Core Glossary
08 Core Glossary: 2 John (English → Mandarin)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, covering the entire book of 2 John (a single 13-verse chapter). Terms marked [TM REUSE] are already fixed in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json/bible_term_registry.json and MUST be rendered exactly as recorded there — no alternative renderings are permitted. Terms marked [NEW] are proposed additions to translation memory for this curriculum, with risk tiers assigned using the same Critical/High/Medium/Low framework as the baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json.
Risk Summary
| Risk Tier | Count | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 8 | Human theologian review (every occurrence) |
| High | 16 | Human theologian review |
| Medium | 14 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 14 | Automated review |
| Total terms | 52 |
Section A: Terms Reused Exactly from Baseline Romans Translation Memory
| # | English Term | Greek | Mandarin (TM) | Pinyin | Risk (TM) | 2 John Occurrences | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | God | θεός | 神 | Shén | Critical | 1:3, 9 | Reuse exactly; monotheism must be explicit in context. |
| 2 | Father | πατήρ | 父 | fù | High | 1:3, 4, 9 | Reuse exactly; personal, relational Father, not ancestor-veneration framing. |
| 3 | Jesus | Ἰησοῦς | 耶稣 | Yēsū | Critical | 1:3, 7 | Reuse exactly. |
| 4 | Christ / Messiah | Χριστός | 基督 | Jīdū | Critical | 1:3, 7, 9 | Reuse exactly; never conflate with 弥勒 (Maitreya). |
| 5 | Son of God | υἱός (θεοῦ implied) | 神的儿子 / 子 (context-abbreviated) | Shén de érzi / zǐ | Critical | 1:3, 9 | Full phrase preferred; contextual abbreviation permitted only when paired explicitly with 父 in the same clause. |
| 6 | Grace | χάρις | 恩典 | ēndiǎn | Critical | 1:3 | Overrides literal CUV 恩惠 in this salutation for cross-curriculum consistency; see semantic analysis note. |
| 7 | Peace | εἰρήνη | 平安 | píng’ān | Medium | 1:3 | Distinguish from amulet/folk-blessing sense. |
| 8 | Incarnation (doctrinal concept) | ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί | 道成肉身 (concept) / 肉身 (lexical) | dào chéng ròushēn / ròushēn | Critical | 1:7 | 2 John 1:7 is a direct, independent restatement of this Critical baseline doctrine. |
| 9 | Fellowship (noun, positive sense only) | κοινωνία (root) | 团契 | tuánqì | Low (positive sense only) | — (root appears only in negative-sense verb form, see Section B #37) | DO NOT apply this rendering to the negative-sense verb κοινωνέω in 1:11 — see Critical flag in Section B. |
| 10 | Election (doctrinal concept) | ἐκλεκτός/ἐκλεκτή (adjectival form of the noun family behind TM election) | 拣选 (root reused) | jiǎnxuǎn | High (elevated from Medium; see Section B #12) | 1:1, 1:13 | Root reused; adjectival form requires its own entry, see Section B. |
Section B: New Terms Proposed for Translation Memory (2 John)
| # | English Term | Greek | Transliteration | Mandarin | Pinyin | Risk | Doctrine | Occurrences | Rationale / Collision Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Elder (office) | πρεσβύτερος | presbyteros | 长老 | zhǎnglǎo | Medium | Church Office | 1:1 | Distinguish from Chinese Buddhist monastic-elder title and secular village-elder usage; this is an apostolic/pastoral teaching-authority office. |
| 12 | Elect / chosen (adjective, applied to persons) | ἐκλεκτή / ἐκλεκτῆς | eklektē | 蒙拣选的 | méng jiǎnxuǎn de | High | Divine Election | 1:1, 1:13 | Reuses TM root 拣选; must retain personal, gracious-choice sense; never render with 天命/命运/缘分 per baseline election forbidden list. |
| 13 | Lady (address) | κυρία | kyria | 太太 | tàitai | Low | — | 1:1, 1:5 | Must never be rendered with any term suggestive of κύριος/主 (Lord); false-friend risk is lexical-tool-driven, not script-driven. |
| 14 | Children | τέκνα | tekna | 儿女 | érnǚ | Medium | Church as God’s People | 1:1, 1:4, 1:13 | May refer to literal children or congregation members; context-dependent. |
| 15 | Truth | ἀλήθεια | alētheia | 真理 | zhēnlǐ | High | Walking in Truth and Love | 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4 | Must be taught as specific, revealed content about Christ, not a generic philosophical/Daoist “Way” (道) abstraction. |
| 16 | Know (relational) | γινώσκω | ginōskō | 知道 / 认识 | zhīdào / rènshi | Medium | Walking in Truth and Love | 1:1 | Experiential/relational knowledge, not mere factual awareness. |
| 17 | Love | ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω | agapē / agapaō | 爱 / 爱心 | ài / àixīn | High | Walking in Truth and Love | 1:1, 1:3, 1:5, 1:6 | Distinguish from Confucian relational-duty love (仁) and romantic love (爱情); self-giving, God-modeled, unconditional. |
| 18 | Abide / remain | μένω | menō | 存 (abstract complement) / 常守 (personal adherence complement) | cún / cháng shǒu | High | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:2, 1:9 (×2) | CUV varies rendering by collocation; document both as reflexes of one Greek verb to preserve the perseverance thread. |
| 19 | Forever / age | αἰών | aiōn | 永远 | yǒngyuǎn | Low | — | 1:2 | Standard, stable term. |
| 20 | Mercy | ἔλεος | eleos | 怜悯 | liánmǐn | Medium | Grace (adjacent) | 1:3 | Distinguish from Buddhist 慈悲 (compassion via detached enlightenment); this mercy is personal and covenantal. |
| 21 | Walk (conduct one’s life) | περιπατέω | peripateō | 照…而行 | zhào…ér xíng | High | Walking in Truth and Love | 1:4, 1:6 (×2) | Idiomatic CUV compound required; literal “walk” (走/步行) misreads as physical locomotion. |
| 22 | Commandment | ἐντολή | entolē | 命令 | mìnglìng | High | Walking in Truth and Love | 1:4, 1:5, 1:6 (×2) | Must NOT be rendered with 律法 (TM law/νόμος); ἐντολή is a specific directive, not the Mosaic covenant code. |
| 23 | One another | ἀλλήλων | allēlōn | 彼此 | bǐcǐ | Low | Mutual Edification (adjacent) | 1:5 | Consistent with Romans-curriculum 彼此造就 usage. |
| 24 | From the beginning | ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς | ap’ archēs | 从起初 | cóng qǐchū | Medium | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:5, 1:6 | Risk of false association with Genesis creation-narrative 起初; clarify referent is the beginning of apostolic instruction. |
| 25 | Deceiver | πλάνος | planos | 迷惑人的 | míhuò rén de | Critical | Warning against Deceivers | 1:7 (×2) | Active, willful spiritual deception with eternal stakes — not a generic “mistaken person.” |
| 26 | World (negative/moral sense) | κόσμος | kosmos | 世上 / 世界 | shìshàng / shìjiè | Medium | Warning against Deceivers | 1:7 | Flag the negative Johannine “world-system opposed to God” sense distinct from the neutral planetary sense. |
| 27 | Confess / acknowledge | ὁμολογέω | homologeō | 承认 (recommended) / 不认 (CUV negated form) | chéngrèn / bù rèn | Critical | Warning against Deceivers | 1:7 | Same confessional root as Romans 10:9’s Critical-tier Lordship confession; flag for theologian review at every occurrence. |
| 28 | Coming (of Christ, incarnational) | ἐρχόμενον | erchomenon | 来 (as part of 成了肉身来的) | lái | High | Warning against Deceivers / Incarnation | 1:7 | Present participle affirms the abiding, not merely past, reality of the incarnation. |
| 29 | Flesh | σάρξ | sarx | 肉身 | ròushēn | Critical | Incarnation | 1:7 | Directly reuses the 肉身 character pair embedded in TM incarnation (道成肉身); reinforces, does not contradict, the baseline. |
| 30 | Antichrist | ἀντίχριστος | antichristos | 敌基督 | dí Jīdū | Critical | Warning against Deceivers | 1:7 | Precise theological category (denial of Christ’s incarnation), not generic “demon/evil spirit” (妖魔). |
| 31 | Watch / take heed | βλέπω | blepō | 小心 | xiǎoxīn | Low | Perseverance | 1:8 | Standard warning register. |
| 32 | Lose / forfeit | ἀπόλλυμι | apollymi | 失去 | shīqù | Medium | Perseverance | 1:8 | Forfeiture of reward, not necessarily final perdition; keep register calibrated. |
| 33 | Work / labor (ministry fruit) | ἐργάζομαι | ergazomai | 做工 | zuò gōng | High | Perseverance / Grace (adjacent) | 1:8 | Must not be conflated with the Romans grace-vs-works soteriological antithesis (Critical grace doctrine); ordinary-labor sense here. |
| 34 | Reward / wages | μισθός | misthos | 赏赐 | shǎngcì | High | Perseverance | 1:8 | Distinguish from karmic retribution (报应, flagged under Romans sin); a gracious commendation, not a merit-ledger payment. |
| 35 | Receive (a reward) | ἀπολαμβάνω | apolambanō | 得着 | dézhe | Low | Perseverance | 1:8 | Standard term. |
| 36 | Go ahead / overstep | προάγω | proagō | 越过 | yuèguò | High | Perseverance | 1:9 | Must read as negative overstepping, not commendable “progress” (进步) — cultural inversion risk. |
| 37 | Teaching / doctrine (of Christ) | διδαχή | didachē | 教训 (CUV) / 教导 (modern-register alternative) | jiàoxùn / jiàodǎo | High | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:9, 1:10 | 教训 as a modern colloquial verb can carry a “scold” connotation; pair with explanatory gloss at first use. |
| 38 | Have (possess a relationship with God) | ἔχω | echō | 有 | yǒu | Medium | Perseverance | 1:9 (×2) | Absolute, exclusive claim (“does not have God”) must not be softened. |
| 39 | House / household | οἰκία | oikia | 家 | jiā | High | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | 1:10 | Significant cultural-collision risk with Chinese hospitality norms (待客之道, 面子); must be scoped narrowly to false-teacher endorsement, not general hospitality. |
| 40 | Receive / take in (a person) | λαμβάνω | lambanō | 接 / 接待 | jiē / jiēdài | High | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | 1:10 | Paired risk with #39; flag for native speaker AND theologian review. |
| 41 | Greeting (formula, withheld) | χαίρειν | chairein | 问安 | wèn ān | High | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | 1:10, 1:11 (×2) | Idiomatic greeting-equivalent required; literal “say ‘Rejoice!’” misconstrues the prohibition. |
| 42 | Share / participate (negative: be complicit) | κοινωνέω | koinōneō | 有分 | yǒu fèn | Critical | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | 1:11 | HARD EXCEPTION RULE: never render with TM fellowship (团契); same Greek root, opposite moral valence. Highest lexical-trap risk in the book. |
| 43 | Evil / wicked (deeds) | πονηρός | ponēros | 恶 / 恶行 | è / èxíng | Medium-High | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | 1:11 | Conceptually linked to “the evil one” (Satan) title elsewhere in Johannine corpus; reinforces the antichrist/deceiver connection. |
| 44 | Want / intend | βούλομαι | boulomai | 愿意 / 不肯 | yuànyì / bùkěn | Low | — | 1:12 | Deliberative verb of intention; low risk. |
| 45 | Paper / papyrus | χάρτης | chartēs | 纸 | zhǐ | Low | — | 1:12 | Material-culture term. |
| 46 | Ink | μέλαν | melan | 墨 | mò | Low | — | 1:12 | Material-culture term. |
| 47 | Mouth to mouth (idiom: face to face) | στόμα πρὸς στόμα | stoma pros stoma | 面对面 | miànduìmiàn | Medium | — | 1:12 | Idiomatic rendering mandatory; literal 口对口 evokes resuscitation/kissing in modern Mandarin. |
| 48 | Joy | χαρά | chara | 喜乐 | xǐlè | Low | — | 1:12 | Same root family as χαίρω (1:4) and χαίρειν (1:10-11); literary inclusio, lexically untranslatable as such in Mandarin. |
| 49 | Fulfill / complete | πληρόω | plēroō | 满足 | mǎnzú | Low | — | 1:12 | Standard term. |
| 50 | Greet / salute | ἀσπάζομαι | aspazomai | 问安 | wèn ān | Low | — | 1:13 | Same Chinese rendering as the withheld χαίρειν (1:10); rely on surrounding polarity (不要) for contrast, not lexical choice. |
| 51 | Sister | ἀδελφή | adelphē | 姐妹 | jiěmèi | Low | — | 1:13 | Standard term for a fellow believer. |
| 52 | Elder / senior office (cross-reference) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | See #11 above; listed once, cross-referenced here for completeness. |
Cross-Document Consistency Flags for Phase 2
- κοινωνέω exception rule (#42): Must be encoded as a hard override in translation memory so that automated glossary matching on the κοινωνία root does not default to 团契 when the complement is morally negative (evil deeds, sin). This is the single most important safeguard in this glossary.
- χάρις override (Section A #6): 2 John 1:3’s literal CUV wording (恩惠) is superseded by 恩典 for consistency with the Romans baseline; document this explicitly in any back-translation QA step so reviewers are not alarmed by the divergence from a raw CUV concordance check.
- ἐκλεκτός (#12) and Romans
election(拣选): ensure the adjectival “elect lady / elect sister” usage in 2 John is recognized by Phase 2 tooling as the same doctrinal root as the Romans noun/verb forms, to preserve cross-curriculum vocabulary consistency for learners moving between Romans and 2-3 John lessons. - μένω (#18) and διδαχή (#37): both exhibit CUV collocation-dependent variation; Phase 2 QA should treat divergent Chinese surface forms of the same Greek root as acceptable only when documented here, not as inconsistency errors.
- σάρξ (#29) and TM
incarnation: confirm 肉身 usage in 2 John 1:7 is flagged as reinforcing, not introducing, Critical-tier incarnation doctrine already governed by the baseline’s forbidden-substitution rules (never 化身/下凡/转世).
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: 神
Transliteration: Shén
Doctrine: Deity of Christ / Grace, Mercy, and Peace from the Father and the Son
Rejected alternatives: 上帝, 天, 老天爷
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. 2 John 1:9’s absolute claim ‘does not have God’ (就没有神) depends on the same exclusive, personal monotheism already encoded in the baseline; must not be diluted toward a folk-deity or generic-spirit reading of 神.
Jesus
Approved rendering: 耶稣
Transliteration: Yēsū
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ / Deity and Incarnation of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package exactly. No alternative form permitted; used at 2 John 1:3, 1:7.
Messiah
Approved rendering: 基督
Transliteration: Jīdū
Doctrine: Messianic Promise / Deity and Incarnation of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 弥勒, 救世主式泛称
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Never conflate with 弥勒 (Maitreya). Also the root of this letter’s compound coinage 敌基督 (‘antichrist’).
Son Of God
Approved rendering: 神的儿子
Transliteration: Shén de érzi
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ / Deity and Incarnation of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 天子, 神人
Original: υἱός (τοῦ πατρός)
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Full phrase required generally; contextual abbreviation to 子/儿子 permitted only when paired explicitly with 父 in the same clause, as in 2 John 1:3 (‘Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son’) and 1:9 (‘has both the Father and the Son’).
Grace
Approved rendering: 恩典
Transliteration: ēndiǎn
Doctrine: Grace, Mercy, and Peace from the Father and the Son
Rejected alternatives: 功德, 造化, 福气, 阴德
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. This package standardizes on 恩典 for 2 John 1:3’s salutation triad, overriding the literal CUV micro-variant 恩惠 used in that specific verse, for cross-curriculum consistency with the Romans baseline.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: 道成肉身
Transliteration: dào chéng ròushēn
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: 化身, 转世, 下凡
Original: Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. 2 John 1:7 (‘Jesus Christ coming in the flesh’) is an independent restatement of this doctrine, not merely a cross-reference; every occurrence re-triggers the baseline’s forbidden-substitution discipline (never 化身/下凡/转世).
Deceiver
Approved rendering: 迷惑人的
Transliteration: míhuò rén de
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: 说谎的, 弄错的人, 骗子
Original: πλάνος
Category: Christology
Agent of active, willful spiritual deception regarding the person of Christ, not merely a mistaken person (1:7, twice). Directly tied to the eternal-stakes claim of 1:9 (‘does not have God’).
Confess
Approved rendering: 承认 / 不认
Transliteration: chéngrèn / bù rèn
Doctrine: Deity and Incarnation of Christ (True Confession)
Rejected alternatives: 否认
Original: ὁμολογέω
Category: Christology
Public acknowledgment/affirmation of a truth-claim about Christ (1:7); shares the identical confessional root and theology as Romans 10:9’s Critical-tier Lordship confession (耶稣是主). Standardize 承认 for the positive verb form; retain CUV’s negated 不认 for the actual clause. Flag for theologian review at every occurrence.
Flesh
Approved rendering: 肉身
Transliteration: ròushēn
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: 化身, 转世, 下凡
Original: σάρξ
Category: Christology
Christ’s genuine physical human body, the specific object of the deceivers’ denial (1:7). Directly reuses the character pair embedded in the inherited 道成肉身; reinforces, and must never contradict, that Critical incarnation doctrine. NEVER 化身 or 转世.
Antichrist
Approved rendering: 敌基督
Transliteration: dí Jīdū
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: 妖魔, 邪灵, 魔鬼式泛称
Original: ἀντίχριστος
Category: Christology
A precise theological category naming denial of the true, incarnate Christ (1:7), not a vague insult. Reuses the inherited 基督; must not be generalized to folk categories of generic demon/evil spirit (妖魔).
Share Complicit
Approved rendering: 有分
Transliteration: yǒu fèn
Doctrine: Complicity in False Teaching
Rejected alternatives: 团契 (FORBIDDEN — hard exception), 有牵连
Original: κοινωνέω
Category: Church
HARD EXCEPTION RULE: shares the identical root family as the inherited positive term 团契 (fellowship/κοινωνία), but here (1:11) in an entirely negative sense — moral participation/complicity in another’s evil deeds. Translation-memory lookup on the κοινωνία root MUST NOT auto-substitute 团契. This is the single highest-risk lexical trap in 2 John for any system trained on the Romans translation memory.
High Risk Terms
Father
Approved rendering: 父
Transliteration: fù
Doctrine: Grace, Mercy, and Peace from the Father and the Son
Rejected alternatives: 祖先, 老天爷
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. God as personal, caring Father, the source of the love-commandment (2 John 1:4) and, together with the Son, co-source of grace, mercy, and peace (1:3). Keep distinct from ancestor-veneration framing (祭祖).
Election
Approved rendering: 拣选
Transliteration: jiǎnxuǎn
Doctrine: Divine Election of God’s People
Rejected alternatives: 天命, 命运, 缘分
Original: ἐκλεκτός / ἐκλεκτή (root)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package root. 2 John elevates this to an adjectival, person/congregation-directed usage (‘the elect lady,’ 1:1; ‘your elect sister,’ 1:13) — see the new term elect below for the compound form 蒙拣选的.
Law
Approved rendering: 律法
Transliteration: lǜfǎ
Doctrine: Fencing reference only (does not occur in 2 John)
Rejected alternatives: 礼, 道德规范, 法律
Inherited from Romans package for FENCING purposes only. 律法/νόμος does not occur in 2 John, but must be actively kept distinct from this letter’s ἐντολή/命令 (the singular love-command of 1:4-6) so learners moving between curricula do not import the Romans Law/grace debate into 2 John’s narrower point.
Sin
Approved rendering: 罪
Transliteration: zuì
Doctrine: Fencing reference only (does not occur in 2 John)
Rejected alternatives: 报应, 罪犯式的罪
Inherited from Romans package for FENCING purposes only, cited because 2 John’s reward language (μισθός/赏赐, 1:8) must be fenced against 报应 (karmic retribution), the same forbidden alternative already documented under this Romans doctrine.
Elect
Approved rendering: 蒙拣选的
Transliteration: méng jiǎnxuǎn de
Doctrine: Divine Election of God’s People
Rejected alternatives: 天命所归, 有缘人, 命定之人
Original: ἐκλεκτή / ἐκλεκτῆς
Category: Salvation
Adjectival form applied to persons/congregations (‘the elect lady,’ 1:1; ‘your elect sister,’ 1:13). Reuses the inherited root 拣选; must retain the personal, gracious-choice sense and never drift toward 天命, 命运, or 缘分.
Truth
Approved rendering: 真理
Transliteration: zhēnlǐ
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
Rejected alternatives: 道, 道理
Original: ἀλήθεια
Category: Faith
Occurs 5x in this short letter (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4). Must be taught as specific, revealed content about Christ (cf. 1:9’s ‘teaching of Christ’), never a generic philosophical or Daoist ‘Way’ (道) abstraction discoverable through contemplation. Cross-reference the baseline incarnation caution on 道.
Love
Approved rendering: 爱 / 爱心
Transliteration: ài / àixīn
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
Rejected alternatives: 仁, 孝, 爱情
Original: ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω
Category: Faith
Self-giving, covenantal love among believers (1:1, 1:3, 1:5, 1:6), the substance of the commandment ‘from the beginning.’ Must not collapse into Confucian relational-duty love (仁, benevolence calibrated to hierarchy; 孝, filial duty discharged as an obligation) or romantic love (爱情). Prefer 爱心 over bare 爱 in doctrinal statements.
Abide
Approved rendering: 存 / 常守
Transliteration: cún / cháng shǒu
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 清净, 入定
Original: μένω
Category: Sanctification
Continuous, active persistence — truth ‘abiding in us’ (1:2) and remaining ‘in the teaching of Christ’ (1:9, twice). CUV renders by collocation (存 for abstract truth-abiding, 常守 for personal adherence to teaching); document both as reflexes of one Greek verb (μένω), not an inconsistency.
Walk
Approved rendering: 照…而行
Transliteration: zhào…ér xíng
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
Rejected alternatives: 走, 步行, 行走
Original: περιπατέω
Category: Faith
The habitual, visible pattern of a believer’s life-conduct (1:4, 1:6 twice). MUST use this established CUV idiom, never a literal ‘walk’ (走/步行), which reads as physical locomotion. Render identically at each of its three occurrences to preserve v.6’s chiastic love/commandment structure.
Commandment
Approved rendering: 命令
Transliteration: mìnglìng
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
Rejected alternatives: 律法, 诫命
Original: ἐντολή
Category: Covenant
The specific directive to love one another, received ‘from the Father’ and ‘from the beginning’ (1:4, 1:5, 1:6 twice). Must NOT be rendered with 律法 (the inherited law/νόμος term reserved for the Mosaic covenant code) — ἐντολή here is a singular love-command, not Torah-observance language.
Coming
Approved rendering: 来 (within 成了肉身来的)
Transliteration: lái
Doctrine: Deity and Incarnation of Christ (True Confession)
Rejected alternatives: 下凡而来, 化现而来
Original: ἐρχόμενον
Category: Christology
The present participle ἐρχόμενον describes Christ’s enduring, characterizing possession of a real physical body, not a single past event (1:7). Rendered as part of the CUV clause 成了肉身来的; flag this grammatical nuance for teaching even though it is not independently lexicalized.
Work
Approved rendering: 做工
Transliteration: zuò gōng
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 功德, 善行式泛称
Original: ἐργάζομαι / ἔργον
Category: Sanctification
Ordinary labor/deed — the fruit of ministry labor at risk of being lost (1:8) — NOT the technical Pauline ‘works’ contrasted with grace in justification. Must be carefully distinguished from the Romans grace-vs-works soteriological antithesis and its forbidden term 功德; flag for theologian review to prevent conflation.
Reward
Approved rendering: 赏赐
Transliteration: shǎngcì
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 报应, 果报
Original: μισθός
Category: Sanctification
A full reward for faithful ministry/discipleship, implying a partial or forfeited reward is possible (1:8). Must be explicitly distinguished from 报应 (karmic retribution, already forbidden under the inherited sin doctrine) — this is a gracious commendation from a personal God, not a karmic-ledger mechanism.
Go Ahead
Approved rendering: 越过
Transliteration: yuèguò
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 进步, 超越
Original: προάγω
Category: Sanctification
To presumptuously advance beyond or abandon the bounds of received apostolic teaching (1:9). In modern Mandarin, ‘progress/advancement’ (进步) carries strongly positive connotations; 越过 must be used so the verse clearly reads as negative overstepping, not commendable advancement. 进步 is a FORBIDDEN substitution for this term.
Teaching
Approved rendering: 教训 / 教导
Transliteration: jiàoxùn / jiàodǎo
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Original: διδαχή
Category: Covenant
The fixed, apostolic body of Christological content that must be preserved (1:9, 1:10). 教训 as a modern colloquial verb can carry a ‘scold/tell off’ connotation; 教导 is a safer modern-register alternative. Recommend retaining 教训 for CUV-register continuity but pairing with an explanatory gloss at first use.
House
Approved rendering: 家
Transliteration: jiā
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
Rejected alternatives: 旅店式泛称
Original: οἰκία
Category: Church
Physical dwelling/household — the ancient site of patronage; receiving an itinerant teacher into one’s house functioned as material support and implicit endorsement (1:10). Significant cultural-collision risk with Chinese hospitality norms (待客之道, 好客, 面子/礼); must be scoped narrowly to denying a platform to incarnation-denying itinerant teachers, never a general anti-hospitality command.
Receive Person
Approved rendering: 接 / 接待
Transliteration: jiē / jiēdài
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
Original: λαμβάνω
Category: Church
To extend hospitality/welcome — here specifically to a false teacher (1:10). Same cultural-sensitivity flag as house; must be scoped explicitly to the narrow doctrinal warning, not read as license to withhold ordinary Chinese hospitality generally. Flag for native speaker AND theologian review.
Greeting Withheld
Approved rendering: 问安
Transliteration: wèn ān
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
Rejected alternatives: 祝你喜乐 (literal calque, forbidden)
Original: χαίρειν
Category: Church
A conventional Hellenistic greeting-formula (literally ‘to rejoice’), withheld because extending it would imply recognition/legitimation of a false teacher (1:10, 1:11 twice). MUST use the idiomatic greeting-equivalent 问安, never a literal translation of ‘rejoice.‘
Evil
Approved rendering: 恶 / 恶行
Transliteration: è / èxíng
Doctrine: Complicity in False Teaching
Rejected alternatives: 报应式泛称
Original: πονηρός
Category: Sin
Active, morally corrupt evil, stronger than generic ‘bad’ (1:11); conceptually linked to ‘the evil one’ (Satan) title elsewhere in the Johannine corpus. Reinforces the link between the deceiver/antichrist of v.7 and active moral evil, not mere doctrinal disagreement.
Medium Risk Terms
Peace
Approved rendering: 平安
Transliteration: píng’ān
Doctrine: Grace, Mercy, and Peace from the Father and the Son
Rejected alternatives: 安宁, 平安符式的平安
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Distinguish from the everyday folk-amulet/greeting sense of 平安 (e.g. 平安符) wherever it appears in 2 John 1:3.
Elder
Approved rendering: 长老
Transliteration: zhǎnglǎo
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Apostolic Authority
Rejected alternatives: 宗师, 大师, 住持
Original: πρεσβύτερος
Category: Church
The author’s self-identification (2 John 1:1). 长老 is also a title for a senior, respected Buddhist monk (Sthavira) and, colloquially, any elderly community figure; must be clarified as a specific NT church-teaching-authority office, not a Buddhist monastic rank or bare seniority title.
Children
Approved rendering: 儿女
Transliteration: érnǚ
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: 子女, 信徒
Original: τέκνα
Category: Church
May refer to literal children of a household or, more likely, members of a congregation addressed corporately (1:1, 1:4, 1:13). A brief contextual gloss is advisable wherever the referent is a congregation rather than literal offspring.
Know
Approved rendering: 知道 / 认识
Transliteration: zhīdào / rènshi
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
Rejected alternatives: 相信, 了解
Original: γινώσκω
Category: Faith
Experiential, relational knowledge of the truth (1:1), a favorite Johannine verb. Prefer 认识 over bare 知道 (which colloquially defaults to bare factual awareness, ‘noted’) wherever the relational sense is doctrinally in view.
Mercy
Approved rendering: 怜悯
Transliteration: liánmǐn
Doctrine: Grace, Mercy, and Peace from the Father and the Son
Rejected alternatives: 慈悲, 恩惠
Original: ἔλεος
Category: Salvation
Compassionate kindness shown by God, named alongside grace and peace in the salutation (1:3). Distinguish from the Buddhist virtue 慈悲 (compassion cultivated through detached enlightenment, associated with Guanyin); biblical mercy flows from a personal, covenant-keeping God toward specific individuals.
From The Beginning
Approved rendering: 从起初
Transliteration: cóng qǐchū
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 创世之初
Original: ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς
Category: Covenant
The origin-point of the readers’ instruction in the apostolic love-command (1:5, 1:6), NOT the creation of the world. 从起初 is the identical phrase that opens Genesis in CUV (‘起初,神创造天地’); a brief clarifying note is recommended at first occurrence.
World
Approved rendering: 世上 / 世界
Transliteration: shìshàng / shìjiè
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: 天下
Original: κόσμος
Category: Sin
The Johannine morally fallen world-system in opposition to God, out of which deceivers ‘have gone out’ (1:7). Defaults in ordinary Mandarin usage to the neutral ‘planet/human society’ sense; the negative theological connotation must be flagged wherever this valence is intended.
Lose
Approved rendering: 失去
Transliteration: shīqù
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 灭亡, 沉沦
Original: ἀπόλλυμι
Category: Sanctification
Forfeiture of a reward already accruing through faithful ministry/discipleship (1:8), not necessarily final perdition. Keep register calibrated so as not to be over-read as a threat of loss of salvation itself.
Have
Approved rendering: 有 / 没有
Transliteration: yǒu / méiyǒu
Doctrine: Deity and Incarnation of Christ (True Confession)
Rejected alternatives: 不完全认识神
Original: ἔχω
Category: Christology
An absolute, exclusive claim of relationship with God — ‘does not have God’ vs. ‘has both the Father and the Son’ (1:9, twice). Must not be softened toward a gradated claim; the stark exclusivity is the rhetorical point.
Mouth To Mouth
Approved rendering: 面对面
Transliteration: miànduìmiàn
Doctrine: Other (idiom)
Rejected alternatives: 口对口 (forbidden literal calque)
Original: στόμα πρὸς στόμα
Category: Other
A Hebraic idiom for direct, intimate, face-to-face communication (1:12). CUV renders idiomatically as 面对面; a literal 口对口 evokes mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or a kiss in modern Mandarin — an unintended and inappropriate connotation. Idiomatic rendering is mandatory.
Low Risk Terms
Fellowship
Approved rendering: 团契
Transliteration: tuánqì
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: 交情, 结拜
Original: κοινωνία (root; the positive sense is not lexically present in 2 John’s text)
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, POSITIVE SENSE ONLY. 2 John 1:11 uses the same κοινωνία root as a verb (κοινωνέω) in an entirely NEGATIVE, complicity sense — see the new term share_complicit below. HARD RULE: never substitute 团契 for that negative-sense verb; this is the single highest lexical-trap risk in the book.
Lady
Approved rendering: 太太
Transliteration: tàitai
Doctrine: Address Formula (Divine Election, adjacent)
Rejected alternatives: 主母, 女主人
Original: κυρία
Category: Other
Polite secular honorific address to a woman of standing (1:1, 1:5), likely a personification of a local congregation. MUST NEVER be rendered with any term suggestive of κύριος/主 (Lord) despite the shared Greek root — a lexical-tool false-friend risk, not a script-level one, since 太太 and 主 share no characters. Explicit Phase 2 QA flag required so this is never conflated with the Critical-risk lord term.
Forever
Approved rendering: 永远
Transliteration: yǒngyuǎn
Doctrine: Eschatology (adjacent)
Original: αἰών
Category: Eschatology
Truth abiding with believers ‘forever’ (1:2). Standard, stable term; no significant collision risk.
One Another
Approved rendering: 彼此
Transliteration: bǐcǐ
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
Original: ἀλλήλων
Category: Church
Reciprocal, mutual love exercised among believing peers (1:5). Same particle already used in the Romans-curriculum doctrine of Mutual Edification (彼此造就); cross-document consistency opportunity.
Watch
Approved rendering: 小心
Transliteration: xiǎoxīn
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Original: βλέπω (imperative βλέπετε ἑαυτούς)
Category: Faith
Warning idiom, ‘take heed, be on guard,’ against loss of ministry fruit or reward (1:8). Straightforward warning register; no significant doctrinal collision.
Receive Reward
Approved rendering: 得着
Transliteration: dézhe
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Original: ἀπολαμβάνω
Category: Sanctification
To receive back / obtain in full — the full reward of faithful ministry (1:8). Standard term, no significant doctrinal risk.
Want
Approved rendering: 愿意 / 不肯
Transliteration: yuànyì / bùkěn
Doctrine: Other
Original: βούλομαι
Category: Other
A deliberative verb of intention — the author’s preference not to write further by letter (1:12). No significant doctrinal risk.
Paper
Approved rendering: 纸
Transliteration: zhǐ
Doctrine: Other (material culture)
Original: χάρτης
Category: Other
Papyrus paper, the ancient writing material referenced in the closing (1:12). Standard rendering, no doctrinal risk.
Ink
Approved rendering: 墨
Transliteration: mò
Doctrine: Other (material culture)
Original: μέλαν
Category: Other
Ink, referenced alongside paper in the closing (1:12). Standard rendering, no doctrinal risk.
Joy
Approved rendering: 喜乐
Transliteration: xǐlè
Doctrine: Christian Joy in Fellowship and Right Greeting
Original: χαρά
Category: Faith
Fulfilled joy anticipated from face-to-face fellowship (1:12), closing the letter’s χαρ- word-family opened at 1:4 (‘I rejoiced greatly’) and used negatively for the withheld greeting (1:10-11). The Greek literary inclusio cannot be fully reproduced lexically in Mandarin.
Fulfill
Approved rendering: 满足
Transliteration: mǎnzú
Doctrine: Christian Joy in Fellowship and Right Greeting
Original: πληρόω
Category: Faith
To make full/complete — the author’s joy ‘made full’ through anticipated face-to-face fellowship (1:12). Standard term, no significant doctrinal risk.
Greet
Approved rendering: 问安
Transliteration: wèn ān
Doctrine: Christian Joy in Fellowship and Right Greeting
Original: ἀσπάζομαι
Category: Church
A warm, relationally warranted greeting between genuine believers (1:13), standing in deliberate contrast to the greeting withheld from the deceiver (1:10). Same Chinese surface form as greeting_withheld; rely on surrounding context/polarity (不要 in v.10), not lexical choice, to carry the Greek’s two-term contrast.
Sister
Approved rendering: 姐妹
Transliteration: jiěmèi
Doctrine: Church as God’s People (adjacent)
Original: ἀδελφή
Category: Church
A spiritual sister in the faith — ‘your elect sister’ (1:13), likely another congregation or individual. Standard, stable term for a fellow female believer.
Referenced passages