1Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: 2And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. 3But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. 4And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you. 5And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
6Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. 7For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; 8Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: 9Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us. 10For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. 11For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. 12Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. 13But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. 14And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. 15Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. 16Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.
17The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write. 18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
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. 2And pray that we will be saved from sinful and evil people. Not everyone is a believer. 3But the Lord is faithful. He will strengthen you. He will guard you from the evil one. 4We 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. 5May 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
6Brothers 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. 7You know how you should follow our example. We worked when we were with you. 8We 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. 9We 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. 10Even when we were with you, we gave you a rule. We said, “Anyone who won’t work shouldn’t be allowed to eat.”
11We 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. 12We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. So we strongly command people like that to settle down. They have to earn the food they eat. 13Brothers and sisters, don’t ever get tired of doing what is good.
14Keep 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. 15But don’t think of them as an enemy. Instead, warn them as you would warn another believer.
Final Greetings
16May the Lord who gives peace give you peace at all times and in every way. May the Lord be with all of you.
17I, 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.
18May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
