This verse contains Paul’s second request for prayer, and both parts of it are expressed in very general terms. Paul was probably referring to particular difficulties in which he and his companions found themselves at the time of writing. The Thessalonians may have known about these problems, but we do not. The Greek has literally “that we may be rescued from the wicked and evil men.” It would be unnatural to use here the word “the” in English, since there has been no previous reference to particular wicked men (except perhaps in 2.7, which is an even more difficult verse.) King James Version has “unreasonable” where Good News Translation has wicked. “Unreasonable” represents an earlier sense of the Greek word, but by the time of Paul its meaning had become more general.
A literal translation of rescue might suggest that Paul and his colleagues were actually in the power of wicked and evil men who had in some way gotten control of them, perhaps even putting them in prison. That is clearly not the correct meaning. Therefore, it may be more appropriate to translate “pray also that God will keep us from suffering because of wicked and evil men,” or “… that God will keep wicked and evil men from harming us,” or “… causing us great trouble.”
It may be impossible in some languages to distinguish between wicked and evil. These are essentially equivalent terms, and may be translated together in some languages simply as “very wicked men.” A qualifier such as “very” may be regarded as compensating for the loss of one of the attributes or as representing the closest equivalent emphasis.
The relation between the two parts of the verse is not clear. For rightly indicates only a loose connection, since the second part of the verse does not explain the first, except indirectly in the sense that if everyone believed the message there would be no wicked and evil people. Bijbel in Gewone Taal Bible en français courant Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch make verse 2b a separate sentence.
The message is implicit, since “believe” in normal English (though not in church language) requires an object. The text is literally “for not of all the faith.” Knox interprets this in a footnote as “ ‘The faith does not reach all hearts’; or possibly ‘faith is not to be found in all hearts’.” However, “faith,” even with “the,” should not be understood here as a system of belief; rather it is the positive response to the Christian message. “Faith” is therefore often translated by a verb such as “believe.” Bible en français courant has “for it is not everyone who accepts to believe,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “for not all let themselves be called to believe.” If one does make the message explicit as the object of the verb believes, it may be necessary to relate this message to what has already been spoken of in verse 14 as the Good News and in verse 15 as our preaching. Therefore one may wish to say “believes the message we have proclaimed,” or “believes the Good News.” The last word of verse 2, “faith,” and the first word of verse 3, “faithful,” form the hinge on which Paul turns to a rather different subject, the contrast between faith and stability.
Verses 3-5 cannot be understood without realizing that the basic meaning of the Hebrew concept of faith is “firmness, reliability, or steadfastness.” This is the central idea which is repeatedly emphasized here by the words translated faithful, strengthen, keep you safe, confidence (v. 4), endurance (v. 5), and possibly also lead (v. 5). (The original suggests making a path which is straight and therefore safe.) There is a restless spirit in the air, with people becoming over-excited about the Day of the Lord and busybodies upsetting the life of the community. In addition, there are attacks from outside the church, and even fiercer tests will come before the End. Only the Lord (that is, Jesus) can keep the Thessalonians safe among these dangers (vv. 3, 5), but they must also hold on to the evangelists’ teaching (v. 4).
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .