2 Thessalonians 3
Pray for us — that the word of the Lord may run and be glorified, and that we be rescued from out-of-place and evil men. Faith is not of all, but the Lord is faithful to strengthen and guard from the evil. May the Lord guide your hearts into the love of God and the endurance of Christ. In the Lord’s name: avoid every brother walking disorderly, not by the tradition. We were not disorderly, ate no bread freely, worked night and day so as to burden no one — a pattern for you. If anyone is not willing to work, neither let him eat. Those doing no work but working round about: work with quietness and eat your own bread. Do not lose heart in doing good. Mark the one who disobeys the letter and do not mix with him — yet admonish him as a brother, not an enemy. May the Lord of peace give you peace continually in every way. The greeting in Paul’s own hand — the sign in every letter. Grace be with you all.
Why this rendering
2Thess.3.3 Observation
Syntactic observation
Τὸ λοιπὸν προσεύχεσθε, ἀδελφοί, περὶ ἡμῶν, ἵνα ὁ λόγος τοῦ κυρίου τρέχῃ καὶ δοξάζηται καθὼς καὶ πρὸς ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἵνα ῥυσθῶμεν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀτόπων καὶ πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὐ γὰρ πάντων ἡ πίστις. πιστὸς δέ ἐστιν ὁ κύριος, ὃς στηρίξει ὑμᾶς καὶ φυλάξει ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ. πεποίθαμεν δὲ ἐν κυρίῳ ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς, ὅτι ἃ παραγγέλλομεν καὶ ποιεῖτε καὶ ποιήσετε. ὁ δὲ κύριος κατευθύναι ὑμῶν τὰς καρδίας εἰς τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἰς τὴν ὑπομονὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ — For the rest, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run and be glorified, just as also with you, and that we may be rescued from out-of-place and evil men; for the faith is not of all. But faithful is the Lord, who will strengthen you and guard you from the evil. And we are confident in the Lord about you, that what we charge, you both are doing and will do. Now may the Lord guide your hearts into the love of God and into the endurance of Christ. Τὸ λοιπόν is Phil 3:1 ‘for the rest’ · προσεύχεσθε περὶ ἡμῶν is 1 Thess 5:25 as there. ὁ λόγος τοῦ κυρίου τρέχῃ ‘the word of the Lord may run’ — the verb of Gal 2:2 ‘run’, of the word · δοξάζηται ‘be glorified’ — the passive site-rule of John 13:31 · an echo of 1:12 ‘the name … glorified’. ῥυσθῶμεν ‘be rescued’ — the passive of 1 Thess 1:10 ‘rescue’ · ἀτόπων is Luke 23:41 · Acts 25:5 ‘out of place’ · οὐ γὰρ πάντων ἡ πίστις is verbless, ‘for the faith is not of all’ — ‘is’ supplied. πίστις (v.2) / πιστός (v.3) ‘faith / faithful’ — wordplay on one root · πιστὸς δέ ἐστιν ὁ κύριος takes up 1 Thess 5:24 ‘faithful is the one calling you’. φυλάξει ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ ‘guard you from the evil’ — the site of Luke 2:8 ‘guard’ · τοῦ πονηροῦ can be ‘the evil’ (neuter) or ‘the evil one’ (masculine) — the same openness as Matt 6:13 ‘deliver us from the evil’ · kept with the same rendering. πεποίθαμεν ἐν κυρίῳ is Phil 2:24 ‘confident in the Lord’ · ⸀παραγγέλλομεν (the Received Text adds ‘you’) · ποιεῖτε καὶ ποιήσετε ‘are doing and will do’, present and future. κατευθύναι is the optative of 1 Thess 3:11 ‘may … guide’ as there (three places in the New Testament — Luke 1:79 · 1 Thess 3:11 · here) · τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ ‘the love of God’ · τὴν ὑπομονὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ ‘the endurance of Christ’ — both genitives open between ‘God’s love / love for God’ · ‘Christ’s endurance / endurance that waits for Christ’ · ‘of’ holds both.
Rendering options · 3
Basis Neuter or masculine the text does not settle — the openness of Matt 6:13 · kept with that verse’s rendering.
Basis The grain of Eph 6:16 ‘the evil one’ — reading a person.
Rejected It closes the reading as masculine — the text does not.
Basis ‘God’s / for God’ · ‘Christ’s / waiting for Christ’ — the text closes neither.
Lost in translation
πίστις (v.2) / πιστός (v.3) — ‘faith / faithful’ keep one root.
τοῦ πονηροῦ (v.3) — neuter/masculine. ‘The evil’ carries the openness of Matt 6:13.
οὐ γὰρ πάντων ἡ πίστις (v.2) — verbless. ‘Is not of all’ supplies ‘is’.
κατευθύναι (v.5) / 1 Thess 3:11 — ‘may … guide’ shows the same optative.
τοῦ θεοῦ · τοῦ Χριστοῦ (v.5) — two open genitives. ‘Of’ holds both.
δοξάζηται (v.1) / 1:12 ἐνδοξασθῇ — ‘be glorified’ ties them, but the presence or absence of ἐν- does not show.
Why this rendering
2Thess.3.10 Observation
Syntactic observation
Παραγγέλλομεν δὲ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοί, ἐν ὀνόματι τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ στέλλεσθαι ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ παντὸς ἀδελφοῦ ἀτάκτως περιπατοῦντος καὶ μὴ κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν ἣν παρελάβοσαν παρ’ ἡμῶν. αὐτοὶ γὰρ οἴδατε πῶς δεῖ μιμεῖσθαι ἡμᾶς, ὅτι οὐκ ἠτακτήσαμεν ἐν ὑμῖν οὐδὲ δωρεὰν ἄρτον ἐφάγομεν παρά τινος, ἀλλ’ ἐν κόπῳ καὶ μόχθῳ νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας ἐργαζόμενοι πρὸς τὸ μὴ ἐπιβαρῆσαί τινα ὑμῶν· οὐχ ὅτι οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν, ἀλλ’ ἵνα ἑαυτοὺς τύπον δῶμεν ὑμῖν εἰς τὸ μιμεῖσθαι ἡμᾶς. καὶ γὰρ ὅτε ἦμεν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, τοῦτο παρηγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν, ὅτι εἴ τις οὐ θέλει ἐργάζεσθαι μηδὲ ἐσθιέτω. ἀκούομεν γάρ τινας περιπατοῦντας ἐν ὑμῖν ἀτάκτως, μηδὲν ἐργαζομένους ἀλλὰ περιεργαζομένους· τοῖς δὲ τοιούτοις παραγγέλλομεν καὶ παρακαλοῦμεν ἐν κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ ἵνα μετὰ ἡσυχίας ἐργαζόμενοι τὸν ἑαυτῶν ἄρτον ἐσθίωσιν — Now we charge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to avoid every brother walking disorderly and not according to the tradition which they received from us. For you yourselves know how you must imitate us, because we were not disorderly among you, nor did we eat bread freely from anyone, but in labour and toil, working night and day, so as not to burden any of you — not that we do not have authority, but that we might give ourselves as a pattern to you, for you to imitate us. For indeed when we were with you, we were charging you this: if anyone is not willing to work, neither let him eat. For we hear that some are walking among you disorderly, doing no work but working round about; and to such we charge and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ that, working with quietness, they eat their own bread. παραγγέλλω ‘charge’ three times in this paragraph (vv.6 · 10 · 12) — the verb of 1 Thess 4:11 ‘just as we charged you’ · στέλλεσθαι is 2 Cor 8:20 ‘avoid’ (two places in the New Testament) · ⸀ἡμῶν is the base text’s reading. ἀτάκτως (vv.6 · 11) · ἀτακτέω (v.7) are the adverb and verb of 1 Thess 5:14 ἄτακτος ‘the disorderly’ — in the New Testament only these three places and 1 Thess 5:14 · ‘walking disorderly / were disorderly’ · ⸀παρελάβοσαν ‘which they received’ (other editions ‘which you received’) — taking up 2:15 ‘hold the traditions’. μιμεῖσθαι (vv.7 · 9) is the verb of 1 Thess 1:6 μιμητής ‘imitator’, ‘imitate’. δωρεὰν ἄρτον ἐφάγομεν ‘eat bread freely’ — 2 Cor 11:7 ‘freely’ · ἐν κόπῳ καὶ μόχθῳ ⸂νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας⸃ ἐργαζόμενοι πρὸς τὸ μὴ ἐπιβαρῆσαί τινα ὑμῶν takes up the sentence of 1 Thess 2:9 word for word (labour and toil · night and day · burden — only the case of ‘night and day’ differs ⸂⸃) · ἐξουσία ‘authority’ · ἑαυτοὺς τύπον δῶμεν ‘give ourselves as a pattern’ — 1 Thess 1:7 ‘pattern’. ὅτε ἦμεν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ‘when we were with you’ — taking up 2:5 · εἴ τις οὐ θέλει ἐργάζεσθαι μηδὲ ἐσθιέτω ‘if anyone is not willing to work, neither let him eat’ — the point is ‘willing’ (θέλει) · not ‘does not work’. μηδὲν ἐργαζομένους ἀλλὰ περιεργαζομένους is wordplay — ἐργάζομαι ‘work’ with the ‘round about’ prefix, περιεργάζομαι (once in the New Testament), ‘work round about’ · ‘work’ kept in both to carry the play. ⸂ἐν κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ⸃ is the base text’s reading · μετὰ ἡσυχίας ‘with quietness’ — Acts 22:2 ‘quiet’ · the noun of 1 Thess 4:11 ‘aspire to be quiet’ · τὸν ἑαυτῶν ἄρτον ἐσθίωσιν ‘eat their own bread’ — taking up v.8 ‘bread’.
Rendering options · 4
Basis Both words share the root ‘work’ — ‘work’ in both lets the text’s play show · the prefix is ‘round about’.
Basis The familiar rendering, with its own play.
Rejected ‘Busy / busybodies’ plays on another root — the text’s ‘work’ vanishes from the second word.
Basis The text says not ‘does not work’ but ‘is not willing to work’ — distinguishing those who cannot from those who will not.
Basis The adverb and verb of 1 Thess 5:14 ἄτακτος ‘the disorderly’ — one root tied by ‘disorderly’.
Lost in translation
ἐργαζομένους / περιεργαζομένους (v.11) — ‘work / working round about’ show the play.
ἀτάκτως · ἀτακτέω (vv.6 · 7 · 11) / 1 Thess 5:14 ἄτακτος — ‘disorderly’ shows one root.
ἐν κόπῳ καὶ μόχθῳ … ἐργαζόμενοι πρὸς τὸ μὴ ἐπιβαρῆσαι (v.8) / 1 Thess 2:9 — the same sentence in the same words.
μιμεῖσθαι (vv.7 · 9) / 1 Thess 1:6 μιμηταί — ‘imitate / imitators’ keep the root.
θέλει (v.10) — ‘is not willing’ keeps cannot and will not apart.
ἡσυχίας (v.12) / 1 Thess 4:11 ἡσυχάζειν — ‘quietness / be quiet’ tie them.
Why this rendering
2Thess.3.16 Observation
Syntactic observation
ὑμεῖς δέ, ἀδελφοί, μὴ ἐγκακήσητε καλοποιοῦντες. Εἰ δέ τις οὐχ ὑπακούει τῷ λόγῳ ἡμῶν διὰ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς, τοῦτον σημειοῦσθε, μὴ συναναμίγνυσθαι αὐτῷ, ἵνα ἐντραπῇ· καὶ μὴ ὡς ἐχθρὸν ἡγεῖσθε, ἀλλὰ νουθετεῖτε ὡς ἀδελφόν. Αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ κύριος τῆς εἰρήνης δῴη ὑμῖν τὴν εἰρήνην διὰ παντὸς ἐν παντὶ τρόπῳ. ὁ κύριος μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν. Ὁ ἀσπασμὸς τῇ ἐμῇ χειρὶ Παύλου, ὅ ἐστιν σημεῖον ἐν πάσῃ ἐπιστολῇ· οὕτως γράφω. ἡ χάρις τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν — But you, brothers, do not lose heart in doing what is good. And if anyone does not obey our word through the letter, mark this one, not to mix with him, so that he may be shamed; and do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace continually in every way. The Lord be with you all. The greeting in my own hand — Paul’s — which is a sign in every letter; so I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. μὴ ⸀ἐγκακήσητε καλοποιοῦντες is the saying of Gal 6:9 ‘let us not lose heart in doing what is good’ (τὸ καλὸν ποιοῦντες) — two words there, one word here, καλοποιέω (once in the New Testament) · both renderings unfold it. τῷ λόγῳ ἡμῶν διὰ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς ‘our word through the letter’ · σημειοῦσθε occurs once in the New Testament — ‘mark’ (the verb of σημεῖον ‘sign’ · sharing the piece with v.17 ‘sign’ in Korean) · ⸀μὴ ⸀συναναμίγνυσθαι ‘not to mix with him’ — 1 Cor 5:9 · 11 ‘mix’ (three places in the New Testament) · the base text has an infinitive (other editions an imperative) · ἵνα ἐντραπῇ ‘so that he may be shamed’ — the passive of 1 Cor 4:14 ‘shame’ · Matt 21:37 ‘respect’ is the middle. μὴ ὡς ἐχθρὸν ἡγεῖσθε … νουθετεῖτε ὡς ἀδελφόν ‘do not count him as an enemy … admonish him as a brother’ — 1 Thess 5:14 ‘admonish’ · Phil 2:3 ‘count’. Αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ κύριος τῆς εἰρήνης ‘the Lord of peace himself’ — the construction of 1 Thess 5:23 ‘the God of peace himself’, with the Lord for God · δῴη optative, ‘may … give’ · διὰ παντός is Acts 24:16 ‘continually’ · ἐν παντὶ τρόπῳ is Phil 1:18 ‘in every way’ · ὁ κύριος μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν ‘the Lord with you all’ is a verbless blessing — ‘be’ supplied. Ὁ ἀσπασμὸς τῇ ἐμῇ χειρὶ Παύλου has the words of 1 Cor 16:21 · Col 4:18 · ὅ ἐστιν σημεῖον ἐν πάσῃ ἐπιστολῇ ‘which is a sign in every letter’ — a mark against 2:2 ‘a letter as if through us’ · οὕτως γράφω ‘so I write’. μετὰ πάντων ⸀ὑμῶν — the ‘all’ differs from 1 Thess 5:28, and the base text has no Amen (the Received Text does).
Rendering options · 3
Basis As fixed at Gal 6:9 τὸ καλὸν ποιοῦντες — one word and two words say the same, so the same rendering ties them.
Basis The verb of σημεῖον ‘sign’ — ‘mark’ is its verb; the Korean shares the piece 표 with v.17.
Basis The step of Col 4:18 ‘grace be with you’ — the same supplied verb.
Lost in translation
καλοποιοῦντες (v.13) — one word. ‘Doing what is good’ becomes the same as the two words of Gal 6:9.
σημειοῦσθε (v.14) / σημεῖον (v.17) — ‘mark / sign’ split the root.
ὁ κύριος μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν (v.16) — a verbless blessing. ‘Be’ is supplied.
Ὁ ἀσπασμὸς τῇ ἐμῇ χειρὶ Παύλου (v.17) / 1 Cor 16:21 · Col 4:18 — the same sentence in the same words.
ὁ κύριος τῆς εἰρήνης (v.16) / 1 Thess 5:23 ὁ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης — ‘the Lord of peace / the God of peace’ show the construction.
μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν (v.18) — without Amen. It ends at ‘with you all.’