3 John 1

1 [You(sg) know me as] the [chief] Elder. [I am writing this letter to you], my dear friend Gaius, whom I truly love.

Ὁ πρεσβύτερος· Γαΐῳ τῷ ἀγαπητῷ, ὃν ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ.

2 Dear friend, I ask [God that things may go] well for you in every way, [specifically], that you will be physically healthy just like you are spiritually healthy [MTY].

Ἀγαπητέ, περὶ πάντων εὔχομαί σε εὐοδοῦσθαι καὶ ὑγιαίνειν, καθὼς εὐοδοῦταί σου ἡ ψυχή.

3 I am very happy because some fellow believers have come [here] and told me that you conduct your life in a manner [that is consistent with God’s] true message.

Ἐχάρην γὰρ λίαν ἐρχομένων ἀδελφῶν καὶ μαρτυρούντων σου τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, καθὼς σὺ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ περιπατεῖς.

4 I am very happy when I hear that (people whom I helped to believe in Christ/my [spiritual] children) are conducting their lives like you are!

Μειζοτέραν τούτων οὐκ ἔχω χαράν, ἵνα ἀκούω τὰ ἐμὰ τέκνα ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ περιπατοῦντα.

5 Dear friend, you are [serving Jesus] loyally/faithfully whenever you do things to help fellow believers, [even those whom you] do not know, who are traveling [around doing God’s work].

Ἀγαπητέ, πιστὸν ποιεῖς ὃ, ἐὰν ἐργάσῃ εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τοῦτο ξένους,

6 [Some of] them have reported before the congregation [here how] you have showed that you love them. You should continue to help such people in their travels in a way that is pleasing to God.

οἳ ἐμαρτύρησάν σου τῇ ἀγάπῃ ἐνώπιον ἐκκλησίας, οὓς καλῶς ποιήσεις, προπέμψας ἀξίως τοῦ ˚Θεοῦ.

7 When those fellow believers went out [to tell people about Jesus] [MTY], the people who do not believe in Christ did not give them anything [to help them].

Ὑπὲρ γὰρ τοῦ ὀνόματος ἐξῆλθαν, μηδὲν λαμβάνοντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνικῶν.

8 So we [who believe in Christ] ought to give food and money to such people to help [them as they teach others God’s] true message.

Ἡμεῖς οὖν ὀφείλομεν ὑπολαμβάνειν τοὺς τοιούτους, ἵνα συνεργοὶ γινώμεθα τῇ ἀληθείᾳ.

9 I wrote [a letter] to the congregation [telling them to help those fellow believers]. However, Diotrephes does not (acknowledge my authority/[pay any attention to what] I wrote), because he (desires to be in charge/wants to be the leader) of [the congregation].

Ἔγραψά τι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἀλλʼ ὁ φιλοπρωτεύων αὐτῶν, Διοτρέφης, οὐκ ἐπιδέχεται ἡμᾶς.

10 So, when I arrive [there], I will [publicly] tell what he does: He tells others evil nonsense about us [in order to] harm [us by what he] says, and he is not content with only doing that. He himself refuses to receive the fellow believers who are traveling around doing God’s work, and he also stops those who want to receive them by expelling them from the congregation.

Διὰ τοῦτο, ἐὰν ἔλθω, ὑπομνήσω αὐτοῦ τὰ ἔργα, ἃ ποιεῖ, λόγοις πονηροῖς φλυαρῶν ἡμᾶς, καὶ μὴ ἀρκούμενος ἐπὶ τούτοις, οὔτε αὐτὸς ἐπιδέχεται τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς, καὶ τοὺς βουλομένους κωλύει, καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκβάλλει.

11 Dear friend, do not imitate a bad [example like that]. Instead, [keep imitating] good [examples. Remember that] people who do good deeds ([truly] belong to God/are [spiritual children] of God), [but] those who do [what is] evil do not (know/have fellowship with) God.

Ἀγαπητέ, μὴ μιμοῦ τὸ κακὸν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀγαθόν. Ὁ ἀγαθοποιῶν ἐκ τοῦ ˚Θεοῦ ἐστιν, ὁ κακοποιῶν οὐχ ἑώρακεν τὸν ˚Θεόν.

12 All [the believers who know Demetrius] say that he [is a good person]. The fact [that he conducts his life in a way that is consistent/in accordance with God’s] true [message] shows [that he is a good person], and we also say the same thing [about him]. You know that what we say [about him] is true. [So it will be good if you welcome him and help him. He is the one who will be bringing this letter to you].

Δημητρίῳ μεμαρτύρηται ὑπὸ πάντων, καὶ ὑπὸ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας· καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ μαρτυροῦμεν, καὶ οἶδας ὅτι ἡ μαρτυρία ἡμῶν ἀληθής ἐστιν.

13 [When I began] to write this letter, I had much more [that I intended] to tell you. But [now] I do not want to say [it] in a letter [MTY].

Πολλὰ εἶχον γράψαι σοι, ἀλλʼ οὐ θέλω διὰ μέλανος καὶ καλάμου σοι γράφειν,

14 Instead, I expect to [come and] see you soon. Then we will talk directly with one another. [I pray that God will enable] you [to experience inner] peace. Our friends [here] (send you their greetings/say that they are thinking affectionately about you) [MTY]. Tell our friends [there] that we (send our greetings to/are thinking fondly about) them.

ἐλπίζω δὲ εὐθέως σε ἰδεῖν, καὶ στόμα πρὸς στόμα λαλήσομεν. Εἰρήνη σοι. Ἀσπάζονταί σε οἱ φίλοι. Ἀσπάζου τοὺς φίλους κατʼ ὄνομα.