2 Thessalonians 3:10 (ASV)

Passage

For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, If any will not work, neither let him eat.

Nearby Context

2 Thessalonians 3:8 neither did we eat bread for nought at any man`s hand, but in labor and travail, working night and day, that we might not burden any of you:

2 Thessalonians 3:9 not because we have not the right, but to make ourselves and ensample unto you, that ye should imitate us.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, If any will not work, neither let him eat.

2 Thessalonians 3:11 For we hear of some that walk among you disorderly, that work not at all, but are busybodies.

2 Thessalonians 3:12 Now them that are such we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "even", "commanded", and "neither". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "even" and "commanded", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "not because we have not the right..." into verse 11's "For we hear of some that walk...", so "even" and "commanded" belong inside that flow. In 2 Thessalonians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "even" and "commanded" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.