3 John
Worldwide English (New Testament)
1 From the leader of the church people. I send greetings to my dear Gaius. I love you because you have Christ.
2 My dear brother, I ask God that you may be all right in every way and that your body may be well. I know that your soul is all right.
3 I was very happy when the brothers came and told me that you have been true. They said you are really living the right way.
4 Nothing can make me more happy than to hear that my children are living in the right way. My dear brother, when you help your Christian brothers in any way, even though you do not know them, you show that you do what you say you believe.
5 They have told the people of the church here how you showed your love to them. Please send them on their way as God would have you do.
6 They went out to do Christ's work. And they have not taken any help from people who do not believe in God.
7 So we should help such men with what they need. Then we are doing our part to tell the true message. I wrote a letter to the people of the church. But Diotrephes wants to be the leader. He will not listen to us.
8 So if I come, I will show what he is doing. He is saying wrong things about us. And that is not all. He does not take our brothers into his own home. And he stops other people who want to take them in. He will not let them be church members any longer.
9 My dear brother, do not do the wrong things people do, but do the good things people do. Anyone who does good things belongs to God. Anyone who does wrong things has never seen God.
10 Everyone says Demetrius is a good man. All this is true. We say the same thing too. And you know that what we say is true.
11 I have much to write to you. But I do not want to write to you with pen and ink.
12 I hope to see you very soon. Then we will talk together.
13 May God give you peace. Our friends greet you. Greet everyone of my friends.
3 John
The Voice
1 I, the elder, to Gaius, who is much loved by all and loved in truth by me.
2 My beloved friend, I pray that everything is going well for you and that your body is as healthy as your soul is prosperous. 3 I was thrilled when the brothers and sisters came and told me stories of your faithfulness as you continue to walk in the truth. 4 The greatest joy in my life is hearing how my children are walking in the truth.
5 My friend, you demonstrate your faithfulness in all the things you do for the brothers and sisters; even when they are strangers to you, you treat them as family. 6 These friends tell the entire church how you have extended your hand to them in love. You will do well to send them on in a way that is in keeping with God. 7 They have gone out to serve under the banner of the Name, and they do not accept gifts from those outside our faith community. 8 We should give people like this our full support so that we can share in this work for the truth.
9 I wrote some things specifically to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the one up front, rejects us. 10 If I come, you can be sure that I will call him out and draw attention to his actions. He assails us with lies and deceit. As if that were not enough, he does not welcome the traveling missionaries into his home. Instead, he hinders any who do so and expels them from the church.
11 Dear friend, don’t follow his evil ways. Instead, imitate the good and righteous life. The one doing what is good belongs to God, but those who pursue evil have never even laid eyes on God.
12 Demetrius has a good reputation with everyone we know. The truth stands on his side, and we add our unreserved recommendation to the long list of accounts on his behalf. You can rest assured that we are telling the truth.
13 There is so much I would like to say to you, but I do not want to say it with ink and pen. 14 I expect us to be together soon and talk about these things face-to-face.
15 May you experience true peace. I send you greetings from the fellow believers here. Greet all our friends there personally.
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The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.