KJV
Click to Change
Return to Top
3:1–5 Transition. Paul requests prayer for his work, reassures them of God’s faithfulness, and closes by praying for them.
3:1–2 Paul asks them to pray that the word of the Lord (the gospel) would speed ahead (progress) and be honored (by people accepting its truth).
3:3–4 guard you against the evil one. Satan has been trying to destroy the Thessalonians’ young faith. But God’s faithfulness assures Paul that the Evil One will not succeed.
3:5 the steadfastness of Christ. Either Christ’s endurance as a model for Christians or the perseverance Christ gives to believers.
3:6–15 The Problem of Lazy Christians. Paul instructs the Thessalonians to discipline those refusing to work.
3:6 Paul tells the Thessalonians to discipline those who refuse to work and depend on others to support them. They are to keep away from these people, which probably means removing them from the church. However, Paul still regards them as “brothers” (v. 15). This behavior was not in accord with the tradition passed on by the missionaries regarding the necessity of working for a living.
3:7–10 The missionaries had taught the need to work for a living both by example and through instruction.
3:8–9 eat anyone’s bread without paying for it. Paul refused to depend on others for his living. He took on manual labor in addition to his ministry commitments to avoid being a financial burden to the Thessalonians. He did so even though he had the God-given right to be supported (see 1 Cor. 9:3–15; 1 Thess. 2:9).
3:11 not busy at work, but busybodies. See 1 Tim. 5:13.
3:12 work quietly. The opposite of being “busybodies” (v. 11).
3:13 do not grow weary in doing good. Paul encourages those with money to continue being charitable, though only to those who are deserving.
3:14 The purpose of keeping away from the lazy is so these brothers will be ashamed, repent, and be restored to the community.
3:16–18 Conclusion. The letter concludes with a blessing, a final greeting, and a prayer for grace.
3:16 Lord of peace. Jesus has reconciled Christians to God. He is able to replace their fear (2:2) with peace.
3:17 Paul makes it clear that most of the letter was dictated to a secretary. The final greeting was written in Paul’s own handwriting. This served as a mark of its authenticity.
The ESV Global Study Bible
Copyright © 2012 by Crossway.
All rights reserved.
Used by permission.
|
Line-By-Line Order:
 Verse-ReferenceReference-VerseSeparate LineVerse OnlyReference Only |
Reference Delimiters:
None — Jhn 1:1 KJV Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]Curly — {Jhn 1:1 KJV}Parens — (Jhn 1:1 KJV) |
|
Paragraph Order:
Verse-ReferenceReference-VerseReference-Only |
Number Delimiters:*
No NumberNo Delimiter — 15Square — [15]Curly — {15}Parens — (15) |
|
Other Options:
 Abbreviate Books Use SBL Abbrev.En dash not Hyphen |
Quotes Around VersesRemove Square BracketsSort Canonically |
* 'Number Delimiters' only apply to 'Paragraph Order'
The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.
Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding.
Blue Letter Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
©2024 Blue Letter Bible | Privacy Policy
Note: MLA no longer requires the URL as part of their citation standard. Individual instructors or editors may still require the use of URLs.
Loading
Loading
| Interlinear |
| Bibles |
| Cross-Refs |
| Commentaries |
| Dictionaries |
| Miscellaneous |
