Chronological

¹ Greetings from the Elder.^[a]

To the lady^[b] chosen by God and to her children.

I truly love all of you. And I am not the only one. All those who know the truth^[c] love you in the same way. ² We love you because of the truth—the truth that lives in us. That truth will be with us forever.

³ Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from his Son, Jesus Christ, as we live in truth and love.

⁴ I was very happy to learn about some of your children. I am happy that they are following the way of truth, just as the Father commanded us. ⁵ And now, dear lady, I tell you: We should all love each other. This is not a new command. It is the same command we had from the beginning. ⁶ And loving means living the way he commanded us to live. And God’s command is this: that you live a life of love. You heard this command from the beginning.

⁷ Many false teachers are in the world now. They refuse to say that Jesus Christ came to earth and became a man. Anyone who refuses to accept this fact is a false teacher and the enemy of Christ. ⁸ Be careful! Don’t lose the reward we^[d] have worked for. Be careful so that you will receive all of that reward.

⁹ Everyone must continue to follow only the teaching about Christ. Whoever changes that teaching does not have God. But whoever continues to follow the teaching about Christ has both the Father and his Son. ¹⁰ Don’t accept those who come to you but do not bring this teaching. Don’t invite them into your house. Don’t welcome them in any way. ¹¹ If you do, you are helping them with their evil work.

¹² I have much to say to you. But I don’t want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come visit you. Then we can be together and talk. That will make us very happy. ¹³ The children of your sister^[e] who was chosen by God send you their love.

¹ Greetings from the Elder.^[a]

To my dear friend Gaius, a person I truly love.

² My dear friend, I know that you are doing well spiritually. So I pray that everything else is going well with you and that you are enjoying good health. ³ Some believers came and told me about the truth^[b] in your life. They told me that you continue to follow the way of truth. This made me very happy. ⁴ It always gives me the greatest joy when I hear that my children are following the way of truth.

⁵ My dear friend, it is good that you continue to help the believers. They are people you don’t even know. ⁶ They told the church about the love you have. Please help them to continue their trip. Help them in a way that will please God. ⁷ They went on their trip to serve Christ. They did not accept any help from people who are not believers. ⁸ So we should help them. When we help them, we share with their work for the truth.

⁹ I wrote a letter to the church, but Diotrephes will not listen to what we say. He always wants to be the leader. ¹⁰ When I come, I will talk with him about what he is doing. He lies and says evil things about us, but that is not all. He refuses to welcome and help the believers who travel there. And he will not let others help them. If they do, he stops them from meeting with the church anymore.

¹¹ My dear friend, don’t follow what is bad; follow what is good. Whoever does what is good is from God. But whoever does evil has never known God.

¹² Everyone says good things about Demetrius, and the truth agrees with what they say. Also, we say good about him. And you know that what we say is true.

¹³ I have many things I want to tell you. But I don’t want to use pen and ink. ¹⁴ I hope to visit you soon. Then we can be together and talk. ¹⁵ Peace to you. The friends here with me send their love. Please give our love to each one of the friends there.