What Does 2 Thessalonians 2:11 Mean in the King James?
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
What KJV calls “strong delusion” is an active working that leads astray until the lie itself receives trust.
THE MEANING
This verse names a frightening possibility in the present: delusion is an active work God sends, and it can carry a person off course until the lie is trusted. The danger is not only hearing falsehood; deception can shape what feels credible.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Strong conviction does not prove that what you trust is true; this verse shows that trust itself can be captured by delusion.
THE ROOT
ἐνέργειαν πλάνης
energeian planēs
GROWS FROM
ἐνεργ- / πλαν-
Active work or operation; wandering or being led astray.
“strong delusion” in this verse is energeian planēs. The Greek phrase is an “operation of delusion,” making the deception active rather than mere confusion. The word for delusion carries the sense of wandering off course: the lie works by drawing trust away from truth.
ALSO GROWS
energeō: To work, be active.
ἐνεργέω
It shares the “working” family, showing that the delusion is presented as something operative.
planaō: To lead astray, cause to wander.
πλανάω
This branch exposes the direction of the delusion: away from the truth.
πιστεῦσαι
pisteusai
GROWS FROM
πιστ-
Trust, credit, or regard as reliable.
“Believe” here reaches beyond hearing a claim and agreeing with it: the lie receives trust. The word family makes the verse’s force personal, what is false becomes something a person relies on.
ALSO GROWS
pistis: Trust, confidence.
πίστις
It names the trust that the verse says is placed in the lie.
pistos: Trustworthy, reliable.
πιστός
Its sense of reliability sharpens the reversal: the lie is treated as dependable.
THE PATTERN
When truth is refused, falsehood can become an active power that receives trust rather than mere attention.
Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.THE THREAD
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.The preceding verse names the opening in the sequence: they do not receive the love of the truth. This verse shows what follows, an operation of delusion is sent, and the lie is trusted.
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