Passage

3 John 1

Book: 3 John · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. The elder unto Gaius the beloved, whom I love in truth. 2. Beloved, I pray that in all things thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3. For I rejoiced greatly, when brethren came and bare witness unto thy truth, even as thou walkest in truth. 4. Greater joy have I none than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. 5. Beloved, thou doest a faithful work in whatsoever thou doest toward them that are brethren and strangers withal; 6. who bare witness to thy love before the church: whom thou wilt do well to set forward on their journey worthily of God: 7. because that for the sake of the Name they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. 8. We therefore ought to welcome such, that we may be fellow-workers for the truth. 9. I wrote somewhat unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 10. Therefore, if I come, I will bring to remembrance his works which he doeth, prating against us with wicked words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and them that would he forbiddeth and casteth them out of the church. 11. Beloved, imitate not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: he that doeth evil hath not seen God. 12. Demetrius hath the witness of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, we also bear witness: and thou knowest that our witness is true. 13. I had many things to write unto thee, but I am unwilling to write them to thee with ink and pen: 14. but I hope shortly to see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be unto thee. The friends salute thee. Salute the friends by name." (3 John 1:1-14, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. The elder to Gaius the beloved, whom I love in truth. 2. Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be healthy, even as your soul prospers. 3. For I rejoiced greatly, when brothers came and testified about your truth, even as you walk in truth. 4. I have no greater joy than this, to hear about my children walking in truth. 5. Beloved, you do a faithful work in whatever you accomplish for those who are brothers and strangers. 6. They have testified about your love before the assembly. You will do well to send them forward on their journey in a way worthy of God, 7. because for the sake of the Name they went out, taking nothing from the Gentiles. 8. We therefore ought to receive such, that we may be fellow workers for the truth. 9. I wrote to the assembly, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, doesn’t accept what we say. 10. Therefore if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words. Not content with this, neither does he himself receive the brothers, and those who would, he forbids and throws out of the assembly. 11. Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn’t seen God. 12. Demetrius has the testimony of all, and of the truth itself; yes, we also testify, and you know that our testimony is true. 13. I had many things to write to you, but I am unwilling to write to you with ink and pen; 14. but I hope to see you soon, and we will speak face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name." (3 John 1:1-14, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. ^{in: or, truly} 2. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. ^{wish: or, pray} 3. For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. 4. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 5. Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers; 6. Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well: ^{after: Gr. worthy of God} 7. Because that for his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. 8. We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth. ^{fellowhelpers: or, joint-labourers} 9. I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 10. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. 11. Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. 12. Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true. 13. I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee: 14. But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. ^{face to: Gr. mouth to mouth}" (3 John 1:1-14, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. The Elder to Gaius the beloved, whom I love in truth! 2. beloved, concerning all things I desire thee to prosper, and to be in health, even as thy soul doth prosper, 3. for I rejoiced exceedingly, brethren coming and testifying of the truth in thee, even as thou in truth dost walk; 4. greater than these things I have no joy, that I may hear of my children in truth walking. 5. Beloved, faithfully dost thou do whatever thou mayest work to the brethren and to the strangers, 6. who did testify of thy love before an assembly, whom thou wilt do well, having sent forward worthily of God, 7. because for [His] name they went forth, nothing receiving from the nations; 8. we, then, ought to receive such, that fellow-workers we may become to the truth. 9. I did write to the assembly, but he who is loving the first place among them, Diotrephes, doth not receive us; 10. because of this, if I may come, I will cause him to remember his works that he doth, with evil words prating against us; and not content with these, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and those intending he doth forbid, and out of the assembly he doth cast. 11. Beloved, be not thou following that which is evil, but that which is good; he who is doing good, of God he is, and he who is doing evil hath not seen God; 12. to Demetrius testimony hath been given by all, and by the truth itself, and we also, we do testify, and ye have known that our testimony is true. 13. Many things I had to write, but I do not wish through ink and pen to write to thee, 14. and I hope straightway to see thee, and mouth to mouth we shall speak. Peace to thee! salute thee do the friends; be saluting the friends by name." (3 John 1:1-14, 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
TBD
TBD

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.