3 John

This letter is from the elder. To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

1The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

Note"The elder" translates a word that could mean simply an older man, but by this time it was also a title for a recognized leader of a church or a group of churches. The writer gives no name, which suggests the title alone was enough to identify him to the reader. Gaius was one of the commonest names in the Roman world, and nothing in the letter ties this Gaius to the others mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament.

2Dear friend, I pray that in every way you may do well and be in good health, just as your soul is doing well.

2Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

Note"I wish above all things" does not mean this is the writer's greatest wish. The Greek phrase means "in every respect," and it describes how he hopes things go for Gaius, not how strongly he hopes it. "Prosper" here means having things go well in general; the same verb was used of a journey that went smoothly, and it does not point specifically at money.

3I was very glad when some fellow believers came and told me how you hold to the truth, and that you keep on living by it.

3For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.

Note"The brethren" are fellow members of the movement, not relatives. In this letter they are specifically Christians who travel from place to place and carry news between congregations.

4Nothing makes me happier than hearing that my children are living by the truth.

4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Note"My children" means people the writer brought into the faith or taught, not his own sons and daughters. Calling converts or pupils your children was ordinary usage for a teacher.

5Dear friend, you are faithful in everything you do for our fellow believers, even when they are strangers to you.

5Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;

NoteTraveling teachers in this world depended on private households for food, shelter and a bed, since public inns were few, expensive and often disreputable. Taking in "strangers," people you had never met, on the strength of a letter or a shared faith, was a costly and risky service rather than a simple courtesy.

6They told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner that honors God.

6Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:

Note"Charity" in 1611 English meant love; it had not yet narrowed to mean giving money to the poor. "Bring forward on their journey" renders a verb that was close to a technical term for sending travelers off properly equipped: supplying food and money for the road, and sometimes escorting them part of the way.

7They set out for the sake of the Name, and they took nothing from the Gentiles.

7Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.

NoteThe Greek says only "for the sake of the Name," with no "his"; the KJV supplies it. Saying "the Name" on its own, instead of naming God or Jesus outright, was a familiar Jewish way of speaking. "Gentiles" means non-Jews, and here it stands for the outsiders these travelers were preaching to. Wandering lecturers and religious salesmen of the period commonly took fees from their audiences, so refusing payment marked these men out as a different kind of visitor.

8So we ought to welcome and support such people, so that we can work alongside them for the truth.

8We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.

Note"Receive," in this letter, means to take someone into your home as a guest, not merely to accept an idea or a message. "Fellowhelpers" is a compound the KJV translators built to render a word meaning co-workers, people laboring at the same task.

9I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, will not accept what we say.

9I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.

Note"I wrote unto the church" may refer to an earlier letter that has not survived, or, by a common convention in ancient letter writing, to this letter itself, which a writer could describe in the past tense because it would be in the past by the time it was read. The wording does not settle which. "The church" is the local congregation that Gaius and Diotrephes both belong to, not an institution or a building. "Receiveth us not" covers both refusing the writer's authority and refusing to welcome the people he sends.

10So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing: spreading spiteful nonsense about us. And that is not enough for him. He also refuses to welcome our fellow believers, stops those who want to welcome them, and puts those people out of the church.

10Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

Note"Prating" was an ordinary word in 1611 for chattering or talking idle nonsense, and it translates a verb meaning to talk nonsense about someone, to accuse without substance. Putting people out of the church meant expelling them from the congregation, which in a small community also cut them off from its shared meals, meetings and practical support.

11Dear friend, do not copy what is evil, but copy what is good. The person who does good belongs to God. The person who does evil has not seen God.

11Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.

12Everyone speaks well of Demetrius, and the truth itself speaks well of him. We speak well of him too, and you know that what we say is true.

12Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.

Note"Hath good report of all men" means everyone speaks well of him, and "bear record" means to testify or vouch for someone. A traveler arriving in a strange town normally carried a letter from someone both sides knew, and this kind of written recommendation was the standard way of establishing that a visitor could be trusted.

13I had many things to write to you, but I would rather not write them with pen and ink.

13I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee:

NoteThe "pen" was a reed cut to a point and dipped in ink, used on papyrus. "I will not... write" translates a verb meaning "I do not wish to," so it is a preference rather than a refusal.

14Instead, I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send you their greetings. Greet each of the friends there by name.

14But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.

Note"Salute" in 1611 English simply meant greet, with no military sense. "Peace be to thee" is the ordinary Jewish greeting, shalom, used at parting as well as at meeting, and it wishes wellbeing rather than merely quiet. "The friends" may be more than a casual description: it appears to be a term the group used for itself. Many modern Bibles divide this verse into two, numbering them 14 and 15, so their chapter has fifteen verses where the KJV has fourteen.