The text of this verse is in doubt at two places. First, King James Version Moffatt Knox Revised Standard Version Phillips New English Bible Translator’s New Testament Rigaux, etc., use a text which reads our Lord Jesus Christ, while the reading of the UBS Greek text, followed by Jerusalem Bible Barclay Best Bijbel in Gewone Taal Bible en français courant Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, omits our. The manuscripts which omit our are few in number but they are “great authorities” (Rigaux, p. 703). Despite the textual problem, it is not possible in some languages to translate “the Lord”; rather, one must always use our Lord so as to specify the relation which Christ has to those to whom he is Lord.
Second, the text translated we gave them (literally “they received from us”) is uncertain. The three main variants are (1) “they received,” a difficult reading with good manuscript support, followed by Translator’s New Testament Bible en français courant Best Rigaux as well as Good News Translation and the UBS Greek New Testament; (2) “you received,” an easier and therefore less probable reading followed by most translations, including Revised Standard Version New English Bible Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Bijbel in Gewone Taal; and (3) King James Version‘s “he received,” which is not well attested. The difficulty about “they received” is that it does not, strictly speaking, agree with “every brother” earlier in the verse; but “every brother” is clearly plural in meaning, as Good News Translation‘s all brothers shows.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ must be modified in some languages if it is to be comprehensible. One may say, for example, “as representing our Lord Jesus Christ,” or “on the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ,” or even “because this is what our Lord Jesus Christ would say.” In this context Paul is obviously asserting that he is speaking on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ.
General commentaries discuss what may have been involved in “keeping away from” the brothers whom Paul criticizes, or in “having nothing to do with” them (v. 14). The expression Paul uses in this verse simply means “to put a distance between oneself and someone else.” Keep away from is entirely adequate (cf. Revised Standard Version Jerusalem Bible; Moffatt “shun,” Knox Translator’s New Testament “have nothing to do with,” Phillips “don’t associate with,” New English Bible “hold aloof from,” Barclay “withdraw yourselves from”). It is important to avoid an expression which would suggest “put out of your company,” “excommunicate,” or “thrust aside.” The focus here is not on forceable exclusion of such persons from the fellowship, but on refusal to associate with them. Note that in this statement they are still regarded as brothers, which may be translated as “fellow believers.” One may therefore render this expression as “have nothing to do with all of those fellow believers who are living a lazy life.”
It may not be possible in some languages to speak of living a lazy life, but it is usually possible to say “who are lazy,” though this is not precisely what Paul is saying. A closer equivalent may be “who refuse to work,” or “who do not work as they should.”
Instructions in Greek is the singular noun “tradition.” Paul has used it in the plural in 2.15. The whole phrase is literally “keep (yourselves) away from every brother lazily walking and not according to the tradition which they received from us.” “Walk” is a common Hebrew idiom for “behave.” “Tradition” in this context does not imply antiquity; it is simply the handing on of something which did not originate with Paul himself. Paul must therefore be referring to the body of teaching (in this context, concerning behavior rather than doctrine) which he shared with the other apostles, and which he no doubt believed went back to Jesus himself. In 1 Corinthians 15.3 the same word for “received” is used, and Good News Translation‘s I passed on translates the verb which corresponds to the noun used here for “tradition.” However, the 1 Corinthians passage consists of doctrinal teaching. The ethical teaching had already been given by Paul to the Thessalonians, either during his visit or in an earlier letter or both (cf. v. 4), and the lazy “busybodies” had heard it together with the rest of the community. This teaching, as Paul will soon emphasize, had been confirmed by the apostles’ example. However, it is difficult to include something so personal as an example within the “tradition” itself (though cf. Best, p. 335), especially since Paul insists in verse 9 that he had the right to behave differently. The translation “tradition” (King James Version Knox Revised Standard Version New English Bible Jerusalem Bible Barclay Translator’s New Testament) misleadingly suggests antiquity and formality. Good News Translation‘s instructions (cf. Bijbel in Gewone Taal Bible en français courant Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Biblia Dios Habla Hoy; Moffatt “rule,” Phillips “teaching”) does not by itself convey the idea of “handing on,” but this is expressed by some translations in other ways (Bible en français courant “the teaching which we transmitted to them”; Translator’s New Testament “the tradition which we passed on to them”).
Other key words in this verse have been already discussed. For command, see the introduction to this section and the notes on 2 Thess. 3.4. For living a lazy life, see the introduction to this section and the notes on 1 Thess. 5.14.
It may be difficult in some languages to have two relative clauses both attributive to brothers. The second relative clause, who do not follow the instructions that we gave them, is an indirect amplification of the first, who are living a lazy life. The logical relation may be expressed in some languages as “who are living a lazy life; in this respect they do not follow the instructions that we gave them,” or “… this mean that they are not following the instructions we gave them.”
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .