Semantic Analysis
07 Semantic Analysis — 3 John (Koine Greek)
Book Overview
3 John is a single-chapter, 14-verse personal letter from “the elder” (traditionally the Apostle John) to Gaius, a member of a house church, commending his hospitality toward traveling gospel workers, contrasting him with the domineering Diotrephes, and commending Demetrius. Because the entire book is one chapter, the core passage (3 John 1:1–14) IS the whole book. This document therefore gives verse-by-verse treatment to the entire text, which simultaneously satisfies the full-book chapter-by-chapter coverage mandate. A book-level coverage confirmation follows the verse-by-verse section.
Five curriculum doctrines anchor the analysis:
- Hospitality to Traveling Ministers (vv. 5–8)
- Imitating Good rather than Evil (v. 11)
- Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes) (vv. 9–10)
- Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius) (v. 12)
- Truth and Christian Fellowship (vv. 1, 3, 4, 8, 12; also φίλος/ἀδελφός throughout)
Baseline Romans terms reused without modification per project rule: θεός → Đức Chúa Trời (Critical), ἐκκλησία → Hội Thánh (Medium), εἰρήνη → sự bình an (Medium).
Core Passage Verse-by-Verse Analysis (3 John 1:1–14)
Verse 1
Greek: Ὁ πρεσβύτερος Γαΐῳ τῷ ἀγαπητῷ, ὃν ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ. English sense: “The elder, to Gaius the beloved, whom I love in truth.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | VN rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| πρεσβύτερος | presbyteros | ”older man, elder” | age-seniority; church office-bearer; here self-designation of apostolic authority | elder, presbyter | John identifies himself not by apostolic title but by pastoral relational authority — a shepherd’s self-designation, not a boast of rank | trưởng lão | Medium |
| ἀγαπητός | agapētos | ”beloved, dearly loved” | one loved with agapē-love; term of pastoral affection | beloved, dear | Marks Gaius as personally, deeply loved within the fellowship of truth, not merely a polite salutation | yêu dấu | Low-Medium |
| ἀγαπῶ (ἀγαπάω) | agapō | ”I love” | committed, self-giving love; distinct from erotic or merely affectionate love | love | The elder’s love for Gaius is itself grounded “in truth” — love and truth are inseparable in this letter | yêu thương | Medium |
| ἀλήθεια | alētheia | ”truth, reality” | correspondence to reality; the gospel message; a relational sphere in which one lives | truth, reality | Truth here is the shared gospel-reality that binds elder and Gaius together — not private feeling and not abstract philosophy | lẽ thật | High — see Glossary note; must not be rendered “chân lý” (the Buddhist term for the Four Noble Truths / enlightenment-attained ultimate reality). “Lẽ thật” is the settled Vietnamese Protestant term conveying truth as personally revealed and lived, not truth attained through meditative insight. |
Verse 2
Greek: περὶ πάντων εὔχομαί σε εὐοδοῦσθαι καὶ ὑγιαίνειν, καθὼς εὐοδοῦταί σου ἡ ψυχή. English sense: “I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | VN rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| εὔχομαι | euchomai | ”I wish, I pray” | a heartfelt wish; a form of prayer/benediction | pray, wish | An epistolary prayer-wish for holistic well-being, not a formal liturgical intercession | cầu nguyện | Low |
| εὐοδοῦσθαι (εὐοδόω) | euodousthai | ”to have a good journey, to prosper” | success in an undertaking; general well-being; (later) material prosperity | prosper, go well, succeed | Physical/circumstantial well-being is wished for, but explicitly measured against, and secondary to, spiritual health | được thịnh vượng | Medium — flag: must not be taught as a promise of material wealth (prosperity-gospel risk); the verse’s own logic subordinates outward prosperity to the soul’s condition |
| ὑγιαίνω | hygiainō | ”to be healthy, sound” | physical health; (metaphor) sound doctrine | be in health, be well | Ordinary physical health, paired with but not equated to spiritual health | được mạnh khỏe | Low |
| ψυχή | psychē | ”soul, inner life” | the seat of a person’s inner/spiritual life; the whole self; (rarely) mere physical life | soul, life, self | The true measure of Gaius’s condition — his inner, spiritual state before God | linh hồn | Medium — settled Vietnamese Christian term, but teachers should note it names a personal, morally accountable inner life continuous with the person after death, not the transmigrating entity of Vietnamese folk/Buddhist rebirth belief |
Verse 3
Greek: ἐχάρην γὰρ λίαν ἐρχομένων ἀδελφῶν καὶ μαρτυρούντων σου τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, καθὼς σὺ ἐν ἀληθεί�ᾳ περιπατεῖς. English sense: “For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, just as you walk in truth.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | VN rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| χαίρω (ἐχάρην) | echarēn | ”I rejoiced” | joy, gladness | rejoiced, was glad | Pastoral joy at hearing good news of a fellow believer’s faithfulness | vui mừng | Low |
| ἀδελφός | adelphos | ”brother” | biological brother; fellow believer (fictive kinship); here, itinerant gospel workers | brothers, brethren | The traveling ministers are “brothers” — members of the same spiritual family, grounding the hospitality obligation in kinship, not mere social courtesy | anh em | Medium — must retain the kinship/fellowship weight; a generic “người” (person/people) would flatten the family bond the doctrine of hospitality depends on |
| μαρτυρέω | martyreō | ”to testify, bear witness” | formal testimony; character reference; witnessing to truth | testify, witness, bear witness | The visiting brothers gave eyewitness testimony/character-reference of Gaius’s faithful walk — a form of public accountability within the church network | làm chứng | Medium |
| ἀλήθεια | alētheia | (see v.1) | — | truth | Gaius’s “truth” here = his faithful, truthful manner of life, evidenced concretely, not merely professed | lẽ thật | High (see v.1) |
| περιπατέω | peripateō | ”to walk” | literal walking; (metaphor) manner of life, conduct | walk, live, conduct oneself | Fixed biblical idiom “walk in truth” = a whole manner of life shaped by and consistent with the gospel, not occasional truthful statements | làm theo lẽ thật (idiom); verb: sống/bước đi | Medium — must be rendered as an ongoing lived pattern, not one-time ritual correctness (risk of collapsing into Confucian external ritual propriety rather than internalized gospel life) |
Verse 4
Greek: μειζοτέραν τούτων οὐκ ἔχω χαράν, ἵνα ἀκούω τὰ ἐμὰ τέκνα ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ περιπατοῦντα. English sense: “I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | VN rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| χαρά | chara | ”joy” | gladness, delight | joy | Superlative pastoral joy — the highest joy a spiritual father/elder can have | sự vui mừng | Low |
| τέκνον | teknon | ”child” | biological child; spiritual child/convert | children | Gaius (and others) are the elder’s spiritual children — pastoral, not biological, fatherhood language | con cái (thuộc linh) | Low-Medium |
| ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ περιπατοῦντα | — | “walking in the truth” | — | — | Repetition of v.3’s idiom, reinforcing truth as a governing manner of life across the letter | làm theo lẽ thật | High (see v.1) |
Verse 5
Greek: Ἀγαπητέ, πιστὸν ποιεῖς ὃ ἐὰν ἐργάσῃ εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τοῦτο ξένους. English sense: “Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you do for the brothers, especially strangers.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | VN rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀγαπητέ | agapēte | (vocative) “beloved!“ | direct address of affection | beloved | Direct pastoral address opening the hospitality exhortation | Anh yêu dấu (address) | Low-Medium |
| πιστός | pistos | ”faithful, trustworthy” | reliability; faithfulness in action, not mere belief | faithful | Gaius’s hospitality itself is an act of faithfulness — practical faithfulness flowing from, but distinct from, saving faith (πίστις) | trung tín | Medium — do not conflate with đức tin (baseline “faith”); this is faithful conduct, the fruit of faith |
| ἐργάζομαι | ergazomai | ”to work, do, perform” | general activity/labor | do, work, perform | Concrete, active service — hospitality as deed, not sentiment | làm, thực hiện | Low |
| ξένος | xenos | ”stranger, foreigner” | one unknown/unrelated; a guest; a foreigner | stranger, guest | The itinerant missionaries are strangers with no natural claim on Gaius — his welcome is gospel-motivated hospitality, not obligation to kin | khách lạ | High — anchor term for Hospitality to Traveling Ministers doctrine; risk that Vietnamese cultural hospitality norms (hiếu khách) could be read as the reason for the welcome rather than shared gospel partnership (v.8) |
Verse 6
Greek: οἵ ἐμαρτύρησάν σου τῇ ἀγάπῃ ἐνώπιον ἐκκλησίας· οὕς καλῶς ποιήσεις προπέμψας ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ. English sense: “They testified to your love before the church. Send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | VN rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀγάπη | agapē | ”love” | self-giving, committed love; the noun of ἀγαπάω | love | Gaius’s hospitality is public evidence of ἀγάπη before the gathered church — love made visible in material provision | sự yêu thương | Medium-High — must be distinguished from ơn nghĩa (a Confucian-style favor creating reciprocal debt); Gaius’s love, like ân điển (baseline “grace”), gives without generating an obligation to repay |
| ἐκκλησία | ekklēsia | ”assembly, church” | the local gathered congregation | church, assembly | The local congregation, functioning as a witnessing community that publicly commends faithful conduct | Hội Thánh | Medium (reused from baseline) |
| προπέμπω | propempō | ”to send forward, escort, provision for a journey” | logistical/material support for travelers | send on, help on their way, equip for the journey | Technical term for material sponsorship of a missionary’s onward journey — this is the concrete substance of the hospitality doctrine | tiễn đưa (kèm hỗ trợ hành trình) | High — must not be flattened to a mere polite farewell; includes material provisioning for gospel work |
| ἀξίως | axiōs | ”worthily, suitably” | conduct fitting to a standard | worthily, in a manner worthy of | The standard for how such support is given — God’s own honor, not mere social propriety | cách xứng đáng | Medium |
| θεός | theos | ”God” | — | God | — | Đức Chúa Trời | Critical (reused from baseline) |
Verse 7
Greek: ὑπὲρ γὰρ τοῦ ὀνόματος ἐξῆλθον μηδὲν λαμβάνοντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνικῶν. English sense: “For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the pagans.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | VN rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὄνομα | onoma | ”name” | ordinary personal name; (absolute use, “the Name”) a title for Christ’s person and authority | the Name, name | Early Christian technical/titular usage: “the Name” = Christ himself and his authority (cf. Acts 5:41) — these missionaries labor for Christ’s honor, not their own | Danh (Ngài) | High — context-sensitive; if rendered as a generic “tên,” the titular reference to Christ’s person/authority is lost. Contrast with v.14’s ordinary κατ’ ὄνομα (“by name”) = tên |
| ἐθνικός | ethnikos | ”belonging to a nation/people; pagan, heathen” | non-Jewish, non-Christian outsider; often carries a derogatory “outsider to the faith” sense | Gentiles, pagans, heathen, unbelievers | Distinct from Paul’s ἔθνη/Jew-Gentile theological category (baseline “gentiles” = dân ngoại); here it simply means non-Christian outsiders whose patronage the missionaries deliberately refuse, to remain financially independent of unbelievers | người ngoại đạo | High — must NOT be rendered dân ngoại, which the translation memory reserves for the Romans Jew/Gentile theological category; conflating the two would wrongly import Pauline covenant-theology categories into a simple statement about missionary financial support |
Verse 8
Greek: ἡμεῖς οὖν ὀφείλομεν ὑπολαμβάνειν τοὺς τοιούτους, ἵνα συνεργοὶ γινώμεθα τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. English sense: “Therefore we ought to support such people, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | VN rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὀφείλω | opheilō | ”to owe, to be obligated” | financial debt; moral obligation | ought, are obligated, owe | A genuine moral obligation grounded in gospel partnership, not a debt of social reciprocity | có bổn phận / phải | Medium — risk of collapsing into Confucian bổn phận (role-based duty) rather than gospel-partnership obligation; teaching should clarify the obligation flows from shared mission, not hierarchical duty |
| ὑπολαμβάνω | hypolambanō | ”to take up, receive, support” | to receive hospitably; to undertake support of | support, receive, welcome | The concrete act of receiving and materially supporting itinerant gospel workers | tiếp đãi, hỗ trợ | High — core verb of the Hospitality doctrine; must convey material partnership, not passive politeness |
| συνεργός | synergos | ”fellow worker, co-laborer” | a partner sharing in the same task | fellow worker, co-worker, partner | Hospitality is reframed as active participation in the missionaries’ gospel labor — the host becomes a co-laborer in the truth itself | bạn đồng công | Medium-High — must not be reduced to a passive “helper”; the host shares directly in the mission’s spiritual credit |
| ἀλήθεια | alētheia | (see v.1) | — | the truth | Truth is personified almost as a cause/enterprise one labors alongside — the gospel mission itself | lẽ thật | High (see v.1) |
Verse 9
Greek: Ἔγραψα τι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ· ἀλλ᾽ ὁ φιλοπρωτεύων αὐτῶν Διοτρέφης οὐκ ἐπιδέχεται ἡμᾶς. English sense: “I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not welcome us.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | VN rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐκκλησία | ekklēsia | (see v.6) | — | church | The congregation Diotrephes influences | Hội Thánh | Medium (reused) |
| φιλοπρωτεύω | philoprōteuō | ”to love being first, to desire preeminence” | ambition for rank/status; self-exalting leadership | loves to be first, loves preeminence, seeks to be chief | A NT hapax legomenon (this word occurs only here in the NT) naming the specific sin of Diotrephes: leadership corrupted by craving status and control | ham muốn địa vị đứng đầu | High — anchor term for the Church Leadership and Pride doctrine; in a culture shaped by Confucian hierarchy and deep respect for seniority/rank, this term’s condemnation of status-seeking leadership must be preserved clearly, not softened into simple “strong leadership” |
| Διοτρέφης | Diotrephēs | proper name (“nourished by Zeus” etym., irrelevant to sense) | — | Diotrephes | A named, real local leader — the letter names sin publicly, a serious pastoral act | Đi-ô-trép | Low (transliteration; established Vietnamese Bible form) |
| ἐπιδέχομαι | epidechomai | ”to receive, welcome, accept” | hospitable reception; acceptance of authority/teaching | receive, welcome, accept | Diotrephes refuses to receive the elder’s authoritative representatives — a direct rejection of apostolic authority disguised as a hospitality decision | tiếp nhận / tiếp rước | High — same word family as the positive hospitality vocabulary (vv.8,10); the negation “does not receive” sets up the doctrinal contrast between welcoming and rejecting truth’s messengers |
Verse 10
Greek: διὰ τοῦτο, ἐὰν ἔλθω, ὑπομνήσω 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. English sense: “So if I come, I will bring up what he does, slandering us with malicious words. And not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and stops those wanting to, and expels them from the church.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | VN rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὑπομιμνήσκω (ὑπομνήσω) | hypomnēsō | ”I will remind, bring to remembrance” | recalling facts publicly for correction | will bring up, call to mind | The elder intends personal confrontation, naming specific misconduct on arrival | nhắc lại | Low |
| ἔργον | ergon | ”work, deed” | any concrete action; (theologically) works vs. faith | works, deeds | Diotrephes’s concrete abusive actions, to be exposed, not excused by his status | việc làm / công việc | Low-Medium |
| πονηρός | ponēros | ”evil, malicious, wicked” | morally corrupt; harmful intent | evil, malicious, wicked | Diotrephes’s words are actively malicious, not merely unwise | gian ác | Medium |
| φλυαρέω | phlyareō | ”to talk nonsense, make baseless/false accusations” | slanderous, empty, malicious talk | talk nonsense against, bring false charges against | Diotrephes slanders the elder’s representatives — abuse of speech to protect his own status | vu khống | Medium-High — false accusation against legitimate gospel workers/apostolic authority, a serious matter, not mere rude gossip |
| ἐπιδέχομαι | epidechomai | (see v.9) | — | receive, welcome | Second refusal — Diotrephes personally, and then systemically, blocks hospitality | tiếp nhận / tiếp rước | High (see v.9) |
| κωλύω | kōlyō | ”to hinder, prevent, forbid” | active obstruction of others’ actions | hinder, prevent, forbid | Diotrephes actively prevents others in the congregation who wish to practice hospitality — leadership abuse extending beyond personal refusal | ngăn cản | Medium |
| ἐκβάλλω | ekballō | ”to throw out, expel, cast out” | forceful removal; exorcism (of demons); ecclesial expulsion | cast out, expel, put out | The gravest escalation: Diotrephes expels faithful believers from the congregation itself — an abuse of church authority for personal power | đuổi ra khỏi (Hội Thánh) | High — names a severe abuse of church discipline power; must be rendered with full seriousness, not softened to “asked to leave” |
Verse 11
Greek: Ἀγαπητέ, μὴ μιμοῦ τὸ κακὸν ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀγαθόν. ὁ ἀγαθοποιῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν· ὁ κακοποιῶν οὐχ ἑώρακεν τὸν θεόν. English sense: “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | VN rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| μιμέομαι | mimeomai | ”to imitate, copy, model oneself after” | following an example/pattern of behavior | imitate, follow the example of | The direct exhortation of the doctrine “Imitating Good rather than Evil” — Gaius is warned not to model himself on Diotrephes’s evil example, but on good examples like Demetrius | bắt chước | High — anchor term for this doctrine; must convey deliberate patterning of one’s own conduct after a model, not passive influence |
| κακός | kakos | ”bad, evil, harmful” | morally bad; injurious | evil, bad, wrong | The behavioral pattern (Diotrephes’s) not to be copied | điều ác | Medium |
| ἀγαθός | agathos | ”good, beneficial, virtuous” | morally good; beneficial | good | The behavioral pattern (Demetrius’s, Gaius’s) to be copied | điều lành | Medium |
| ἀγαθοποιέω | agathopoieō | ”to do good” | active performance of good deeds | do good, do what is good | Doing good is presented as evidence of belonging to God (ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ) | làm điều lành | High — risk that “doing good” is heard through a Buddhist merit (công đức) or Confucian virtue-cultivation (đức hạnh) lens as the means of earning standing with God; must be taught as evidence/fruit of already belonging to God, not a means of acquiring merit before Him — parallel to the baseline’s grace/merit distinction |
| κακοποιέω | kakopoieō | ”to do evil” | active performance of evil deeds | do evil, do wrong | Doing evil is evidence one has not truly known/seen God, regardless of religious position or leadership status | làm điều ác | High (parallel risk to ἀγαθοποιέω) |
| ἑώρακεν (ὁράω) | heōraken | ”has seen” | physical sight; (metaphor) to have known/experienced | has seen, has known | Metaphorical “seeing” = an experiential, relational knowledge of God’s character — absent in one who habitually does evil | thấy / biết (Đức Chúa Trời) | Medium |
| θεός | theos | (see v.6) | — | God | — | Đức Chúa Trời | Critical (reused) |
Verse 12
Greek: Δημητρίῳ μεμαρτύρηται ὑπὸ πάντων καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας αὐτῆς· καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ μαρτυροῦμεν, καὶ οἶδας ὅτι ἡ μαρτυρία ἡμῶν ἀληθής ἐστιν. English sense: “Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also testify, and you know that our testimony is true.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | VN rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Δημήτριος | Dēmētrios | proper name | — | Demetrius | The commended, faithful counter-example to Diotrephes | Đê-mê-triu | Low (transliteration; established Vietnamese Bible form) |
| μαρτυρέω / μεμαρτύρηται | martyreō / memartyrētai | ”to testify” (perfect passive: “has been testified of”) | formal, standing testimony/reputation | has a good testimony, is well spoken of | Demetrius’s character is publicly and durably attested — a model commendation pattern for church leaders | được làm chứng tốt | Medium — anchor term for Commendation of Faithful Witness doctrine |
| ἀλήθεια | alētheia | (see v.1) | — | the truth itself | Striking personification: “the truth itself” testifies for Demetrius — his conduct is so consistent with the gospel that truth itself vouches for him | (chính) lẽ thật | High (see v.1) |
| μαρτυρία | martyria | ”testimony, witness” | the content/act of testifying; legal evidence | testimony, witness | The elder adds his own apostolic testimony alongside the church’s, giving Demetrius the highest level of commendation available in the letter | lời chứng / sự làm chứng | Medium |
| ἀληθής | alēthēs | ”true, truthful” | factually accurate; trustworthy character | true | The elder’s testimony about Demetrius is itself reliable and accurate — truth used to certify truth | chân thật | Medium |
Verse 13
Greek: Πολλὰ εἶχον γράψαι σοι, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ θέλω διὰ μέλανος καὶ καλάμου σοι γράφειν. English sense: “I had many things to write to you, but I do not want to write with ink and pen.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | VN rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| γράφω | graphō | ”to write” | ordinary writing; (theologically) inspired Scripture-writing elsewhere in NT | write | Purely epistolary, no special doctrinal weight here — contrasts written correspondence with hoped-for face-to-face fellowship (v.14) | viết | Low |
| μέλαν / κάλαμος | melan / kalamos | ”ink” / “reed-pen” | writing materials | ink and pen | Concrete, everyday materials; underscores the personal, non-ceremonial nature of the letter | mực và bút | Low |
Verse 14
Greek: ἐλπίζω δὲ εὐθέως σε ἰδεῖν, καὶ στόμα πρὸς στόμα λαλήσομεν. Εἰρήνη σοι. ἀσπάζονται σε οἱ φίλοι. ἀσπάζου τοὺς φίλους κατ᾽ ὄνομα. English sense: “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.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | VN rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐλπίζω | elpizō | ”to hope” | confident expectation | hope | Confident expectation of reunion and restored face-to-face fellowship | hy vọng | Low |
| στόμα πρὸς στόμα | stoma pros stoma | ”mouth to mouth” | idiom for direct, personal, face-to-face speech | face to face | Personal presence is valued above written correspondence — fellowship in truth is ultimately relational, not merely textual | mặt đối mặt | Low |
| εἰρήνη | eirēnē | ”peace” | relational/covenantal well-being; (theologically) peace with God through justification | peace | Here a standard epistolary blessing of well-being/shalom over Gaius, drawing on but not restricted to the fuller justification-peace of Romans 5:1 | sự bình an | Medium (reused from baseline; note narrower epistolary-greeting sense here vs. Romans 5:1’s soteriological sense) |
| ἀσπάζομαι | aspazomai | ”to greet, salute” | conveying warm greetings | greet, send greetings | Concrete expression of the letter’s warm fellowship theme | chào / gửi lời chào | Low |
| φίλος | philos | ”friend” | one bound by affection and loyalty; (in NT) sometimes near-synonym for fellow believer | friends | Alongside “brothers” (ἀδελφοί) elsewhere in the letter, “friends” adds a register of personal affection to the church’s fellowship — truth-based relationship, not formal association | bạn hữu | Medium — must retain personal warmth distinct from ἀδελφός’s kinship register; both terms together express the doctrine of Truth and Christian Fellowship |
| ὄνομα (κατ᾽ ὄνομα) | kat’ onoma | ”according to name, by name” | ordinary personal naming | by name, individually | Ordinary use of ὄνομα, in deliberate contrast with the titular “the Name” (Christ) in v.7 | tên (theo tên riêng) | Medium — context-sensitive; contrast with v.7 must be preserved in teaching notes |
Book-Level Coverage Confirmation
3 John consists of a single chapter (1:1–14). There are no additional chapters in this book. The verse-by-verse analysis above therefore constitutes complete, full-book coverage of every load-bearing theological term in 3 John, from 1:1 to 1:14, satisfying the PRD Phase 1 full-book coverage mandate. No chapter of this book is left unreviewed, and no chapter contributes theological vocabulary outside the scope already analyzed above.
Doctrine-to-Term Cross-Reference
| Doctrine | Primary Verses | Key Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | vv. 5–8 | ξένος, προπέμπω, ἀξίως, ὑπολαμβάνω, συνεργός, ὀφείλω, ἀδελφός |
| Imitating Good rather than Evil | v. 11 | μιμέομαι, κακός, ἀγαθός, ἀγαθοποιέω, κακοποιέω |
| Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes) | vv. 9–10 | φιλοπρωτεύω, ἐπιδέχομαι, φλυαρέω, κωλύω, ἐκβάλλω, ἐκκλησία |
| Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius) | v. 12 | μαρτυρέω, μαρτυρία, ἀληθής, ἀλήθεια |
| Truth and Christian Fellowship | vv. 1, 3, 4, 8, 12, 14 | ἀλήθεια, περιπατέω, ἀγάπη, φίλος, ἀδελφός, συνεργός |