What Does 3 John 1:14 Mean in the King James?
But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.
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
The Greek says “mouth toward mouth,” so peace here takes shape in direct speech between people who know one another by name.
THE MEANING
Peace reaches you through direct exchange: you are met in speech and recognized personally. The friends’ greeting and the call to greet each friend by name make belonging specific and mutual.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is that peace requires distance and anonymity; this verse places it in direct speech and personal recognition.
THE ROOT
στόμα πρὸς στόμα
stoma pros stoma
GROWS FROM
στόμα
stomat-
Mouth; also an opening or outlet.
“face to face” in this verse is stoma pros stoma. The Greek phrase is literally “mouth toward mouth.” English gives you the meeting of faces; the Greek brings the exchange of speech into view, making the closing wish for peace something spoken between people in one another’s presence.
ALSO GROWS
stomion: A related form for a mouthpiece or, figuratively, the edge of a blade.
στόμιον
The mouth-root can name a point where something comes forth or meets; here it marks the opening through which people speak to one another.
stoma: The same word can describe a mouth or the opening of something, such as a river.
στόμα
“Mouth toward mouth” makes the verse’s face-to-face meeting an opening for direct conversation.
ὄνομα
onoma
GROWS FROM
ὀνοματ-
onomat-
Name; designation or identity.
A name carries more than a label: it makes someone distinctly present to the people who know them. To greet the friends by name is to recognize each person in their particular nature, not as an anonymous part of a group.
ALSO GROWS
onomazō: To name or identify someone or something.
ὀνομάζω
The related verb makes explicit that naming is an act of recognition, as this closing greeting asks the reader to recognize each friend.
epōnymos: Bearing or receiving a name associated with someone or something.
ἐπώνυμος
This branch shows how a name can carry identity and association, deepening the personal weight of greeting someone by name.
οἱ φίλοι
hoi philoi
GROWS FROM
φιλ-
phil-
Affection; being dear or beloved.
The word for friends belongs to a family built around affection. The passage’s closeness is not only physical or verbal; it is shared among people held dear.
ALSO GROWS
phileō: To love or show affection.
φιλέω
This verb reveals the affection carried in the word for friend and gives the greeting its warmth.
philadelphia: Affection among siblings or members of a close community.
φιλαδελφία
This related word shows how the affection of friendship can extend into a community whose members recognize one another as kin.
THE PATTERN
Belonging becomes tangible through direct presence, personal recognition, and spoken greeting.
And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.THE THREAD
Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.This verse uses the same Greek phrase, “mouth toward mouth,” for speaking face to face. It opens the closing blessing further: direct speech between people who know one another carries shared joy.
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