2 Thessalonians 3:6–12

3:6 Several features emphasize the importance Paul attaches to these instructions. First, this paragraph receives more space than any other admonition in chapter 3. Second, Paul opens with the words “we command you,” reminding the reader that only two verses earlier he has expressed confidence that the Thessalonians “are doing and will do the things that we command” (3:4). Third, Paul delivers this charge in verse 6 “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. 1 Cor. 5:4; 6:11; Eph. 5:20; Col. 3:17), adding extra solemnity to his words (cf., e.g., Acts 16:18). Fourth, Paul returns to the “command” vocabulary as an inclusio at the paragraph’s end (2 Thess. 3:12), with such repetition highlighting the importance of his directives. Finally, the example of Paul and his team provides a model of the diligent behavior they demand in this passage (3:7–10).

Verse 6 commands believers to avoid anyone in the church who refuses to work. The person to be avoided is specifically labeled a “brother.” The verb translated “keep away” (Gk. stellō) is rare in the NT, but lexicons understand it to denote the shunning or avoidance of someone. The brother to be avoided walks in “idleness,” with the Greek word (ataktōs) referring to behavior that is undisciplined, disorderly, or defying social convention. In context, this unruly conduct takes particular form in a person’s refusal to work or earn his own living (esp. 3:10–12).

This undisciplined idleness runs counter to the instruction Paul and his colleagues have delivered to the church (“the tradition that you received from us”). Paul and company taught in Thessalonica about the importance of dutiful work (3:10; also 1 Thess. 4:11), which they also modeled to the believers by apostolic example (2 Thess. 3:7–10). Moreover, the same directive had been restated in their previous letter (cf. comments on 1 Thess. 4:10–12; 5:14).

This admonition to “keep away” from the idle brother, with notions of shunning and avoidance, may sound harsh to modern ears, yet Paul does not demand cutting them off from all forms of contact, since a few verses later he presumes that these idle brothers will be present in the congregation to hear this instruction (3:12). Moreover, Paul is concerned that the church could be pressured into providing assistance to people who are fully capable of working. This would draw resources away from the truly needy (cf., e.g., 1 Tim. 5:3, 9–10) and would enable the freeloaders to busy themselves in ways morally destructive to them and damaging to others in the church (cf. comments on 2 Thess. 3:10–12). Also, these loafers have been previously instructed to find employment, and their refusal to heed the apostolic mandate points to deeper spiritual problems. Therefore, the church must avoid supporting them in any way, and believers should be careful in their interactions with such people in order to discourage their slothfulness and moral indolence (cf. also 3:14–15).

A number of commentators attempt to link this problem of idleness with eschatology, another major concern in 2 Thessalonians. Some have speculated that an apocalyptic millenarian fervor, especially one assuming that the day of the Lord was already upon the believers in Thessalonica (2:2), had led some church members to forsake their work in civil society, under the assumption that such work would be unnecessary when Christ returns. Paul himself, however, makes no explicit connection between these instructions and his earlier discussion of eschatology.

More importantly, Paul had been concerned from his earliest days in Thessalonica that some in the church were inclined to laziness and sloth, which is why he began instructing the congregation about this even while he was in Thessalonica (3:10). Such early instruction almost certainly occurred before any Christian apocalyptic speculation could have run rampant among these new believers. Furthermore, Paul and his colleagues addressed the issue of work and idleness in their first letter (1 Thess. 2:9–10; 4:11–12; 5:14), and there is little in that letter to suggest apocalyptic speculation had driven congregants toward an avoidance of work (cf. comment on 1 Thess. 4:10–12). It seems more likely that Paul is concerned that the Greco-Roman model of itinerant pagan philosophers may be promoting an avoidance of work, perhaps also demeaning those who engage in manual labor (cf. comments on 1 Thess. 2:9–10). Paul also encourages other congregations toward respecting manual labor (Eph. 4:28; Col. 3:23–24). Hence, this tendency to idleness at Thessalonica is likely tied to cultural assumptions in Greco-Roman society. Beyond that, the Scriptures have long recognized a sinful human propensity to sloth (Prov. 12:24, 27; 19:15; 31:27; Eccles. 10:18; Matt. 25:24–30; Titus 1:12).

3:7–8 In contrast to the idlers, Paul reminds his audience of the diligent work he and his team displayed in Thessalonica, commending the church to imitate their industrious model (3:9). Imitation is a key theme in Pauline ethics (cf. comment on 1 Thess. 1:6), succinctly stated in his command to “be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). The moral example of believers to one another forms a key encouragement and pattern as all seek to follow Christ.

In contrast to some lazy Thessalonians (2 Thess. 3:6), Paul and his colleagues “were not idle when we were with you.” More specifically, they did not “eat anyone’s bread without paying for it.” Paul was a tentmaker (Acts 18:3) who probably plied his trade “with toil and labor” whenever time allowed (for “night and day,” cf. 1 Thess. 2:9; 3:10). Much of this content overlaps with 1 Thessalonians 2:9–10, where Paul notes similarly that he and his colleagues sought not to be a “burden” to the congregation. However, the concerns in 1 Thessalonians focus more on distinguishing their missionary conduct from that of pagan itinerant teachers and philosophers (cf. comments on 1 Thess. 2:5–6; 2:9–10). Here the issue centers on the need to earn one’s own living and not burden the church (3:10; cf. Acts 20:33–35).

3:9 Paul and his team had a right to receive financial compensation from those to whom they were ministering (1 Cor. 9:8–14; 1 Tim. 5:17–18; cf. Luke 10:7–8), but they chose to abandon that right for the sake of the fledgling congregation (cf. comment on 1 Thess. 2:5–6; cf. 1 Cor. 9:3–18; 2 Cor. 11:7–13). Paul again emphasizes the importance of the church’s imitating this example of industrious work (cf. 2 Thess. 3:7).

3:10 Their example in Thessalonica also came with instruction: “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” Paul is not rejecting the giving of alms to truly needy individuals or churches (cf., e.g., Acts 24:17; Rom. 15:25–28; 1 Cor. 16:1–3; 2 Cor. 8:1–5; 1 Tim. 5:3, 9–10), but he is concerned about those who are “not willing to work.” Their refusal to labor should not be rewarded with church beneficence, lest they become habituated to donations when they could otherwise be productive. Everyone who can work should do so for their own welfare, their families, and the needs of others (Eph. 4:28; 1 Thess. 4:11; 5:14). Paul advises that the natural consequences of such idleness (“let him not eat”; contrast 2 Thess. 3:8) should motivate these idlers to work.

3:11–12 Paul and his colleagues have received a report about people’s “walking in idleness.” In addition to causing individual spiritual harm and being a fiscal drain on the church, such refusal to work tends to spill over into other injurious behavior. Thus the idle become “busybodies” (Gk. periergazomenoi), designating those who become intrusively engaged in the activities of others. They begin to meddle in other people’s lives, leading to gossip, criticism, and disharmony in the community (cf. comment on 1 Thess. 4:10–12; also 1 Tim. 5:13).

Paul closes by addressing the idlers directly. The combination of “we command and encourage” emphasizes the directive that follows, as does the solemnity of “in the Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. 2 Thess. 3:6). They are to “do their work quietly,” as Paul states the imperative both to work heartily and to avoid acting as gossiping busybodies or grumbling laborers (contrast 3:11). Paul directs them further to “earn their own living,” with the Greek literally indicating that they should “eat their own food” (contrast 3:10).