For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
What does 2 Thessalonians 3:10 mean?
Those who have received the gospel, are to live according to the gospel. Such as could work, and would not, were not to be maintained in idleness.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on 2 Thessalonians 3:10
For even when we were with you, this we commanded you - It would seem from this that the evil of which the apostle here complains had begun to operate even when he was with them. There were those who were disposed to be idle, and who needed the solemn command of an apostle to induce them to labor. That if any would not work, neither should he eat - That is, at the public expense. They should not be supported by the church. This was a maxim among the Jews (see Wetstein, in loc.), and the same sentiment may be found in Homer, Demosthenes, and Pythagoras; see Grotius, in loc.
Context in 2 Thessalonians 3
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2 Thessalonians 3 belongs to the closing movement of the book, especially the section often described as warnings against idleness and final exhortation. Second Thessalonians steadies believers with teaching about perseverance, judgment, the coming of Christ, and ordinary faithful work. Read this chapter with the wider themes of perseverance, judgment, and return of Christ in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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