2 John 1:4 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 John 1:1-4

Ancient epistles began, as here, with salutation and good wishes: religion consecrates, as far as may be, old forms, and turns compliments into real expressions of life and love. Here we have, as usually, I. The saluter, not expressed by name, but by a chosen character: The elder. The expression, and style, and love, intimate that the penman was the same with that of the foregoing epistle; he is now the elder, emphatically and eminently so; possibly the oldest apostle now living, the chief... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 2 John 1:4-6

1:4-6 It gave me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, as we have received commandment from the Father. And now, Lady, not as if I were writing a new commandment to you, but a commandment which we have had from the beginning, I beg you that we should love one another. And this is love, that we should walk according to his commandments; and this is the commandment, as you have heard from the beginning, that we should walk in it. In the church to which he is writing... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 John 1:4

I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children ,.... Not all, but some of them; for good parents have not always good children, or at least not all of them; Adam had a Cain, Abraham an Ishmael, and Isaac an Esau: God is pleased to show his discriminating grace in tribes and families, by taking some, and leaving others: it is a great mercy when any are called by grace, and instead of the fathers are the children: and this was the case of some of the children of this elect lady, they were ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 John 1:4

That I found of thy children walking in truth - I have already supposed this Christian matron to be mother of a family, probably a widow, for no mention is made of her husband; and that she was also a deaconess in the church, and one in those house the traveling evangelists preached, and there they were entertained. The children mentioned here may either be her own children, or those members of the Church which were under her care, or some of both. The apostle was glad to find, probably by... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 John 1:1-4

1. Introduction. Address and occasion. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 John 1:1-13

This Epistle is written by the Apostle John to a Christian family. He, like the Apostle Peter had done before him ( 1 Peter 5:1 ), styles himself a presbyter. His First Epistle was written to a Church or to the Churches. In this, the Second Epistle, we have a priceless fragment of early Christian history, showing us the relation which subsisted between the apostle and a Christian family, and also to how large an extent the new Christian faith was in some instances moulding family life, by... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 John 1:4

I rejoice greatly that I have found (certain) of thy children walking in truth. The Revised Version is certainly right in rendering εὕρηκα "I have found" rather than "I found;" and it is probably right in rendering ἐχάρην "I rejoice" rather than "I rejoiced." It looks like the idiomatic "epistolary aorist," of which we have had probable instances in 1 John 2:21 and 1 John 2:26 . In this idiom the point of view of the recipient of the letter is taken instead of that of the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 John 1:4

I rejoiced greatly that I found ... - That I learned this fact respecting some of thy children. The apostle does not say how he had learned this. It may have been that he had become personally acquainted with them when they were away from their home, or that he had learned it from others. The word used εὕρηκα heurēka would apply to either method. Grotius supposed that some of the sons had come to Ephesus on business, and that John had become acquainted with them there.Of thy children walking... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 John 1:4

2 John 1:4. I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children That is, some of thy children; walking in truth In a manner agreeable to the gospel. It is probable that John speaks of such of her children as he had met with in the course of his travels, probably at their aunt’s house, 2 John 1:13; and that having conversed with them, and observed their conduct, he had found reason to conclude that they were truly pious, and sound in the faith. After their return home, it seems, he inscribed... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 John 1:1-13

CONTENTS OF THE LETTERThe ‘elect lady’ whom John mentions in his opening greeting could have been an individual known to John, but the expression seems more likely to refer to a church. If this is so, ‘her children’ would be the church members. Whoever they were, John addresses them in a way that shows the respect and love he has for them. They are united with John and with Christians everywhere through the truth of Christ that they hold in common and the love of Christ in which they all share.... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 John 1:1-4

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 2 John 1:4-6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 John 1:4

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 John 1:4

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 John 1:1-4

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 John 1:1-13

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 John 1:4

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 John 1:4

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 John 1:4

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 John 1:1-13

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