Paul Asks for Prayer

¹Now I want to talk about some other matters. Brothers and sisters, pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread quickly. Pray that others will honor it just as you did. ² And pray that we will be saved from sinful and evil people. Not everyone is a believer. ³ But the Lord is faithful. He will strengthen you. He will guard you from the evil one. ⁴ We trust in the Lord. So we are sure that you are doing the things we tell you to do. And we are sure that you will keep on doing them. ⁵ May the Lord fill your hearts with God’s love. May Christ give you the strength to go on.

Paul Warns Those Who Do Not Want to Work

⁶ Brothers and sisters, here is a command we give you. We give it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Keep away from every believer who doesn’t want to work and makes trouble. Keep away from any believer who doesn’t live up to the teaching you received from us. ⁷ You know how you should follow our example. We worked when we were with you. ⁸ We didn’t eat anyone’s food without paying for it. In fact, it was just the opposite. We worked night and day. We worked very hard so that we wouldn’t cause any expense to any of you. ⁹ We worked, even though we have the right to receive help from you. We did it in order to be a model for you to follow. ¹⁰ Even when we were with you, we gave you a rule. We said, “Anyone who won’t work shouldn’t be allowed to eat.”

¹¹ We hear that some people among you don’t want to work and are making trouble. They aren’t really busy. Instead, they are bothering others. ¹² We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. So we strongly command people like that to settle down. They have to earn the food they eat. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, don’t ever get tired of doing what is good.

¹⁴ Keep an eye on anyone who doesn’t obey the teachings in our letter. Don’t have anything to do with that person. Then they will feel ashamed. ¹⁵ But don’t think of them as an enemy. Instead, warn them as you would warn another believer.

Final Greetings

¹⁶ May the Lord who gives peace give you peace at all times and in every way. May the Lord be with all of you.

¹⁷ I, Paul, write this greeting in my own handwriting. That’s how I prove that I am the author of all my letters. I always do it that way.

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