Semantic Analysis
07 Semantic Analysis — 3 John (Full Book) — English → Bengali
Book Overview
3 John is the shortest book in the New Testament (one chapter, 14 verses, 219 Greek words), written by “the Elder” (traditionally the Apostle John) to a beloved fellow-believer, Gaius, commending Gaius’s practice of hospitality toward traveling gospel workers, and contrasting two named individuals: Diotrephes, a local church figure who loves preeminence and expels visiting brothers, and Demetrius, who is commended as bearing a good testimony. Unlike Paul’s letters (including Romans), 3 John contains no formal doctrinal exposition; its theology is transmitted through commendation, contrast, and personal example. Because the book is a single chapter, the core passage (3 John 1:1–14) is the entire book. There is no additional chapter material beyond the core passage; this is stated explicitly in Part 2 below per the full-book-coverage mandate.
Five doctrines anchor this curriculum:
- Hospitality to Traveling Ministers (vv. 5–8)
- Imitating Good rather than Evil (v. 11)
- Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes) (vv. 9–10)
- Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius) (v. 12)
- Truth and Christian Fellowship (vv. 1, 3–4, 8, 12; and the ἀδελφοί/φίλοι inclusio of vv. 3–5 and v. 14)
Where a term already appears in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json, this analysis reuses the recorded Bengali rendering exactly (ἐκκλησία → মণ্ডলী; θεός → ঈশ্বর; εἰρήνη → শান্তি; the ἔθνη/Gentiles family → পরজাতি). All other terms are new to this curriculum and are proposed here for addition to translation memory.
Part 1: Core Passage Verse-by-Verse Analysis (3 John 1:1–14)
3 John 1:1
Greek: Ὁ πρεσβύτερος Γαΐῳ τῷ ἀγαπητῷ, ὃν ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ. English (reference): “The elder to Gaius the beloved, whom I love in truth.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Bengali Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| πρεσβύτερος | presbyteros | an older man; an elder | age-elder; office-holder in a local church (cf. Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5) | “elder,” “presbyter” | The author identifies himself by pastoral office/authority, not merely by age — he writes with apostolic-pastoral weight, not personal opinion. | Medium. Established Bengali Bible term প্রাচীন (prachin) risks being heard as simply “an old/ancient person” rather than a functional church office; context must anchor it as a leadership title. |
| ἀγαπητός | agapētos | beloved, dearly loved | term of affectionate address among believers | ”beloved,” “dear” | Marks Gaius as a treasured fellow-worker in the gospel, not a generic honorific. | Low. প্রিয় (priyo) is a stable, non-collision term. |
| ἀγαπῶ (< ἀγάπη) | agapō | I love | selfless, covenantal love; distinct from ἔρος (romantic) or φιλία (friendship-affection) | “I love” | The Elder’s love for Gaius is grounded “in truth” — theological love, not mere sentiment. | High. See ἀγάπη analysis at v.6 below; the noun/verb pairing across the letter carries the same collision risk with Bengali Vaishnava prema. |
| ἀλήθεια | alētheia | truth; that which is real/reliable | (1) doctrinal truth/the gospel; (2) the sphere/manner of a life lived under God’s reality | ”truth,” “the truth” | Governs the whole letter (vv.1,3×2,4,8,12) — love and life are exercised “in truth,” i.e., in submission to and consistency with the revealed gospel, not mere sincerity. | High. See dedicated discussion below (v.3). |
3 John 1:2
Greek: Περὶ πάντων εὔχομαί σε εὐοδοῦσθαι καὶ ὑγιαίνειν, καθὼς εὐοδοῦταί σου ἡ ψυχή. English (reference): “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Bengali Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| εὔχομαι | euchomai | I wish, I pray | a wish/prayer directed to God on another’s behalf | ”I pray,” “I wish” | An intercessory wish, not a magical incantation or wish-fulfillment formula. | Low. প্রার্থনা করা/কামনা করা is standard. |
| εὐοδοῦσθαι | euodousthai | to have a good journey; to prosper | general well-being/successful outcome in affairs | ”prosper,” “go well,” “succeed” | NOT a promise of material wealth; a pastoral wish for holistic well-being paired immediately with health and inner spiritual condition. | Medium. সমৃদ্ধ হওয়া (shomriddho howa) risks being read through a prosperity-gospel lens if isolated from ὑγιαίνειν/ψυχή; render with the health/soul pairing intact. |
| ὑγιαίνειν | hygiainein | to be healthy, sound | physical health; (elsewhere in NT) doctrinal soundness | ”be in good health” | Physical health here, but the root (cf. “sound doctrine,” ὑγιαίνουσα διδασκαλία) shows the same word-family carries doctrinal soundness elsewhere — worth a translator note for consistency across NT curricula. | Low. সুস্থ থাকা (sustho thaka) is standard and safe. |
| ψυχή | psychē | soul; inner life; self | the seat of a person’s inner spiritual/moral condition, not merely “breath” or “mind" | "soul,” “life,” “inner being” | Gaius’s outer well-being is measured against the prior, deeper reality of his soul’s flourishing before God — a this-life spiritual condition, not a transmigrating self. | Medium. প্রাণ (pran) is the appropriate Bengali term, but must be distinguished by context from the Hindu metaphysical জীবাত্মা (the individual soul bound to the rebirth cycle); a translator note is advised on first use. |
3 John 1:3
Greek: ἐχάρην γὰρ λίαν ἐρχομένων ἀδελφῶν καὶ μαρτυρούντων σου τῇ ἀληθεί�ᾳ, καθὼς σὺ ἐν ἀληθεί�ᾳ περιπατεῖς. English (reference): “For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Bengali Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐχάρην (< χαίρω) | echarēn | I rejoiced | joy at good news, especially about another’s faithfulness | ”I rejoiced,” “I was glad” | Joy rooted in another believer’s faithfulness — communal, relational joy, a recurring NT pastoral emotion. | Low. আনন্দিত হওয়া (anondito howa) is standard. |
| ἀδελφός (pl. ἀδελφῶν) | adelphos | brother | (1) blood brother; (2) fellow believer, spiritual kinship term | ”brothers,” “brethren” | Traveling gospel workers are addressed by kinship language — the church is a family bound by shared faith, not by blood, caste, or communal-religious identity. | Medium. ভাই (bhai) is standard, but in a region where religious community is normally inherited and communal, this deliberate use of family language for a chosen, faith-based kinship deserves a translator note (cf. the doctrine “Truth and Christian Fellowship”). |
| μαρτυρούντων (< μαρτυρέω) | martyrountōn | testifying, bearing witness | formal, verifiable testimony (often legal/juridical in register) | “testified,” “bore witness,” “gave witness” | The traveling brothers gave eyewitness testimony to Gaius’s consistent character — testimony functions as a means of extending trust across a network of churches who had not met him personally. | Medium. সাক্ষ্য দেওয়া (sakkhyo deoa) is the established Bengali Christian/legal term for testimony; low syncretism risk, but doctrinally weighty given the later commendation of Demetrius (v.12) — consistency across the letter is required. |
| ἀλήθεια | alētheia | truth | see v.1 | ”truth” | Here: the testified-to consistency between Gaius’s confessed faith and his observed conduct — truth as lived reality, not abstract doctrine alone. | High. See dedicated note below. |
| περιπατεῖς (< περιπατέω) | peripateis | you walk | Hebraic idiom: one’s manner of life, ethical conduct | ”walk,” “live,” “conduct yourself" | "Walking in the truth” = a whole-life pattern shaped by the gospel, not a single act of assent. | Medium. A literal Bengali rendering of “walking” (চলা) as a metaphor for conduct is intelligible but should be reinforced with জীবনযাপন (way of life) in less formal registers to avoid a wooden, over-literal image of physical walking. |
Dedicated note — ἀλήθεια (truth), High risk. সত্য (shotyo) is the entrenched, unavoidable Bengali Bible rendering; there is no viable alternative term. The risk is not lexical but conceptual: in Bengali intellectual and Vaishnava-Vedantic culture, Satya is a loaded philosophical category (cf. Gandhi’s Satyagraha; the Vedantic Sat as an attribute of the impersonal Absolute, as in Sat-Chit-Ananda). 3 John’s ἀλήθεια is never impersonal or abstract — it is the specific, apostolic gospel content about Jesus Christ, and a relational sphere (“in truth,” ἐν ἀληθεί��ᾳ) one lives inside, consistent with the Johannine identification of Jesus himself as “the truth” (John 14:6). A translator note anchoring সত্য to the person and message of Christ (not to an impersonal metaphysical absolute) is required at every load-bearing occurrence (vv.1, 3×2, 4, 8, 12).
3 John 1:4
Greek: μειζοτέραν τούτων οὐκ ἔχω χαράν, ἵνα ἀκούω τὰ ἐμὰ τέκνα ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ περιπατοῦντα. English (reference): “I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Bengali Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| χαρά | chara | joy | deep gladness, often tied to spiritual/relational good news | ”joy” | The Elder’s greatest joy is pastoral, not personal — the spiritual flourishing of those he discipled. | Low. আনন্দ (anondo) is standard. |
| τέκνα (< τέκνον) | tekna | children | (1) biological children; (2) spiritual children — those brought to faith through one’s ministry | ”children,” “my children” | Not biological offspring; a pastoral-spiritual parent-child relationship, paralleling Paul’s use of the same image (e.g., Timothy, Onesimus). | Medium. সন্তান (sontan) is correct but must be read figuratively in context; a translator note distinguishing spiritual fatherhood/motherhood-in-the-faith from literal parentage is advisable for readers unfamiliar with this NT convention. |
3 John 1:5
Greek: Ἀγαπητέ, πιστὸν ποιεῖς ὃ ἐὰν ἐργάσῃ εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τοῦτο ξένους, English (reference): “Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in whatever you accomplish for the brothers, especially for strangers,“
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Bengali Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| πιστός | pistos | faithful, trustworthy, reliable | describes a person’s character or an action’s reliability (adjective, distinct from the noun πίστις/“faith”) | “faithful,” “trustworthy” | Gaius’s hospitality is itself an act that proves reliable, trustworthy character — faithfulness demonstrated in concrete deeds, not merely professed. | Medium. বিশ্বস্ত (bishwasto) must be kept distinct from বিশ্বাস (bishwas, “faith” — the noun already fixed as High-risk in Romans TM); conflating the two in translation would blur the adjective-noun distinction Bengali readers need. |
| ἐργάζομαι | ergazomai | to work, to do, to accomplish | practical labor/service | ”do,” “accomplish,” “work at” | Concrete, effortful service — hospitality is work, not a passive courtesy. | Low. কাজ করা is standard. |
| ξένος | xenos | stranger, foreigner; (contextually) a guest received into one’s home | (1) a stranger/outsider; (2) a guest hosted with hospitality; here, itinerant gospel workers unknown to Gaius personally | ”strangers,” “guests” | These are traveling gospel ministers, personally unknown to Gaius, whom he housed and supported purely because they served the truth — hospitality extended on the basis of shared mission, not personal acquaintance or kinship. | High. অতিথি (otithi) is the natural Bengali rendering, but Bengal’s dominant devotional culture carries the well-known Sanskrit maxim Atithi Devo Bhava (“the guest is [as] God” — Taittiriya Upanishad), which frames hospitality as veneration of the guest as a literal manifestation of the divine. 3 John’s hospitality doctrine is different in kind: support is extended to itinerant gospel workers because they serve the truth of Christ, not because any guest is to be worshipped as divine. A translator note distinguishing gospel-partnership hospitality from guest-deification is required wherever this doctrine (“Hospitality to Traveling Ministers”) is taught. |
3 John 1:6
Greek: οἳ ἐμαρτύρησάν σου τῇ ἀγάπῃ ἐνώπιον ἐκκλησίας· οὕς καλῶς ποιήσεις προπέμψας ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ· English (reference): “who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Bengali Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀγάπη | agapē | love | self-giving, covenantal love (distinct from ἔρος romantic love and φιλία affection-friendship) | “love” | Gaius’s love is public and verifiable — attested before the assembled church, not a private sentiment. | High. The established Bengali Bible rendering for ἀγάπη is প্রেম (prem). However, Bengal is the historic heartland of Gaudiya Vaishnavism (the Chaitanya bhakti tradition centered in Nabadwip/West Bengal), where prema is a precise technical term for the highest, often romantically-figured, devotional love between the devotee and Krishna (Radha-Krishna prema-bhakti). Using প্রেম for ἀγάπη risks importing this devotional-romantic resonance into a term meant to convey selfless, others-directed, covenantal love demonstrated in concrete deeds (hospitality, sacrifice) rather than mystical romantic-devotional feeling. A translator note anchoring প্রেম to observable action (as v.6 itself does — love “testified to… before the church”) is required at every occurrence. |
| ἐκκλησία | ekklēsia | assembly, congregation | the gathered local church | ”church,” “congregation” | The local assembly functions as a witnessing/validating body for a believer’s character. | Medium (reused exactly from baseline). মণ্ডলী (mondoli) — established rendering; no deviation permitted. |
| προπέμπω | propempō | to send forward; to help someone on their way (with provisions, funds, an escort) | practical logistical and material support for a traveler’s onward journey | ”send on their way,” “help them on their journey,” “outfit for the journey” | Not a mere farewell — a concrete act of material provisioning that enables continued gospel work. | Medium. No single Bengali word captures this; a compound phrase (যাত্রার জন্য সাহায্য করে পাঠানো, “sending on the journey with help provided”) is required. Do not collapse to a bare “farewell” (বিদায় দেওয়া), which loses the material-support dimension central to the hospitality doctrine. |
| ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ | axiōs tou theou | in a manner worthy of God | conduct that reflects and honors God’s own character/standard | ”in a manner worthy of God,” “as befits God” | The standard for hospitality is not social custom but God’s own honor. | Medium. ঈশ্বরের যোগ্যরূপে (Ishshorer joggoruupe) is a workable compound; ensure যোগ্য conveys “befitting/worthy of,” not merely “capable/qualified.” |
| θεός | theos | God | the one true God | ”God” | (Reused exactly from baseline TM.) | Critical (reused). ঈশ্বর — no deviation. |
3 John 1:7
Greek: ὑπὲρ γὰρ τοῦ ὀνόματος ἐξῆλθον μηδὲν λαμβάνοντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνικῶν. English (reference): “For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Bengali Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| τὸ ὄνομα | to onoma | the Name | a reverent, absolute idiom referring to Christ himself, his authority and cause | ”the Name,” “his name,” “the sake of Christ” | Early Christian shorthand: going out “for the sake of the Name” = going out as Christ’s authorized representatives, for his cause. Losing the capital-N, absolute sense reduces this to a generic phrase. | High. নামের জন্য (namer jonno) is literally correct but easily misread as a vague or generic reference. A translator note clarifying that “the Name” = Christ’s name/cause/authority is required; consider a supplied clarifying phrase (যীশুর নামের জন্য, “for the sake of Jesus’s Name”) where the idiom would otherwise be opaque to a first-time reader. |
| ἐθνικός | ethnikos | Gentile; pagan; non-Jewish/non-believing outsider | in this context, unbelieving outsiders in general (broader than the Romans usage of ἔθνη for non-Jewish peoples as a missionary category) | “Gentiles,” “pagans,” “unbelievers” | The missionaries refused support from unbelieving outsiders specifically to avoid any appearance of mercenary motive — a matter of gospel integrity, not ethnic separation. | Medium. পরজাতি (porojati) is reused from the baseline Romans term for consistency, but a translator note must distinguish this sense (unbelieving outsiders, in a financial-integrity context) from the Romans doctrine of Jewish/Gentile believer unity, where পরজাতি designates a missionary category to be included, not a source of income to be declined. |
3 John 1:8
Greek: ἡμεῖς οὖν ὀφείλομεν ὑπολαμβάνειν τοὺς τοιούτους, ἵνα συνεργοὶ γινώμεθα τῇ ἀληθεί�ᾳ. English (reference): “Therefore we ought to support such people, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Bengali Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὀφείλομεν (< ὀφείλω) | opheilomen | we owe, we ought | moral obligation, debt-language applied to duty | ”we ought,” “it is our duty,” “we owe it” | Hospitality toward gospel workers is framed as an obligation flowing from shared faith, not optional generosity. | Low-Medium. আমাদের উচিত/কর্তব্য (amader uchit/kortobbo) is standard; ensure it does not read as legalistic merit-earning (cf. grace-versus-merit concerns already flagged in the Romans package) but as glad debt of love. |
| ὑπολαμβάνω | hypolambanō | to take up, receive, support | receiving/supporting someone, often materially | ”support,” “receive,” “welcome” | Practical, material undergirding of gospel workers — hospitality with financial/logistical substance, not mere welcome. | Medium. গ্রহণ করে সাহায্য করা (grohon kore shahajyo kora) — a compound is preferable to a bare “receive,” to retain the material-support sense. |
| συνεργός | synergos | fellow worker, co-laborer | partnership in a shared task, often gospel labor (cf. Paul’s frequent use of this term for ministry colleagues) | “fellow worker,” “co-worker,” “partner” | Hosting traveling ministers makes the host an active partner in their gospel work, not merely a passive benefactor. | Medium. সহকর্মী (shohokormi) is standard; the doctrinal point — that hospitality is participation in the mission, not charity alone — should be reinforced in teaching notes. |
| ἀλήθεια | alētheia | truth | see v.1, v.3 | ”the truth” | Here truth is personified as a shared cause/enterprise that hosts and workers serve together — the tightest link in the letter between the doctrines of Truth and of Fellowship. | High (see dedicated note at v.3). This verse is the key proof-text for the doctrine “Truth and Christian Fellowship”: hospitality is fellowship in the service of truth, not truth-independent social kindness. |
3 John 1:9
Greek: Ἔγραψά τι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ· ἀλλ᾽ ὁ φιλοπρωτεύων αὐτῶν Διοτρεφὴς οὐκ ἐπιδέχεται ἡμᾶς. English (reference): “I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept us.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Bengali Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| φιλοπρωτεύων (< φιλοπρωτεύω) | philoprōteuōn | loving to be first; loving preeminence | self-promoting ambition for status/rank within a community; a hapax legomenon in the NT (occurs only here) | “loves to be first,” “loves preeminence,” “seeking to be first” | The letter’s central negative character trait — a leader who has made his own status, rather than Christ or the truth, the operating center of his ministry. This is the doctrinal core of “Church Leadership and Pride.” | High. No single Bengali word captures this; a compound phrase (নিজেকে প্রধান করতে চাওয়া or প্রাধান্য কামনা করা, “wanting to make himself preeminent”/“craving preeminence”) is required. Must be distinguished from legitimate godly leadership authority (cf. πρεσβύτερος, v.1) — the sin is not holding authority but craving status for its own sake. Given how status-consciousness (izzat/honor, communal rank) operates powerfully in Bengali social life, this term needs a clear translator note that pride-in-leadership, not leadership itself, is condemned. |
| ἐπιδέχομαι | epidechomai | to receive, welcome, accept | acceptance of a person or their authority/message | ”accept,” “receive,” “welcome” | Diotrephes’s refusal is a refusal of apostolic authority mediated through the Elder’s messengers — a direct rejection of legitimate church oversight. | Medium. গ্রহণ করা (grohon kora) is standard; context (negated, applied to a leader rejecting apostolic messengers) carries the doctrinal weight, not the word itself. |
| ἐκκλησία | ekklēsia | church | see v.6 | ”church” | (Reused exactly.) | Medium (reused). মণ্ডলী. |
3 John 1:10
Greek: διὰ τοῦτο, ἐὰν ἔλθω, ὑπομνήσω τὰ ἔργα ἃ ποιεῖ λόγοις πονηροῖς φλυαρῶν ἡμᾶς, καὶ μὴ ἀρκούμενος ἐπὶ τούτοις οὔτε αὐτὸς ἐπιδέχεται τοὺς ἀδελφούς, καὶ τοὺς βουλομένους κωλύει καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκβάλλει. English (reference): “So when I come, I will bring up his deeds, how he speaks wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Bengali Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| φλυαρῶν (< φλυαρέω) | phlyarōn | talking nonsense (about someone); making baseless/false accusations | slanderous, groundless chatter directed against a person’s reputation | ”speaks wicked nonsense against,” “makes false accusations against” | Diotrephes’s opposition is not principled doctrinal correction but slander — an abuse of speech to protect status. | Medium. মিথ্যা অপবাদ দেওয়া (mittha opobad deoa, “making false accusations”) is a workable compound; must not be softened into neutral “criticism” (সমালোচনা), which would understate the wrongdoing. |
| ἀρκούμενος (< ἀρκέω) | arkoumenos | being satisfied/content | contentment, sufficiency | ”content,” “satisfied” | His ambition is escalating, not static — slander alone does not satisfy him. | Low. সন্তুষ্ট থাকা is standard. |
| βουλομένους (< βούλομαι) | boulomenous | those wishing/wanting (to welcome the brothers) | volition, desire | ”those who want to,” “those wishing to” | Other members of the congregation who want to extend hospitality are being actively suppressed by Diotrephes — the sin has communal victims beyond the visiting brothers themselves. | Low. ইচ্ছা করা is standard. |
| κωλύει (< κωλύω) | kōlyei | hinders, forbids, prevents | active obstruction of another’s action | ”hinders,” “forbids,” “stops” | Diotrephes actively obstructs the church’s own hospitable impulse — an abuse of positional power. | Medium. বাধা দেওয়া is standard; doctrinal weight lies in context (abuse of authority), not lexical risk. |
| ἐκβάλλει (< ἐκβάλλω) | ekballei | casts out, expels, throws out | forcible removal/expulsion from a group | ”puts out,” “expels,” “casts out” | Diotrephes expels faithful believers from the congregation for the “offense” of practicing hospitality — an illegitimate, self-serving use of the power of church discipline, condemned by the Elder, not modeled as acceptable church practice. | High. বহিষ্কার করা (bohishkar kora) is the natural rendering, but this is an especially sensitive term in a culture where communal/caste-based social expulsion (shunning from village, caste-council, or religious-community structures) is a real and painful lived experience in both Bengali Hindu and Muslim contexts. A translator note is required clarifying (a) this is a condemned abuse of authority, not a model for legitimate church discipline (contrast Matt 18:15–17; 1 Cor 5), and (b) the passage does not endorse or normalize religious-community expulsion practices familiar to Bengali readers from other contexts. |
| ἀδελφός (pl. ἀδελφούς) | adelphous | brothers | see v.3 | ”brothers” | The victims of Diotrephes’s abuse are fellow believers — kinship-in-faith language sharpens the wrongness of the expulsion. | Medium (reused sense from v.3). ভাই. |
| ἐκκλησία | ekklēsia | church | see v.6 | ”church” | (Reused exactly.) | Medium (reused). মণ্ডলী. |
3 John 1:11
Greek: Ἀγαπητέ, μὴ μιμοῦ τὸ κακὸν ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀγαθόν. ὁ ἀγαθοποιῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν· ὁ κακοποιῶν οὐχ ἑώρακεν τὸν θεόν. English (reference): “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Bengali Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| μιμοῦ (< μιμέομαι) | mimou | imitate! (imperative) | modeling one’s conduct on an observed example (cf. Paul’s “imitate me/Christ”) | “imitate,” “follow the example of,” “copy” | Gaius (and the reader) is told to imitate observed patterns of conduct — Demetrius’s good example, not Diotrephes’s evil one — making this verse the letter’s explicit hinge between the Diotrephes and Demetrius sections. | Medium. অনুকরণ করা (anukoron kora) is standard, but should be distinguished from imitation-of-a-guru or sunnah-following-a-prophet models common in Bengali Hindu bhakti and Muslim piety; here the standard is impersonal moral categories (good/evil) rooted in God’s own character, illustrated by, but not centered on, any single human exemplar. |
| κακός | kakos | bad, evil, harmful | general moral evil/wrongdoing | ”evil,” “bad,” “wrong” | Describes the category of conduct Diotrephes exemplifies (pride, slander, abuse of power), not merely displeasing behavior. | Medium. মন্দ (mondo) is appropriate; keep distinct from পাপ (pap, “sin” — already fixed in Romans TM for personal moral transgression before God) to avoid conflating this general behavioral category with the specific doctrinal term for sin, though the two overlap conceptually. |
| ἀγαθός | agathos | good | general moral goodness, reflecting God’s own character | ”good” | The positive counterpart, exemplified by Demetrius in v.12. | Medium. ভাল/উত্তম (bhalo/uttam); guard against a karma-merit reading (good deeds accumulating merit) — here goodness is a mark of belonging to God (ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ), a relational-identity claim, not a merit ledger. |
| ἀγαθοποιῶν (< ἀγαθοποιέω) | agathopoiōn | one who does good | habitual doer of good | ”whoever does good,” “the one who does good” | Doing good is evidence of being “from God” — a mark of a God-given nature at work, not a means of self-earned standing before God. | Medium. ভাল কাজ করে যে (bhalo kaj kore je) — compound needed; reinforce with catechetical note that this is fruit of a God-given identity, not a means of justification (cf. Romans’s grace-versus-merit framework, which this doctrine must not be allowed to contradict). |
| κακοποιῶν (< κακοποιέω) | kakopoiōn | one who does evil | habitual doer of evil | ”whoever does evil” | The one who does evil “has not seen God” — a strong Johannine claim that habitual evildoing is incompatible with any genuine knowledge of God. | Medium. মন্দ কাজ করে যে — parallel compound. |
| ἑώρακεν (< ὁράω) | heōraken | has seen | perceptual/experiential seeing; here, spiritual perception/knowledge of God | ”has seen,” “has known” | Not physical eyesight but genuine spiritual knowledge/experience of God — paralleling Johannine usage elsewhere (e.g., 1 John 3:6; John 1:18). | Low-Medium. দেখা (dekha) is standard, but a translator note distinguishing spiritual “seeing/knowing” from literal eyesight may help avoid a wooden reading. |
| θεός | theos | God | see v.6 | ”God” | (Reused exactly.) | Critical (reused). ঈশ্বর. |
3 John 1:12
Greek: Δημητρίῳ μεμαρτύρηται ὑπὸ πάντων καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας αὐτῆς· καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ μαρτυροῦμεν, καὶ οἶδας ὅτι ἡ μαρτυρία ἡμῶν ἀληθής ἐστιν. English (reference): “Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also testify for him, and you know that our testimony is true.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Bengali Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| μεμαρτύρηται (< μαρτυρέω) | memartyrētai | has been testified about, has received testimony | perfect passive — a settled, standing reputation built on accumulated testimony | ”has received a good testimony,” “is well spoken of” | Demetrius’s good standing is not self-asserted but externally, repeatedly attested — by the whole community and by “the truth itself” (a striking personification), making this verse the letter’s model of a validated, truth-consistent Christian witness. | Medium. সাক্ষ্য পাওয়া / সুসাক্ষ্য পাওয়া (sakkhyo paoa / shushakkhyo paoa) is workable; the personification “the truth itself testifies” (ὑπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας αὐτῆς) deserves a translator note, since a literal rendering (সত্য নিজেই সাক্ষ্য দেয়) may sound unusual in Bengali but should be preserved rather than flattened into a generic “he lived truthfully,” which loses the personification. |
| ἀλήθεια | alētheia | truth | see v.1, v.3, v.8 | ”the truth” | Truth is presented almost as an active witness in its own right — the strongest statement in the letter that a consistent, godly life is itself a form of testimony that “truth” endorses. | High (see dedicated note at v.3). Central proof-text for both the Truth doctrine and the Demetrius-commendation doctrine together. |
| μαρτυροῦμεν (< μαρτυρέω) | martyroumen | we testify | see above | ”we testify,” “we also bear witness” | The Elder adds his own apostolic testimony alongside the community’s — double, weighty attestation. | Medium. সাক্ষ্য দিই। |
| μαρτυρία | martyria | testimony | the noun form; a formal, attestable statement of witness | ”testimony,” “witness” | The letter closes its central commendation with an explicit claim to the truthfulness of its own testimony — testimony about testimony. | Medium. সাক্ষ্য (sakkhyo). |
| ἀληθής | alēthēs | true | (adjective, from the same root as ἀλήθεια) reliable, accurate, corresponding to reality | ”true” | The Elder’s testimony about Demetrius is itself certified as ἀληθής — truth-vocabulary saturates this single verse (noun, personification, and adjective all present), the doctrinal high point of “Truth and Christian Fellowship.” | High (same root risk as ἀλήθεια; see dedicated note). সত্য। |
3 John 1:13
Greek: Πολλὰ εἶχον γράψαι σοι, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ θέλω διὰ μέλανος καὶ καλάμου σοι γράφειν· English (reference): “I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Bengali Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| γράφω | graphō | to write | ordinary written communication | ”write” | Mundane term; no doctrinal weight, but shows the letter’s personal, occasional character — not a formal treatise. | Low. লেখা। |
| μέλαν | melan | ink | writing ink | ”ink” | Literal, concrete detail — reinforces this is a real personal letter awaiting a face-to-face follow-up (v.14). | Low. কালি। |
| κάλαμος | kalamos | reed, reed-pen | a writing implement | ”pen” | Literal detail. | Low. কলম। |
3 John 1:14
Greek: ἐλπίζω δὲ εὐθέως σε ἰδεῖν, καὶ στόμα πρὸς στόμα λαλήσομεν. Εἰρήνη σοι. ἀσπάζονταί σε οἱ φίλοι. ἀσπάζου τοὺς φίλους κατ᾽ ὄνομα. English (reference): “I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Bengali Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐλπίζω | elpizō | I hope | confident expectation, not mere wishful uncertainty | ”I hope,” “I expect” | Confident personal expectation of reunion — pastoral relationship, not just correspondence. | Low-Medium. আশা করা (asha kora) is standard; in NT doctrinal contexts ἐλπίζω/ἐλπίς often carries the weight of confident eschatological hope, though here it is simply personal travel hope — no confusion risk in this verse specifically. |
| εἰρήνη | eirēnē | peace | relational/covenantal well-being, not merely absence of conflict | ”peace” | (Reused exactly from baseline Romans TM — relational peace, here as an epistolary blessing.) | Medium (reused). শান্তি — no deviation. |
| ἀσπάζονται (< ἀσπάζομαι) | aspazontai | greet, send greetings | a formal expression of goodwill/blessing at letter’s close | ”greet,” “send greetings” | Standard epistolary convention; conveys ongoing relational bonds across a network of churches. | Low. শুভেচ্ছা জানানো / মঙ্গলবাদ করা। |
| φίλος (pl. φίλοι) | philoi | friend(s) | affectionate, chosen relational bond, distinct from ἀδελφός’s kinship-in-faith emphasis | ”friends” | The letter closes with φίλοι rather than ἀδελφοί — a deliberate shift many interpreters connect to John 15:14–15 (“no longer servants but friends”), signaling relational intimacy and mutual trust among gospel co-workers, framing the whole letter’s hospitality-and-fellowship theme with a note of chosen, covenantal friendship rather than mere obligation. | Medium. বন্ধু (bondhu) is the correct rendering, but its ordinary, casual register in ordinary Bengali speech should not be allowed to flatten the letter’s deliberate theological shift from ভাই (kinship-in-faith) to বন্ধু (chosen, trusted intimacy) — a teaching note on this inclusio is recommended wherever the doctrine “Truth and Christian Fellowship” is presented from this verse. |
| ὄνομα | onoma | name | see v.7 (different sense here — a literal personal name, not the absolute Christological idiom) | “name,” “by name” | Personal, individualized greeting — every friend named, not a generic collective greeting; reinforces the letter’s personal, relational character. | Low in this occurrence (contrast the High-risk idiomatic use in v.7 — same Greek word, different sense; must not be over-theologized here). নাম ধরে (naam dhore). |
Part 2: Whole-Book Chapter-by-Chapter Coverage
3 John is a single-chapter epistle (1 chapter, 14 verses). Per the full-book-coverage mandate, this is stated explicitly rather than silently omitted: the core passage (3 John 1:1–14), fully analyzed verse-by-verse in Part 1 above, constitutes the entire book. There is no Chapter 2 or beyond, and no additional theological vocabulary outside the core passage remains to be surveyed. All load-bearing terms in 3 John have been catalogued in Part 1. See analysis/08_core_glossary.md for the consolidated glossary drawn from this complete-book analysis.