Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Lord is holy!^[a]

The special tent

⁷ As they travelled, Moses put up a special tent outside the camp. It was not near the other tents. He called it the Tent of Meeting. Anyone could go there to ask the Lord about something. They would go to the Tent of Meeting that was outside the camp.^[a]

⁸ When Moses went out to the special tent, all the people would stand at the doors of their tents. They would watch Moses until he went into the special tent. ⁹ When Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down. The cloud would stay at the door of the tent while the Lord spoke to Moses.

¹⁰ Every time that the people saw the pillar of cloud at the door of the special tent, they all stood up. Then each person would stand at the door of his tent. They would bend low to worship the Lord. ¹¹ The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp. But Nun's son Joshua always stayed in the special tent. Joshua was a young man who helped Moses.

Diotrephes is causing problems

⁹ I have already written something to the group of believers. But Diotrephes refuses to accept our authority. He really wants to be the only leader among them. ¹⁰ So, when I arrive there myself, I will speak to the believers about this. I will tell them clearly about the bad things that Diotrephes is doing. He tells other people bad things about us that are not true. Even that is not enough for him. He himself refuses to welcome the believers who are visiting. He also stops anyone else who wants to welcome those visitors.^[a] Instead, he sends them away from the group of believers.

Copy what good people do

¹¹ My friend, do not copy what bad people do. Instead, you should copy the good things that people do. The person who does good things shows that he belongs to God. But anyone who does bad things does not know God.

¹² All the believers say that Demetrius is a good person. He obeys God's true message. That also shows clearly that he is a good person. We also say the same thing about him. You know very well that what we say about him is true.