1 ^aThe elder to the elect lady and her children, ^bwhom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who ^cknow ^dthe truth, 2 ^ebecause of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 ^fGrace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.

4 ^gI rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—^hnot as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—ⁱthat we love one another. 6 And ^jthis is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just ^kas you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 7 For ^lmany deceivers ^mhave gone out into the world, ⁿthose who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.