I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee:
| Word | Greek | Strong’s | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| had | εἶχον eichon | G2192 | to hold (used in very various applications · verb — imperfect active indicative, 1st person singular |
| things | Πολλὰ Polla | G4183 | (singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) many · adjective — accusative plural neuter |
| write | γράψαι grapsai | G1125 | to "grave" · verb — aorist active infinitive |
| but | ἀλλ᾽ all᾽ | G235 | properly · conjunction |
| will | θέλω thelō | G2309 | to determine (as an active option from subjective impul… · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular |
| not | οὐ ou | G3756 | the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative |
| with | διὰ dia | G1223 | through (in very wide applications · preposition |
| ink | μέλανος melanos | G3188 | ink · noun — genitive singular neuter |
| and | καὶ kai | G2532 | and · conjunction |
| pen | καλάμου kalamou | G2563 | a reed (the plant or its stem · noun — genitive singular masculine |
| write | γράφειν· graphein | G1125 | to "grave" · verb — present active infinitive |
| thee | σοί soí | G4671 | to thee |
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
I. Demetrius, on the other hand, has a good report from all and of the truth itself. John and others also bear witness to his character, and Gaius can trust this testimony. Demetrius was likely well known to both John’s church and Gaius's. II. John closes the letter expressing a desire to see Gaius soon and wishing him peace. He also sends greetings from mutual friends and instructs Gaius to greet their friends by name, indicating a personal connection.
I will not--rather as Greek, "I wish not . . . to write" more.
I had many things to write - That is, I have many things that I might write; but having the hope of seeing thee shortly, I will not commit them to paper. Ink and pen are here mentioned; paper and ink in the preceding epistle.
I have many things to write,.... With regard to churches, and particular persons, and concerning hospitality to the poor brethren: but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee; suggesting he should take another method of communicating his mind to him, which he next mentions.
As in 2 John, the conclusion of 3 John shows John’s desire to make a personal visit and see to the instructions of this letter. 1:13 pen and ink (literally ink and reed): In antiquity, writing was typically done with a stylus shaped from a reed and black carbon ink (see also 2 Jn 1:12).
Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Clarke, Gill, Calvin and Keil & Delitzsch are in the public domain; Tyndale Open Study Notes © Tyndale House Publishers, CC BY-SA 4.0 — all from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org). Rashi: the Rosenbaum & Silbermann Pentateuch (public domain) and the Judaica Press and Metsudah Tanakh (CC BY), via Sefaria. Spurgeon's Treasury of David: public domain (lyteword's markdown edition, CC0).
I had many things to write, but I do not want to write to you with ink and pen. However, I hope to see you soon, and we will speak in person. Peace be with you. Your friends greet you. Greet your friends by name. Similar things have been said and interpreted at the end of the preceding letter; therefore, it would be unnecessary to repeat the same things again. The end, with divine assistance favoring, of the third Catholic letter of John.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
