Core Glossary
Core Glossary: 3 John (English–Romanian)
This glossary extends the baseline Romans translation_memory.json for the 3 John curriculum. Two entries are reused verbatim from the baseline (marked below) and must not be altered. All other entries are new terms specific to 3 John’s vocabulary and are proposed for addition to translation memory upon approval, following the version-increment procedure in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md.
Risk tiers follow the baseline’s doctrine_risk_registry.json definitions:
- Critical — mistranslation alters/destroys essential doctrine; human theologian review required for every occurrence.
- High — significant theological confusion/syncretism risk; human theologian review required.
- Medium — reduces clarity but preserves essential meaning; native speaker review recommended.
- Low — minor imprecision; automated review sufficient.
Glossary Table
| # | English Term | Greek (Transliteration) | Romanian Rendering | Risk | Doctrine Unit(s) | Rationale / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | elder | πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros) | prezbiterul | High | (author self-designation; underlies all units) | Collides with the Orthodox canonical clerical rank prezbiter/preot. Requires translator note distinguishing apostolic-era pastoral authority from the later sacramental priesthood order. Reject “Bătrânul” (loses office sense). |
| 2 | beloved (address) | ἀγαπητός (agapētos) | iubite / preaiubite | Low | Truth and Fellowship | Standard vocative epistolary address (vv.1,2,5,11). |
| 3 | to love | ἀγαπάω (agapaō) | a iubi | Medium | Truth and Fellowship | Ensure “love in truth” is not read as generic personal fondness apart from shared gospel conviction. |
| 4 | truth | ἀλήθεια (alētheia) | adevăr | High | Truth and Christian Fellowship; Commendation of Demetrius | Central term (6x). Risk of narrowing to institutional/dogmatic correctness guarded by Holy Tradition rather than the relational-and-behavioral gospel reality John intends. |
| 5 | to wish/pray | εὔχομαι (euchomai) | a se ruga / a-și dori | Low | — | Standard epistolary wish. |
| 6 | to prosper | εὐοδοῦσθαι (euodousthai) | a-i fi bine / a propăși | High | (v.2 greeting) | Well-known prosperity-gospel proof-text risk; requires explicit note that this is an epistolary well-wish subordinated to the soul’s flourishing, not a material-prosperity doctrine. |
| 7 | to be in health | ὑγιαίνω (hygiainō) | a fi sănătos | Low | (v.2 greeting) | Tied to prosperity-gospel caution above. |
| 8 | soul | ψυχή (psychē) | suflet | Low-Medium | (v.2) | Standard; avoid over-dualistic body/soul split. |
| 9 | to rejoice / joy | χαίρω / χαρά (chairō/chara) | a se bucura / bucurie | Low | Truth and Fellowship | Standard. |
| 10 | brother | ἀδελφός (adelphos) | frate / frați | Low | Hospitality; Truth and Fellowship | Load-bearing: hospitality is owed to “brothers” even when personally unknown (v.5). |
| 11 | to testify / testimony | μαρτυρέω / μαρτυρία (martyreō/martyria) | a mărturisi / mărturie | High | Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius); Truth and Fellowship | Shares root with martir/mucenic (martyr) — a devotionally central Orthodox category. Must be taught as ordinary character-testimony, not martyrdom. |
| 12 | to walk (conduct) | περιπατέω (peripateō) | a umbla (în adevăr) | Medium | Truth and Fellowship | Metaphor for habitual lifestyle, not a one-time act or purely internal state. |
| 13 | children (spiritual) | τέκνα (tekna) | copii | Medium | Truth and Fellowship | Distinguish from the baseline’s divine adoption (înfiere) doctrine — here the “father” is the human apostolic elder, not God. |
| 14 | faithful (of conduct) | πιστός (pistos) | credincios / (lucru) de mare credincioșie | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Distinct nuance from baseline’s faith (credință) — describes loyal, trustworthy conduct, not saving faith. |
| 15 | stranger | ξένος (xenos) | străin | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Social/relational category (unfamiliar traveler); must not be confused with baseline’s gentiles (neamuri) ethnic category. |
| 16 | love (noun) | ἀγάπη (agapē) | dragoste | Medium | Hospitality; Truth and Fellowship | ”Dragoste” carries romantic connotation colloquially; context must anchor it as covenantal, hospitality-expressed love. |
| 17 | church (local assembly) | ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) | Biserică | Medium | Church Leadership and Pride | REUSED FROM BASELINE — do not alter. Local congregation sense per baseline note. |
| 18 | to send on one’s way | προπέμπω (propempō) | a-i trimite mai departe (pregătiți pentru drum) | High | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Implies concrete material provisioning for travel, not mere farewell. |
| 19 | worthily | ἀξίως (axiōs) | vrednic de Dumnezeu | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Hospitality measured against God’s own honor, not social custom alone. |
| 20 | the Name | ὄνομα (onoma) | Numele | Medium | Hospitality; Truth and Fellowship | Refers specifically to Christ’s Name/person/authority (cf. baseline lord/Iisus); preserve capitalization. |
| 21 | Gentiles / pagans (unbelieving outsiders) | ἐθνικός (ethnikos) | păgâni | High | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | DIFFERENT Greek word/referent from Romans’ ἔθνη→“neamuri.” Do not collapse with baseline’s inclusive Gentile terminology; here a legitimately negative sense (unbelieving outsiders) applies. |
| 22 | to be obligated | ὀφείλω (opheilō) | a fi datori / trebuie | Low | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Frames hospitality as duty. |
| 23 | to support/receive | ὑπολαμβάνω (hypolambanō) | a sprijini / a susține | High | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Practical, material hosting; distinguish from ἐπιδέχομαι’s welcome/acceptance sense. |
| 24 | fellow worker | συνεργός (synergos) | împreună-lucrător | Low | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Standard compound term. |
| 25 | loves to be first | φιλοπρωτεύω (philoprōteuō) | cel căruia îi place să aibă întâietate / iubitor de întâietate | Critical | Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes) | NT hapax. Root “întâietate” parallels the Orthodox title întâistătător (presiding bishop/primate). Must render descriptively as vice/character flaw; never with a title-cognate that could read as commentary on legitimate ecclesiastical primacy. |
| 26 | to receive/welcome | ἐπιδέχομαι (epidechomai) | a primi | High | Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes) | Refusal = rejection of apostolic/pastoral authority, not mere social unfriendliness. |
| 27 | to remind | ὑπομιμνήσκω (hypomimnēskō) | a aduce aminte / a aminti | Low | Church Leadership and Pride | Standard. |
| 28 | works/deeds (behavioral) | ἔργα (erga) | fapte | Medium | Church Leadership and Pride | Behavioral conduct category; must not be collapsed with Romans’ soteriological “works of the law.” |
| 29 | wicked (words) | πονηρός (ponēros) | rele / viclene | Medium | Church Leadership and Pride | Malicious moral quality of Diotrephes’ speech. |
| 30 | to gossip maliciously | φλυαρέω (phlyareō) | a vorbi de rău / a bârfi cu vorbe deșarte | Medium | Church Leadership and Pride | Targeted slander, not innocuous chatter. |
| 31 | to be content | ἀρκέω (arkeō) | a se mulțumi cu atât | Low | Church Leadership and Pride | Marks escalation of Diotrephes’ sin. |
| 32 | to hinder | κωλύω (kōlyō) | a opri / a împiedica | Medium | Church Leadership and Pride | Active obstruction of others’ hospitality. |
| 33 | to cast out | ἐκβάλλω (ekballō) | a da afară / a exclude / a scoate din biserică | High | Church Leadership and Pride | Unauthorized, pride-driven expulsion; contrast with legitimate church discipline exercised in humility and truth. |
| 34 | to imitate | μιμέομαι (mimeomai) | a imita | Medium | Imitating Good rather than Evil | Patterned conduct after observed models (Demetrius vs. Diotrephes); note connection to baseline’s grace Critical entry to avoid a pure self-effort reading. |
| 35 | good / evil | ἀγαθός / κακός (agathos/kakos) | bun / rău | Medium | Imitating Good rather than Evil | Central ethical binary of v.11. |
| 36 | to do good / to do evil | ἀγαθοποιέω / κακοποιέω (agathopoieō/kakopoieō) | a face bine / a face rău | High | Imitating Good rather than Evil | ”Has not seen God” clause risks a works-based-salvation misreading; must teach as evidentiary, not causative, alongside Romans’ grace/justification doctrines. |
| 37 | true | ἀληθής (alēthēs) | adevărat | Low-Medium | Commendation of Faithful Witness; Truth and Fellowship | Tied to ἀλήθεια; same institutional-narrowing caution at lower intensity. |
| 38 | to hope | ἐλπίζω (elpizō) | a spera | Low | Truth and Fellowship (closing) | Confident expectation, not wishful thinking. |
| 39 | face to face (idiom) | στόμα πρὸς στόμα (stoma pros stoma) | față în față | Low | Truth and Fellowship (closing) | Idiom; do not translate literally (“gură la gură”). |
| 40 | peace | εἰρήνη (eirēnē) | pace | Medium | Truth and Fellowship (closing) | REUSED FROM BASELINE — do not alter. |
| 41 | to greet | ἀσπάζομαι (aspazomai) | a saluta / a trimite salutări | Low | Truth and Fellowship (closing) | Standard closing convention. |
| 42 | friend | φίλος (philos) | prieten / prieteni | Low | Truth and Christian Fellowship | Warm synonym for the believing community alongside “brothers” and “beloved”; conceptually linked to baseline’s fellowship (părtășie), though κοινωνία itself does not occur in 3 John. |
Proper Names
| English Name | Greek | Romanian Rendering | Risk | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaius | Γάϊος (Gaios) | Gaiu | Low | Established Romanian Bible form (no final -s, matching pattern of e.g. Pavel). |
| Diotrephes | Διοτρέφης (Diotrephēs) | Diotref | Low | Established Romanian Bible form; negative figure, no cultural-veneration collision. |
| Demetrius | Δημήτριος (Dēmētrios) | Dimitrie | High | Named-entity/cultural-collision risk (not a lexical-doctrine risk): shares the name of Sfântul Mare Mucenic Dimitrie, one of Romanian Orthodoxy’s most venerated martyr-saints. Requires an explicit note that the epistle’s Demetrius is an unrelated, otherwise-unknown first-century layperson, to prevent readers from importing that saint’s hagiography onto the text. |
Risk Summary
| Risk Tier | Count | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 1 | Human theologian (mandatory) |
| High | 12 | Human theologian (mandatory) |
| Medium | 17 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 15 | Automated review sufficient |
| Total terms cataloged | 45 | (42 glossary terms + 3 proper names) |
Cross-Reference to Baseline Translation Memory
The following 3 John terms must reuse baseline renderings exactly, per the hard rule that established terms are non-negotiable:
- ἐκκλησία → Biserică (Medium)
- εἰρήνη → pace (Medium)
The following 3 John terms are new and must be proposed for addition to translation_memory.json (with version increment) before Phase 2 processing begins, per the procedure in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md:
- All 42 numbered glossary entries above except #17 (ἐκκλησία) and #40 (εἰρήνη).
Special cross-document consistency flag: ἐθνικός → păgâni (3 John 1:7) must be documented as textually distinct from ἔθνη → neamuri (Romans baseline) to prevent term-confusion during Phase 2 batch processing, since both ultimately derive from concepts around “the nations” but carry opposite valence in these two books.
Critical Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: har
Transliteration: charis
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: favoare doar în sens legal, fără nicio participare reală a credinciosului
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE, unaltered. Relevant to 3 John because the core glossary and linguistic gap analysis flag μιμέομαι (v.11, ‘a imita’) and ἀγαθοποιέω/κακοποιέω (v.11) as requiring explicit connection to this Critical entry, so that 3 John’s ethical exhortation to imitate good is never read as pure self-effort divorced from grace, nor as a works-earns-standing doctrine contradicting Romans.
Justification
Approved rendering: îndreptățire
Transliteration: dikaiōsis
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: transformare treptată exclusiv, fără niciun aspect de declarație
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE, unaltered. Relevant to 3 John because ἔργα (v.10, ‘fapte’) and ἀγαθοποιέω/κακοποιέω (v.11) must be explicitly distinguished from this Critical soteriological category so that 3 John’s behavioral ‘works’ language is not collapsed into Romans’ justification-by-faith-apart-from-works argument.
Loves To Be First
Approved rendering: cel căruia îi place să aibă întâietate / iubitor de întâietate
Transliteration: philoprōteuō
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Rejected alternatives: orice termen-titlu derivat din ‘întâistătător’ (funcția legitimă de mitropolit/primat ortodox)
Original: φιλοπρωτεύω
Category: Church Leadership
NEW TERM, CRITICAL. NT hapax legomenon (v.9) describing Diotrephes’ core sin: ambition for preeminence. The abstract root ‘întâietate’ directly parallels the technical Orthodox ecclesiastical title ‘întâistătător’ (a presiding bishop/primate). Must be rendered strictly descriptively as a personal vice, NEVER with a title-cognate term. Mandatory human theologian review on every occurrence.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: credință
Transliteration: pistis
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: evlavie religioasă generală
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE, unaltered. Relevant to 3 John because πιστός (v.5, ‘credincios/faithful conduct’) is a distinct nuance — faithful, loyal conduct toward brothers — that must not be conflated with this baseline entry’s sense of personal saving trust in Christ.
Elder
Approved rendering: prezbiterul
Transliteration: presbyteros
Doctrine: Apostolic and Pastoral Authority
Rejected alternatives: Bătrânul (too generic; loses the office/authority sense entirely)
Original: πρεσβύτερος
Category: Ministry
NEW TERM. The author’s self-designation (v.1), carrying pastoral and apostolic-derived authority over multiple congregations. Collides with the formal Orthodox canonical clerical rank ‘prezbiter’ (= preot, second of the three holy orders diacon-prezbiter-episcop). Requires a mandatory translator note on every occurrence distinguishing an apostolic-era, itinerant-pastoral figure of trans-local authority from the settled parish priesthood, without denying terminological continuity. This term frames the reader’s understanding of Diotrephes’ refusal to receive the elder’s messengers (vv.9-10).
Truth
Approved rendering: adevăr
Transliteration: alētheia
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: adevăr redus exclusiv la corectitudine dogmatică instituțională, păzită de Sfânta Tradiție
Original: ἀλήθεια
Category: Truth
NEW TERM. Programmatic term occurring 6x in the letter (vv.1, 3, 4, 8, 12). Orthodox readers may default to ‘adevăr’ as primarily correct dogma safeguarded by the institutional Church. 3 John’s ἀλήθεια is relational and behavioral (‘a umbla în adevăr’) as much as propositional; both dimensions must be retained. Consistently pair with the behavioral collocation to prevent narrowing.
Prosper
Approved rendering: a-i fi bine (în toate) / a propăși
Transliteration: euodousthai
Doctrine: Spiritual Prosperity and Wellbeing
Rejected alternatives: garanție doctrinară a prosperității materiale sau a vindecării fizice (citire de evanghelie a prosperității)
Original: εὐοδοῦσθαι
Category: Wellbeing
NEW TERM. 3 John 1:2 is a well-known ‘proof text’ cited in prosperity-gospel (health-and-wealth) teaching in some Romanian Evangelical/Pentecostal circles. Requires a mandatory teaching note: this is a personal epistolary well-wish deliberately subordinated to the soul’s flourishing (‘precum propășește sufletul tău’), not a doctrinal guarantee of material prosperity.
Testify Testimony
Approved rendering: a mărturisi / mărturie
Transliteration: martyreō / martyria
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Rejected alternatives: mărturie mucenicească / martiriu (asociere cu mucenici venerați liturgic)
Original: μαρτυρέω / μαρτυρία
Category: Witness
NEW TERM. Occurs at vv.3, 6, 12. Shares a root with ‘martir/mucenic’ (martyr), a category of immense devotional and liturgical weight in Romanian Orthodoxy. Must be taught clearly as ordinary verbal commendation/character testimony, never as martyrdom-adjacent language, in every occurrence.
Send On Way
Approved rendering: a-i trimite mai departe (pregătiți pentru drum) / a-i ajuta să pornească la drum
Transliteration: propempō
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: simplă urare de bun-rămas, fără sprijin material concret
Original: προπέμπω
Category: Hospitality
NEW TERM. The concrete, material aspect of hospitality (v.6): funding, provisions, and companionship for onward travel. No single Romanian verb carries the compound sense; must not be flattened into a verbal farewell.
Gentiles Pagans
Approved rendering: păgâni
Transliteration: ethnikos
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: neamuri (reserved for the baseline’s inclusive ἔθνη rendering; would wrongly harmonize two distinct Greek words)
Original: ἐθνικός
Category: Hospitality
NEW TERM. Unbelieving outsiders (v.7) whose money the missionaries deliberately refused. DIFFERENT Greek word from Romans’ ἔθνη (‘neamuri’); here ἐθνικός legitimately carries a negative/exclusionary sense, so ‘păgâni’ is textually appropriate — but must never be harmonized with ‘neamuri’ during batch processing.
Support Receive
Approved rendering: a sprijini / a susține
Transliteration: hypolambanō
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: a primi (too weak; reserved for ἐπιδέχομαι’s welcome/acceptance sense)
Original: ὑπολαμβάνω
Category: Hospitality
NEW TERM. The practical, material dimension of hospitality (v.8) — hosting and provisioning, not merely a friendly greeting. Distinguish consistently from ἐπιδέχομαι (‘a primi’).
Receive Welcome
Approved rendering: a primi
Transliteration: epidechomai
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: ἐπιδέχομαι
Category: Church Leadership
NEW TERM. Diotrephes’ refusal to receive John’s authoritative messengers (v.9) and the traveling brothers (v.10) is rejection of legitimate apostolic/pastoral authority and fellow believers, not simple social unfriendliness.
Cast Out
Approved rendering: a da afară / a exclude / a scoate din biserică
Transliteration: ekballō
Doctrine: Unauthorized Church Discipline and Excommunication
Rejected alternatives: afurisenie / excomunicare (formal canonical term that would wrongly imply legitimacy)
Original: ἐκβάλλω
Category: Church Leadership
NEW TERM. Diotrephes unilaterally expels faithful believers from the local assembly out of personal pride (v.10). Must retain the severity of unauthorized, pride-driven expulsion, sharply contrasted with legitimate church discipline exercised in humility under recognized canonical authority.
Do Good Do Evil
Approved rendering: a face bine / a face rău
Transliteration: agathopoieō / kakopoieō
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Rejected alternatives: citire cauzativă în care mântuirea este câștigată prin fapte bune
Original: ἀγαθοποιέω / κακοποιέω
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM. ‘Has not seen God’ (v.11) risks being read as a works-based salvation criterion, especially resonant given the Orthodox emphasis on synergistic fapte bune contributing to theosis. Must be taught as evidentiary, not causative, alongside the baseline’s grace/justification Critical doctrines.
Demetrius
Approved rendering: Dimitrie
Transliteration: Dēmētrios
Doctrine: Proper Name; Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Original: Δημήτριος
Category: Proper Name
NEW TERM (proper name). A faithful witness commended by John and ‘the truth itself’ (v.12). Named-entity/cultural-collision risk: shares the name of Sfântul Mare Mucenic Dimitrie, one of the most venerated martyr-saints in Romanian Orthodoxy. Requires an explicit disambiguation note at every occurrence that the epistle’s Demetrius is a distinct, otherwise-unknown first-century layperson.
Medium Risk Terms
Church
Approved rendering: Biserică
Transliteration: ekklēsia
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: Biserica ca singura instituție vizibilă legitimă, în sens exclusivist
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE, unaltered. REUSED EXACTLY for ἐκκλησία in 3 John 1:9-10 (the local congregation to which John wrote, and from which Diotrephes expels believers). Do not alter this rendering.
Peace
Approved rendering: pace
Transliteration: eirēnē
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Fellowship
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE, unaltered. REUSED EXACTLY for εἰρήνη in 3 John 1:14’s closing benediction. Do not alter this rendering.
Adoption
Approved rendering: înfiere
Transliteration: huiothesia
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE, unaltered. Relevant to 3 John because τέκνα (v.4, ‘copii,’ John’s spiritual children) must be explicitly distinguished from this baseline doctrine of divine adoption as sons of God the Father — in 3 John the ‘father’ figure is the human apostolic elder, not God.
Love Verb
Approved rendering: a iubi
Transliteration: agapaō
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: afecțiune personală generică, detașată de o convingere comună a evangheliei
Original: ἀγαπάω
Category: Faith
NEW TERM. John’s love for Gaius is qualified ‘in truth’ — grounded in shared gospel conviction. Ensure ‘îl iubesc în adevăr’ (v.1) is not read as generic personal fondness.
Soul
Approved rendering: suflet
Transliteration: psychē
Doctrine: Spiritual Prosperity and Wellbeing
Original: ψυχή
Category: Anthropology
NEW TERM. The seat of Gaius’s spiritual condition (v.2), distinct from and prior to his physical/material welfare. Ensure a holistic, not over-dualistic body-vs-soul-only, reading.
Walk Conduct
Approved rendering: a umbla (în adevăr)
Transliteration: peripateō
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: περιπατέω
Category: Truth
NEW TERM. Metaphor for habitual lifestyle shaped by the gospel (vv.3-4), not a one-time act or purely internal/mystical state.
Children Spiritual
Approved rendering: copii
Transliteration: tekna
Doctrine: Spiritual Fatherhood and Pastoral Care
Rejected alternatives: copii ai lui Dumnezeu prin înfiere divină (categorie confundabilă cu Romani 8)
Original: τέκνα
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM. John’s converts/disciples (v.4), a pastoral-affection term. Must not be conflated with the baseline’s divine adoption (înfiere) doctrine — here the ‘father’ figure is the human apostolic elder, not God.
Faithful Conduct
Approved rendering: credincios / (lucru) de mare credincioșie
Transliteration: pistos
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: credință mântuitoare personală (confuzie cu termenul baseline ‘credință’)
Original: πιστός
Category: Hospitality
NEW TERM. Describes the trustworthy, loyal character of Gaius’s hospitality-action (v.5), not saving faith per se. Distinct nuance from the baseline’s faith (credință) entry; flag to prevent conflation.
Stranger
Approved rendering: străin
Transliteration: xenos
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: categorie etnică (confuzie cu ‘neamuri’)
Original: ξένος
Category: Hospitality
NEW TERM. Traveling gospel workers personally unknown to Gaius (v.5), yet embraced as family. A social/relational category, not an ethnic category; must not be confused with the baseline’s gentiles (neamuri).
Love Noun
Approved rendering: dragoste
Transliteration: agapē
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers; Truth and Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: dragoste romantică/sentimentală
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Hospitality
NEW TERM. Gaius’s love, visible and reportable, expressed concretely as material hospitality (v.6). ‘Dragoste’ carries romantic connotations in colloquial modern Romanian; context must anchor it as covenantal, hospitality-expressed love.
Worthily
Approved rendering: vrednic de Dumnezeu / așa cum se cade înaintea lui Dumnezeu
Transliteration: axiōs
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ἀξίως
Category: Hospitality
NEW TERM. Ties hospitality practice explicitly to God’s honor (v.6), not social etiquette alone.
The Name
Approved rendering: Numele
Transliteration: onoma
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers; Truth and Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: nume generic sau formulă magică
Original: ὄνομα
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Refers by metonymy specifically to Christ’s person, authority, and reputation (v.7). 3 John itself never uses ‘Iisus’ or ‘Hristos’ as lexical strings; preserve the metonymy and capitalization. Do not insert the proper name the source text withholds.
Works Deeds
Approved rendering: fapte
Transliteration: erga
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Rejected alternatives: faptele legii (categoria soteriologică din argumentul îndreptățirii din Romani 3-4)
Original: ἔργα
Category: Church Leadership
NEW TERM. Diotrephes’ pattern of destructive behavior (v.10) — a behavioral/conduct category, not the soteriological ‘works of the law’ category. Avoid unintended cross-reference collapse with the baseline’s grace/justification Critical entries.
Wicked
Approved rendering: rele / viclene
Transliteration: ponēros
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: πονηρός
Category: Church Leadership
NEW TERM. Describes the malicious character of Diotrephes’ slanderous speech (v.10).
Gossip Maliciously
Approved rendering: a vorbi de rău / a bârfi cu vorbe deșarte
Transliteration: phlyareō
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Rejected alternatives: bârfă nevinovată / vorbărie fără conținut
Original: φλυαρέω
Category: Church Leadership
NEW TERM. Diotrephes actively spreads false, malicious accusations (v.10) — targeted slander, not innocuous chatter.
Hinder
Approved rendering: a opri / a împiedica
Transliteration: kōlyō
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: κωλύω
Category: Church Leadership
NEW TERM. Diotrephes actively prevents other members from extending hospitality to traveling brothers (v.10) — an abuse of local influence against the church’s mission.
Imitate
Approved rendering: a imita
Transliteration: mimeomai
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: μιμέομαι
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM. The letter’s central ethical charge (v.11): Gaius must choose which model — Demetrius or Diotrephes — to imitate. Note connection to the baseline’s grace Critical entry so imitation is not read as pure self-effort divorced from grace.
Good Evil
Approved rendering: bun / rău
Transliteration: agathos / kakos
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: ἀγαθός / κακός
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM. The stark moral binary framing v.11’s ethical exhortation.
True
Approved rendering: adevărat
Transliteration: alēthēs
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius); Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀληθής
Category: Witness
NEW TERM. John’s testimony about Demetrius is reliable and verifiable (v.12), not mere flattery. Tied to ἀλήθεια; same institutional/propositional-narrowing caution applies at lower intensity.
Low Risk Terms
Gentiles
Approved rendering: neamuri
Transliteration: ethnē
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: păgâni (pejorative)
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE, unaltered. CRITICAL CROSS-DOCUMENT FLAG: 3 John 1:7 uses a DIFFERENT Greek word, ἐθνικός (rendered ‘păgâni’ — see gentiles_pagans below), for unbelieving outsiders in a legitimately negative sense. Do NOT harmonize ‘neamuri’ and ‘păgâni’ toward each other during batch processing; they render different Greek words with opposite valence.
Apostle
Approved rendering: apostol
Transliteration: apostolos
Doctrine: Apostleship
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE, unaltered. Relevant background for 3 John’s ‘Apostolic and Pastoral Authority’ doctrine unit: John identifies himself as ‘ho presbyteros’ (elder), not ‘apostolos,’ but exercises apostolic-derived, trans-local authority that Diotrephes rejects (vv.9-10). Do not substitute ‘apostol’ for ‘elder’ in 3 John 1:1 — see ‘elder’ entry below.
Beloved
Approved rendering: iubite / preaiubite
Transliteration: agapētos
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀγαπητός
Category: Fellowship
NEW TERM. Standard vocative address form recurring at vv.1, 2, 5, 11; well established in Romanian Bible tradition.
Pray Wish
Approved rendering: a se ruga / a-și dori
Transliteration: euchomai
Doctrine: Spiritual Prosperity and Wellbeing
Original: εὔχομαι
Category: Faith
NEW TERM. Conventional ancient-letter health-and-welfare wish-prayer (v.2), adapted by John into a spiritual frame.
Health
Approved rendering: a fi sănătos
Transliteration: hygiainō
Doctrine: Spiritual Prosperity and Wellbeing
Original: ὑγιαίνω
Category: Wellbeing
NEW TERM. Physical health wish (v.2), tied to the prosperity-gospel caution documented under ‘prosper.‘
Rejoice Joy
Approved rendering: a se bucura / bucurie
Transliteration: chairō / chara
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: χαίρω / χαρά
Category: Fellowship
NEW TERM. The pastor’s joy at good report of a fellow believer’s faithfulness (vv.3-4).
Brother
Approved rendering: frate / frați
Transliteration: adelphos
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ἀδελφός
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Load-bearing for the hospitality doctrine: hospitality is owed to ‘brothers’ even when personally unknown (v.5).
Obligated
Approved rendering: a fi datori / trebuie
Transliteration: opheilō
Doctrine: Duty of Material Support for Gospel Workers
Original: ὀφείλω
Category: Hospitality
NEW TERM. Hospitality to gospel workers is framed as a positive duty, not an optional kindness (v.8).
Fellow Worker
Approved rendering: împreună-lucrător
Transliteration: synergos
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: συνεργός
Category: Hospitality
NEW TERM. Hosting traveling ministers makes the host an active participant in the gospel mission (v.8), not a passive bystander. Standard Romanian Bible compound term.
Remind
Approved rendering: a aduce aminte / a aminti
Transliteration: hypomimnēskō
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: ὑπομιμνήσκω
Category: Church Leadership
NEW TERM. John’s intent to confront Diotrephes publicly upon arrival (v.10), using the accumulated record of his actions.
Content
Approved rendering: a se mulțumi cu atât
Transliteration: arkeō
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: ἀρκέω
Category: Church Leadership
NEW TERM. Marks Diotrephes’ escalation beyond slander into active obstruction (v.10).
Hope
Approved rendering: a spera
Transliteration: elpizō
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἐλπίζω
Category: Fellowship
NEW TERM. Confident expectation of a future, personal, embodied reunion (v.14), not mere wishful thinking.
Face To Face
Approved rendering: față în față
Transliteration: stoma pros stoma
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: gură la gură (traducere literală care sugerează o imagine nepotrivită în română)
Original: στόμα πρὸς στόμα
Category: Fellowship
NEW TERM. Idiom (v.14) for direct, personal, unmediated conversation, emphasizing fellowship over written correspondence. Must render by natural Romanian equivalent, never literally.
Greet
Approved rendering: a saluta / a trimite salutări
Transliteration: aspazomai
Doctrine: Epistolary Greeting and Closing Conventions
Original: ἀσπάζομαι
Category: Fellowship
NEW TERM. Standard closing greeting convention (v.14).
Friend
Approved rendering: prieten / prieteni
Transliteration: philos
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: φίλος
Category: Fellowship
NEW TERM. Warm, informal synonym for the believing community (v.14) alongside ‘brothers’ and ‘beloved’; conceptually linked to the baseline’s fellowship (părtășie) term, though κοινωνία itself does not occur in 3 John.
Gaius
Approved rendering: Gaiu
Transliteration: Gaios
Doctrine: Proper Name
Original: Γάϊος
Category: Proper Name
NEW TERM (proper name). The letter’s recipient, a hospitable believer commended by John. Established Romanian Bible form (no final -s, matching e.g. Pavel); no cultural-collision risk.
Diotrephes
Approved rendering: Diotref
Transliteration: Diotrephēs
Doctrine: Proper Name
Original: Διοτρέφης
Category: Proper Name
NEW TERM (proper name). The proud, obstructive local figure warned against in vv.9-10. Established Romanian Bible form; negative figure, no cultural-veneration collision.
Referenced passages