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
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Salutation
1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
Gaius Commended for His Hospitality
2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul. 3 For I was overjoyed when some brothers and sisters arrived and testified to your faithfulness to the truth, how you walk in the truth.(A) 4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth.(B)
5 Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you;(C) 6 they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on in a manner worthy of God,(D) 7 for they began their journey for the sake of Christ,[a] accepting no support from nonbelievers.[b](E) 8 Therefore we ought to support such people, so that we may become coworkers with the truth.
Diotrephes and Demetrius
9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not welcome us. 10 So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing in spreading false charges against us. And not content with those charges, he refuses to welcome the brothers and sisters and even prevents those who want to do so and expels them from the church.(F)
11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.(G) 12 Everyone has testified favorably about Demetrius, and so has the truth[c] itself. We also testify for him,[d] and you know that our testimony is true.(H)
Final Greetings
13 I have much to write to you, but I would rather not write to you with pen and ink;(I) 14 instead, I hope to see you soon, and we will talk together face to face.
15 Peace to you. The friends send you their greetings. Greet the friends there, each by name.(J)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.