What Does 3 John 1:10 Mean in the King James?
Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Here refusal is not a private preference: it escalates into blocking others’ welcome and throwing people out.
THE MEANING
Where malicious speech takes root now, the passage traces its movement: a person refuses welcome, blocks others who would offer it, then expels the brethren. It brings those acts into view as one escalating pattern, so reputation cannot conceal the door being closed.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that controlling the community’s door proves care for it: slander, obstructed welcome, and expulsion reveal a pattern of harm.
THE ROOT
ἐπιδέχεται
epidechetai
GROWS FROM
δέχομαι
dechomai
To receive, accept, or welcome.
English “receive” can sound like a passive transaction, but this word carries welcome: his refusal withholds a place for the brethren. Mark 9:37 uses the same word family for receiving a child and receiving Jesus, binding welcome to recognition.
ALSO GROWS
apodechomai: To receive or accept gladly.
ἀποδέχομαι
This branch shows the root can carry welcome as an active response, sharpening the force of his refusal.
dektos: Acceptable, welcome.
δεκτός
It names the quality of being received, the shared space his action denies.
κωλύει
kōlyei
GROWS FROM
κωλύω
kōlyō
To hinder, prevent, or restrain.
The action reaches beyond his own refusal: he actively prevents the people who want to receive the brethren. English “forbiddeth” can hide that obstruction is another deed in the chain.
ALSO GROWS
kōlyma: An obstacle or hindrance.
κώλυμα
The related noun makes the barrier itself visible: he becomes an obstacle between people who would welcome and those seeking welcome.
akōlytōs: Without hindrance, unhindered.
ἀκωλύτως
This opposite form shows the same word family can describe access with the obstacle removed.
ἐκβάλλει
ekballei
GROWS FROM
βάλλω
ballō
To throw, cast, or put.
“casteth out” in this verse is ekballei. The compound adds an outward direction: the action is a casting away from the assembly. The root makes the harm concrete; this is more than disagreement or refusal to admit someone, but a forceful expulsion.
ALSO GROWS
apoballō: To cast away or throw off.
ἀποβάλλω
It shows how the same root gives force to rejection and removal.
kataballō: To throw down or lay down.
καταβάλλω
The root’s physical force remains audible in this compound, underscoring the force of expulsion here.
THE PATTERN
A gatekeeper’s speech and control of access can turn a community into an instrument of exclusion.
A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.THE THREAD
Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.Mark uses the same Greek verb family, δέχομαι (dechomai), meaning “receive” or “welcome,” that lies beneath “receiveth” here. Receiving a child in Jesus’ name, in his nature, extends welcome through the chain of sender and sent; here, refusing the brethren and blocking others reveals the inverse.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us