Core Glossary
Core Glossary — James 1–5 (English → French)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, organized by the nine curriculum doctrines plus supporting categories. Terms marked [BASELINE] reuse the Romans translation_memory.json rendering exactly, per PRD mandate. Terms marked [NEW] are proposed for this curriculum and should be added to the translation memory during Phase 2 Step 16 with the risk tier recorded here. Risk tiers follow the baseline’s Critical/High/Medium/Low framework (doctrine_risk_registry.json definitions).
Doctrine 1: Faith and Works (core passage, James 2:14–26)
| Term (English) | Greek / Transliteration | French Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faith | πίστις / pistis | foi | High | [BASELINE, elevated] | Baseline Medium elevated to High for this curriculum due to the direct James 2 collision with sola fide; requires teaching note distinguishing professed vs. saving faith. |
| Works | ἔργα / erga | œuvres | Critical | [NEW] | Trent Session VI Canon 24 cites James 2:22 directly; Reformed tradition reads works as evidence, not ground, of justification. Mandatory translator note every occurrence. |
| Justify / to be justified (James’s usage) | δικαιόω / dikaioō | justifier / être justifié | Critical | [related to BASELINE “justification”] | James’s evidentiary/vindication sense (2:21, 24, 25) must be distinguished in commentary from Paul’s forensic sense; never resolve silently in the translation itself. |
| Imputed righteousness (Gen 15:6 citation) | ἐλογίσθη … εἰς δικαιοσύνην / elogisthē … eis dikaiosynēn | justice imputée | Critical | [BASELINE — exact reuse] | Identical Greek clause to Romans 4:3; strongest harmonizing anchor between James and Romans. Never render “justice méritée.” |
| To save / can faith save | σῴζειν / sōzein | sauver | High | [related to BASELINE “salut”] | Rhetorical question about the nature of professed faith, not a claim that works cause salvation. |
| Dead (of faith) | νεκρά / nekra | morte | Medium | [NEW] | Consistent across 2:17, 20, 26 (inclusio); do not soften to “inutile.” |
| Faith working together with works | συνεργέω (συνήργει) / synergeō | agir avec (avoid “coopérer”) | High | [NEW] | Avoid vocabulary evoking Catholic gratia cooperans (cooperation with grace). |
| Perfected/completed by works | τελειόω (ἐτελειώθη) / teleioō | atteindre son plein accomplissement / sa pleine maturité | High | [NEW] | Avoid “rendue parfaite,” which implies works supply missing merit. |
| Friend of God | φίλος θεοῦ / philos theou | ami de Dieu | Medium | [NEW] | Fruit of imputed righteousness, not a separate merit-based status. |
| Show / demonstrate | δείκνυμι / deiknymi | montrer | Medium | [NEW] | Evidentiary demonstration, not causal proof-by-works. |
| Foolish/empty (man) | κενός / kenos | vain | Low | [NEW] | Vocative address in the diatribe style. |
Doctrine 2: Trials and the Testing of Faith
| Term (English) | Greek / Transliteration | French Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trial / temptation | πειρασμός, πειράζω / peirasmos, peirazō | épreuve (1:2–3, 12) / tentation (1:13–14) | High | [NEW] | Single Greek root splits into two French words; verify consistent disambiguation per occurrence; teaching note must explain the connection. |
| Testing / genuineness | δοκίμιον / dokimion | l’épreuve [de votre foi] | Medium | [NEW] | Productive, proving function, not mere hardship. |
| Endurance / perseverance | ὑπομονή / hypomonē | persévérance | Medium | [NEW] | Keep distinct from μακροθυμία (“patience,” Doctrine 8). |
| Perfect / complete / mature | τέλειος / teleios | parfait (gloss: accompli, mature) | Medium | [NEW] | Guard against a flawless-perfectionism reading. |
| Desire / lust | ἐπιθυμία / epithymia | désir (convoitise) | Medium | [NEW] | 1:14–15’s genealogy of sin; not general appetite. |
| Sin | ἁμαρτία / hamartia | péché | Medium | [BASELINE — exact reuse] | Guard against “péché mignon” trivialization. |
| Death | θάνατος / thanatos | mort | Low | [NEW] | Terminal point of sin’s genealogy, 1:15. |
| Every good/perfect gift; Father of lights | πᾶσα δόσις ἀγαθή…Πατὴρ τῶν φώτων | tout don excellent…le Père des lumières | Low | [NEW] | Poetic divine title; low confusion risk. |
| Firstfruits | ἀπαρχή / aparchē | prémices | Low | [NEW] | Needs brief OT sacrificial/harvest gloss for low-literacy readers. |
Doctrine 3: Wisdom from Above
| Term (English) | Greek / Transliteration | French Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisdom | σοφία / sophia | sagesse | Medium | [NEW] | Guard against secular Stoic/humanist “self-cultivated wisdom” reading; must be a God-given gift (1:5). |
| Wisdom from above | σοφία ἡ ἄνωθεν / sophia hē anōthen | sagesse d’en haut | Medium | [NEW] | Preserve vertical, divine-origin contrast with earthly wisdom (3:15). |
| Natural / unspiritual / soulish | ψυχική / psychikē | d’ordre purement humain / naturelle (sans l’Esprit) | High | [NEW] | Rare technical term; avoid “charnelle” (σαρκικός territory) and “psychologique” (clinical). Mandatory note. |
| Wisdom’s fruits: peaceable, gentle, open to reason, sincere | εἰρηνική, ἐπιεικής, εὐπειθής, ἀνυπόκριτος | pacifique, conciliante, ouverte à la persuasion, sans hypocrisie | Medium | [NEW] | Avoid “docile” for εὐπειθής (servile connotation in modern French). |
| Bitter jealousy / selfish ambition | ζῆλος πικρός, ἐριθεία | jalousie amère, ambition égoïste (esprit de rivalité) | Medium | [NEW] | Root causes of earthly/demonic wisdom and, later, conflict (ch. 4). |
| Disorder / confusion | ἀκαταστασία / akatastasia | désordre, confusion | Low | [NEW] | Communal fruit of earthly wisdom. |
| Fruit of righteousness | καρπὸς δικαιοσύνης / karpos dikaiosynēs | fruit de la justice | Medium | [related to BASELINE “justice”] | Links ch. 3’s wisdom teaching to core passage’s righteousness vocabulary. |
| Double-minded | δίψυχος / dipsychos | l’homme partagé / irrésolu | Low | [NEW] | 1:8; recurs 4:8 as inner-purity exhortation. |
Doctrine 4: Favoritism and the Poor
| Term (English) | Greek / Transliteration | French Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Favoritism / partiality | προσωπολημψία / prosōpolēmpsia | partialité (favoritisme) | High | [NEW] | Avoid archaic Segond “acception de personnes”; France’s egalitarian ideals can obscure the doctrine’s application inside the church. |
| Poor / rich | πτωχός, πλούσιος / ptōchos, plousios | pauvre, riche | Medium | [NEW] | Anchor the status-reversal in divine/eschatological evaluation, not merely socio-economic critique. |
| Assembly / synagogue | συναγωγή / synagōgē | assemblée | Medium | [NEW] | Refers to the Christian gathering, not a literal synagogue building; needs historical-context note. |
| Royal law | νόμος βασιλικός / nomos basilikos | loi royale | High | [related to BASELINE “loi”] | Requires theologian’s note reconciling with baseline’s narrow Mosaic-Torah scope for “loi.” |
| Transgressor | παραβάτης / parabatēs | transgresseur | Low | [NEW] | Favoritism itself is lawbreaking, not a mere social lapse. |
| Mercy / judgment | ἔλεος, κρίσις / eleos, krisis | miséricorde, jugement | Medium | [NEW] | Distinguish from Catholic Divine Mercy devotional piety’s specific associations. |
| Wages | μισθός / misthos | salaire | Low-Medium | [NEW] | 5:4, withheld wages of exploited laborers. |
| Orphan / widow | ὀρφανός, χήρα | orphelins, veuves | Low | [NEW] | Concrete test case for “pure religion,” 1:27. |
Doctrine 5: Taming the Tongue
| Term (English) | Greek / Transliteration | French Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tongue | γλῶσσα / glōssa | langue | Medium | [NEW] | Preserve James’s concrete bit/rudder/spark metaphors intact; do not flatten into generic idiom. |
| To bridle / control | χαλιναγωγέω / chalinagōgeō | mettre un frein/mors à | Low | [NEW] | Preserve equestrian bit-imagery; avoid flat idiom “tenir sa langue.” |
| Hell / Gehenna | γέεννα / geenna | la géhenne | Low | [NEW] | Standard transliteration. |
| To tame | δαμάζω / damazō | dompter | Low | [NEW] | Vivid animal-taming metaphor, contrasted with the untamable tongue. |
| Likeness of God | ὁμοίωσις θεοῦ / homoiōsis theou | ressemblance de Dieu | Medium | [NEW] | Distinct term from technical εἰκών (“image”) vocabulary used of Christ elsewhere in the NT. |
| Restless evil / deadly poison | ἀκατάστατον κακόν, ἰὸς θανατηφόρος | mal incontrôlable, poison mortel | Low | [NEW] | Vivid intensifiers, 3:8. |
Doctrine 6: Worldliness versus Friendship with God
| Term (English) | Greek / Transliteration | French Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friendship with the world | φιλία τοῦ κόσμου / philia tou kosmou | l’amitié du monde | High | [NEW] | Exclusive, either-or allegiance framing; risk of moralistic (dress/entertainment) misreading. |
| World | κόσμος / kosmos | le monde | Medium | [NEW] | Genuinely ambiguous in French as in Greek; teaching material must specify the God-opposing value-system sense (1:27, 4:4). |
| Adulteresses (figurative) | μοιχαλίδες / moichalides | adultères | Medium | [NEW] | Covenantal/marital metaphor from OT prophetic tradition (Hosea, Ezekiel 16); needs OT-background note. |
| Grace | χάρις / charis | grâce | High | [BASELINE — exact reuse] | 4:6, quoting Proverbs 3:34; reinforce unmerited-favor sense against pride. |
| Humble / proud | ταπεινός, ὑπερήφανος | humble, orgueilleux | Low | [NEW] | Posture required to receive grace, 4:6, 10. |
| The devil | διάβολος / diabolos | le diable | Low | [NEW] | 4:7; standard and unambiguous. |
| Spirit (human or Holy Spirit, 4:5) | πνεῦμα / pneuma | esprit (lowercase) or Esprit Saint (capitalized), pending interpretive choice | Medium | [NEW — ambiguity flag] | Genuinely ambiguous verse; record the interpretive choice made and flag for theologian review. |
| Judge / lawgiver | κρίνω, νομοθέτης | juger, législateur | Low-Medium | [NEW] | 4:11–12; distinguish forbidden interpersonal condemnation from legitimate church discipline elsewhere in the NT. |
| Mist / vapor | ἀτμίς / atmis | une vapeur (une fumée) | Low | [NEW] | 4:14, life’s transience. |
| Arrogant boasting | ἀλαζονεία / alazoneia | arrogance, vaine gloire | Low | [NEW] | Contrasted with submission to God’s will, 4:15–16. |
Doctrine 7: Prayer and Healing
| Term (English) | Greek / Transliteration | French Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| To pray / sing praise | προσεύχομαι, εὔχομαι, ψάλλω | prier, chanter des louanges | Medium | [related to BASELINE “intercession,” but distinct usage] | Ordinary congregational/elder-led prayer; label as “la prière,” not “l’intercession,” to avoid baseline’s saints/Marian-intercession associations. |
| Elders | πρεσβύτεροι / presbyteroi | anciens | High | [NEW] | NEVER “prêtres” — preserves the passage’s non-sacramental, congregational leadership model. Mandatory theologian review. |
| To anoint with oil | ἀλείφω ἐλαίῳ / aleiphō elaiō | oindre d’huile | Critical | [NEW] | Highest sacramental-collision risk in the book: French Catholic readers will hear “l’onction des malades” (a sacrament administered by a priest). Mandatory translator note and theologian review every occurrence. |
| Prayer of faith | εὐχὴ τῆς πίστεως / euchē tēs pisteōs | la prière de la foi | Medium | [related to BASELINE “foi”] | Avoid a “guaranteed healing” reading; read alongside 4:13–15’s submission-to-God’s-will theme. |
| Save / restore (physical) | σῴζω τὸν κάμνοντα / sōzō ton kamnonta | sauvera le malade | High | [related to BASELINE “salut”] | Physical healing sense; distinguish explicitly from soteriological “salut.” |
| To raise up (from sickbed) | ἐγείρω / egeirō | le relèvera / le remettra sur pied | High | [related to BASELINE “résurrection” — deliberate non-use] | Never use “ressusciter/résurrection” vocabulary here; that word-family is reserved for Christ’s bodily resurrection. |
| To heal | ἰάομαι / iaomai | guérir | Medium | [NEW] | Parallel to σῴζω in v.15; keep distinguished per context. |
| Prayer of a righteous person, working/effective | δέησις δικαίου ἐνεργουμένη | la prière du juste, quand elle agit avec puissance | Medium | [related to BASELINE “justice”] | Grounds prayer’s efficacy in right standing before God, illustrated by Elijah. |
| To be sick/weak | ἀσθενέω / astheneō | être malade | Low-Medium | [NEW] | Physical illness sense clearly primary, given the following oil-anointing instruction. |
| To suffer / be in distress | κακοπαθέω / kakopatheō | être dans la souffrance (l’affliction) | Low | [NEW] | Opens the prayer-and-praise unit, 5:13. |
Doctrine 8: Patience and the Lord’s Return
| Term (English) | Greek / Transliteration | French Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patience | μακροθυμέω, μακροθυμία / makrothymeō | patience, soyez patients | Medium | [NEW] | Keep distinct from ὑπομονή (“persévérance,” Doctrine 2). |
| The coming of the Lord | παρουσία τοῦ κυρίου / parousia tou kyriou | la venue (l’avènement) du Seigneur; gloss la parousie | High | [related to BASELINE “Seigneur”] | Technical, climactic, once-for-all eschatological term; reuse “Seigneur” exactly; gloss “parousie” in teaching material. |
| Farmer; early/late rain | γεωργός, πρόϊμος, ὄψιμος | l’agriculteur; la pluie de printemps et d’automne | Low | [NEW] | Agricultural illustration; may need climatic-context note. |
| Establish/strengthen the heart | στηρίζω τὴν καρδίαν | fortifiez vos cœurs | Low | [NEW] | Inward fortification for patient waiting. |
| The judge is at the door | κριτής πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν | le juge est à la porte | Medium | [NEW] | Imminence of Christ as eschatological Judge; not a generic warning. |
| The endurance of Job | ὑπομονὴ Ἰώβ | la persévérance de Job | Medium | [NEW] | Same French term as Doctrine 2’s ὑπομονή, applied to Job’s example. |
| Full of compassion / merciful | πολύσπλαγχνος, οἰκτίρμων | plein de compassion et de miséricorde | Low | [NEW] | Character of the Lord grounding hope in trials. |
| To swear (oaths) | ὀμνύω / omnyō | jurer | Low | [NEW] | Echoes Matthew 5:33–37; integrity grounded in simple truthfulness. |
| Lord of Sabaoth / of hosts | Κύριος Σαβαώθ | le Seigneur des armées (Sabaoth) | Medium | [related to BASELINE “Seigneur”] | Reuse “Seigneur”; emphasizes sovereign vindication of the oppressed poor, 5:4. |
| Rot / rust-corrode | σήπω, κατιόω | pourrir, se rouiller (se corroder) | Low | [NEW] | Judgment on hoarded wealth, 5:2–3. |
| Live in luxury / self-indulgence | τρυφάω, σπαταλάω | vivre dans le luxe et les plaisirs | Low | [NEW] | Contrasted with withheld laborers’ wages, 5:5. |
Doctrine 9: Confession and Restoration
| Term (English) | Greek / Transliteration | French Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| To confess (to one another) | ἐξομολογέομαι / exomologeomai | confesser [vos péchés] les uns aux autres | Critical | [NEW] | The book’s second-highest sacramental-collision risk after ἀλείφω ἐλαίῳ: French Catholic readers will hear the Sacrament of Reconciliation. “Les uns aux autres” must never be dropped or softened. Mandatory theologian review. |
| To wander / to turn back | πλανάω, ἐπιστρέφω / planaō, epistrephō | s’égarer, ramener (faire revenir) | Medium | [NEW] | Preserve the passage’s restorative, non-punitive, loving tone. |
| To save a soul from death | σῴζω ψυχήν ἐκ θανάτου | sauvera son âme de la mort | Medium | [related to BASELINE “salut”] | Describes the gracious outcome of restoration, grounded in God’s mercy, not the restorer’s own atoning merit. |
| To cover a multitude of sins | καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν | couvrira une multitude de péchés | Medium | [related to BASELINE “péché”] | Same caution as above: not a claim of human atoning merit. |
| Elijah | Ἠλίας / Ēlias | Élie | Low | [NEW] | Standard French Bible proper-name form; exemplar of effective prayer. |
Cross-Cutting / General Theological Terms (Reused Exactly from Romans Baseline)
| Term (English) | Greek / Transliteration | French Rendering | Risk | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | θεός / theos | Dieu | Critical/Medium | [BASELINE — exact reuse] | Passim throughout James; no change from Romans usage. |
| Lord | κύριος / kyrios | Seigneur | Critical | [BASELINE — exact reuse] | Used of God the Father and of Christ throughout James (1:1, 1:7, 2:1, 5:4, 5:7–8, 5:14–15). |
| Christ / Jesus Christ | Χριστός, Ἰησοῦς Χριστός | Christ, Jésus-Christ | Low/Critical | [BASELINE — exact reuse] | 1:1, 2:1; standard proper-name forms. |
| Righteousness | δικαιοσύνη / dikaiosynē | justice | Critical | [BASELINE — exact reuse] | Foundational to the entire core passage; never render as human moral virtue alone. |
| Sin | ἁμαρτία / hamartia | péché | Medium | [BASELINE — exact reuse] | 1:15, 4:17, 5:15–16, 5:20. |
| Law | νόμος / nomos | loi | High | [BASELINE — exact reuse, with James-specific extension flagged] | James applies “loi” more broadly (royal law, law of liberty) than the baseline’s narrow Mosaic-Torah scope; requires theologian harmonizing note. |
| Grace | χάρις / charis | grâce | High | [BASELINE — exact reuse] | 4:6. |
| Faith | πίστις / pistis | foi | High (elevated) | [BASELINE — exact reuse, risk elevated for this curriculum] | See Doctrine 1 above. |
| Glory | δόξα / doxa | gloire | Medium | [BASELINE — exact reuse] | 2:1, “the Lord of glory.” |
| Peace | εἰρήνη / eirēnē | paix | Low | [BASELINE — exact reuse] | 2:16 (ironic use), 3:18. |
| Kingdom of God | βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ | Royaume de Dieu | Medium | [BASELINE — exact reuse] | 2:5. |
| Servant | δοῦλος / doulos | serviteur | Medium | [NEW, convention-aligned] | 1:1; established French Bible convention prefers “serviteur” over literal “esclave” given modern French connotations. |
| Dispersion | διασπορά / diaspora | dispersion | Low | [NEW] | 1:1; needs OT/Jewish-diaspora background gloss. |
| Word (of truth) | λόγος / logos | la parole | Medium | [NEW] | 1:18, 1:21–23; distinct from the Johannine “Verbe/Logos” Christological title. |
| Religion (true/pure) | θρησκεία / thrēskeia | religion | High | [NEW] | 1:26–27; risk of laïque-secular institutional-ritual reading overriding James’s practical/ethical definition. |
| Sinner | ἁμαρτωλός / hamartōlos | pécheur | Low | [NEW] | 4:8, 5:20; reuses the péché word-family. |
Risk Summary for James 1–5
| Risk Tier | Count (approx.) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 6 (ἔργα, δικαιόω/justify, ἐλογίσθη/imputed righteousness, ἀλείφω ἐλαίῳ/anointing, ἐξομολογέομαι/confession, and δικαιοῦται in 2:24 counted with the justify family) | Mandatory human theologian review, every occurrence |
| High | 17 | Mandatory human theologian review |
| Medium | ~35 | Native speaker review recommended |
| Low | ~25 | Automated review sufficient |
Note for Phase 2 planning: James concentrates its Critical-risk terms almost entirely within two locations — the core passage (2:14–26) and the closing prayer/healing/confession unit (5:13–20) — both of which sit directly on top of live Catholic-Protestant doctrinal divergences within French-speaking Christianity (justification by faith vs. by works; sacramental Anointing of the Sick vs. congregational elder prayer; sacramental Confession/Penance vs. mutual believer-to-believer confession). These two units should receive priority theologian review capacity in Phase 2 Step 17.
Critical Risk Terms
Righteousness
Approved rendering: justice
Transliteration: justice (de Dieu)
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Rejected alternatives: vertu, droiture
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Foundational to James 2:14-26, ‘fruit de la justice’ (3:18), and ‘la prière du juste’ (5:16); never collapse into human moral virtue alone.
Justification
Approved rendering: justification
Transliteration: justification
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Rejected alternatives: sanctification (conflation), salut (too generic)
Inherited from Romans package exactly. The noun family is reused alongside the verb ‘justifier/être justifié’ for James’s evidentiary usage; see ‘justified_by_works’ below for James-specific handling of the same fault line Trent Session VI Canon 24 cites directly against sola fide.
Lord
Approved rendering: Seigneur
Transliteration: Seigneur
Doctrine: Cross-cutting Christology
Rejected alternatives: maître, patron, Jéhovah (Traduction du Monde Nouveau substitution — forbidden)
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Used of God the Father and of Christ throughout James (1:1, 1:7, 2:1, 5:4, 5:7-8, 5:14-15); never substitute ‘Jéhovah’ as the Traduction du Monde Nouveau does at James 5:4.
God
Approved rendering: Dieu
Transliteration: Dieu
Doctrine: Cross-cutting
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package exactly. No change from Romans usage.
Jesus Christ
Approved rendering: Jésus-Christ
Transliteration: Jésus-Christ
Doctrine: Cross-cutting Christology
Original: Ἰησοῦς Χριστός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Established forms ‘Jésus’ and ‘Christ’ combined as ‘Jésus-Christ’ (James 1:1, 2:1).
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Esprit Saint
Transliteration: Esprit Saint
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God
Rejected alternatives: esprit saint (lowercase — Traduction du Monde Nouveau convention, forbidden)
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Relevant if the Trinitarian reading of the ambiguous πνεῦμα in James 4:5 is adopted; must remain capitalized and personal. Never adopt the TMN’s impersonal-force lowercase convention as a legitimate ‘third option’ for the 4:5 ambiguity.
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: justice imputée
Transliteration: justice imputée
Doctrine: Harmonization of Justification by Faith and by Works
Rejected alternatives: justice méritée
Original: ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην
Category: Salvation
MUST reuse the baseline Romans rendering exactly. James 2:23 quotes the identical Greek clause as Romans 4:3, citing Genesis 15:6. This is the strongest harmonizing anchor between James and Romans: Abraham’s forensic justification (Gen 15, by faith alone) precedes and grounds the Genesis 22 vindication-by-works James discusses in the same passage. Never render ‘justice méritée’.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: résurrection
Transliteration: résurrection
Doctrine: Prayer and Healing
Rejected alternatives: renaissance
Inherited from Romans package. Retained here specifically to mark deliberate NON-USE: James 5:15’s ἐγείρω (‘will raise up’ from a sickbed) must NEVER borrow this word family (‘ressusciter/résurrection’), reserved exclusively for Christ’s unique, once-for-all bodily resurrection.
Works
Approved rendering: œuvres
Transliteration: œuvres
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Rejected alternatives: actions (too weak), mérites (imports merit theology)
Original: ἔργα
Category: Works
Trent Session VI Canon 24 cites James 2:22 directly for grace-enabled meritorious increase in justification; Reformed/evangelical tradition reads works strictly as evidentiary fruit, never meritorious ground. The French word is neutral and correct; risk lies entirely in unglossed doctrinal framing. Mandatory translator note every occurrence.
Justified By Works
Approved rendering: justifier / être justifié
Transliteration: justifier / être justifié
Doctrine: Harmonization of Justification by Faith and by Works
Original: δικαιόω (ἐδικαιώθη / δικαιοῦται)
Category: Works
James’s evidentiary/vindication sense (2:21, 24, 25) must be rendered plainly, reusing the baseline noun family, never silently reconciled with Paul’s forensic sense inside the translation itself. 2:24’s ‘non par la foi seule’ must be rendered in full force. Mandatory human theologian review every occurrence.
Anoint With Oil
Approved rendering: oindre d’huile
Transliteration: aleiphō elaiō
Doctrine: Elders and Anointing with Oil
Rejected alternatives: l’onction des malades (names the Catholic sacrament — forbidden as primary rendering)
Original: ἀλείφω ἐλαίῳ
Category: Prayer and Healing
James 5:14 ἀλείφω ἐλαίῳ; the strongest single sacramental-collision risk point in the book. Mandatory translator note and human theologian review every occurrence, distinguishing James’s elder-led, recovery-oriented practice from the Catholic sacrament of Anointing of the Sick (formerly ‘extrême-onction’).
Confess To One Another
Approved rendering: confesser [vos péchés] les uns aux autres
Transliteration: exomologeomai
Doctrine: Confession and Restoration
Rejected alternatives: se confesser / aller à confesse (names the Catholic sacrament — forbidden framing)
Original: ἐξομολογέομαι
Category: Confession and Restoration
James 5:16 ἐξομολογέομαι; ‘les uns aux autres’ is textually essential and must NEVER be dropped or softened — doing so is the most likely path to an inadvertent sacramental (Reconciliation/Penance) misreading. Mandatory translator note and human theologian review every occurrence.
High Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: grâce
Transliteration: grâce
Doctrine: Humility and Grace
Rejected alternatives: faveur, mérite
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package exactly. James 4:6 quotes Proverbs 3:34; same unmerited-favor sense required, here contrasted with pride rather than works.
Faith
Approved rendering: foi
Transliteration: foi
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Rejected alternatives: croyance, religion
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package; risk elevated from the baseline’s Medium to High for this curriculum, because James 2:14-26 interrogates a merely professed faith. French readers who first encountered Romans’ ‘la foi seule justifie’ framing risk perceiving direct contradiction in James 2:24 unless teaching material distinguishes faith merely professed (2:14, 19) from the living, saving faith James assumes elsewhere.
Law
Approved rendering: loi
Transliteration: loi (la Loi)
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor / Confession and Restoration
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, which scopes ‘loi’ narrowly to the Mosaic Torah. James extends its ethical use (‘loi royale’ 2:8, ‘loi parfaite, loi de la liberté’ 1:25) beyond that narrow scope; requires a theologian’s harmonizing note identifying this as the same Sinai moral core, internalized under the new covenant, not a separate legal system.
Church
Approved rendering: Église
Transliteration: Église
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor
Rejected alternatives: temple (building only)
Inherited from Romans package exactly. James itself uses συναγωγή (2:2), rendered ‘assemblée’ rather than ‘Église’ or ‘synagogue’ — see ‘assembly’ below. This baseline entry is retained for teaching-material contrast: the New Testament gathered people, not the building or institution.
Election
Approved rendering: élection
Transliteration: élection
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor
Rejected alternatives: chance, destin
Inherited from Romans package for cross-reference. James 2:5 (‘God chose the poor of this world’, ἐκλέγομαι) is cognate with the baseline’s ‘élection’; the same French political-election collision risk applies — must not be read as competitive or merit-based.
Save Rhetorical
Approved rendering: sauver
Transliteration: sauver
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Original: σῴζειν
Category: Salvation
James 2:14’s rhetorical question (‘cette foi peut-elle le sauver?’) interrogates whether fruitless, merely professed faith is the same saving faith Paul describes; requires a translator note clarifying the evidentiary, not causal, force of the question.
Dead Faith
Approved rendering: morte
Transliteration: morte
Doctrine: Dead Faith versus Living, Saving Faith
Rejected alternatives: inutile, sans effet
Original: νεκρά
Category: Works
Must remain unsoftened across the 2:17/2:20/2:26 inclusio. James’s claim is that fruitless professed faith has no vital life at all, not merely reduced effectiveness.
Faith Working With Works
Approved rendering: agir avec (ses œuvres)
Transliteration: agir avec
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Rejected alternatives: coopérer (Catholic gratia cooperans collision — avoid)
Original: συνήργει (συνεργέω)
Category: Works
James 2:22 συνήργει; avoid ‘coopérait’, the etymological ground of Catholic cooperation-with-grace doctrine. Flag for theologian review every occurrence.
Perfected By Works
Approved rendering: atteindre son plein accomplissement / sa pleine maturité
Transliteration: eteleiōthē
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Rejected alternatives: rendue parfaite (implies works supply missing merit)
Original: ἐτελειώθη (τελειόω)
Category: Works
James 2:22 ἐτελειώθη; faith reaches mature, designed completeness through action, not increased merit. Mandatory translator note.
Trial Temptation
Approved rendering: épreuve (1:2-3, 12) / tentation (1:13-14)
Transliteration: peirasmos / peirazō
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith
Original: πειρασμός / πειράζω
Category: Trials
A single Greek root splits into two unrelated French words, hiding James’s wordplay/inclusio. Verify consistent disambiguation per occurrence; teaching material must explain the connection. 1:12 is a live seam in the existing French translation landscape — flag for reviewer attention.
Natural Unspiritual
Approved rendering: d’ordre purement humain / naturelle (sans l’Esprit)
Transliteration: psychikē
Doctrine: Wisdom from Above
Rejected alternatives: charnelle (σαρκικός territory), psychologique (modern clinical connotation)
Original: ψυχική
Category: Wisdom
James 3:15 ψυχική; rare technical term with no French one-word equivalent. Mandatory translator note distinguishing it from both ‘charnel’ and ‘spirituel’ vocabulary elsewhere in the curriculum.
Favoritism
Approved rendering: partialité (favoritisme)
Transliteration: prosōpolēmpsia
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor
Rejected alternatives: acception de personnes (archaic Segond 1910 calque — reject)
Original: προσωπολημψία
Category: Favoritism and Poverty
James 2:1, 9 προσωπολημψία; France’s civic-egalitarian/laïque self-image can obscure that the doctrine targets the church’s own internal social dynamics, not society at large.
Royal Law
Approved rendering: loi royale
Transliteration: nomos basilikos
Doctrine: The Royal Law and Mercy Triumphant
Original: νόμος βασιλικός
Category: Covenant
James 2:8 νόμος βασιλικός; requires theologian’s harmonizing note reconciling James’s broader ethical use of ‘loi’ with the baseline’s narrower Mosaic-Torah scope.
Friendship With World
Approved rendering: l’amitié du monde
Transliteration: philia tou kosmou
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God
Rejected alternatives: l’amour du monde (diffuse affection, collapses James’s exclusive either-or allegiance framing)
Original: φιλία τοῦ κόσμου
Category: Worldliness
James 4:4 φιλία τοῦ κόσμου; must never drift to ‘amour du monde’, which risks reading this as a generic anti-materialism warning rather than an exclusive covenantal allegiance claim.
Elders
Approved rendering: anciens
Transliteration: presbyteroi
Doctrine: Elders and Anointing with Oil
Rejected alternatives: prêtres (FORBIDDEN — imports a sacramental clergy structure absent from the text)
Original: πρεσβύτεροι
Category: Prayer and Healing
James 5:14 πρεσβύτεροι; MUST render ‘anciens’, never ‘prêtres’. Non-sacramental, congregational leadership office. Mandatory theologian review.
Save The Sick
Approved rendering: sauvera le malade
Transliteration: sōzō ton kamnonta
Doctrine: Prayer and Healing
Original: σῴζω τὸν κάμνοντα
Category: Prayer and Healing
James 5:15 σῴζω τὸν κάμνοντα; physical-healing sense sharing the baseline’s Critical-risk soteriological root ‘salut’; require explicit translator note distinguishing the two.
Raise Up Sickbed
Approved rendering: le relèvera / le remettra sur pied
Transliteration: egeirō
Doctrine: Prayer and Healing
Rejected alternatives: ressusciter / résurrection (FORBIDDEN — reserved for Christ’s bodily resurrection)
Original: ἐγείρω
Category: Prayer and Healing
James 5:15 ἐγείρω; raising from a sickbed, not a resurrection from death. Never borrow the baseline’s résurrection word family.
Coming Of The Lord
Approved rendering: la venue du Seigneur (la parousie)
Transliteration: parousia tou kyriou
Doctrine: Patience and the Lord’s Return
Rejected alternatives: l’avènement du Seigneur (too generic in secular French, usable for any inaugural event)
Original: παρουσία τοῦ κυρίου
Category: Patience and Eschatology
James 5:7-8 παρουσία τοῦ κυρίου; reuse baseline ‘Seigneur’ exactly; introduce and gloss ‘la parousie’ as the technical eschatological term to prevent a generic reading.
Religion
Approved rendering: religion
Transliteration: thrēskeia
Doctrine: Pure and Undefiled Religion
Original: θρησκεία
Category: Sanctification
James 1:26-27 θρησκεία; France’s laïque public culture defaults to a private, institutional, ritual category; James’s practical, ethical definition (orphans, widows, moral purity) directly opposes that default and requires an anchoring translator note.
Perfect Law Of Liberty
Approved rendering: la loi parfaite, la loi de la liberté
Transliteration: nomos teleios tēs eleutherias
Doctrine: The Perfect Law of Liberty
James 1:25; requires theologian’s harmonizing note: the same Sinai moral core, fulfilled in Christ and internalized by the Spirit, not a separate or additional law system alongside the baseline’s Mosaic-Torah-scoped ‘loi’.
Medium Risk Terms
Salvation
Approved rendering: salut
Transliteration: salut
Doctrine: Faith and Works / Prayer and Healing
Rejected alternatives: délivrance
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Must be fenced off from James 5:15’s physical-healing ‘sauvera le malade’, which shares the Greek root σῴζω but denotes bodily recovery, not soteriological salvation.
Father
Approved rendering: Père
Transliteration: Père
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package exactly. James 1:17 ‘Père des lumières’; 1:27 God the Father as the object of pure religion.
Glory
Approved rendering: gloire
Transliteration: gloire
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package exactly. James 2:1, ‘notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ, [Seigneur] de gloire’, contrasted sharply with human favoritism.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: Royaume de Dieu
Transliteration: Royaume de Dieu
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package exactly. James 2:5, the poor as heirs of the kingdom — a reversal of worldly status expectations.
Sin
Approved rendering: péché
Transliteration: péché
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package exactly. James 1:15’s genealogy of sin (desire conceives sin, sin gives birth to death); guard against colloquial trivialization (‘péché mignon’).
Israel
Approved rendering: Israël
Transliteration: Israël
Doctrine: Jewish-Christian Audience and Diaspora Context
Inherited from Romans package exactly. James 1:1 addresses ‘the twelve tribes in the dispersion,’ presupposing covenant Israel; keep the referent historical/theological, not tied to contemporary geopolitics.
Called
Approved rendering: appelé
Transliteration: appelé
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor
Rejected alternatives: invité, vocation (clergy-narrowing risk)
Inherited from Romans package exactly. James 2:7, ‘the honorable name by which you were called’ (κληθέν) — reuse ‘appelé’; never narrow to ‘vocation’.
Calling
Approved rendering: appel
Transliteration: appel
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor
Rejected alternatives: vocation (clergy-narrowing risk)
Inherited from Romans package exactly for cross-reference alongside ‘called’ above.
Providence
Approved rendering: providence
Transliteration: providence
Doctrine: Submission to God’s Providence in Planning
Rejected alternatives: destin, hasard
Inherited from Romans package. James does not use the word ‘providence’ itself, but 4:13-17’s ‘si le Seigneur le veut’ expresses the identical concept the baseline entry protects against Enlightenment-deist abstraction as at Romans 8:28.
Intercession
Approved rendering: intercession
Transliteration: intercession
Doctrine: Prayer and Healing
Inherited from Romans package for contrast only. James 5:13-18’s ordinary congregational and elder-led prayer must be labeled simply ‘la prière’, NOT ‘l’intercession’, to avoid invoking the baseline’s specific Catholic saints’/Marian-intercession contrast, a different category from James’s practice.
Holy
Approved rendering: saint
Transliteration: saint
Doctrine: Confession and Restoration
Rejected alternatives: pur
Inherited from Romans package. Relevant background for James 4:8’s ‘purifiez vos cœurs’ and the letter’s broader holiness concern, though James’s own vocabulary differs from Paul’s hagios family in frequency.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: sanctification
Transliteration: sanctification
Doctrine: Confession and Restoration
Rejected alternatives: purification
Inherited from Romans package as background doctrine for James’s practical holiness emphasis (1:27, 4:8, 5:16).
Friend Of God
Approved rendering: ami de Dieu
Transliteration: philos theou
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Original: φίλος θεοῦ
Category: Faith
James 2:23; covenant intimacy flowing from Abraham’s imputed righteousness, not a separate merit-based achievement.
Demonstrate Faith
Approved rendering: montrer
Transliteration: deiknymi
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Original: δείκνυμι
Category: Works
James 2:18 δείκνυμι; evidentiary demonstration, not causal proof-by-works. Recommend ‘démontrer’ in translator commentary to reinforce this.
Testing Genuineness
Approved rendering: l’épreuve [de votre foi]
Transliteration: dokimion
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith
Original: δοκίμιον
Category: Trials
James 1:3 δοκίμιον; the productive, proving function must be clear from context (‘produit la persévérance’), not mere hardship.
Endurance
Approved rendering: persévérance
Transliteration: hypomonē
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith
Original: ὑπομονή
Category: Trials
James 1:3-4, 1:12, 5:11 ὑπομονή; keep terminologically distinct from ‘patience’ (μακροθυμία, ch.5) across the whole letter.
Mature Complete
Approved rendering: parfait (accompli, mature)
Transliteration: teleios
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith
Original: τέλειος
Category: Trials
James 1:4, 1:17, 1:25 τέλειος; guard against a flawless-perfectionism reading by glossing ‘accompli / arrivé à maturité’ in pastoral application.
Desire Lust
Approved rendering: désir (convoitise)
Transliteration: epithymia
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith
Original: ἐπιθυμία
Category: Trials
James 1:14-15 ἐπιθυμία; the specific inward root of sin in the genealogy-of-sin passage, not general appetite.
Wisdom
Approved rendering: sagesse
Transliteration: sophia
Doctrine: Wisdom from Above
Original: σοφία
Category: Wisdom
James 1:5; secular French Stoic/humanist usage risks flattening James’s insistence that this wisdom is a divine gift requested in prayer, not a self-cultivated life-skill.
Wisdom From Above
Approved rendering: sagesse d’en haut
Transliteration: sophia hē anōthen
Doctrine: Wisdom from Above
Original: σοφία ἡ ἄνωθεν
Category: Wisdom
James 3:15-17; preserve the vertical, divine-origin contrast with earthly/demonic wisdom.
Wisdom Fruits Cluster
Approved rendering: pacifique, conciliante, ouverte à la persuasion, sans hypocrisie
Transliteration: eirēnikē, epieikēs, eupeithēs, anypokritos
Doctrine: Wisdom from Above
Rejected alternatives: docile (servile connotation in modern French — avoid for εὐπειθής)
Original: εἰρηνική, ἐπιεικής, εὐπειθής, ἀνυπόκριτος
Category: Wisdom
James 3:17’s cumulative character-portrait of heavenly wisdom, in point-by-point contrast with 3:14-16’s jealousy, ambition, and disorder.
Bitter Jealousy Selfish Ambition
Approved rendering: jalousie amère, ambition égoïste (esprit de rivalité)
Transliteration: zēlos pikros / eritheia
Doctrine: Wisdom from Above
Original: ζῆλος πικρός / ἐριθεία
Category: Wisdom
James 3:14, 16; interior roots of earthly/demonic wisdom, extending into chapter 4’s conflict vocabulary.
Fruit Of Righteousness
Approved rendering: fruit de la justice
Transliteration: karpos dikaiosynēs
Doctrine: Wisdom from Above
Original: καρπὸς δικαιοσύνης
Category: Wisdom
James 3:18 καρπὸς δικαιοσύνης; reuses baseline ‘justice’, linking chapter 3’s teaching to the core passage’s righteousness vocabulary.
Poor Rich
Approved rendering: pauvre / riche
Transliteration: ptōchos / plousios
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor
Original: πτωχός / πλούσιος
Category: Favoritism and Poverty
James 1:9-11, 2:1-7, 5:1-6 πτωχός/πλούσιος; anchor the status-reversal in divine, eschatological evaluation, not merely socio-economic critique.
Assembly
Approved rendering: assemblée
Transliteration: synagōgē
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor
Rejected alternatives: synagogue (implies a literal Jewish building)
Original: συναγωγή
Category: Church
James 2:2 συναγωγή; the Christian gathering itself, reflecting James’s early Jewish-Christian setting; needs historical-context note.
Mercy Judgment
Approved rendering: miséricorde / jugement
Transliteration: eleos / krisis
Doctrine: The Royal Law and Mercy Triumphant
Original: ἔλεος / κρίσις
Category: Favoritism and Poverty
James 2:13 ἔλεος/κρίσις; ensure ‘miséricorde’ is not read exclusively through French Catholic Divine Mercy devotional piety, to the exclusion of James’s ethical-imitation point.
Tongue
Approved rendering: langue
Transliteration: glōssa
Doctrine: Taming the Tongue
Original: γλῶσσα
Category: Speech
James 3:1-12 γλῶσσα; preserve James’s concrete bit/rudder/spark metaphors intact — never flattened into the generic idiom ‘tenir sa langue’.
Likeness Of God
Approved rendering: ressemblance de Dieu
Transliteration: homoiōsis theou
Doctrine: Taming the Tongue
Original: ὁμοίωσις θεοῦ
Category: Speech
James 3:9 ὁμοίωσις θεοῦ; distinct from the technical ‘image’ (εἰκών) vocabulary used of Christ elsewhere in the NT; do not over-technicalize.
World
Approved rendering: le monde
Transliteration: kosmos
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God
Original: κόσμος
Category: Worldliness
James 1:27, 4:4 κόσμος; genuinely ambiguous in French exactly as in Greek. Teaching material must specify the God-opposed value-system sense at every doctrinally load-bearing occurrence.
Adulteresses Figurative
Approved rendering: adultères
Transliteration: moichalides
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God
Original: μοιχαλίδες
Category: Worldliness
James 4:4 μοιχαλίδες; figurative covenant-infidelity metaphor from OT prophetic tradition (Hosea, Ezekiel 16, Jeremiah 3); needs OT-background note.
Spirit Ambiguous
Approved rendering: esprit / Esprit Saint (pending interpretive choice)
Transliteration: pneuma
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God
Rejected alternatives: default lowercase ‘esprit saint’ as a stylistic convention (forbidden — this is the TMN convention, not a legitimate exegetical option)
Original: πνεῦμα
Category: Worldliness
James 4:5 πνεῦμα; genuinely ambiguous between the Holy Spirit and the human spirit. Record the interpretive choice explicitly; flag for theologian review; never silently capitalize or lowercase without recording the reasoning.
Judge Lawgiver
Approved rendering: juger / législateur
Transliteration: krinō / nomothetēs
Doctrine: Taming the Tongue
Original: κρίνω / νομοθέτης
Category: Worldliness
James 4:11-12 κρίνω/νομοθέτης; distinguish forbidden interpersonal condemnation/slander from legitimate church discipline taught elsewhere in the NT.
Pray Sing Praise
Approved rendering: prier / chanter des louanges
Transliteration: proseuchomai / euchomai / psallō
Doctrine: Prayer and Healing
Rejected alternatives: intercession (avoid — see baseline ‘intercession’ contrast entry)
Original: προσεύχομαι / εὔχομαι / ψάλλω
Category: Prayer and Healing
James 5:13 opens the closing prayer-and-praise unit; label simply ‘la prière’, not ‘l’intercession’.
Prayer Of Faith
Approved rendering: la prière de la foi
Transliteration: euchē tēs pisteōs
Doctrine: Prayer and Healing
Original: εὐχὴ τῆς πίστεως
Category: Prayer and Healing
James 5:15 εὐχὴ τῆς πίστεως; avoid a prosperity-gospel-adjacent ‘guaranteed healing’ reading; read alongside 4:13-15’s submission-to-God’s-will theme.
Heal
Approved rendering: guérir
Transliteration: iaomai
Doctrine: Prayer and Healing
Original: ἰάομαι
Category: Prayer and Healing
James 5:16 ἰάομαι; parallel to σῴζω in v.15, connecting confession, prayer, and healing.
Sick Weak
Approved rendering: être malade
Transliteration: astheneō
Doctrine: Prayer and Healing
Original: ἀσθενέω
Category: Prayer and Healing
James 5:14 ἀσθενέω; physical illness sense clearly primary, given the following anointing instruction.
Patience
Approved rendering: patience
Transliteration: makrothymia / makrothymeō
Doctrine: Patience and the Lord’s Return
Original: μακροθυμία / μακροθυμέω
Category: Patience and Eschatology
James 5:7-8, 10 μακροθυμία/μακροθυμέω; keep terminologically distinct from ‘persévérance’ (ὑπομονή, ch.1) across the whole letter.
Judge At Door
Approved rendering: le juge est à la porte
Transliteration: kritēs pro tōn thyrōn
Doctrine: Patience and the Lord’s Return
Original: κριτὴς πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν
Category: Patience and Eschatology
James 5:9; imminence of Christ’s return as Judge, grounding the prohibition against grumbling; read as Christ the eschatological Judge, not a generic warning.
Endurance Of Job
Approved rendering: la persévérance de Job
Transliteration: hypomonē Iōb
Doctrine: Patience and the Lord’s Return
Original: ὑπομονὴ Ἰώβ
Category: Patience and Eschatology
James 5:11; same French term as chapter 1’s endurance vocabulary, tying the letter’s opening trials-doctrine to its closing patience-doctrine.
Lord Of Hosts
Approved rendering: le Seigneur des armées (Sabaoth)
Transliteration: Kyrios Sabaōth
Doctrine: The Compassion and Character of God
Rejected alternatives: Jéhovah des armées (Traduction du Monde Nouveau substitution — FORBIDDEN)
Original: Κύριος Σαβαώθ
Category: God
James 5:4 Κύριος Σαβαώθ; reuse baseline ‘Seigneur’; retain transliterated ‘Sabaoth’ in parentheses. Emphasizes sovereign vindication of the oppressed poor; never adopt the TMN’s ‘Jéhovah’ substitution here.
Wander Turn Back
Approved rendering: s’égarer / ramener (faire revenir)
Transliteration: planaō / epistrephō
Doctrine: Confession and Restoration
Original: πλανάω / ἐπιστρέφω
Category: Confession and Restoration
James 5:19-20; preserve the restorative, non-punitive, loving tone of the passage.
Save Soul From Death
Approved rendering: sauvera son âme de la mort
Transliteration: sōzō psychēn ek thanatou
Doctrine: Confession and Restoration
Original: σῴζω ψυχήν ἐκ θανάτου
Category: Confession and Restoration
James 5:20; the gracious outcome of restoration grounded in God’s mercy, not the human restorer’s own atoning merit.
Cover Multitude Of Sins
Approved rendering: couvrira une multitude de péchés
Transliteration: kalypsei plēthos hamartiōn
Doctrine: Confession and Restoration
Original: καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν
Category: Confession and Restoration
James 5:20; the atoning ground remains Christ’s work, consistent with the baseline’s grace/salvation entries.
Righteous Person Effective Prayer
Approved rendering: la prière du juste, quand elle agit avec puissance
Transliteration: deēsis dikaiou energoumenē
Doctrine: The Effective Prayer of the Righteous
Original: δέησις δικαίου ἐνεργουμένη
Category: Confession and Restoration
James 5:16b; reuses the baseline δικαιοσύνη-family ‘juste’; must be understood as a believer in right standing through imputed righteousness, not a morally exceptional or self-righteous person.
Servant
Approved rendering: serviteur
Transliteration: doulos
Doctrine: Jewish-Christian Audience and Diaspora Context
Rejected alternatives: esclave (heavy modern French connotations: transatlantic slavery, colonial history)
Original: δοῦλος
Category: Church
James 1:1 δοῦλος; established French Bible convention prefers ‘serviteur’, an honorific self-designation of total, willing devotion, not a demeaning title.
Word
Approved rendering: la parole
Transliteration: logos
Doctrine: Doers of the Word, Not Hearers Only
Original: λόγος
Category: Sanctification
James 1:18, 21-23 λόγος; the implanted gospel word able to save souls, distinct from the Johannine cosmological ‘Verbe/Logos’ Christological title used elsewhere in the NT.
Hearer Doer
Approved rendering: auditeur / celui qui met en pratique
Transliteration: akroatēs / poiētēs
Doctrine: Doers of the Word, Not Hearers Only
James 1:22-25; the hearer/doer contrast, illustrated by the mirror metaphor; practical-obedience emphasis.
Low Risk Terms
Peace
Approved rendering: paix
Transliteration: paix
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor / Wisdom from Above
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Ironic use at James 2:16 (an empty verbal blessing with no material follow-through); constructive use at 3:18.
Prophet
Approved rendering: prophète
Transliteration: prophète
Doctrine: Patience and the Lord’s Return
Rejected alternatives: voyant
Inherited from Romans package exactly. James 5:10 cites ‘the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord’ as an example of suffering and patience.
Vain Man
Approved rendering: vain
Transliteration: kenos
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Rejected alternatives: insensé (too soft)
Original: κενός
Category: Works
James 2:20 κενός; vocative diatribe address, ‘ô homme vain’, preserving register continuity with historic French Bible tradition.
Father Of Lights
Approved rendering: Père des lumières
Transliteration: Patēr tōn phōtōn
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith
Original: Πατὴρ τῶν φώτων
Category: God
James 1:17; poetic divine title emphasizing God as the unchanging source of every good gift (‘tout don excellent’).
Firstfruits
Approved rendering: prémices
Transliteration: aparchē
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith
Original: ἀπαρχή
Category: Trials
James 1:18 ἀπαρχή; needs a brief OT sacrificial/harvest gloss for readers with low biblical literacy.
Disorder
Approved rendering: désordre (confusion)
Transliteration: akatastasia
Doctrine: Wisdom from Above
Original: ἀκαταστασία
Category: Wisdom
James 3:16 ἀκαταστασία; communal fruit of earthly wisdom, contrasted with the peace produced by wisdom from above.
Double Minded
Approved rendering: l’homme partagé / irrésolu
Transliteration: dipsychos
Doctrine: Double-Mindedness and Believing Prayer
Original: δίψυχος
Category: Wisdom
James 1:8, 4:8 δίψυχος; divided in mind/will, wavering between trust in God and reliance elsewhere.
Transgressor
Approved rendering: transgresseur
Transliteration: parabatēs
Doctrine: The Royal Law and Mercy Triumphant
Original: παραβάτης
Category: Covenant
James 2:9, 11 παραβάτης; favoritism itself constitutes lawbreaking, not a mere social lapse.
Wages
Approved rendering: salaire
Transliteration: misthos
Doctrine: Wealth, Poverty, and Coming Judgment
Original: μισθός
Category: Favoritism and Poverty
James 5:4 μισθός; wages fraudulently withheld from laborers, which ‘cry out’ to the Lord.
Orphan Widow
Approved rendering: orphelins / veuves
Transliteration: orphanos / chēra
Doctrine: Pure and Undefiled Religion
Original: ὀρφανός / χήρα
Category: Favoritism and Poverty
James 1:27 ὀρφανός/χήρα; the concrete test case for pure religion.
Bridle
Approved rendering: mettre un frein/mors à
Transliteration: chalinagōgeō
Doctrine: Taming the Tongue
Rejected alternatives: tenir sa langue (flattens the equestrian metaphor)
Original: χαλιναγωγέω
Category: Speech
James 1:26, 3:2-3 χαλιναγωγέω; preserve the bit/bridle imagery.
Gehenna
Approved rendering: géhenne
Transliteration: geenna
Doctrine: Taming the Tongue
Original: γέεννα
Category: Speech
James 3:6 γέεννα; standard proper-name transliteration in French Bible tradition.
Tame
Approved rendering: dompter
Transliteration: damazō
Doctrine: Taming the Tongue
Original: δαμάζω
Category: Speech
James 3:7-8 δαμάζω; vivid animal-taming metaphor, contrasted with the untamable tongue.
Oath
Approved rendering: jurer
Transliteration: omnyō
Doctrine: Truthful Speech and the Prohibition of Oaths
Original: ὀμνύω
Category: Speech
James 5:12 ὀμνύω; echoes Matthew 5:33-37. Pastoral application regarding legitimate civic oaths may need brief clarification.
Humble Proud
Approved rendering: humble / orgueilleux
Transliteration: tapeinos / hyperēphanos
Doctrine: Humility and Grace
Original: ταπεινός / ὑπερήφανος
Category: Worldliness
James 4:6, 10 ταπεινός/ὑπερήφανος; posture required to receive grace and draw near to God.
Devil
Approved rendering: le diable
Transliteration: diabolos
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God
Original: διάβολος
Category: Worldliness
James 4:7 διάβολος; standard and unambiguous.
Mist Vapor
Approved rendering: une vapeur (une fumée)
Transliteration: atmis
Doctrine: Submission to God’s Providence in Planning
Original: ἀτμίς
Category: Worldliness
James 4:14 ἀτμίς; the transience of human life and planning apart from submission to God’s will.
Arrogant Boasting
Approved rendering: arrogance (vaine gloire)
Transliteration: alazoneia
Doctrine: Submission to God’s Providence in Planning
Original: ἀλαζονεία
Category: Worldliness
James 4:16 ἀλαζονεία; self-confident planning condemned in place of humble submission to providence.
If The Lord Wills
Approved rendering: si le Seigneur le veut
Transliteration: ean ho kyrios thelēsē
Doctrine: Submission to God’s Providence in Planning
James 4:15; reuses baseline ‘Seigneur’ exactly; the corrective posture James commends in place of presumptuous planning.
Wars Fights
Approved rendering: guerres / conflits (querelles)
Transliteration: polemos / machē
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God
James 4:1 πόλεμος/μάχη; interpersonal conflict traced to internal, unsatisfied desires; the metaphorical, non-literal-warfare sense is naturally understood in context.
Pleasure Desire
Approved rendering: plaisirs (désirs)
Transliteration: hēdonē
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God
James 4:1, 3 ἡδονή; disordered cravings driving conflict and self-serving prayer; not a blanket condemnation of pleasure itself.
Suffer Distress
Approved rendering: être dans la souffrance (l’affliction)
Transliteration: kakopatheō
Doctrine: Prayer and Healing
Original: κακοπαθέω
Category: Prayer and Healing
James 5:13 κακοπαθέω; opens the prayer-and-praise unit.
Farmer Early Late Rain
Approved rendering: l’agriculteur; la pluie de printemps et d’automne
Transliteration: geōrgos / proimos / opsimos
Doctrine: Patience and the Lord’s Return
Original: γεωργός / πρόϊμος / ὄψιμος
Category: Patience and Eschatology
James 5:7; agricultural illustration of patient waiting for God’s appointed timing; may need a brief climatic-context note for urban readers.
Establish Heart
Approved rendering: fortifiez vos cœurs
Transliteration: stērizō tēn kardian
Doctrine: Patience and the Lord’s Return
Original: στηρίζω τὴν καρδίαν
Category: Patience and Eschatology
James 5:8; inward fortification appropriate to patient waiting for the Lord’s return.
Compassionate Merciful
Approved rendering: plein de compassion et de miséricorde
Transliteration: polysplagchnos / oiktirmōn
Doctrine: The Compassion and Character of God
Original: πολύσπλαγχνος / οἰκτίρμων
Category: Patience and Eschatology
James 5:11; the character of the Lord revealed through Job’s story, grounding the community’s hope in trials.
Rot Rust
Approved rendering: pourrir / se rouiller (se corroder)
Transliteration: sēpō / katioō
Doctrine: Wealth, Poverty, and Coming Judgment
Original: σήπω / κατιόω
Category: Favoritism and Poverty
James 5:2-3; hoarded wealth’s ultimate worthlessness, indicting the exploitative rich.
Luxury Self Indulgence
Approved rendering: vivre dans le luxe et les plaisirs
Transliteration: tryphaō / spatalaō
Doctrine: Wealth, Poverty, and Coming Judgment
Original: τρυφάω / σπαταλάω
Category: Favoritism and Poverty
James 5:5; the self-indulgent lifestyle of the exploiting rich, contrasted with withheld laborers’ wages.
Elijah
Approved rendering: Élie
Transliteration: Ēlias
Doctrine: The Effective Prayer of the Righteous
Original: Ἠλίας
Category: Confession and Restoration
James 5:17-18; standard French Bible proper-name form.
Sinner
Approved rendering: pécheur
Transliteration: hamartōlos
Doctrine: Confession and Restoration
Original: ἁμαρτωλός
Category: Sin
James 4:8, 5:20 ἁμαρτωλός; reuses the péché word-family established in the baseline.
Dispersion
Approved rendering: dispersion
Transliteration: diaspora
Doctrine: Jewish-Christian Audience and Diaspora Context
Original: διασπορά
Category: Church
James 1:1 διασπορά; needs a brief explanatory gloss on Jewish diaspora history for low-literacy readers.
Referenced passages