Semantic Analysis: 3 John (Koine Greek → Javanese)

Book Overview

3 John is a single-chapter, 14-verse personal letter from “the Elder” (ὁ πρεσβύτερος, traditionally the Apostle John) to Gaius, a beloved member of a house church. It is the shortest book in the New Testament. Because the book contains only one chapter, the ENTIRE BOOK is the core passage (3 John 1:1–14). There is no material beyond the core passage requiring separate chapter treatment; per the PRD full-book-coverage mandate, this is stated explicitly in Part 2 below rather than silently omitted.

The letter turns on five interlocking doctrines, all present within these 14 verses:

1. Hospitality to Traveling Ministers (vv. 5–8)
2. Imitating Good rather than Evil (v. 11)
3. Church Leadership and Pride — the negative example of Diotrephes (vv. 9–10)
4. Commendation of Faithful Witness — the positive example of Demetrius (v. 12)
5. Truth and Christian Fellowship — ἀλήθεια (truth) occurs 6 times in 14 verses, the highest density of any NT book, binding the letter’s ethics of hospitality and church order to a single controlling concept.

Terms already fixed in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json (Gusti Allah, pasamuwan, katentreman, bangsa liya, etc.) are reused here exactly as recorded, with no deviation.

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PART 1: Core Passage Verse-by-Verse Analysis (3 John 1:1–14)

Verse 1

Greek: Ὁ πρεσβύτερος Γαΐῳ τῷ ἀγαπητῷ, ὃν ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ. English (ESV): “The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.”

πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros)

• Transliteration: presbyteros
• Literal meaning: “older man, elder”
• Semantic range: an aged man; an office-holder (church elder/overseer); here, a self-designation of apostolic authority exercised with fatherly affection rather than formal title
• English variants: “the elder” (ESV, NIV, KJV), “the presbyter” (some literal translations)
• Contextual theological meaning: The author identifies himself by pastoral relationship, not hierarchical title, framing the letter’s later critique of Diotrephes’ self-exalting behavior (v. 9) by contrast.
• Javanese rendering: pinituwa
• Risk: Medium. Pinituwa/sesepuh in Javanese village life carries both respected-elder and adat/spiritual-authority connotations (a village sesepuh may also be custodian of ancestral or guardian-spirit protocol). Must be anchored to pastoral, apostolic relationship within the pasamuwan, not generic village elderhood.

ἀγαπητός (agapētos) — recurs vv. 1, 2, 5, 11

• Transliteration: agapētos
• Literal meaning: “beloved, dearly loved”
• Semantic range: a term of affectionate address among believers, denoting one who is the object of agapē-love
• English variants: “beloved” (ESV, KJV), “dear friend” (NIV), “my dear friend” (NLT)
• Contextual theological meaning: Establishes the warm, familial register of the whole letter; used to soften each subsequent exhortation.
• Javanese rendering: kang kinasih
• Risk: Medium. Avoid “kekasih,” which in contemporary Javanese/Indonesian usage primarily denotes a romantic sweetheart. “Kang kinasih” (the one held dear) preserves affection without romantic connotation.

ἀγαπάω (agapaō)

• Transliteration: agapaō
• Literal meaning: “to love”
• Semantic range: self-giving, covenantal love, distinct from erotic (erōs) or mere fondness (phileō, though phileō and agapaō overlap in Johannine usage)
• English variants: “love” (all major versions)
• Contextual theological meaning: “Whom I love in truth” ties love directly to ἀλήθεια — Christian love is not sentiment but is exercised within, and verified by, gospel truth.
• Javanese rendering: verb form nresnani / krama ngasihi
• Risk: Medium. Must be kept distinct in context from sih-rahmat (grace, TM Critical term); agapaō here is relational affection between believers, not the unmerited saving favor of God.

ἀλήθεια (alētheia) — recurs vv. 1, 3(×2), 4, 8, 12(×2)

• Transliteration: alētheia
• Literal meaning: “truth, reality, that which is not concealed”
• Semantic range: factual accuracy; genuineness/sincerity; in Johannine literature, the gospel reality revealed in Christ and embodied in a believer’s whole conduct (“walking in the truth”)
• English variants: “truth” (all major versions)
• Contextual theological meaning: The controlling term of 3 John. Truth is simultaneously (a) sound gospel doctrine, (b) sincere love, and (c) consistent Christian conduct — the standard by which Gaius, Diotrephes, and Demetrius are all evaluated.
• Javanese rendering: kayektosan (from yekti, “real/true”; krama nominal form)
• Risk: High. NEW TERM for this curriculum (not in the Romans baseline). Javanese kejawen mysticism has a well-developed parallel concept — kasunyatan sejati / ngèlmu sejati (“true reality”/“true knowledge”) — the ultimate hidden truth a practitioner pursues through ascetic and mystical discipline toward kasampurnan (a concept already forbidden for “righteousness” in the baseline). Kayektosan must never be taught as an esoteric reality attained through spiritual practice; it is the received, objective gospel reality revealed in Christ, held in common by the whole community, evidenced in ordinary conduct and love. Every occurrence in Critical-doctrine passages (truth vs. Diotrephes’ behavior) should carry a teaching note distinguishing kayektosan from kasunyatan sejati/ngèlmu sejati.

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Verse 2

Greek: Ἀγαπητέ, περὶ πάντων εὔχομαί σε εὐοδοῦσθαι καὶ ὑγιαίνειν, καθὼς εὐοδοῦταί σου ἡ ψυχή. English (ESV): “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.”

εὔχομαι (euchomai)

• Transliteration: euchomai
• Literal meaning: “to wish, to pray”
• Semantic range: a wish/prayer directed to God on another’s behalf
• English variants: “I pray” (ESV, NIV), “I wish” (KJV, more literal)
• Contextual theological meaning: A personal intercessory greeting, not a liturgical formula.
• Javanese rendering: ndedonga (to pray)
• Risk: Low. Standard devotional vocabulary.

εὐοδόω (euodoō) — recurs v. 2 (×2)

• Transliteration: euodousthai / euodoutai
• Literal meaning: “to have a good journey/road” (from eu + hodos, “road”); by extension, “to prosper, succeed”
• Semantic range: material and circumstantial well-being
• English variants: “go well” (ESV), “prosper” (KJV, NIV), “all go well” (NASB)
• Contextual theological meaning: A wish for holistic well-being, explicitly measured against and subordinated to the state of Gaius’s soul — external prosperity is not the primary good.
• Javanese rendering: lumampah kanthi rahayu (“to go well/safely”)
• Risk: Medium. The root rahayu (safety/well-being) overlaps with karahayon, the alternative explicitly REJECTED for “salvation” (kaslametan) in the baseline TM. Here rahayu is used only for ordinary circumstantial well-being, not soteriological rescue — a translator note should distinguish this everyday sense from kaslametan wherever the two might be read together (e.g., in a lesson pairing this verse with salvation teaching).

ὑγιαίνω (hygiainō)

• Transliteration: hygiainein
• Literal meaning: “to be healthy, sound”
• Semantic range: physical health; by extension, soundness of doctrine (as in the Pastoral Epistles’ “sound teaching”)
• English variants: “be in good health” (ESV, NIV), “be in health” (KJV)
• Contextual theological meaning: Straightforward physical health wish here, paired with prosperity.
• Javanese rendering: sehat
• Risk: Low.

ψυχή (psychē)

• Transliteration: psychē
• Literal meaning: “soul, life, inner self”
• Semantic range: the seat of life, will, and spiritual condition; sometimes simply “life” or “person”
• English variants: “soul” (ESV, KJV, NIV)
• Contextual theological meaning: Gaius’s spiritual condition — his fidelity to the truth and love for the brothers — is the true measure of his prosperity, outranking circumstantial well-being.
• Javanese rendering: jiwa
• Risk: Medium. Javanese jiwa (inner self) is also central to kejawen teaching on kasampurnaning jiwa (perfection of the soul through mystical discipline). Teaching must clarify that the soul’s “prospering” here is a Spirit-given condition evidenced in love and truth (as vv. 3–6 show), not a mystically cultivated inner attainment.

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Verse 3

Greek: ἐχάρην γὰρ λίαν ἐρχομένων ἀδελφῶν καὶ μαρτυρούντων σου τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, καθὼς σὺ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ περιπατεῖς. English (ESV): “For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth.”

χαίρω (chairō)

• Transliteration: echarēn (aorist passive form used intransitively)
• Literal meaning: “to rejoice, be glad”
• Semantic range: joy at good news or good report
• English variants: “I rejoiced” (ESV), “I was glad” (NLT)
• Contextual theological meaning: Joy caused specifically by a report of another believer’s faithfulness — communal, relational joy.
• Javanese rendering: bungah (verb)/ kabungahan (noun)
• Risk: Low. Standard term; note it must not be confused with the rejected TM alternative “kabar kabungahan” used for “gospel,” which remains reserved for Injil only.

μαρτυρέω (martyreō) — recurs vv. 3, 6, 12(×2)

• Transliteration: martyreō (verb), martyria (noun, v. 12)
• Literal meaning: “to bear witness, testify”
• Semantic range: to give truthful testimony about a person’s character or conduct, whether in a legal, communal, or spiritual setting
• English variants: “testified” (ESV), “told about” (NIV), “bare record” (KJV)
• Contextual theological meaning: Traveling believers give an eyewitness report validating Gaius’s Christian character; the same word will later validate Demetrius (v. 12), forming a structural link between the letter’s positive examples.
• Javanese rendering: verb nekseni; noun paseksi (testimony/witness)
• Risk: Medium. Foundational for the “Commendation of Faithful Witness” doctrine (Demetrius, v. 12). Must be taught as verified reputation for godly character within the believing community, not a formal legal deposition nor an appeal to a venerated holy figure’s endorsement (avoid any drift toward wali-tomb-style validation, cf. baseline’s “saints”/wali warning).

περιπατέω (peripateō) — recurs v. 4

• Transliteration: peripateis / peripatounta
• Literal meaning: “to walk, walk around”
• Semantic range: literal walking; in NT ethical usage, a metaphor for one’s manner of life, habitual conduct
• English variants: “walking” (ESV, KJV), “living” (NIV, NLT)
• Contextual theological meaning: Truth is not merely believed but walked — ongoing, visible, consistent conduct.
• Javanese rendering: lumampah (used metaphorically: lumampah ing kayektosan)
• Risk: Medium. The metaphor of “walking” must be taught explicitly as a Semitic/Johannine idiom for lived conduct; a literal reading of “lumampah” alone may not automatically convey the ethical-lifestyle sense to a reader unfamiliar with this idiom.

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Verse 4

Greek: μειζοτέραν τούτων οὐκ ἔχω χαράν, ἵνα ἀκούω τὰ ἐμὰ τέκνα ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ περιπατοῦντα. English (ESV): “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”

τέκνα (tekna)

• Transliteration: tekna
• Literal meaning: “children”
• Semantic range: biological offspring; figuratively, spiritual children — those brought to faith or discipled by the speaker
• English variants: “my children” (ESV, NIV, KJV)
• Contextual theological meaning: The Elder speaks as a spiritual father over converts/disciples under his pastoral care, not necessarily his own biological family.
• Javanese rendering: para putra kula (“my children” — spiritual sense)
• Risk: Medium. Must be distinguished in teaching from the baseline’s “adoption” doctrine (pengangkatan dadi putra, sonship into God’s family); here the fatherhood is pastoral/discipleship fatherhood, not the forensic adoption doctrine of Romans 8. Also distinct from “Rama” (Father, reserved for God) — the Elder is a human spiritual father, not to be confused with divine Fatherhood.

(χαρά, ἀλήθεια, περιπατέω as above.)

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Verse 5

Greek: Ἀγαπητέ, πιστὸν ποιεῖς ὃ ἐὰν ἐργάσῃ εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τοῦτο ξένους, English (ESV): “Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are,”

πιστός (pistos)

• Transliteration: piston
• Literal meaning: “faithful, trustworthy, reliable”
• Semantic range: describes a person’s or action’s reliability; related to, but distinct from, πίστις (saving faith/trust)
• English variants: “faithful thing” (ESV), “you are faithful in what you are doing” (NIV), “thou doest faithfully” (KJV)
• Contextual theological meaning: Commends Gaius’s concrete hospitality as an act of covenant faithfulness, not merely a kind gesture.
• Javanese rendering: setya
• Risk: Medium. Must be kept distinct from pitados (TM term for saving faith/trust in Christ). Setya here describes faithful, reliable action/character, not the act of believing. A translator note should clarify this distinction wherever both terms occur near each other in the same lesson.

ἐργάζομαι (ergazomai)

• Transliteration: ergasē
• Literal meaning: “to work, labor, do”
• Semantic range: any deliberate exertion of effort, here specifically hospitality-labor
• English variants: “your efforts” (ESV), “you do” (NIV), “whatsoever thou doest” (KJV)
• Contextual theological meaning: Concrete, costly service, not mere well-wishing.
• Javanese rendering: nglampahi / nindakaken
• Risk: Low.

ξένος (xenos)

• Transliteration: xenous
• Literal meaning: “stranger, foreigner, guest”
• Semantic range: an outsider unknown to the host; in NT hospitality contexts, a traveling believer/missionary personally unacquainted with the host congregation
• English variants: “strangers” (ESV, KJV), “even though they are strangers to you” (NIV)
• Contextual theological meaning: Central to the “Hospitality to Traveling Ministers” doctrine — Gaius extended costly welcome to itinerant gospel workers he did not personally know, purely because of their gospel mission.
• Javanese rendering: tamu (with qualifying phrase: tamu ingkang ngambah lelampahan pekabaran Injil, “guests traveling in gospel service”)
• Risk: Medium. Bare “tamu” or “wong asing” (foreigner) risks losing the specific referent — itinerant gospel ministers — and could be read as generic hospitality ethics or even provoke suspicion associated with “wong asing.” Context must specify these are gospel workers.

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Verse 6

Greek: οἳ ἐμαρτύρησάν σου τῇ ἀγάπῃ ἐνώπιον ἐκκλησίας, οὓς καλῶς ποιήσεις προπέμψας ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ· English (ESV): “who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.”

ἀγάπη (agapē)

• Transliteration: agapē
• Literal meaning: “love”
• Semantic range: see ἀγαπάω above; the noun form of self-giving, covenantal love
• English variants: “love” (all major versions)
• Contextual theological meaning: The visiting brothers testified publicly to Gaius’s love — hospitality is treated as tangible proof of Christian love.
• Javanese rendering: katresnan
• Risk: Medium. Distinct from sih-rahmat (grace); katresnan here is the believer’s outward love-in-action toward others, not God’s unmerited favor toward sinners. Keep separate in teaching from both sih-rahmat and the romantic connotation “tresna” alone can carry.

ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia)

• Established Romans TM rendering reused exactly: pasamuwan
• Risk: Medium (per baseline). “Before the church” here means before the assembled local congregation — the same corporate body later abused by Diotrephes (v. 9) and from which he expels believers (v. 10). No new risk beyond the baseline note (never punden).

προπέμπω (propempō)

• Transliteration: propempsas
• Literal meaning: “to send forward, escort on the way”
• Semantic range: a technical term in the early church for equipping and provisioning a traveling minister — providing food, money, and companionship for the next leg of a journey, not merely a polite farewell
• English variants: “send them on their journey” (ESV), “help them on their way” (NIV), “bring forward on their journey” (KJV)
• Contextual theological meaning: The concrete, material form hospitality to traveling ministers takes — active material support for gospel mission, not passive lodging alone.
• Javanese rendering: ngeteraken kanthi paring pitulungan (“to see off while providing help/provision”)
• Risk: Medium. A literal rendering of only “escort” or “farewell” would lose the technical sense of material provisioning central to the “Hospitality to Traveling Ministers” doctrine; the fuller phrase must be retained or explained in a teaching note.

ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ (axiōs tou theou)

• Transliteration: axiōs tou theou
• Literal meaning: “worthily of God”
• Semantic range: an adverbial standard — conduct measured against, and befitting, God’s own character/honor
• English variants: “in a manner worthy of God” (ESV), “in a manner worthy of God” (NIV), “after a godly sort” (KJV)
• Contextual theological meaning: Hospitality is not measured by human standards of generosity but by whether it honors God himself.
• Javanese rendering: kanthi patut ing ngarsanipun Gusti Allah (“in a manner fitting before Gusti Allah”)
• Risk: Medium. Ensure “Gusti Allah” is used in full per baseline CRITICAL rule (never bare Gusti).

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Verse 7

Greek: ὑπὲρ γὰρ τοῦ ὀνόματος ἐξῆλθον μηδὲν λαμβάνοντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνικῶν. English (ESV): “For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.”

ὄνομα (onoma)

• Transliteration: tou onomatos
• Literal meaning: “the name”
• Semantic range: a person’s proper name; by metonymy, a person’s authority, reputation, or person themselves — here, absolutely “the Name” refers to Christ, following common early-church shorthand
• English variants: “the name” (ESV, KJV), “the sake of the Name” (NIV, capitalized to signal Christ)
• Contextual theological meaning: These missionaries went out on Christ’s authority and for Christ’s honor, receiving no pay from unbelievers so their gospel motive would remain unimpeachable.
• Javanese rendering: Asmanipun Gusti (“His Name,” referring to Christ, capitalized/honorific)
• Risk: High. If rendered as generic “jeneng” (name) without capitalization or context, the Christological referent is lost entirely, reducing a Christ-honoring missionary principle to a bare grammatical antecedent. A translator note must specify: “the Name” = Christ’s name/authority, matching established Johannine usage (cf. John 20:31).

ἐθνικός (ethnikos)

• Transliteration: ethnikōn
• Literal meaning: “belonging to a nation/people”; in NT Jewish usage, “pagan, Gentile, non-Jew,” and by further extension in this context, “unbeliever, outsider to the faith”
• Semantic range: DISTINCT from ἔθνη/ethnē (“nations/Gentiles” as a mission-field category in Romans, already rendered bangsa liya in the baseline TM). Here ethnikos functions adjectivally to mean “unbelieving outsiders,” the source of support the missionaries specifically refuse, to keep their gospel work free from suspicion of financial motive.
• English variants: “the Gentiles” (ESV, KJV), “pagans” (NIV, NLT — more accurate to this sense)
• Contextual theological meaning: The missionaries’ financial independence from unbelievers protects the integrity/purity of their gospel witness — directly supporting the “Hospitality to Traveling Ministers” doctrine, since it explains why believers like Gaius must fill the gap.
• Javanese rendering: tiyang ingkang dereng pitados (“people who do not yet believe”)
• Risk: CRITICAL. NEVER render as kapir, the Arabic-derived Islamic term for “infidel/unbeliever,” which carries strong pejorative, religio-political, and potentially inflammatory connotations in Javanese Muslim-majority society and would import an entirely foreign polemical framework into this pastoral-missions text. Also do not reuse bare “bangsa liya” here without clarification, since that TM term in Romans carries the positive sense of a mission-field people-group welcomed into the gospel, not the negative sense of “those outside the faith whose money should be declined” intended here. This is a NEW forbidden-substitution entry to be added alongside the baseline’s existing CRITICAL list.

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Verse 8

Greek: ἡμεῖς οὖν ὀφείλομεν ὑπολαμβάνειν τοὺς τοιούτους, ἵνα συνεργοὶ γινώμεθα τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. English (ESV): “Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.”

ὀφείλω (opheilō)

• Transliteration: opheilomen
• Literal meaning: “to owe, be obligated”
• Semantic range: moral/financial debt or duty
• English variants: “we ought” (ESV, NIV), “we therefore ought” (KJV)
• Contextual theological meaning: Hospitality to gospel workers is framed as a binding Christian duty, not optional generosity.
• Javanese rendering: wajib
• Risk: Low.

ὑπολαμβάνω (hypolambanō)

• Transliteration: hypolambanein
• Literal meaning: “to take up, receive, support”
• Semantic range: to receive someone hospitably with material support (distinct from the more general ἐπιδέχομαι in vv. 9–10, which concerns accepting a person’s authority/legitimacy)
• English variants: “support” (ESV), “welcome” (NIV, weaker), “receive” (KJV)
• Contextual theological meaning: Reinforces the material, active dimension of hospitality already introduced by προπέμπω (v. 6).
• Javanese rendering: nampani lan nyengkuyung (“to receive and support”)
• Risk: Medium. Keep distinct from ἐπιδέχομαι (vv. 9–10), which in this letter carries the additional freight of accepting/rejecting apostolic authority, not merely material hospitality.

συνεργός (synergos)

• Transliteration: synergoi
• Literal meaning: “fellow worker, co-worker”
• Semantic range: a partner sharing in the same task/labor
• English variants: “fellow workers” (ESV, NIV), “fellowhelpers” (KJV)
• Contextual theological meaning: Hosting itinerant ministers makes the host an active participant in the gospel mission itself, not a passive bystander — hospitality is gospel partnership.
• Javanese rendering: kanca nyambut damel (“co-worker/partner in labor”)
• Risk: Medium. Should be paired with kayektosan (“fellow workers for the truth”) to ensure the partnership in view is gospel partnership, not generic teamwork.

(ἀλήθεια as above.)

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Verse 9

Greek: Ἔγραψά τι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ· ἀλλ᾽ ὁ φιλοπρωτεύων αὐτῶν Διοτρέφης οὐκ ἐπιδέχεται ἡμᾶς. English (ESV): “I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.”

φιλοπρωτεύων (philoprōteuōn)

• Transliteration: philoprōteuōn
• Literal meaning: “loving to be first” (from philos, “loving,” + prōtos, “first”)
• Semantic range: a hapax legomenon in the NT (occurs only here); denotes ambition for preeminence, self-promoting rivalry for the top position
• English variants: “who likes to put himself first” (ESV), “who loves to be first” (KJV), “who loves to have the preeminence” (KJV alt.)
• Contextual theological meaning: The single word that names Diotrephes’ core sin and anchors the “Church Leadership and Pride” doctrine — self-exalting ambition within the church, contrasted with the servant-elder posture of the Elder himself (v. 1) and with the “imitate good” command of v. 11.
• Javanese rendering: remen ngunggul-unggulaken piyambak (“fond of exalting himself above others”)
• Risk: High. This concept sits directly against the grain of Javanese social structure, where hierarchical deference (expressed through the very krama speech register this Language Package mandates) is normally a positive social value, and status-consciousness around rank/title (as in priyayi culture, already flagged in the baseline’s “unity_of_jews_and_gentiles” doctrine) is deeply embedded. Teaching must make unmistakably clear that Scripture condemns SELF-SEEKING ambition for position, not the ordinary respect-language or leadership structures the register itself uses; conflating the two risks either (a) softening the rebuke of Diotrephes into acceptable status-seeking, or (b) implying krama’s own honor conventions are sinful. A dedicated teaching note is required wherever this term occurs.

ἐπιδέχομαι (epidechomai) — recurs v. 10 (×2)

• Transliteration: epidechetai
• Literal meaning: “to receive, accept, welcome”
• Semantic range: to receive a guest hospitably; by extension in this context, to accept/acknowledge someone’s legitimate authority or delegation
• English variants: “does not acknowledge our authority” (ESV, interpretive), “receiveth us not” (KJV, literal), “will not welcome us” (NIV)
• Contextual theological meaning: Diotrephes’ refusal is not mere impoliteness but a rejection of the Elder’s apostolic authority and, by extension, of the traveling brothers he commends — directly opposing the hospitality ethic praised in vv. 5–8.
• Javanese rendering: nampani (with contextual qualifier: nampani panguwaosipun/kawibawanipun, “accept [their] authority”)
• Risk: High. A bare “nampani” (receive) undersells the authority-conflict dimension central to this doctrine. Teaching notes must clarify this is about refusing to submit to legitimate apostolic oversight, distinct from ordinary social hospitality (ξένος/tamu, v. 5) and from ὑπολαμβάνω (material support, v. 8).

(ἐκκλησία as above.)

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Verse 10

Greek: διὰ τοῦτο, ἐὰν ἔλθω, ὑπομνήσω αὐτοῦ τὰ ἔργα ἃ ποιεῖ, λόγοις πονηροῖς φλυαρῶν ἡμᾶς· καὶ μὴ ἀρκούμενος ἐπὶ τούτοις οὔτε αὐτὸς ἐπιδέχεται τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τοὺς βουλομένους κωλύει καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκβάλλει. English (ESV): “So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking 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.”

ὑπομιμνήσκω (hypomimnēskō)

• Transliteration: hypomnēsō
• Literal meaning: “to remind, call to mind, bring up”
• Semantic range: to publicly recall specific conduct, often for correction
• English variants: “I will bring up” (ESV), “I will remember” (KJV), “I will call attention to” (NIV)
• Contextual theological meaning: The Elder intends direct, public confrontation of Diotrephes’ abuse of leadership when he arrives.
• Javanese rendering: ngengetaken
• Risk: Low.

λόγοις πονηροῖς φλυαρῶν (logois ponērois phlyarōn)

• Transliteration: logois ponērois phlyarōn
• Literal meaning: “prating/babbling against [us] with wicked words”
• Semantic range: φλυαρέω = to talk nonsense maliciously, to make baseless slanderous accusations
• English variants: “talking wicked nonsense against us” (ESV), “prating against us with malicious words” (KJV), “spreading malicious nonsense about us” (NIV)
• Contextual theological meaning: Diotrephes’ pride (v. 9) manifests concretely in slander against the Elder’s apostolic delegation — pride and false speech are linked.
• Javanese rendering: ngala-ala kanthi tembung awon (“to slander with evil/wicked words”)
• Risk: Medium. Part of the “Church Leadership and Pride” doctrine’s concrete evidence list; ensure it reads as active, malicious slander, not mere disagreement or criticism.

κωλύω (kōlyō)

• Transliteration: kōlyei
• Literal meaning: “to hinder, prevent, forbid”
• Semantic range: active obstruction of another’s action
• English variants: “stops” (ESV, NIV), “forbiddeth” (KJV)
• Javanese rendering: ngalang-alangi
• Risk: Low.

ἐκβάλλω (ekballō)

• Transliteration: ekballei
• Literal meaning: “to cast out, throw out, expel”
• Semantic range: forceful expulsion; used elsewhere in the NT for exorcism and for expulsion from the synagogue (cf. John 9:34)
• English variants: “puts them out” (ESV), “casteth [them] out” (KJV), “puts them out of the church” (NIV)
• Contextual theological meaning: The climactic evidence of Diotrephes’ abuse — he weaponizes church discipline itself against faithful believers who want to practice the hospitality this letter commends. This is the clearest instance in the NT of a named individual abusing local church authority.
• Javanese rendering: nundhung saking pasamuwan (“to expel/chase out from the congregation”)
• Risk: Medium-High. This term must be carefully distinguished from legitimate biblical church discipline (which exists elsewhere in Scripture) — here it is condemned precisely because it is an abuse of power for self-serving reasons, not because church discipline itself is wrong. A teaching note preventing over-generalization (“all expulsion from church is always wrong”) is recommended.

(ἐπιδέχομαι, ἐκκλησία, ἀδελφός as above.)

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Verse 11

Greek: Ἀγαπητέ, μὴ μιμοῦ τὸ κακὸν ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀγαθόν. ὁ ἀγαθοποιῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν· ὁ κακοποιῶν οὐχ ἑώρακεν τὸν θεόν. English (ESV): “Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.”

μιμέομαι (mimeomai)

• Transliteration: mimou (present imperative)
• Literal meaning: “to imitate, mimic, follow as a model”
• Semantic range: to pattern one’s conduct after an example, whether good or bad
• English variants: “imitate” (ESV, NIV), “follow” (KJV)
• Contextual theological meaning: The letter’s central ethical command and the doctrinal hinge connecting the Diotrephes narrative (evil example) with the Demetrius narrative (good example, v. 12) — Gaius (and every reader) is to choose which model to follow.
• Javanese rendering: niru
• Risk: High. Javanese religious culture has a strong, positive existing pattern of imitating a spiritual teacher’s example within guru-murid (teacher-disciple) lineage transmission, both in pesantren tradition and in kejawen mystical schools, where imitation of the guru’s practices and inner state is often a path toward spiritual attainment (paralleling the kasampurnan concept already flagged in the baseline). Teaching must clarify that 3 John 11’s “imitate good, not evil” concerns moral character rooted in one’s identity as being “of God” (ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ), not a devotional imitation of a particular guru/teacher’s mystical practice as a means to spiritual advancement.

κακός (kakos) / ἀγαθός (agathos)

• Transliteration: kakon / agathon
• Literal meaning: “evil, bad” / “good”
• Semantic range: a basic moral binary; κακός = morally bad, harmful; ἀγαθός = morally good, beneficial
• English variants: “evil”/“good” (all major versions)
• Javanese rendering: ala (evil) / becik (good)
• Risk: Low.

ἀγαθοποιέω (agathopoieō) / κακοποιέω (kakopoieō)

• Transliteration: agathopoiōn / kakopoiōn
• Literal meaning: “to do good” / “to do evil” (present active participles, functioning as substantives: “the one doing good/evil”)
• Semantic range: habitual moral practice as a revelation of one’s spiritual origin/identity
• English variants: “whoever does good”/“whoever does evil” (ESV), “he that doeth good”/“he that doeth evil” (KJV)
• Contextual theological meaning: Moral practice is treated as diagnostic evidence of spiritual identity (“is from God” / “has not seen God”) rather than as a means of earning standing with God — an ethical-identity statement, not a merit transaction.
• Javanese rendering: tumindak becik (“doing/practicing good”) / tumindak awon (“doing/practicing evil”)
• Risk: Medium. Must be taught carefully against the Javanese folk-ethical concept of ngundhuh wohing pakarti (“reaping the fruit of one’s deeds,” a karma-adjacent proverb of moral cause-and-effect). The Johannine logic here is the reverse direction: good conduct is presented as evidence flowing from an already-existing relationship with God (“is from God”), not a cause that produces divine favor as its effect. This distinction should be flagged for theologian review wherever this verse is taught alongside grace/justification material.

ὁράω (horaō)

• Transliteration: heōraken
• Literal meaning: “to see, perceive”
• Semantic range: literal sight; in Johannine idiom, relational/experiential knowledge of God (cf. 1 John 3:6, 4:20)
• English variants: “has [not] seen God” (ESV, NIV, KJV, all literal)
• Contextual theological meaning: “Has not seen God” is a Johannine idiom for lacking genuine relational knowledge of God, not a claim about literal visual perception.
• Javanese rendering: sampun mirsani Gusti Allah (literal, with idiom explained)
• Risk: Medium. A literal rendering risks readers wondering how anyone “sees” God at all; a teaching note explaining the Johannine idiom (relational knowledge, not literal vision) is required, paralleling how John’s Gospel/epistles use this same idiom elsewhere.

(θεός reused exactly from baseline TM: Gusti Allah, Critical risk per baseline — never shorten to bare Gusti.)

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Verse 12

Greek: Δημητρίῳ μεμαρτύρηται ὑπὸ πάντων καὶ ὑπὸ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας· καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ μαρτυροῦμεν, καὶ οἶδας ὅτι ἡ μαρτυρία ἡμῶν ἀληθής ἐστιν. English (ESV): “Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.”

μαρτυρέω / μαρτυρία (martyreō / martyria)

• (See v. 3 above for full field treatment; noun form μαρτυρία introduced here.)
• Transliteration: memartyrētai (verb, perfect passive) / martyria (noun) / alēthēs (adjective, “true”)
• Contextual theological meaning: This verse is the doctrinal anchor for “Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius).” Three independent witnesses converge: the whole community, “the truth itself” (personified — Demetrius’s life visibly conforms to the gospel reality), and the Elder’s own apostolic testimony. This threefold-witness structure echoes the Johannine legal principle of establishing truth by multiple witnesses (cf. John 8:17; Deut 19:15).
• Javanese rendering: paseksi (noun) / anekseni (verb); “ingkang leres” for ἀληθής (true)
• Risk: High. This is the doctrinally load-bearing verse for the Demetrius doctrine. The phrase “testimony from the truth itself” (ὑπὸ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας) should not be flattened into ordinary human reputation alone; it personifies kayektosan as an independent, objective witness — Demetrius’s character is consistent with the gospel reality itself, not merely popular with people. A teaching note distinguishing this from mere social reputation or crowd-popularity is recommended.

(ἀλήθεια as above; οἶδα, “you know,” is a common Johannine verb of assured knowledge, Low risk, rendered panjenengan sumerep.)

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Verse 13

Greek: Πολλὰ εἶχον γράψαι σοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐ θέλω διὰ μέλανος καὶ καλάμου σοι γράφειν· English (ESV): “I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink.”

γράφω (graphō) / μέλαν (melan) / κάλαμος (kalamos)

• Transliteration: grapsai / melanos / kalamou
• Literal meaning: “to write” / “ink” / “reed pen”
• Semantic range: literal ancient writing materials
• English variants: “pen and ink” (ESV, NIV), “ink and pen” (KJV)
• Contextual theological meaning: A material/cultural detail expressing the Elder’s preference for face-to-face fellowship over written correspondence (developed in v. 14); no independent doctrinal weight, but supports the “Truth and Christian Fellowship” doctrine’s emphasis on embodied, relational communication of truth.
• Javanese rendering: mangsi lan pena (literal: “ink and pen”)
• Risk: Low. Purely cultural-material detail; render literally with no special doctrinal handling required.

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Verse 14

Greek: ἐλπίζω δὲ εὐθέως σε ἰδεῖν, καὶ λαλήσομεν στόμα πρὸς στόμα. Εἰρήνη σοι. ἀσπάζονταί σε οἱ φίλοι. ἀσπάζου τοὺς φίλους κατ᾽ ὄνομα. English (ESV): “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.”

ἐλπίζω (elpizō)

• Transliteration: elpizō
• Literal meaning: “to hope”
• Semantic range: confident expectation, not mere wishful uncertainty; in NT usage often carries theological weight (hope in God’s promises), though here used in the ordinary sense of a travel expectation
• English variants: “I hope” (ESV, NIV, KJV)
• Javanese rendering: kula ngarep-arep
• Risk: Low. Ordinary usage here; no doctrinal collision, though note the term’s theological register elsewhere in Scripture for future teaching cross-reference.

στόμα πρὸς στόμα (stoma pros stoma)

• Transliteration: stoma pros stoma
• Literal meaning: “mouth to mouth”
• Semantic range: a Hebraic/Johannine idiom (cf. Numbers 12:8 LXX) for direct, unmediated, face-to-face communication
• English variants: “face to face” (ESV, NIV — idiomatic), “mouth to mouth” (KJV, literal)
• Contextual theological meaning: Reinforces the “Truth and Christian Fellowship” doctrine — truth and fellowship are ultimately embodied and relational, not merely textual/administrative (contrasted with the “pen and ink” of v. 13, and implicitly with Diotrephes’ impersonal slander in v. 10).
• Javanese rendering: rai adhep-adhepan (“face to face,” idiomatic)
• Risk: Low-Medium. A literal rendering (“cangkem lawan cangkem” / “mouth to mouth”) would sound crude or even inappropriate in formal krama Javanese; the natural idiomatic equivalent “rai adhep-adhepan” must be used per the Language Package’s idiom-handling rule (find natural equivalents preserving meaning, not literal wording).

εἰρήνη (eirēnē)

• Established Romans TM rendering reused exactly: katentreman
• Risk: Medium (per baseline). Standard epistolary peace-greeting; no new doctrinal risk beyond the baseline note distinguishing relational/covenantal peace from meditative inner calm.

φίλος (philos)

• Transliteration: philoi
• Literal meaning: “friend”
• Semantic range: one bound by affectionate personal relationship, historically also a quasi-technical term of household/patron-client relationship in the Greco-Roman world; here simply the wider circle of local believers sending greetings
• English variants: “friends” (ESV, NIV, NLT), “the friends” (KJV)
• Contextual theological meaning: A broader circle of relationship than “brothers” (ἀδελφοί, the traveling missionaries) — the local congregation Gaius belongs to.
• Javanese rendering: mitra
• Risk: Low-Medium. Distinguish from sedherek (brothers/fellow believers as spiritual family, used elsewhere in this letter) — mitra here denotes the wider affectionate circle of local acquaintance-believers sending greetings, a slightly less formal register than sedherek.

ἀσπάζομαι (aspazomai)

• Transliteration: aspazontai / aspazou
• Literal meaning: “to greet, salute”
• Semantic range: standard epistolary greeting formula
• English variants: “greet” (all major versions)
• Javanese rendering: ngaturaken salam
• Risk: Low.

Proper Names

• Γάϊος (Gaios) → Gayus (established Indonesian/Javanese Bible form)
• Διοτρέφης (Diotrephēs) → Diotrefes (established Indonesian/Javanese Bible form)
• Δημήτριος (Dēmētrios) → Demetrius (established Indonesian/Javanese Bible form)
• Risk: Low for all three (standard proper-name transliteration per Indonesian-archipelago Bible convention, consistent with the baseline’s naming approach for David/Dawud, Israel, etc.)

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PART 2: Whole-Book Chapter-by-Chapter Coverage

Chapter 1 (3 John 1:1–14): FULLY TREATED ABOVE. 3 John consists of a single chapter of 14 verses. Since the core passage specified for this curriculum (3 John 1:1–14) is identical to the entire book, all load-bearing theological vocabulary in 3 John has already received full verse-by-verse treatment in Part 1. There is no additional chapter content to analyze.

Explicit full-book coverage statement: Per the PRD’s full-book-coverage mandate, this section confirms — rather than silently omits — that 3 John contains no chapters beyond chapter 1, and that chapter 1 has been analyzed in its entirety, verse by verse, above. No load-bearing term, proper name, or doctrine anywhere in 3 John has been left unaddressed.

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Cross-Reference Notes to Baseline (Romans) Terms Reused Exactly

The following terms occur in 3 John and MUST use the baseline Romans translation_memory.json rendering without modification:

Term	Baseline Javanese Rendering	3 John Verse(s)
God (θεός)	Gusti Allah	1:11 (×2)
church (ἐκκλησία)	pasamuwan	1:6, 1:9, 1:10
peace (εἰρήνη)	katentreman	1:14

No other baseline TM terms occur in 3 John’s Greek text. (Note: “Jesus,” “Lord,” “Christ,” “Holy Spirit,” “salvation,” “grace,” and similar Critical-risk Romans terms do NOT appear lexically in 3 John — the letter never explicitly names Christ, referring to him only obliquely as “the Name,” v. 7. This absence itself should be noted for curriculum writers so they do not import Romans-style Christological vocabulary into 3 John translation segments where the Greek does not warrant it.)