3 John, in The King James Bible (1769 Standard Text)

The third letter of John, to Gaius. This page gives the book complete in the King James Version of 1611 as standardised in 1769, the text of virtually every KJV printed since, in the spelling of that text. Words the translators supplied for sense are in italics, as the KJV prints them.

Chapter 1

1 The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

3 For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.

4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

5 Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;

6 Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:

7 Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.

8 We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.

9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.

10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.

12 Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.

13 I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee:

14 But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.

Colophon

This page is an archival transcription, not a Good Works Translation. Its text is the King James Version (the Authorized Version, first printed in London by Robert Barker in 1611) in the standardised form that descends from Benjamin Blayney's Oxford edition of 1769, the form in which the KJV has been printed ever since. It was converted from the USFM files of "King James Version + Apocrypha" (eng-kjv) published by eBible.org courtesy of the CrossWire Bible Society (source files dated 26 Sep 2026). That digital text names no single printed copy, and modern printings of the 1769 text still differ from one another in a handful of readings. Spelling and punctuation are the source's own, including the paragraph marks (¶). The conversion removed only markup: Strong's-number tags and paragraph and poetry layout codes. Words printed in italic type in the KJV, which the translators supplied for sense, are in italics here; the words of Jesus, which the source marks for red-letter display, are plain text; LORD, printed in small capitals, is set in capitals. The digital source carries no marginal notes for the New Testament, although printed KJVs have them, nor the cross-references or chapter summaries; none are given here.

Licence: public domain. In the United Kingdom the Crown's letters patent still restrict the printing of the Authorized Version; outside the UK the text is free.

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