¹ From the Elder: greetings to my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in truth.

² My dear friend, I hope everything is going happily with you and that you are as well physically as you are spiritually.

³ It was a great joy to me when some brothers came and told of your faithfulness to the truth, and of your life in the truth.

⁴ It is always my greatest joy to hear that my children are living according to the truth.

⁵ My dear friend, you have done loyal work in helping these brothers, even though they were strangers to you.

⁶ They are a proof to the whole Church of your love and it would be a kindness if you could help them on their journey as God would approve.

⁷ It was entirely for the sake of the name that they set out, without depending on the non-believers for anything:

⁸ it is our duty to welcome people of this sort and contribute our share to their work for the truth.

⁹ I have written a note for the members of the church, but Diotrephes, who enjoys being in charge of it, refuses to accept us.

¹⁰ So if I come, I shall tell everyone how he has behaved, and about the wicked accusations he has been circulating against us. As if that were not enough, he not only refuses to welcome our brothers, but prevents from doing so other people who would have liked to, and expels them from the church.

¹¹ My dear friend, never follow a bad example, but keep following the good one; whoever does what is right is from God, but no one who does what is wrong has ever seen God.

¹² Demetrius has been approved by everyone, and indeed by Truth itself. We too will vouch for him and you know that our testimony is true.

¹³ There were several things I had to tell you but I would rather not trust them to pen and ink.

¹⁴ However, I hope to see you soon and talk to you in person.

¹⁵ Peace be with you; greetings from your friends; greet each of our friends by name.