OET interlinear 2YHN (2JHN) 1:8

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

βλέπετε ἑαυτούς

/be/_seeing yourselves

Here, Watch yourselves is an idiom that means “be careful.” If this phrase does not have that meaning in your language, you could use an idiom from your language that does have that meaning or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Mind yourselves” or “Guard yourselves”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

βλέπετε ἑαυτούς

/be/_seeing yourselves

The implication is that the believers are to be careful so that they are not deceived by the deceiving false teachers. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “Be careful not to let the deceivers influence you”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἃ

what_‹things›

The word what refers generally to all of the work that John and his fellow believers have done to build up the faith of the believers in the church to which he is writing. You could use a general term here, or if it would be helpful in your language, you could state this more explicitly. Alternate translation: “everything” or “the faith in Jesus”

Note 4 topic: translate-textvariants

εἰργασάμεθα

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: βλέπετε ἑαυτούς ἵνα μὴ ἀπολέσητε ἃ ειργάσασθε ἀλλὰ μισθὸν πλήρη ἀπολάβητε)

Some manuscripts have “you” here instead of we. Most scholars, however, consider the reading with we to be the correct one. See the discussion in Part 3 of the Introduction.

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

εἰργασάμεθα

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: βλέπετε ἑαυτούς ἵνα μὴ ἀπολέσητε ἃ ειργάσασθε ἀλλὰ μισθὸν πλήρη ἀπολάβητε)

The word we here is probably inclusive. John, his audience, and others have all worked to build up the faith of the believers to whom John is writing.

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

μισθὸν πλήρη

/a/_reward full

The word translated as reward also refers to the wages that a worker gets for his work. John is using this idea to say that God rewards his people for the work that they have done for him, and that this reward would be lost if the work came to nothing. In this context, the reward may include the idea of the person's relationship with God, since that is what would be lost if John's readers leave behind the teachings of Christ, as he goes on to say in the next verse. Use a general phrase that could include all of those things. Alternate translation: “complete recompense” or “the whole prize”