2 John 1:5

2 John 1:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
• New International Version (NIV)And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another.

Context of 2 John 1:5

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. 4I 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. So 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. 7I say this because many false teachers are travelling around everywhere. They do not agree that Jesus Christ was born as a human baby. People like that are telling lies. They are enemies of Christ.

2 John 1:5 word by word

καὶ νῦν ἐρωτῶ σε, κυρία, οὐχ ὡς ἐντολὴν γράφων σοι, ἀλλ᾽ ἣν εἴχομεν ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς, ἵνα ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
• I beseechἐρωτάωerōtaō · to askG2065
• theeσύsu · youG4771
• ladyΚυρίαKuria · ladyG2959
• notοὐou · noG3756
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• though I wroteγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
• a newκαινόςkainos · newG2537
• commandmentἐντολήentolē · commandmentG1785
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• we hadἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• the beginningἀρχήarchē · beginningG746
• we loveἀγαπάωagapaō · to loveG25
• one anotherἀλλήλωνallēlōn · one anotherG240

Cross-references for 2 John 1:5

• 1 John 2:7My friends, I am telling you to love one another. When I write this to you, I am not giving you a new rule. It is an old rule that you have had for a long time. We gave it to you when you began to obey Christ. It is the same message that you have already heard.
• 1 John 3:11Yes, we must love one another. That is the message which you have heard from the beginning.
• John 13:34I give a new rule to you. Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you.
• John 15:12This is the rule that I give to you: You must love each other, in the same way that I have loved you.
• Galatians 5:22But God's Spirit causes us to live in a different way. We love other people. We are happy and we have peace in our minds. We are patient, kind and good. People can trust us to do what is right.
• 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 Thessalonians 4:9But I do not need to write to you about how you should love other believers. God himself has taught you how to love each other.
• Hebrews 13:1Continue to love each other like brothers and sisters.
• 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 Peter 4:8Continue to love each other very much. That is more important than anything else. If you love people, you will forgive them for any wrong things that they have done.
• 2 Peter 1:7You should not only please God, but you should be kind to other believers. You should not only love other believers, but you must also love all people.
• 1 John 3:14We know that we now have new life with God. Death no longer has power over us. We know this because we love our Christian friends. But anyone who does not love other believers is still under the power of death.
• 1 John 4:7My friends, we should all love each other. It is God who makes us able to love other people. Everyone who loves other people has become a child of God. That person knows God.

Commentaries on 2 John 1:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5That which we had from the beginning - The commandment to love one another was what they had heard from the first publication of Christianity, and what he wishes this excellent woman to inculcate on all those under her care. The mode of address here shows that it was a person, not a Church, to which the apostle wrote.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5And now I beseech thee, lady - Dr, “And now I entreat thee, Kyria,” ( ́ kuriaSee the introduction, Section 2. If this was her proper name, there is no impropriety in supposing that he would address her in this familiar style. John was probably then a very old man; the female to whom the Epistle was addressed was doubtless much younger. Not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee - John presumed that the command to love one another was understood as…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. 5I urge you, dear lady: See study note on 1:1.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. I beseech--rather (compare Note, see on 1Jo 5:16), "I request thee," implying some degree of authority. not ... new commandment--It was old in that Christians heard it from the first in the Gospel preaching; new, in that the Gospel rested love on the new principle of filial imitation of God who first loved us, and gave Jesus to die for us; and also, in that love is now set forth with greater clearness than in the Old Testament dispensation. Love…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 John 1:5

• Commandments
• Love

In the dictionaries

• New Commandment

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