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3 John

Chapter 1

1 {You know me as} the elder{. I am writing this letter} to {you}, my dear friend Gaius, whom I truly love.

2 Dear friend, I ask God that he would make everything go well for you, and that you may be physically healthy just as you are healthy in respect to God. 3 I know that you are healthy in respect to God because of the fellow believers who came here and who told me about your truthful {teaching}. Your teaching agrees with how you live according to the true message {about Jesus}. That made me very happy. 4 This is what makes me the very happiest—when someone tells me that the people whom I have helped to follow Jesus are living according to the true message from God!

5 Dear friend, you are serving Jesus loyally whenever you do things to help fellow believers, even those whom you do not know. 6-7 Some of them have reported before the congregation {here} how you have shown that you love them. You should continue to help such people because they are traveling in order to be obedient to Jesus, and people who do not believe in Jesus do not help them. Therefore, it is good that you give such people what they need for traveling {in a generous way} because doing so honors God.

8 So we {who believe in Jesus} ought to give these people whatever they need. Then it will be as though we are working alongside them as they help others to know God’s true message.

9 I wrote a letter to your group of believers {to tell them to help those other believers}. However, Diotrephes does not accept anything that I say, because he wants to dominate your group. 10 So when I arrive there I will publicly tell everyone what he does: He falsely tells others that we do evil things. He does this in order to harm us by what he says. As well as doing that, he also refuses to welcome the fellow believers who are traveling in order to do God’s work. He even prevents those who do want to welcome them and forces them to leave the group of believers!

11 Dear friend, do not copy a bad example {like that}. Instead, do the good things that you see good people doing. {Remember that} people who do good deeds truly belong to God. But anyone who keeps doing what is bad has not known God.

12 All the believers who know Demetrius say that he is a good person. The way that he lives according to God’s true message also shows you that he is a good person. We also confirm that he is a good person, and you know that what we say is true.

13 There are many {more} things about which I could write to you. But I do not want to write to you {about them} in a letter. 14 Instead, I hope to come and see you soon. Then we will talk directly with one another. 15 I pray that God will continue to make you peaceful. The believers {here} greet you. Please greet for us {each of} the believers {there} individually.