⁴I ^crejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received a commandment from the Father. ⁵And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: ^dthat we love one another. ⁶^eThis is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that ^fas you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

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Cross references

c 1 Thess. 2:19, 20; 3 John 3, 4
d[John 13:34, 35; 15:12, 17]; 1 John 3:11; 4:7, 11
e John 14:15; 1 John 2:5; 5:3
f 1 John 2:24

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, in keeping with a command we have received from the Father. So now I ask you, dear lady—not as if I were writing you a new command, but one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. This is love: that we walk according to his commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.

NLTNew Living Translation

How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded.

I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

I was very glad because I found some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.

And now I ask you, lady (not as if I were writing a new commandment to you, but one that we have had from the beginning), that we should love one another. And this is love: that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.

KJV 1900King James Version

I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. 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. 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.

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