Beginning

Salutation

The elder,

To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all those who know the truth, ² for the sake of the truth, which remains in us, and will be with us forever:

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

Truth and Love

⁴ I greatly rejoiced that I found some of your children walking in truth as we were commanded by the Father. ⁵ And now I ask you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. ⁶ And this is love: that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

⁷ For many deceivers, who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Each one is a deceiver and an antichrist. ⁸ Watch yourselves, so that we do not lose those things for which we have worked, but that we receive a full reward. ⁹ Whoever transgresses and does not remain in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in the teaching of Christ has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, nor greet him. ¹¹ For whoever greets him takes part in his evil deeds.

Final Greetings

¹² I have many things to write to you, but I prefer not to write with paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come to you and speak face to face that our joy may be complete.

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

Salutation

The elder,

To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth:

² Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, even as your soul is well. ³ For I greatly rejoiced when brothers came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. ⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Working Together

⁵ Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the brothers and for strangers, ⁶ who have testified of your love before the church. You will do well to send them along on their journey in a manner worthy of God. ⁷ For His name’s sake they went out, receiving no help from the Gentiles. ⁸ Therefore we ought to receive such men, that we might be fellow workers for the truth.

⁹ I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to put himself first among them, did not accept us. ¹⁰ Because of this, if I come, I will bring up what kinds of works he does: ranting against us with malicious words. Not content with that, he does not accept the brothers, and stops those who want to, and throws them out of the church.

¹¹ Beloved, do not imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. Whoever does good is from God, but whoever does evil has not seen God. ¹² Demetrius receives good reports from everyone and from the truth itself. Yes, and we also testify, and you know that our testimony is true.

Final Greetings

¹³ I had many things to write, but I would rather not write to you with pen and ink. ¹⁴ Instead, I hope to see you soon, and we shall speak face to face.

Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.

Salutation

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,

To those who are sanctified and called by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ:

² May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Judgment on False Teachers^(A)

³ Beloved, while I diligently tried to write to you of the salvation we have in common, I found it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints. ⁴ For there are some men who secretly crept in, who were marked long ago for this condemnation. They are ungodly men, who pervert the grace of our God into immorality and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵ Now I want to remind you, though you already know, that the Lord saved the people out of the land of Egypt and afterward destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ Likewise, the angels who did not keep to their first domain, but forsook their own dwelling, He has kept in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. ⁷ Just as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities in like manner, gave themselves to immorality and went after different flesh, they serve as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

⁸ Likewise, these ungodly dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and slander celestial beings. ⁹ Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil in a dispute about the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce upon him a railing judgment. But he said, “The Lord rebuke you!” ¹⁰ But these men slander those things that they do not understand. But they destroy themselves in those things that, like unreasoning animals, they know by instinct.

¹¹ Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily after the error of Balaam for a reward, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

¹² These are the ones who are stains on your love feasts as they feast with you irreverently and care only for themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted; ¹³ raging waves of the sea, which are foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom the gloom of darkness has been kept forever.

¹⁴ Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam, also prophesied of these men, saying, “Look! The Lord is coming with ten thousand of His holy ones, ¹⁵ to execute judgment on everyone, and to convict all who are godless of all their wicked deeds that they have committed, and of all the terrible words that godless sinners have spoken against Him.” ¹⁶ These men are grumblers, complainers, who walk after their own lusts. Their mouths speak arrogant words, and they flatter others to gain profit.

Warnings and Exhortations

¹⁷ But, beloved, remember the words that were previously spoken by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ They said to you, “In the last days there will be scoffers who will walk after their own ungodly desires.” ¹⁹ These are the men who cause divisions, sensual, devoid of the Spirit.

²⁰ But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. Pray in the Holy Spirit. ²¹ Keep yourselves in the love of God while you are waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, which leads to eternal life.

²² On some have compassion, using discernment. ²³ And others save with fear while pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Benediction

²⁴ Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with rejoicing, ²⁵ to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.