| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, | 1Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. |
| 2not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. | 2Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. |
| 3Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, | 3Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. |
| 4who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. | 4He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. |
| 5Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? | 5Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? |
| 6And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. | 6And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. |
| 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. | 7For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. |
| 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. | 8Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. |
| 9The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, | 9This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. |
| 10and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. | 10He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. |
| 11Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, | 11So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. |
| 12in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. | 12Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth. Believers Should Stand Firm |
| 13But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. | 13As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. |
| 14To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. | 14He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 15So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. | 15With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter. |
| 16Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, | 16Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, |
| 17comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. | 17comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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