Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Philippians
Table A — Baseline Terms Reused Exactly (Romans Language Package)
These terms recur in Philippians and MUST use the identical Japanese rendering already fixed in the baseline translation_memory.json. No new decision is made here; this table records where each term surfaces in Philippians for coverage traceability.
| English Term | Japanese Rendering | Baseline Risk | Philippians Occurrences | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | 神 | Critical | 1:2, 1:8, 2:6, 2:9, 2:11, 2:13, 2:15, 3:3, 3:9, 3:14, 3:19, 4:6-7, 4:9, 4:18-20 | Qualify as 唯一のまことの神 at doctrinally weighty occurrences (esp. 2:6-11). |
| Jesus | イエス | Critical | 1:1-2, 2:10-11, 3:20, 4:21 (and throughout) | |
| Christ | キリスト | High | Nearly every verse (Philippians is the most “in Christ”-saturated of Paul’s letters relative to length) | |
| Lord | 主 | Critical | 1:2, 1:14, 2:11, 2:19, 2:24, 2:29, 3:1, 3:8, 3:20, 4:1, 4:2, 4:4-5, 4:10, 4:23 | 2:11’s confession must match Romans 10:9’s established wording pattern exactly. |
| Holy Spirit | 聖霊 | Critical | 1:19, 2:1 | Never shorten to 霊 alone. |
| Father | 父 | Medium | 2:11, 4:20 | |
| Gospel | 福音 | Medium | 1:5, 1:7, 1:12, 1:16, 1:27, 2:22, 4:3, 4:15 | Philippians’ distinctive “partnership in the gospel” theme (1:5) intensifies this term’s importance across the letter. |
| Grace | 恵み | Critical | 1:2, 1:7, 4:23, and structurally underlying 1:29 (ἐχαρίσθη) and 2:9 (ἐχαρίσατο) | On-giri non-transactional caution applies with special force at 1:29 and in the gift-language of 4:10-19. |
| Faith | 信仰 | High | 1:25, 1:27, 2:17, 3:9, 3:12 (implied), 4:6 (implied) | Central to the ch.3 righteousness-by-faith argument. |
| Righteousness | 義 | Critical | 1:11, 3:6, 3:9 | THE central term for the doctrine “Righteousness by Faith versus the Law” — Bushido-virtue collision caution applies at maximum force in ch.3. |
| Justification / imputed righteousness | 義と認められること | Critical | 3:9 (δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐκ θεοῦ ἐπὶ τῇ πίστει) | |
| Salvation | 救い | Critical | 1:19, 1:28, 2:12, 3:20 (σωτήρ root) | Never 解脱; caution re: Pure Land bridge-but-not-equivalence applies. |
| Saints | 聖徒 | High | 1:1, 4:21-22 | Never 菩薩/聖者. |
| Church | 教会 | Medium | (implied throughout; addressed to “all the saints… with the overseers and deacons,” 1:1) | |
| Law | 律法 | Medium | 3:5-6, 3:9 | Never 法律 (secular law); central to ch.3 doctrine. |
| Fellowship | 交わり | Low | 1:5 (κοινωνία), 2:1, 3:10 | See 08’s Table B for Philippians-specific partnership/κοινωνία nuance beyond baseline. |
| Thanksgiving | 感謝 | Low | 1:3, 4:6 | |
| Glory | 栄光 | Medium | 1:11, 2:11, 3:21, 4:19-20 | |
| Peace | 平安 | Medium | 1:2, 4:7, 4:9 | 4:7’s “surpasses understanding” clause is Philippians-specific intensification. |
| Obedience of Faith | 信仰の従順 | High | conceptually underlies 2:8, 2:12 | Christ’s own obedience (2:8) is the archetype for believers’ faith-obedience. |
| Power of God | 神の力 | Medium | 3:10 (δύναμις τῆς ἀναστάσεως) | |
| Resurrection | 復活 | High | 3:10, 3:11 (ἐξανάστασις), 3:21 | Pop-culture “comeback” dilution caution applies. |
| Calling | 召し | High | 3:14 (ἡ ἄνω κλῆσις, “the upward call”) | |
| Incarnation | 受肉 | Critical | Doctrinal name for 2:6-7’s event | The verse itself uses κενόω, a NEW term (see Table B); 受肉 remains the correct doctrinal category-name to use in exposition/headings. |
| Son of God / Deity of Christ | 神の子 (concept; not the exact phrase in Philippians) | Critical | Underlies 2:6 (μορφῇ θεοῦ, ἴσα θεῷ) | Philippians affirms deity through different vocabulary than Romans; doctrine and risk carry over identically. |
| Exhort | 勧める | Low | 4:2 (implied tone) | |
| Election | 選び | High | conceptually underlies 3:12-14 pressing-on passage | See Table B’s ganbaru/exam-culture caution for the pressing-on vocabulary itself. |
| Israel | イスラエル | Medium | 3:5 (“of the people of Israel”) | |
| Intercession | とりなし | Medium | 1:19, 4:6 (conceptually) | |
| Providence | 摂理 | High | 1:6, 1:12, 2:13 (conceptually) | |
| Mission | 宣教 | Medium | 1:5, 1:12-18, 2:22, 4:3 (conceptually) |
Table B — New Terms Introduced by Philippians
These terms are new to the curriculum and are not in the baseline Romans package. Each is assigned a risk tier using the identical Critical/High/Medium/Low framework and must be added to translation_memory.json before Phase 2 translation begins.
| English Term | Original (Greek) | Transliteration | Japanese Rendering | Risk | Doctrine | Occurrences | Grounded Risk Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenosis / self-emptying | ἐκένωσεν (κενόω) | ekenōsen | 自分を無にして | Critical | Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis) | 2:7 | 無 (mu, “nothingness”) is a foundational Zen Buddhist concept (the “mu” kōan; muga, non-self); a Japanese reader risks hearing Christ’s kenosis as dissolution into impersonal emptiness/non-self rather than the voluntary, personal, addition-through-taking-a-servant’s-form act the text describes. Never leave 無 unqualified in doctrinal teaching. |
| Form of God | μορφὴ θεοῦ | morphē theou | 神の姿 | Critical | Deity of Christ / Incarnation | 2:6 | Asserts essential pre-existent divine nature; must not be softened to mere outward appearance (risk compounded by the deliberate later contrast with σχῆμα, “outward form,” in 2:7-8). |
| Equal with God | ἴσα θεῷ | isa theō | 神と等しい | Critical | Deity of Christ | 2:6 | Direct co-equality-with-God affirmation; must never be diluted to “godlike” or “especially favored by God.” |
| A thing to be grasped/exploited | ἁρπαγμός | harpagmos | 固執すべき特権 | High | Incarnation / Kenosis | 2:6 | Genuinely contested term in Greek scholarship; Japanese rendering must avoid implying Christ relinquished deity to become human — he retained deity while voluntarily not exploiting it. |
| Form of a servant/slave | μορφὴν δούλου | morphēn doulou | 仕える者の姿 | Critical | Incarnation / Kenosis | 2:7 | Must retain the force of δοῦλος (“slave,” total status-less submission), not a softened “helper” role — the polar opposite of μορφὴ θεοῦ in the same hymn. |
| Likeness of men | ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων | homoiōmati anthrōpōn | 人間と同じ姿 | High | Humanity of Christ / Incarnation | 2:7 | Risk of being read as mere resemblance/appearance (docetism) rather than the real, permanent assumption of human nature; must be read together with μορφή/σχῆμα for doctrinal precision. Never render with a term implying a temporary or repeatable manifestation (cf. baseline’s forbidden 化身/権化). |
| Outward form/fashion | σχῆμα | schēma | 人としての姿 | Medium-High | Incarnation / Humanity of Christ | 2:7-8 | Must be kept distinct from μορφή (essential nature) to preserve the doctrine that Christ’s divine nature is essential/unchanging while his humanity is a real, visible addition — collapsing the distinction blurs the Incarnation doctrine. |
| Slave / bondservant | δοῦλος | doulos | しもべ | Medium-High | Incarnation / Christian Identity | 1:1, 2:7 | Modern secular 奴隷 carries strong negative connotations (human trafficking); established Bible usage しもべ conveys willing, devoted service without those associations, but teaching must still register the full weight of total, status-less devotion the term implies (esp. for Christ himself in 2:7). |
| He humbled himself | ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτόν | etapeinōsen heauton | 自分を低くされた | Critical | Kenosis / Unity and Humility | 2:8 | The archetype for the ethical humility command in 2:3; must be read as radical, cost-everything self-abasement, not mere modest self-presentation. |
| Humility | ταπεινοφροσύνη | tapeinophrosynē | 謙遜 | High | Unity and Humility in the Church | 2:3 | FALSE-FRIEND RISK: 謙遜 is already a prized Japanese social virtue (modest self-presentation preserving 和/harmony) that costs the speaker little; biblical ταπεινοφροσύνη is modeled on Christ’s costly, status-abandoning self-abasement (2:6-8) and must be taught as categorically deeper than social modesty etiquette. |
| Death of a cross | θανάτου…σταυροῦ | thanatou…staurou | 十字架の死 | Critical | Kenosis / Atonement backdrop | 2:8 | Distinct DILUTION risk (not syncretism): 十字架 is common secular Japanese fashion/jewelry/tattoo iconography, divorced from crucifixion’s shame and horror; teaching must actively restore the term’s original weight, paralleling baseline’s caution about 復活’s pop-culture dilution. |
| Highly exalted | ὑπερύψωσεν | hyperypsōsen | 高く挙げられた | Critical | Lordship of Christ | 2:9 | Must convey exaltation to unique, supreme cosmic status, consistent with baseline’s “lordship_of_christ” doctrine, not merely great honor among honored figures. |
| Name above every name | ὄνομα τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα | onoma to hyper pan onoma | すべての名にまさる名 | Critical | Deity of Christ / Lordship of Christ | 2:9 | Almost certainly the divine name (LXX κύριος = YHWH) conferred on Jesus; a direct deity affirmation that must not be flattened to “a very great name.” |
| Every knee shall bow | πᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃ | pan gony kampsē | すべての膝がかがめられる | High | Lordship of Christ | 2:10 | Japan’s bowing culture (お辞儀) is a ubiquitous social-politeness gesture largely detached from worship; must be clearly taught as eschatological, universal worship-submission, not ordinary social bowing. |
| Heavenly, earthly, under the earth | ἐπουρανίων, ἐπιγείων, καταχθονίων | epouraniōn, epigeiōn, katachthoniōn | 天にあるもの、地にあるもの、地の下にあるもの | Medium | Lordship of Christ (cosmic scope) | 2:10 | Could evoke Japanese mythological cosmology (黄泉, yomi, the Shinto underworld) if left unanchored; clarify this affirms Christ’s universal Lordship, not a matching indigenous three-tier cosmos. |
| Empty conceit / vainglory | κενοδοξία | kenodoxia | 虚栄 | Medium | Unity and Humility in the Church | 2:3 | Deliberate literary echo (κενός/“empty” + δόξα/“glory”) with Christ’s self-emptying (2:7) and true glory (2:11); worth preserving for teaching even without a matching Japanese wordplay. |
| Selfish ambition / rivalry | ἐριθεία | eritheia | 自己中心的な野心 | Medium | Unity and Humility in the Church | 2:3; cf. 1:15-17 | |
| Same mind / mindset (φρονέω) | φρονέω / τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν | phroneō | 思いを一つにする / 思う | High | Unity and Humility in the Church | 1:7; 2:2; 2:5; 3:15; 3:19; 4:2; 4:10 | Central recurring verb (7x); risk of collapsing into social-conformity pressure (空気を読む) or hierarchical compliance rather than Spirit-shaped, gospel-grounded shared conviction. Must be rendered consistently across every occurrence in the letter. |
| Joy / rejoice | χαρά / χαίρω | chara / chairō | 喜び / 喜ぶ | High | Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment | 1:4, 1:18, 1:25, 2:2, 2:17-18, 2:28-29, 3:1, 4:1, 4:4, 4:10 | Dominant key term of the letter (the “epistle of joy”); must be distinguished from circumstance-dependent secular happiness (幸せ) and from Buddhist detachment-based dharma-joy (法悦); biblical χαρά persists specifically THROUGH suffering and imprisonment, grounded in union with Christ. |
| Granted as a grace (to suffer) | ἐχαρίσθη | echaristhē | 恵みとして与えられている | Critical | Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment / Grace | 1:29 | Suffering-as-gift must not be read through the on-giri reciprocal-debt lens (cf. baseline grace caution) as a cosmic obligation now owed to God; it is God’s gracious inclusion of believers in Christ’s own glory-through-suffering pattern. |
| Partnership in the gospel | κοινωνία εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον | koinōnia eis to euangelion | 福音の交わり (パートナーシップ) | High | Partnership in the Gospel | 1:5; cf. 4:15 | Beyond baseline’s general 交わり note: because this explicitly includes material/financial partnership (4:15-16), must avoid both the on-giri reciprocal-debt framework AND a flattened, purely commercial “business partner” (パートナー) sense; this is mutual gospel-investment, not a transactional or debt-generating relationship. |
| Citizenship (in heaven) | πολίτευμα / πολιτεύεσθε | politeuma / politeuesthe | 国籍 (天にある) / 市民として生活する | High | Citizenship in Heaven | 1:27; 3:20 | Japan’s strong nation-state/family-registry identity concepts (戸籍, 国籍) risk reducing this to bureaucratic registration rather than the Roman-colony backdrop of dual civic allegiance Paul intends; secondary risk of resonance with 20th-century Japanese state-identity ideology (国体), paralleling baseline’s 神の国 caution — must be anchored as primary heavenly allegiance while living responsibly on earth, not nationalist competition. |
| Righteousness by law vs. by faith | δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐν νόμῳ / τὴν διὰ πίστεως Χριστοῦ | dikaiosynēn tēn en nomō / tēn dia pisteōs Christou | 律法による義 / キリストへの信仰による義 | Critical | Righteousness by Faith versus the Law | 3:6, 3:9 | The curriculum’s central doctrinal contrast, using baseline’s most heavily flagged terms (義, 律法, 義と認められること); Paul explicitly renounces the very performance-based righteousness the Bushido-virtue sense of 義 would suggest — maximum-stakes application of the baseline’s core warning. |
| Rubbish / dung | σκύβαλα | skybala | 塵あくた | Medium | Righteousness by Faith versus the Law | 3:8 | Deliberately crude, visceral rhetoric; must not be sanitized into a bland “worthless,” which would lose Paul’s rhetorical force. |
| Knowledge of Christ | γνῶσις Χριστοῦ | gnōsis Christou | キリストを知ること | High | Righteousness by Faith versus the Law | 3:8, 3:10 | Must be distinguished from Gnostic esoteric knowledge and from Buddhist enlightenment/awakening (悟り); this is relational knowing of a person, not attained inward insight. |
| Laid hold of by Christ | κατελήμφθην ὑπὸ Χριστοῦ | katelēmphthēn hypo Christou | キリストに捕らえられている | Critical | Righteousness by Faith / Pressing on toward the Goal | 3:12 | Must be taught prior to or alongside “press on” (below) to prevent a works-righteousness misreading — pursuit is a response to grace already received, not a means of earning it. |
| Press on / goal / prize | διώκω / σκοπός / βραβεῖον | diōkō / skopos / brabeion | 目標を目指して追い求める / 目標 / 賞 | High | Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ | 3:12-14 | Direct collision risk with Japan’s intensely competitive, merit-based exam and workplace “ganbaru” (頑張る) achievement culture (parallels baseline’s 選抜/election caution); must be taught as grace-empowered response to having already been grasped by Christ, not self-earning effort. |
| Citizenship / commonwealth in heaven | πολίτευμα ἐν οὐρανοῖς | politeuma en ouranois | 私たちの国籍は天にあります | High | Citizenship in Heaven | 3:20 | See “Citizenship (in heaven)” entry above; this is the letter’s fullest statement of the doctrine. |
| Belly as god | ἡ κοιλία θεός | hē koilia theos | 彼らの神は腹 | Medium | Righteousness by Faith versus the Law (negative example) | 3:19 | Idiomatic image (appetite/self-indulgence as one’s functional god); render for natural comprehension without losing the deliberately blunt, embodied image. |
| Transformed to a glorious body | μετασχηματίσει…σύμμορφον τῷ σώματι τῆς δόξης | metaschēmatisei…symmorphon tō sōmati tēs doxēs | 栄光の姿に変えられる | Critical | Resurrection hope (Philippians extension of baseline resurrection doctrine) | 3:21 | Final bodily transformation of the same person into glory, not reincarnation into a new cycle; baseline’s 復活/輪廻転生 caution applies directly. |
| Contentment / self-sufficiency | αὐτάρκης / αὐτάρκεια | autarkēs / autarkeia | 満足すること / 足ることを学んだ | Critical | Contentment in All Circumstances | 4:11 | MAJOR CULTURE-SPECIFIC RISK: 足るを知る (“to know contentment”) is a famous Zen Buddhist-rooted proverb in Japan (iconically inscribed 吾唯足知 on the Ryōan-ji temple stone basin), locating contentment in self-disciplined reduction/extinguishing of desire. Paul’s contentment is explicitly NOT self-generated detachment but relational sufficiency grounded in Christ’s continuous external strengthening (4:13) — the two concepts are structurally similar but doctrinally opposite in their source. Must be explicitly distinguished in teaching. |
| I have learned the secret | μεμύημαι | memyēmai | 秘訣を知っている | High | Contentment in All Circumstances | 4:12 | Borrowed Greco-Roman mystery-religion initiation vocabulary; risk of resonance with Japanese esoteric-Buddhist initiation ritual (密教, mikkyō; 灌頂, kanjō) or martial-arts/manga-trope “secret technique” (奥義) framing if rendered too ritually; render as learned experiential wisdom, not ritual initiation. |
| Strengthened by Christ | ἐνδυναμοῦντί με | endynamounti me | 私を強くしてくださる方 | Critical | Contentment in All Circumstances | 4:13 | The doctrinal safeguard for αὐτάρκεια (above) — strength is continuously received from Christ, not self-generated; must always be taught paired with 4:11, and not over-extended into a generic self-help “I can achieve anything” slogan when taught alone. |
| Giving and receiving | δόσις καὶ λήψις | dosis kai lēpsis | 与えることと受けること | Medium | Partnership in the Gospel | 4:15 | Accounting/ledger metaphor for the Philippians’ financial gospel-partnership; must avoid on-giri reciprocal-debt framing (cf. κοινωνία note at 1:5) — mutual gospel investment, not a repayment ledger. |
| Acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God | θυσίαν δεκτήν, εὐάρεστον τῷ θεῷ | thysian dektēn, euareston | 良い香りとして受け入れられる、神に喜ばれる供え物 | Medium | Partnership in the Gospel | 4:18 | OT sacrificial-cultic vocabulary applied to material giving; potential positive bridge to Japanese incense/offering ritual aesthetics (お香, お供え), but must be anchored to OT covenant-sacrifice background, not flattened into generic ritual-offering imagery. |
| Virtue / moral excellence | ἀρετή | aretē | 徳 | Medium | General ethical exhortation (4:8) | 4:8 | Adjacent risk to baseline’s forbidden 功徳 (Buddhist merit-accumulation, forbidden for “grace”); 徳 is also a Confucian/Buddhist ethical-cultivation term. Paul’s usage here is a low-doctrinal-weight, general-ethics borrowing from Hellenistic philosophy and must not be read as implying merit toward salvation, which would contradict ch.3’s righteousness-by-faith argument. |
| Sacrifice and service of faith | θυσία καὶ λειτουργία τῆς πίστεως | thysia kai leitourgia tēs pisteōs | 信仰の供え物と奉仕 | Medium | Partnership in the Gospel / Faith | 2:17 | |
| Poured out (as a libation) | σπένδομαι | spendomai | 注ぎの供え物として注ぎ出されている | Medium | Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment | 2:17 | Potential bridge to Shinto ritual offering (御神酒) but must anchor to OT sacrificial background, not kami-offering ritual. |
| Overseers and deacons | ἐπίσκοποι καὶ διάκονοι | episkopoi kai diakonoi | 監督と執事 | Medium | Church leadership (Unity and Humility in the Church, structural dimension) | 1:1 | 監督 risks a secular “director/supervisor” reading; 執事 risks pop-culture “butler” associations; both need doctrinal anchoring as spiritual-service offices. |
| To live is Christ, to die is gain | τὸ ζῆν Χριστὸς καὶ τὸ ἀποθανεῖν κέρδος | to zēn Christos kai to apothanein kerdos | 生きることはキリスト、死ぬことは益です | High | Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment | 1:21 | Must remain explicitly Christocentric, not read as a generalized life-affirming/death-accepting sentiment detached from Christ. |
| Bonds / chains / imprisonment | δεσμά | desma | 鎖 / 束縛 | Medium | Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment | 1:7, 1:13-14, 1:17 | Refers to Paul’s literal imprisonment; must not be abstracted into generic “hardship” language, since the letter’s argument depends on the concreteness of actual imprisonment. |
| I have been initiated / mystery vocabulary (cf. above) | — | — | — | — | — | — | (See μεμύημαι above; listed once to avoid duplication.) |
This glossary must be merged into translation_memory.json (Table A entries reused verbatim; Table B entries added as new records with version increment) before Phase 2 segment translation of Philippians begins, per the baseline’s new-term protocol in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: 神
Transliteration: Kami
Doctrine: God / Deity of Christ
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; reused exactly for Philippians. CRITICAL: qualify as 唯一のまことの神 at doctrinally weighty occurrences, above all the Christ-hymn (2:6-11), where 神 also names the divine μορφή Christ shares — the single highest collision risk with the Shinto yaoyorozu no kami framework carries over unchanged. Occurs 1:2, 1:8, 2:6, 2:9, 2:11, 2:13, 2:15, 3:3, 3:9, 3:14, 3:19, 4:6-7, 4:9, 4:18-20.
Jesus
Approved rendering: イエス
Transliteration: Iesu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ / Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ゼズス
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. In 2:10 the universal homage of every knee/tongue is directed to this specific historical name — the same person who took the form of a servant (2:7) now bears the name above every name. Occurs 1:1-2, 2:10-11, 3:20, 4:21.
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; reused exactly for Philippians. Phil 2:11’s イエス・キリストは主です must match Romans 10:9’s established confession wording pattern exactly, without softening or qualification. Occurs 1:2, 1:14, 2:11, 2:19, 2:24, 2:29, 3:1, 3:8, 3:20, 4:1-5, 4:10, 4:23.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: 聖霊
Transliteration: Seirei
Doctrine: Fellowship in the Spirit and in Christ’s Sufferings
Rejected alternatives: 霊, 幽霊
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Never shorten to 霊 alone. In 2:1’s κοινωνία πνεύματος the compound 聖霊の交わり must be used intact, not abbreviated. Occurs 1:19, 2:1.
Grace
Approved rendering: 恵み
Transliteration: megumi
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: 恩返しが要る恵み, 功徳
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. The on-giri non-transactional caution applies with special force at 1:29 (suffering granted as grace, ἐχαρίσθη) and in the gift-language of 4:10-19; also structurally underlies 2:9’s ἐχαρίσατο (grace-verb applied to Christ’s exaltation). Occurs 1:2, 1:7, 4:23.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: 義
Transliteration: gi
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: 道徳, 正義感
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. THE central term for this curriculum’s core doctrine — the Bushido-virtue collision applies at maximum force in ch.3, since Paul is explicitly renouncing his own flawless law-keeping (3:6) for a righteousness received, not achieved. Occurs 1:11, 3:6, 3:9.
Justification
Approved rendering: 義と認められること
Transliteration: gi to mitomerareru koto
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: 悟りを開くこと, 解脱
Original: δικαιοσύνη…ἐπὶ τῇ πίστει
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Occurs 3:9 (δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐκ θεοῦ ἐπὶ τῇ πίστει). Must retain the forensic ‘counted/recognized as’ sense; never rendered with a term implying attainment through ascetic practice (修行) or self-righteousness (自己義認).
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: 義と認められること
Transliteration: gi to mitomerareru koto
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: 修行によって得た義, 自己義認
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Righteousness credited by God, not earned through law-keeping (3:6) or ascetic practice; must resist collapse into the Bushido-virtue sense of 義.
Salvation
Approved rendering: 救い
Transliteration: sukui
Doctrine: Salvation Received by Grace, Worked Out by God’s Power
Rejected alternatives: 解脱, 極楽往生
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Never 解脱; extreme care with the Pure Land ‘bridge but not equivalence’ caution. In 2:12 the believer’s ongoing responsibility to ‘work out’ a salvation already secured by God’s prior work (2:13) — see work_out_your_salvation and god_who_works_in_you below. Occurs 1:19, 1:28, 2:12; σωτήρ root recurs at 3:20.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: 受肉
Transliteration: juniku
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: 化身, 権化
Original: ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο (doctrinal category name for 2:6-8)
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians as the doctrinal category-heading for 2:6-8’s event. The verse itself uses κενόω (see kenosis below), a new term for this curriculum; 受肉 remains the correct heading term in exposition. Never 化身/権化.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: 神の子
Transliteration: Kami no Ko
Doctrine: Deity of Christ / Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 現人神, 神の化身
Original: μορφῇ θεοῦ / ἴσα θεῷ (functional equivalent of υἱὸς θεοῦ)
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly as the doctrinal concept name. Philippians affirms deity through different vocabulary (μορφῇ θεοῦ, ἴσα θεῷ, 2:6) than Romans’ explicit title — see form_of_god and equal_with_god below for the actual Philippians wording. Never 現人神.
Kenosis
Approved rendering: 自分を無にして
Transliteration: jibun wo mu ni shite
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: 自分を空にして (equally undifferentiated from Buddhist 空/kū), 神性を捨てて (implies subtraction of deity, doctrinally wrong)
Original: ἐκένωσεν (κενόω)
Category: Christology
CRITICAL — highest single risk term in this curriculum. 無 (mu) is a foundational Zen Buddhist concept (the ‘mu’ kōan; muga, non-self). A Japanese reader risks hearing Christ’s kenosis as dissolution into impersonal emptiness or detached non-self rather than the eternal Son’s voluntary, personal non-use of divine privilege while retaining full deity and taking on real humanity (an act of addition, accomplished BY taking a servant’s form, λαβών, not subtraction). NEVER let 無 stand unqualified in doctrinal exposition; always pair with an explicit denial of impersonal dissolution. Occurs 2:7.
Form Of God
Approved rendering: 神の姿
Transliteration: Kami no sugata
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 神のような姿 (mere resemblance, not essential nature), 神の化身 (forbidden per baseline incarnation entry)
Original: μορφὴ θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Christ’s essential, pre-existent divine nature (2:6), not merely an outward appearance. Must be taught in deliberate contrast with σχῆμα (outward form, 2:7-8). Parallels the baseline’s deity_of_christ caution against softening toward ‘an especially exalted being.‘
Equal With God
Approved rendering: 神と等しい
Transliteration: Kami to hitoshii
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 神のようだ (godlike, diluted), 神に近い (approximate, diminishes co-equality)
Original: ἴσα θεῷ
Category: Christology
Direct co-equality-with-God affirmation (2:6); must never be diluted to ‘godlike’ or ‘especially favored by God,’ which would reduce a nature-claim to a mere status-claim.
Form Of A Servant
Approved rendering: 仕える者の姿
Transliteration: shieru mono no sugata
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: 助け手の姿 (helper, too soft), 仕える人の姿 (weaker register than doulos)
Original: μορφὴν δούλου
Category: Christology
The essential status of a slave/bondservant (μορφὴν δούλου, 2:7) — the polar reversal of μορφὴ θεοῦ. Must retain the full force of δοῦλος (total, status-less submission), echoing Paul’s own self-designation as δοῦλος in 1:1.
Humbled Himself
Approved rendering: 自分を低くされた
Transliteration: jibun wo hikuku sareta
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: 謙遜になった (too mild, collapses into social-modesty register), 身を引いた (withdrew, wrong sense)
Original: ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτόν
Category: Christology
ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτόν (2:8), the archetype of the ethical humility commanded in 2:3. Must be read as radical, cost-everything self-abasement — the standard against which social 謙遜 must be measured, not equated with it.
Death Of A Cross
Approved rendering: 十字架の死
Transliteration: juujika no shi
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: 十字架での死 (doesn’t intensify the horror as much), 処刑 alone (execution, loses specific cross reference)
Original: θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ
Category: Christology
θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ (2:8), the hymn’s rhetorical climax. DILUTION RISK distinct from syncretism: 十字架 is extremely common in secular Japanese fashion, jewelry, and tattoo culture as a decorative Western-aesthetic symbol, divorced from crucifixion’s shame and horror. Teaching must actively restore the term’s original weight.
Highly Exalted
Approved rendering: 高く挙げられた
Transliteration: takaku agerareta
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 名誉を受けた (received honor, too weak), 褒められた (praised, far too weak)
Original: ὑπερύψωσεν
Category: Christology
ὑπερύψωσεν (2:9), God’s response to Christ’s self-humbling. Must convey exaltation to unique, supreme cosmic status, not merely great honor among honored figures.
Name Above Every Name
Approved rendering: すべての名にまさる名
Transliteration: subete no na ni masaru na
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 最も偉大な名 (greatest name, loses the comparative totality and divine-name identification)
Original: τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα
Category: Christology
τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα (2:9), almost certainly the divine name (LXX κύριος = YHWH) conferred on Jesus. Must not be flattened to ‘a very great name.‘
Confession Jesus Is Lord
Approved rendering: イエス・キリストは主です
Transliteration: Iesu Kirisuto wa Shu desu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: イエスはリーダーです (leader, drastically weakens exclusivity), any softened or qualified form
Original: κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός
Category: Christology
κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός (2:11), the same confession-category as Romans 10:9. Must be rendered with the exact baseline-established wording pattern, unqualified and unsoftened, for absolute cross-document consistency.
Every Tongue Confess
Approved rendering: すべての口が告白する
Transliteration: subete no kuchi ga kokuhaku suru
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: すべての人が言う (generic ‘everyone will say,’ loses confessional/worship force)
Original: πᾶσα γλῶσσα ἐξομολογήσηται
Category: Christology
πᾶσα γλῶσσα ἐξομολογήσηται (2:11). Same confession-category as Romans 10:9; must retain universal, unqualified scope.
Laid Hold Of By Christ
Approved rendering: キリストに捕らえられている
Transliteration: Kirisuto ni toraerarete iru
Doctrine: Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ
Rejected alternatives: キリストを見つけた (I found Christ, wrongly reverses agency), キリストに選ばれた (chosen, loses the vivid seizing/grasping image)
Original: κατελήμφθην ὑπὸ Χριστοῦ
Category: Salvation
κατελήμφθην ὑπὸ Χριστοῦ (3:12). Must be taught prior to or alongside press_on_goal_prize to prevent a works-righteousness misreading — pursuit is a response to grace already received.
Savior Lord Jesus Christ
Approved rendering: 救い主、主イエス・キリスト
Transliteration: Sukui-nushi, Shu Iesu Kirisuto
Doctrine: Citizenship in Heaven
Rejected alternatives: 救助者 (rescuer, too generic/secular)
Original: σωτῆρα…κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν
Category: Christology
σωτῆρα…κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν (3:20). σωτήρ rendered 救い主, consistent with the 救い root; combined with baseline-fixed 主, イエス, キリスト, this string must never be diluted or paraphrased.
Transformed Glorious Body
Approved rendering: 栄光の姿に変えられる
Transliteration: eikou no sugata ni kaerareru
Doctrine: Resurrection Hope and Bodily Transformation
Rejected alternatives: 輪廻転生 (forbidden per baseline), 生まれ変わる (reborn, risks reincarnation resonance)
Original: μετασχηματίσει…σύμμορφον τῷ σώματι τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ
Category: Eschatology
μετασχηματίσει…σύμμορφον τῷ σώματι τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ (3:21). Glorified continuity of the same person’s body, not reincarnation into a new cycle.
Work Out Your Salvation
Approved rendering: 自分の救いを達成させなさい
Transliteration: jibun no sukui wo tassei sasenasai
Doctrine: Salvation Received by Grace, Worked Out by God’s Power
Rejected alternatives: 自分の救いを得なさい (obtain your own salvation, risks implying salvation is earned)
Original: κατεργάζεσθε τὴν ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίαν
Category: Salvation
κατεργάζεσθε τὴν ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίαν (2:12). High risk of works-righteousness misreading if isolated from 2:13’s ὁ ἐνεργῶν. Must always be translated/taught paired with god_who_works_in_you.
God Who Works In You
Approved rendering: あなたがたの中で働いておられる神
Transliteration: anatagata no naka de hataraite orareru Kami
Doctrine: Salvation Received by Grace, Worked Out by God’s Power
Rejected alternatives: あなたの努力を支える神 (God who supports your effort, wrongly subordinates God’s agency to human effort)
Original: ὁ θεὸς ὁ ἐνεργῶν ἐν ὑμῖν
Category: Salvation
ὁ θεὸς ὁ ἐνεργῶν ἐν ὑμῖν (2:13), the theological safeguard for 2:12. Never teach 2:12 without 2:13 in the same breath.
Granted As Grace To Suffer
Approved rendering: 恵みとして与えられている
Transliteration: megumi to shite ataerarete iru
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: 苦しみを負わされた (burdened with suffering, loses the gift/grace framing), 恩として与えられた (using 恩 directly imports the reciprocal-debt concept, forbidden)
Original: ἐχαρίσθη
Category: Salvation
ἐχαρίσθη (1:29). Suffering-as-gift must not be read through the on-giri reciprocal-debt lens as a cosmic obligation now owed to God; it is God’s gracious inclusion of believers in Christ’s own glory-through-suffering pattern.
Righteousness By Law Vs Faith
Approved rendering: 律法による義 / キリストへの信仰による義
Transliteration: ritsuhou ni yoru gi / Kirisuto he no shinkou ni yoru gi
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: 律法による徳 (virtue by law, doubles down on the Bushido-virtue collision), 自己義認 (self-righteousness, forbidden per baseline justification note)
Original: δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐν νόμῳ / τὴν διὰ πίστεως Χριστοῦ
Category: Salvation
δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐν νόμῳ / τὴν διὰ πίστεως Χριστοῦ (3:6, 3:9). The curriculum’s central doctrinal contrast; Paul EXPLICITLY renounces the very performance-based righteousness the Bushido reading of 義 would suggest — the maximum-stakes application of the baseline’s core warning.
Contentment
Approved rendering: 満足すること／足ることを学んだ
Transliteration: manzoku suru koto / taru koto wo mananda
Doctrine: Contentment in All Circumstances
Rejected alternatives: 足るを知る (Zen self-sufficiency proverb, forbidden as primary rendering per gap analysis), 自己満足 (self-satisfaction, carries a negative complacency connotation)
Original: αὐτάρκης / αὐτάρκεια
Category: Faith
MAJOR CULTURE-SPECIFIC RISK: 足るを知る (‘to know contentment,’ inscribed 吾唯足知 at Ryōan-ji temple) locates contentment in self-disciplined desire-reduction. Paul’s αὐτάρκεια (4:11) is relational sufficiency continuously supplied by Christ (4:13), structurally similar but doctrinally opposite in source. Never use 足るを知る as the primary rendering; always teach 4:11 bound to 4:13.
Strengthened By Christ
Approved rendering: 私を強くしてくださる方
Transliteration: watashi wo tsuyoku shite kudasaru kata
Doctrine: Contentment in All Circumstances
Rejected alternatives: 自分の力で (by my own strength, directly contradicts the verse)
Original: ἐνδυναμοῦντί με
Category: Christology
ἐνδυναμοῦντί με (4:13), the doctrinal safeguard for contentment — strength is continuously RECEIVED from Christ, not self-generated. Must not be over-extended alone into a generic self-help slogan.
Fruit Of Righteousness
Approved rendering: 義の実
Transliteration: gi no mi
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: 義の徳 (doubling down on the Bushido-virtue collision)
Original: καρπὸν δικαιοσύνης
Category: Salvation
καρπὸν δικαιοσύνης (1:11). Must flag the same distinction between forensic righteousness and Bushido-virtue 義 — this is fruit that FLOWS FROM righteousness already granted, not righteousness itself being cultivated.
High Risk Terms
Christ
Approved rendering: キリスト
Transliteration: Kirisuto
Doctrine: Messianic Promise / Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 救世主
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans baseline’s ‘messiah’ entry (キリスト); tracked here as its own key because Philippians is Paul’s most densely ‘in Christ’-saturated letter relative to length. Consistency of キリスト across every occurrence (nearly every verse) is essential for the letter’s union-with-Christ theology (2:1, 2:5, 3:8-9, 4:13). Biblical-illiteracy risk (per baseline messiah note) applies identically.
Faith
Approved rendering: 信仰
Transliteration: shinkou
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: 信心, 宗教心
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Central to the chapter 3 righteousness-by-faith argument. Occurs 1:25, 1:27, 2:17, 3:9, and underlies 3:12 and 4:6.
Saints
Approved rendering: 聖徒
Transliteration: seito
Doctrine: Sainthood and Church Order
Rejected alternatives: 聖者, 菩薩
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Applies corporately to the entire ordinary Philippian congregation — never 菩薩 (bodhisattva) or 聖者 (arhat/holy sage), both elevated-achiever categories. Occurs 1:1, 4:21-22.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: 信仰の従順
Transliteration: shinkou no juujun
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Rejected alternatives: 空気を読んだ従順, 上下関係への服従
Original: ὑπήκοος (γενόμενος)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Christ’s own free, relational obedience to the Father unto death (2:8) is the archetype for believers’ obedience (2:12). Japan’s hierarchical-obedience culture (senpai-kōhai, corporate hierarchy, Bushido loyalty-to-lord ethics) risks reducing this to social/status compliance.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: 復活
Transliteration: fukkatsu
Doctrine: Resurrection Hope and Bodily Transformation
Rejected alternatives: 輪廻転生, カムバック
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Never 輪廻転生. Pop-culture ‘comeback’ dilution caution applies with equal force; teaching must actively restore doctrinal weight. Occurs 3:10-11, 3:21.
Calling
Approved rendering: 召し
Transliteration: meshi
Doctrine: Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ
Rejected alternatives: 運命, 天職
Original: κλῆσις (ἡ ἄνω κλῆσις)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Never 運命 alone. Occurs 3:14 (ἡ ἄνω κλῆσις, ‘the upward call of God in Christ Jesus’), the eschatological goal of Paul’s pressing on.
Election
Approved rendering: 選び
Transliteration: erabi
Doctrine: Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ
Rejected alternatives: 合格, 選抜
Original: (conceptually underlying διώκω/κατελήμφθην, 3:12-14)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Avoid framing through Japan’s competitive exam/hiring ‘selection’ culture (受験, 選抜); this underlies Paul having been ‘laid hold of’ by Christ (3:12) prior to his own pursuit — see press_on_goal_prize below for the specific collision this creates.
Providence
Approved rendering: 摂理
Transliteration: setsuri
Doctrine: Assurance through God’s Providence
Rejected alternatives: 運命, 宿命
Original: (conceptually underlying 1:6, 1:12, 2:13)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Never 運命/宿命. 摂理 remains unfamiliar formal vocabulary requiring active teaching (biblical-illiteracy risk), not a false-concept collision. Underlies 1:6, 1:12, 2:13.
A Thing To Be Grasped
Approved rendering: 固執すべき特権
Transliteration: koshitsu subeki tokken
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: 奪い取るべきもの (implies Christ lacked deity and sought to seize it), 捨てるべきもの (implies deity was a burden to discard)
Original: ἁρπαγμός
Category: Christology
ἁρπαγμός (2:6) is a genuinely contested term in Greek scholarship. Must not resolve the ambiguity in a way implying Christ had to relinquish deity to become human — he retained deity while voluntarily not exploiting it for advantage.
Likeness Of Men
Approved rendering: 人間と同じ姿
Transliteration: ningen to onaji sugata
Doctrine: Humanity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 人間のような姿 (mere resemblance, docetism risk), 化身 (forbidden per baseline)
Original: ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων
Category: Christology
ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων (2:7) affirms real, genuine humanity, not illusory appearance. Never rendered with a term implying a temporary or repeatable manifestation-form, per the baseline’s forbidden 化身/権化.
Outward Form
Approved rendering: 人としての姿
Transliteration: hito to shite no sugata
Doctrine: Humanity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 外見 (too casual/superficial register), 姿 alone without explicit contrast to 神の姿
Original: σχῆμα
Category: Christology
σχῆμα (2:7-8), Christ’s outward, perceptible human fashion, deliberately distinguished from his essential divine μορφή. Collapsing the μορφή/σχῆμα distinction blurs the Incarnation doctrine’s key claim.
Slave Bondservant
Approved rendering: しもべ
Transliteration: shimobe
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: 奴隷 (negative human-trafficking connotations), 召使い (too domestic/menial, lacks devotion sense)
Original: δοῦλος
Category: Church
δοῦλος — Paul and Timothy’s self-designation (1:1), and the status Christ himself assumed (2:7). Modern secular 奴隷 must be avoided; established Bible usage しもべ conveys willing devotion, but teaching must still register the full weight of total, status-less devotion, especially since Christ himself takes this status.
Humility
Approved rendering: 謙遜
Transliteration: kenson
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: 謙虚 (near-synonym, same false-friend risk), 自己犠牲 (self-sacrifice, too narrow)
Original: ταπεινοφροσύνη
Category: Church
FALSE-FRIEND RISK: 謙遜 is already a prized Japanese social virtue — modest self-presentation preserving 和 (wa) group harmony — that costs the speaker little in actual status. Biblical ταπεινοφροσύνη (2:3) is modeled on Christ’s costly, status-abandoning self-abasement (2:6-8). MUST be anchored explicitly to that cost every time it appears in doctrinal exposition, not left as a stand-alone virtue-word.
Same Mind
Approved rendering: 思いを一つにする
Transliteration: omoi wo hitotsu ni suru
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: 空気を読む (social-conformity idiom, forbidden per gap analysis), 同意する (mere agreement, too shallow)
Original: φρονέω / τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν
Category: Church
φρονέω / τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν — the letter’s central recurring ethical verb (1:7; 2:2; 2:5; 3:15; 3:19; 4:2; 4:10, 7 occurrences). Risk of collapsing into social-conformity pressure (空気を読む) or hierarchical compliance. Must be rendered identically at all seven occurrences and always grounded explicitly in ‘キリストと同じ思い’ (2:5).
Fellowship Of The Spirit
Approved rendering: 聖霊の交わり
Transliteration: Seirei no majiwari
Doctrine: Fellowship in the Spirit and in Christ’s Sufferings
Rejected alternatives: 霊の交わり (dropping 聖, forbidden per baseline), 仲間意識 (in-group solidarity, forbidden per baseline fellowship note)
Original: κοινωνία πνεύματος
Category: Church
κοινωνία πνεύματος (2:1), the ground of the unity urged in 2:2-4. 聖霊 must never be shortened to 霊; 交わり must not collapse into 仲間意識.
Every Knee Shall Bow
Approved rendering: すべての膝がかがめられる
Transliteration: subete no hiza ga kagamerareru
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: お辞儀をする (ordinary polite bow, loses worship sense), 頭を下げる (bow the head, too casual)
Original: πᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃ
Category: Christology
πᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃ (2:10), echoing Isaiah 45:23. Japan’s bowing culture (お辞儀, ojigi) is ubiquitous secular politeness largely detached from worship; must be clearly taught as eschatological, universal worship-submission, not ordinary social bowing.
To Live Is Christ To Die Is Gain
Approved rendering: 生きることはキリスト、死ぬことは益です
Transliteration: ikiru koto wa Kirisuto, shinu koto wa yaku desu
Doctrine: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
Rejected alternatives: 生きるのも死ぬのも意味がある (generalized life-affirming sentiment, loses Christocentric force)
Original: τὸ ζῆν Χριστὸς καὶ τὸ ἀποθανεῖν κέρδος
Category: Faith
τὸ ζῆν Χριστὸς καὶ τὸ ἀποθανεῖν κέρδος (1:21). Must not be read as a generalized ‘life is meaningful, death is not scary’ sentiment; the entire force is explicitly Christocentric.
Knowledge Of Christ
Approved rendering: キリストを知ること
Transliteration: Kirisuto wo shiru koto
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: 悟り (Buddhist enlightenment, forbidden), キリストについての知識 (mere informational knowledge about, not relational knowing)
Original: γνῶσις Χριστοῦ
Category: Faith
γνῶσις Χριστοῦ (3:8, 3:10). Must be distinguished from Gnostic esoteric knowledge and from Buddhist enlightenment/awakening (悟り); this is relational knowing of a person, not inward attainment of insight through discipline.
Press On Goal Prize
Approved rendering: 目標を目指して追い求める
Transliteration: mokuhyou wo mezashite oimotomeru
Doctrine: Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ
Rejected alternatives: 頑張る (ganbaru, self-effort achievement culture, forbidden per gap analysis), 努力する (generic effort, loses grace-response sequencing)
Original: διώκω / σκοπός / βραβεῖον
Category: Faith
διώκω / σκοπός / βραβεῖον (3:12-14). Direct collision risk with Japan’s ganbaru/juken achievement culture and the baseline’s 選抜 election caution; must always be sequenced after laid_hold_of_by_christ.
Conformed To His Death
Approved rendering: その死と同じ姿に変えられていく
Transliteration: sono shi to onaji sugata ni kaerarete iku
Doctrine: Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ
Rejected alternatives: 死を模倣する (mere imitation, loses the transformative μορφή sense)
Original: συμμορφιζόμενος τῷ θανάτῳ αὐτοῦ
Category: Faith
συμμορφιζόμενος τῷ θανάτῳ αὐτοῦ (3:10). The μορφή root reappears here (cf. 2:6-7) — believers are progressively conformed to Christ’s self-giving pattern, not merely imitating an external example.
Fellowship Of Sufferings
Approved rendering: 彼の苦しみの交わり
Transliteration: kare no kurushimi no majiwari
Doctrine: Fellowship in the Spirit and in Christ’s Sufferings
Rejected alternatives: 苦しみを共有する (generic sharing, loses κοινωνία’s communion depth), 仲間意識 (forbidden per baseline)
Original: κοινωνίαν παθημάτων αὐτοῦ
Category: Church
κοινωνίαν παθημάτων αὐτοῦ (3:10). Suffering itself becomes a form of communion with Christ; 交わり must not collapse into generic in-group solidarity.
Partnership In The Gospel
Approved rendering: 福音の交わり
Transliteration: fukuin no majiwari
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: パートナーシップ (business-partner loanword, too commercial), 協力 (mere cooperation, loses κοινωνία’s participatory depth)
Original: κοινωνία εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Church
κοινωνία εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον (1:5; cf. 4:15-16). Because this explicitly includes financial giving, must avoid both the on-giri reciprocal-debt framework and a flattened commercial ‘business partner’ sense.
Citizenship In Heaven
Approved rendering: 私たちの国籍は天にあります
Transliteration: watashitachi no kokuseki wa ten ni arimasu
Doctrine: Citizenship in Heaven
Rejected alternatives: 国体 (kokutai, forbidden per comparative theology), 天国のパスポート (heaven’s passport, trivializing loanword image)
Original: πολίτευμα ἐν οὐρανοῖς / πολιτεύεσθε
Category: Kingdom
πολίτευμα ἐν οὐρανοῖς (3:20). Japan’s 戸籍/国籍 bureaucratic identity concepts risk reducing this to a registration category; secondary risk of resonance with pre-1945 国体 ideology (parallel to baseline’s 神の国 caution). Must always be paired with explanation of the Roman-colony dual-allegiance backdrop.
Learned The Secret
Approved rendering: 秘訣を知っている
Transliteration: hiketsu wo shitte iru
Doctrine: Contentment in All Circumstances
Rejected alternatives: 奥義を知った (esoteric martial-art/ritual ‘secret technique,’ forbidden per gap analysis), 灌頂を受けた (esoteric Buddhist initiation term, forbidden)
Original: μεμύημαι
Category: Faith
μεμύημαι (4:12), borrowed Greco-Roman mystery-religion initiation vocabulary. Render as learned experiential wisdom, not ritual initiation.
Joy
Approved rendering: 喜び／喜ぶ
Transliteration: yorokobi / yorokobu
Doctrine: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
Rejected alternatives: 幸せ (circumstance-dependent secular happiness), 法悦 (Buddhist detachment-based dharma-joy)
χαρά / χαίρω, Philippians’ dominant key term (1:4, 1:18, 1:25, 2:2, 2:17-18, 2:28-29, 3:1, 4:1, 4:4, 4:10). Must be distinguished from circumstance-dependent 幸せ and from Buddhist detachment-based 法悦; biblical χαρά persists specifically THROUGH suffering and imprisonment, grounded in union with Christ. Render consistently across every occurrence.
Medium Risk Terms
Father
Approved rendering: 父
Transliteration: chichi
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family / Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 家長
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Occurs 2:11 (telos of Christ’s exaltation and confession), 4:20 (doxology).
Gospel
Approved rendering: 福音
Transliteration: fukuin
Doctrine: Gospel / Partnership in the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: いい知らせ, グッドニュース
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Philippians’ distinctive ‘partnership in the gospel’ theme (1:5) intensifies but does not alter the baseline blankness/biblical-illiteracy risk. Occurs 1:5, 1:7, 1:12, 1:16, 1:27, 2:22, 4:3, 4:15.
Church
Approved rendering: 教会
Transliteration: kyoukai
Doctrine: Sainthood and Church Order
Rejected alternatives: 寺, 神社
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Never 寺 or 神社. Implied throughout, addressed explicitly in 1:1 (‘all the saints…with the overseers and deacons’).
Law
Approved rendering: 律法
Transliteration: ritsuhou
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: 空気を読むこと, 法律
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Never 法律 (secular law); central to the doctrine ‘Righteousness by Faith versus the Law.’ Occurs 3:5-6, 3:9.
Glory
Approved rendering: 栄光
Transliteration: eikou
Doctrine: Deity of Christ / Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 名誉
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Note the deliberate literary echo with κενοδοξία (‘empty glory,’ 2:3) that the hymn’s true δόξα (2:11) reverses. Occurs 1:11, 2:11, 3:21, 4:19-20.
Peace
Approved rendering: 平安
Transliteration: heian
Doctrine: Prayer and Freedom from Anxiety
Rejected alternatives: 安心, 癒し
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. In 4:7 intensified as a peace that ‘surpasses understanding’ — see peace_surpassing_understanding below. Occurs 1:2, 4:7, 4:9.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: 神の力
Transliteration: Kami no Chikara
Doctrine: Resurrection Hope and Bodily Transformation
Rejected alternatives: 気, パワー
Original: δύναμις
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Avoid 気 and generic パワー, which risk sounding like a pop-culture superpower. Occurs 3:10 (δύναμις τῆς ἀναστάσεως).
Israel
Approved rendering: イスラエル
Transliteration: Isuraeru
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Occurs 3:5 (‘of the people of Israel’), cited among Paul’s former credentials.
Intercession
Approved rendering: とりなし
Transliteration: torinashi
Doctrine: Prayer and Freedom from Anxiety
Original: δέησις (conceptually)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Underlies Paul’s prayers for the Philippians (1:19) and the petition pattern of 4:6.
Mission
Approved rendering: 宣教
Transliteration: senkyou
Doctrine: Evangelism and Gospel Witness amid a Hostile Culture
Rejected alternatives: 布教
Original: (conceptually underlying 1:5, 1:12-18, 2:22, 4:3)
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Frame with awareness of Japan’s Kirishitan-persecution history and low modern receptivity, without triumphalism. Underlies 1:5, 1:12-18, 2:22, 4:3.
Selfish Ambition
Approved rendering: 自己中心的な野心
Transliteration: jiko-chuushin-teki na yashin
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: 野心 alone (too neutral, loses vice connotation), 競争心 (competitiveness, too mild)
Original: ἐριθεία
Category: Church
ἐριθεία (2:3; cf. 1:15-17), rivalry/factiousness — the relational poison excluded before the positive Christ-hymn model.
Empty Conceit
Approved rendering: 虚栄
Transliteration: kyoei
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: うぬぼれ (loses the empty/hollow nuance), 自慢 (boastfulness, too narrow)
Original: κενοδοξία
Category: Church
κενοδοξία (2:3), a compound (κενός ‘empty’ + δόξα ‘glory’) Paul deliberately reverses through Christ’s self-emptying (κενόω, 2:7) and true glory (δόξα, 2:11). Preserve the wordplay’s teaching value even without a matching Japanese pun.
One Accord
Approved rendering: 心を一つにして
Transliteration: kokoro wo hitotsu ni shite
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: 和を保つ (wa-preservation, too socially generic), 団結する (mere solidarity, lacks soul-union sense)
Original: σύμψυχοι
Category: Church
σύμψυχοι (2:2), intensifying τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν. Positive cultural bridge to Japan’s 和 (wa) harmony value, but must retain its grounding in Christ, not generic social cohesion.
Considering Others Better
Approved rendering: 自分より優れた者と考えて
Transliteration: jibun yori sugureta mono to kangaete
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: 謙遜に見る (redundant with humility term), 他人を尊重する (generic respect, too weak)
Original: ἡγούμενοι ὑπερέχοντας ἑαυτῶν
Category: Church
ἡγούμενοι ὑπερέχοντας ἑαυτῶν (2:3), the concrete outworking of ταπεινοφροσύνη — an active mental judgment, not merely a feeling.
Encouragement In Christ
Approved rendering: 励まし
Transliteration: hagemashi
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: 励まし alone without the ‘in Christ’ qualifier, モチベーション (secular motivational loanword)
Original: παράκλησις ἐν Χριστῷ
Category: Church
παράκλησις ἐν Χριστῷ (2:1). Must retain the ‘in Christ’ qualifier so it is not read as secular motivational encouragement.
Love
Approved rendering: 愛
Transliteration: ai
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: 恋愛 (romantic love, wrong register), 情 (sentimental affection, too narrow)
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Church
ἀγάπη (2:1-2), grounding Christian unity. Japanese 愛 is broad (romantic, familial, aesthetic); context must anchor it to Christ-patterned self-giving love.
Affection And Compassion
Approved rendering: 深い愛情と思いやり
Transliteration: fukai aijou to omoiyari
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: 内臓と憐れみ (literal anatomical rendering, clinical/grotesque), 同情心 (pity, too weak)
Original: σπλάγχνα καὶ οἰκτιρμοί
Category: Church
σπλάγχνα καὶ οἰκτιρμοί (2:1), a bodily-organ metaphor; a literal rendering (‘internal organs’) would sound clinical or grotesque in Japanese — the idiomatic emotional equivalent must be used.
Cosmic Scope
Approved rendering: 天にあるもの、地にあるもの、地の下にあるもの
Transliteration: ten ni aru mono, chi ni aru mono, chi no shita ni aru mono
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 天国と地獄とこの世 (imports Christianized afterlife categories not in the Greek merism), 黄泉 (Shinto underworld term, avoided)
Original: ἐπουρανίων καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ καταχθονίων
Category: Christology
ἐπουρανίων καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ καταχθονίων (2:10), a totalizing merism. Could evoke Japanese mythological cosmology (黄泉, yomi, the Shinto underworld ruled by Izanami) if left unanchored.
Rubbish Dung
Approved rendering: 塵あくた
Transliteration: chiri akuta
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: 価値のないもの (bland ‘worthless,’ loses Paul’s deliberate crudeness)
Original: σκύβαλα
Category: Faith
σκύβαλα (3:8), Paul’s deliberately crude assessment of his former law-based credentials. Must not be sanitized.
Circumcision
Approved rendering: 割礼
Transliteration: katsurei
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Original: περιτομή
Category: Covenant
περιτομή (3:3, 3:5), the Jewish covenant sign, cited among Paul’s former grounds of confidence ‘in the flesh.’ Standard term, low collision risk with Japanese religious concepts.
Belly As God
Approved rendering: 彼らの神は腹
Transliteration: karera no kami wa hara
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: 食欲が彼らの神 (acceptable literal variant, less idiomatic)
Original: ἡ κοιλία θεός
Category: Faith
ἡ κοιλία θεός (3:19), a blunt, embodied image of appetite/self-indulgence as one’s functional god — negative foil to citizenship in heaven.
Giving And Receiving
Approved rendering: 与えることと受けること
Transliteration: ataeru koto to ukeru koto
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: 貸し借り (loan/debt accounting terms, too commercial/transactional), 恩恵の交換 (exchange of favors, imports on-giri framing)
Original: δόσις καὶ λήψις
Category: Church
δόσις καὶ λήψις (4:15), the Philippians’ financial partnership described in ledger terminology. Must avoid on-giri reciprocal-debt framing.
Acceptable Sacrifice
Approved rendering: 良い香りとして受け入れられる、神に喜ばれる供え物
Transliteration: yoi kaori to shite ukeirerareru, Kami ni yorokobareru sonaemono
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: お供え (generic Shinto/Buddhist offering term without OT covenant anchoring)
Original: θυσίαν δεκτήν, εὐάρεστον τῷ θεῷ
Category: Church
ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας, θυσίαν δεκτήν, εὐάρεστον τῷ θεῷ (4:18), OT sacrificial-cultic vocabulary applied to the Philippians’ financial gift. Positive bridge to お香/お供え aesthetics if anchored to OT covenant background.
Virtue
Approved rendering: 徳
Transliteration: toku
Doctrine: Mutual Edification and Right Thinking
Rejected alternatives: 功徳 (Buddhist merit-accumulation, forbidden per baseline grace note)
Original: ἀρετή
Category: Faith
ἀρετή (4:8), a rare Hellenistic-philosophical ethics term Paul borrows for a general ‘think about good things’ exhortation. Adjacent risk to Confucian/Buddhist merit-cultivation vocabulary; must not imply merit accumulated toward salvation, which would contradict ch.3.
Sacrifice And Service Of Faith
Approved rendering: 信仰の供え物と奉仕
Transliteration: shinkou no sonaemono to houshi
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel
Original: θυσία καὶ λειτουργία τῆς πίστεως
Category: Faith
θυσία καὶ λειτουργία τῆς πίστεως (2:17), the Philippians’ faith described in sacrificial-offering and priestly-service terms.
Poured Out As Libation
Approved rendering: 注ぎの供え物として注ぎ出されている
Transliteration: sosogi no sonaemono to shite sosogidasarete iru
Doctrine: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
Rejected alternatives: 御神酒 (Shinto sake-offering term, avoided as primary rendering)
Original: σπένδομαι
Category: Faith
σπένδομαι (2:17), Paul’s own life-risk framed as sacrificial drink-offering. Potential bridge to Shinto omiki ritual, but must be anchored to Paul’s OT-sacrificial background.
Overseers And Deacons
Approved rendering: 監督と執事
Transliteration: kantoku to shitsuji
Doctrine: Sainthood and Church Order
Rejected alternatives: ボス、幹部 (secular corporate-hierarchy terms)
Original: ἐπίσκοποι καὶ διάκονοι
Category: Church
ἐπίσκοποι καὶ διάκονοι (1:1). 監督 risks a secular ‘director/supervisor’ reading; 執事 risks pop-culture ‘butler’ associations. Both need doctrinal anchoring as spiritual-service offices.
Bonds Chains Imprisonment
Approved rendering: 鎖／束縛
Transliteration: kusari / sokubaku
Doctrine: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
Rejected alternatives: 困難 (generic ‘hardship,’ loses the literal imprisonment)
Original: δεσμά
Category: Faith
δεσμά (1:7, 1:13-14, 1:17), Paul’s literal chains/imprisonment. Must not be abstracted into generic hardship language.
Striving Together
Approved rendering: 心を一つにして共に戦う
Transliteration: kokoro wo hitotsu ni shite tomo ni tatakau
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: チームワーク (generic teamwork loanword, loses gospel content)
Original: συναθλοῦντες
Category: Church
συναθλοῦντες (1:27), an athletic-stadium/military metaphor for joint gospel labor. Positive bridge to Japan’s team-sports culture, but must retain gospel content.
Word Of Life
Approved rendering: いのちの言葉を示しながら
Transliteration: inochi no kotoba wo shimeshi nagara
Doctrine: Evangelism and Gospel Witness amid a Hostile Culture
Original: λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες
Category: Church
λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες (2:16), the gospel message the church holds forth to a dark culture.
Do Not Be Anxious
Approved rendering: 何も思い煩わないでください
Transliteration: nani mo omoi wazurawanaide kudasai
Doctrine: Prayer and Freedom from Anxiety
Rejected alternatives: ストレスを感じない (secular stress-management phrasing, detached from prayer)
Original: μηδὲν μεριμνᾶτε
Category: Faith
μηδὲν μεριμνᾶτε (4:6). Genuinely useful bridge for Japan’s stress-saturated culture, but must not be taught as secular technique detached from prayerful dependence on God.
Prayer Petition Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: 祈り、願い、感謝
Transliteration: inori, negai, kansha
Doctrine: Prayer and Freedom from Anxiety
Original: προσευχή, δέησις, εὐχαριστία
Category: Faith
προσευχή, δέησις, εὐχαριστία (4:6), the triad shaping anxiety-displacing prayer.
Peace Surpassing Understanding
Approved rendering: 人のすべての考えにまさる神の平安
Transliteration: hito no subete no kangae ni masaru Kami no heian
Doctrine: Prayer and Freedom from Anxiety
Rejected alternatives: 安心感 (mere sense of ease, loses the ‘surpasses understanding’ intensifier)
Original: εἰρήνη τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν
Category: Salvation
εἰρήνη τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν (4:7). This peace explicitly exceeds ordinary human reasoning and self-help categories.
God Will Supply All Needs
Approved rendering: 栄光のうちにある富に応じて、満たしてくださる
Transliteration: eikou no uchi ni aru tomi ni ouji te, mitashite kudasaru
Doctrine: Generosity and Financial Giving as Worship
Rejected alternatives: お返しとして満たす (as repayment, imports on-giri framing)
Original: πληρώσει πᾶσαν χρείαν ὑμῶν κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος αὐτοῦ ἐν δόξῃ
Category: God
πληρώσει πᾶσαν χρείαν ὑμῶν κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος αὐτοῦ ἐν δόξῃ (4:19). God’s provision flows from his own glorious abundance, not a repayment obligation.
Day Of Christ
Approved rendering: キリストの日
Transliteration: Kirisuto no hi
Doctrine: Eschatological Hope: The Day of Christ
Original: ἡμέρα Χριστοῦ
Category: Eschatology
ἡμέρα Χριστοῦ (1:6, 1:10), the eschatological horizon for present growth in grace.
Deeper Knowledge Discernment
Approved rendering: 知識と識別力
Transliteration: chishiki to shikibetsuryoku
Doctrine: Mutual Edification and Right Thinking
Original: ἐπίγνωσις
Category: Faith
ἐπίγνωσις (1:9), love growing in Christ-shaped discernment, not mere sentiment; relates to the γνῶσις theme developed in ch.3.
Low Risk Terms
Fellowship
Approved rendering: 交わり
Transliteration: majiwari
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel / Fellowship in the Spirit and in Christ’s Sufferings
Rejected alternatives: 仲間意識
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Extended in this letter to shared participation in Christ’s sufferings (3:10) and in the gospel enterprise itself (1:5); see fellowship_of_the_spirit, fellowship_of_sufferings, and partnership_in_the_gospel below for Philippians-specific intensifications beyond this baseline note. Occurs 1:5, 2:1, 3:10.
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: 感謝
Transliteration: kansha
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Occurs 1:3, 4:6.
Exhort
Approved rendering: 勧める
Transliteration: susumeru
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Original: παρακαλέω (implied tone)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Philippians. Underlies the tone of Paul’s appeal to Euodia and Syntyche (4:2).
Consolation Of Love
Approved rendering: 慰め
Transliteration: nagusame
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: 同情 (pity, wrong register)
Original: παραμύθιον ἀγάπης
Category: Church
παραμύθιον ἀγάπης (2:1), near-synonym of encouragement_in_christ.
Boldness
Approved rendering: 大胆さ
Transliteration: daitansa
Doctrine: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
Original: παρρησία
Category: Faith
παρρησία (1:20), Paul’s hoped-for boldness in proclaiming Christ regardless of his trial’s outcome.
Progress Of The Gospel
Approved rendering: 前進／進展
Transliteration: zenshin / shinten
Doctrine: Gospel Advance through Hardship and Rival Motives
Original: προκοπή
Category: Church
προκοπή (1:12, 1:25), the gospel’s forward movement through, not despite, Paul’s imprisonment.
Lights In The World
Approved rendering: 世の光として輝く
Transliteration: yo no hikari to shite kagayaku
Doctrine: Evangelism and Gospel Witness amid a Hostile Culture
Original: φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ
Category: Church
φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ (2:15), believers’ visible corporate witness within a dark culture.
Grumbling And Disputing
Approved rendering: つぶやきや議論
Transliteration: tsubuyaki ya giron
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Original: γογγυσμῶν καὶ διαλογισμῶν
Category: Church
γογγυσμῶν καὶ διαλογισμῶν (2:14), complaining and argumentative reasoning contrasted with the hymn’s humility.
Blameless And Pure
Approved rendering: 傷のない、純真な
Transliteration: kizu no nai, junshin na
Doctrine: Evangelism and Gospel Witness amid a Hostile Culture
Original: ἄμεμπτος καὶ ἀκέραιος
Category: Church
ἄμεμπτος καὶ ἀκέραιος (2:15), ethical purity as visible testimony.
Crooked Generation
Approved rendering: 曲がった邪悪な時代
Transliteration: magatta jaaku na jidai
Doctrine: Evangelism and Gospel Witness amid a Hostile Culture
Original: σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραμμένης γενεᾶς
Category: Church
σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραμμένης γενεᾶς (2:15), echoing Deuteronomy 32:5.
Risked His Life
Approved rendering: いのちを賭けて
Transliteration: inochi wo kakete
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship and Shared Labor
Original: παραβολευσάμενος τῇ ψυχῇ
Category: Church
παραβολευσάμενος τῇ ψυχῇ (2:30), Epaphroditus’s costly gospel service.
Gentleness
Approved rendering: 優しさ／寛容
Transliteration: yasashisa / kan’you
Doctrine: Prayer and Freedom from Anxiety
Original: τὸ ἐπιεικές
Category: Church
τὸ ἐπιεικές (4:5), a public disposition grounded in the Lord’s nearness.
Referenced passages