2 John 1:1

2 John 1:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;
• New International Version (NIV)The elder, To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth—
• English Standard Version (ESV)The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth,
• New King James Version (NKJV)The Elder, To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth,

Context of 2 John 1:1

This letter comes from me, the leader of the believers. I am writing to you, a special lady that God has chosen, and to your children. I love all of you, because you have believed God's true message. And I am not the only one who loves you. Everyone who knows the true message about God really loves you. 2I love you because we have all come to understand what is true. It will remain with us for ever. 3God our Father, and his Son Jesus Christ will help us. He will be kind to us and he will give us peace in our minds. This will happen because God loves us and because we believe his true message.

2 John 1:1 word by word

Ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἐκλεκτῇ κυρίᾳ καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτῆς οὓς ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ οὐκ ἐγὼ μόνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντες οἱ ἐγνωκότες τὴν ἀλήθειαν,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• The elderπρεσβύτεροςpresbuteros · elder (leader)G4245
• unto the electἐκλεκτόςeklektos · selectG1588
• ladyΚυρίαKuria · ladyG2959
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• herαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043
• whomὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• loveἀγαπάωagapaō · to loveG25
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the truthἀλήθειαalētheia · truthG225
• notοὐou · noG3756
• onlyμόνοςmonos · aloneG3441
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• they that have knownγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097

Cross-references for 2 John 1:1

• 1 Peter 5:1Now I want to say something to you who are leaders of the groups of believers. Like you, I am also a leader. I myself saw how people caused Christ to have great pain so that he died. One day people will see how great he really is. Then I will be among those people who join with him in heaven. So I say this to you who are leaders:
• 3 John 1:1This letter comes from me, the leader of the believers. I am writing to you, my friend Gaius. I love you because we believe God's true message.
• 2 John 1:5So now, dear lady, I want you to do something. I want all of us to love one another. I am not telling you a new command to obey. This is a command that we have had from the beginning.
• Luke 1:3I have checked the facts about what really happened. So now, I know about all the things that happened from the beginning. I am writing to make the facts clear to you, my important friend Theophilus.
• Ephesians 1:4Before God made the world, he chose us to be his people because of Christ. He chose us so that we would please him. Because we belong to Christ, God accepts us as completely good. This shows how much he loves us.
• 1 Thessalonians 1:3As we pray to our Father God, we remember how you live. You do good things because you believe in Christ. You work hard to help other people because you love them and you love God. You are also strong and patient because you hope strongly in our Lord Jesus Christ.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:13We always thank God for you, our Christian friends that the Lord loves. We ought to thank God, because he has chosen to save you. God chose you to belong to him, as some of the first people that he would save. You believed God's true message. And God's Spirit makes you separate from things that are bad.
• 1 Peter 1:2God, the Father, already decided that you should be his people. God's Spirit has made you special people who would obey Jesus Christ. God chose you so that Jesus Christ's blood would make you really clean. I pray that God will help you and give you peace in your minds more and more.
• 2 John 1:2I love you because we have all come to understand what is true. It will remain with us for ever.
• 1 Peter 1:22You have obeyed God's true message. As a result, you have become clean inside, and now you can really love other believers. So continue to love each other very well, with honest thoughts.
• 1 John 3:18My little children, we should not show love for each other only by what we say. We should also show true love by the things that we do.
• John 8:32Then you will know what is true. And that will make you free.’
• Galatians 2:5But we did not allow them to do this to us. They wanted to spoil the true good news that you have believed. We kept the good news safe for you.
• Galatians 3:1You Christians in Galatia are like fools! Someone has taught you to believe crazy ideas! I taught you clearly that Jesus Christ died on the cross as a sacrifice on our behalf. You understood that.
• Galatians 5:7Like good runners, you were doing very well! You should not have let anyone turn you away from God's true message.
• Colossians 1:5You live like that because you hope to receive good things from God. You know that God has prepared those good things for you. He is keeping them safe in heaven. You learned that when people first told you God's true message, his good news.

Commentaries on 2 John 1:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1The elder - John the apostle, who was now a very old man, generally supposed to be about ninety, and therefore he uses the term ̔ , presbyter or elder, not as the name of an office, but as designating his advanced age. He is allowed to have been the oldest of all the apostles, and to have been the only one who died a natural death. This title led some of the ancients to attribute this epistle to a person called John the Presbyter, a member of the Church…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1The elder - See the introduction, Section 1, (2,d). Unto the elect lady - The elect or chosen Kyria. See the introduction, Section 2. He addresses her as one chosen of God to salvation, in the use of a term often applied to Christians in the New Testament. And her children - The word here rendered “children” ( ́ teknois) would include in itself both sons and daughters, but since the apostle immediately uses a masculine pronoun, toisit would seem more…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The apostle salutes the elect lady and her children. (1-3) Express his joy in their faith and love. (4-6) Cautions them against deceivers. (7-11) And concludes. (12-13) Verses 1-3 Religion turns compliments into real expressions of respect and love. And old disciple is honourable; an old apostle and leader of disciples is more so. The letter is to a noble Christian matron, and her children; it is well that the gospel should get among such: some noble…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1The elder: The apostle John calls himself “the elder” to affirm his authority in the church. To the chosen lady and her children: The Greek word kuria could be the name of a specific woman. However, it more likely refers to a local church and its members (see 1:13). whom I love in the truth: This could mean “truly love” (see 1:5–6). More likely, it refers to the love shared by people who confess the same truth about Christ. This truth stands in contrast…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1Authenticity.--That these two Epistles were written by the same author appears from their similarity of tone, style, and sentiments. That John, the beloved disciple, was the author of the Second and Third Epistles, as of the First Epistle, appears from Irenæus [Against Heresies, 1.16.3], who quotes 2Jo 10, 11; and in [3.16.8], he quotes 2Jo 7, mistaking it, however, as if occurring in First John. Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 192) [Miscellanies, 2.66]…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 John 1:1

• Elder

In the dictionaries

• Elect lady
• Truth
• chosen, choose, chosen people, Chosen One, elect

Commentaries on 2 John 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings