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V. FINALLY (3:1-5)
This section, as τ λιόand ἀεφιmake clear, is new, and serves not as a conclusion of the foregoing (2:13-17) but as an introduction to the following discussion (3:6-16), as πργέλμ (v. 4 and vv. 10, 11) and πιστintimate; in other words, vv. 1-5 form a transition (analogous to I 4:1-2) from the first to the second main point of the epistle, from the faint-hearted (1:3-2:17) to the idle brethren (3:6-15). The structure is abrupt (cf. δ in vv. 3, 4, 5) more so than in I 5:14-22; and the transitions, based on association of ideas (πσιto πσόand, less obviously, to ππίαε do not quite succeed either in relieving the abruptness or in making definite the underlying connection of thought. The situation may best be explained on the assumption not that a forger is at work (Wrede), or that in 2:16-3:5 considerable material has been deleted (Harnack), but that Paul is replying informally to remarks made by his converts in their letter to him.
Wishing to get their willing obedience to the command of vv. 6-15, he seeks their sympathy in requesting their prayers for him and his cause, and delicately commends their faith (vv. 1-2). Finding, it may be, in the letter from the converts that the idle brethren are disposed to excuse their idleness on the ground that the Tempter is too strong for them, Paul bids them to remember that Christ is really to be depended on to give them strength sufficient to resist temptation (v. 3). Still wishing to get their willing obedience, Paul in the same Christ avows tactfully his faith in them that they will be glad to do what he commands, as indeed they are even now doing (v. 4). But as a stimulus to obedience, they need especially a vivid sense of God’s love for them, and the reminder that Christ can give them an endurance adequate to the situation. Accordingly, Paul addresses a prayer for them to Christ the source of power (v. 5).
1Finally, pray, brothers, for us, asking that the word of the Lord may run its race and be crowned with glory, as it does with you; 2and that we may be delivered from those unrighteous and evil men,—for not for all is the Christian faith. 3Faithful, however, the Lord really is, and he will make you firm and guard you from the evil one. 4Moreover, prompted by the Lord, we have faith in you that the things which we command, you both are doing and will continue to do. 5However, may the Lord incline your hearts to a sense of God’s love and to the endurance that Christ alone inspires.
1. τ λιό Though τ λιό like λιό(I 4:1 and GF here), is often found at the end of a letter intimating that it is drawing to a close (2Co_13:11; contrast 1Co_1:16, 1Co_4:2, 1Co_7:29), yet it does not of necessity imply that “what remains to be said” is of secondary importance, as the instances in the other Macedonian letters demonstrate (I 4:1, Php_3:1, Php_4:8). In fact, just as I 4:1-2 paves the way for the important exhortations in I 4:3-5:22 (which are placed, like vv. 1-15 here, between two prayers, ατςδ I 3:11-13, 5:23 and II 2:16-17, 3:16) so vv. 1-5, introduced as I 4:1-2 by (τ) λιόand the affectionate ἀεφι serve as a tactful introduction to the important injunction in vv. 6-15.
ποεχσεκλ This appeal for the prayers of the readers is characteristic of Paul (1:11, I 5:25, Rom_15:30 f. Col_4:2, Col_4:18, Phm_1:22; also 2Co_1:11, Php_1:19); it is inspired here by the circumstances in which he is writing, namely, as κὶπσε (1:4) has already intimated, by persecutions, and that too at the instigation of Jews, as ο γρπνω ἡπσιin the light of I 2:15-16 suggests, and as the typical instances narrated in Acts (18:5 ff.) corroborate. This appeal for sympathy is intended not to remind the readers that they are not the only victims of Jewish opposition, but, as the tacit praise of their faith (κθςκὶπὸ ὑᾶ suggests, to stir up within them such love for him that they will obey with alacrity the command which he is about to give (vv. 6-15).
ἵαὁλγςτῦκρο κλ The prayer requested is not so much for Paul and his companions personally (πρ ἡῶ as for them as preachers of the gospel (2:14) and as sufferers in the common cause of the kingdom of God (1:4). Hence the object of the prayer (ἵ being here not, as in 1:11, of the purpose, but of the object as in Php_1:9, Col_1:9; cf. v. 12 below and I 4:1, 2Co_8:6) is both (1) that the word of the Lord (I 1:8) may run its race unhindered by the weight of opposition, and be crowned with glory; and (2) that the missionaries of the gospel of Christ may be delivered from those well-known unrighteous and evil men. In each of the clauses with ἵ there is an additional remark (a) in reference to the faith of the readers, κθςκὶπὸ ὑᾶ and (b) in reference to the adversaries common to Paul and the readers, the Jews whose hearts are hardened, ο γρπνω ἡπσι
On Paul’s prayers and requests for prayer, see especially E. von der Goltz, Das Gebet in der ä Christenheit, 1901, 112 ff. The language here (ποεχσεἀεφὶπρ ἡῶ is natural enough in itself (Heb_13:18) and is quite Pauline (Col_4:2); but the phrase as a whole reminds one of I 5:25 (ἀεφὶποεχσεκὶπρ ἡῶ The agreement between our phrase and that of I 5:25 is not, however, exact. The κιof I is not present here, a fact that makes the usual reference to 2:16-17 less distinct (Chrys. Œ “above he prayed for them, now he asks prayer from them”). Furthermore the position of ἀεφιis different; from I 5:25 (cf. I 4:1, 2Co_13:11, Php_3:1, Php_4:8), we should expect it to precede (as GF, et al.) not to follow (א et al.) ποεχσ (cf. DE, et al., which put ἀεφιafter ἡῶ Finally, unlike I 5:25, the object of the prayer is here stated. The significance, if there is any, of the emphatic position of ποεχσ is unknown. Since “those unrighteous and wicked men” (v. 2) are evidently well known to the readers, it is not improbable that in their letter to him they had prayed for him in Corinth. If this surmise be correct, the present imperative (which, however, is regularly used in the Macedonian letters, the only aorists being ἀπσσ I 5:26, Php_4:21 and πηώα Php_2:2) with which Paul replies may perhaps be rendered: “Keep on praying as you are, brethren, for us.”
τέῃκὶδξζτ. “That the word of the Lord may run and be glorified.” This, the first object of the prayer, expressed in a collocation (τέενκὶδξζσα which is not found elsewhere in the Gk. Bib., is to the general effect that the gospel of Christ “may have a triumphant career” (Lft.). The word τέε (used absolutely here as elsewhere in Paul) is, in the light of 1Co_9:24 ff. (cf. Rom_9:16, Gal_2:2, Gal_5:7, Php_2:16), probably a metaphor derived from the races in the stadium. The word of the Lord is ὁτέω(Rom_9:16), competing for the βαεο(1Co_9:24) or σέαο(I 2:19, 1Co_9:25), that is, for the acceptance of the gospel as the power of God unto salvation. But to indicate the victory of the runner, Paul adds, not, as we should expect, σεαῶα(cf. 2Ti_2:5), or λμάῃσέαο(1Co_9:25), but, with a turn to the religious, δξζτ “be glorified,” that is, “crowned with glory” (compare the kingly crown in Psa_8:6, Heb_2:7, Heb_2:9). But while the general point of the metaphor is clear, the exact force of it is uncertain. In the light of v. 2, however, it is probable that τέῃmeans not “to fulfil its course swiftly (Psa_147:4 ἕςτχυ and without hindrance” (so Riggenbach and many others); not “to run, that is, unhindered, and make its way quickly through the world” (Dob., who notes the hope expressed in Mar_13:10, Mat_24:14); but to run its race unencumbered by obstacles (not self-imposed (cf. Heb_12:1) but) superimposed by adversaries, in this context, the Jews (cf. Theodoret ἀωύω
In view of the unique collocation, τέενκὶδξζσα and of Paul’s fondness for metaphors from the race-course, it is unnecessary to see here a literary allusion either to “the faithful and expeditious messenger” (Briggs) of Psa_147:4, or to Psa_18:5 ὡ γγςδαενὁό ατυwhere “the path of the sun in the heavens is conceived as a race-course” (Briggs), or to Isa_55:11. In this phrase, evidently coined by Paul, the present tenses (contrast in v. 2 ῥσῶε regard the race and victory as in constant progress. Each person or group of persons is constantly recognising the gospel at its true worth and welcoming it as the word not of man but of God. The transition to the complimentary κθςκλis thus easily made.—On ὁλγςτῦκρο see I 1:8 where אhas τῦθο (cf. I 2:13) as do GFP, et al., here. On δξζσα see 1:10, 12.
κθςκὶπὸ ὑᾶ “As it is running and is being glorified with you”; or succinctly, “as it does in your case.” The praise implied in the prayer that the gospel may succeed with all as it succeeds with the readers is designed probably as an incentive not to their prayers for him but to their obedience to the command in mind (v. 6). Sympathy for Paul is to create a willing compliance; if they love him, they will keep his commands. πό(I 3:4) is to be construed with both τέῃand δξζτ
2. κὶἵαῥσῶε The ἵ (parallel to ἵ in v. 1) introduces the second object of ποεχσ: “that we may be delivered.” The aorist (contrast the present tenses in v. 1) regards the action of deliverance simply as an event in the past without reference to progress. As in 2Co_1:11 where the prayer requested is for deliverance (ῥεθ) from the danger of death, and as in Rom_15:30 ff. where it is for deliverance from those that are disobedient in Judæ (ἵαῥσῶἀὸτνἀεθύτ), so here person and cause are inseparable.
τνἀόω κὶπνρνἀθώω “From those unrighteous and evil men.” The τ points to a definite class of adversaries (cf. Rom_15:31) and well known to the readers. That persecutions in Corinth are here referred to is likewise suggested by κὶπσε in 1:4; and that the Jews are the instigators of persecution is the natural inference both from ο γρπνω ἡπσιwhen compared with I 2:15-16, and from the typical instances recorded in Act_18:5 ff.
ο γρπνω ἡπσι “For not for all is the faith”; “it is not everybody who is attracted by the faith” (Rutherford). “The faith” (Gal_1:23) is not “the word of the Lord” (v. 1), “the truth” (2:10, 12), or “the gospel” (cf. 2:14), but the faith which the gospel demands, the faith without which the gospel is not effective as the power of God unto salvation. The γ explains not the prayer for deliverance, as if “only deliverance from them is to be requested since their conversion is hopeless” (Schmiedel), but the reason why those unrighteous and evil men exist. The explanation is set forth not in terms of historical fact, “for not all have believed” (cf. Rom_10:16 ο πνε ὑήοσντ εαγλῳ but in terms of a general principle based on observation (ἐτ), which GF, et al., read, is to be supplied here as often elsewhere in Paul), “for not for all is the faith” (πνωbeing either an objective or a possessive genitive; cf. Act_1:7, 2Co_2:3 Heb_5:14). In view of the fact that under similar circumstances Paul had expressed himself similarly as regards the conversion of the Jews (I 2:15-16) it is quite likely that here too, in spite of πνω he has in mind the obstinacy of the Jews. It was their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah that raised a serious problem not only for Paul (Rom. 9-11) but for others (Mar_4:10-12, Act_28:26 ff., Joh_12:37 ff.). Here, however, the mystery alone, not its solution, is stated.
ἄοοis used of persons only here in the Gk. Bib.; elsewhere, chiefly in Lk. Acts, Job, it is neuter; e. g. πάσι ἄο (Job_27:6, Job_36:21) or ἄοο(Pr. 24:55, Pro_24:2 Mac. 14:23; cf. Luk_23:41) and πιῖ ἄο (Job_34:12; cf. Polyc. Phil. 5:3). “From its original meaning ‘out of place,’ unbecoming,’ ἄοοcame in late Greek to be used ethically = ‘improper,’ ‘unrighteous’; and it is in this sense that, with the exception of Act_28:6, it is always used in the Lxx and N. T.” (Milligan, Greek Papyri, 72). For other instances of the word, see Wetstein and Loesner, ad loc., and on Luk_23:41, and the former on Act_28:6. The prevailing ethical meaning makes unlikely the rendering “unbelieving” which the context might suggest (cf. I 2:16 θῷμ ἀεκνω For a conspectus of proposed translations such as “unreasonable,” “perverse,” “unrighteous” (Thayer), etc., see Lillie’s note; compare also Hatch-Redpath, Concordance, where under ἄοοin Job_36:21 both ἄι, and ἄο are noted as variants of ἄο—On πνρ see I 5:22; D in Luk_23:41 reads πνρ for ἄοοOn ῥεθιἀο see I 1:10.—Born (533), whom Wrede follows, finds an almost verbal dependence on Isa_25:4: ἀὸἀθώω ῥσ ατύBut Psa_139:1 would serve as well: ἐεο μ κρεἐ ἀθώο πνρῦ ἀὸἀδὸ ἀίο ῥσίμDob. (cf. Harnack, op.cit.) sees a reference to 1 Mac. 14:14 where Simon ἑῆε πναἄοο κὶπνρ; cf. Isa_9:17 πνε ἄοο κὶπνριHowever this may be, it is evident both that Paul read the Lxx and that the collocation ἄοο κὶπνρ is not found elsewhere in the Gk. Bib.
3. πσο δ ἐτνὁκρο κλ “The Lord (Christ) is really (2:4) faithful (cf. Rom_3:3), and as faithful will surely strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” Prompted it may be by a passage in their letter to him saying that some of the converts, probably the idlers, were disposed to excuse their conduct on the ground that the Tempter was too strong for them, and being “more anxious about others than about himself” (Calvin), Paul turns somewhat abruptly (δ) from the situation in Corinth and his own trials to the similar situation, so far as persecution is concerned (1:4), in Thessalonica, and the moral dangers to which the devil exposed the readers (ὑᾶ not ἡᾶwhich Bentley and Baljon conjecture). With πσό here naturally suggested by πσι(v. 2), and with an emphatic ἐτ (which is unexpected in the phrase πσὸ ὁθόor κρο Paul reminds them that Christ is really to be depended on to give them strength sufficient to resist the enticement of the devil. Paul assures them not that they will be delivered from persecution (cf. I 3:4) but rather that they will be strengthened both in faith (I 3:2) and conduct (I 3:13, II 2:17), and thus be shielded from the power of Satan (I 2:18, II 2:9), that is, from the ethical aberrations, perhaps specifically the idleness and meddlesomeness to which the Tempter (I 3:2), by means of persecution, entices some of them. The similarity of 1Co_10:13 has not escaped Calvin’s notice: There hath no temptation taken you but such as man can bear; πσὸ δ ὁθό ὃ οκἐσικλ
The usual phrase in Paul is not πσὸ δ ἐτνὁκροbut simply πσὸ ὁθό(1Co_1:9, 1Co_1:10:13, 2Co_1:18; cf. I 5:24). The change from θόto κρο= Christ (v. 5) is in keeping with the tendency of II already mentioned (v. 2:13). In fact, the frequency of ὁκροin vv. 1-5 (four-times) has an interesting parallel in another Macedonian letter, Php_4:1-5 (where ὁκροoccurs four times). The unexpected ἐτ (G, et al., omit, conforming to Paul’s usage), which emphasises the reality of the faithfulness of Christ, may be due simply to the contrast with the faithlessness of the Jews; or it may intimate, as said, that in a letter to Paul the converts, perhaps specifically not the faint-hearted (2:17) but the idle brothers, had expressed the feeling that the evil one was too strong for them, thus accounting for their yielding to temptation. Paul’s reply, emphasising the faithfulness of Christ who is stronger than the devil, serves both as a reminder that persecutions are not an excuse for idleness and as an incentive to do what Paul is about to command (vv. 3-4, 6-15).—ὁκροstands in victorious antithesis to ὁπνρ; for, although grammatically τῦπνρυmay be either masculine (Eph_6:16) or neuter (Rom_12:9), yet the masculine, in view not only of I 2:18, 3:5, II 2:9 but also of Paul’s conception in general of the evil world (cf. 2Co_6:15), is the more probable gender (so Calv. and most modern expositors). For supposed allusions in this passage to the Lord’s Prayer, see on the one side Lft. and Chase (The Lord’s Prayer in the Early Church, 1891), and on the other Dibelius, ad loc.—On σηίε, see I 3:2. Elsewhere in the N. T. the future is σηίε(as א et al., here); in the Lxx it is regularly σηι The reading of B (σηίε has a parallel in Jer_17:5; that of GF (τρσ) is due either to a previous σηήε(cf. B in Sir. 38:34) or to an approximation to φλξ (Dob.); cf. Sir. 4:20 σνήηο κιὸ κὶφλξιἀὸπνρυφλσε is found apart from the Pastorals but twice elsewhere in Paul, Gal_6:13, Rom_2:26 (used in reference to the law). On the construction here, cf. Psa_120:7. The collocation σηίε and φλσε is without a parallel in Gk. Bib.
4. ππίαε δ κλ With δ again, introducing a new point, and with the Pauline phrase ππίαε ἐ κρῳ(Gal_5:10, Php_2:24, Rom_14:14, but not in I), Paul, who is still intent on gaining the willing obedience of the converts, avows with tact his faith that what he commands they will do as they are doing. This confidence is defined as inspired by the indwelling Christ (ἐ κρῳ and as directed to the readers (ἐʼὑᾶ cf. 2Co_2:3; also εςὑᾶGal_5:10). The insertion of πιῖ (cf. I 5:11) tactfully prepares for πιστ as κθςκὶπρπτῖ (I 4:1) prepares for πρσεηεμλο(I 4:1). Though the words are general, “what (that is, quae not quaecumque) we command, both you are doing and will continue to do” (the future being progressive; BMT 60), yet it is natural in view both of πργέλμ (cf. vv. 6, 12) and πιστto find a specific reference, namely, not to the faint-hearted (as if vv. 4-5 were a doublet of 2:15-17), and not to the request for prayer (vv. 1-2 Lft.), but to the command in vv. 6-15 (Calvin).
The underlying connection between v. 4 and v. 3 is not evident. In deed, ππίαεis less obviously dictated by πσόthan πσόis by πσιThe connecting idea may be that since Christ is really faithful and will surely protect the readers from the wiles of the devil, Paul may dare to express his faith in them, prompted by Christ, that they (probably the idlers) will no longer seek to excuse their idleness but will be willing, as they are able (v. 3), to do what he commands. Or it may be that v. 4 is suggested by something else said in the letter to Paul. In any case, v. 4 prepares for vv. 6-15, as most admit (Lü Riggenbach, Ell., Wohl., Mill., et al.; so Find. who, however, refers πιῖ to vv. 1-2).—πίε is characteristic of Paul, though the word is not confined to his writings; the perfect tense here denotes the existing state, “I am confident.” The specifically Pauline ἐ κρῳ(see I 3:8) does not always appear in this phrase (ππιαἐιor ε). While v. 3 hints that the readers are “in the Lord,” the position of ἐʼὑᾶintimates only that Paul is in the Lord, the one who inspires his confidence in the converts; contrast Gal_5:10, ππιαεςὑᾶ ἐ κρῳπίε is construed with ἐʼὑᾶ(2Co_2:3, Mat_27:43 and often in Lxx), with ε (Gal_5:16 Sap. 16:24) with ἐ(Php_3:3), and with ἐιand dative (2Co_1:9, etc.).—The expected ὑῖafter πργέλμ (I 4:11; cf. below, vv. 6, 10) is inserted by AGFKLP, et al.; but א et al., omit. On ὅ, cf. Gal_5:10, Php_2:24, 2Co_2:3, etc.; on πργέλι see I 4:2.—κὶπιῖεκὶπιστis read by P and Vulg and (without the first κι by א GF have κὶἐοήαεκὶπιῖ; B alone is comprehensive with κὶἐοήαεκὶπιῖεκὶπιστEither B is original with its unexpected aorist after the present πργέλμ, or the seat of the trouble is the itacism πιστwhich D preserves.
5. ὁδ κρο κλ The new point, introduced by δ, is slightly adversative. Although Paul has confidence in the Lord that they will do what he commands (v. 5 looks not to πιῖ but to πιστ yet he is certain that the help of the Lord is indispensable to incline their hearts to keep his command. What they need especially is a sense of God’s love to them and a reminder that Christ can give them an endurance adequate to face the persecutions. Hence the prayer: “May the Lord ( = Christ) direct (I 3:11) your hearts (I 3:13, II 2:17) unto the love of God and the endurance of Christ.”
In Paul, ἡἀάητῦθο (Rom_5:5, Rom_5:8:39, 2Co_13:13) means not our love to God but God’s love to us, the thought here being that their inner life may be directed to a sense of the divine love (see SH on Rom_5:5). With an appreciation of the meaning of God’s love, there would be no temptation to infringe upon φλδλίby the continuance of idle habits (cf. I 4:9-12).—Since elsewhere in Paul ὑοοη= “endurance,” the rendering Patientem exspectationem (Beza), “patient waiting” (AV), which demands the objective genitive, is here improbable (see Vincent); see, however, Lft., Schmiedel, and Deb. and compare Ign. Rom_10:3, ἐ ὑοοῇἸσῦΧιτυ an expression which is “probably derived from St. Paul” (Lft.). Taking ὑοοη= “endurance,” Χιτυ may mean either the endurance which Christ possesses and shares (cf. δξ τῦκροin 2:14), or which is characteristic of him, and hence an object of imitation as in Polyc. Phil. 8:2; or it may mean the endurance which Christ inspires, as ὁθὸ τςὑοοῆ(Rom_15:5) suggests (cf. Moff.).—ὁΧιτ is not found elsewhere in II; cf., however, I 2:6, 3:2, 4:16, and see Mill. 136. The total phrase ἡὑοοὴτῦΧιτυappears to be found only here in the Gk. Bib.—The phrase κτυύε (or εθνι τςκρί (or τνκρί) occurs frequently in the Lxx (1Ch_29:18, 2Ch_12:14, 2Ch_19:3, 2Ch_20:33, Pro_21:2, etc.); on ε (cf. πόin I 3:11), see Sir. 51:20, Judith 12:8. DE, Vulg have τςκρίςὑῶ(I 2:4); but ὑῶreferring to ἐʼὑᾶin v. 4 is emphatic (B. Weiss).
VI. COMMAND AND EXHORTATION (3:6-15)
This section contains the second main point of the letter, prepared for in vv. 1-5, “the case of the idlers” (Find.). Word has come to Paul (v. 11) orally and by letter to the effect that the idle minority, in spite of his oral (v. 10, I 4:11) and written (I 4:11-12, 5:14) instructions are still begging and meddlesome, some of them still refusing to obey his epistolary injunctions (I 5:27 and below, v. 14). The case having become acute, Paul orders the majority to take severer measures against the idle minority, to add to νυεε (v. 15, I 5:14), σέλσα(v. 6) and μ σννμγυθ (v. 14). Insisting, however, that the delinquents are brothers (vv. 6, 15), and surmising that the majority have not always dealt tactfully with the excited idlers (vv. 13, 15), Paul is careful to explain just why he gives the command (vv. 7-12) and to have it understood that the discipline, being intended for reformation, is to be administered in love (vv. 14-15). In fact, his attitude throughout is not that of an apostle exercising his apostolic authority but that of a brother appealing to brothers in the name of a common authority, the Lord Jesus Christ. He believes that his word will suffice; but he contemplates the probability that a few of the idlers will persist in being recalcitrant.
The connection of thought is clear, the divisions being marked by δ (vv. 6, 12, 13, 14) and γ (vv. 7, 10, 11). Though the brethren as a whole are addressed throughout the section (even in v. 12), it is really the majority whom Paul has in mind and upon whom he places the responsibility for the peace of the brotherhood.
6Now we command you, brothers, using the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother who walks in idleness and not in accordance with the instruction which you received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, for we were not idle among you, nor did we receive the means of support from any one without paying for it; 8but in toil and hardship, night and day we kept at our work in order that we might not put on any of you the burden of our maintenance.—9not because we have no right to free support, but that we might give in ourselves an examplep for you to imitate. 10For also, when we were with you, this we used to command you: “If any one refuses to work, neither let him eat.” 11For we are informed that some among you are walking in idleness, not working themselves but being busybodies. 12Now such as these we command and exhort, prompted by the Lord Jesus Christ, that with tranquillity of mind they work and earn their own living. 13Now as for you, brothers, do not grow tired of doing the right thing. 14In case, however, any one is not for obeying our word expressed in this letter, designate that man; let there be no intimate association with him; in order that he may be put to shame; 15and so count him not as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
6. πργέλμνδ ὑῖ κλ With a particle of transition (δ), the point prepared for in vv. 1-5 (especially πργέλμ and πιστv. 4) is introduced, the responsibility of the majority in reference to the case of the idlers. The command (I 4:11 and 4:2) is addressed by a brother to brothers, and is based on the authority not of Paul but of Christ. The phrase “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” differs from “in the Lord Jesus Christ” (with which the idlers are indirectly commanded and exhorted in v. 12), and from “through the Lord Jesus” (I 4:2), in that it is not subjective “prompted by the indwelling name or person of the Lord Jesus Christ,” but objective, “with,” that is, “using” that name. By the actual naming of the name, Paul draws attention not only to the authoritative source of his injunction, but also to the responsibility which the recognition of that supreme authority entails.
σέλσα ὑᾶ κλ The substance of the command is “that you hold aloof from (cf. I 4:3 ἀέεθιὑᾶ ἀο every brother who walks idly (or, with Rutherford, “not to be intimate with any of your number who is a loafer”) and not according to the deliverance which you have received from us.” The persons to be avoided are not enemies but brothers (v. 15). Their fault lies in the realm of conduct; they “walk” (cf. I 2:12, 4:1, 12), that is, “live” (Chrys.), “behave themselves” as idlers (ἀάτ). The reference in πρπτῖ ἀάτ is to the refusal, on the part of a small fraction of the converts (v. 11 τν) to work and earn their own living, and to the resultant idleness, want, and meddlesome demand for support from the church, which are mentioned in I 4:11-12 and warned against in I 5:14 (νυεετ τὺ ἀάτυ cf. below, v. 15). As the adverbial clause μ κτ τνπρδσνκλ parallel to and explanatory of ἀάτ, intimates, this disobedient idleness was contrary to the express instruction given when Paul was with them (v. 10 and I 4:11 κθςπργελμ) and reiterated in the first epistle (4:11-12; cf. 5:14).
On the phrase ἐ ὀόα, cf. 1Co_5:4, 1Co_6:11, Col_3:17, Eph_5:20, Act_16:18 Ign. Polyc. 5:1; also 1Co_1:10 (δὰτῦὀόαο on the meaning of the phrase, see Heitmü Im Namen Jesu, 1903, 73.—ἡῶafter κροis to be omitted with BD, et al., “as a likely interpolation” (Ell.).—σέλσαit found several times in the Lxx but only once elsewhere in the N. T. (2Co_8:20). From the root meaning “set,” the further idea, “set one’s self for,” “prepare” (Sap. 7:14, 14:1, 2 Mac. 5:1), or “set one’s self from,” “withdraw” (cf. 3 Mac. 1:19, 4:11, and especially Mal_2:5 ἀὸποώο ὀόαό μυσέλσα ατ in parallelism with φβῖθ), is easily derived. The meaning, which is somewhat uncertain in 2Co_8:20, is clear here, “withdraw one’s self from,” “hold aloof from” = χρζσα(Theodoret), or ἀέεθ (which is parallel to σέλσαin Hippocrates, Vet. Med. 10, as quoted by Liddell and Scott); it differs little from ὑοτλενἑυό(Gal_2:12) and ὑοτλεθ (cf. GF in 2Co_8:20). On the word, see Loesner, ad loc., and Wetstein on 2Co_8:20; also Mill on our passage. For the subject accusative ὑᾶresuming ὑῖ see Bl 72:5.—It has already been stated (see I 5:14) that ἀάτ may be either general “disorderly” or specific “idly.” That the specific sense is intended is evident from vv. 7-9 where ἡπρδσ is indirectly explained by the reference to Paul’s habitual industry (ἐγζμν); from v. 10 where ἡπρδσ as orally communicated by Paul is quoted: “if any one refuses to work (ἐγζσα he shall not eat”; and from v. 12 where ἀάτ is defined as μδνἐγζμνυThe fault is not idleness but deliberate, disobedient idleness. What was probable in I 4:11-12, 5:14 now becomes certain; the second epistle explains the first. D, et al., by reading πρπτῦτςἀάτ (as in v. 11) blunt the emphasis on the adverb. On μ, see BMT 485.—Precisely how much is involved in the command to the majority “to hold aloof from” the idle brethren is uncertain, even in the light of the further specifications in vv. 14-15. The idlers are deprived to some extent of freedom of association with the rest of the believers, though to μ σννμγυθ (v. 14) there is not added, as is the case with the incestuous person in 1Co_5:11, a μδ σνσίιIt is not Paul’s intention to exclude the idlers from the brotherhood, for he insists that the admonitions even to the recalcitrant among the idlers, being designed to make them ashamed of themselves and return to their work, be tempered with love (cf. Chrys.). Furthermore, the fact that σέλσα as interpreted in vv. 14-15, is an advance over νυεε (v. 15, I 5:14) and calls for a slightly severer attitude to the delinquents suggests that, in the interval between I and II, the idlers, influenced both by the belief that the day of the Lord was near and by the severity of the persecutions (vv. 1-5), had become more meddlesome and contumacious than at the time of writing I (see note on πάσι τ ἴιI 4:11). It is evident that some of them persist in refusing to obey Paul’s orders as conveyed by letter (v. 14, I 5:27); and it is not improbable that some of the more excited idlers were responsible for the disquieting assertion that the day of the Lord is present (2:2).—Most recent editors prefer the excellently attested reading πρλβσ (א which is supported by ἐάοα(D), and, with corrected orthography, by πρλβ (EKLP). On the other hand, this reading puts an emphasis upon the idlers which would lead one to expect in the sequel not αδτ(v. 7) but οδσ Hence πρλβτ(BG, et al.), which fits both ὑᾶand οδτ is the preferable reading, leaving πρλβσ (on the ending, see B. 21:3) to be explained either (1) as an emendation (Weiss, 57) in accord with the adjacent πνὸ ἀεφυ(Pesh et at. have πρλβ or (2) as a scribal error arising from “an ocular confusion with — οι(πρδσ) in the corresponding place of the line above” (WH. App.2 172). For πρ ἡῶ B reads ἀʼἡῶ(1Co_11:23); cf. G in I 2:13.
7-11. In these verses, Paul gives the reasons why he commands the readers to hold aloof from the idle brethren among them, the separate points being introduced respectively by γ (v. 7), κὶγ (v. 10), and γ (v. 11). (1) First with γ (v. 7), he reminds them of himself as an example of industry, how he worked to support himself when he was with them, so as to free them from any financial burden on his account, strengthening the reminder by referring to the fact that though he, as an apostle, was entitled to a stipend, yet he waived that right in order that his self-sacrificing labour might serve as an example to them of industry (vv. 7-9). (2) Next with κὶγ (v. 10), he justifies the present command (v. 6) by stating that the instruction to the idlers referred to in v. 6 (ἡπρδσ) is but a repetition of what he had repeatedly commanded when he was with them, namely, “if any one refuses to work, neither let him eat” (v. 10). (3) Finally with γ (v. 11), he wishes it to be understood distinctly that he issues the command because he is informed that some among them are idle and meddlesome.
In reminding the converts both of himself as a visible example of industry (vv. 7-9) and of his repeated oral teaching in reference to idleness (v. 10), it would appear that Paul intends not only to arouse the majority to a sense of their own responsibility in the matter, but also to furnish them with arguments that would have weight even with those who might persist in refusing to obey this command as conveyed by letter (v. 14, I 5:27). At all events, this latter consideration helps to explain why Paul refers them not to what he had written in I, but to what he had said and done when he was yet with them. To be sure v. 8 is an exact reminiscence of I 2:9, and v. 12 recalls what was written in I 4:11-12; but both the example of Paul (vv. 7-9) and the precept in v. 10 (cf. κθςπργελμ, I 4:11) hark back to the time of the first visit.
7. ατὶγροδτ κλWith an appeal to the knowledge of the readers quite in the manner of I (2:1, 3:3, 5:2; cf. 1:5, 2:2, 5, etc.), Paul advances the first reason (γ) for commanding the readers to hold aloof from every brother who walks idly and not in accordance with the specific instruction received. The reason is that they themselves know, without his telling them, the manner in which they ought to imitate him, namely, by working and supporting themselves. Though addressed to all, the appeal is intended for the idlers. On the analogy of I 4:1, we expect πςδῖὑᾶ πρπτῖ ὥτ μμῖθιἡᾶ(Lft.); but the abridged expression puts an “emphasis on μμῖθ and gives the whole appeal more point and force” (Ell.).
ὅιοκἠατσμ …οδ κλ The ὅ is not “that” (I 3:3) resuming π, but “for,” explaining why they know how to imitate Paul. The explanation is stated (1) negatively, and in two co-ordinated clauses (ο …οδ), namely, (a) “because we were no loafers when we lived among your” (Rutherford), and (b) because “we did not receive our maintenance from any one for nothing”; and (2) positively (v. 8), “but we worked toiling and moiling night and day rather than become a burden to any of you” (Rutherford). That ἀατῖ(only here in the Gk. Bib.) is not general “to be disorderly” but specific “to be idle,” “to be a loafers” (Rutherford) has already been pointed out (see on τὺ ἀάτυin I 5:14). ἐθενἄτ is apparently a Hebraism for ἐθε (v. 10). In view of πρ τν (not τν is in Tobit 8:20 א it means not “take a meal,” and not simply “get food,” but more broadly “receive the means of support,” “get a living.” Paul received maintenance, lodging probably with Jason; but unlike the idle brothers who were begging support from the church, he did not receive it “gratis,” that is, without paying for it (cf. 2Co_11:7 ff.; also Exo_21:11 δρὰ ἄε ἀγρο
On πσε, cf. I 4:1, and Col_4:6 εδνιπςδῖὑᾶ μμῖθ, here and v. 9 in Paul, is rare in Gk. Bib. (Heb_13:7, 3Jn_1:11, 3Jn_1:4 Mac. 9:23, etc.); on μμτ, a word found chiefly in Paul, see I 1:6.—The phrase ἐθενἄτ, only here and v. 12 in Paul (cf. Mar_3:20, Mar_7:5, etc., and Lxx passim), represents the Hebrew אללם(see BDB sub voc. and Briggs, ICC on Psa_14:4), which, like the simple אל denotes “take a meal,” “get food,” and, by a further extension of meaning “to spend one’s life” (or, “to earn a livelihood”; see Skinner, ICC on Gen_3:19); so Amo_7:12 where Lxx has κτβο But the total phrase ἐθενἄτνπρ τν seems to be unique in Gk. Bib., Lev_10:12 (A) Luk_10:27, Php_4:18 not being exact parallels. A few minuscules, bothered with ἐάοε πρ, read ἐάοε πρ—For the adverbial accusative δρά which is common in Lxx, cf. in N. T. Rom_3:24, Gal_2:21. For ο …οδ …ἀλ, see I 2:3.—The fact that Paul states not only that he was not idle but also that he did not beg is doubtless due to the consideration that the idlers were begging support from the church (cf. the emphatic ἑυῶin v. 12); the reference in I 5:12 to μδνςχεαnow becomes definite.
8. ἀλ ἐ κπ κλ “We were not idle (ο), and we did not receive support from any one without paying for it (οδ), but on the contrary (ἀλ, this strong adversative being antithetical here as in I 2:3 to both the negative clauses) we were working,” etc. But instead of proceeding “working in order that we might give ourselves as an example for you to imitate us” (v. 9b), and thus coming directly to the point introduced by μμῖθ (v. 7), Paul interjects two considerations designed to increase enormously the value of his example. (1) First, he calls attention to the fact, with which the readers are already acquainted and to which he had alluded in another connection in his first epistle (2:9), that his labour was (a) exacting, “in toil and hardship,” (b) incessant, “by night and by day,” and (c) solely in their interests, “so as not to put on any one of you a financial burden”; and secondly (2), he observes characteristically that he worked to support himself, not because he had no right to demand, as an apostle of Christ, support from the church, but worked, waiving his right to maintenance, in order that he might give in himself a visible and constant example of self-sacrificing industry for them to imitate.
The participle ἐγζμν is loosely attached to both ἠατσμ and ἐάοε a construction not uncommon in Paul (see I 2:12, 2Co_7:5).—Some expositors separate the adverbial clauses, putting ἑ κπ κὶμχῳin sharp opposition to δρά, and taking νκὸ…ἐγζμν as an explanatory parallel of ἐ κπ κὶμχῳ“more remotely dependent on the foregoing ἐάοε (Ell.; so also De W., Wohl., Schmiedel, et al.). But as Lillie, who inclines to the separation, remarks: “Grammatically, however, the words ἐ κπ …ἐγζμν may just as well be taken together in one antithetical clause,” antithetical we may repeat, in the light of I 2:3, to both οκἠατσμ and οδ ἐάοε—The reference to the manner and purpose of his work is evidently advised. But whether the reminiscence of I 2:9, which is almost verbal (except that ἐ κπ κὶμχῳis closer to 2Co_11:27 than to I 2:9), is likewise conscious is not certain.—א read here νκὸ κὶἡέαas in I 2:9; ADEKLP, et al.,