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2 Thessalonians 3:13–15, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
2 Thessalonians 3:13–15
Keep Doing Good while Practicing Restorative Boundaries
Keep doing good, and keep the difficult person a brother
But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. The faithful community is told not to let exploiters drain the will to do good. Tired generosity is named so it can be renewed, not so the church can become hard. The next sentences will set a boundary. They will not cancel this command.
And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. The refusal in view is refusal of this letter's instruction, especially the idle, meddling pattern just named. Noting and limiting association is meant to make the seriousness felt. Enemy treatment is forbidden. Sibling admonition continues. The boundary is restorative. It is not a warrant to freeze out the unemployed, the disabled, or caregivers, and it is not a hunt for enemies.
How this should shape us
Do not burn out on good work because someone is exploiting it. Limit the relationship enough for the person to feel the weight, then keep speaking as to a sibling. Do not turn a needy, ill, or caregiving person into this scene's unmarked man.
Teach it back
Explain 2 Thessalonians 3:13–15 in your own words. Include its place in the letter, one exact textual observation, one important uncertainty or limit, and one conclusion the unit does not permit.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Interpreters debate whether 'have no company' concerns private social contact, shared congregational meals, table fellowship, or formal exclusion and how verse 14 relates to verse 6. The exact procedure and duration remain unstated. The clear controls are continued good, a specific disobedient response, purposeful boundary, no enemy treatment, and sibling admonition.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: The exact pinned KJV wording and immediate English context for 2 Thessalonians 3:13–15.
eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, 2 Thessalonians 3:13–15; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording, connective structure, lexical forms, and variation markers.
Official SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/2Thess.txt, 2 Thessalonians 3:13–15.
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax, and textual variants checked at the cited verses.
NET Bible official 2 Thessalonians PDF, chapter 3, translator, study, and textual notes attached to verses 13–15; PDF pp. 3–4.
Supports: A complete modern evangelical commentary check on literary flow, historical setting, theology, and major interpretations.
David W. Chapman, The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, “2 Thessalonians,” Confronting Idleness (3:13–15).
Supports: A modern Jewish-context and historical-critical check on authorship, apocalyptic language, persecution, judgment, ethics, and textual questions.
Adam Gregerman, “2 Thessalonians,” in The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011 first edition), print p. 382.
Supports: A morphology and lexical-range cross-check for original-language notes.
STEP Bible Data repository, TAGNT and Greek lexical records, 2 Thessalonians 3:13–15.
Supports: A modern exegetical and pastoral check on atakt- language, willing versus unable, interpretive causes of disorder, and non-coercive application.
Nijay K. Gupta, ‘Commentary on 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13,’ Working Preacher, November 16, 2025, full commentary sections on 3:6–13.
Supports: Only the abstract's stated eucharistic or table-fellowship exclusion proposal as an alternative to an ordinary-food reading.
Mark Giszczak, ‘The Rhetoric and Social Practice of “Food” in 2 Thessalonians 3:10,’ Journal of Theological Interpretation 15.2 (2021), official repository abstract only.
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: The exact pinned KJV wording and immediate English context for 2 Thessalonians 3:13–15.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, 2 Thessalonians 3:13–15; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording, connective structure, lexical forms, and variation markers.
Exact location: Official SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/2Thess.txt, 2 Thessalonians 3:13–15.
Open the 2 Thessalonians Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — 2 Thessalonians with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax, and textual variants checked at the cited verses.
Exact location: NET Bible official 2 Thessalonians PDF, chapter 3, translator, study, and textual notes attached to verses 13–15; PDF pp. 3–4.
Open NET 2 Thessalonians 3 ↗modern open commentary
2 Thessalonians
David W. Chapman
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: A complete modern evangelical commentary check on literary flow, historical setting, theology, and major interpretations.
Exact location: David W. Chapman, The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, “2 Thessalonians,” Confronting Idleness (3:13–15).
Open source ↗modern annotated new testament
2 Thessalonians introduction and annotations in The Jewish Annotated New Testament
Adam Gregerman; edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
Oxford University Press, 2011
Supports: A modern Jewish-context and historical-critical check on authorship, apocalyptic language, persecution, judgment, ethics, and textual questions.
Exact location: Adam Gregerman, “2 Thessalonians,” in The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011 first edition), print p. 382.
Open source ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: A morphology and lexical-range cross-check for original-language notes.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository, TAGNT and Greek lexical records, 2 Thessalonians 3:13–15.
Open source ↗modern scholarly pastoral commentary
Commentary on 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13: A theology of work and labor
Nijay K. Gupta
Working Preacher, Luther Seminary, 2025
Supports: A modern exegetical and pastoral check on atakt- language, willing versus unable, interpretive causes of disorder, and non-coercive application.
Exact location: Nijay K. Gupta, ‘Commentary on 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13,’ Working Preacher, November 16, 2025, full commentary sections on 3:6–13.
Open source ↗peer reviewed article abstract
The Rhetoric and Social Practice of Excommunication in 2 Thessalonians 3:6–15
Mark B. Giszczak
Catholic Biblical Quarterly 83.1, 2021
Supports: Only the abstract's stated eucharistic or table-fellowship exclusion proposal as an alternative to an ordinary-food reading.
Exact location: Mark Giszczak, ‘The Rhetoric and Social Practice of “Food” in 2 Thessalonians 3:10,’ Journal of Theological Interpretation 15.2 (2021), official repository abstract only.
Open source ↗