ names no owner.
τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου (v.12) — one article. ‘Our God and Lord Jesus Christ’ leaves both paths.
ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ (v.10) — sentence-final. Both renderings keep it last.