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.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now I beg you, dear lady, not as though I wrote to you a new commandment, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
- 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.
- BSB And now I urge you, dear lady—not as a new commandment to you, but one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.
- NASB Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.
- NLT I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
John urges the lady to love one another, reminding her this is not a new command but one held from the beginning. Mutual love is a foundational, original mark of the Christian community.
Overview
Echoing Jesus' own teaching (John 13:34), John frames love as a command Christians have possessed since they first received the gospel. He gently presses the duty of love while making clear he is recalling them to familiar ground, not imposing something novel. This love among believers flows directly from Christ's love for them and is the visible evidence of belonging to him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 1 Jn 3:11For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;
- John 13:34–35A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another.
- John 15:12“This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.
- 1 Th 4:9But concerning brotherly love, you have no need that one write to you. For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another,
- 1 Jn 3:23This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.
- 1 Jn 4:20If a man says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn’t love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
- 1 Jn 3:14–18We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. He who doesn’t love his brother remains in death.
- 1 Pet 4:8And above all things be earnest in your love among yourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins.
- 1 Jn 2:7–8Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.
- Heb 13:1Let brotherly love continue.
- 1 Pet 1:22–23Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently:
- 2 Pet 1:7and in godliness brotherly affection; and in brotherly affection, love.
- 1 Jn 4:7–12Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God, and knows God.
- Eph 5:2Walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance.
- Gal 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
To walk in truth and love is to abide in 'the teaching of Christ'; whoever has the Son has both the Father and life.
How 2 John 1:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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