Section 1–3

Greetings

Read 1–3 carefully in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Section Theme: This is the introduction to the letter. In verse 1 the writer says who he is and who he is writing to. In verse 3 he gives a greeting in the form of a blessing. These three elements were the formal parts of the introduction to most Greek letters written at that time. In these verses John also introduces the ideas of love and God’s truth, which are the main things he wants to remind his readers of in this letter.

1a–b

The elder, To: (Discourse Feature) This is the typical form of a Greek letter of John’s time. However in many languages the writer of a letter introduces himself in the first person singular. For example, “I, the elder, am writing to….” In translation the natural form for starting a letter should be used.

elder: (Meaning) Although John was an old man when he wrote this letter, he is probably using the term elder here with the meaning “church leader” or “senior Christian,” as in Acts 14:23 and Titus 1:5-6.

1b

chosen: (Passive Construction) It may be necessary to make explicit that it is God who has chosen the “lady” to be among his people.

lady and her children: (Discourse Feature) John is using these terms to refer to a local church and its members. However, this is not a Greek figure of speech. John here uses these terms as a kind of secret code, probably to avoid mentioning names and putting Christians in danger of persecution. Therefore these terms should be kept in your translation and not changed to “church” and “Christians,” since that would be hiding the fact that John was writing in code here.

1c

whom I love: (Pronoun Reference) John means that he loves both the lady and her children.

in the truth: (Alternative Interpretations) There are two different interpretations of what the Greek phrase means here:

(1) It probably means “truly/really.” (Good News Translation, New English Bible, Living Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

(2) It may mean “because we all believe in God’s truth.”

1d–e

not I alone, but also: (Ellipsis) This is a short way of saying “I am not the only one who truly loves you. All who know the truth also love you truly.”

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.