2 John 1:1–3, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
2 John 1:1–3
The Elder Greets a Beloved Lady and Her Children
The Elder greets the elect lady and her children in the truth
The letter opens from “the Elder” to “the elect lady and her children.” He loves them in the truth, and so do all who have known the truth. The sender is named by office and relationship, not by a personal name. The recipients are named in family language: a chosen lady and her children. That phrasing may describe a particular woman and household, a woman whose house also holds a wider believing group, or a church addressed as a lady. The greeting itself does not decide among those readings, and none of them empties the others of weight.
The reason for the love is given at once. It is because of the truth that dwells in them and will be with them forever. This is not a compliment for sincerity. Truth here is a shared, enduring reality that already lives among the people being addressed. Grace, mercy, and peace are then spoken from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
Truth and love are the greeting, not two options
The opening will not let readers pick a favorite. Love is in the truth. The blessing is in truth and love. Jesus Christ is named as the Father’s Son, so the relationship being blessed is already Christ-shaped. A household, a small church, or a family can be warm and still untrue, or careful and still loveless. This greeting blesses neither split.
The Elder speaks with recognized care before any later warning is heard. He does not first prove his right to correct. He locates himself and them under the Father and the Son, inside a truth that remains, and inside a love that is real. That is the room in which the rest of the letter will speak.
How this should shape us
Read this as a note to people who already share a life. If you hold a family, a house group, or a church, start where the Elder starts: name the people, name the truth that actually lives among you, and ask for grace, mercy, and peace from the Father and from Jesus Christ his Son. Do not settle the “elect lady” into only a woman or only a congregation in order to make the letter easier. Do not treat truth and love as rivals. Speak as someone already bound to the people you address, not as a stranger who arrived with a test.
Teach it back
Explain 2 John 1:1–3 in your own words. Trace the movement, name one uncertainty, and state one limit on application.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Who is the Elder?
Why it fits:
Difficulty:
Why it fits:
Difficulty:
Why it fits:
Difficulty:
Best judgment: The title and authority are explicit; the personal identity is not. The package therefore uses 'the Elder' and does not turn a traditional or critical proposal into fact.
How certain? plausibleWho is the elect lady?
Why it fits:
Difficulty:
Why it fits:
Difficulty:
Why it fits:
Difficulty:
Why it fits:
Difficulty:
Best judgment: The collective reading explains the plural address well, while the literal-woman or woman-with-community reading remains textually viable. Proper-name proposals are less persuasive but should be acknowledged.
How certain? plausibleWhen was the letter written?
Why it fits:
Difficulty:
Why it fits:
Difficulty:
Best judgment: A broad late-first-century proposal is common in modern reconstruction, but 2 John itself does not establish a narrow date. Confidence remains low.
How certain? uncertainResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: The pinned KJV wording, paragraph boundaries, and supplied-word markup for 2 John 1:1–3.
eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, 2JN.usfm, 2 John 1:1–3; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the shared library policy.
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording and sentence relationships for 2 John 1:1–3.
Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/2John.txt, 2 John 1:1–3.
Supports: Translation choices, textual variants, grammatical relationships, and identified interpretive alternatives used in this unit.
NET Bible, 2 John 1, translator, study, and textual notes 1–8 attached to 2 John 1:1–3.
Supports: A recent whole-letter reading used to test the unit boundary, main movement, and bounded pastoral implications.
Ray Van Neste, 2 John, sections Purpose, Outline, and Greeting (1–3).
Supports: Method cautions and the actual-woman/family or woman-with-community alternatives to automatic church personification.
Judith M. Lieu, The Audience of the Johannine Epistles, printed pp. 123–130, especially pp. 127–130 on the elect lady, singular/plural address, family, and community alternatives.
Supports: The range of live scholarly reconstructions and the limits of confident historical claims.
R. Alan Culpepper, Setting the Stage, printed pp. 3–8, especially authorship, chronology, relationship-to-Gospel, and elect-lady alternatives.
Supports: The Elder's pastoral authority, intended visit, rival teaching, teaching-of-Christ alternatives, and support policy in verses 9–11.
Peter Rhea Jones, The Missional Role of ὁ Πρεσβύτερος, printed pp. 144–147, section The Role of the Elder in 2 John.
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: The pinned KJV wording, paragraph boundaries, and supplied-word markup for 2 John 1:1–3.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, 2JN.usfm, 2 John 1:1–3; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the shared library policy.
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording and sentence relationships for 2 John 1:1–3.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/2John.txt, 2 John 1:1–3.
Open the 2 John Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible: 2 John 1 — translator, study, and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press / Bible.org, NET Second Edition web notes
Supports: Translation choices, textual variants, grammatical relationships, and identified interpretive alternatives used in this unit.
Exact location: NET Bible, 2 John 1, translator, study, and textual notes 1–8 attached to 2 John 1:1–3.
Open source ↗open whole letter commentary
2 John
Ray Van Neste
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: A recent whole-letter reading used to test the unit boundary, main movement, and bounded pastoral implications.
Exact location: Ray Van Neste, 2 John, sections Purpose, Outline, and Greeting (1–3).
Open source ↗scholarly essay in academic collection
The Audience of the Johannine Epistles
Judith M. Lieu
SBL Press, in Communities in Dispute: Current Scholarship on the Johannine Epistles, 2014
Supports: Method cautions and the actual-woman/family or woman-with-community alternatives to automatic church personification.
Exact location: Judith M. Lieu, The Audience of the Johannine Epistles, printed pp. 123–130, especially pp. 127–130 on the elect lady, singular/plural address, family, and community alternatives.
Open source ↗scholarly collection introduction
Setting the Stage: The Context for the Conversation
R. Alan Culpepper
SBL Press, in Communities in Dispute: Current Scholarship on the Johannine Epistles, 2014
Supports: The range of live scholarly reconstructions and the limits of confident historical claims.
Exact location: R. Alan Culpepper, Setting the Stage, printed pp. 3–8, especially authorship, chronology, relationship-to-Gospel, and elect-lady alternatives.
Open source ↗scholarly essay in academic collection
The Missional Role of ὁ Πρεσβύτερος
Peter Rhea Jones
SBL Press, in Communities in Dispute: Current Scholarship on the Johannine Epistles, 2014
Supports: The Elder's pastoral authority, intended visit, rival teaching, teaching-of-Christ alternatives, and support policy in verses 9–11.
Exact location: Peter Rhea Jones, The Missional Role of ὁ Πρεσβύτερος, printed pp. 144–147, section The Role of the Elder in 2 John.
Open source ↗