With a flaming fire is literally “in a fire of flame.” These and the following words recall Psalm 79.6; Isaiah 66.15; Jeremiah 10.25; and perhaps Exodus 3.2. The translator has first to decide whether this phrase goes with the end of verse 7 or with the rest of verse 8. If with the end of verse 7 it will be understood that the fire will serve to light up the Lord Jesus when he comes; it will be associated with revelation. If, however, this phrase goes with the rest of verse 8, the fire will serve to destroy the wicked. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy takes the words back into verse 7 and translates “when he comes from heaven among flames of fire with his powerful angels.” Translator’s New Testament leaves the question open by making “there will be flames of fire” a separate sentence. Several other translations, including Good News Translation, produce a similar effect by putting commas before and after the phrase, leaving the reader to decide where the more important break in meaning occurs. Jerusalem Bible links the phrase with what follows: “he will come in flaming fire to impose the penalty…” It is difficult to be certain. The first possibility recalls more clearly the revelation of God to Moses in the burning bush of Exodus 3.2; the second reflects the usage in Psalm 79.6 and Isaiah 66.15.
Since in many languages the phrase with his mighty angels must be expressed as a separate statement, one may be required to render with a flaming fire also as a separate sentence, for example, “there will be a flaming fire,” or “there will be a fire which will flame up.” This can still be related to the coming of Jesus by saying “when he comes there will be a flaming fire.”
The following words, to punish, are rather easier to understand than to translate. Revised Standard Version‘s literal translation is “inflicting vengeance.” The best commentary is Hebrews 10.30: “I will take revenge, I will repay” (Good News Bible), quoting Deuteronomy 32.35. Old Testament teaching on vengeance can be generally summed up in three points: (1) Because God is just, he has the right to punish those who do wrong and to avenge those who are harmed by others’ wrongdoing. (2) God normally does this by disinterested human agents, such as judges, whom he appoints. (3) It is therefore quite wrong for anyone else to “take the law into his own hands” and avenge himself.
The translator’s problem is therefore to show that the vengeance in question is the just action of God, not a private vendetta. (A similar difficulty was noted in 1 Thess. 1.10; 2.16, in speaking about God’s wrath or anger. In English, “wrath” and “vengeance” are slightly higher level equivalents of “anger” and “revenge,” though “wrath” is more archaic than “vengeance.”) Good News Translation‘s punish leaves out the specific element of paying someone back for a wrong done. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “judges”; Jerusalem Bible (cf. Best) “to impose the penalty”; Barclay specifies “to execute divine vengeance.”
The verb to punish is most frequently translated as “cause to suffer.” Such a rendering fits in well with verse 6, in which God causes suffering for those who have caused the believers to suffer. A number of languages, however, do have very specific terms for punishment, for example, “whip,” “beat,” “torture,” but none of these should be employed in this type of context. It is preferable to use a more generic expression which does not need to be interpreted in a strictly literal manner.
The reader of some translations, including Good News Translation, may ask: “Why should God punish those who reject him? Are they not people to be helped rather than punished?” The answer to this problem lies in the words translated reject. Literally the words mean “do not know,” but the word “know” normally means, not intellectual knowledge of a fact, but a relationship with a person (cf. Mark 14.71; John 7.28; 2 Corinthians 5.16 [Good News Translation translates “judge”]; Titus 1.16). In Luke 1.34 (where Good News Translation‘s “I am a virgin” is literally “I do not know a man”) a different, but semantically related, verb is used. “Not to know God” means, therefore, refusing to enter into a relationship with him. For this reason, several translations have “refuse to recognize God” (Barclay cf. Phillips 2nd ed. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) or “refuse to acknowledge God” (New English Bible cf. Knox). Bijbel in Gewone Taal, more simply, translates “did not want to know God”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “do not honor God”; Moffatt “ignore God.” Good News Translation correctly understands a refusal to recognize or acknowledge God as a rejection of him. This rejection of God is expressed in a number of languages idiomatically, for example, “push God out of their thoughts,” “give God no place in their hearts,” or “refuse to open the door to God.”
Next, the translator has to decide whether the ones who reject God and the ones who do not obey the Good News are the same people or not. The form of the Greek slightly suggests two different groups, and some commentators try to identify them, but the evidence is not decisive. Translations, both old and modern, are fairly evenly divided, with Jerusalem Bible (cf. King James Version Moffatt? Knox? Phillips Bijbel in Gewone Taal Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Biblia Dios Habla Hoy Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) suggesting a single group (“all who do not acknowledge God and refuse to accept the Good News…”—“all” is not in the Greek), and Bible de Jérusalem (cf. Revised Standard Version Barclay Translator’s New Testament Bible en français courant Luther 1984 La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée Zürcher Bibel) suggesting two groups (“those who do not know God and those who do not obey the Gospel”). Good News Translation leaves the question somewhat open, for one can interpret the those as referring to one group who are described in two ways. On the other hand, one can understand the those as being carried over and implied before the second who in such a way that two groups are specified. If Good News Translation repeated the those, two groups would be indicated, whereas if Good News Bible omitted the second who, only one group would be indicated. If one wishes to indicate more clearly that only one group of persons is being spoken about, it may be necessary to render “to punish those who refuse to acknowledge God, that is, those who do not obey the Good News about our Lord Jesus,” or “… these are the very ones who….”
The English word obey, used by many translations, raises certain problems.
(1) Obey means “to do what one is told,” and one normally speaks of obeying an order or someone who gives an order. Obey the Good News sounds strange, because Good News almost by definition implies a statement, while obey implies an order. The outlines of Christian preaching, found in Acts 2.14-39; 3.13-26; 1 Corinthians 15.3-7, and similar passages, often end with a call for people to repent and believe (e.g. Acts 2.38; cf. 3.19), but they consist largely of telling the story of Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the return of Jesus as judge.
(2) When we compare the English obey with the Greek word which it translates, we find, not surprisingly, that while the range of meaning of the two terms overlaps, it is not completely the same. English obey, unless it is followed by some such word as “willingly,” does not suggest any inner agreement or commitment to a course of action—you do what you are told, whether you like it or not. This is sometimes so in Greek also—in Mark 1.27, the demons are forced to obey Jesus. But more commonly, as in the present passage, the context refers to a personal and willing response. New Testament writers speak of “obeying” or responding to the faith (Acts 6.7), the gospel (here and in Romans 10.16), or the apostles’ message (2 Thess. 3.14). The same word, which is related to the word for “hear,” may also be used of someone answering a knock on the door (Acts 12.13), and even (though not in the New Testament) of God or a judge “hearing” and responding favorable to someone’s prayer or plea.
(3) For these reasons, a few translations avoid the word obey in this verse. Jerusalem Bible has “refuse to accept”; cf. Bijbel in Gewone Taal “have rejected” (the Dutch word is also used of refusing an invitation); Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “do not listen to”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “pay no attention to.”
As already suggested, it is quite impossible in many languages to speak about “obeying the Good News.” In some instances one can speak about “obeying what the Good News says,” but even this may sometimes be very difficult. The closest equivalent may be “live in accordance with the Good News.” However, since in both expressions, who reject God and who do not obey the Good News, there is either an explicit or implied rejection or refusal, it may be important to introduce this fact explicitly in both clauses, translating the second one, for example, “refuse to follow the Good News,” or “reject living according to the Good News.”
For the Good News, see the notes on 1 Thess. 1.5; and for Lord, see 1 Thess. 1.1. About our Lord Jesus (cf. Bible en français courant and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) is clearer than the traditional translation “of our Lord Jesus,” which could also mean “from our Lord Jesus,” a much less likely meaning here.
While the term Lord, in the phrase our Lord Jesus, is basically a title, it should not be rendered merely as an honorific qualification of Jesus. To avoid doing so, it may be necessary in some languages to speak of “the Good News about Jesus, who is our Lord.” On the other hand, in some languages there is no term for “Lord” which means an individual who rules over another or to whom one gives complete obedience. Therefore our Lord Jesus may be rendered in some languages as “Jesus whom we obey” or “Jesus who rules over us.”
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 .