Semantic Analysis
Semantic Analysis — Ephesians (Koine Greek → Cantonese)
Scope and Method
This analysis covers the entire book of Ephesians, chapters 1–6, in the original Koine Greek. The core passage (Ephesians 2:1–10) receives full verse-by-verse treatment. Every other chapter receives a chapter-level study of its load-bearing theological terms using the same analytical fields: Original term | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk.
Per the governing PRD rule, any term already recorded in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json is reused exactly as recorded — its baseline Cantonese rendering, transliteration, and doctrine-risk framing are carried forward without alteration. Such terms are marked [Baseline TM reuse] below. New terms required for Ephesians’ distinctive vocabulary (mystery, predestination, redemption, body, headship, armor, principalities/powers, household codes, etc.) are analyzed fresh and flagged [New for Ephesians], with proposed Cantonese renderings for Phase 1 Step 8 glossary adoption.
Hong Kong/Guangdong/Macau cultural collision points are cross-checked against the same folk-religious landscape documented in the baseline (Wong Tai Sin/temple-vow culture, Guanyin devotion, feng shui and almanac practice, ancestor veneration and Ching Ming/Chung Yeung rites, spirit-medium (問米) practice, ghost-month/hungry-ghost folk belief, Confucian Three Cardinal Guides household hierarchy, and Hong Kong’s contemporary domestic-helper social reality).
PART 1 — Core Passage Verse-by-Verse: Ephesians 2:1–10
Ephesians 2:1
“καὶ ὑμᾶς ὄντας νεκροὺς τοῖς παραπτώμασιν καὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν” “And you were dead in your transgressions and sins”
| Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| νεκρούς | nekrous | ”dead,” “corpse-like” | Physical death; by extension, total absence of spiritual life/responsiveness to God | dead, deadened | Total spiritual deadness prior to regeneration — not merely weakened or sick, but without divine life | [New for Ephesians] 死咗嘅 (sei2 zo2 ge3) / 靈裡死咗 (ling4 leoi5 sei2 zo2). Risk: High. Must be explicitly qualified as spiritual deadness (“靈裡”), not physical death — Cantonese hearers have strong ancestor-death and ghost-month (盂蘭節) associative frames around “死”; without the qualifier, hearers may default to a folk-afterlife reading (spirits of the dead needing ritual help) rather than the intended sense of a living person cut off from God’s life. |
| παραπτώμασιν | paraptōmasin | ”false steps,” “trespasses” | Specific acts of wrongdoing/transgression, distinct from the general condition of ἁμαρτία | trespasses, transgressions, wrongdoings | Concrete acts of sin, paired with the general state | [New for Ephesians] 過犯 (gwo3 faan6). Risk: Medium. Distinguish from 罪 (general sin-nature) — 過犯 names specific transgressions; keep both terms distinct so Ephesians 2:1’s rhetorical doubling (“trespasses AND sins”) is not flattened into a single redundant word. |
| ἁμαρτίαις | hamartiais | ”missing the mark” | Moral offense against God | sins | The general condition of sin | [Baseline TM reuse] 罪 (zeoi6) — Critical/High per baseline “sin” entry; retain baseline caution against 報應 (karmic retribution) and 唔衰得 (face/shame) framings. |
Verse synthesis: Paul opens the argument of Ephesians 2 by declaring the pre-conversion condition as one of total spiritual death, not partial impairment. This sets up the “but God” reversal of v.4. Cantonese translators must resist any reading that softens “dead” toward “sick,” “lost,” or “asleep” — all of which exist in Chinese Bible tradition variants but understate the totality Paul intends.
Ephesians 2:2
“ἐν αἷς ποτε περιεπατήσατε κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος, τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ νῦν ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας”
| Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| περιεπατήσατε | peripatēsate | ”walked around” | Habitual conduct/lifestyle | walked, lived, followed | The former, sin-dominated pattern of daily life | [New for Ephesians] 生活/行事為人 (hang4 si6 wai4 jan4). Risk: Low. Standard idiom for “conduct oneself”; recurs as a key Ephesians motif (4:1,17; 5:2,8,15) — must render consistently throughout the book once fixed. |
| αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου | aiōna tou kosmou toutou | ”age of this world/system” | The present, fallen world-order as opposed to the age to come | course of this world, ways of this world, this present age | The dominant, God-opposing value-system of unredeemed society | [New for Ephesians] 呢個世代 (nei1 go3 sai3 doi6). Risk: Medium. Distinguish from a morally neutral “the times we live in”; this is a spiritually hostile system, not merely “current trends.” |
| ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος | archonta tēs exousias tou aeros | ”ruler of the authority of the air” | Satan as the personal head of a hierarchy of hostile spiritual powers occupying the “heavenly/aerial” realm | prince of the power of the air, ruler of the kingdom of the air | Satan’s present, delegated, but doomed authority over the fallen world-system | [New for Ephesians] 空中掌權者 (hung1 zung1 zoeng2 kyun4 ze2). Risk: Critical. Extremely high collision risk: Cantonese “air/wind” spiritual-force language overlaps directly with 風水 (“wind-water,” feng shui) discourse about unseen forces governing fortune through air/wind/qi flow, and with generic sky-deity or weather-spirit folk belief. Must be anchored explicitly to Satan as a single personal, defeated adversary (cf. Eph 1:21; 6:12), never a feng shui “bad air” force correctable through spatial arrangement. |
| ἀπειθείας | apeitheias | ”disobedience,” “non-persuadability” | Willful resistance to God’s truth | disobedience, unbelief | The settled posture of those outside Christ | [New for Ephesians] 悖逆 (bui3 jik6). Risk: Low-Medium. Standard term; ensure it reads as willful defiance of God, not mere rule-breaking. |
Verse synthesis: This verse names the “vertical” (Satan/spiritual powers) and “horizontal” (worldly value-system) dimensions of the deadness of v.1. The translator must keep Satan a real personal being with real (if doomed) authority — never a diffuse feng shui “bad energy.”
Ephesians 2:3
“ἐν οἷς καὶ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἀνεστράφημέν ποτε ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῆς σαρκὸς ἡμῶν, ποιοῦντες τὰ θελήματα τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ τῶν διανοιῶν, καὶ ἤμεθα τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποί”
| Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| σαρκός | sarkos | ”flesh” | Physical body; by metonymy, fallen human nature/sinful desire-orientation | flesh, sinful nature, body | The corrupted human nature that generates sinful cravings | [New for Ephesians] 肉體 (juk6 tai2). Risk: Medium. Must be clarified as sinful human nature/desire, not the physical body itself — avoid collision with Daoist body-cultivation concepts (肉身成道, “attaining the Way in the flesh”) which treat the body as a vehicle for spiritual ascent rather than a site of corruption needing redemption. |
| ἐπιθυμίαις | epithymiais | ”strong desires/cravings” | Morally neutral in some contexts, but here sinful lust/craving | desires, lusts, cravings | Disordered desire driving sinful action | [New for Ephesians] 私慾 (si1 juk6) or 慾望 (jyuk6 mong6). Risk: Low-Medium. Standard term for illicit desire. |
| διανοιῶν | dianoiōn | ”thoughts/minds” | The intellectual/volitional faculty, here corrupted | thoughts, mind, understanding | The mind as complicit in sin, not just the body | [New for Ephesians] 心思 (sam1 si1). Risk: Low. |
| τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς | tekna physei orgēs | ”children by nature of wrath” | Inherent liability to God’s righteous judicial wrath from birth | by nature children of wrath, deserving wrath by nature | Universal, inherited guilt before a holy God — not a status earned by individual choice alone | [New for Ephesians] 本性都係應受神忿怒嘅人 (bun2 sing3 dou1 hai6 jing1 sau6 san4 fan5 nou6 ge3 jan4). Risk: High. Must avoid two culturally available but doctrinally wrong readings: (1) fatalistic “born unlucky” framing tied to birth-chart/astrology culture (八字), already flagged under baseline “election”/“calling”; (2) karmic-retribution framing (報應) already flagged under baseline “sin,” which would suggest wrath is proportional payback for accumulated bad deeds rather than an inherited condition met by grace. |
Verse synthesis: Verse 3 universalizes the diagnosis (“we all,” “like the rest”) — Jew and Gentile alike were under wrath by nature. This anchors the “no distinction” theme picked up later in Ephesians 2:14–18 and connects to the baseline’s “universal_human_accountability” doctrine already established for Romans.
Ephesians 2:4
“ὁ δὲ Θεὸς πλούσιος ὢν ἐν ἐλέει, διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἀγάπην αὐτοῦ ἣν ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς”
| Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| πλούσιος … ἐν ἐλέει | plousios en eleei | ”rich in mercy” | Abundant, overflowing compassion toward the guilty | rich in mercy, abounding in mercy | God’s mercy is not a scarce resource dispensed sparingly but an inexhaustible attribute | [New for Ephesians] 有豐富憐憫嘅 (jau5 fung1 fu3 lin4 man5 ge3). Risk: Medium. 憐憫 risks conflation with the Buddhist compassion ideal (慈悲) already flagged in the baseline under “salvation” (Guanyin’s “大慈大悲救苦救難”); must be anchored to the personal covenant God of Ephesians 1, not a free-floating universal compassion principle. |
| ἀγάπην | agapēn | ”love” | Selfless, self-giving love, God’s characteristic love toward his own | love, great love | The motivating cause of the “but God” reversal | [New for Ephesians] 愛 (oi3). Risk: Low-Medium. Standard term; ensure the modifier πολλήν (“great/much”) is rendered with intensity (大愛/深愛), not flattened to generic affection. |
Verse synthesis: “But God” (v.4) is the theological hinge of the entire passage and arguably of the whole letter’s argument about grace. Translators must preserve the strong adversative force of δέ against the bleak diagnosis of vv.1–3.
Ephesians 2:5
“καὶ ὄντας ἡμᾶς νεκροὺς τοῖς παραπτώμασιν συνεζωοποίησεν τῷ Χριστῷ — χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι —“
| Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| συνεζωοποίησεν | synezōopoiēsen | ”made alive together with” | A compound verb (σύν + ζωοποιέω): co-resurrection/co-vivification with Christ | made us alive together with, quickened together with | Believers’ new spiritual life is inseparably united to Christ’s own resurrection life — not a separate, individually-generated revival | [New for Ephesians] 同基督一齊活過來 (tung4 gei1 duk1 jat1 cai4 wut6 gwo3 loi4). Risk: High. Distinct from but doctrinally linked to baseline “resurrection” (復活, ἀνάστασις — Critical risk). Must not be reduced to 投胎轉世 (rebirth cycle) or a 問米-style spirit-summoning of the dead. This is spiritual regeneration in union with Christ’s historical bodily resurrection, not a private mystical revival experience. |
| χάριτί … σεσωσμένοι | chariti … sesōsmenoi | ”by grace … having been saved” | Perfect passive: a completed action with ongoing effect; grace as the sole efficient cause | you have been saved by grace, saved through grace | Salvation is a settled, past-completed reality received by grace alone | [Baseline TM reuse] 恩典 (jan1 din2, Critical) for χάρις; verb form 得救 (dak1 gau3) as the verbal counterpart of the baseline noun 救恩 (gau3 jan1, Critical) — consistent, not a deviation. Risk: Critical. This is the letter’s thesis statement in miniature (repeated verbatim in v.8) and must never be rendered in a way that suggests grace was released in response to anything the sinner did — directly guards against the Wong Tai Sin “有求必應” vow-and-offering transactional model already flagged in baseline. |
Verse synthesis: This is a parenthetical anticipation of v.8’s fuller statement — the phrase “by grace you have been saved” must be translated identically in both verses per the Theological Consistency Rules inherited from the baseline package (cf. the mandate to render Romans 1:16–17 and 8:28 identically across documents; the same discipline applies here to Ephesians 2:5/2:8).
Ephesians 2:6
“καὶ συνήγειρεν καὶ συνεκάθισεν ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ”
| Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| συνήγειρεν | synēgeiren | ”raised together with” | Compound of σύν + ἐγείρω; shares the root of ἀνάστασις-family resurrection vocabulary | raised us up with him | Believers share, by union with Christ, in the reality and standing of his resurrection | [Baseline TM reuse-adjacent] 一齊復活 (jat1 cai4 fuk6 wut6), built on baseline 復活 (Critical). Risk: High. Retain baseline caution: never 投胎轉世 or 問米 framing. |
| συνεκάθισεν | synekathisen | ”seated together with” | Enthronement/co-regency imagery | seated us with him, made us sit with him | Present positional share in Christ’s exalted authority, not merely a future hope | [New for Ephesians] 一齊坐 (jat1 cai4 co5) / 一同坐在… Risk: Medium. Avoid a throne/deification misreading (as if believers become co-equal deities); this is positional favor and authority-in-union, not apotheosis. |
| ἐπουρανίοις | epouraniois | ”heavenly places/realms” | The spiritual, unseen realm where Christ presently reigns | heavenly realms, heavenly places | Christ’s present spiritual reign, the sphere believers now share by union with him | [New for Ephesians] 天上/屬天嘅境界 (suk6 tin1 ge3 ging2 gaai3). Risk: Medium. Must not be conflated with a Daoist immortal-realm (仙界) or Buddhist Pure Land/heavenly-realm concept reached through merit or cultivation — this is a present spiritual reality secured entirely by grace-union with Christ, not a destination earned. |
Verse synthesis: Verse 6 completes the triad “made alive / raised / seated,” a compressed summary of the believer’s full share in Christ’s resurrection-exaltation, entirely by grace (anticipating v.8) and entirely apart from merit.
Ephesians 2:7
“ἵνα ἐνδείξηται ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσιν τοῖς ἐπερχομένοις τὸ ὑπερβάλλον πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ ἐν χρηστότητι ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ”
| Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐνδείξηται | endeixētai | ”might show/demonstrate” | Purposeful public display | might show, might display | God’s purpose in saving is to put his grace on eternal, cosmic display | [New for Ephesians] 顯示/彰顯 (cin2 hin2). Risk: Low. Caution: do not use 顯靈 (a deity “manifesting power” at a shrine — forbidden per baseline incarnation entry) for this “showing.” |
| ὑπερβάλλον πλοῦτος | hyperballon ploutos | ”surpassing/exceeding riches” | Overflowing abundance | incomparable riches, immeasurable riches | Grace described in terms of inexhaustible wealth — a deliberate contrast with any transactional, limited-supply favor | [New for Ephesians] 豐富 (fung1 fu3), qualified as 無可比擬嘅豐富 (mou4 ho2 bei2 nei5 ge3 fung1 fu3). Risk: Medium. Must not be read through the lens of Hong Kong’s prosperity/luck culture (恭喜發財, 福氣 — already flagged as rejected alternatives for “grace” in the baseline). This is spiritual, not material, abundance. |
| χρηστότητι | chrēstotēti | ”kindness” | Benevolent goodness in action | kindness, graciousness | The relational warmth accompanying God’s grace | [New for Ephesians] 恩慈 (jan1 ci4). Risk: Low. |
Verse synthesis: God’s eternal purpose in redemption is doxological — to display grace’s riches “in the ages to come.” This connects to the baseline’s caution (under “glory”) against reducing divine display to 面子 (face) or 威水 (flashy success).
Ephesians 2:8
“τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι διὰ πίστεως· καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν, Θεοῦ τὸ δῶρον”
| Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| χάριτι … σεσωσμένοι | chariti … sesōsmenoi | ”by grace … having been saved” | (as v.5) | by grace you have been saved | The letter’s thesis restated in full form | [Baseline TM reuse] 恩典 (jan1 din2) + 得救 (dak1 gau3). Risk: Critical. Must render identically to v.5 per cross-document consistency rules. |
| διὰ πίστεως | dia pisteōs | ”through faith” | Faith as the instrumental means (not the meritorious cause) of receiving grace | through faith, by means of faith | Faith is the empty hand that receives, not a work that earns | [Baseline TM reuse] 信心 (seon3 sam1, High). Risk: Critical in this context. Must be clearly instrumental (“through/by means of,” 藉住/憑住), never causal/meritorious (“because of,” which would imply faith itself is a work earning salvation) — distinguish sharply from the fortune-telling confidence (睇相算命) framing flagged under baseline “faith.” |
| δῶρον | dōron | ”gift” | A free, unearned gift | gift | Salvation itself — not merely grace or faith individually — is God’s gift | [New for Ephesians] 禮物/恩賜 — recommend 白白嘅恩賜 (baak6 baak6 ge3 jan1 ci3) or simply 禮物 (lai5 mat6) for clarity distinct from baseline compound 屬靈恩賜 (spiritual gifts, a different referent). Risk: High. Must not be confused with a temple votive gift or reciprocal offering (供品/還神還願 already flagged under baseline “justification”); this is unilaterally given, with no return expected. |
Verse synthesis: This is arguably the single most theologically load-bearing verse in the whole curriculum. The grammatical antecedent debate (does τοῦτο refer to grace, faith, or the whole salvation-event?) should be resolved for translation purposes as: the entire salvation-by-grace-through-faith reality is God’s gift — none of it originates “from yourselves” (οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν). This verse anchors the Salvation by Grace through Faith doctrine for the entire curriculum and must be treated with the same cross-document fixed-rendering discipline the baseline applies to Romans 1:16–17.
Ephesians 2:9
“οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων, ἵνα μή τις καυχήσηται”
| Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἔργων | ergōn | ”works” | Human deeds performed as the basis of merit/reward | works, deeds, efforts | Explicitly excluded as any part of the basis of salvation | [New for Ephesians] 行為 (hang4 wai4) in this negative/contrastive sense (distinct from the positive “good works” of v.10 — see below). Risk: Critical. This is the direct doctrinal negation-point of Hong Kong’s most pervasive religious transactional pattern: earning merit (功德, already forbidden under baseline “grace”/“justification”), fulfilling temple vows (還神還願), or accumulating good karma. Must be rendered so the contrast with grace in v.8 is unmistakable. |
| καυχήσηται | kauchēsētai | ”might boast” | Self-congratulatory pride in one’s own achievement | boast, take credit | Grace excludes self-congratulation as a response to salvation | [New for Ephesians] 自誇 (zi6 kwaa1). Risk: Medium. Connects to the baseline’s “face” (面子) caution under “glory” and “sin” — boasting-before-God concerns standing before a holy God, not social reputation/face management, though the two are easily conflated in Cantonese status-conscious culture. |
Verse synthesis: Verse 9 is the negative counterpart to v.8’s positive statement, closing the door on any works-based contribution. Translators must ensure οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων is not softened into “not only by works” or any formulation implying partial contribution.
Ephesians 2:10
“αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν ποίημα, κτισθέντες ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἐπὶ ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς, οἷς προητοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς ἵνα ἐν αὐτοῖς περιπατήσωμεν”
| Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ποίημα | poiēma | ”thing made,” “work of art/craftsmanship” | God’s own handiwork/creative product | workmanship, handiwork, masterpiece | Believers’ new identity is entirely God’s creative achievement, not self-made | [New for Ephesians] 作品 (zok3 ban2), or 手工 (sau2 gung1) in a more classic CUV-style rendering. Risk: Medium. Must reinforce that identity/worth is God-given, not self-achieved — resists Hong Kong’s status/achievement culture (威水) framing self-worth around accomplishment. |
| κτισθέντες | ktisthentes | ”having been created” | New-creation language, echoing Genesis creation | created, made | The new birth is a fresh act of divine creation, not self-reform | [New for Ephesians] 被創造 (bei6 cong3 zou6). Risk: Medium. Distinguish from generic self-improvement idiom 重新做人 (“turning over a new leaf,” a common secular Cantonese idiom for reformed offenders) — this is God’s creative act, not a resolution of the will. |
| ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς | ergois agathois | ”good works” | Deeds flowing from, not producing, salvation | good works, good deeds | The God-appointed fruit of salvation, sharply distinguished from the ἔργα of v.9 which are excluded as its basis | [New for Ephesians] 善行 (sin6 hang4). Risk: Critical. 善行 was never itself flagged as forbidden in the baseline (only as a rejected alternative for “righteousness” — see baseline righteousness entry), but it sits immediately adjacent to the single highest-stakes collision in the entire curriculum: Buddhist/folk merit-accumulation (功德, already forbidden under baseline “grace” and “justification”). Every occurrence of 善行 in Ephesians 2:10 and parallel passages MUST carry an explicit translator note that these good works are the result of grace already given (vv.8–9), never a means of earning further grace, blessing, or salvation. |
| προητοίμασεν | proētoimasen | ”prepared beforehand” | Divine foreordination of specific good works for each believer | prepared in advance, predestined | God sovereignly planned the believer’s good works before they existed to do them — an outworking of the election/predestination theme of Ephesians 1 | [New for Ephesians] 預先安排/預備 (jyu6 sin1 on1 paai4). Risk: High. Connects to the predestination collision documented under Chapter 1 below (fatalism/八字注定 caution). |
Verse synthesis: Ephesians 2:10 completes the passage’s rhetorical arc: grace excludes works as cause (v.9) but grace produces works as fruit (v.10). This grace→fruit (never fruit→grace) sequence is the single most important structural point for Cantonese translators to preserve, given how naturally the vow-fulfillment (還神還願) and merit-accumulation (功德) patterns of Hong Kong’s dominant folk-religious culture would otherwise assimilate this verse into a “do good, get grace” transactional reading — the precise inversion Paul intends to forbid.
PART 2 — Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis of the Whole Book
Chapter 1 (Ephesians 1:1–23)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apostle ἀπόστολος (apostolos) one sent | Delegated authoritative messenger apostle | Paul’s foundational authority for the letter | [Baseline TM reuse] 使徒 (si2 tou4, Low). |
| Saints ἅγιοι (hagioi) holy ones | All believers corporately saints, holy ones | Address to the whole church, not a spiritual elite | [Baseline TM reuse] 聖徒 (sing3 tou4, High). |
| Grace / Peace χάρις / εἰρήνη (charis / eirēnē) favor / peace | Salutation formula grace and peace | Standard Pauline greeting, doctrinally loaded | [Baseline TM reuse] 恩典 (Critical) / 平安 (Medium). |
| Blessed εὐλογητός / εὐλογία (eulogētos / eulogia) well-spoken-of / a speaking-well | Praise-worthiness; the act/content of divine favor bestowed blessed, blessing | God is praised as the source of every spiritual blessing “in the heavenly places” | [New for Ephesians] 可稱頌嘅 (ho2 cing1 cung6 ge3) / 祝福 (zuk1 fuk1). Risk: Medium. Must be anchored to spiritual blessing “in Christ,” not material fortune (福氣, rejected under baseline “grace”) — a critical distinction given Hong Kong’s prosperity-luck culture already flagged under baseline “gospel.” |
| Chosen ἐξελέξατο (exelexato) he chose out | Sovereign, personal, pre-temporal selection chose, elected | God’s gracious, unconditional choice of believers “before the foundation of the world” | [Baseline TM reuse] 揀選 (gaan2 syun2, High). Retain baseline caution: never 命運 or 八字注定. |
| Predestined προορίσας (proorisas) having marked out beforehand | Sovereign advance determination of believers’ adoption/destiny predestined, foreordained | God’s eternal purpose behind election, now stated with the specific temporal-priority nuance (“before”) | [New for Ephesians] 預定 (jyu6 ding6). Risk: Critical. This term intensifies the baseline election-caution: Cantonese hearers steeped in birth-chart astrology (八字) and almanac fatalism (命中注定, 運程) will very readily assimilate “predestined” into an impersonal-fate reading. Must be taught explicitly as the personal, loving, pre-temporal decision of a relational God “according to the purpose of his will” (1:11), never an impersonal cosmic mechanism. Requires a translator note at every occurrence (1:5, 1:11) and human theologian review. |
| Adoption υἱοθεσία (huiothesia) placement as son | Full inheritance-bearing sonship (same Greek word as Romans 8:15) adoption as sons | Believers’ full family status and inheritance rights in God’s household | [Baseline TM reuse] 兒子嘅名分 (ji4 zi2 ge3 ming4 fan6, High). Retain baseline caution against 過繼 (clan-succession adoption) and 認契仔 (temple godson dedication). |
| Redemption ἀπολύτρωσις (apolytrōsis) a buying-back, a ransoming | Release secured by payment of a price redemption | Deliverance from sin’s guilt/bondage secured through Christ’s blood, a specific price paid | [New for Ephesians] 救贖 (gau3 suk6). Risk: High. Must be distinguished from folk-ritual “debt-paying” practices for the dead — e.g. burning joss paper/paper money (燒街衣) to settle a deceased relative’s “netherworld debt” (陰債) during Yu Lan/Ghost Festival — redemption in Ephesians is a once-for-all historical payment by Christ’s blood for the living believer’s guilt, not a repeatable ritual transaction on behalf of the departed. |
| Forgiveness ἄφεσις (aphesis) a release, a letting-go | Legal/relational pardon of debt or offense forgiveness | God’s judicial pardon of sins through Christ’s blood | [New for Ephesians] 赦免 (se3 min5). Risk: Medium. Standard term; keep as unilateral divine pardon, not a negotiated appeasement of an offended party as in some folk-ritual reconciliation customs. |
| Mystery μυστήριον (mystērion) a secret thing, hidden matter | In NT usage: a previously hidden divine plan, now openly revealed in the gospel to all who believe mystery | God’s redemptive plan, formerly concealed, now disclosed in Christ — accessible to all, not restricted to initiates | [New for Ephesians] 奧秘 (ou3 bei3). Risk: Critical. This is arguably Ephesians’ single highest cross-cultural collision term. Hong Kong religious/cultural life is saturated with “secret knowledge reserved for the initiated” frameworks: esoteric/tantric Buddhist practice (密宗, “secret mantras” 密咒), proprietary feng shui trade secrets (風水秘訣), and fortune-telling’s hidden, fee-gated knowledge. Biblical μυστήριον is the opposite structure: a truth once hidden that God has now openly, freely proclaimed to everyone (3:5,9) — it is revealed, not restricted. Every occurrence (1:9; 3:3,4,6,9; 5:32; 6:19) requires this clarifying framing and human theologian review. |
| Inheritance κληρονομία (klēronomia) an inherited portion/estate | The believer’s guaranteed future possession in Christ inheritance, portion | The eternal inheritance secured by the Spirit’s down-payment (1:14, “seal” language) | [New for Ephesians] 基業 (gei1 jip6). Risk: High. Collision with Pearl River Delta clan-inheritance custom (家產/祖業), where inheritance is tied to ancestor-worship continuation obligations passed through a single-surname lineage (cf. baseline’s 過繼 caution under “adoption”). God’s inheritance is unconditional grace-gift, unrelated to ancestral-line duty. |
| Sealed ἐσφραγίσθητε (esphragisthēte) you were sealed/stamped | Marking with an official, ownership-authenticating stamp; here, the Spirit as the guarantee-deposit of future inheritance sealed, marked | The Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence is God’s guarantee-mark of ownership and future inheritance | [New for Ephesians] 印記 (jan3 gei3) / 蓋上印記 (goi3 soeng5 jan3 gei3). Risk: Medium. Must not be conflated with a protective talisman/amulet (平安符, already flagged under baseline “peace”) that wards off misfortune through its own inherent power — the Spirit’s seal is a relational guarantee of belonging to God, not a magical object. |
| Wisdom & revelation σοφία / ἀποκάλυψις (sophia / apokalypsis) skill-in-living / an uncovering | God-given spiritual insight and disclosed knowledge wisdom and revelation | Spirit-given understanding of God’s ways, given so believers may know God better | [New for Ephesians] 智慧 (zi3 wai6) / 啟示 (kai2 si6). Risk: Medium. 智慧 risks collision with Buddhist 般若 (“prajña,” enlightenment-wisdom attained through practice); 啟示 must be distinguished from divination-based “heaven’s revelation” through omens/almanac signs. |
| Power / might δύναμις (dynamis) power, might | God’s active power specifically demonstrated in Christ’s resurrection and exaltation power, mighty power | Same power that raised Christ is at work in believers | [Baseline TM reuse] 神嘅大能 (san4 ge3 daai6 nang4, High). Retain baseline caution against 法力/風水嘅力量. |
| Head (over the church) κεφαλή (kephalē) head (body part) | Metaphor for supreme authority/source over a body head | Christ’s supreme, life-giving authority over the church, his body | [New for Ephesians] 元首 (jyun4 sau2). Risk: High. First occurrence of a term that recurs with intensified sensitivity in the household codes of ch. 5 (husband as “head” of wife) — see full discussion there. Here, applied to Christ and the church, the collision risk is lower but still requires care to avoid a purely hierarchical-command reading; Christ’s headship is life-giving and self-sacrificial, not merely positional authority. |
| Church / Body ἐκκλησία / σῶμα (ekklēsia / sōma) assembly / body | The gathered new-covenant community, described metaphorically as one organic body church, body of Christ | The church is Christ’s own body, organically united to him, not an institution he merely oversees | [Baseline TM reuse for “church”] 教會 (gaau3 wui2, Medium). [New for Ephesians for “body”] 身體 (san1 tai2). Risk: Medium for 身體 — a foundational metaphor developed further in chs. 4–5; must not collapse into a merely organizational meaning. |
| Fullness πλήρωμα (plērōma) that which fills, completeness | The totality/completeness of Christ, which fills the church fullness | The church, in some sense, is the sphere in which Christ’s fullness is manifested | [New for Ephesians] 豐盛/充滿 (fung1 sing6 / cung1 mun5). Risk: Medium. Abstract term; ensure it does not flatten into a vague “completeness” without reference to Christ as its content. |
Chapter 2 (Ephesians 2:11–22) — continuing beyond the core passage
(Ephesians 2:1–10 received full verse-by-verse treatment in Part 1 above; this section covers the chapter’s remaining load-bearing vocabulary, 2:11–22.)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gentiles ἔθνη (ethnē) nations | Non-Jewish peoples Gentiles | Formerly excluded outsiders to the covenant, now included | [Baseline TM reuse] 外邦人 (ngoi6 bong1 jan4, Medium). |
| Dividing wall μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ (mesotoichon tou phragmou) the middle wall of the fence | Literal/architectural image (likely alluding to the Jerusalem Temple’s partition separating the Court of the Gentiles) applied metaphorically to Jew-Gentile hostility dividing wall, barrier | The legal/ceremonial and social hostility between Jew and Gentile, now abolished in Christ | [New for Ephesians] 隔開嘅牆 (gaak3 hoi1 ge3 coeng4). Risk: Medium. Straightforward architectural metaphor; ensure the translation communicates abolition, not merely lowering, of the barrier. |
| Peace (he himself is our peace) εἰρήνη (eirēnē) peace | Reconciling peace achieved through Christ’s death, uniting two formerly hostile groups into one peace, our peace | Christ himself, not merely his teaching, IS the peace between Jew and Gentile | [Baseline TM reuse] 平安 (ping4 on1, Medium). Risk elevated to High in this context — must render the personal, achieved, once-for-all peace of Ephesians 2:14 distinctly from the everyday-blessing sense flagged in the baseline (avoid 平安符/almanac lucky-day associations here especially). |
| Reconcile / reconciliation ἀποκαταλλάξῃ (apokatallaxē) to reconcile back fully | Restoring two estranged parties (Jew/Gentile, and both to God) into one new unity through the cross reconcile, make peace between | Christ’s cross achieves both vertical (to God) and horizontal (Jew-Gentile) reconciliation simultaneously | [New for Ephesians] 復和 (fuk6 wo4) / 使…和好. Risk: High. Must be distinguished from ordinary interpersonal mediated reconciliation customs (e.g. a village elder brokering a truce, 講和) — this reconciliation is achieved once, objectively, through the cross, and is the ground (not merely a model) for human reconciliation. |
| One new humanity / new man καινὸν ἄνθρωπον (kainon anthrōpon) one new man/humanity | A newly created corporate humanity in Christ, replacing the Jew/Gentile distinction, not merely a merger of the two groups one new man, one new humanity, one new people | Neither Jew nor Gentile identity persists as a dividing category; a genuinely new corporate humanity is created in Christ | [New for Ephesians] 一個新人 (jat1 go3 san1 jan4) — used here corporately, distinct from its individual-regeneration use in 4:24 (see below). Risk: High. Avoid collision with the secular Cantonese idiom 重新做人 (“turning over a new leaf,” used of reformed offenders), which implies personal moral reform rather than a genuinely new corporate humanity created by divine action. |
| Access προσαγωγή (prosagōgē) a bringing-near, an approach | Direct access into God’s presence access, we have access | Direct, unmediated access to the Father through Christ by the Spirit, for both Jew and Gentile alike | [New for Ephesians] 可以親近 (ho2 ji5 can1 gan6) / 進到. Risk: Medium. Must not be framed as ritual approach through an intermediary (a temple priest, or a spirit-medium’s 問米 consultation on the seeker’s behalf) — access is direct and unmediated except through Christ himself. |
| Household of God / fellow citizens οἰκεῖοι τοῦ Θεοῦ / συμπολῖται (oikeioi tou Theou / sympolitai) members of God’s household / fellow citizens | Full family and civic belonging, not second-class status members of the household of God, fellow citizens with the saints | Gentile believers have full family-insider and citizen status, not a permanently subordinate “guest” status | [New for Ephesians] 神嘅家人 (san4 ge3 gaa1 jan4) / 同國嘅人. Risk: Medium. Connects to the “unity_of_jews_and_gentiles” doctrine already flagged High-risk in the baseline; must resist any softened reading implying tiered insider/outsider status, paralleling baseline caution against clan-outsider Cantonese idiom (外江佬, 鄉下人). |
| Cornerstone ἀκρογωνιαῖος (akrogōniaios) topmost corner stone | The foundational, structurally decisive stone of a building cornerstone, chief cornerstone | Christ as the foundational, unifying reference-point of the whole church-building | [New for Ephesians] 基石 (gei1 sek6). Risk: Low. Standard architectural metaphor, well-established in Chinese Bible tradition. |
| Temple / dwelling place ναός / κατοικητήριον (naos / katoikētērion) sanctuary / dwelling place | The inner sanctuary where deity dwells; here, metaphorical for the corporate church as God’s Spirit-indwelt dwelling holy temple, dwelling place of God | The church, not a building, is now God’s dwelling place by the Spirit | [New for Ephesians] 聖殿 (sing3 din6). Risk: Medium. Must be explicitly distinguished from a physical temple (廟, already forbidden under baseline “church”) — this is a metaphor for the corporate, Spirit-indwelt people of God, never to be confused with or compared favorably/unfavorably to Hong Kong temple architecture (Wong Tai Sin, Man Mo Temple). |
Chapter 3 (Ephesians 3:1–21)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mystery of Christ μυστήριον τοῦ Χριστοῦ (mystērion tou Christou) (as ch.1) | Specifically: that Gentiles are now full co-heirs with Israel in Christ mystery of Christ | The specific content of the mystery introduced in ch.1: Jew-Gentile co-heirship | [New for Ephesians — reuse of ch.1 term] 奧秘 (ou3 bei3, Critical). Same collision cautions as ch.1 apply; here specifically applied to the unity doctrine. |
| Grace (given to me) χάρις (charis) favor | Grace as the basis of Paul’s own apostolic ministry/stewardship grace given to me, stewardship of grace | Paul’s ministry itself is a grace-gift, not a self-achieved office | [Baseline TM reuse] 恩典 (Critical). |
| Riches (unsearchable) ἀνεξιχνίαστον πλοῦτος (anexichniaston ploutos) untrackable riches | Riches too vast to be fully traced or comprehended unsearchable riches | Christ’s riches exceed the capacity of human investigation/measurement | [New for Ephesians — reuse of core-passage term] 豐富 (fung1 fu3), qualified 無法測透嘅豐富. Risk: Medium. Same prosperity-culture caution as the core passage’s v.7 “riches of grace” applies. |
| Boldness / access παρρησία / προσαγωγή (parrēsia / prosagōgē) freedom of speech / a bringing-near | Confident, unhindered approach to God boldness and access, confident access | Union with Christ grants direct confident approach to the Father, without fear or need for ritual mediation | [New for Ephesians — reuse of ch.2 term for προσαγωγή] 坦然無懼 (taan2 jin4 mou4 geoi6) for παρρησία; 親近 for προσαγωγή. Risk: Medium. As in ch.2, avoid framing that implies the need for a ritual intermediary. |
| Power / strengthened δύναμις / κραταιωθῆναι (dynamis / krataiōthēnai) power / to be made strong | The Spirit’s inward strengthening of believers strengthened with power, might | Inward Spirit-empowerment for endurance and love, not supernatural performance-power | [Baseline TM reuse] 神嘅大能 (High). |
| Fullness of God πλήρωμα τοῦ Θεοῦ (plērōma tou Theou) fullness of God | The full measure of God’s character/presence indwelling believers filled with all the fullness of God | The believer’s ultimate goal: to be filled with the very fullness of God himself, through Christ dwelling in the heart by faith | [New for Ephesians — reuse of ch.1 term] 豐盛/充滿 (fung1 sing6/cung1 mun5, Medium). |
| Father πατήρ (patēr) father | God as the source and pattern of all fatherhood, “from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name” Father | God’s fatherhood is the archetype of all human fatherhood, not merely analogous to it | [Baseline TM reuse] 父 (fu6, High). Retain baseline caution against ancestor-veneration conflation. |
Chapter 4 (Ephesians 4:1–32)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calling κλῆσις (klēsis) a summons | God’s effectual summons to salvation and to a manner of life worthy of it calling, the calling you have received | Believers are urged to “walk worthy” of the calling already effectually given | [Baseline TM reuse] 呼召 (fu1 siu6, High). |
| Unity ἑνότης (henotēs) oneness | Spirit-given, not humanly engineered, corporate oneness unity | The unity of the Spirit is a given reality to be maintained/kept, not a social harmony to be manufactured | [New for Ephesians] 合一 (hap6 jat1). Risk: Medium. Must be distinguished from the state-promoted secular value of social harmony (和諧) common in Chinese-language public discourse — biblical unity’s source is the one Spirit, one Lord, one faith (4:4-5), not administrative or social conformity. |
| One body / one Spirit / one baptism ἓν σῶμα / ἓν Πνεῦμα / ἓν βάπτισμα (hen sōma / hen Pneuma / hen baptisma) one body / one Spirit / one baptism | The sevenfold “one” list grounding church unity in shared theological realities one body, one Spirit, one baptism | Unity is grounded in objective shared realities (body, Spirit, baptism, faith, Lord, God, hope), not mere sentiment | [New for Ephesians for “body”] 身體 (reuse ch.1, Medium). [New for Ephesians] Baptism: βάπτισμα → 洗禮 (sai2 lai5). Risk: Medium. Must be distinguished from folk ritual water-purification (blessed incense-water rites, ritual bathing for luck) — Christian baptism signifies union with Christ’s death/resurrection and entrance into the one body, not a repeatable luck-cleansing rite. |
| Gifts (given to the church) δόματα / ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις (domata / edothē hē charis) gifts / grace was given | Christ’s ascension-gifts to the church: specific ministers (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers) given as gifts gifts, he gave gifts | The offices/persons themselves are described as Christ’s gift to equip the church, distinct from baseline “spiritual gifts” (χαρίσματα, abilities distributed to individuals) | [Baseline TM reuse — adjacent, flagged distinct nuance] 恩賜 (jan1 ci3) within the baseline compound 屬靈恩賜; Risk: Medium, flag that Ephesians 4:11’s referent is persons/offices given to the church, not individual abilities as in Romans 12/1 Corinthians 12 — translator note required to avoid conflating the two senses. |
| Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers ἀπόστολοι, προφῆται, εὐαγγελισταί, ποιμένες, διδάσκαλοι (sent ones, spokespersons, good-news announcers, shepherds, teachers) | The foundational and ongoing teaching/equipping offices of the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers | Christ’s provision for equipping the saints for works of service | [Baseline TM reuse] 使徒 (Low), 先知 (Low). [New for Ephesians] Evangelist: 傳福音者 (cyun4 fuk1 jam1 ze2), built on baseline 福音 root — Low-Medium risk, standard formation. Pastor: 牧者 (muk6 ze2) — Low risk. Teacher: 教師 (gaau3 si1) — Low risk, though ensure it is read as a church teaching office, not a generic school-teacher role. |
| Build up / edify οἰκοδομή (oikodomē) building, construction | The process of strengthening/maturing the church corporately build up, edify, edification | The purpose of the gifted offices and of loving speech within the body | [New for Ephesians] 建立 (gin3 laap6) / 造就 (zou6 zau6). Risk: Low. Connects to the Romans-curriculum doctrine “mutual_edification,” already documented Low-risk in the baseline doctrine registry. |
| Maturity / full-grown τέλειος (teleios) complete, full-grown | Doctrinal and moral maturity, “measure of the fullness of Christ” maturity, full maturity, full-grown | The goal of the church’s growth: Christlike maturity, not perpetual doctrinal instability | [New for Ephesians] 成熟 (sing4 suk6). Risk: Medium. Some collision with the Confucian moral-perfection ideal (君子/聖人 self-cultivation attainment, similar to the caution already documented under baseline “sanctification”) — must be anchored to Christlikeness attained through the Spirit’s work within the body, not self-directed moral cultivation. |
| Old self / new self παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος / καινὸς ἄνθρωπος (palaios anthrōpos / kainos anthrōpos) old man / new man | The former, corrupt identity “put off” versus the new, Spirit-created identity “put on” — individual-regeneration application (distinct from the corporate “one new man” of 2:15) old self, old man / new self, new man | Radical, decisive identity-change at conversion, continually to be lived out | [New for Ephesians] 舊人 (gau6 jan4) / 新人 (san1 jan4). Risk: Medium. As with 2:15’s corporate usage, avoid collision with the secular idiom 重新做人 (“turning over a new leaf”) which implies self-willed moral reform rather than a Spirit-wrought new creation; a translator note distinguishing the individual (ch.4) from corporate (ch.2) referent of “new man/humanity” is recommended. |
| Renewed ἀνανεοῦσθαι (ananeousthai) to be made new again | Ongoing renewal of the mind be renewed, renewed in the spirit of your mind | The Spirit’s continuing work of transforming the believer’s thinking | [New for Ephesians] 更新 (gang1 san1). Risk: Low. |
| Grieve the Spirit λυπεῖτε τὸ Πνεῦμα (lypeite to Pneuma) do not grieve/sadden the Spirit | A relational, emotional response of the Spirit to sin in believers grieve the Holy Spirit | The Spirit is a personal being capable of being grieved by sin — not an impersonal force | [New for Ephesians] 使…憂愁/使聖靈傷心. Risk: Medium. Directly reinforces the baseline’s Critical-risk insistence that 聖靈 is a personal divine Person, never an impersonal life-force — this verse is a strong positive proof-text for that doctrine and should be flagged accordingly. |
| Devil διάβολος (diabolos) slanderer, accuser | The personal, singular chief adversary of God and his people devil | A real, personal spiritual enemy, distinct from generic evil or misfortune | [New for Ephesians] 魔鬼 (mo4 gwai2). Risk: High. Must be distinguished from Hong Kong’s generic ghost/spirit folk-belief vocabulary (鬼, 孤魂野鬼 “wandering/orphan ghosts,” prominent during 盂蘭節/Ghost Festival) and from ancestral spirits — 魔鬼 names one specific, personal, already-doomed cosmic adversary (cf. Eph 1:21; 6:12), not the broader folk spirit-world Hong Kong culture actively engages through ritual and mediums. |
Chapter 5 (Ephesians 5:1–33)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imitate God μιμηταὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ (mimētai tou Theou) imitators of God | Following God’s own character/pattern as a model be imitators of God | Christlike, self-giving love as the pattern for believers’ conduct | [New for Ephesians] 效法神 (haau6 faat3 san4). Risk: Low-Medium. Some resonance with ancestor-example emulation ethics (following ancestors’/elders’ example) but generally compatible; keep the object explicitly “God,” not a generic venerable-example structure. |
| Offering and sacrifice προσφορὰ καὶ θυσία (prosphora kai thysia) offering and sacrifice | Cultic/sacrificial terminology applied to Christ’s self-giving death offering and sacrifice | Christ’s death as the final, sufficient, once-for-all sacrificial offering to God | [New for Ephesians] 祭物/供物 (zai3 mat6). Risk: High. Direct collision with active Hong Kong temple-offering culture (燒香敬奉, food/incense offerings to deities and ancestors, grave-sweeping offerings at Ching Ming/Chung Yeung already flagged in the baseline under “father”). Must be explicitly taught as a unique, historical, once-for-all sacrifice (echoing the baseline’s incarnation/resurrection “once-for-all” emphasis), never a repeatable propitiatory offering comparable to joss-paper burning or ancestral food offerings. |
| Light / darkness φῶς / σκότος (phōs / skotos) light / darkness | Moral-spiritual metaphor for the transformed versus unregenerate state light, children of light / darkness | Believers are to live as “children of light,” exposing rather than participating in the deeds of darkness | [New for Ephesians] 光 (gwong1) / 黑暗 (hak1 am3). Risk: Medium. 光/開光 also names the temple ritual of “opening the light” (idol/statue consecration ceremony common at Hong Kong temples) — ensure the metaphor is clearly moral-spiritual (truth/holiness versus sin) and not accidentally evocative of idol-consecration ritual language. |
| Filled with the Spirit πληρωθε ἐν Πνεύματι (plērousthe en Pneumati) be being filled in/by the Spirit | Continuous, Spirit-empowered transformation, contrasted with drunkenness in the same verse be filled with the Spirit | Ongoing yielding to the Spirit’s control, producing worship, thankfulness, and mutual submission | [New for Ephesians] 被聖靈充滿 (bei6 sing3 ling4 cung1 mun5). Risk: Medium. Must be distinguished from trance/possession states associated with folk spirit-mediumship or ecstatic spirit-writing/possession practice — Spirit-filling is ongoing, sober, fruit-producing transformation, not an involuntary altered state. |
| Submit to one another ὑποτασσόμενοι ἀλλήλοις (hypotassomenoi allēlois) submitting to one another | Mutual, reciprocal deference among believers “out of reverence for Christ” submit to one another | The governing frame for the entire household-code passage that follows (wives/husbands, children/parents, servants/masters): mutual submission grounded in reverence for Christ | [New for Ephesians] 彼此順服 (bei2 ci5 seon6 fuk6), built on the same root (順服) as the baseline compound term 因信而生嘅順服 (“obedience of faith”). Risk: High. This mutuality-framing verse (5:21) is the essential interpretive key for the household codes that follow and must not be dropped or minimized; without it, the subsequent wife/husband instructions are easily misread through the lens of the Confucian Three Cardinal Guides (三綱, esp. 夫為妻綱 “the husband is the guiding principle of the wife”) as one-directional hierarchical command rather than Christ-patterned mutual self-giving. |
| Head (of the wife) κεφαλή (kephalē) head | (as ch.1, applied here to the husband/wife relationship, patterned on Christ/church) head | The husband’s headship is defined and limited by the pattern of Christ’s self-sacrificial love for the church (5:25), not by generic patriarchal authority | [New for Ephesians — reuse of ch.1 term] 元首 (jyun4 sau2). Risk: Critical in this specific household-code application. This is the single highest-stakes household-relationship term in the letter: it directly overlaps with the Confucian Three Cardinal Guides’ husband-wife hierarchy (夫為妻綱) and with contemporary Hong Kong gender-equality sensitivities. Teaching materials MUST foreground that Ephesians defines headship as self-sacrificial, others-serving love (5:25, “as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”), framed within the mutual-submission principle of 5:21 — never as unilateral authoritarian rule. Requires human theologian review at every occurrence. |
| Mystery (applied to marriage) μυστήριον (mystērion) (as ch.1/3) | Here applied typologically: human marriage points to and is patterned after the Christ-church relationship this mystery, this is a profound mystery | Marriage itself is a living picture of Christ’s covenant love for the church | [New for Ephesians — reuse of ch.1 term] 奧秘 (ou3 bei3, Critical). Same core cautions as ch.1 apply, with the added note that this “mystery” is specifically about the Christ-church/marriage typology, not a secret nuptial rite or fortune-telling compatibility concept (as in traditional Chinese marriage-matching astrology, 合婚). |
Chapter 6 (Ephesians 6:1–24)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Cantonese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obey / honor (parents) ὑπακούετε / τίμα (hypakouete / tima) obey / honor | Children’s obedience to parents “in the Lord,” and the Exodus 20 command to honor father and mother obey your parents, honor your father and mother | Household obedience is framed explicitly “in the Lord” — Christ, not generic filial custom, is the governing authority | [New for Ephesians] 順服 (seon6 fuk6, reuse root) for ὑπακούετε; 孝敬 (haau3 ging3) for τίμα. Risk: High. τίμα/孝敬 sits directly on top of the Confucian filial-piety concept (孝順/孝敬), which is broadly compatible in surface content but must be explicitly re-grounded “in the Lord” (6:1) — obedience is not owed to parental authority as an independent good, but as an expression of obedience to Christ. |
| Servants / masters (bondservants) δοῦλοι / κύριοι (douloi / kyrioi) slaves / lords-masters | First-century household slavery, addressed with mutual accountability (“both of you have the same Master in heaven,” 6:9) slaves and masters, servants and masters, bondservants | Neither slavery’s abolition nor its endorsement is Paul’s direct point; rather, both parties are equally accountable to their true heavenly Master, undercutting any absolute human hierarchy | [New for Ephesians] 僕人 (buk6 jan4) for δοῦλοι; 主人 (zyu2 jan4) for κύριοι. Risk: High. Two distinct concerns: (1) the character 主 (Lord) used for κύριος overlaps with the baseline Critical-risk term 主 (Lord Christ) — must use compound disambiguation (人嘅主人 “human master” vs. 主耶穌基督 “Lord Jesus Christ”) so readers never confuse an earthly master with Christ’s exclusive Lordship; (2) Hong Kong’s large, socially significant foreign domestic helper population gives this household-code passage acute contemporary resonance — teaching must be handled with pastoral sensitivity, historically contextualizing first-century slavery while stressing 6:9’s mutual accountability principle, never using this passage to endorse or excuse contemporary labor exploitation. |
| Armor of God πανοπλία τοῦ Θεοῦ (panoplia tou Theou) full armor of God | A complete Roman soldier’s equipment, applied metaphorically to spiritual equipping full armor of God, whole armor of God | God-given spiritual equipment for defense/offense against the devil’s schemes — not self-generated willpower or a magical protective object | [New for Ephesians] 全副軍裝 (cyun4 fu3 gwan1 zong1). Risk: Medium. Must be clearly a metaphor for spiritual readiness (truth, righteousness, faith, gospel, salvation, the Spirit’s word — 6:14-17), not read as a literal protective charm — avoid any conflation with Hong Kong’s protective-amulet culture (平安符, already flagged in the baseline under “peace”). |
| Schemes / wiles μεθοδεία (methodeia) craftiness, scheming method | The devil’s cunning tactics/strategies schemes, wiles, methods | The devil operates by strategy and deception, requiring vigilance, not merely brute-force resistance | [New for Ephesians] 詭計 (gwai2 gai3). Risk: Low-Medium. |
| Struggle / wrestle πάλη (palē) a wrestling match | Intense, close-combat struggle (contrasted with conventional warfare) struggle, wrestle | The Christian’s conflict is fundamentally spiritual, not against human opponents | [New for Ephesians] 爭戰 (zaang1 zin3). Risk: Low. |
| Rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, spiritual forces of evil ἀρχάς, ἐξουσίας, κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τούτου, τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας (archas, exousias, kosmokratoras tou skotous toutou, ta pneumatika tēs ponērias) rulers, authorities, world-rulers of this darkness, spiritual [things] of evil | A ranked description of the organized, personal, hostile spiritual hierarchy under Satan’s headship (cf. 2:2) rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world, spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms | Believers’ true enemy is an organized hierarchy of real personal evil spiritual beings, already decisively defeated in Christ (1:21) but still active until his return | [New for Ephesians] 執政的、掌權的 (zap1 zing3 dik1, zoeng2 kyun4 dik1) / 管轄呢個世代嘅黑暗勢力 (gun2 hat3 nei1 go3 sai3 doi6 ge3 hak1 am3 sai3 lik6) / 天空之上嘅邪靈 (tin1 hung1 zi1 soeng6 ge3 ce4 ling4). Risk: Critical. The single highest spiritual-warfare collision-risk passage in the entire letter, given Hong Kong’s extensive and actively practiced folk engagement with the unseen spiritual realm: feng shui remedies against malevolent forces, ghost-month taboos and rituals, temple protective deities specifically invoked to ward off evil spirits, and Daoist talisman/exorcism practice. Teaching MUST make unmistakably clear that (a) these are real personal evil beings under a single defeated head (Satan, cf. 2:2), (b) they are already decisively subordinated to Christ’s authority (1:20-21), and (c) the God-ordained means of engaging them is prayer and the armor of God (truth, righteousness, faith, the gospel, the Spirit’s word), never feng shui remedy, protective talisman, or folk exorcism ritual. Requires human theologian review at every occurrence. |
| Prayer προσευχή / δέησις (proseuchē / deēsis) prayer / petition/request | All-encompassing prayer “in the Spirit,” including specific requests, as part of standing firm in spiritual warfare prayer, all kinds of prayer, requests | Direct, Spirit-enabled communication with God, integral to spiritual warfare readiness | [New for Ephesians] 禱告 (tou2 gou3). Risk: Low-Medium. Distinguish from drawing a temple fortune-stick (求籤) on one’s own or another’s behalf, per the caution already documented under the baseline “intercession” entry (代求, Medium). |
| Ambassador in chains πρεσβεύω ἐν ἁλύσει (presbeuō en halysei) I am an ambassador in a chain | Paul’s self-description as Christ’s official representative, even while imprisoned ambassador in chains | Paul’s apostolic authority and mission continue even under Roman imprisonment | [New for Ephesians] 使者 (si2 ze2) / 帶住鎖鏈嘅使者. Risk: Low. Minor term; no significant cultural collision. |
Summary of Full-Book Coverage
All six chapters of Ephesians have been analyzed: the core passage (2:1–10) verse-by-verse in Part 1, and the remainder of the book (1:1-23; 2:11-22; 3:1-21; 4:1-32; 5:1-33; 6:1-24) chapter-by-chapter in Part 2. No chapter of Ephesians introduces zero new theological vocabulary — the letter is dense with distinctive terminology throughout (mystery, predestination, headship, armor, household codes, principalities and powers) alongside substantial reuse of baseline Romans terms (grace, faith, salvation, church, apostle, saints, election, holy_spirit, father, peace, gentiles, glory, power_of_god, calling). This is noted explicitly per the full-book-coverage mandate: every chapter has been reviewed; every chapter contributes load-bearing content.
See 08_core_glossary.md for the consolidated per-term glossary table drawn from this analysis.