2 Thessalonians 3

¹Finally, brothers, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was among you. ²And pray that we may be rescued from unreasonable and wicked people, for not everyone possesses the faith. ³But the Lord is faithful; he will stabilize you and guard you from the evil one. ⁴We have confidence in the Lord regarding you—that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. ⁵May the Lord guide your hearts into the love of God and into the endurance of the Christ.

⁶Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to distance yourselves from any brother who leads a disorderly life and does not live according to the tradition they received from us. ⁷For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us: we were not disorderly when we were with you, ⁸nor did we eat anyone’s bread for free. On the contrary, we worked with toil and hardship night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you. ⁹This was not because we lack the right to support, but to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. ¹⁰For even when we were with you, we gave you this instruction: “If anyone is unwilling to work, neither let them eat.” ¹¹Yet we hear that some among you are leading a disorderly life—not working, but meddling. ¹²To such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ that they work with a quiet spirit and eat their own bread.

¹³But you, brothers, do not lose heart in doing what is excellent. ¹⁴If anyone does not obey our word in this letter, take note of that person and do not associate with them, so that they may be put to shame. ¹⁵Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as a brother. ¹⁶Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.

¹⁷I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, which is the identifying sign in every letter; this is how I write. ¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.