2 Thessalonians 3:1-2
Pray that more and more people will believe the message about our Lord Jesus.
3
1 As for the other matters, our fellow believers, pray for us that more and more people will hear our message about our Lord Jesus. Pray that they will believe this message, as you have done. 2 Pray also for us that God will rescue us from those very evil people here who cause us to suffer. Pray like that because they and many others refuse to believe this message.2 Thessalonians 3:3-5
Our Lord Jesus will cause you to continue to be steadfast and he will protect you from the evil one.
3 Remember that our Lord Jesus is trustworthy! So we are sure that he will cause you to continue to be steadfast. We are also sure that he will protect you from Satan, the evil one (OR, from evil). 4 Because of your close relationship with our Lord Jesus, we are confident about you that you are obeying what we have commanded you, and we are confident that you will obey what we are commanding you in this letter. 5 We pray that our Lord Jesus would enable you to continue knowing that God loves you. We pray also that Christ will cause you to continue being steadfast (OR, being steadfast as he was steadfast).
2 Thessalonians 3:6-11
We command you to disassociate yourselves from every fellow believer who refuses to work.
6 Our fellow believers, we command you, with the authority that our Lord Jesus Christ has given to us, that you stop associating with every fellow believer who is lazy and refuses to work. That is, you must stay away from those who are not conducting their lives in the manner that we taught you. 7 We tell you this because you yourselves know that you should behave like we behaved. We did not just sit around without working while we were living among you. 8 Specifically, we did not eat anyone's food if we did not pay that person for it. Instead, we worked very hard to support ourselves. We worked hard day and night, in order that we would not have to depend on any of you to supply what we needed. 9 We have always had the right to depend on you for money, but instead we worked hard in order to make ourselves examples for you, in order that you should behave like we behave. 10 Remember that when we were there with you, we kept commanding you that if any fellow believer refuses to work, you should not give him food to eat. 11 We command you this again now, because someone has told to us that some of you are lazy and not working at all! Not only that, some of you are interfering with what other people are doing!
2 Thessalonians 3:12
We command those fellow believers who are not working to support themselves by settling down and working.
12 We command those fellow believers who are not working, and urge them by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they settle down and support themselves by working.
2 Thessalonians 3:13
You others, do not stop doing what is right because you are discouraged.
13 Fellow believers! Do not ever get tired of doing what is right!
2 Thessalonians 3:14-15
Publicly identify any fellow believer who does not obey what we have written in this letter and do not associate with him.
14 If any fellow believer refuses to work and does not obey what I have written in this letter, publicly identify that person. Then do not associate with him, in order that he may become ashamed. 15 Do not think of him as though he wasyour enemy; instead, warn him as you would warn your other fellow believers.
2 Thessalonians 3:16a
I pray that our Lord Jesus himself will give peace to you always and in every situation.
16 I pray that our Lord Jesus himself, who gives inner peace to his people, will give inner peace to you always and in every situation.
2 Thessalonians 3:16b-18
In closing, I pray that our Lord Jesus will continue to bless you all. I, Paul, am greeting you and I am writing this myself in order that you may know that it is I who have sent this letter.
I pray that our Lord Jesus will continue to help you all. 17 Now, having taken the pen from my scribe, I, Paul, am sending this greeting to you as I write this myself. I do this in all my letters in order that you may know that it is truly I who have sent this letter. This is how I always end my letters. 18 I pray that our Lord Jesus Christ will continue to act kindly to you all.