3 John 1:13
11 Beloved, 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.
12 Demetrius 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.
I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with pen and ink.
14 Instead, 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.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with pen and ink.
- KJV
- I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee:
- WEB
- I had many things to write to you, but I am unwilling to write to you with ink and pen;
- ASV
- I had many things to write unto thee, but I am unwilling to write [them] to thee with ink and pen:
- DARBY
- I had many things to write to thee, but I will not with ink and pen write to thee;
- BLB
- I had many things to write to you, but I do not want to write to you with ink and pen;
- ÅB
- Jeg hadde meget å skrive til deg, men jeg vil ikke skrive til deg med blekk og penn;
- OTB
- Jeg har mange ting å skrive til deg, men jeg foretrekker å ikke gjøre det med penn og blekk;
- B1930
- Jeg hadde meget å skrive til dig, men jeg vil ikke skrive til dig med blekk og penn;
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
2 John 1:12
I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come and speak with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
Read in context