III John 1:13
A plain-spoken deep dive on this verse. Read the chapter →
I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with pen and ink.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
I will not--rather as Greek, "I wish not . . . to write" more.
Open source ↗In this epistle the apostle congratulates Gaius upon the prosperity of his soul (Jo3 1:1, Jo3 1:2), upon the fame he had among good Christians (Jo3 1:3, Jo3 1:4), and upon his charity and hospitality to the servants of Christ (Jo3 1:5, Jo3 1:6). He complains of contemptuous treatment by an ambitious Diotrephes (Jo3 1:9, Jo3 1:10), recommends Demetrius (Jo3 1:12), and expresses his hope of visiting Gaius shortly (Jo3 1:13, Jo3 1:14).
Open source ↗1:13-15 As in 2 John, the conclusion of 3 John shows John’s desire to make a personal visit and see to the instructions of this letter. 1:13 pen and ink (literally ink and reed): In antiquity, writing was typically done with a stylus shaped from a reed and black carbon ink (see also 2 Jn 1:12).
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.