Used to tell renders a Greek verb meaning “command,” “order,” or “tell” (in the sense of giving instruction). The same verb is used in verses 4 (tell), 6 (command), and 12 (command). Paul is not referring to a rule in force in all the churches, but to specific instructions given during his visit, which he now repeats as a reminder (cf. Jerusalem Bible “We gave you a rule when we were with you: not to let anyone have any food if he refused to do any work”). The form of the verb indicates that the instructions were not given only once, but that they were given continually or habitually, whenever the situation demanded that they be given.

Commentaries discuss whether is not allowed to eat means that fellow Christians would not supply food to those who did not work, or that they would be excluded from the common meals in which the Lord’s Supper was celebrated. The text itself does not make the situation clear, and the translation should not be narrower than the text.

The last part of this verse could be misunderstood as a general piece of worldly wisdom, “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” This is not even a possible meaning of the text, which is literally “if anyone does not want to work, neither let him eat” (a third person imperative reflected in Good News Translation‘s is not allowed to eat).

Verse 10b, even understood as a command, sounds like a fixed formula, and Paul has mentioned in verse 6 the handing on of a tradition (see the notes on that verse). It is therefore not surprising that commentators have looked for parallels to this saying. No close parallels have been found from New Testament times, but see Proverbs 10.4.

“Will not work” (Revised Standard Version New English Bible) should not be misunderstood as a future tense. The Greek is clearly “does not want to work.” However, it is important to avoid giving the impression that this includes persons who actually do work but who do not like to do it. It may be necessary, therefore, in some languages to follow the Good News Translation rendering and translate whoever refuses to work. Also, it may be necessary to employ a conditional (as, in fact, the Greek does): “if anyone does not want to work,” or “if some persons refuse to work.” A literal rendering of “whoever does not want to work” might be taken to include persons who do not like to work but who nevertheless do work.

It may be difficult to render literally is not allowed to eat, for this type of expression suggests the imposition of authority, and in some languages this cannot be expressed without indicating whose authority. Furthermore, a literal rendering of is not allowed to eat could suggest “you must make him fast,” or “you must keep him from eating.” This would imply a kind of overt punishment or rigid control by the church, something rather out of harmony with the immediate context and the historical situation. The most satisfactory equivalent in some languages is “you should not give him anything to eat.”

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 .