Passage

2 John 1

Book: 2 John · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not I only, but also all they that know the truth; 2. for the truth's sake which abideth in us, and it shall be with us for ever: 3. Grace, mercy, peace shall be with us, from God the Father, and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. 4. I rejoice greatly that I have found certain of thy children walking in truth, even as we received commandment from the Father. 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. 6. And this is love, that we should walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, even as ye heard from the beginning, that ye should walk in it. 7. For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8. Look to yourselves, that ye lose not the things which we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward. 9. Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son. 10. If any one cometh unto you, and bringeth not this teaching, receive him not into your house, and give him no greeting: 11. for he that giveth him greeting partaketh in his evil works. 12. Having many things to write unto you, I would not write them with paper and ink: but I hope to come unto you, and to speak face to face, that your joy may be made full. 13. The children of thine elect sister salute thee." (2 John 1:1-13, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. The elder, to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not I only, but also all those who know the truth; 2. for the truth’s sake, which remains in us, and it will be with us forever: 3. Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. 4. I rejoice greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, even as we have been commanded by the Father. 5. Now I beg you, dear lady, not as though I wrote to you a new commandment, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. 6. This is love, that we should walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, even as you heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it. 7. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who don’t confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the Antichrist. 8. Watch yourselves, that we don’t lose the things which we have accomplished, but that we receive a full reward. 9. Whoever transgresses and doesn’t remain in the teaching of Christ, doesn’t have God. He who remains in the teaching, the same has both the Father and the Son. 10. If anyone comes to you, and doesn’t bring this teaching, don’t receive him into your house, and don’t welcome him, 11. for he who welcomes him participates in his evil deeds. 12. Having many things to write to you, I don’t want to do so with paper and ink, but I hope to come to you, and to speak face to face, that our joy may be made full. 13. The children of your chosen sister greet you. Amen." (2 John 1:1-13, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; 2. For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. 3. Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. ^{be: Gr. shall be} 4. I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. 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. 6. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. 7. For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. ^{wrought: or, gained, some copies read, ye have gained, but that ye, etc.} 9. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11. For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. 12. Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. ^{face to: Gr. mouth to mouth} ^{our: or, your} 13. The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen." (2 John 1:1-13, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. The Elder to the choice Kyria, and to her children, whom I love in truth, and not I only, but also all those having known the truth, 2. because of the truth that is remaining in us, and with us shall be to the age, 3. there shall be with you grace, kindness, peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. 4. I rejoiced exceedingly that I have found of thy children walking in truth, even as a command we did receive from the Father; 5. and now I beseech thee, Kyria, not as writing to thee a new command, but which we had from the beginning, that we may love one another, 6. and this is the love, that we may walk according to His commands; this is the command, even as ye did hear from the beginning, that in it ye may walk, 7. because many leading astray did enter into the world, who are not confessing Jesus Christ coming in flesh; this one is he who is leading astray, and the antichrist. 8. See to yourselves that ye may not lose the things that we wrought, but a full reward may receive; 9. every one who is transgressing, and is not remaining in the teaching of the Christ, hath not God; he who is remaining in the teaching of the Christ, this one hath both the Father and the Son; 10. if any one doth come unto you, and this teaching doth not bear, receive him not into the house, and say not to him, 'Hail!' 11. for he who is saying to him, 'Hail,' hath fellowship with his evil works. 12. Many things having to write to you, I did not intend through paper and ink, but I hope to come unto you, and speak mouth to mouth, that our joy may be full; 13. salute thee do the children of thy choice sister. Amen." (2 John 1:1-13, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
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Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.