For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.
Parallel translations
- WEB For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: “If anyone will not work, don’t let him eat.”
- KJV For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
- BSB For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”
- NASB For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.
- NLT Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul recalls his clear rule given in person: if anyone refuses to work, he should not eat. Willful idleness has no claim on the community's support.
Overview
The command addresses those who will not work, not those who cannot, distinguishing laziness from genuine need. This principle dignifies honest labor and protects the church's generosity from abuse. It reflects the creation order in which work is good and part of human responsibility before God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gen 3:19By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
- Prov 13:4The soul of the sluggard desires, and has nothing, but the desire of the diligent shall be fully satisfied.
- 1 Th 4:11and that you make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, even as we instructed you;
- Prov 20:4The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter; therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
- Prov 21:25The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.
- Prov 24:30–34I went by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
- 1 Th 3:4For most certainly, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we are to suffer affliction, even as it happened, and you know.
- John 16:4But I have told you these things, so that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you about them. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.
- Luke 24:44He said to them, “This is what I told you, while I was still with you, that all things which are written in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me must be fulfilled.”
- Acts 20:18When they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you all the time,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ will be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, glorified in his saints, overthrowing the lawless one — the certain hope that steadies the suffering church.
How 2 Thessalonians 3:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.