Core Glossary
08 Core Glossary — 2 Corinthians (English → German)
This glossary lists every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, covering all thirteen chapters of 2 Corinthians. Terms already fixed in the baseline Romans/Galatians/Ephesians/Philippians/Colossians/Matthew/Mark/Luke/John Language Package are marked [BASELINE REUSE] and MUST use the exact recorded German rendering; their entries here restate that rendering for completeness and cite the new 2 Corinthians passages where they occur. Terms new to this curriculum are marked [NEW] and are proposed for addition to translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json at the recorded risk tier.
Glossary Table
| Term (EN) | German rendering | Status | Doctrine risk | Primary 2 Corinthians passages | Translation risk / notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| grace | Gnade | [BASELINE REUSE] | Critical | 1:2; 4:15; 6:1; 8:1,6,7,9; 9:8,14; 12:9; 13:13 | Must reuse exactly. New sub-sense in chs. 8-9 (generosity as grace-fruit) and in 12:9 (“my grace is sufficient”) — never substitute a secular “Großzügigkeit” for the theologically loaded giving-context occurrences. |
| faith | Glaube | [BASELINE REUSE] | Medium | 1:24; 4:13; 5:7; 13:5 | ”We walk by faith, not by sight” (5:7) and “examine whether you are in the faith” (13:5) both require the personal-trust sense, not generic religiosity. |
| righteousness | Gerechtigkeit | [BASELINE REUSE] | Critical | 3:9; 5:21; 6:7,14; 9:9-10; 11:15 | 5:21’s “become the righteousness of God” is a direct continuation of Romans 1:17’s Critical doctrine; forensic/credited sense must be preserved, never infused-process. |
| gospel | Evangelium | [BASELINE REUSE] | Low | 2:12; 4:3-4; 8:18; 9:13; 10:14; 11:4,7 | Stable; note 11:4’s “a different Jesus… a different gospel” echoes Galatians’ false_gospel doctrine (see below). |
| lord | Herr | [BASELINE REUSE] | Critical | throughout; esp. 4:5; 5:6,8,11; 10:17-18; 12:1,8; 13:14 | Herr/Mr. flattening risk persists in every occurrence, per baseline caution. |
| god | Gott | [BASELINE REUSE] | Critical | throughout | Stable. |
| holy spirit | Heiliger Geist | [BASELINE REUSE] | Critical | 1:22; 3:3,6,8,17-18; 5:5; 6:6; 13:13-14 | Distinguished from Trost/paraklēsis (comfort, a related but distinct noun); see “comfort” below. |
| father | Vater | [BASELINE REUSE] | Medium | 1:3; 6:18 | ”Father of mercies” (1:3); “Father of Lord Jesus Christ” (11:31). |
| jesus | Jesus | [BASELINE REUSE] | Low | throughout | Stable proper name form. |
| church | Gemeinde | [BASELINE REUSE] | High | 1:1; 8:1,18-19,23-24; 11:8,28; 12:13 | Preferred over “Kirche” for the local/corporate ekklesia sense throughout the letter’s greetings and collection material. |
| saints | Heilige | [BASELINE REUSE] | High | 1:1; 8:4; 9:1,12; 13:12 | Corporate designation for all believers in the collection-for-the-saints material (chs. 8-9); never a canonized-elite reading. |
| fellowship | Gemeinschaft | [BASELINE REUSE] | Medium | 6:14; 8:4; 9:13; 13:13-14 | 8:4’s “fellowship in the ministry to the saints” ties Christian fellowship directly to financial generosity. |
| sin | Sünde | [BASELINE REUSE] | High | 5:21 (x2) | 5:21’s double use (“did not know sin”/“made him sin”) is the passage’s doctrinal center; see “become sin for us” below. |
| flesh | Fleisch | [BASELINE REUSE] | Critical | 1:17; 4:11; 5:16; 7:1,5; 10:2-3; 11:18; 12:7 | Multiple distinct senses occur in this letter (ethical/sinful-nature, worldly-evaluative-standard in 5:16, and bodily-location in 12:7’s “thorn in the flesh”); each must be disambiguated on first occurrence per the baseline’s existing rule. |
| freedom | Freiheit | [BASELINE REUSE] | Critical | 3:17 | ”Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” — a new primary passage for this existing Critical-risk term; Spirit-given, covenant-fulfillment sense required. |
| new creation | neue Schöpfung | [BASELINE REUSE] | High | 5:17 | Must remain terminologically distinct from the related but different “der neue Mensch” (old_self_new_self) baseline term. |
| resurrection | Auferstehung | [BASELINE REUSE] | Medium | 4:14; 5:15 | Bound tightly to Christ’s death in both occurrences, matching Romans 4:25’s pattern. |
| grace-gift/spiritual gift terminology (charisma family) | Gnadengaben (where applicable) | [BASELINE REUSE] | Medium | (background register only; no direct χάρισμα occurrence in 2 Cor.) | Not directly used in 2 Corinthians’ Greek text; included for cross-document consistency awareness only. |
| exhort / entreat | ermahnen (baseline) / bitten, eindringlich bitten (context-preferred here) | [BASELINE REUSE — sense-check required] | Low | 5:20; 6:1 | Context in 5:20 favors the warmer “entreat/appeal” sense over the baseline’s admonish-leaning default; select per-context. |
| covenant | Bund | [BASELINE REUSE] | High | 3:6,14 | Base for the new compound “neuer Bund” (new covenant); see below. |
| glory | Herrlichkeit | [BASELINE REUSE] | Medium | 3:7-11,18; 4:4,6,17; 8:19,23 | Central to ch. 3’s Old/New Covenant contrast and ch. 4’s suffering/glory contrast. |
| power of God | Kraft (Gottes) | [BASELINE REUSE] | Medium | 4:7; 6:7; 12:9; 13:4 | 12:9’s “power is perfected in weakness” is the letter’s doctrinal climax for Power in Weakness. |
| paradise | (im) Paradies(e) | [BASELINE REUSE] | Critical | 12:4 | Cross-reference to Luke 23:43’s established rendering; guarded, non-speculative teaching required. |
| repentance | Buße | [BASELINE REUSE] | High | 7:9-10 | Must be distinguished from any narrow sacramental-rite reading, per the baseline’s Reformation-era confessional caution. |
| sowing and reaping | säen / ernten | [BASELINE REUSE] | Critical | 9:6 | New primary passage (financial generosity) for this existing Critical-risk term; God remains the implicit guarantor. |
| contentment / sufficiency | Genüge, Genügsamkeit | [BASELINE REUSE — related term] | Critical (per Philippians baseline) | 9:8 (αὐτάρκεια family) | Echoes the Philippians 4:11-13 contentment_through_christ doctrine; avoid a purely secular self-reliance reading. |
| not of works / good works (grace-vs-works logic) | nicht aus Werken / gute Werke (conceptual echo) | [BASELINE REUSE — conceptual, not verbatim occurrence] | Critical | 8:1-9:15 (thematic) | The giving material’s grace-first, fruit-not-ground logic directly parallels Ephesians 2:8-10; no direct verbal quotation in 2 Corinthians, but doctrinally essential cross-reference. |
| armor of God (military-metaphor family) | die Waffenrüstung Gottes (cross-reference only) | [BASELINE REUSE — related, not identical] | Critical (per Ephesians baseline) | 10:4 (ὅπλα, ὀχυρώματα — distinct vocabulary) | Related spiritual-warfare imagery; distinct Greek vocabulary from the Ephesians armor passage — treat as related, not identical. |
| marks of Jesus (suffering-scar apostolic-proof family) | die Malzeichen Jesu (cross-reference only) | [BASELINE REUSE — related, not identical] | Low (per Galatians baseline) | 11:23-33; 12:12 (σημεῖα — distinct vocabulary) | Thematically overlapping apostolic-authentication material; distinct Greek term (σημεῖα vs. στίγματα) — do not conflate renderings. |
| reconciliation | Versöhnung | [NEW] | Critical | 5:18-20 | God, always the acting subject, unilaterally reconciles estranged humanity to himself in Christ. German “Versöhnung” carries a strong secular-political resonance (German-French/German-Israeli postwar reconciliation) implying a mutual, symmetrical process between equals — the opposite theological shape of this vertical, God-initiated, unilateral act. Every occurrence needs context making the asymmetry unmistakable. Mandatory theologian review. |
| ministry of reconciliation | Dienst der Versöhnung | [NEW] | High | 5:18-19 | The apostolic ministry proclaims, but does not itself accomplish, a reconciliation God alone has achieved; must not be read as ministerial/priestly mediation performing the reconciling act. |
| be reconciled (passive imperative) | Lasst euch versöhnen (mit Gott) | [NEW] | Critical | 5:20 | The Greek imperative is grammatically passive — humanity receives, not generates, reconciliation. Must not render as an active-sounding self-directed command. Single most consequential grammatical choice in the core passage. |
| become sin for us | zur Sünde gemacht | [NEW] | Critical | 5:21 | Penal/representative substitution stated in its starkest form. Must avoid implying Christ became morally/ontologically sinful; parallel to Galatians 3:13’s “Fluch des Gesetzes.” Mandatory theologian review for every occurrence. |
| ambassadors for Christ | Gesandte / Botschafter Christi | [NEW] | High | 5:20 | Diplomatic, sovereign-delegated authority; must not flatten to a modern professional-diplomat register without the “speaking Christ’s own appeal” sense made explicit. |
| fear of the Lord | die Furcht des Herrn | [NEW] | High | 5:11 | Reverential awe, not terror or mere politeness; compounds the existing Herr flattening risk. |
| judgment seat of Christ | der Richterstuhl Christi | [NEW] | High | 5:10 | Believers’ accountability/reward review, not a salvation-determining condemnation; keep distinct from final judgment (Weltgericht) of unbelievers. |
| new covenant | neuer Bund | [NEW] | Critical | 3:6,14 (cf. Matthew 26:28 baseline “Blut des Bundes”) | Never a blanket dismissal of God’s Old Covenant relationship with Israel; supersessionist misreading is an acute, German-specific antisemitism-adjacent risk. Mandatory theologian review with anti-supersessionist framing. |
| letter and Spirit | Buchstabe und Geist | [NEW] | Critical | 3:6 | Must never be taught as “Judaism = dead legalistic religion” caricature; structurally parallel to the Romans/Matthew antisemitism-adjacent cautions. Mandatory theologian-authored anti-misuse framing. |
| veil (of Moses) | Schleier / Decke (des Mose) | [NEW] | High | 3:13-16 | Requires the same historical-sensitivity framing as the Romans 9-11 and Matthew 23 material; never taught as inherent Jewish spiritual inferiority. |
| transformed into his image | verwandelt (werden) | [NEW] | High | 3:18 | Must use “verwandelt,” never “verklärt” (reserved for Christ’s unique Transfiguration, Matthew 17:2), despite the shared Greek root. |
| boldness/openness | Freimut, Offenheit | [NEW] | Medium | 3:12 | Contrasted with Moses’ veiled communication; low ambiguity beyond that context. |
| god of this age | der Gott dieser Welt | [NEW] | High | 4:4 | A derived, usurped, already-defeated title for Satan, not a claim of ontological parity with God; dualism-misreading risk if untaught. |
| treasure in jars of clay | Schatz in irdenen Gefäßen | [NEW] | Medium | 4:7 | Key image for Power in Weakness doctrine; teach alongside 12:9. |
| light and momentary affliction / eternal weight of glory | leichte Bedrängnis / ewiges Gewicht der Herrlichkeit | [NEW] | Medium | 4:17 | Preserve Paul’s light/weight wordplay; do not trivialize the genuinely severe suffering described earlier in the letter. |
| tent / earthly dwelling | irdisches Zelt, Hütte | [NEW] | Medium | 5:1,4 | Affirms, does not denigrate, embodied existence; avoid a Gnostic body-is-a-prison misreading. |
| groan | seufzen | [NEW] | Low | 5:2,4 | Matches the established Romans 8:23 rendering tradition. |
| comfort/consolation | Trost | [NEW] | Medium | 1:3-7; 7:4,6-7,13 | Keep lexically distinct from “der Tröster” (baseline Paraclete/Holy Spirit title, John 14) despite the shared Greek root. |
| affliction/suffering | Bedrängnis, Leiden | [NEW] | Medium | 1:4,8; 2:4; 4:17; 6:4; 7:4; 8:2 | Do not soften to mere “Schwierigkeiten”; Paul’s own near-death experience (ch. 1) sets the weight of the term. |
| sincerity | Lauterkeit, Aufrichtigkeit | [NEW] | High | 1:12; 2:17; 8:8; 11:3 | Positive moral-wholeness sense (undivided motive), central to the Sincerity and Apostolic Authority doctrine; not mere modern “Ehrlichkeit.” |
| triumphal procession | Triumphzug | [NEW] | Medium-High | 2:14 | Ancient Roman-triumph background must be made explicit; the image combines exaltation and captivity — not simple triumphalism. |
| aroma/fragrance of Christ | Wohlgeruch Christi, Duft der Erkenntnis Christi | [NEW] | Medium | 2:14-16 | Double-edged (life-to-some, death-to-others) effect must remain explicit, not softened to a generic positive impression. |
| unequally yoked | ungleiches Joch | [NEW] | Medium | 6:14 | Keep anchored to Paul’s idolatry/pagan-alliance argument (6:16), not only the popular narrower modern application. |
| temple of the living God | Tempel des lebendigen Gottes | [NEW] | High | 6:16 | Corporate community, not a building; distinguish from institutional Kirche associations. |
| godly sorrow / worldly sorrow | Traurigkeit nach Gottes Willen / Traurigkeit der Welt | [NEW] | High | 7:9-10 | Teach alongside baseline Buße (repentance); distinguishes transformative repentance from mere regret. |
| grace of giving (charis applied to generosity) | Gnade (der Freigebigkeit) — see “grace” [BASELINE REUSE] above | [NEW sub-sense of BASELINE term] | Critical | 8:1,6,7,9; 9:8,14 | See “grace” entry; must not be replaced with a secular Großzügigkeit for these occurrences. |
| equality (in giving) | Gleichheit (im Geben) | [NEW] | Medium | 8:13-14 | Strong German political/economic resonance (constitutional and socialist-era Gleichheit discourse); clarify as voluntary, need-responsive generosity, not a mandated economic system. |
| cheerful giver | der fröhliche Geber | [NEW] | Low | 9:7 | Widely known, low-risk German devotional phrase. |
| false apostles | falsche Apostel | [NEW] | High | 11:13 | Related to baseline false_brothers/false_gospel formation; central to Genuine vs. False Apostleship doctrine. |
| super-apostles | Überapostel | [NEW] | Medium | 11:5; 12:11 | Preserve Paul’s sarcastic register; not a neutral descriptive title. |
| Satan as angel of light | Engel des Lichts | [NEW] | Medium-High | 11:14 | About Satan’s masquerade specifically, not ambiguity about angelic nature generally. |
| fool’s speech / boasting | Torenrede, sich rühmen | [NEW] | Medium | 11:1,16-21,30; 12:1,5-6,9,11 | Calculated rhetorical strategy exposing false-apostle credentialism, not literal foolishness. |
| thorn/stake in the flesh | Pfahl im Fleisch | [NEW] | Critical | 12:7 | Established German Bible idiom (Lutherbibel); denotes a bodily/physical affliction-location distinct from the ethical “Fleisch” doctrine. |
| my grace is sufficient / power perfected in weakness | Meine Gnade ist dir genug / meine Kraft vollendet sich in der Schwachheit | [NEW] | Critical | 12:9 | Doctrinal center of Power in Weakness; must not be decontextualized from Paul’s actual unhealed affliction, per the Philippians 4:13 decontextualization caution. |
| boast in weaknesses | sich der Schwachheiten rühmen | [NEW] | High | 11:30; 12:9 | Deliberate theological paradox, not resignation; cross-teach with the rejected self-boasting of 5:12 and 10:12-18. |
| signs of a true apostle | Zeichen eines Apostels | [NEW] | Medium-High | 12:12 | Distinguish from the related but distinct Galatians “Malzeichen Jesu” (suffering-scars) term. |
| examine yourselves | prüft euch selbst | [NEW] | High | 13:5 | Confident self-assessment grounded in “Christus in euch,” not morbid introspection — a real pastoral risk given German Pietist introspective traditions. |
| holy kiss | heiliger Kuss | [NEW] | Low | 13:12 | Gloss as first-century cultural greeting custom, not a prescribed ongoing liturgical rite. |
| Trinitarian benediction | Die Gnade des Herrn Jesus Christus und die Liebe Gottes und die Gemeinschaft des Heiligen Geistes | [NEW] | Critical | 13:13-14 | Must match established German liturgical-benediction wording verbatim, per the same discipline as the Lord’s Prayer; live ongoing liturgical use makes any deviation immediately noticeable. |
| letters of recommendation | Empfehlungsschreiben | [NEW] | Low | 3:1 (cf. 2:17; 5:12) | Background/context term; sets up the “living letter” irony of 3:2-3. |
| sufficient/competent | ausreichend, tüchtig | [NEW] | Low | 2:16; 3:5-6 | Standard vocabulary; ties to the New Covenant ministers’ God-given (not self-generated) adequacy. |
| workers together with God | Mitarbeiter Gottes | [NEW] | Medium | 6:1 | Ministry-partnership, not a Werkgerechtigkeit contribution to salvation’s ground. |
| weapons of warfare / strongholds | Waffen … Festungen | [NEW] | Medium-High | 10:4 | Note but move past the coincidental modern German “Festung” wartime association; focus on divinely empowered argument, not literal or nationalist warfare. |
| did not know sin (Christ’s sinlessness) | der von keiner Sünde wusste | [NEW] | High | 5:21 | Absolute, total-sinlessness sense required; necessary precondition for valid substitution. |
| world (reconciliation’s scope) | die Welt | [NEW sub-sense, cf. John 3:16 baseline] | Medium | 5:19 | Cross-reference consistency with the established John 3:16 “die Welt” rendering. |
| reckoning/not counting (trespasses) | nicht anrechnen | [NEW — directly tied to BASELINE imputed_righteousness] | Critical | 5:19 | Same verb family (λογίζομαι) as Romans 4:3’s “zugerechnete Gerechtigkeit”; use “anrechnen,” not a flattening “vergeben,” to preserve the forensic-ledger link across documents. Mandatory theologian review. |
| trespasses | Verfehlungen, Übertretungen | [NEW] | Low-Medium | 5:19 | Near-synonym of Sünde; low risk beyond keeping the textual variation visible where relevant. |
| Yes and No / Amen | Ja und Nein / Amen | [NEW — Amen per existing transliteration standard] | Low-Medium | 1:17-20 | ”Amen” transliterated per established cross-document convention. |
| Father of mercies / God of all comfort | Vater der Barmherzigkeit und Gott allen Trostes | [NEW] | Medium | 1:3 | Keep “Barmherzigkeit” (compassion, οἰκτιρμός) distinct from Gnade (charis) — related but not identical Greek terms. |
| conscience | Gewissen | [NEW] | Low | 1:12; 4:2; 5:11 | Stable, uncontested German rendering. |
| in Christ | in Christus | [NEW — governing category, cf. baseline union-with-Christ themes] | Medium | 5:17,19; throughout | Standard and stable; risk is under-teaching its incorporative density rather than mistranslation. |
| one died for all / therefore all died | einer ist für alle gestorben / so sind alle gestorben | [NEW] | Critical / High | 5:14-15 | Substitutionary (ὑπέρ) force must be preserved in the first phrase; representative/union sense of the second phrase needs surrounding context against universalist or literal-biography misreadings. |
| beside ourselves / sober-minded | außer uns / besonnen | [NEW] | Medium / Low | 5:13 | Rhetorical, defensive framing against opponents’ accusation; avoid clinical-psychiatric register for the former. |
| commend (self-recommendation) | (sich) empfehlen | [NEW] | Medium | 3:1; 5:12; 10:12,18 | Rejected mode of establishing authority; ties to Sincerity and Apostolic Authority doctrine. |
| boasting (object/ground of) | Rühmen, Ruhm | [NEW] | Medium | 5:12; 7:4,14; 8:24; 9:2-4; 10:8,13,15-17; 11:10,12,16-18,30; 12:1,5-6,9,11 | Qualify against merit-based achievement-pride; legitimate boasting is always “in the Lord.” |
| face / heart | im Äußeren / im Herzen | [NEW] | Low | 5:12 | Standard German antithesis; low risk. |
| love of Christ (constraining) | die Liebe Christi (drängt uns) | [NEW] | Medium | 5:14 | Primary sense is Christ’s love for believers (subjective genitive), driving apostolic motivation. |
| compels/controls | drängt, treibt | [NEW] | Medium | 5:14 | Willing, love-driven sense; avoid a coercive-compulsion nuance. |
| live for oneself / for him | nicht mehr sich selbst leben, sondern ihm | [NEW] | Medium | 5:15 | Clear antithesis; low ambiguity. |
| according to the flesh (evaluative sense) | nach dem Fleisch (weltlicher Maßstab) | [NEW sub-sense of BASELINE Fleisch] | Critical | 5:16 | Distinct epistemological sense from the Galatians ethical/sinful-nature sense; must be disambiguated on first occurrence per the existing baseline rule. |
| the old has passed away / become new | das Alte ist vergangen / es ist Neues geworden | [NEW] | Medium | 5:17 | Decisive-completed-event sense (aorist/perfect), not gradual fading or gradual improvement. |
Risk Summary for This Curriculum’s New Terms
| Risk tier | Count of NEW terms | Review routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 11 | Human theologian (mandatory) |
| High | 15 | Human theologian (mandatory) |
| Medium | 22 | Native speaker review (theologian review where noted above) |
| Low | 9 | Automated/native speaker review |
Notes on integration with the existing pipeline:
- All [BASELINE REUSE] entries above must be enforced exactly as recorded in
translation_memory.json; no alternative renderings are permitted regardless of 2 Corinthians’ distinct context, except where a different sense of an existing term is explicitly flagged (e.g., “flesh” in 5:16 and 12:7; “grace” in chs. 8-9). - All [NEW] entries are proposed for addition to
translation_memory.json(with version increment) andbible_term_registry.jsonbefore Phase 2 segment translation begins, per the AI Translation Requirements’ term-discovery protocol. - Three terms in this glossary — new covenant, letter and Spirit, and veil (of Moses) — require mandatory theologian-authored anti-supersessionist / anti-antisemitism framing, joining the existing register of comparably sensitive terms (his_blood_be_on_us, woes_against_pharisees, gentiles/Juden-Heiden pairings) already documented in the baseline
doctrine_risk_registry.json. - Three terms — reconciliation, become sin for us, and be reconciled (passive imperative) — form the doctrinal spine of the core passage and require the highest level of translator and reviewer attention in this entire curriculum.
Critical Risk Terms
According To The Flesh Evaluative
Approved rendering: nach dem Fleisch (weltlicher Maßstab)
Transliteration: nach dem Fleisch
Doctrine: Substitutionary Atonement
Original: κατὰ σάρκα
Category: Flesh and Spirit
NEW sub-sense of baseline ‘Fleisch’. 5:16 (κατὰ σάρκα): evaluating people by worldly, external standards rather than their new identity in Christ — an epistemological sense distinct from Galatians’ ethical/sinful-nature sense. Must be disambiguated on first occurrence per the existing baseline rule.
Armor Of God Cross Reference
Approved rendering: die Waffenrüstung Gottes (cross-reference only)
Transliteration: die Waffenrüstung Gottes
Doctrine: Satan’s Deception and Spiritual Discernment
Original: πανοπλία τοῦ θεοῦ (cf. ὅπλα, ὀχυρώματα)
Category: Spiritual Warfare
Inherited from Ephesians package (6:10-20). Related but lexically distinct military-metaphor cluster from this letter’s ‘weapons_and_strongholds’ (10:4, ὅπλα/ὀχυρώματα vs. πανοπλία). Do not substitute one for the other.
Be Reconciled
Approved rendering: Lasst euch versöhnen (mit Gott)
Transliteration: Lasst euch versöhnen
Doctrine: Reconciliation with God
Rejected alternatives: Versöhnt euch mit Gott (active-sounding; misleadingly implies self-generated reconciliation)
Original: καταλλάγητε
Category: Salvation
NEW. 5:20 (καταλλάγητε), a passive-voice imperative: humanity receives, not performs, an already-accomplished reconciliation. This is the passage’s single most consequential grammatical-theological choice. Both LUT17 and EÜ16 already converge on this passive-permissive rendering, so this is not a novel theological argument but the long-standing cross-confessional German phrasing. Mandatory theologian review, every occurrence.
Become Sin For Us
Approved rendering: zur Sünde gemacht
Transliteration: zur Sünde gemacht
Doctrine: Substitutionary Atonement
Rejected alternatives: er wurde sündig (heresy risk — implies moral/ontological corruption), er trug unsere Sünde (over-softened; loses the shocking forensic ‘gemacht’ force), hat Gott unsere Schuld auf Christus gelegt (HFA paraphrase; substitutes Schuld for Sünde, losing the stark identity-language)
Original: ἁμαρτίαν ἐποίησεν
Category: Salvation
NEW. 5:21 (ἁμαρτίαν ἐποίησεν). Among the highest-risk single phrases in this curriculum. Follows established German Bible tradition (LUT17/EÜ16). Must always be taught paired with ‘der von keiner Sünde wusste’ (see did_not_know_sin) and cross-taught with Galatians 3:13’s ‘Fluch des Gesetzes’ as parallel penal-substitution language. Mandatory theologian review, every occurrence.
Contentment Sufficiency
Approved rendering: Genüge, Genügsamkeit
Transliteration: Genüge, Genügsamkeit
Doctrine: Generosity and Grace in Giving
Original: αὐτάρκεια
Category: Christian Life
Related to the Philippians baseline term ‘contentment_through_christ’ (4:11-13, same Greek root αὐτάρκεια). Occurs at 9:8. German ‘Genügsamkeit’ leans toward inward personal frugality; must be paired with explicit ‘und für jedes gute Werk’ context so the outward-directed, generosity-enabling sense is not lost.
False Gospel
Approved rendering: ein anderes Evangelium
Transliteration: ein anderes Evangelium
Doctrine: Genuine versus False Apostleship
Inherited from Galatians package (1:6-9). Directly echoed at 2 Corinthians 11:4 (‘ein anderer Jesus… ein anderes Evangelium’). Must read as absolute doctrinal-corruption denial, never as one option among several in Germany’s pluralistic religious landscape.
Flesh
Approved rendering: Fleisch
Transliteration: Fleisch
Doctrine: Substitutionary Atonement
Original: σάρξ
Category: Flesh and Spirit
Inherited from Romans/Galatians package. This letter uses three distinct senses requiring first-occurrence disambiguation each time: ethical/sinful-nature (1:17; 7:1,5; 10:2-3; 11:18), worldly-evaluative-standard (5:16, see according_to_the_flesh_evaluative below), and bodily-location (12:7, see thorn_in_the_flesh below). Never assume German readers will default to the correct sense without explicit signposting.
Freedom
Approved rendering: Freiheit
Transliteration: Freiheit
Doctrine: The Veil of Moses and Transformation into Glory
Original: ἐλευθερία
Category: Law and Grace
Inherited from Galatians package. 3:17 (‘Wo aber der Geist des Herrn ist, da ist Freiheit’) is a new primary passage for this existing Critical-risk term. Every occurrence needs enough context that the Spirit-given, covenant-fulfillment sense is unmistakable and not silently assimilated to secular/political Freiheit discourse (Luther’s own ‘Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen’ plus post-1989 liberty associations).
God
Approved rendering: Gott
Transliteration: Gott
Doctrine: Reconciliation with God
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. 5:19’s ‘Gott war in Christus, und er versöhnte die Welt mit sich’ must preserve the unity of divine action — God and Christ are not two independent agents, one placated and one placating — consistent with the baseline’s Colossians/Philippians deity_of_christ discipline.
Grace Sufficient Power Perfected In Weakness
Approved rendering: Meine Gnade ist dir genug, denn meine Kraft vollendet sich in der Schwachheit
Transliteration: Meine Gnade ist dir genug, denn meine Kraft vollendet sich in der Schwachheit
Doctrine: Power in Weakness
Original: ἀρκεῖ σοι ἡ χάρις μου … ἡ γὰρ δύναμις ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελεῖται
Category: Power in Weakness
NEW. 12:9. Doctrinal center of the entire Power-in-Weakness doctrine, among the most quoted verses in German devotional literature. ‘Genug’ must convey triumphant, settled sufficiency, not a bare-minimum reading. Must never be presented apart from Paul’s actual unhealed thorn (12:7-8), parallel to the Philippians 4:13 decontextualization caution. Mandatory theologian review.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Heiliger Geist
Transliteration: Heiliger Geist
Doctrine: Letter and Spirit
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον / τὸ πνεῦμα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at 1:22; 3:3,6,8,17-18; 5:5; 6:6; 13:13-14. Must be kept lexically distinct from the noun ‘Trost’ (comfort, paraklēsis) despite a shared Greek root with ‘der Tröster’ (the baseline’s John 14 Paraclete title).
Letter And Spirit
Approved rendering: Buchstabe und Geist
Transliteration: Buchstabe und Geist
Doctrine: Letter and Spirit
Original: γράμμα / πνεῦμα
Category: Law and Grace
NEW. 3:6, ‘der Buchstabe tötet, aber der Geist macht lebendig.’ Has a documented history of being taught as ‘Judaism = dead letter-religion, Christianity = living Spirit-religion,’ a caricature that has fed German Christian antisemitism, structurally identical to the Romans Gesetz/Evangelium caution and the Matthew 23/27:25 cautions. Mandatory theologian-authored anti-misuse framing required for every occurrence — accurate translation alone is not sufficient.
Lord
Approved rendering: Herr
Transliteration: Herr
Doctrine: The Fear of the Lord and the Judgment Seat of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Meister, Chef
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. The everyday-‘Mr.’-title flattening risk persists at every occurrence (4:5; 5:6,8,11; 10:17-18; 12:1,8; 13:14) and compounds specifically with 5:11’s ‘Furcht des Herrn’ and the Ambassadorial Ministry doctrine of 5:20.
New Covenant
Approved rendering: neuer Bund
Transliteration: neuer Bund
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: καινὴ διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
NEW. 3:6,14. Must never imply God’s covenant with Israel was worthless or that the Jewish people are simply superseded and discarded — an acute, German-specific antisemitism-adjacent risk. The contrast concerns a covenant’s mediating power (killing letter vs. life-giving Spirit), not Israel’s ongoing covenant standing (Romans 9-11). Mandatory theologian review with explicit anti-supersessionist framing, every occurrence.
One Died For All
Approved rendering: einer ist für alle gestorben
Transliteration: einer ist für alle gestorben
Doctrine: Substitutionary Atonement
Original: εἷς ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀπέθανεν
Category: Salvation
NEW. 5:14 (εἷς ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀπέθανεν). German ‘für’ must retain the substitutionary (‘an Stelle von,’ ‘zugunsten von’) force of ὑπέρ, not a vague causal or merely exemplary-death reading. Ties directly to Romans 3:25’s atonement doctrine.
Paradise
Approved rendering: (im) Paradies(e)
Transliteration: Paradies
Doctrine: Genuine versus False Apostleship
Original: παράδεισος
Category: Eschatology
Cross-references the Luke 23:43 baseline rendering (‘im Paradiese’). Occurs at 12:4 within Paul’s guarded account of his visions and revelations. Avoid speculative cosmological elaboration in teaching material, matching Paul’s own restraint; do not imply identical content or context with the Luke 23:43 occurrence.
Reckoning Not Counting Trespasses
Approved rendering: nicht anrechnen
Transliteration: nicht anrechnen
Doctrine: Reconciliation with God
Rejected alternatives: vergeben (flattens the specific forensic-ledger metaphor and severs the terminological link to zugerechnete Gerechtigkeit)
Original: μὴ λογιζόμενος … τὰ παραπτώματα
Category: Salvation
NEW. 5:19 (μὴ λογιζόμενος … τὰ παραπτώματα). Same verb family (λογίζομαι) as Romans 4:3’s Critical baseline term ‘zugerechnete Gerechtigkeit’ (ἐλογίσθη). German must use ‘nicht anrechnen’ so the cross-document forensic-accounting link remains visible. Mandatory theologian review.
Reconciliation
Approved rendering: Versöhnung
Transliteration: Versöhnung
Doctrine: Reconciliation with God
Original: καταλλαγή / καταλλάσσω
Category: Salvation
NEW. German ‘Versöhnung’ carries strong secular-political resonance (deutsch-französische/deutsch-israelische Versöhnung, Vergangenheitsbewältigung) implying a mutual, symmetrical process between roughly equal parties. Paul’s usage (5:18-20) is unilateral and asymmetrical: God alone acts, God alone absorbs the cost. Every occurrence needs surrounding context making this vertical, God-initiated sense unmistakable. Mandatory theologian review, every occurrence.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: Auferstehung
Transliteration: Auferstehung
Doctrine: Resurrection Hope and Eternal Perspective
Original: ἀνάστασις / ἐγερθέντι
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at 4:14 and 5:15 (ἐγερθέντι), both times bound tightly to Christ’s death as a single saving event, matching Romans 4:25’s pattern.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: Gerechtigkeit
Transliteration: Gerechtigkeit
Doctrine: Substitutionary Atonement
Rejected alternatives: Tugend
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. 5:21’s ‘become the righteousness of God’ is arguably the New Testament’s clearest verbal parallel to Romans 1:17 outside Romans itself and must be taught with equal rigor: forensic, exchanged, positional (‘in ihm’) sense, never an infused, gradually-acquired-through-cooperation reading. Also occurs at 3:9; 6:7,14; 9:9-10; 11:15.
Sowing And Reaping
Approved rendering: säen / ernten
Transliteration: säen / ernten
Doctrine: Generosity and Grace in Giving
Original: σπείρειν / θερίζειν
Category: Christian Life
Inherited from Galatians package (6:7-8). 9:6 is a new primary passage (financial generosity) for this existing Critical-risk term. Keep Gott as the implicit guarantor of the harvest principle and avoid a bare prosperity-gospel ‘give more, get more’ misreading disconnected from the grace-theology of chapter 8.
Thorn In The Flesh
Approved rendering: Pfahl im Fleisch
Transliteration: Pfahl im Fleisch
Doctrine: Power in Weakness
Rejected alternatives: Dorn im Fleisch (more literal, but severs the phrase from established Lutherbibel idiom and German Bible-reading memory)
Original: σκόλοψ τῇ σαρκί
Category: Suffering
NEW. 12:7 (σκόλοψ τῇ σαρκί). Follows established German Bible tradition (Lutherbibel). Must be taught alongside the different ethical/sinful-nature sense of baseline ‘Fleisch’ so readers understand this denotes a bodily/physical affliction-location, not the moral-flesh doctrine.
Trinitarian Benediction
Approved rendering: Die Gnade des Herrn Jesus Christus und die Liebe Gottes und die Gemeinschaft des Heiligen Geistes
Transliteration: Die Gnade des Herrn Jesus Christus und die Liebe Gottes und die Gemeinschaft des Heiligen Geistes
Doctrine: Trinitarian Fellowship and Benediction
Original: ἡ χάρις τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἡ κοινωνία τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος
Category: God
NEW. 13:13-14. One of the New Testament’s clearest implicit Trinitarian formulas, in live liturgical use across German Protestant and Catholic worship. Must match established German benediction wording verbatim (‘…sei mit euch allen’), on the same footing as the Lord’s Prayer discipline. Never adjust in any direction that could be mistaken for accommodating a subordinationist (e.g., Watchtower/NWT) reading of the Spirit’s personhood. Mandatory theologian review.
High Risk Terms
Ambassadors For Christ
Approved rendering: Gesandte / Botschafter Christi
Transliteration: Gesandte / Botschafter Christi
Doctrine: Ambassadorial Ministry
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘Botschafter’ without the ‘Christi’ qualifier (risks a flattened modern-diplomat or New-Age self-help association)
Original: πρεσβεύομεν
Category: Apostleship
NEW. 5:20 (πρεσβεύομεν). Must never appear as a bare ‘Botschafter’ — the ‘Christi’ qualifier is mandatory in every occurrence. Requires the sovereign-delegated-authority sense (speaking Christ’s own appeal, not merely conveying information) made explicit; ties to Sincerity and Apostolic Authority and the false-apostles polemic of chapters 10-12.
Boast In Weaknesses
Approved rendering: sich der Schwachheiten rühmen
Transliteration: sich der Schwachheiten rühmen
Doctrine: Power in Weakness
Original: καυχήσομαι ἐν ταῖς ἀσθενείαις
Category: Apostleship
NEW. 11:30; 12:9 (καυχήσομαι ἐν ταῖς ἀσθενείαις). Deliberate theological paradox, not resignation or false modesty; cross-teach with 5:12’s rejected self-boasting.
Covenant
Approved rendering: Bund
Transliteration: Bund
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Base component of the new compound ‘neuer Bund’ (3:6,14); see new_covenant below for the full doctrinal and historical-sensitivity treatment required.
Did Not Know Sin
Approved rendering: der von keiner Sünde wusste
Transliteration: der von keiner Sünde wusste
Doctrine: Christ’s Sinlessness
Original: τὸν μὴ γνόντα ἁμαρτίαν
Category: Christology
NEW. 5:21 (τὸν μὴ γνόντα ἁμαρτίαν). Must retain an absolute, total-sinlessness sense; German colloquial trivialization of ‘Sünde’ risks softening this to merely comparative righteousness rather than categorical sinlessness, the necessary precondition for the verse’s substitution logic.
Examine Yourselves
Approved rendering: prüft euch selbst
Transliteration: prüft euch selbst
Doctrine: Self-Examination and Assurance of Faith
Original: ἑαυτοὺς πειράζετε … δοκιμάζετε
Category: Christian Life
NEW. 13:5 (ἑαυτοὺς πειράζετε … δοκιμάζετε). Must be taught as confident self-assessment grounded in ‘Christus in euch,’ not morbid, anxious introspection — a real pastoral risk given German Pietist introspective devotional traditions (cf. the historical ‘Bußkampf’ tradition).
False Apostles
Approved rendering: falsche Apostel
Transliteration: falsche Apostel
Doctrine: Genuine versus False Apostleship
Original: ψευδαπόστολοι
Category: Apostleship
NEW. 11:13 (ψευδαπόστολοι). Related in formation to the baseline’s ‘falsche Brüder’ (Galatians 2:4) and ‘ein anderes Evangelium’ (Galatians 1:6-9). Must be taught with Paul’s own stated criterion — deceptive appearance — not a doctrinal-content dispute alone.
Fear Of The Lord
Approved rendering: die Furcht des Herrn
Transliteration: die Furcht des Herrn
Doctrine: The Fear of the Lord and the Judgment Seat of Christ
Original: φόβος τοῦ κυρίου
Category: Christian Life
NEW. 5:11 (φόβος τοῦ κυρίου). Risks collapsing into either clinical dread or a domesticated ‘Respekt,’ compounded by ‘Herr’ doubling as the everyday ‘Mr.’ title with no protective alternative honorific. Must retain reverential-awe register grounding ministry integrity.
Glory
Approved rendering: Herrlichkeit
Transliteration: Herrlichkeit
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Central to chapter 3’s Old/New Covenant contrast (3:7-11,18) and chapter 4’s suffering/glory contrast (4:4,6,17); also occurs at 8:19,23.
God Of This Age
Approved rendering: der Gott dieser Welt
Transliteration: der Gott dieser Welt
Doctrine: Satan’s Deception and Spiritual Discernment
Original: ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW. 4:4 (ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου). A derived, usurped, already-defeated title for Satan, not a claim of ontological parity with the baseline Critical term ‘Gott.’ Risks a dualism misreading if untaught.
Godly Sorrow Worldly Sorrow
Approved rendering: Traurigkeit nach Gottes Willen / Traurigkeit der Welt
Transliteration: Traurigkeit nach Gottes Willen / Traurigkeit der Welt
Doctrine: Godly Sorrow and Repentance
Original: λύπη κατὰ θεόν / λύπη τοῦ κόσμου
Category: Christian Life
NEW. 7:9-10 (λύπη κατὰ θεόν / λύπη τοῦ κόσμου). Teach alongside baseline ‘Buße’ and its Reformation-era confessional-sacramental sensitivity; distinguishes transformative repentance from mere regret.
Grace
Approved rendering: Gnade
Transliteration: Gnade
Doctrine: Generosity and Grace in Giving
Rejected alternatives: Barmherzigkeit, Wohlwollen, Großzügigkeit (for the ch. 8-9 giving occurrences)
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. NEW sub-sense in this book: chapters 8-9 repeatedly call generosity itself ‘diese Gnade’ (8:1,6,7,9; 9:8,14), and 12:9 (‘meine Gnade ist dir genug’) is the letter’s Power-in-Weakness climax. Never secularize to ‘Großzügigkeit’ for the giving-context occurrences, or the grace-first, fruit-not-ground logic collapses into merit. Also occurs in the Trinitarian benediction, 13:13-14.
Judgment Seat Of Christ
Approved rendering: der Richterstuhl Christi
Transliteration: der Richterstuhl Christi
Doctrine: The Fear of the Lord and the Judgment Seat of Christ
Original: βῆμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ
Category: Eschatology
NEW. 5:10 (βῆμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ). Risks conflation with the general German ‘Weltgericht’ (final judgment) concept unless explicitly distinguished as believers’ accountability/reward review — salvation already secured by grace, not a salvation-determining condemnation.
Ministry Of Reconciliation
Approved rendering: Dienst der Versöhnung
Transliteration: Dienst der Versöhnung
Doctrine: Reconciliation with God
Original: διακονία τῆς καταλλαγῆς / λόγος τῆς καταλλαγῆς
Category: Salvation
NEW. 5:18-19. The apostolic ministry proclaims, but does not itself accomplish, a reconciliation God alone has achieved. Must not be misread as ministers effecting reconciliation via ecclesiastical mediation — a real risk given some sacramental traditions’ understanding of priestly mediation.
New Creation
Approved rendering: neue Schöpfung
Transliteration: neue Schöpfung
Doctrine: New Creation in Christ
Rejected alternatives: der neue Mensch (distinct baseline term for ongoing ethical transformation)
Original: καινὴ κτίσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Galatians package (6:15), identical rendering reused at 2 Corinthians 5:17 — this book’s own signature doctrinal phrase. Must remain terminologically distinct from ‘der neue Mensch’ (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:5-11): 5:17 names a decisive, declarative, once-for-all new order of existence, not a gradual ethical process.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: Kraft Gottes
Transliteration: Kraft Gottes
Doctrine: Power in Weakness
Original: δύναμις (θεοῦ)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. 12:9’s ‘meine Kraft vollendet sich in der Schwachheit’ is the letter’s doctrinal climax for Power in Weakness; also occurs at 4:7; 6:7; 13:4.
Repentance
Approved rendering: Buße
Transliteration: Buße
Doctrine: Godly Sorrow and Repentance
Original: μετάνοια
Category: Christian Life
Inherited from Matthew package. 7:9-10’s godly-sorrow-versus-worldly-sorrow distinction is precisely the inward-transformation sense central to the historic Reformation-era sacramental-rite-versus-internal-change dispute already flagged in the baseline.
Saints
Approved rendering: Heilige
Transliteration: die Heiligen
Doctrine: Generosity and Grace in Giving
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Corporate designation, never a canonized-elite reading, central to the Jerusalem-collection material (1:1; 8:4; 9:1,12; 13:12).
Satan As Angel Of Light
Approved rendering: Engel des Lichts
Transliteration: Engel des Lichts
Doctrine: Satan’s Deception and Spiritual Discernment
Original: ὁ Σατανᾶς μετασχηματίζεται εἰς ἄγγελον φωτός
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW. 11:14. About Satan’s specific masquerade, not ambiguity about angelic nature generally.
Sealed With The Spirit
Approved rendering: versiegelt
Transliteration: versiegelt
Doctrine: Suffering and Comfort in Ministry
Inherited from Ephesians package (1:13-14). Reapplied at 2 Corinthians 1:22 to assure the Corinthians of God’s faithfulness amid affliction; ownership/authentication metaphor, not merely ‘protected.‘
Signs Of A True Apostle
Approved rendering: Zeichen eines Apostels
Transliteration: Zeichen eines Apostels
Doctrine: Genuine versus False Apostleship
Original: σημεῖα τοῦ ἀποστόλου
Category: Apostleship
NEW. 12:12 (σημεῖα τοῦ ἀποστόλου). Must not be conflated with the related but distinct Galatians ‘Malzeichen Jesu’ (6:17, suffering-scars, στίγματα) — both concern apostolic authentication via different evidentiary categories.
Sin
Approved rendering: Sünde
Transliteration: Sünde
Doctrine: Christ’s Sinlessness
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. 5:21’s double occurrence (‘der von keiner Sünde wusste’ / ‘für uns zur Sünde gemacht’) is the passage’s doctrinal center. Guard against German colloquial trivialization (‘eine kleine Sünde’) softening the categorical sense required here.
Sincerity
Approved rendering: Lauterkeit, Aufrichtigkeit
Transliteration: Lauterkeit, Aufrichtigkeit
Doctrine: Sincerity and Apostolic Authority
Rejected alternatives: bloße Ehrlichkeit (too thin — covers only ‘not lying,’ misses the positive undivided-motive sense)
Original: ἁπλότης / εἰλικρίνεια
Category: Apostleship
NEW. 1:12; 2:17; 8:8; 11:3 (ἁπλότης / εἰλικρίνεια). Carries a positive moral-wholeness sense central to Paul’s entire self-defense against the ‘super-apostles’; must not be understated by the thinner modern ‘Ehrlichkeit.’ Flag for theologian review given its letter-wide structural importance.
Temple Of The Living God
Approved rendering: Tempel des lebendigen Gottes
Transliteration: Tempel des lebendigen Gottes
Doctrine: Separation from Idolatry and the Temple of God
Original: ναὸς θεοῦ ζῶντος
Category: Church
NEW. 6:16 (ναὸς θεοῦ ζῶντος). The gathered believing community, not a building; keep distinct from institutional Kirche associations per the baseline’s Gemeinde/Kirche caution.
Therefore All Died
Approved rendering: so sind alle gestorben
Transliteration: so sind alle gestorben
Doctrine: Substitutionary Atonement
Original: ἄρα οἱ πάντες ἀπέθανον
Category: Salvation
NEW. 5:14 (ἄρα οἱ πάντες ἀπέθανον). Believers’ corporate, representative union with Christ’s death, not each individual’s literal biography. Needs surrounding context (e.g., a cross-reference to Römer 6) so it is not misread as universalist (all humanity automatically saved) or as literal autobiography.
Transfigured Cross Reference
Approved rendering: verklärt (cross-reference, reserved term — do not use for 2 Corinthians 3:18)
Transliteration: verklärt
Doctrine: The Veil of Moses and Transformation into Glory
Inherited from Matthew package (17:2). Reserved exclusively for Christ’s unique, one-time Transfiguration. Must never be used for 2 Corinthians 3:18’s ongoing believer-transformation, which uses the distinct term ‘verwandelt’ (see transformed_into_his_image below), despite the shared Greek root μεταμορφόω.
Transformed Into His Image
Approved rendering: verwandelt (werden)
Transliteration: verwandelt
Doctrine: The Veil of Moses and Transformation into Glory
Rejected alternatives: verklärt (reserved exclusively for Christ’s unique Transfiguration, Matthew 17:2)
Original: μεταμορφούμεθα
Category: Sanctification
NEW. 3:18 (μεταμορφούμεθα). Ongoing, progressive transformation into Christ’s likeness. Must use ‘verwandelt,’ never ‘verklärt,’ despite the shared Greek root, to avoid conflating a unique Christological event with the church’s ongoing sanctification.
Triumphal Procession
Approved rendering: Triumphzug
Transliteration: Triumphzug
Doctrine: The Triumphal Procession and the Aroma of Christ
Original: θριαμβεύοντι
Category: Ministry
NEW. 2:14 (θριαμβεύοντι). The ancient Roman-triumph background (a general parading captives) must be made explicit; the image is a deliberate paradox (exalted herald and humbled captive simultaneously), not simple triumphalist self-congratulation.
Veil Of Moses
Approved rendering: Schleier / Decke (des Mose)
Transliteration: Schleier / Decke
Doctrine: The Veil of Moses and Transformation into Glory
Original: κάλυμμα
Category: Covenant
NEW. 3:13-16 (κάλυμμα). Requires the same historical-sensitivity framing mandated for Romans 9-11 and Matthew 23: never taught as inherent Jewish spiritual inferiority, always as Paul’s own argument (as a Jewish apostle) about Torah’s fulfillment in Christ, always paired with Paul’s sustained love for Israel in Romans 9-11. Mandatory theologian review.
Weapons And Strongholds
Approved rendering: Waffen … Festungen
Transliteration: Waffen … Festungen
Doctrine: Satan’s Deception and Spiritual Discernment
Original: ὅπλα … ὀχυρώματα
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW. 10:4 (ὅπλα … ὀχυρώματα). Vivid and accurate, but coincidentally echoes the wartime propaganda term ‘Festung Europa’ — teaching material should briefly note and move past this unrelated modern historical association, refocusing on divinely empowered argument, not literal or nationalist warfare. Related to, but lexically distinct from, the Ephesians baseline ‘armor_of_god’ (πανοπλία).
Medium Risk Terms
Affliction Suffering
Approved rendering: Bedrängnis, Leiden
Transliteration: Bedrängnis, Leiden
Doctrine: Suffering and Comfort in Ministry
Rejected alternatives: Schwierigkeiten (too weak — loses the weight of Paul’s actual near-death crisis)
Original: θλῖψις
Category: Suffering
NEW. 1:4,8; 2:4; 4:17; 6:4; 7:4; 8:2 (θλῖψις). Must not be softened to mere ‘Schwierigkeiten’; Paul’s own near-death experience (1:8-9) sets the term’s weight for the rest of the letter.
Aroma Of Christ
Approved rendering: Wohlgeruch Christi, Duft der Erkenntnis Christi
Transliteration: Wohlgeruch Christi
Doctrine: The Triumphal Procession and the Aroma of Christ
Original: εὐωδία Χριστοῦ / ὀσμὴ
Category: Ministry
NEW. 2:14-16 (εὐωδία Χριστοῦ / ὀσμὴ). Double-edged (life-to-some, death-to-others) effect must remain explicit, not softened to a generic pleasant impression.
Beside Ourselves Sober Minded
Approved rendering: außer uns sein / besonnen sein
Transliteration: außer uns sein / besonnen sein
Doctrine: Sincerity and Apostolic Authority
Original: ἐξέστημεν / σωφρονοῦμεν
Category: Apostleship
NEW. 5:13 (ἐξέστημεν / σωφρονοῦμεν). Rhetorical, defensive framing against opponents’ accusation of ecstatic excess; avoid a clinical-psychiatric register for ‘außer uns sein.‘
Boasting Ground
Approved rendering: Rühmen, Ruhm
Transliteration: Rühmen, Ruhm
Doctrine: Genuine versus False Apostleship
Original: καύχημα / καύχησις
Category: Apostleship
NEW. 5:12; 7:4,14; 8:24; 9:2-4; 10:8,13,15-17; 11:10,12,16-18,30; 12:1,5-6,9,11 (καύχημα / καύχησις). Must be qualified against everyday German usage (near-uniformly negative, ‘bragging’); legitimate boasting is always redirected ‘in the Lord.‘
Boldness Openness
Approved rendering: Freimut, Offenheit
Transliteration: Freimut, Offenheit
Doctrine: The Veil of Moses and Transformation into Glory
Original: παρρησία
Category: Ministry
NEW. 3:12 (παρρησία). Contrasted with Moses’ veiled communication; low ambiguity risk beyond keeping that contrast visible.
Church
Approved rendering: Gemeinde
Transliteration: Gemeinde
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: Kirche (institution-default)
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Preferred over ‘Kirche’ throughout the letter’s greetings and collection material (1:1; 8:1,18-19,23-24; 11:8,28; 12:13).
Comfort Consolation
Approved rendering: Trost
Transliteration: Trost
Doctrine: Suffering and Comfort in Ministry
Original: παράκλησις
Category: Suffering
NEW. 1:3-7; 7:4,6-7,13 (παράκλησις). Must be kept lexically distinct from ‘der Tröster’ (baseline John 14 Holy Spirit title) despite the shared Greek root, to prevent cross-document confusion between comfort-as-experience and the Spirit-as-Person.
Commend Self
Approved rendering: (sich) empfehlen
Transliteration: empfehlen
Doctrine: Sincerity and Apostolic Authority
Original: συνιστάνειν ἑαυτόν
Category: Apostleship
NEW. 3:1; 5:12; 10:12,18 (συνιστάνειν ἑαυτόν). The rejected mode of self-promoting credential-presenting used by rival teachers; context must make this contrast sharp.
Compels Controls
Approved rendering: drängt, treibt
Transliteration: drängt, treibt
Doctrine: Substitutionary Atonement
NEW. 5:14 (συνέχει). Willing, love-driven sense; avoid a coercive-compulsion nuance.
Down Payment
Approved rendering: Unterpfand
Transliteration: Unterpfand
Doctrine: Suffering and Comfort in Ministry
Inherited from Ephesians package (1:14). Reapplied at 2 Corinthians 1:22 and 5:5 (Spirit as arrabōn/guarantee of the resurrection body); commercial-legal guarantee metaphor.
Equality In Giving
Approved rendering: Gleichheit (im Geben)
Transliteration: Gleichheit
Doctrine: Generosity and Grace in Giving
Original: ἰσότης
Category: Generosity
NEW. 8:13-14 (ἰσότης). Strong German constitutional (Grundgesetz Art. 3) and DDR-era socialist-egalitarian-ideology resonance; must be explicitly clarified as voluntary, need-responsive generosity among churches, not a prooftext for any specific modern economic system.
Faith
Approved rendering: Glaube
Transliteration: Glaube
Doctrine: Self-Examination and Assurance of Faith
Rejected alternatives: Weltanschauung
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. ‘We walk by faith, not by sight’ (5:7) and ‘examine whether you are in the faith’ (13:5) both require the personal-trust-in-Christ sense, not generic religiosity.
Father Of Mercies
Approved rendering: Vater der Barmherzigkeit und Gott allen Trostes
Transliteration: Vater der Barmherzigkeit und Gott allen Trostes
Doctrine: Suffering and Comfort in Ministry
Original: ὁ πατὴρ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν καὶ θεὸς πάσης παρακλήσεως
Category: God
NEW. 1:3 (ὁ πατὴρ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν καὶ θεὸς πάσης παρακλήσεως). Keep ‘Barmherzigkeit’ (compassion, οἰκτιρμός) distinct from ‘Gnade’ (charis) — related but not identical Greek terms.
Father
Approved rendering: Vater
Transliteration: Vater
Doctrine: Suffering and Comfort in Ministry
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. ‘Father of mercies’ (1:3) and ‘Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (11:31).
Fools Speech Boasting
Approved rendering: Torenrede, sich rühmen
Transliteration: Torenrede
Doctrine: Genuine versus False Apostleship
Original: ἀφροσύνη / καύχησις
Category: Apostleship
NEW. 11:1,16-21,30; 12:1,5-6,9,11 (ἀφροσύνη / καύχησις). Calculated rhetorical strategy exposing false-apostle credentialism, not literal foolishness.
In Christ
Approved rendering: in Christus
Transliteration: in Christus
Doctrine: New Creation in Christ
Original: ἐν Χριστῷ
Category: Salvation
NEW (governing category). Standard and stable German rendering; risk is under-teaching its incorporative, union-with-Christ density (5:17,19; 13:5) rather than mistranslation.
Light And Momentary Affliction
Approved rendering: leichte Bedrängnis / ewiges Gewicht der Herrlichkeit
Transliteration: leichte Bedrängnis / ewiges Gewicht der Herrlichkeit
Doctrine: Resurrection Hope and Eternal Perspective
Original: τὸ ἐλαφρὸν τῆς θλίψεως … αἰώνιον βάρος δόξης
Category: Suffering
NEW. 4:17. Preserves Paul’s light/weight wordplay; must not trivialize the genuinely severe suffering already described (near-death experience, ch. 1; hardship catalogue, 4:8-9).
Live For Oneself Or For Him
Approved rendering: nicht mehr sich selbst leben, sondern ihm
Transliteration: nicht mehr sich selbst leben, sondern ihm
Doctrine: Substitutionary Atonement
NEW. 5:15 (ζῶσιν ἑαυτοῖς / τῷ … ζῶσιν). Clear German antithesis with low ambiguity risk; the purpose-clause of Christ’s substitutionary death anticipating the New Creation and Ambassadorial Ministry themes.
Love Of Christ Constrains
Approved rendering: die Liebe Christi (drängt uns)
Transliteration: die Liebe Christi
Doctrine: Substitutionary Atonement
Original: ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Χριστοῦ συνέχει ἡμᾶς
Category: Ministry
NEW. 5:14 (ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Χριστοῦ συνέχει ἡμᾶς). Primary sense is the subjective genitive (Christ’s love for believers) as the sole controlling force of Paul’s ministry; avoid a coercive-compulsion nuance that would undercut the willing, love-driven sense.
Old Has Passed Away Become New
Approved rendering: das Alte ist vergangen / es ist Neues geworden
Transliteration: das Alte ist vergangen / es ist Neues geworden
Doctrine: New Creation in Christ
Rejected alternatives: das Alte vergeht (allmählich) (suggests gradual fading rather than the decisive, completed event the aorist/perfect conveys)
NEW. 5:17 (τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν … γέγονεν καινά). Preserve the decisive-completed-event sense, not gradual improvement or fading.
Super Apostles
Approved rendering: Überapostel
Transliteration: Überapostel
Doctrine: Genuine versus False Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: besonders angesehene Apostel (flat descriptive phrase; loses Paul’s deliberate irony)
Original: οἱ ὑπερλίαν ἀπόστολοι
Category: Apostleship
NEW. 11:5; 12:11 (οἱ ὑπερλίαν ἀπόστολοι). Paul’s own ironic coinage, not the rivals’ self-title. Keep the sarcastic register visible in surrounding exposition so it is not mistaken for a neutral descriptive label.
Tent Earthly Dwelling
Approved rendering: irdisches Zelt, Hütte
Transliteration: irdisches Zelt
Doctrine: Resurrection Hope and Eternal Perspective
Original: σκῆνος
Category: Eschatology
NEW. 5:1,4 (σκῆνος). Affirms, does not denigrate, embodied existence — Paul groans to be further clothed, not merely unclothed. Avoid a Gnostic body-is-a-prison misreading occasionally imported into German devotional piety.
Treasure In Jars Of Clay
Approved rendering: Schatz in irdenen Gefäßen
Transliteration: Schatz in irdenen Gefäßen
Doctrine: Power in Weakness
Original: θησαυρὸν ἐν ὀστρακίνοις σκεύεσιν
Category: Ministry
NEW. 4:7. Key image for the Power-in-Weakness doctrine; teach alongside 12:9. Vivid, transparent rendering with low ambiguity risk.
Unequally Yoked
Approved rendering: ungleiches Joch
Transliteration: ungleiches Joch
Doctrine: Separation from Idolatry and the Temple of God
Original: ἑτεροζυγοῦντες
Category: Ethics
NEW. 6:14 (ἑτεροζυγοῦντες). Keep anchored to Paul’s idolatry/pagan-cultic-alliance argument (6:16), not only the popular narrower modern application to marriage, which the passage does not explicitly name.
Workers Together With God
Approved rendering: Mitarbeiter Gottes
Transliteration: Mitarbeiter Gottes
Doctrine: Sincerity and Apostolic Authority
Original: συνεργοῦντες
Category: Ministry
NEW. 6:1 (συνεργοῦντες). Ministry-partnership, not a Werkgerechtigkeit contribution to salvation’s ground — consistent with existing baseline cautions on grace-versus-works.
World Reconciliation Scope
Approved rendering: die Welt
Transliteration: die Welt
Doctrine: Reconciliation with God
NEW sub-sense, cross-referencing the baseline John 3:16 term. 5:19 (κόσμον). Ensure cross-reference consistency with the established ‘Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt’ rendering; the scope of reconciliation is the same universal ‘world.‘
Low Risk Terms
Amen
Approved rendering: Amen
Transliteration: Amen
Doctrine: Sincerity and Apostolic Authority
Inherited transliteration standard from the baseline package. Occurs at 1:20 within the ‘Yes and No / Amen’ reliability argument (see yes_and_no_amen below).
Apostle
Approved rendering: Apostel
Transliteration: Apostel
Doctrine: Genuine versus False Apostleship
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs throughout, esp. 1:1; 11:5,13; 12:11-12. Doctrinal stakes are significantly raised in this letter by the counterfeit-apostle polemic of chapters 10-13; accompanying teaching material must frame Paul’s apostolic authority as a unique, foundational, first-century office, distinct from the Neuapostolische Kirche’s contemporary-restored-apostolic-office claims.
Cheerful Giver
Approved rendering: der fröhliche Geber
Transliteration: der fröhliche Geber
Doctrine: Generosity and Grace in Giving
Original: ἱλαρὸν δότην
Category: Generosity
NEW. 9:7 (ἱλαρὸν δότην). Widely known, low-risk German devotional phrase.
Conscience
Approved rendering: Gewissen
Transliteration: Gewissen
Doctrine: Sincerity and Apostolic Authority
Original: συνείδησις
Category: Christian Life
NEW. 1:12; 4:2; 5:11 (συνείδησις). Stable, uncontested German rendering across all traditions.
Exhort Entreat
Approved rendering: ermahnen (baseline) / bitten, eindringlich bitten (context-preferred here)
Transliteration: ermahnen / bitten
Doctrine: Reconciliation with God
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. The baseline default ‘ermahnen’ leans admonish/warn; the entreaty context of 5:20 and 6:1 favors the warmer ‘bitten / eindringlich bitten.’ Select per context rather than defaulting automatically.
Face Heart
Approved rendering: im Äußeren / im Herzen
Transliteration: im Äußeren / im Herzen
Doctrine: Sincerity and Apostolic Authority
NEW. 5:12 (πρόσωπον / καρδία). Standard, well-understood German antithesis between outward appearance and inward reality.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: Gemeinschaft
Transliteration: Gemeinschaft
Doctrine: Trinitarian Fellowship and Benediction
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. 8:4’s ‘Gemeinschaft am Dienst für die Heiligen’ ties Christian fellowship directly to financial generosity; also anchors the closing benediction (13:13-14).
Gospel
Approved rendering: Evangelium
Transliteration: Evangelium
Doctrine: Gospel
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. In 2 Corinthians 11:4, ‘ein anderer Jesus… ein anderes Evangelium’ must render consistently with the Galatians baseline’s Critical-risk ‘ein anderes Evangelium’ term (see false_gospel below), preserving absolute-denial force within the Genuine versus False Apostleship doctrine, not one option among several.
Groan
Approved rendering: seufzen
Transliteration: seufzen
Doctrine: Resurrection Hope and Eternal Perspective
Original: στενάζομεν
Category: Eschatology
NEW. 5:2,4 (στενάζομεν). Matches the established Romans 8:23 rendering tradition for cross-document consistency.
Holy Kiss
Approved rendering: heiliger Kuss
Transliteration: heiliger Kuss
Doctrine: Trinitarian Fellowship and Benediction
Original: φίλημα ἅγιον
Category: Church
NEW. 13:12 (φίλημα ἅγιον). Gloss as a first-century cultural greeting custom, not a prescribed ongoing liturgical rite, to avoid anachronistic literalism.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Jesus
Transliteration: Jesus
Doctrine: Christology
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Stable throughout; 11:4’s ‘ein anderer Jesus’ is the Genuine-versus-False-Apostleship doctrine’s rejection of a counterfeit Christ, not a variant naming convention.
Letters Of Recommendation
Approved rendering: Empfehlungsschreiben
Transliteration: Empfehlungsschreiben
Doctrine: Sincerity and Apostolic Authority
Original: ἐπιστολαὶ συστατικαί
Category: Apostleship
NEW. 3:1 (cf. 2:17; 5:12), ἐπιστολαὶ συστατικαί. Transparent background/context term setting up the ‘living letter’ irony of 3:2-3.
Marks Of Jesus Cross Reference
Approved rendering: die Malzeichen Jesu (cross-reference only)
Transliteration: die Malzeichen Jesu
Doctrine: Genuine versus False Apostleship
Original: τὰ στίγματα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ (cf. σημεῖα τοῦ ἀποστόλου)
Category: Apostleship
Inherited from Galatians package (6:17). Thematically related to, but lexically distinct from, this letter’s ‘signs_of_a_true_apostle’ (12:12, σημεῖα vs. στίγματα). Do not conflate renderings.
Sufficient Competent
Approved rendering: ausreichend, tüchtig
Transliteration: ausreichend, tüchtig
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: ἱκανός
Category: Ministry
NEW. 2:16; 3:5-6 (ἱκανός). Ties to the New Covenant ministers’ God-given, not self-generated, adequacy.
Trespasses
Approved rendering: Verfehlungen, Übertretungen
Transliteration: Verfehlungen, Übertretungen
Doctrine: Reconciliation with God
Original: παραπτώματα
Category: Sin
NEW. 5:19 (παραπτώματα). Concrete moral wrongs, a near-synonym of ἁμαρτία (Sünde); low risk beyond keeping the text’s own παράπτωμα/ἁμαρτία variation visible where relevant.
Yes And No Amen
Approved rendering: Ja und Nein / Amen
Transliteration: Ja und Nein / Amen
Doctrine: Sincerity and Apostolic Authority
NEW. 1:17-20 (τὸ ναὶ … καὶ οὒ / τὸ Ἀμήν). God’s promises in Christ are never ‘Yes and No’ but always ‘Yes’ — grounding the apostles’ own trustworthy, non-vacillating conduct. ‘Amen’ transliterated per established cross-document convention.
Referenced passages