2 John 1:12

Having many things to write The First Epistle will give us some idea of what these were.

I would not write with paper and ink There is here no -write" in the Greek; and in the first clause -write" is almost too limited in meaning for γράφειν, which like our -say" covers a variety of methods of communication. Having many things to say to you, I would not (say them) by means of paper and ink. Perhaps we may here trace a sign of the failing powers of an old man, to whom writing is serious fatigue.

-Paper" (χάρτης) occurs nowhere else in N.T.; but it occurs in LXX. of Jeremiah 36:23; and its diminutive (χαρτίον) is frequent in that chapter. In 3Ma 4:20 we have a cognate word (χαρτήρια), which probably, like -paper" here, means Egyptian papyrus, as distinct from the more expensive -parchment" (μεμβράναι) mentioned 2 Timothy 4:13. But both papyrus and parchment were costly, which may account for the Apostle's brevity. See Dict. of the Bible, writing, and Dict. of Antiquities, liber.

-Ink" (μέλαν) is mentioned again 3 John 1:13; elsewhere in N.T. only 2 Corinthians 3:3: comp. LXX. of Jeremiah 36:18. It was made of lampblack and gall-juice, or more simply of soot and water.

but I trust Or, as R. V., but I hope: the verb (ἐλπίζω) is frequent in N.T., and there seems to be no reason for changing the usual rendering: comp. 1 Timothy 3:14; Philippians 2:19; Philippians 2:23. A.V. wavers needlessly between -hope" and -trust".

to come unto you More exactly, according to the true reading (γένεσθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς), to appear before you: literally, -to come to be in your presence". Comp. 1Co 2:3; 1 Corinthians 16:10. The phrase is used of words as well as of persons: John 10:35; Acts 10:13, and as a various reading, Acts 7:31. In all these cases the coming is expressed with a certain amount of solemnity.

The -you" (ὑμῖν, ὑμᾶς) in this verse includes the children mentioned in 2 John 1:1. This, when contrasted with -thee" (σε, σοι) in 2 John 1:5, seems to be in favour of understanding the -lady" literally. The change from -thee" to -you" seems more in harmony with a matron and her family than with a Church and its members.

face to face Literally, mouth to mouth: it is not the phrase which is used in 1 Corinthians 13:12 and Genesis 32:31. Comp. Numbers 12:8; Jeremiah 39 (32):4.

that our joy may be full Better, as R. V., that your (AB and Vulgate) joy may be fulfilled: see on 1 John 1:4. "The high associations with which" the phrase "is connected lead us to suppose that it would scarcely have been applied by S. John to any meeting but one of peculiar solemnity after a cruel and prolonged separation which had threatened to be eternal" (Bishop Alexander). Comp. Romans 1:12.