Pray for Us

¹Finally, siblings, y’all pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with y’all,

²and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and evil humans. For not everyone has faith.

³But the Lord is faithful, and ʜᴇ will strengthen y’all and protect y’all from the evil one.

⁴We have confidence in the Lord concerning y’all, that y’all are doing and will continue to do the things we command.

⁵May the Lord direct y’all’s hearts into God’s love and into the perseverance of Christ.

Warning Against Wasting Life

⁶Now we command y’all, siblings, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that y’all keep yourselves* away from any sibling who lives a disordered life not according to the tradition they received from us.

⁷For y’all know how you* should follow our example. For we weren’t disordered when we were with y’all,

⁸and we didn’t eat anyone’s bread without paying for it. We worked night and day, through toil and hardship, so that we wouldn’t be a burden to any of y’all.

⁹This was not because we don’t have that right, but in order to offer ourselves an example for y’all to imitate us.

¹⁰For even when we were with y’all, we gave you* this rule: “If anyone is not willing to work, that person is not to eat.”

¹¹For we hear that some among y’all are living disordered lives. They don’t actually work, but busy themselves with useless matters.

¹²Now such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ, that they work quietly and eat the food they earn.

¹³As for you*, siblings, don’t y’all grow weary of what is right.

¹⁴If anyone doesn’t obey our instruction in this letter, y’all take note of that person and don’t associate closely with them, so that they feel ashamed.

¹⁵But y’all must not consider that person to be an enemy, rather y’all are to admonish them as a sibling.

Closing Greetings

¹⁶Now may the Lord of peace ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ give y’all peace at all times and in every way.

The Lord be with all y’all.

¹⁷I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write.

¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all y’all.