3 Finally, dear brothers, as I come to the end of this letter, I ask you to pray for us. Pray first that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and triumph wherever it goes, winning converts everywhere as it did when it came to you. ² Pray, too, that we will be saved out of the clutches of evil men, for not everyone loves the Lord. ³ But the Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from satanic attacks of every kind. ⁴ And we trust the Lord that you are putting into practice the things we taught you, and that you always will. ⁵ May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and of the patience that comes from Christ.

⁶ Now here is a command, dear brothers, given in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ by his authority: Stay away from any Christian who spends his days in laziness and does not follow the ideal of hard work we set up for you. ⁷ For you well know that you ought to follow our example: you never saw us loafing; ⁸ we never accepted food from anyone without buying it; we worked hard day and night for the money we needed to live on, in order that we would not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ It wasn’t that we didn’t have the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to show you firsthand how you should work for your living. ¹⁰ Even while we were still there with you, we gave you this rule: “He who does not work shall not eat.”

¹¹ Yet we hear that some of you are living in laziness, refusing to work, and wasting your time in gossiping. ¹² In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we appeal to such people—we command them—to quiet down, get to work, and earn their own living. ¹³ And to the rest of you I say, dear brothers, never be tired of doing right.

¹⁴ If anyone refuses to obey what we say in this letter, notice who he is and stay away from him, that he may be ashamed of himself. ¹⁵ Don’t think of him as an enemy, but speak to him as you would to a brother who needs to be warned.

¹⁶ May the Lord of peace himself give you his peace no matter what happens. The Lord be with you all.

¹⁷ Now here is my greeting, which I am writing with my own hand, as I do at the end of all my letters, for proof that it really is from me. This is in my own handwriting. ¹⁸ May the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you all.

Sincerely, Paul