3 John
Legacy Standard Bible
Walking in the Truth
1 (A)The elder to the beloved (B)Gaius, whom I (C)love in truth.
2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I (D)rejoiced greatly when (E)brothers came and bore witness to your truth, that is, how you (F)are walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than [a]this, to hear that (G)my children are (H)walking in the truth.
5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever [b]work you do for the (I)brothers, and are doing this though they are (J)strangers; 6 and they bore witness to your love before the church. You will do well to (K)send them on their way in a manner (L)worthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of (M)the Name, (N)receiving nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to [c]support such men, so that we may [d]be fellow workers [e]with the truth.
9 I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to (O)be first among them, does not welcome [f]what we say. 10 For this reason, (P)if I come, I will bring to remembrance his deeds which he does, unjustly disparaging us with wicked words. And not satisfied with this, he himself does not (Q)welcome the (R)brothers either, and he forbids those who want to do so and (S)puts them out of the church.
11 Beloved, (T)do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. (U)The one who does good is of God; (V)the one who does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius (W)has received a good witness from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our witness, and (X)you know that our witness is true.
13 (Y)I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; 14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face.
15 (Z)Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends (AA)by name.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 3 John 1:4 Lit these things, that I hear
- 3 John 1:5 Lit work
- 3 John 1:8 Or receive such men as guests
- 3 John 1:8 Or prove ourselves to be
- 3 John 1:8 Or for
- 3 John 1:9 Lit us
3 John
English Standard Version
Greeting
1 (A)The elder to the beloved Gaius, (B)whom I love in truth.
2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 For (C)I rejoiced greatly when the brothers[a] came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that (D)my children are walking in the truth.
Support and Opposition
5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for (E)these brothers, (F)strangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner (G)worthy of God. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of (H)the name, (I)accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.
11 Beloved, (J)do not imitate evil but imitate good. (K)Whoever does good is from God; (L)whoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius (M)has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and (N)you know that our testimony is true.
Final Greetings
13 (O)I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, (P)each by name.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 3 John 1:3 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
