Montgomery - II Thessalonians

Chapter 1

1:1  Paul and Silvanus and Timothy. To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1:2  Grace to you, and peace from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1:3  I ought always to thank God for you, brothers, as is fitting because of the abundant growth of your faith and of the overflowing love with which every one of you is filled toward one another.

1:4  So that I myself am boasting about you among the churches of God, boasting of the stedfastness and faith which you are displaying in all the troubles and afflictions which you are enduring.

1:5  They are an evidence of the righteous judgment of God, who will count you worthy of his kingdom, in behalf of which you are even now suffering.

1:6  For truly God’s justice must render back trouble to those who are troubling you,

1:7  and give to you, who are now troubled, rest, along with me at the unveiling "apocalypse" of the Lord Jesus from heaven, with his mighty angels,

1:8  in flaming fire. Then shall he take vengeance on those who know not God, even on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

1:9  They shall suffer punishment, even an eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the brightness of his glorious majesty,

1:10  when he comes to be glorified in his saints, and to be wondered at in all believers, on that Day; (for you also believed our testimony).

1:11  To this end I am making my constant prayer for you, beseeching God to make you worthy of your calling, and to fulfil mightily every desire of goodness and effort of faith;

1:12  so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in him, according to the grace of our God and of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Chapter 2

2:1  Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to meet him, I entreat you, brothers,

2:2  not to be "quickly shaken out of your wits" and not to be agitated either by a spirit or by a message, or by an epistle purporting to be from me, saying, "The Day of the Lord is at hand."

2:3  Let no one deceive you by any means. For it will not come until after the Great Apostasy, and the revealing of the Man of Sin, the son of perdition,

2:4  the adversary, who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God, or is an object of worship; so that he takes his seat in the Temple of God, and vaunts himself as God.

2:5  Do you not recall that I often told you this, when I was with you?

2:6  And now you know what is holding him back, to the end that he may be revealed in his appointed time.

2:7  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only there is one who is hindering and will continue to hinder till he be removed;

2:8  and then the lawless one will be revealed. Him the Lord will consume with the breath of his lips, and destroy with the brightness of his appearing;

2:9  even he whose coming is according to the energy of Satan, in every power and sign and lying wonder,

2:10  and with all deceit of unrighteousness for those who are perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth for their salvation.

2:11  For this reason God is sending on them an energy of delusion, that they should put faith in a falsehood;

2:12  so that they all should be condemned, who are faithless to the truth, but take pleasure in evil.

2:13  But for you, brothers, whom the Lord loves, I ought to give thanks to God continually, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation in consecration of the Spirit and belief of the truth.

2:14  For this he called you through my gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2:15  So, brothers, stand fast, and hold fast the teachings which you have been taught by me, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

2:16  And may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and a good hope in grace,

2:17  comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good work and word.

Chapter 3

3:1  Finally, brothers, pray on for me, that God’s word may run swiftly, and be glorified as in your own case,

3:2  and that I may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for all do not hold the faith.

3:3  But the Lord is faithful; he will stablish you and guard you from the Evil One.

3:4  Now we have fully fixed our faith on you in the Lord, that you are doing and will continue to do what we enjoin.

3:5  May the Lord incline your hearts to the love of God and to the stedfastness of Christ.

3:6  I summon you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to shun any brother who leads an idle and disorderly life, which is not according to the rule you received from me.

3:7  For you know well how you must imitate me. For I did not lead an idle or disorderly life among you;

3:8  I did not eat my food as a gift from any man, but in toil and travail, night and day, I worked, so that I might not be a burden to any of you.

3:9  Not that I have no right to such support; it was simply to give you an example for you to imitate.

3:10  For indeed when I was with you, I used to charge you, "If any man will not work, he shall not eat."

3:11  But I hear that there are those of your number who are leading idle and disorderly lives, who are not busy, but mere busybodies.

3:12  Now all such I command and entreat, by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, to work in quietness. and to earn their own living.

3:13  But you, brothers, must not grow weary in well-doing.

3:14  If any man does not give heed to what I have said in this letter, mark that man; do not associate with him, so as to make him feel ashamed;

3:15  and yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

3:16  And may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.

3:17  I, Paul, add this greeting in my own handwriting, which is my token in every letter. Thus I write -

3:18  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.