3 Jean 1
1 Moi, l'Ancien, à mon cher Caïus, que j'aime en la vérité.
[You(sg) know me as] the [chief] Elder. [I am writing this letter to you], my dear friend Gaius, whom I truly love.
2 Mon cher, je souhaite qu'à tous égards l'état de tes affaires et celui de ta santé soient aussi prospères que celui de ton âme;
Dear friend, I ask [God that things may go] well for you in every way, [specifically], that you will be physically healthy just like you are spiritually healthy [MTY].
3 car j'ai eu bien de la joie de l'arrivée des frères, parce qu'ils ont rendu témoignage de la manière dont tu marches dans la vérité.
I am very happy because some fellow believers have come [here] and told me that you conduct your life in a manner [that is consistent with God’s] true message.
4 Je n'ai pas de plus grand bonheur que d'apprendre que mes enfants marchent dans la vérité.
I am very happy when I hear that (people whom I helped to believe in Christ/my [spiritual] children) are conducting their lives like you are!
5 Mon cher, tu te conduis fidèlement dans tout ce que tu fais pour les frères, et encore pour des frères étrangers:
Dear friend, you are [serving Jesus] loyally/faithfully whenever you do things to help fellow believers, [even those whom you] do not know, who are traveling [around doing God’s work].
6 aussi ont-ils rendu témoignage de ta charité en présence de l'église. Tu feras bien de pourvoir à leur voyage d'une manière digne de Dieu,
[Some of] them have reported before the congregation [here how] you have showed that you love them. You should continue to help such people in their travels in a way that is pleasing to God.
7 car c'est pour le nom de Christ qu'ils sont partis, et ils n'acceptent rien des païens.
When those fellow believers went out [to tell people about Jesus] [MTY], the people who do not believe in Christ did not give them anything [to help them].
8 C'est donc notre devoir, à nous, de soutenir de telles personnes, afin de travailler avec elles pour la vérité.
So we [who believe in Christ] ought to give food and money to such people to help [them as they teach others God’s] true message.
9 J'ai écrit quelques mots à l'église, mais Diotrèphe, qui aime à y primer, n'a aucun égard pour nous.
I wrote [a letter] to the congregation [telling them to help those fellow believers]. However, Diotrephes does not (acknowledge my authority/[pay any attention to what] I wrote), because he (desires to be in charge/wants to be the leader) of [the congregation].
10 C'est pourquoi, dès que je serai arrivé, je rappellerai les actes qu'il commet, lui qui débite contre nous de méchants propos, et qui, non content de cela, non seulement ne reçoit pas les frères, mais encore empêche ceux qui les veulent recevoir, de le faire, et les chasse de l'église.
So, when I arrive [there], I will [publicly] tell what he does: He tells others evil nonsense about us [in order to] harm [us by what he] says, and he is not content with only doing that. He himself refuses to receive the fellow believers who are traveling around doing God’s work, and he also stops those who want to receive them by expelling them from the congregation.
11 Mon cher, n'imite point le mal, mais imite le bien: celui qui fait le bien est issu de Dieu; celui qui fait le mal, n'a point vu Dieu.
Dear friend, do not imitate a bad [example like that]. Instead, [keep imitating] good [examples. Remember that] people who do good deeds ([truly] belong to God/are [spiritual children] of God), [but] those who do [what is] evil do not (know/have fellowship with) God.
12 Tout le monde et la vérité elle-même, rendent un bon témoignage à Démétrius; nous le lui rendons aussi, et vous savez que notre témoignage est véritable.
All [the believers who know Demetrius] say that he [is a good person]. The fact [that he conducts his life in a way that is consistent/in accordance with God’s] true [message] shows [that he is a good person], and we also say the same thing [about him]. You know that what we say [about him] is true. [So it will be good if you welcome him and help him. He is the one who will be bringing this letter to you].
13 J'aurais beaucoup de choses à te dire, mais je ne veux pas le faire avec l'encre et la plume.
[When I began] to write this letter, I had much more [that I intended] to tell you. But [now] I do not want to say [it] in a letter [MTY].
14 J'espère te voir prochainement, et alors nous nous entretiendrons de bouche. Que la paix soit avec toi! Nos amis te saluent. Salue nos amis, chacun en particulier.
Instead, I expect to [come and] see you soon. Then we will talk directly with one another. [I pray that God will enable] you [to experience inner] peace. Our friends [here] (send you their greetings/say that they are thinking affectionately about you) [MTY]. Tell our friends [there] that we (send our greetings to/are thinking fondly about) them.
