This may be the first book you’ve ever attempted to translate in full. It was for me. Translating an entire book of the Bible can feel intimidating—and that’s entirely normal. III John is a great place to start. The epistle is brief, situational, and easy to overlook, yet rich enough to reward careful attention. I approached it slowly, letting the relationships and repeated vocabulary set the agenda before asking larger interpretive questions.
This book should be a fun book for you, too. You can be both serious about building Greek fluency and genuinely enjoy the work of translating the Holy Scriptures. Why is III John such a good candidate? It is short enough—about as long as some intermediate Greek graded readings—to complete in a few weeks. Translating an entire biblical book is deeply encouraging, and III John gives you a complete text by a single author. As such, it serves as a clear test of both what you already know and where you still have room to grow. And at just fourteen verses, it has a great deal to say to us, even in the twenty-first century.
The goal of this TBWM is not speed or mastery, but careful reading, sustained attention to the Greek text, and growing confidence through practice. Join the conversation. Don’t be afraid to get lost in the text and its many layers. Serious language study can be demanding—but sustained attention to the text is often deeply absorbing.
Here is the full translation with side-by-side Greek and English with links back to these analyses and my Field notes.
Begin Working through 3 John
Johannine Reading Companion
See the Johannine Appendix for shared themes, vocabulary patterns, and authorial habits across I–III John.
See also the TBWM Reading Map for grammatical, syntactical, and discourse concepts surfaced throughout Translate the Bible With Me.
Pronunciation & Diagramming
As you know, one of the things I recommend is reading the text aloud. That can feel difficult when you’re unsure how to pronounce unfamiliar or frequently repeated words. Using a reconstructed Koine pronunciation system, I’ve put together a short guide focusing on key words in I, II, and II John—terms you’ll encounter often and that benefit from becoming familiar to the ear as well as the eye. Note that the III John pronunciations are not on a dedicated page, but are contained in each of the individual TBWM lessons. Pronunciation Guide →
Sentence diagrams are an invaluable tool for visualizing grammatical relationships. To learn the diagramming method used by TBWM, see the Diagramming Guide.
Navigation & Resources
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