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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN REV
3 Yhn C1
3 Yhn 1 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15
OET (OET-LV) Because_of this, if I_may_come, I_will_be_reminding of_him the works, which he_is_doing, with_messages evil rambling_against us, and not being_sufficed with these things, nor himself is_accepting the brothers, but the ones wishing he_is_forbidding, and from the assembly is_throwing_out them.
OET (OET-RV) Because of that, if I do end up coming, I will be reminding him about what he’s been doing—rambling on against us with evil talks, and then, not being happy with that, he doesn’t accept other believers and expels them from the assembly then forbids others from accepting them either.
Read 5–12 carefully.
Section Theme: This section contains the main points John is writing to Gaius about. He praises Gaius for helping the traveling Christian preachers and encourages him to follow the good example of Demetrius rather than the bad example of Diotrephes.
Read 9–12 in both BSB and GNT. Compare the two versions.
Paragraph Theme: John uses a negative example and a positive example to reinforce what he has said about helping the traveling preachers. He describes Diotrephes, who opposes their work and rejects John’s instructions. Then he describes Demetrius, who is respected by all the Christians.
So if I come,
Therefore, when I come to your place/town
if I come: (Meaning) Verse 14 makes it clear that John intends to come, so the word if here is probably indicating that he does not yet know when he will come. See GNT, LB.
come: (Lexical Problem) In your language it may be necessary to state where John was intending to come to, namely the place where Gaius and Diotrephes were.
I will call attention to
I will speak openly to the people of the church about what Diotrephes is doing.
call attention to: (Lexical Problem) This means that John will tell openly what Diotrephes has been doing. In translation it may be necessary to state that the people who John will tell this to are the members of the church where Diotrephes was.
his malicious slander against us
What he is doing is this, he is telling foolish lies about me,
I will show how he is accusing me falsely and foolishly,
his malicious slander: (Meaning) This means that Diotrephes had been making foolish and untrue accusations against John.
us: (Pronoun Reference) As in verse 9, John is here using the plural pronoun to refer to himself.
And unsatisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers
And he is also doing something even worse than that. He is refusing to welcome our(incl) fellow Christians who are traveling around preaching the gospel.
And unsatisfied with that: (Logical Connection) This phrase is not literally stating anything about what satisfies Diotrephes. It is used to indicate something he does which is even worse than malicious gossip. In translation this can often be indicated by an idiomatic phrase. See GNT, JB, JBP.
the brothers: (Pronoun Reference) As in verse 5, this refers to any of the traveling Christian preachers who came to him.
and forbids those who want to do so,
Also he hinders those people in the church who do want to welcome these traveling Christians.
who want to do so: (Ellipsis) This is a short way of saying, “who want to welcome the brothers.”
even putting them out of the church.
And he even expels from the meetings of the church those who want to welcome them.
putting them out of the church: (Meaning) This means that Diotrephes expels these members from the church in that place. He somehow prevents them from continuing to have fellowship with that church.
putting them out: (Pronoun Reference) This means that Diotrephes expels those church members who wanted to welcome the “brothers.” It does not refer to him expelling the “brothers” themselves.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
διὰ τοῦτο
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διά τοῦτο ἐάν ἔλθω ὑπομνήσω αὐτοῦ τά ἔργα ἅ ποιεῖ λόγοις πονηροῖς φλυαρῶν ἡμάς καί μή ἀρκούμενος ἐπί τούτοις οὔτε αὐτός ἐπιδέχεται τούς ἀδελφούς καί τούς βουλομένους κωλύει καί ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκβάλλει)
Because of this indicates that what follows is a result of what came before. Because Diotrephes “does not receive” John and those with him (verse 9), John will expose his evil works. Use a natural way in your language that makes this relationship clear. Alternate translation: [Therefore] or [This is why]
Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-condition-fact
ἐὰν ἔλθω
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διά τοῦτο ἐάν ἔλθω ὑπομνήσω αὐτοῦ τά ἔργα ἅ ποιεῖ λόγοις πονηροῖς φλυαρῶν ἡμάς καί μή ἀρκούμενος ἐπί τούτοις οὔτε αὐτός ἐπιδέχεται τούς ἀδελφούς καί τούς βουλομένους κωλύει καί ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκβάλλει)
John speaks as if he were uncertain about this, but he means that he is planning to come. If your readers might think that what John is saying is uncertain, then you could translate his words as a confident statement. Alternate translation: [when I come] or [at the time that I come]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / go
ἔλθω
˱I˲_˓may˒_come
In a context such as this, your language might say “go” instead of come. Alternate translation: [I go to you]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
λόγοις πονηροῖς φλυαρῶν ἡμᾶς
˱with˲_words evil rambling_against (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διά τοῦτο ἐάν ἔλθω ὑπομνήσω αὐτοῦ τά ἔργα ἅ ποιεῖ λόγοις πονηροῖς φλυαρῶν ἡμάς καί μή ἀρκούμενος ἐπί τούτοις οὔτε αὐτός ἐπιδέχεται τούς ἀδελφούς καί τούς βουλομένους κωλύει καί ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκβάλλει)
John is using the term words to mean what Diotrephes has been saying by using words. These words are an example of the works that he is doing. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [slandering us maliciously]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
μὴ ἀρκούμενος ἐπὶ τούτοις
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διά τοῦτο ἐάν ἔλθω ὑπομνήσω αὐτοῦ τά ἔργα ἅ ποιεῖ λόγοις πονηροῖς φλυαρῶν ἡμάς καί μή ἀρκούμενος ἐπί τούτοις οὔτε αὐτός ἐπιδέχεται τούς ἀδελφούς καί τούς βουλομένους κωλύει καί ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκβάλλει)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [even these things do not satisfy him. In addition]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διά τοῦτο ἐάν ἔλθω ὑπομνήσω αὐτοῦ τά ἔργα ἅ ποιεῖ λόγοις πονηροῖς φλυαρῶν ἡμάς καί μή ἀρκούμενος ἐπί τούτοις οὔτε αὐτός ἐπιδέχεται τούς ἀδελφούς καί τούς βουλομένους κωλύει καί ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκβάλλει)
John is using the term brothers to mean people who share the same faith. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [these fellow believers]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
καὶ τοὺς βουλομένους κωλύει
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διά τοῦτο ἐάν ἔλθω ὑπομνήσω αὐτοῦ τά ἔργα ἅ ποιεῖ λόγοις πονηροῖς φλυαρῶν ἡμάς καί μή ἀρκούμενος ἐπί τούτοις οὔτε αὐτός ἐπιδέχεται τούς ἀδελφούς καί τούς βουλομένους κωλύει καί ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκβάλλει)
John is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: [and he stops the ones who are willing to receive the believers]
1:9-12 In these verses, John condemns Diotrephes and presents Demetrius as the model of a faithful Christian who lives according to the truth. Gaius is urged to emulate Demetrius.
OET (OET-LV) Because_of this, if I_may_come, I_will_be_reminding of_him the works, which he_is_doing, with_messages evil rambling_against us, and not being_sufficed with these things, nor himself is_accepting the brothers, but the ones wishing he_is_forbidding, and from the assembly is_throwing_out them.
OET (OET-RV) Because of that, if I do end up coming, I will be reminding him about what he’s been doing—rambling on against us with evil talks, and then, not being happy with that, he doesn’t accept other believers and expels them from the assembly then forbids others from accepting them either.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.