2 Thessalonians 3 · ESV Study Bible

Stand Firm

Pray for Us

2 THESSALONIANS 3 [†]Finally, brothers, [1] j pray for us, that k the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, [2] as happened among you, 2and l that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For m not all have faith. 3[†]But n the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and o guard you against p the evil one. [3] 4And q we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. 5[†]May the Lord r direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

6[†]Now we command you, brothers, s in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, t that you keep away from any u brother v who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 7[†]For you yourselves know w how you ought to imitate us, because x we were not idle when we were with you, 8[†]nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but y with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9It was z not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves a an example to imitate. 10For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: b If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11[†]For we hear that some among you c walk in idleness, not busy at work, but d busybodies. 12[†]Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. [4]

13[†]As for you, brothers, e do not grow weary in doing good. 14[†]If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and f have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. 15[†] g Do not regard him as an enemy, but h warn him as a brother.

16[†]Now may i the Lord of peace himself j give you peace at all times in every way. k The Lord be with you all.

17[†]I, Paul, write l this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. 18 m The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

2 THESSALONIANS—NOTE ON 3:1–5 Transition. Paul requests prayer for his work, reassures the Thessalonians regarding God’s faithfulness, and closes by praying for the Thessalonians.

2 THESSALONIANS—NOTE ON 3:8–9 eat anyone’s bread without paying for it. Paul refused to depend on others for his living. Indeed he took on a heavy workload of manual labor in addition to his ministry commitments in order to avoid being a financial burden to any Thessalonian Christian, even though (in contrast to the idle Thessalonians) it was his God-given right to be supported (see 1 Cor. 9:3–15; 2 Cor. 11:7–9; 1 Thess. 2:9). He wanted to provide his converts with an example to imitate.

2 THESSALONIANS—NOTE ON 3:12 The Command to the Idlers. Paul forcefully commands the idle to get back to work, so that they may be financially independent. work quietly. The opposite of being nuisances or “busybodies” (v. 11).

2 THESSALONIANS—NOTE ON 3:7–10 The Tradition. The missionaries had passed on the tradition about the need to work for a living both by example (vv. 7–9) and through oral instruction (v. 10).

2 THESSALONIANS—NOTE ON 3:11 The Problem. not busy at work, but busybodies. There is a wordplay here in Greek: not ergazomenous (“working”) but periergazomenous (“being a busybody, meddling”). Those who refused to work were exploiting their free time to meddle in others’ affairs. Cf. 1 Tim. 5:13, where irreligious prying flows from idleness.

2 THESSALONIANS—NOTE ON 3:14 Paul believes it is very possible that some will ignore his warning and continue in their idle ways, so he instructs the community as a whole to take note of such people and have nothing to do with them (cf. v. 6). The purpose of this disassociation is so that the stubbornly insubordinate brothers will be ashamed, repent, and be restored to the community. Church discipline must always aim at renewing discipleship.

2 THESSALONIANS—NOTE ON 3:5 Prayer. Paul prays that the Thessalonians will be directed toward the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ, by which he means either Christ’s endurance as a model for Christians or the perseverance imparted by Christ.

2 THESSALONIANS—NOTE ON 3:1–2 Request for Prayer. Paul requests prayer for the gospel’s advance through his ministry and for deliverance from wicked opponents. He prays that the word of the Lord (the gospel) would speed ahead (enjoy unhindered progress) and be honored (by people acknowledging its truth and embracing God’s offer of salvation). For not all have faith. The gospel is not always embraced with faith; indeed, it frequently provokes violent hostility.

2 THESSALONIANS—NOTE ON 3:3–4 Reassurance. Paul gives some final words of comfort to the Thessalonians in the wake of the false claim about Christ’s return (2:2). In Greek, the last word of 3:2 is “faith” (Gk. pistis) and the first word of v. 3 is faithful (Gk. pistos)—the unbelievers’ lack of faith contrasts with God’s faithfulness. guard you against the evil one. Satan has been seeking to destroy the Thessalonians’ young faith. But God’s faithfulness assures Paul that the Evil One will not succeed: the Thessalonians will overcome him by responding appropriately to Paul’s two letters. He has confidence that they already are doing and, when they get this letter, will do the things that we command. Paul may have in mind his instruction to discipline those within their community who are idle (vv. 6–15) and/or his command to hold to the traditions about the day of the Lord (2:15).

2 THESSALONIANS—NOTE ON 3:15 Disciplining a fellow Christian can easily degenerate into the community treating him as an enemy, so Paul says warn him as a brother.