It is a loyal thing you do, or ‘you are acting loyally (or as a loyal man).’ “Loyal,” or “faithful,” is said of behavior that is in accordance with what a person is expected to do.

When renders a Greek construction (the relative neuter pronoun made indefinite by the following particle ean) which is used to introduce generally occurring circumstances. The present tense of do shows that the reference is to repeated action, regardless of the time element. Accordingly when has here the force of “whenever,” “each time that.”

To render any service to, or ‘to do anything on behalf of,’ ‘to help.’

To the brethren, especially to strangers: the reference is to traveling Christian preachers, coming from the congregations other than the one Gaius belongs to. Especially (literally, “and that”) serves to introduce a more specific qualification. Versions often use a concessive connective here; compare “strangers though they are to you” (New English Bible), “even when they are strangers” (Good News Translation).

“Strangers,” or ‘people that are strange to you,’ ‘people you do not know,’ or ‘people you have never seen before.’ Other renderings start from the situation of the strangers; for example, ‘people (coming) from far away,’ ‘people from another place,’ or simply ‘people who come/enter’ (as some Indonesian languages have it). One should avoid a term that refers specifically or exclusively to people from foreign countries or nations.

Quoted with permission from Haas, C., de Jonge, M. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on The Third Letter of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .