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3 John 1:9–10, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
3 John 1:9–10
Diotrephes Blocks the Workers and Their Hosts
Diotrephes is named for what he did, not offered as a smear
The Elder had written unto the church, but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence, receiveth us not. If the Elder comes, he will remember Diotrephes's deeds: prating against them with malicious words, refusing the brethren, forbidding those who would receive them, and casting them out of the church. The harm is local and specific. Pride of first place becomes slander, blocked hospitality, coercion of willing hosts, and expulsion.
Diotrephes is a named local abuse of power, not a type you get to pin on everyone who resists you. The letter does not authorize smear campaigns, faction nicknames, or treating a disagreement as proof that the other side 'is a Diotrephes.' It also does not disclose his office, city, doctrine, or inner diagnosis. What it condemns is observable conduct: using church control to silence the Elder's circle and to isolate the congregation from faithful workers.
How this should shape us
If you lead, check whether first place has started to matter more than the brothers. Do you sit on letters, shade people who are not in the room, and make hospitality costly for anyone who might make you look less central? Name that behavior in yourself before you reach for a villain from this page to use on someone else.
Teach it back
Explain 3 John 1:9–10 in your own words. Show its movement, its place in the letter, and one conclusion the context rules out.
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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
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Some interpreters treat 'receiveth us not' chiefly as rejection of the Elder's authority; others stress refusal of his emissaries and missionary policy. Some reconstruct doctrinal conflict, while others see a struggle over leadership, hospitality, or local independence. The text supports a dispute in which mission and authority overlap, but it does not disclose enough to make one complete reconstruction certain.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: The exact displayed English Scripture text and the complete verse assignment for this thought unit.
Pinned KJV source-data record for 3 John 1:9–10, derived from the repository's checksum-locked 1769 KJV corpus.
Supports: The Greek wording, grammar, discourse connections, and original-language terms checked for this thought unit.
SBLGNT data/sblgnt/text/3John.txt, 1:9–10 (critical-edition numbering uses 1:15 for the final peace and greetings).
Supports: Material translation, syntax, lexical, and verse-numbering questions in this thought unit.
NET Bible, 3 John 1, translation and translators' notes on 1:9–10.
Supports: The unit's literary movement, older-language clarification, principal interpretations, and explicit limits on reconstruction.
Stott, The Letters of John, 3 John commentary pp. 258–262.
Supports: Verse-level Greek, literary flow, translation choices, and major exegetical alternatives for this unit.
Harris, Exegetical Commentary on 3 John 1–15, “The Body of the Letter (vv. 3-14),” verse 9-10 Summary/Exegetical Details.
Supports: A modern critical check on audience, authorship, named participants, implied events, and the limits of reconstructing a wider Johannine community.
Lieu, The Audience of the Johannine Epistles, Communities in Dispute, pp. 132–137 on Diotrephes, the implied sequence of events, and limits of community reconstruction.
Supports: Hospitality as mission support, the range of 'receive,' the Elder's role, and the unresolved relationship between missionary policy, authority, and local conflict.
Jones, The Missional Role of ho Presbyteros, Communities in Dispute, pp. 148–154 on 'receives us,' Diotrephes's four actions, and the Elder's contested influence.
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 exact displayed English Scripture text and the complete verse assignment for this thought unit.
Exact location: Pinned KJV source-data record for 3 John 1:9–10, derived from the repository's checksum-locked 1769 KJV corpus.
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 Greek wording, grammar, discourse connections, and original-language terms checked for this thought unit.
Exact location: SBLGNT data/sblgnt/text/3John.txt, 1:9–10 (critical-edition numbering uses 1:15 for the final peace and greetings).
Open the 3 John Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — 3 John with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Material translation, syntax, lexical, and verse-numbering questions in this thought unit.
Exact location: NET Bible, 3 John 1, translation and translators' notes on 1:9–10.
Open source ↗modern commentary
The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary
John R. W. Stott
InterVarsity Press, 1988
Supports: The unit's literary movement, older-language clarification, principal interpretations, and explicit limits on reconstruction.
Exact location: Stott, The Letters of John, 3 John commentary pp. 258–262.
Open source ↗open exegetical commentary
Exegetical Commentary on 3 John 1–15
W. Hall Harris III
Bible.org, 2004
Supports: Verse-level Greek, literary flow, translation choices, and major exegetical alternatives for this unit.
Exact location: Harris, Exegetical Commentary on 3 John 1–15, “The Body of the Letter (vv. 3-14),” verse 9-10 Summary/Exegetical Details.
Open source ↗scholarly essay
The Audience of the Johannine Epistles
Judith M. Lieu
Society of Biblical Literature Press, 2014
Supports: A modern critical check on audience, authorship, named participants, implied events, and the limits of reconstructing a wider Johannine community.
Exact location: Lieu, The Audience of the Johannine Epistles, Communities in Dispute, pp. 132–137 on Diotrephes, the implied sequence of events, and limits of community reconstruction.
Open source ↗scholarly essay
The Missional Role of ho Presbyteros
Peter Rhea Jones
Society of Biblical Literature Press, 2014
Supports: Hospitality as mission support, the range of 'receive,' the Elder's role, and the unresolved relationship between missionary policy, authority, and local conflict.
Exact location: Jones, The Missional Role of ho Presbyteros, Communities in Dispute, pp. 148–154 on 'receives us,' Diotrephes's four actions, and the Elder's contested influence.
Open source ↗