Greek Breakdown & Meaning
[1:3] • [4–6] • [7–8] • [9–11] • [12–13]
Text and Translation
Greek Text
7. ὅτι πολλοὶ πλάνοι εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸν κόσμον, οἱ μὴ ὁμολογοῦντες Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί. οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ πλάνος καὶ ὁ ἀντίχριστος.
8. βλέπετε ἑαυτούς, ἵνα μὴ ἀπολέσωμεν ἃ εἰργασάμεθα, ἀλλὰ μισθὸν πλήρη ἀπολάβωμεν.
English Translation
7. For many deceivers have entered the world, those who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.
8. Watch yourselves so that we may not lose out on that which we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.
Graphical Grammar1
Weighty Words
- ὁμολογοῦντες – pres. act. ptc. masc. pl. nom. ▶ ὁμολογέω: confess.
- σαρκί – noun fem. sg. dat. ▶ σάρξ: flesh. The word appears 151 times in the TR. In 140 of those appearances σάρξ is immediately preceded by a preposition (except when articular, in which case the articular phrase is immediately preceded by a preposition). The word is so rich with theological import that it merits deep study—not just in isolation, but also in its meaning within prepositional phrases.
- εἰργασάμεθα – 1st pl. aor. mid. indic. ▶ ἐργάζομαι: we worked.
Syntax Sense
Verse 7
- ὅτι is causal/explanatory (“for / because”), grounding the warning in a present reality. The Elder is not introducing content (“that…”), but explaining why vigilance and love must continue.
- οἱ μὴ ὁμολογοῦντες → This is an articular participle functioning substantively: “those who do not confess.” John identifies deceivers not by behavior or affiliation, but by confession.
- ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί → “coming in the flesh”
The present participle ἐρχόμενον does not merely assert a past incarnation (“who came”), but affirms the ongoing reality of Jesus Christ as the one who comes in flesh. The issue is not chronology but confession—whether Jesus Christ is acknowledged as truly incarnate. - οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ πλάνος καὶ ὁ ἀντίχριστος
The repeated article marks two predicate nouns applied to the same referent. This is not one unique figure, but a generic singular: this is what qualifies someone as a deceiver and an antichrist.
Verse 8
- βλέπετε is a present imperative, calling for ongoing vigilance, not a one-time warning. The reflexive ἑαυτούς places responsibility squarely on the community itself. This verse presents a great place to see the importance of aspect, and especially aspect in imperatives.
- ἵνα μὴ ἀπολέσωμεν → “so that we may not lose.” Subjunctive after ἵνα = purpose clause. The first-person plural subjunctives (ἀπολέσωμεν / ἀπολάβωμεν) deliberately include the Elder. The warning is communal: faithfulness and loss are shared realities, not merely individual outcomes.
- ἃ εἰργασάμεθα → “that which / what we worked for.” The neuter plural relative ἃ generalizes the object: “what we worked for” as a whole—effort, faithfulness, labor—without specifying individual acts.
- μισθὸν πλήρη ἀπολάβωμεν → “that we may receive a full reward”
ἀπολάβωμεν keeps the subjunctive parallelism. μισθὸν πλήρη = “full wage/recompense.”
Demystifying the Discourse
Take a look at εἰσῆλθον in verse 7. Many translations (NASB, NKJV, and ESV) render this as “gone out.” But the directional force of εἰσέρχομαι is to enter, to move into a space. Compare this to 1 John 2:19. In that passage, we have ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐξῆλθον –> “They went out from us.” A movement pattern emerges across these two Johannine epistles: departure from the community (1 Jn 2:19) and entry into the world (2 Jn 7). This movement pattern emerges from the different verbs John uses in each context, not from a single verb shifting vantage points.
The strength of rendering εἰσῆλθον as “entered” is that it preserves the literal directional force without requiring readers to hold two interpretive frameworks simultaneously. The discourse itself—the contrast between the departing antichrists of 1 John and the infiltrating deceivers of 2 John—makes the theological relationship clear without translation doing extra conceptual work that the discourse itself already performs.
Your turn!
Choose one or two prompts—there’s no need to do them all.
- Translate vv. 7–8 without looking at the English. Keep it rough.
- In v. 7, decide: “entered” or “gone out.” Write one sentence defending your choice from the Greek.
- In v. 8, underline the two ἵνα + subjunctive clauses and explain (in plain English) what each purpose clause is doing.
- Optional: What does the Elder gain by switching to “we” (ἀπολέσωμεν / ἀπολάβωμεν) instead of “you”?
Feel free to add your observations, thoughts, or translations to the discussion by commenting below.
Don’t feel ready to tackle translating yourself? That’s okay. Consider this: in v. 7, does John mean deceivers entered the world (a new presence) or went out into the world (a departure from the community)?
Post your take and cite one Greek reason (verb choice, context, or discourse flow). Then respond to one other comment charitably—assume the best, and test the reasoning.
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See complete translation of II John here.