SIL Translator’s Notes on 3 John 2000

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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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 1:15

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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SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:7

For: (Logical Connection) This verse is giving the reason why John requests Gaius to help the brothers.

they went out: (Lexical Problem) This refers to their making a journey to preach the gospel in different places. It does not refer to leaving any specific place.

the Name: (Special Biblical Term) This is a way of referring to Jesus Christ. This phrase is used a few times in the New Testament. See Good News Translation, New English Bible.

accepting nothing: (Meaning) As Christian preachers they did not ask for help from unbelievers. John is showing that they were different from teachers of other religions who traveled around at that time. The teachers of other religions used to require payment from the people they instructed and converted.

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SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:8

we: (Pronoun Reference) John is referring to himself and Gaius and all other Christians. See Good News Translation.

support such men: (Meaning) This means Christians should help these people by welcoming them to stay in their homes and giving them whatever they need to continue their work for Christ.

that we may be fellow workers: (Pronoun Reference) John means that by helping these brothers, he and Gaius and all other Christians will be sharing in their work.

for the truth: (Alternative Interpretations) There are different ideas about the meaning of the Greek phrase used here:

(1) It probably refers to working with the traveling preachers in spreading God’s truth to other people. (Good News Translation, Berean Standard Bible, The Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible)

(2) Some think it refers to working together with God’s truth as it spreads among people. (King James Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

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SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:9

Paragraph 9–12

Read 9–12 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Paragraph Theme: John uses a negative example and a positive example to reinforce what he has said about helping the traveling preachers. He describes Diotrephes, who opposes their work and rejects John’s instructions. Then he describes Demetrius, who is respected by all the Christians.

(Good News Translation) a short letter: (Text) After “I have written,” many Greek manuscripts have a word meaning “something,” or “a little.” Several English versions translate this text. Other versions such as Berean Standard Bible follow manuscripts which do not have this text. In your translation it may be best to follow the Berean Standard Bible.

the church: (Multiple Senses) Here this means the group of Christians in the place where Diotrephes was. That was probably in the same place where Gaius lived, or nearby.

Diotrephes: (New Participant) It is not clear whether Gaius already knew about Diotrephes or not. In translation he should be referred to as someone who has not previously been mentioned in this letter.

loves to be first: (Connotation) This implies that even if Diotrephes thinks that he is the leader of the church, John does not recognize him as the leader. He condemns Diotrephes for actively seeking such a position.

first: (Multiple Senses) This means being the leader of the church in that place. John does not use either of the biblical terms “bishop” or “elder” here, and at that time Christian leaders were not called pastors or priests. So a more neutral term for a Christian leader should be used in translation here. See Good News Translation, The Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Living Bible.

will not accept: (Meaning) The Greek word used here means that Diotrephes did not accept or obey what John had written. It implies that he did not accept John’s authority to give him instructions. See Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, Living Bible.

our: (Pronoun Reference) John is here using the plural pronoun to refer to himself. In many languages this may need to be translated as “my.”

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SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:10

10a

if I come: (Meaning) Verse 14 makes it clear that John intends to come, so the word if here is probably indicating that he does not yet know when he will come. See Good News Translation, Living Bible.

come: (Lexical Problem) In your language it may be necessary to state where John was intending to come to, namely the place where Gaius and Diotrephes were.

10b

call attention to: (Lexical Problem) This means that John will tell openly what Diotrephes has been doing. In translation it may be necessary to state that the people who John will tell this to are the members of the church where Diotrephes was.

10c

his malicious slander: (Meaning) This means that Diotrephes had been making foolish and untrue accusations against John.

us: (Pronoun Reference) As in verse 9, John is here using the plural pronoun to refer to himself.

10d

And unsatisfied with that: (Logical Connection) This phrase is not literally stating anything about what satisfies Diotrephes. It is used to indicate something he does which is even worse than malicious gossip. In translation this can often be indicated by an idiomatic phrase. See Good News Translation, The Jerusalem Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English.

the brothers: (Pronoun Reference) As in verse 5, this refers to any of the traveling Christian preachers who came to him.

10e

who want to do so: (Ellipsis) This is a short way of saying, “who want to welcome the brothers.”

10f

putting them out of the church: (Meaning) This means that Diotrephes expels these members from the church in that place. He somehow prevents them from continuing to have fellowship with that church.

putting them out: (Pronoun Reference) This means that Diotrephes expels those church members who wanted to welcome the “brothers.” It does not refer to him expelling the “brothers” themselves.

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Source: SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 2000

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

SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:7

SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:8

SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:9

SIL Translator's Notes on 3 John 1:10

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