SIL Translator’s Notes on 3 John 2000

SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:2

2 (Focus)

The focus of this verse is John’s wish that all may be well with Gaius in his physical health and in his daily business. He then says that he knows that Gaius’ spiritual life is going well.

I pray that: (Multiple Senses) This verb can be used both in the sense of praying to God and in the sense of wishing or hoping for something. It is probably being used in this second sense here. See The Jerusalem Bible.

soul: (Figure of Speech) This word is used here as a figure of speech referring to Gaius’ spiritual life, his relationship with God.

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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 3 John 1:13

Section 13–14

Final comments

Read 13–14 carefully in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Section Theme: These verses contain John’s final comments and greetings to close the letter.

13b

I would prefer not to do so with pen and ink: (Meaning) As in 2 John 12, this does not mean that there is anything wrong with using pen and ink. John is just saying that he would prefer to talk with Gaius face to face.

pen and ink: (Translation) This is another idiom meaning “in a letter.” In your translation you should consider what is the natural way of saying this in your language.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:3

the brothers: (Multiple Senses) This is used here in the sense of “fellow Christians.”

testified about: (Lexical Problem) John does not mention here who they told this to. However in verse 6 he mentions that these brothers spoke about Gaius to the whole church in the place where John was.

your devotion to the truth: (Meaning) This means Gaius was putting into practice in his daily life the truth about how God wants us to live.

in which you continue to walk: (Alternative Interpretations) There are different views about whether the last clause of this verse is part of what the brothers reported or whether it is John’s comment on their report:

(1) It is probably John’s comment confirming that Gaius really does live according to God’s truth. (Good News Translation, New English Bible, King James Version, Revised Standard Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

(2) Some think that it is a second part to the brothers’ report, emphasizing that Gaius continually puts God’s truth into practice. (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), The Jerusalem Bible, Living Bible)

you continue to walk: (Metaphor) As in 2 John 4, this is a Greek metaphor meaning, “you continue to put into practice in your life the truth which God has revealed about how he wants you to live.”

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SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:14

14b

face to face: (Translation) As in 2 John 12, this is an idiom which should be translated by a natural phrase for having a friendly personal talk with someone.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:4

4 (Logical Connection)

This verse is giving the reason why the reports about Gaius made John so happy.

I have no greater joy: (Figure of Speech) John is here using exaggeration to emphasize that such reports make him very happy.

my children: (Cross-cultural Difference) John uses this term here as he does in 1 John to refer to Christians in churches for which he is responsible. See the note on “My little children” in 1 John 2:1.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:15

15Most English versions except Berean Standard Bible and King James Version have the verse number 15 before the sentence beginning with “Peace.” In your translation you should follow the verse numbering system of the major version used in your area.

15a (14c in Berean Standard Bible)

Peace to you: (Discourse Feature) This represents John’s wish that Gaius should have God’s peace. It is in the form of a standard greeting at the end of a Greek letter, so it should be translated in a way that makes it sound like a farewell greeting.

15b–c (14d-e in Berean Standard Bible)

friends here…friends there: (Meaning) John is referring to Christian friends, the other members of the churches in the places where he was and where Gaius was.

15c (14e in Berean Standard Bible)

by name: (Meaning) This does not mean that John knew the names of all the Christians who were with Gaius. He means that Gaius should greet each fellow Christian there individually rather than as a group.

Section 1:1–2

Paul sent greetings to Timothy

The people who wrote letters during the time when Paul lived began the letters that they wrote in a certain way. The author of a letter wrote his name first, and then he wrote the name of the person to whom he was writing the letter. After that, he wrote a greeting to the person or group to whom he was writing.

Paragraph 1:1–2

1:1a

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus: Paul began this letter to Timothy by stating his own name first. Then he said something about himself. In some languages, it is not natural or possible for a person to talk about himself using the third person. You may not be able to say, “This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus.” If this is the case in your language, you can say something like:

This letter is from me, Paul. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus.
-or-
I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus.

an apostle of Christ Jesus: The word apostle means “a person whom someone has sent to do a specific job on behalf of that sender.” In 1:1, Paul said that Christ Jesus personally chose and sent him to be his ambassador or messenger of the gospel to other people. Paul was to represent Christ Jesus to others.

Christ Jesus: The word Christ is used two ways in the New Testament. In the Gospels, Christ is a title for Jesus. It means “the anointed one.” But later when Paul and the other apostles and disciples wrote the letters to individuals and churches, the word Christ was used as another name for Jesus rather than as a title.

Notice that in this verse Paul referred to Jesus as Christ Jesus instead of “Jesus Christ.” The names Christ Jesus and “Jesus Christ” mean the same thing. In most English translations and other national language translations, “Jesus Christ” and “Christ Jesus” are translated literally and in the same order as they occur in the Greek manuscripts. It is recommended that you do the same thing. However, if you think that the people who will be reading your translation might be confused when they see two different word orders of the names, you may decide to translate Christ Jesus as “Jesus Christ,” which is the more familiar word order.

by the will of God: The phrase by the will of God means that “God wanted Paul to be an apostle.” Paul himself did not decide to become an apostle. Another way of describing the will of God is to say that “God choose Paul to be an apostle.”

1:1b

according to: The Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek preposition kata as according to. This word introduces God’s purpose for calling Paul to be an apostle. Some ways to translate this idea are:

• Use a prepositional phrase as the Berean Standard Bible has done.

^1aPaul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, ^1baccording to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus

• Use a conjunction.

^1aGod chose me to be an apostle ^1bin order to make known the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus

• Use a verb, as Good News Translation has done.

^1aGod chose me to be an apostle ^1band sent me to proclaim the promise of life….

the promise of life: In the Greek text, the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as life here refers to spiritual and eternal life, not physical life. God appointed Paul and sent him to many different places to preach the gospel. Paul told the people in these places that God had promised to give them eternal life if they would trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

1:1c

in Christ Jesus: The phrase “in Christ Jesus” or “in Christ” occurs many times in Paul’s letters. The Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), and Revised Standard Version always translate it literally. Good News Translation usually translates it as “in union with Christ.” Because this phrase can mean different things in different contexts, you should always decide the best way to translate it in each context. In this verse, the context is life in Christ Jesus. Some ways of translating the entire phrase are:

God has promised life that has its source in Christ Jesus
-or-
God has promised life that is possible because of what Christ Jesus has done

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SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:5

Section 5–12

It is good to help those who teach the truth

Read 5–12 carefully.

Section Theme: This section contains the main points John is writing to Gaius about. He praises Gaius for helping the traveling Christian preachers and encourages him to follow the good example of Demetrius rather than the bad example of Diotrephes.

Paragraph 5–8

Read 5–8 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Paragraph Theme: John praises Gaius for helping the traveling preachers. He explains that Christians should help these people because they are serving Christ and relying on fellow Christians to supply all they need.

you are faithful: (Focus) John is not simply praising Gaius for being faithful. He is saying that the help which Gaius gives to the brothers proves that he is faithful.

faithful: (Lexical Problem) In your translation you may need to state who Gaius is faithful to John probably means that Gaius is faithful to God or Jesus.

what you are doing: (Translation) John does not state exactly what Gaius did, but from the rest of the letter it is clear that he welcomed the brothers into his house and provided them with what they needed.

are doing: (Tense) This probably refers both to what Gaius has done in the past for some brothers and to what he is still doing for those who come to him.

strangers: (Meaning) The meaning here is that some of the brothers were not previously known to Gaius (they probably came from distant towns or provinces). But he nevertheless helped them just because they were Christians.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:6

They: (Pronoun Reference) In the previous verse John referred to the traveling Christian preachers as “brothers.” This pronoun They refers to some of these brothers, who have come to John after Gaius has helped them.

the church: (Multiple Senses) Here this means the group of Christians in the place where John was.

love: (Event Idea) In some languages this may be expressed by a verb. You may need to indicate that it refers to Gaius’ love for the brothers or all fellow Christians.

You will do well: (Emotive Impact) This is John’s way of requesting Gaius to continue helping the traveling preachers. In translation it must be made clear that this is a request, not just a statement.

send them on their way: (Meaning) This means Gaius should help them and give them whatever they need when they are ready to leave his home and continue their travels.

them: (Pronoun Reference) This refers to any traveling Christian preachers who come to Gaius in future, whether they are the same ones who reported about him to John or others like them.

in a manner worthy of God: (Alternative Interpretations) There are different ideas about what this means:

(1) It probably means Gaius should help them in the way that God wants his people to help each other. (Good News Translation, The Jerusalem Bible)

(2) Some think it means he should honour them because they are God’s representatives.

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Source: SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 2000

SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:2

SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:13

SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:3

SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:14

SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:4

SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:15

SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:5

SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:6

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