Semantic Analysis

Semantic Analysis — 1 John (Full Book) | English → Hungarian

Scope and Method

This analysis covers 1 John chapters 1–5 in full. The core passage (1 John 4:7-21) receives verse-by-verse treatment of every load-bearing term. Every other chapter (including 1 John 4:1-6, outside the verse-by-verse core) receives a chapter-level term study with the same fields. Where a term is already recorded in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json, the established Hungarian rendering is reused exactly and marked [REUSED FROM ROMANS TM]. New terms proposed here are marked [NEW TERM] and are risk-tiered using the same Critical/High/Medium/Low framework as the baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json. All new terms are compiled with full detail in analysis/08_core_glossary.md.

Greek text follows the standard critical (NA28-type) text; where the Hungarian Károli tradition and the Textus Receptus tradition diverge from the critical text in a doctrinally material way (notably 1 John 5:7-8, the Comma Johanneum), this is flagged explicitly.

PART A — Core Passage Verse-by-Verse: 1 John 4:7-21

4:7 — “Ἀγαπητοί, ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους, ὅτι ἡ ἀγάπη ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν, καὶ πᾶς ὁ ἀγαπῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται καὶ γινώσκει τὸν θεόν.”

ἀγαπητοί (agapētoi) — “beloved ones.” Literal: those who are loved. Semantic range: term of address/endearment, always relational, never generic. English variants: “beloved,” “dear friends,” “dear ones.” Contextual meaning: John addresses the church as objects of God’s and his own pastoral love, grounding the command to love in identity, not obligation alone. [NEW TERM] Hungarian: szeretteim. Risk: Low — standard vocative form of address used consistently in Hungarian Bible tradition (Károli: “Szeretteim”).
ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους / ἀγάπη (agapōmen allēlous / agapē) — “let us love one another” / “love.” Literal: love as self-giving commitment, not emotion first. Semantic range: distinguished in Koine from ἔρως (romantic/desiring love) and φιλία (affectionate friendship); ἀγάπη in Johannine usage denotes God’s own self-giving character and the love it produces in believers. English variants: “love,” “charity” (older). Contextual theological meaning: the entire doctrine “God is Light and God is Love” and “Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth” pivot on this word. [NEW TERM] Hungarian: szeretet (noun) / szeretjük egymást (verb form). Risk: Critical — this is the central term of the core passage and of the whole epistle’s argument that love for the brethren is the observable evidence of new birth. Hungarian “szeretet” is lexically stable and shared across Catholic and Reformed usage, but pastoral weight is high: Catholic devotional tradition may default to caritas/charitable-works associations, while Reformed tradition may default to covenantal-loyalty associations; the term itself must carry Paul’s — here John’s — own argument (love as evidence, not merit) without silently resolving either tradition’s broader framework of “love” as meritorious (Catholic) versus purely evidential (Reformed) of an already-settled election.
ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν (ek tou theou estin) — “is of/from God.” Literal: originates from God. Contextual meaning: love’s ultimate source is God’s own nature, not human achievement. Hungarian: Istentől van. Risk: Low.
γεγέννηται (gegennētai) — perfect passive of γεννάω, “has been begotten/born.” Literal: to be brought to birth; perfect tense signals a past act with continuing present result. Semantic range: physical birth, and metaphorically spiritual new birth effected by God, not self-generated. English variants: “is born of,” “has been born of,” “is begotten of.” Contextual theological meaning: the doctrinal engine of 1 John — love is not the cause of new birth but its observable fruit. [NEW TERM] Hungarian: Istentől született. Risk: Critical — see full discussion under “born_of_god” in the glossary; this phrase sits directly on the Hungarian Catholic/Reformed fault line concerning baptismal regeneration versus Spirit-wrought regeneration (parallel in weight to the baseline’s “calling”/“election” fault line).
γινώσκει τὸν θεόν (ginōskei ton theon) — “knows God.” Literal/semantic range: γινώσκω denotes experiential, relational, often progressive knowing (contrast οἶδα, settled/factual knowing — see 3:2, 3:5). Contextual meaning: genuine relational knowledge of God, evidenced by love, not merely correct doctrinal information about God. [NEW TERM] Hungarian: ismeri Istent. Risk: Medium — Hungarian preserves a partial distinction (ismer = relational/personal knowing vs. tud = factual knowing) that maps usefully onto γινώσκω/οἶδα but not perfectly; translators must track which Greek verb is used at each occurrence across the epistle (see “know” entry, glossary).

4:8 — “ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν οὐκ ἔγνω τὸν θεόν, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν.”

ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν (ho mē agapōn) — “the one not loving.” Contextual meaning: the negative counterpart to 4:7 — absence of love in the brethren indicates absence of the new birth. Hungarian: aki nem szeret. Risk: Low (structural negation of an already Critical term; carries the same weight as ἀγάπη above).
ἔγνω (egnō) — aorist of γινώσκω, “never knew” (came to know). Hungarian: nem ismerte meg. Risk: Medium — same γινώσκω/οἶδα tracking issue as 4:7.
ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν (ho theos agapē estin) — “God is love.” Literal: a predicate-nominative identity statement, not merely “God loves” or “God is loving.” Semantic range: this is one of two “God is ___” statements in the epistle (cf. 1:5 “God is light”), functioning as core theological identity claims about God’s essential nature, not incidental attributes. English variants: universally “God is love” across major English translations. Contextual theological meaning: anchors the doctrine “God is Light and God is Love” — God’s love is not a sentiment God has but a description of what God essentially is, the ground of 4:7-21’s entire argument. [NEW TERM — doctrinally load-bearing] Hungarian: Isten szeretet (rendering the predicate nominative without an inserted comparative, matching Károli-tradition “az Isten szeretet”). Risk: Critical — must never be softened to “Isten szerető” (God is loving, an attributive adjective) which would reduce an ontological identity claim to a mere character trait; must be rendered as identity statement, paralleling 1:5’s “Isten világosság” (God is light) structurally.

4:9 — “ἐν τούτῳ ἐφανερώθη ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν, ὅτι τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ ἀπέσταλκεν ὁ θεὸς εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα ζήσωμεν διʼ αὐτοῦ.”

ἐφανερώθη (ephanerōthē) — aorist passive of φανερόω, “was manifested/revealed/made visible.” Literal: to make visible what was hidden. Semantic range: revelation of what already existed but was not perceivable; used repeatedly in 1 John of both the incarnate Christ (1:2; 3:5, 8) and of God’s love. English variants: “was manifested,” “was shown,” “was revealed.” Contextual theological meaning: God’s love is not an abstraction but a historical, observable event — the sending of the Son. [NEW TERM] Hungarian: megmutatkozott / kijelentetett. Risk: Medium — must not be flattened to a purely subjective “felt” or “we came to feel God’s love”; the term denotes an objective historical disclosure.
τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ (ton huion autou ton monogenē) — “his only [unique/one-of-a-kind] Son.” μονογενής: literally “only-born/one-of-a-kind,” not “only-begotten” in a biological-generation sense but “unique, one of a kind.” English variants: “only begotten Son” (KJV), “one and only Son” (NIV), “only Son” (ESV). Contextual theological meaning: connects directly to the baseline “Son of God” doctrine — Christ’s unique, non-adoptive divine Sonship. [REUSED FROM ROMANS TM — “son_of_god” → Isten Fia, Critical] Hungarian: retain Isten Fia framework; render μονογενής as egyszülött (traditional) or egyetlen (modern), paired as egyszülött Fia. Risk: Critical — must not be read as one Son among several divine sons, nor may μονογενής be weakened to a merely honorific “beloved son” reading; this is the same Critical category as Romans’ “son_of_god” entry and must be rendered with the identical theological weight, not a lesser Christological claim.
ἀπέσταλκεν (apestalken) — perfect of ἀποστέλλω, “has sent [with a mission].” Semantic range: commissioned sending with abiding result and purpose, root of “apostle” (ἀπόστολος). Hungarian: elküldte. Risk: Low-Medium — note lexical kinship with baseline “apostle” (apostol) term, though not itself flagged Critical.
εἰς τὸν κόσμον (eis ton kosmon) — “into the world.” [NEW TERM — see “world” glossary entry] Hungarian: a világba. Risk: Medium — κόσμος in John’s writings ranges from neutral “created order/humanity” (here) to morally opposed “world-system in rebellion against God” (2:15-17; 4:4-5; 5:19); each occurrence must be checked for which sense is active.
ἵνα ζήσωμεν διʼ αὐτοῦ (hina zēsōmen diʼ autou) — “that we might live through him.” Hungarian: hogy éljünk általa. Risk: Low — connects to “eternal life” doctrine (see 5:11-13 below); no distinct risk beyond that entry.

4:10 — “ἐν τούτῳ ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγάπη, οὐχ ὅτι ἡμεῖς ἠγαπήκαμεν τὸν θεόν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι αὐτὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς καὶ ἀπέστειλεν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἱλασμὸν περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν.”

οὐχ ὅτι ἡμεῖς ἠγαπήκαμεν τὸν θεόν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι αὐτὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς (ouch hoti hēmeis ēgapēkamen ton theon, allʼ hoti autos ēgapēsen hēmas) — “not that we loved God, but that he loved us.” Contextual theological meaning: love is entirely God-originated, not a human achievement that earns or initiates God’s response — the same unmerited-favor logic as the baseline’s “grace” doctrine (Romans 4:4-5; 11:5-6), now expressed through the vocabulary of love rather than grace. Hungarian: nem mi szerettük Istent, hanem ő szeretett minket. Risk: High — while “szeretet” itself is not on the baseline’s forbidden-substitution list, this verse performs the same doctrinal function as Romans’ grace-versus-merit passages; translators must not import either tradition’s fully developed system (merit-cooperated love aimed at increase, versus love as mere evidence of an already-irresistible decree) into the rendering. Treat with the same rigor as the baseline “grace” entry.
ἱλασμὸν περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν (hilasmon peri tōn hamartiōn hēmōn) — “a/the propitiation/atoning sacrifice concerning our sins.” ἱλασμός: literally “means of appeasement/atonement,” a term from sacrificial cultic vocabulary denoting the removal of the offense sin causes before God. Semantic range: “propitiation” (satisfaction of God’s righteous judgment against sin), “expiation” (removal/cancellation of sin), “atoning sacrifice” (the sacrificial-death category). English variants: “propitiation” (ESV, KJV), “atoning sacrifice” (NIV), “atonement” (some paraphrases). Contextual theological meaning: Christ’s death satisfies God’s righteous judgment against sin; central to both the doctrine “Confession and Forgiveness of Sin” and the assurance doctrines that follow. [NEW TERM] Hungarian: engesztelő áldozat. Risk: Critical — “áldozat” (sacrifice) is the same word used of the Roman Catholic Mass understood as a re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice (misebemutatás mint áldozat); Catholic sacramental theology may read “engesztelő áldozat” through that ongoing-sacrificial lens, while Reformed theology insists Christ’s atoning sacrifice was offered once for all time (Zsid/Héber 9:26-28 logic) and is never repeated. The Hungarian rendering must preserve the once-for-all, fully sufficient sense the Greek ἱλασμός and its aorist-sent verb convey, without either affirming or polemicizing against the Mass in the text itself — this is a substantive, Hungary-specific fault line paralleling the baseline’s “imputed_righteousness” entry.
Also same clause: ἁμαρτιῶν (hamartiōn) — “sins.” [REUSED FROM ROMANS TM — “sin” → bűn, Medium baseline] Hungarian: bűneink. Risk: inherits baseline Medium tier; see also “sin unto death” (5:16-17) for an elevated, Hungary-specific Critical extension of this term later in the epistle.

4:11 — “Ἀγαπητοί, εἰ οὕτως ὁ θεὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν ἀλλήλους ἀγαπᾶν.”

ὀφείλομεν (opheilomen) — “we owe/ought.” Literal: to be under obligation, as one owes a debt. Semantic range: moral debt-obligation language, distinct from mere recommendation. English variants: “ought,” “are obligated,” “should.” Contextual meaning: love for the brethren is not optional piety but a binding response to having been loved by God. [NEW TERM] Hungarian: adósok vagyunk / kötelesek vagyunk. Risk: Low-Medium — ensure the debt-metaphor is not read as implying love earns further merit (a Catholic-synergistic misreading) nor as reducing the obligation to arbitrary rule-keeping detached from the prior experience of being loved (a legalistic misreading either tradition could produce); the obligation flows from having-been-loved, not from law considered independently, echoing the baseline’s “obedience_of_faith” pattern (hitből fakadó engedelmesség).

4:12 — “θεὸν οὐδεὶς πώποτε τεθέαται· ἐὰν ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους, ὁ θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν μένει καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη αὐτοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν τετελειωμένη ἐστίν.”

τεθέαται (tetheatai) — perfect of θεάομαι, “has seen/beheld [with sustained attention].” Contextual meaning: no one has directly, visually beheld God’s essential being; God’s love is made visible instead through the mutual love of believers. Hungarian: soha senki nem látta. Risk: Low.
μένει (menei) — present of μένω, “abides/remains/dwells.” Semantic range: a key Johannine term for continuous, settled indwelling relationship (also 4:13, 15, 16 below; cf. John 15’s vine imagery). English variants: “abides,” “remains,” “dwells,” “lives in.” Contextual theological meaning: mutual, permanent indwelling between God and the believer, foundational to the doctrine “Fellowship with God and One Another.” [NEW TERM] Hungarian: marad / lakozik. Risk: Medium — translators must render μένω consistently across the epistle (2:6, 2:24, 2:27, 3:6, 3:9, 3:14, 3:17, 3:24, 4:12-16) as a technical relational term of abiding fellowship, not merely “stays” in a spatial or temporary sense.
τετελειωμένη (teteleiōmenē) — perfect passive participle of τελειόω, “has been perfected/brought to completion.” Semantic range: reaching intended maturity/goal, not sinless moral perfection in the popular sense. English variants: “perfected,” “made complete,” “brought to full expression.” Contextual theological meaning: God’s love reaches its intended, full expression precisely through the mutual love of believers. [NEW TERM] Hungarian: teljességre jutott / beteljesedett. Risk: Medium — must not be read through a Wesleyan-holiness “entire sanctification achievable in this life” framework (a minority but real teaching in some Hungarian free-church circles); τελειόω here describes love reaching its designed completeness in mutual expression, not the eradication of the sin nature. See also 4:17-18 below.

4:13 — “Ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ μένομεν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ δέδωκεν ἡμῖν.”

γινώσκομεν (ginōskomen) — “we know” (relational/experiential). Hungarian: ebből ismerjük meg. Risk: Medium (see 4:7-8 discussion). Connects directly to the “Assurance of Salvation” doctrine: assurance here is grounded in the Spirit’s indwelling presence, evidenced by love.
ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ δέδωκεν ἡμῖν (ek tou pneumatos autou dedōken hēmin) — “he has given us of his Spirit.” [REUSED FROM ROMANS TM — “holy_spirit” → Szentlélek, Critical] Hungarian: Lelkéből adott nekünk. Risk: Critical — must retain the Spirit’s personal, divine identity (per baseline note: never an impersonal force); the syntax (“of his Spirit,” partitive) should not be read as implying the Spirit is divisible or partially given, but as the normal idiom for the Spirit’s indwelling gift to the believer.

4:14 — “καὶ ἡμεῖς τεθεάμεθα καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ ἀπέσταλκεν τὸν υἱὸν σωτῆρα τοῦ κόσμου.”

μαρτυροῦμεν (martyroumen) — “we testify/bear witness.” Semantic range: eyewitness legal/formal testimony, not mere personal opinion. [NEW TERM — connects to 5:6-10 witness cluster] Hungarian: bizonyságot teszünk. Risk: Medium — see full discussion at 5:6-10.
ὁ πατὴρ (ho patēr) — [REUSED FROM ROMANS TM — “father” → Atya, Critical].
σωτῆρα τοῦ κόσμου (sōtēra tou kosmou) — “Savior of the world.” [NEW TERM, though “salvation”/üdvösség is REUSED FROM ROMANS TM, Critical] Hungarian: a világ Megváltója/Üdvözítője. Risk: Critical — the noun “Megváltó/Üdvözítő” must carry the same weight as the baseline “salvation” (üdvösség) entry; “of the world” here is the universal-scope sense (cf. baseline “universal_scope_of_gospel,” High) rather than universalist (all humanity is saved) — must not be misread as teaching automatic universal salvation; the scope is universal offer, not universal outcome.

4:15 — “ὃς ἂν ὁμολογήσῃ ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ὁ θεὸς ἐν αὐτῷ μένει καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ θεῷ.”

ὁμολογήσῃ (homologēsē) — aorist subjunctive of ὁμολογέω, “should confess/acknowledge/agree with.” Literal: “to say the same thing” (homo- + logos) — to align one’s speech with an established truth. Semantic range: (a) confession of faith/doctrinal acknowledgment (this verse; 4:2-3), and (b) confession of sin (1:9) — two distinct objects of the same verb within the epistle. English variants: “confess,” “acknowledge,” “declare.” Contextual theological meaning: here, the public acknowledgment that Jesus is the Son of God is the boundary marker of genuine fellowship with God (parallel to Romans 10:9’s “Jesus is Lord” confession). [NEW TERM] Hungarian: megvallja. Risk: Critical — see full discussion in the glossary under “confess (faith)” and “confess (sin)”; the same Hungarian verb root (vall-) covers both senses, and must be kept distinct from the specifically Catholic sacramental term “gyónás” (auricular confession to a priest), which is not in view in either sense here.
Ἰησοῦς … ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (Iēsous ho huios tou theou) — [REUSED FROM ROMANS TM — “jesus” → Jézus, “son_of_god” → Isten Fia, both Critical].

4:16 — “καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐγνώκαμεν καὶ πεπιστεύκαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην ἣν ἔχει ὁ θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν. ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν, καὶ ὁ μένων ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ ἐν τῷ θεῷ μένει καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐν αὐτῷ μένει.”

ἐγνώκαμεν (egnōkamen) — perfect of γινώσκω, “we have come to know [and now know].” Hungarian: megismertük. Risk: Medium (see 4:7-8).
πεπιστεύκαμεν (pepisteukamen) — perfect of πιστεύω, “we have believed [and now believe].” [REUSED FROM ROMANS TM — “faith” → hit, High; verb form “hittük/elhittük”] Risk: High — same weight as baseline “faith” entry; note that here the object of faith is specifically “the love God has for us,” an unusual but important direct object of πιστεύω worth flagging so the object of faith remains recoverable (per baseline registry note on “faith”).
ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν — repetition of 4:8’s identity statement; same Critical risk and rendering rule applies (Isten szeretet, not Isten szerető).

4:17 — “Ἐν τούτῳ τετελείωται ἡ ἀγάπη μεθʼ ἡμῶν, ἵνα παρρησίαν ἔχωμεν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως, ὅτι καθὼς ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ.”

παρρησίαν (parrēsian) — “boldness/confidence/freedom of speech.” Literal: originally civic free speech in public assembly; in NT usage, unashamed confidence before God. English variants: “confidence,” “boldness.” Contextual theological meaning: the settled assurance believers may have on the day of judgment, directly tied to the doctrine “Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life.” [NEW TERM] Hungarian: bizalom / bátorság. Risk: High — this term sits on the same fault line as the baseline’s “assurance_of_salvation” doctrine (Critical in Romans 8): Hungarian Reformed theology reads such confidence as the settled fruit of perseverance-of-the-saints doctrine, while Catholic theology maintains ongoing uncertainty pending final perseverance. The Hungarian rendering must preserve John’s own confident assertion without adjudicating between the two systems.
τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως (tē hēmera tēs kriseōs) — “the day of judgment.” Hungarian: az ítélet napja. Risk: Low — standard eschatological term, shared across traditions.
καθὼς ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν (kathōs ekeinos estin kai hēmeis esmen) — “as he is, so are we.” Contextual meaning: believers’ confidence rests on their identification with Christ’s own standing, not their own performance. Hungarian: amilyen ő, olyanok vagyunk mi. Risk: Medium — must not be misread as believers becoming ontologically divine (a theosis-adjacent overreading foreign to both Hungarian traditions); the referent is relational standing/confidence before God, following the logic of “Christian Identity in Christ” already documented in the baseline (Romans 6, 8, 12).

4:18 — “φόβος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ, ἀλλʼ ἡ τελεία ἀγάπη ἔξω βάλλει τὸν φόβον, ὅτι ὁ φόβος κόλασιν ἔχει, ὁ δὲ φοβούμενος οὐ τετελείωται ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ.”

φόβος (phobos) — “fear.” Semantic range: here, specifically servile dread of punishment/judgment, not reverent awe (a different, positive sense φόβος can carry elsewhere, e.g. “fear of the Lord” as reverence). English variants: “fear,” “dread.” [NEW TERM] Hungarian: félelem. Risk: Medium — translators/teachers must clarify which sense of “fear” is meant here (servile dread cast out by love) versus the positive reverential fear commended elsewhere in Scripture, to avoid implying all fear of God is illegitimate.
τελεία ἀγάπη (teleia agapē) — “perfect/complete love.” Same τελειόω root as 4:12, 4:17. Hungarian: teljes szeretet. Risk: Medium — same perfectionism-misreading caution as 4:12.
κόλασιν (kolasin) — “punishment/torment.” Semantic range: penal, punitive suffering. Hungarian: gyötrelem / büntetés. Risk: Low-Medium — standard term, no significant cross-tradition collision, though should not be softened to mere “discomfort.”
οὐ τετελείωται (ou teteleiōtai) — “has not been perfected/brought to completion.” Hungarian: nem jutott el a teljességre. Risk: Medium (see 4:12).

4:19 — “ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν, ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς.”

αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς (autos prōtos ēgapēsen hēmas) — “he first loved us.” Contextual theological meaning: the summary statement of the priority-of-grace logic running through the whole passage — God’s love precedes and causes ours, echoing 4:10. Hungarian: ő szeretett előbb minket. Risk: High — same grace-priority sensitivity as 4:10; the temporal/logical priority (“first”) must be preserved plainly, without either resolving into full monergistic systematics or full synergistic systematics beyond what the text itself states.

4:20 — “ἐάν τις εἴπῃ ὅτι ἀγαπῶ τὸν θεόν, καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ μισῇ, ψεύστης ἐστίν· ὁ γὰρ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ὃν ἑώρακεν, τὸν θεὸν ὃν οὐχ ἑώρακεν οὐ δύναται ἀγαπᾶν.”

μισῇ (misē) — subjunctive of μισέω, “hates.” Hungarian: gyűlöli. Risk: Low.
ψεύστης (pseustēs) — “a liar.” Semantic range: one whose words and reality contradict one another; a strong, morally weighted term used repeatedly of false claims to Christian standing (1:6, 1:10, 2:4, 2:22, 4:20, 5:10). English variants: “liar,” “a false person.” [NEW TERM] Hungarian: hazug. Risk: Medium-High — must retain full moral force; not to be softened to “mistaken” or “confused,” since John’s argument is that a claim to love God while hating a brother is a self-contradiction disqualifying the claim, not an innocent error.
τὸν ἀδελφὸν (ton adelphon) — “brother.” Contextual meaning: fellow believer, the specific referent of the doctrine “Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth.” Hungarian: testvér/atyafi — standard testvér (modern) preferred for clarity; Károli-tradition atyafi may appear in older materials. Risk: Low — lexically stable across traditions, but ensure consistent use of one term throughout the curriculum.

4:21 — “καὶ ταύτην τὴν ἐντολὴν ἔχομεν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ, ἵνα ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὸν θεὸν ἀγαπᾷ καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ.”

ἐντολὴν (entolēn) — “commandment.” Semantic range: an authoritative directive, here explicitly traced back to Christ himself (“from him”). English variants: “commandment,” “command.” [NEW TERM] Hungarian: parancsolat. Risk: Medium — connects to baseline’s “law” (törvény, High) and “obedience_of_faith” (hitből fakadó engedelmesség, High) entries; this ἐντολή is not Mosaic Torah-compliance but Christ’s own relational directive flowing from and confirming love already given, and should be taught alongside those baseline terms without collapsing into “törvény” as if it were Sinai legislation.

PART B — Whole-Book Chapter-by-Chapter Study

Chapter 1 (1 John 1:1-10)

ὁ λόγος τῆς ζωῆς (ho logos tēs zōēs) — “the Word of life.” Literal: the message/person that is life itself. Semantic range: echoes John’s Gospel prologue’s Logos Christology; here applied to the apostolic eyewitness testimony about the incarnate Christ. English variants: “the Word of life,” “that which was from the beginning…concerning the Word of life.” [NEW TERM] Hungarian: az élet Igéje. Risk: Critical — directly continuous with the baseline’s “incarnation” (megtestesülés, Critical) and “son_of_god” (Isten Fia, Critical) entries; must preserve the identification of the eternal, preexistent Word with the historically seen, heard, and touched Jesus (1:1-3), guarding against any docetic reading that treats the incarnation as apparent rather than real — directly relevant to the doctrine “The Incarnation and Antichrist.”
κοινωνία (koinōnia) — “fellowship.” [REUSED FROM ROMANS TM — “fellowship” → közösség, Low baseline] Contextual note: 1 John 1:3, 1:6-7 apply κοινωνία explicitly to fellowship with the Father and the Son (vertical) as well as with other believers (horizontal), an emphasis not prominent in Romans’ usage. Risk: Medium in this curriculum (elevated from baseline’s Low for Romans’ predominantly horizontal usage) — teaching must make clear that fellowship with God, not merely with fellow believers, is in view, directly serving the doctrine “Fellowship with God and One Another.”
φῶς (phōs) / σκοτία, σκότος (skotia, skotos) — “light” / “darkness.” Literal: light and darkness. Semantic range: John uses these both as literal sensory categories and — dominantly here — as moral-relational categories (holiness/truth versus sin/falsehood), not cosmological dualism (contrast Gnostic/Manichaean-type dualisms of two co-eternal powers). English variants: “light”/“darkness” universally. [NEW TERM] Hungarian: világosság / sötétség (Károli-tradition rendering; “világosság” preferred over generic “fény” for the theological sense, following established Hungarian Bible usage at 1:5, cf. also John 1:5, 8:12). Risk: Medium — must be taught explicitly as ethical-relational categories (God’s holy, truthful self-disclosure versus sin’s concealment), not metaphysical dualism; central to the doctrine “God is Light and God is Love.”
περιπατοῦμεν ἐν (peripatoumen en) — “we walk in.” Literal: to walk about; idiomatic for habitual conduct/lifestyle. [NEW TERM] Hungarian: járunk a [világosságban/sötétségben]. Risk: Low-Medium — standard biblical idiom for lifestyle, well-attested in Hungarian Bible tradition; ensure idiom is not flattened to literal “walking.”
ὁμολογῶμεν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν (homologōmen tas hamartias hēmōn) — “we confess our sins” (1:9). Literal: to say the same thing about our sins that God says — agreement/acknowledgment, not merely admission. [NEW TERM] Hungarian: ha megvalljuk bűneinket. Risk: Critical — this is a Hungary-specific fault line of the first order, parallel in gravity to the baseline’s “justification” and “grace” entries: Roman Catholic tradition possesses a specific sacramental category, gyónás (auricular confession of sins to a priest, part of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, with priestly absolution), while Hungarian Reformed tradition, following the Reformation’s rejection of the sacrament of penance, holds direct confession of sin to God alone (without priestly mediation) as sufficient grounds for forgiveness under the New Covenant. The Hungarian rendering must use “megvall / megvallás” (a general confession/acknowledgment verb applicable to God directly) and must NOT use “gyón/gyónás” (which specifically denotes the priest-mediated sacramental rite) for this verse, since the text’s own model is direct confession to God with no priestly intermediary in view (cf. 2:1’s advocate being Christ himself, not a human priest).
καθαρίσῃ (katharisē) — subjunctive of καθαρίζω, “to cleanse.” Semantic range: ritual and moral cleansing; here moral cleansing from sin’s guilt and defilement. [NEW TERM] Hungarian: megtisztít. Risk: High — connects to the same fault line as confession above: must not be read as requiring a sacramental cleansing rite (e.g., absolution) as a necessary means, since the text presents God’s own faithfulness and Christ’s blood, received through confession/faith, as the effecting cause (1:7, 1:9).
πιστὸς καὶ δίκαιος (pistos kai dikaios) — “faithful and just/righteous.” [REUSED FROM ROMANS TM — “righteousness” → igazság, Critical] Hungarian: hű és igaz. Risk: Critical (inherited) — see baseline entry; here δίκαιος describes God’s own character as the ground of forgiveness, a slightly different but doctrinally continuous use from Romans’ forensic-justification sense.
τὸ αἷμα Ἰησοῦ (to haima Iēsou) — “the blood of Jesus” (1:7). Contextual meaning: Christ’s atoning death as the objective ground of cleansing from sin. [NEW TERM] Hungarian: Jézus vére. Risk: Medium-High — connects to “propitiation” (4:10) and Christ’s atoning sacrifice; ensure the cleansing is understood as accomplished once, through faith/confession, not requiring ongoing sacramental re-application.
ψεῦδος (pseudos) — “lie/falsehood,” used of one who claims sinlessness (1:8, 1:10) or false fellowship claims (1:6). Hungarian: hazugság. Risk: Medium — see also “liar” (ψεύστης) at 4:20; consistent rendering required across the epistle.

Chapter 2 (1 John 2:1-29)

παράκλητος (paraklētos) — “advocate/helper/one called alongside.” Literal: one summoned to stand alongside another, especially in a legal or supportive capacity. Semantic range: the same word John’s Gospel (14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) uses of the Holy Spirit (“Counselor/Comforter/Helper”); here (2:1) applied to Christ’s ongoing advocacy for believers before the Father. English variants: “advocate” (ESV, NIV), “comforter” (KJV, in the Gospel usage), “one who speaks to the Father in our defense” (paraphrase). [NEW TERM] Hungarian: Szószóló (recommended for 2:1, distinguishing from Szentlélek as the Spirit’s separate paraklētos role in the Gospel of John, a different curriculum). Risk: High — this term functions similarly to the baseline’s “intercession” (közbenjárás) entry and must be handled with the same sensitivity: Christ’s advocacy before the Father is direct and unmediated by any human or saintly figure, a point of natural alignment with Reformed theology’s rejection of saintly/Marian intercession (per the baseline note) and a needed clarifying emphasis for Catholic-background readers, without polemicizing against Catholic piety within the translated text itself.
ἱλασμός (hilasmos) — “propitiation/atoning sacrifice” (2:2). Same term as 4:10 above — [NEW TERM, Critical]. See full discussion at 4:10; note that 2:2 extends the scope explicitly: “not for ours only, but also for the whole world,” directly relevant to “Universal Scope of the Gospel” (already a High-risk baseline doctrine for Romans 1:16, 10:12-13) — must preserve the universal-offer sense without implying universal-outcome (automatic salvation of all).
ἀντίχριστος (antichristos) — “antichrist.” Literal: “against/instead-of Christ” — one who opposes or usurps Christ’s place. Semantic range: both a future eschatological figure (as popularly understood, drawing on other NT/OT apocalyptic texts) and, distinctively in 1 John (2:18, 2:22; 4:3; also 2 John 7), a present spirit/tendency already active in false teachers who deny the incarnation. English variants: “antichrist,” “the antichrist.” [NEW TERM] Hungarian: Antikrisztus (transliterated proper term, standard across Hungarian Bible tradition). Risk: High — a specific, historically grounded Hungarian risk: during the Reformation and Hungarian Reformed Church’s formative polemical period, Protestant reformers in Hungary (as elsewhere in Europe) at times explicitly identified “the Antichrist” with the institution of the Papacy, a polemical identification with real historical residue in some Hungarian Reformed catechetical and confessional literature (echoes of it survive in older Heidelberg Catechism commentary traditions used in Hungary). Teaching materials must present 1 John’s own definition of antichrist (denial that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh, 2:22-23; 4:2-3) as the text’s actual, self-contained criterion, explicitly not extending or narrowing it to either historic anti-Papal polemic or any other institutional identification not stated in the text itself.
κόσμος (kosmos) — “world” (2:15-17, “do not love the world”). [NEW TERM] Hungarian: világ. Risk: Medium-High — here κόσμος denotes the morally opposed world-system (contrast the neutral “world” of 4:9, 4:14); “ἐπιθυμία τῆς σαρκός” (lust of the flesh), “ἐπιθυμία τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν” (lust of the eyes), and “ἀλαζονεία τοῦ βίου” (pride/arrogance of life) specify this world-system’s contents. Hungarian: a test kívánsága / a szem kívánsága / az élet kérkedése. Risk: Medium — standard vocabulary; ensure “test” (flesh) here carries the moral-corruption sense rather than merely “body,” consistent with Pauline σάρξ usage already implicit in the baseline.
χρῖσμα (chrisma) — “anointing” (2:20, 2:27). Literal: an anointing, the result of being anointed with oil; by extension, that which is given through anointing. Semantic range: here, the Holy Spirit’s teaching presence given to all believers, enabling them to discern truth from the false teaching of the antichrists just described — not a ritual act performed on believers by the author. English variants: “anointing,” “the anointing you received.” [NEW TERM] Hungarian: kenet (“van kenetetek a Szenttől,” “az a kenet, amelyet tőle kaptatok”). Risk: Critical — a major Hungary-specific collision: kenet is the standard Hungarian term for sacramental chrism oil, used in the Catholic sacraments of Confirmation (bérmálás) and Anointing of the Sick/Extreme Unction (betegek szentségi kenete/utolsó kenet). Catholic readers may naturally read “kenet” through this sacramental-ritual lens, while the text itself describes an already-possessed, non-ritual, universal endowment of the Holy Spirit given to every believer for discerning truth (paralleling the “Testing the Spirits” doctrine). A clarifying teaching note is required, following the same escalation pattern the baseline mandates for “szentek” (saints, corporate sense): always accompany “kenet” in 2:20/2:27 with a note that this is the Holy Spirit’s teaching presence given to every believer, not a sacramental ritual applied by a minister.
ἐντολή (entolē) — “commandment,” repeated heavily in ch. 2 (2:3-4, 2:7-8). Same term as 4:21. Hungarian: parancsolat. Risk: Medium (see 4:21 discussion); note 2:7-8’s “new” yet “old” commandment (love) as a distinct theological point — continuity and newness held together, worth a teaching note but not an additional glossary risk beyond “commandment” and “love.”
μένω (menō) — “abide,” heavily used in ch. 2 (2:6, 2:10, 2:14, 2:17, 2:19, 2:24, 2:27-28). Same term as 4:12-16. Hungarian: marad/megmarad. Risk: Medium (see 4:12 discussion) — ensure consistent rendering across the whole epistle, since μένω is one of its structural theological terms (also central to “Overcoming the World” and “Assurance” doctrines: 2:17, 2:24-25, 2:28).
ψεύστης (pseustēs) — “liar” (2:4, 2:22), same term as 4:20. Risk: Medium-High (see 4:20).
τεκνία / παιδία (teknia / paidia) — “little children,” terms of pastoral address (2:1, 2:12-14, 2:18). Hungarian: gyermekeim / fiacskáim. Risk: Low — standard pastoral address, no significant doctrinal risk; distinct from the theological term “children of God” (τέκνα θεοῦ, ch. 3) though lexically related — translators should not confuse the address form with the doctrinal title.

Chapter 3 (1 John 3:1-24)

τέκνα θεοῦ (tekna theou) — “children of God” (3:1-2, 3:10). Literal: “born ones” of God (τέκνον from τίκτω, “to bear/give birth to”), emphasizing organic birth-relationship rather than legal transaction. Semantic range: distinct from, though theologically complementary to, Paul’s υἱοθεσία (adoption) metaphor used in Romans 8. English variants: “children of God,” “sons of God” (older). [NEW TERM — distinguish from baseline “adoption”] Hungarian: Isten gyermekei. Risk: Medium — must not be simply conflated with the baseline’s “adoption” (örökbefogadás, Medium) entry; while both describe the same reality of belonging to God’s family, John’s own image is birth/begetting (organic, internal transformation) rather than Paul’s legal-adoption image (external, forensic placement into the family with full inheritance rights). Teaching materials should note both images serve the same doctrine (“Assurance of Salvation”) through complementary, not competing, metaphors.
γεγέννηται ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ (gegennētai ek tou theou) — “has been born of God” (3:9, cf. 2:29, 4:7, 5:1, 5:4, 5:18). Same construction as 4:7 above. [NEW TERM, Critical] — see full discussion at 4:7; note that 3:9 adds the “God’s seed (σπέρμα, sperma) abides in him” image, discussed next.
σπέρμα αὐτοῦ (sperma autou) — “his seed” (3:9). Literal: seed, in the sense of a begetting agent that remains and produces continued likeness. English variants: “his seed,” “God’s nature,” “God’s seed.” [NEW TERM] Hungarian: Isten magva (or, in more modern idiom, Isten benne munkálkodó természete, though the literal “magva” following Károli-tradition wording is preferred for consistency with 4:7’s “Istentől született”). Risk: Medium — an unusual image for modern readers; a brief explanatory note (the seed as the abiding, transforming presence of God’s own life/Spirit within the believer, producing a settled inability to make sin one’s habitual practice, not sinless perfection) should accompany this term to prevent either an overclaim (impossibility of any sin, contradicted by 1:8-10, 2:1) or an underclaim (no real transformation).
ἀνομία (anomia) — “lawlessness” (3:4, “sin is lawlessness”). Literal: “without-law-ness,” the state or act of disregarding/transgressing law. [NEW TERM — connects to baseline “law,” törvény, High] Hungarian: törvényszegés. Risk: Medium-High — must be taught alongside the baseline’s “law” entry; John defines sin here in terms of relationship to God’s law/will broadly, not the Mosaic ceremonial law specifically debated in Romans, so the baseline’s Reformed “threefold use of the law” systematic framework should not be silently assumed as the interpretive lens for this verse.
ὁ διάβολος (ho diabolos) — “the devil” (3:8, 3:10). Literal: “the slanderer/accuser.” Semantic range: the personal, malicious spiritual adversary, source of sin’s origin (“has sinned from the beginning”) and pattern for Cain’s murder of Abel. English variants: “the devil,” “the evil one” (cf. 5:18-19; 2:13-14). [NEW TERM] Hungarian: ördög. Risk: Medium — standard, stable term across Hungarian Christian traditions with no significant folk-religious collision, though ensure “az ördög” (the devil) is distinguished consistently from “a gonosz” (the evil one, also used in 5:18-19) where the text uses different Greek terms (διάβολος vs. πονηρός) so nuance is not flattened.
τιθέναι τὴν ψυχήν (tithenai tēn psychēn) — “to lay down [one’s] life” (3:16, following Christ’s example). Literal: to place/set down one’s soul-life. Hungarian: életét adja/áldozza. Risk: Medium — connects to sacrificial-love and propitiation vocabulary (see 4:10); ensure the self-giving-love application to believers (“we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers”) is not confused with the unique, atoning character of Christ’s own sacrifice.
τὰ σπλάγχνα (ta splanchna) — “the inward parts/bowels [of compassion]” (3:17, “shuts up his heart/compassion”). Idiom for the seat of compassion. Hungarian idiomatic rendering: elzárja szívét / nem esik meg a szíve. Risk: Low — standard idiom-handling case per the baseline’s idiom-handling rule; find the natural Hungarian equivalent (heart-language) rather than a literal “bowels” rendering.
ἐν ἀληθείᾳ καὶ ἔργῳ (en alētheia kai ergō) — “in truth and deed/action” (3:18, contrasted with “in word or talk”). Hungarian: cselekedettel és igazsággal. Risk: Low-Medium — connects to “truth” (ἀλήθεια) as a recurring epistle-wide term (see ch. 1, 4, 5); ensure “igazság” here (truth, ἀλήθεια) is not confused in translation with the distinct baseline term “igazság” already assigned to δικαιοσύνη (righteousness) — Hungarian uses the same word “igazság” for both ἀλήθεια (truth) and δικαιοσύνη (righteousness), a genuine lexical overlap risk requiring context-sensitive handling in teaching notes (flagged fully in the glossary).
παρρησία (parrēsia) — “confidence/boldness” (3:21, toward God in prayer). Same term as 4:17. Risk: High (see 4:17 discussion) — 3:21-22 ties this confidence explicitly to answered prayer, a pastorally sensitive connection that must not be read as a formulaic guarantee detached from the “keeping his commandments” condition stated in the same verses.

Chapter 4 (1 John 4:1-6) — Remainder of Chapter Outside the Core Verse-by-Verse Passage

(Verses 4:7-21 are treated in full in Part A above.)

δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα (dokimazete ta pneumata) — “test the spirits” (4:1). Literal: to examine/assay, as testing metal for genuineness. Semantic range: careful, discerning evaluation against a fixed criterion, not open-ended skepticism or credulity. English variants: “test,” “try,” “examine.” [NEW TERM — directly serves the doctrine “Testing the Spirits”] Hungarian: vizsgáljátok meg a lelkeket. Risk: High — connects to the baseline’s “spiritual_gifts” entry (Medium), which already notes that both major Hungarian traditions read spiritual phenomena cautiously compared to the smaller Pentecostal/Charismatic presence in Hungary; this doctrine must be taught with the text’s own stated criterion (4:2-3, confession of Christ come in the flesh) as the test, neither over-extending into a general cessationist dismissal of all spiritual claims nor under-extending into an uncritical acceptance of any spiritual claim.
ὁμολογεῖ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα (homologei Iēsoun Christon en sarki elēlythota) — “confesses Jesus Christ having come in the flesh” (4:2-3). [NEW TERM — same ὁμολογέω root as 1:9 and 4:15; connects to REUSED “incarnation” → megtestesülés, Critical] Hungarian: megvallja, hogy Jézus Krisztus testben jött el. Risk: Critical — this is the epistle’s own definitional test for the spirit of truth versus the spirit of the antichrist (see also 2:22-23); must preserve the real, physical, historical humanity of Christ (guarding against ancient Docetism, which denied Christ truly possessed a physical body, and by extension any modern minimizing of Christ’s genuine humanity) with the same rigor the baseline requires for “incarnation” and “humanity_of_christ.”
πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας … πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης (pneuma tēs alētheias … pneuma tēs planēs) — “spirit of truth … spirit of error/deception” (4:6). Hungarian: az igazság Lelke … a téves lélek/hamisság lelke. Risk: High — connects directly to “Testing the Spirits” and must retain the personal, moral-doctrinal (not merely intellectual-error) sense of πλάνη (active, culpable deception), consistent with the antichrist discussion in ch. 2.
νενικήκατε αὐτούς (nenikēkate autous) — “you have overcome them” (4:4, of the false prophets/spirits). Same root as ch. 5’s “overcome the world.” [NEW TERM] Hungarian: legyőztétek őket. Risk: Medium — see fuller discussion of νικάω under ch. 5.

Chapter 5 (1 John 5:1-21)

νικᾷ τὸν κόσμον / ἡ νίκη (nika ton kosmon / hē nikē) — “overcomes the world” / “the victory” (5:4-5). Literal: to conquer, prevail, win a decisive victory. Semantic range: military/athletic victory language. English variants: “overcomes,” “conquers,” “has overcome.” Contextual theological meaning: the doctrine “Overcoming the World” — faith in Jesus as the Son of God is both the means and the mark of victory over the world’s opposing system (see 2:15-17, 4:4-5 above). [NEW TERM] Hungarian: legyőzi a világot / a győzelem. Risk: Medium-High — must be taught as victory accomplished through faith/union with Christ, not through human strength, moral effort, or (in some popular misreadings) prosperity/triumphalist framing detached from the text’s own qualification (faith in the Son of God as the specific means, 5:5).
μαρτυρία / μαρτυρέω (martyria / martyreō) — “testimony/witness” / “to testify” (5:6-11). [NEW TERM cluster] Hungarian: tanúbizonyság / bizonyságot tesz. Risk: Medium-High, elevated further by a specific textual-tradition issue below.
τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ τὸ αἷμα (to pneuma kai to hydōr kai to haima) — “the Spirit and the water and the blood” (5:6-8), the three witnesses. TEXTUAL NOTE — Comma Johanneum: the Textus Receptus tradition (and, following it, the Hungarian Károli 1590 Vizsolyi Biblia and its historic revisions) includes at 5:7-8 an additional Trinitarian clause not present in the earliest Greek manuscripts and absent from modern critical (NA28/UBS) editions: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost… And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood” (KJV wording reflecting the TR). Most modern scholarly translations, Hungarian and otherwise (including the modern Hungarian Bible Society’s RÚF 2014 revision, which follows the critical text), omit or bracket this clause as a later scribal addition. Risk: Critical — this is a live, Hungary-specific textual-tradition fault line: communities formed on the historic Károli text (some older Reformed congregations and printings still in circulating use) may expect the longer, explicitly Trinitarian reading, while modern critical-text-based translations used across both Catholic and Reformed publishing today do not include it. Recommendation: follow the modern critical text (shorter reading) as the base translation, per the standard set by contemporary Hungarian Bible Society practice, and supply an explicit translator/footnote disclosing the Textus Receptus variant and its history, rather than silently including or silently omitting it without comment. This must be flagged for human theologian review in every occurrence, per the same escalation logic the baseline applies to election/predestination passages.
ζωὴ αἰώνιος (zōē aiōnios) — “eternal life” (5:11-13, 5:20). [NEW TERM, though closely tied to REUSED “salvation” → üdvösség, Critical] Hungarian: örök élet. Risk: Critical — 5:13 (“these things I have written…that you may know that you have eternal life”) is 1 John’s own assurance-of-salvation thesis statement, functioning for this curriculum exactly as Romans 8:28-39 functions for the baseline’s “assurance_of_salvation” doctrine (Critical): Hungarian Reformed perseverance-of-the-saints doctrine reads this as settled, knowable assurance in the present, while Catholic theology maintains ongoing uncertainty pending final perseverance and (in traditional teaching) purgatorial purification. Must be translated to John’s own confident, present-tense claim (“you may know,” οἴδατε/εἰδέναι — settled knowledge) without adjudicating between the two systems within the text itself.
ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον / οὐ πρὸς θάνατον (hamartia pros thanaton / ou pros thanaton) — “sin leading to death” / “sin not leading to death” (5:16-17). Literal: sin directed toward/resulting in death. Semantic range: much debated; commonly understood as a settled, decisive rejection of Christ (possibly connected to the antichrist-teachers of ch. 2 and 4) versus ordinary sins believers commit and are forgiven for. English variants: “mortal sin”/“sin unto death” (older/literal), “sin that leads to death” (modern). [NEW TERM] Hungarian recommendation: halálra vezető bűn / nem halálra vezető bűn (a periphrastic, descriptive rendering). Risk: Critical — a major, specific Hungary-only collision: the standard fixed Hungarian Catholic catechetical term for grave sin is “halálos bűn” (literally “mortal/deadly sin”), the technical counterpart to “bocsánatos bűn” (“venial/pardonable sin”) in the Catholic doctrine of the two categories of sin, historically connected by Catholic tradition partly to this very passage. Rendering 5:16-17 with the fixed phrase “halálos bűn” would import the developed Catholic sacramental category (requiring confession to a priest for mortal sins) directly into the translated text, which Hungarian Reformed tradition does not hold in the same form. The periphrastic “halálra vezető bűn” is recommended specifically to preserve John’s own descriptive language (sin resulting in death) without invoking the fixed, systematized “halálos bűn / bocsánatos bűn” Catholic doctrinal pairing. Flag every occurrence for human theologian review.
ὁ ἀληθινός (ho alēthinos) — “the true [God]” (5:20). Distinct from ἀλήθεια (truth, ch. 1, 3-4); ἀληθινός means “genuine/real” as opposed to false or counterfeit. [NEW TERM] Hungarian: az igaz Isten. Risk: Medium — must be distinguished in teaching notes from “igazság” (truth/righteousness, see ch. 3 note on lexical overlap); here the point is God’s genuineness in contrast to the idols mentioned in the very next clause (5:21), not an epistemological claim about propositional truth per se.
τὰ εἴδωλα (ta eidōla) — “idols” (5:21, the epistle’s closing exhortation, “keep yourselves from idols”). [NEW TERM] Hungarian: bálványok. Risk: Low-Medium — literal idol worship is not a live cultural practice in contemporary Hungary, so the primary translation task is ensuring the figurative extension (anything functionally displacing the true God) is available to readers through teaching notes, without diluting the concrete, historical reference John’s own readers would have understood.
γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ τηρεῖ αὐτόν / ὁ πονηρός (gennētheis ek tou theou tērei auton / ho ponēros) — “the one born of God keeps him” / “the evil one” (5:18). Hungarian: Istentől született…megőrzi / a gonosz. Risk: Medium — continuity with 3:8-10’s devil/evil-one vocabulary; ensure consistent rendering across chapters.

Summary Cross-Reference to Baseline Romans Terms Reused Without Modification

The following terms are reused exactly from the baseline translation_memory.json and require no new risk assessment beyond what is already recorded there, though contextual notes above indicate where 1 John’s usage adds nuance: god (Isten), jesus (Jézus), son_of_god (Isten Fia), holy_spirit (Szentlélek), father (Atya), sin (bűn), fellowship (közösség), faith (hit), salvation (üdvösség), law (törvény), righteousness (igazság), apostle (apostol, referenced only incidentally), lord (Úr, 1 John does not use kyrios as prominently as Romans but “Úr” terminology must remain consistent where it occurs).

All other terms identified above are new to this curriculum and are compiled with full risk data in analysis/08_core_glossary.md.

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