| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, | 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 soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had 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 by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, | 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 above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is 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 now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own 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 will do so until He is taken 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 will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness 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 according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, | 9This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. |
| 10and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might 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. |
| 11And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, | 11So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. |
| 12that they 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 are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation 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 which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of 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. |
| 15Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. | 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 our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by 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 you in every good word and work. | 17comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. 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. |
|
