Core Glossary
Core Glossary — 3 John
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md. Terms already present in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked [Baseline Reuse] and MUST use the exact recorded Portuguese rendering. All other terms are new entries proposed for this curriculum and must be added to translation memory before Phase 2 processing, per the Language Package’s term-discovery protocol.
| # | English Gloss | Greek / Transliteration | Verses | Portuguese Rendering | Risk | Doctrine | Baseline Status | Alternatives Rejected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | elder | πρεσβύτερος / presbyteros | 1:1 | ancião | High | Church Leadership and Pride | New | ”presbítero” (collides with Catholic ordained office / Presbyterian church office) | Self-effacing title, contrasts with Diotrephes’s self-seeking (v.9). |
| 2 | beloved | ἀγαπητός / agapētos | 1:1,2,5,11 | amado | Low | Truth and Christian Fellowship | New | — | Standard affectionate address. |
| 3 | to love | ἀγαπάω / agapaō | 1:1 | amar | Low | Truth and Christian Fellowship | New | — | Committed, self-giving love. |
| 4 | truth | ἀλήθεια / alētheia | 1:1,3(×2),4,8,12 | verdade | High | Truth and Christian Fellowship | New | — | 6 occurrences; the book’s theme-word. Must be anchored to apostolic gospel truth embodied in conduct, not generic sincerity or rival Brazilian “spiritual truth” claims (Kardecist psicografia, syncretism). |
| 5 | to prosper / go well | εὐοδόω / euodousthai | 1:2 | prosperar / ir bem | High | (Cultural risk; ties to Hospitality/well-being themes) | New | — | Central proof-text of Brazilian Prosperity Theology (Teologia da Prosperidade); must be taught as an epistolary wish subordinated to spiritual health, never a material-gain formula. |
| 6 | to be healthy | ὑγιαίνω / hygiainein | 1:2 | ter saúde | High | (Cultural risk; see above) | New | — | Paired with εὐοδόω; same Prosperity Theology caution applies. |
| 7 | soul | ψυχή / psychē | 1:2 | alma | High | (Cultural risk) | New | ”espírito em evolução” (Kardecist) | Must denote present spiritual health in Christ, not a soul’s progress across reincarnations. |
| 8 | to rejoice | χαίρω / chairō | 1:3 | alegrar-se / regozijar-se | Low | Truth and Christian Fellowship | New | — | Standard. |
| 9 | brother(s) | ἀδελφός / adelphos | 1:3,5,10 | irmão(s) | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | New | — | Fellow believers/traveling ministers, not literal kin. |
| 10 | to testify / bear witness | μαρτυρέω / martyreō | 1:3,6,12 | testemunhar / dar testemunho | Medium | Commendation of Faithful Witness | New | — | Distinguish from Jehovah’s Witnesses’ self-designation and Spiritist “testimonies” of psychic experience. |
| 11 | to walk (conduct) | περιπατέω / peripateō | 1:3,4 | andar (na verdade) | Medium | Truth and Christian Fellowship | New | — | Idiom for manner of life; well attested in Portuguese Bible tradition. |
| 12 | joy | χαρά / chara | 1:4 | alegria | Low | Truth and Christian Fellowship | New | — | Noun form of χαίρω. |
| 13 | child(ren) [spiritual] | τέκνον / teknon | 1:4 | filhos (espirituais) | Medium | Truth and Christian Fellowship | New | — | Metaphorical spiritual parentage; distinct from baseline “adoption” doctrine (believers’ adoption by God). |
| 14 | faithful (trustworthy) | πιστός / pistos | 1:5 | fielmente / [obra] fiel | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | New | — | Adjectival “faithful conduct,” not to be conflated with saving “fé” (baseline Critical term). |
| 15 | to work/accomplish | ἐργάζομαι / ergazomai | 1:5 | fazer / realizar | Low | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | New | — | Standard. |
| 16 | stranger / guest | ξένος / xenos | 1:5 | estrangeiros / forasteiros | High | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | New | ”estranhos” (Almeida-traditional but risks the modern colloquial sense “odd/weird”) | Deliberate deviation from historic Almeida wording recommended, with translator note. |
| 17 | love (noun) | ἀγάπη / agapē | 1:6 | amor | Low | Truth and Christian Fellowship | New | — | Noun form of ἀγαπάω. |
| 18 | church | ἐκκλησία / ekklēsia | 1:6,9,10 | igreja | Medium | Church Leadership and Pride | [Baseline Reuse] | “a Igreja (institutional sense)“ | Reused exactly per baseline church entry. |
| 19 | to send forward (with support) | προπέμπω / propempō | 1:6 | enviar, provendo o necessário | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | New | — | Technical missions-support term; one-word “enviar” loses the provisioning sense. |
| 20 | worthily | ἀξίως / axiōs | 1:6 | dignamente / de modo digno | Low | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | New | — | Standard. |
| 21 | God | θεός / theos | 1:6,11(×2) | Deus | Critical | (cross-doctrinal) | [Baseline Reuse] | — | Reused exactly per baseline god entry. |
| 22 | the Name | ὄνομα / onoma | 1:7 | o Nome (capitalized) | High | Truth and Christian Fellowship | New | — | 3 John’s sole Christological reference; never names “Jesus”/“Cristo” directly. Referent must be made explicit in teaching notes. |
| 23 | Gentile / pagan (outsider) | ἐθνικός / ethnikos | 1:7 | gentios | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | [Baseline Reuse, contextually distinct] | “pagãos” (baseline-rejected as pejorative in Romans’ unity context) | Reuses “gentios” for consistency but functions differently here (unbelieving outsiders, financial-independence context) than in Romans’ Jew-Gentile unity doctrine. |
| 24 | ought / to be obligated | ὀφείλω / opheilō | 1:8 | devemos | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | New | — | Moral obligation, not optional generosity. |
| 25 | to receive / support | ὑπολαμβάνω / hypolambanō | 1:8 | receber / acolher (com apoio) | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | New | — | Material/practical support, not mere polite welcome. |
| 26 | fellow worker | συνεργός / synergos | 1:8 | cooperador(es) | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | New | — | Active gospel partnership flowing from faith, not merit earned by collaboration. |
| 27 | to love being first / seek preeminence | φιλοπρωτεύω / philoprōteuō | 1:9 | que ama ser o primeiro / que busca a preeminência | High | Church Leadership and Pride | New | ”líder autoritário” (too generic; loses the specific vice named) | Hapax legomenon; names the specific pride-driven vice at the root of Diotrephes’s misconduct. |
| 28 | Diotrephes (proper name) | Διοτρεφής / Diotrephēs | 1:9 | Diótrefes | Low | Church Leadership and Pride | New | — | Standard Portuguese Bible transliteration. |
| 29 | to receive / welcome / accept | ἐπιδέχομαι / epidechomai | 1:9,10 | receber / acolher | Medium | Church Leadership and Pride | New | — | Hospitality theme inverted: Diotrephes’s refusal. |
| 30 | work(s) / deed(s) | ἔργον / ergon | 1:10 | obras | Low | Church Leadership and Pride | New | — | Standard. |
| 31 | evil, wicked | πονηρός / ponēros | 1:10 | maliciosas / perversas | Medium | Church Leadership and Pride | New | — | Qualifies malicious speech. |
| 32 | to spread malicious/false charges | φλυαρέω / phlyareō | 1:10 | proferir palavras maliciosas / levantar falsas acusações | High | Church Leadership and Pride | New | ”falar mal / criticar” (too weak; understates slander) | Hapax legomenon for baseless slander; a leadership-abuse term. |
| 33 | to hinder / prevent | κωλύω / kōlyō | 1:10 | impedir / proibir | Medium | Church Leadership and Pride | New | — | Active obstruction of others’ hospitality. |
| 34 | to cast out / expel | ἐκβάλλω / ekballō | 1:10 | expulsar / lançar fora | High | Church Leadership and Pride | New | ”pedir que se retirem” (too mild) | Same strong verb elsewhere used for exorcism; forcible, authoritarian expulsion. |
| 35 | to imitate | μιμέομαι / mimeomai | 1:11 | imitar | Low | Imitating Good rather than Evil | New | — | Central ethical imperative of the letter. |
| 36 | evil (adj./noun) | κακός / kakos | 1:11 | o mal | Low | Imitating Good rather than Evil | New | — | Standard. |
| 37 | good (adj./noun) | ἀγαθός / agathos | 1:11 | o bem | Low | Imitating Good rather than Evil | New | — | Standard. |
| 38 | to do good | ἀγαθοποιέω / agathopoieō | 1:11 | praticar o bem | Medium | Imitating Good rather than Evil | New | — | Evidence of belonging to God. |
| 39 | to do evil | κακοποιέω / kakopoieō | 1:11 | praticar o mal | Medium | Imitating Good rather than Evil | New | — | Evidence of not knowing God. |
| 40 | to see / know (relationally) | ὁράω (ἑώρακεν) / horaō | 1:11 | ter visto a Deus / conhecer a Deus | High | Imitating Good rather than Evil | New | ”ver a Deus” unqualified (risks a clairvoyant/mediumistic reading) | Johannine idiom for relational knowledge of God, not literal or psychic vision — a specific Brazilian mediumship-culture risk. |
| 41 | Demetrius (proper name) | Δημήτριος / Dēmētrios | 1:12 | Demétrio | Low | Commendation of Faithful Witness | New | — | Standard Portuguese Bible transliteration. |
| 42 | testimony (noun) | μαρτυρία / martyria | 1:12 | testemunho | Medium | Commendation of Faithful Witness | New | — | See #10. |
| 43 | true | ἀληθής / alēthēs | 1:12 | verdadeiro | Medium | Commendation of Faithful Witness / Truth and Christian Fellowship | New | — | Adjective form of ἀλήθεια (#4); keep the connection visible. |
| 44 | ink | μέλαν / melan | 1:13 | tinta | Low | (no doctrinal weight) | New | — | Concrete epistolary detail. |
| 45 | reed-pen | κάλαμος / kalamos | 1:13 | pena | Low | (no doctrinal weight) | New | — | Concrete epistolary detail. |
| 46 | to hope | ἐλπίζω / elpizō | 1:14 | espero | Low | Truth and Christian Fellowship | New | — | Confident expectation. |
| 47 | face to face (idiom) | στόμα πρὸς στόμα | 1:14 | face a face / pessoalmente | Medium | Truth and Christian Fellowship | New | ”boca a boca” (idiom collision: means “word-of-mouth marketing” in Portuguese) | Do not translate literally; idiom must convey in-person presence. |
| 48 | peace | εἰρήνη / eirēnē | 1:14 | paz | Medium | Truth and Christian Fellowship | [Baseline Reuse] | — | Reused exactly per baseline peace entry. |
| 49 | friend(s) | φίλος / philos | 1:14 | amigos | Medium | Truth and Christian Fellowship | New | — | Johannine intimate designation for fellow believers (cf. John 15:14-15), not mere secular friendship. |
| 50 | to greet | ἀσπάζομαι / aspazomai | 1:14 | saudar | Low | Truth and Christian Fellowship | New | — | Standard epistolary closing. |
Risk Tier Summary
| Tier | Count | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 1 | God (θεός) — baseline reuse |
| High | 10 | ancião, verdade, prosperar/ir bem, ter saúde, alma, ξένος (estrangeiros), o Nome, φιλοπρωτεύω, φλυαρέω, ἐκβάλλω, ὁράω (ter visto a Deus) |
| Medium | 22 | (see table) |
| Low | 17 | (see table) |
New-Term Escalation Note
Per the Language Package’s translation-memory protocol, all 47 “New” entries above must be added to translation_memory.json before Phase 2 segment translation of 3 John begins, with High-risk new entries (#1, #4-7, #16, #22, #27, #32, #34, #40) flagged for human theologian review before approval, consistent with the escalation rules already established for Romans.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: Deus
Doctrine: Deity of God
Original: θεός
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package] Standard and unambiguous. Note for pastoral awareness in Afro-Brazilian contexts: Candomblé/Umbanda orixás are sometimes syncretized with Catholic saints, which can blur exclusive monotheism if not addressed directly. In 3 John, θεός occurs at 1:6 and twice at 1:11 (the diagnostic ‘has not seen God’ / ‘is from God’ clauses).
High Risk Terms
Elder
Approved rendering: ancião
Transliteration: presbyteros
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Rejected alternatives: presbítero (collides with the specific ordained Catholic clerical office or the formal Reformed/Presbyterian church office, importing institutional/hierarchical assumptions absent from John’s deliberately modest self-designation)
Original: πρεσβύτερος
Category: Church Leadership
John’s self-designation in 1:1, deliberately modest, setting up the letter’s structural contrast with Diotrephes’s self-seeking ambition (1:9). Never render ‘presbítero.‘
Truth
Approved rendering: verdade
Transliteration: alētheia
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: sinceridade genérica, convicção pessoal, verdade espírita revelada por psicografia
Original: ἀλήθεια
Category: Truth and Fellowship
The letter’s governing theme-word (6 occurrences: 1:1, 1:3×2, 1:4, 1:8, 1:12). Must be anchored, at every occurrence, to the apostolic gospel truth embodied in conduct — never left as an unqualified, generic claim to spiritual sincerity that a Brazilian reader could fill with Kardecist psicografia-derived revelation, Afro-Brazilian syncretistic truth-claims, or folk-Catholic devotional certainty. Single highest-risk term in this book.
Prosper
Approved rendering: prosperar / ir bem
Transliteration: euodousthai
Doctrine: Prosperity, Health, and the Soul’s Well-Being
Rejected alternatives: promessa garantida de riqueza material (Teologia da Prosperidade)
Original: εὐοδόω
Category: Wellbeing
3 John 1:2. Central proof-text of Brazil’s neo-Pentecostal Teologia da Prosperidade. Must be taught as an epistolary wish, syntactically subordinated to the soul’s already-settled spiritual health (‘assim como já vai bem a tua alma’), never as a transactional formula guaranteeing material gain.
Healthy
Approved rendering: ter saúde
Transliteration: hygiainein
Doctrine: Prosperity, Health, and the Soul’s Well-Being
Rejected alternatives: promessa de cura física garantida
Original: ὑγιαίνω
Category: Wellbeing
3 John 1:2, paired with ‘prosperar.’ Same Prosperity Theology caution applies: a conventional ancient epistolary health-wish, not a health-and-wealth faith formula.
Soul
Approved rendering: alma
Transliteration: psychē
Doctrine: Prosperity, Health, and the Soul’s Well-Being
Rejected alternatives: espírito em evolução ao longo de reencarnações (leitura Kardecista)
Original: ψυχή
Category: Anthropology
3 John 1:2. Must denote the reader’s present spiritual health and faithfulness in Christ in this life — never a soul’s progress or karmic trajectory across successive Kardecist reincarnations.
Stranger Guest
Approved rendering: estrangeiros / forasteiros
Transliteration: xenos
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: estranhos (historic Almeida rendering, but now colloquially reads primarily as ‘odd/weird’ in contemporary Brazilian Portuguese, a false-friend risk that would blunt the letter’s entire hospitality command)
Original: ξένος
Category: Hospitality
3 John 1:5. The letter’s core term for the doctrine of Hospitality to Traveling Ministers: personally unknown gospel workers who are the object of active welcome. Deliberate, flagged deviation from Almeida wording; pair with a translator note explaining the departure to reviewers formed in the Almeida tradition.
The Name
Approved rendering: o Nome
Transliteration: onoma
Doctrine: Christological Confession of the Name
Rejected alternatives: pela causa (generic paraphrase that erases the Christological referent), pela missão (same), o nome (lowercase, reads as a generic noun rather than a title)
Original: ὄνομα
Category: Christology
3 John 1:7. 3 John never names ‘Jesus’ or ‘Cristo’ directly; this is the letter’s sole Christological reference. Must always be capitalized as a title and, at first occurrence, paired with a teaching note making the referent to Christ’s authority explicit — otherwise the book’s only Christological confession disappears entirely, not merely weakens.
Love Preeminence
Approved rendering: que ama ser o primeiro / que busca a preeminência
Transliteration: philoprōteuō
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Rejected alternatives: líder autoritário (too generic; loses the specific pride-driven vice named)
Original: φιλοπρωτεύω
Category: Church Leadership
3 John 1:9. New Testament hapax legomenon naming Diotrephes’s specific ambition-driven vice, the polar opposite of John’s self-designation as merely ‘ancião’ (1:1). Must not be softened into neutral leadership-style description; pastorally sensitive given Brazil’s hierarchical Catholic clergy structures and pastor-centric neo-Pentecostal congregations.
Malicious Slander
Approved rendering: proferir palavras maliciosas / levantar falsas acusações
Transliteration: phlyareō
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Rejected alternatives: falar mal de nós / criticar-nos (too weak; understates baseless slander as mere disagreement)
Original: φλυαρέω
Category: Church Leadership
3 John 1:10. New Testament hapax legomenon for baseless, reckless accusation. A weak rendering would understate a leadership-abuse pattern: using rhetoric to entrench power and discredit a legitimate apostolic voice.
Cast Out Expel
Approved rendering: expulsar / lançar fora
Transliteration: ekballō
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Rejected alternatives: pede que se retirem / não os aceita mais (too mild; understates forcible, authoritarian expulsion)
Original: ἐκβάλλω
Category: Church Leadership
3 John 1:10. Same strong verb elsewhere used of exorcism (‘cast out demons’); describes forcible, authoritarian expulsion of dissenting members — a caution against authoritarian pastoral practice, pastorally urgent given documented cases in contemporary Brazilian church life.
See Know God
Approved rendering: ter visto a Deus / conhecer a Deus
Transliteration: horaō / heōraken
Doctrine: Knowledge of God Evidenced by Conduct
Rejected alternatives: ver a Deus (unqualified; risks a clairvoyant/mediumistic reading)
Original: ὁράω (ἑώρακεν)
Category: Ethics
3 John 1:11. Johannine idiom for relational, covenantal knowledge of God evidenced by conduct — not literal or extrasensory vision. Must explicitly foreclose a reading through Kardecist and Afro-Brazilian mediumistic traditions in which médiuns/videntes claim literal clairvoyant sight of spirits or the divine, a mainstream rather than fringe belief in Brazil.
Medium Risk Terms
Church
Approved rendering: igreja
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: a Igreja (institutional-hierarchical sense)
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church Leadership
[Inherited from Romans package] Distinguish the gathered local assembly from the capitalized institutional sense foregrounded in Catholic usage. In 3 John (1:6, 1:9, 1:10) this is the specific local congregation before whom Gaius’s love was testified and from which Diotrephes expels dissenters — keep the concrete, local, gathered-body sense visible in the Diotrephes narrative.
Peace
Approved rendering: paz
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: tranquilidade emocional
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package] Relational peace through justification, not merely inner calm. In 3 John 1:14 this is the closing epistolary benediction; retain the baseline’s relational-with-God resonance rather than reducing it to a bare social pleasantry.
Brothers
Approved rendering: irmão(s)
Transliteration: adelphos
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ἀδελφός
Category: Christian Fellowship
3 John 1:3, 1:5, 1:10. Traveling gospel ministers, fellow believers — not literal kin. Well reinforced by existing Brazilian Evangelical usage of ‘irmão/irmã.’ Keep clear in hospitality passages that these are itinerant ministers being received.
Testify
Approved rendering: testemunhar / dar testemunho
Transliteration: martyreō
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Original: μαρτυρέω
Category: Witness
3 John 1:3, 1:6, 1:12. ‘Testemunho’ is common and positive in Brazilian Evangelical culture but is also used for Kardecist/Umbanda mediumistic reports of spirit contact and is the specific self-designation of Jehovah’s Witnesses (‘Testemunhas de Jeová’). Context must always keep the referent (verifiable Christian character and conduct) unambiguous.
Walk Conduct
Approved rendering: andar (na verdade)
Transliteration: peripateō
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: περιπατέω
Category: Truth and Fellowship
3 John 1:3, 1:4. Idiomatic for manner of life; well attested in Portuguese Bible tradition (‘andar na verdade,’ ‘andar em novidade de vida’). Context resolves any momentary literal misreading as physical walking.
Children Spiritual
Approved rendering: filhos (espirituais)
Transliteration: teknon
Doctrine: Spiritual Fatherhood and Children in the Faith
Rejected alternatives: filhos-de-santo (Candomblé/Umbanda pai-de-santo/mãe-de-santo spiritual-parentage structure)
Original: τέκνον
Category: Christian Fellowship
3 John 1:4. John’s spiritual fatherhood over converts — a clear Johannine/Pauline metaphor. Must not be conflated with the baseline’s ‘adoption’ doctrine (believers’ adoption by God the Father, a related but distinct concept) nor with the Candomblé/Umbanda terreiro’s pai-de-santo/filho-de-santo authority relationship, which shares dangerously similar surface vocabulary.
Faithful
Approved rendering: fielmente / [obra] fiel
Transliteration: pistos
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: fé (saving faith — a distinct, Critical baseline Romans term)
Original: πιστός
Category: Hospitality
3 John 1:5. Gaius’s hospitality commended as an act of covenant faithfulness. Keep distinct from doctrinal ‘fé’ (baseline faith entry, High risk) — this is adjectival trustworthy conduct, not saving faith itself.
Send Forward
Approved rendering: enviar, provendo o necessário
Transliteration: propempō
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: enviar (single-word rendering loses the built-in sense of material provisioning)
Original: προπέμπω
Category: Hospitality
3 John 1:6. Technical missions-support term: to equip and send off a traveling minister with material support. Gloss further in teaching material as ‘equipar e enviar com provisão,’ distinguishing a simple farewell from active material support.
Gentile Outsider
Approved rendering: gentios
Transliteration: ethnikos
Doctrine: Financial Independence of Gospel Ministry
Rejected alternatives: pagãos (pejorative)
Original: ἐθνικός
Category: Church Leadership
3 John 1:7. Distinct Greek lexeme (ἐθνικός, not the Romans-underlying ἔθνη) denoting unbelieving outsiders in a fundraising/patronage context, not an ethnic category being welcomed into the gospel. Reuses ‘gentios’ for lexical consistency with the baseline gentiles entry, but requires a contextual note clarifying this verse is about protecting gospel ministers’ financial independence from ungodly patronage, not the Romans ‘no distinction’ unity theme.
Ought
Approved rendering: devemos
Transliteration: opheilō
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ὀφείλω
Category: Hospitality
3 John 1:8. Moral/relational obligation — hospitality to gospel workers is a debt believers owe, not discretionary generosity.
Receive Support
Approved rendering: receber / acolher (com apoio)
Transliteration: hypolambanō
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: receber (plain, risks reducing this to a polite greeting)
Original: ὑπολαμβάνω
Category: Hospitality
3 John 1:8. To take responsibility for someone’s material needs. Teaching notes should specify material/practical support, not mere polite welcome.
Fellow Worker
Approved rendering: cooperador(es)
Transliteration: synergos
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: colaborador meritório (risks a merit-earns-standing reading)
Original: συνεργός
Category: Hospitality
3 John 1:8. Active gospel partnership flowing from, not earning, faith — consistent with the baseline’s grace-versus-merit caution. Must not be read as meritorious collaboration accruing standing (cf. Kardecist ‘caridade’ as karmic merit-building, per comparative theology analysis).
Receive Welcome
Approved rendering: receber / acolher
Transliteration: epidechomai
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: ἐπιδέχομαι
Category: Church Leadership
3 John 1:9, 1:10. Same root concept as ὑπολαμβάνω but here negated by Diotrephes’s refusal — the letter’s central structural antithesis (Gaius’s welcome vs. Diotrephes’s refusal) must remain visible in translation.
Evil Wicked Adj
Approved rendering: maliciosas / perversas
Transliteration: ponēros
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: πονηρός
Category: Church Leadership
3 John 1:10. Qualifies Diotrephes’s words against John as malicious intent, not mere disagreement.
Hinder Prevent
Approved rendering: impedir / proibir
Transliteration: kōlyō
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: κωλύω
Category: Church Leadership
3 John 1:10. Active obstruction of others’ hospitality, not merely Diotrephes’s personal refusal.
Do Good
Approved rendering: praticar o bem
Transliteration: agathopoieō
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: ἀγαθοποιέω
Category: Ethics
3 John 1:11. Habitual good conduct as evidence of belonging to God, not a transactional key to unlocking blessing (a neo-Pentecostal instrumental-reading risk).
Do Evil
Approved rendering: praticar o mal
Transliteration: kakopoieō
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: κακοποιέω
Category: Ethics
3 John 1:11. Habitual evil conduct as evidence of not knowing God; preserve the binary, diagnostic force of the Johannine claim.
Testimony Noun
Approved rendering: testemunho
Transliteration: martyria
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Original: μαρτυρία
Category: Witness
3 John 1:12. Same crowded-neighborhood risk as ‘testemunhar’ (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ self-designation; Kardecist/Umbanda mediumistic testimony). The threefold witness structure (by all / by the truth itself / by John) must remain visible, contrasted with Diotrephes’s baseless slander in 1:10.
True Adj
Approved rendering: verdadeiro
Transliteration: alēthēs
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Original: ἀληθής
Category: Witness
3 John 1:12. Adjective form of ἀλήθεια, describing the reliability of John’s own testimony; keep the connection to the letter’s broader ‘verdade’ theme visible in teaching notes.
Face To Face
Approved rendering: face a face / pessoalmente
Transliteration: stoma pros stoma
Doctrine: Personal Fellowship and the Desire for Presence
Rejected alternatives: boca a boca (literal calque; collides with the unrelated, common Portuguese commercial idiom for word-of-mouth marketing/reputation)
Original: στόμα πρὸς στόμα
Category: Christian Fellowship
3 John 1:14. Hebraic/Greek idiom for direct, in-person conversation (cf. Num 12:8 LXX). Never render as the literal calque ‘boca a boca.‘
Friends
Approved rendering: amigos
Transliteration: philos
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: φίλος
Category: Christian Fellowship
3 John 1:14. Distinctively Johannine intimate designation for fellow believers (cf. John 15:14-15), not merely secular social friendship; the letter’s closing relational note.
Low Risk Terms
Gentiles
Approved rendering: gentios
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: pagãos (pejorative)
[Inherited from Romans package] Standard term. NOTE: 3 John 1:7 uses a related but distinct Greek word (ἐθνικός, not the Romans-underlying ἔθνη) in a functionally different sense — see the new entry ‘gentile_outsider’ below, which governs the 3 John 1:7 occurrence specifically and must not import Romans’ ‘no distinction’ unity doctrine into this verse’s financial-independence context.
Beloved
Approved rendering: amado
Transliteration: agapētos
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀγαπητός
Category: Christian Fellowship
Term of affection for a fellow believer, used of Gaius (1:1,2,5,11) and generically of believers. Standard, well-established rendering.
Love Verb
Approved rendering: amar
Transliteration: agapaō
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀγαπάω
Category: Christian Fellowship
Committed, self-giving love, grounded ‘in truth’ (1:1) rather than mere personal sentiment.
Rejoice
Approved rendering: alegrar-se / regozijar-se
Transliteration: chairō
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: χαίρω
Category: Christian Fellowship
3 John 1:3. Joy grounded in a specific, concrete cause (a report of Gaius’s faithfulness), not free-floating happiness.
Joy
Approved rendering: alegria
Transliteration: chara
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: χαρά
Category: Christian Fellowship
3 John 1:4. Noun form of χαίρω; the greatest possible joy for a spiritual father.
Work Verb
Approved rendering: fazer / realizar
Transliteration: ergazomai
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ἐργάζομαι
Category: Hospitality
3 John 1:5. Hospitality framed as active, concrete work, not passive tolerance.
Love Noun
Approved rendering: amor
Transliteration: agapē
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Christian Fellowship
3 John 1:6. Noun form of ἀγαπάω; Gaius’s love was reported and verified before the church.
Worthily
Approved rendering: dignamente / de modo digno
Transliteration: axiōs
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ἀξίως
Category: Hospitality
3 John 1:6. Conduct matching the honor of God himself; hospitality to gospel workers as an act of worship.
Diotrephes
Approved rendering: Diótrefes
Transliteration: Diotrephēs
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: Διοτρεφής
Category: Church Leadership
3 John 1:9. Proper name; standard Portuguese Bible transliteration.
Works Deeds
Approved rendering: obras
Transliteration: ergon
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: ἔργον
Category: Church Leadership
3 John 1:10. Diotrephes’s concrete pattern of misconduct, to be exposed.
Imitate
Approved rendering: imitar
Transliteration: mimeomai
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: μιμέομαι
Category: Ethics
3 John 1:11. Central ethical imperative of the letter; keep the imperative force (‘não imite… mas…’).
Evil Noun
Approved rendering: o mal
Transliteration: kakos
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Rejected alternatives: carma negativo (Kardecist karmic-debit reading)
Original: κακός
Category: Ethics
3 John 1:11. The negative model (Diotrephes). Must never be glossed with ‘carma’ — a present relational category, not karmic debit carried across reincarnations.
Good Noun
Approved rendering: o bem
Transliteration: agathos
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Rejected alternatives: mérito espiritual acumulável (Kardecist merit reading)
Original: ἀγαθός
Category: Ethics
3 John 1:11. The positive model (Demetrius, Gaius).
Demetrius
Approved rendering: Demétrio
Transliteration: Dēmētrios
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Original: Δημήτριος
Category: Witness
3 John 1:12. Proper name; standard Portuguese Bible transliteration.
Ink
Approved rendering: tinta
Transliteration: melan
Doctrine: Personal Fellowship and the Desire for Presence
Original: μέλαν
Category: Epistolary
3 John 1:13. Concrete epistolary detail; no doctrinal weight, retained for full-verse coverage.
Reed Pen
Approved rendering: pena
Transliteration: kalamos
Doctrine: Personal Fellowship and the Desire for Presence
Original: κάλαμος
Category: Epistolary
3 John 1:13. Concrete epistolary detail; no doctrinal weight, retained for full-verse coverage.
Hope
Approved rendering: espero
Transliteration: elpizō
Doctrine: Personal Fellowship and the Desire for Presence
Original: ἐλπίζω
Category: Christian Fellowship
3 John 1:14. Confident expectation of an in-person visit, not mere wishing.
Greet
Approved rendering: saudar
Transliteration: aspazomai
Doctrine: Personal Fellowship and the Desire for Presence
Original: ἀσπάζομαι
Category: Epistolary
3 John 1:14. Standard conventional epistolary closing formula.
Gaius
Approved rendering: Gaio
Transliteration: Gaios
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
3 John 1:1, 1:5. Proper name of the letter’s addressee, commended for hospitality; standard Portuguese Bible transliteration.
Referenced passages