Beginning
Salutation. 1 The Presbyter[a] to the chosen Lady and to her children whom I love in the truth—and not I alone but also all who know the truth 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever. 3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
The Commandment of Love.[b] 4 It was a cause of great joy to me to discover that some of your children have been walking in the truth[c] just as we have been commanded by the Father. 5 [d]But now, Lady, I am making this request of you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment but simply one that we have had from the beginning: let us love one another. 6 And this is love: when we walk according to his commandments.[e] This is the commandment that you have heard from the beginning, and you must follow it.
Warning against False Teachers.[f] 7 Many deceivers have gone forth into the world, those who refuse to acknowledge that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Any such person is the Deceiver[g] and the Antichrist. 8 Be on your guard that you do not lose what we have worked to accomplish so that you will receive your reward in full.[h]
9 Anyone who fails to remain faithful to the teaching of Christ but goes beyond[i] it does not have God. Only the one who remains faithful to the teaching possesses both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not impart this teaching, do not receive him into your house or welcome him.[j] 11 For anyone who welcomes him has a share in his evil deeds.
12 Conclusion. I have much to write to you, but I do not think it prudent to do so with paper and ink.[k] Instead, I hope to visit you and to talk with you face to face so that our joy may be complete.
13 The children of your sister, the chosen one,[l] send you greetings.
Salutation. 1 The Presbyter[a] to my beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. 2 Beloved, I pray that everything is going well with you and that your bodily health is equal to that of your soul.[b]
Commendation of Gaius. 3 I rejoiced greatly when some of the brethren[c] arrived and related how faithful you are to the truth, and that you continue to walk in the truth. 4 Nothing gives me greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
5 [d]Beloved, you have been faithful in everything you do for the brethren, especially to strangers. 6 They have testified before the Church to your love. Please continue to help them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they began their journey for the sake of the Name,[e] and they have refused to accept any support from nonbelievers. 8 Therefore, we ought to show hospitality to such people so that we may be collaborators in the truth.
Condemnation and Diotrephes. 9 I have previously written something to the Church, but Diotrephes,[f] who enjoys being in a position of leadership, refuses to acknowledge our authority. 10 Therefore, if I come, I shall draw attention to what he is doing. He has circulated false charges against us. And not content with that, he not only refuses to welcome the brethren but interferes with those who want to do so and expels them from the Church.
11 Exhortation to Gaius. Beloved, do not imitate what is evil; rather, imitate what is good. Whoever does what is good is from God. Whoever does what is evil has never seen God.[g]
12 Example of Demetrius. Everyone has spoken favorably about Demetrius,[h] and so has the Truth itself. We also will vouch for him, and you are well aware that our testimony is true.
13 Conclusion.[i]I have much to write to you, but I do not think it prudent to do so with pen and ink. 14 Instead, I hope to visit you in the very near future, when we can talk together face to face.
15 Peace be with you. The friends[j] send you their greetings. Greet each of our friends there by name.
Salutation. 1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and the brother of James,[a] to those who have been called, who are dear to God the Father and have been kept safe by Jesus Christ: 2 may mercy, peace, and love be granted you in abundance.
Benefits of Being a Christian. 3 Beloved, I was just at the point of writing to you about the salvation we share, when it became necessary for me to write and urge you to fight earnestly for the faith that was once and for all entrusted to the saints.[b] 4 For certain men have infiltrated your ranks, people who long ago were designated for condemnation.[c] These godless persons pervert the grace of our God into an excuse for immorality and disown our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Character and Doom of the False Teachers.[d] 5 Although you already know all this, allow me to remind you that the Lord, who once delivered the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who refused to believe.[e] 6 Remember also that the angels, who were dissatisfied with the dominion that had been assigned to them and abandoned their proper dwelling place, have been kept bound by him in darkness with eternal chains until the judgment of the great Day.[f] 7 And do not fail to remember Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities, which in a similar way indulged in sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who undergo the punishment of eternal fire.[g]
8 In the same way, these dreamers defile their bodies, make light of authority, and insult celestial beings.[h] 9 Even the archangel Michael, when he engaged in an argument with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but instead said: “May the Lord rebuke you!”[i] 10 However, these people pour abuse on anything they do not understand, and the very things that they know by instinct, like irrational animals, lead to their destruction.
11 Woe to them! They have followed in the footsteps of Cain; they have abandoned themselves to the error of Balaam for the sake of gain; and they have perished in the rebellion of Korah.[j] 12 [k]They are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without fear. They are shepherds who feed only themselves. They are like clouds blown about by winds without giving rain, or like trees in autumn barren and uprooted and so twice dead. 13 They are like wild sea waves whose foam reflects their shameless deeds, or like wandering stars for whom the gloom of darkness is stored up forever. 14 [l]Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, also prophesied against them when he said, “Behold, the Lord is coming with tens of thousands of his saints, 15 to pronounce judgment on humanity and to convict all the ungodly for all the godless deeds that each has impiously committed and for all the defiant words spoken against him by godless sinners.” 16 These are grumblers and fault-finders. They indulge their own passions,[m] and their mouths are full of bombastic talk as they flatter others in order to achieve their own ends.
17 Appeal to the Faithful. But you, dear friends, must remember the predictions made by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.[n] 18 For they said to you, “In the final age there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly passions.”[o] 19 It is these people who create divisions, who follow their natural instincts and do not possess the Spirit.
20 A Program of the Christian Life.[p] However, you, dear friends, must build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God as you await our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy, who will grant you eternal life.
22 Have compassion for those who are wavering. 23 Save others by snatching them out of the fire. And for still others have compassion mixed with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies.
24 Doxology.[q] Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to bring you safely to his glorious presence, unblemished and rejoicing, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, now, and forevermore. Amen.
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