complete verse (3 John 1:13)

Following are a number of back-translations of 3 John 1:13:

  • Uma: “There is still much I want to say to you, but I don’t want to write it in this letter.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “I would like to say much more to you but I won’t write (it) now.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There are many things I would like to say to you but I don’t want to write them.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “There is still much that I want to tell you (sing.), but I have not included it in this letter” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “There’s much more which I would like to say to you which I would like to write, but I decided not to write it after all.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “There are more words I want to tell you, but I do not want to write them all here on the paper.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “I thought I would write you many things, but I do not want to write more on paper.”
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “There is a lot that I want to tell you, but this is all (only this) I will put on this paper.”
  • Isthmus Zapotec: “I still have much more to write to you, but I don’t want to write it.” (Source for this and two above: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.)

Translation commentary on 3 John 1:13 – 1:14

Verses 13-14 closely resemble 2 John 12, which see. The few differences are the following; The verb to write is not the present participle but is in the imperfect tense, expressing obligation; the Greek term rendered I would rather not is slightly more definite than the corresponding one in the other verse, 2 John 12; the term rendered to see is in this context probably a more common synonym of the one rendered “to come and see” in 2 John 12; and, soon (or ‘shortly,’ ‘in a little while,’ ‘before long’) is lacking in 2 John 12.

To write with pen and ink uses the word order common in English instead of the word order “ink and pen” used in the Greek. The phrase parallels “to use paper and ink” in 2 John 12 as a synonym for “to write a letter.” Renderings of the two phrases may have to be identical.

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 .