5 My dear friend, you are so faithful in the work you do for your fellow-Christians, even when they are strangers.
6 They have spoken to the church here about your love. Please help them to continue their journey in a way that will please God.
7 For they set out on their journey in the service of Christ without accepting any help from unbelievers.
8 We Christians, then, must help these people, so that we may share in their work for the truth.
9 I wrote a short letter to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to be their leader, will not pay any attention to what I say.
10 When I come, then, I will call attention to everything he has done: the terrible things he says about us and the lies he tells! But that is not enough for him; he will not receive our fellow-Christians when they come, and even stops those who want to receive them and tries to drive them out of the church!
11 My dear friend, do not imitate what is bad, but imitate what is good. Whoever does good belongs to God; whoever does what is bad has not seen God.