2 John 1:5

5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.

2 John 1:5 in Other Translations

5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

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.

5 I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning.

5 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.

5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote to thee a new commandment, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

5 Dear lady, I'm now requesting that we continue to love each other. It's not as though I'm writing to give you a new commandment. Rather, from the beginning we were commanded to love each other.

5 So now I urge you, lady-not as if I were writing you a new command, but one we have had from the beginning-that we love one another.

5 Dear lady, I'm not writing you a new command. I'm writing a command we've had from the beginning. I'm asking that we love one another.

2 John 1:5 Meaning and Commentary

2 John 1:5

And now I beseech thee, lady
Or "Kyria", which word the Syriac and Arabic versions retain, as if it was a proper name: the apostle having finished the inscription, salutation, and congratulation in the preceding verses, passes to an exhortation and entreaty to observe the commandment of love to one another, which is not a new commandment, but what was from the beginning:

not as though I wrote a new commandment (See Gill on 1 John 2:7) and (See Gill on 1 John 2:8).

2 John 1:5 In-Context

3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.

4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.

5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.

6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

Cross References

• 1. S 1 John 2:7; 1 John 3:11