Core Glossary
Core Glossary — 2 Thessalonians (English–Japanese)
Risk tiers follow the baseline’s Critical / High / Medium / Low framework (see doctrine_risk_registry.json). Status column: [BASELINE REUSE] = term and rendering already fixed by the Romans translation memory; [NEW] = term introduced by this curriculum, rendering proposed here for theologian review.
Chapter 1 Terms
| Term | Original (Greek) | Transliteration | Japanese Rendering | Risk | Doctrine | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grace | χάρις | charis | 恵み | Critical | Grace | [BASELINE REUSE] | Exact reuse; non-transactional clarification applies per baseline. |
| Peace | εἰρήνη | eirēnē | 平安 | Medium | Peace with God | [BASELINE REUSE] | Exact reuse. |
| Thanksgiving | εὐχαριστία | eucharistia | 感謝 | Low | Thanksgiving | [BASELINE REUSE] | Exact reuse. |
| Faith | πίστις | pistis | 信仰 | High | Faith | [BASELINE REUSE] | Exact reuse. |
| Perseverance | ὑπομονή | hypomonē | 忍耐 | High | Perseverance under Persecution | [NEW] | Distinguish from 我慢 (gaman, stoic self-restraint); this is hope-fueled endurance grounded in Christ’s certain return, not social-harmony stoicism. |
| Persecutions | διωγμός | diōgmos | 迫害 | Medium | Perseverance under Persecution | [NEW] | Carries weight of Japan’s Kirishitan persecution history; helpful but must stay anchored to the Thessalonians’ own 1st-century context. |
| Afflictions | θλῖψις | thlipsis | 患難 / 苦難 | Medium | Perseverance under Persecution | [NEW] | Standard Bible-Japanese term; low collision risk. |
| Kingdom of God | βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ | basileia tou theou | 神の国 | High | Kingdom Mission | [BASELINE REUSE] | Apply baseline’s 神国日本 political-history caution. |
| Righteous judgment | δίκαιος…κρίσις | dikaios…krisis | 神の正しい裁き | Critical | God’s Righteous Judgment | [NEW] | 義 collision with Bushido virtue (per baseline righteousness entry) combined with 裁き’s risk of collapsing into impersonal karmic retribution (因果). Requires theologian review at every occurrence. |
| Repay | ἀνταποδίδωμι | antapodidōmi | 報いを与える | Medium-High | God’s Righteous Judgment | [NEW] | Unlike grace, repayment framing is theologically correct here — God’s own judicial reciprocity, not human on-giri debt. |
| Vengeance/retribution | ἐκδίκησις | ekdikēsis | 報復 / 復讐 | High | God’s Righteous Judgment | [NEW] | Must be distinguished from personal revenge (仕返し); this is rightful judicial retribution by the sole rightful Judge. |
| Obey the gospel | ὑπακούω τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ | hypakouō tō euangeliō | 福音に従う | High | Obedience of Faith (Romans link) | [NEW, links to BASELINE REUSE: 信仰の従順] | Connects directly to Romans’ Obedience of Faith doctrine; maintain vocabulary consistency across curricula. |
| Eternal destruction | ὄλεθρος αἰώνιος | olethros aiōnios | 永遠の滅び | High | God’s Righteous Judgment | [NEW] | NEVER equate with Buddhist annihilation into 無 (nothingness) or rebirth-cycle dissolution; conscious, everlasting exclusion from a personal God’s presence. |
| Away from the Lord’s presence | ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ Κυρίου | apo prosōpou tou Kyriou | 主の御前から離されて | Medium | God’s Righteous Judgment | [NEW] | Relational exclusion, not merely a location of punishment. |
| Glory / glorified | δόξα / ἐνδοξάζομαι | doxa / endoxazomai | 栄光 / 栄光を受ける | Medium | Deity of Christ (Romans link) | [BASELINE REUSE: 栄光] | Exact reuse of 栄光. |
| Saints | ἅγιοι | hagioi | 聖徒 | High | Sainthood (Romans link) | [BASELINE REUSE] | Exact reuse. |
| Calling | κλῆσις | klēsis | 召し | High | Divine Calling (Romans link) | [BASELINE REUSE] | Exact reuse. |
| Power (of God) | δύναμις | dynamis | 力 (神の力 in doctrinal contexts) | Medium | Power of God (Romans link) | [BASELINE REUSE: 神の力] | Exact reuse; avoid 気 / パワー per baseline. |
Chapter 2 Terms (including core passage 2:1-12)
| Term | Original (Greek) | Transliteration | Japanese Rendering | Risk | Doctrine | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coming / Parousia (of Christ, and of the lawless one) | παρουσία | parousia | 来臨 | High | Day of the Lord / Man of Lawlessness | [NEW] | Same Japanese word MUST be used for both Christ’s coming (2:1, 2:8) and the lawless one’s parody coming (2:9) to preserve Paul’s deliberate ironic parallel. |
| Gathering together | ἐπισυναγωγή | episynagōgē | 集められること | Medium | Day of the Lord | [NEW] | Distinguish from Shinto/Buddhist festival-crowd gatherings (matsuri). |
| Day of the Lord | ἡμέρα τοῦ Κυρίου | hēmera tou Kyriou | 主の日 | Critical | Day of the Lord | [NEW] | Highest-risk new term: collision with (a) secular 終末 apocalypse pop-culture tropes, (b) direct historical resonance with Aum Shinrikyo’s “Armageddon” doomsday teaching (1995 sarin attack). Requires theologian review and careful doctrinal anchoring at every occurrence. |
| Apostasy / rebellion | ἀποστασία | apostasia | 背教 | High | Man of Lawlessness | [NEW] | Modern Japanese usage skews toward individual religious defection; must convey cosmic-scale, climactic end-times rebellion, not an individual’s private conversion away from a religion. |
| Man of Lawlessness | ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἀνομίας | anthrōpos tēs anomias | 不法の人 | Critical | The Man of Lawlessness | [NEW] | NEVER reduce to (a) a merely legal/criminal “lawbreaker” via secular 不法, (b) an anime/manga “final villain” trope, or (c) a confident identification with any specific historical/political figure. Theologian review mandatory for all occurrences. |
| Lawlessness | ἀνομία | anomia | 不法 | Critical | The Man of Lawlessness | [NEW] | Active rebellion against God’s revealed moral law, not mere lack of civil legality. |
| Son of destruction | υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας | huios tēs apōleias | 滅びの子 | High | The Man of Lawlessness | [NEW] | Distinguish 滅び from Buddhist annihilation-into-void concepts; this is personal judicial destruction under a holy God. |
| Adversary / one who opposes | ἀντικείμενος | antikeimenos | 敵対する者 | Medium | The Man of Lawlessness | [NEW] | Root sense behind “antichrist” concept, though not the specific Greek word ἀντίχριστος. |
| Temple of God | ναὸς τοῦ θεοῦ | naos tou theou | 神の神殿 | High | The Man of Lawlessness | [NEW, links to BASELINE REUSE: 神, church] | Preserve interpretive ambiguity of referent (Jerusalem temple / future temple / church); never use 寺 or 神社 (per baseline church entry). |
| Self-deification claim | ἀποδεικνύντα ἑαυτὸν ὅτι ἔστιν θεός | apodeiknynta heauton hoti estin theos | 自分を神として示す | Critical | Deity of Christ (inverse); The Man of Lawlessness | [NEW] | Sharpest historical collision point: must not be taught with direct comparison to the pre-1946 arahitogami Emperor-divinity doctrine (per baseline son_of_god entry). Theologian review mandatory. |
| The restrainer / that which restrains | τὸ κατέχον / ὁ κατέχων | to katechon / ho katechōn | 妨げているもの / 妨げている者 | High | The Man of Lawlessness | [NEW] | Deliberately ambiguous in the source text; Japanese rendering must preserve, not resolve, this interpretive openness. Flag for both native speaker and theologian review. |
| Mystery of lawlessness | μυστήριον τῆς ἀνομίας | mystērion tēs anomias | 不法の秘密 | High | The Man of Lawlessness | [NEW] | 秘密 risks dilution to a mundane “secret”; distinguish from the positive theological “mystery” (奥義) used elsewhere in Pauline usage for the gospel’s revealed plan. |
| Breath/word of his mouth | πνεῦμα τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ | pneuma tou stomatos autou | 御口の息 / 御言葉 | High | Lordship of Christ (Romans link) | [NEW] | Echoes Isaiah 11:4 messianic prophecy; do not collapse into 聖霊 [BASELINE REUSE, Critical] — this πνεῦμα refers to breath/word, not the Holy Spirit as such. |
| Nullify/bring to nothing | καταργέω | katargeō | 無力にする / 滅ぼす | Medium-High | The Man of Lawlessness | [NEW] | Same verb Paul uses in Romans 6:6 for sin/death/law being nullified; cross-reference for consistency if Romans 6:6 is treated elsewhere. |
| Working of Satan | ἐνέργεια τοῦ Σατανᾶ | energeia tou Satana | サタンの働き | Medium | The Man of Lawlessness | [NEW] | サタン is standard Japanese Christian transliteration; distinguish from folk-demon (鬼/oni) or yōkai categories — a specific personal spiritual adversary. |
| Power, signs, and false wonders | δύναμις καὶ σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα ψεύδους | dynamis kai sēmeia kai terata pseudous | 偽りの力と、しるしと、不思議 | High | The Man of Lawlessness | [NEW] | Real-world teaching resonance with Japanese new-religious-movement supernatural-power claims (e.g., Aum Shinrikyo); teach carefully without direct commentary on specific living groups. |
| Deception of unrighteousness | ἀπάτη ἀδικίας | apatē adikias | 不義の欺き | High | God’s Righteous Judgment | [NEW] | ἀδικία as negation of 義 carries the same Bushido-virtue collision caution as the baseline righteousness entry. |
| Those who are perishing | οἱ ἀπολλύμενοι | hoi apollymenoi | 滅びに向かっている者たち | Medium-High | God’s Righteous Judgment | [NEW] | Maintain lexical consistency with 滅び used at 2:3, 1:9. |
| Love of the truth | ἀγάπη τῆς ἀληθείας | agapē tēs alētheias | 真理への愛 | High | God’s Righteous Judgment / Faith (Romans link) | [NEW] | 真理 risks conflation with scientific/philosophical truth or Buddhist enlightenment-truth; clarify as specifically gospel truth about Christ. |
| Saved | σωθῆναι | sōthēnai | 救われる | Critical | Salvation (Romans link) | [BASELINE REUSE: 救い] | Exact reuse; never 解脱. |
| Sends (God actively sends delusion) | πέμπει | pempei | 神が送る | Critical | God’s Righteous Judgment | [NEW] | Must preserve the active “sends,” not soften to passive “allows”; teach alongside the prior free rejection of truth in v.10 to avoid a fatalistic misreading. Theologian review mandatory. |
| Working of error/delusion | ἐνέργεια πλάνης | energeia planēs | 惑わす力 | High | God’s Righteous Judgment | [NEW] | Parallels Romans 1’s judicial-hardening theme; cross-reference for curriculum consistency. |
| Believe the lie | πιστεῦσαι τῷ ψεύδει | pisteusai tō pseudei | 偽りを信じる | High | Man of Lawlessness / Faith (inverse) | [NEW] | Deliberate dark mirror of saving faith [BASELINE REUSE: 信仰]; the object of faith determines the outcome. |
| Judged/condemned | κριθῶσιν | krithōsin | 裁かれる | High | God’s Righteous Judgment | [NEW] | Personal, moral, judicial verdict by a holy God; never impersonal karmic cause-and-effect (因果). |
| Took pleasure in unrighteousness | εὐδοκήσαντες τῇ ἀδικίᳵ | eudokēsantes tē adikia | 不義を喜んだ | High | God’s Righteous Judgment | [NEW] | Preserves genuine human culpability alongside v.11’s judicial hardening — avoid both fatalistic and purely self-caused misreadings. |
| Beloved by the Lord | ἠγαπημένοι ὑπὸ Κυρίου | ēgapēmenoi hypo Kyriou | 主に愛されている | Medium | Divine Calling (Romans link) | [NEW] | Grounds election language in prior divine love. |
| Chose | εἵλατο | heilato | 神が選んでくださった | High | Effectual Calling (Romans link) | [BASELINE REUSE concept: 選び] | Apply baseline caution against Japan’s competitive exam/selection (受験・選抜) culture framing. |
| Sanctification of/by the Spirit | ἁγιασμὸς πνεύματος | hagiasmos pneumatos | 御霊による聖化 | Critical/High | Sanctification (Romans link) | [BASELINE REUSE: 聖化 High, 聖霊 Critical] | Genitive is grammatically ambiguous; if Holy Spirit reading chosen, use full compound 聖霊, never 霊 alone. |
| Belief of the truth | πίστις ἀληθείας | pistis alētheias | 真理を信じる信仰 | High | Faith (Romans link) | [BASELINE REUSE: 信仰] | Direct positive counterpart to 2:10’s tragic refusal. |
| Obtaining of glory | περιποίησις δόξης | peripoiēsis doxēs | 栄光を受けること | Medium | Deity/Glory (Romans link) | [BASELINE REUSE: 栄光] | Exact reuse of 栄光. |
| Traditions | παραδόσεις | paradoseis | 伝承 | High | Standing Firm in the Traditions | [NEW] | Distinguish from Mark 7’s negative “human tradition” (typically 言い伝え); this is positive, authoritative apostolic teaching. Caution against conflation with esoteric master-disciple denpo transmission or nationalist dentō/kokutai continuity rhetoric. |
| Hold fast | κρατεῖτε | krateite | しっかりと保つ / 堅く守る | Medium-High | Standing Firm in the Traditions | [NEW] | Convey active, effortful retention against destabilizing false teaching (2:1-2), not passive custom-keeping. |
| Comfort/encouragement | παράκλησις | paraklēsis | 慰め | Medium | Standing Firm in the Traditions | [NEW] | Standard term; low-moderate risk. |
| Establish/strengthen hearts | στηρίξαι | stērixai | 心を強くする | Medium | Perseverance under Persecution | [NEW] | Forms an inclusio with 2:2’s “shaken” (σαλευθῆναι); flag structural echo for translators. |
Chapter 3 Terms
| Term | Original (Greek) | Transliteration | Japanese Rendering | Risk | Doctrine | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word of the Lord runs/spreads | ὁ λόγος τοῦ Κυρίου τρέχῃ | ho logos tou Kyriou trechē | 主の言葉が広がる | Medium | Mission (Romans link) | [NEW, links to BASELINE REUSE: 宣教] | Standard evangelism-advance language. |
| Delivered from wicked/evil men | ῥύομαι ἀπὸ…ἀνθρώπων | rhyomai apo…anthrōpōn | 悪い人々から救い出される | Medium | Perseverance under Persecution | [NEW] | Distinguish 救い出す (rescue/deliverance from danger) from 救い [BASELINE REUSE, Critical, soteriological salvation]. |
| The Lord is faithful | πιστός ὁ Κύριος | pistos ho Kyrios | 主は真実な方です | Medium-High | Faith (Romans link) | [NEW, links to BASELINE REUSE: 信仰] | God’s own reliable character; the divine ground of human faith. |
| Guard from the evil one | φυλάττω ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ | phylattō apo tou ponērou | 悪い者から守る | Medium-High | The Man of Lawlessness (Satan link) | [NEW] | Personal reference to Satan; distinguish from folk-demon categories. |
| Steadfastness/perseverance of Christ | ὑπομονὴ τοῦ Χριστοῦ | hypomonē tou Christou | キリストの忍耐 | High | Perseverance under Persecution | [NEW] | Same term/risk profile as 1:4’s ὑπομονή; maintain consistency. |
| Command (apostolic authority) | παραγγέλλω | parangellō | 命じます | Medium-High | Standing Firm in the Traditions | [NEW] | Stronger register than baseline’s 勧める [Low]; do not substitute the softer term here. |
| Disorderly/idle walking | ἀτάκτως περιπατέω | ataktōs peripateō | 怠惰に歩む / 無秩序に歩む | High | Standing Firm in the Traditions / Day of the Lord | [NEW] | Risk of collapsing into generic social-shame “laziness” framing given Japan’s strong work-ethic culture; must connect to the eschatological confusion of ch.2. |
| Busybodies | περιεργαζόμενοι | periergazomenoi | 余計なことをする者 | Low-Medium | Standing Firm in the Traditions | [NEW] | Low collision risk. |
| Work and eat one’s own bread | ἐργάζομαι…τὸν ἄρτον | ergazomai…ton arton | 働いて自分のパンを食べる | Low | Standing Firm in the Traditions | [NEW] | Direct, low-risk vocabulary. |
| Imitate | μιμέομαι | mimeomai | 見習う / 倣う | Low | Standing Firm in the Traditions | [NEW] | Low risk. |
| Example/pattern | τύπος | typos | 模範 | Low | Standing Firm in the Traditions | [NEW] | Low risk. |
| Grow weary in doing good | ἐκκακέω | ekkakeō | 疲れる/心が弱る | Low-Medium | Perseverance under Persecution | [NEW] | Low-moderate risk. |
| Admonish as a brother | νουθετέω ὡς ἀδελφόν | noutheteō hōs adelphon | 兄弟として諭す | High | Standing Firm in the Traditions | [NEW] | Shame-culture risk parallel to baseline’s sin entry; must convey restorative, relational correction, not public shaming (恥). |
| The Lord of peace | ὁ Κύριος τῆς εἰρήνης | ho Kyrios tēs eirēnēs | 平和の主 | Medium | Peace with God (Romans link) | [BASELINE REUSE: 平安 concept] | Closing benediction inclusio with 1:2. |
| Authenticating sign (Paul’s hand) | σημεῖον | sēmeion | 私自身の手によるしるし | High | Standing Firm in the Traditions | [NEW] | Deliberate literary echo/contrast with 2:9’s counterfeit σημεῖα; flag for translators as a whole-letter structural feature. |
Cross-Curriculum Consistency Notes
- All rows marked [BASELINE REUSE] must appear identically to their
translation_memory.json(Romans) rendering; Phase 2 processing must load the Romans translation memory alongside any updated 2 Thessalonians memory before translating any segment. - New terms marked [NEW] with Critical or High risk (Day of the Lord, Man of Lawlessness, Lawlessness, Son of Destruction, Self-deification claim, Sends [God actively sends delusion], Judged/condemned, Righteous judgment, Traditions, The Restrainer, Mystery of Lawlessness, Deception of unrighteousness, Love of the truth, Believe the lie, Working of error/delusion, Admonish as a brother, Disorderly/idle walking, Perseverance) require human theologian review before promotion into an updated translation memory, per the baseline’s escalation rules.
- The deliberate Greek wordplay on παρουσία (used identically of Christ’s coming and the lawless one’s coming) and on σημεῖον (used both of satanic false signs in 2:9 and Paul’s authenticating sign in 3:17) must be preserved through consistent, identical Japanese renderings in each pair, not resolved into distinct vocabulary that would erase Paul’s intended parallels/contrasts.
- This glossary should be merged into an updated
translation_memory.jsonanddoctrine_risk_registry.jsonfor 2 Thessalonians in a subsequent Phase 1 step, following the same JSON schema demonstrated in the Romans baseline.
Critical Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: 恵み
Transliteration: megumi
Doctrine: Grace and Peace from God
Rejected alternatives: 恩返しが要る恵み, 功徳
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. 2 Thessalonians 1:2, 2:16, and 3:16 use grace in the letter’s opening/closing inclusio; the on-giri reciprocity risk applies identically — 2:16’s grace grounding ‘eternal comfort and good hope’ must not be read as a debt requiring repayment through perseverance.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: 義
Transliteration: gi
Doctrine: God’s Righteous Judgment
Rejected alternatives: 道徳, 正義感
Inherited from Romans package. 2 Thessalonians applies 義 in its judicial/forensic sense within ‘God’s righteous judgment’ (1:5-9) and its negation ἀδικία (‘unrighteousness’) at 2:10 and 2:12; the Bushido-virtue collision documented in the baseline applies to both the positive and negative uses of this root and must be flagged at every occurrence in this letter.
Salvation
Approved rendering: 救い
Transliteration: sukui
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 解脱, 極楽往生
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. 2 Thessalonians 2:10 uniquely states salvation can be refused (‘they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved’); must not be flattened into a fatalistic reading that erases genuine human responsibility for rejecting the gospel. NEVER use 解脱.
Lord
Approved rendering: 主
Transliteration: shu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 主君, ご主人様
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. 2 Thessalonians repeatedly pairs 主 with the true, glorious parousia (2:1, 2:8) in deliberate contrast to the lawless one’s satanically empowered parody parousia (2:9); consistent, unambiguous use of 主 exclusively for Christ is essential to preserving this contrast.
Messiah
Approved rendering: キリスト
Transliteration: Kirisuto
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Rejected alternatives: 救世主
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. As in Romans, the risk is biblical illiteracy (キリスト as a foreign cultural brand) rather than syncretism; 2 Thessalonians requires explanatory teaching connecting キリスト to the OT-rooted Day of the Lord expectation this letter corrects.
Jesus
Approved rendering: イエス
Transliteration: Iesu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ゼズス
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Used throughout 2 Thessalonians as ‘our Lord Jesus [Christ]’; never ゼズス in modern text.
God
Approved rendering: 神
Transliteration: Kami
Doctrine: Self-Exaltation and Blasphemous Self-Deification
Rejected alternatives: 八百万の神の一柱としての神, 神様
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. The 唯一のまことの神 qualifier is especially urgent at 2 Thessalonians 2:4 (‘the temple of God … displaying himself as God’), where the surrounding blasphemy narrative makes an unqualified 神 more, not less, susceptible to confusion with Japan’s countless kami.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: 聖霊
Transliteration: Seirei
Doctrine: Sanctification by the Spirit
Rejected alternatives: 霊, 幽霊
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Contrast carefully with 2 Thessalonians 2:2’s πνεῦμα (a false claimed prophetic utterance, correctly rendered unqualified 霊 in that one specific context only) so that 聖霊’s compound form is never weakened by proximity to that unrelated usage. NEVER 霊 alone for the Holy Spirit sense, including at 2:13’s ambiguous genitive (see sanctification_of_spirit).
Parousia
Approved rendering: 来臨
Transliteration: rairin
Doctrine: The True Parousia of Christ vs. the Lawless One’s Counterfeit Coming
Rejected alternatives: パルーシア（音写、外来語として不自然）, キリストと不法の者に異なる二つの訳語を用いること
Original: παρουσία
Category: Eschatology
New term. Must render identically for BOTH Christ’s coming (2:1, 2:8) and the lawless one’s parody coming (2:9) to preserve Paul’s deliberate ironic parallel; using two different Japanese words would erase the letter’s central Christ-versus-counterfeit contrast. Flag every occurrence with a translator note reminding reviewers not to ‘correct’ this into two separate terms.
Day Of The Lord
Approved rendering: 主の日
Transliteration: Shu no Hi
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 終末（世俗的な終末ものフィクションの用語）, 審判の日（裁きの側面のみに狭めてしまう）
Original: ἡμέρα τοῦ Κυρίου
Category: Eschatology
New term — CORE CURRICULUM DOCTRINE. Requires mandatory doctrinal anchoring at every occurrence to Christ’s own authoritative, historically grounded, future return. Two distinct collision points: (a) secular 終末 apocalypse pop-culture dilution; (b) direct historical resonance with Aum Shinrikyo’s ‘Armageddon’ doomsday teaching culminating in the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack. Teach as Paul CORRECTING a false, panic-inducing claim (2:2), never as a fresh doomsday prediction.
Man Of Lawlessness
Approved rendering: 不法の人
Transliteration: Fuhou no Hito
Doctrine: The Man of Lawlessness
Rejected alternatives: 反キリスト（この箇所にはない語ἀντίχριστοςを持ち込む）, 悪魔の化身／権化（禁止語）
Original: ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἀνομίας
Category: Eschatology
New term — CORE CURRICULUM DOCTRINE. NEVER reduce to (a) a merely legal/criminal ‘lawbreaker’ via the fully secularized modern sense of 不法; (b) an anime/manga ‘final boss’ antagonist trope; or (c) a confident identification with any specific historical or political figure — the text itself (2:6-7) withholds full disclosure pending the restrainer’s removal. Theologian review mandatory for every occurrence.
Lawlessness
Approved rendering: 不法
Transliteration: fuhou
Doctrine: The Man of Lawlessness
Rejected alternatives: 法律違反（単なる法令違反に狭めてしまう）
Original: ἀνομία
Category: Eschatology
New term. 不法 defaults in ordinary modern Japanese to civil/administrative illegality (不法侵入, trespassing; 不法滞在, illegal residency). Teaching must clarify this is active moral/spiritual rebellion against God’s revealed law, not a violation of human statute.
Self Deification Claim
Approved rendering: 自分を神として示す
Transliteration: jibun wo kami toshite shimesu
Doctrine: Self-Exaltation and Blasphemous Self-Deification
Rejected alternatives: 現人神と直接比較する説明（禁止）
Original: ἀποδεικνύντα ἑαυτὸν ὅτι ἔστιν θεός
Category: Eschatology
New term — CORE CURRICULUM DOCTRINE, highest historical-political sensitivity in the letter. Must NOT be taught, translated, or illustrated in a way inviting direct one-to-one comparison to the pre-1946 State Shinto arahitogami doctrine (the Emperor as a living, incarnate divine being descended from Amaterasu, formally renounced in Hirohito’s 1946 Ningen-sengen). The man of lawlessness is a universal, future eschatological figure, not commentary on any nation’s imperial history. Theologian review mandatory for all explanatory material touching this verse.
God Sends Delusion
Approved rendering: 神が送る
Transliteration: Kami ga okuru
Doctrine: Judicial Hardening (God Sends a Deluding Influence)
Rejected alternatives: 神が許す（能動的な「送る」を弱めてしまう、禁止）
Original: πέμπει αὐτοῖς ὁ θεὸς ἐνέργειαν πλάνης
Category: Judgment
New term — one of the letter’s theologically weightiest and most easily mishandled clauses. Must preserve the Greek’s active verb ‘sends,’ not soften to a passive ‘allows,’ but must always be taught alongside 2:10’s prior free rejection of the truth so it is not misread as arbitrary divine cruelty. Human theologian review mandatory for every occurrence.
Righteous Judgment
Approved rendering: 神の正しい裁き
Transliteration: Kami no tadashii sabaki
Doctrine: God’s Righteous Judgment
Rejected alternatives: 因果応報（禁止、非人格的な因果報応の観念）
Original: δίκαιον…τοῦ θεοῦ κρίσεως
Category: Judgment
New term — CORE CURRICULUM DOCTRINE. Compounds two high-sensitivity elements: 義 (already Critical due to the baseline’s documented Bushido-virtue collision) applied here in its judicial/judge’s-verdict sense, and 裁き, which risks collision with impersonal karmic retribution (因果応報, inga ōhō) — one of the most deeply embedded moral-causality idioms in everyday Japanese — if not clearly taught as the personal moral verdict of a holy, personal God who is himself the wronged party. Human theologian review required at every occurrence.
Sanctification Of Spirit
Approved rendering: 御霊による聖化
Transliteration: Mitama ni yoru seika
Doctrine: Sanctification by the Spirit
Original: ἁγιασμῷ πνεύματος
Category: Sanctification
New term. The genitive πνεύματος is grammatically ambiguous — ‘by the [Holy] Spirit’ (agency) or ‘of [human] spirit’ (sphere); most interpreters favor the Holy Spirit reading. If this reading is used, the full compound 聖霊 must appear within the phrase (never 霊 alone) per baseline; flag the genitive ambiguity for translator note regardless of which reading Phase 2 ultimately adopts.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: 信仰
Transliteration: shinkou
Doctrine: Faith and Love among the Saints
Rejected alternatives: 信心, 宗教心
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 sharpens the baseline risk with a direct narrative foil: ‘believe the lie’ shows the same faculty of trust, misdirected toward a false object, produces condemnation rather than salvation. The object of 信仰, not the act of believing, determines the outcome.
Calling
Approved rendering: 召し
Transliteration: meshi
Doctrine: Divine Calling and Election
Rejected alternatives: 運命, 天職
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. 2 Thessalonians 1:11 and 2:14 apply this to the believers’ ongoing summons to obtain Christ’s glory; must not collapse into 運命 (impersonal fate) or the secular 天職 career-fulfillment sense.
Called
Approved rendering: 召された
Transliteration: mesareta
Doctrine: Divine Calling and Election
Rejected alternatives: 運命づけられた, 天職
Inherited from Romans package. Supports the calling doctrine at 2 Thessalonians 1:11 and 2:13-14, where God’s sovereign summons is paired with sanctification and belief of the truth, not human achievement.
Saints
Approved rendering: 聖徒
Transliteration: seito
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: 聖者, 菩薩
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. 2 Thessalonians 1:10 applies this corporately to the whole suffering congregation, in whom Christ will be glorified at his return — not an elevated ascetic class. NEVER use 菩薩 or 聖者.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: 聖化
Transliteration: seika
Doctrine: Sanctification by the Spirit
Rejected alternatives: 修行, 悟り
Original: ἁγιασμός
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 names sanctification alongside belief of the truth as part of God’s saving choice of the believers; distinguish from 修行 and 悟り per baseline. See ‘sanctification_of_spirit’ for the genitive-ambiguity note specific to this verse.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: 神の国
Transliteration: Kami no Kuni
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God and Future Glory
Rejected alternatives: 神国日本
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. 2 Thessalonians 1:5 ties present suffering to future worthiness for the kingdom; apply the baseline’s caution regarding pre-1945 State Shinto’s 神国日本 slogan — anchor strictly to future divine vindication, never a present national-political program.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: 信仰の従順
Transliteration: shinkou no juujun
Doctrine: Obedience of the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: 空気を読んだ従順, 上下関係への服従
Original: ὑπακούω τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ (cf. ὑπακοὴ πίστεως, Rom 1:5)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package (concept link; 2 Thessalonians 1:8 uses the related phrase 福音に従う, ‘obey the gospel’). Japan’s hierarchical-obedience culture risks reducing this to social-conformity compliance rather than a Spirit-produced response, with eternal judgment explicitly attached to its absence in this letter.
Providence
Approved rendering: 摂理
Transliteration: setsuri
Doctrine: The Restrainer and God’s Sovereign Timing
Rejected alternatives: 運命, 宿命
Original: καιρῷ (ἐν τῷ ἑαυτοῦ καιρῷ, 2 Thess 2:6)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 shows even the lawless one’s unveiling is bounded by God’s sovereign appointment (‘in his own time’); NEVER 運命/宿命. See the new term ‘appointed_time’ for the specific 2:6 phrase rendering.
Apostasy
Approved rendering: 背教
Transliteration: haikyou
Doctrine: The Apostasy (The Falling Away)
Rejected alternatives: 個人の信仰放棄のみを指す訳（規模を狭めてしまう）
Original: ἀποστασία
Category: Eschatology
New term. Modern Japanese usage skews toward an individual’s private religious defection; the text (2:3) describes a large-scale, corporate, climactic end-times rebellion against God. Pair with 反逆 (rebellion) in explanatory material so the cosmic/corporate scale is not lost.
Son Of Destruction
Approved rendering: 滅びの子
Transliteration: Horobi no Ko
Doctrine: The Man of Lawlessness
Original: υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας
Category: Eschatology
New term. Hebraic idiom marking the lawless one as certainly destined for final destruction (2:3; cf. Judas, John 17:12). Distinguish 滅び from Buddhist annihilation into 無 (nothingness) or the ongoing rebirth cycle; this is personal, judicial, final destruction under a holy God.
Temple Of God
Approved rendering: 神の神殿
Transliteration: Kami no Shinden
Doctrine: The Man of Lawlessness
Rejected alternatives: 寺, 神社
Original: ναὸς τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Eschatology
New term, reusing 神 with its mandatory 唯一のまことの神 qualifier per baseline. Must never be reduced to a generic religious building via 寺 or 神社. The referent (Jerusalem temple, a future rebuilt temple, or the church as God’s temple) is genuinely debated; the Japanese rendering must preserve, not resolve, this ambiguity.
The Restrainer
Approved rendering: 妨げているもの／妨げている者
Transliteration: samatageteiru mono
Doctrine: The Restrainer and God’s Sovereign Timing
Rejected alternatives: 「政府」と確定的に訳すこと, 「聖霊」と確定的に訳すこと
Original: τὸ κατέχον / ὁ κατέχων
Category: Eschatology
New term. One of the NT’s most exegetically debated phrases (proposed referents include Roman imperial rule, human government, gospel proclamation, the Holy Spirit, or an angelic power); Paul assumes the Thessalonians already know the referent from prior oral teaching. The neuter 妨げているもの (2:6) and masculine 妨げている者 (2:7) should reflect the Greek’s own shift from neuter to masculine participle. Flag for BOTH native speaker and theologian review; never resolve into a single confident referent.
Mystery Of Lawlessness
Approved rendering: 不法の秘密
Transliteration: fuhou no himitsu
Doctrine: The Mystery of Lawlessness
Rejected alternatives: ミステリー（探偵・推理小説を連想させる外来語、禁止）
Original: μυστήριον τῆς ἀνομίας
Category: Eschatology
New term. 秘密 is fully secular everyday vocabulary and risks dilution to a mundane hidden fact; must be distinguished from the positive theological ‘mystery’ of the gospel (commonly 奥義 in Japanese theological usage) — this is a dark, ironic counterpart, not the same category of ‘mystery.‘
Breath Of His Mouth
Approved rendering: 御口の息
Transliteration: o-kuchi no iki
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 聖霊と訳すこと（禁止、πνεῦμαをこの箇所で聖霊と混同させてしまう）
Original: πνεῦμα τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ
Category: Eschatology
New term. Echoes Isaiah 11:4’s messianic prophecy (the Messiah strikes the wicked with the breath of his lips); this πνεῦμα refers to breath/spoken word, not the Holy Spirit, and must not be collapsed into 聖霊. Preserve the Isaiah 11 echo in teaching notes so Christ’s effortless authority is not lost.
Nullify
Approved rendering: 無力にする
Transliteration: muryoku ni suru
Doctrine: The Man of Lawlessness
Original: καταργέω
Category: Eschatology
New term. Christ’s total, effortless nullification of the lawless one’s power at his appearing (2:8); same verb (καταργέω) Paul uses in Romans 6:6 for sin, death, and the law being nullified in Christ — cross-reference for thematic consistency if Romans 6:6 receives detailed treatment elsewhere in the curriculum library.
Power Signs False Wonders
Approved rendering: 偽りの力としるしと不思議
Transliteration: itsuwari no chikara to shirushi to fushigi
Doctrine: Satan’s Counterfeit Power, Signs, and Wonders
Original: δυνάμει καὶ σημείοις καὶ τέρασιν ψεύδους
Category: Eschatology
New term. Satanic counterfeit miracles mimicking genuine divine signs but serving deception, not revelation (2:9). Japan’s history with new religious movements claiming supernatural powers (notably Aum Shinrikyo’s own claims) gives this verse unusual real-world resonance; teach as a general biblical category without appearing to comment on any specific living religious movement.
Deception Of Unrighteousness
Approved rendering: 不義の欺き
Transliteration: fugi no itsuwari
Doctrine: God’s Righteous Judgment
Original: ἀπάτῃ ἀδικίας
Category: Judgment
New term. ἀδικία as the negation of δικαιοσύνη (義) carries the same Bushido-virtue collision caution flagged for ‘righteousness’ in the baseline: this names a failure of right standing/conduct before God, not a lack of samurai-style moral courage.
Those Who Are Perishing
Approved rendering: 滅びに向かっている者たち
Transliteration: horobi ni mukatteiru monotachi
Doctrine: God’s Righteous Judgment
Original: τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις
Category: Judgment
New term. Maintain lexical-family consistency with 滅び used for ἀπώλεια/ὄλεθρος elsewhere in the letter (2:3, 1:9) so the Japanese reader can trace the recurring destruction vocabulary across the whole book.
Love Of The Truth
Approved rendering: 真理への愛
Transliteration: shinri he no ai
Doctrine: Love of the Truth as the Condition of Salvation
Original: ἀγάπη τῆς ἀληθείας
Category: Salvation
New term. 真理 is used broadly in Japanese for scientific, philosophical, and even Buddhist dharma-truth or enlightenment (悟り-adjacent) concepts; teaching must clarify this is specifically love for the revealed truth of the gospel concerning Christ, not abstract truth-seeking.
Working Of Error
Approved rendering: 惑わす力
Transliteration: madowasu chikara
Doctrine: Judicial Hardening (God Sends a Deluding Influence)
Original: ἐνέργειαν πλάνης
Category: Judgment
New term. God’s judicial hardening, giving over those who rejected truth to full deception (2:11); parallels the Romans 1 judicial-hardening theme. Cross-reference for theological consistency across the Romans and 2 Thessalonians curricula.
Believe The Lie
Approved rendering: 偽りを信じる
Transliteration: itsuwari wo shinjiru
Doctrine: The Man of Lawlessness
Original: πιστεῦσαι τῷ ψεύδει
Category: Judgment
New term. The tragic, judicial mirror-image of saving faith — belief directed at a lie (likely the lawless one’s self-deification claim) rather than at Christ (2:11). Faith’s object, not the mere act of believing, determines its outcome; preserve this contrast explicitly against 信仰.
Judged Condemned
Approved rendering: 裁かれる
Transliteration: sabakareru
Doctrine: God’s Righteous Judgment
Rejected alternatives: 因果（禁止、非人格的な因果応報を連想させる）
Original: κριθῶσιν
Category: Judgment
New term. Must be distinguished from impersonal karmic cause-and-effect (因果, inga) — this is a personal, moral, judicial verdict pronounced by a holy, personal God who has himself been sinned against, not an automatic cosmic mechanism.
Took Pleasure In Unrighteousness
Approved rendering: 不義を喜んだ
Transliteration: fugi wo yorokonda
Doctrine: God’s Righteous Judgment
Original: εὐδοκήσαντες τῇ ἀδικίᳵ
Category: Judgment
New term. Preserves genuine human culpability alongside 2:11’s judicial hardening language — avoid both a fatalistic reading (‘they had no choice’) and a purely self-caused reading in isolation (‘God had nothing to do with it’).
Perseverance
Approved rendering: 忍耐
Transliteration: nintai
Doctrine: Perseverance under Persecution
Rejected alternatives: 我慢（社会的調和のための忍従、この語の主要な意味として不可）
Original: ὑπομονή
Category: Perseverance
New term — CORE CURRICULUM DOCTRINE. Japan’s deeply rooted value of 我慢 (gaman) is a double-edged bridge: helpful for illustrating steadfastness, but gaman is typically self-generated stoic suppression for social harmony’s sake, whereas biblical ὑπομονή is hope-fueled endurance grounded in the certainty of Christ’s return and God’s righteous judgment (1:5-10). Teaching must actively distinguish the two at every substantial occurrence (1:4; 3:5).
Guard From Evil One
Approved rendering: 悪い者から守る
Transliteration: warui mono kara mamoru
Doctrine: The Lord’s Protection from the Evil One
Rejected alternatives: 鬼から守る（民間伝承の鬼と混同させる、禁止）
Original: φυλάξει ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ
Category: Perseverance
New term. The Lord’s direct spiritual protection from Satan’s activity (3:3); must be read as a personal reference to Satan, paralleling 2:9’s Satan doctrine, not a vague abstraction of ‘evil,’ and not conflated with Japanese folk-demon (鬼/oni) categories.
Steadfastness Of Christ
Approved rendering: キリストの忍耐
Transliteration: Kirisuto no nintai
Doctrine: Perseverance under Persecution
Original: ὑπομονὴ τοῦ Χριστοῦ
Category: Perseverance
New term. Christ-centered/Christ-directed endurance, reinforcing chapter 1’s perseverance doctrine (3:5); same term and risk profile as 1:4’s ὑπομονή — maintain terminological consistency with 忍耐 used there.
Disorderly Idle Walking
Approved rendering: 無秩序に歩む
Transliteration: muchitsujo ni ayumu
Doctrine: Church Discipline and Brotherly Admonition
Rejected alternatives: 怠惰（「だらしなさ」のみに単純化してしまう）
Original: ἀτάκτως περιπατοῦντος
Category: Church
New term. Japan’s strong work-ethic culture (documented in the well-known phenomenon of karoshi, death from overwork) risks this being reduced too moralistically to a generic social-shame issue about laziness and causing 迷惑 (meiwaku) rather than the specific pastoral issue Paul addresses: idleness rooted in a distorted eschatological expectation tied directly back to 2:1-2’s false claim that the Day of the Lord had already come. Teaching must connect this explicitly to chapter 2’s eschatological correction.
Vengeance Retribution
Approved rendering: 報復
Transliteration: houfuku
Doctrine: God’s Righteous Judgment
Rejected alternatives: 仕返し（個人的な私的報復、禁止）
Original: ἐκδίκησιν
Category: Judgment
New term. God’s own righteous, judicial retribution against persistent unbelief and rejection of the gospel (1:8); must be clearly distinguished from 仕返し (shikaeshi, personal/petty revenge) — this is judicial, not personal, retribution, executed solely by the rightful Judge.
Eternal Destruction
Approved rendering: 永遠の滅び
Transliteration: eien no horobi
Doctrine: God’s Righteous Judgment
Rejected alternatives: 無（仏教的な無への帰滅、禁止）, 輪廻からの解放（禁止）
Original: ὄλεθρον αἰώνιον
Category: Judgment
New term. The final judgment outcome for those who reject the gospel — everlasting separation from God’s presence (1:9). Must be distinguished from Buddhist annihilation into 無 (mu, nothingness/void) or the ongoing rebirth cycle; this is conscious, everlasting exclusion from the presence of a personal God.
Traditions
Approved rendering: 伝承
Transliteration: denshou
Doctrine: Standing Firm in the Traditions
Rejected alternatives: 言い伝え（マルコ7章の人間の教えという否定的意味専用に予約、ここでは使用禁止）
Original: παραδόσεις
Category: Tradition
New term — CORE CURRICULUM DOCTRINE. Japan’s rich lineage-transmission culture (伝統芸能 iemoto master-disciple succession; 秘伝/denpo ‘secret transmission’ in martial arts and Buddhist lineages) offers a genuine teaching bridge but also real conflation risk with (a) merely human custom-preservation, (b) esoteric restricted-access transmission, or (c) nationalist ‘preserving Japanese tradition’ (伝統, dentō) rhetoric tied to postwar kokutai/emperor-system continuity discourse. Distinguish explicitly from 言い伝え, the negative human ‘tradition’ Jesus criticizes in Mark 7 — this is positive, authoritative, apostolic content given openly to the whole church.
Hold Fast
Approved rendering: 堅く守る
Transliteration: kataku mamoru
Doctrine: Standing Firm in the Traditions
Original: κρατεῖτε
Category: Tradition
New term. The believers’ active, ongoing responsibility to retain the apostolic traditions against destabilizing false teaching (2:15); must convey active, effortful retention against the specific false teaching named in 2:1-2, not passive custom-keeping.
Authenticating Sign
Approved rendering: 私自身の手によるしるし
Transliteration: watashi jishin no te ni yoru shirushi
Doctrine: Standing Firm in the Traditions
Original: σημεῖον…τῇ ἐμῇ χειρὶ Παύλου
Category: Tradition
New term. Paul’s own handwritten mark as the authenticating sign of a genuine letter (3:17), guarding against exactly the forged-letter deception feared in 2:2. Deliberate thematic echo/contrast with 2:9’s counterfeit satanic ‘signs’ (σημεῖα) — flag for translators as a whole-letter literary bookend.
Belief Of The Truth
Approved rendering: 真理を信じる信仰
Transliteration: shinri wo shinjiru shinkou
Doctrine: Love of the Truth as the Condition of Salvation
Original: πίστει ἀληθείας
Category: Faith
New term. The positive counterpart to 2:10-12’s tragic refusal of the truth — saving faith directed at gospel truth (2:13); maintain the same 真理 rendering established at 2:10 for consistency across the chapter’s positive/negative contrast.
Lord Is Faithful
Approved rendering: 主は真実な方です
Transliteration: Shu wa shinjitsu na kata desu
Doctrine: Faith and Love among the Saints
Original: πιστός ἐστιν ὁ Κύριος
Category: Faith
New term. God’s own trustworthy, reliable character undergirding the believers’ security amid opposition and false teaching (3:3); reinforces the baseline’s faith entries by showing the divine side of the faith relationship — God’s own reliability, the ground of human trust.
Admonish As Brother
Approved rendering: 兄弟として諭す
Transliteration: kyoudai toshite satosu
Doctrine: Church Discipline and Brotherly Admonition
Rejected alternatives: 公然と叱責すること（公的な恥辱づけ、禁止）
Original: νουθετεῖτε ὡς ἀδελφόν
Category: Church
New term. Church discipline framed explicitly within, not outside, brotherly relationship — correction aimed at restoration, ‘not as an enemy’ (3:14-15). Japan’s shame-oriented social framework (恥, haji, public loss of face) risks this being administered or received as public shaming rather than the restorative, relational, brotherly correction Paul explicitly specifies.
Chose
Approved rendering: 神が選んでくださった
Transliteration: Kami ga erande kudasatta
Doctrine: Divine Calling and Election
Rejected alternatives: 合格させた（競争的選抜の連想、禁止）, 選抜した（競争的選抜の連想、禁止）
New term, distinct from the baseline noun 選び. Renders αἱρέομαι/εἵλατο at 2 Thessalonians 2:13 — God’s sovereign, gracious choice of the believers ‘from the beginning.’ Apply the baseline’s caution against Japan’s competitive exam/hiring ‘selection’ culture (受験, 選抜) framing this as merit-based.
Medium Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: 福音
Transliteration: fukuin
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: いい知らせ, グッドニュース
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Gospel
Inherited from Romans package. In 2 Thessalonians 1:8, functions as the content of authoritative apostolic proclamation that unbelievers are judged for rejecting (‘obey the gospel’); retain 福音 without softening into a generic ‘good news’ phrase.
Peace
Approved rendering: 平安
Transliteration: heian
Doctrine: Grace and Peace from God
Rejected alternatives: 安心, 癒し
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Opens (1:2) and closes (3:16, ‘the Lord of peace’) the letter as a structural inclusio; 3:16 frames Christ as the source of peace ‘at all times, in every way’ amid ongoing persecution — a peace that persists through hardship, not the absence of hardship.
Church
Approved rendering: 教会
Transliteration: kyoukai
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: 寺, 神社
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Addressed directly in the letter’s opening (‘to the church of the Thessalonians,’ 1:1); relevant also to the debated ‘temple of God’ referent (2:4) — the church as God’s temple is one interpretive option, never the settled sole reading. NEVER use 寺 or 神社.
Glory
Approved rendering: 栄光
Transliteration: eikou
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God and Future Glory
Rejected alternatives: 名誉
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. 2 Thessalonians 1:10 and 2:14 use this for the mutual glorification of Christ and the saints and for the believers’ ultimate destiny (‘obtaining of glory’); avoid collapsing into 名誉 (secular honor/reputation).
Power Of God
Approved rendering: 神の力
Transliteration: Kami no Chikara
Doctrine: Satan’s Counterfeit Power, Signs, and Wonders
Rejected alternatives: 気, パワー
Original: δύναμις
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. 2 Thessalonians 2:9 uses the identical Greek word δύναμις for Satan’s counterfeit power, creating a true/false power contrast; avoid 気 or パワー, which would blur rather than sharpen this contrast.
Election
Approved rendering: 選び
Transliteration: erabi
Doctrine: Divine Calling and Election
Rejected alternatives: 合格, 選抜
Original: αἱρέομαι (εἵλατο, 2 Thess 2:13)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies the doctrine ‘Divine Calling and Election’ in 2 Thessalonians 1:11 and 2:13-14; must not be framed through Japan’s competitive exam/hiring ‘selection’ culture (受験, 選抜). See the new term ‘chose’ for the specific verb rendering used at 2:13.
Mission
Approved rendering: 宣教
Transliteration: senkyou
Doctrine: Mission and the Unhindered Word of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 布教
Original: ὁ λόγος τοῦ Κυρίου τρέχῃ (2 Thess 3:1)
Category: Gospel
Inherited from Romans package. 2 Thessalonians 3:1’s request that ‘the word of the Lord may run’ carries the same Kirishitan-persecution and sakoku-era historical weight and low-receptivity awareness as the baseline; frame as Paul’s own vulnerable request for prayer amid active opposition. See the new term ‘word_of_the_lord_spreads’ for this verse’s specific phrase.
Father
Approved rendering: 父
Transliteration: chichi
Doctrine: Grace and Peace from God
Rejected alternatives: 家長
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Invoked in the letter’s opening greeting (1:1-2) and closing prayers (2:16-17); the baseline’s caution about Japan’s formal 家長 patriarchal association and the ‘absent salaryman father’ trope applies identically.
Gathering Together
Approved rendering: 集められること
Transliteration: atsumerareru koto
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord
Original: ἐπισυναγωγή
Category: Eschatology
New term. The formal, purposeful eschatological gathering of believers to Christ at his coming (2:1), echoing 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Must not be read through the lens of a Shinto/Buddhist festival-crowd gathering (matsuri).
Adversary
Approved rendering: 敵対する者
Transliteration: tekitai suru mono
Doctrine: The Man of Lawlessness
Rejected alternatives: アンチキリスト（この箇所にない語を持ち込む）
Original: ἀντικείμενος
Category: Eschatology
New term. ‘The one opposing/set against’ (2:4) — root sense behind the later theological title ‘antichrist,’ though this specific word does not occur here; avoid implying a settled cross-reference the text itself does not make.
Working Of Satan
Approved rendering: サタンの働き
Transliteration: Satan no hataraki
Doctrine: Satan’s Counterfeit Power, Signs, and Wonders
Rejected alternatives: 鬼の働き, 妖怪的な力
Original: ἐνέργεια τοῦ Σατανᾶ
Category: Eschatology
New term. サタン is the standard Japanese Christian transliteration; must be clearly distinguished from Japanese folk-demon figures (鬼, oni) or yōkai — Satan is a specific personal spiritual being, the singular adversary of God, not one folklore entity among many.
Persecutions
Approved rendering: 迫害
Transliteration: hakugai
Doctrine: Perseverance under Persecution
Original: διωγμοί
Category: Perseverance
New term. Carries genuine historical resonance for Japanese readers via the Kirishitan persecution era and the sakoku-era hidden-Christian (隠れキリシタン) experience — a helpful, weighty bridge — but must be taught as the Thessalonians’ own 1st-century Roman-context suffering, not conflated with Japan’s specific national history.
Afflictions
Approved rendering: 患難
Transliteration: kannan
Doctrine: Perseverance under Persecution
Original: θλίψεσιν
Category: Perseverance
New term. Standard Bible-Japanese theological term for broader crushing hardship paired with persecution (1:4); low collision risk.
Delivered From Evil Men
Approved rendering: 悪い人々から救い出される
Transliteration: warui hitobito kara sukuidasareru
Doctrine: The Lord’s Protection from the Evil One
Original: ῥυσθῶμεν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀτόπων καὶ πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων
Category: Perseverance
New term. Physical/circumstantial deliverance from active opposition to Paul’s mission (3:2), distinct from soteriological 救い; use 救い出す (rescue/deliver from danger) rather than 救い alone to keep this circumstantial deliverance clearly separate from eternal salvation.
Repay
Approved rendering: 報いを与える
Transliteration: mukui wo ataeru
Doctrine: God’s Righteous Judgment
Original: ἀνταποδοῦναι
Category: Judgment
New term. God’s judicial repayment of affliction to persecutors and rest to the persecuted (1:6). Interesting contrast case relative to the baseline’s on-giri caution under ‘grace’: here a repayment framework is theologically appropriate, since this is God’s own righteous judicial reciprocity as Judge, not a human social debt.
Away From Lords Presence
Approved rendering: 主の御前から離されて
Transliteration: Shu no o-mae kara hanasarete
Doctrine: God’s Righteous Judgment
Original: ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ Κυρίου
Category: Judgment
New term. Final judgment defined relationally as exclusion from the Lord’s own presence (1:9), not merely confinement to a punitive location.
Comfort
Approved rendering: 慰め
Transliteration: nagusame
Doctrine: Standing Firm in the Traditions
Original: παράκλησις
Category: Tradition
New term. God’s own comforting work, requested for the Thessalonians’ hearts amid eschatological confusion (2:16-17); standard term, must retain its connection to God as the active source of comfort.
Establish Hearts
Approved rendering: 心を強くする
Transliteration: kokoro wo tsuyoku suru
Doctrine: Standing Firm in the Traditions
Original: στηρίξαι (καρδίας)
Category: Tradition
New term. Forms a deliberate inclusio with 2:2’s ‘shaken’ (σαλευθῆναι) — flag this structural echo for translators so the chapter’s rhetorical unity (shaken hearts at the start, established hearts at the close) is preserved.
Command Apostolic
Approved rendering: 命じます
Transliteration: meijimasu
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority in Teaching and Command
Original: παραγγέλλομεν
Category: Tradition
New term. Paul’s formal apostolic charge regarding church discipline (3:6, 3:12), in a notably stronger register than 2:1’s ἐρωτῶμεν. Must be distinguished from the baseline’s softer 勧める [Low, used for παρακαλέω/exhort] — using 勧める here would understate Paul’s deliberate tonal shift from pastoral appeal to formal apostolic command.
Beloved By The Lord
Approved rendering: 主に愛されている
Transliteration: Shu ni aisareteiru
Doctrine: Divine Calling and Election
Original: ἠγαπημένοι ὑπὸ Κυρίου
Category: God
New term. The settled, completed state of being loved by the Lord, grounding the following election/calling language in God’s prior love, not human merit (2:13).
Obtaining Of Glory
Approved rendering: 栄光を受けること
Transliteration: eikou wo ukeru koto
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God and Future Glory
Original: περιποίησιν δόξης
Category: God
New term reusing the baseline 栄光 rendering exactly. The believer’s ultimate destiny of sharing in Christ’s glory at his return (2:14), the positive counterpart to chapter 1’s judgment on unbelievers.
Word Of The Lord Spreads
Approved rendering: 主の言葉が広がる
Transliteration: Shu no kotoba ga hirogaru
Doctrine: Mission and the Unhindered Word of the Lord
Original: ὁ λόγος τοῦ Κυρίου τρέχῃ
Category: Church
New term. Paul’s prayer request that the gospel message advance rapidly and without hindrance (3:1); connects to the baseline mission/evangelism doctrines.
Work Of Faith
Approved rendering: 信仰の働き
Transliteration: shinkou no hataraki
Doctrine: Faith and Love among the Saints
Original: ἔργον πίστεως…ἐν δυνάμει
Category: Faith
New term. Faith that is not merely mental assent but produces observable works, empowered by God (1:11), not human effort alone.
Appointed Time
Approved rendering: 定められた時
Transliteration: sadamerareta toki
Doctrine: The Restrainer and God’s Sovereign Timing
Rejected alternatives: 運命の時（非人格的な運命、禁止）
New term. Renders καιρῷ (‘in his own time’) at 2 Thessalonians 2:6 — God’s sovereign, purposive timing governs even the lawless one’s unveiling. Connects to the doctrine of God’s sovereign providence (see baseline 摂理); should carry the sense of a divinely appointed moment, not a random or self-determined one.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: 感謝
Transliteration: kansha
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Standard term for Paul’s recurring thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ growing faith and love (1:3, 2:13).
Exhort
Approved rendering: 勧める
Transliteration: susumeru
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority in Teaching and Command
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Must be kept distinct from this letter’s stronger 命じます (see command_apostolic) used for παραγγέλλω in chapter 3 — using 勧める for both would erase Paul’s deliberate register shift from pastoral entreaty (2:1) to apostolic command (3:6, 3:12).
Grow Weary In Doing Good
Approved rendering: 善を行うことに疲れない
Transliteration: zen wo okonau koto ni tsukarenai
Doctrine: Perseverance under Persecution
Original: μὴ ἐκκακήσητε καλοποιοῦντες
Category: Perseverance
New term. Encouragement to sustained good conduct amid the frustration of church discipline (3:13); low collision risk.
Busybodies
Approved rendering: 余計なことをする者
Transliteration: yokei na koto wo suru mono
Doctrine: Church Discipline and Brotherly Admonition
Original: περιεργαζομένους
Category: Church
New term. Idle believers who filled unproductive time meddling in others’ affairs rather than in honest work (3:11); low collision risk.
Referenced passages