3 Giăng 1

The elder to Gaius

¹The elder, to my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in truth.

²Dear friend, my prayer is that you are doing well in every way and are in good health, just as your soul is doing well.^{a 3}It made me very glad when brothers and sisters arrived and testified to your faithfulness to the truth, how you are walking in the truth. ⁴No joy of mine is greater than this: to hear that my children are walking in the truth.^b

Help for traveling believers

⁵Dear friend, you are acting faithfully in all you do for the brothers and sisters, strangers though they are to you. ⁶They have testified before the church to your love. You will do well to supply them for the next stage of their journey in a manner worthy of God. ⁷They set out for the sake of the Name, and they take nothing from the pagans. ⁸It is our duty, then, to take in and support such people, and so become fellow workers with the truth.^c

Diotrephes and Demetrius

⁹I wrote a few lines to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, refuses to receive us.^{d 10}That is why, if I come, I will remind the church of what he is doing, spreading empty and wicked talk about us. And that is not enough for him: he will not receive the brothers and sisters himself, he hinders those who want to receive them, and he drives them out of the church.

¹¹Dear friend, do not copy what is bad, but what is good. The person who does good is from God; the person who does evil has not seen God. ¹²Everyone testifies in favor of Demetrius, and so does the truth itself. We too testify for him, and you know that our testimony is true.

Closing greetings

¹³There is a great deal I could write to you, but I do not want to put it down in ink with a pen. ¹⁴I hope instead to see you very soon, and then we can speak face to face.

¹⁵Peace be with you. The friends here send you greetings. Greet each of the friends there by name.