3 John 1:2

περὶ πάντων εὔχομαι. I pray that in all respects; literally, concerning all things. It might well surprise us to find S. John placing health and prosperity above all things, as A.V. has it; and though περὶ πάντων has that meaning sometimes in Homer (Il. I. 287), yet no parallel use of it has been found in either N.T. or LXX. It belongs to εὐοδοῦσθαι rather than to εὔχομαι, a word which occurs here only in S. John.

εὐοδοῦσθαι. The word occurs elsewhere in N.T. only Romans 1:10 and 1 Corinthians 16:2, but is frequent in LXX. Etymologically it has the meaning of being prospered in a journey, but that element has been lost in usage, and should not be restored even in Romans 1:10.

ὑγιαίνειν. Bodily health, the chief element in all prosperity: Luke 7:10; Luke 15:27; comp. Luke 15:31. We cannot conclude from these good wishes that Gaius had been ailing in health and fortune: but it is quite clear from what follows that ‘prosper and be in health’ do not refer to his spiritual condition; and this verse is, therefore, good authority for praying for temporal blessings for our friends. In the Pastoral Epistles ὑγιαίνειν is always used figuratively of faith and doctrine.

The order of the Greek is striking, περὶ πάντων at the beginning being placed in contrast to ἡ ψυχή at the end of the sentence: in all things I pray that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as prospereth thy soul. The verse is a model for all friendly wishes of good fortune to others. Ἡ ψυχή here means the immaterial part of man’s nature; and the well-being of the ψυχή is the measure of all well-being, in a far higher sense than the Aristotelian (Nic. Eth. I. vii. 15). Ubi anima valet, omnia valere possunt (Bengel). For a similar use of ἠ ψυχή as including the πνεῦμα comp. Matthew 10:28; 1 Peter 1:9; 1 Peter 1:22.