Paul's Request for Prayer
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.
Warning against Idleness
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.
Paul's Final Greetings
(1 Corinthians 16:19-24)
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. {The second epistle to the Thessalonians was written from Athens.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Request for Prayer
1 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified, even as also with you; 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and evil men; for not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you, and guard you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you both do and will do the things we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patience of Christ.
A Warning against Idleness
6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother who walks in rebellion, and not after the tradition which they received from us. 7 For you know how you ought to imitate us. For we didn’t behave ourselves rebelliously among you, 8 neither did we eat bread from anyone’s hand without paying for it, but in labor and travail worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you; 9 not because we don’t have the right, but to make ourselves an example to you, that you should imitate us. 10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: “If anyone will not work, neither let him eat.” 11 For we hear of some who walk among you in rebellion, who don’t work at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now those who are that way, we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. 13 But you, brothers, don’t be weary in doing well.
14 If any man doesn’t obey our word in this letter, note that man, that you have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed. 15 Don’t count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
Signature and Final Greetings
(1 Corinthians 16:19–24; Colossians 4:15–18)
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all.
17 The greeting of me, Paul, with my own hand, which is the sign in every letter: this is how I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Request for Prayer
1 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor, just as it was with you. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men; for not everyone holds to the faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. a 4 And we have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
A Warning against Idleness
6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received b from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 Not that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate. 10 For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”
11 Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies. 12 We command and urge such people by our Lord Jesus Christ to begin working quietly to earn their own living. 13 But as for you, brothers, do not grow weary in well-doing.
14 Take note of anyone who does not obey the instructions we have given in this letter. Do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
Signature and Final Greetings
(1 Corinthians 16:19–24; Colossians 4:15–18)
16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
17 This greeting is in my own hand—Paul. This is my mark in every letter; it is the way I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. c
Footnotes:
3 a Or from evil
6 b Or they received
18 c BYZ and TR include Amen.
Paul's Request for Prayer
1As to the rest, pray ye, brethren, concerning us, that the word of the Lord may run and may be glorified, as also with you, 2and that we may be delivered from the unreasonable and evil men, for the faith is not of all; 3and stedfast is the Lord, who shall establish you, and shall guard you from the evil; 4and we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that the things that we command you ye both do and will do; 5and the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God, and to the endurance of the Christ.
Warning against Idleness
6And we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to withdraw yourselves from every brother disorderly walking, and not after the deliverance that ye received from us, 7for yourselves have known how it behoveth you to imitate us, because we did not act disorderly among you; 8nor for nought did we eat bread of any one, but in labour and in travail, night and day working, not to be chargeable to any of you; 9not because we have not authority, but that ourselves a pattern we might give to you, to imitate us; 10for even when we were with you, this we did command you, that if any one is not willing to work, neither let him eat, 11for we hear of certain walking among you disorderly, nothing working, but over working, 12and such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness working, their own bread they may eat; 13and ye, brethren, may ye not be weary doing well,
14and if any one do not obey our word through the letter, this one note ye, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed, 15and as an enemy count him not, but admonish ye him as a brother;
Paul's Final Greetings
(1 Corinthians 16:19-24)
16and may the Lord of the peace Himself give to you the peace always in every way; the Lord is with you all!
17The salutation by the hand of me, Paul, which is a sign in every letter; thus I write; 18the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with you all! Amen.
Request for Prayer
¹ Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. ² And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith. ³ But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. ⁴ We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. ⁵ May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
Warning Against Idleness
⁶ In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, ⁸ nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
¹¹ We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. ¹² Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat! ¹³ And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good. ¹⁴ Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed. ¹⁵ Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer.
Final Greetings
¹⁶ Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. ¹⁷ I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write. ¹⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Footnotes:
1.“The message of the Lord” (verse 1) refers to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Greek word for message here is logos, meaning word or discourse, highlighting the power of God’s truth being spread through preaching.
2.“Idle and disruptive” (verse 6) describes those who are not fulfilling their responsibilities but instead are causing disturbance. The Greek word ataktos can mean disorderly or undisciplined, referring to those who shirk work and contribute to division.
3.“Not busy; they are busybodies” (verse 11) is a wordplay in Greek. The phrase meden ergazomenous alla periergazomenous contrasts working diligently (ergazomai) with being a meddler (periergazomai), referring to people who meddle in others’ affairs instead of focusing on their own duties.
4.“Earn the food they eat” (verse 12) emphasizes personal responsibility. In the context of the early church, communal living required each person to contribute, and Paul stresses the importance of working to support oneself and the community.
5.“Take special note” (verse 14) uses the Greek word sêmeioô, meaning to mark or distinguish. Paul instructs the Thessalonians to identify those who do not follow his teaching, not to punish them but to bring correction through loving discipline.
6.“The Lord of peace” (verse 16) is a title emphasizing God as the source of all true peace. The Greek word eirene means wholeness, well-being, and reconciliation, highlighting the deep peace God provides in the midst of all circumstances.
7.“My own hand” (verse 17) reflects Paul’s personal authentication of his letters. In the early church, forgeries were a concern, so Paul often wrote a final greeting in his own handwriting as a mark of authenticity.
