2 John — New Testament Reader

2 John

The King James text of 1611, set beside a plain-English rendering, so the original may be both read and understood.

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Chapter 1

King James Version — 1611

In Plain English

1The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;

1The elder, To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth—

2For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.

2because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

3Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

3Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love.

4I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.

4It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.

5And 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.

5And 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.

6And 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.

6And 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.

7For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

7I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

8Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

8Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.

9Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

9Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

10If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

10If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them.

11For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

11Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.

12Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

12I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

13The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.

13The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings.

A Postcard from the Elder

This little letter—the second shortest book in the New Testament—comes from the same hand as the Gospel and First Letter of John. Here the writer calls himself simply "the elder," the title of an old and revered leader, and he addresses "the lady chosen by God and her children." Many readers take this not as a literal woman but as an affectionate code for a particular church and its members; the "sister" whose children send greetings at the end would then be John's own congregation. It is the sort of brief, warm note an aged pastor might send by a traveling messenger, promising a fuller visit soon: "I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete."

Short as it is, it carries the two great concerns of John's longer letter in miniature: truth and love. He is delighted to hear that some of the church's members are "walking in the truth," and he repeats the old command—"that we love one another"—reminding them it is not new but the one they have had from the beginning. Then comes the sharp note of warning that gives the letter its edge. "Many deceivers" were circulating, the same teachers who denied that Jesus had truly "come in the flesh," and they traveled from house to house spreading their message. John tells this church not to offer them hospitality or even a greeting, lest they share in the harm being done. In a world where traveling teachers depended entirely on the welcome of local believers, withholding the open door was the church's only real defense.

An Interpretation

Written with AIThe reflection below was written by AI as commentary—one reader's lens on the text, offered alongside it and never in place of it. It is not scripture, and not the King James words themselves.

Second John holds together two things we usually like to keep apart: warmth and boundaries. The same elder who overflows with affection—who would rather come in person than waste the moment on paper and ink—also tells his readers, bluntly, to shut the door on certain visitors. To modern ears the instruction can sound harsh, even unloving. But John would say the two go together: precisely because love and truth are inseparable, a "love" that welcomes anything, including teaching that guts the faith, is not really love at all.

The key is the situation behind the words. These were not curious neighbors or honest skeptics; they were traveling missionaries actively working to dismantle the community's faith, and the "house" they sought was also the house church where they would be given a platform. To welcome them was not tolerance but endorsement—handing them the pulpit. John's counsel is less about cold-shouldering outsiders than about not funding your own undoing.

Still, the letter leaves a healthy tension on the page, and it is worth feeling rather than resolving too quickly. The man who wrote "God is love" and "perfect love drives out fear" is the same man drawing this hard line. He seems to trust his readers to know the difference between a person to be loved and a campaign to be refused—and to keep the door of the heart open even while guarding the door of the house.