Beginning

He writes to a certain lady, rejoices that her children walk in the truth, exhorts them unto love, warns them to beware of such deceivers as deny that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, and prays them to continue in the doctrine of Christ, and to have nothing to do with those who do not bring this teaching.

¹ The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth – and not only I, but also all who know the truth, ² for the sake of the truth that dwells in us and shall be in us forever.

³ With you be grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

⁴ I rejoiced greatly that I found some of your children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. ⁵ And now I beseech you, dear lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that same which we had from the beginning: that we should love one another. ⁶ And this is the love: that we should walk according to his commandments.

For this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning: walk in him. ⁷ For many deceivers have entered into the world, who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an Antichrist. ⁸ Look to yourselves, that we lose not that which we have wrought, but that we may have a full reward. ⁹ Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who endures in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house, neither bid him Godspeed. ¹¹ For he who bids him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds.

¹² I had many things to write to you. Nevertheless, I would rather not write with paper and ink, but I trust to come to you and speak with you mouth to mouth, so that our joy may be full.

¹³ The sons of your elect sister
greet you.
Amen.

He is glad of Gaius, that he walks in the truth. He exhorts them to be loving to the poor Christians in their persecution, and speaks of the unkind dealing of Diotrephes, and the good report of Demetrius.

¹ The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

² Beloved, I wish in all things that you prospered and fared well, even as your soul prospers. ³ I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, how you walk in truth. ⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

⁵ Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren, and for strangers, ⁶ who bear witness of your love before all the congregation. Which brethren, when you bring them forwards on their journey (as it befits God), you will do well, ⁷ because for his name’s sake they went forth, and took nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸ We therefore ought to receive such brethren, so that we also may be helpers of the truth.

⁹ I wrote to the congregation, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the pre-eminence among them, will not receive us. ¹⁰ And so if I come, I will declare the things he does, scoffing on us with malicious words. And he is not content with that. Not only does he himself not receive the brethren, he also forbids those who would, and thrusts them out of the congregation.

¹¹ Beloved, do not follow that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does well is of God, but he who does evil does not see God.

¹² Demetrius has a good report from all men, and from the truth. Yea and we ourselves also bear witness, and you know that our witness is true.

¹³ I have many things to write, but I do not wish to write with ink and pen to you. ¹⁴ For I trust I will shortly see you, and we shall speak mouth to mouth.

¹⁵ Peace be with you.

The friends send you greetings.
Greet the friends
by name.

He rebukes such persons as, being blinded by their own lusts, resist the truth; and so that we may know them better, he describes them as such as sin abominably against nature, despise rulers, etc. He exhorts us to build one another up, to pray in the Holy Spirit, to continue in love, to look for the coming of the Lord, and one to help another out of the fire.

¹ Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, the brother of James.

To those who are called and sanctified in God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ. ² Mercy to you, and peace and love be multiplied.

³ Beloveds, when I gave all diligence to write to you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write to you, to exhort you to labour continually in the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints. ⁴ For there are certain men who have craftily crept in, who were long ago marked out for such judgment. They are ungodly, and turn the grace of our God into licentiousness, and deny God the only Lord, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵ My intent is therefore to remind you, since you already know this, that the Lord (after he had delivered the people out of Egypt) destroyed those who afterward did not believe. ⁶ The angels also who did not keep their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day – ⁷ even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the places around them (which in like manner defiled themselves with fornication and followed unnatural desires), are set forth as an example, and suffer the vengeance of eternal fire.

⁸ Likewise these dreamers defile the flesh, despise rulers, and speak evil of those who are in authority. ⁹ Yet Michael the archangel, when he strove against the devil and disputed about the body of Moses, dared not give railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke you. ¹⁰ But these speak evil of those things that they do not know. And the things they know instinctively, as do animals that are without reason, in those things they corrupt themselves.

¹¹ Woe be to them, for they have followed the way of Cain, and are utterly given to the error of Balaam, for the sake of personal gain, and perish in the treason of Korah. ¹² These are spots who of your kindness feast together, without fear feeding themselves. Clouds they are without water, carried about by winds, and trees without fruit at gathering time, twice dead and plucked up by the roots. ¹³ They are the raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame. They are wandering stars, to whom is reserved the mist of darkness forever.

¹⁴ Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied before of such persons, saying, Behold, the Lord will come with thousands of saints, ¹⁵ to give judgment against all men, and to rebuke all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed, and of all the hard words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him. ¹⁶ These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts, whose mouths speak proud things. They have others in great reverence for the sake of advantage.

¹⁷ But you, beloveds, remember the words that were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁸ how they told you that there would be beguilers in the last time, who would walk after their own ungodly lusts. ¹⁹ These are makers of fleshly sects, not having the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, dearly beloveds, build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ and keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. ²² And have compassion on some, separating them; ²³ and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; and hate the spotted vesture of the flesh.

²⁴ Now to him who is able to keep you so that you do not fall, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with joy – ²⁵ that is to say, to God our Saviour, who alone is wise – be glory, majesty, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Hereafter follows
the Apocalypse.