2 Thessalonians 2:12 (KJV)

Passage

That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Nearby Context

2 Thessalonians 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

2 Thessalonians 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

2 Thessalonians 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 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:

2 Thessalonians 2:14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "might", "damned", "believed", "truth", "pleasure", and "unrighteousness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "might" and "damned", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "And for this cause God shall send..." into verse 13's "But we are bound to give thanks...", so "might" and "damned" belong inside that flow. In 2 Thessalonians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "might" and "damned" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.