The Greek that is translated as “elder” in most English versions (“presbyter” in The Orthodox New Testament, 2000) is translated as “Old-Man Leader” in Eastern Highland Otomi (source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation November 1964, p. 1-22) and in Bacama as mi kpan-kpani vɨnə hiutə: “big/old person of house of prayer” (source: David Frank in this blog post ).
Other translations include:
“person who commands among the people of Jesus” in Lalana Chinantec
“supervisor of the creed” in Guhu-Samane (source for this and three above: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)
“older person” with an implication of that being a leader-like person in Matumbi (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
“person who has taken on responsibilities in the congregation” in German (das Buch translation by Roland Werner, publ. 2009-2022)
The German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) chooses for the occurrences in Revelation the translation of Würdenträger or “dignitary.” Elsewhere (for instance in 1 Peter 5:1) it has “elders, your congregational leadership.”
Following are a number of back-translation of 3John 1:1:
Yatzachi Zapotec: “I in my old age am writing to you dear Gayo. Truly I love you.”
Eastern Highland Otomi: “I am the Old-Man Leader, I am sending this paper to you, dear Gaius, loved one. And also I love you in regards to the true Word which we (dual) believe.”
Isthmus Zapotec: “I am an old man. I am writing this letter to a friend of mine, (whose) name is Gayo, whom I truly love.”
Garifuna: “I, an elderly person, write to my friend the one named Gayo (necessary to avoid the connotation of writing to a rooster), the one whom I love. I love you with all my heart (genuine love).”
Source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.
The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is usually translated in English as “truth” is translated in Luchazi with vusunga: “the quality of being straight” (source: E. Pearson in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 160ff. ), in Obolo as atikọ or “good/correct talk” (source: Enene Enene), and in Ekari as maakodo bokouto or “enormous truth” (esp. in John 14:6 and 17; bokouto — “enormous” — is being used as an attribute for abstract nouns to denote that they are of God [see also here]; source: Marion Doble in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 37ff. ).
The translation committee of the Malay “Good News Bible” (Alkitab Berita Baik, see here ) wrestled with the translation of “truth” in the Gospel of John (for more information click or tap here):
“Our Malay Committee also concluded that ‘truth’ as used in the Gospel of John was used either of God himself, or of God’s revelation of himself, or in an extended sense as a reference to those who had responded to God’s self-disclosure. In John 8:32 the New Malay translation reads ‘You will know the truth about God, and the truth about God will make you free.’ In John 8:44 this meaning is brought out by translating, ‘He has never been on the side of God, because there is no truth in him.’ Accordingly Jesus ‘tells the truth about God’ in 8:45, 46 (see also 16:7 and 8:37a). Then, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’ becomes ‘I am the one who leads men to God, the one who reveals who and what God is, and the one who gives men life.” At 3:21 the translation reads ” … whoever obeys the truth, that is God himself, comes to the light …’; 16:13a appears as ‘he will lead you into the full truth about God’; and in 18:37 Jesus affirms ‘I came into the world to reveal the truth about God, and whoever obeys God listens to me.’ On this basis also 1:14 was translated ‘we saw his glory, the glory which he had as the Father’s only Son. Through him God has completely revealed himself (truth) and his love for us (grace)’; and 1:17 appears as ‘God gave the law through Moses; but through Jesus Christ he has completely revealed himself (truth) and his love for us (grace).'” (Source: Barclay Newman in The Bible Translator 1974, p. 432ff. )
Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) tells of the translation into Kui which usually is “true-thing.” In some instances however, such as in the second part of John 17:17 (“your word is truth” in English), the use of “true-thing” indicated that there might be other occasions when it’s not true, so here the translation was a a form of “pure, holy.”
Following are a number of back-translations of 3 John 1:1:
Uma: “This letter is from me the Elder, I send it to my friend Gayus, whom I truly love.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “This letter/writing is from me the Elder of the trusters in Isa Almasi, I send this to you Gayus, my friend whom I love.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for me the old person, I write to you, Gaius, my friend whom I hold very dear.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “My esteemed Gaius, I who have written this, it’s Juan who is a leader of the believers. My love for you (sing.) who are my friend is from-the-heart. May your (sing.) life there be good and your (sing.) body also be strong like the strength of your (sing.) faith.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “My friend Gayo whom I truly hold dear, there-with-you is my letter, I who am the senior-elder.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “I lead in relation to God’s word, I greet you my dear friend Gayo. I truly love you.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Yatzachi Zapotec: “I in my old age am writing to you dear Gayo. Truly I love you.”
Eastern Highland Otomi: “I am the Old-Man Leader, I am sending this paper to you, dear Gaius, loved one. And also I love you in regards to the true Word which we (dual) believe.”
Isthmus Zapotec: “I am an old man. I am writing this letter to a friend of mine, (whose) name is Gayo, whom I truly love.”
Garifuna: “I, an elderly person, write to my friend the one named Gayo (necessary to avoid the connotation of writing to a rooster), the one whom I love. I love you with all my heart (genuine love).” (Source for this and three above: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.)
The beloved Gaius refers to the addressee, not a group as in 2 John 1, but one individual.
For beloved see comments on 1 John 2.7; the next phrase, whom I love in the truth, shows that the use of this word may be more than a matter of merely traditional kindness or politeness.
Some renderings of the phrase used are “To my dear Gaius, whom I truly love” (Good News Translation), ‘To Gaius, my friend (or brother), who is very dear to me’; or in two sentences, ‘to Gaius whom I love. I love him/you with all my heart.’
The phrase does not contain a respectful term such as “lady” in 2 John 1. This implies that the level of language to be chosen may be of a more informal or intimate type than in John’s second Letter.
Gaius was a very common name. Consequently there is no reason to identify him with others of the name mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 19.29; 20.4; 1 Cor 1.14, compare Rom 16.23). He is presented in the Letter as a good friend of John’s. He was probably the center of a group of Christian friends, not necessarily an elder of a congregation.
For the other details in this verse, see comments on 2 John 1, which has the same function in the Letter.
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 .
Read 1–4 carefully in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.
Section Theme: As in 2 John 1–3, these verses contain the formal parts of the introduction to a Greek letter, that is, a description of the writer and the person he is writing to, and then a blessing (verse 2). John then goes on to encourage the person he is writing to (Gaius) by saying how pleased he was by the good reports he had heard about Gaius.
1a–b
The elder, To:(Discourse Feature) As in 2 John 1, this is a typical beginning for a Greek letter of John’s time. However in many languages the writer of a letter introduces himself in the first person singular, “I, the elder, am writing to….” In translation the natural form for starting a letter should be used.
1b
the beloved:(Meaning) This represents the Greek word which is translated by Berean Standard Bible as “beloved” in 1 John 2:7 and other places in 1 John. It is closely related to the Greek word for “love” and means “dear ones” or “you who I love.”
Gaius:(New Participant) This is the same name as in Acts 19:29, 20:4, Romans 16:23 and 1 Corinthians 1:14, but probably a different person. Gaius was a very common name in the Roman Empire.
in the truth:(Alternative Interpretations) This is the same phrase as in 2 John 1. As in that verse, there are two different interpretations of what it means:
(1) It probably means “truly/really.” (Good News Translation, New English Bible, Living Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
(2) It may mean “because we all believe in God’s truth.”
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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