3 John 1:11 (YLT)

Passage

Beloved, be not thou following that which is evil, but that which is good; he who is doing good, of God he is, and he who is doing evil hath not seen God;

Nearby Context

3 John 1:9 I did write to the assembly, but he who is loving the first place among them--Diotrephes--doth not receive us;

3 John 1:10 because of this, if I may come, I will cause him to remember his works that he doth, with evil words prating against us; and not content with these, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and those intending he doth forbid, and out of the assembly he doth cast.

3 John 1:11 Beloved, be not thou following that which is evil, but that which is good; he who is doing good, of God he is, and he who is doing evil hath not seen God;

3 John 1:12 to Demetrius testimony hath been given by all, and by the truth itself, and we also--we do testify, and ye have known that our testimony is true.

3 John 1:13 Many things I had to write, but I do not wish through ink and pen to write to thee,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "beloved", "thou", "following", "evil", "good", and "doing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "beloved" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "because of this if I may come..." into verse 12's "to Demetrius testimony hath been given by...", so "beloved" and "thou" belong inside that flow. In 3 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "beloved" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.