Taw
169 Let my acry come before you, O Lord;
bgive me understanding caccording to your word!
170 Let my plea come before you;
ddeliver me according to your word.
171 My lips will epour forth praise,
for you fteach me your statutes.
172 My tongue will sing of your word,
for gall your commandments are right.
173 Let your hand be ready to help me,
for I have hchosen your precepts.
Greeting
1 aThe elder to the beloved Gaius, bwhom I love in truth.
2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 For cI rejoiced greatly when the brothers1 came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that dmy children are walking in the truth.
Support and Opposition
5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for ethese brothers, fstrangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner gworthy of God. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of hthe name, iaccepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.
11 Beloved, jdo not imitate evil but imitate good. kWhoever does good is from God; lwhoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius mhas received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and nyou know that our testimony is true.
Final Greetings
13 oI had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, peach by name.
