2 Thessalonians 3

Pray for us

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor, just as it was with you.a ²And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men; for not everyone holds to the faith. ³But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.b

⁴And we have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. ⁵May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.c

If anyone will not work

⁶Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us.d ⁷For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you,e ⁸nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.f

⁹Not that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate.g ¹⁰For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”h ¹¹Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies.i

¹²We command and urge such people by our Lord Jesus Christ to begin working quietly to earn their own living. ¹³But as for you, brothers, do not grow weary in well-doing.j ¹⁴Take note of anyone who does not obey the instructions we have given in this letter. Do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed.k

¹⁵Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

The Lord of peace be with you

¹⁶Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.l ¹⁷This greeting is in my own hand—Paul. This is my mark in every letter; it is the way I write. ¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.