¹¹ As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children,

Fatherly Admonition

¹⁴ I am not writing this to make you ashamed but to admonish you as my beloved children. ¹⁵ For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I fathered you through the gospel.^(A)

Final Exhortation and Greetings

²² I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.

4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you:^{(A) 2} proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage with the utmost patience in teaching.^(B)

²¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, I warn you to keep these instructions without prejudice, doing nothing on the basis of partiality.^(A)

¹² Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.^(A)

¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

A Life Pleasing to God

4 Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more.^(A)

⁷ though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle^[a] among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.

²⁰ David said further to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and act. Do not be afraid or dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.^(A)