^aThe elder of the church addresses this letter to the beloved and esteemed ^bGaius, whom I ^clove in truth.

2 Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health physically, just as I know your soul prospers spiritually. 3 For I ^awas greatly pleased when some of the ^bbrothers came from time to time and testified to your faithfulness to the truth of the gospel message, that is, how you are walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear that ^amy spiritual children are ^bliving their lives in the truth.

5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in what you are providing for the ^abrothers, and especially when they are ^bstrangers; 6 and they have testified before the church of your love and friendship. You will do well to assist them and ^asend them on their way in a manner ^bworthy of God. 7 For these traveling missionaries went out for the sake of ^athe Name of Christ, ^baccepting nothing in the way of assistance from the Gentiles. 8 So we ought to support such people welcoming them as guests and providing for them, so that we may be fellow workers for the truth that is, for the gospel message of salvation.

9 I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to ^aput himself first, does not accept what we say and refuses to recognize my authority. 10 For this reason, ^aif I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, unjustly accusing us with wicked words and unjustified charges. And not satisfied with this, he refuses to ^breceive the missionary ^cbrothers himself, and also forbids those who want to welcome them and ^dputs them out of the church.

11 Beloved, ^ado not imitate what is evil, but imitate what is good. ^bThe one who practices good exhibiting godly character, moral courage and personal integrity is of God; ^cthe one who practices or permits or tolerates evil has not seen God he has no personal experience with Him and does not know Him at all. 1+@John 3:6 12 Demetrius ^ahas received a good testimony and commendation from everyone—and from the truth the standard of God’s word itself; and we add our testimony and speak well of him, and ^byou know that our testimony is true.

13 ^aI had many things to say when I began to write to you, but I prefer not to put it down with pen (reed) and ¹black (ink) ; 14 but I hope to see you soon, and we will speak ¹face to face. Num 12:8

15 ^aPeace be to you. The friends here greet you. Greet the friends personally ^bby name.

^aThe elder to the beloved ^bGaius, whom I ^clove in truth.

2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I ^awas overjoyed when ^bbrothers came and testified to your truth, that is, how you ^care walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than ¹this, to hear of ^amy children ^bwalking in the truth.

5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the ^abrothers and sisters, and ¹especially when they are ^bstrangers; 6 and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to ^1asend them on their way in a manner ^bworthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of ^athe Name, ^baccepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to ¹support such people, so that we may ²prove to be fellow workers ³with the truth.

9 I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to ^abe first among them, does not accept ¹what we say. 10 For this reason, ^aif I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with malicious words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not ^breceive the ^cbrothers either, and he forbids those who want to do so and ^dputs them out of the church.

11 Beloved, ^ado not imitate what is evil, but what is good. ^bThe one who does what is good is of God; ^cthe one who does what is evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius ^ahas received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we testify too, and ^byou know that our testimony is true.

13 ^aI had many things to write to you, but I do not want to write to you with pen and ink; 14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak ¹face to face.

15 ^aPeace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends ^bby name.

^aThe elder to the beloved ^bGaius, whom I ^clove in truth.

2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I ^arejoiced greatly when ^bbrothers came and bore witness to your truth, that is, how you ^care walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than ¹this, to hear that ^amy children are ^bwalking in the truth.

5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever ¹work you do for the ^abrothers, and are doing this though they are ^bstrangers; 6 and they bore witness to your love before the church. You will do well to ^asend them on their way in a manner ^bworthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of ^athe Name, ^breceiving nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to ¹support such men, so that we may ²be fellow workers ³with the truth.

9 I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to ^abe first among them, does not welcome ¹what we say. 10 For this reason, ^aif I come, I will bring to remembrance his deeds which he does, unjustly disparaging us with wicked words. And not satisfied with this, he himself does not ^bwelcome the ^cbrothers either, and he forbids those who want to do so and ^dputs them out of the church.

11 Beloved, ^ado not imitate what is evil, but what is good. ^bThe one who does good is of God; ^cthe one who does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius ^ahas received a good witness from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our witness, and ^byou know that our witness is true.

13 ^aI had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; 14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face.

15 ^aPeace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends ^bby name.