Semantic Analysis

Semantic Analysis — 2 Corinthians (Full Book) | English → French

Scope and Method

This analysis covers the entire Greek text of 2 Corinthians, chapters 1–13, first to last. The core passage (2 Corinthians 5:11-21) receives full verse-by-verse treatment. Every other chapter receives a chapter-level study of its load-bearing theological terms using the same seven fields: original Greek word, transliteration, literal meaning, semantic range, English variants, contextual theological meaning, and destination-language (French) rendering risk.

Baseline reuse rule: Any term already recorded in the Romans translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json (e.g. grâce, foi, justice, salut, apôtre, saints, Église, gloire, péché, Esprit Saint, Père, alliance, puissance de Dieu, communion fraternelle, action de grâce, exhorter, résurrection, Seigneur, adoption filiale, Israël) is reused exactly as recorded in this analysis. New terms specific to 2 Corinthians are analyzed fresh and risk-rated using the same Critical/High/Medium/Low framework as the baseline registry.

PART 1 — Core Passage: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 (Verse by Verse)

Verse 11 — “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.”

Term: φόβος (τοῦ) Κυρίου

Original: φόβος τοῦ Κυρίου
Transliteration: phobos tou Kyriou
Literal meaning: “fear of the Lord”
Semantic range: terror, dread, reverential awe, sober accountability before a superior
English variants: “fear of the Lord,” “reverence for the Lord,” “fear of God”
Contextual theological meaning: Paul’s motive for ministry integrity is accountability to Christ as Judge (cf. v.10, the βῆμα/judgment seat), not craven terror — a reverent seriousness that shapes apostolic conduct.
French rendering & risk: crainte du Seigneur — Medium risk. Established French Bible tradition distinguishes “crainte” (reverential) from “peur” (raw fear); French readers may still default to “peur” colloquially. Reuses baseline “Seigneur” (High risk term — see baseline notes on feudal resonance) inside a compound; the compound itself is stable in French devotional usage (“crainte de Dieu”/“crainte du Seigneur”).

Term: πείθομεν (πείθω)

Original: πείθομεν
Transliteration: peithomen (from peithō)
Literal meaning: “we persuade”
Semantic range: persuade, win over, convince — not “manipulate” or “flatter”
English variants: “we persuade,” “we try to persuade,” “we appeal to”
Contextual theological meaning: Paul’s apostolic speech aims at genuine conviction, contrasted later (v.12) with self-commendation and outward-appearance boasting.
French rendering & risk: persuader — Low risk. Stable, non-manipulative sense in standard French usage; no significant collision.

Term: συνείδησις

Original: συνείδησις
Transliteration: syneidēsis
Literal meaning: “conscience,” “co-knowledge” (knowing-with)
Semantic range: moral self-awareness, inner witness, the faculty that approves or accuses
English variants: “conscience”
Contextual theological meaning: Paul appeals beyond outward appearance to an inward, God-oriented moral witness shared by himself and his readers.
French rendering & risk: conscience — Low risk. Stable cognate term across French philosophical and theological usage; minor risk of drifting toward purely secular-humanist “conscience morale” without the God-ward orientation Paul intends — a brief contextual gloss is advisable in teaching material.

Verse 12 — “We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance rather than about what is in the heart.”

Term: καυχάομαι / καύχημα

Original: καύχημα
Transliteration: kauchēma
Literal meaning: “boast,” “ground for boasting”
Semantic range: ranges from sinful self-glorying/pride to legitimate, God-directed exultation
English variants: “boast,” “pride,” “glory in”
Contextual theological meaning: Paul wants the Corinthians to have grounds to commend his integrity when confronted by rival teachers who boast in externals — a recurring, paradox-laden term across the letter (see chs. 1, 10-12).
French rendering & risk: fierté légitime / sujet de fierté (contextual; elsewhere se glorifier) — Medium-High risk. French lacks a single word spanning both sinful pride and godly exultation as cleanly as the Greek; “fierté” and “se vanter” trend negative, “se glorifier” trends positive/biblical. Requires consistent contextual disambiguation across the whole letter (see Chapter 10-12 notes below) — flag for native speaker review wherever it recurs.

Term: πρόσωπον vs. καρδία

Original: ἐν προσώπῳ / ἐν καρδίᾳ
Transliteration: en prosōpō / en kardia
Literal meaning: “in face/appearance” / “in heart”
Semantic range: πρόσωπον = face, outward appearance, external status; καρδία = the inner moral-volitional center of a person
English variants: “outward appearance” / “the heart”
Contextual theological meaning: contrasts rival teachers’ credentials-by-appearance with Paul’s claim to inward, God-tested integrity.
French rendering & risk: apparence extérieure / cœur — Low risk. Both terms are stable in French biblical and general usage.

Verse 13 — “For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.”

Term: ἐξίστημι / σωφρονέω

Original: ἐξέστημεν … σωφρονοῦμεν
Transliteration: exestēmen … sōphronoumen
Literal meaning: “we were beside ourselves / out of our mind” … “we are of sound mind”
Semantic range: ecstatic, Spirit-moved zeal vs. sober, measured self-control
English variants: “beside ourselves,” “out of our mind,” “in our right mind,” “sober”
Contextual theological meaning: Paul answers the charge (likely from opponents) that his intense spiritual experience is unstable; whatever the mode, both serve God and the church, not self.
French rendering & risk: hors de nous-mêmes / de sens rassis / raisonnables — Low-Medium risk. Minor register risk: “hors de nous” can sound like ordinary strong emotion (anger, excitement) rather than Spirit-induced ecstatic experience; a brief clarifying phrase is advisable.

Verse 14 — “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died.”

Term: ἀγάπη τοῦ Χριστοῦ

Original: ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Χριστοῦ
Transliteration: hē agapē tou Christou
Literal meaning: “the love of Christ”
Semantic range: Christ’s love for Paul/believers (objective genitive most likely), possibly also believers’ answering love
English variants: “the love of Christ,” “Christ’s love”
Contextual theological meaning: the controlling, compelling motivation of apostolic ministry is Christ’s self-giving love, demonstrated in his substitutionary death (v.14b).
French rendering & risk: l’amour du Christ — Low risk. Stable across all French traditions.

Term: συνέχει (συνέχω)

Original: συνέχει
Transliteration: synechei
Literal meaning: “holds together,” “constrains,” “controls/compels”
Semantic range: to hem in, press together, control, seize
English variants: “controls,” “compels,” “constrains,” “urges on”
Contextual theological meaning: Christ’s love is not a passive sentiment but an active, gripping force directing Paul’s ministry.
French rendering & risk: contraint / presse — Medium risk. “Contraindre” in French can carry a coercive, unwilling-compulsion connotation stronger than intended; “l’amour du Christ nous presse/nous saisit” is preferable to avoid a forced, unwilling reading.

Term: ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀπέθανεν … οἱ πάντες ἀπέθανον

Original: εἷς ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀπέθανεν, ἄρα οἱ πάντες ἀπέθανον
Transliteration: heis hyper pantōn apethanen, ara hoi pantes apethanon
Literal meaning: “one died on behalf of all, therefore all died”
Semantic range: substitutionary/representative death; the “all died” clause signals corporate identification, not universal literal death
English variants: “died for all,” “therefore all died,” “died on behalf of all”
Contextual theological meaning: substitutionary atonement — Christ’s death is representative, and those united to him are reckoned to have died with him (cf. Romans 6). This is Critical: the doctrine of the atonement rests on the “for” (ὑπέρ) being substitutionary, not merely exemplary.
French rendering & risk: un seul est mort pour tous, donc tous sont morts — Critical risk. Must not soften “pour” (ὑπέρ) into a merely exemplary “à cause de” or “pour l’exemple de”; French “pour” here must retain the substitutionary sense already secured for “gospel/grace” vocabulary in the baseline. Flag for human theologian review per the escalation rule for atonement language (cf. baseline 12_ai_translation_requirements.md, Romans 3:25 rule, extended here to 2 Cor 5:14, 21).

Verse 15 — “and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

Term: ζῶντες … ἑαυτοῖς ζῶσιν

Original: οἱ ζῶντες μηκέτι ἑαυτοῖς ζῶσιν
Transliteration: hoi zōntes mēketi heautois zōsin
Literal meaning: “those who live no longer live for themselves”
Semantic range: existential/moral reorientation of life’s purpose, not mere biological survival
English variants: “live for themselves,” “live for self”
Contextual theological meaning: the direct ethical outworking of vicarious death — Christian existence is re-purposed around Christ, not autonomous self-interest. Connects to Christian Identity in Christ (baseline Romans doctrine, reused here).
French rendering & risk: ne plus vivre pour eux-mêmes — Low risk. Clear in French.

Term: τῷ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἀποθανόντι καὶ ἐγερθέντι

Original: τῷ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἀποθανόντι καὶ ἐγερθέντι
Transliteration: tō hyper autōn apothanonti kai egerthenti
Literal meaning: “for him who died and was raised on their behalf”
Semantic range: death and resurrection as one unified saving event
English variants: “died and was raised,” “died and rose again”
Contextual theological meaning: reuses the baseline Resurrection of Christ doctrine (Medium risk) — bodily, historical, once-for-all — now paired inseparably with substitutionary death as the twin ground of new life.
French rendering & risk: mort et ressuscité pour eux — Medium risk (reuse baseline “résurrection”). Guard against a purely metaphorical/naturalistic reading of “ressuscité,” per baseline note on secular flattening of résurrection into “renaissance.”

Verse 16 — “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.”

Term: κατὰ σάρκα

Original: κατὰ σάρκα
Transliteration: kata sarka
Literal meaning: “according to the flesh”
Semantic range: by external, worldly, merely human standards of evaluation (status, ethnicity, appearance) — distinct from σάρξ as “physical body” elsewhere
English variants: “according to the flesh,” “from a worldly point of view,” “by human standards”
Contextual theological meaning: a new, Spirit-given mode of perceiving people and even Christ himself, no longer bound to pre-conversion, merely human categories of judgment.
French rendering & risk: selon la chair — Medium risk. Established biblical French idiom, but risk of a flat literal (“selon le corps”) misreading if not glossed; must be distinguished from legitimate uses of “chair” for the incarnation (“né de la chair,” reused from baseline seed_of_david/incarnation entries) to avoid confusing “flesh-as-standard-of-judgment” with “flesh-as-real-humanity.”

Verse 17 — “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Term: ἐν Χριστῷ

Original: εἴ τις ἐν Χριστῷ
Transliteration: ei tis en Christō
Literal meaning: “if anyone [is] in Christ”
Semantic range: union/incorporation into Christ’s person and saving work
English variants: “in Christ,” “united to Christ”
Contextual theological meaning: reuses the Romans-established doctrine “Christian Identity in Christ” (Medium risk, baseline) — the ground of the new-creation status that follows.
French rendering & risk: en Christ — Medium risk (reuse baseline framing). Must not be diluted into a vague “avec Christ” or “à la manière de Christ”; incorporation, not mere imitation.

Term: καινὴ κτίσις

Original: καινὴ κτίσις
Transliteration: kainē ktisis
Literal meaning: “new creation,” “new creature”
Semantic range: an act of God’s creative power bringing an entirely new order of existence, echoing Genesis creation and Isaiah’s “new heavens and new earth”; not renovation of the old but a new act of creation
English variants: “new creation,” “new creature,” “he is a new creation”
Contextual theological meaning: central to the curriculum’s “New Creation in Christ” doctrine — an ontological, God-wrought new status, not a self-improvement metaphor.
French rendering & risk: nouvelle création — High risk. Established phrase in French devotional usage, but strong risk of secular flattening: contemporary French readily uses “création,” “se réinventer,” “nouvelle version de soi-même” for self-help/personal-development narratives (common in French wellness and coaching culture). Must be anchored explicitly to God’s creative act, not human self-transformation. Flag for native speaker review; theologian review recommended given its status as a named curriculum doctrine.

Term: τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν … καινά γέγονεν

Original: τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν, ἰδοὺ γέγονεν καινά
Transliteration: ta archaia parēlthen, idou gegonen kaina
Literal meaning: “the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come/been made”
Semantic range: decisive, completed transition (aorist tense), not a gradual process
English variants: “the old has passed away,” “the new has come”
Contextual theological meaning: reinforces the once-for-all, already-accomplished nature of new creation, resisting any reading of gradual moral self-improvement.
French rendering & risk: les choses anciennes sont passées, voici, les choses nouvelles sont venues — Low-Medium risk. Preserve the perfective/completed sense (passé composé) against a progressive-sounding French rendering that might suggest an ongoing process still underway.

Verse 18 — “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”

Term: καταλλάσσω / καταλλαγή

Original: τοῦ καταλλάξαντος ἡμᾶς ἑαυτῷ … τὴν διακονίαν τῆς καταλλαγῆς
Transliteration: tou katallaxantos hēmas heautō … tēn diakonian tēs katallagēs
Literal meaning: “the one who reconciled us to himself” … “the ministry of reconciliation”; καταλλάσσω literally “to exchange,” extended to “to change a relationship from hostility to peace”
Semantic range: restoring a broken relationship, removing enmity; commercial root (“to exchange”) extended relationally
English variants: “reconciled,” “reconciliation,” “restored to favor”
Contextual theological meaning: the curriculum’s central doctrine, “Reconciliation with God” — God is the sole active agent; humanity is the passive object reconciled, never the initiator. This must not be read as mutual reconciliation (both parties changing) but as God unilaterally removing the barrier caused by human sin.
French rendering & risk: réconcilier / réconciliation — High risk. The French word itself is stable and shared across Catholic and Protestant tradition, but secular French usage (post-colonial “réconciliation nationale,” “commission vérité et réconciliation,” relationship-counseling “réconciliation de couple”) strongly frames reconciliation as a mutual, two-sided negotiated process. Teaching material must make explicit that in Paul’s usage God alone acts and humans are reconciled, not co-negotiators. Flag for human theologian review given the term’s centrality to the core doctrine.

Term: διακονία τῆς καταλλαγῆς

Original: τὴν διακονίαν τῆς καταλλαγῆς
Transliteration: tēn diakonian tēs katallagēs
Literal meaning: “the service/ministry of the reconciliation”
Semantic range: a delegated task of service/proclamation, not an honorary title
English variants: “the ministry of reconciliation,” “the message of reconciliation as a task”
Contextual theological meaning: apostolic ministry is defined as stewardship of God’s reconciling message — ties directly to the doctrine “Sincerity and Apostolic Authority.”
French rendering & risk: ministère de la réconciliation — High risk. See “ministry/διακονία” full discussion in Chapter 3-6 notes below: French “ministère” carries a strong ordained-clergy connotation in Catholic usage, risking narrowing of Paul’s broad reconciling task to clerical office alone.

Verse 19 — “that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”

Term: κόσμον καταλλάσσων

Original: κόσμον καταλλάσσων ἑαυτῷ
Transliteration: kosmon katallassōn heautō
Literal meaning: “reconciling the world to himself”
Semantic range: universal scope (κόσμος = the whole created human order), continuous/ongoing aspect (present participle) describing the historical Christ-event’s abiding significance
English variants: “reconciling the world,” “was reconciling the world”
Contextual theological meaning: connects the doctrine of Reconciliation to the Romans-established “Universal Scope of the Gospel” (High risk, baseline) — reuse that framing here.
French rendering & risk: réconciliant le monde avec lui-même — High risk (reuse of universality framing). Preserve unqualified universal scope; do not narrow to a particular nation or group.

Term: λογιζόμενος

Original: μὴ λογιζόμενος αὐτοῖς τὰ παραπτώματα
Transliteration: mē logizomenos autois ta paraptōmata
Literal meaning: “not counting/reckoning to them their trespasses”
Semantic range: an accounting/ledger metaphor — to credit or debit to someone’s account; the identical verb root (λογίζομαι) used in Romans 4:3/4:5 for imputed righteousness
English variants: “not counting,” “not holding against them,” “not reckoning”
Contextual theological meaning: Critical direct link to the baseline “imputed_righteousness” entry (Critical risk) — the same forensic-accounting verb that credits righteousness in Romans 4 here describes God not debiting trespasses. Both must be handled with the same “credited/reckoned status, not earned or erased by human effort” doctrinal care.
French rendering & risk: ne tenant pas compte de leurs fautes — Critical risk. Must preserve the forensic-accounting sense (a legal/ledger reckoning) rather than softening to a vague emotional “pardonner leurs erreurs” (which would blur into a different Greek verb, ἀφίημι). Flag for human theologian review, cross-referencing baseline’s “imputed_righteousness” Critical-risk term.

Term: παραπτώματα

Original: τὰ παραπτώματα
Transliteration: ta paraptōmata
Literal meaning: “false steps,” “trespasses”
Semantic range: culpable moral failures, near-synonym of ἁμαρτία (sin) but with an emphasis on “falling/stumbling aside”
English variants: “trespasses,” “sins,” “transgressions”
Contextual theological meaning: reuses the weight of baseline “sin” (péché, Medium risk) — must not be trivialized.
French rendering & risk: fautes / transgressions — Medium risk (reuse of péché-family caution). Avoid a rendering so mild (“erreurs,” “faux pas”) that it loses moral seriousness.

Term: θέμενος ἐν ἡμῖν τὸν λόγον τῆς καταλλαγῆς

Original: θέμενος ἐν ἡμῖν τὸν λόγον τῆς καταλλαγῆς
Transliteration: themenos en hēmin ton logon tēs katallagēs
Literal meaning: “having placed/entrusted in us the word of reconciliation”
Semantic range: a deposit of trust, a commissioning
English variants: “entrusting to us the message of reconciliation,” “committing to us the word of reconciliation”
Contextual theological meaning: apostolic/church stewardship of the reconciling message — ties Sincerity and Apostolic Authority doctrine.
French rendering & risk: la parole de la réconciliation nous a été confiée — Medium risk. Stable; ensure “parole” (message/proclamation) is not confused with “Parole” capitalized (the Logos title), a minor register distinction to flag for consistency.

Verse 20 — “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Term: πρεσβεύομεν (πρεσβεύω)

Original: ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ πρεσβεύομεν
Transliteration: hyper Christou presbeuomen
Literal meaning: “we act as ambassadors/envoys on behalf of Christ”
Semantic range: an official diplomatic representative, empowered to speak with delegated authority on behalf of a sovereign
English variants: “ambassadors,” “envoys,” “we represent Christ”
Contextual theological meaning: apostolic authority as delegated royal representation, not self-appointed opinion — ties “Sincerity and Apostolic Authority” and “Genuine versus False Apostleship.”
French rendering & risk: ambassadeurs pour Christ — Medium risk. “Ambassadeur” is a stable, well-understood diplomatic term in French with no negative religious collision, but risk of a merely political/ceremonial reading (a modern “goodwill ambassador” for a brand or cause) rather than one who carries the sovereign’s own authoritative appeal. A brief contextual anchor to Christ’s kingship is advisable.

Term: παρακαλοῦντος (παρακαλέω)

Original: ὡς τοῦ Θεοῦ παρακαλοῦντος δι’ ἡμῶν
Transliteration: hōs tou Theou parakalountos di’ hēmōn
Literal meaning: “as God making his appeal/exhortation through us”
Semantic range: to call to one’s side, to exhort, to appeal, to comfort — reuses the same root as baseline “exhort” (exhorter) and the “comfort/consolation” family found throughout ch.1 and ch.7
English variants: “appeal,” “exhort,” “entreat,” “urge”
Contextual theological meaning: God himself is the speaker behind the apostolic appeal — the urgency is divine, not merely rhetorical persuasion.
French rendering & risk: Dieu fait appel par nous / Dieu exhorte par nous — Medium risk (reuse baseline “exhorter,” context-sensitive per baseline note distinguishing “supplier” from “exhorter/encourager”). Here the sense is closer to urgent appeal/entreaty than encouragement; choose “fait appel” or “supplie” over a purely encouraging “encourage,” to preserve the urgency of the reconciliation call.

Term: δεόμεθα (δέομαι)

Original: δεόμεθα ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ, καταλλάγητε τῷ Θεῷ
Transliteration: deometha hyper Christou, katallagēte tō Theō
Literal meaning: “we beg/implore on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God”
Semantic range: earnest, pleading request
English variants: “we implore,” “we beg,” “we plead”
Contextual theological meaning: intensifies the appeal’s urgency; the imperative “be reconciled” (καταλλάγητε) is passive — humans do not reconcile themselves but receive/accept the reconciliation God has already accomplished (v.18-19). This grammatical point (passive voice) is doctrinally significant and easily lost in translation.
French rendering & risk: nous vous en prions … soyez réconciliés avec Dieu — Critical risk. French “réconciliez-vous avec Dieu” (reflexive/active-sounding imperative) risks implying humans perform the reconciling act themselves, contradicting v.18’s “God… reconciled us.” A passive-preserving construction (“soyez réconciliés,” “laissez-vous réconcilier”) is required. Flag for human theologian review — this is the exact same synergism-vs-monergism risk class as baseline’s “grace” and “justification” Critical entries.

Verse 21 — “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Term: ἁμαρτίαν ἐποίησεν

Original: τὸν μὴ γνόντα ἁμαρτίαν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἁμαρτίαν ἐποίησεν
Transliteration: ton mē gnonta hamartian hyper hēmōn hamartian epoiēsen
Literal meaning: “he made him who did not know sin [to be] sin for us”
Semantic range: a startling, forensic identification — Christ was legally/representatively identified with sin’s guilt, not made a sinner in nature or character
English variants: “made him to be sin,” “made him sin,” “treated him as sin-bearer”
Contextual theological meaning: the doctrinal high point of the whole passage — substitutionary imputation of sin’s guilt to the sinless Christ (reuses baseline “sin,” péché, Medium, but here at Critical intensity because it concerns Christ’s own person). This is the same forensic logic underlying baseline’s Critical “justification” and “imputed_righteousness” entries, now applied to Christ becoming the bearer of imputed guilt.
French rendering & risk: il l’a fait péché pour nous — Critical risk. Must not be softened to “il l’a chargé de nos péchés” (which shifts from a startling identification-statement to a more conventional sin-bearing image) nor overcorrected into implying Christ became sinful in nature. The stark, forensic “fait péché” construction (as in Segond’s tradition) should be retained with an explanatory note distinguishing legal imputation from moral corruption. Flag for mandatory human theologian review, same escalation tier as Romans 3:25 atonement language in the baseline requirements.

Term: τὸν μὴ γνόντα ἁμαρτίαν

Original: τὸν μὴ γνόντα ἁμαρτίαν
Transliteration: ton mē gnonta hamartian
Literal meaning: “who did not know sin”
Semantic range: sinlessness, moral perfection — γνόντα (“knew”) here in the sense of experiential participation in, not mere intellectual awareness of
English variants: “who knew no sin,” “who was without sin,” “sinless”
Contextual theological meaning: establishes the sinlessness of Christ as the necessary condition for a valid substitution — a load-bearing premise for the whole atonement logic of the verse.
French rendering & risk: qui n’a pas connu le péché — Medium risk. “Connaître” preserves the experiential nuance well in French; minor risk that a literal-minded reader hears mere ignorance/unfamiliarity rather than sinless moral character — a brief gloss is advisable.

Term: γενώμεθα δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ

Original: ἵνα ἡμεῖς γενώμεθα δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ
Transliteration: hina hēmeis genōmetha dikaiosynē Theou en autō
Literal meaning: “so that we might become the righteousness of God in him”
Semantic range: not moral self-improvement but a credited, forensic status conferred through union with Christ — directly parallel to baseline “righteousness”/“imputed_righteousness”
English variants: “become the righteousness of God,” “might become righteous in God’s sight”
Contextual theological meaning: the positive counterpart to the sin-imputation clause: believers receive Christ’s righteous standing by the same forensic logic. This is the theological core the entire curriculum’s core passage is built around, and it must reuse the baseline’s “justice”/“justice imputée” renderings and Critical risk tier exactly.
French rendering & risk: nous devenions justice de Dieu (en lui) — Critical risk. Reuses baseline “justice” (justice de Dieu, High) and “justice imputée” (Critical) exactly; must be read as a credited status received in union with Christ (“en lui”), not gradual moral achievement — the same Trent-vs-Reformation flashpoint flagged in the baseline for “justification.” Mandatory human theologian review.

PART 2 — Chapter-by-Chapter Study of the Whole Book

Chapter 1

Term (Greek)	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	French Rendering & Risk
παράκλησις / παρακαλέω	paraklēsis / parakaleō	”calling to one’s side”; comfort, encouragement, appeal	comfort, consolation, exhortation, encouragement — same root family as baseline “exhort” (exhorter)	comfort, consolation, encouragement, appeal	God as “Father of mercies and God of all comfort” who comforts Paul in affliction so Paul can comfort others; central to “Suffering and Comfort in Ministry” doctrine	consolation / consoler — High risk. Reuses/extends baseline “exhort” root; must be distinguished from mere physical comfort (“confort,” “être à l’aise”) — the sense is God’s sustaining presence amid affliction, not ease. Flag for native speaker review; theologian review where paired with atonement-adjacent “sufferings of Christ.”
θλῖψις	thlipsis	”pressure,” “affliction”	hardship, distress, persecution, tribulation	affliction, suffering, trouble, distress	Paul’s apostolic sufferings, shared with and patterned on Christ’s own sufferings; not generic bad luck but gospel-related hardship	affliction — Medium risk. Risk of a generic-hardship reading detached from gospel context; ensure teaching material ties it to ministry suffering specifically.
παθήματα τοῦ Χριστοῦ	pathēmata tou Christou	”sufferings of Christ”	Christ’s own sufferings, and/or sufferings endured for Christ’s sake / in fellowship with Christ	”Christ’s sufferings,” “sufferings for Christ”	Paul’s afflictions are mystically united with Christ’s own sufferings — an important participatory (not merely imitative) theology	souffrances du Christ — Medium risk. Guard against reducing to mere imitation-of-a-good-example; the participatory “union” sense should be preserved contextually.
σφραγίς	sphragis	”seal”	mark of ownership/authentication, legal/commercial seal	”seal,” “sealed us”	God’s Spirit as the mark authenticating believers as his own	sceau — Low-Medium risk. Stable imagery; minor risk of purely decorative/administrative reading (a wax seal on a document) without the ownership/authentication sense.
ἀρραβών	arrabōn	”down payment,” “pledge,” “guarantee”	a partial payment guaranteeing the full amount to come — a live commercial-legal term	”guarantee,” “deposit,” “pledge,” “down payment”	The Spirit given now as the guarantee of the fuller inheritance/resurrection life to come	arrhes / gage — High risk. “Arrhes” is still an active, everyday French commercial term (e.g. a deposit paid on a hotel booking or purchase), which usefully preserves the “guarantee of more to come” sense — but risks a purely transactional reading that loses the personal, relational nature of the Spirit’s presence. Recommend “les arrhes de l’Esprit” with a brief relational gloss.
ἁπλότης / εἰλικρίνεια	haplotēs / eilikrineia	”singleness,” “simplicity” / “unmixed purity, tested in sunlight”	integrity, sincerity, transparency, freedom from hidden motive	”sincerity,” “godly sincerity,” “frankness”	Paul’s defense of his own transparent, non-manipulative conduct — foundational to “Sincerity and Apostolic Authority” doctrine, recurring through chs. 1, 2, 11	sincérité — High risk. Named curriculum doctrine; risk of collapsing into a merely psychological “being honest with oneself” rather than the relational/missional integrity Paul means (undivided motive before God and the church). Flag for native speaker review across all recurrences; theologian review where tied directly to apostolic authority claims.
ναὶ καὶ οὔ	nai kai ou	”yes and no”	reliability vs. vacillation	”yes and no,” “wavering”	God’s promises (and by extension Paul’s word) are not “yes and no” but always “yes” in Christ — reliability of the gospel promise	oui et non — Low risk. Transparent idiom in French.

Chapter 2

Term (Greek)	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	French Rendering & Risk
χαρίζομαι	charizomai	”to forgive,” “to give graciously” (same root as χάρις/grace)	forgive, grant, remit — grace-rooted forgiveness, not mere excusal	”forgive,” “grant forgiveness”	Restoration of a disciplined church member; forgiveness as an act of grace paralleling baseline “grace” (χάρις)	pardonner / faire grâce — Medium risk. Reuses the baseline “grâce” root; must retain the sense of a gracious, unmerited act rather than a merely procedural pardon.
Σατανᾶς	Satanas	”Satan,” “the Adversary”	the personal, malevolent spiritual enemy	”Satan,” “the devil,” “the adversary”	Church discipline and forgiveness matter because failure to forgive gives Satan an opening (2:11); recurs at 11:14 (angel of light) and 12:7 (messenger of Satan)	Satan — Low risk (stable proper name across all French Christian tradition), though note French secular culture’s frequent trivializing/pop-culture use of “Satan” (horror-genre imagery) as a mild flattening risk to watch for in tone.
θριαμβεύω	thriambeuō	”to lead in a triumphal procession”	to display captives/spoils publicly in a victor’s parade (a specific Roman civic-military ritual)	“leads us in triumphal procession,” “makes a show of us”	Christ as triumphant victor displaying Paul (and by extension the gospel) as a defeated-yet-glorified participant in his victory	cortège triomphal / triomphe — Medium risk. Requires cultural-background explanation for French readers with low familiarity with the Roman triumph custom (parallel to baseline’s OT-literacy concern); without explanation the metaphor’s double edge (captive AND participant in victory) can be lost.
ὀσμή / εὐωδία	osmē / euōdia	”odor,” “fragrance”	literal scent; here metaphorical — the “smell” of the gospel message, pleasing to God, life or death to hearers	”aroma,” “fragrance,” “smell”	The gospel proclaimed through Paul has a double effect — life-giving fragrance to some, deathly odor to others — tied to Universal Scope of the Gospel doctrine	parfum / bonne odeur — Medium risk. Ensure the double-edged (life/death) sense is retained; a purely positive “parfum agréable” alone under-translates the passage’s tension.
καπηλεύω	kapēleuō	”to peddle for profit,” “to hawk goods” (of a disreputable market vendor)	to adulterate/dilute a product to sell more profitably, applied metaphorically to preachers who dilute God’s word for gain	”peddle,” “corrupt,” “sell for profit,” “make merchandise of”	Distinguishes Paul’s sincere proclamation from profit-driven, watered-down preaching — direct link to “Sincerity and Apostolic Authority” and anticipates the false-apostles polemic of chs. 10-11	frelater / falsifier la parole de Dieu — Medium risk. Ensure the commercial-profiteering nuance (not just doctrinal error) comes through; “falsifier” alone may lose the profit-motive dimension.
ἱκανός	hikanos	”sufficient,” “adequate,” “qualified”	capability/adequacy for a task	”sufficient,” “adequate,” “qualified,” “competent"	"Who is sufficient for these things?” (2:16) — sets up ch.3’s answer: sufficiency comes from God, not human ability	capable (NEVER “suffisant/suffisance” — see Chapter 3) — High risk; see full discussion below.

Chapter 3

Term (Greek)	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	French Rendering & Risk
ἱκανότης	hikanotēs	”sufficiency,” “adequacy,” “competence”	fitness/capability for a task, granted rather than self-generated	”sufficiency,” “competence,” “adequacy"	"Our sufficiency is from God” (3:5) — foundational to “Sincerity and Apostolic Authority” and anticipates “Power in Weakness” (ch.12)	capacité (jamais “suffisance”) — High risk, grounded and specific: the standard French noun that looks like the obvious cognate, “suffisance,” in ordinary French means self-satisfaction, smugness, arrogance — the opposite of Paul’s point that competence is God-given, not self-derived. This is a critical false-friend trap. Translators must use “capacité” or a periphrasis (“Dieu seul nous rend capables”) and never “suffisance.” Flag as a forbidden-substitution item alongside baseline’s “justice méritée.”
καινὴ διαθήκη	kainē diathēkē	”new covenant”	a new, superior covenant relationship, fulfilling and surpassing the Mosaic covenant	”new covenant,” “new testament”	Central to “The New Covenant versus the Old” doctrine; reuses baseline “alliance” (covenant, High risk) with “nouvelle”	nouvelle alliance — Critical risk. Two compounding dangers in French: (1) supersessionist misreading that could be heard as replacing/discarding God’s covenant people Israel entirely rather than fulfilling the promise made to them (cf. baseline’s “Israel” Medium-risk caution about conflating covenant Israel with contemporary politics); (2) Catholic liturgical resonance — “la nouvelle alliance” is the exact phrase used in the Words of Institution at every Mass (“le sang de la nouvelle alliance”), which may cause readers to hear this primarily as Eucharistic language rather than Paul’s covenant-history argument. Mandatory human theologian review.
γράμμα / πνεῦμα	gramma / pneuma	”letter” (written character) / “Spirit”	γράμμα = the written text taken as external code (here specifically the Mosaic law’s letter); πνεῦμα = the life-giving Spirit	”the letter,” “the Spirit,” “letter and Spirit"	"The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (3:6) — the defining contrast of the New-vs-Old-Covenant doctrine	la lettre / l’Esprit — High risk. “La lettre” in ordinary French primarily means “a written letter” (correspondence) or “to the letter” (literal precision) — a plausible but flattened reading that misses “the Mosaic law’s external code” sense; must be glossed contextually. Reuses baseline “loi” caution (High risk) since γράμμα functions as a synonym for the Law’s external demand here.
κάλυμμα	kalymma	”veil,” “covering”	a literal face-covering (Moses’ veil, Exodus 34) extended metaphorically to spiritual blindness/incomprehension	”veil,” “covering”	The veil over Moses’ face, and metaphorically over unbelieving minds, removed only “in Christ” — ties directly to “The New Covenant versus the Old”	voile — High risk, specific to contemporary France: “le voile” is a live, politically and socially charged term in French public discourse (headscarf/hijab debates, laïcité controversies in schools and public life). Bible-study use of “voile” in an unrelated theological sense risks unintended resonance with these current-events associations for French readers, requiring careful framing (e.g., explicit reference to the Exodus narrative) to keep the intended referent clear.
δόξα	doxa	”glory,” “radiance,” “honor”	God’s manifest presence and honor; here specifically Moses’ fading, reflected glory versus the surpassing, permanent glory of the new covenant	”glory”	Reuses baseline “gloire” (Medium risk) with an added contrast (fading vs. abiding) unique to this chapter’s argument	gloire — reuse baseline, Medium-High in this specific comparative context. Ensure the fading-vs-abiding contrast (3:7-11) is not lost in a flat, static rendering of “gloire.”
μεταμορφούμεθα	metamorphoumetha	”we are being transformed” (same root as “transfiguration”)	ongoing, Spirit-wrought change into Christ’s likeness	”transformed,” “changed,” “being transfigured”	Believers beholding Christ’s glory are progressively transformed into his image — an important sanctification-adjacent term (reuses baseline “sanctification,” Medium)	transformés (reserve “transfiguré/Transfiguration” for the unique Gospel event) — Medium risk. French “transfiguration” is a specific, capitalized liturgical/feast-day term (la Transfiguration du Seigneur); using it here for ongoing believer transformation could wrongly suggest a repeatable, Christ-level event. Prefer “transformés” for this verse.
ἐλευθερία	eleutheria	”freedom,” “liberty”	freedom from the old covenant’s condemning letter, granted by the Spirit	”freedom,” “liberty"	"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (3:17)	liberté — Low-Medium risk. Stable term; minor risk of conflation with purely political/civic “liberté” (echoing France’s republican motto, cf. “égalité” note in ch.8) rather than freedom from the law’s condemnation.

Chapter 4

Term (Greek)	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	French Rendering & Risk
ὄστρακινα σκεύη	ostrakina skeuē	”clay/earthenware vessels”	cheap, fragile, disposable pottery containers	”jars of clay,” “earthen vessels”	The gospel treasure held in weak, fragile human ministers — so that power is seen to be God’s, not the messenger’s; directly anticipates “Power in Weakness”	vases d’argile / vases de terre — Low-Medium risk. Vivid, transparent imagery in French; minimal risk beyond ensuring the fragility-contrast-with-treasure point is retained.
ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου	ho theos tou aiōnos toutou	”the god of this age/world”	a title for Satan as the usurping ruler of the present fallen order, blinding unbelievers	”the god of this world,” “the god of this age”	Explains unbelief as spiritual blinding, not mere intellectual failure	le dieu de ce monde / de ce siècle — High risk. Lower-case “dieu” applied to Satan is doctrinally essential and easily lost in French, where capitalization conventions (Dieu vs. dieu) carry real theological weight; any inconsistency risks either deifying Satan or obscuring the deliberate irony of the title. Requires careful, consistent capitalization discipline and a contextual gloss identifying the referent as Satan, not a rival deity.
εἰκὼν τοῦ Θεοῦ	eikōn tou Theou	”image of God”	the visible representation/likeness of God’s own being and glory	”image of God”	Christ as the perfect image of God, contrasted with blinded minds unable to see this glory	image de Dieu — Medium risk. Stable phrase; minor risk of drifting into a generic anthropological “human beings made in God’s image” sense (Genesis 1:27) rather than its specific Christological use here (Christ himself as God’s perfect image) — context must disambiguate.
ἔξω ἄνθρωπος / ἔσω ἄνθρωπος	exō anthrōpos / esō anthrōpos	”outer man” / “inner man”	the perishing physical/mortal aspect of a person vs. the renewed inner, spiritual aspect	”outer self / inner self,” “outward man / inward man”	Encouragement amid suffering: outward decay coexists with inward, Spirit-wrought daily renewal	homme extérieur / homme intérieur — Medium risk. Risk of importing a Cartesian body-soul dualism reading (strongly embedded in French philosophical education) that treats this as two separate substances, rather than Paul’s more holistic “decaying body / being renewed inwardly by the Spirit” framing.
βάρος δόξης	baros doxēs	”weight of glory”	the sheer weightiness/substantiality of future glory, contrasted with light, momentary affliction	”weight of glory,” “eternal weight of glory”	Reuses baseline “gloire”; emphasizes the surpassing worth of future glory over present suffering — ties “Suffering and Comfort in Ministry”	poids éternel de gloire — Medium risk (reuse baseline gloire). The wordplay in Hebrew/Greek background (kabod = weight/glory) is not recoverable in French; ensure the “weightiness/substantiality” sense is not flattened into mere abstract praise.

Chapter 5 (verses 1-10; vv.11-21 treated above as the core passage)

Term (Greek)	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	French Rendering & Risk
σκῆνος	skēnos	”tent,” “tabernacle”	a temporary dwelling, metaphor for the mortal body	”tent,” “earthly dwelling,” “earthly tabernacle”	The present body as a temporary tent, contrasted with the permanent “building from God” (resurrection body)	tente — Low risk. Transparent imagery; minor risk of losing the temporary-vs-permanent contrast if not paired with “édifice éternel.”
στενάζω	stenazō	”to groan”	inward longing, distress under present limitation	”we groan,” “groaning”	Believers’ present longing for resurrection embodiment — connects to Romans 8’s groaning-of-creation theme (baseline “providence” context)	soupirer / gémir — Low-Medium risk. Ensure the hopeful, forward-looking groaning (longing for glory) is distinguished from despairing complaint.
ἀρραβών (Spirit)	arrabōn	”guarantee,” “down payment”	see Chapter 1 entry; here applied to the Spirit as guarantee of the resurrection body	”guarantee,” “pledge”	Same term as 1:22 — reused for consistency	arrhes / gage — reuse Chapter 1 rendering and risk notes exactly for consistency.
βῆμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ	bēma tou Christou	”judgment seat of Christ”	βῆμα = a raised platform/tribunal (used of Roman civic tribunals, e.g. Acts 18:12, and Olympic victory platforms)	“judgment seat,” “tribunal of Christ”	Every believer will appear before Christ for an evaluation of deeds done in the body — a motivating, not condemning, accountability distinct from final judgment for salvation	tribunal du Christ — High risk. French “tribunal” overwhelmingly evokes a civil/criminal court of law with punitive verdicts, risking confusion with condemnatory final judgment (already assured against in Romans 8:1, baseline “Assurance of Salvation,” High) rather than the reward/evaluation sense Paul intends here for believers. Also risks activating Catholic-adjacent purgatorial associations if not carefully framed. Flag for human theologian review.

Chapter 6

Term (Greek)	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	French Rendering & Risk
διάκονοι Θεοῦ	diakonoi Theou	”servants/ministers of God”	see full διακονία discussion below; a general term for gospel service, not clerical office	”servants of God,” “ministers of God”	Paul’s catalogue of hardships and virtues authenticating genuine ministry — ties “Genuine versus False Apostleship”	serviteurs de Dieu — Medium risk (see “ministry” discussion below); “serviteurs” here avoids the clerical narrowing risk of “ministres.”
ἑτεροζυγέω	heterozygeō	”to be yoked with a different/unequal partner”	agricultural metaphor (mismatched draft animals) applied to incompatible partnership, particularly with idolatry/unbelief	”unequally yoked,” “mismatched partnership”	Warning against compromising partnership with practices/values opposed to God — historically over-applied narrowly to marriage alone	ne pas se mettre sous un même joug que… — Medium risk. Pastoral sensitivity note: this verse is frequently proof-texted in French evangelical circles specifically against interfaith or mixed marriage, a socially sensitive topic in contemporary France; teaching material should retain Paul’s broader scope (compromising partnership/alliance generally) alongside any marriage application.
ναὸς Θεοῦ ζῶντος	naos Theou zōntos	”temple of the living God”	the sacred dwelling place of God’s presence, now identified with the believing community itself	”temple of the living God”	The church as God’s dwelling place, contrasted with pagan idol temples	temple du Dieu vivant — High risk, specific to French Protestant usage: the baseline package already notes that French Protestants call their worship building “un temple” (not “une église”). Calling believers themselves “le temple de Dieu” alongside this existing usage risks a confusing double reference — is “temple” the physical Reformed church building down the street, or the corporate body of believers described here? Requires explicit clarification in teaching contexts, echoing the baseline’s church/temple distinction note.
υἱοὶ καὶ θυγατέρες	huioi kai thygateres	”sons and daughters”	familial inclusion language, echoing 2 Samuel 7 covenant promise	”sons and daughters,” “children”	God’s fatherly reception of his people — reuses baseline “adoption filiale” (Medium risk) and “Père”	fils et filles — Medium risk (reuse baseline adoption/Father framing). Ensure inclusive “et filles” is retained, not merged into a generic masculine “fils” alone, since the text explicitly names daughters.

Chapter 7

Term (Greek)	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	French Rendering & Risk
καθαρίζω / ἁγιωσύνη	katharizō / hagiōsynē	”to cleanse” / “holiness”	moral-spiritual purification and its completed state	”cleanse,” “holiness,” “perfecting holiness"	"Let us cleanse ourselves… perfecting holiness in the fear of God” — reuses baseline “sanctification” (Medium) and “holy” (saint, Medium)	purifier / sainteté — Medium risk (reuse baseline caution: avoid a merely ritual-cleansing reading of “purifier”; anchor to moral-relational holiness).
μετάνοια	metanoia	”change of mind,” “repentance”	a Spirit-produced, inward reorientation of mind and will toward God, distinguished from mere regret	”repentance,” “conversion”	Godly grief (below) produces repentance that leads to salvation, without regret	repentance — High risk. In French Catholic usage “repentance” and its verb “se repentir” are closely tied to the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Penance (confession, absolution, penitential acts); the term risks being heard as referring to the formal sacramental rite rather than the inward change of heart and mind Paul describes as available directly through the gospel. Flag for human theologian review given the doctrinal weight (parallels baseline’s “justification”/“grace” mediation concern).
λύπη κατὰ Θεόν / λύπη τοῦ κόσμου	lypē kata Theon / lypē tou kosmou	”grief according to God” / “grief of the world”	godly sorrow that produces repentance and life vs. worldly sorrow that produces death (despair)	“godly grief/sorrow” / “worldly grief/sorrow”	Distinguishes redemptive conviction of sin from mere despair or self-pity	tristesse selon Dieu / tristesse du monde — Medium risk. Ensure the outcome-contrast (leads to salvation vs. leads to death) is retained, not just an emotional-intensity distinction.
σπουδή	spoudē	”eagerness,” “diligence,” “zeal”	earnestness in pursuing what is right	”earnestness,” “zeal,” “diligence”	Evidence of genuine repentance in the Corinthians’ response to Paul’s letter	zèle / empressement — Low risk.

Chapter 8

Term (Greek)	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	French Rendering & Risk
χάρις (as generosity)	charis	”grace” — here extended to mean a gracious act of material generosity/gift	ranges from unmerited divine favor (baseline core sense) to a concrete grace-gift enacted through giving	”grace,” “the grace of giving,” “generous gift”	Central to “Generosity and Grace in Giving” — the Macedonians’ giving, and Christ’s own self-giving (8:9), are both called “grace” — the same word that names salvation itself	grâce — reuse baseline exactly (High risk). Additional context-specific caution: the extension of “grâce” to mean “a generous financial gift” risks flattening into a purely social-courtesy sense (“une gracieuseté,” “un geste gracieux”) in secular French, losing the connection back to God’s own unmerited grace as the giving’s source and pattern. Teaching material must keep the theological thread explicit: giving flows from having received grace, not from social obligation.
ἰσότης	isotēs	”equality,” “fairness”	a balancing of surplus and need between churches, not identical redistribution of wealth	”equality,” “fair balance”	Paul’s fundraising principle: giving aims at relieving need, not producing exact equal outcomes — a modest, situational principle	égalité — High risk, specific and grounded: “Égalité” is one-third of France’s national motto (“Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité”) and carries immense weight in French Republican, secular, and political discourse (equality before the law, socio-economic equality debates). Rendering Paul’s modest, situational fundraising principle with this loaded term risks importing an entire political-ideological framework (egalitarian redistribution, Republican citizenship equality) foreign to Paul’s pastoral point about mutual aid between churches. A qualifying phrase (“une certaine égalité,” “un équilibre”) is strongly recommended over the bare noun.
Χριστὸς ἐπτώχευσεν	Christos eptōcheusen	”Christ became poor”	voluntary self-impoverishment for others’ enrichment	”he became poor,” “though he was rich, he became poor”	Christ’s self-giving as the pattern and motivation for generous giving — an incarnation-adjacent, kenosis-flavored statement	il s’est fait pauvre — Medium risk. Ensure this is read as voluntary, purposeful self-giving (paralleling but distinct from the baseline’s “incarnation” entry) rather than a general statement about Jesus’ economic circumstances during his earthly life.
κοινωνία (in giving)	koinōnia	”participation,” “sharing”	shared participation in a common task/fund, here specifically the collection	”fellowship,” “participation,” “sharing in”	The Corinthians’ financial gift is itself an act of koinōnia with the Jerusalem believers — reuses baseline “fellowship” (communion fraternelle, Medium)	communion fraternelle / participation — Medium risk (reuse baseline). In this specific financial context “participation à cette œuvre” may communicate more clearly than the bare “communion fraternelle,” which some readers may not immediately connect to a fundraising collection; flag for translator’s discretion with a note.

Chapter 9

Term (Greek)	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	French Rendering & Risk
λογία	logia	”collection,” “contribution”	a specific, organized fund-raising collection (a rare, almost technical term in the NT)	“the collection,” “the contribution”	The organized gift for the Jerusalem church — administrative, not primarily emotional, vocabulary	collecte — Medium risk. Avoid “quête,” which in French denotes specifically the offering basket passed during a church service (Mass or Protestant worship) — a narrower, ritual-liturgical image that could trivialize Paul’s larger cross-congregational relief project into a routine weekly offering.
ἱλαρὸς δότης	hilaros dotēs	”cheerful giver”	joyful, willing (not reluctant or compelled) generosity	”cheerful giver,” “God loves a cheerful giver”	The manner of giving matters as much as the amount — reuses “grace” and “generosity” themes of ch.8	donateur joyeux — Low risk. Transparent and stable.
δικαιοσύνη (fruit of giving)	dikaiosynē	”righteousness”	here specifically the practical, tangible righteous/generous acts that flow from and display right standing with God	”righteousness,” “righteous deeds,” “harvest of righteousness”	Reuses baseline “justice” (righteousness) in a distinctly ethical-fruit sense (9:9-10), extending rather than replacing its forensic sense established in ch.5 and Romans	justice — reuse baseline exactly, Medium-High risk in this ethical-fruit sense specifically: ensure readers do not confuse this practical, fruit-bearing use with the forensic “righteousness of God” sense of 5:21 — both use the same French word “justice,” so contextual disambiguation in teaching notes is required.
ἀνεκδιήγητος δωρεά	anekdiēgētos dōrea	”indescribable gift”	a gift beyond words — closing doxological flourish	”indescribable gift,” “inexpressible gift”	Points beyond the human collection back to God’s own supreme gift in Christ	don indescriptible — Low risk.

Chapter 10

Term (Greek)	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	French Rendering & Risk
πραΰτης καὶ ἐπιείκεια	prautēs kai epieikeia	”meekness and gentleness”	strength held in restraint, not weakness or timidity	”meekness and gentleness,” “gentleness and considerateness”	Christ’s own character as Paul’s model of authority exercised without harshness — ties “Power in Weakness” and “Genuine versus False Apostleship”	douceur et bonté — Medium risk. French “douceur” can trend toward passive mildness/sweetness in casual usage; ensure the paradoxical strength-under-restraint sense (power that chooses gentleness) is not lost.
ὅπλα / ὀχυρώματα	hopla / ochyrōmata	”weapons” / “strongholds”	military metaphor for spiritual conflict — weapons “not of the flesh” but divinely powerful, against fortified arguments/ideologies	”weapons,” “strongholds,” “fortresses”	Spiritual warfare imagery describing the demolition of proud arguments against the knowledge of God	armes / forteresses — Low-Medium risk. Stable imagery; minor risk of being read as endorsing literal aggression/conquest rather than intellectual-spiritual persuasion — a brief clarifying frame is useful given France’s own missionary-colonial history sensitivities (cf. baseline “mission” Medium-risk note).
κανών	kanōn	”measuring rod,” “rule,” “assigned limit”	a standard or sphere of authority/action assigned by God	”sphere,” “limit,” “rule,” “measure”	Paul restricts his boasting/authority claims to the sphere God actually assigned him — modesty and legitimacy of apostolic scope	mesure / champ d’action — Low-Medium risk. Minor risk of confusion with the unrelated technical sense of “canon” (the biblical canon), since κανών is the etymological root of that later usage; a footnote distinguishing the senses is prudent.
καυχάομαι (boasting in the Lord)	kauchaomai	”to boast”	see 5:12 entry; here explicitly resolved as “let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (citing Jeremiah 9:24)	“boast in the Lord”	Legitimate boasting redirected entirely to God’s commendation, not self-commendation — the resolution of the letter’s recurring boasting theme	se glorifier dans le Seigneur — Medium-High risk (see ch.5 v.12 note); this is the positive resolution pole of the boasting spectrum and should consistently use “se glorifier” (not “se vanter,” which stays negative) when the object is the Lord.

Chapter 11

Term (Greek)	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	French Rendering & Risk
ζῆλος Θεοῦ	zēlos Theou	”jealousy of/for God,” “godly jealousy”	a protective, covenant-guarding zeal (like a betrothed guardian’s protectiveness), not petty envy	”godly jealousy,” “jealousy for God”	Paul’s protective concern that the Corinthians remain faithful to Christ, like a bride to one husband, amid rival teachers	jalousie de Dieu / zèle jaloux — High risk, specific to French: ordinary French “jalousie” is almost uniformly a negative term (possessive romantic jealousy, envy, one of the seven traditionally named vices in French moral vocabulary) with essentially no positive register comparable to the biblical covenant-protectiveness sense. Strongly recommend supplementing or replacing with “zèle” (“zèle jaloux pour vous,” “un amour jaloux qui vous protège”) and an explicit gloss distinguishing this from sinful jealousy. Flag for human theologian review given the doctrinal stakes (guarding against false teaching).
παρθένος	parthenos	”virgin”	purity/exclusivity of devotion, in a marriage-betrothal metaphor	”virgin,” “pure bride”	The church as a chaste bride betrothed to one husband, Christ — vulnerable to being led astray by “another Jesus”	vierge — Low-Medium risk. Stable biblical imagery; minor risk of an overly literal/individualistic (rather than corporate-church) reading if not framed as a corporate metaphor.
ἄλλον Ἰησοῦν / πνεῦμα ἕτερον / εὐαγγέλιον ἕτερον	allon Iēsoun / pneuma heteron / euangelion heteron	”another Jesus” / “a different spirit” / “a different gospel”	rival, false versions of the central Christian realities — not variations within acceptable diversity	”a different Jesus,” “a different spirit,” “a different gospel”	The doctrinal core of “Genuine versus False Apostleship” — false teaching is not a matter of style but substitutes a false object of faith	un autre Jésus / un autre esprit / un autre évangile — Critical risk. Must not be softened into a merely stylistic or denominational-preference framing (“une autre façon de voir Jésus”); the text names outright substitution of the gospel’s central realities. Mandatory human theologian review, same escalation tier as baseline’s Critical Sonship/Deity-of-Christ entries.
ψευδαπόστολοι	pseudapostoloi	”false apostles”	those who falsely claim apostolic authority/authenticity	”false apostles”	Direct compound coined by Paul; the doctrinal category anchoring “Genuine versus False Apostleship”	faux apôtres — High risk. Straightforward compound translation with low linguistic ambiguity, but high doctrinal weight: teaching material must clarify the criteria Paul gives for discernment (message content, self-giving character, suffering endured — chs. 11-12) rather than leaving “false” as a vague accusation. Reuses baseline “apôtre” (Low) at elevated contextual risk.
ὑπερλίαν ἀπόστολοι	hyperlian apostoloi	”super-apostles,” “these most eminent apostles”	Paul’s ironic/sarcastic title for the rival teachers who present superior-sounding credentials	”super-apostles,” “these superlative apostles,” “these apostles par excellence”	Sarcastic label exposing the emptiness of credential-based boasting — must preserve Paul’s irony	apôtres par excellence / archi-apôtres — Medium risk. The ironic tone is easily lost if rendered as a neutral honorific in French; recommend a translator’s note flagging the sarcasm so downstream teaching material doesn’t present the phrase as Paul’s genuine assessment.
ἄγγελος φωτός	angelos phōtos	”angel of light”	Satan’s capacity for false, deceptively attractive disguise	”angel of light”	Warns that deceptive teaching often appears attractive/spiritual rather than obviously evil — ties directly to discerning false apostleship	ange de lumière — Medium risk. Stable image in French Christian culture; minor risk if isolated from context of being read as a benign guardian-angel figure rather than a disguise for deception.
δωρεάν	dōrean	”freely,” “without charge,” “as a gift”	Paul’s refusal to be a financial burden, preaching free of charge — same root as χάρις/δῶρον (grace/gift)	“free of charge,” “without cost,” “as a gift”	Paul’s financial self-support authenticates his sincerity against profit-driven rivals — connects “Sincerity and Apostolic Authority” and reuses grace-vocabulary	gratuitement — Low-Medium risk. Ensure the theological resonance with “grâce” (unearned gift) is not entirely lost behind a purely economic “gratuit” (as in “free of charge, no strings attached” commercial sense); a brief contextual note linking it to grace-vocabulary is worthwhile.

Chapter 12

Term (Greek)	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	French Rendering & Risk
σκόλοψ τῇ σαρκί	skolops tē sarki	”thorn/stake in the flesh”	a persistent, painful affliction (physical, relational, or spiritual — deliberately unspecified)	“thorn in the flesh,” “stake in the flesh”	Paul’s unresolved suffering, given to prevent pride, tied to “a messenger of Satan” yet permitted by God — central “Power in Weakness” text	écharde dans la chair — Medium risk. Well-established, familiar idiom within French Christian culture (widely known cultural reference: “l’écharde de Paul”); minor risk of over-literalizing into a specific medical diagnosis (a common speculative reader tendency) when the text deliberately leaves it unspecified.
ἀρκεῖ ἡ χάρις μου	arkei hē charis mou	”my grace is sufficient”	God’s grace as fully adequate provision, not a partial or supplementary help	”my grace is sufficient,” “my grace is enough”	The Critical-risk baseline term “grâce” reused at its theological climax — reuses “sufficiency” theme from ch.3 (avoid “suffisance”!)	ma grâce te suffit — Critical risk (reuse baseline “grâce” exactly). Same “suffisance” false-friend trap as ch.3: the verb “suffire” is safe and correct here (“te suffit”), but the related noun “suffisance” must never be substituted. Mandatory human theologian review given its role as one of the most quoted verses in the letter.
δύναμις ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ	dynamis en astheneia	”power in weakness”	God’s power is not merely displayed despite weakness but specifically perfected/completed through it	”power made perfect in weakness,” “power in weakness”	The doctrinal title-text for “Power in Weakness” — reuses baseline “puissance de Dieu” (Medium) with “faiblesse,” a term needing fresh risk assessment	puissance / faiblesse — High risk. Contemporary French secular culture (performance culture, “culte de la réussite,” strong cultural value placed on strength, competence, and self-reliance) offers no ready cultural category praising weakness as the locus of power rather than merely something power overcomes; the paradox must be actively taught, not assumed as intuitive. Flag for native speaker review; theologian review recommended given the doctrine’s centrality.
σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα καὶ δυνάμεις	sēmeia kai terata kai dynameis	”signs and wonders and mighty works”	the traditional triad of apostolic authenticating miracles	”signs, wonders, and mighty works”	Evidence Paul cites (reluctantly, under pressure) of genuine apostleship — reuses baseline “spiritual_gifts” caution (Medium, charismatic/cessationist divide)	signes, prodiges et miracles — Medium risk (reuse baseline caution on charismatic vs. cessationist reading streams in French Catholic renewal and Reformed contexts).

Chapter 13

Term (Greek)	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	French Rendering & Risk
δοκιμάζετε ἑαυτούς	dokimazete heautous	”test/examine yourselves”	to test for genuineness, as one assays metal	”examine yourselves,” “test yourselves”	Closing exhortation to self-examination regarding genuine faith — echoes the letter’s whole genuine-vs-false theme applied personally	examinez-vous vous-mêmes — Medium risk. Risk of activating Catholic sacramental “examen de conscience” (self-examination before confession) associations, narrowing Paul’s broader “are you even in the faith at all” question into a routine penitential exercise.
κατάρτισις	katartisis	”restoration,” “being made complete/fit”	mending, equipping, bringing to full functional order	”restoration,” “completeness,” “being made complete”	Paul’s goal for the church despite conflict — restoration to health and unity, not punishment	restauration / perfectionnement — Medium risk. Ensure a relational-restoration sense (mending what is broken) rather than an abstract “moral perfectionism” reading of “perfectionnement.”
ἅγιον φίλημα	hagion philēma	”holy kiss”	a customary ancient greeting of familial/church affection	”holy kiss”	Liturgical greeting expressing genuine church fellowship — reuses baseline “saint” (holy) and “communion fraternelle” (fellowship) themes	saint baiser — Medium-High risk, a genuine register trap: as a noun, “un baiser” is entirely standard and decorous French for “a kiss,” but the corresponding verb “baiser” has become strong vulgar slang in contemporary colloquial French (a crude term for sexual intercourse). While the noun form used here is technically safe, the phrase’s overall register requires careful, explicit framing (ancient greeting custom, church-family affection) so it does not land oddly or provoke unintended amusement/discomfort for a modern French audience.
κοινωνία τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος	koinōnia tou Hagiou Pneumatos	”fellowship/communion of the Holy Spirit”	shared participation given and sustained by the Holy Spirit	”fellowship of the Holy Spirit,” “communion of the Holy Spirit”	Part of the letter’s closing trinitarian benediction (grace, love, fellowship) — reuses baseline “Esprit Saint” (Medium) and “communion fraternelle” (fellowship, Medium)	communion du Saint-Esprit — Low risk. This exact phrase is a long-established, stable liturgical formula used across Catholic, Reformed, and ecumenical French worship traditions (frequently used verbatim as a benediction); reuse baseline “Esprit Saint”/“Saint-Esprit” consistency note but flag no significant new risk — this is one of the most stable cross-tradition phrases in the entire letter.

Summary Note on Full-Book Coverage

All thirteen chapters of 2 Corinthians have been reviewed. No chapter was found to introduce zero new theological vocabulary; each chapter contributes at least one term requiring fresh risk analysis beyond the Romans baseline, consistent with the letter’s dense, occasion-driven theological argumentation. Terms recurring across multiple chapters (χάρις/grace, καυχάομαι/boasting, δόξα/glory, ἁμαρτία/sin, διακονία/ministry, ἱκανός-family/sufficiency) are cross-referenced at each occurrence rather than repeated in full, and are consolidated in 08_core_glossary.md.

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