2 Thessalonians 3
Chapter 3
Paul’s Request for Prayer
1 Finally, dear brothers and sisters,t we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.2 Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer.3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.t4 And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you.
5 May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.
An Exhortation to Proper Living
6 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believerst who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they receivedt from us.7 For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you.8 We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you.9 We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow.
10 Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”
11 Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business.12 We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living.
13 As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.
14 Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed.
15 Don’t think of them as enemies, but warn them as you would a brother or sister.t
Paul’s Final Greetings
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.
17 HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN HANDWRITING—PAUL. I DO THIS IN ALL MY LETTERS TO PROVE THEY ARE FROM ME.
18 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
2 THESSALONIANS 3
Pray for Us
1 Finally, our friends, please pray for us. This will help the message about the Lord to spread quickly, and others will respect it, just as you do. 2 Pray that we may be kept safe from worthless and evil people. After all, not everyone has faith. 3 But the Lord can be trusted to make you strong and protect you from harm. 4 He has made us sure that you are obeying what we taught you and that you will keep on obeying.
5 I pray that the Lord will guide you to be as loving as God and as patient as Christ.Warnings against Laziness
6 My dear friends, in the name oft the Lord Jesus, I beg you not to have anything to do with any of your people who loaf around and refuse to obey the instructions we gave you. 7 You surely know that you should follow our example. We didn't waste our time loafing,
8 and we didn't accept food from anyone without paying for it. We didn't want to be a burden to any of you, so night and day we worked as hard as we could.
9 We had the right not to work, but we wanted to set an example for you. 10 We also gave you this rule: If you don't work, you don't eat. 11 Now we learn that some of you just loaf around and won't do any work, except the work of a busybody. 12 So, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, we ask and beg these people to settle down and start working for a living.
13 Dear friends, you must never become tired of doing right.
14 Be on your guard against any followers who refuse to obey what we have written in this letter. Put them to shame by not having anything to do with them.
15 Don't consider them your enemies. Instead, speak kindly to them as you would to any other follower.Final Prayer
16 I pray that the Lord, who gives peace, will always bless you with peace. May the Lord be with all of you.
17 I always sign my letters as I am now doing: PAUL.
18 I pray that our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to all of you.
