complete verse (2 Thessalonians 2:7)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Thessalonians 2:7:

  • Uma: “At this time, the power that empowers/controls that evil person is working quietly/secretly in the world. But he himself has not yet appeared, because he is still being blocked. So, when the blocking one is taken-aside/removed,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But this one who opposes God’s law, he really works already now in secret, but he is not able to come out/appear yet because there is still (something/someone) here that opposes him.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For the power of that greatest transgressor is being used by him now secretly, and he will have to keep hidden yet until the time when that which restrains him is removed.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Granted, there are those now who are opposing God, but what that one-who-opposes all God’s laws will do in the future is not yet known, and neither will it happen until God removes what/the-one-who is blocking/hindering him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Admittedly even now, Satanas’ work keeps on, putting it in people’s heads to be rebellious. But it’s still under-cover/secret, for like-I-said, there is indeed something/someone hindering, that’s why as long as this which is hindering hasn’t been removed, that person who is the Epitome of Rebelliousness won’t yet appear on the scene.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Not yet has it appeared clearly concerning all the power of evil but his evil now is. It is that he who restrains it has not given permission for it to appear clearly about who the person is that I speak of.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 2 Thessalonians 2:7

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 .

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Thessalonians 2:7

2:7a

For: Although the Berean Standard Bible has translated the Greek word gar as For here, it does not in this verse indicate a reason for the previous verse. Rather, it shows that this verse re-states and further explains the previous verse. Other English versions either use “for” or omit the connection. Another way to make the connection explicit would be to say:

that is

the mystery of lawlessness is already at work: The phrase the mystery of lawlessness is both difficult to understand and to translate. In the context Paul seemed to be saying that the devil is secretly causing trouble in the world by influencing people to oppose God’s laws. He is doing this to prepare the world for the arrival of the man of lawlessness. The Display shows a couple of ways to translate this meaning.

lawlessness: This is the same word as occurs in the expression “the man of lawlessness.” See the note on 2:3c.

2:7b

the one who now restrains it: The Greek phrase here contrasts with the similar one in 2:6a. In 2:6a, the Greek says tokatechon (neuter), which means “the (thing) holding back.” However, here the Greek says: hokatechōn (masculine), that is, “the (person) holding back.” Paul implied that there is a personal being (spirit or human) behind/supporting the power that is holding back the Wicked Person (“man of lawlessness”). He was not specific about who that person would be, and you should not make your translation too specific. However, you should try to indicate the difference between this verse and 2:6a.

it: As in 2:6a, the Greek does not say what is being held back. There are two possibilities:

(1) Paul meant that the secret power of lawlessness is being held back. Versions that follow this interpretation supply the pronoun “it.”

(Berean Standard Bible, English Standard Version God’s Word, New Century Version, New International Version (2011 Revision), New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), Revised Standard Version)

(2) Paul meant that it is the man of lawlessness whom someone is holding back. Versions that follow this interpretation supply the pronoun “him,” as in 2:6a.

(Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, SSA)

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1), as it is more likely that 2:7b refers to what immediately precedes it than to something farther away.

will continue: The Greek of 2:7b–c lacks a main verb, so every translator is forced to supply a verb (or reorganize the structure of the verse) in order to provide a grammatical sentence. The Berean Standard Bible therefore includes will continue as the implied information here. You will probably need to include similar implied information in your translation to make sense of the sentence.

2:7c

until he is taken out of the way: Paul did not say how the one who is holding back lawlessness in the world will be removed or who will remove him. If possible, use a passive in your translation rather than saying who will remove this person. If you need to use an active verb you should say:

until God removes him

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