1 From the Elder—To the dear Lady and to her children, whom I truly love. And I am not the only one, but all who know the truth love you,
2 because the truth remains in us and will be with us forever.
3 May God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, give us grace, mercy, and peace; may they be ours in truth and love.
4 How happy I was to find that some of your children live in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.
5 And so I ask you, dear Lady: let us all love one another. This is no new command I am writing you; it is the command which we have had from the beginning.
6 This 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.