Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Thessalonian 3:12
Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
12. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ ] The “exhort” of the first Epistle (1Th 4:10) is now charge and exhort, put with a new tone of sternness.
Not by but in the Lord Jesus Christ (R.V.); on this phrase both as to the preposition, and the triple name see notes to 2Th 3:4-5 above, also 1Th 4:1; 1Th 1:1 (p. 47). The appeal assumes a character of the most grave urgency.
These idle meddlers, a burden and scandal to the Church, the Apostle “charges, and appeals” to them, on the ground of their relationship to Christ and with all the weight of Christ’s authority committed to him, that working with quietness, they eat their own bread not the bread of their honest and laborious brethren. See notes to 2Th 3:8, and 1Th 4:11.
In the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (ch. 1), probably the oldest Post-Apostolic writing extant, there is a remarkable warning addressed both to givers and receivers of alms, which illustrates this passage: “Blessed is he that giveth according to the commandment, for he is guiltless. Woe to him that takes! For if indeed one takes out of necessity, he will be guiltless; but he who takes without need shall give account why he took, and for what purpose; and thrown into prison he will be examined respecting his conduct, and will not come out thence until he has paid the uttermost farthing. Moreover, concerning this matter it has been said: Let thine alms sweat into thy hands, until thou knowest to whom thou shouldst give.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus … – A more solemn command and appeal to do what he had before enjoined on all of them; 1Th 4:11; see the notes on that verse.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 12. With quietness they work] . With silence; leaving their tale-bearing and officious intermeddling. Less noise and more work!
That – they work, and eat their own bread.] Their own bread, because earned by their own honest industry. What a degrading thing to live on the bounty or mercy of another, while a man is able to acquire his own livelihood! He who can submit to this has lost the spirit of independence; and has in him a beggar’s heart, and is capable of nothing but base and beggarly actions. Witness the great mass of the people of England, who by their dependence on the poor rates are, from being laborious, independent, and respect able, become idle, profligate, and knavish; the propagators and perpetrators of crime; a discredit to the nation, and a curse to society. The apostle’s command is a cure for such; and the Church of God should discountenance such, and disown them.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ: he had before given command to the church to withdraw from them, 2Th 3:6; and now he lays the commandment upon themselves, and that in the name of Christ.
That with quietness they work: working is set opposite to their idleness, and quietness to their busy meddling where they ought not, whereby they might occasion strife. The apostle here, and in many other places, requires Christians to live peaceably, as 2Co 13:11; Col 3:15; 1Th 5:13; Heb 12:14.
And eat their own bread; not to live as drones, upon anothers labours; yet he forbids not dealing their bread to the hungry, nor requires this of the poor that are necessitated to live upon alms. And by eating their own bread the apostle means, maintaining themselves and families, for bread is taken in Scripture for all things that maintain the natural life: and the apostle here insinuates a blessing upon honest labour, that thereby men shall have bread of their own; and doth assert property against that community which some have pleaded for, the civil right that men have to what they honestly get and possess; but hereby condemns oppressors, pirates, robbers, cheaters, usurpers, yea, and tyrannical princes, who maintain themselves upon the spoil of others, and take their bread out of others mouths; and why not also such as are not quiet and contented with their own portion, but either envy others, or murmur against providence?
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. byThe oldest manuscriptsread, “IN the LordJesus.” So the Greek, 1Th4:1, implying the sphere wherein such conduct is appropriate andconsistent. “We exhort you thus, as ministers INChrist, exhorting our people INChrist.”
with quietnessquietindustry; laying aside restless, bustling, intermeddlingofficiousness (2Th 3:11).
their ownbread earnedby themselves, not another’s bread (2Th3:8).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Now them that are such,…. For this was not the case and character of them all. Did such practices generally obtain, no community, civil or religious, could subsist. And the apostle wisely distinguishes them from others, that the innocent might not be involved in the charge.
We command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ; using both authority and entreaty; taking every way to reclaim them, commanding in the name of Christ and beseeching for the sake of Christ
that with quietness they work: with their own hands, at their proper callings, and so support themselves, provide for their families, and have something to give to them that are in need; by which means they will live peaceable and quiet lives, in godliness and honesty, and not disturb the peace of neighbourhoods, churches, and families:
and eat their own bread; got by their own labour, and bought with their money, and not the bread of others, or that of idleness.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
We command and exhort ( ). Paul asserts his authority as an apostle and pleads as a man and minister.
That with quietness they work, and eat their own bread ( ). Substance of the command and exhortation by and the present subjunctive . Literally,
that working with quietness they keep on eating their own bread . The precise opposite of their conduct in verse 11.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
With quietness – work. See on study to be quiet, 1Th 4:11.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Now them that are such” (tois de toioutois) “and to such”, addressing such behavior, idle, strife inciters, using idle-hands as tools of Satan: (a) contributors to persecution, (b) over and erroneously incited regarding the advent of the Day of the Lord, and (c) foregoing labor to provide for their own needs, 1Ti 5:8.
2) “We command and exhort” (parangellomen kai parakaloumen) “we charge and exhort, call alongside to chide and guide”, to entreat out of love for truth and the best for men.
3) “By our Lord Jesus Christ” (en kuriou lesou Christo) “In (the) Lord Jesus Christ”; within the sphere of His nature, example, and instructions, Col 3:17; Mat 21:28.
4) “That with quietness they work” (hina meta esuchias ergazomenoi) “in order that they may be working willingly, of their own accord, with quietness”, without complaint, at an honest trade, as Paul had done, 1Ti 5:8; 2Co 12:14.
5) “And eat their own bread” (ton heauton arton esthiosin) “and may eat the bread of themselves (earned)”, not that of other people; Christians must be taught not to be “moochers”, 1Th 4:11; 1Pe 4:15; Paul could preach labors of love and sacrifice, because he practiced it, 1Co 4:12.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
12 Now we command such. He corrects both of the faults of which he had made mention — a blustering restlessness, and retirement from useful employment. He accordingly exhorts them, in the first place, to cultivate repose — that is, to keep themselves quietly within the limits of their calling, or, as we commonly say, “ sans faire bruit ,” ( without making a noise.) For the truth is this: those are the most peaceable of all, that exercise themselves in lawful employments; (722) while those that have nothing to do give trouble both to themselves and to others. Further, he subjoins another precept — that they should labor, that is, that they should be intent upon their calling, and devote themselves to lawful and honorable employments, without which the life of man is of a wandering nature. Hence, also, there follows this third injunction — that they should eat their own bread; by which he means, that they should be satisfied with what belongs to them, that they may not be oppressive or unreasonable to others.
Drink water, says Solomon, from thine own fountains, and let the streams flow down to neighbors. (Pro 5:15.)
This is the first law of equity, that no one make use of what belongs to another, but only use what he can properly call his own. The second is, that no one swallow up, like some abyss, what belongs to him, but that he be beneficent to neighbors, and that he may relieve their indigence by his abundance. (723) In the same manner, the Apostle exhorts those who had been formerly idle to labor, not merely that they may gain for themselves a livelihood, but that they may also be helpful to the necessities of their brethren, as he also teaches elsewhere. (Eph 4:28.)
(722) “ Ceux qui s’exercent a bon escient en quelque labeur licite;” — “Those that exercise themselves in good earnest in any lawful employment.”
(723) See Calvin on the Corinthians; vol. 2, p. 286.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Text (2Th. 3:12)
12 Now them that are such we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
Translation and Paraphrase
12.
But such as these (who are not working) we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ (by His name and authority) that they, while working with quietness (and not meddling in the business of others), eat their own bread (which they have earned themselves).
Notes (2Th. 3:12)
1.
The idlers in the Thessalonian Church were restless and meddlesome, not quiet and industrious. It is usually true that people who have no business of their own try to meddle in the business of others.
2.
The word quietness in this verse is from the same root as the word quiet in 1Th. 4:11, where Paul told them to study to be quiet. See notes on that verse.
3.
Every Christian mechanic or professional man should know that he is expected to give his very best service in return for the pay he receives. When we serve our masters, we serve the Lord Christ.
4.
Those who had been idle were to earn and eat THEIR OWN bread. The words, their own, are emphatic.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(12) We command.The fourth time the severe word is used in this very chapter. Perhaps we order might convey the meaning still more sharply. But immediately, lest severity provoke rebellion, he adds, and we beseech, alleging also the grounds on which he rests his appeal: in our Lordi.e., on the strength of our union in the Body of Christ. (Comp. 1Th. 4:1.)
That with quietness they work.The opposites of bustling, and of idleness.
Eat their own bread.Not other peoples. This passage tempts us to take the marginal version in 1Th. 4:12 : have need of no man. The phrase is not fatal to the idea of there being a communism established. The bread would still be their owni.e., they would have a right to it, supposing it had been earned for the community by hard work: otherwise, communism or no communism, the bread was stolen. The commentators aptly compare a rabbinical saying: When a man eats his own bread he is composed and tranquil in mind; but if he be eating the bread of his parents or children, much more that of strangers, his mind is less tranquil.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Direct appeal to the idlers.
Command A command on which a penalty depends.
Exhort A tenderer word, appealing to their own sense of Christian duty.
Quietness The opposite of a restless, busybody impertinence.
Own bread Instead of playing the parasite and eating the bread of others.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Now those who are such we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that they work with quietness and eat their own bread.’
To such he brings a command from ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’. The use of the full title brings home the seriousness of the command. It is from ‘the Lord’. To ‘eat their own bread’ means bread that they have paid for themselves. The emphasis on working ‘with quietness’ suggests that the gossip and tittle-tattle had caused great harm. They were not to be chatterers and talebearers. Some, however, who relate their behaviour to second coming teaching, suggests that it means calmly and quietly rather than in their present over-excited state. But it is noteworthy that there is no suggestion anywhere that their idleness arose in this way, which seems rather strange if it is true.
Talebearing is condemned in the Old Testament. Lev 19:16 forbids being a talebearer, ‘revealing secrets’, breaking trust and being faithless to their friends (Pro 11:13). Such things should be kept between the two parties concerned (Pro 25:9).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2Th 3:12. And eat their own bread. That which they have earned themselves. Therefore Dr. Heylin renders it, and earn their bread by labour.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2Th 3:12 . ] sc. .
] with quietness , i.e. applying yourself to your earthly calling , subjectively with a quiet and collected mind, and objectively with noiseless modesty. Contrast to . Comp. 1Th 4:11 .
] emphatic, their own bread, that is to say, their self-earned sustenance, avoiding a maintenance which depends on the charity of others.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
Ver. 12. That with quietness ] Being no meddler in other men’s matters, but minding his own. Res tuas age. The pragmatic person is an odious person, and the place where he lives longs for a vomit to spew him out. See Trapp on “ 1Th 4:11 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
12 .] , scil, .
. see on 2Th 3:6 .
. may be taken either subjectively, with a quiet mind ; or objectively, with quietness , i.e. in out ward peace. The former is most probable, as addressed to the offenders themselves. , emphatic that which they themselves have earned.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
2Th 3:12 . They are not directly addressed (contrast 6, 13). , in the homely sphere of work. The three causes of disquiet at Thessalonica are ( a ) the disturbing effect of persecution, ( b ) the tension produced by the thought of the advent of Christ, and ( c ), as an outcome of the latter, irregularity and social disorganisation in the community.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
exhort. App-134.
by. App-104. 2Th 3:1, but the texts read en.
with. App-104.
quietness. Greek. hesuchia. See Act 22:2.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
12.] , scil, .
. see on 2Th 3:6.
. may be taken either subjectively,-with a quiet mind;-or objectively, with quietness, i.e. in out ward peace. The former is most probable, as addressed to the offenders themselves. , emphatic-that which they themselves have earned.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
2Th 3:12. , with quietness) Laying aside curiosity [over-officiousness or inquisitiveness].-, their own) not anothers.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
2Th 3:12
Now them that are such we command-He directs this command, though indirectly and in the third person, to those very persons; it was to be expected that all would be present at the reading of this Epistle (1Th 5:27), and that all would be listening to it. The term command is a severe word and is used four times in this chapter. (Verses 4, 6, 10.)
and exhort-This word would break the seeming sternness, and introduces the grounds on which the appeal was made.
in the Lord Jesus Christ,-When Paul was in Thessalonica he taught them what their daily life should be in order to please God; and he exhorted them, as those who abode together in living fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, that now they should more and more strive to excel therein. (1Th 4:1.)
that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.-Paul had already bidden these mischief-makers to quietly do their own work and eat their own bread (1Th 4:11), and not that of their honest and laborious brethren. Honesty, industry, attention to ones own business, freedom from tattling, and mischief-making are cardinal and essential virtues in the religion of Jesus Christ. To follow these adds so much to the happiness of a community.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
we: 2Th 3:6
that with: Gen 49:14, Gen 49:15, Pro 17:1, Ecc 4:6, Eph 4:28, 1Th 4:11, 1Ti 2:2
eat: 2Th 3:8, Luk 11:3
Reciprocal: Rth 2:3 – gleaned Isa 4:1 – We will eat Jer 11:7 – I earnestly Mat 6:11 – General Act 15:32 – exhorted Act 17:21 – spent 1Co 7:20 – abide 1Co 14:3 – exhortation 1Th 2:11 – General 2Th 3:4 – that 1Pe 3:4 – quiet
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Th 3:12. The idlers are first given a command which makes the thing under consideration a positive obligation. Then the exhortation is given which is an appeal to the conscience, to persuade them to do their duty in the case. This command and exhortation did not come from the personal impulse of the apostle, but it was by our Lord Jesus Christ. Quietness is from HESUCHIA, and the one word “quietness” is Thayer’s definition of the Greek word. He then adds by way of explanation at this place, “descriptive of the life of one who stays at home doing his own work, and does not officiously meddle with the affairs of others.” Eat their own bread shows Paul means for them to work at something to earn a living.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2Th 3:12. With quietness they work, and eat their own bread. One of the Jewish Rabbis says: When a man eats his own bread, he has quietness and composure of mind; but when he eats the bread of his parents or of his childrennot to speak of the bread of strangershe loses this quietness of mind. But the quietness Paul refers to is opposed to the restless, meddlesome life some of the Thessalonians were leading. He strongly condemns this excitement and love of notoriety. If there be anything true, it is this: that, for the greater part of men, the most favourable discipline of holiness will be found exactly to coincide with the ordinary path of duty; and that it will be most surely promoted by repressing the wanderings of imagination, in which we frame to ourselves states of life and habits of devotion remote from our actual lot, and by spending all our strength in those things, great or small, pleasing or unpalatable, which belong to our calling and position (Manning).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Now them that are such we command and exhort [mixing entreaty with authority] in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own [this word is emphatic] bread.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
3:12 {9} Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
(9) The Lord commands and the apostles pray in the name of Christ, first, that no man be idle, and next, that every man quietly and carefully sees to do his duty in that office and calling in which the Lord has placed him.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Paul commanded the idle to settle down and to support themselves (cf. 1Th 4:11; Gen 3:19). The obedient majority he counseled to endure this added affliction patiently and to continue doing right.
"’With quietness,’ emphatic by its forward position [in the Greek text], points to the quality of mind that is to be associated with their working. It denotes a condition of inward peace and tranquillity reflecting itself in outward calmness; it is the opposite of their fussy activity as busybodies." [Note: Hiebert, p. 347.]
"Exemplary conduct serves as a constant reprimand to wrongdoers and is an incentive for them to turn from their delinquency." [Note: Thomas, "2 Thessalonians," p. 335.]
Why were these Thessalonians not working? The answer probably lies in the phrase "in quiet fashion."
"The root trouble apparently was their excitability. The thought of the nearness of the Parousia had thrown them into a flutter, and this had led to unwelcome consequences of which their idleness was the outstanding feature." [Note: Morris, The First . . ., p. 256.]
This clause, "in quietness," ". . . is to be understood as the opposite of . . . the feverish excitement of mind stimulated by the belief that the Parousia was at hand . . ." [Note: Frame, p. 307.]
"It seems apparent, then, that these idle Christians believed in the imminent coming of Christ; however, they had concluded wrongly that ’imminent’ equals ’soon.’ Thus, instead of believing that Christ could come soon, they were convinced that He definitely would come soon, and work was therefore no longer necessary for them.
"Why did the Thessalonian Christians believe in the imminent coming of Christ? It must have been because they had been taught the imminent coming of Christ by a person whose authority they trusted. It would appear that Paul is the one who taught them the imminent coming of Christ. His negative reaction to their actions, however, implies that their wrong conduct was the result of a perversion of his teaching (cp. 2Th 3:6; 2Th 3:10). Contrary to them, Paul did not equate ’imminent’ with ’soon’ and think, therefore, that work was unnecessary." [Note: Showers, Maranatha . . ., p. 134. See also Stanton’s discussion of imminency, pp. 108-37.]