Pray for Us

3 ·And now [or Finally], brothers and sisters, pray for us that the Lord’s ·teaching [message; word] ·will continue to spread quickly [^Lmight run (forward)] and ·that people will give honor to that teaching [^Lbe honored/glorified], just as happened with you. ² And pray that we will be ·protected [or rescued; delivered] from ·stubborn [or perverse; worthless; wicked] and evil people, because not all people ·believe [have faith].

³ But the Lord is faithful and will give you strength and will protect you from the Evil One [^CSatan]. ⁴ ·The Lord makes us feel sure [^LWe have confidence about you in the Lord] that you are doing and will continue to do the things we ·told [instructed; commanded] you. ⁵ May the Lord ·lead [guide; direct] your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s ·patience [endurance; perseverance].

The Duty to Work

⁶ Brothers and sisters, ·by the authority [^Lin the name] of our Lord Jesus Christ we command you to stay away from any ·believer [^Lbrother (or sister)] who ·refuses to work [or behaves irresponsibly; ^Llives/walks in idleness/disorder] and does not follow the ·teaching we gave you [^Ltradition you received from us]. ⁷ [^LFor] You yourselves know that you should ·live as we live [follow our example; imitate us]. [^LBecause] We were not ·lazy [idle; undisciplined] when we were with you. ⁸ And when we ate another person’s ·food [bread], we always paid for it. We worked ·very hard [^Lwith labor and toil] night and day so we would not be an ·expense [financial burden] to any of you. ⁹ ·We had [^LIt was not because we do not have] the right to ask you to help us, but we worked ·to take care of ourselves so we would [^Lin order to] be an example for you to ·follow [imitate]. ¹⁰ [^LFor even] When we were with you, we gave you this ·rule [instruction; command]: “Anyone who ·refuses [is not willing] to work should not eat.”

¹¹ [^LFor; or Yet] We hear that some people in your group ·refuse to work [or are behaving irresponsibly; ^Lare living/walking in idleness/disorder]. They do nothing but ·busy themselves [meddle; interfere] in other people’s lives. ¹² We command ·those [such] people and ·beg [urge; encourage; exhort] them in the Lord Jesus Christ to ·work quietly [or settle down] and ·earn [^Leat] their own ·food [bread]. ¹³ But you, brothers and sisters, never become tired of doing good.

¹⁴ If some people do not obey what we tell you in this letter, then take note of them. ·Have nothing to do [Do not associate] with them so they will ·feel ashamed [or be shamed]. ¹⁵ But do not ·treat [regard] them as enemies. ·Warn [Admonish] them as ·fellow believers [^La brother (or sister)].

Final Words

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

¹⁷ I, Paul, ·end this letter now [write this greeting] in my own ·handwriting [^Lhand]. All my letters have this ·to show they are from me [sign]. This is the way I write.

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