The relation between “love for the brethren” in general and the specific instructions contained in this verse is not immediately clear. Paul seems to be more concerned in this verse with the “image” of the Christian community in the outside world than with relationships between individuals within the Christian community. However, in the situation in Thessalonica, the church’s external image and its internal relationships must have been closely linked. The church was under pressure from outside, and so any foolish or immature behavior by individuals within the church would have two effects: it would strain relationships with other, more balanced, members, and it would damage the witness of the Christian community to the outside world. It is therefore important in translation to avoid at this point any transitional expression which would suggest that Paul is introducing a fresh subject. For Paul’s concern for the “respectability” of the Christian community, see the notes on 4.4.
The three items of instruction which Paul gives in this verse are simply added to one another, as far as the surface grammatical form is concerned. There is, however, a progression within the verse, similar to the progression we have noted in verses 3-6. Each item is somewhat more specific than the one before it. The climax and the most sensitive point are reached with to earn your own living, after which Paul hastens to reassure his readers (rather like a dentist withdrawing his drill!) by the words just as we told you before.
Make it your aim often includes the suggestion of an ambition or a point of honor; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “consider it a matter of honor” (cf. La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale). The Greek verb may also be translated as “desire very much,” “try very earnestly,” or “decide this is the way you should….”
To live a quiet life translates a verb which Paul uses only in this text. A related noun is used in 2 Thess. 3.12. In other parts of the New Testament, it can mean “to be quiet,” either in the sense of “to rest” (for example, by not working on the Sabbath, Luke 23.56), or in the sense of “not to speak” (e.g. Luke 14.4). The first meaning is explicitly excluded by the context, and the second does not seem appropriate here; therefore a third meaning must be looked for. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “lead an orderly life,” and this suits the context very well, though close parallels for this meaning are difficult to find. If one asks, “How would the Thessalonians have behaved if they had not followed Paul’s instructions on this point?”, the phrases immediately following (and later 2 Thess. 3.6-12) seem to suggest the answer, “They would have behaved in such a way as to make themselves justifiably unpopular within the community at large.” The ideas of maintaining peace within the Christian community (or even within the individual life) are not excluded, but they are not in the foreground.
In many languages it is easier to describe a boisterous life than a quiet one. Therefore to live a quiet life may be best expressed in a negative manner, for example, “don’t go around always making a lot of noise,” in which “noise” would imply more than loud sound. It may be appropriate in some instances to translate this advice as “don’t go around all the time arguing loudly.”
To mind your own business is an idiom with a wide meaning, not being limited to financial or commercial activities. Paul means “go on fulfilling your normal responsibilities.” In some languages mind your own business is translated quite idiomatically, for example, “sit in your own shade.” Once again, in some languages this concept may be expressed in a negative form; for example, “do not meddle in other people’s affairs,” or “do not always tell other people how they should do things.”
All the infinitives in this verse, make, mind, and earn, like do in verse 10, imply activity over a period of time.
To earn your own living is literally “work with your hands,” as in most of the older translations and also in New English Bible and Translator’s New Testament (cf. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). Jerusalem Bible and Bible en français courant agree closely with Good News Translation: Barclay has “do an honest day’s work”; Phillips, “do your work yourselves.” Bijbel in Gewone Taal combines the specific reference to manual labor with the wider meaning: “by handwork provide for your own (life-) support.” Most of the Thessalonian Christians were no doubt manual workers, but the words “your hands” are not emphasized, and the phrase is defined more closely in the next verse by you will not have to depend on anyone for what you need. Good News Translation is therefore not guilty of transculturating for a society in which manual workers are in a minority.
In some languages to earn your own living can be most effectively translated in a negative manner, for example, “don’t expect others to take care of you,” “don’t make others give you food,” or, idiomatically, “don’t rest on other people’s shoulders,” or “don’t lie in your hammock all day.”
We told you before clearly implies “when we were in Thessalonica.” The Greek has the same meaning as the English “to tell someone to do something”; that is, not “to inform,” but “to instruct” or “to order.” The authority on which Paul has insisted in verses 1, 2, 6 and 8 (as well as earlier in the letter) provides the basis, not only for general preaching and exhortation, but for specific instructions in a particular situation. In some instances it may be useful to translate just as we told you before as “this is just what we before ordered you to do,” or even “when we were with you, this is just what we told you you should do.” The clause “when we were with you” may be the only way in which the fact of a previous order can be clearly indicated, since an adverb like “before” might suggest only a previous letter.
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .