¹³ And if they are on the list, they will learn to be lazy and will spend their time gossiping from house to house, meddling in other people’s business and talking about things they shouldn’t.

An Exhortation to Proper Living

⁶ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers^[a] who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received^[b] from us. ⁷ For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. ⁸ We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. ¹⁰ Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”

¹¹ Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business.

³⁰ Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.

¹¹ They must be silenced, because they are turning whole families away from the truth by their false teaching. And they do it only for money.

²⁰ I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes.

⁷ Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.

¹⁶ “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.^[a]

“Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the Lord.

¹⁰ When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church.