1 Furthermore, brethren, pray for vs, that the worde of the Lord may haue free passage and be glorified, euen as it is with you, 2 And that we may be deliuered from vnreasonable and euill men: for all men haue not fayth. 3 But the Lord is faithfull, which wil stablish you, and keepe you from euill. 4 And we are perswaded of you through the Lord, that ye both doe, and will doe the things which we warne you of. 5 And the Lord guide your hearts to the loue of God, and the waiting for of Christ. 6 We warne you, brethren, in the Name of our Lord Iesus Christ, that ye withdrawe your selues from euery brother that walketh inordinately, and not after the instruction, which hee receiued of vs. 7 For ye your selues know, how ye ought to follow vs: for we behaued not our selues inordinately among you, 8 Neither tooke we bread of any man for nought: but we wrought with labour and trauaile night and day, because we would not be chargeable to any of you. 9 Not because we haue not authoritie, but that we might make our selues an ensample vnto you to follow vs. 10 For euen when we were with you, this we warned you of, that if there were any, which would not worke, that he should not eate. 11 For we heare, that there are some which walke among you inordinately, and worke not at all, but are busie bodies. 12 Therefore them that are such, we warne and exhort by our Lord Iesus Christ, that they worke with quietnes, and eate their owne bread. 13 And ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. 14 If any man obey not this our saying in this letter, note him, and haue no company with him, that he may be ashamed: 15 Yet count him not as an enemie, but admonish him as a brother. 16 Now the Lord himselfe of peace giue you peace alwayes by all meanes. The Lord be with you all. 17 The salutation of me Paul, with mine owne hand, which is ye token in euery Epistle: so I write, 18 The grace of our Lord Iesus Christ be with you all, Amen. ‘The second Epistle to the Thessalonians, written from Athens.’
Pray for Us
1 Finally, our friends, pray for us that the Lord's message may continue to spread rapidly and be received with honor, just as it was among you. 2 Pray also that God will rescue us from wicked and evil people; for not everyone believes the message.
3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and keep you safe from the Evil One. 4 And the Lord gives us confidence in you, and we are sure that you are doing and will continue to do what we tell you.
5 May the Lord lead you into a greater understanding of God's love and the endurance that is given by Christ.
The Obligation to Work
6 Our friends, we command you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to keep away from all believers who are living a lazy life and who do not follow the instructions that we gave them. 7 You yourselves know very well that you should do just what we did. We were not lazy when we were with you. 8 We did not accept anyone's support without paying for it. Instead, we worked and toiled; we kept working day and night so as not to be an expense to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to demand our support; we did it to be an example for you to follow. 10 While we were with you, we used to tell you, “Whoever refuses to work is not allowed to eat.”
11 We say this because we hear that there are some people among you who live lazy lives and who do nothing except meddle in other people's business. 12 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we command these people and warn them to lead orderly lives and work to earn their own living.
13 But you, friends, must not become tired of doing good. 14 It may be that some there will not obey the message we send you in this letter. If so, take note of them and have nothing to do with them, so that they will be ashamed. 15 But do not treat them as enemies; instead, warn them as believers.
Final Words
16 May the Lord himself, who is our source of peace, give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.
17 With my own hand I write this: Greetings from Paul. This is the way I sign every letter; this is how I write.
18 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.