To the dear Lady and to her children,^a whom I truly love. And I am not the only one, but all who know the truth love you, ²because the truth remains in us and will be with us for ever.

³May God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, give us grace, mercy, and peace; may they be ours in truth and love.

Truth and Love

⁴How happy I was to find that some of your children live in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. ⁵And so I ask you, dear Lady: let us all love one another. This is no new command I am writing to you; it is the command which we have had from the beginning. ⁶This love I speak of means that we must live in obedience to God’s commands. The command, as you have all heard from the beginning, is that you must all live in love.

⁷Many deceivers have gone out all over the world, people who do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ came as a human being. Such a person is a deceiver and the Enemy of Christ. ⁸Be on your guard, then, so that you will not lose what we^b have worked for, but will receive your reward in full.

⁹Anyone who does not stay with the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God. Whoever does stay with the teaching has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰So then, if someone comes to you who does not bring this teaching, do not welcome him or her in your homes; do not even say, “Peace be with you.” ¹¹For anyone who wishes them peace becomes their partner in the evil things they do.

Final Words

¹²I have so much to tell you, but I would rather not do it with paper and ink; instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you personally, so that we shall be completely happy.

¹³The children of your dear Sister^c send you their greetings.

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Footnotes

alady and … her children: This probably refers to a church and its members (also in verses 1:4–5).
bwe; some manuscripts have you.
cchildren of your dear sister: This probably refers to the members of the church to which the writer belonged.