3 John · 14 verses
3 John 1
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
The elder has many things to write, but leaves them unwritten until a face-to-face meeting—a surprisingly emphatic triumph for pen and ink.
Gaius and the travelling brothersvv. 1–8
The elder begins with a prayer for Gaius’s prosperity and good health, measured alongside the prosperity of his soul. Brothers have arrived bearing testimony: Gaius continues in the truth, is faithful to strangers, and has shown love worthy of the church’s report. The travellers went out on behalf of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles; support for such men would make fellow workers for the truth.
The man who loves to be firstvv. 9–14
Diotrephes’s fondness for first place becomes an entire programme: he rejects instruction, slanders the writers, refuses the brothers, bars those who would welcome them, and puts them out of the church. Demetrius stands in the other direction, carrying a good testimony from everyone, from the truth itself, and from the elder. The elder then declines to put many remaining matters into pen and ink, preferring speech face to face.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
3 John 1:1The elder, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth:
3 John 1:2Beloved, I pray that in every way you may prosper and enjoy good health, as your soul also prospers.
3 John 1:3For I was overjoyed when the brothers came and testified about your devotion to the truth, in which you continue to walk.
3 John 1:4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
3 John 1:5Beloved, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, and especially since they are strangers to you.
3 John 1:6They have testified to the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.
3 John 1:7For they went out on behalf of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.
3 John 1:8Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
3 John 1:9I have written to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not accept our instruction.
3 John 1:10So if I come, I will call attention to his malicious slander against us. And unsatisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers and forbids those who want to do so, even putting them out of the church.
3 John 1:11Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.
3 John 1:12Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also testify for him, and you know that our testimony is true.
3 John 1:13I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with pen and ink.
3 John 1:14Instead, I hope to see you soon and speak with you face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send you greetings. Greet each of our friends there by name.
01 — Also here
Who else the chapter reaches
Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.
Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 151 passages were voted onto 14 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 22 Peter 1:3–9His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
- 22 Peter 3:18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
- 11Isaiah 1:16–17Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
- 11Psalms 37:27Turn away from evil and do good, so that you will abide forever.
- 2Colossians 1:4–6because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints—
- 11Ephesians 5:1Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children,
- 21 Peter 4:8Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
- 111 Peter 3:11He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.
- 2Psalms 20:1–5For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
- 21 Thessalonians 2:13–14And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is also now at work in you who believe.
- 22 Thessalonians 1:3We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.
- 11John 3:20Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
- 111 Peter 3:13Who can harm you if you are zealous for what is good?
- 2Philemon 1:5–7because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.
- 111 John 3:6–9No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.
- 2Philippians 2:4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Onward