2 John 5-7

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 2 John 1:5 tn The introductory καὶ νῦν (kai nun) has some adversative (contrastive) force: The addressees are already “living according to the truth” (v. 4) but in the face of the threat posed by the opponents, the author has to stress obedience all the more.
2. 2 John 1:5 tn The words “if I were” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied for clarity in English.
3. 2 John 1:5 sn An allusion to John 13:34-35, 1 John 2:7-8.
4. 2 John 1:5 tn “The one” is not in the Greek text. It is supplied for clarity in English.
5. 2 John 1:5 sn See 1 John 2:7.
6. 2 John 1:5 tn The ἵνα (hina) clause indicates content.
7. 2 John 1:6 tn Or “that we live.”
8. 2 John 1:6 tn The ἵνα (hina) clause indicates result, parallel to John 13:34 where the final ἵνα clause also indicates result.
9. 2 John 1:6 tn Or “should live in obedience to it.”
10. 2 John 1:7 tn Technically this ὅτι (hoti) clause is subordinate to the verb περιπατῆτε (peripatēte) at the end of v. 6, giving the reason why the readers should walk in the commandment to love one another. But BDF §456.1 notes that subordination “is often very loose” in such cases and can be translated “for.” Thus the ὅτι assumes something of an inferential sense, drawing an inference based on what has preceded.
11. 2 John 1:7 tn “As” is not in the Greek text. It is supplied for clarity in English, since (like in the same confession in 1 John 4:2) ᾿Ιησοῦν (Iēsoun) should be understood as object and Χριστόν (Christon) as complement of an object-complement double accusative construction.
12. 2 John 1:7 tn Or “Messiah.”
13. 2 John 1:7 tn This is the same confession as in 1 John 4:2 except the perfect participle used there is replaced by a present participle (ἐρχόμενον, erchomenon) here. It is not clear why the author changed from a perfect participle in 1 John 4:2 to a present participle here. The perfect participle suggests a reference to the incarnation (past). The present participle could suggest a reference to the (future) second advent, but based on the similarity to 1 John 4:2 it is probably best to take it as referring to the incarnation.
14. 2 John 1:7 sn The statement This person is the Deceiver and the Antichrist! is a metaphor (metonymy). The author does not mean that each individual is to be identified as the Antichrist. The opponents are compared to the Deceiver (Satan) and the Antichrist since they are accomplishing Satan’s work and preparing the way for the Antichrist.