2 Thessalonians 3

¹Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor, just as [it was] with you.

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].

⁴And we have confidence in [the] Lord that you are doing and will continue to do what we command.

⁵{May} the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

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.

⁷For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you,

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.

⁹Not that we lack [this] right, but we wanted to offer ourselves [as] an example for you to imitate.

¹⁰For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”

¹¹For we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives, accomplishing nothing, but being busybodies.

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.

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.

¹⁵Yet {do} not regard [him] as an enemy, but admonish [him] as a brother.

¹⁶Now {may} the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all [times] [and] in every way. The Lord [be] with all of you.

¹⁷[This] 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.