Core Glossary
Core Glossary: 3 John
How to Read This Table
- Term: the English gloss used for reference.
- Greek (translit.): original word and transliteration.
- Kannada Rendering (translit.): the required destination-language term.
- Risk: Critical / High / Medium / Low, per baseline conventions.
- Doctrine: which of the five curriculum doctrines the term primarily serves (Hospitality to Traveling Ministers = HOSP; Imitating Good rather than Evil = IMIT; Church Leadership and Pride [Diotrephes] = LEAD; Commendation of Faithful Witness [Demetrius] = WITN; Truth and Christian Fellowship = TRUTH). Terms serving general Christology/theology are marked GEN.
- Status: [REUSED] = baseline term, enforce exactly; [NEW] = introduced in this curriculum, added to translation memory as of this document.
- Verses: primary occurrences in 3 John.
Glossary Table
| Term | Greek (translit.) | Kannada Rendering (translit.) | Risk | Doctrine | Status | Verses | Notes/Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | θεός (theos) | ದೇವರು (Dēvaru) | Critical | GEN | [REUSED] | 6, 7, 11(x2) | Enforce baseline exactly; never ಭಗವಂತ/ಪರಶಿವ. |
| church | ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) | ಸಭೆ (sabhe) | Medium | LEAD/HOSP | [REUSED] | 6, 9, 10 | Enforce baseline exactly; never ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ/ಗುಡಿ. Same congregation across all three verses — internal conflict, not inter-group. |
| peace | εἰρήνη (eirēnē) | ಶಾಂತಿ (śānti) | Medium | GEN | [REUSED] | 14 | Enforce baseline exactly; relational peace, not private psychological calm (ಮನಶ್ಶಾಂತಿ). |
| gentiles/pagans | ἐθνικός (ethnikōn) | ಅನ್ಯಜನಾಂಗದವರು (anyajanāṅgadavaru) | Medium | HOSP | [REUSED, contextual nuance] | 7 | Baseline term reused for consistency; note narrower “unconverted outsider, declined-support source” sense here vs. Romans’ broader “nations to be reached” sense. Recommend translator note distinguishing the two discourse functions. |
| elder | πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros) | ಹಿರಿಯ (hiriya); fuller: ಸಭೆಯ ಹಿರಿಯ | Medium | LEAD | [NEW] | 1 | Risk: conflation with generic village/community elder authority or mere old age. Use “ಸಭೆಯ ಹಿರಿಯ” (elder of the church) at first occurrence to anchor ecclesial office sense; contrasted implicitly with Diotrephes’ illegitimate self-assumed authority. |
| beloved | ἀγαπητός (agapētos) | ಪ್ರಿಯ (priya) | Low | GEN | [NEW] | 1, 2, 5, 11 | Standard Kannada Christian address term. |
| love (vb./n.) | ἀγαπάω / ἀγάπη (agapaō / agapē) | ಪ್ರೀತಿಸು / ಪ್ರೀತಿ (prītisu / prīti) | Medium | TRUTH/HOSP | [NEW] | 1, 6 | Avoid ಪ್ರೇಮ(ಿಸು) — carries romantic/bhakti-devotional (Krishna-prema) overtones; agape here is willed, self-giving, fraternal love. |
| truth | ἀλήθεια (alētheia) | ಸತ್ಯ (satya) | High | TRUTH/WITN | [NEW] | 1, 3(x2), 4, 8, 12(x2) | Central keyword of the book (6 occurrences). ಸತ್ಯ is unavoidable as the standard Kannada term but is heavily loaded: Vedantic impersonal-absolute usage (“Satyam Shivam Sundaram”) and Lingayat vachana ethical usage (sathya as a kayaka virtue) both differ from 3 John’s sense — the specific, personal gospel reality in which believers “walk” and which itself “bears witness” (v.12). Every occurrence should receive human theologian review per escalation rules for a term of this cross-tradition weight. |
| soul | ψυχή (psychē) | ಆತ್ಮ (ātma) | High | GEN | [NEW] | 2 | Standard Kannada Bible term for “soul,” but ಆತ್ಮ is also the term for the Vedantic Ātman, ultimately identical with impersonal Brahman in Advaita teaching (and merged/dissolved in Lingayat Aikya). 3 John’s ψυχή is a person’s ordinary inner/spiritual life, not a metaphysical eternal-self awaiting absorption. Translator note recommended. |
| rejoice/joy | χαίρω / χαρά (chairō / chara) | ಸಂತೋಷಿಸು / ಸಂತೋಷ (santōṣisu / santōṣa) | Medium | TRUTH/WITN | [NEW] | 3, 4 | Avoid ಆನಂದ — carries Sat-Chit-Ananda Vedantic “bliss” resonance; gospel joy here is relational and event-triggered, not mystical bliss-consciousness. |
| brothers | ἀδελφός (adelphoi) | ಸಹೋದರರು (sahōdararu) | Low | HOSP | [NEW] | 3, 5, 10 | Standard established Kannada Christian usage for fellow believers. |
| testify/testimony | μαρτυρέω / μαρτυρία (martyreō / martyria) | ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ ಹೇಳು (verb) / ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ (noun) (sākṣi hēḷu / sākṣi) | Medium-High | WITN | [NEW] | 3, 6, 12(x3) | Central term for the “Commendation of Faithful Witness” doctrine (applied to Gaius v.3, then Demetrius v.12). Standard legal/Christian term; ensure firsthand, verified attestation sense, and preserve the perfect-tense “settled, ongoing reputation” force at v.12 (μεμαρτύρηται). |
| true | ἀληθής (alēthēs) | ಸತ್ಯವಾದ (satyavāda) | High | WITN/TRUTH | [NEW] | 12 | Adjectival form sharing ಸತ್ಯ’s risk profile; caps the letter’s witness-chain regarding Demetrius. |
| walking (conduct) | περιπατέω (peripateō) | ನಡೆಯುವುದು (naḍeyuvudu) | Low-Medium | TRUTH | [NEW] | 3, 4 | Metaphorical “manner of life” idiom; must not be rendered literally as physical walking alone. |
| children (spiritual) | τέκνον (tekna) | ಮಕ್ಕಳು (makkaḷu) | Low | TRUTH | [NEW] | 4 | Metaphorical spiritual parentage (John’s converts), not biological offspring; ensure context makes this clear. |
| faithful(ly) | πιστός (pistos) | ನಂಬಿಗಸ್ತ / ನಂಬಿಗಸ್ತಿಕೆಯಿಂದ (nambigasta / nambigastikeyinda) | Medium | HOSP | [NEW] | 5 | Built on the established Romans baseline root ನಂಬಿಕೆ (faith); maintain root-family consistency (ನಂಬಿಕೆ → ನಂಬಿಗಸ್ತ → ನಂಬಿಗಸ್ತಿಕೆಯಿಂದ) across curricula. |
| strangers/guests | ξένος (xenos) | ಅತಿಥಿ (atithi) | High | HOSP | [NEW] | 5 | Ground risk: ಅತಿಥಿ evokes “Atithi Devo Bhava,” the widely known dharmic hospitality-as-sacred-duty principle across Karnataka. Genuine partial cultural resonance, but 3 John commends hospitality specifically as gospel partnership (v.8, “fellow workers with the truth”) toward itinerant gospel workers, not merit-generating hospitality toward any guest. Translator note recommended at first occurrence. |
| send on one’s way | προπέμπω (propempō) | ಸಾಗಕಳುಹಿಸು (sāgakaḷuhisu) | Medium | HOSP | [NEW] | 6 | Must convey material/logistical missionary support (provisions, funds, escort), not a bare verbal farewell. |
| worthily | ἀξίως (axiōs) | ಯೋಗ್ಯವಾಗಿ (yōgyavāgi) | Medium | HOSP | [NEW] | 6 | ”Worthy of God” = ethically fitting conduct that honors God’s name, not devotional-ritual worship-worthiness. |
| the Name | ὄνομα (onoma) | ಹೆಸರು (hesaru); “for the Name” = ಹೆಸರಿಗಾಗಿ | Medium | GEN | [NEW] | 7 | ”The Name” is a reverent shorthand for Christ; translator note recommended to prevent a bare-literal “for their own reputation” misreading. |
| ought (duty) | ὀφείλω (opheilō) | ಕರ್ತವ್ಯವಾಗಿದೆ (kartavyavāgide) | Medium | HOSP | [NEW] | 8 | Avoid ಋಣ (“debt”) framing — invokes the Hindu three-debts (deva-ṛṇa, ṛṣi-ṛṇa, pitṛ-ṛṇa) cosmic-repayment concept; this is a freely-owed gospel-partnership duty, not karmic debt discharge. |
| support/receive | ὑπολαμβάνω (hypolambanō) | ಆದರಿಸಿ ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸುವುದು (ādarisi svīkarisuvudu) | Medium | HOSP | [NEW] | 8 | Material support alongside relational welcome; parallel concept to προπέμπω. |
| fellow worker(s) | συνεργός (synergos) | ಸಹಕಾರ್ಯಕರ್ತ (sahakāryakarta); “with the truth” = ಸತ್ಯಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಸಹಕಾರ್ಯಕರ್ತರು | High | HOSP/TRUTH | [NEW] | 8 | Personifies truth as an active mission to labor alongside; must not flatten to generic “helping a cause,” nor conflate with devotional service to an impersonal Truth-Absolute. |
| loving to be first | φιλοπρωτεύω (philoprōteuō) | ಪ್ರಥಮಸ್ಥಾನಪ್ರಿಯ (prathamasthānapriya) | High | LEAD | [NEW] | 9 | Central term naming Diotrephes’ sin. Coined compound rendering required (rare NT hapax legomenon). Must read as condemned, sinful self-exaltation opposed to servant leadership — not neutral “ambition,” and not resonant with a legitimately honored guru/ಜಂಗಮ/Sharana preeminence. |
| receive/accept (authority) | ἐπιδέχομαι (epidechomai) | ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸು / ಅಂಗೀಕರಿಸು (svīkarisu / aṅgīkarisu) | Medium | LEAD | [NEW] | 9, 10 | Carries authoritative-recognition sense (accepting apostolic oversight), not merely social hosting. |
| deeds/works | ἔργον (ergon) | ಕೃತ್ಯ / ಕಾರ್ಯ (kṛtya / kārya) | Medium | LEAD | [NEW] | 10 | NEVER ಕರ್ಮ — invokes impersonal karmic cause-and-effect across lifetimes; Diotrephes’ deeds are personally, congregationally accountable acts. |
| evil (malicious) | πονηρός (ponēros) | ಕೆಟ್ಟ / ದುಷ್ಟ (keṭṭa / duṣṭa) | Low-Medium | LEAD/IMIT | [NEW] | 10 | Stronger than plain “bad”; actively harmful. |
| prating/malicious gossip | φλυαρέω (phlyareō) | ಅಪಪ್ರಚಾರ ಮಾಡುವುದು (apapracāra māḍuvudu) | Medium | LEAD | [NEW] | 10 | Must carry force of malicious, baseless accusation, not harmless gossip. |
| forbids/hinders | κωλύω (kōlyō) | ತಡೆಯುತ್ತಾನೆ (taḍeyuttāne) | Medium | LEAD | [NEW] | 10 | Coercive control over other members’ choices, not mere personal refusal. |
| casts out | ἐκβάλλω (ekballō) | ಹೊರಹಾಕುತ್ತಾನೆ (horahākuttāne) | Medium-High | LEAD | [NEW] | 10 | Same verb as exorcism contexts elsewhere in NT; here it is illegitimate congregational expulsion by an abusive leader — condemned by the text, not legitimate discipline. |
| imitate | μιμέομαι (mimeomai) | ಅನುಕರಿಸು (anukarisu) | High | IMIT | [NEW] | 11 | Central term for this curriculum’s named doctrine. Must read as straightforward ethical modeling on concrete, nameable examples (Demetrius/Diotrephes), not guru-discipleship or mystical-attainment imitation. |
| evil/good (abstract) | κακόν / ἀγαθόν (kakon / agathon) | ಕೆಟ್ಟದ್ದು / ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದು (keṭṭaddu / oḷḷeyaddu) | Medium | IMIT | [NEW] | 11 | Standard abstract moral categories. |
| doing good / doing evil | ἀγαθοποιέω / κακοποιέω (agathopoieō / kakopoieō) | ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದನ್ನು ಮಾಡುವವನು / ಕೆಟ್ಟದ್ದನ್ನು ಮಾಡುವವನು | High | IMIT | [NEW] | 11 | ”Is of God” must be preserved as identity/relationship evidenced by conduct, not conduct that earns divine standing — parallel to the Romans baseline’s grace/imputed-righteousness safeguard against merit-culture and kayaka-style readings. |
| has not seen God | ἑώρακεν τὸν θεόν (negated) (heōraken ton theon) | ದೇವರನ್ನು ಕಂಡಿಲ್ಲ (dēvarannu kaṇḍilla) | Medium | IMIT/GEN | [NEW] | 11 | Relational-knowledge sense (“has no relationship with God”), not mystical vision/darshan experience. |
| friends | φίλος (philoi) | ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರು (snēhitaru) | Low-Medium | TRUTH | [NEW] | 14 | Distinct from ಅನ್ಯೋನ್ಯತೆ (fellowship, κοινωνία, Romans baseline) — φίλος genuinely means “friend”; do not confuse the two terms during cross-curriculum review. |
| greet | ἀσπάζομαι (aspazomai) | ವಂದನೆ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸು / ಶುಭಾಶಯ ಹೇಳು (vandane sallisu / śubhāśaya hēḷu) | Medium | GEN | [NEW] | 14 | Avoid ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ — carries ritual/devotional reverence-bow connotation inappropriate for a peer epistolary greeting. |
| write / ink and pen | γράφω / μέλαν, κάλαμος (graphō / melan, kalamos) | ಬರೆಯುವುದು / ಮಸಿ ಮತ್ತು ಲೇಖನಿ (bareyuvudu / masi mattu lēkhani) | Low | GEN | [NEW] | 13 | Purely epistolary/cultural background detail; no doctrinal content. Functional-equivalent rendering acceptable. |
| face to face (idiom) | στόμα πρὸς στόμα (stoma pros stoma) | ಮುಖಾಮುಖಿಯಾಗಿ (mukhāmukhiyāgi) | Low | GEN | [NEW] | 14 | Idiom; do not translate literally (“mouth to mouth”), which would read strangely in Kannada. |
| Gaius (name) | Γάϊος (Gaios) | ಗಾಯ (Gāya) | Low | GEN | [NEW — proper name] | 1 | Establish this transliteration consistently across all Phase 2 segments. |
| Diotrephes (name) | Διοτρέφης (Diotrephēs) | ದಿಯೊತ್ರೇಫ (Diyotrēpha) | Low | LEAD | [NEW — proper name] | 9, 10 | Establish this transliteration consistently; low doctrinal risk beyond consistent spelling. |
| Demetrius (name) | Δημήτριος (Dēmētrios) | ದೇಮೇತ್ರಿಯ (Dēmētriya) | Low | WITN | [NEW — proper name] | 12 | Establish this transliteration consistently. |
Summary Risk Counts (3 John New Terms)
| Risk Tier | Count (new terms) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 0 (1 reused: God) | Human theologian (reused term retains baseline routing) |
| High | 8 (truth, soul, testify/testimony family peak at true, fellow worker, loving to be first, imitate, doing good/doing evil) | Human theologian |
| Medium | 15 | Native speaker review (Medium) / Human theologian where doctrine-critical (elder, love, joy, brothers-adjacent terms follow Low; see table for exact per-term routing) |
| Low | 8 | Automated review |
Note on routing: Per the baseline’s escalation rules, any segment containing ಸತ್ಯ (truth), ಆತ್ಮ (soul), ಪ್ರಥಮಸ್ಥಾನಪ್ರಿಯ (loving to be first), ಅನುಕರಿಸು (imitate), or the ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದನ್ನು/ಕೆಟ್ಟದ್ದನ್ನು ಮಾಡುವವನು (doing good/evil, “is of God”) construction must be automatically flagged for human theologian review, consistent with the Romans baseline’s treatment of comparably loaded terms (righteousness, grace, salvation).
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: ದೇವರು
Transliteration: Dēvaru
Doctrine: Deity of Christ / Spiritual Relationship with God
Rejected alternatives: ಭಗವಂತ, ಪರಶಿವ
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Enforce exactly. CRITICAL: never ಭಗವಂತ (generic deity honorific) or ಪರಶಿವ (Lingayat Parashiva, whose relationship to the devotee ends in Aikya-merger). In 3 John 1:11, ‘has not seen God’ presumes an ongoing, distinct, relational knowledge of a personal God, not absorption into an ultimate principle.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: ನಂಬಿಕೆ
Transliteration: nambike
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers (root family)
Rejected alternatives: ಭಕ್ತಿ
Inherited from Romans package. Root retained for consistency because 3 John 1:5’s πιστός (‘faithfully’) is built on the same ನಂಬಿಕೆ family (ನಂಬಿಕೆ → ನಂಬಿಗಸ್ತ → ನಂಬಿಗಸ್ತಿಕೆಯಿಂದ). Do not substitute ಭಕ್ತಿ anywhere in this root family.
Truth
Approved rendering: ಸತ್ಯ
Transliteration: satya
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀλήθεια
Category: Truth
The letter’s controlling theological keyword (six occurrences: vv.1, 3x2, 4, 8, 12x2). ಸತ್ಯ is the only viable established Kannada Bible term but is heavily loaded: Vedantic usage treats it as an impersonal cosmic absolute (cf. ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’); Basavanna’s Lingayat vachana literature elevates truthful speech (sathya) as a self-cultivated kayaka virtue. 3 John’s ἀλήθεια is neither; it is the specific gospel reality revealed in Christ, in which believers ‘walk’ (v.3-4) and which itself ‘bears witness’ (v.12). Every occurrence requires human theologian review.
Soul
Approved rendering: ಆತ್ಮ
Transliteration: ātma
Doctrine: Spiritual Relationship with God
Original: ψυχή
Category: God
A person’s inner life/spiritual condition (v.2), the benchmark against which John wishes Gaius’s outward circumstances to prosper. ಆತ್ಮ is the standard Kannada term but risks conflation with the Vedantic Ātman (identical with impersonal Brahman in Advaita) and the Lingayat Aikya-bound self destined for dissolution into Shiva. 3 John’s ψυχή is ordinary inner/spiritual life belonging to a person who remains a distinct person, not a metaphysical eternal-self awaiting absorption. Translator note required.
Testimony Witness
Approved rendering: ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ ಹೇಳು / ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ
Transliteration: sākṣi hēḷu / sākṣi
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness
Original: μαρτυρέω / μαρτυρία / μεμαρτύρηται
Category: Witness
Firsthand, verifiable attestation of character/conduct: of Gaius (vv.3, 6), of Demetrius (v.12, durable perfect tense μεμαρτύρηται), and of John’s own apostolic testimony (v.12). Central term for the Commendation doctrine; must carry firsthand, verified attestation, not hearsay. At v.12 preserve the perfect tense’s settled, ongoing-reputation force — an established, lasting fact, not a passing compliment.
True Alethes
Approved rendering: ಸತ್ಯವಾದ
Transliteration: satyavāda
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness / Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀληθής
Category: Truth
Caps the letter’s witness-chain (v.12): John’s own testimony about Demetrius is affirmed as ἀληθής. Shares ಸತ್ಯ’s cross-tradition risk profile; ties the letter’s witness-theme and truth-theme together in its climactic statement.
Strangers Guests
Approved rendering: ಅತಿಥಿ
Transliteration: atithi
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ξένος
Category: Hospitality
Itinerant gospel workers unknown to Gaius personally (v.5, cf. v.7). Ground risk: ಅತಿಥಿ carries the deep Sanskrit-Hindu cultural weight of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ (‘the guest is like God’), the widely known dharmic principle across Karnataka treating hospitality to any guest as sacred, merit-generating duty. Two distinctions must be preserved: (1) 3 John commends hospitality because it partners with gospel truth and mission (v.8), not because hosting any guest accrues personal religious merit; (2) recipients are specifically itinerant gospel workers, not guests generally. Translator note required at first occurrence.
Fellow Worker
Approved rendering: ಸತ್ಯಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಸಹಕಾರ್ಯಕರ್ತರು
Transliteration: satyakkāgi sahakāryakartaru
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship / Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: συνεργός
Category: Truth
v.8’s remarkable claim: hosting missionaries makes the host congregation a co-laborer with the truth. Personifies ಸತ್ಯ as an active co-laboring cause; must not be flattened into generic ‘helping the cause of truth,’ nor conflated with devotee-service toward an impersonal Vedantic Truth-Absolute. The truth served here is the specific, personal gospel of Christ.
Loving To Be First
Approved rendering: ಪ್ರಥಮಸ್ಥಾನಪ್ರಿಯ
Transliteration: prathamasthānapriya
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride
Rejected alternatives: ಮಹತ್ವಾಕಾಂಕ್ಷೆಯುಳ್ಳವನು (neutral ‘ambitious’)
Original: φιλοπρωτεύω
Category: Church Leadership
Rare NT hapax legomenon (v.9) naming Diotrephes’ core sin: disordered love of status/preeminence leading him to reject apostolic authority. Coined compound required. Must read as condemned, sinful self-exaltation opposed to Christ-modeled servant leadership — never neutral ‘ambition,’ and never resonant with an honored status a guru, ಜಂಗಮ (Lingayat wandering teacher), or exalted Sharana figure might legitimately hold within their own tradition’s hierarchy.
Casts Out
Approved rendering: ಸಭೆಯಿಂದ ಹೊರಹಾಕುತ್ತಾನೆ
Transliteration: sabheyinda horahākuttāne
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride
Original: ἐκβάλλω
Category: Church Leadership
Diotrephes expels faithful members from the church (v.10) — the letter’s gravest leadership abuse. Ground risk: ἐκβάλλω shares its verb root with NT exorcism narratives; an insufficiently contextualized rendering could evoke exorcistic imagery. This is illegitimate congregational/administrative exclusion by an abusive leader, condemned by the text, not legitimate spiritual authority.
Imitate
Approved rendering: ಅನುಕರಿಸು
Transliteration: anukarisu
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: μιμέομαι
Category: Ethics
The letter’s explicit ethical hinge (v.11): do not imitate evil but good, with Diotrephes and Demetrius as contrasting concrete patterns. Ground risk: in Kannada devotional culture, ‘imitation’ of an exemplary figure most readily evokes following a guru’s path, a Lingayat ಜಂಗಮ’s example, or a Sharana poet-saint’s holy life pattern toward spiritual attainment (Aikya). Here it must read as plain ethical modeling on ordinary, nameable conduct, not a mystical or ascetic path.
Doing Good Evil
Approved rendering: ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದನ್ನು ಮಾಡುವವನು / ಕೆಟ್ಟದ್ದನ್ನು ಮಾಡುವವನು
Transliteration: oḷḷeyaddannu māḍuvavanu / keṭṭaddannu māḍuvavanu
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: ἀγαθοποιέω / κακοποιέω
Category: Ethics
Habitual moral practice revealed through action (v.11): ‘the one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.’ Directly parallel to the Romans baseline’s grace/imputed_righteousness safeguard: ‘is of God’ must be preserved as a declaration of existing spiritual origin/relationship EVIDENCED BY conduct, not conduct that EARNS divine standing — guarding against a karma-merit or kayaka-style ‘good deeds build standing with God’ misreading.
Medium Risk Terms
Church
Approved rendering: ಸಭೆ
Transliteration: sabhe
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride / Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ, ಗುಡಿ
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Enforce exactly; never ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ/ಗುಡಿ. In 3 John this is one continuous local congregation across vv.6, 9, 10 — the same body that publicly attested Gaius’s love and from which Diotrephes expels faithful members. Do not render as if two rival institutions are in view.
Peace
Approved rendering: ಶಾಂತಿ
Transliteration: śānti
Doctrine: Christian Greeting and Friendship
Rejected alternatives: ಮನಶ್ಶಾಂತಿ
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Enforce exactly. 3 John 1:14’s closing blessing echoes v.2’s opening wish for holistic well-being; relational peace between fellow believers, not private psychological calm (ಮನಶ್ಶಾಂತಿ) sought through bhakti devotion or Lingayat meditative discipline.
Gentiles Pagans
Approved rendering: ಅನ್ಯಜನಾಂಗದವರು
Transliteration: anyajanāṅgadavaru
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: ವಿದೇಶಿಯರು
Original: ἐθνικός
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package (there rendering ἔθνη). 3 John 1:7’s ἐθνικός uses the same Kannada term but performs a narrower discourse function: unconverted outsiders from whom missionaries decline support, not ‘the nations to be reached’ as in Romans. Translator note recommended distinguishing the two functions at first occurrence in this curriculum.
Elder
Approved rendering: ಹಿರಿಯ / ಸಭೆಯ ಹಿರಿಯ
Transliteration: hiriya / sabheya hiriya
Doctrine: Apostolic Eldership and Authority
Rejected alternatives: ಗುರು, ಜಂಗಮ
Original: πρεσβύτερος
Category: Church Leadership
John’s self-designation (v.1) — an office of pastoral, apostolic authority, not mere age-based seniority. Use the fuller phrase ಸಭೆಯ ಹಿರಿಯ (‘elder of the church’) at first occurrence to anchor the ecclesial-office sense, since plain ಹಿರಿಯ in everyday Kannada usually denotes a generic village/panchayat elder. This anchoring is load-bearing for the later contrast with Diotrephes’ illegitimate self-assumed authority (vv.9-10). Never render with ಗುರು or ಜಂಗಮ (the wandering Lingayat teacher office).
Love
Approved rendering: ಪ್ರೀತಿಸು / ಪ್ರೀತಿ
Transliteration: prītisu / prīti
Doctrine: Christian Love and Affection
Rejected alternatives: ಪ್ರೇಮಿಸು, ಪ್ರೇಮ
Original: ἀγαπάω / ἀγάπη
Category: Faith
Willed, self-giving, fraternal love — John’s love for Gaius ‘in truth’ (v.1), Gaius’s demonstrated love for traveling brothers (v.6). NEVER ಪ್ರೇಮಿಸು/ಪ್ರೇಮ, which in popular Kannada usage and Haridasa bhakti-prema devotional vocabulary carries romantic or erotic-devotional overtones inappropriate here.
Joy Rejoice
Approved rendering: ಸಂತೋಷಿಸು / ಸಂತೋಷ
Transliteration: santōṣisu / santōṣa
Doctrine: Joy in Gospel Faithfulness
Rejected alternatives: ಆನಂದ
Original: χαίρω / χαρά
Category: Faith
John’s gladness at reports of Gaius’s fidelity (v.3) and superlative pastoral joy over spiritual children walking in truth (v.4). NEVER ಆನಂದ, which carries strong Vedantic Sat-Chit-Ananda bliss-consciousness resonance; gospel joy here is relational and event-triggered.
Walking Conduct
Approved rendering: ನಡೆಯುವುದು
Transliteration: naḍeyuvudu
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: περιπατέω
Category: Ethics
Metaphorical idiom for habitual manner of life (vv.3, 4), ‘walking in truth.’ A literal-only rendering (physical walking) would be nonsensical and must be avoided; names a whole pattern of life, not a single act.
Faithful Pistos
Approved rendering: ನಂಬಿಗಸ್ತಿಕೆಯಿಂದ
Transliteration: nambigastikeyinda
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: πιστός
Category: Faith
Gaius’s hospitality named a πίστις-rooted, faithful act (v.5). Built on the ನಂಬಿಕೆ root family; maintain root-family consistency across curricula: ನಂಬಿಕೆ (faith, noun) → ನಂಬಿಗಸ್ತ (faithful, adj.) → ನಂಬಿಗಸ್ತಿಕೆಯಿಂದ (faithfully, adv.).
Send On Way
Approved rendering: ಸಾಗಕಳುಹಿಸು
Transliteration: sāgakaḷuhisu
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: προπέμπω
Category: Hospitality
To equip and provision travelers for their onward journey (v.6) — the concrete form Gaius’s hospitality takes. Must convey material/logistical support, not a bare verbal farewell.
Worthily
Approved rendering: ಯೋಗ್ಯವಾಗಿ
Transliteration: yōgyavāgi
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ἀξίως
Category: Hospitality
In a manner fitting/matching God’s own honor (v.6). Ensure ‘ದೇವರಿಗೆ ಯೋಗ್ಯವಾಗಿ’ is not misread as devotional worship-worthiness but as ethical fittingness honoring God’s reputation.
The Name
Approved rendering: ಹೆಸರು / ಹೆಸರಿಗಾಗಿ
Transliteration: hesaru / hesarigāgi
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: τὸ ὄνομα
Category: Christology
A reverent shorthand for the name of Christ (v.7), naming the missionaries’ entire confessional motive. Translator note recommended clarifying ‘the Name’ = Christ’s name, since a bare literal rendering risks being read as ‘for their own reputation.‘
Ought Duty
Approved rendering: ಕರ್ತವ್ಯವಾಗಿದೆ
Transliteration: kartavyavāgide
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: ಋಣ
Original: ὀφείλω
Category: Hospitality
Moral obligation to support gospel workers (v.8). NEVER build on ಋಣ (‘debt’), which invokes the Hindu three inherited debts (deva-ṛṇa, ṛṣi-ṛṇa, pitṛ-ṛṇa) owed to gods, sages, and ancestors, discharged through ritual performance — a cosmic-debt framework misrepresenting this as karmic repayment rather than a freely-chosen gospel duty among partners.
Support Receive
Approved rendering: ಆದರಿಸಿ ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸುವುದು
Transliteration: ādarisi svīkarisuvudu
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ὑπολαμβάνω
Category: Hospitality
Concrete material reception/support of gospel workers (v.8), parallel to προπέμπω in v.6. Ensure material-support sense retained alongside relational welcome.
Receive Accept Authority
Approved rendering: ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸು / ಅಂಗೀಕರಿಸು
Transliteration: svīkarisu / aṅgīkarisu
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride
Original: ἐπιδέχομαι
Category: Church Leadership
Diotrephes’ refusal to receive John’s delegates (v.9) or the brothers generally (v.10) — a direct rejection of apostolic oversight. Ensure the authoritative-recognition sense is not flattened into mere ‘doesn’t host us for dinner.‘
Deeds Works
Approved rendering: ಕೃತ್ಯಗಳು / ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳು
Transliteration: kṛtyagaḷu / kāryagaḷu
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride
Rejected alternatives: ಕರ್ಮ
Original: ἔργα
Category: Church Leadership
Diotrephes’ concrete, wrongful pattern of conduct (v.10). NEVER ಕರ್ಮ, which in Kannada religious register inescapably invokes impersonal cross-lifetime karmic cause-and-effect; these are morally culpable, personally accountable acts to be named and corrected within the church.
Prating Malicious Gossip
Approved rendering: ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಮಾತುಗಳಿಂದ ಅಪಪ್ರಚಾರ ಮಾಡುವುದು
Transliteration: keṭṭa mātugaḷinda apapracāra māḍuvudu
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride
Original: φλυαρέω (λόγοις πονηροῖς)
Category: Church Leadership
Diotrephes’ campaign of baseless, damaging accusation against the apostolic party (v.10). Must carry the force of malicious, baseless accusation, not mild criticism or harmless gossip.
Forbids Hinders
Approved rendering: ತಡೆಯುತ್ತಾನೆ
Transliteration: taḍeyuttāne
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride
Original: κωλύω
Category: Church Leadership
Diotrephes actively prevents willing church members from receiving the brothers (v.10), escalating personal refusal into congregational control. Ensure the coercive-control sense is clear.
Evil Good Abstract
Approved rendering: ಕೆಟ್ಟದ್ದು / ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದು
Transliteration: keṭṭaddu / oḷḷeyaddu
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: κακόν / ἀγαθόν
Category: Ethics
Simple, binary moral categories (v.11) framing the choice Gaius and every reader faces. Standard, low ambiguity as abstract categories.
Has Not Seen God
Approved rendering: ದೇವರನ್ನು ಕಂಡಿಲ್ಲ
Transliteration: dēvarannu kaṇḍilla
Doctrine: Spiritual Relationship with God
Original: οὐχ ἑώρακεν τὸν θεόν
Category: God
A strong statement that habitual evildoing evidences no genuine relationship with God (v.11). Render with the metaphorical, relational-knowledge sense clear from context, not a claim about visionary/mystical darshan-type experience.
Friends
Approved rendering: ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರು
Transliteration: snēhitaru
Doctrine: Christian Greeting and Friendship
Original: φίλος
Category: Relational Address
Close, affectionate companions in John’s circle (v.14). Note for cross-document consistency: the Romans baseline explicitly rejected ಸ್ನೇಹ as too weak for κοινωνία (fellowship, rendered ಅನ್ಯೋನ್ಯತೆ). φίλος here genuinely means ‘friend’ in the ordinary sense — do not confuse with or substitute for ಅನ್ಯೋನ್ಯತೆ.
Greet
Approved rendering: ವಂದನೆ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸು / ಶುಭಾಶಯ ಹೇಳು
Transliteration: vandane sallisu / śubhāśaya hēḷu
Doctrine: Christian Greeting and Friendship
Rejected alternatives: ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ ಹೇಳು
Original: ἀσπάζομαι
Category: Relational Address
Standard closing epistolary greeting (v.14). AVOID ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ ಹೇಳು, which carries strong ritual/devotional-reverence connotation (a reverential bow, often to a deity, elder, or guru) inappropriate for this simple peer-to-peer greeting.
Prosper
Approved rendering: ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ಹೊಂದು / ಶುಭವಾಗಲಿ
Transliteration: abhivṛddhi hondu / śubhavāgali
Doctrine: Holistic Well-being and Prayer for Others
Original: εὐοδόω
Category: Faith
Holistic well-being (v.2), used twice — of Gaius generally and of his soul specifically. Guard against a ‘prosperity gospel’ misreading; the verse subordinates outward prospering to the soul’s prior spiritual health, not the reverse.
Low Risk Terms
Beloved
Approved rendering: ಪ್ರಿಯ
Transliteration: priya
Doctrine: Christian Love and Affection
Original: ἀγαπητός
Category: Relational Address
Affectionate address used four times (vv.1, 2, 5, 11) marking the letter’s warm, pastoral tone. Standard, established Kannada Christian address term.
Brothers
Approved rendering: ಸಹೋದರರು
Transliteration: sahōdararu
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ἀδελφός
Category: Church
The traveling gospel workers (vv.3, 5, 10) — fellow believers in the same spiritual family. Standard, established Kannada Christian usage.
Children Spiritual
Approved rendering: ಮಕ್ಕಳು
Transliteration: makkaḷu
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: τέκνα
Category: Church
John’s spiritual converts (v.4), a family metaphor common across the Johannine and Pauline corpus. Ensure the metaphorical, spiritual-parentage sense is clear from context, not biological offspring.
Write Ink Pen
Approved rendering: ಬರೆಯುವುದು / ಮಸಿ ಮತ್ತು ಲೇಖನಿ
Transliteration: bareyuvudu / masi mattu lēkhani
Doctrine: Epistolary Convention
Original: γράφω / μέλαν, κάλαμος
Category: Epistolary Convention
Ancient writing-implement convention (v.13); purely descriptive, no doctrinal content. Functional-equivalent rendering acceptable if the reed-pen image would be unfamiliar.
Face To Face Idiom
Approved rendering: ಮುಖಾಮುಖಿಯಾಗಿ
Transliteration: mukhāmukhiyāgi
Doctrine: Epistolary Convention
Rejected alternatives: ಬಾಯಿಂದ ಬಾಯಿಗೆ
Original: στόμα πρὸς στόμα
Category: Epistolary Convention
Hebraic/Johannine idiom στόμα πρὸς στόμα (v.14). Do NOT translate literally as ‘ಬಾಯಿಂದ ಬಾಯಿಗೆ’ (mouth to mouth), which would sound strange in Kannada; render idiomatically.
Pray Wish
Approved rendering: ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥಿಸು / ಆಶಿಸು
Transliteration: prārthisu / āśisu
Doctrine: Holistic Well-being and Prayer for Others
Original: εὔχομαι
Category: Faith
John’s opening formal wish/prayer of blessing for Gaius (v.2). Standard epistolary convention.
Healthy
Approved rendering: ಆರೋಗ್ಯವಾಗಿರು
Transliteration: ārōgyavāgiru
Doctrine: Holistic Well-being and Prayer for Others
Original: ὑγιαίνω
Category: Faith
Simple wish for Gaius’s physical well-being (v.2), paired with spiritual well-being. Standard.
Went Out
Approved rendering: ಹೊರಟುಹೋದರು
Transliteration: horaṭuhōdaru
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ἐξέρχομαι
Category: Hospitality
Names the traveling workers as sent-out gospel missionaries (v.7), not casual travelers. Standard.
Gaius Name
Approved rendering: ಗಾಯ
Transliteration: Gāya
Doctrine: Proper Name
Original: Γάϊος
Category: Proper Name
The letter’s recipient, commended for hospitality (v.1). Establish this transliteration consistently across all Phase 2 segments.
Diotrephes Name
Approved rendering: ದಿಯೊತ್ರೇಫ
Transliteration: Diyotrēpha
Doctrine: Proper Name
Original: Διοτρέφης
Category: Proper Name
The prideful, self-serving leader (vv.9-10). Establish this transliteration consistently; low doctrinal risk beyond consistent spelling.
Demetrius Name
Approved rendering: ದೇಮೇತ್ರಿಯ
Transliteration: Dēmētriya
Doctrine: Proper Name
Original: Δημήτριος
Category: Proper Name
The faithful witness commended by all and by the truth itself (v.12). Establish this transliteration consistently.
Low-Medium Risk Terms
Evil Malicious
Approved rendering: ಕೆಟ್ಟ / ದುಷ್ಟ
Transliteration: keṭṭa / duṣṭa
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride / Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: πονηρός
Category: Ethics
Qualifies Diotrephes’ words as actively harmful (v.10), stronger than plain ‘bad.’ Standard, no major cross-tradition collision.
Referenced passages