2 John 1:4

2 John 1:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.
• New International Version (NIV)It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.
• English Standard Version (ESV)I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.
• New King James Version (NKJV)I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father.

Context of 2 John 1:4

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. I was very happy to hear about some of your children. I am happy because they are living in a good way. They are obeying the true message about God. They are doing what God our Father has told us to do. 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. 6How do we show real love? We show it when we live in a way that makes God happy. We obey his commands. He tells us to love one another, and that is how you should live. You have heard that command from the beginning.

2 John 1:4 word by word

Ἐχάρην λίαν ὅτι εὕρηκα ἐκ τῶν τέκνων σου περιπατοῦντας ἐν ἀληθείᾳ καθὼς ἐντολὴν ἐλάβομεν παρὰ τοῦ πατρός.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• I rejoicedχαίρωchairō · to rejoiceG5463
• greatlyλίανlian · greatlyG3029
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• I foundεὑρίσκωheuriskō · to find/meetG2147
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• thyσύsu · youG4771
• childrenὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043
• walkingπεριπατέωperipateō · to walkG4043
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• truthἀλήθειαalētheia · truthG225
• asκαθώςkathōs · as/just asG2531
• we have receivedλαμβάνωlambanō · to takeG2983
• a commandmentἐντολήentolē · commandmentG1785
• fromπαράpara · from/with/besideG3844
• the Fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962

Cross-references for 2 John 1:4

• Philippians 4:10I am very happy that you want to help me again. I praise the Lord for that. I know that you wanted to help me before. But you have not had a chance to do anything until now.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:19You are the people that make us very happy! We know that you will continue to trust God. So, when our Lord Jesus returns, we will be proud of you. You will be like a crown that he gives us when we stand in front of him.
• 1 Thessalonians 3:6But now Timothy has come back to us. And he has told us good news about you. He has told us that you continue to trust Christ and you love one another. He says that you always think about us in a good way. You want very much to meet us again, as we also want to meet you.
• 3 John 1:3I was very happy when I heard news about you. Some Christian friends came here to tell me about you. They said that you are living in a good way. That is the way that God's true message tells us to live.
• Hosea 14:9If you are wise, you should understand these things. If you understand, think carefully about them. The Lord teaches you to live in ways that are right. Righteous people live in those good ways. But people who turn against the Lord fall down and lose their way.
• Malachi 2:6He taught my true message. He did not teach people anything that was bad. He lived in a good and honest way as he served me. He helped many people to stop doing wrong things.
• Galatians 2:14But I could see that they were wrong to do this. They were not living in a way that agrees with God's true message. So I spoke to Peter in front of all of them. I said to him, ‘You were born as a Jew, but you have been living like a Gentile. As a believer, you no longer obey all the Jewish rules. So you should not try to make Gentile believers obey those Jewish rules.’
• Ephesians 5:2Show that you love other people. Remember how much Christ loved us. He gave himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. He offered himself in a way that pleased God, like a sacrifice with a lovely smell.
• 1 John 1:6Do you say that you share in the life that God gives? If you say that, but if you still live in the dark, you are telling a lie. You are not living in God's true way.
• 1 John 2:6If we say that we are living in God's true way, then we must live in the way that Jesus lived.

Commentaries on 2 John 1:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4That I found of thy children walking in truth - I have already supposed this Christian matron to be mother of a family, probably a widow, for no mention is made of her husband; and that she was also a deaconess in the church, and one in those house the traveling evangelists preached, and there they were entertained. The children mentioned here may either be her own children, or those members of the Church which were under her care, or some of both. The…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4I rejoiced greatly that I found … - That I learned this fact respecting some of thy children. The apostle does not say how he had learned this. It may have been that he had become personally acquainted with them when they were away from their home, or that he had learned it from others. The word used ̔́ heurēkawould apply to either method. Grotius supposed that some of the sons had come to Ephesus on business, and that John had become acquainted with…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-6Verses 4-6 It is good to be trained to early religion; and children may be beloved for their parents' sake. It gave great joy to the apostle to see children treading in their parents' steps, and likely in their turn to support the gospel. May God bless such families more and more, and raise up many to copy their example. How pleasing the contrast to numbers who spread irreligion, infidelity, and vice, among their children! Our walk is true, our converse…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-11John now applies the truth and love that he mentioned in the introduction (1:1–3) to the situation of those he is writing to. Living in truth and love means maintaining unity or fellowship with true Christians (1:4–6). It also involves recognizing false teachers and choosing not to listen to or support them (1:7–11).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. I found--probably in one of his missionary tours of superintendence. See Introduction, at the end, and 2Jo 12; 3Jo 10, 14. of thy children--some. in truth--that is, in the Gospel truth. as--even as. "The Father's commandment" is the standard of "the truth."Read the comment

Topics related to 2 John 1:4

• God
• Holiness

In the dictionaries

• Adoption
• Child; Children

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