3 John 1:9 (YLT)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

3 John 1:7 because for <FI>His<Fi> name they went forth, nothing receiving from the nations;

3 John 1:8 we, then, ought to receive such, that fellow-workers we may become to the truth.

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;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "write", "assembly", "loving", "first", "place", "them--diotrephes--doth", and "receive". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "write" and "assembly", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "we then ought to receive such that..." into verse 10's "because of this if I may come...", so "write" and "assembly" 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 "write" and "assembly" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.