Semantic Analysis
Semantic Analysis: Ephesians (Koine Greek → French)
Method and Scope
This document analyzes the entire book of Ephesians in the original Koine Greek, chapter 1 through chapter 6. The core passage, Ephesians 2:1–10, receives verse-by-verse treatment of every load-bearing term (original word, transliteration, literal meaning, semantic range, English variants, contextual theological meaning, and destination-language [French] rendering risk). Every other chapter receives a chapter section covering its load-bearing theological terms with the same fields, cross-referencing the core passage and prior chapters where terms repeat.
Baseline reuse rule: Any term already recorded in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json for French is reused exactly as recorded there (e.g., grace → grâce, faith → foi, church → Église, election → élection, Lord → Seigneur). Such terms are marked [TM-REUSE] below and are not re-litigated except where Ephesians introduces a new nuance or collocation worth flagging for Phase 2.
New terms required by Ephesians’ distinctive doctrines (mystery, predestination, headship, the body, fullness, the armor of God, household codes, etc.) are analyzed fresh and marked [NEW]; these feed directly into 08_core_glossary.md and will need new translation_memory.json entries in Phase 2.
PART A — CORE PASSAGE: Ephesians 2:1–10 (Verse-by-Verse)
Ephesians 2:1
Greek: καὶ ὑμᾶς ὄντας νεκρούς τοῖς παραπτώμασιν καὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| νεκρός nekros dead, lifeless, corpse-like | physical death; total spiritual deadness; ineffectiveness/unresponsiveness ”dead” | Describes the pre-conversion human condition as total — not weakened or sick, but lifeless and unable to respond to God apart from his initiative. Foundational premise for “Salvation by Grace through Faith”: grace must first make alive (v.5) before faith can respond. | morts [NEW, High]. Risk: colloquial French uses “mort” hyperbolically (“mort de rire,” “mort d’ennui”), risking a rhetorical rather than a genuinely theological reading of total spiritual incapacity. Must be anchored to v.5’s “rendus vivants” (made alive) to prevent metaphor-flattening. |
| παράπτωμα paraptōmasin a false step, a stumble off the path | trespass; transgression; a lapse considered individually ”trespasses,” “transgressions,” “sins” | Near-synonym of ἁμαρτία, paired for rhetorical fullness; pictures sin as deviation from the right way rather than as an abstract guilt-status. | transgressions / fautes [NEW, Medium]. Must not flatten to “erreurs” (mere mistakes), which loses moral culpability before God. |
| ἁμαρτία hamartiais missing the mark | moral transgression against a personal God (not ritual impurity or karma) “sin,” “sins” | Universal human condition, resumed from Romans 1–3; here specifically the believer’s own former condition. | péché [TM-REUSE, Medium]. Baseline note on colloquial trivialization (“péché mignon”) applies with equal force in Ephesians 2. |
Ephesians 2:2
Greek: ἐν αἷς ποτε περιεπατήσατε κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος, τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ νῦν ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| περιπατέω periepatēsate to walk around, to conduct oneself | habitual conduct/lifestyle ”walked,” “lived,” “conducted yourselves” | Paul’s characteristic metaphor for a whole way of life (resumed positively in v.10 and throughout ch.4–5: “Walking in Newness of Life” doctrine). | marcher (dans) [NEW, Medium]. Idiomatic risk: French “marcher” can sound merely physical; must retain the behavioral/lifestyle sense already established in ch.4-5 usage — flag for consistency across the curriculum. |
| αἰών aiōna age, era | this present age vs. the age to come; a period of time under a ruling order ”age,” “course,” “world” | The present, fallen world-order as opposed to God’s kingdom purposes. | siècle [NEW, Low-Medium]. “Le train de ce monde” (Segond) or “le cours de ce monde présent” preferred over literal “siècle,” which in modern French primarily denotes a 100-year period, not an epochal moral order. |
| κόσμος kosmou world, ordered system | the created world; humanity; the fallen world-system in opposition to God ”world” | The organized system hostile to God’s purposes, distinct from κόσμος as mere physical creation. | monde [NEW, Low]. Standard, low-risk term; context disambiguates. |
| ἄρχων archonta ruler, chief, prince | a ruler with delegated authority, in NT often of Satan ”prince,” “ruler” | Identifies Satan as “the ruler of the power of the air” — grounds the Spiritual Warfare doctrine developed fully in 6:10–20. | prince [NEW, High]. Risk: French “prince” carries fairy-tale/royal-house connotations (conte de fées) that can trivialize a serious claim about a real, hostile spiritual ruler; must be reinforced by doctrinal teaching context. |
| ἐξουσία exousias authority, delegated power/jurisdiction | legitimate or usurped authority; domain of control; (plural) spiritual/political “authorities" "power,” “authority,” “dominion” | Here, the domain/jurisdiction Satan currently exercises “of the air” — reappears as one of the ranked hostile powers in 6:12. | autorité / puissance [NEW, High]. Track consistently with ἀρχή (6:12) as part of the fixed phrase set for spiritual warfare; do not vary the rendering across occurrences. |
| ἀήρ aeros air, the lower atmosphere | the space between earth and the heavens, thought of as Satan’s current domain ”air” | Locates the “ruler” not in heaven (God’s realm) nor under the earth, but in the immediate atmosphere over humanity — an active, present, hostile presence. | air [NEW, Low]. Direct, unambiguous cognate; low risk. |
| ἀπείθεια apeitheias disobedience, non-persuadability | willful refusal to be persuaded/obedient to God ”disobedience" | "Sons of disobedience” = those characterized by, and destined by, rebellion against God — the pre-grace condition Paul describes “we too” shared (v.3). | désobéissance [NEW, Medium]. Straightforward but must retain the corporate-identity sense (“fils de désobéissance” = a people characterized by rebellion, not a single act of disobedience). |
Ephesians 2:3
Greek: ἐν οἷς καὶ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἀνεστράφημέν ποτε ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῆς σαρκὸς ἡμῶν, ποιοῦντες τὰ θελήματα τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ τῶν διανοιῶν, καὶ ἦμεν τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποί
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἐπιθυμία epithymiais strong desire, craving | neutral “desire” or, usually in Paul, sinful lust/craving ”lusts,” “desires,” “cravings” | The disordered appetites of “the flesh” driving pre-conversion life; universal (“we all,” v.3), including Paul himself and Jewish believers — supports Universal Human Accountability. | convoitises [NEW, Medium]. Must not soften to neutral “désirs,” which loses the disordered/culpable sense; “convoitise” retains moral weight in French religious register. |
| σάρξ sarkos flesh, physical body | literal body; fallen human nature in rebellion against God (Pauline technical sense) “flesh,” “sinful nature,” “body” | Paul’s technical term for humanity’s fallen orientation apart from the Spirit; recurs across Ephesians (2:11, 5:29-31, 6:5,12). | chair [NEW, High]. Risk: French “la chair” carries strong sensual/carnal-only connotations (association with sexuality) which can wrongly narrow Paul’s broader “fallen human nature” sense to sexual sin alone; teaching notes must clarify the fuller Pauline range. |
| θέλημα thelēmata will, desire, purpose | one’s will/intention; God’s will (elsewhere) “desires,” “will,” “wishes” | Here, the will/purpose of the flesh and mind, contrasted implicitly with God’s will (θέλημα is also key positive vocabulary in 1:1, 1:5, 1:9, 1:11). | volontés [NEW, Medium]. Same Greek root (θέλημα) is used positively of God’s will elsewhere in ch.1 — ensure the negative sense here (“les volontés de la chair”) is not confused with the positive “volonté de Dieu” doctrine terms; disambiguate by context, not by inventing a different French root. |
| διάνοια dianoiōn mind, understanding, way of thinking | the faculty of thought/reasoning; moral disposition of mind ”mind,” “thoughts” | The corrupted intellect, paired with fleshly desire — total-person depravity (will, appetite, and mind), reinforcing the doctrine of Salvation by Grace (not by human wisdom or effort). | pensées / intelligence [NEW, Low-Medium]. Reappears negatively in 4:17-18 (“futility of their mind” — ματαιότης τοῦ νοῦ); keep vocabulary consistent across both passages. |
| τέκνα ὀργῆς tekna orgēs children of wrath | a Semitic idiom: people characterized by / destined for wrath ”children of wrath,” “objects of wrath” | Not “God’s angry children” but people whose nature and destiny (apart from grace) is under God’s righteous wrath — sets up the dramatic “but God” (v.4) reversal central to grace-doctrine. | enfants de colère [NEW, High]. Literal idiom translates directly into French but risks being heard as “children who are angry” rather than “children under wrath” — the possessive idiom must be taught, not merely transliterated; consider a light gloss in study notes (“voués à la colère de Dieu”). |
| φύσις physei nature, natural condition | inherent constitution; what one is by birth/origin ”by nature” | Emphasizes the condition is innate/universal, not merely acquired by bad choices — again grounding Universal Human Accountability and the necessity of grace. | par nature [NEW, Low]. Direct, low-risk. |
| ὀργή orgēs wrath, settled anger | God’s righteous, judicial anger against sin (not capricious rage) “wrath,” “anger” | God’s holy, just response to sin, resolved only in Christ (Romans 1:18, 5:9 backdrop); central premise the “grace” of vv.4-9 answers. | colère (de Dieu) [NEW, High]. Risk: secular French can read “colère” as an emotional loss of control unbefitting a “good” God; must be anchored as righteous, judicial wrath, consistent with the Romans-baseline treatment of God’s justice. |
Ephesians 2:4
Greek: ὁ δὲ θεὸς πλούσιος ὢν ἐν ἐλέει, διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἀγάπην αὐτοῦ ἣν ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| θεός theos God | the one true God ”God” | [TM-REUSE] Dieu. The dramatic pivot “But God” (ὁ δὲ θεός) begins the reversal that is the heart of the core passage. | Dieu [TM-REUSE, Medium — see baseline note on secularization/interjection risk]. |
| πλούσιος plousios rich, wealthy | abundant, overflowing in a quality ”rich (in mercy)“ | God’s mercy is not measured or rationed but overflowing — reinforces grace as unmerited abundance, not a grudging minimum. | riche (en) [NEW, Low]. Direct, low risk. |
| ἔλεος eleei mercy, compassion | pity/compassion shown toward those in miserable condition, distinct from χάρις (favor toward the undeserving as such) “mercy” | Distinguishes mercy (compassion on the wretched — cf. v.1-3’s “dead,” “children of wrath”) from grace (favor toward the undeserving); the two together frame salvation as neither earned nor merely pitied but graciously given. | miséricorde [NEW, Medium]. Established, stable term in both Catholic and Protestant French liturgical/devotional usage (“Seigneur, prends pitié” / “miséricorde divine”); low collision risk but must be kept distinct in teaching from χάρις/grâce so the two are not conflated as synonyms. |
| ἀγάπη agapēn love | selfless, willed love; distinct from ἔρος (desire) or φιλία (affection) “love” | God’s own initiating, self-giving love, the ground of election in ch.1 and of the “but God” reversal here. | amour [NEW, Low]. Standard; no live doctrinal collision in French, though note secular overuse of “amour” for romantic love — theological context disambiguates. |
Ephesians 2:5
Greek: καὶ ὄντας ἡμᾶς νεκρούς τοῖς παραπτώμασιν συνεζωοποίησεν τῷ Χριστῷ — χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| συζωοποιέω synezōopoiēsen to make alive together with | co-resurrection/co-vivification with Christ ”made us alive together with,” “quickened together with” | The direct answer to v.1’s “dead” — union with Christ in his own resurrection life; anticipates the doctrine of Christian Identity in Christ. | rendre vivants avec / vivifier ensemble avec [NEW, High]. Risk: no single French word carries the “made-alive-together-with-Christ” compound sense; requires a periphrastic rendering (“il nous a fait revivre avec le Christ”) consistent across 2:5-6, or it will read as generic spiritual renewal rather than co-resurrection union with Christ specifically. |
| χάρις chariti grace, favor | unmerited favor ”grace” | [TM-REUSE] grâce. Romans 2:8-9 is the thesis restatement of Romans-grace doctrine (Ephesians and Romans share the same forensic-grace theology) — enforce baseline rendering exactly, with the same “apart from merit” reinforcement rule from the baseline package. | grâce [TM-REUSE, High]. |
| σῴζω (perfect passive: σεσωσμένοι) sesōsmenoi having been saved (completed, ongoing state) | rescue/deliverance; here, a completed past act with continuing present result ”saved,” “have been saved” | The Greek perfect tense stresses a settled, secure past accomplishment with present standing — supports Assurance of Salvation, not an ongoing/uncertain process. | sauvés [TM-REUSE root: salut / sauver, High]. Risk: French perfect/passé composé does not automatically convey the Greek perfect’s “completed-with-abiding-result” nuance; a teaching note should clarify that “vous êtes sauvés” describes a secure accomplished status, not a process still underway — directly relevant to the Trent-vs-Reformation justification tension already flagged as Critical in the baseline. |
Ephesians 2:6
Greek: καὶ συνήγειρεν καὶ συνεκάθισεν ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| συνεγείρω synēgeiren to raise up together with | co-resurrection with Christ ”raised us up with him” | Extends v.5: not only made alive but actually raised — the believer’s status is already, positionally, resurrection-life status. Ties to [TM-REUSE] résurrection doctrine (Romans baseline), now applied to the believer’s own standing, not only Christ’s historical event. | ressusciter avec [NEW, High]. Must preserve the “with Christ” co-resurrection sense; a bare “il nous a ressuscités” (without “avec lui/avec le Christ”) would collapse the distinctively Pauline union-with-Christ theology into a generic personal resurrection claim. |
| συγκαθίζω synekathisen to seat together with | shared enthronement ”seated us with him” | The most striking claim in the passage: believers are already enthroned with Christ — grounds Assurance of Salvation in a present, heavenly, secure status, not merely a future hope. | faire asseoir avec [NEW, High]. Same compound-verb challenge as συζωοποιέω/συνεγείρω above; French has no single-word equivalent, so all three “syn-” compounds in vv.5-6 should be rendered with a consistent periphrastic pattern (“avec lui/avec le Christ”) to preserve the rhetorical triad Paul intends. |
| ἐπουράνιος epouraniois heavenly, in the heavens | the heavenly realm/sphere, both as location and as sphere of spiritual reality/conflict ”heavenly places,” “heavenly realms” | Introduces the “heavenly places” as the arena of both blessing (1:3, 2:6) and conflict (6:12) — a key structural term unifying the whole book’s cosmology. | lieux célestes [NEW, Medium]. Standard rendering in French Bible tradition (Segond: “lieux célestes”); low collision risk, but must be flagged as a term recurring across chapters 1, 2, and 6 with consistent French phrasing so students see the structural link. |
Ephesians 2:7
Greek: ἵνα ἐνδείξηται ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσιν τοῖς ἐπερχομένοις τὸ ὑπερβάλλον πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ ἐν χρηστότητι ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἐνδείκνυμι endeixētai to show, demonstrate, display | to exhibit publicly as proof ”show,” “demonstrate” | God’s purpose in saving is not merely private rescue but public display, forever, of his grace’s greatness — an eternal, cosmic-scale display, not a one-time transaction. | manifester / démontrer [NEW, Low]. Direct, low risk. |
| ὑπερβάλλον hyperballon surpassing, exceeding, going beyond | extraordinary excess/abundance ”surpassing,” “immeasurable,” “incomparable” | Intensifies πλοῦτος — grace’s riches are not merely sufficient but limitless. | incomparables / infinies [NEW, Low]. Direct, low risk. |
| πλοῦτος ploutos riches, wealth | abundance, resource (financial or metaphorical) “riches,” “wealth” | Recurs as a key Ephesians motif (1:7, 1:18, 2:7, 3:8, 3:16) describing the sheer abundance of God’s grace, glory, and the “unsearchable riches of Christ” — track consistently. | richesses [NEW, Low-Medium]. Risk only in consistency: ensure the same French word is used across all five occurrences so students recognize the recurring motif. |
| χρηστότης chrēstotēti kindness, goodness | benevolent disposition/action toward another ”kindness,” “goodness” | God’s kind disposition displayed specifically “toward us in Christ Jesus” — personal, relational, not abstract benevolence. | bonté [NEW, Low]. Standard, low risk. |
Ephesians 2:8
Greek: τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι διὰ [τῆς] πίστεως· καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν, θεοῦ τὸ δῶρον
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| χάρις / πίστις chariti / pisteōs grace / faith | unmerited favor / trust-reliance ”grace… through faith” | [TM-REUSE] grâce / foi. This is the single most load-bearing doctrinal sentence in the curriculum’s core doctrine “Salvation by Grace through Faith” — must be rendered identically to how Romans 3:24-28 and 5:1-2 render the same pairing in the baseline package, so learners recognize the doctrinal continuity between Romans and Ephesians. | grâce / foi [TM-REUSE, Critical for this exact collocation]. Flag: this sentence is a candidate “verbatim-consistency” clause (parallel to the baseline’s Romans 1:16-17, 8:28, 10:9-10 rule) — recommend adding Ephesians 2:8-9 to that same fixed-rendering list in Phase 2. |
| δῶρον dōron gift, present | a freely given gift, without payment expected ”gift” | Explicitly names salvation-by-grace-through-faith as itself God’s gift — not merely grace as gift and faith as human contribution, but “this” (the whole salvation event, τοῦτο) as gift, foreclosing any works-based or even faith-as-merit reading. | don [NEW, High]. Must not be softened to “cadeau” (a casual/festive gift, e.g., birthday present), which trivializes the theological weight; “don” is the established, more formal French Bible register term and should be used consistently with dons spirituels (spiritual gifts, baseline TM) while remaining contextually distinct. |
Ephesians 2:9
Greek: οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων, ἵνα μή τις καυχήσηται
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἔργον ergōn work, deed | any human action/achievement, ritual or moral ”works,” “deeds,” “efforts” | The explicit exclusion of works as the ground of salvation — the direct doctrinal parallel to Romans 3:20, 27-28, 4:4-5, 11:5-6 already flagged Critical in the baseline package under “Grace.” | œuvres [NEW, Critical]. Must preserve the strict exclusion (“non par les œuvres”) without softening qualifiers; this is precisely the Trent/Reformation flashpoint (faith “formed by love”/good works as instrumental cause of justification vs. works excluded even from the instrumental ground) — flag for mandatory theologian review per the baseline’s “grace ≠ merit” escalation rule. |
| καυχάομαι kauchēsētai to boast, take pride in | self-congratulation, often specifically about one’s own achievement/status ”boast,” “brag” | The purpose clause: grace-not-works salvation forecloses any ground for self-congratulation before God — reinforces salvation as entirely God’s initiative. | se vanter / se glorifier [NEW, Medium]. Prefer “se vanter” over “se glorifier” in this verse to avoid confusion with the positive theological term gloire (baseline TM, glory of God) — using “se glorifier” here could wrongly suggest a connection to God’s glory rather than sinful self-congratulation. |
Ephesians 2:10
Greek: αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν ποίημα, κτισθέντες ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἐπὶ ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς, οἷς προητοίμασεν ὁ θεὸς ἵνα ἐν αὐτοῖς περιπατήσωμεν
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| ποίημα poiēma that which is made; a work of craftsmanship | a made thing, product, work of art/artistry ”workmanship,” “handiwork,” “masterpiece” | The believer as God’s own artistic creation/product — resumes and completes the “created” language, showing salvation produces, rather than being produced by, good works. | ouvrage / œuvre (de Dieu) [NEW, High]. Risk: French “œuvre” doubles as the very word rejected for human merit two verses earlier (“les œuvres” in v.9) — a poor rendering choice here could visually/lexically blur v.9’s rejected human “œuvres” with v.10’s affirmed divine “œuvre,” undermining the entire grace-then-works logic of the passage. Recommend “ouvrage” or “chef-d’œuvre” (masterpiece, if register permits) for ποίημα specifically, reserving “œuvres” strictly for ἔργα/ἔργων throughout. |
| κτίζω ktisthentes to create, bring into being | divine creative act (also used of the original creation, e.g., Genesis) “created” | Echoes creation-language: the new-creation reality in Christ is as decisive and as much God’s sovereign act as the original creation — reinforces total divine initiative in salvation. | créés [NEW, Medium]. Direct, but note theological register: connects to incarnation/création doctrine vocabulary; keep distinct from mere “faire” (to make). |
| ἔργα ἀγαθά ergois agathois good works, good deeds | morally good deeds/conduct, done by the redeemed as fruit, not root, of salvation ”good works” | The result, not the cause, of salvation — the works excluded as a ground in v.9 are affirmed here as God’s prepared purpose for the saved. This distinction (works excluded as ground / included as fruit) is the single most important interpretive key to the whole passage and must never be blurred in translation. | bonnes œuvres [NEW, Critical]. Flag explicitly for translator note per the baseline’s forbidden-substitution model: [TRANSLATOR NOTE: “ergois agathois” (v.10) rendered as “bonnes œuvres,” distinct from “ergōn” (v.9, “œuvres” alone, rejected as a ground of salvation) — the same French root word appears in both verses by lexical necessity, so a mandatory teaching gloss must accompany this passage to prevent readers from missing Paul’s works-excluded-then-works-included distinction.] |
| προετοιμάζω proētoimasen to prepare beforehand | advance preparation; predetermination of a course of action ”prepared beforehand,” “predestined” (functionally) | Ties good works into God’s sovereign, prior plan — echoes the predestination language of ch.1 (προορίζω) and reinforces that even the believer’s obedient life is itself God’s gracious initiative, not autonomous human achievement. | préparées d’avance [NEW, Medium]. Should be cross-referenced with 1:4-5, 1:11’s “prédestiné” vocabulary so learners see the thematic link between election-doctrine (ch.1) and the believer’s practical calling to good works (ch.2). |
| περιπατέω peripatēsōmen to walk, conduct oneself | habitual conduct ”walk,” “live” | Resumes v.2’s negative “walked” (in trespasses/sins) with a positive counterpart: the redeemed now “walk” in good works — this verb inclusio (vv.2 and 10) is the passage’s own literary signal for the doctrine “Walking in Newness of Life,” expanded fully in chapters 4-5. | marcher (dans) [NEW, Medium — see v.2]. Recommend flagging the inclusio explicitly in translator notes so the same French verb is used in both v.2 and v.10 to preserve Paul’s deliberate contrast. |
PART B — CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER STUDY OF THE WHOLE BOOK
Chapter 1 — Blessing, Election, and the Church’s Hope (1:1–23)
Introduces the doctrines of Election/Predestination in Christ and lays groundwork for The Church as the Body of Christ. Reuses [TM-REUSE]: apôtre (1:1), saints/saint (1:1,4,15,18), grâce (1:2,6,7), foi (1:15), Seigneur (1:2,3,15,17), Fils de Dieu (implicit in “his Son,” 1:6), Jésus/Christ, Dieu, Esprit Saint (1:13), Père (1:2,3,17), gloire (1:6,12,14,17,18), élection (conceptually), Royaume de Dieu (not explicit but conceptually anticipatory).
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| εὐλογία / εὐλογέω eulogia / eulogētos good word, blessing / to speak well of, bless | God’s favor bestowed; human praise returned to God ”blessed,” “blessing” | Opens the letter’s great doxology (1:3-14): God is praised for, and has given, every spiritual blessing “in Christ.” | béni / bénédiction [NEW, Low]. Standard, stable term across French Bible traditions. |
| ἐκλέγομαι / ἐκλογή exelexato to choose, select out | sovereign, personal choice, not chance or merit ”chose,” “elected” | God’s choice of believers “before the foundation of the world” (1:4) — the concrete outworking of the baseline’s [TM-REUSE] élection doctrine, now given its fullest NT treatment alongside Romans 9. | élire / élection [TM-REUSE, High — reuse baseline entry exactly]. Same “political-election” collision risk documented in baseline applies with full force here, since 1:4-5 is a locus classicus for the doctrine; escalate to theologian review per baseline’s election/predestination escalation rule. |
| προορίζω proorisas to determine/decide beforehand | predestine, foreordain ”predestined,” “foreordained” | Ephesians 1:5, 1:11 — God’s prior determination of believers’ adoption and inheritance; the strongest predestination language in the NT alongside Romans 8-9. | prédestiner / prédestination [NEW, Critical]. Same Jansenist-controversy background noted in the baseline’s “élection” entry (French Catholicism’s own internal grace-and-predestination debate) applies directly and more intensely here, since Ephesians 1 uses the explicit verb “prédestiner,” not merely “élire.” Must be handled as double-Trigger: both the Catholic/Reformed sacramental-grace tension AND the historic French Jansenist controversy. Mandatory theologian review. |
| υἱοθεσία huiothesian placing as a son | full-inheritance sonship (see baseline entry) “adoption” | 1:5 — believers predestined “for adoption as sons” — directly parallels the baseline Romans 8:15,23 doctrine. | adoption filiale [TM-REUSE, Medium — reuse exactly]. |
| ἀπολύτρωσις apolytrōsin a releasing by payment of a ransom | redemption, deliverance by payment ”redemption” | 1:7, 1:14 — redemption “through his blood,” the forgiveness of sins; also the future “redemption” of the inheritance guaranteed by the Spirit’s seal. | rédemption [NEW, High]. Established, stable term across French Catholic and Protestant usage (both traditions use “la Rédemption” for Christ’s saving work), so collision risk with a competing concept is low; the real risk is the opposite — over-familiarity may cause the term to be heard as a vague pious abstraction rather than the specific “ransom paid by Christ’s blood” Paul intends. Reinforce with “par son sang” in proximate context. |
| ἄφεσις aphesin a sending away, release | forgiveness, cancellation of debt/guilt ”forgiveness” | 1:7 — “the forgiveness of our trespasses,” a direct benefit of redemption. | pardon (des péchés/fautes) [NEW, Medium]. Standard term, low ambiguity; keep distinct from the verb χαρίζομαι (5:32-etc., “pardonner,” used relationally, e.g., ch.4:32). |
| μυστήριον mystērion mystery, secret | a previously hidden truth now disclosed by God (NOT an unsolvable puzzle, and NOT the Greco-Roman “mystery religion” secret-initiation sense) “mystery” | 1:9 — God’s “mystery” of his will, i.e., his hidden plan now revealed in Christ; becomes the technical term structuring the whole letter’s central doctrine, “The Mystery of Christ Revealed” (see also 3:3-9, 5:32, 6:19). | mystère [NEW, Critical]. HIGH COLLISION RISK specific to French Catholic tradition: “mystère” is the standing liturgical term for the sacraments and creedal truths (les mystères du Rosaire, “le mystère de la foi” said at every Mass over the Eucharist, les mystères of Christ’s life in devotional tradition). This is a productive resonance (both senses concern a divine reality disclosed rather than reasoned out) but risks readers assuming a sacramental-liturgical referent (the Eucharistic “mystère”) rather than Paul’s specific referent: the previously hidden, now-revealed plan to unite Jews and Gentiles in one body in Christ. Must be glossed contextually every time it recurs; mandatory theologian review given curriculum’s dedicated doctrine unit. |
| κληρονομία klēronomia inheritance, portion received by an heir | an allotted possession, whether by right of birth/legal heirship ”inheritance” | 1:14, 1:18 (also 5:5) — the Spirit as “guarantee” (ἀρραβών) of the believers’ future inheritance; ties to adoption filiale doctrine (full heirship, not partial). | héritage [NEW, Medium]. Direct, stable French term; low risk, but should be explicitly tied back to “adoption filiale” in teaching notes so the heirship logic (adopted sons therefore full heirs) is not lost. |
| σφραγίζω esphragisthēte to seal, mark with a seal | authentication, ownership-marking, security (ancient legal/commercial practice) “sealed” | 1:13 — believers “sealed” with the Holy Spirit as the mark of God’s ownership and the guarantee of final redemption. | sceller / marqué d’un sceau [NEW, Medium]. Low ambiguity in French; the commercial/legal “sceau” image transfers cleanly, though modern readers may need the ancient-world seal/ownership-mark practice briefly explained. |
| ἀρραβών arrabōn earnest money, down payment, deposit-guarantee | a partial payment guaranteeing the full payment to follow ”guarantee,” “down payment,” “pledge” | 1:14 — the Spirit himself as the first installment guaranteeing believers’ full future inheritance; a commercial-legal metaphor for assurance of salvation. | arrhes [NEW, Medium]. Established Bible-translation term (used by Segond); a genuinely French legal/commercial word for a security deposit, which usefully preserves the original commercial metaphor without requiring invention — low risk, good match. |
| σοφία / ἀποκάλυψις sophia / apokalypsis wisdom / an uncovering, disclosure | insight/understanding / revealing what was hidden ”wisdom” / “revelation” | 1:17 — Paul prays for “a spirit of wisdom and revelation” so believers may know God better; ties to the mystery-revealed doctrine. | sagesse / révélation [NEW, Low-Medium]. Standard, stable terms in French theological register. |
| ἐλπίς elpis hope, expectation | confident forward-looking trust, not wishful uncertainty (contrast with everyday French “espoir”) “hope” | 1:18 — “the hope of his calling,” a settled future certainty grounded in God’s character, not a vague wish. | espérance [NEW, Medium]. French theological tradition distinguishes espérance (a virtue, confident hope grounded in God) from everyday espoir (wishful hope, e.g., “j’espère qu’il ne pleuvra pas”); the established Bible-translation choice is espérance, and this distinction should be preserved consistently, especially given “hope” recurs as one of the seven unities in 4:4. |
| δύναμις / ἐνέργεια dynamis / energeia power / working, operative power | capability/might / the actual exercise or effect of power ”power” / “working” | 1:19-20 — the same power that raised Christ from the dead is “toward us who believe” — grounds Assurance of Salvation in divine, not human, power. | puissance (dynamis, [TM-REUSE root of puissance de Dieu, High]) / opération, action puissante (energeia, [NEW, Medium]). Keep puissance consistent with baseline Romans 1:16 rendering; ἐνέργεια may require a periphrastic French rendering (“l’efficacité de sa force,” “l’action de sa puissance”) since no single French noun captures “power-in-active-operation” as economically as the Greek. |
| κεφαλή kephalēn head (bodily) | the physical head; by extension, source, authority-over, preeminence ”head” | 1:22 — Christ given as “head over all things to the church” — the first occurrence of a term that becomes doctrinally central for both Church-as-Body (here, and 4:15, 5:23) and the household codes (5:23, husband as head of wife). | tête [NEW, Critical]. Central, recurring, and doctrinally loaded across two separate curriculum doctrines (Church as Body of Christ; Household Codes). Contemporary French readers may default to a purely anatomical or organizational-chart sense (“le chef,” “la tête de l’entreprise”) that misses the organic, life-giving, one-flesh union Paul intends, especially in the marriage application (5:23). Mandatory theologian review; must be rendered identically at every occurrence for cross-reference consistency. |
| σῶμα sōma body | physical body; the church as Christ’s corporate, organic body ”body” | 1:22-23 — the church is “his body, the fullness of him” — foundational statement of the doctrine “The Church as the Body of Christ,” developed further in 4:4,12,16 and 5:23,30. | corps [NEW, High]. Direct, stable French word, low lexical-collision risk, but doctrinally High because the corporate/organic-union claim (“the church IS his body,” not merely “is like a body”) must not be reduced to a mere organizational metaphor in translation or teaching. |
| πλήρωμα plērōma fullness, that which fills, completeness | totality/completeness; that which fills up a container or completes a whole ”fullness” | 1:23 — the church is “the fullness of him who fills all in all”; recurs at 3:19, 4:13 as a key mystical term for the goal of both the church corporately and the believer individually. | plénitude [NEW, Critical]. Abstract and easily lost in translation; French “plénitude” is a reasonable direct equivalent but is rare/elevated register and risks being skimmed as a vague pious flourish rather than grasped as a precise theological claim about Christ filling, and being expressed through, his church. Mandatory theologian review given recurrence across three separate doctrinal high-points (1:23, 3:19, 4:13). |
Chapter 2 (continued) — 2:11–22: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Verses 1-10 are treated in Part A above. This section covers 2:11-22, which introduces the doctrine of Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity. Reuses [TM-REUSE]: païens (2:11), alliance (2:12), paix (2:14-17), loi (2:15), Esprit Saint (2:18,22), Église (conceptually).
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| περιτομή / ἀκροβυστία peritomē / akrobystia circumcision / uncircumcision (foreskin) | the Jewish covenant-sign / the corresponding Gentile “lack” of it, used metonymically for Jews and Gentiles as peoples ”circumcision / uncircumcision,” “the circumcised / the uncircumcised” | 2:11 — the old ethnic-religious division Paul is about to declare abolished in Christ. | circoncision / incirconcision [NEW, Medium]. Direct, standard theological vocabulary; low ambiguity, but requires brief historical explanation for a biblically low-literacy French readership unfamiliar with the covenant significance of circumcision. |
| ξένος / πάροικος xenoi / paroikoi stranger, foreigner / resident alien, sojourner | one without native rights/belonging in a place ”strangers,” “aliens,” “foreigners” | 2:12,19 — Gentiles’ former exclusion from Israel’s covenants, now reversed: no longer “strangers” but “fellow citizens” (2:19). | étrangers [NEW, Medium]. Direct; in contemporary France, “étranger” carries live immigration-policy connotations that could unintentionally politicize a theological statement about covenant history — teaching notes should keep the reference historical/theological, per the same caution the baseline gives for “Israël.” |
| διαθήκη / ἐπαγγελία diathēkai / epangelia covenant(s) / promise | binding relational agreement / a pledge of future action ”covenants of promise” | 2:12 — Gentiles were “strangers to the covenants of promise,” i.e., excluded from Israel’s OT covenant history prior to Christ. | alliances (de la promesse) [TM-REUSE for alliance, High] / promesse [NEW, Medium]. Reuse baseline alliance exactly; pair naturally with promesse. |
| ἔχθρα echthra enmity, hostility | active hostility/enmity between parties ”hostility,” “enmity” | 2:14,16 — the “hostility” both between Jew and Gentile and between humanity and God, both abolished by the cross. | hostilité / inimitié [NEW, Medium]. Note the double referent (horizontal Jew-Gentile hostility AND vertical God-humanity hostility) must both be preserved — do not collapse to only one dimension. |
| μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ mesotoichon tou phragmou the middle-wall of the fence/partition | a literal dividing wall (echoing the Jerusalem Temple’s Court-of-the-Gentiles barrier) “dividing wall,” “wall of partition” | 2:14 — a vivid, historically-grounded image (the actual Temple barrier separating Gentiles from Israel’s inner courts) for the ethnic-religious barrier Christ has torn down. | mur de séparation [NEW, Medium]. Direct and vivid; low ambiguity, but benefits from a historical footnote (the literal Temple wall) so French readers grasp this is a concrete, not merely poetic, image. |
| καταργέω katargēsas to render inoperative, abolish, nullify | to make void, bring to nothing, abolish in effect ”abolished,” “set aside,” “broke down” | 2:15 — Christ has “abolished” the law of commandments (in its function as a dividing wall), not the law’s moral content per se — a delicate point requiring care alongside the baseline’s loi entry. | abolir / rendre inopérant [NEW, High]. Risk: an unqualified “abolir la loi” could be misread as Christ abrogating the moral law altogether, in tension with the baseline’s narrowly Mosaic-covenant framing of loi; must be scoped to “the law as a dividing wall/enmity-producing barrier,” not the whole of God’s moral will. Escalate for theologian review given the law-gospel sensitivity. |
| καινὸς ἄνθρωπος (εἷς) heis kainos anthrōpos one new man/humanity | a single, newly-created corporate humanity ”one new man,” “one new humanity,” “one new person” | 2:15 — the single most concentrated statement of the doctrine “Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity”: Christ creates, not a merged old identity, but an entirely new corporate humanity in himself. | un seul homme nouveau [NEW, Critical]. French “homme” (like Greek ἄνθρωπος) is generic for “human being,” but risks a masculine-only misreading for readers not attuned to the generic sense; a teaching gloss “une seule humanité nouvelle” is recommended alongside the primary literal rendering to make the corporate, all-inclusive scope unmistakable. Given France’s own historical and contemporary sensitivities around ethnic/religious unity and its significant Jewish community, mandatory theologian review, consistent with the baseline’s “unity_of_jews_and_gentiles” High-risk doctrine entry. |
| ἀποκαταλλάσσω / καταλλαγή apokatallaxē to reconcile fully, restore to favor | to bring former enemies into a restored relationship ”reconcile,” “reconciliation” | 2:16 — Christ reconciles both Jew and Gentile “to God” through the cross, in “one body” — reconciliation is both horizontal (Jew-Gentile) and vertical (humanity-God). | réconcilier / réconciliation [NEW, High]. Standard theological French vocabulary, low lexical risk, but doctrinally High because both dimensions of reconciliation (horizontal and vertical) must be retained together, not reduced to only interpersonal peacemaking. |
| σταυρός staurou cross, stake of execution | the Roman instrument of execution; by extension, Christ’s atoning death ”cross” | 2:16 — “through the cross,” the specific historical means of reconciliation. | croix [NEW, Critical — flagged as new since absent from the Romans baseline package]. Risk: in French Catholic visual/devotional culture, “la croix” is heavily associated with the crucifix as a devotional object (worn, displayed, venerated) and the sign-of-the-cross gesture; there is real risk of the term being processed as a familiar religious icon rather than as shorthand for Christ’s specific atoning, reconciling death. Teaching context must consistently tie “la croix” back to the atonement/reconciliation content, not leave it as an unglossed cultural symbol. |
| προσαγωγή prosagōgēn a bringing-near, access | the act or right of approach, especially to a person of higher rank ”access” | 2:18 — “through him we… have access to the Father” — direct, unmediated approach to God for both Jew and Gentile alike. | accès [NEW, Medium]. Direct; should be cross-referenced with the baseline’s intercession entry to reinforce that access to the Father is direct in Christ, not mediated through additional intercessory figures. |
| οἰκεῖος / οἶκος τοῦ θεοῦ oikeioi tou theou belonging to the household, members of the house | family members, household insiders (contrast with ξένοι/πάροικοι above) “members of the household of God,” “God’s household” | 2:19 — Gentiles now belong, not merely as guests, but as family members in God’s own household. | de la famille de Dieu / de la maison de Dieu [NEW, Medium]. Direct and warm; low risk, and usefully reinforces relational belonging over mere institutional membership. |
| θεμέλιος / ἀκρογωνιαῖος λίθος themeliō / akrogōniaios lithos foundation / cornerstone (the load-bearing corner stone) | the base of a building / the critical, load-determining stone at a building’s corner ”foundation… cornerstone” | 2:20 — the church built “on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ himself being the cornerstone” — architectural metaphor for the church’s origin and Christ’s centrality. | fondement / pierre angulaire [NEW, Medium]. Standard, stable architectural-theological metaphor in French Bible tradition; low risk. |
| ναός naos temple (specifically the sanctuary building, not the whole precinct) | the sacred dwelling place of a deity ”temple,” “sanctuary” | 2:21 — believers together “grow into a holy temple in the Lord,” God’s dwelling place, distinct from any physical building. | temple [NEW, High]. Direct collision risk already flagged structurally in the baseline’s église entry: French Protestants historically reserve “temple” for their own church buildings (not “église,” reserved in common French usage for Catholic buildings), while Catholic tradition uses “temple” almost exclusively for the OT/pagan sanctuary sense. Applying “temple” metaphorically to the people (not a building) risks confusion in both directions — Protestant readers may hear a literal reference to their meeting-house, Catholic readers an OT-historical reference — neither intended by Paul’s spiritualized, corporate-body sense here. Requires explicit teaching gloss. |
| κατοικητήριον katoikētērion dwelling place, habitation | a place where someone permanently resides ”dwelling place,” “habitation” | 2:22 — believers built together “for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” — the church as the Spirit’s own residence, echoing OT tabernacle/temple theology. | demeure [NEW, Low]. Standard, warm, low-risk term. |
Chapter 3 — The Mystery of Christ and Paul’s Ministry (3:1–21)
Continues and intensifies the doctrine of The Mystery of Christ Revealed and Unity of Jews and Gentiles. Reuses [TM-REUSE]: mystère (introduced ch.1, central here), apôtre, prophète, Esprit Saint, grâce, gloire, Père, foi, amour (from ch.2), puissance de Dieu.
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| οἰκονομία oikonomia household management, stewardship, administration | management of a household/estate; by extension, God’s ordered plan/administration of salvation history ”stewardship,” “administration,” “dispensation” | 3:2,9 — Paul’s “stewardship of the mystery,” and God’s own “plan” (economy) hidden in past ages, now revealed. | charge / administration [NEW, High]. Risk: the alternative French rendering “économie” is itself an established Catholic theological term (“l’économie du salut,” “l’économie de la grâce”) — this could be a helpful resonance for Catholic readers already familiar with that vocabulary, but risks sounding overly technical/academic to Protestant and secular readers; recommend “l’administration du mystère” or “la charge qui m’a été confiée” as the primary rendering, with “économie” reserved for advanced/footnoted theological discussion. |
| συγκληρονόμος / σύσσωμος / συμμέτοχος synklēronoma / syssōma / symmetocha fellow-heir / fellow-body-member / fellow-partaker | three compound terms all built on “with/fellow-” + heirship/body/participation ”fellow heirs… members of the same body… partakers” | 3:6 — the mystery’s content stated precisely: Gentiles are FULL fellow-heirs, fellow-members, and fellow-partakers with Jewish believers — the most concentrated single statement of Jew-Gentile unity in the letter. | co-héritiers… membres du même corps… coparticipants [NEW, Critical]. All three compounds must retain the “co-/fellow-” prefix consistently in French (using “co-” or “membres du même… / coparticipants de…”) so the triple emphasis on equal standing is not diluted into a vaguer “included with” phrasing. Mandatory theologian review given this verse’s centrality to the unity doctrine. |
| ἀνεξιχνίαστος πλοῦτος anexichniaston plouton untrackable/untraceable riches | riches too vast to be searched out or traced to their limit ”unsearchable riches,” “boundless riches” | 3:8 — Paul’s task: to preach to the Gentiles “the unsearchable riches of Christ,” echoing the πλοῦτος motif from ch.1-2. | richesses insondables [NEW, Low]. Direct, evocative, low risk; keep consistent with other πλοῦτος occurrences. |
| ἀρχή / ἐξουσία (ἐπουράνιοις) archais / exousiais rulers / authorities (in the heavenly places) | ranked spiritual powers, here specifically the good angelic hosts who observe God’s wisdom in the church (contrast with the hostile powers of 6:12) “rulers and authorities” | 3:10 — the church’s very existence displays God’s wisdom even “to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” — note this occurrence is NOT hostile (unlike 6:12’s parallel vocabulary), a subtlety requiring careful contextual distinction in translation. | principautés et autorités [NEW, High]. Same vocabulary set recurs in 6:12 with hostile referents (see ch.6 below); translators must use context, not a fixed one-to-one lexical rule, to determine whether “principautés et autorités” here (3:10, observing) or in 6:12 (opposing) — flag explicitly so this distinction is not lost. |
| παρρησία parrēsia freedom/boldness of speech | open, confident, unashamed speech; also frank access/confidence before someone ”boldness,” “confidence,” “freedom of access” | 3:12 — “boldness and access” to God through faith in Christ; recurs at 6:19-20 regarding gospel proclamation. | assurance / pleine liberté [NEW, Medium]. Direct; low risk, though French “assurance” can also mean insurance/confidence in a purely secular sense — context disambiguates readily. |
| πρόθεσις τῶν αἰώνων prothesin tōn aiōnōn the purpose/plan of the ages | God’s eternal, pre-temporal determined intention ”eternal purpose,” “purpose of the ages” | 3:11 — grounds the mystery’s revelation in God’s timeless, sovereign plan — reinforces the Providence doctrine already established in the Romans baseline. | dessein éternel [NEW, Medium]. Standard theological register; low risk; cross-reference with baseline providence entry. |
| πλήρωμα plērōma fullness | see ch.1 entry ”fullness” | 3:19 — believers filled “to all the fullness of God” — the individual-experiential counterpart to the church’s corporate fullness in 1:23. | plénitude [NEW, Critical — reuse ch.1 entry]. Same risk profile as 1:23; ensure identical French rendering across both occurrences for thematic consistency. |
Chapter 4 — One Body, Many Gifts, New Life (4:1–32)
Introduces Gifts for Building Up the Church and continues Unity/Church-as-Body, transitioning into Walking in Newness of Life. Reuses [TM-REUSE]: appel/appelé, dons spirituels, Esprit Saint, Seigneur, foi, Église (conceptually), sanctification (conceptually), péché.
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἑνότης henotēta oneness, unity | unified state/condition ”unity” | 4:3,13 — “the unity of the Spirit” to be maintained/kept, and “the unity of the faith” to be attained/grown into — the practical, ethical outworking of the doctrinal unity established in chs.2-3. | unité [NEW, High]. Direct, but doctrinally High because contemporary French secular ideals of “unité” (national unity, laïcité’s unifying civic ideal) could be conflated with the specifically Spirit-given, Christ-centered unity Paul describes; teaching context must keep the referent explicitly spiritual/ecclesial. |
| ἓν σῶμα, ἓν πνεῦμα, μία ἐλπίς, εἷς κύριος, μία πίστις, ἕν βάπτισμα hen sōma… one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism | a sevenfold (with “one God and Father,” v.6) creedal-style unity list ”one body… one Lord… one faith, one baptism” | 4:4-6 — the classic sevenfold unity confession; each term individually reuses established vocabulary (corps [NEW ch.1], Esprit Saint, espérance [NEW ch.1], Seigneur, foi) except βάπτισμα, below. | See individual entries; this list should be rendered as a fixed, memorable, verbatim-consistent unit across all curriculum documents, parallel to the baseline’s Romans 10:9-10 verbatim-consistency rule. |
| βάπτισμα baptisma baptism, immersion/washing rite | the Christian initiatory rite ”baptism” | 4:5 — “one baptism” as a unifying mark of the church. | baptême [NEW, High]. Direct, stable term across all French Christian traditions in basic vocabulary, but doctrinally High in a French context because of live denominational differences over baptismal practice and meaning (infant baptism practiced by Catholics and most historic French Protestants vs. believer’s baptism practiced by evangelical/Baptist minority) — the word is not contested, but readers may import their own tradition’s practice into “one baptism” without realizing this verse asserts unity of significance, not uniformity of denominational practice. Native speaker review recommended. |
| χάρισμα / δόμα / δωρεά charisma / domata / dōrean gift, grace-gift / gift, thing given / gift, giving | Spirit-given enablement / a gift bestowed (LXX-echoing term from Psalm 68 quotation) / the act or instance of giving ”gift,” “gifts” | 4:7-8 (quoting Psalm 68:18), leading to 4:11’s list of ministry gifts (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers) — foundational text for the doctrine “Gifts for Building Up the Church.” | don [TM-REUSE for the underlying concept, aligning with baseline dons spirituels, High]. The specific offices-list (v.11) requires additional terms below; ensure “don” remains the consistent umbrella term. |
| ἀπόστολος, προφήτης, εὐαγγελιστής, ποιμήν, διδάσκαλος apostolous, prophētas, euangelistas, poimenas, didaskalous apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers | named ministry offices/functions given to build up the church ”apostles… prophets… evangelists… pastors and teachers” | 4:11 — the specific gift-offices Christ gives the church for its building up (4:12) — central text for the Gifts doctrine. | apôtres [TM-REUSE], prophètes [TM-REUSE], évangélistes [NEW, Low], pasteurs [NEW, High], docteurs [NEW, Medium]. Flag ποιμήν → “pasteur”: in French religious culture, “pasteur” is specifically and almost exclusively the title of a Protestant minister — Catholic clergy are called “prêtre” (priest) or “curé,” never “pasteur.” Rendering ποιμήν as “pasteur” is lexically correct and the established ecumenical Bible-translation choice, but risks an unintended denominational signal (sounding like an exclusively Protestant ministry structure) to Catholic readers unless the teaching context clarifies this is a functional, biblical-office term, not an endorsement of a specific denomination’s clergy titles. Native speaker/theologian review recommended. |
| καταρτισμός katartismon equipping, fitting-together, preparation | preparing/equipping for a task; also used of setting a broken bone ”equipping” | 4:12 — the purpose of the gift-offices: “for the equipping of the saints” for ministry and mutual building-up. | équipement / perfectionnement [NEW, Medium]. Requires a slightly periphrastic rendering (“pour équiper les saints” or “en vue du perfectionnement des saints”) since no single French noun captures both the “training/preparing” and “assembling/completing” senses together. |
| οἰκοδομή oikodomēn building, building-up | construction; edification (building people up spiritually) “building up,” “edification” | 4:12,16,29 — the goal of the gift-offices and of speech within the church: mutual construction/edification, resuming the baseline’s mutual_edification doctrine. | édification [TM-REUSE-aligned with baseline doctrine name “l’édification mutuelle,” Low]. |
| τέλειος teleion complete, mature, perfect | full-grown, mature (of persons); complete/whole (of things) “mature,” “perfect,” “full-grown” | 4:13 — the goal of unity and ministry: growth “to mature manhood,” to the measure of Christ’s own fullness. | homme fait / adulte / mature [NEW, Medium]. Established Bible-translation idiom “un homme fait” (a fully-grown/mature person) is preferred over a literalistic “parfait,” which would wrongly suggest sinless perfection rather than Pauline maturity/completeness. |
| αὔξησις auxēsin growth, increase | organic growth (of a body, plant) “growth” | 4:15-16 — the body “grows” as each part does its work — organic, not merely institutional, growth imagery reinforcing Church-as-Body doctrine. | croissance [NEW, Low]. Standard, low risk. |
| παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος / καινὸς ἄνθρωπος ton palaion anthrōpon / ton kainon anthrōpon the old man / the new man | one’s former, corrupted self/identity / one’s new, Christ-given self/identity ”old self / new self,” “old man / new man” | 4:22-24 — the central imagery of “Walking in Newness of Life”: believers are to “put off” the old self and “put on” the new self created in God’s likeness. NOTE: distinct from, but thematically related to, the corporate “one new man” of 2:15 — here the referent is the individual believer’s transformed identity, not the corporate Jew-Gentile humanity. This distinction must be flagged for teaching clarity. | le vieil homme / l’homme nouveau [NEW, Critical]. Established French Bible-translation idiom (Segond and others use exactly this phrasing), so the lexical risk is low; the doctrinal risk is Critical because of the necessary disambiguation from 2:15’s corporate “un seul homme nouveau” — recommend an explicit translator/teaching note distinguishing the individual-renewal sense (ch.4) from the corporate-unity sense (ch.2), since both use closely related Greek vocabulary but serve different doctrinal points. |
| ἀνανέωσις / ἀνακαινόω (νοῦς) ananeōsei tou noos renewal (of the mind) | making new again; ongoing renovation ”renewal of the mind” | 4:23 — the mind’s ongoing renewal is the mechanism of the old-to-new transformation. | renouvellement de l’intelligence/l’esprit [NEW, Medium]. Standard theological register, low ambiguity. |
| ματαιότης / πώρωσις mataiotēti / pōrōsin futility/emptiness / hardening, callousness | vain uselessness / a hardened, unresponsive condition (medically: a bony callus) “futility… hardness (of heart)“ | 4:17-18 — describes the Gentile “walk” (contrasted with the believer’s new walk) as characterized by futile thinking and hardened hearts. | futilité / endurcissement (du cœur) [NEW, Low-Medium]. Standard vocabulary; low risk, though should be cross-referenced with the core passage’s v.2-3 description of the pre-conversion “walk” for thematic consistency. |
| λυπέω τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον lypeite to pneuma to hagion grieve the Holy Spirit | causing sorrow/distress to the Spirit ”grieve the Holy Spirit” | 4:30 — sin (specifically corrupt speech, v.29) actively grieves a personal Holy Spirit — reinforces the baseline’s insistence (Holy Spirit entry) that the Spirit is personal and divine, not an impersonal force, since only a person can be grieved. | attrister le Saint-Esprit / l’Esprit Saint [NEW, High]. Must reuse [TM-REUSE] Esprit Saint; the verb “attrister” is direct and low-risk, but this verse is doctrinally significant for reinforcing the Spirit’s personhood against any impersonal-force misreading — flag for teaching emphasis alongside baseline’s Holy Spirit note. |
| χαρίζομαι charizomenoi to give freely, to forgive as a gift | to grant graciously; to forgive (extending grace interpersonally) “forgiving,” “forgiving each other” | 4:32 — “forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” — horizontal forgiveness modeled on, and grounded in, God’s own gracious forgiveness (grâce/pardon vocabulary from 1:7 resumed practically). | pardonner [NEW, Medium]. Direct, warm, low risk; keep etymologically linked in teaching to χάρις/grâce so the gift-character of forgiveness (not obligation) is retained. |
Chapter 5 — Walking in Light and Love; the Marriage Mystery (5:1–33)
Continues Walking in Newness of Life and introduces the Household Codes doctrine (marriage). Reuses [TM-REUSE]: agapē/amour (from ch.2-3), Esprit Saint, action de grâce, mystère, Église, Seigneur, sanctification (conceptually), corps (ch.1), tête (ch.1).
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| μιμητής mimētai imitator | one who copies/models another’s pattern ”imitators” | 5:1 — “be imitators of God,” grounding Christian ethics not in abstract rules but in reflecting God’s own character (specifically his love, v.2). | imitateurs [NEW, Low]. Direct, low risk. |
| προσφορὰ καὶ θυσία prosphoran kai thysian offering and sacrifice | cultic/sacrificial terminology describing an offering presented to God ”offering and sacrifice” | 5:2 — Christ “gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” — atonement imagery drawn from OT sacrificial system, applied to Christ’s self-giving death. | offrande et sacrifice [NEW, Medium]. Standard sacrificial vocabulary in French Bible tradition; low ambiguity, though modern secular readers may need brief OT-sacrifice background to appreciate the full weight. |
| πορνεία, ἀκαθαρσία, πλεονεξία, εἰδωλολατρία porneia, akatharsia, pleonexia, eidōlolatria sexual immorality, impurity, greed, idol-worship | a representative vice list characterizing life outside the kingdom ”sexual immorality… impurity… covetousness… idolatry” | 5:3-5 — vices incompatible with inheriting “the kingdom of Christ and of God,” reusing baseline [TM-REUSE] Royaume de Dieu and kléronomia/héritage vocabulary. | immoralité sexuelle, impureté, cupidité, idolâtrie [NEW, Medium, grouped]. Standard theological vocabulary; low individual-term ambiguity, though “cupidité” in modern French can sound more like a personality flaw than a kingdom-excluding sin — teaching context should retain the seriousness of πλεονεξία as idolatry of possessions (v.5 explicitly calls it “idolatry”). |
| φῶς / σκότος phōs / skotos light / darkness | (lit.) illumination / absence of light; (fig.) moral-spiritual clarity/goodness vs. corruption/evil ”light… darkness” | 5:8-14 — believers “were darkness” but are “now light in the Lord”; a major identity-transformation motif paralleling the old-man/new-man language of ch.4. | lumière / ténèbres [NEW, High]. Standard biblical-French vocabulary, but doctrinally High because the identity claim (“you WERE darkness,” not merely “you were IN darkness”) is a strong ontological statement about transformed identity that must not be softened to a merely situational/environmental description. |
| πληρόω (ἐν Πνεύματι) plērousthe en pneumati be filled (with/by the Spirit) | be filled to capacity; be under the controlling influence of ”be filled with the Spirit” | 5:18 — the positive counterpart to “do not get drunk with wine”: be habitually filled/controlled by the Spirit — a command (present imperative), not a one-time event, describing the practical, empowered “walk” this doctrine unit describes. | soyez remplis de l’Esprit [NEW, High]. Reuses [TM-REUSE] Esprit Saint naming; doctrinally High because the French rendering must preserve the ongoing, repeated-command sense (present imperative “be being filled,” not a single past event) — teaching notes should clarify this nuance, which French verb tense alone will not automatically convey. |
| ψαλμός, ὕμνος, ᾠδὴ πνευματική psalmois, hymnois, ōdais pneumatikais psalms, hymns, spiritual songs | three (possibly overlapping) categories of sung worship ”psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” | 5:19 — the corporate, joyful expression of Spirit-filled life; also parallels Colossians 3:16. | psaumes, hymnes et cantiques spirituels [NEW, Low]. Standard, stable French Bible vocabulary. |
| ὑποτάσσω hypotassomenoi / hypotassesthō to arrange under, subordinate, submit | to place oneself in voluntary or ordered submission/deference (military/household ordering term, not necessarily inferiority of being) “submit,” “be subject to” | 5:21,22,24 — mutual submission “out of reverence for Christ” (v.21) framing the specific instruction to wives (v.22-24); the single most doctrinally and culturally sensitive term in the Household Codes unit. | se soumettre [NEW, Critical]. Direct French equivalent exists and is the established Bible-translation choice, but this term sits at the center of intense, live contemporary French debate (secular feminist critique of “soumission,” #MeToo-era scrutiny of religious teaching on gender roles, and internal Catholic/Protestant disagreement over complementarian vs. egalitarian readings of this passage). Mandatory theologian review; the French rendering must be accompanied by teaching material clarifying (a) the mutual-submission framing of v.21, (b) the distinction between voluntary ordered relationship and inferiority of worth/being, and (c) the parallel, equally weighty command to husbands (v.25, to love self-sacrificially) — omitting this context risks the passage being received, or rejected, as endorsing domestic subordination in a manner the immediate context does not support. |
| κεφαλή kephalē head | see ch.1 entry ”head” | 5:23 — “the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church” — the household-code application of the Church-as-Body doctrine’s headship vocabulary. | tête [NEW, Critical — reuse ch.1 entry]. Same rendering and same Critical risk profile as 1:22, now applied to the marriage relationship; ensure identical French vocabulary across both occurrences so the deliberate Christ-church/husband-wife analogy is visible to French readers. |
| μυστήριον (τοῦτο τὸ μυστήριον μέγα ἐστίν) mystērion touto mega estin this mystery is great/profound | see ch.1 entry, applied specifically ”this mystery is profound” | 5:32 — quoting Genesis 2:24 (“one flesh”), Paul declares marriage itself a “great mystery” pointing to Christ and the church — the mystery-vocabulary’s most surprising, concrete application. | mystère [TM-REUSE-status with new application — reuse ch.1 rendering exactly, Critical]. Same Catholic sacramental-resonance risk as ch.1’s entry, here intensified: Catholic sacramental theology explicitly names marriage one of the seven sacraments partly on the strength of this very verse (“le mystère” read as “sacramentum” in the Latin Vulgate tradition) — this is a genuine, historic doctrinal fault line (Catholic sacramental marriage theology vs. Protestant non-sacramental view of marriage) requiring careful, historically-informed handling, not a casual paraphrase. Mandatory theologian review. |
| μία σάρξ mia sarx one flesh | a unified, single bodily/relational union ”one flesh” | 5:31 (citing Genesis 2:24) — the one-flesh union grounding the Christ-church analogy. | une seule chair [NEW, Medium]. Established Bible-translation idiom; low risk. |
Chapter 6 — Household Codes and the Armor of God (6:1–24)
Concludes the Household Codes doctrine (children/parents, servants/masters) and introduces Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God, the letter’s climactic doctrine. Reuses [TM-REUSE]: loi/entole (commandment, related), promesse, foi, Esprit Saint, salut, Évangile, paix, justice, intercession, mission (implicit in ambassador language).
| Terms | Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | French Rendering & Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| ὑπακούω / τιμάω hypakouete / tima obey / honor | to heed, comply with / to esteem, show respect to ”obey… honor” | 6:1-2 — children’s duty toward parents, grounded in the fifth commandment (quoted directly, tying to loi/entolē vocabulary). | obéir / honorer [NEW, Low]. Standard, low risk; note distinct from the baseline’s obéissance de la foi (which concerns faith’s fruit before God, not household ethics) — keep the two conceptually separate in teaching even though both use “obéir/obéissance” root vocabulary. |
| παροργίζω parorgizete to provoke to anger | to stir up anger/exasperation in another ”provoke to anger,” “exasperate” | 6:4 — fathers are commanded not to “provoke their children to anger” — the corresponding restraint placed on parental authority, balancing the household code. | irriter / exaspérer [NEW, Low]. Direct, low risk. |
| παιδεία καὶ νουθεσία (κυρίου) paideia kai nouthesia kyriou discipline and instruction/admonition (of the Lord) | formative training / verbal correction and guidance ”discipline and instruction of the Lord” | 6:4 — the positive alternative to provoking anger: Christ-centered formative upbringing. | discipline et instruction (du Seigneur) [NEW, Low-Medium]. Reuses [TM-REUSE] Seigneur; standard vocabulary, low risk. |
| δοῦλος douloi slave, bondservant | one owned by and legally bound to serve a master, without personal legal freedom (distinct from a hired employee) “slaves,” “bondservants,” “servants” | 6:5-8 — instructions to slaves regarding service “as to the Lord,” part of the Household Codes doctrine, addressed to an institution (Greco-Roman slavery) fundamentally different from, though historically entangled with, the transatlantic and French colonial slave trade. | esclaves [NEW, Critical]. EXTREME cultural sensitivity in French context: France’s own historical role in the transatlantic slave trade and the Code Noir (1685), plus the ongoing national reckoning with this history (the 2001 Taubira law recognizing slavery as a crime against humanity), means “esclaves” carries an immediate, heavy, and specifically French historical charge distinct from — and more acute than — its resonance in English. Teaching material must (a) clearly distinguish first-century Greco-Roman slavery (a different, though still unjust, socio-legal institution) from the transatlantic chattel-slavery system, (b) avoid any implication that Paul’s household instructions here endorse the institution of slavery as such, and (c) foreground v.9’s radical claim that masters and slaves share “the same Master [κύριος] in heaven” who “shows no partiality” as the passage’s true center of gravity. Mandatory theologian review; do not process this passage without an accompanying historical-cultural teaching note. |
| κύριος (of human masters, 6:5,9) kyrioi lord, master | one with authority over a servant/slave; the same Greek word used of Christ as “Lord” (κύριος) “masters” | 6:5,9 — Paul’s Greek deliberately uses the same word (κύριος) for the human master and for Christ (“your Master… knowing that you also have a Master in heaven,” v.9), a rhetorical point largely invisible once translated. | maîtres [NEW, Critical]. French naturally supplies two distinct words — “Seigneur” for Christ (per baseline [TM-REUSE]) and “maître” for a human employer/owner — which, unlike Greek, removes any lexical collision risk, but this very fact means Paul’s rhetorical wordplay (master and Master share one word, and thus implicitly one ultimate authority) is invisible in French unless flagged explicitly in teaching notes; recommend an explicit translator/teaching note preserving this connection for study purposes even though it cannot be preserved in the running French text itself. |
| προσωπολημψία prosōpolēmpsia receiving-of-face, partiality, favoritism | judging by external appearance/status rather than by just standards ”partiality,” “favoritism” | 6:9 — “there is no partiality with him [Christ]” — grounds the radical equality of master and slave before their shared heavenly Master. | favoritisme / partialité [NEW, Low]. Direct, low risk. |
| πανοπλία (τοῦ θεοῦ) panoplian tou theou full armor, complete armament (of God) | the entire set of a soldier’s defensive and offensive equipment ”the whole armor of God,” “full armor of God” | 6:11,13 — the letter’s climactic image, launching the doctrine of Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God: believers are to put on God’s own provided armor for a real, ongoing spiritual conflict. | l’armure (de Dieu) [NEW, Critical]. Risk runs in two opposite directions in French secular culture: (a) a purely metaphorical/self-help reading that psychologizes the “armor” into generic resilience techniques, losing the reality of a personal spiritual conflict, or (b) an overly literal military/martial reading that misses the entirely defensive-plus-gospel-proclamation character of the actual pieces (truth, righteousness, gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Spirit’s word, prayer). Mandatory theologian review; teaching material must anchor the metaphor in the specific named pieces (below), not left as a vague call to “spiritual strength.” |
| πάλη palē wrestling, hand-to-hand struggle | a grappling contest (as opposed to a set-piece battle with weapons at range) “struggle,” “wrestle” | 6:12 — “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood” — clarifies the conflict is not against other people but against spiritual powers. | lutte [NEW, Medium]. Direct; must preserve the “not against flesh and blood, but against…” contrast so the passage is not misapplied to interpersonal or political conflict. |
| ἀρχαί, ἐξουσίαι, κοσμοκράτορες (τοῦ σκότους τούτου), πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας (ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις) archas, exousias, kosmokratoras, pneumatika tēs ponērias rulers, authorities, world-rulers (of this darkness), spiritual [forces] of evil (in the heavenly places) | a four-part ranked description of hostile spiritual powers, distinct from the same “rulers and authorities” vocabulary used positively/neutrally in 3:10 ”rulers, authorities, cosmic powers over this present darkness, spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” | 6:12 — the identified enemy of the spiritual conflict: real, personal, hierarchically-organized hostile spiritual beings, not an abstraction for “societal evil” or inner psychological struggle alone. | les principautés, les autorités, les puissances de ce monde de ténèbres, les esprits mauvais dans les lieux célestes [NEW, Critical]. This is the single highest-risk passage in the letter for a secular-leaning French readership: contemporary French intellectual culture (strongly shaped by post-Enlightenment rationalism and laïcité) tends either to dismiss such language as pre-scientific mythology to be demythologized, or, conversely, a minority charismatic/Pentecostal-influenced readership may sensationalize it toward occult/exorcism preoccupations disproportionate to Paul’s actual emphasis (which culminates not in binding demons but in truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, prayer, and the Word). Mandatory theologian review; teaching material must steer between demythologizing dismissal and sensationalized occultism, keeping the emphasis on the concrete armor pieces that follow. |
| περιζώννυμι (τὴν ὀσφὺν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ) perizōsamenoi tēn osphyn en alētheia having girded the waist with truth | securing one’s belt/undergarment, the foundational piece enabling all other movement/combat ”having fastened on the belt of truth” | 6:14a — the first armor piece: truth as the foundational undergirding of the whole spiritual defense. | ayant mis la vérité comme ceinture [NEW, Medium]. Direct; standard vocabulary, low ambiguity, but the ancient “girding the loins” practice (securing loose robes for combat/action) may need brief explanation for modern French readers unfamiliar with the image. |
| θώραξ (τῆς δικαιοσύνης) thōraka tēs dikaiosynēs breastplate/chest-armor (of righteousness) | torso-covering defensive armor ”the breastplate of righteousness” | 6:14b — reuses [TM-REUSE] justice (righteousness) from the baseline Romans package; here applied as protective imagery for the believer’s righteous standing/conduct guarding the vital organs (heart) in spiritual combat. | la cuirasse de la justice [TM-REUSE for justice, High]. Must reuse the baseline’s exact rendering and its careful “not human moral achievement but righteousness as gift/status” framing; the armor-imagery here should not be read as suggesting righteousness is self-achieved defensive effort, but as protective, given righteousness being put into active service. |
| ἑτοιμασία (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης) hetoimasia tou euangeliou tēs eirēnēs readiness/preparation (of the gospel of peace) | footwear providing stable footing/readiness for advance, here specifically tied to gospel-proclamation readiness ”having your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace” | 6:15 — reuses [TM-REUSE] Évangile and paix; the “shoes” piece uniquely combines defensive armor imagery with active gospel proclamation, distinct from the otherwise defensive character of the other pieces. | la préparation (le zèle) de l’Évangile de la paix (comme chaussures) [NEW, Medium]. Standard vocabulary; must reuse baseline Évangile and paix exactly. |
| θυρεός (τῆς πίστεως) thyreon tēs pisteōs (large, door-shaped) shield (of faith) | a large rectangular Roman shield capable of covering the whole body, distinct from a small round shield ”the shield of faith” | 6:16 — reuses [TM-REUSE] foi; explicitly said to “extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one” — faith as active, effective defense, not passive belief. | le bouclier de la foi [TM-REUSE for foi, Medium]. Must reuse baseline exactly. |
| περικεφαλαία (τοῦ σωτηρίου) perikephalaian tou sōtēriou helmet (of salvation) | head-covering defensive armor ”the helmet of salvation” | 6:17a — reuses [TM-REUSE] salut; protects the mind/thought-life with the assurance of salvation, echoing the Assurance of Salvation doctrine. | le casque du salut [TM-REUSE for salut, High]. Must reuse baseline exactly. |
| μάχαιρα (τοῦ Πνεύματος), ῥῆμα Θεοῦ machairan tou pneumatos, rhēma theou sword (of the Spirit), utterance/word of God | a short offensive weapon (the only offensive piece in the list) / a spoken word/utterance, distinct from λόγος (the more general term for “word” or “message”) “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” | 6:17b — the single offensive weapon in the armor list; ῥῆμα emphasizes a specific, spoken/applied word (e.g., a particular Scripture wielded in the moment), not merely “the Bible” as a general object. | l’épée de l’Esprit, qui est la Parole de Dieu [NEW, High]. Reuses [TM-REUSE] Esprit Saint (adjectival “de l’Esprit”); note the ῥῆμα/λόγος distinction should be flagged for advanced teaching (a specific, Spirit-applied utterance in the moment of conflict, not a generic reference to Scripture-as-book), though standard French “la Parole de Dieu” is an acceptable, established rendering for general use. |
| προσευχή, δέησις proseuchēs, deēseis prayer, supplication/petition | general prayer / specific, urgent request ”prayer and supplication” | 6:18 — prayer “at all times, in the Spirit” surrounding and sustaining the entire armor-image; reuses baseline [TM-REUSE] intercession concept (though the specific word here is προσευχή/δέησις, not the baseline’s ἔντευξις-related vocabulary). | prière et supplication [NEW, Low]. Standard, stable vocabulary; low risk. |
| πρεσβεύω presbeuō to be an ambassador, to act as an elder-representative | to represent a sovereign/state as an official envoy ”ambassador” | 6:20 — Paul calls himself “an ambassador in chains” for the gospel — a striking image of authorized representation continuing even in imprisonment, tying back to the apostle (ambassadorial/sent-one) vocabulary of 1:1. | ambassadeur [NEW, Medium]. Direct, evocative, low risk; worth cross-referencing with baseline [TM-REUSE] apôtre (one sent with delegated authority) as a related concept. |
Summary of New Term Categories Requiring Phase 2 Translation-Memory Entries
The following doctrinally load-bearing new terms (not present in the Romans baseline) must be added to translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json before Phase 2 segment translation begins. Full details, risk tiers, and rejected alternatives are provided in 08_core_glossary.md.
- Mystery (μυστήριον) — Critical
- Predestination (προορίζω) — Critical
- Headship (κεφαλή) — Critical
- Fullness (πλήρωμα) — Critical
- One new man / new humanity (καινὸς ἄνθρωπος) — Critical
- Old man / new self (παλαιὸς/καινὸς ἄνθρωπος, individual sense) — Critical
- Armor of God (πανοπλία τοῦ θεοῦ) — Critical
- Hostile spiritual powers (ἀρχαί, ἐξουσίαι, κοσμοκράτορες, πνευματικά τῆς πονηρίας) — Critical
- Submission (ὑποτάσσω) — Critical
- Slave/bondservant (δοῦλος) — Critical
- Good works vs. works (ἔργα ἀγαθά vs. ἔργα) — Critical
- Fellow-heir/fellow-body/fellow-partaker compounds — Critical
- Body (σῶμα, ecclesial) — High
- Redemption (ἀπολύτρωσις) — High
- Reconciliation (ἀποκαταλλάσσω) — High
- Cross (σταυρός) — Critical (new to this curriculum)
- Temple (ναός, metaphorical) — High
- Unity (ἑνότης) — High
- Baptism (βάπτισμα) — High
- Pastor/shepherd (ποιμήν → pasteur) — High
- Filled with the Spirit (πληρόω ἐν Πνεύματι) — High
- Light/darkness identity language (φῶς/σκότος) — High
- Grieve the Holy Spirit (λυπέω τὸ Πνεῦμα) — High
- Gift/workmanship (δῶρον, ποίημα) — High
- Stewardship/administration (οἰκονομία) — High
- Rulers/authorities, benign sense (ἀρχή/ἐξουσία, 3:10) — High
- Breastplate/shield/helmet armor pieces (individual) — Medium-High (reusing justice, foi, salut baseline terms)
All other new terms identified above (inheritance, seal, guarantee, wisdom, revelation, hope, circumcision, dividing wall, cornerstone, dwelling place, equipping, edification, maturity, growth, renewal, vice lists, imitators, offering/sacrifice, psalms/hymns/songs, honor/obey, provoke, discipline, favoritism, wrestling, girding, gospel-of-peace readiness, sword/word, prayer/supplication, ambassador) are Medium or Low risk per the analysis above and are fully detailed in 08_core_glossary.md.
This document feeds directly into 08_core_glossary.md. All French renderings marked [TM-REUSE] must be copied exactly from the baseline translation_memory.json; all renderings marked [NEW] are proposed for this curriculum and require formal addition to translation memory in Phase 2 before segment translation begins.