Passage

2 Thessalonians 3.14

Book: 2 Thessalonians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

12. Now them that are such we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. 13. But ye, brethren, be not weary in well-doing.

14. And if any man obeyeth not our word by this epistle, note that man, that ye have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed.

And yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. 16. Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all. (2 Thessalonians 3:12-16, ASV)

WEB

12. Now those who are that way, we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. 13. But you, brothers, don’t be weary in doing well.

14. If any man doesn’t obey our word in this letter, note that man, that you have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed.

Don’t count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. 16. Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all. (2 Thessalonians 3:12-16, WEB)

KJV

12. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. 13. But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. ^{be: or, faint not}

14. 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. ^{by: or, signify that man by an epistle}

Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. 16. Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. (2 Thessalonians 3:12-16, KJV)

YLT

12. and such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness working, their own bread they may eat; 13. and ye, brethren, may ye not be weary doing well,

14. and if any one do not obey our word through the letter, this one note ye, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed,

and as an enemy count [him] not, but admonish ye [him] as a brother; 16. and may the Lord of the peace Himself give to you the peace always in every way; the Lord [is] with you all! (2 Thessalonians 3:12-16, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle, on how the congregation is to respond to persistent disobedience.
Audience: The church at Thessalonica, capital of the Roman province of Macedonia and a free city on the Via Egnatia. Paul had planted the congregation only months earlier (Acts 17:1-9) and left the city under duress; the believers were still under local pressure, and had been unsettled by a report that the day of the Lord had already arrived (2:2).
Location: Most probably Corinth, where Silvanus and Timothy were with Paul (Acts 18:5), written shortly after 1 Thessalonians.
Time period: c. AD 50-52. The date is anchored by the Gallio inscription at Delphi, which places the proconsulship of Achaia held by Gallio (Acts 18:12) at roughly AD 51-52.

Theological reading

"If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter." The letter itself is treated as carrying apostolic authority for the congregation's practice, which is consistent with 2:15 placing spoken and written teaching side by side.

"Take note of that person." The verb means to mark or signal. It implies a deliberate congregational identification rather than private avoidance, which is why the next clause can specify the intended effect.

"Do not associate with him." The compound verb means to mix together with, and elsewhere describes ordinary social intercourse (1 Corinthians 5:9-11). What is withdrawn is easy fellowship, and the withdrawal is public enough to be noticed.

"That he may be ashamed." The stated purpose is entrepo, to turn someone in on himself so that he reconsiders. Shame here is instrumental and aimed at restoration; it is not the point but the means.

The limit in the next verse. Verse 15 immediately adds "do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother." The two verses are a single instruction, and separating them produces either sentimentality or cruelty. Any use of verse 14 that drops verse 15 is misusing the passage.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G5219 - hypakouo, hypakouo, Strong's G5219
G3056 - logos, logos, Strong's G3056

Quoted in

Concepts:

Church at Thessalonica, via 2 Thessalonians 3.6-15

Lexicon:

G5219 - hypakouo

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.