“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (NKJV) “I pray that you may prosper and be in health” was a common greeting frequently found in first century letters, used by Christians and pagans alike. The first-century custom of a letter writer in writing his name first followed by that of the addressee is likewise noted here: “The Elder, to the beloved Gaius.” Misunderstanding this “Introductory Formality” has led to two misinterpretations of 3 John 1:2, some assuming that Gaius had been ill, and others that John’s words invoke a blessing or provisioning of prosperity and health. A look at three key words clarifies John’s intention:
Euchomai means “to express a wish” and is normally translated “wish”, unless modified in some way by the context. Euchomai is mistranslated pray in this passage; if this was a prayer proseuchomai, the compound verb which means “to pray to God”, would have been used. Proseuchomai and its noun are used almost exclusively for prayer in the New Testament, with 123 usages, and are never translated “wish.” We see this same usage in Romans 9:3 where Paul could “wish” – not pray – that he himself might be cut off from Christ for his fellow Israelites, and again in Acts 27:29 where the ship’s company (i.e., unsaved people) “wished” – rather than prayed – that daylight may come. 3 John 1:2 is correctly translated “wish” in the KJV but occasionally mistranslated “pray” in other translations, such as the NKJV quoted.
Prosper is from the Greek word euodoo which is derived from the union of three Greek words: Euodos, which means “easy to travel through”, Eu, which means “good, well”, and Hodos, which means “a way, journey.” In the New Testament euodoo is found only in the passive case and means “to be led in a good way, to have a good and safe (life) journey”, and never imposes the idea of wealth. Paul uses euodoo in Romans 1:10 when speaking of his desire to “have a prosperous journey” (KJV), “find a way” (NKJV) to Rome -- a word cluster translating euodoo. In 1 Cor. 16:2 the Lord makes provisions along “The Way” for the needs of believers, that the believer can lay aside some of these provisions for the needs of others... reminiscent of the widow giving out of her need.
Hugiaino, translated “be in health”, means “safe, sound and well”, and is used in a physical sense here as well as metaphorically of “sound” faith and “sound” doctrine in other passages. This is not a guarantee that Gaius is going to be healthy, but simply an expressed wish for his physical well being.
John is simply wishing by way of greeting that his letter finds Gaius, an old friend and spiritual warrior, in a good way, safe, sound and well, adding qualitatively “just as your soul prospers”, just as your soul has been led in a good way... “Walking in the truth”, a fact which was attested to by the brethren (i.e., verse 3). We might say “I hope you are doing well and in good health”, simply expressing a wish for good as John was.
Endnote: The word prosper, in all its forms, appears only three times in New Testament scripture, and only as the translation of euodoo as noted. Volumes of N.T. scriptures speak of the deceitfulness of riches, the extreme difficulty of the rich attaining salvation... AKA threading the needle with a camel, the predestined reality of poor saints, condemnation of love for the world and this life, warnings against covertness, the impossibility of serving both God and money, the foolishness of the “Bigger Barn” syndrome, the desire for riches drowning people in destruction and sorrow, spiritual life that does not consist in the abundance of one’s possessions, admonitions for saints to divest wealth to the poor investing their heart in heaven’s bank, saint’s “having nothing (material), and yet possessing all things (spiritual)”... and so on... Within this context a New Testament precept that God wills all saints to prosper financially is unfounded.
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