2 Thessalonians
Search Kids
The New Testament

2 Thessalonians

The King James text of 1611, set beside a plain-English rendering, so the original may be both read and understood.

Reading & highlighting: the left is the original King James Version; the right is a plain-English paraphrase to make the meaning clear. Select across one or more verses to highlight it in one of four colors. Click a verse number to bookmark it, and open Saved in the top bar to see everything you've marked and jump straight to it. Your highlights are saved automatically. You're reading 2 Thessalonians — 3 chapters.
I
Chapter 1
King James Version — 1611
In Plain English
1Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
1Paul, Silas, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
3We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.
4So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
4Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
5Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
5All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
6Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you
7And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
8In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
9Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might
10When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
10on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
11Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:
11With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.
12That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
12We pray this 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 the Lord Jesus Christ.
II
Chapter 2
King James Version — 1611
In Plain English
1Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
1Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters,
2That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
2not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.
3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
3Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.
4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
4He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
5Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
5Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?
6And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
6And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.
7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
7For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.
8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
9Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
9The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie,
10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
10and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
11For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie
12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
12and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
13But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
13But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
14Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
14He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
15So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
16Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
16May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,
17Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.
17encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
III
Chapter 3
King James Version — 1611
In Plain English
1Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
1As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.
2And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.
2And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith.
3But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
3But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.
4And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.
4We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.
5And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
5May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
6Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
6In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.
7For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;
7For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you,
8Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:
8nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
9Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.
9We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate.
10For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
10For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat."
11For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
11We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies.
12Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat.
13But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
13And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.
14And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
14Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed.
15Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
15Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer.
16Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.
16Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
17The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.
17I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write.
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
✦ ✦ ✦
Reader’s Companion

A Second Letter to a Worried Church

The fuller life of the Apostle Paul accompanies the letter to the Romans. Second Thessalonians is a short follow-up to the first, written not long after it—probably from Corinth around AD 51—to the same young, persecuted congregation in Macedonia. The warmth of the first letter is still here, but it is joined by a note of correction, because in the interval a misunderstanding had taken root.

Someone, it seems, had been telling the Thessalonians that "the day of the Lord" had already come—perhaps through a forged letter claiming Paul's name, or a supposed prophecy. The believers, already under pressure and grieving, were now thrown into fresh alarm, some apparently concluding that history had reached its end and abandoning ordinary work to wait idly for the end. Paul writes to steady them on two fronts. First, he assures them that their suffering is not meaningless: God is just, and the same Lord whose return they await will one day set everything right, giving relief to the troubled and repaying those who afflict them.

Second, he corrects the timetable. That day has not come and will not come, he says, until certain things happen first—a great rebellion, and the appearance of a mysterious figure he calls "the man of lawlessness," who exalts himself against God before being destroyed by the Lord's mere breath. The passage is among the most debated in the New Testament, and Paul writes of it with deliberate restraint, reminding them only of what he had already told them in person. Finally, he turns blunt and practical: those who have stopped working in their excitement must get back to it. "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat," he writes—a sentence that has echoed down the centuries. The letter ends, as it began, with a prayer for peace.

An Interpretation

Written with AIThe reflection below was written by AI as commentary—one reader's lens on the text, offered alongside it and never in place of it. It is not scripture, and not the King James words themselves.

Second Thessalonians is, in a quiet way, a letter about how to wait. The Thessalonians had taken a true and precious hope—that Christ would return and make all things right—and let it curdle into two opposite errors: panic on one side, idleness on the other. Some were terrified the day had already passed them by; others were so sure it was imminent that they quit their jobs and stood around waiting. Paul has to talk both groups down from the same ledge.

His correction is striking for its sober refusal to feed the excitement. He could have stoked their fervor; instead he applies the brakes, telling them not to be "easily unsettled or alarmed," and pointedly declining to set any date. He even has to reassure them that a letter claiming the end had arrived was not really from him. There is a lesson there that outlasts its first readers: hope that is healthy does not require constant adrenaline, and a faith that can only run on the certainty of "any minute now" is a fragile thing.

And his prescription is almost comically ordinary. To a church convinced the world was ending, the apostle's advice is: go back to work. Earn your bread, mind your own business, do not tire of doing good. It is a profound vote of confidence in ordinary life. The right way to wait for a better world, Paul suggests, is not to abandon this one but to keep faithfully tending it—quietly, steadily, with your hands busy and your hope intact.