1 From the elder. To the chosen gentlewoman and her children, whom I truly love (and I am not the only one, but also all who know the truth),
2 because of the truth that remains with us and will be with us forever.
3 Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, will be ours who live in truth and love.
4 I was overjoyed to find some of your children living in the truth, just as we had been commanded by the Father.
5 Now, dear friends, I am requesting that we love each other. It’s not as though I’m writing a new command to you, but it’s one we have had from the beginning.
6 This is love: that we live according to his commands. This is the command that you heard from the beginning: live in love.
7 Many deceivers have gone into the world who do not confess that Jesus Christ came as a human being. This kind of person is the deceiver and the antichrist.
8 Watch yourselves so that you don’t lose what we’ve worked for but instead receive a full reward.
9 Anyone who goes too far and does not continue in the teaching about Christ does not have God. Whoever continues in this teaching has both the Father and the Son.
10 Whoever comes to you who does not affirm this teaching should neither be received nor welcomed into your home,
11 because welcoming people like that is the same thing as sharing in their evil actions.
12 I have a lot to tell you. I don’t want to use paper and ink, but I hope to visit you and talk with you face-to-face, so that our joy can be complete.
13 Your chosen sister’s children greet you.