Core Glossary
Core Glossary: Titus (Greek Destination Language Package)
Curriculum: Titus
Destination language: Greek (Modern Greek, Ελληνικά)
Companion document: 07_semantic_analysis.md (verse-by-verse and chapter-by-chapter derivation of every entry below)
Baseline authority: All rows marked [BASELINE] reuse the exact rendering recorded in the Romans/Galatians translation_memory.json and carry forward that document’s risk tier. Rows marked [NEW] are introduced by Titus and are analyzed here for the first time; they must be added to translation_memory.json (version increment) before Phase 2 translation begins, per the pre-flight checklist in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md.
Part A — Baseline Terms Reused Exactly (Reference Table)
| English term | Greek rendering | Transliteration | Risk | Doctrine link | Titus occurrences | Reuse note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| grace | χάρη | chári | Critical | Grace That Trains for Godly Living; Salvation by Grace not Works | 1:4; 2:11; 3:7; 3:15 | Reuse exactly; guard against secular charm/pardon senses at every occurrence, especially 3:5-7’s grace-vs-works contrast |
| faith | πίστη | písti | High | Salvation by Grace not Works; Sound Doctrine | 1:1,4,13; 2:2,10; 3:15 | Reuse exactly |
| salvation / saved | σωτηρία / έσωσε | sotiría | Critical | Salvation by Grace not Works | 3:5 | Reuse exactly; anchor against theosis-only reading per baseline |
| righteousness | δικαιοσύνη | dikaiosýni | Critical | Salvation by Grace not Works | 3:5 (“works done… in righteousness”) | Reuse exactly; forensic sense explicitly excluded as salvation’s ground |
| justification / justified | δικαίωση / δικαιωθέντες | dikaíosi | Critical | Salvation by Grace not Works | 3:7 | Reuse exactly; guard against colloquial “vindication” drift |
| apostle | απόστολος | apóstolos | Low | Qualifications for Elders (background) | 1:1 | Reuse exactly |
| election / elect | εκλογή / εκλεκτοί | eklogí | High | Divine Calling (background) | 1:1 | Reuse exactly; guard against political-vote reading |
| peace | ειρήνη | eiríni | Medium | (salutation) | 1:4 | Reuse exactly |
| Holy Spirit | Άγιο Πνεύμα | Ágio Pnévma | Critical | Regeneration by the Holy Spirit | 3:5 | Reuse exactly |
| promise / promised | υπόσχεση (επαγγελία) | epangelia | High | (background to hope) | 1:2 | Reuse exactly; anchor against επάγγελμα (“profession”) misderivation |
| heir | κληρονόμος | klēronomos | Low | Salvation by Grace not Works (adoption) | 3:7 | Reuse exactly |
| redeem | λυτρώνω / απολύτρωση | lytróno/apolýtrosi | Critical | Grace That Trains for Godly Living | 2:14 | Reuse exactly; FORBIDDEN: never εξαγοράζω |
| zealot / zealous | ζηλωτής | zilotís | Low | Sound Doctrine and Good Works | 2:14 | Reuse exactly; note referent shift (zeal for good works, not ancestral tradition) |
| circumcision | περιτομή | peritomí | Low | Sound Doctrine (background controversy) | 1:10 | Reuse exactly |
| glory | δόξα | dóxa | Medium | Deity of Christ (background) | 2:13 | Reuse exactly |
| exhort | προτρέπω | protrépo | Low | Sound Doctrine and Good Works | 2:15 | Reuse exactly (renders παρακαλέω per baseline, avoiding everyday “please” sense) |
| sin | αμαρτία | amartía | Medium | Avoiding Divisive Controversies (background) | 3:11 | Reuse exactly |
| law | νόμος | nómos | High | Avoiding Divisive Controversies | 1:14; 3:9,13 | Reuse exactly; keep referent Mosaic at 1:14/3:9, note occupational sense at 3:13 (νομικός) |
| certainly not | μη γένοιτο | mē genoito | Low | (not directly present in Titus) | — | Available if needed in derivative teaching material |
Part B — New Terms Introduced by Titus
| English gloss | Original (Koine) | Greek destination rendering | Transliteration | Risk | Doctrine | Occurrences | Collision / notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| appeared / has appeared | ἐπεφάνη | επεφάνη | epefáni | Critical | Grace That Trains for Godly Living; Regeneration | 2:11; 3:4 | Same root as Επιφάνεια/Θεοφάνεια, the January 6 Orthodox feast of Christ’s baptism; must not default to the festal referent — refers to grace’s/God’s kindness’s historical in-breaking |
| appearing (noun) | ἐπιφάνεια | επιφάνεια | epifáneia | Critical | Deity of Christ; Salvation by Grace not Works | 2:13 | The literal name of the Επιφάνεια feast; must be anchored to Christ’s future, visible, glorious return, not the commemorated baptism |
| great God and Savior | μέγας Θεός καὶ σωτήρ | μέγας Θεός και σωτήρ | mégas Theós kai sotír | Critical | Deity of Christ | 2:13 | Granville Sharp single-referent construction; must never be rendered so as to imply two distinct persons |
| Savior | σωτήρ | Σωτήρ / σωτήρας | Sotír | High | Deity of Christ; Salvation by Grace not Works | 1:3,4; 2:10,13; 3:4,6 (6x) | Applied to both Father and Son; guard against secular “hero/life-saver” bleaching; must connect to the specific saving work of 2:14 and 3:5 |
| godliness / godly | εὐσέβεια / εὐσεβῶς | ευσέβεια / ευσεβώς | evsébeia | Medium | Grace That Trains for Godly Living | 1:1; 2:12 | Guard against a merely ritual/religious-observance reading; Paul intends comprehensive moral transformation |
| hope | ἐλπίς | ελπίδα | elpída | Critical | Grace That Trains for Godly Living; Salvation by Grace not Works | 1:2; 2:13; 3:7 | Modern Greek ελπίζω/ελπίδα is the ordinary word for uncertain wishful hoping; must be anchored to God’s unlying character (1:2) as grounds for confident expectation, on every occurrence |
| eternal life | ζωὴ αἰώνιος | ζωή αιώνιος | zoí aiónios | Medium | Salvation by Grace not Works | 1:2; 3:7 | Stable, liturgically familiar; low independent risk once paired with a correctly anchored ελπίδα |
| training (grace that trains) | παιδεύουσα (παιδεύω) | παιδεύει / εκπαιδεύει | pedévei | High | Grace That Trains for Godly Living | 2:12 | Modern colloquial παιδεύομαι = “to struggle/have a hard time”; must recover the positive, formative, parental-pedagogy sense — grace training, not grace afflicting |
| self-controlled / self-control | σώφρων / σωφρόνως / σωφροσύνη | σώφρων / σωφρόνως | sófron | Medium | Grace That Trains for Godly Living; Qualifications for Elders | 1:8; 2:2,4,5,6,12 | Greek philosophical tradition’s cardinal virtue (Aristotle); must stay anchored to grace-enabled transformation, not self-generated Stoic/Aristotelian achievement |
| ungodliness | ἀσέβεια | ασέβεια | asébeia | Low | Grace That Trains for Godly Living | 2:12 | Stable antonym of εὐσέβεια |
| worldly desires | κοσμικαὶ ἐπιθυμίαι | κοσμικές επιθυμίες | kosmikés epithymíes | Low | Grace That Trains for Godly Living | 2:12 | Transparent |
| people for [his] possession | λαὸς περιούσιος | λαός περιούσιος | laós periúsios | High | Grace That Trains for Godly Living | 2:14 | Direct LXX quotation (Exodus 19:5) — genuine intertextual asset; but περιούσιος shares its root with περιουσία (“property/wealth”), risking a “people of wealth” misreading instead of “special covenant possession” |
| good works | καλὰ ἔργα | καλά έργα | kalá érga | High | Sound Doctrine and Good Works; Salvation by Grace not Works | 1:16; 2:7,14; 3:1,8,14 | Must be kept distinct from “works of the law” (baseline High) and never read as contributing to justification (contrast 3:5); the letter’s fruit-not-root balance is central and easily flattened in either legalistic or antinomian directions |
| exhort/rebuke with all authority | ἐπιταγή | επιταγή | epitagí | Low | Sound Doctrine and Good Works | 1:3; 2:15 | Stable |
| rulers and authorities | ἀρχαὶ καὶ ἐξουσίαι | αρχές και εξουσίες | archés kai exusíes | Medium-High | Submission to Authority | 3:1 | Modern “εξουσία” carries connotations of dominance/suspicion of power; keep civil-governmental scope clear (parallel to Romans 13) |
| submit / be submissive | ὑποτάσσω / ὑποτάσσεσθαι | υποτάσσομαι / υποτάσσεσθαι | ypotássomai | Critical | Submission to Authority | 2:5,9; 3:1 | Modern Greek carries heavy connotations of conquest/subjugation to an occupying power (Ottoman/WWII historical memory) — a politically charged register comparable to but inverse of ελευθερία (baseline Critical); must be anchored as voluntary, gospel-motivated ordering, never coerced political capitulation |
| obey | πειθαρχέω | πειθαρχείν | pitharchín | Medium | Submission to Authority | 3:1 | Transparent compound (πείθομαι + ἀρχή); reinforces ὑποτάσσω |
| insubordinate / rebellious | ἀνυπότακτος | ανυπότακτος | anypótaktos | Medium | Submission to Authority; Qualifications for Elders | 1:6,10 | Direct antonym of ὑποτάσσω; teach the pair together |
| steward (of God) | οἰκονόμος | οικονόμος | oikonómos | High | Qualifications for Elders | 1:7 | Modern Greek dominated by the financial/economic sense (οικονομικά, Υπουργείο Οικονομικών); must be anchored to household-management/trustee sense, not fiscal administration |
| overseer | ἐπίσκοπος | επίσκοπος | epískopos | High | Qualifications for Elders | 1:7 | Modern usage restricts this to a consecrated diocesan bishop, a much higher/narrower office than the NT’s town-level elder-overseer; requires clarifying note |
| elder | πρεσβύτερος | πρεσβύτερος | presvýteros | Medium | Qualifications for Elders | 1:5 | Modern Orthodox usage narrows this to the ordained priest, a role with more liturgical/sacramental function than the NT’s teaching-and-oversight elder; clarifying note recommended |
| devout / holy (qualification) | ὅσιος | όσιος | ósios | High | Qualifications for Elders | 1:8 | Distinct from ἅγιος (baseline Critical); “Όσιος” is a specific Orthodox hagiographic title (“Venerable”) for a category of canonized ascetics — risks implying canonizable ascetic sanctity rather than ordinary devout godliness |
| hospitable | φιλόξενος | φιλόξενος | filóxenos | Low (cultural asset) | Qualifications for Elders | 1:8 | Genuine positive cultural asset — φιλοξενία is an actively celebrated Greek value; no mitigation needed |
| sound / healthy doctrine | διδασκαλία ὑγιαίνουσα | υγιαίνουσα διδασκαλία | ygiénusa didaskalía | Medium | Sound Doctrine and Good Works | 1:9,13; 2:1,8 | Transparent health/disease metaphor (asset) but risks flattening into merely “factually correct” rather than Paul’s fuller organically-life-giving-vs.-disease-spreading sense |
| slanderer (of women, 2:3) | διάβολος (adjectival) | κατάλαλος / συκοφάντης | katálalos / sykofántis | Critical — FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION | Qualifications for Elders (household code) | 2:3 | NEVER render as διάβολος/διαβόλους — in living Modern Greek this word means, essentially without exception, “the Devil/Satan”; use κατάλαλος or συκοφάντης instead, with note explaining the Koine word’s now-obsolete adjectival sense |
| priest-befitting / reverent (of older women) | ἱεροπρεπής | ιεροπρεπής | ieroprepís | Medium | Qualifications for Elders (household code) | 2:3 | Literal root evokes priestly/clerical demeanor; clarify as general dignified reverence, not clerical bearing |
| pure / chaste | ἁγνός | αγνός/αγνή | agnós | Medium | Grace That Trains for Godly Living | 2:5 | Distinct root from ἅγιος (baseline Critical) though conceptually adjacent; brief disambiguating note recommended |
| working at home | οἰκουργός (v.l. οἰκουρός) | εργατική στο σπίτι / οικονόμος του σπιτιού | oikurgós | Medium | Qualifications for Elders (household code) | 2:5 | Textually and interpretively debated; flag for theologian + native-speaker review of pastoral framing, independent of lexical risk |
| master (of slaves) | δεσπότης | δεσπότης | despótis | Critical | Submission to Authority | 2:9 | The standard Modern Greek colloquial title for an Orthodox bishop; unglossed, “submit to your δεσπότες” risks being heard as submission to bishops; secondary “despot/tyrant” connotation also present; mandatory explanatory note on every occurrence |
| adorn (the doctrine) | κοσμέω | κοσμούν / στολίζουν | kosmún | Low-Medium | Sound Doctrine and Good Works | 2:10 | Transparent, positive metaphor |
| washing | λουτρόν | λουτρό | lutró | High | Regeneration by the Holy Spirit | 3:5 | Modern Greek’s ordinary word for “bathroom”/“bath, spa”; must be anchored to baptismal-typological sense, not the household fixture |
| regeneration | παλιγγενεσία | παλιγγενεσία | palingenesía | Critical | Regeneration by the Holy Spirit | 3:5 | The single highest-severity new term in this letter: (1) original Stoic technical sense = cyclical cosmic recurrence; (2) Modern Greek = the 1821 national rebirth / a historic newspaper title, a heavily loaded secular-nationalist sense. Both readings are unrelated to Paul’s personal, once-for-all, Spirit-wrought rebirth. Mandatory note; escalate to human theologian review on every occurrence |
| renewal | ἀνακαίνωσις | ανακαίνωση | anakéniosi | High | Regeneration by the Holy Spirit | 3:5 | Modern Greek’s standard word for building/home renovation; must be anchored to the Spirit’s inward, ongoing moral-spiritual renewal, not construction/remodeling |
| goodness / kindness | χρηστότης | χρηστότητα | chrestótita | Low-Medium | Salvation by Grace not Works | 3:4 | Stable |
| loving-kindness / love for mankind | φιλανθρωπία | φιλανθρωπία | filanthropía | Medium | Salvation by Grace not Works | 3:4 | Modern Greek heavily drifted toward secular charitable-giving (“philanthropic foundation”); must be anchored to God’s own disposition of love toward humankind, not human charity |
| mercy | ἔλεος | έλεος | éleos | Low-Medium | Salvation by Grace not Works | 3:5 | Stable; distinguish nuance from χάρις (favor toward the unworthy vs. compassion toward the distressed), no separate rendering required |
| works done in righteousness | ἔργα ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ | έργα εν δικαιοσύνη | érga en dikaiosýni | Critical | Salvation by Grace not Works | 3:5 | The letter’s central grace-vs-works exclusion clause; must not be softened into any synergistic (“works helped, but not alone”) reading |
| trustworthy saying | πιστὸς ὁ λόγος | πιστός ο λόγος | pistós o lógos | Low | Sound Doctrine and Good Works | 3:8 | Fixed formulaic refrain across the Pastoral Epistles; teach as a recognizable set-phrase |
| devote themselves to good works | καλῶν ἔργων προΐστασθαι | επιδίδονται σε καλά έργα | epidídontai se kalá érga | High | Sound Doctrine and Good Works | 3:8,14 | Must be taught alongside 3:5’s exclusion of works as salvation’s ground; good works are fruit, never root |
| foolish controversies | μωραὶ ζητήσεις | μωρές αναζητήσεις / διαμάχες | morés anazitíseis | Medium | Avoiding Divisive Controversies | 3:9 | Force lies in “foolish,” not in ζήτησις itself (a neutral word for “inquiry”); do not accidentally dignify these disputes |
| quarrels about the law | μάχαι νομικαί | μάχες περί τον νόμο | máches perí ton nómo | Medium | Avoiding Divisive Controversies | 3:9 | νόμος itself baseline High risk; keep Mosaic referent, distinct from νομικός as a profession (3:13) |
| divisive/factious person | αἱρετικὸς ἄνθρωπος | αιρετικός | eretikós | Critical | Avoiding Divisive Controversies | 3:10 | Modern Greek = “heretic” in the full, technical, conciliar-ecclesiastical sense; Paul’s referent is a persistently quarrelsome/factious person over speculative disputes, not necessarily formal doctrinal heresy — though the word’s own history shows the two senses merging; mandatory scoping note; escalate to human theologian review |
| admonition / warning | νουθεσία | νουθεσία | nuthesía | Low-Medium | Avoiding Divisive Controversies | 3:10 | Stable NT term |
| self-condemned | αὐτοκατάκριτος | αυτοκατάκριτος | aftokatákritos | Low | Avoiding Divisive Controversies | 3:11 | Transparent compound |
| bear fruit / unfruitful | καρποφορέω / ἄκαρπος | καρποφορούν / άκαρποι | karpoforún / ákarpoi | Low-Medium | Sound Doctrine and Good Works | 3:14 | Stable agricultural metaphor, echoes fruit-of-the-Spirit imagery (baseline Medium) |
Part C — Doctrine-to-Term Cross-Reference (for Phase 1 Step continuity)
| Bible Doctrine (curriculum parameter) | Primary Titus passages | Key new-term risk cluster |
|---|---|---|
| Grace That Trains for Godly Living | 2:11-12; 3:4 | ἐπεφάνη/ἐπιφάνεια (Critical), παιδεύω (High), ελπίδα (Critical), εὐσέβεια (Medium) |
| Qualifications for Elders | 1:5-9 | οἰκονόμος (High), ἐπίσκοπος (High), πρεσβύτερος (Medium), ὅσιος (High), φιλόξενος (asset) |
| Sound Doctrine and Good Works | 1:9,13; 2:1,7-8,10,14-15; 3:8,14 | διδασκαλία ὑγιαίνουσα (Medium), καλὰ ἔργα (High) |
| Salvation by Grace not Works | 3:4-7 | ἔργα ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ (Critical), χάρις [baseline] (Critical), φιλανθρωπία (Medium) |
| Regeneration by the Holy Spirit | 3:5-6 | παλιγγενεσία (Critical), ἀνακαίνωσις (High), λουτρόν (High) |
| Submission to Authority | 2:5,9; 3:1 | ὑποτάσσω (Critical), δεσπότης (Critical), ἀρχαὶ καὶ ἐξουσίαι (Medium-High) |
| Avoiding Divisive Controversies | 1:10-16; 3:9-11 | αἱρετικὸς ἄνθρωπος (Critical), διάβολος-as-slanderer (Critical, ch. 2), μωραὶ ζητήσεις (Medium) |
This glossary must be loaded alongside the baseline translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json before Phase 2 processing of any Titus segment. All rows marked New/High/Critical above must be formally added to translation memory (with version increment) and routed per the escalation rules in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md before translation proceeds.
Critical Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: χάρη
Transliteration: chári
Doctrine: Grace That Trains for Godly Living / Salvation by Grace not Works
Rejected alternatives: χάρη με την καθημερινή έννοια της γοητείας ή ομορφιάς, χάρη ως νομική/προεδρική χάρη (απονομή χάριτος)
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package (translation, transliteration, and alternatives_rejected reused exactly). In Titus, χάρη additionally functions as the grammatical SUBJECT of an active verb (2:11-12, ‘grace… training us’) and is the explicit alternative excluded against ‘works’ at 3:5, and closes the letter at 3:15. Guard against secular charm/pardon senses at every occurrence (1:4; 2:11; 3:7; 3:15).
Salvation
Approved rendering: σωτηρία / έσωσε
Transliteration: sotiría / ésose
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace not Works
Original: σωτηρία / ἔσωσεν
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Titus 3:5 states this as an accomplished, decisive divine act (‘he saved us’) explicitly excluding human works as its basis; anchor against a theosis-only synergistic-process reading so this decisive act is not diluted.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: δικαιοσύνη
Transliteration: dikaiosýni
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace not Works
Rejected alternatives: δικαιοσύνη αποκλειστικά με τη σύγχρονη έννοια της νομικής ή κοινωνικής δικαιοσύνης
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. In Titus 3:5 this is specifically the moral rightness of human deeds (‘έργα εν δικαιοσύνη’) that Paul explicitly EXCLUDES as any part of salvation’s basis — the letter’s central Salvation by Grace not Works clause. Must not collapse into dutiful conduct or moral achievement in a way that softens this exclusion.
Justification
Approved rendering: δικαίωση / δικαιωθέντες
Transliteration: dikaíosi / dikaiothéntes
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace not Works / Adoption and Heirship
Rejected alternatives: δικαίωση με τη σύγχρονη καθημερινή έννοια του ‘να αποδειχθεί κανείς σωστός’ (προσωπική δικαίωση)
Original: δικαίωσις / δικαιωθέντες
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Titus 3:7 (‘having been justified by his grace’) directly follows 3:5’s works-exclusion clause and grounds heir-status (κληρονόμοι); guard against the everyday colloquial ‘vindication/proven right’ drift at this occurrence specifically, since it is load-bearing for the adoption doctrine.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Άγιο Πνεύμα
Transliteration: Ágio Pnévma
Doctrine: Regeneration by the Holy Spirit
Original: Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Titus 3:5 identifies the Spirit as the agent of both regeneration (παλιγγενεσία) and ongoing renewal (ἀνακαίνωσις); must not be rendered as an impersonal universal spirit or life-force.
Redeem
Approved rendering: λυτρώνω / απολύτρωση
Transliteration: lytróno / apolýtrosi
Doctrine: Grace That Trains for Godly Living
Rejected alternatives: εξαγοράζω με τη σύγχρονη έννοια της δωροδοκίας ή της εταιρικής εξαγοράς
Original: λυτρώσηται
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION: never εξαγοράζω. Titus 2:14 applies this vocabulary to a general referent (lawlessness, ἀνομία) rather than specifically the law’s curse (contrast Galatians 3:13; 4:5); reuse λύτρωση/απολύτρωση vocabulary exactly.
Appeared
Approved rendering: επεφάνη
Transliteration: epefáni
Doctrine: Grace That Trains for Godly Living / Salvation by Grace not Works
Rejected alternatives: επεφάνη ερμηνευμένο αποκλειστικά ως αναφορά στη γιορτή των Θεοφανείων/Επιφανείων (6 Ιανουαρίου)
Original: ἐπεφάνη
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Occurs at Titus 2:11 (grace’s appearing) and 3:4 (God’s kindness’s appearing) — the First Coming, in the same word-family as 2:13’s noun. Same root as Επιφάνεια/Θεοφάνεια, the Orthodox feast of Christ’s baptism; a Modern Greek reader’s first association will be that specific liturgical feast, not the general historical in-breaking sense. Mandatory explanatory note on every occurrence anchoring to the plain verbal sense.
Appearing
Approved rendering: επιφάνεια
Transliteration: epifáneia
Doctrine: Deity of Christ / Blessed Hope and the Second Coming
Rejected alternatives: επιφάνεια ως αποκλειστική αναφορά στη λειτουργική γιορτή της 6ης Ιανουαρίου
Original: ἐπιφάνεια
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Titus 2:13: the noun form of the verb used for the First Coming at 2:11/3:4 — here describing Christ’s future, visible, glorious Second Coming. This is literally the proper name of the Επιφάνεια feast. Mandatory note distinguishing the future-return referent from the commemorated baptism event, on every occurrence.
Great God And Savior
Approved rendering: του μεγάλου Θεού και Σωτήρος ημών Ιησού Χριστού
Transliteration: tou megálou Theoú kai Sotíros imón Iisoú Christoú
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: απόδοση που διαχωρίζει ‘τον μεγάλο Θεό’ και τον ‘Σωτήρα’ σε δύο ξεχωριστά πρόσωπα (το μοτίβο της Μετάφρασης Νέου Κόσμου στα Ελληνικά)
Original: τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοῦ καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Titus 2:13: a Granville Sharp construction (single article governing two nouns joined by καί) directly identifying Jesus Christ as ‘great God and Savior’ — one of the NT’s clearest deity-of-Christ statements, directly verifiable by a Greek reader in the original grammar. Must never be rendered so as to imply two distinct persons. Screen every back-translation against the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation, which deliberately splits this construction into two referents; any such reading is a Critical doctrinal failure, not a stylistic variant.
Hope
Approved rendering: ελπίδα
Transliteration: elpída
Doctrine: Blessed Hope and the Second Coming
Rejected alternatives: ελπίδα με την καθημερινή έννοια της αβέβαιης, ευχής-τύπου προσδοκίας (‘ελπίζω να μη βρέξει’)
Original: ἐλπίς
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. The letter’s structural frame, repeated verbatim at 1:2, 2:13, and 3:7. Modern Greek ελπίζω/ελπίδα is the ordinary word for uncertain wishful hoping; Titus’s ἐλπίς is the opposite — certainty grounded in ‘the God who never lies’ (1:2). Must be actively distinguished from everyday uncertain-hope usage at EVERY occurrence, not merely once.
Submit
Approved rendering: υποτάσσομαι / υποτάσσεσθαι
Transliteration: ypotássomai / ypotássesthai
Doctrine: Submission to Authority
Rejected alternatives: υποτάσσομαι ερμηνευμένο ως πολιτική υποδούλωση σε κατακτητή, υποτάσσομαι μαλακωμένο σε απλή ‘συνεργασία’ που χάνει την τακτική/δομική έννοια
Original: ὑποτάσσω / ὑποτάσσεσθαι
Category: Authority
NEW TERM. Applied to wives (2:5), slaves (2:9), and citizens (3:1) — voluntary, gospel-motivated ordering, never coerced subjugation. Modern Greek υποταγή/υποτάσσομαι carries heavy connotations of conquest/subjugation to an occupying power (Ottoman occupation, WWII occupation) — the emotional inverse of the baseline’s ελευθερία (Critical). Mandatory explanatory note distinguishing voluntary gospel-ordered submission from political subjugation, at every occurrence.
Slanderer
Approved rendering: κατάλαλος / συκοφάντης
Transliteration: katálalos / sykofántis
Doctrine: Qualifications for Elders (household code)
Rejected alternatives: διάβολος / διαβόλους (ΑΠΑΓΟΡΕΥΜΕΝΗ ΑΝΤΙΚΑΤΑΣΤΑΣΗ — σημαίνει αποκλειστικά ‘ο Σατανάς’ στη ζωντανή σύγχρονη γλώσσα)
Original: διάβολος (adjectival)
Category: Sin
NEW TERM, FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION. Titus 2:3 (‘not slanderers,’ of older women) uses Koine’s pre-technical adjectival sense of διάβολος (‘one who throws accusations’). In living Modern Greek, διάβολος means, essentially without exception, ‘the Devil/Satan’; a mechanical rendering would yield ‘older women must not be devils.’ NEVER render as διάβολος/διαβόλους under any circumstance. Use κατάλαλος or συκοφάντης/συκοφαντικός; a translator note explaining the etymological relationship is recommended for teaching contexts.
Master
Approved rendering: δεσπότης
Transliteration: despótis
Doctrine: Submission to Authority
Rejected alternatives: δεσπότης ερμηνευμένος με τη σύγχρονη καθομιλούμενη έννοια του Ορθόδοξου επισκόπου (‘ο Δεσπότης’), δεσπότης ερμηνευμένος με την αγγλική/δευτερεύουσα έννοια του τυράννου
Original: δεσπότης
Category: Authority
NEW TERM. Titus 2:9, the household-slave’s counterpart to the elder’s flock — a neutral first-century economic role, not a tyrant. In everyday Modern Greek, ‘ο δεσπότης’ is the standard colloquial title for an Orthodox bishop (‘θα έρθει ο δεσπότης στο χωριό’); unglossed, ‘submit to your δεσπότες’ risks being heard as submission to bishops. Mandatory explanatory note on every occurrence; escalate to human theologian review.
Regeneration
Approved rendering: παλιγγενεσία
Transliteration: palingenesía
Doctrine: Regeneration by the Holy Spirit
Rejected alternatives: παλιγγενεσία ερμηνευμένη με τη Στωική έννοια της κυκλικής κοσμικής παλινδρόμησης, παλιγγενεσία ερμηνευμένη με τη σύγχρονη εθνικοπολιτική έννοια της Ελληνικής Παλιγγενεσίας του 1821 / ιστορικής εφημερίδας, αναγέννηση (η απλοποιητική απόδοση της TGV), που εισάγει διαφορετικό κίνδυνο σύγχυσης με την Αναγέννηση (Renaissance) ή την οικολογική/βιολογική αναγέννηση
Original: παλιγγενεσία
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM. THE SINGLE HIGHEST-SEVERITY NEW TERM IN THIS LETTER. Occurs only here and Matthew 19:28 in the entire NT. Two independent collision risks: (1) Stoic-philosophical — the word’s original technical sense described cyclical cosmic recurrence, a fundamentally different, impersonal metaphysic; (2) Modern Greek national-political — Παλιγγενεσία is the historic name for the Greek War of Independence/national rebirth of 1821 and the title of a historic Athenian newspaper, entirely unrelated to Paul’s personal, once-for-all, Spirit-wrought new birth. Retain the native word (do not paraphrase away, and do not follow TGV’s αναγέννηση substitution); mandatory explanatory note on every occurrence; escalate to human theologian review without exception.
Works In Righteousness
Approved rendering: έργα εν δικαιοσύνη
Transliteration: érga en dikaiosýni
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace not Works
Rejected alternatives: έργα εν δικαιοσύνη ερμηνευμένα με συνεργική άμβλυνση (‘τα έργα βοήθησαν, αλλά όχι μόνα τους’)
Original: ἔργα ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM. Titus 3:5, THE letter’s central grace-vs-works exclusion clause. Must be translated so that δικαιοσύνη’s forensic/moral sense is unmistakably excluded as salvation’s ground, guarding against any synergistic softening that Orthodox theosis-framed readings might import.
Divisive Person
Approved rendering: αιρετικός
Transliteration: eretikós
Doctrine: Avoiding Divisive Controversies
Rejected alternatives: αιρετικός αποδοσμένος με το πλήρες σύγχρονο συνοδικό/δογματικό βάρος του όρου, χωρίς σαφή σημείωση περιορισμού, ευφημιστική αντικατάσταση (π.χ. ‘φιλόνικος’, ‘διχαστικός’ χωρίς καμία αναφορά στο αιρετικός) που εξαλείφει τη σημασιολογική συνέχεια με τη μετέπειτα ιστορία της λέξης
Original: αἱρετικὸς ἄνθρωπος
Category: Sin
NEW TERM. Titus 3:10. In Modern Greek, and in the entire subsequent history of Greek theology, αιρετικός means specifically ‘heretic’ — a technical, formally condemned, conciliar-ecclesiastical category. Paul’s immediate referent is a persistently quarrelsome, factious person over speculative disputes, not necessarily a fully developed doctrinal heresy — though the word’s own semantic trajectory shows the two senses progressively merging. Retain the word (per TGV’s disambiguating instinct, ‘divisive/factious’) WITH a mandatory scoping note; escalate to human theologian review.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: πίστη
Transliteration: písti
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace not Works / Sound Doctrine and Good Works
Rejected alternatives: πίστη με τη γενική έννοια της αφοσίωσης σε οποιαδήποτε ιδέα ή πρόσωπο
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs in Titus at 1:1,4,13; 2:2,10; 3:15, including as a required virtue-list quality for elders and household members; the object of faith (God/Christ) must remain recoverable from context in each occurrence.
Election
Approved rendering: εκλογή / εκλεκτοί
Transliteration: eklogí / eklektí
Doctrine: Divine Election / Calling
Rejected alternatives: εκλογή/εκλεκτοί ερμηνευμένοι με τη σύγχρονη πολιτική έννοια (πολιτικές εκλογές, ψηφοφορία)
Original: ἐκλεκτοί Θεοῦ
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Titus 1:1 (‘God’s elect,’ ἐκλεκτῶν Θεοῦ) grounds Paul’s ministry-purpose in God’s sovereign, gracious choice; must not default to the dominant modern political sense (elections/voting).
Promise
Approved rendering: υπόσχεση (επαγγελία)
Transliteration: epangelia
Doctrine: Reliability of God’s Character
Rejected alternatives: επαγγελία συγχεόμενη με το σύγχρονο ‘επάγγελμα’ (profession)
Original: ἐπαγγελία / ἐπηγγείλατο
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Titus 1:2: God’s promise of eternal life made before the ages began, grounding the letter’s confident hope. The Koine word is near-extinct in everyday Modern Greek, where its root survives chiefly as επάγγελμα (‘profession’); anchor with υπόσχεση.
Law
Approved rendering: νόμος
Transliteration: nómos
Doctrine: Confronting False Teachers / Avoiding Divisive Controversies
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Titus 1:14 (‘Jewish myths and commandments’) and 3:9 (‘quarrels about the law’); keep the referent Mosaic in both, and distinguish from νομικός as an occupational term (legal profession) at 3:13.
Savior
Approved rendering: Σωτήρ / σωτήρας
Transliteration: Sotír / sotíras
Doctrine: Deity of Christ / Salvation by Grace not Works
Rejected alternatives: σωτήρας με τη σύγχρονη χαλαρή έννοια ενός αθλητικού ή καθημερινού ‘σωτήρα’ μιας δύσκολης κατάστασης
Original: σωτήρ
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Applied to both God the Father (1:3; 2:10; 3:4) and Jesus Christ (1:4; 2:13; 3:6) — Titus’s most concentrated title, six occurrences in three chapters, underlining the Father’s and Son’s unity in one saving work. Must be anchored to the specific saving work described at 2:14 and 3:5, not read as generic heroism.
Training
Approved rendering: παιδεύει / εκπαιδεύει
Transliteration: pedévei / ekpedévei
Doctrine: Grace That Trains for Godly Living
Rejected alternatives: παιδεύω/παιδεύομαι με τη σύγχρονη καθημερινή έννοια του ‘με δυσκολεύει/με βασανίζει’ (‘με παίδεψε αυτή η δουλειά’), μας διδάσκει (απλή, επιπεδοποιημένη απόδοση της TGV που χάνει την παιδαγωγική διάσταση)
Original: παιδεύουσα
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM. Titus 2:12: grace’s active, formative, parental-pedagogical work — the doctrinal center of this curriculum’s namesake doctrine. Modern colloquial παιδεύομαι means ‘to struggle/have a hard time’; unglossed, ‘grace trains us’ risks sounding like grace making life hard. Requires a gloss recovering the positive, formative sense at this exact verse.
People For Possession
Approved rendering: λαός περιούσιος
Transliteration: laós periúsios
Doctrine: Universal Scope of the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: λαός περιούσιος ερμηνευμένος ως ‘λαός με περιουσία/πλούτο’
Original: λαὸς περιούσιος
Category: Covenant
NEW TERM. Titus 2:14: direct LXX quotation (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 14:2, 26:18) of Israel’s covenant-treasure status, applied to the church. Genuine asset: a Greek reader can read this in the exact LXX wording. Genuine risk: περιούσιος shares its root with the common modern word περιουσία (‘property, wealth, estate’); requires an explanatory note anchoring to the Exodus 19:5 covenant background, not material prosperity.
Good Works
Approved rendering: καλά έργα
Transliteration: kalá érga
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine and Good Works / Salvation by Grace not Works
Rejected alternatives: καλά έργα ερμηνευμένα ως συμβάλλοντα στη δικαίωση/σωτηρία (σε αντίθεση με το 3:5)
Original: καλὰ ἔργα
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM. Recurs at 1:16; 2:7,14; 3:1,8,14. Must be kept distinct from the baseline’s ‘works of the law’ and never read as contributing to justification (contrast 3:5, ‘not by works done… in righteousness’). The letter’s central fruit-not-root balance (grace excludes works as ground yet demands works as fruit) must be preserved without collapsing into legalism or antinomianism — teach 3:5 and 2:14/3:8/3:14 as a single paired unit.
Rulers And Authorities
Approved rendering: αρχές και εξουσίες
Transliteration: archés kai exusíes
Doctrine: Submission to Authority
Rejected alternatives: εξουσίες ερμηνευμένες με καχύποπτη έννοια αόριστων ‘δυνάμεων’ ή αποκρυφιστικών αρχών
Original: ἀρχαὶ καὶ ἐξουσίαι
Category: Authority
NEW TERM. Titus 3:1, parallel to Romans 13:1. Modern Greek ‘εξουσία’ carries strong connotations of power/dominance, sometimes with suspicion (‘οι εξουσίες’); keep the scope explicitly civil-governmental.
Steward
Approved rendering: οικονόμος
Transliteration: oikonómos
Doctrine: Qualifications for Elders
Rejected alternatives: οικονόμος ερμηνευμένος αποκλειστικά με τη σύγχρονη οικονομική/χρηματοπιστωτική έννοια (π.χ. ‘ο οικονόμος του Θεού’ = ‘ο λογιστής του Θεού’)
Original: οἰκονόμος
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Titus 1:7 calls the elder/overseer ‘God’s steward.’ Modern Greek οικονόμος/οικονομία is dominated by the financial/economic sense (οικονομικά, Υπουργείο Οικονομικών). Requires a note anchoring to the household-management/trustee sense (cf. Luke 12:42; 1 Corinthians 4:1-2).
Overseer
Approved rendering: επίσκοπος
Transliteration: epískopos
Doctrine: Qualifications for Elders
Rejected alternatives: επίσκοπος ερμηνευμένος αποκλειστικά ως ο σημερινός χειροτονημένος διοικητικός επισκοπικός αξιωματούχος
Original: ἐπίσκοπος
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Titus 1:7, used interchangeably with πρεσβύτερος for the same local office. Modern usage restricts this exclusively to a consecrated diocesan bishop, a much higher and more restricted office than the NT’s town-level elder-overseer; requires a clarifying note.
Devout Holy
Approved rendering: όσιος
Transliteration: ósios
Doctrine: Qualifications for Elders
Rejected alternatives: όσιος ερμηνευμένος αποκλειστικά με την ειδική αγιολογική έννοια τίτλου κανονισμένου ασκητή αγίου (‘Όσιος Παΐσιος’)
Original: ὅσιος
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Titus 1:8, one of the four-part elder virtue list (σώφρων, δίκαιος, ὅσιος, ἐγκρατής). Distinct from ἅγιος (baseline Critical). In Modern Greek Orthodox usage ‘Όσιος’ is a specific hagiographic title (‘Venerable’) for a category of canonized ascetics; applied generically here, risks implying canonizable ascetic sanctity rather than ordinary devout godliness.
Washing
Approved rendering: λουτρό
Transliteration: lutró
Doctrine: Regeneration by the Holy Spirit
Rejected alternatives: λουτρό ερμηνευμένο με τη σύγχρονη οικιακή έννοια του μπάνιου ή λουτρού σπα
Original: λουτρόν
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM. Titus 3:5, baptismal-typological reference (cf. Ephesians 5:26, the NT’s only other use of this noun). Modern Greek λουτρό is the completely ordinary word for ‘bathroom’ or ‘bath/spa.’ Requires an explanatory note anchoring to the baptismal-typological sense, not the household fixture.
Renewal
Approved rendering: ανακαίνωση
Transliteration: anakénosi
Doctrine: Regeneration by the Holy Spirit
Rejected alternatives: ανακαίνωση ερμηνευμένη με τη σύγχρονη έννοια της οικοδομικής/διαμερισματικής ανακαίνισης
Original: ἀνακαίνωσις
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM. Titus 3:5, the Spirit’s ongoing work of inward moral-spiritual transformation, paired with the once-for-all washing/regeneration. Modern Greek ανακαίνωση is the standard, extremely common word for home/building renovation (‘ανακαίνιση διαμερίσματος’). Requires an explanatory note distinguishing inward Spirit-wrought renewal from construction/remodeling.
Devote To Good Works
Approved rendering: να επιδίδονται σε καλά έργα
Transliteration: na epidídontai se kalá érga
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine and Good Works
Original: καλῶν ἔργων προΐστασθαι
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM. Titus 3:8,14. Good works as the intended fruit of justification (3:7), never its ground (3:5). Must be taught alongside the works-exclusion clause so learners do not flatten the letter’s careful grace/works distinction in either direction.
Medium Risk Terms
Peace
Approved rendering: ειρήνη
Transliteration: eiríni
Doctrine: (Salutation)
Rejected alternatives: ειρήνη με την ησυχαστική έννοια της εσωτερικής ή νοερής ησυχίας (μυστικιστική παράδοση)
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs in the letter’s opening salutation (Titus 1:4) alongside χάρη; distinguish from the Hesychast contemplative sense of inner stillness.
Glory
Approved rendering: δόξα
Transliteration: dóxa
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: δόξα με τη σύγχρονη έννοια της φήμης ή επιτυχίας (π.χ. αθλητική δόξα)
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Titus 2:13: the glory to be visibly manifested at Christ’s future appearing; avoid the secular sense of worldly fame.
Sin
Approved rendering: αμαρτία
Transliteration: amartía
Doctrine: Avoiding Divisive Controversies
Rejected alternatives: αμαρτία με την καθημερινή, εξασθενημένη έννοια του ‘κρίμα’
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies the diagnosis of the self-condemned divisive person at Titus 3:11. Avoid the weakened colloquial ‘what a shame/pity’ idiom.
Godliness
Approved rendering: ευσέβεια / ευσεβώς
Transliteration: evsébeia / evsevós
Doctrine: Grace That Trains for Godly Living
Rejected alternatives: ευσέβεια αποκλειστικά ως τελετουργική θρησκευτική τήρηση
Original: εὐσέβεια / εὐσεβῶς
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM. Reverent, God-oriented conduct; the practical, lived-out counterpart of sound doctrine (1:1) and the third term of the self/neighbor/God triad at 2:12. Guard against a merely ritual-observance reading in favor of comprehensive moral transformation.
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: ζωή αιώνιος
Transliteration: zoí aiónios
Doctrine: Blessed Hope and the Second Coming / Adoption and Heirship
Original: ζωὴ αἰώνιος
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. Life belonging to the age to come, the object of hope framing the letter (1:2; 3:7). Stable, liturgically familiar phrase; low independent risk once paired with a correctly anchored ελπίδα.
Self Controlled
Approved rendering: σώφρων / σωφρόνως
Transliteration: sófron / sofrónos
Doctrine: Grace That Trains for Godly Living / Qualifications for Elders
Rejected alternatives: σωφροσύνη αποκλειστικά ως αυτοδημιούργητη Αριστοτελική/Στωική αρετή, αποκομμένη από τη χάρη
Original: σώφρων / σωφρόνως
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM. Part of the 2:12 triad and repeated across elder and household qualification lists (1:8; 2:2,4,5,6). Greek philosophical tradition (Aristotle’s cardinal virtues) offers σωφροσύνη as self-generated excellence; anchor to grace-enabled transformation (2:11-12 grammar), not willpower alone.
Obey
Approved rendering: πειθαρχείν
Transliteration: pitharchín
Doctrine: Submission to Authority
Original: πειθαρχεῖν
Category: Authority
NEW TERM. Titus 3:1; transparent compound (πείθομαι + ἀρχή) reinforcing ὑποτάσσεσθαι; teach as a pair with ‘submit,’ not independently.
Insubordinate
Approved rendering: ανυπότακτος
Transliteration: anypótaktos
Doctrine: Submission to Authority / Qualifications for Elders
Original: ἀνυπότακτος
Category: Authority
NEW TERM. Occurs at 1:6 (elder-candidates’ children) and 1:10 (false teachers). Direct antonym of ὑποτάσσω; teach together with the submission doctrine’s Critical-risk entry.
Elder
Approved rendering: πρεσβύτερος
Transliteration: presvýteros
Doctrine: Qualifications for Elders
Original: πρεσβύτερος
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Titus 1:5, the office Titus is to appoint ‘in every town.’ Directly recognizable in Modern Greek Orthodox church structure, though modern Orthodox πρεσβύτερος denotes the ordained parish priest, a role with more liturgical/sacramental function than the NT’s teaching-and-oversight elder — worth a clarifying note.
Sound Doctrine
Approved rendering: υγιαίνουσα διδασκαλία
Transliteration: ygiénousa didaskalía
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine and Good Works
Rejected alternatives: υγιαίνουσα διδασκαλία περιορισμένη σε απλή τυπική/προτασιακή ορθότητα (‘σωστή διδασκαλία’)
Original: διδασκαλία ὑγιαίνουσα
Category: Faith
NEW TERM. Occurs at 1:9,13; 2:1,8. The health/disease metaphor (ὑγιαίνω = ordinary greeting-register ‘to be healthy’) is fully alive in Modern Greek — a genuine asset — but risks flattening into merely ‘factually correct’ rather than Paul’s fuller organic sense of teaching that nourishes spiritual life as opposed to disease-like false teaching.
Reverent Priestly
Approved rendering: ιεροπρεπής
Transliteration: ieroprepís
Doctrine: Qualifications for Elders (household code)
Rejected alternatives: ιεροπρεπής ερμηνευμένη ως ιερατική/κληρική συμπεριφορά
Original: ἱεροπρεπής
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM. Titus 2:3, only NT occurrence. Literal root (ἱερεύς, ‘priest’) risks being read as implying specifically priestly/clerical demeanor in a culture with a highly visible ordained priesthood, rather than the intended sense of general dignified reverence.
Pure Chaste
Approved rendering: αγνός / αγνή
Transliteration: agnós / agní
Doctrine: Grace That Trains for Godly Living
Original: ἁγνός
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM. Titus 2:5. Distinct root from ἅγιος (baseline Critical) though conceptually adjacent; brief disambiguating note recommended.
Working At Home
Approved rendering: εργατική στο σπίτι / οικονόμος του σπιτιού
Transliteration: ergatikí sto spíti / oikonómos tou spítiou
Doctrine: Qualifications for Elders (household code)
Original: οἰκουργός (v.l. οἰκουρός)
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Titus 2:5, textually and interpretively debated (οἰκουργός v.l. οἰκουρός). Flag for native speaker + theologian review of pastoral framing (complementarian/egalitarian application questions exist independent of the Greek rendering); paraphrase preferred over forcing a single obsolete lexical item.
Goodness Kindness
Approved rendering: χρηστότητα
Transliteration: chrestótita
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace not Works
Original: χρηστότης
Category: God
NEW TERM. Titus 3:4: God’s kindness, not human merit, as the turning point. Stable term; teach paired with φιλανθρωπία as twin descriptions of God’s saving disposition.
Loving Kindness
Approved rendering: φιλανθρωπία
Transliteration: filanthropía
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace not Works
Rejected alternatives: φιλανθρωπία περιορισμένη στη σύγχρονη έννοια της φιλανθρωπικής δωρεάς/ΜΚΟ (‘φιλανθρωπικό ίδρυμα’)
Original: φιλανθρωπία
Category: God
NEW TERM. Titus 3:4: God’s love directed at humanity as such, grounding the universal offer of 2:11. Modern Greek φιλανθρωπία has drifted heavily toward secular charitable giving. Must be anchored to God’s own disposition of love toward humankind, not human charity.
Mercy
Approved rendering: έλεος
Transliteration: éleos
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace not Works
Original: ἔλεος
Category: God
NEW TERM. Titus 3:5: the positive ground of salvation, replacing ‘works’ as the causal basis. Distinguish nuance from χάρις (favor toward the unworthy generally) — ἔλεος specifically stresses compassion toward the distressed; both remain fully alive and distinct in Modern Greek, no separate rendering required.
Foolish Controversies
Approved rendering: μωρές αναζητήσεις / διαμάχες
Transliteration: morés anazitíseis / diamáches
Doctrine: Avoiding Divisive Controversies
Rejected alternatives: ζητήσεις (χωρίς το ‘μωρές’) αναβαθμισμένες σε νόμιμη θεολογική έρευνα
Original: μωραὶ ζητήσεις
Category: Sin
NEW TERM. Titus 3:9, opening the letter’s closing warning. ζήτησις itself is a neutral word for ‘inquiry/investigation’; the force lies entirely in μωράς (‘foolish’). Ensure the translation does not accidentally dignify these disputes as legitimate theological inquiry.
Quarrels About Law
Approved rendering: μάχες περί τον νόμο
Transliteration: máches perí ton nómo
Doctrine: Avoiding Divisive Controversies
Original: μάχαι νομικαί
Category: Covenant
NEW TERM. Titus 3:9. νόμος itself is baseline High risk; keep the referent Mosaic, distinct from νομικός as an occupational term (3:13, ‘the lawyer’).
Bear Fruit
Approved rendering: καρποφορούν / άκαρποι
Transliteration: karpoforún / ákarpoi
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine and Good Works
Original: καρποφορέω / ἄκαρπος
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM. Titus 3:14, agricultural metaphor for good works as the church’s necessary fruitfulness, echoing 2:14’s ζηλωτὴν καλῶν ἔργων and the fruit-of-the-Spirit family of images (baseline Medium risk).
Knowledge Of Truth
Approved rendering: επίγνωση της αλήθειας
Transliteration: epígnosi tis alítheias
Doctrine: Divine Election / Calling
Original: ἐπίγνωσις ἀληθείας
Category: Faith
NEW TERM. Titus 1:1: full/precise knowledge of the truth, the intellectual content corresponding to the elect’s faith — truth as a body of content to be known, not merely felt.
God Who Does Not Lie
Approved rendering: ο Θεός που δεν λέει ψέματα / ο αψευδής Θεός
Transliteration: o Theós pu den léi psémata / o apsevdís Theós
Doctrine: Reliability of God’s Character
Original: ἀψευδὴς Θεός
Category: God
NEW TERM. Titus 1:2: God’s essential, incapable-of-falsehood truthfulness — the epistemological ground for the letter’s ελπίδα doctrine (Critical); a useful pastoral anchor against the everyday uncertain-hope drift.
Husband Of One Wife
Approved rendering: άνδρας μιας γυναίκας
Transliteration: ándras mías gynaíkas
Doctrine: Qualifications for Elders
Original: μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἀνήρ
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Titus 1:6, a marital-fidelity/singleness-of-devotion qualification, exact scope debated (monogamy vs. fidelity vs. remarriage questions). Flag for native speaker/theologian review as an interpretively debated phrase independent of any Greek-specific lexical risk.
Disqualified
Approved rendering: αδόκιμοι
Transliteration: adókimoi
Doctrine: Confronting False Teachers
Rejected alternatives: αδόκιμος αποδοσμένος απλά ως ‘ανίκανος’, χωρίς τη μεταλλουργική μεταφορά της δοκιμασίας
Original: ἀδόκιμος
Category: Sin
NEW TERM. Titus 1:16, ‘unfit for any good work.’ A metallurgical metaphor (metal failing assay/testing); without the testing-metaphor background, may be read merely as ‘incompetent’ rather than ‘having failed a decisive test.‘
Low Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: απόστολος
Transliteration: apóstolos
Doctrine: Apostolic and Delegated Authority
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Stable and unambiguous at Titus 1:1, grounding Paul’s commission and, derivatively, Titus’s own delegated authority (1:5; 2:15).
Heir
Approved rendering: κληρονόμος
Transliteration: klēronomos
Doctrine: Adoption and Heirship
Original: κληρονόμοι
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Titus 3:7: full inheritance-status following justification by grace; fully alive in Modern Greek inheritance law.
Zealot
Approved rendering: ζηλωτής
Transliteration: zilotís
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine and Good Works
Original: ζηλωτής
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Titus 2:14 (‘zealous for good works’) marks a positive referent shift from zeal for ancestral tradition (Galatians 1:14) to zeal for good works — note this shift explicitly in teaching material.
Circumcision
Approved rendering: περιτομή
Transliteration: peritomí
Doctrine: Confronting False Teachers
Original: περιτομή
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Titus 1:10 identifies false teachers as ‘those of the circumcision,’ linking directly to the baseline’s Critical-risk Law and Grace / Works of the Law doctrines.
Exhort
Approved rendering: προτρέπω
Transliteration: protrépo
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine and Good Works
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package (renders παρακαλέω per baseline, avoiding the everyday ‘please/you’re welcome’ sense). Titus 2:15 pairs this with rebuke as Titus’s authorized pastoral task.
Certainly Not
Approved rendering: μη γένοιτο
Transliteration: mē genoito
Doctrine: (Not directly present in Titus)
Inherited from Romans package. Not attested in Titus’s own text but retained here, available for use in derivative teaching material discussing Pauline argumentation style; living set phrase, zero-gap asset.
Ungodliness
Approved rendering: ασέβεια
Transliteration: asébeia
Doctrine: Grace That Trains for Godly Living
Original: ἀσέβεια
Category: Sin
NEW TERM. Titus 2:12; stable antonym of εὐσέβεια, the negative pole grace trains believers away from.
Worldly Desires
Approved rendering: κοσμικές επιθυμίες
Transliteration: kosmikés epithymíes
Doctrine: Grace That Trains for Godly Living
Original: κοσμικαὶ ἐπιθυμίαι
Category: Sin
NEW TERM. Titus 2:12; transparent phrase, broader than sensual sin alone — desires shaped by ‘the present age.‘
Hospitable
Approved rendering: φιλόξενος
Transliteration: filóxenos
Doctrine: Qualifications for Elders
Original: φιλόξενος
Category: Church
NEW TERM (genuine cultural asset). Titus 1:8. φιλοξενία is an actively celebrated core Greek cultural value; requires no risk-mitigation and may be leveraged pedagogically as a positive bridge.
Adorn
Approved rendering: κοσμούν / στολίζουν
Transliteration: kosmún / stolízun
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine and Good Works
Original: κοσμέω
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM. Titus 2:10: good conduct as an ornament making sound doctrine visibly attractive to outsiders. Transparent, positive metaphor.
Trustworthy Saying
Approved rendering: Πιστός ο λόγος
Transliteration: Pistós o lógos
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine and Good Works
Original: πιστὸς ὁ λόγος
Category: Faith
NEW TERM. Titus 3:8. A fixed formulaic refrain across the Pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:11); teach as a recognizable cross-letter set-phrase.
Admonition
Approved rendering: νουθεσία
Transliteration: nouthesía
Doctrine: Avoiding Divisive Controversies
Original: νουθεσία
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Titus 3:10; stable NT term (cf. Ephesians 6:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11), the graduated-discipline step before rejection of a divisive person.
Self Condemned
Approved rendering: αυτοκατάκριτος
Transliteration: aftokatákritos
Doctrine: Avoiding Divisive Controversies
Original: αὐτοκατάκριτος
Category: Sin
NEW TERM. Titus 3:11, only NT occurrence; transparent compound describing the divisive person’s persistence as itself the evidence and verdict of guilt.
Servant Of God
Approved rendering: δούλος Θεού
Transliteration: dúlos Theú
Doctrine: Apostolic and Delegated Authority
Original: δοῦλος Θεοῦ
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Titus 1:1, Paul’s self-designation of total ownership by God; positive, honorific NT usage — contrast the negative slavery-to-sin imagery of 3:3, a wholly different register on a related root.
Proclamation
Approved rendering: κήρυγμα
Transliteration: kírygma
Doctrine: Apostolic and Delegated Authority
Original: κήρυγμα
Category: Faith
NEW TERM. Titus 1:3, the medium through which God’s eternal word reaches Titus’s Cretan hearers. Stable, standard term.
Referenced passages