3 Jean 1

1 L’ancien, à Gaïus, le bien-aimé, que j’aime dans la vérité.

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

2 Bien-aimé, je souhaite que tu prospères à tous égards et sois en bonne santé, comme prospère l’état de ton âme.

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].

3 J’ai été fort réjoui, lorsque des frères sont arrivés et ont rendu témoignage de la vérité qui est en toi, de la manière dont tu marches dans la vérité.

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.

4 Je n’ai pas de plus grande joie que d’apprendre que mes enfants marchent dans la vérité.

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!

5 Bien-aimé, tu agis fidèlement dans ce que tu fais pour les frères, et même pour des frères étrangers,

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].

6 lesquels ont rendu témoignage de ta charité, en présence de l’Église. Tu feras bien de pourvoir à leur voyage d’une manière digne de Dieu.

[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.

7 Car c’est pour le nom de Jésus-Christ qu’ils sont partis, sans rien recevoir des païens.

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].

8 Nous devons donc accueillir de tels hommes, afin d’être ouvriers avec eux pour la vérité.

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.

9 J’ai écrit quelques mots à l’Église; mais Diotrèphe, qui aime à être le premier parmi eux, ne nous reçoit point.

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].

10 C’est pourquoi, si je vais vous voir, je rappellerai les actes qu’il commet, en tenant contre nous de méchants propos; non content de cela, il ne reçoit pas les frères, et ceux qui voudraient le faire, il les en empêche et les chasse de l’Église.

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.

11 Bien-aimé, n’imite pas le mal, mais le bien. Celui qui fait le bien est de Dieu; celui qui fait le mal n’a point vu Dieu.

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.

12 Tous, et la vérité elle-même, rendent un bon témoignage à Démétrius; nous aussi, nous lui rendons témoignage, et tu sais que notre témoignage est vrai.

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].

13 J’aurais beaucoup de choses à t’écrire, mais je ne veux pas le faire avec l’encre et la plume.

[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].

14 J’espère te voir bientôt, et nous parlerons de bouche à bouche. Que la paix soit avec toi! Les amis te saluent. Salue les amis, chacun en particulier.

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.