GodsWord - II Thessalonians - 3

3:1  Finally, brothers and sisters, pray that we spread the Lord's word rapidly and that it will be honored the way it was among you.

3:2  Also pray that we may be rescued from worthless and evil people, since not everyone shares our faith.

3:3  But the Lord is faithful and will strengthen you and protect you against the evil one.

3:4  The Lord gives us confidence that you are doing and will continue to do what we ordered you to do.

3:5  May the Lord direct your lives as you show God's love and Christ's endurance.

3:6  Brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ we order you not to associate with any believer who doesn't live a disciplined life and doesn't follow the tradition you received from us.

3:7  You know what you must do to imitate us. We lived a disciplined life among you.

3:8  We didn't eat anyone's food without paying for it. Instead, we worked hard and struggled night and day in order not to be a burden to any of you.

3:9  It's not as though we didn't have a right to receive support. Rather, we wanted to set an example for you to follow.

3:10  While we were with you, we gave you the order: "Whoever doesn't want to work shouldn't be allowed to eat."

3:11  We hear that some of you are not living disciplined lives. You're not working, so you go around interfering in other people's lives.

3:12  We order and encourage such people by the Lord Jesus Christ to pay attention to their own work so they can support themselves.

3:13  Brothers and sisters, we can't allow ourselves to get tired of doing what is right.

3:14  It may be that some people will not listen to what we say in this letter. Take note of them and don't associate with them so that they will feel ashamed.

3:15  Yet, don't treat them like enemies, but instruct them like brothers and sisters.

3:16  May the Lord of peace give you his peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

3:17  I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. In every letter that I send, this is proof that I wrote it.

3:18  The good will of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.