Verses 13-14 closely resemble 2 John 12, which see. The few differences are the following; The verb to write is not the present participle but is in the imperfect tense, expressing obligation; the Greek term rendered I would rather not is slightly more definite than the corresponding one in the other verse, 2 John 12; the term rendered to see is in this context probably a more common synonym of the one rendered “to come and see” in 2 John 12; and, soon (or ‘shortly,’ ‘in a little while,’ ‘before long’) is lacking in 2 John 12.

To write with pen and ink uses the word order common in English instead of the word order “ink and pen” used in the Greek. The phrase parallels “to use paper and ink” in 2 John 12 as a synonym for “to write a letter.” Renderings of the two phrases may have to be identical.

Quoted with permission from Haas, C., de Jonge, M. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on The Third Letter of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .