1 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the message of the Lord may continue to spread and prove its glorious power as it did among you,
2 and that we may be delivered from unprincipled and wicked men; for not all men have faith.
3 But the Lord is to be trusted, and He will give you strength and guard you from the evil one.
4 We have confidence in you through the Lord that you are now practicing the directions which we give you and that you will continue to do so.
5 May the Lord guide you into a realization of God's love for you and into a patient endurance like Christ's.
6 Now we charge you, brothers, on the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, to hold yourselves aloof from any brother who is living as a shirker instead of following the teachings you received from us.
7 You know yourselves how you ought to follow my example; for I was not a shirker when I was with you;
8 I did not eat any man's bread without paying for it, but with toil and hard labor I worked night and day, in order not to be a burden to any of you.
9 Not that I have no right to be supported, but to make myself an example for you to follow.
10 For when I was with you, I gave you this direction, "If a person refuses to work, he must not be allowed to eat."
11 But we are informed that some among you are living as shirkers, mere busybodies, instead of busy at work.
12 Now on the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ we charge and exhort such persons to do their own work with quiet and eat their own bread.
13 But you, brothers, must never grow tired of doing right.
14 If anyone refuses to obey what we have said in this letter, mark that person and stop having anything to do with him, so that he will feel ashamed of it.
15 You must not regard him as an enemy but warn him as a brother.