The Good News Translation translation of verse 16 leaves one slight difficulty unsolved. It carries into English an ambiguity of the Greek text, in which the pronoun “he” (of “he may encourage”) may refer to our Lord Jesus Christ, to God our Father, or to both acting jointly. Verse 17 is a continuation of the sentence begun in verse 16, so that the one who loved us and … gave us courage … is the same one who Paul desires may fill you with courage and strengthen you.

Fill you with courage is literally “encourage your hearts.” Any translation of “hearts” which suggest mere emotion is to be avoided (see 1 Thess. 2.4, where Good News Bible has “our motives”; cf. 1 Thess. 2.17, where Good News Bible has “our thoughts”). The Greek word for “heart,” like its Hebrew equivalent, sometimes means the whole “inner man,” as in 1 Peter 3.4. Good News Translation, along with Phillips Jerusalem Bible New English Bible Translator’s New Testament Bijbel in Gewone Taal Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, accordingly replaces “your hearts” by you. However, “heart” can also refer more precisely to judgment and will, as in Mark 7.21, cf. Jeremiah 5.21 (King James Version “without understanding,” Revised Standard Version “senseless”) and Job 12.4 (Revised Standard Version “understanding,” New English Bible “sense”). This would fit in excellently with Paul’s appeal to his readers in 2.1-3 to use good sense and judgment. Similarly, strengthen you is the opposite of being “shaken” (see notes on v. 2).

In a number of languages it is impossible to speak of “filling you (or “your hearts”) with courage,” but one may say “to cause you to be completely courageous,” “to cause you to have complete courage,” or “to cause you to stand up against any and all dangers.”

To always do and say what is good (literally “in every good deed and word”) correctly links always and good with both do and say. The implied meaning is not “strengthen you whenever you are doing or saying something good,” but “strengthen you so that you can do and say what is good” (or perhaps, as in vv. 9-10, “so that you can do and say all kinds of good things”). Good News Translation (cf. Barclay) brings this out. Knox‘s “confirm you in every right habit of action and speech” somewhat over-emphasizes the suggestion that the Thessalonians are already (at least in general, cf. chapter 3) doing and saying what is good. However, Paul by no means denies this.

It may be difficult in some languages to combine the concept of “strengthen” with the idea of doing and saying what is good. The basic underlying meaning of strengthen in this context is an increase in “capacity” or “ability.” In some instances one may wish to translate this as “make you continually able to always do and say what is good.” By the introduction of “continually” and “able,” the concept of abiding strength is clearly indicated.

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 .

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 .

After several verses of careful preparation (at least vv. 6-10 and possibly 3-10), Paul comes to the most central and sensitive point in this part of the letter. The first words are literally “for we hear.” “For” is a common word, in Greek as in English, often used, as in verse 7, in a weak and general sense. Here, on the contrary, the word has its full force and its strict meaning; it introduces an explanation of what has gone before. Good News Translation (contrast Barclay Translator’s New Testament) brings this out very well by we say this because, and secondarily by beginning a new paragraph (cf. Bijbel in Gewone Taal Bible en français courant Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch [but not Biblia Dios Habla Hoy] Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale). Jerusalem Bible begins a new paragraph at verse 10, making it relate to verse 11, in the manner that a rule is related to an example of its application. Barclay transforms the present “we hear” into “news has reached us.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, on the other hand, emphasizes both the present tense and the change to specific facts by translating “now we hear.” The text strongly implies that Paul has recently received news from Thessalonica, either by letter or by a direct oral message. There is no suggestion of hearsay or rumor.

Because of the particular form of this communication (namely, a letter), it may be necessary to render we say this as “we are writing this.”

In some languages a literal rendering of we hear would suggest actual listening rather than learning about an event through channels. Therefore it may be more satisfactory to translate we hear as “we have been told” or even “we have learned.” Such a shift from a literal rendering of hear may be necessary to avoid the suggestion of “rumor.”

Among you (Barclay “in your society,” Translator’s New Testament “of you”) reminds the reader that Paul is still addressing the whole community, including those members of it (“brothers,” cf. vv. 6, 15) who are behaving badly.

Live lazy lives (recalling 2 Thess. 3.6; see the notes there) is literally “are walking (i.e. behaving) lazily.” This is not a reference to a lifelong habit of laziness, but to a refusal to work.

The last part of the verse, literally “not working but being busybodies,” contains a play on words which raises difficulties similar to those mentioned in the notes on verses 2 and 3. Moffatt attempts a play on words with his “busybodies instead of busy.” The single word translated meddle in other people’s business is the same as the word “work,” with the addition of a prefix meaning “around” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “run around uselessly”). It is a secondary matter, depending on the resources of the receptor language, whether such a play on words can be reproduced in translation. If it can be done naturally, so much the better, but the more important translation problem is how to combine the two ideas of (1) not working and (2) interfering in other people’s affairs. The translation of (1) must not imply such total passivity as to contradict (2). Good News Translation slightly undertranslates (1), subordinating it to (2) by the phrase do nothing except. Barclay, at a rather higher level of language, keeps a good balance while still linking the two phrases closely together: “idle in their own affairs, and interfering in everyone else’s.”

The double relative clauses in verse 11, who live lazy lives and who do nothing except meddle in other people’s business, may create serious grammatical problems in some languages, and therefore some restructuring may be required. However, the relation between these two relative clauses is quite different from the relation between a similar set of relative clauses in verse 6. Here in verse 11 there is an element of contrast; these people refuse to work but do not hesitate to meddle in other people’s affairs. The contrast and the play on words can perhaps be introduced by setting off the final relative clause as a separate sentence, for example, “… who refuse to work. Rather, they are constantly involved in other people’s work,” or “who refuse to work for themselves but are busy meddling in other people’s work.” The rendering of “work for themselves” must not be understood in the sense of self-employment, but rather in a sense of “working in order to support themselves.”

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 .

Paul continues to express himself in very concentrated language, and it will often be necessary in translation to spell out in more detail some elements of meaning which are only implicit in the text. Moreover, the division between the Greek sentences, which comes at the end of verse 7, does not correspond to the major division in the thought, which comes after already at work. Up to that point, Paul is mainly concerned with present events. From the beginning of verse 8, he is concerned with the future. Verse 7b is transitional, referring backward to the one who holds … back, but is more closely related to the future events which form the subject of verses 8-9. This can be seen more clearly if Paul’s statements are separated from one another and compared with a literal translation:

(1) The Mysterious Wickedness is already at work (v. 7a).
(2) At present someone is holding (the Wicked One) back (v. 7b).
(3) This person will be removed (v. 7b).
(4) His removal is all that is necessary for the Wicked One to appear (v. 8a).
(5) So the Wicked One will then appear (v. 8a).

Literal translation:
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work (1): only the restrainer now until he becomes out of the way (2,3,4). And then will be revealed the lawless one (5)….

As already mentioned, verses 6-7 contain a good deal of repetition. In verse 6, Paul was saying that the restraining power was stopping the Wicked One from appearing before the right time. Verses 7-8a say the converse; that is, when the restrainer is taken away, the Wicked One will appear. Paul insists in verse 7, more strongly than before, on what is happening already and “now.” (Good News Translation omits this second “now,” cf. Revised Standard Version “he who now restrains it.” Unlike the word for now used in verse 6, this word must refer to time.) The Day of the Lord is not yet here, as some think, but events are already taking place which are connected with the end.

The close link between verses 6 and 7-8a is marked by “for” at the beginning of verse 7; but Good News Translation, following current English usage, leaves “for” to be implied. In a sense the relation between the first sentence of verse 7 and the immediately preceding sentence is a contrast in time, and this may be indicated in some languages by the conjunction “but.” It may then be useful to transpose the position of the adverb already, for example, “but already the Mysterious Wickedness is at work.”

The Mysterious Wickedness is literally “the mystery of lawlessness.” Like the “restraining power,” “lawlessness” is sometimes referred to as an abstract power and sometimes as a person. The distinction was probably not absolute for Paul, but he appears to think of the forces of evil as taking on a more personal form as they show themselves more openly in the final struggle. The term “mystery” is almost always used in the New Testament in speaking of truths which are hidden to people generally but which are made known to Christians. The translator should avoid expressions which suggest either (1) something which no one can understand, or (2) a puzzle to which there is a solution which anyone can understand. A mystery, for New Testament writers and for Paul in particular, is an open secret which anyone who becomes a Christian can come to understand, but which no one can understand apart from faith. Good News Translation does not fully convey the difficult idea of the “open secret,” which may need to be explained in a glossary note. The relation between “mystery” and “wickedness” is probably “the mystery which consists of wickedness.” Good News Bible show that it is the wickedness, not directly the mystery, which is … at work, producing the effects to be mentioned in verse 11-12.

The Mysterious Wickedness is already at work may be difficult to translate into some languages, particularly those in which one cannot speak of an abstraction such as wickedness “doing” anything. The closest equivalent in meaning to Wickedness is already at work may be “many people are already doing what is wicked” or “… what is evil.” If Wickedness is to be related to the concept of “lawlessness” in the sense of opposition to what God has established as right, one may say “but already many people are doing what is against what God has said.” This, however, leaves out of the picture the difficult attributive Mysterious. It would be incorrect to translate this as “and no one can understand this,” or to assume that it simply means that “wickedness works in a hidden manner.” In a number of languages the closest equivalent of Mysterious would have to be a complete clause, for example, “and we can only understand this because of what God has revealed to us.”

Is … at work is the translation most commonly chosen, but some commentators prefer “is … set to work” (Best, cf. Rigaux). The Greek verb used here always speaks of the activity of supernatural powers. If the translation “is … set to work” is chosen, it will be necessary in some languages to state who sets the Mysterious Wickedness to work. The possibilities are (1) Satan, as in verse 9, (2) God, as in verse 11, and (3) the “restraining power,” which is the least likely of the three. In verses 9 and 11, the noun which Good News Translation translates power is related to the verb is … at work (or “is … set to work”). It seems most natural to think of the Mysterious Wickedness being set to work by Satan.

The notes on verse 7 suggested reason for taking the first words of verse 8 with what has gone before. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch makes 8a a separate sentence: “When that has happened, God’s Enemy will come forward.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch also makes a new section of verses 8-17. However, although verses 8-12 contain some important new developments, they have more in common with verses 1-7 than with verses 13-17, and Good News Translation‘s arrangement of the sections is to be preferred.

The general expression what is going to happen may need to be made more specific and so may be rendered “what I said was going to happen.” This will tie the statement to what has already been described in verses 3 and 4. The one who holds it back may be rendered as “the one who prevents it from happening,” or “the one who causes it not to happen.”

The passive expression is taken out of the way must be made active in some languages, and this would probably require the introduction of an agent. New Testament scholars normally agree that the agent in this instance would be God himself, who arranges events at the proper time. Therefore one may translate until … is taken out of the way as “until God takes out of the way the one who is preventing all this from happening.”

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 .

Finally, as in 1 Thess. 4.1 (see the note on that verse), does not necessarily imply that Paul is coming to the end of his letter; it means that his last major subject is being approached. This is an additional reason for taking verses 1-5 with what follows. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “we are coming to the end” overemphasizes finally, while Bijbel in Gewone Taal “also” (“pray also for us, brothers”) underemphasizes it. Knox and Translator’s New Testament have “and now” (cf. Barclay “it only remains,” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), which strikes a good balance. If finally is too closely related to pray in the translation, it may suggest that the final content of this letter refers to prayer. In a sense, however, finally introduces the whole theme of the obligation of the Thessalonians to work. The equivalent of finally in some languages is “and now for the last part of what I want to say,” or “and now to introduce my last point.”

Our brothers, as in many previous passages and at verse 6, marks the beginning of a new section. (The function of this word in verse 13 is rather different.)

The form of the Greek verb for pray excludes the idea of offering prayer at only one particular time. However, it is reading too much into the text to make it mean “go on praying, as you are doing already,” or “pray continually.” The purpose of the prayer or its content—the two ideas are as difficult to distinguish in Greek as in English—is twofold: first and foremost, the spread of the Christian message; and secondly, the rescue of Paul and his companions from their enemies. If “Lord” is understood as referring to God, then it is “the word that comes from God”; but if “Lord” is interpreted as referring to Jesus, then it is “the word is about the Lord.”

Pray for us as a command may require in some languages an introductory expression which will make it seem more like a request, for example, “please pray for us.” In a number of languages pray is simply “speak to God on our behalf.”

The Lord’s message is the same in Greek as “the message about the Lord” in 1 Thess. 1.8, but “the message which the Lord gives” is also a possible meaning (cf. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Bijbel in Gewone Taal has simply “the gospel,” and this is what Paul means, but “gospel” in English and some other languages may be a word used mainly in church circles and therefore not part of a common language translation.

May continue to spread rapidly and be received with honor is literally “may run and be glorified.” Continue is implicit (see next paragraph). Paul has spoken of the previous rapid spread of the Christian message in 1 Thess. 1.8 ff. What is the literal meaning of this metaphor “to run”? Good News Translation‘s spread rapidly conveys the essential ideas of progress and speed. In other contexts (e.g. 1 Corinthians 9.24-26) “run” implies effort, but this does not seem to be appropriate here. To speak of the Christian message being “glorified” is unusual. The close connection with “run” makes the reader think of those who win a race and receive a prize, and one almost expected a reference to the “glorifying” of those who receive the message and remain faithful to it (cf. Romans 8.17, 30). But “be glorified” has the same subject as “run,” and the text cannot be made to mean “pray that the word may spread rapidly, and that those who receive it may be glorified.” To glorify the word means to give the Christian message its due honor and to receive it with thanks (cf. 1.10, 12). The first element is brought out in the same way by both Good News Translation and Translator’s New Testament (cf. Knox); the second is brought out by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “may be received with thanks to God.” “Run” and “glorify” are closely linked, but Barclay weakens both by combining them as “may make the same splendid progress.”

Continue is one possible interpretation of a comparison which is not explicit in the text (literally “may run and be glorified also among you”). Knox makes this comparison explicit “may run its course triumphantly with us, as it does with you.” However, “with us” might be misunderstood as meaning “pray that we ourselves (Paul, Silas, and Timothy) may honor the Christian message more highly.” This would make “run” very difficult to understand, it would have no parallel elsewhere in Paul’s writing, and it would not fit in easily with verse 2. Paul is not thinking here of the evangelists themselves, but of their mission. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch‘s way of making the comparison explicit is better: “that the message from the Lord may spread rapidly, and everywhere, as with you, may be received with thanks to God.” It would also be possible grammatically to take “as among you” with both “run” and “be glorified,” producing the translation: “may spread rapidly and be glorified everywhere, as it did and was among you.” The structure of the Greek sentence slightly favors this interpretation, since “run” and “be glorified” are closely linked. On the other hand, it might be argued that “run” suggests movement from one place to another, rather than within a single community.

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 .

They is a general word, “such people” as Paul has just described.

The word for punishment normally means a penalty imposed by a court of law.

The word here rendered suffer is less emphatic than the unrelated words for “suffer” which Paul uses in verses 5 and 6. It means simply “undergo.” Moffatt translates “they will pay the penalty.”

Eternal destruction is a difficult phrase, not only from the theological point of view, which does not concern us directly here, but also for the translator. Destruction suggests that the persecutors will cease to exist, but if this were so, how could their destruction be eternal except in the sense of “final” or “permanent”? This same word for destruction could be translated “disaster” in 1 Thess. 5.3, and New American Bible translates it “ruin” here. Eternal is often used in the New Testament in speaking of the age to come or the last days. “Eternal life” is not simply life which goes on forever, but life of a quality associated with the age to come. Eternal destruction is the opposite of this. In 1 Thess. 4.17 Paul describes the life of the age to come by saying simply “we will always be with the Lord.” Conversely, eternal destruction is to be separated from the presence of the Lord. The persecutors will be punished in such a way that “all that makes life worth living is destroyed” (H. A. A. Kennedy, quoted by Best, p. 262).

Eternal destruction must be rendered in some languages as a verb phrase, for example, “he will destroy them forever.” This expression may be related to what precedes as “they will be punished; God will destroy them forever,” or “God will cause them to suffer; he will punish them by destroying them forever.” Note, however, that this eternal destruction is further defined by the phrase which follows, namely, separated from the presence of the Lord.

Separated from represents a common Greek preposition which has a wide range of meanings. King James Version Moffatt Zürcher Bibel translate it rather vaguely as “from.” Knox thinks that it is God’s presence which causes the destruction and translates “the presence of the Lord, and the majesty of his power, will condemn them to eternal punishment,” but he adds a note giving another interpretation. It is more natural to understand the word “from” as referring (metaphorically) to space, and this is the meaning in Isaiah 2.10, 19, 21, of which this verse is a quotation. Most translations understand in this way: separated (cf. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), Jerusalem Bible “excluded” (cf. Phillips), New English Bible “cut off,” Barclay Translator’s New Testament “banishment” (cf. Bijbel in Gewone Taal), “far from” (cf. Bible en français courant Biblia Dios Habla Hoy Luther 1984 Bible de Jérusalem La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale Zürcher Bibel).

The phrase separated from the presence of the Lord serves to further define the meaning of eternal destruction. One may therefore introduce this expression as “this means they will be separated from the presence of the Lord.” In some languages, however, it is extremely difficult to use a passive expression such as separated without indicating precisely who does the separating and the mode of the separation. One must say in some instances “God will close them off from where the Lord will be.” In many instances, of course, the Lord must be rendered as “our Lord.”

The presence of the Lord is a non-figurative equivalent of the Greek “the face of the Lord,” which is not very natural in current English. The Lord, as usual in Paul’s writings, means Jesus (cf. v. 8), though in the passage in Isaiah which Paul is quoting, the Lord naturally refers to God. His glorious might is literally “the glory of his might,” and could also mean “the glory which comes from” or “is caused by his might.” On “glory,” see 1 Thess. 2.12; cf. 2.6, 20. In some translations his glorious might has been rendered merely as “his wonderful strength.” But this is often not satisfactory. How can one be separated from someone’s strength? It is possible in some instances to reverse the attribution and to speak, not of “glorious might,” but “great wonderfulness”; that is to say “God will shut them away from the great wonderfulness of our Lord.” In some cases this may be best indicated by “and they will never see how very wonderful he is,” or “… never experience his great wonderfulness.”

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 .

For a discussion of in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, see 2 Thess. 3.6.

Paul’s instructions are introduced by two verbs, both normally used by a superior addressing an inferior. Command clearly includes this meaning. Warn does not, and it is an unusual meaning of the Greek, which, in similar context, normally means “appeal to, urge, exhort, encourage.” Bible en français courant has “recommend” (cf. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (cf. Bijbel in Gewone Taal) takes the two words together and translates “we exhort” (possibly “warn”) “then … with all emphasis.” Barclay, at the risk of anticlimax, differentiates the two verbs rather sharply as “our instructions and our plea.” Good News Translation‘s warn seems rather too strong. It is true that in verse 4 and 6 (cf. 10), Paul has used the same Greek verb without feeling any need to soften it by adding a gentler expression. However, examples of this procedure are to be found elsewhere in Paul’s writings (e.g. Romans 1.11-12), and verse 15 fulfills a similar function here. Some such expression as “command and urge” would preserve the balance. Best has the rather less emphatic “instruct and request.”

In some languages there is a problem in relating the verbs command and warn to what follows, because what follows is essentially direct discourse. One would expect the second person plural “you” to be used in the direct discourse, so that the latter part of verse 12 would read “we command these people and urge them, You must lead orderly lives and work to earn your own living.” A difficulty with the term warn is that it suggests a negative prohibition which might be taken to mean “warn them not to lead orderly lives.” A rendering such as “strongly urge” in place of warn would eliminate this difficulty.

Revised Standard Version‘s “such persons,” for these people, faithfully reproduces the form of the Greek, but sound too pejorative for a letter partly addressed to the people in question, and for a passage in which Paul insists that they are still “brothers” (v. 15). The Vulgate carefully avoids a common pejorative Latin pronoun, and translates “to those however who are of this kind.” Similarly Good News Translation avoids “such.”

There are two possible meanings of living a lazy life in verse 6 (cf. v. 11 and 1 Thess. 5.14), but we have already given reason for suggesting that Paul’s main attack is against refusal to work, rather than against disorderly conduct as such. However, the second meaning does lie in the background, and Paul’s fear that those who refuse to work may disturb and agitate the Christian community is reflected both in verse 11 (meddle) and here. Orderly is not formally related in Greek to the word for lazy or “disorderly” which has been used earlier, but the meanings are contrastively related. Orderly may mean either “calm” or “silent,” but “calm” fits the context better. Lead orderly lives is literally “go-on-working with calm” (Bible en français courant “work regularly,” cf. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Good News Translation separates work and attaches it to the following phrase.

It may be impossible to translate literally lead orderly lives. It may be possible to say “live in an orderly way,” but in many languages the concept of “orderly” has nothing to do with proper living. The closest equivalent in meaning may be more appropriately expressed as a type of modal, for example, “live as they should.”

Earn their own living is literally “eat their own bread” (see the notes on v. 8). This may be expressed in some languages as “earn money for food and clothes,” or “work to feed their mouths.” Or the focus may be upon family responsibilities, for example, “work to help their families.”

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 .

Then in New Testament Greek, as in English, may mean either “at that time” or “next, immediately after.” The context suggests the second meaning here: “as soon as the restraining power is taken away, the Wicked One will appear.” To show the close connection between the temporal elements in these verses, it may be possible to render then as “only then.” This will reinforce the relation between the removal of the restraining one and the appearance of the Wicked One.

For the Wicked One, see the introductory notes on 2.1-12 and the notes on 2 Thess. 2.3.

The rest of verse 8 has a poetic tone which the translator should try to reproduce, using, of course, the poetic features of the receptor language. There are several poetic features in the original Greek text. To begin with, there is (1) a kind of rhythm and balance of expression: “whom the Lord Jesus will / kill by the breath of his mouth // and / destroy by the appearance of his coming.” (2) This is a modified quotation of Isaiah 11.4 (cf. Psalm 33.6), which is poetic in the original Hebrew. (3) The repetition, both between the two halves of the couplet (kill and destroy) and within the second half (“appearance” and “coming”) is poetic, as is also (4) the pictorial language, “the breath of his mouth.”

Because of the poetic tone of this verse, one should not look for a distinction between kill and destroy. In other contexts, kill can mean “annul, abolish,” as in Hebrews 10.9, and destroy can mean “make inactive,” as in Romans 3.3; but such a distinction does not need to be made in the present case. (Translator’s New Testament, however, has “take away all his power.”) Similarly, “appearance” and “coming” are close in meaning. They are really closer in Greek than in those translations which render “appearance” by such words as “brightness” and “radiance” (King James Version cf. Knox Phillips New English Bible Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The second edition of Bible de Jérusalem correctly changes “resplendence” to “manifestation.” Barclay, recognizing that parallelism is not a normal feature of English poetry, combines the two lines: “the Lord Jesus will blast him out of existence with the breath of his mouth and with the blinding brilliance of his coming.”

There is a serious problem of temporal sequence in verses 8-9. A literal rendering of verse 8 (“and then will be revealed the Lawless One, whom the Lord Jesus will kill … by the appearance of his coming”) would seem to imply that immediately upon the appearance of the Wicked One the Lord Jesus will destroy him. However, in verse 9 there is a description of what the Wicked One will do when he comes. It may be possible to suggest a time span between the appearance of the Wicked One and the coming of the Lord Jesus by shifting the order of clauses, as Good News Translation does: then the Wicked One will be revealed, but when the Lord Jesus comes, he will kill…. This order suggests a time span during which the events described in verse 9 can take place. In fact, it may be necessary in some languages to begin verse 9 with a temporal conjunction such as “in the meantime.”

When the Lord Jesus comes … with his dazzling presence is literally “by the manifestation of his coming,” but this refers to a single event, not (as, for example in Revised Standard Version) “his appearing and his coming.” The poetic use of repetition emphasizes the solemn nature of the event, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “he will annihilate him by his mere appearing” is rather wide of the mark. The Greek expression translated in Good News Translation as with his dazzling presence is best taken as means rather than simply as a temporal qualification, since it is parallel with the expression with the breath from his mouth. Therefore one may translate this phrase in some languages as “by means of his being present in a dazzling way,” or perhaps “by means of his appearing in a glorious way.”

For a more detailed discussion of presence, see the discussion of when he comes (1 Thess. 2.19).

The breath from his mouth is a rather common biblical expression (e.g. Exodus 15.8; Psalm 33.6) which can sometimes be misunderstood in translation. (1) The Greek word for breath also means “spirit” (cf. King James Version), but there is no reference here to the Holy Spirit. (2) “Breath” does not mean simply “word,” as in Phillips “the words from the mouth of the Lord Jesus.” (3) God’s breath is always thought of as powerful, so the meaning is very different from “a puff of wind will blow him away.” A literal rendering of with the breath from his mouth may involve a number of serious complications. In the place, it is rather redundant to speak of “the breath of his mouth,” since the breath is normally regarded as coming from the mouth. Even to speak of someone being killed by this breath may seem either humorous (as a reference to halitosis or bad breath) or as a suggestion of some kind of disease spread by germs carried on the breath. The concept of breath in this verse may be incorporated in the idea of “kill” in some languages by rendering “he will blow him out of this life,” or “by blowing he will destroy him.” Where it is either misleading or completely unintelligible to speak of “the breath of his mouth,” it may be better to drop this aspect of the figurative language and simply say “the Lord Jesus will kill him.”

Older translations, such as King James Version, followed a text which omitted Jesus and had “consume” instead of kill. Modern editions and translations prefer the text on which Good News Translation is based.

Verses 9-12 raise a general problem of the relation between past, present, and future events, which it is convenient to look at as a whole. If we try to list them according to tense, we reach the not very definite result shown in the diagram|fig:Table_2TH2-8.htm. The distinction is far from clear-cut. Items 1, 2, and 8 are certainly future in meaning, though the verb in 1 is grammatically present. Item 4 is clearly past. Items 3, 5, 6, and 7 may be present, future, or both in meaning.

However, Greek makes a distinction, perhaps more important than that of tense, between events thought of as (1) taking place over a period of time and now complete, (2) those taking place over a period of time but not yet complete, and (3) those taking place at a point in time and therefore (at least by implication) complete. No verbs in group (1) occur in the present verses. “He will deceive” (item 2 in the above list) is not expressed by a verb. Items 1, 3, and 6 fall in group (2), and items 4, 5, 7, and both verbs of 8 fall in group (3).

This distinction, as it has just been applied to these verses, has some interesting though partly tentative implications for the translator. Item 1 does not focus on the event of the coming of the Wicked One, since this has been specified in verse 8. Item 1 focuses rather on the series of events which occur during the period of his coming. Items 3 and 6 overlap present and future: those who are to perish are already beginning to perish. The notes on verse 11 will suggest reasons for the translation “the reason for this is that God is sending….” The other items raise no special problems. Item 4 is clearly marked as occurring at a point in the past. Item 5 focuses on the point of final and complete salvation. The translation of item 7 will be determined by that of item 6, the main verb. The context clearly places item 8 in the future.

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 .