2 Thessalonians 2:12
in 2 Thessalonians 2in order that judgment may come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
KJV
That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
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This verse in 2 Thessalonians 2
Commentary
15 notes on this verseThat they all may be condemned - That is, the consequence of which will be, that they all will be condemned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness - That is, who believed not the truth, because they loved sin.
This site's exposition
For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion
on 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12
The judgment fits the refusal: God will send them a powerful delusion, the Greek energeia planes, a working of error. The order is the text’s own, since they first disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness, and the delusion confirms a choice already made.
This site's exposition
delighted in wickedness
The verse pairs two things, unbelief toward the truth and pleasure in wrong. John Wesley reads the love of sin as the cause. Albert Barnes notes that the verb means to judge and then to condemn, a court's verdict on those who chose the lie.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
A commentator
Ambrose of MilanOn the Holy Spirit, Book 3, Chapter 14, 95 · Written before 397.
proposed
Who, then, is the Lord Who makes us to increase and abound before God and our Father at the coming of the Lord Jesus? He has named the Father and has named the Son; Whom, then, has he joined with the Father and the Son except the Spirit? Who is the Lord Who establishes our hearts in holiness. For holiness is a grace of the Spirit, as, too, is said farther on: "In holiness of the Spirit and belief of the truth."
At this place, the foreknowledge of God resounds, because He knows the minds of all before their birth; and He is not unaware of those who will believe. Therefore, from the beginning, he knows that these faithful ones will be, who, by believing, make an …
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsApostolic Constitutions (Book VII), Section 2, XXXII · Written before 380.
proposed
For in the last days false prophets shall be multiplied, and such as corrupt the word; and the sheep shall be changed into wolves, and love into hatred: for through the abounding of iniquity the love of many shall wax cold. For men shall hate, and persecute, and betray one another. And then shall appear the deceiver of the world, the enemy of the truth, the prince of lies, [2 Thessalonians 2:3-12] whom the Lord Jesus "shall destroy with the spirit of His mouth, who takes away the wicked with His lips; and many shall be offended at Him. But they that endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven;" [Isaiah 11:4; Matthew 24:1-51] and afterwards shall be the voice of a trumpet by the archangel; and in that interval shall be the revival of those that were asleep. And then shall the Lord come, and all His saints with Him, with a great concussion above the clouds, with the angels of His power, [Matthew 16:27] in the throne of His kingdom, to condemn the devil, the deceiver of the world, and to render to every one according to his deeds. "Then shall the wicked go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous shall go into life eternal," [Matthew 25:46] to inherit those things "which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, such things as God has prepared for them that love Him;" [1 Corinthians 2:9] and they shall rejoice in the kingdom of God, which is in Christ Jesus.
"For because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved; for this cause God will send them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." "That they might be judged." He does not say, that they might be punished; for even before this they were about to be punished; but "that they might be condemned," that is, at the dreadful Seat of Judgment, in order that they might be without excuse. "Who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." He calls Christ, "the Love of the Truth." "For because," says he, "they received not the love of the truth," For He was both, and came for the sake of both, both as loving men, and on behalf of things that were true. "But had pleasure," he says, "in unrighteousness." For he came to the destruction of men and to injure them. For what will he not then work? He will change and confound all things, both by his commandments, and by the fear of him. He will be terrible in every way, from his power, from his cruelty, from his unlawful commandments. But fear not. "In those that perish" he will have his strength. For Elijah too will then come to give confidence to the faithful, and this Christ says; "Elijah cometh, and shall restore all things." Therefore it is said, "In the spirit and power of Elijah." For he neither wrought signs nor wonders, as Elijah did. For "John," it is said, "did no miracle, but all things which John spake of this Man were true." How then was it "in the spirit and power of Elijah"? That is, he will take upon him the same ministry. As the one was the forerunner of His first Coming, so will the other be of His second and glorious Coming, and for this he is reserved. Let us not therefore fear. He has calmed the minds of the hearers. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Thietland of EinsiedelnCommentary (church-history corpus) · Written in the 10th century.
proposed
Yet we must always give thanks to God for you We should note that he had said this at the beginning of the epistle. brothers, beloved of God as if he should say, his unspeakable and immeasurable gifts. But not that those who he said …
7 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
But the punishment only is eternal damnation; hence he adds "that all may be judged", namely with the judgment of condemnation. "And those who have done wickedly shall go forth to the resurrection of judgment" (John 5:29). "Who have not believed the truth." "He who …
He did not say: that they may receive punishment (for even if the antichrist had not come, the unbelievers would have had to be punished); but he says: that they may be condemned, so that they would be without excuse. Will they say that the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
That they all might be damned,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they all . . . damned--rather as Greek, "that all," &c. He here states the general proposition which applies specially to Antichrist's adherents. Not all in the Church of Rome, or other anti-Christian systems, shall be damned, but only "all who believed not the truth," when offered to them, "but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (Ro 1:32;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
That they all might be damned - Ἱνα κριθωσι· So that they may all be condemned who believed not the truth when it was proclaimed to them; but took pleasure in unrighteousness, preferring that to the way of holiness. Their condemnation was the effect of their refusal to believe the truth; and they refused to believe it because they loved their sins. For a farther and more pointed illustration of the preceding verses, see the conclusion of this chapter (note).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
That they all might be damned - The word “damned” we commonly apply now exclusively to future punishment, and it has a harsher signification than the original word; compare the notes, 1Co 11:29. The Greek word - κρίνω krinō - means to judge, determine, decide; and then to condemn; Rom 2:27; Rom 14:22; Jas 4:11; Joh 7:51; Luk 19:22; Act 13:27. It may be applied to the judgment of the last day Joh 5:22; Joh 8:50; Act 17:31; Rom 3:6; 2Ti 4:1, but not necessarily. The word “judged” or “condemned,” would, in this place, express all that the Greek word necessarily conveys. Yet there can be no doubt that the judgment or condemnation which is referred to, is that which will occur when the Saviour will appear. It does not seem to me to be a necessary interpretation of this to suppose that it teaches that God would send a strong delusion that they should believe a lie, in order that all might be damned who did not believe the truth; or that he desired that they should be damned, and sent this as the means of securing it; but the sense is, that this course of events would be allowed to occur, “so that” ἵνα hina - not εἰς τὸ eis to all who do not love the truth would be condemned. The particle here used, and rendered “that” (ἵνα hina), in connection with the phrase “all might be damned” is employed in two general senses, either as marking the end, purpose, or cause for, or on account of, which anything is done; to the end that, or in order that it may be so and so; or as marking simply the result, event, or upshot of an action, so that, so as that. Robinson, Lexicon. In the latter case it denotes merely that something will really take place, without indicating that such was the design of the agent, or that what brought it about was in order that it might take place. […]
The words behind it
12 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἵνα | ina | in order that | G2443 → | 668 times |
| κριθῶσιν | krithosin | may be judged | G2919 → | |
| πάντες | pantes | all | G3956 → | 1235 times |
| οἱ | hoi | those | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| μὴ | me | not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| πιστεύσαντες | pisteusantes | having believed | G4100 → | 237 times |
| τῇ | tea | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀληθείᾳ | aletheia | truth | G225 → | 109 times |
| ἀλλ᾽ | all᾽ | but | G235 → | 635 times |
| εὐδοκήσαντες | eudokesantes | having delighted | G2106 → | |
| τῇ | tea | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀδικίᾳ.¶ | adikia | in unrighteousness. | G93 → |
ἵναin order that
inaG2443 →668 times
κριθῶσινmay be judged
krithosinG2919 →
πάντεςall
pantesG3956 →1235 times
οἱthose
hoiG3588 →19766 times
μὴnot
meG3361 →1066 times
πιστεύσαντεςhaving believed
pisteusantesG4100 →237 times
τῇthe
teaG3588 →19766 times
ἀληθείᾳtruth
aletheiaG225 →109 times
ἀλλ᾽but
all᾽G235 →635 times
εὐδοκήσαντεςhaving delighted
eudokesantesG2106 →
τῇ<the>
teaG3588 →19766 times
ἀδικίᾳ.¶in unrighteousness.
adikiaG93 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Mark 16:16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
it leads to
- John 11:25–26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
- John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
- Romans 10:9–14
that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
- John 3:18–19
Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
- John 3:15–16
that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.
- John 11:25–26
Through
1 Thessalonians 5:9For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 1:10
and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.
- 1 Peter 2:10
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:10
Through
Romans 1:32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.
it leads to
- Romans 2:1–5
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
- Romans 2:1–5
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Thessalonians
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On the Holy Spirit, Book 3, Chapter 14, 95; Ambrosiaster, Commentary on 2 Thessalonians; Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions (Book VII), Section 2, XXXII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on 2 Thessalonians; John Chrysostom, Homily on 2 Thessalonians 4; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 2 Thessalonians; Thietland of Einsiedeln, Commentary (church-history corpus) and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 2 Thessalonians.