Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT ESA WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
2 Th 2 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17
OET (OET-LV) And now the thing restraining you_all_have_known, in_order that to_be_revealed him in the of_him time.
OET (OET-RV) Now you know what’s restraining him so that he’ll be revealed at the proper time,
Some Christians in Thessalonica thought that Paul had said that the Lord Jesus Christ had already returned. But he had not said this. So, in this section, Paul reminded them about what he had taught them when he was with them: that before the Lord Jesus returned, a leader whom Paul called “the man of lawlessness” would appear. This person would be against every religion and would oppose God’s laws. But he would deceive only those who had rejected God’s message about Christ. On the day when Christ returns, he will destroy that person and his power.
Paul did not list everything in this section (2:1–12) in the order in which the events will happen. Rather, in 2:1–4 he wrote a general sequence of events. Then in 2:5 he introduced what he had previously taught about these events. Then in 2:6–12 he taught specifically about the rebellion, about the wicked person (“man of lawlessness”) who would oppose God’s laws, and about how Jesus Christ would return to destroy him.
In this paragraph Paul wrote that, at exactly the right time, the man of lawlessness will appear. He will have power to perform miracles that will deceive those who themselves oppose the truth and love evil.
And you know what is now restraining him,
You know what is keeping the Wicked Person from coming now
And you know what is now restraining him: In Greek it is not clear which word nun (now) is connected to. There are two possibilities:
It goes with the expression to katechon, “the restraining/holding-back (thing).” (BSB, GNT, GW, NASB, SSA)
It goes with the verb oida, “to know.” For example:
And now you know what is holding him back. (NIV) (KJV, NEB, CEV, NCV)
It is recommended that you follow the first option (1).
what is now restraining him: As mentioned above, the Greek is literally “the restraining (thing).” Paul did not explain what was holding back or restraining the Wicked Person (“man of lawlessness”). The point is that something was preventing the Wicked Person (“man of lawlessness”) from appearing before the proper time (2:6b).For some suggestions about who or what is holding him back, see Marshall, pp. 197–200; Bruce, pp. 171–172; or Best, pp. 296–301.
The Greek text also does not say what is being held back. Some English versions make clear that this is referring to the man of lawlessness by saying:
restraining him (BSB, ESV, NRSV)
The Greek also does not say what the man of lawlessness is being restrained from doing. The next part of this verse makes it clear that he is being held back from appearing before “the proper time.”
so that he may be revealed at the proper time.
so that he will appear at the time God decides.
so that: This indicates the purpose of 2:6a.
he may be revealed: See the note on 2:3d. The Greek (like many English versions) again uses a passive here, but it does not imply that someone else (for example, the devil) caused him to appear. So if you cannot use a passive in your translation, you should use an active verb. For example:
he may appear
at the proper time: That is, at the time that God decides is right.
καὶ νῦν τὸ κατέχον οἴδατε
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί νῦν τό κατέχον οἴδατε εἰς τό ἀποκαλυφθῆναι αὐτόν ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ καιρῷ)
There are two possibilities for understanding the function of the word now here. (1) It goes with the one restraining him. Alternate translation: [And you know what is restraining him now] or (2) it goes with you know. Alternate translation: [And now you know what is restraining him]
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
τὸ ἀποκαλυφθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ καιρῷ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί νῦν τό κατέχον οἴδατε εἰς τό ἀποκαλυφθῆναι αὐτόν ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ καιρῷ)
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [the proper time, when God will allow him to reveal himself]
OET (OET-LV) And now the thing restraining you_all_have_known, in_order that to_be_revealed him in the of_him time.
OET (OET-RV) Now you know what’s restraining him so that he’ll be revealed at the proper time,
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.