Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding the addressee).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
The Greek that is often translated as “church” in English is translated into Avaric as imanl’urazul ahlu: “the community of believers” or “the believing people.”
Magomed-Kamil Gimbatov and Yakov Testelets (in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 434ff. ) talk about the genesis of this term (click or tap here to read more):
“The word ‘Church’ presents particular difficulties, as we might expect when we think that even many Christians do not understand it correctly. When people today say ‘church,’ they often mean a particular building, or an organization consisting chiefly of clergy (priests and monks). It is even harder to find a word or combination of words which adequately translates the meaning for people unfamiliar with Christianity. Surprisingly, the Greek word ekklesia, indicating in the classical language ‘an assembly of the people,’ ‘a gathering of citizens,’ has come into Avar and other Dagestani languages in the form kilisa. This, like the word qanch (‘cross’), is an ancient borrowing, presumably from the time before the arrival of Islam, when Dagestan came under the influence of neighboring Christian states. In modern usage, however, this word indicates a place of Christian worship. Thus it is completely inappropriate as a translation of its New Testament ancestor ekklesia.
“We were obliged to look at various words which are closer to the meaning of the Greek. Some of these words are dandel’i (‘meeting’), danderussin (‘assembly’), the Arabic-derived mazhlis (‘meeting, conference’), zhama’at (‘society, community’), ahlu (‘race, people, family, group of people united by a common goal or interest’, as in the Arabic phrase ahlu-l-kitab ‘people of the Book’ or ‘people of the Scriptures’), which describes both Jews and Christians, and ummat (‘people, tribe’). In Islamic theology the phrase ‘Mohammed’s ummat’ means the universal community of Muslims, the Muslim world, in the same way as the Christian world is known as ‘Isa’s ummat.’ None of these descriptions on their own, without explanation, can be used to translate the word ‘Church’ in the New Testament. Thus, after long consideration, we adopted the phrase imanl’urazul ahlu, meaning ‘the community of believers,’ ‘the believing people,’ This translation corresponds closely to New Testament teaching about the Church.
“It is interesting that the same word ahlu with the meaning ‘tribe, community’ has been used by translators for different reasons in the introduction to the Gospel of Luke in order to translate the expression in the original Greek pepleroforemenon en hemin pragmaton (πεπληροφορημένων ἐν ἡμῖν πραγμάτων), which the Russian Synodal translation renders ‘about the events well-known amongst us’ (Luke 1:1). The expression ‘amongst us’ cannot be translated literally into Avar, but has to be rendered ‘among our people’; and here the same term was used as for the word ‘church’, literally ‘among our tribe, community (ahlu).'”
In Kamo “church” is fang-balla (“owners of writing-people”) when referring to the church community and “house of writing-people” when referring to a church building. David Frank explains: “In Kamo culture, Christianity was associated with writing, so Christianity is called balla, which they say means ‘people who write.’ Christianity is balla, and Christians are called fang-balla, which means ‘owners of Christianity.’ That is the term that is used for the church, in the sense of people, rather than a building. In Philemon 1:1b-2a, Paul says he is writing ‘To our friend and fellow worker Philemon, and to the church (fang-balla ‘owners of Christianity) that meet in your house.’ The word fang “owner’ is very productive in the Kamo language. A disciple is an ‘owner of learning,’ an apostle is an ‘owner of sending,’ a believer is an ‘owner of truth,’ a hypocrite is an ‘owner of seeing eyes.’ The expression ‘house of writing-people’ is used in Matthew 16:18, which reads in Kamo, ‘And so I tell you Peter, you are a rock, and on top of this rock foundation I will build my house of writing-people, and never even death will not be able to overcome it.” (See also Peter – rock)
In Bacama there also is a differentiation between the building (vɨnə hiutə: “house of prayer”) and the community (ji-kottə: “followers”) (source: David Frank in this blog post ).
In 16th-century Classical Nahuatl, a transliteration from Spanish (Santa Yglesia or Santa Iglesia) is typically used rather than a translation, making the concept take on a personified meaning. Ottman (p. 169) explains: “The church building, or more precisely the church complex with its associated patio, has a Nahuatl name in common usage — generally teopan, something like ‘god-place,’ in contradistinction to teocalli, ‘god-house,’ applied to a prehispanic temple — but the abstract sense is always Santa Iglesia, a Spanish proper name like ‘Dios’ or ‘Santa María’, and like ‘Santa María’ often called ‘our mother.’ As a personified ‘mother,’ in the European tradition as well as in Nahuatl, She instructs Her children or chastises them; as Bride of Christ, She both longs for Her heavenly rest and bears witness to it, in the ‘always-already’ of eschatological time; as successor to the Synagogue, the blindfolded, broken-sceptred elder sister who accompanies Her in painting and sculpture, She represents the triumphant rule of truth. ‘The Church’ can mean the clerical hierarchy; it can also, or simultaneously, mean the assembly of the faithful. It dispenses grace to its members, living and dead, yet it is also enriched by them, living and dead, existing not only on earth but in purgatory and in heaven.”
In Lisu the building (“church”) is called “house of prayer” (source: Arrington 2020, p. 196) whereas in Highland Totonac the community is referred as “those who gather together” (source: Hermann Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. ), in Huehuetla Tepehua as “those who gather together who have confidence in Christ” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), in Uma as “Christian people” (source: Uma Back Translation), in Kankanaey as “the congregation of God’s people” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation), and in Tagbanwa as “you whom God separated-out as his people because of your being-united/tied-together with Jesus Christ” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).
In American Sign Language, “church” (as in the community of believers) is made up of the combination of the signs for “Jesus-into-heart” (signifying a believer), followed by the sign for “group.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Church” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
While British Sign Language also uses a sign that focuses on a group of people believing in Jesus (see here ), another sign that it uses combines the signs for “ringing the (church) bells” and a “group of people.” (Source: Anna Smith)
“Church” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations of 3 John 1:9:
Uma: “There was a letter of mine to all our one-faith relatives there [where you are]. But Diotrefes [emphatic], he doesn’t pay-attention-to our (excl.) words, for he always make-important [lit., puts uphill] his own position [lit., seat].” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “I sent a letter there to the trusters in Isa Almasi, but Diyotrepes, the person who wants to be their leader does not even pay any attention to what I said in the letter.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I wrote to the believers there, however Diotrephes will not listen to my commands. He wants that he should be the only one to give orders.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “There is that which I wrote previously to the congregation of believers there, but Diotrefes has not paid-any-heed because he doesn’t acknowledge our (excl.) authority. He wants of course that he be the leader there.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “I sent the believers there a letter, but Diotrefes took no notice of me, because what he really wants is that he is the one acknowledged as leader.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “I wrote another letter to send to the people who gather there in the church. But Diotrephes wants to be leader there where the believers are, and he does not pay attention to what I say.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Yatzachi Zapotec: “I have written to you who are gathered together worshipping God. But Diotrephes wants to be the most important person of all among you and he does not heed us (ex).”
Eastern Highland Otomi: “I sent a paper to your gathering. But Diotrephes who wants to be first (eminent) there, doesn’t like me, and doesn’t want what I say.”
Isthmus Zapotec: “I already wrote a letter to the people of Christ who are there (implying where you are), but Diotrephes wants to rule over them and he doesn’t pay any attention to me.” (Source for this and two above: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.)
I have written something to the church, or ‘I have written (or sent) a letter to the church,’ or simply ‘I have written to the church.’ The Greek verb is in the aorist and shows that the reference is to specific fact in the past. The writing thus referred to is not identical with what is called the Second Letter of John. For the verb compare comments on 1 John 1.4.
The church presumably refers here to the congregation Gaius belongs to. Accordingly some versions specify ‘your church/congregation,’ ‘the people of Christ who are with you (or at your place).’
The elder fears that the letter referred to will not accomplish anything. The reason for this is stated in the next clause: Diotrephes … does not acknowledge my authority (literally “does not receive/accept us”). This first person plural pronoun “us” may stand for the singular in letter writing; compare 2 John 12. But the plural may also be taken as referring to the elder and his followers in the congregation from which he is writing. In the latter case it has exclusive force. The same is true of “me” in verse 10, and “I” and “my” in verse 12. The singular seems to be the slightly more probable interpretation.
The Greek verb usually means “to receive as a guest” (for example, in verse 10), but here it probably has the sense of “to accept what a person says” (Goodspeed). This leads to renderings like ‘Diotrephes … does not respect me,’ ‘Diotrephes … will have nothing to do with me’ (compare New English Bible), “Diotrephes … will not pay any attention to what I say” (Good News Translation).
Nothing is known about Diothrephes except what is told here. He appears to have been an influential and tyrannical man who tried to isolate the congregation he wanted to control. Nothing shows that he held an office in the congregation.
Who likes to put himself first, or “who loves to be their leader” (Good News Translation), ‘who likes to boss them’ (or ‘you,’ when the second person has been specified in what precedes), ‘who wants to make himself greater than all others.’ This relative clause indicates the reason why Diotrephes is behaving like this. To bring this out some versions shift to a rendering like ‘because he pretends to be their chief.’
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 9–12 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. 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.
9a
(Good News Translation) a short letter:(Text) After “I have written,” many Greek manuscripts have a word meaning “something,” or “a little.” Several English versions translate this text. Other versions such as Berean Standard Bible follow manuscripts which do not have this text. In your translation it may be best to follow the Berean Standard Bible.
the church:(Multiple Senses) Here this means the group of Christians in the place where Diotrephes was. That was probably in the same place where Gaius lived, or nearby.
9b
Diotrephes:(New Participant) It is not clear whether Gaius already knew about Diotrephes or not. In translation he should be referred to as someone who has not previously been mentioned in this letter.
loves to be first:(Connotation) This implies that even if Diotrephes thinks that he is the leader of the church, John does not recognize him as the leader. He condemns Diotrephes for actively seeking such a position.
first:(Multiple Senses) This means being the leader of the church in that place. John does not use either of the biblical terms “bishop” or “elder” here, and at that time Christian leaders were not called pastors or priests. So a more neutral term for a Christian leader should be used in translation here. See Good News Translation, The Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Living Bible.
will not accept:(Meaning) The Greek word used here means that Diotrephes did not accept or obey what John had written. It implies that he did not accept John’s authority to give him instructions. See Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, Living Bible.
our:(Pronoun Reference) John is here using the plural pronoun to refer to himself. In many languages this may need to be translated as “my.”
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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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