< Ιωαννου Β΄ 1 >
1 Ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἐκλεκτῇ κυρίᾳ καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτῆς, οὓς ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ οὐκ ἐγὼ μόνος ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντες οἱ ἐγνωκότες τὴν ἀλήθειαν,
From the elder, to the lady chosen by God and her children. I truly love you all, and I am not the only one but all who know the truth love you as well.
2 διὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν τὴν μένουσαν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ μεθʼ ἡμῶν ἔσται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα· (aiōn )
We love you for the sake of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever. (aiōn )
3 ἔσται μεθʼ ἡμῶν χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη παρὰθεοῦ πατρός, καὶ ⸀παρὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ πατρός, ἐν ἀληθείᾳ καὶ ἀγάπῃ.
Grace, mercy, and peace will be ours – the gift of God, the Father, and of Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son – in truth and love.
4 Ἐχάρην λίαν ὅτι εὕρηκα ἐκ τῶν τέκνων σου περιπατοῦντας ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, καθὼς ἐντολὴν ἐλάβομεν παρὰ τοῦ πατρός.
It was a great joy to me to find the lives of some of your children guided by the truth, in obedience to the command that we received from the Father.
5 καὶ νῦν ἐρωτῶ σε, κυρία, οὐχ ὡς ἐντολὴν ⸂καινὴν γράφων σοι ἀλλὰ ἣν εἴχομεν ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς, ἵνα ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους.
And now I implore you, dear lady, let us love one another This is not a new command I am writing to you. It is the command we have had from the beginning. – Let us love one another.
6 καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγάπη, ἵνα περιπατῶμεν κατὰ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ· αὕτη ⸂ἡ ἐντολή ἐστιν, καθὼς ἠκούσατε ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς, ἵνα ἐν αὐτῇ περιπατῆτε.
And this is love – to live in obedience to the Father’s commands. This is the command as you learned from the beginning, to live a life of love.
7 ὅτι πολλοὶ πλάνοι ⸀ἐξῆλθονεἰς τὸν κόσμον, οἱ μὴ ὁμολογοῦντες Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί· οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ πλάνος καὶ ὁ ἀντίχριστος.
I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world – men who do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ came in flesh and blood. Any such person is a deceiver and antichrist.
8 βλέπετε ἑαυτούς, ἵνα μὴ ⸀ἀπολέσητεἃ ⸀εἰργασάμεθα ἀλλὰ μισθὸν πλήρη ⸀ἀπολάβητε
Take care so that you do not what we have worked for but instead receive your full reward.
9 πᾶς ὁ ⸀προάγωνκαὶ μὴ μένων ἐν τῇ διδαχῇτοῦ Χριστοῦ θεὸν οὐκ ἔχει· ὁ μένων ἐν τῇ ⸀διδαχῇ, οὗτος καὶ τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ἔχει.
Anyone who goes beyond and fails to live inside of the teaching of Christ does not have God. The person who lives inside that teaching – they have both the Father and the Son.
10 εἴ τις ἔρχεται πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ ταύτην τὴν διδαχὴν οὐ φέρει, μὴ λαμβάνετε αὐτὸν εἰς οἰκίαν καὶ χαίρειν αὐτῷ μὴ λέγετε·
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive them into your house or even welcome them;
11 ὁ ⸂λέγων γὰρ αὐτῷ χαίρειν κοινωνεῖ τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ τοῖς πονηροῖς.
because the person who welcomes them is sharing with them in his evil work.
12 Πολλὰ ἔχων ὑμῖν γράφειν οὐκ ἐβουλήθην διὰ χάρτου καὶ μέλανος, ἀλλὰ ἐλπίζω ⸀γενέσθαιπρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ στόμα πρὸς στόμα λαλῆσαι, ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ⸀ὑμῶν⸂πεπληρωμένη ᾖ.
Though I have many other things to tell you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come and see you, and to speak with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
13 Ἀσπάζεταί σε τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἀδελφῆς σου τῆς ⸀ἐκλεκτῆς
The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send you their greetings.