Translation of 2 John

Transcription

1 Translation of 2 John Sentence 1 1a Ὁ πρεσβύτερος The elder 1b ἐκλεκτῇ κυρίᾳ καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτῆς, to the elect lady and her children 1c οὓς ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, whom I love in the truth, 1d καὶ οὐκ ἐγὼ μόνος and not only I 1d ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντες but also everyone 1e οἱ ἐγνωκότες τὴν ἀλήθειαν, who knows the truth 2a διὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν on account of the truth 2b τὴν μένουσαν ἐν ἡμῖν which remains in us 2c καὶ μεθ ἡμῶν ἔσται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. and will be with us unto the ages. Sentence 2 3a ἔσται μεθ ἡμῶν χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη Grace, mercy and peace will be with us 3b παρὰ θεοῦ πατρὸς from God the Father 3c καὶ παρὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ πατρὸς and from Jesus the Messiah the Son of the Father 3d ἐν ἀληθείᾳ καὶ ἀγάπῃ. in truth and love. Sentence 3 4a Ἐχάρην λίαν I rejoiced greatly 4b ὅτι εὕρηκα ἐκ τῶν τέκνων σου because I found some of your children 4c περιπατοῦντας ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, walking in the truth, 4d καθὼς ἐντολὴν ἐλάβομεν παρὰ τοῦ πατρός. just as we have received command (to do so) from the Father. Sentence 4 5a καὶ νῦν ἐρωτῶ σε, And now I ask you, 5b κυρία, dear lady, 5c οὐχ ὡς ἐντολὴν καινὴν γράφων σοι not as though writing to you a new commandment, 5d ἀλλὰ ἣν εἴχομεν ἀπ ἀρχῆς, but the one we have from the beginning, 5e ἵνα ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους. that we love one another. Sentence 5 6a αὕτη ἡ ἐντολή ἐστιν, And this is love, 6b ἵνα περιπατῶμεν κατὰ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ that we walk according to his commands. Sentence 6 6c αὕτη ἡ ἐντολή ἐστιν, This is his command, 6d καθὼς ἠκούσατε ἀπ ἀρχῆς, even as we have heard from the beginning, 6e ἵνα ἐν αὐτῇ περιπατῆτε. that you should walk in it. Sentence 7 7a Ὅτι πολλοὶ πλάνοι ἐξῆλθον εἰς τὸν κόσμον, Because many deceivers have gone out into the world, 7b οἱ μὴ ὁμολογοῦντες those who do not confess 7c Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί Jesus the Messiah coming in the flesh. Sentence 8 7d οὗτος ἐστιν ὁ πλάνος καὶ ὁ ἀντίχριστος. This one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Sentence 9 8a βλέπετε ἑαυτούς, Watch yourselves 8b ἵνα μὴ ἀπολέσητε in order that you not lose 8c ἃ εἰργασάμεθα that which we have worked for 8d ἀλλὰ μισθὸν πλήρη ἀπολάβητε. but receive a full reward. Sentence 10 9a Πᾶς Everyone

2 9b ὁ προάγων who runs ahead 9c καὶ μὴ μένων and does not remain 9d ἐν τῇ διδαχῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ in the teaching of the Messiah 9e θεὸν οὐκ ἔχει does not have God. Sentence 11 9f ὁ μένων ἐν τῇ διδαχῇ, The one who remains in the teaching, 9g οὗτος καὶ τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ἔχει. this one has both the Father and the Son. Sentence 12 10a εἴ τις ἔρχεται πρὸς ὑμᾶς 10b καὶ ταύτην τὴν διδαχὴν οὐ φέρει, 10c μὴ λαμβάνετε αὐτὸν εἰς οἰκίαν 10d καὶ 10e χαίρειν 10f αὐτῷ μὴ λέγετε If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home and to rejoice do not tell him Sentence 13 11a ὁ λέγων γὰρ αὐτῷ 11b χαίρειν 11c κοινωνεῖ τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ τοῖς πονηροῖς. For the one who tells him to rejoice takes part in his evil works. Sentence 14 12a Πολλὰ ἔχων 12b ὑμῖν γράφειν 12c οὐκ ἐβουλήθην 12d διὰ χάρτου καὶ μέλανος, 12e ἀλλὰ 12f ἐλπίζω 12g γενέσθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ 12h στόμα πρὸς στόμα Though I have many things to write to you I do not wish to do so through paper and ink but I hope to come to you and face to face 12i λαλῆσαι, we will speak, 12j ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ἡμῶν πεπληρωμένη ᾖ. in order that our joy may be complete. Sentence Ἀσπάζεται σε τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἀδελφῆς σου τῆς ἐκλεκτῆς. The children of your elect sister greet you.

3 Outline of 2 John 1-3 Letter opening 4 Compliment (thanksgiving section) 5-6 Exhortation to mutual love 7-11 Warning against receiving false teachers 12 Expression of the author's desire to visit 13 Final greeting

4 The situation behind 2 John 1. The situation of the author and the people around him The author is an elder (1) The author loves the lady in the truth (1) The author saw some of the lady s children walking in the truth (4) The author is happy about it (4) The author hopes to visit (12) There is a chosen sister with the author that sends greetings (13) 2. The situation of the recipients and the false teachers around them The recipient is a lady and her children (1) Deceivers have gone out into the world, and they are denying the incarnation of Christ (7) The lady and her children have worked hard, and there is a danger they could lose their reward (8) There is the danger that the deceivers could arrive to the lady s house (10)

5 The response expected of the readers of 2 John 1. Obey God's commands Obey God s commands (6) 2. Love one another Love one another (5) Walk in love (6) 3. Hold to the truth and reject false teachings Know the truth (1) Walk in the truth (4) Acknowledge Jesus as having come in the flesh (7) Watch out not to lose what the reward they have worked for (8) Don t run ahead, but continue in the teachings of Christ (9) Do not welcome Christ-denying teachers into your house (10-11) 4. Expect a visit from the author Be ready for my visit (12) Observation At first glance, the section on love and the section on deceivers seem to be separate and unconnected. But in Greek they are connected by the word 'for'. The readers apparently need to show love to each other by rejecting the false teachings that would harm their group.

6 The message and motivation given by the author of 2 John 1. Encouraging affirmations about the recipients The lady is elect or chosen (1) The author and all who know the truth love her (1-2) Grace, mercy and peace will be with the author and the recipients (3) The author is joyful because he has found some of her children walking in the truth (4) The recipients have worked hard, and will be rewarded for their work (8) The children of her elect sister greet her (13) 2. General affirmations about truth The truth lives in us and will be with us forever (2) The Father commanded us to walk in the truth (4) 3. General affirmations about love The love command is not new, and the recipients have heard it from the beginning (5) Genuine love requires obeying the Father s commands (6) Loving one another is a command from God (6) 4. Affirmations about Jesus Christ Christ came in the flesh (7) Those who do not continue in the teachings of Christ do not have God (9) Whoever continues in the teachings of Christ have the Father and the Son (9) 5. Criticisms of those who do not teach the incarnation of Christ They are deceivers (7) They are antichrists (7) Helping them will cause the recipients to lose what they have worked for, and their reward (8) They run ahead and don't continue in the teachings of Christ (9) They do not have God (9) Their works are evil, and those who help them share in their evil works (11) 6. Comment about the author The author plans to visit (12)

7 Sentence types in 2 John Verses Sentence type 1-2 Non-sentence (introduction) 3 Declaratory sentence 4 Declaratory sentence 5 Soft hortatory sentence 6a 6b 7a 7b Declaratory sentence Declaratory sentence Declaratory sentence Declaratory sentence 8 Hortatory sentence 9a 9b Declaratory sentence Declaratory sentence 10 Hortatory sentence 11 Declaratory sentence 12 Declaratory sentence 13 Declaratory sentence

8 Imagery in 2 John Verses Sentence type A church and its members are described as a lady and her children - The truth is personified as if it were a person dwelling within the author and the readers 3 - God the Father and Jesus are described as a literal Father and Son 4 - A church's members are described as children - God is described as a father of believers - Conduct is described as walking 5 - A church is described as a lady 6a 6b - Conduct is described as walking - Conduct is described as walking 7a 7b 8 9a 9b - Accepting heresy is described as running on ahead - God the Father and Jesus are described as a literal Father and Son A church and its members are described as a lady and her children

9 The Old Testament in 2 John There is only one possible allusion to the Old Testament in 2 John. In Numbers 12.8 God says that with Moses he speaks face to face, clearly, not in riddles. In 2 John 12 the elder says he wishes not to write but to speak face to face with the chosen lady.

10 1 John and 2 John compared Parallel 1 John 2 John Theme of the truth Jesus Christ has come in the flesh Having the Father and the Son Deceiver, antichrist Remain in the teaching The teaching should 'live' or 'remain' in the readers The love command is not new but is the one the readers heard from the beginning Christian fellowship makes the author's joy complete 1.6, 1.8, 2.4, 2.8, 2.20, 2.21, 3.18, 3.19, 4.6, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God...(1 John 4.2) No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. (1 John 2.23) Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. / I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. (1 John 2.22 / 2.26) But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie just as it has taught you, abide in him. (1 John 2.27)...the anointing that you received from him abides in you...(1 John 2.27) Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. / For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. (1 John 2.7 / 3.11)...that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1.3-4) Verses 1, 2, 3, 4 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. (2 John 7) Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. (2 John 9) For many deceivers have gone out into the world...such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. (2 John 7) Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching...whoever abides in the teaching...(2 John 9)...the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever...(2 John 2) And now I ask you, dear lady not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. (2 John 5-6)...I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete. (2 John 12) Scripture text: The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001).

11 2 John and 3 John compared Parallel 2 John 3 John The author refers to self as 'the elder' The elder...(2 John 1) The elder...(3 John 1) The theme of truth Verses 1, 2, 3, 4 Verses 3, 4, 8, 12 It gives the elder great joy to find others walking in the truth Hospitality given to others means collaborating with them Nearly identical expressions of the elder's desire to visit Final greetings from others I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth...(2 John 4a) If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him stakes part in his wicked works. (2 John 10 11) Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. uinstead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, vso that our joy may be complete. (2 John 12) The children of your elect sister greet you. (2 John 13) For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers1 came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. (3 John 3-4) Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth. (3 John 8) I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. (3 John 13 14) The friends greet you. (3 John 15) Scripture text: The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001).

12 2 John for today The implications of 2 John for today What does it mean to 'walk' in the truth? We need love to balance truth We need truth to balance love If we support teachers of false doctrines, we become their accomplices The importance of believing in Jesus' coming in the flesh - his bodily, physical nature

13 2 John exegesis The 'elect lady and her children' to whom the elder writes in 2 John 1 is most likely a church and the members of the church. John Stott notes that the author switches back and forth between the second person singular and second person plural in his letter, and some of the comments he makes in the letter would not make sense if the letter were speaking of a literal woman and her literal children. The phrase 'whom I love in the truth' in 2 John 1 could mean 'whom I love truly'. But it is more likely that the elder is contrasting himself with the false teachers he mentions later in the letter. The elder is in the truth, and the false teachers are not. John Stott comments on 2 John 2 that "...we are bound to our fellow Christians by the special bond of truth. Truth is the ground of reciprocal Christian love." He suggests that Christian unity is compromised and not enhanced by watering down Christian truth. On the other hand, we can also say that a commitment to truth should not undermine our responsibility to love each other. Many Christians have fallen into uncharitable squabbles and unkind attitudes over matters of doctrine, and this is a contradiction of the very doctrine we defend. Stott writes, "Our love grows soft if it is not strengthened by truth, and our truth grows hard if it is not softened by love." John R. W. Stott, The Letters of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 19XX), 205, 207. According to 2 John 4, the truth of the Christian message is not merely something to be believed, but is a path in which one needs to walk. The same idea can be found in 1 John 1.6 and 3 John John 6 contains circular, but not contradictory, exhortations: truly loving means obeying God's commands, and God's command is that we love. Obeying is one of the ways in which we show love, and love is one of the ways in which we obey. "The commandment John mentions [in 2 John 6] was an old one because it was in the law (Lev 19:18), although Jesus example gave it new import (Jn 13:34 35). In the context of 1 2 John, loving one another means cleaving to the Christian community (rather than leaving it, as the secessionists were doing)." Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. (Downer's Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993) 1 John 2.7-8, 3.11 also say that the new command to love is also the old command, what the readers had heard from the beginning. In 2 John 7 the elder writes that many deceivers 'have gone out' into the world. With the word 'gone out', does the elder mean they have left the church? Are they the same or similar secessionists as the ones mentioned in 1 John ? Is the elder deliberately contrasting the 'some' of the children who are walking in the truth (4) with the 'many' who are not? I think this is a matter of over-interpretation. There is no need to connect the people in v. 7 with the secessionists in 1 John, nor to connect the 'some' in v. 4 with the 'many' in v. 7. These connections may or may not be true. We simply do not have enough information to know for sure. A normal reading of 2 John, not influenced by 1 John, would be that a) the elder happened to meet up with some of the members of the church and found them walking by the truth, and that b) the elder is aware of many false teachers who are going out into the wider world to spread their false teachings. Even Smalley, who believes that the people mentioned in 2 John 7 are secessionists, mentions that the choice of the word 'have gone out' may have been influenced by the elder's missionary vocabulary: he writes, "...the presbyter may be saying that these heretics went out, in the spirit of missionaries, to win over others to their false beliefs. The verb ἐξέρχεσθαι (here in the form ἐξῆλθον, they went out ) carries in crucial contexts of John s Gospel the sense of mission. For example, the Son has gone out from the Father into the world (John 8:42; 13:3); and, as an echo of this, the followers of Jesus are sent out into the world by him (John 17:18; 20:21). The verb ἐξῆλθον is also used at 3 John 7 in a context of mission." Stephen S. Smalley, vol. 51, Word Biblical Commentary : 1,2,3 John, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002), 328.

14 2 John 7 makes the incarnation of Jesus a doctrine that distinguishes true Christians from non-christians. The elder goes so far as to say that people who don't believe in the incarnation of Jesus are antichrists. Look closely at 2 John 8: the best manuscripts say "so that you do not lose what we have worked for." The idea is that the author and the readers have all worked together to advance God's kingdom and reap the rewards for doing so. By receiving false teachers, the readers would share in their evil works (verse 11) and lose the ground they have gained. The elder's warning in 2 John 8 to 'watch yourselves' in connection with false teachers echoes Jesus' own similar warning in Mark John 9 and 1 John 2.23 express the same ideas in different words. Christ is the way to God, and those who think they can reach God without going through Christ are mistaken. In 2 John 9 the elder criticizes everyone who 'runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ'. John Stott notes that the elder is probably using sarcasm here, making fun of the false teacher's own claims to have 'progressive' or 'advanced' teachings that go beyond the supposedly boring, traditional, and ordinary teachings of others. John Stott's paraphrase brings out the humor in the elder's words: "They had advanced so far that they had even left God behind them!" John R. W. Stott, The Letters of John. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 19XX), 213) Kistemaker writes, "Genuine progress is always rooted in Christ's teaching." Simon J. Kistemaker, James and I-III John (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1986), 382. The phrase "the teaching of Christ" in 2 John 9 most likely means 'the teaching that comes from Christ' rather than 'the teaching about Christ.' Simon J. Kistemaker, 382, notes John in this regard: Jesus refers twice to 'my teaching'. In 3 John 5-8, the elder applauds and encourages Gaius for providing lodging for traveling missionaries. Such hospitality was extremely important in John's day, because there were no modern hotels, and the inns of John's day had a seedy reputation. But in 2 John 10-11, the elder stresses that missionaries who do not bring the authentic Christian message should not be given the same hospitality by the members of the house churches he was writing to. Chapters 11 and 12 of the early church document Didache contain a similar and more extensive discussion of this topic. 2 John 10 does not prohibit welcoming teachers from cults such as Jehovah's Witnesses into one's home in order to dialogue. It prohibits Christians from giving lodging and support to such teachers. And it prohibits churches, such as the house churches to whom the elder writes, from giving such people an official welcome to speak and take an active role in their church. This verse does not teach intolerant hatred for people whose beliefs are different from one's own. It urges against welcoming and supporting the efforts of people who are actively promoting dangerous false beliefs. 2 John 12 and 3 John are almost identical. The words 'the children of your elect sister' in 2 John 13 refer to the church from which the elder writes, and its members.

15 Bibliography for 1, 2, 3 John The following is a list of resources consulted in the preparation of the materials in this file on 1, 2, 3 John: Commentaries and other works on 1, 2, 3 John Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary: James and I-III John. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1986) Andreas J. Kostenberger, A Theology of John's Gospel and Letters. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009) Stephen S. Smalley, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 51: 1, 2, 3 John. (Waco, TX: Word, 1984) John R. W. Stott, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: The Letters of John, revised ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988) General and introductory works T. Desmond Alexander y Brian S. Rosner, eds., New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. (Downer s Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000) G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007) D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo, Leon Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992) Walter A. Elwell y Robert W. Yarbrough, Al Encuentro del Nuevo Testamento. (Editorial Caribe, 1999) Everett Harrison, Introducción al Nuevo Testamento. (Grand Rapids: Libros Desafío, 2002) Richard B. Hays, The Moral Vision of the New Testament. (New York: HarperOne, 1996) H. Wayne House, Chronological and Background Charts of the New Testament. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981) Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. (Downer's Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993) George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996) I. Howard Marshall, New Testament Theology. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004) Ralph Martin and Peter H. Davids, eds., Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997) Scot McKnight and Grant R. Osborne, eds., The Face of New Testament Studies. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004). Leland Ryken,, Jim Wilhoit, Tremper Longman eds., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. (Downer s Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1998) Thomas R. Schreiner, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008) Frank Thielman, Teología del Nuevo Testamento. (Miami: Vida, 2007) Kevin Vanhoozer, ed., Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005)