What Does 2 Thessalonians 2:16 Mean?
But our Lord Jesus the Anointed One himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us comfort of the ages and good hope through favor.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,THE KEY
The consolation given through favor is not a mood you must summon; it is an encouragement that reaches you with hope already given.
THE MEANING
The Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father are the source of love already given, consolation belonging to the ages, and good hope given through favor. That love reaches you now, holding consolation and hope together as gifts.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that consolation and hope must be earned or generated alone: both are described as gifts given through love and favor.
THE ROOT
παράκλησιν
paraklēsin
GROWS FROM
καλ
καλ (kal) carries the basic sense of calling or summoning.
The noun παράκλησις (paraklēsis, “comfort, encouragement”) belongs to the καλέω (kaleō, “call, summon”) family; the related verb παρακαλέω (parakaleō) means “comfort” or “urge.” This connects consolation with encouragement that reaches and steadies a person, not only with a passing feeling.
ALSO GROWS
kaleō: call, summon
καλέω
This verb carries the call and summon sense at the heart of the word family.
klēsis: calling, invitation
κλῆσις
Its κ-λ consonants link it to the same family, showing how a call can also be an invitation.
paraklētos: advocate, comforter
παράκλητος
This related form connects the call-family with advocacy and comfort.
THE PATTERN
The comfort God gives sustains people under inward pressure and makes hope possible.
In the multitude of my thoughts within me, your comforts caress my living soul.For whatever was written before was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through the comfort of the writings we might hold hope.Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the Father of compassions and the God of all comfort.THE THREAD
May he comfort your hearts and steady you in every good work and word.The next verse uses παρακαλέσαι (parakalesai, “to comfort”), from the same word family as παράκλησιν (paraklēsin, “consolation”). It shows that consolation taking shape as steadiness of heart and firmness in good word and work.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us