2 John 1:5
in 2 John 1And 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote to thee 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.
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This verse in 2 John 1
Commentary
11 notes on this verse"Not as a new commandment." And this is in agreement with what is said in the first epistle (1 John 2:7). He also adds the requirement of the commandment: "that we love one another." And he explains concerning love that its essence consists in walking …
This site's exposition
walking in the truth
on 2 John 1:4-6
The elder rejoices over children walking in the truth. His request is one we have had from the beginning, echoing 1 John 2:7 and John 13:34. Love is to walk according to His commandments, and the commandment is to walk in love, each defining the other.
This site's exposition
not as a new commandment
The elder's request is one we have had from the beginning, the Lord's own command in John 13:34. The address dear lady is read by some as a woman and by others as a church.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
John said: "not as writing a new commandment to you," and this he firmly states to those who are mentioned in the preceding epistle, simultaneously demonstrating that it shows what they themselves had experienced by acting according to it, and not from difficult and foreign …
The Medieval Church1 voice
And now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing a new commandment to you, etc. By this word, he reproaches the heretics, who were attempting to introduce new doctrines, leaving behind what they had heard from the apostles, and thereby disrupting the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And now I beseech thee, lady,.... Or "Kyria", which word the Syriac and Arabic versions retain, as if it was a proper name: the apostle having finished the inscription, salutation, and congratulation in the preceding verses, passes to an exhortation and entreaty to observe the commandment of love to one another, which is not a new commandment, but what was from the beginning: not as though I wrote a new commandment, &c. See Gill on 1Jn 2:7 and See Gill on 1Jn 2:8.
That which we had from the beginning - Of our Lord's ministry. Indeed it was, in some sense, from the beginning of the world. That we may love one another - More abundantly.
This commandment of mutual Christian love may be said to be a new one in respect of its new enaction and sanction by the Lord Christ; but yet, as to the matter of it (mutual holy love), it is as old as natural, Jewish, or Christian religion. This commandment must every where attend Christianity, that the disciples of it must love one another.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Love performs both tables of the law, and is the end of the law and the Gospel alike (compare Notes, see on 1Jo 2:7, 8). that we--implying that he already had love, and urging her to join him in the same Christian grace. This verse seems to me to decide that a Church, not an individual lady, is meant.
That which we had from the beginning - The commandment to love one another was what they had heard from the first publication of Christianity, and what he wishes this excellent woman to inculcate on all those under her care. The mode of address here shows that it was a person, not a Church, to which the apostle wrote.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And now I beseech thee, lady - Dr, “And now I entreat thee, Kyria,” (κυρία kuria.) See the introduction, Section 2. If this was her proper name, there is no impropriety in supposing that he would address her in this familiar style. John was probably then a very old man; the female to whom the Epistle was addressed was doubtless much younger.
The words behind it
19 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| νῦν | nun | now | G3568 → | |
| ἐρωτῶ | eroto | I implore | G2065 → | |
| σε, | se | you, | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| κυρία, | kuria | lady, | G2959 → | |
| οὐχ | ouch | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| ὡς | hos | as | G5613 → | |
| ἐντολὴν | entolen | a commandment | G1785 → | 67 times |
| καινὴν | kainen | new | G2537 → | |
| γράφων | graphon | I am writing | G1125 → | |
| σοι, | soi | to you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| ἀλλ᾽ | all᾽ | but | G235 → | 635 times |
| ἣν | hen | that which | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| εἴχομεν | eichomen | we have had | G2192 → | 707 times |
| ἀπ᾽ | ap᾽ | from | G575 → | |
| ἀρχῆς, | arches | [the] beginning, | G746 → | |
| ἵνα | ina | that | G2443 → | 668 times |
| ἀγαπῶμεν | agapomen | we may love | G25 → | |
| ἀλλήλους. | allelous | one another. | G240 → |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
νῦνnow
nunG3568 →
ἐρωτῶI implore
erotoG2065 →
σε,you,
seG4771 →2973 times
κυρία,lady,
kuriaG2959 →
οὐχnot
ouchG3756 →1664 times
ὡςas
hosG5613 →
ἐντολὴνa commandment
entolenG1785 →67 times
καινὴνnew
kainenG2537 →
γράφωνI am writing
graphonG1125 →
σοι,to you
soiG4771 →2973 times
ἀλλ᾽but
all᾽G235 →635 times
ἣνthat which
henG3739 →1405 times
εἴχομενwe have had
eichomenG2192 →707 times
ἀπ᾽from
ap᾽G575 →
ἀρχῆς,[the] beginning,
archesG746 →
ἵναthat
inaG2443 →668 times
ἀγαπῶμενwe may love
agapomenG25 →
ἀλλήλους.one another.
allelousG240 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 15:12This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
it leads to
- 1 John 4:21
And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 13:34
A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ephesians 5:2
and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.
- 1 John 4:21
Through
1 John 3:11This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
it leads to
- John 15:12
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 13:34–35
A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 15:12
Through
1 Thessalonians 4:9Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
it leads to
- 1 John 3:11
This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
- 1 John 3:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 John
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on 2 John and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 2 John.