InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEUT JOB YEHO (JOS) HERO (JDG) RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG YOEL (JOEL) MIC ISA ZEP HAB YIR (JER) LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBAD DAN EZEK EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL 2 PS WIS TOB MAN BAR G DAN G ESD L ESD ESG JDT 3 MAC SIR 1 MAC 2 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL LAOD PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
2 Th 3 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18
People tagged in the matching LV passage: Paul
Used in these topics: Work, diligence and everyday witness
OET-LV For/Because we_are_hearing some are walking among you_all lazily, nothing working, but meddling.
OET (OET-RV) Yes, we’ve heard that there are some who associate with you, brothers and sisters, who are lazy—not doing any work, but just meddling,
It seems that there were some believers in Thessalonica who had stopped working. This was probably because they thought the Lord Jesus was going to come back soon or that the Lord Jesus had already come back (see 2 Thessalonians 2:2). Therefore they had decided that there was no point in continuing to work. Paul warned people not to behave in this way. He reminded them how he and his companions had worked for their food when they stayed at Thessalonica so that they would not burden the other believers there. They did this in order to be a good example for the Thessalonians to follow, even though as apostles they had the right to be supported. Paul had already mentioned those who would not work in 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12 and 5:14. But it seems that that warning had not had any effect.
Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives
¶ We(excl) say all this because we(excl) have heard that there are some among you who are lazy.
¶ We(excl) say this because people have told us(excl) that some believers among you are refusing to work.
Yet: In the Greek, this sentence begins with the conjunction gar, which introduces a reason for the command in 3:6, that is, for the Thessalonians to avoid those who were lazy. Most English versions translate it as “for.” The BSB and NLT translate it as Yet to suggest that Paul is saying that even though he had given this command, some of the Thessalonians were nevertheless not working. Some English versions do not translate this conjunction. Introduce this verse in a natural way in your language.
we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing: Probably the laziness among believers was the reason why Paul mentioned this subject in this second letter to the Thessalonians, although he had already spoken about the problem in 1 Thessalonians 2:6–9, 4:11–12, 5:14. What Paul had feared might happen had actually happened and some believers had stopped work. See the notes on 1 Thessalonians 4:11c and 5:14a.
we hear: Paul did not say who had brought him the report that some of the Thessalonians were idle. So you should try to keep your translation as general as possible here.
that some of you are leading undisciplined lives: Paul used the same term for undisciplined as in 3:6b. You should translate it in the same way here.
and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies.
They do not work. Instead they interfere with other people and prevent them from working.
and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies: There is a play on words in the Greek here, which says “not working, but working around.” They themselves were not working, but they were interfering with other people’s work in a way that prevented those people from doing their own work properly. Some English versions have managed to retain a play on words. For example:
They are not busy; they are busybodies. (NIV)
However, this will not be possible in all languages. It is more important that you translate the correct meaning.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
τινας περιπατοῦντας & ἀτάκτως
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀκούομεν Γάρ τινάς περιπατοῦντας ἐν ὑμῖν ἀτάκτως μηδέν ἐργαζομένους ἀλλά περιεργαζομένους)
Here, walking stands for behavior in life. you can use an equivalent metaphor from your culture, if it is available. Otherwise, you could express the meaning in a nonfigurative way. Alternate translation: [some who are living idle lives] or [some who are being lazy]
Note 2 topic: translate-unknown
ἀλλὰ περιεργαζομένους
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀκούομεν Γάρ τινάς περιπατοῦντας ἐν ὑμῖν ἀτάκτως μηδέν ἐργαζομένους ἀλλά περιεργαζομένους)
Meddlers are people who interfere in the affairs of others without being asked to help.
OET-LV For/Because we_are_hearing some are walking among you_all lazily, nothing working, but meddling.
OET (OET-RV) Yes, we’ve heard that there are some who associate with you, brothers and sisters, who are lazy—not doing any work, but just meddling,
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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