3 John 1:5-15

5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever * you accomplish for the ¹brethren, and ^[a]especially when they are ²strangers;

6 and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to ³send them on their way in a manner ⁴worthy of God.

7 For they went out for the sake of ⁵the Name, ⁶accepting nothing from the Gentiles.

8 Therefore we ought to ^[b]support such men, so that we may ^[c]be fellow workers ^[d]with the truth.

9 I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to ⁷be first among them, does not accept ^[e]what we say.

10 For this reason, ⁸if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not ⁹receive the ¹⁰brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and ¹¹puts them out of the church.

11 Beloved, ¹²do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. ¹³The one who does good is of God; ¹⁴the one who does evil has not seen God.

12 Demetrius ¹⁵has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and ¹⁶you know that our testimony is true.

13 ¹⁷I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink;

14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face.

15 ¹⁸Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends ¹⁹by name.

Cross References

• 1. Acts 1:15; Galatians 6:10; 3 John 3, 10
• 2. Romans 12:13; Hebrews 13:2
• 3. Acts 15:3; Titus 3:13
• 4. Colossians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12
• 5. John 15:21; Acts 5:41; Philippians 2:9
• 6. Acts 20:33, 35
• 7. 2 John 9
• 8. 2 John 12
• 9. 2 John 10; 3 John 5
• 10. Acts 1:15; Galatians 6:10; 3 John 3, 5
• 11. John 9:34
• 12. Psalms 34:14; Psalms 37:27
• 13. 1 John 2:29; 1 John 3:10
• 14. 1 John 3:6
• 15. Acts 6:3; 1 Timothy 3:7
• 16. John 19:35; John 21:24
• 17. 2 John 12
• 18. John 20:19, 21, 26; Ephesians 6:23; 1 Peter 5:14
• 19. John 10:3

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "this"
• [b]. Or "receive such men as guests"
• [c]. Or "prove ourselves to be"
• [d]. Or "for"
• [e]. Lit "us"