English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth,
1
My dear congregation, I, your pastor, love you in very truth. And I'm not alone - everyone who knows the Truth
2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:
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that has taken up permanent residence in us loves you.
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
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Let grace, mercy, and peace be with us in truth and love from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, Son of the Father!
4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.
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I can't tell you how happy I am to learn that many members of your congregation are diligent in living out the Truth, exactly as commanded by the Father.
5 And now I ask you, dear lady— not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning— that we love one another.
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But permit me a reminder, friends, and this is not a new commandment but simply a repetition of our original and basic charter: that we love each other.
6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.
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Love means following his commandments, and his unifying commandment is that you conduct your lives in love. This is the first thing you heard, and nothing has changed.