Semantic Analysis: 3 John (Koine Greek → Konkani)

Book Overview

3 John is a short personal letter from “the elder” (traditionally the Apostle John) to Gaius, commending his hospitality to traveling gospel workers, contrasting Gaius’s faithfulness and Demetrius’s good reputation with Diotrephes’s prideful, divisive leadership. The whole book consists of one chapter, 14 verses. The core passage (3 John 1:1-14) is therefore identical to the entire book. No chapter beyond the core passage exists; full-book coverage is achieved entirely within the verse-by-verse analysis below. This is noted explicitly per the coverage mandate rather than omitted.

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), and Truth and Christian Fellowship (running throughout, esp. vv. 1, 3, 4, 8, 12).

A recurring translation caution across this whole letter: 3 John’s vocabulary of hospitality (ξένος/guest, προπέμπω/send onward with provision) intersects with a genuinely strong, positive Konkani/Goan cultural value around guest-honor (cf. the pan-Indian “atithi devo bhava,” guest-as-God, ethic). This is a translation asset for the hospitality doctrine, but every occurrence must be anchored to the specific NT reason for hospitality — support “for the sake of the Name” (v. 7) and partnership “with the truth” (v. 8) — so it is not read as generic cultural guest-honor or, worse, as a meritorious act that earns religious merit (पुण्य), which would collide with the Grace doctrine already flagged Critical/High in the Romans baseline.

---

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. Literal: “The elder, to Gaius the beloved, whom I love in truth.”

• πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros) [NEW] — Transliteration: presbyteros. Literal meaning: “older man, elder.” Semantic range: (a) a person of advanced age; (b) an appointed office-holder in the church (cf. Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5); (c) here, a self-designation of apostolic authority and pastoral affection, not merely age. English variants: “the elder,” “the presbyter,” “the old man.” Contextual theological meaning: John identifies himself by pastoral office/authority while writing with personal warmth — Church Leadership doctrine’s positive counter-example to Diotrephes. Konkani rendering: वडील (vaḍīl). Risk: Medium. वडील is the established Konkani/Marathi-family Bible term for a church office-elder (as distinct from mere age-based respect, which is also colloquially वडील in Konkani — context must make clear this is an ecclesial title, not just “an old/senior person” or a caste/family-elder honorific).

• ἀγαπητός (agapētos) [NEW] — Transliteration: agapētos. Literal meaning: “beloved, dear one.” Semantic range: term of address expressing covenantal, self-giving Christian love (see ἀγάπη below), used 4x in this short letter (vv. 1, 2, 5, 11). English variants: “beloved,” “dear friend,” “dear one.” Contextual theological meaning: marks Gaius (and the reader) as an object of Christ-shaped brotherly love, framing the whole letter’s tone. Konkani rendering: प्रिय (priya). Risk: Low. Standard, warm form of address; low ambiguity.

• ἀγαπάω (agapaō) [NEW] — Transliteration: agapaō. Literal meaning: “to love.” Semantic range: self-giving, willed love (distinct from ἔρως/desire or φιλία/friendly affection, though φίλος also appears later in this letter, v. 14). English variants: “love,” “am fond of.” Contextual theological meaning: John’s love for Gaius “in truth” ties love inseparably to shared gospel truth — introduces the Truth and Christian Fellowship doctrine in the letter’s very first sentence. Konkani rendering: मोग करप (mog karap). Risk: High. मोग is the authentic Konkani word (distinct from the Sanskritic/Marathi प्रेम, which can carry romantic-attachment overtones, and from भक्ती, already flagged in the baseline as devotional worship toward a chosen deity). Must be reinforced as committed, others-directed love flowing from shared truth, not sentiment or devotional feeling.

• ἀλήθεια (alētheia) [NEW — establishes book-wide key term] — Transliteration: alētheia. Literal meaning: “truth.” Semantic range: (a) factual accuracy; (b) the gospel message/reality revealed in Christ; (c) a sphere of life (“walking in truth,” v. 3-4) — truth as both content believed and conduct practiced. English variants: “truth,” “the truth.” Contextual theological meaning: ἀλήθεια occurs 6 times in 14 verses (vv. 1, 3 [x2], 4, 8, 12), making it the letter’s dominant theological term and the anchor of the Truth and Christian Fellowship doctrine. Konkani rendering: सत्य (satya). Risk: High. सत्य is the standard, unavoidable Konkani/Marathi Bible term, but it is also the term for ultimate impersonal Truth/Reality in Vedantic Hindu philosophy (as in “Satyameva Jayate,” or in Advaita usage where Satya can denote Brahman itself). Every occurrence must be anchored contextually to the revealed, relational truth of the gospel embodied in Christ and lived out in conduct — not an abstract philosophical absolute.

3 John 1:2

Greek: Ἀγαπητέ, περὶ πάντων εὔχομαί σε εὐοδοῦσθαι καὶ ὑγιαίνειν, καθὼς εὐοδοῦταί σου ἡ ψυχή. Literal: “Beloved, concerning all things I pray/wish you to prosper and be healthy, just as your soul prospers.”

• εὔχομαι (euchomai) [NEW] — Transliteration: euchomai. Literal meaning: “to pray, to wish.” Semantic range: a personal wish/prayer, milder than προσεύχομαι (formal prayer). English variants: “I pray,” “I wish,” “my prayer is.” Contextual theological meaning: a pastoral, relational prayer-wish for Gaius’s whole-person well-being. Konkani rendering: मागणें करप (māgṇẽ karap) or प्रार्थना करप. Risk: Low.

• εὐοδόω (euodoō) [NEW] — Transliteration: euodoō. Literal meaning: “to have a good journey, to prosper.” Semantic range: general well-being/success in affairs (not narrowly financial). English variants: “prosper,” “go well,” “get along well.” Contextual theological meaning: a holistic wish for Gaius’s outward circumstances to match his inward spiritual health. Konkani rendering: बरें चलप (barẽ calap). Risk: Medium. Must be guarded against a “prosperity gospel” reading (material/financial guarantee); this is an epistolary greeting-wish, not a doctrinal promise, and should be taught alongside its qualifier “just as your soul prospers” — spiritual health is the standard, not the reverse.

• ὑγιαίνω (hygiainō) [NEW] — Transliteration: hygiainō. Literal meaning: “to be healthy, sound.” English variants: “be in health,” “be well.” Contextual theological meaning: physical well-being, paired with (not superior to) spiritual well-being. Konkani rendering: बरी प्रकृत आसप (barī prakr̥t āsap). Risk: Low.

• ψυχή (psychē) [NEW] — Transliteration: psychē. Literal meaning: “soul, life, inner self.” Semantic range: the seat of a person’s inner life/spiritual condition (distinct from πνεῦμα, spirit). English variants: “soul.” Contextual theological meaning: Gaius’s inner spiritual condition, the true measure of prosperity. Konkani rendering: जीव (jīv). Risk: Medium. Konkani जीव (soul/inner life) must be kept distinct from आत्मा, which the baseline reserves specifically for पवित्र आत्मा (the Holy Spirit); using आत्मा here for the human soul would blur that established Trinitarian distinction.

3 John 1:3

Greek: ἐχάρην γὰρ λίαν ἐρχομένων ἀδελφῶν καὶ μαρτυρούντων σου τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, καθὼς σὺ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ περιπατεῖς. Literal: “For I rejoiced greatly when brothers came and testified to your truth, just as you walk in truth.”

• χαίρω (chairō) [NEW] — Transliteration: chairō. Literal meaning: “to rejoice.” English variants: “rejoiced,” “was glad.” Konkani rendering: आनंद जावप (ānand jāvap). Risk: Low.

• ἀδελφός (adelphos) [NEW — establishes book-wide key term] — Transliteration: adelphos. Literal meaning: “brother.” Semantic range: (a) biological brother; (b) fellow believer in the family of God, the dominant NT sense, used repeatedly in this letter (vv. 3, 5, 10). English variants: “brother,” “brethren,” “fellow believer.” Contextual theological meaning: the traveling gospel workers are family in Christ, grounding both the Hospitality doctrine and the corporate life of the church that Diotrephes later disrupts (v. 10). Konkani rendering: बंधू (bandhū). Risk: Medium. Must be distinguished from भाव (ordinary biological/social brother) to preserve the theological sense of spiritual kinship in Christ; also distinct from generic guru-sampradaya “brotherhood” language sometimes used for fellow disciples of a Hindu teacher.

• μαρτυρέω (martyreō) [NEW — establishes book-wide key term] — Transliteration: martyreō. Literal meaning: “to testify, bear witness.” Semantic range: authoritative, eyewitness-grounded testimony to observed character or fact (occurs again vv. 6, 12 [x2]). English variants: “testified,” “bore witness,” “gave witness.” Contextual theological meaning: central to the Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius) doctrine — reputational testimony functions as a form of accountability in the early church’s itinerant-ministry network. Konkani rendering: साक्ष दिवप (sākṣ divap). Risk: Medium-High. साक्ष is the standard Konkani word for witness/testimony (also used in secular/legal contexts); must be reinforced here as testimony to observed Christian character and truth, not casual hearsay or flattery.

• περιπατέω (peripateō) [NEW] — Transliteration: peripateō. Literal meaning: “to walk.” Semantic range: literal walking; idiomatically (as here and throughout John’s writings), one’s ongoing manner of life/conduct. English variants: “walk,” “live,” “conduct yourself.” Contextual theological meaning: “walking in truth” (vv. 3, 4) means a lived pattern of gospel-shaped conduct, not merely intellectual assent to true doctrine. Konkani rendering: चालचलण (cālcalaṇ) / phrase सत्यांत चलप (satyānt calap). Risk: Medium. Must be rendered idiomatically as ongoing conduct/lifestyle, not literal ambulation; the idiom must not be flattened into a bare cognitive “believing the truth.”

3 John 1:4

Greek: μειζοτέραν τούτων οὐκ ἔχω χαράν, ἵνα ἀκούω τὰ ἐμὰ τέκνα ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ περιπατοῦντα. Literal: “I have no greater joy than this, that I hear my children walking in truth.”

• χαρά (chara) [NEW] — Transliteration: chara. Literal meaning: “joy.” English variants: “joy.” Konkani rendering: आनंद (ānand). Risk: Low.

• τέκνον (teknon) [NEW] — Transliteration: teknon. Literal meaning: “child.” Semantic range: (a) biological child; (b) here, spiritual children — those John led to faith or discipled, a common Johannine/Pauline metaphor (cf. 1 Cor 4:15). English variants: “children,” “my children.” Contextual theological meaning: expresses John’s pastoral, parental relationship to believers under his spiritual care. Konkani rendering: आत्मिक भुरगीं (ātmik bhurgĩ). Risk: Medium. Parallel construction to the baseline’s आत्मिक वरदान (spiritual gifts); the qualifier आत्मिक (spiritual) is required to prevent a literal biological-offspring reading.

3 John 1:5

Greek: Ἀγαπητέ, πιστὸν ποιεῖς ὃ ἐὰν ἐργάσῃ εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τοῦτο ξένους, Literal: “Beloved, you do a faithful thing whatever you accomplish for the brothers, and this for strangers,”

• πιστός (pistos) [NEW] — Transliteration: pistos. Literal meaning: “faithful, trustworthy, reliable.” Semantic range: shares its root with πίστις (faith, already विश्वास in the Romans baseline TM), here as an adjective describing faithful/trustworthy action rather than the noun “faith” itself. English variants: “faithful,” “a loyal thing.” Contextual theological meaning: commends Gaius’s hospitality as an act flowing from and consistent with genuine faith. Konkani rendering: विश्वासू (viśvāsū). Risk: Medium. Deliberately built on the established विश्वास (faith) root for consistency; must be understood as faithful conduct arising from faith, not faith itself.

• ἐργάζομαι (ergazomai) [NEW] — Transliteration: ergazomai. Literal meaning: “to work, accomplish, do.” English variants: “do,” “accomplish,” “work at.” Konkani rendering: करप (karap) / काम करप. Risk: Low.

• ξένος (xenos) [NEW — establishes Hospitality doctrine’s key term] — Transliteration: xenos. Literal meaning: “stranger, foreigner, guest.” Semantic range: an outsider/traveler who is also, in hospitality custom, a guest to be received. English variants: “strangers,” “guests.” Contextual theological meaning: the traveling gospel workers were personally unknown to Gaius, yet he hosted them purely because they served the truth — the heart of the Hospitality to Traveling Ministers doctrine. Konkani rendering: पावणे (pāvṇe). Risk: High. पावणे is an authentically Konkani, culturally rich word for “guest,” resonating with a genuinely strong regional hospitality ethic. This is a translation asset, but it must be anchored to v. 7’s specific reason (support “for the sake of the Name”) so it is not read as generic cultural guest-honor (or, worse, as a meritorious act earning religious merit/पुण्य, directly colliding with the Grace doctrine already flagged Critical in the Romans baseline).

3 John 1:6

Greek: οἳ ἐμαρτύρησάν σου τῇ ἀγάπῃ ἐνώπιον ἐκκλησίας, οὓς καλῶς ποιήσεις προπέμψας ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ· Literal: “who testified to your love before the church, whom you will do well to send forward in a manner worthy of God;”

• ἀγάπη (agapē) [NEW] — see v. 1 above. Here specifically Gaius’s demonstrated hospitable love, publicly testified. Konkani rendering: मोग (mog). Risk: High (as above).

• ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) [BASELINE TM] — Konkani rendering: मंडळी (maṇḍaḷī), reused exactly per translation_memory.json. Risk: Medium (per baseline). Note: here, the local congregation before whom the visiting brothers testified — same doctrinal sense as the Romans baseline entry (never देऊळ/मंदिर, and distinct from the Romi Konkani Catholic loanword “Igorz”).

• προπέμπω (propempō) [NEW] — Transliteration: propempō. Literal meaning: “to send forward, escort, help on one’s way” (often including provisioning: food, money, travel companions). Semantic range: the concrete, material dimension of hospitality — not a farewell wave but active material support for onward travel. English variants: “send them on their journey,” “help on their way,” “set forward.” Contextual theological meaning: hospitality’s practical completion — supporting missionaries’ continuing gospel work, not merely housing them temporarily. Konkani rendering: वाटखर्च दिवन धाडप (vāṭkharc divan dhāḍap) — “sending on with travel provision.” Risk: Medium. Must convey concrete material support for continued ministry, not a bare social farewell.

• ἀξίως (axiōs) [NEW] — Transliteration: axiōs. Literal meaning: “worthily, in a fitting manner.” English variants: “in a manner worthy of,” “as befits.” Konkani rendering: योग्य तरेन (yogya tarẽn). Risk: Low.

• θεός (theos) [BASELINE TM] — Konkani rendering: देव (dev), reused exactly. Risk: Critical (per baseline). Must be paired with an exclusivity marker in doctrinally load-bearing contexts (e.g., “एकच खरो देव”), consistent with the baseline’s standing caution about देव’s ambiguity in a Goan Hindu multi-deity context.

3 John 1:7

Greek: ὑπὲρ γὰρ τοῦ ὀνόματος ἐξῆλθον μηδὲν λαμβάνοντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνικῶν. Literal: “For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles/pagans.”

• ὄνομα (onoma) [NEW] — Transliteration: onoma. Literal meaning: “name.” Semantic range: here, capitalized in translation convention as “the Name,” an early Christian shorthand for the person, authority, and honor of Christ himself (cf. Acts 5:41). English variants: “the Name,” “his name,” “the sake of the Name.” Contextual theological meaning: the missionaries’ motive was Christ’s honor, not personal gain — reinforcing the non-mercenary character required for genuine gospel ministry, central to both Hospitality and Truth doctrines. Konkani rendering: नांव (nāṃv), capitalized in gloss as “ती नांव” / “ख्रिस्ताचें नांव.” Risk: Medium-High. Must not be read as a bare literal personal name; requires a translator note establishing this idiom refers to Christ’s authority and honor.

• ἐθνικός (ethnikos) [NEW — distinct sense from baseline “gentiles”] — Transliteration: ethnikos. Literal meaning: “pertaining to a nation/people; pagan, heathen.” Semantic range: caution — this shares a root with ἔθνη (Gentiles, already rendered परराष्ट्रीय in the Romans baseline for the Jew/Gentile theological unity doctrine), but here in 3 John 7 the referent is different: unbelieving outsiders in general (from whom the traveling teachers refused support), not “non-Jews” in the Romans 9-11 ethnic-theological sense. English variants: “the Gentiles,” “the heathen,” “pagans,” “unbelievers.” Contextual theological meaning: the missionaries depended on believers, not unbelievers, for support — a principle of gospel-worker integrity. Konkani rendering: अविश्वासी लोक (aviśvāsī lok) — “unbelieving people.” Risk: Medium. Must NOT reuse परराष्ट्रीय (the baseline’s fixed Romans term for the Jew-Gentile theological-unity sense) here, since the referent and doctrinal point differ; using the same Konkani term for both senses would wrongly import the Romans 9-11 ethnic-inclusion argument into a verse about avoiding financial dependence on unbelievers.

3 John 1:8

Greek: ἡμεῖς οὖν ὀφείλομεν ὑπολαμβάνειν τοὺς τοιούτους, ἵνα συνεργοὶ γινώμεθα τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. Literal: “We therefore ought to support such people, so that we may become fellow workers with the truth.”

• ὀφείλω (opheilō) [NEW] — Transliteration: opheilō. Literal meaning: “to owe, be obligated.” English variants: “ought,” “are obligated.” Contextual theological meaning: hospitality to gospel workers is framed as a moral obligation flowing from shared truth, not optional generosity or a merit-earning act. Konkani rendering: जबाबदारी आसप (jabābdārī āsap). Risk: Medium.

• ὑπολαμβάνω (hypolambanō) [NEW] — Transliteration: hypolambanō. Literal meaning: “to take up, support, receive.” English variants: “support,” “receive,” “welcome.” Konkani rendering: आदार दिवप (ādār divap). Risk: Low.

• συνεργός (synergos) [NEW] — Transliteration: synergos. Literal meaning: “fellow worker, co-laborer.” English variants: “fellow workers,” “co-workers.” Contextual theological meaning: hosting gospel workers makes the host an active partner in the gospel’s spread, not a passive bystander — the theological payoff of the Hospitality doctrine. Konkani rendering: सहकारी (sahakārī). Risk: Medium. Must be understood as partnership specifically in gospel truth-work, not a generic business/social partnership.

3 John 1:9

Greek: Ἔγραψά τι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ· ἀλλ᾽ ὁ φιλοπρωτεύων αὐτῶν Διοτρέφης οὐκ ἐπιδέχεται ἡμᾶς. Literal: “I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not receive us.”

• φιλοπρωτεύω (philoprōteuō) [NEW — establishes Church Leadership/Pride doctrine’s key term] — Transliteration: philoprōteuō. Literal meaning: “to love being first, to crave preeminence.” This is a New Testament hapax legomenon (its only occurrence), a compound of φίλος (loving) + πρῶτος (first). Semantic range: self-seeking desire for status/preeminence, as opposed to Christlike servant leadership (cf. Mark 10:43-44). English variants: “loves to have the preeminence,” “loves to put himself first,” “likes to be in charge.” Contextual theological meaning: names the precise sin at the heart of the Diotrephes narrative — not leadership itself, but leadership corrupted by self-exalting pride. Konkani rendering: मुखेलपणाची हांव (mukhelpaṇācī hāṃv) — “craving/greed for being foremost/headship.” Risk: High. Must clearly carry a negative, self-seeking connotation (distinct from legitimate, humble church eldership as modeled by “the elder” in v. 1); should not be rendered with a neutral or admiring word for “leader/head” alone.

• ἐπιδέχομαι (epidechomai) [NEW] — Transliteration: epidechomai. Literal meaning: “to receive, welcome, accept.” English variants: “receive,” “welcome,” “accept.” Contextual theological meaning: Diotrephes’s refusal to receive John’s messengers is an act of open defiance against apostolic authority and gospel hospitality. Konkani rendering: स्वीकारप (svīkārap). Risk: Medium.

3 John 1:10

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. Literal: “Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, gossiping against us with wicked words; and not satisfied with these, he himself does not receive the brothers, and he forbids those wanting to and casts them out of the church.”

• ὑπομιμνήσκω (hypomimnēskō) [NEW] — Transliteration: hypomimnēskō. Literal meaning: “to remind, call to mind.” English variants: “call attention to,” “call to mind,” “bring up.” Konkani rendering: याद करून दिवप (yād karun divap). Risk: Low.

• ἔργον (ergon) [NEW] — Transliteration: ergon. Literal meaning: “work, deed, action.” English variants: “deeds,” “works,” “actions.” Konkani rendering: काम/कार्य (kām/kārya). Risk: Low.

• πονηρός (ponēros) [NEW] — Transliteration: ponēros. Literal meaning: “evil, wicked, malicious.” Semantic range: moral wickedness with an active, harmful intent (stronger than merely “bad”). English variants: “wicked,” “evil,” “malicious.” Konkani rendering: वायट (vāyṭ). Risk: Medium. Feeds directly into the Imitating Good rather than Evil doctrine’s contrast pair (v. 11); must retain moral seriousness, not merely “unpleasant.”

• φλυαρέω (phlyareō) [NEW] — Transliteration: phlyareō. Literal meaning: “to talk nonsense, chatter maliciously, gossip.” Semantic range: baseless, injurious talk spread to damage reputation. English variants: “gossiping maliciously against,” “talking wicked nonsense about,” “spreading malicious talk.” Contextual theological meaning: Diotrephes’s specific offense against John’s messengers — slander weaponized to protect his own status. Konkani rendering: वायट उलोवप/कागाळी करप (vāyṭ ulovap/kāgāḷī karap) — “speaking evil / malicious complaint.” Risk: Medium.

• κωλύω (kōlyō) [NEW] — Transliteration: kōlyō. Literal meaning: “to hinder, forbid, prevent.” English variants: “forbids,” “prevents,” “hinders.” Konkani rendering: आडावप (āḍāvap). Risk: Medium. Names Diotrephes’s abuse of church authority to block others’ hospitality — a concrete instance of leadership pride harming the whole congregation.

• ἐκβάλλω (ekballō) [NEW] — Transliteration: ekballō. Literal meaning: “to throw out, cast out, expel.” Semantic range: forcible expulsion; used elsewhere of exorcism and of expulsion from the synagogue (cf. John 9:34-35). English variants: “puts out,” “expels,” “casts out.” Contextual theological meaning: Diotrephes goes so far as to expel faithful believers from the congregation — the climactic abuse of church leadership named in this letter. Konkani rendering: भायर काडप (bhāyar kāḍap). Risk: High. Carries ecclesiological weight (an early form of church-discipline-like action misused for self-protection rather than righteous cause); must not be softened to a mild “ask to leave.”

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. Literal: “Beloved, do not imitate the evil but the good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.”

• μιμέομαι (mimeomai) [NEW — establishes Imitating Good doctrine’s key term] — Transliteration: mimeomai. Literal meaning: “to imitate, follow as an example” (root of English “mimic”). Semantic range: deliberate patterning of one’s conduct after an observed model. English variants: “imitate,” “follow the example of.” Contextual theological meaning: the letter’s explicit ethical command — Gaius (and the reader) must pattern behavior after Demetrius’s good example (v. 12), not Diotrephes’s evil one (vv. 9-10). Konkani rendering: अनुकरण करप (anukaraṇ karap). Risk: High. Imitation/following an exemplar’s pattern of life is also a strong theme in regional Hindu guru-bhakti practice (a disciple’s anukaraṇ of a guru’s teaching and conduct); this term must be anchored explicitly to imitating observable Christlike moral character (good vs. evil, as the verse itself defines), not to devotional imitation of a personal spiritual master’s authority.

• κακός (kakos) [NEW] — Transliteration: kakos. Literal meaning: “bad, evil, morally worthless.” English variants: “evil,” “bad,” “what is wrong.” Konkani rendering: वायट (vāyṭ). Risk: Medium.

• ἀγαθός (agathos) [NEW] — Transliteration: agathos. Literal meaning: “good, morally excellent, beneficial.” English variants: “good,” “what is good.” Konkani rendering: बरें (barẽ). Risk: Medium.

• ἀγαθοποιέω (agathopoieō) [NEW] — Transliteration: agathopoieō. Literal meaning: “to do good, to do what is right.” Konkani rendering: बरें करप (barẽ karap). Risk: Medium.

• κακοποιέω (kakopoieō) [NEW] — Transliteration: kakopoieō. Literal meaning: “to do evil, to do wrong.” Konkani rendering: वायट करप (vāyṭ karap). Risk: Medium.

• ὁράω (horaō) [NEW] — Transliteration: horaō. Literal meaning: “to see, perceive.” Semantic range: here metaphorical — “has not seen God” means has no genuine relational knowledge or experience of God, evidenced by the absence of godly conduct (cf. 1 John 3:6, 3:10). English variants: “has not seen God,” “does not know God.” Contextual theological meaning: moral conduct is presented as evidence of (not the basis for) a genuine relationship with God. Konkani rendering: पळेवप (paḷevap), in the phrase देवाक पळयलां ना (devāk paḷaylã nā) — “has not seen/experienced God.” Risk: High. In a Goan Hindu devotional context, “seeing God” readily evokes दर्शन (darshan) — the ritual act of viewing a temple deity’s image, a central devotional practice at sites such as Shantadurga or Mangueshi. This verse must be anchored by translator note to mean relational, moral knowledge of God evidenced in godly conduct, not ritual visual beholding of a deity’s image.

3 John 1:12

Greek: Δημητρίῳ μεμαρτύρηται ὑπὸ πάντων καὶ ὑπὸ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας· καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ μαρτυροῦμεν, καὶ οἶδας ὅτι ἡ μαρτυρία ἡμῶν ἀληθής ἐστιν. Literal: “Demetrius has been testified to by everyone, and by the truth itself; we also testify, and you know that our testimony is true.”

• μαρτυρέω (martyreō) [NEW] — see v. 3. Here doubled (“testified… testify”), the climax of the letter’s testimony-vocabulary, directly establishing the Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius) doctrine. Konkani rendering: साक्ष दिवप (sākṣ divap). Risk: Medium-High (as above).

• μαρτυρία (martyria) [NEW] — Transliteration: martyria. Literal meaning: “testimony, witness” (the noun form of μαρτυρέω). English variants: “testimony,” “witness.” Konkani rendering: साक्ष (sākṣ). Risk: Medium. Must retain the sense of validated, truthful, corroborated testimony (echoed three times in this single verse), not casual opinion.

• ἀληθής (alēthēs) [NEW] — Transliteration: alēthēs. Literal meaning: “true, truthful.” Related adjective to ἀλήθεια (truth). English variants: “true.” Konkani rendering: खरें (kharẽ) / सत्य. Risk: Medium, same collision caution as ἀλήθεια above.

3 John 1:13

Greek: Πολλὰ εἶχον γράψαι σοι, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ θέλω διὰ μέλανος καὶ καλάμου σοι γράφειν· Literal: “I had many things to write to you, but I do not want to write to you with ink and pen;”

• μέλαν (melan) [NEW] — Transliteration: melan. Literal meaning: “ink” (lit. “black [substance]”). Konkani rendering: शाई (śāī). Risk: Low. Purely material/literal; no doctrinal weight.

• κάλαμος (kalamos) [NEW] — Transliteration: kalamos. Literal meaning: “reed, reed-pen.” Konkani rendering: लेखणी (lekhaṇī). Risk: Low. Purely material/literal.

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. Literal: “But I hope to see you soon, and we will speak mouth to mouth. Peace to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.”

• ἐλπίζω (elpizō) [NEW] — Transliteration: elpizō. Literal meaning: “to hope.” Konkani rendering: आस्त बाळगप (āst bāḷgap) / आशा करप. Risk: Low.

• στόμα πρὸς στόμα (stoma pros stoma) [NEW] — Transliteration: stoma pros stoma. Literal meaning: “mouth to mouth.” Semantic range: a Hebraic idiom (cf. Numbers 12:8 LXX) for direct, personal, face-to-face communication, preferred over the impersonal medium of a letter. English variants: “face to face,” “in person.” Contextual theological meaning: reinforces that truth and fellowship (the letter’s core theme) are ultimately relational and personal, not merely textual. Konkani rendering: मुखामुख (mukhāmukh). Risk: Low. Idiom must be rendered by its natural Konkani equivalent for “face to face,” not translated literally as “mouth to mouth,” which would sound crude or unclear.

• εἰρήνη (eirēnē) [BASELINE TM] — Konkani rendering: शांती (śāntī), reused exactly. Risk: Medium (per baseline). Here a standard epistolary peace-benediction; retain the baseline’s caution that this is relational/covenantal peace, not meditative calm.

• ἀσπάζομαι (aspazomai) [NEW] — Transliteration: aspazomai. Literal meaning: “to greet, embrace in greeting.” English variants: “greet,” “send greetings.” Konkani rendering: नमस्कार करप (namaskār karap) / खबर विचारप. Risk: Low. Note: नमस्कार is used here purely as an ordinary greeting word (as in everyday Konkani usage across religious communities), not as a devotional gesture toward a deity; no doctrinal risk in this everyday epistolary sense.

• φίλος (philos) [NEW] — Transliteration: philos. Literal meaning: “friend.” Semantic range: personal affection/friendship (distinct from ἀγάπη’s covenantal, willed love, and from ἀδελφός’s family-in-Christ sense — all three relational terms appear across this short letter). English variants: “friends,” “the friends.” Konkani rendering: इश्ट (iṣṭ). Risk: Low. Used here for literal individual friends by name; distinct from the baseline’s caution against इश्टागत as too weak for the deeper corporate “fellowship” (सहभागिता) sense — that caution does not apply to this ordinary use of “friend.”

Proper Names (vv. 1, 9, 12)

• Γάϊος (Gaius) — Konkani: गायस (Gāyas). Risk: Low. Established Marathi-Konkani Bible transliteration convention (cf. Acts 19:29, 20:4).
• Διοτρέφης (Diotrephes) — Konkani: दियोत्रेफेस (Diyotrephes). Risk: Low (proper name; no theological ambiguity, though the person himself is the letter’s negative example).
• Δημήτριος (Demetrius) — Konkani: देमेत्रियुस (Demetriyus). Risk: Low (proper name; the letter’s positive example).

---

Chapter-by-Chapter Coverage of the Whole Book

Chapter 1 (3 John 1:1–14) — the entire book

3 John contains only one chapter, spanning verses 1 through 14. This chapter is the core passage and has been given complete verse-by-verse treatment above, covering every load-bearing theological and cultural term in the letter — from the opening greeting (πρεσβύτερος, ἀγαπητός, ἀλήθεια) through the hospitality commendation (ξένος, προπέμπω, συνεργός), the Diotrephes indictment (φιλοπρωτεύω, ἐκβάλλω, κωλύω, φλυαρέω), the imitation command (μιμέομαι, ἀγαθός/κακός), the Demetrius commendation (μαρτυρέω, μαρτυρία, ἀληθής), and the closing greeting (εἰρήνη, φίλος). There are no additional chapters in 3 John beyond this one; full-book coverage is therefore already complete. This is stated explicitly per the PRD’s full-book-coverage mandate, rather than silently assumed from the book’s brevity.

---

Summary: Doctrine-to-Term Mapping

Doctrine	Primary Greek Terms	Primary Verses
Hospitality to Traveling Ministers	ξένος, προπέμπω, συνεργός, ἀδελφός, ὀφείλω	vv. 5-8
Imitating Good rather than Evil	μιμέομαι, ἀγαθός, κακός, ἀγαθοποιέω, κακοποιέω, ὁράω	v. 11
Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)	πρεσβύτερος, φιλοπρωτεύω, ἐπιδέχομαι, φλυαρέω, κωλύω, ἐκβάλλω	vv. 1, 9-10
Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)	μαρτυρέω, μαρτυρία, ἀληθής	v. 12
Truth and Christian Fellowship	ἀλήθεια, ἀγάπη, ἀδελφός, ἐκκλησία, φίλος, εἰρήνη	vv. 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 14