11. ἀκούομενγάρκτλ.] Fresh news from Thessalonica had reached the writers since the despatch of their first Epistle, perhaps through the bearer of that Epistle on his return, of such a character as to lead them to single out the offenders, who were evidently known to them, for direct rebuke. For the pres. ἀκούομεν instead of the perf. cf. 1 Corinthians 11:18 (Burton, § 2, Gildersleeve Syntax § 204), and for its construction with the acc. and part. to describe an actually existing state see Buttmann p. 302 f. μηδὲνἐργαζομένουςἀλλὰπεριεργαζομένους] ‘ doing no business but being busy bodies’— a translation suggested by Ellic. which has the merit of preserving the play of words in the original: cf. Beza ‘ nihil agentes, sed inaniter satagentes,’ Est. ‘ nihil operantes, sed circumoperantes,’ and amongst more modern renderings Ew., Schm. ‘ keine Arbeit treibend, sondern sich herumtreibend,’ Zöckl. ‘ nicht schaffend, sondern vielgeschäftig,’ Jowett ‘ busy only with what is not their own business.’ The same play on the original Gk. words is found in Dem. Philippians 4:15 σοὶμὲνἐξὧνἐργάζεικαὶπεριεργάζειτοὺςἐσχάτουςὄνταςκινδύνους. For other exx. of paronomasia from the Pauline Epp. see v. 13, Romans 1:20; Romans 12:3, 1 Corinthians 7:31, 2 Corinthians 4:8, Philippians 3:2 f. (WM. p. 794 f., Blass, p. 298 f.). Περιεργάζομαι, ἅπ. λεγ. N.T. (cf. περιεργός Acts 19:19, 1 Timothy 5:13), is found in the same sense as here in Sir 3:23 (24) ἐντοῖςπερισσοῖςτῶνἔργωνσουμὴπεριεργάζου: cf. Plato Apol. 19 b, where it is said of Socrates in an accusatory sense, περιεργάζεταιζητῶντάτεὑπὸγῆςκαὶτὰἐπουράνια, and for a significant ex. from the inscriptions see C.I.A. 111. 74, 14 f. ὃςἂνδὲπολυπραγμονήσῃτὰτοῦθεοῦἢπεριεργάσηται, ἁμαρτίανὀφιλέτωκτλ. Quintilian defines περιεργία as ‘ supervacua operositas’ (8:3. 8:55): cf. M. Anton. 10:2 τούτιιςδὴκανόσιχρώμενος, μηδὲνπεριεργάζου.