3 John 1:5

5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters,^[a] even though they are strangers to you.

3 John 1:5 in Other Translations

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

5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are,

5 Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you.

5 Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible.

5 Dear friend, you are showing your faith by whatever you do for the brothers, and this [you are doing] for strangers;

3 John 1:5 Meaning and Commentary

3 John 1:5

Beloved, thou doest faithfully
Or a faithful thing, and as became a faithful man, a believer in Christ; in all his beneficence and charity he acted the upright part; he did not do it in an hypocritical way, to be seen of men, and gain applause from them, but from a principle of love, and with a view to the glory of God:

whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;
which may design either different persons; and by "brethren" may be meant the poor brethren of the church that. Gaius belonged to, and others that were well known to him; and by "the strangers", not unconverted persons, but such of the saints as came from foreign parts, and travelled about to spread the Gospel, and enlarge the interest of Christ: or else the same persons may be intended, for the words may be read, as they are in the Alexandrian copy, and some others, and in the Vulgate Latin version, "what thou doest to the brethren, and this to strangers"; that is, as the Arabic version renders it, "to strange brethren"; or, as the Syriac version, "to the brethren, [and] especially [them] that are strangers"; so that Gaius was a very hospitable man, one that entertained and lodged strangers, and used them very civilly and courteously, with great liberality, and with much integrity and sincerity.

3 John 1:5 In-Context

3 It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it.

4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you.

6 They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God.

7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans.

Cross References

• 1. S ver 3
• 2. Romans 12:13; Hebrews 13:2

Footnotes

• [a]. The Greek word for "brothers and sisters" ("adelphoi" ) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family.