Semantic Analysis
Semantic Analysis: 3 John (요한3서) — English → Korean
Methodology and Full-Book Coverage Statement
3 John is a single-chapter epistle of 14 verses. The PRD Phase 1 mandate requires full-book coverage, every chapter first to last, with the core passage receiving verse-by-verse treatment. Because 3 John’s only chapter (1:1–14) is the designated core passage, this document’s verse-by-verse analysis of 1:1–14 constitutes complete full-book coverage. There is no second chapter to treat separately, and none is silently omitted — this is stated explicitly per the coverage mandate: 3 John has exactly one chapter, and it has been analyzed in full below.
All terms already recorded in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json (하나님 for θεός, 교회 for ἐκκλησία, 사랑/은혜/믿음 conventions, honorific grammar rules, etc.) are reused exactly as established. New terms required for 3 John’s distinctive vocabulary (elder, truth, testimony, stranger/hospitality, imitate, prosper, soul, etc.) are analyzed fresh below and are candidates for addition to translation memory in a later step.
Risk tiers follow the baseline definitions exactly:
- Critical — mistranslation alters or destroys essential doctrine
- High — mistranslation creates significant theological confusion or syncretism risk
- Medium — mistranslation reduces clarity but preserves essential meaning
- Low — mistranslation causes minor misunderstanding or imprecision
Core Passage: 3 John 1:1–14 (Verse-by-Verse)
3 John 1:1
Greek: Ὁ πρεσβύτερος Γαΐῳ τῷ ἀγαπητῷ, ὃν ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ. Reference English: “The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.”
| Greek | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Korean Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| πρεσβύτερος | presbyteros | ”older man, elder” | (1) a senior in age; (2) an elder office-holder in the synagogue/church; (3) an apostolic-generation authority figure using seniority as a title of humble authority | ”elder,” “the elder” | The author (traditionally the apostle John) identifies himself not by the title “apostle” but by the more understated “the elder” — an authoritative yet pastorally intimate self-designation appropriate to a personal letter. | 장로 (jangno) — HIGH risk. Korean Protestantism is majority-Presbyterian (장로교, Jangnogyo), where 장로 is a specific, often high-status elected lay office attained through congregational vote, sometimes contested and politically freighted in Korean church life. A Korean reader may default to this institutional-office frame rather than John’s simple self-designation as an aged apostolic authority writing pastorally to a beloved friend. Must be footnoted to clarify this is the writer’s self-humbling title of seniority/authority, not a reference to the modern elected office. |
| ἀγαπητός | agapētos | ”beloved, dearly loved” | Term of affectionate address among believers, denoting one loved with covenantal, self-giving love | ”beloved,” “dear friend” | Establishes the letter’s warm, pastoral tone toward Gaius; repeated at vv. 2, 5, 11 as a structural marker introducing each new exhortation. | 사랑하는 (sarang-haneun) — MEDIUM risk. Standard KRV rendering (cf. “사랑하는 가이오”). Risk is register: must not collapse into the familial/hierarchical affection sense carried by Korean 정 (jeong) or Confucian filial-affection categories; this is covenantal, brotherly love in Christ. |
| ἀγαπάω | agapaō | ”to love” | Self-giving, willed love (as opposed to ἔρως/φιλέω’s affection-based senses, though NT usage overlaps with φιλέω at times) | “I love,” “love” | John’s love for Gaius is explicitly qualified “in truth” — Christian love and doctrinal truth are inseparable in this letter. | 사랑하다 (saranghada) — MEDIUM risk. See ἀγαπητός note above; the same collision risk applies. |
| ἀλήθεια | alētheia | ”truth, reality, that which is not concealed” | (1) factual accuracy; (2) the gospel reality revealed in Christ; (3) a sphere/realm believers “walk in" | "truth,” “the truth,” “true” | The letter’s central motif (occurs 6 times: vv. 1, 3 [×2], 4, 8, 12). “In truth” describes both the content of the gospel and the manner of a life shaped by it — inseparable from genuine Christian fellowship. | 진리 (jilli) — HIGH risk. Established KRV term, but 진리 is also the standard Korean word for Buddhist doctrinal truth (as in 사성제, the Four Noble Truths) and for secular philosophical “Truth.” Teaching must make explicit that “truth” here is the specific gospel reality revealed in Jesus Christ and lived out relationally, not an abstract philosophical proposition or a meditative insight attained through self-cultivation. |
3 John 1:2
Greek: Ἀγαπητέ, περὶ πάντων εὔχομαί σε εὐοδοῦσθαι καὶ ὑγιαίνειν, καθὼς εὐοδοῦταί σου ἡ ψυχή. Reference English: “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”
| Greek | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Korean Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| εὔχομαι | euchomai | ”to wish, to pray” | A personal wish/prayer expressed to or for someone | ”I pray,” “I wish” | An epistolary greeting-wish, not a doctrinal petition; still addressed with prayerful sincerity. | 간구하다/원하다 (gangu hada / wonhada) — LOW risk. Standard epistolary vocabulary. |
| εὐοδόω (εὐοδοῦσθαι) | euodousthai | ”to have a good journey; to prosper, succeed” | Originally a travel metaphor (“have a good road”), extended to general prospering/success in affairs | ”prosper,” “be prospered,” “go well” | John’s ordinary epistolary wish for Gaius’s general well-being, explicitly tied to and measured by the prior condition of his soul’s spiritual health — prosperity is not offered as an independent, guaranteed material outcome. | 형통하다 (hyeongtonghada) — CRITICAL risk. This verse is the single most historically consequential verse in 3 John for Korean Christianity: it is the direct proof text of the widely taught Korean “threefold blessing” (삼박자 축복, sambakja chukbok — prosperity of soul, body, and material circumstance), a teaching strongly associated with a major Korean megachurch movement and long debated within Korean Protestantism itself as edging toward 기복신앙 (fortune-seeking faith), the same shamanistic-transactional pattern flagged as Critical for “grace” in the Romans baseline. Teaching MUST make explicit: (1) this is a personal epistolary wish/greeting to one individual, not a universal doctrinal formula or guaranteed promise; (2) the syntax subordinates material/physical prospering to the prior, primary reality of the soul’s prospering (καθώς, “just as”) — spiritual health is the standard, not a bonus alongside material gain. Never present as a stand-alone prosperity formula. |
| ὑγιαίνω | hygiainō | ”to be healthy, be sound” | Physical health; by extension, soundness (cf. “sound doctrine,” ὑγιαίνουσα διδασκαλία, elsewhere in the NT) | “be in health,” “be well” | Paired with εὐοδοῦσθαι as an ordinary greeting-wish for Gaius’s bodily welfare. | 강건하다 (ganggeonhada) — MEDIUM risk. Tied to the same prosperity-gospel-adjacent concern as εὐοδόω above; must not be isolated from the soul-health priority of the verse. |
| ψυχή | psychē | ”soul, inner life, self” | The seat of a person’s inner spiritual life and moral condition; distinguished from πνεῦμα (spirit) and σῶμα (body) in Pauline anthropology, though often simply “the person/self" | "soul,” “inner being” | The true measure of Gaius’s well-being — his soul’s spiritual health/prospering under the gospel, the standard by which all other prospering is to be understood. | 영혼 (yeonghon) — HIGH risk. Korean shamanism (무속신앙) holds an active folk concept of the soul/spirit (혼, 넋) as an entity that can wander, be startled out of the body, be captured by malevolent spirits, or require ritual recall (초혼) or appeasement — a concept requiring ritual manipulation rather than moral/spiritual health before God. As with 성령 vs. 신령 in the Romans baseline, 영혼 must be taught strictly as the believer’s inner spiritual life measured by its standing before a personal God through the gospel, never as a folk-animistic soul-entity subject to shamanistic ritual care. |
3 John 1:3
Greek: ἐχάρην γὰρ λίαν ἐρχομένων ἀδελφῶν καὶ μαρτυρούντων σου τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, καθὼς σὺ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ περιπατεῖς. Reference English: “For I rejoiced greatly when brothers came and testified of your truth, even as you walk in truth.”
| Greek | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Korean Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| χαίρω (ἐχάρην) | echarēn | ”to rejoice, be glad” | Joy, often specifically gospel-rooted joy in the NT | ”I rejoiced,” “I was glad” | John’s joy is provoked by hearing a report of another believer’s gospel faithfulness — joy generated through the fellowship of truth. | 기뻐하다 (gippeohada) — LOW risk. Standard vocabulary; no significant collision. |
| ἀδελφός (ἀδελφῶν) | adelphōn | ”brother(s)“ | Fellow believers in the family of God; here, traveling missionaries/teachers | ”brothers,” “brethren” | The traveling ministers who benefited from Gaius’s hospitality (cf. v. 5) and reported back on his faithfulness. | 형제 (hyeongje) — LOW risk. Established Christian usage; distinguish in context from φίλος (“friend,” v. 14), a related but distinct term of address later in the letter. |
| μαρτυρέω (μαρτυρούντων) | martyrountōn | ”to testify, bear witness” | Formal or informal attestation to a fact or character, often in a legal or quasi-legal register in Greek usage, extended in the NT to attesting to gospel realities and to a person’s Christian character/conduct | ”testified,” “bore witness,” “gave testimony” | The core verb of the letter’s testimony motif (recurs at vv. 6, 12 ×2): believers testify to Gaius’s truth-shaped life, just as “all” and “the truth itself” will testify to Demetrius’s character (v. 12). | 증언하다 (jeungeonhada) — HIGH risk. Korean legal/courtroom register (증인, “witness,” 증언, “testimony”) is well established and could cause this to be read as narrowly forensic/legalistic. Must be taught as the specifically Christian sense of a life or report that visibly confirms another’s gospel faithfulness — central to both the Truth/Fellowship doctrine and the Demetrius commendation doctrine. |
| ἀλήθεια (τῇ ἀληθείᾳ) | tē alētheia | ”the truth” (dative, “in respect to the truth” / “concerning the truth”) | See v. 1 entry | ”truth” | Gaius’s manner of life is characterized by, and consistent with, gospel truth. | 진리 (jilli) — see v. 1. Same HIGH risk applies at each recurrence. |
| περιπατέω | peripateō | ”to walk, walk about” | Literal walking; frequently a Hebraic/NT metaphor for one’s habitual conduct/way of life | ”walk,” “conduct oneself,” “live" | "Walking in truth” = a life whose conduct is shaped and governed by the gospel, not mere intellectual assent. | 행하다 (haenghada) — MEDIUM risk. Standard KRV metaphorical usage (“진리 안에서 행하다”). Risk: (1) a woodenly literal reading of “walk”; (2) unintended resonance with Korean Buddhist “the Way/Path” (도, 道) self-cultivation vocabulary if paired loosely with 도 rather than 진리. Must retain 진리 as the governing noun. |
3 John 1:4
Greek: μειζοτέραν τούτων οὐκ ἔχω χαράν, ἵνα ἀκούω τὰ ἐμὰ τέκνα ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ περιπατοῦντα. Reference English: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
| Greek | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Korean Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| χαρά | chara | ”joy” | Gospel-rooted gladness | ”joy” | Superlative statement: no greater joy than this — underscores how central truth-shaped living is to John’s pastoral heart. | 기쁨 (gippeum) — LOW risk. |
| τέκνα | tekna | ”children” | Biological children; also, spiritual offspring — those brought to or nurtured in the faith by an apostolic figure | ”children,” “my children” | John’s “children” are his spiritual converts/disciples, not biological descendants. | 자녀 (janyeo) — MEDIUM risk. Must be clearly marked as spiritual, not biological, parentage. Korea’s Confucian filial-piety framework (효, hyo) organizes parent-child relationships around a strict hierarchical obedience owed to a parent; John’s language, by contrast, describes joyful spiritual nurture and relational pride in another’s faithfulness, not a claim to filial authority or obedience owed to himself. |
| ἀλήθεια / περιπατέω | — | — | — | — | Same as v. 3. | Same renderings and risk notes as v. 3 apply. |
3 John 1:5
Greek: Ἀγαπητέ, πιστὸν ποιεῖς ὃ ἐὰν ἐργάσῃ εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τοῦτο ξένους, Reference English: “Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brothers, and especially for strangers.”
| Greek | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Korean Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| πιστός | pistos | ”faithful, trustworthy, reliable” | Faithful action arising from and consistent with faith; reliability of character | ”faithfully,” “a faithful thing,” “trustworthy” | Gaius’s hospitality is commended as an act of faithfulness — the practical outworking of genuine faith, not mere social generosity. | 신실한 (sinsilhan) — MEDIUM risk. Should echo, without duplicating, the baseline’s established 믿음 (“faith,” noun) family; must be distinguished from a merely dutiful or socially expected act of hospitality (e.g. Confucian guest-etiquette norms), and framed as gospel-motivated faithfulness. |
| ἐργάζομαι | ergazē | ”to work, do, accomplish” | General action/labor | ”whatever you do,” “you work” | Gaius’s concrete deeds of hospitality toward traveling ministers. | 행하다 (haenghada) — LOW risk. |
| ξένος | xenous | ”stranger, foreigner; guest” | (1) a foreigner/outsider; (2) in NT hospitality contexts, a traveling believer known personally to the host, requiring lodging/support — often traveling missionaries or teachers | ”strangers,” “those you did not know,” “traveling ministers” | The specific referents of Gaius’s hospitality: itinerant gospel workers unknown to him personally but worthy of support because they serve “the Name” (v. 7). This is the letter’s central term for the Hospitality to Traveling Ministers doctrine. | 나그네 (nageune) — HIGH risk. Korean culture already has strong indigenous hospitality norms toward 손님 (guests) and 나그네 (travelers/sojourners), which risks the term being read as generic Korean social courtesy rather than the specific NT category of material and logistical support for gospel ministers as gospel partnership (cf. συνεργός, v. 8). Teaching must clarify this is missions-support hospitality, a form of gospel co-laboring, not merely cultural guest-etiquette. |
3 John 1:6
Greek: οἳ ἐμαρτύρησάν σου τῇ ἀγάπῃ ἐνώπιον ἐκκλησίας, οὓς καλῶς ποιήσεις προπέμψας ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ· Reference English: “They have testified of your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.”
| Greek | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Korean Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀγάπη | agapē | ”love” | Covenantal, self-giving love; here specifically Gaius’s love expressed in hospitality | ”love,” “charity” (older English) | The traveling brothers publicly testified of Gaius’s love — hospitality as visible evidence of Christian love. | 사랑 (sarang) — see v. 1. MEDIUM risk, same collision note applies. |
| ἐκκλησία | ekklēsia | ”assembly, congregation, church” | The gathered new-covenant community | ”church,” “congregation” | Gaius’s love was reported publicly before the gathered congregation — a communal, not merely private, commendation. | 교회 (gyohoe) — MEDIUM risk. REUSE BASELINE TERM EXACTLY. Per Romans TM: never 당집 (shamanistic village shrine) or 절 (Buddhist temple). |
| προπέμπω | propempsas | ”to send forward, escort, help on one’s way” | Providing practical means (funds, provisions, travel companions) for a journey — more than a farewell; an act of material missions support | ”send… on their journey,” “help on their way,” “send forward” | The concrete hospitality-action requested of Gaius: not merely wishing the traveling ministers well, but materially equipping their onward mission travel. Central verb for the Hospitality doctrine. | 전송하다 (jeonsonghada) — HIGH risk. Risk of collapse into a merely social farewell/“seeing someone off” sense (전송, a common everyday Korean word for seeing off a guest at a bus/train station) that loses the material-support entailment (funds, provisions) central to NT missionary hospitality. Must be taught/footnoted as “send off with material provision for the journey,” i.e. sponsoring their onward gospel work. |
| ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ | axiōs tou theou | ”worthily of God” | Conduct fitting for, or consistent with, God’s own character and standards | ”worthy of God,” “in a manner worthy of God” | Hospitality toward gospel workers is to be rendered at a standard reflecting God’s own generosity, not mere social minimums. | 하나님께 합당하게 (Hananim-kke hapdanghage) — MEDIUM risk. 하나님 reused exactly from baseline (Critical term); 합당하게 (“fittingly, worthily”) is standard vocabulary, low collision on its own. |
3 John 1:7
Greek: ὑπὲρ γὰρ τοῦ ὀνόματος ἐξῆλθον μηδὲν λαμβάνοντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνικῶν. Reference English: “For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles/pagans.”
| Greek | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Korean Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὄνομα (τοῦ ὀνόματος) | tou onomatos | ”the Name” | Metonymy for the person, authority, and honor of Jesus Christ | ”the Name,” “his name,” “for the sake of Christ” | The traveling ministers went out specifically as ambassadors of Christ’s authority and honor — their mission, and Gaius’s support of it, is Christ-centered, not self-interested. | 그 이름 (geu ireum) — HIGH risk. Korean folk-shamanistic practice includes ritual use of names on talismans (부적) and name-invocation formulas believed to carry spiritual power apart from relationship. “The Name” here must be clearly taught/footnoted as referring to the person and authority of Jesus Christ proclaimed in gospel ministry — a relational, missional reference, never a magical name-invocation formula. |
| ἐθνικός (τῶν ἐθνικῶν) | tōn ethnikōn | ”of the pagans/Gentiles/heathen” | Here, non-believing outsiders in general — those outside the Christian community — rather than the redemptive-historical Jew/Gentile category used elsewhere in the NT (e.g. Romans) | “Gentiles,” “pagans,” “unbelievers,” “outsiders” | The missionaries refused to accept support from unbelieving outsiders, relying instead on the church’s own hospitality (v. 8) — a principle protecting the gospel’s reputation from any appearance of financial self-interest. | 이방인 (ibangin) — MEDIUM risk. REUSES the baseline term for consistency, but the baseline’s Jew/Gentile redemptive-historical sense (Romans 3:29–30, 11:17–24) does NOT directly apply here; 3 John’s ἐθνικῶν means simply “unbelieving outsiders” from whom the missionaries would not accept patronage. Must be footnoted with this contextual distinction to avoid importing Romans’ Israel/nations theology where it does not belong. |
| λαμβάνω | lambanontes | ”to take, receive, accept” | Receiving something offered, here financial/material support | ”receiving,” “accepting,” “taking” | The missionaries’ principled refusal of pagan patronage. | 받다 (batda) — LOW risk. |
3 John 1:8
Greek: ἡμεῖς οὖν ὀφείλομεν ὑπολαμβάνειν τοὺς τοιούτους, ἵνα συνεργοὶ γινώμεθα τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. Reference English: “We therefore ought to support such men, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.”
| Greek | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Korean Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὀφείλω | opheilomen | ”to owe, be obligated, ought” | Moral obligation/debt | ”ought,” “are obligated,” “owe it” | Supporting gospel workers is framed as a moral obligation of the church, not optional generosity. | 마땅하다 (matdanghada) — LOW risk. |
| ὑπολαμβάνω | hypolambanein | ”to take up, receive, support, welcome” | A stronger form of reception than ordinary welcome — taking financial/practical responsibility for someone | ”support,” “receive,” “welcome and provide for” | The positive counterpart to refusing pagan patronage (v. 7): believers themselves must take up the material support of traveling ministers. | 영접하다/도와야 하다 (yeongjeophada / dowaya hada) — MEDIUM risk. KRV renders with reception-language (영접함이 마땅하니); must be taught with the fuller sense of taking material responsibility for, not mere polite greeting. |
| συνεργός | synergoi | ”fellow worker, co-worker” | One who labors alongside another toward a shared goal | ”fellow workers,” “co-workers,” “partners” | Supporting traveling ministers makes the supporting church itself a co-laborer in the gospel mission — hospitality is a form of active gospel partnership, not passive assistance. | 동역자 (dongyeokja) — MEDIUM risk. Established Korean Christian vocabulary (missions/ministry partnership); low ambiguity on its own, but must be tied explicitly to τῇ ἀληθείᾳ (“for the truth”) so hospitality is framed as gospel partnership, not generic teamwork. |
| ἀλήθεια | tē alētheia | — | See v. 1. | ”the truth” | Hospitality toward traveling ministers makes the host a co-laborer specifically for the gospel truth being proclaimed. | 진리 (jilli) — see v. 1, HIGH risk. |
3 John 1:9
Greek: Ἔγραψά τι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ· ἀλλ’ ὁ φιλοπρωτεύων αὐτῶν Διοτρέφης οὐκ ἐπιδέχεται ἡμᾶς. Reference English: “I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not receive us.”
| Greek | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Korean Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐκκλησία | tē ekklēsia | — | See v. 6. | ”church” | 교회 (gyohoe) — reuse baseline exactly. | |
| φιλοπρωτεύω (φιλοπρωτεύων) | philoprōteuōn | ”to love to be first, love preeminence” (a NT hapax legomenon, occurring only here) | Compound of φίλος (“loving/fond of”) + πρωτεύω (“to be first/preeminent”) — an ambition-driven love of top rank and status | ”loves to have the preeminence,” “loves to be first,” “who likes to put himself first” | Diotrephes’ defining, named sin: self-exalting ambition for status and control within the church, which leads directly to his rejection of apostolic authority and abuse of church discipline (v. 10). The letter’s central term for the Church Leadership and Pride doctrine. | 으뜸 되기를 좋아하는 (eutteum doegireul joahaneun) — HIGH risk. This is the established KRV rendering. Korean Protestantism (majority Presbyterian, with a strong senior-pastor/담임목사 authority tradition) has its own well-documented, publicly debated history of authoritarian church leadership and contested pulpit-succession controversies at several of Korea’s largest congregations. Teaching MUST make explicit that Diotrephes’ fault is self-exalting pride and abuse of authority within Christ’s church — a sin to be named and resisted, not a leadership style to be excused as simply strong or decisive; must avoid any framing (common in hierarchical/Confucian social patterns) that reads deference to a dominant senior leader’s ambition as itself virtuous or expected. |
| ἐπιδέχομαι | epidechetai | ”to receive, welcome, accept” | Receiving a person, message, or authority | ”receive,” “welcome,” “accept” | Diotrephes refuses to receive/acknowledge John’s apostolic authority or delegates — an act of ecclesial defiance. | 받아들이다/영접하다 (badadeurida / yeongjeophada) — MEDIUM risk. 영접하다 is widely and positively used in Korean evangelical vocabulary (e.g. “예수님을 영접하다,” to receive Christ); here it is used negatively (Diotrephes’ refusal to receive), so context must make the polarity unmistakable. |
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. Reference English: “Therefore, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, gossiping maliciously about us with evil words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brothers, and forbids those who want to, and casts them out of the church.”
| Greek | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Korean Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἔργον (τὰ ἔργα) | ta erga | ”works, deeds” | Concrete actions/conduct | ”deeds,” “works,” “what he is doing” | Diotrephes’ concrete pattern of abusive behavior, which John intends to expose publicly upon his arrival. | 행위 (haengwi) — LOW risk. |
| πονηρός (λόγοις πονηροῖς) | logois ponērois | ”with evil/wicked words” | Malicious, harmful speech | ”evil words,” “malicious words” | Qualifies φλυαρέω below — the content of Diotrephes’ slander is morally evil, not merely mistaken. | 악한 말 (akhan mal) — LOW risk. |
| φλυαρέω (φλυαρῶν) | phlyarōn | ”to talk nonsense about, chatter maliciously, gossip against” | Baseless, malicious, reputation-damaging talk directed against someone | ”gossiping maliciously,” “talking wicked nonsense against,” “slandering” | Diotrephes actively slanders John/the apostolic party to discredit them before the church he controls. | 비방하다 (bibanghada) — MEDIUM risk. Must convey deliberate, malicious slander intended to damage reputation and undermine legitimate authority, not mere disagreement or criticism. |
| ἀρκέω (ἀρκούμενος) | arkoumenos | ”to be content, satisfied” | Sufficiency/contentment with a given state of affairs | ”content,” “satisfied” | Diotrephes’ slander alone does not satisfy his ambition — he escalates to active obstruction and expulsion. | 만족하다 (manjokhada) — LOW risk. |
| κωλύω | kōlyei | ”to hinder, forbid, prevent” | Active prevention of another’s action | ”forbids,” “hinders,” “prevents” | Diotrephes actively prevents other believers from extending the very hospitality this letter commends. | 막다 (makda) — LOW risk. |
| ἐκβάλλω | ekballei | ”to cast out, expel, throw out” | Forceful removal/expulsion; in the Gospels, the same verb is used of casting out demons (ἐκβάλλω δαιμόνια) | “casts out,” “expels,” “puts out” | Diotrephes wrongfully expels faithful believers from the congregation as an abuse of church authority/discipline. | 쫓아내다 (jjochanaeda) — HIGH risk. In Korean, the identical idiom 쫓아내다 is used both for wrongful ecclesiastical expulsion here and for exorcistic “casting out a spirit” (귀신을 쫓아내다) elsewhere in Christian usage. Teaching must clearly disambiguate context so that Diotrephes’ abusive expulsion of faithful believers is not read through, or trivialized/sensationalized by association with, exorcism imagery. |
| ἐπιδέχομαι | epidechetai | — | See v. 9. | ”does not receive” | Repeated refusal to welcome faithful traveling brothers. | Same as v. 9. |
| ἀδελφός (τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς) | tous adelphous | — | See v. 3. | ”the brothers” | The traveling ministers Diotrephes refuses to receive. | 형제 (hyeongje) — LOW risk, see v. 3. |
| ἐκκλησία | tēs ekklēsias | — | See v. 6. | ”the church” | The congregation from which Diotrephes wrongfully expels believers. | 교회 (gyohoe) — reuse baseline exactly. |
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. Reference English: “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. Whoever does good is of God; whoever does evil has not seen God.”
| Greek | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Korean Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| μιμέομαι (μιμοῦ) | mimou | ”to imitate, follow as an example/model” | Modeling one’s conduct on another’s pattern; root of English “mimic" | "imitate,” “follow the example of” | The letter’s direct doctrinal command, framed against the immediately preceding Diotrephes example and the following Demetrius example: believers must discern which models to follow, based on the source (God) of the conduct, not the model’s status or authority. Central term for the Imitating Good rather than Evil doctrine. | 본받다 (bonbatda) — HIGH risk. Established Korean Christian usage (e.g. “그리스도를 본받아,” “in imitation of Christ”), which is an asset. Risk: must avoid conflation with Confucian/Buddhist “learning from a master” patterns (사사하다, 사부를 따르다) which emphasize technique-transmission and hierarchical deference to the model regardless of the model’s moral character — here the criterion for imitation is exclusively whether the conduct itself is good/evil (ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, “of God”), not the model’s rank or authority. Diotrephes (v. 9) is precisely an authority figure NOT to be imitated. |
| κακός (τὸ κακὸν / κακοποιῶν) | to kakon / kakopoiōn | ”evil, bad” / “one who does evil” | Moral evil, harm | ”evil,” “what is bad,” “one who does evil” | The negative pole of the imitation command; exemplified in the letter by Diotrephes’ conduct. | 악 / 악을 행하는 자 (ak / ageul haengha-neun ja) — MEDIUM risk. Distinguish from mere bad luck (액운) or social impropriety (체면 손상), per the Romans baseline’s “sin” notes — this is moral evil before a personal God. |
| ἀγαθός (τὸ ἀγαθόν / ἀγαθοποιῶν) | to agathon / agathopoiōn | ”good” / “one who does good” | Moral goodness rooted in and flowing from God | ”good,” “what is good,” “one who does good” | The positive pole of the command; exemplified by Demetrius (v. 12). Goodness here is explicitly grounded in God (“ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ,” “of/from God”) — its source, not autonomous human virtue. | 선 / 선을 행하는 자 (seon / seoneul haenghaneun ja) — MEDIUM risk. 선 also anchors Korea’s Confucian moral-virtue vocabulary (선인, “a virtuous/good person,” attained through self-cultivation). Must be taught as goodness that has God as its source (“ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ”), not autonomously achieved Confucian moral character. |
| θεός | tou theou | — | See baseline: God, the one true personal God | ”God” | Doing good/evil is directly diagnostic of one’s relationship to God — “has not seen God” describes a lack of true saving knowledge of him. | 하나님 (Hananim) — CRITICAL risk. REUSE BASELINE TERM EXACTLY. Never 하느님, 천주, or 산신령 per Romans TM. |
| ὁράω (ἑώρακεν) | heōraken | ”to see, perceive” (perfect tense: “has seen,” with abiding results) | Literal sight; figuratively, true spiritual knowledge/acquaintance | ”has seen,” “has known" | "Has not seen God” = has no genuine saving knowledge/relationship with God — habitual evildoing reveals spiritual estrangement from him. | 보다 (boda) — LOW risk. |
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. Reference English: “Demetrius has a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also testify, and you know that our testimony is true.”
| Greek | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Korean Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Δημήτριος | Dēmētriō | Proper name | The commended believer, likely the letter-bearer, held up as the positive model to imitate (contra Diotrephes) | “Demetrius” | Central figure of the Commendation of Faithful Witness doctrine. | 데메드리오 (Demedeurio) — LOW risk. Established KRV transliteration; proper noun. |
| μαρτυρέω (μεμαρτύρηται) | memartyrētai | ”has been testified of, has a good report” (perfect passive: an abiding, settled testimony) | See v. 3. | ”has a good testimony,” “is well spoken of” | Demetrius’s character is triply attested: by “everyone,” by “the truth itself” (i.e., his conduct is self-evidently consistent with the gospel), and by John’s own apostolic testimony — a threefold witness pattern echoing OT legal standards of confirmation (cf. Deut 19:15). | 증거를 받다/좋은 평판을 얻다 (jeunggeoreul batda) — HIGH risk. See v. 3 note; must retain the sense of gospel-consistent character being publicly and reliably attested, not mere reputation/popularity (인기, 평판 in a purely social sense). |
| ἀλήθεια (αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας) | autēs tēs alētheias | ”the truth itself” | Personified: the gospel truth itself bears witness through the self-evident consistency of Demetrius’s conduct with it | ”the truth itself” | A striking personification — truth as an active witness to godly character, reinforcing that genuine gospel-truth and observable good conduct cannot ultimately be separated. | 진리 (jilli) — see v. 1, HIGH risk. |
| μαρτυρία | hē martyria | ”testimony” (noun) | The content/act of formal or informal witness-bearing | ”testimony,” “witness” | John adds his own apostolic testimony to Demetrius’s character, guaranteeing its reliability to Gaius. | 증언/증거 (jeungeon/jeunggeo) — MEDIUM-HIGH risk. Same collision concerns as μαρτυρέω above. |
| ἀληθής | alēthēs | ”true, truthful” | Reliability/veracity of a statement or testimony | ”true” | John underwrites his testimony’s own reliability — truthful witness-bearing about truthful character. | 참된 (chamdoen) — LOW-MEDIUM risk. Standard adjective; risk only in maintaining thematic linkage to 진리 (ἀλήθεια) rather than reading as a generic “factually correct” statement in isolation. |
3 John 1:13–14
Greek: Πολλὰ εἶχον γράψαι σοι, ἀλλ’ οὐ θέλω διὰ μέλανος καὶ καλάμου σοι γράφειν· ἐλπίζω δὲ εὐθέως σε ἰδεῖν, καὶ στόμα πρὸς στόμα λαλήσομεν. Εἰρήνη σοι. ἀσπάζονταί σε οἱ φίλοι. ἀσπάζου τοὺς φίλους κατ’ ὄνομα. Reference English: “I had many things to write to you, but I do not wish to write with pen and ink. But I hope to see you soon, and we will speak face to face. Peace to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.”
| Greek | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Korean Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐλπίζω | elpizō | ”to hope” | Confident Christian expectation | ”I hope” | A closing note of personal, relational hope to see Gaius in person — not a major doctrinal term here. | 소망하다/바라다 (somanghada/barada) — LOW risk. |
| εἰρήνη | eirēnē | ”peace” | In epistolary closings, a standard blessing-greeting of well-being/shalom; distinct in register from the specific soteriological “peace with God through justification” sense of Romans 5:1 | ”peace,” “peace be to you” | A conventional apostolic epistolary benediction, not a fresh doctrinal statement of justification-peace. | 평강 (pyeonggang) — MEDIUM risk. The Romans baseline reserves 화평 specifically for the Romans 5:1 relational peace-with-God-through-justification sense, distinguished from the general well-being greeting sense of 평안. Korean Bible tradition renders NT epistolary closing-greetings of this type with 평강 (a third near-synonym, standard in KRV epistle closings). Care must be taken NOT to use 화평 here (this is a greeting-formula, not a fresh justification statement) while still conveying its rootedness in the gospel peace already secured, not mere secular well-wishing. |
| ἀσπάζομαι | aspazontai / aspazou | ”to greet, send greetings” | Standard epistolary greeting exchange | ”greet,” “send greetings” | Ordinary but warm relational close, reflecting the letter’s personal, pastoral character throughout. | 문안하다 (munanhada) — LOW risk. |
| φίλος | hoi philoi | ”friend(s)“ | A term of relational affection and mutual regard among believers; used here (uniquely for a NT epistolary closing) instead of the more common ἀδελφοί | ”friends” | A notable variation from ἀδελφοί (“brothers,” used throughout the rest of the letter) — likely reflecting personal, congregation-based friendship bonds distinct from (but not opposed to) the “brothers” language used for traveling missionaries. | 친구 (chin-gu) — MEDIUM risk. Must be distinguished in teaching from 형제 (ἀδελφοί) used elsewhere in the letter; risk of flattening the deliberate variation, or conversely of reading “friend” through a purely secular/casual Korean register (친구 often implies same-age, informal peer relationships) rather than a warm ecclesial relationship term. |
Non-load-bearing vocabulary noted but not tabled: γράφω (“write”), μέλαν (“ink”), κάλαμος (“pen/reed”), στόμα πρὸς στόμα (“mouth to mouth,” an idiom for face-to-face conversation), and κατ’ ὄνομα (“by name”) are ordinary narrative/epistolary vocabulary carrying no distinct doctrinal risk; render with natural Korean equivalents (e먼: “직접 만나,” “얼굴을 마주하여,” “이름을 불러”) without special flagging.
Chapter-by-Chapter Coverage of the Whole Book
3 John has only one chapter. As stated in the Methodology section above, the entire book (1:1–14) has been analyzed verse-by-verse above, which simultaneously satisfies both the “core passage verse-by-verse” requirement and the “every chapter first to last” full-book coverage requirement. There is no additional chapter content to report. This is stated explicitly, per the PRD’s requirement that a chapter contributing no new material never be silently omitted: 3 John, chapter 1 (its only chapter) = the core passage = the complete book, fully analyzed above. No chapters remain unreviewed.
Doctrinal Term Map (Cross-Reference for the Five Curriculum Doctrines)
| Curriculum Doctrine | Primary Verses | Key Load-Bearing Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | vv. 5–8 | ξένος (stranger), προπέμπω (send on journey with support), ὑπολαμβάνω (support/receive), συνεργός (fellow worker), ὄνομα (the Name), ἐθνικός (pagans/outsiders) |
| Imitating Good rather than Evil | v. 11 | μιμέομαι (imitate), κακός/κακοποιέω (evil/do evil), ἀγαθός/ἀγαθοποιέω (good/do good), θεός (God) |
| Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes) | vv. 9–10 | φιλοπρωτεύω (love to be first), ἐπιδέχομαι (receive/reject), φλυαρέω (malicious slander), κωλύω (forbid), ἐκβάλλω (cast out), ἐκκλησία (church) |
| Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius) | v. 12 | μαρτυρέω/μαρτυρία (testify/testimony), ἀλήθεια (truth), ἀληθής (true) |
| Truth and Christian Fellowship | vv. 1, 3–4, 6, 8, 12 | ἀλήθεια (truth), περιπατέω (walk/conduct), μαρτυρέω (testify), ἀγάπη (love), συνεργός (fellow worker) |
Note: εὐοδόω (v. 2, “prosper”) and ψυχή (v. 2, “soul”) do not map directly onto the five named curriculum doctrines but constitute the single highest-risk term pair in the entire book for Korean destination-language teaching, given the direct historical link between 3 John 1:2 and Korean prosperity-gospel (“threefold blessing”) teaching. This must be addressed explicitly regardless of which named doctrine a given Phase 2 lesson emphasizes, since v. 2 will inevitably appear in any full-passage rendering of the core text.