2 John — The Coverdale Bible (1535)

2 John is the short letter to the elect lady on truth and love. In Coverdale’s Bible of 1535 it stands in the New Testament under the heading “The seconde Epistle of S. Ihon”. Coverdale’s summary of the chapters stands before the text; it is printed without chapter or verse divisions, so the text keeps its own paragraphs, with the marginal notes and references printed at the end.

The summe of this epistle.

He wryteth vnto a certayne lady, reioyseth that her children walke in the trueth, exhorteth thē vnto loue, warneth them to bewarre of soch disceauers as denye that Iesus Christ came in the flesh, prayeth them to contynue in the doctryne of Christ, and to haue nothinge to do with them that bringe not this lernynge.

THE Elder. To yᵉ electe [A] lady and hir childrē whom I loue in the trueth: & not I onely, but all they also that haue knowne the trueth, for the truthes sake which dwelleth in vs, and shalbe with vs for euer.

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you frō the LORDE Iesus Christ yᵉ sonne of the father in the trueth and in loue.

I am greatly reioysed, that I haue founde amonge thy children, them that walke in yᵉ trueth, as we haue receaued a commaundement of the father. And now lady I beseke the (not as though I wrote a new commaundement vnto the, but the same which we haue had from the begynnynge) that we loue one another. And this is the loue, that we walke after his commaundementes.

This is the commaundement (as ye haue [B] herde frō the begynnynge) that we shulde walke therin. ⁽¹⁾ For many disceauers are come in to the worlde, which confesse not yᵗ Iesus Christ is come in the flesh: this is a disceauer and an Antechrist. Take hede to youre selues, that we lose not that which we haue wrought, but that we maye receaue a full rewarde. Who so euer transgresseth, and abydeth not in the doctryne of Christ, hath not God: he that abydeth in yᵉ doctryne of Christ, hath both the father and the sonne.

⁽²⁾ Yf eny man come vnto you, and brynge not this doctryne, receaue him not in to the house, nether salute him: for he that saluteth him, is partaker of his euell dedes. I had ⟨illegible⟩ any thinges to wryte vnto you: neuerthe⟨illegible⟩ I wolde not wryte wᵗ papyre and ynke, but I trust to come vnto you, and to speake with you mouth mouth, that oure ioye maye be full The children of thy electe sister

Notes

⁽¹⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. Ioh. 2. c and 4. a

⁽²⁾ ⟨illegible⟩. Tess. 3. b

Colophon

This page is an archival transcription of the printed text, not a Good Works Translation. Source: Biblia the Byble, that is, the holy Scrypture of the Olde and New Testament, faithfully translated in to Englyshe (M.D.XXXV; STC 2063.3), translated by Myles Coverdale, the copy in Cambridge University Library, keyed and encoded by the Text Creation Partnership (EEBO-TCP Phase I, text A10349, 2005) and released under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 public-domain dedication.

4 places illegible in the Cambridge copy were filled from Samuel Bagster’s 1838 page-for-page reprint of the edition (archive.org, holyscriptures00cove), only where the reprint’s reading is certain; each fill is listed on this room’s Supplied Readings page; 4 places are still marked ⟨illegible⟩ (2 in the text, 2 in the marginal notes).

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