Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Philippians (Filippenzen)
Consolidated Term Glossary with Dutch Translation Risk Tiers
Purpose: This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md across the entire book of Philippians (chapters 1-4), organized by the curriculum’s eight Bible Doctrines. Terms already present in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json are marked [REUSED] and their Dutch rendering is carried over exactly, per the hard rule that established renderings must not be altered. All new terms proposed here are candidates for addition to translation_memory.json in Phase 2, pending theologian sign-off on Critical/High entries per the baseline’s Translation Memory Load and Enforcement Instructions.
Risk tiers follow the baseline’s risk_definitions: Critical (human theologian review, every occurrence) > High (human theologian review) > Medium (native speaker review) > Low (automated review).
Doctrine 1: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
| # | Term (EN) | Greek / Transliteration | Dutch Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes / Grounded Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Form of God | μορφὴ θεοῦ / morphē theou | gestalte van God | Critical | New | Asserts full, essential, ontological deity of Christ; must not be softened to mere representation or reflection of God. |
| 2 | Emptied himself (kenosis) | ἐκένωσεν / ekenōsen (κενόω, kenoō) | Zichzelf ontledigd | Critical | New | THE kenosis term. Dutch academic theology’s loanword “kenose” carries live historical risk of misreading as Christ divesting divine attributes (heterodox kenotic Christology), not merely divine privileges/glory. Mandatory clarifying gloss and theologian review every occurrence. |
| 3 | Form of a servant/slave | μορφὴν δούλου / morphēn doulou | de gestalte van een dienstknecht (primary) / een slaaf (literal alt) | Critical | New | Register decision with double sensitivity: Christological precision (total self-abasement) plus collision with the Netherlands’ own colonial-era (VOC) Atlantic and Indian Ocean slave-trade history when “slaaf” is used. |
| 4 | Likeness of men | ὁμοίωμα ἀνθρώπων / homoiōma anthrōpōn | gelijk geworden aan de mensen | Critical | New | Must affirm genuine, not merely apparent, humanity — guards against docetism. Related to baseline’s “Humanity of Christ” (Low risk there; risk here is specifically about not weakening ὁμοίωμα into “resemblance only”). |
| 5 | Equality with God | ἴσα θεῷ / isa theō | het gelijk zijn aan God | Critical | New | Full ontological equality, not honorary or functional likeness. |
| 6 | A thing to be grasped | ἁρπαγμός / harpagmos | hield het niet vast als iets om aan te grijpen | High | New | Genuine lexical ambiguity (see baseline Ambiguity Handling protocol); must not imply Christ’s deity was ever in doubt or was itself renounced — only its selfish exploitation. |
| 7 | Outward form/fashion | σχῆμα / schēma | gedaante | Medium | New | Must be kept lexically distinct from μορφή (“gestalte”) in Dutch to preserve vv.6-8’s form/form-of-appearance contrast. |
| 8 | Humbled himself | ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτόν / etapeinōsen heauton (ταπεινόω) | heeft Zichzelf vernederd | Medium-High | New | Dutch “vernederen” carries strong involuntary-humiliation/shame connotation in ordinary usage; must be clearly voluntary, self-giving action. |
| 9 | Highly exalted | ὑπερύψωσεν / hyperypsōsen | heeft Hem uitermate/hoog verheven | Medium | New | NT hapax; must preserve intensive force matching the depth of the preceding self-emptying. |
| 10 | Every knee shall bow | πᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃ / pan gony kampsē | elke knie zich zal buigen | Critical | New | Direct LXX Isaiah 45:23 citation transferring exclusive YHWH-worship to Jesus; cross-reference to Jesaja 45:23 essential for teaching materials. |
| 11 | Jesus Christ is Lord | κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός | Jezus Christus is Heer | Critical | [REUSED] | Must match baseline Romans 10:9 “Jezus is Heer” rendering exactly per Theological Consistency Rules; same exclusivity of Lordship required. |
| 12 | Incarnation (doctrinal category) | (theological category term, cf. Rom 1:3, 8:3) | vleeswording | Critical | [REUSED] | Reuse baseline exactly; Philippians 2:7 is a primary supporting text for this already-Critical baseline doctrine. |
Doctrine 2: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
| # | Term (EN) | Greek / Transliteration | Dutch Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes / Grounded Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Joy | χαρά / chara | vreugde (primary) / blijdschap (devotional alt) | Medium | New | No baseline entry existed for “joy.” Must never be conflated with circumstance-dependent Dutch “geluk” (happiness/luck) — χαρά is commanded and sustained precisely through suffering and imprisonment. |
| 14 | Rejoice | χαίρω / chairō | zich verheugen / zich verblijden | Medium | New | Companion verb form of #13; same risk profile. |
| 15 | Bonds/imprisonment | δεσμά / desma; δέσμιος / desmios | boeien / gevangenschap; gevangene | Low-Medium | New | Concrete referent (Paul’s Roman imprisonment); doctrinally significant only in combination with χαρά (#13). |
| 16 | Suffering | πάσχω / paschō | lijden | Medium | New | Must retain that suffering for Christ is graciously granted (ἐχαρίσθη, same root as χάρις/genade, 1:29), not merely endured misfortune. |
| 17 | Struggle/conflict | ἀγών / agōn | strijd | Low | New | Athletic/military metaphor for shared struggle; low collision risk. |
| 18 | Poured out as a sacrifice | σπένδομαι / θυσία / spendomai / thysia | als een plengoffer uitgegoten / offer | Medium | New | OT sacrificial-cultic idiom applied to potential martyrdom; requires OT background note for low-OT-literacy Dutch readers (per baseline’s already-flagged secularization risk). |
| 19 | Fellowship of his sufferings | κοινωνία (τῶν) παθημάτων / koinōnia pathēmatōn | gemeenschap aan Zijn lijden / deelhebben aan Zijn lijden | High | New | Compounds κοινωνία’s dual-sense risk (#25 below) with the suffering theme. |
Doctrine 3: Unity and Humility in the Church
| # | Term (EN) | Greek / Transliteration | Dutch Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes / Grounded Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Have this mind/disposition | φρονέω / phroneō | gezind zijn / bedenken | High | New | Master-verb of the unity theme (six occurrences); must carry the volitional “disposition/mindset” sense, not mere intellectual opinion, across every occurrence for the argument climaxing in 2:5 to cohere. |
| 21 | Humility/lowliness of mind | ταπεινοφροσύνη / tapeinophrosynē | nederigheid (primary, modern) / ootmoedigheid (Reformed-pietistic alt) | High | New | Register split parallel to baseline’s “behoud” three-way split; a virtue with no positive Greco-Roman secular parallel, requiring careful framing so it is not read as generic secular modesty. |
| 22 | Selfish ambition/rivalry | ἐριθεία / eritheia | partijzucht / eigenbelang | Medium | New | Must convey competitive self-promotion within community, not neutral “ambitie.” |
| 23 | Empty conceit/vainglory | κενοδοξία / kenodoxia | ijdele eer / grootspraak | Medium | New | Deliberate κεν- wordplay with ἐκένωσεν (#2); flag for teaching notes even though untranslatable as pun. |
| 24 | United in soul | σύμψυχος / sympsychos | eensgezind | Medium | New | NT hapax; must be Spirit-produced unity of soul, not mere negotiated civic consensus (cf. Dutch/Belgian civic motto “eendracht maakt macht” — a structurally similar but categorically distinct kind of unity). |
| 25 | Fellowship/partnership | κοινωνία / koinōnia | gemeenschap | High | [REUSED — extended] | Baseline Medium risk in Romans (generic community collision); Philippians activates an additional, concrete active-partnership sense (financial/missionary, see Doctrine 7) not present in Romans, raising the effective risk tier to High for this curriculum. |
| 26 | Overseers and deacons | ἐπίσκοποι καὶ διάκονοι / episkopoi kai diakonoi | opzieners en diakenen (Reformed) / bisschoppen en diakenen (Catholic) | High | New | Direct parallel to baseline’s “church”/“saints” Catholic-Reformed fault line, grounded in the Netherlands’ historic Catholic-south/Reformed-north ecclesiological divide. |
| 27 | Slaves/servants (self-designation) | δοῦλοι / douloi | dienstknechten (primary) / slaven (literal alt) | High | New | Same colonial-historical collision as #3 above (VOC-era Dutch slave trade); recommend register consistency with 2:7. |
Doctrine 4: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
| # | Term (EN) | Greek / Transliteration | Dutch Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes / Grounded Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | Righteousness | δικαιοσύνη / dikaiosynē | gerechtigheid | Critical | [REUSED] | Reuse baseline exactly; Phil 3:9 is a primary supporting text for the baseline’s Critical righteousness/imputed-righteousness doctrine. |
| 29 | Law | νόμος / nomos | wet (capitalize “de Wet” for Mosaic Law) | High | [REUSED] | Reuse baseline exactly. |
| 30 | Faith | πίστις / pistis | geloof | Medium | [REUSED] | Reuse baseline exactly. |
| 31 | Circumcision | περιτομή / peritomē | besnijdenis | Medium | New | Must not read as anti-Jewish polemic; the target is misplaced confidence in the sign, not the sign’s OT legitimacy. Connects to baseline’s High-risk “Unity of Jews and Gentiles.” |
| 32 | Rubbish/loss | σκύβαλα / ζημία / skybala / zēmia | vuilnis (primary) / drek (archaic, cruder alt) | Medium | New | Register decision affecting rhetorical force of Paul’s most visceral self-deprecating language. |
| 33 | Knowledge (of Christ) | γνῶσις / gnōsis | kennis | Medium | New | Must be glossed as relational/experiential knowing, not propositional information; distinct from, but adjacent to, historic Gnostic controversies over rival “knowledge.” |
| 34 | Imputed righteousness | ἐλογίσθη… εἰς δικαιοσύνην (concept, cf. 3:9) | toegerekende gerechtigheid | Critical | [REUSED] | Reuse baseline exactly; NEVER “verdiende gerechtigheid” (forbidden substitution, per baseline’s system prompt). |
Doctrine 5: Contentment in All Circumstances
| # | Term (EN) | Greek / Transliteration | Dutch Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes / Grounded Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Content/self-sufficient | αὐτάρκης / autarkēs | tevreden | High | New | Central contentment term; chief risk is collision with modern Dutch secular/therapeutic concepts (tevredenheid, veerkracht, zelfredzaamheid) and ancient Stoic autarkeia — not a competing religious tradition but a competing philosophy of self-sufficiency. Must be framed as Christ-empowered dependence. Avoid “berusting” (mere resignation). |
| 36 | I have learned the secret | μεμύημαι / memyēmai | ik heb geleerd (primary) / ik ben ingewijd (vivid alt) | Medium | New | Vivid alternative risks unwanted esoteric/secret-society (“ingewijd”) connotation in Dutch; recommend flattened primary rendering with explanatory teaching note. |
| 37 | I can do all things (through him who strengthens me) | ἰσχύω / ἐνδυναμοῦντι / ischyō / endynamounti | Ik kan alle dingen door Hem die mij kracht geeft | High | New | Well-documented drift risk into decontextualized motivational-poster usage in Dutch as elsewhere; must always be re-anchored to 4:11-12’s contentment-in-want-and-plenty context. |
| 38 | Do not be anxious | μεριμνάω / merimnaō | weest niet bezorgd | Low | New | Standard, stable rendering. |
| 39 | Power/strength of God | κράτος/ἐνδυναμόω (cf. baseline δύναμις θεοῦ) | kracht | Medium | [REUSED — vocabulary] | Draws on baseline’s “power_of_god” (“kracht van God,” Medium) vocabulary field. |
Doctrine 6: Citizenship in Heaven
| # | Term (EN) | Greek / Transliteration | Dutch Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes / Grounded Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Citizenship | πολίτευμα / politeuma | burgerschap | High | New | Modern Dutch “burgerschap” is a live, contested contemporary political-legal term (naturalization, EU citizenship, “burgerschapsonderwijs”); structurally parallel to baseline’s “kingdom_of_god” political-misreading risk. Must be framed as ultimate spiritual allegiance, not legal/national status. |
| 41 | Conduct yourselves as citizens | πολιτεύεσθε / politeuesthe | u gedragen als burgers | High | New | Must preserve the civic metaphor (not generalize to “leid een goed leven”) for consistency with #40. |
| 42 | Savior | σωτήρ / sōtēr | Verlosser (primary) / Heiland / Zaligmaker (alts) | High | New | Agent-noun parallel to the baseline’s documented three-way “behoud/verlossing/zaligheid” register split for the abstract noun σωτηρία; flag for reviewer register confirmation. |
| 43 | Transform | μετασχηματίζω / metaschēmatizō | veranderen van gedaante / gelijkvormig maken aan | Medium | New | Cognate with σχῆμα (#7); cross-reference for teaching notes. |
| 44 | Belly (false god) | κοιλία / koilia | buik | Medium | New | Vivid embodied idiom for self-indulgence; translates directly but should not be softened into vague abstraction. |
| 45 | Enemies of the cross | ἐχθροὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ / echthroi tou staurou | vijanden van het kruis | Medium-High | New | Strong language; must stay exegetically anchored to the passage, not weaponized as general denominational polemic given Dutch religious plurality. |
Doctrine 7: Partnership in the Gospel
| # | Term (EN) | Greek / Transliteration | Dutch Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes / Grounded Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | Partnership in the gospel | κοινωνία εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον / koinōnia eis to euangelion | gemeenschap aan/in het evangelie | High | New | Concrete active-partnership sense of κοινωνία; see #25. |
| 47 | Share/partner with (financial) | κοινωνέω / συγκοινωνέω / koinōneō / sygkoinōneō | deelnemen aan / deelgenoot zijn van | High | New | Clearest concrete instance of κοινωνία’s financial-partnership sense (4:14-15); must not be reduced to abstract fellowship-feeling. |
| 48 | Giving and receiving | δόσις καὶ λῆψις / dosis kai lēpsis | geven en ontvangen | Low | New | Commercial bookkeeping idiom; direct natural Dutch equivalent. |
| 49 | Fragrant offering | ὀσμὴ εὐωδίας / θυσία δεκτή / osmē euōdias / thysia dektē | welriekende geur / aangenaam offer | Low-Medium | New | OT sacrificial idiom; requires brief background note for low-OT-literacy readers. |
| 50 | Supply every need | πληρόω / plēroō | vervullen / voorzien in | Low | New | Standard vocabulary. |
| 51 | Gospel | εὐαγγέλιον / euangelion | evangelie | Low | [REUSED] | Reuse baseline exactly. |
Doctrine 8: Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ
| # | Term (EN) | Greek / Transliteration | Dutch Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes / Grounded Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | Press on/pursue | διώκω / diōkō | jagen naar / streven naar | Medium | New | Central verb of this doctrine; must retain vigorous, athletic-pursuit force, not passivize to “hopen op.” |
| 53 | Goal/mark | σκοπός / skopos | doel | Medium | New | Cross-referenced with σκοπέω (2:4, #54) — deliberate literary inclusio. |
| 54 | Look to/consider (others) | σκοπέω / skopeō | letten op / oog hebben voor | Low-Medium | New | See #53; preserve the verbal link across 2:4 and 3:14 in teaching materials. |
| 55 | Prize | βραβεῖον / brabeion | prijs | Low | New | Athletic-games term; direct equivalent. |
| 56 | Straining forward | ἐπεκτείνομαι / epekteinomai | zich uitstrekken naar | Low-Medium | New | Vivid runner’s-lean image; preserve over flatter alternatives. |
| 57 | Mature/perfect | τέλειος / teleios | volwassen (primary) / volmaakt (riskier alt) | Medium-High | New | ”Volmaakt” risks sinless-perfection misreading without v.12’s disclaimer in view; recommend “volwassen” as safer default. |
| 58 | Calling | κλῆσις / klēsis | roeping | Medium | [REUSED] | Reuse baseline exactly; 3:14’s “upward call” (ἄνωθεν κλήσεως) draws on the baseline’s already-flagged career-vocation homonym collision. |
| 59 | Resurrection | ἀνάστασις / anastasis | opstanding | Critical | [REUSED] | Reuse baseline exactly. |
Appendix: Baseline Romans Terms Reused Without New Risk in Philippians
The following baseline terms recur in Philippians with essentially unchanged risk profiles from the Romans package and require no new analysis beyond confirming consistent reuse: grace (genade, High), faith (geloof, Medium), gospel (evangelie, Low), salvation (behoud, High — noting the 1:19 context-sensitivity flag under Doctrine 2 above), saints (heiligen, High), peace (vrede, Low), glory (heerlijkheid, Medium), thanksgiving (dankzegging, Low), lord (Heer, Critical in this curriculum given the 2:11 core-passage occurrence), children of God (kinderen van God, Medium, via baseline’s Adoption doctrine), apostle (apostel, Low), law (wet, High), righteousness (gerechtigheid, Critical), imputed righteousness (toegerekende gerechtigheid, Critical), calling (roeping, Medium), resurrection (opstanding, Critical in this curriculum given the Phil 3:10-11 occurrence).
Full-Book Coverage Confirmation
This glossary draws on load-bearing terms identified in every chapter of Filippenzen (1, 2, 3, 4), including the verse-by-verse core passage (2:1-11) and the surrounding chapter material (1:1-30; 2:12-30; 3:1-21; 4:1-23). No chapter was found to contribute zero new theological vocabulary relative to the Romans baseline; each is represented above by at least one Critical or High risk entry.
Critical Risk Terms
Righteousness
Approved rendering: gerechtigheid
Transliteration: gerechtigheid
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: deugd
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Filippenzen 3:9 is one of Paul’s clearest personal statements of this doctrine outside Romans, contrasting ‘my own righteousness…from the law’ with ‘the righteousness…through faith.‘
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: toegerekende gerechtigheid
Transliteration: toegerekende gerechtigheid
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: verdiende gerechtigheid
Original: cf. Fil 3:9 (concept parallel to Rom 4:3’s ἐλογίσθη…εἰς δικαιοσύνην)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. NEVER ‘verdiende gerechtigheid’ (forbidden substitution) — Filippenzen 3:9 directly reactivates this rule.
Lord
Approved rendering: Heer
Transliteration: Heer
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: meester
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package; RISK ELEVATED to Critical for this curriculum. Filippenzen 2:11’s ‘kyrios Iesous Christos’ must match the established Romans 10:9 rendering ‘Jezus is Heer’ exactly, with the same unqualified exclusivity — not one kyrios among the many others (Caesar included) Philippi’s Roman-colony audience would have recognized. Reviewers must also check back-translations against Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Nieuwe-Wereldvertaling framing, which denies Christ’s co-equal deity despite an outwardly identical ‘Heer’ rendering.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: vleeswording
Transliteration: vleeswording
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Original: ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο (cf. Fil 2:7’s ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων γενόμενος)
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Filippenzen 2:6-8 is a primary supporting text, compressing deity to humanity to death into a single hymn.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: opstanding
Transliteration: opstanding
Doctrine: Resurrection Hope (Christ’s and the Believer’s)
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. Filippenzen 3:10-11, 21 extends this into believers’ own future bodily transformation (‘lichaam van heerlijkheid’).
Form Of God
Approved rendering: gestalte van God
Transliteration: morphē theou
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: afspiegeling van God (reflection of God — too weak, Arian-adjacent)
Original: μορφῇ θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Asserts Christ’s full, essential, pre-existent deity. Established Dutch Bible-translation convention (Statenvertaling/HSV). Must never be softened to mean Christ merely reflected or represented God’s glory.
Kenosis
Approved rendering: Zichzelf ontledigd
Transliteration: heauton ekenōsen
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: kenose (bare, unglossed loanword), Zichzelven vernietigd (Statenvertaling, archaic/opaque)
Original: ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν
Category: Christology
THE single highest-stakes term in this curriculum. Dutch academic theology’s loanword ‘kenose’ carries a documented historic risk (Dutch reception of 19th-century German kenotic-Christology debates) of being read as Christ divesting himself of divine attributes rather than merely the outward privileges/glory of deity — a genuine historic heterodoxy. Every occurrence requires the mandatory clarifying gloss ‘gaf Zijn hemelse heerlijkheid en voorrechten op, niet Zijn goddelijke natuur’ and human theologian review.
Form Of A Servant
Approved rendering: de gestalte van een dienstknecht
Transliteration: morphēn doulou
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: de gestalte van een slaaf (literal, colonial-history collision)
Original: μορφὴν δούλου
Category: Christology
Double sensitivity: Christological precision (total self-abasement) plus collision with the Netherlands’ own VOC-era Atlantic and Indian Ocean slave-trade history when rendered ‘slaaf’. Default ‘dienstknecht’ with a teaching note that the underlying Greek word is the same used elsewhere for chattel slaves.
Likeness Of Men
Approved rendering: gelijk geworden aan de mensen
Transliteration: homoiōmati anthrōpōn
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: gelijkend op mensen (mere resemblance, docetic risk)
Original: ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων
Category: Christology
Must guard decisively against a docetic reading; asserts genuine, not illusory, human nature.
Equality With God
Approved rendering: het gelijk zijn aan God
Transliteration: isa theō
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ἴσα θεῷ
Category: Christology
Full ontological equality, not a diminished or honorary likeness; same doctrinal weight as form_of_god.
Every Knee Shall Bow
Approved rendering: elke knie zich zal buigen
Transliteration: pan gony kampsē
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: πᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃ
Category: Christology
Direct citation of LXX Isaiah 45:23 (exclusive YHWH-worship), transferred to Jesus — one of the strongest direct NT claims to Christ’s full deity. Must be cross-referenced to Jesaja 45:23 in teaching materials.
High Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: genade
Transliteration: genade
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: gunst
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Filippenzen 1:29 extends the doctrine into suffering itself as a gift (‘echaristhe’, sharing the root of charis/genade, ‘it has been graciously granted to you to suffer’) — must not be read as suffering merely happening to believers apart from God’s gracious purpose.
Law
Approved rendering: wet
Transliteration: wet
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Capitalize ‘de Wet’ for the Mosaic Law. Filippenzen 3:5-9 lists law-keeping among the ‘confidences of the flesh’ now counted as loss.
Salvation
Approved rendering: behoud
Transliteration: behoud
Doctrine: Sanctification and ‘Working Out’ Salvation
Rejected alternatives: verlossing (more common, less precise), zaligheid (older/pietistic register)
Inherited from Romans package. Filippenzen 1:19 introduces a context-sensitive extension: the referent there may be Paul’s immediate deliverance from his trial rather than (or in addition to) final salvation — flag for reviewer confirmation of which sense is active.
Saints
Approved rendering: heiligen
Transliteration: heiligen
Doctrine: Sainthood (Called to be Holy)
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Filippenzen 1:1 and 4:21-22 are primary occurrences of the Catholic canonized-saints vs. Reformed all-believers fault line; never leave unglossed for a general audience — clarify ‘alle gelovigen.‘
Thing To Be Grasped
Approved rendering: hield het niet vast als iets om aan te grijpen
Transliteration: harpagmos
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: roof / roof geacht (SV/HSV single-noun ‘robbery’ rendering, acceptable but must not stand unglossed), deed er afstand van (NBV21 phrasing, exploitable toward heterodox misreading when excerpted)
Original: ἁρπαγμόν
Category: Christology
Genuine unresolved Greek lexicographical ambiguity per the baseline’s Ambiguity Handling protocol. Must not imply Christ’s deity was ever in doubt, nor that his deity itself (rather than its selfish exploitation) was renounced. This curriculum follows the HSV/SV orthodox posture over NBV21/Willibrord. Mandatory theologian review every occurrence.
Humbled Himself
Approved rendering: heeft Zichzelf vernederd
Transliteration: etapeinōsen heauton
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Original: ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτόν
Category: Christology
Dutch ‘vernederen’ carries a strong ordinary-usage connotation of involuntary humiliation/disgrace; the reflexive ‘Zichzelf’ and surrounding clause structure must keep this unmistakably Christ’s own voluntary act.
Fellowship Of His Sufferings
Approved rendering: gemeenschap aan Zijn lijden
Transliteration: koinōnia (tōn) pathēmatōn
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: deelhebben aan Zijn lijden (acceptable alternate phrasing)
Original: κοινωνία (τῶν) παθημάτων
Category: Faith
Compounds koinōnia’s already-elevated dual-sense risk (fellowship vs. active partnership) with the additional theological weight of redemptive suffering (3:10).
Have This Mind
Approved rendering: gezind zijn
Transliteration: phroneō
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: denken (too thin, loses volitional/dispositional force)
Original: φρονέω
Category: Church
Master-verb of the unity theme, six occurrences (1:7; 2:2,5; 3:15,19; 4:2,10). Must consistently signal ‘gezindheid’ (mindset/disposition) across every occurrence for the argument culminating in 2:5 to cohere.
Humility
Approved rendering: nederigheid
Transliteration: tapeinophrosynē
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: ootmoedigheid (Reformed-pietistic register alternative; flag for reviewer register confirmation)
Original: ταπεινοφροσύνη
Category: Church
A virtue with essentially no positive Greco-Roman secular parallel. Register split parallel to the baseline’s documented ‘behoud’ three-way split: ‘nederigheid’ reads as generic secular modesty to secularized readers; ‘ootmoedigheid’ is devotionally stronger but risks archaism.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: gemeenschap
Transliteration: koinōnia
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
RISK ELEVATED for this curriculum relative to baseline Romans usage (there Low/Medium, generic-community collision only). Filippenzen activates the concrete active-partnership sense (1:5; 4:15) alongside the fellowship-feeling sense (2:1; 3:10) largely absent from Romans; every occurrence must be checked for which sense is active.
Overseers And Deacons
Approved rendering: opzieners en diakenen
Transliteration: episkopoi kai diakonoi
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Offices
Rejected alternatives: bisschoppen en diakenen (Catholic ecclesial convention)
Original: ἐπίσκοποι καὶ διάκονοι
Category: Church
Direct instance of the Netherlands’ historic Catholic-south/Reformed-north ecclesiological divide already documented for ‘church’/‘saints.’ The choice is unavoidable in the very first verse of the letter (1:1).
Slaves Of Christ
Approved rendering: dienstknechten
Transliteration: douloi
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: slaven (literal, colonial-history collision)
Original: δοῦλοι
Category: Church
Paul and Timothy’s self-designation (1:1), deliberately echoing Christ’s own doulos-form in 2:7. Register consistency with ‘form_of_a_servant’ above is required.
Content Self Sufficient
Approved rendering: tevreden
Transliteration: autarkēs
Doctrine: Contentment in All Circumstances
Rejected alternatives: berusting (fatalistic resignation, under-communicates Paul’s positive, Christ-sourced strength)
Original: αὐτάρκης
Category: Faith
A borrowed Stoic technical term; chief risk is collision with modern Dutch secular/therapeutic vocabulary (‘tevredenheid,’ ‘veerkracht,’ ‘zelfredzaamheid’) that closely tracks ancient Stoic self-sufficiency. Must be framed as Christ-empowered dependence (4:13), never self-generated mastery.
I Can Do All Things
Approved rendering: Ik kan alle dingen door Hem die mij kracht geeft
Transliteration: panta ischyō en tō endynamounti me
Doctrine: Contentment in All Circumstances
Original: πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με
Category: Faith
Well-documented drift risk toward decontextualized motivational-poster, sports-banner, or self-help usage. Must always be re-anchored to the contentment-in-want-and-plenty context of 4:11-12.
Citizenship
Approved rendering: burgerschap
Transliteration: politeuma
Doctrine: Citizenship in Heaven
Rejected alternatives: vaderland (NBV21’s nationalist-homeland substitution; sidesteps the political-legal collision but reintroduces a different sensitive resonance given Dutch WWII history)
Original: πολίτευμα
Category: Kingdom
Modern Dutch ‘burgerschap’ is a live, contested contemporary political-legal term (naturalization law, EU citizenship, ‘burgerschapsonderwijs’). Must always be framed as ultimate spiritual allegiance, not legal/national status (3:20).
Conduct As Citizens
Approved rendering: u gedragen als burgers
Transliteration: politeuesthe
Doctrine: Citizenship in Heaven
Rejected alternatives: leid een goed leven (loses the civic metaphor)
Original: πολιτεύεσθε
Category: Kingdom
Introduces the citizenship metaphor (1:27) ahead of its full statement in 3:20; must preserve the civic image for consistency with ‘citizenship’ above.
Savior
Approved rendering: Verlosser
Transliteration: sōtēr
Doctrine: Citizenship in Heaven
Rejected alternatives: Heiland (devotional-hymnic alternative), Zaligmaker (Statenvertaling/pietistic archaic alternative)
Original: σωτήρ
Category: Kingdom
Agent-noun parallel to the baseline’s documented three-way behoud/verlossing/zaligheid register split; ‘behoud’ has no natural matching agent-noun form. Flag for reviewer register confirmation (3:20).
Partnership In The Gospel
Approved rendering: gemeenschap aan het evangelie
Transliteration: koinōnia eis to euangelion
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel
Original: κοινωνία εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Church
The clearest instance of koinōnia’s concrete active-partnership sense (1:5); must gloss the active-partnership dimension, not only shared fellowship-feeling, given the concrete financial stakes documented at 4:15-18.
Share Partner With
Approved rendering: deelgenoot zijn van
Transliteration: koinōneō / sygkoinōneō
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: deelnemen aan
Original: κοινωνέω / συγκοινωνέω
Category: Church
Active financial partnership in gospel ministry (4:14-15) — ‘no church shared with me…except you only.’ Must not be reduced to abstract fellowship-feeling.
Working Out Salvation
Approved rendering: werk aan uw behoud
Transliteration: katergazomai
Doctrine: Sanctification and ‘Working Out’ Salvation
Original: κατεργάζομαι
Category: Salvation
2:12’s imperative set against 2:13’s ‘God werkt in u’ sits on the monergism/synergism fault line the Canons of Dort settled against the Remonstrants (already Critical in baseline for grace/election). Must not read as works-righteousness nor be flattened into pure passivity.
Medium Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: geloof
Transliteration: geloof
Doctrine: Faith
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Reused exactly for Filippenzen 1:25, 1:27, 3:9.
Glory
Approved rendering: heerlijkheid
Transliteration: heerlijkheid
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Filippenzen 3:21 extends the term to the future resurrection ‘body of glory’ believers will receive; also 4:19-20 closing doxology.
Calling
Approved rendering: roeping
Transliteration: roeping
Doctrine: Divine Calling (Upward Call)
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Filippenzen 3:14’s ‘upward call’ draws on the baseline’s flagged career-vocation homonym collision; never present in isolation from the ‘hemelse’/upward qualifier.
Adoption
Approved rendering: aanneming tot kinderen
Transliteration: aanneming tot kinderen
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: adoptie (bare, legal-procedural)
Inherited from Romans package. Underlying doctrinal framework for the new Filippenzen-specific term ‘children_of_god’ (tekna theou, 2:15) below.
God
Approved rendering: God
Transliteration: God
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Inherited from Romans package. Foundational vocabulary occurring throughout Filippenzen (1:2, 2:6-11, 4:19-20, etc.).
Father
Approved rendering: Vader
Transliteration: Vader
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs in Filippenzen 1:2 and the doxology of 2:11 and 4:20.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Heilige Geest
Transliteration: Heilige Geest
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Inherited from Romans package. Referenced in Filippenzen 1:19 (‘hulp van de Geest van Jezus Christus’), 2:1 (‘gemeenschap van de Geest’), and 3:3 (‘wij die door de Geest van God aanbidden’).
Outward Fashion
Approved rendering: gedaante
Transliteration: schēma
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: gestalte (reserved exclusively for morphē, never for schēma)
Original: σχῆμα
Category: Christology
Must be kept lexically distinct from morphē (‘gestalte’) in Dutch to preserve the vv.6-8 form/appearance contrast.
Highly Exalted
Approved rendering: heeft Hem uitermate/hoog verheven
Transliteration: hyperypsōsen
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: verhoogd (flat, unmarked, loses intensive force)
Original: ὑπερύψωσεν
Category: Christology
NT hapax legomenon; must preserve the intensifying force matching the depth of the preceding self-emptying.
Obedient
Approved rendering: gehoorzaam
Transliteration: hypēkoos
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Original: ὑπήκοος
Category: Christology
Must be read as obedience flowing from love and mission (parallel to the baseline’s High-risk ‘Obedience of Faith’), not coerced or merely dutiful compliance.
Joy
Approved rendering: vreugde
Transliteration: chara
Doctrine: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
Rejected alternatives: geluk (circumstance-dependent happiness/luck — forbidden), blijdschap (devotional-register alternative, acceptable)
Original: χαρά
Category: Faith
No baseline Romans entry existed for ‘joy.’ Must never be conflated with Dutch ‘geluk’ — chara is commanded and sustained through, not despite, imprisonment and hardship.
Rejoice
Approved rendering: zich verblijden
Transliteration: chairō
Doctrine: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
Rejected alternatives: zich gelukkig voelen
Original: χαίρω
Category: Faith
Verb form of ‘joy’; a repeated imperative (1:18, 2:18, 3:1, 4:4) — must retain willed, commanded character, not a feeling contingent on circumstance.
Suffering
Approved rendering: lijden
Transliteration: paschō / pathēma
Doctrine: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
Original: πάσχω / πάθημα
Category: Faith
Must retain that suffering for Christ’s sake is graciously granted (echaristhē, 1:29, sharing charis/genade’s root), not merely endured misfortune.
Poured Out As Sacrifice
Approved rendering: als een plengoffer uitgegoten
Transliteration: spendomai / thysia
Doctrine: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
Rejected alternatives: offer (bare, loses cultic specificity)
OT sacrificial-cultic idiom (2:17) applied to potential martyrdom; requires a brief OT background note for low-OT-literacy Dutch readers.
Selfish Ambition
Approved rendering: partijzucht
Transliteration: eritheia
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: ambitie (too neutral/positive in modern Dutch), eigenbelang
Original: ἐριθεία
Category: Church
Must convey competitive self-promotion within the community, not neutral secular ‘ambitie.‘
Empty Conceit
Approved rendering: ijdele eer
Transliteration: kenodoxia
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: grootspraak
Original: κενοδοξία
Category: Church
Deliberate wordplay with ekenōsen (v.7) in the Greek — empty self-glorification vs. Christ’s self-emptying — likely untranslatable as a pun in Dutch; flag for teaching notes.
United In Soul
Approved rendering: eensgezind
Transliteration: sympsychos
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Original: σύμψυχος
Category: Church
NT hapax legomenon. Must be Spirit-produced unity of soul, not negotiated civic consensus (cf. the structurally similar but categorically distinct Dutch/Belgian civic motto ‘eendracht maakt macht’).
Circumcision
Approved rendering: besnijdenis
Transliteration: peritomē
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: περιτομή
Category: Covenant
Must not read as anti-Jewish polemic; the target of Paul’s argument (3:2-9) is misplaced confidence in a status-marker, not the marker’s OT legitimacy.
Rubbish Loss
Approved rendering: vuilnis
Transliteration: skybala / zēmia
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: drek (Statenvertaling, cruder/more visceral; reserve for footnoted exegetical-depth material)
Original: σκύβαλα / ζημία
Category: Salvation
Register decision affecting the rhetorical force of Paul’s most visceral self-deprecating language (3:7-8).
Knowledge Of Christ
Approved rendering: kennis
Transliteration: gnōsis
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Original: γνῶσις
Category: Faith
Dutch ‘kennis’ primarily denotes propositional/informational knowledge; must be glossed as relational, experiential knowing (as one knows a person, not a fact).
Learned The Secret
Approved rendering: ik heb geleerd
Transliteration: memyēmai
Doctrine: Contentment in All Circumstances
Rejected alternatives: ik ben ingewijd (imports unwanted esoteric/secret-society [Vrijmetselarij] connotation; reserve for footnoted exegetical material only)
Original: μεμύημαι
Category: Faith
Deliberately borrowed Greco-Roman mystery-cult initiation term, repurposed by Paul for Christ-centered contentment.
Gentleness
Approved rendering: welwillendheid / zachtmoedigheid
Transliteration: epieikeia
Doctrine: Gentleness and the Peace of God
Public disposition appropriate to those whose ‘Lord is at hand’ (4:5); standard ethical vocabulary, low collision risk.
Transform
Approved rendering: veranderen van gedaante / gelijkvormig maken aan
Transliteration: metaschēmatizō
Doctrine: Resurrection Hope (Christ’s and the Believer’s)
Cognate with schēma (2:8); Christ will transform believers’ ‘body of humiliation’ into conformity with his ‘body of glory’ (3:21).
Belly As False God
Approved rendering: buik
Transliteration: koilia
Doctrine: Citizenship in Heaven
Original: κοιλία
Category: Kingdom
Vivid idiom (‘their god is their belly,’ 3:19) for base self-indulgence; translates directly but must not be softened into vague abstraction.
Press On Pursue
Approved rendering: jagen naar
Transliteration: diōkō
Doctrine: Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ
Rejected alternatives: hopen op (wrongly passivizes the image), streven naar (acceptable secondary alternative)
Original: διώκω
Category: Eschatology
Central verb of this doctrine (3:12,14); must retain vigorous, athletic-pursuit force.
Goal Mark
Approved rendering: doel
Transliteration: skopos
Doctrine: Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ
Original: σκοπός
Category: Eschatology
Cross-referenced with skopeō (2:4) as a deliberate literary inclusio; recommend consistent athletic-metaphor vocabulary across both passages.
Fear And Trembling
Approved rendering: vrees en beven
Transliteration: phobos kai tromos
Doctrine: Sanctification and ‘Working Out’ Salvation
Seriousness appropriate to sanctified living (2:12); must not be read as anxious, uncertain fear about one’s salvation status.
Works In You
Approved rendering: werkt in u
Transliteration: energeō
Doctrine: Sanctification and ‘Working Out’ Salvation
Companion term to ‘working_out_salvation’ (2:13); the ground of assurance underlying the imperative to work out.
Children Of God
Approved rendering: kinderen van God
Transliteration: tekna theou
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: τέκνα θεοῦ
Category: Salvation
Familial identity and status amid a ‘crooked and perverse generation’ (2:15); connects to the baseline’s ‘adoption’ doctrine above.
Love
Approved rendering: liefde
Transliteration: agapē
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Dutch, like English, has a single general-purpose noun covering romantic, familial, and self-giving love, flattening the Greek’s agapē/erōs/philia distinction. Must be supplied with contextual signals (‘zelfopofferende liefde,’ ‘liefde zoals Christus die toonde’) so it is not read as generic sentiment (2:1-2; 1:9).
Tender Affection
Approved rendering: innige gevoelens (van liefde) / tedere genegenheid
Transliteration: splanchna
Doctrine: Mutual Encouragement and Comfort
Rejected alternatives: ingewanden (crude, anatomical, misleading)
Hebraic idiom for the visceral seat of emotion (2:1); must render the intensity of feeling, not the body part.
Life Death Gain
Approved rendering: leven / sterven / winst
Transliteration: zōē / thanatos / kerdos
Doctrine: Assurance and Confidence Facing Suffering and Death
kerdos is literally marketplace profit language repurposed theologically (1:21); ‘winst’ risks a materialistic, transactional reading in commercially literate Dutch culture and must be clearly marked as paradoxical spiritual gain.
Low Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: evangelie
Transliteration: evangelie
Doctrine: Gospel
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Reused exactly for Filippenzen 1:5, 1:7, 1:12, 1:27, 4:3, 4:15. Stable and undisputed across Dutch Bible traditions.
Peace
Approved rendering: vrede
Transliteration: vrede
Doctrine: Gentleness and the Peace of God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Filippenzen 4:7 extends the term to the peace that ‘guards’ (phroureo) believers’ hearts and minds.
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: dankzegging
Transliteration: dankzegging
Doctrine: Gospel
Inherited from Romans package. No new risk in Filippenzen (1:3).
Apostle
Approved rendering: apostel
Transliteration: apostel
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Offices
Inherited from Romans package. No new risk in Filippenzen.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Jezus
Transliteration: Jezus
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Inherited from Romans package. Stable across all Dutch traditions; foundational vocabulary throughout Filippenzen.
Humanity Of Christ
Approved rendering: mens geworden
Transliteration: homoiōma anthrōpōn / schēma hōs anthrōpos
Doctrine: Humanity of Christ
Original: ὁμοίωμα ἀνθρώπων / σχῆμα ὡς ἄνθρωπος
Category: Christology
New doctrinal-category term for this curriculum (no standalone Romans TM entry existed). Real, physical human nature; Dutch culture lacks a competing illusionist/docetic folk-worldview, so risk is low provided the Critical ‘likeness_of_men’ term-level safeguard below (guarding against ‘resemblance only’) is observed.
Struggle Conflict
Approved rendering: strijd
Transliteration: agōn
Doctrine: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
Athletic/military metaphor for shared struggle for the gospel (1:30); low collision risk.
Do Not Be Anxious
Approved rendering: weest niet bezorgd
Transliteration: merimnaō
Doctrine: Contentment in All Circumstances
Standard, stable rendering (4:6); grounds contentment doctrine in prayer rather than anxious self-management.
Guard Hearts And Minds
Approved rendering: bewaken
Transliteration: phroureō
Doctrine: Gentleness and the Peace of God
Military garrison metaphor (4:7); God’s peace as active, protective guarding of the inner life. Renders naturally into Dutch.
Giving And Receiving
Approved rendering: geven en ontvangen
Transliteration: dosis kai lēpsis
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel
Original: δόσις καὶ λῆψις
Category: Church
Commercial bookkeeping idiom (‘debit and credit’) reinforcing the concrete financial dimension of the Philippians’ gospel partnership (4:15); direct, natural Dutch equivalent.
Supply Every Need
Approved rendering: vervullen / voorzien in
Transliteration: plēroō
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel
God’s abundant provision (4:19), matched to ‘his riches in glory’; standard vocabulary.
Riches
Approved rendering: rijkdom
Transliteration: ploutos
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel
Combines with baseline ‘heerlijkheid’ (glory) in Filippenzen 4:19 as the ground of God’s provision.
Prize
Approved rendering: prijs
Transliteration: brabeion
Doctrine: Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ
Original: βραβεῖον
Category: Eschatology
Athletic-games term (3:14); direct, stable Dutch equivalent.
Word Of Life
Approved rendering: woord van het leven
Transliteration: logos zōēs
Doctrine: Gospel
The gospel ‘held fast’ by believers amid the world’s darkness (2:16); stable phrase.
Minister Servant
Approved rendering: dienaar
Transliteration: leitourgos
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel
Describes Epaphroditus’s service to Paul and the church (2:25); root of modern Dutch ‘liturgie.‘
In Vain
Approved rendering: voor niets / vergeefs
Transliteration: kenos
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Third occurrence of the ken- root in chapter 2 (with kenodoxia v.3 and ekenōsen v.7, 2:16); flag the recurring wordplay for teaching materials even though untranslatable lexically in Dutch.
Blameless Innocent
Approved rendering: onberispelijk / onschuldig
Transliteration: amemptos / akakos
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Moral integrity amid a ‘crooked generation’ (2:15); standard ethical vocabulary.
Consolation Of Love
Approved rendering: vertroosting van de liefde
Transliteration: paramythion
Doctrine: Mutual Encouragement and Comfort
Near-synonym of paraklēsis (2:1); no distinct Dutch collision risk.
Boldness
Approved rendering: vrijmoedigheid
Transliteration: parrēsia
Doctrine: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
Paul’s unashamed proclamation of Christ regardless of outcome (1:20); stable devotional term.
Proper Names Philippians
Approved rendering: Epafroditus, Euodia, Syntyche, Clemens, het huis van Caesar
Transliteration: Epaphroditos, Euodia, Syntychē, Klēmēs, hē oikia Kaisaros
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel
Standard Dutch Bible-translation proper-name forms (2:25; 4:2-3; 4:18; 4:22). No competing-religious-tradition risk; transliterate per baseline Transliteration Standards.
Low-Medium Risk Terms
Bonds Imprisonment
Approved rendering: boeien / gevangenschap
Transliteration: desma / desmios
Doctrine: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
Concrete referent of Paul’s Roman imprisonment; doctrinally significant chiefly in combination with ‘joy’ above.
Fragrant Offering
Approved rendering: welriekende geur
Transliteration: osmē euōdias / thysia dektē
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: aangenaam offer
Original: ὀσμὴ εὐωδίας / θυσία δεκτή
Category: Church
OT cultic sacrificial idiom (4:18) applied to the Philippians’ material gift; requires OT background knowledge a low-OT-literacy Dutch readership may lack.
Look To Consider
Approved rendering: letten op
Transliteration: skopeō
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: oog hebben voor
Original: σκοπέω
Category: Church
See ‘goal_mark’ above; the 2:4/3:14 verbal link should be preserved or flagged in teaching materials.
Straining Forward
Approved rendering: zich uitstrekken naar
Transliteration: epekteinomai
Doctrine: Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ
Rejected alternatives: zich richten op (flatter alternative)
Original: ἐπεκτείνομαι
Category: Eschatology
Vivid runner’s-lean image (3:13); ensure the athletic image is not lost.
Comfort Encouragement
Approved rendering: vertroosting / aanmoediging
Transliteration: paraklēsis
Doctrine: Mutual Encouragement and Comfort
Register choice between devotional ‘vertroosting’ and contemporary ‘aanmoediging’ (2:1); either is doctrinally safe provided the ‘in Christ’ ground is not lost to generic secular pep-talk encouragement.
Tender Mercy
Approved rendering: ontferming
Transliteration: oiktirmos
Doctrine: Mutual Encouragement and Comfort
Standard devotional Dutch term (cf. liturgical ‘Heer, ontferm U’), stable across traditions (2:1).
Medium-High Risk Terms
Enemies Of The Cross
Approved rendering: vijanden van het kruis
Transliteration: echthroi tou staurou
Doctrine: Citizenship in Heaven
Original: ἐχθροὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ
Category: Kingdom
Strong language (3:18); must remain tightly exegetically anchored to the passage’s specific description, not weaponized as general denominational polemic given the religious plurality of the intended Dutch audience.
Mature Perfect
Approved rendering: volwassen
Transliteration: teleios
Doctrine: Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ
Rejected alternatives: volmaakt (riskier; sinless-perfection misreading if isolated from v.12’s disclaimer)
Original: τέλειος
Category: Eschatology
Complete, mature, full-grown — NOT sinless perfection (3:15); recommend ‘volwassen’ as the safer default with a translator note on the wordplay with telos (goal/end).