SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 John 2000 – Page 2

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 John 1:3

Grace, mercy, and peace: (Discourse Feature) This seems to have been a standard Christian greeting, since something like it appears in most of the New Testament letters. In translation it should sound like a greeting. It should not be in focus as if it were a teaching or a prayer that John made up.

the Son of the Father: (Translation) In your language it may be necessary to state this in full, “the son of God our father.”

will be with us: (Alternative Interpretations) There are two different views about the grammar of the Greek verb here:

(1) It probably signifies a greeting in the form of a wish, “May grace, mercy and peace…be with us.” (Good News Translation, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, King James Version)

(2) It may be signifying a statement. For example, Grace, mercy and peace…will be with us. (Berean Standard Bible, The Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, Revised Standard Version, Living Bible)

3b–c

in truth and love: (Meaning) Here John repeats his theme of truth and love. He means that we may experience God’s grace, mercy and peace as we put into practice the truth we have learned from him and as we love one another. See The Jerusalem Bible.

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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.

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 John 1:4

Section 4–11

Obey God’s commands and reject false teaching

Read 4–11 carefully.

Section Theme: This section contains the main purpose of the letter. John reminds his readers of the importance of obeying God’s commands. He therefore warns them not to have anything to do with false teachers who reject the truth about Christ.

Paragraph 4–6

Read 4–6 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Paragraph Theme: John expresses his approval of his readers’ Christian lives and urges them to obey God’s commands, especially the command to love one another.

to find: (Alternative Interpretations) There are different views about which sense the Greek verb is being used in here:

(1) It is probably being used in the sense of finding out or hearing that something is true.

(2) Some think it is used in the sense of meeting someone or discovering something.

some of your children: (Meaning) John is not contrasting some who are living by the truth and some who are not. He is saying that he has only heard about some of them and this is what he has heard.

your children: (Discourse Feature) The same term should be used here as in verse 1.

walking in the truth: (Metaphor) This is a Greek metaphor meaning, “putting into practice in their lives the truth which God has revealed about how he wants them to live.”

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 John 1:5

dear lady: (Translation) In your translation the appropriate term should be used here. John is a respected elder addressing a respected lady. See note on 1b.

not…a new commandment: (Focus) John is referring to a command from God, not from himself. As in 1 John 2:7, he is saying that when Christians are living as God wants them to live they must be always loving one another. He reminds his readers that this command is not new, because Jesus had given it to his disciples many years before (John 13:34).

from the beginning: (Meaning) As in 1 John 2:7, this refers to the time when they first became Christians.

that we love one another: (Focus) This is John’s main point in this verse. To make the emphasis clear you may need to put it at the beginning of the verse, as in Good News Translation, or make it an independent sentence as in New International Version (2011 Revision).

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 John 1:6

this is love: (Lexical Problem) In some languages it may not be possible to talk about love without indicating the object of the love. If that is the case in your language you may have to refer to “the true way for someone to love God.” This is different from the translation of the same phrase in 1 John 4:10, because John’s focus is different in this passage.

this: (Pronoun Reference) The word this refers forward to the idea of obeying God’s commands. John is saying that obeying God’s commands is the real sign of our love for God.

we walk according to: (Metaphor) This is a similar metaphor to “walking in the truth” in verse 4. The phrase “we walk according to” means that in our daily lives we obey his commands.

His commandments: (Pronoun Reference) This refers to God’s commands. It may need to be made explicit in your translation. See Good News Translation, New English Bible.

walk in love: (Metaphor) This is a similar metaphor to “walk in obedience.” It means that it should be obvious in our lives that we love one another.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 2 John 1:7

Paragraph 7–11

Read 7–11 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Paragraph Theme: In these verses John explains the problem which caused him to write this letter. There are false teachers traveling around. If the church welcomes them, they will lead the church into sin. So John shows his readers how to recognize them from their teaching and he warns his readers to have nothing to do with such people.

For: (Logical Relationship) Although many English versions do not translate the Greek connecting word here, it may be good in your translation to follow the example of the Berean Standard Bible and translate it in order to show that John is now going to explain why he said what he said in verses 4–6.

deceivers: (Meaning) This term means people who claimed to be giving Christian teaching, but in fact they were deceiving those who they taught, because their teaching was not true Christianity.

have gone out into the world: (Multiple Senses) As in 1 John 4:1, this phrase is not being used in the sense of leaving a specific place; rather it refers to many people going to different places.

refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh: (Meaning) This is referring to the same false teaching as 1 John 4:2. See the notes on that verse. These people denied that Jesus Christ became a real human being when he came into the world.

the deceiver and the antichrist: (Meaning) This is not referring to two separate people. It means “the antichrist, who is the main person who deceives people.”

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Source: SIL Translator's Notes on 2 John 2000

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 John 1:3

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 John 1:4

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 John 1:5

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 John 1:6

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 John 1:7

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