2 TH 2:3 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT May no one deceive you in any way, for unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, [fn]

UST Do not allow anyone to persuade you to believe any such message.
¶  It is not true, because other things that have not yet happened must happen before the Lord returns. Before the Lord returns, a large number of people will rebel against God. They will accept and obey a certain man who will oppose everything that God has said. (After some time, God will destroy him.)

BLB No one should deceive you in any way, because it is not until the apostasy shall have come first, and the man of lawlessness shall have been revealed--the son of destruction,

AICNT Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of {lawlessness}[fn] is revealed, the son of destruction,

2:3, lawlessness: Later manuscripts read “sin.” BYZ TR

OEB Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For it will not come before the final rebellion against God, when lawlessness is revealed in human form, headed for destruction.

WEBBE Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be unless the rebellion[fn] comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction.

2:3 or, falling away, or, defection

WMBB (Same as above including footnotes)

NET Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.

LSV do not let anyone deceive you in any way, because if the departure may not come first, the man of lawlessness may [not] be revealed—the son of destruction,

FBV Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, because the Rebellion[fn] must come first, and the lawless man be revealed, the one whose end is destruction.

2:3 Literally, “apostasy,” the end-time, final rejection of God.

TCNT Let no one deceive you in any manner, for that day cannot come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of [fn]sin is revealed, the son of destruction.

2:3 sin 93.5% ¦ lawlessness CT 5.5%

T4T Do not allow anyone to deceive you in any way with the result that you believe any such message.
¶ The Lord will not come [MTY] immediately. First, many people [PRS] will rebel against God. The result of their rebelling will be that they will accept and obey the man who will sin very greatly against God.

LEB Do not let anyone 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,

BBE Give no belief to false words: because there will first be a falling away from the faith, and the revelation of the man of sin, the son of destruction,

Moff Let nobody delude you into this belief, whatever he may say. It will not come till the Rebellion takes place first of all, with the revealing of the Lawless One, the doomed One,

Wymth Let no one in any way deceive you, for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first, and the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sets himself against,

ASV let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,

DRA Let no man deceive you by any means, for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,

YLT let not any one deceive you in any manner, because — if the falling away may not come first, and the man of sin be revealed — the son of the destruction,

Drby Let not any one deceive you in any manner, because [it will not be] unless the apostasy have first come, and the man of sin have been revealed, the son of perdition;

RV let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,
(let no man beguile/deceive you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition/destruction/punishment, )

SLT Let none deceive you in any manner: for, except an apostasy come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Wbstr Let 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;

KJB-1769 Let 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;
(Let 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/destruction/punishment; )

KJB-1611 Let no man deceiue you by any meanes, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sinne bee reuealed, the sonne of perdition,
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Let no man deceaue you by any meanes, for the Lorde shall not come excepte there come a fallyng away first, & that that man of sinne be reuealed, the sonne of perdition,
(Let no man deceive you by any means, for the Lord shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition/destruction/punishment,)

Gnva Let no man deceiue you by any meanes: for that day shall not come, except there come a departing first, and that that man of sinne be disclosed, euen the sonne of perdition,
(Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a departing first, and that that man of sin be disclosed, even the son of perdition/destruction/punishment, )

Cvdl Let noman disceaue you by eny meanes. For the LORDE commeth not, excepte the departynge come first, and that that Man of synne be opened, euen the sonne of perdicion,
(Let no man deceive you by any means. For the LORD cometh/comes not, except the departing come first, and that that Man of sin be opened, even the son of perdicion,)

TNT Let no man deceave you by eny meanes for the lorde commeth not excepte ther come a departynge fyrst and that that synfnll man be opened the sonne of perdicion
(Let no man deceive you by any means for the lord cometh/comes not except there come a departing first and that that synfnll man be opened the son of perdicion )

Wycl No man disseyue you in ony manere. For but dissencioun come first, and the man of synne be schewid, the sonne of perdicioun,
(No man deceive you in any manner. For but dissencioun come first, and the man of sin be showed, the son of perdition/destruction/punishment,)

Luth Lasset euch niemand verführen in keinerlei Weise! Denn er kommt nicht, es sei denn, daß zuvor der Abfall komme, und offenbaret werde der Mensch der Sünde und das Kind des Verderbens,
(Let you no_one seduce in kno_matter way/manner! Because he comes not, it be because/than, that before the/of_the Abfall come, and revealed become the/of_the person the/of_the sin(n) and the child the destruction,)

ClVg Ne quis vos seducat ullo modo: quoniam nisi venerit discessio primum, et revelatus fuerit homo peccati filius perditionis,
(Don't who/any you(pl) seducat any just/only: since/because except will_have_placed discessio first, and revealed has_been human of_sin son of_destruction, )

UGNT μή τις ὑμᾶς ἐξαπατήσῃ κατὰ μηδένα τρόπον, ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ ἔλθῃ ἡ ἀποστασία πρῶτον, καὶ ἀποκαλυφθῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἀνομίας, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας;
(maʸ tis humas exapataʸsaʸ kata maʸdena tropon, hoti ean maʸ elthaʸ haʸ apostasia prōton, kai apokalufthaʸ ho anthrōpos taʸs anomias, ho huios taʸs apōleias;)

SBL-GNT μή τις ὑμᾶς ἐξαπατήσῃ κατὰ μηδένα τρόπον· ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ ἔλθῃ ἡ ἀποστασία πρῶτον καὶ ἀποκαλυφθῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ⸀ἀνομίας, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας,
(maʸ tis humas exapataʸsaʸ kata maʸdena tropon; hoti ean maʸ elthaʸ haʸ apostasia prōton kai apokalufthaʸ ho anthrōpos taʸs ⸀anomias, ho huios taʸs apōleias,)

RP-GNT μή τις ὑμᾶς ἐξαπατήσῃ κατὰ μηδένα τρόπον· ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ ἔλθῃ ἡ ἀποστασία πρῶτον, καὶ ἀποκαλυφθῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας,
(maʸ tis humas exapataʸsaʸ kata maʸdena tropon; hoti ean maʸ elthaʸ haʸ apostasia prōton, kai apokalufthaʸ ho anthrōpos taʸs hamartias, ho huios taʸs apōleias,)

TC-GNT μή τις ὑμᾶς ἐξαπατήσῃ κατὰ μηδένα τρόπον· ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ ἔλθῃ ἡ ἀποστασία πρῶτον, καὶ ἀποκαλυφθῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς [fn]ἁμαρτίας, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας,
(maʸ tis humas exapataʸsaʸ kata maʸdena tropon; hoti ean maʸ elthaʸ haʸ apostasia prōton, kai apokalufthaʸ ho anthrōpos taʸs hamartias, ho huios taʸs apōleias, )

2:3 αμαρτιας 93.5% ¦ ανομιας CT 5.5%

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:1–12: The Wicked Person will come before the Lord Jesus returns

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.

Paragraph 2:1–4

Some of the Christians at Thessalonica were upset because they thought that Paul had said that the Lord Jesus had already returned. Here Paul sought to correct this misunderstanding. He reminded them that before the Lord Jesus returns, many people will reject God. Then a wicked leader called “the man of lawlessness” will appear.

2:3a

Let no one deceive you in any way,

Do not let anyone trick/deceive you in any way and cause you to think that this is true,

Let no one deceive you in any way: Paul was reenforcing what he said in 2:2. The rumors stating that Paul had said that Jesus had already returned were deceiving the Thessalonians, and he needed to correct this.

2:3b

for it will not come until the rebellion occurs

because before the Lord Jesus returns, there will be a specific time when many people will rebel against God.

for: Here Paul stated the reason why the teaching that the Lord Jesus has already returned was false.

it will not come: This phrase is not in the Greek text, but the BSB supplies it for clarity. In this phrase, the word it refers to “the Day of the Lord” in 2:2c. See the note there. Here is another way to translate this:

that day will not come (NIV)

until the rebellion occurs: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the rebellion could mean one of two things:

It could be describing a specific event that the Thessalonians already knew about, a time when people would rebel against God more strongly than at any other time. This would prepare the people to allow the man of lawlessness (2:3c) to rule them. For example:
the final rebellion (GNT) (BSB, GNT, ESV, NET, NIV, NRSV)
It could be describing general rebellion against God. For example:
a revolt (GW)
People will rebel against God. (CEV) (CEV, GW, NLT, KJB)

It is recommended that you follow the first option (1).

2:3c

and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.

When that occurs, the Wicked Person will appear suddenly. This person is destined for eternal destruction.

and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed: Although this clause is joined to 2:3b with a simple “and,” most commentators agree that the man of lawlessness will be revealed after the rebellion has begun. For example:

and then the man of rebellion will come (LB)

the man of lawlessness: There is a textual problem with this verse:

Some Greek manuscripts say ho anthrōpos tēs anomias, “the man/person of lawlessness.” (ESV, NASB, NET, NIV, NLT, NRSV)
Other Greek manuscripts say ho anthrōpos tēs hamartias ,“the man of sin.” (CEV, GW, GNT, KJV, NCV).

It is strongly recommended that you follow the first option (1). However, the meanings are very similar.

The phrase the man of lawlessness is a way of saying “the lawless person,” “the person who rejects God and his laws.” The word anomia, “lawlessness,” is also used in 2:7a, and the related word anomos, “lawless,” is used in 2:8a. Rather than try to include all the meaning of “lawlessness” in your translation of this expression, try to find a short expression. For example:

the Lawless Person

the Rebel (JB)

the Wicked One (CEV, GNT, NJB)

man: The Greek word translated as man here is anthrōpos, which means “person” or “human being.” So the man of lawlessness will probably be a human being who acts like the devil, rather than a supernatural being like the devil himself. This man is referred to as “the Antichrist” in 1 John 2:18.See Best, pp. 287–289, and Bruce, pp. 179–188, for a discussion of who the Antichrist might be.

the son of destruction: This means a person destined for eternal destruction. Here is another way to translate this:

destined for hell (GNT)

is revealed: The Greek verb used here, apokaluptō, is related to the word used in 1:7b about Jesus. This Wicked Person (“man of lawlessness”) will probably appear as suddenly as the Lord Jesus will later appear. Although the Greek text uses a passive here, as do many English versions, this does not imply that someone else (for example, the devil) will cause him to appear. So if you cannot use a passive in your translation, you should use an active verb. For example:

appears (NCV)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

μή τις ὑμᾶς ἐξαπατήσῃ κατὰ μηδένα τρόπον

not (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Μή τὶς ὑμᾶς ἐξαπατήσῃ κατά μηδένα τρόπον ὅτι ἐάν μή ἔλθῃ ἡ ἀποστασία πρῶτον καί ἀποκαλυφθῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἀνομίας ὁ υἱός τῆς ἀπωλείας)

Alternate translation: [Do not permit anyone to fool you] or [Do not believe at all the wrong words that people are telling you about this]

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ ἔλθῃ ἡ ἀποστασία πρῶτον

because (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Μή τὶς ὑμᾶς ἐξαπατήσῃ κατά μηδένα τρόπον ὅτι ἐάν μή ἔλθῃ ἡ ἀποστασία πρῶτον καί ἀποκαλυφθῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἀνομίας ὁ υἱός τῆς ἀπωλείας)

Here, Paul is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would need in many languages to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you could supply these words from the previous verse. Alternate translation: [for the day of the Lord will not come unless the apostacy comes first]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ἡ ἀποστασία

the apostasy

Here, the apostacy refers to a future time when many people will turn away from God. If your language does not use an abstract noun for this idea, you can express it in another way. Alternate translation: [the time when many people will rebel against God]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἀποκαλυφθῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἀνομίας

˓may_be˒_revealed the man ¬the ˱of˲_lawlessness

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 man of lawlessness arrives] or [the man of lawlessness makes himself known]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἀνομίας

the man ¬the ˱of˲_lawlessness

Paul is using the possessive form to describe a man who is characterized by lawlessness. By this Paul means that this man will oppose all of God’s commandments and instructions. If this is not clear in your language, you could express this another way. Alternate translation: [the lawless man] or [the man who opposes God’s rule]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας

the the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Μή τὶς ὑμᾶς ἐξαπατήσῃ κατά μηδένα τρόπον ὅτι ἐάν μή ἔλθῃ ἡ ἀποστασία πρῶτον καί ἀποκαλυφθῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἀνομίας ὁ υἱός τῆς ἀπωλείας)

Here, son of destruction is an idiom meaning a person who is destined for destruction. Alternate translation: [the one who will be destroyed] or [the one whom God will destroy]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / events

ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας

God will destroy this person some time after the events of verse 4. If it would be helpful in your language, consider moving this phrase to the end of verse 4.

Parallel 2 TH 2:3

Section 2:1–12: The Wicked Person will come before the Lord Jesus returns

Paragraph 2:1–4

2:3a

2:3b

2:3c

Parallel 2 TH 2:3