The Third Letter of
JOHN

¹From the Elder--
To my dear Gaius, whom I truly love.
²My dear friend, I pray that everything may go well with you and that you may be in good health--as I know you are well in spirit. ³I was so happy when some Christians arrived and told me how faithful you are to the truth--just as you always live in the truth. ⁴Nothing makes me happier than to hear that my children live in the truth.

Gaius Is Praised

⁵My dear friend, you are so faithful in the work you do for other Christians, even when they are strangers. ⁶They have spoken to the church here about your love. Please help them to continue their trip in a way that will please God. ⁷For they set out on their trip in the service of Christ without accepting any help from unbelievers. ⁸We Christians, then, must help these people, so that we may share in their work for the truth.

Diotrephes and Demetrius

⁹I wrote a short letter to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to be their leader, will not pay any attention to what I say. ¹⁰When I come, then, I will bring up everything he has done: the terrible things he says about us and the lies he tells! But that is not enough for him; he will not receive the Christians when they come, and even stops those who want to receive them and tries to drive them out of the church!
¹¹My dear friend, do not imitate what is bad, but imitate what is good. Whoever does good belongs to God; whoever does what is bad has not seen God.
¹²Everyone speaks well of Demetrius; truth itself speaks well of him. And we add our testimony, and you know that what we say is true.

Final Greetings

¹³I have so much to tell you, but I do not want to do it with pen and ink. ¹⁴I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk personally.
¹⁵Peace be with you.
All your friends send greetings. Greet all our friends personally.

Ezra Arrives in Jerusalem

Ezra 7 Many years later, when Artaxerxes was emperor of Persia, there was a man named Ezra. He traced his ancestors back to Aaron, the High Priest, as follows: Ezra was the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, ²son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, ³son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, ⁴son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, ⁵son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron.
^6-7Ezra was a scholar with a thorough knowledge of the Law which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given to Moses. Because Ezra had the blessing of the LORD his God, the emperor gave him everything he asked for. In the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes, Ezra set out from Babylonia for Jerusalem with a group of Israelites which included priests, Levites, Temple musicians, Temple guards, and workers. ^8-9They left Babylonia on the first day of the first month, and with God's help they arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month. ¹⁰Ezra had devoted his life to studying the Law of the LORD, to practicing it, and to teaching all its laws and regulations to the people of Israel.

The Document Which Emperor Artaxerxes Gave to Ezra

¹¹Emperor Artaxerxes gave the following document to Ezra, the priest and scholar, who had a thorough knowledge of the laws and commands which the LORD had given to Israel:

¹²"From Emperor Artaxerxes to the priest Ezra, scholar in the Law of the God of Heaven.
¹³"I command that throughout my empire all the Israelite people, priests, and Levites that so desire be permitted to go with you to Jerusalem. ¹⁴I, together with my seven counselors, send you to investigate the conditions in Jerusalem and Judah in order to see how well the Law of your God, which has been entrusted to you, is being obeyed. ¹⁵You are to take with you the gold and silver offerings which I and my counselors desire to give to the God of Israel, whose Temple is in Jerusalem. ¹⁶You are also to take all the silver and gold which you collect throughout the province of Babylon and the offerings which the Israelite people and their priests give for the Temple of their God in Jerusalem.
¹⁷"You are to spend this money carefully and buy bulls, rams, lambs, grain, and wine and offer them on the altar of the Temple in Jerusalem. ¹⁸You may use the silver and gold that is left over for whatever you and your people desire, in accordance with the will of your God. ¹⁹You are to present to God in Jerusalem all the utensils that have been given to you for use in the Temple services. ²⁰And anything else which you need for the Temple, you may get from the royal treasury.
²¹"I command all the treasury officials in West-of-Euphrates Province to provide promptly for Ezra, the priest and scholar in the Law of the God of Heaven, everything he asks you for, ²²up to a limit of 7,500 pounds of silver, 500 bushels of wheat, 550 gallons of wine, 550 gallons of olive oil, and as much salt as needed. ²³You must be careful to provide everything which the God of Heaven requires for his Temple, and so make sure that he is never angry with me or with those who reign after me. ²⁴You are forbidden to collect any taxes from the priests, Levites, musicians, guards, workers, or anyone else connected with this Temple.
²⁵"You, Ezra, using the wisdom which your God has given you, are to appoint administrators and judges to govern all the people in West-of-Euphrates who live by the Law of your God. You must teach that Law to anyone who does not know it. ²⁶If any disobey the laws of your God or the laws of the empire, they are to be punished promptly: by death or by exile or by confiscation of their property or by imprisonment."

Ezra Praises God

²⁷Ezra said, "Praise the LORD, the God of our ancestors! He has made the emperor willing to honor in this way the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem. ²⁸By God's grace I have won the favor of the emperor, of his counselors, and of all his powerful officials; the LORD my God has given me courage, and I have been able to persuade many of the heads of the clans of Israel to return with me."

The People Who Returned from Exile

Ezra 8 This is the list of the heads of the clans who had been in exile in Babylonia and who returned with Ezra to Jerusalem when Artaxerxes was emperor:
^2-14Gershom, of the clan of Phinehas
Daniel, of the clan of Ithamar
Hattush son of Shecaniah, of the clan of David
Zechariah, of the clan of Parosh, with 150 men of his clan (there were records of their family lines)
Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, of the clan of Pahath Moab, with 200 men
Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, of the clan of Zattu, with 300 men
Ebed son of Jonathan, of the clan of Adin, with 50 men
Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, of the clan of Elam, with 70 men
Zebadiah son of Michael, of the clan of Shephatiah, with 80 men
Obadiah son of Jehiel, of the clan of Joab, with 218 men
Shelomith son of Josiphiah, of the clan of Bani, with 160 men
Zechariah son of Bebai, of the clan of Bebai, with 28 men
Johanan son of Hakkatan, of the clan of Azgad, with 110 men
Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, of the clan of Adonikam, with 60 men (they returned at a later date)
Uthai and Zaccur, of the clan of Bigvai, with 70 men

Ezra Finds Levites for the Temple

¹⁵I assembled the entire group by the canal that runs to the town of Ahava, and we camped there three days. I found that there were priests in the group, but no Levites. ¹⁶I sent for nine of the leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, and for two teachers, Joiarib and Elnathan. ¹⁷I sent them to Iddo, head of the community at Casiphia, to ask him and his associates, the Temple workers, to send us people to serve God in the Temple. ¹⁸Through God's grace they sent us Sherebiah, an able man, a Levite from the clan of Mahli; and eighteen of his sons and brothers came with him. ¹⁹They also sent Hashabiah and Jeshaiah of the clan of Merari, with twenty of their relatives. ²⁰In addition there were 220 Temple workers whose ancestors had been designated by King David and his officials to assist the Levites. They were all listed by name.

Ezra Leads the People in Fasting and Prayer

²¹There by the Ahava Canal I gave orders for us all to fast and humble ourselves before our God and to ask him to lead us on our journey and protect us and our children and all our possessions. ²²I would have been ashamed to ask the emperor for a troop of cavalry to guard us from any enemies during our journey, because I had told him that our God blesses everyone who trusts him, but that he is displeased with and punishes anyone who turns away from him. ²³So we fasted and prayed for God to protect us, and he answered our prayers.

The Gifts for the Temple

²⁴From among the leading priests I chose Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten others. ²⁵Then I weighed out the silver, the gold, and the utensils which the emperor, his advisers and officials, and the people of Israel had given to be used in the Temple, and I gave it to the priests. ^26-27This is what I gave them:
silver - 25 tons
100 silver utensils - 150 pounds
gold - 7,500 pounds
20 gold bowls - 270 ounces
2 fine bronze bowls, equal in value to gold bowls
²⁸I said to them, "You are sacred to the LORD, the God of your ancestors, and so are all the silver and gold utensils brought to him as freewill offerings. ²⁹Guard them carefully until you reach the Temple. There in the priests' rooms weigh them and turn them over to the leaders of the priests and of the Levites, and to the leaders of the people of Israel in Jerusalem." ³⁰So the priests and the Levites took charge of the silver, the gold, and the utensils, to take them to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Return to Jerusalem

³¹It was on the twelfth day of the first month that we left the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. Our God was with us and protected us from enemy attacks and from ambush as we traveled. ³²When we reached Jerusalem, we rested three days. ³³Then on the fourth day we went to the Temple, weighed the silver, the gold, and the utensils, and turned them over to Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah. With him were Eleazar son of Phinehas and two Levites, Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. ³⁴Everything was counted and weighed, and a complete record was made at the same time.
³⁵All those who had returned from exile then brought offerings to be burned as sacrifices to the God of Israel. They offered 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, and 77 lambs; they also offered 12 goats to purify themselves from sin. All these animals were burned as sacrifices to the LORD. ³⁶They also took the document the emperor had given them and gave it to the governors and officials of West-of-Euphrates Province, who then gave their support to the people and the Temple worship.

God the Judge of All

Psalm 94 LORD, you are a God who punishes;
reveal your anger!
²You are the judge of us all;
rise and give the proud what they deserve!
³How much longer will the wicked be glad?
How much longer, LORD?
⁴How much longer will criminals be proud
and boast about their crimes?

⁵They crush your people, LORD;
they oppress those who belong to you.
⁶They kill widows and orphans,
and murder the strangers who live in our land.
⁷They say, "The LORD does not see us;
the God of Israel does not notice."

⁸My people, how can you be such stupid fools?
When will you ever learn?
⁹God made our ears--can't he hear?
He made our eyes--can't he see?
¹⁰He scolds the nations--won't he punish them?
He is the teacher of us all--hasn't he any knowledge?
¹¹The LORD knows what we think;
he knows how senseless our reasoning is.

¹²LORD, how happy are those you instruct,
the ones to whom you teach your law!
¹³You give them rest from days of trouble
until a pit is dug to trap the wicked.
¹⁴The LORD will not abandon his people;
he will not desert those who belong to him.
¹⁵Justice will again be found in the courts,
and all righteous people will support it.

¹⁶Who stood up for me against the wicked?
Who took my side against the evildoers?
¹⁷If the LORD had not helped me,
I would have gone quickly to the land of silence.
¹⁸I said, "I am falling";
but your constant love, O LORD, held me up.
¹⁹Whenever I am anxious and worried,
you comfort me and make me glad.

²⁰You have nothing to do with corrupt judges,
who make injustice legal,
²¹who plot against good people
and sentence the innocent to death.
²²But the LORD defends me;
my God protects me.
²³He will punish them for their wickedness
and destroy them for their sins;
the LORD our God will destroy them.