Core Glossary
Core Glossary: Ephesians (English → Persian)
This glossary extends translation_memory.json (Romans baseline) for the Ephesians curriculum. Terms marked REUSE carry forward the exact baseline Persian rendering and risk tier and must not be altered. Terms marked NEW are introduced by this document for Phase 1 Step 1 and require formal addition to translation memory before Phase 2 processing, per the 12_ai_translation_requirements.md load procedure (new term → assign risk → record in TM → increment version → flag Critical/High for theologian review).
Risk tiers follow doctrine_risk_registry.json definitions: Critical (theologian review, every occurrence) / High (theologian review) / Medium (native speaker review) / Low (automated review).
A. Reused Baseline Terms (Romans TM) Occurring in Ephesians
| English Term | Persian Rendering | Risk | Doctrine Link | Key Ephesians Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | خدا | Critical | Deity of Christ / God | 1:1-6:23 (pervasive) |
| Jesus | عیسی | Critical | Lordship of Christ | 1:1-6:24 |
| Lord | خداوند | Critical | Lordship of Christ | 1:2-3,15,17; 4:1,5,17; 5:8,10,17,19-22,25; 6:1,4,5-9,10,21,23-24 |
| Son of God | پسر خدا | Critical | Sonship of Christ | 4:13 |
| Messiah/Christ | مسیح | Critical | Messianic Promise | 1:1-6:24 (pervasive) |
| Holy Spirit | روحالقدس | Critical | Sanctification / God | 1:13,17; 2:18,22; 3:5,16; 4:3,4,30; 5:18; 6:17-18 |
| Father | پدر | Critical | Adoption | 1:2,3,17; 2:18; 3:14; 4:6; 5:20; 6:2,23 |
| Grace | فیض | High | Grace | 1:2,6,7; 2:5,7,8; 3:2,7,8; 4:7,29; 6:24 |
| Faith | ایمان | High | Faith | 1:1,15; 2:8; 3:12,17; 4:5,13; 6:16,23 |
| Salvation / saved | نجات | Critical | Salvation | 1:13; 2:5,8; 6:17 |
| Righteousness | عدالت | Critical | Salvation | 4:24; 5:9; 6:14 |
| Apostle | رسول | High | Apostleship | 1:1; 2:20; 3:5; 4:11 |
| Prophet | پیامبر | High | Inspiration of Scripture | 2:20; 3:5; 4:11 |
| Called / calling | دعوتشده / دعوت | High/Medium | Divine Calling | 1:18; 4:1,4 |
| Holy | مقدس | High | Sanctification | 1:4; 2:21; 3:5; 5:27 |
| Saints | مقدسین | High | Sainthood | 1:1,15,18; 2:19; 3:8,18; 4:12; 5:3; 6:18 |
| Sanctification | تقدیس | High | Sanctification | 5:26 |
| Adoption | فرزندخواندگی | Critical | Adoption | 1:5 |
| Resurrection (raised) | قیامت | Critical | Resurrection of Christ | 1:20; 2:6 |
| Peace | سلام | Medium | Peace with God | 1:2; 2:14,15,17; 4:3; 6:15,23 |
| Spiritual gifts | عطایای روحانی | Medium | Spiritual Gifts | 4:7-8,11 |
| Thanksgiving | شکرگزاری | Low | Thanksgiving | 1:16; 5:4,20 |
| Fellowship | مشارکت | Medium | Christian Fellowship | 3:9 (koinōnia-adjacent) |
| Church | کلیسا | High | Church as God’s People | 1:22; 3:10,21; 5:23-25,27,29,32 |
| Kingdom of God | ملکوت خدا | Medium | Kingdom Mission | 5:5 |
| Law | ناموس | Critical | Fulfillment of Prophecy | 2:15 |
| Sin | گناه | High | Universal Human Accountability | 2:1 |
| Gentiles | غیریهودیان | Medium | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | 2:11; 3:1,6,8 |
| Glory | جلال | Medium | Deity of Christ | 1:6,12,14,17,18; 3:13,16,21 |
| Power of God | قدرت خدا | Medium | Power of God for Salvation | 1:19; 3:7,20 |
| Election | برگزیدگی خدا | High | Effectual Calling | 1:4,11 |
| Intercession | شفاعت | Critical | Prayer and Intercession | 6:18 (contextual link) |
| Providence | تدبیر الهی | Medium | Providence | 1:11; 3:9,11 |
| Israel | اسرائیل | High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | 2:12 |
| Covenant | عهد | Medium/High | Davidic Covenant (extended) | 2:12 |
| Exhort | تشویق کردن | Low | Mutual Edification | 4:1; 6:4 (نصیحت for admonition) |
B. New Terms Introduced by Ephesians (Not in Romans Baseline)
| English Term | Greek (translit.) | Persian Rendering | Risk | Doctrine | Key Refs | Rejected Alternative(s) | Core Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mystery | μυστήριον (mystērion) | راز | Critical | Mystery of Christ Revealed | 1:9; 3:3,4,6,9; 5:32; 6:19 | — (retained, heavily flagged) | Collides with Sufi/Shia esoteric “hidden knowledge for initiates” framework; Paul’s sense is fully-disclosed, not restricted |
| Predestined/foreordained | προορίζω (proorizō) | از پیش تعیین کرد | Critical | Election and Predestination in Christ | 1:5,11 | مقدر ساخت (taqdir root) | Avoids Islamic qadar/fatalism connotation; must denote personal, gracious choice, not impersonal exhaustive decree |
| Redemption | ἀπολύτρωσις (apolytrōsis) | رهایی (به بهای فدیه) | Critical | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 1:7,14 | — | Ransom-price sense collides with Karbala/Hussein martyrdom-fida devotional framework |
| Fullness | πλήρωμα (plērōma) | کمال | Critical | Church as Body of Christ / Mystery | 1:23; 3:19; 4:13 | (no viable substitute; retained with heavy flag) | Collides with Sufi insan-e-kamil (“Perfect Man”) doctrine of individual mystical attainment |
| Works (contrasted with grace) | ἔργα (erga) | اعمال | Critical | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:9 | — | Precise term of Islamic mizan/deeds-weighing doctrine; verse states exact inverse of dominant cultural default |
| Good works | ἔργα ἀγαθά (erga agatha) | اعمال نیک / کارهای نیک | Critical | Salvation by Grace through Faith / Walking in Newness of Life | 2:10 | — | Echoes Qur’anic “iman wa ‘amal-e saleh” paired-condition formula; sequencing (fruit, not co-condition) must be taught explicitly |
| By nature children of wrath | φύσει τέκνα ὀργῆς | به طبیعت، فرزندان خشم | Critical | Universal Human Accountability | 2:3 | — | Confronts Islamic fitrah (innate purity) and Zoroastrian Chinvat deeds-framework; asserts inherited, not earned, guilt |
| Blood of Christ | αἷμα Χριστοῦ (haima Christou) | خون مسیح | Critical | Unity of Jews and Gentiles / Salvation | 1:7; 2:13 | — | Collides with Shia Ashura/Karbala blood-martyrdom devotional theology |
| Cross | σταυρός (stauros) | صلیب | Critical | Unity of Jews and Gentiles / Salvation | 2:16 | — | Shares Qur’an 4:157 crucifixion-denial (shubbiha lahum), as with baseline “resurrection”/“messiah” |
| One new man (corporate) | καινὸς ἄνθρωπος (kainos anthrōpos) | انسانیت تازه / انسان جدید | High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity | 2:15 | — | Must be marked corporate; risk of generic self-help “new me” misreading |
| Old man / new man (individual) | παλαιὸς / καινὸς ἄνθρωπος (individual sense) | انسان کهنه / انسان نو | High | Walking in Newness of Life | 4:22,24 | انسان کامل (for “new”) | Avoid conflating with 2:15’s corporate sense or with insan-e-kamil; ground in union with Christ, not mere resolve/tawbah |
| Perfect/mature man | τέλειος ἀνήρ (teleios anēr) | بلوغ کامل | Critical | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 4:13 | انسان کامل (explicitly rejected) | Direct collision with named Sufi doctrine al-insan al-kamil; abstract rendering avoids the noun انسان entirely |
| Head / headship | κεφαλή (kephalē) | سر | High | Church as Body of Christ / Household Codes | 1:22; 4:15; 5:23 | — | Overlaps with Islamic qavamiyat household-authority law; must be redefined by Christ’s self-sacrificial model |
| Body (of Christ) | σῶμα (sōma) | بدن | High | Church as Body of Christ | 1:23; 2:16; 3:6; 4:4,12,16,25; 5:23,28,30 | — | Corporate organic unity; must not collapse into generic social-club “community” |
| Principalities and powers / spiritual warfare cluster | ἀρχή, ἐξουσία, κοσμοκράτωρ, πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας | فرمانرواییها، قدرتها، جهانداران این ظلمت، نیروهای شرارت روحانی | Critical | Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God | 1:21; 3:10; 6:12 | — | Zoroastrian dualism risk: must be taught as defeated, subordinate powers under Christ (1:21), not a co-equal rival cosmic army |
| Armor of God | πανοπλία τοῦ θεοῦ (panoplia) | زره تمام خدا | High | Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God | 6:11,13 | زره کامل (avoid کمال root) | Risk of literal/political jihad or Basij-militarization misreading in Iranian public discourse; must stay interior/spiritual |
| Word of God (in armor context) | ῥῆμα θεοῦ (rhēma theou) | کلام خدا | Critical | Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God / Inspiration of Scripture | 6:17 | — | Qur’an is formally titled Kalamullah; must not imply equivalence or verbatim-dictation (wahy) model of inspiration |
| Reconcile / reconciliation | ἀποκαταλλάσσω (apokatallassō) | آشتی دادن | High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | 2:16 | مصالحه (negotiated settlement) | Must be unilateral, cross-secured restoration, not mutual political truce |
| Access | προσαγωγή (prosagōgē) | دسترسی / راه ورود | High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles / Prayer and Intercession | 2:18; 3:12 | — | Reinforces baseline intercession Critical caution: direct access, no human/Imam intermediary required |
| Temple / holy temple (church as) | ναός (naos) | معبد (مقدس) | High | Church as Body of Christ | 2:21 | — | Collides with Shia shrine (emamzade/haram) veneration culture; church itself, not a shrine, is God’s dwelling |
| Circumcision / uncircumcision | περιτομή / ἀκροβυστία | ختنه / نامختون | Medium | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | 2:11 | — | Familiar Islamic practice; must be reframed as covenant-identity marker, not hygienic custom |
| Commonwealth of Israel | πολιτεία τοῦ Ἰσραήλ (politeia) | تابعیت/ملیت اسرائیل | High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | 2:12 | — | Compounds baseline “israel” High risk with explicit citizenship/political vocabulary |
| Dividing wall / partition | μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ | دیوار جداکننده | Medium | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | 2:14 | — | Vivid OT-temple-background image; low ambiguity but needs supplied context |
| Flesh (ethical sense) | σάρξ (sarx) | نفس | High | Universal Human Accountability / Walking in Newness of Life | 2:3; 5:29; 6:12 | جسم (reserved for literal sense) | Bridges to, but risks importing, Sufi jihad al-nafs self-mortification framework |
| Mercy | ἔλεος (eleos) | رحمت | High | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:4 | — | Central Islamic divine-attribute term (Rahman/Rahim); must be anchored to Christ’s specific atoning work |
| Love | ἀγάπη (agapē) | محبت | Medium | Salvation by Grace through Faith / Household Codes | 2:4; 3:17-19; 5:2,25,28,33 | — | Sufi love-mysticism bridge; must stay anchored to Christ’s historical, self-giving act |
| Imitators (of God) | μιμηταί (mimētai) | پیروی کردن از خدا | High | Walking in Newness of Life | 5:1 | تقلید کردن | تقلید is Shia marja’-following technical term; avoid entirely |
| Sacrifice / offering | θυσία / προσφορά | قربانی | Critical | Walking in Newness of Life / Salvation | 5:2 | — | Collides with Eid-e Qorban ritual sacrifice and Ashura martyrdom-sacrifice framework |
| Light / darkness | φῶς / σκότος | نور / تاریکی | Critical | Walking in Newness of Life / Spiritual Warfare | 5:8 | — | Zoroastrian cosmic dualism substrate; darkness is defeated/subordinate, not a rival equal power |
| Submission / headship (household) | ὑποτάσσω (hypotassō) | تابع بودن / اطاعت کردن | High | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 5:21-24 | — | Intersects Iranian codified family law (qavamiyat); mutual-submission framing (5:21) must control reading |
| Baptism | βάπτισμα (baptisma) | تعمید | High | Walking in Newness of Life | 4:5 | — | Established term; risk from surrounding ghusl/wudu ritual-purification culture, not lexical ambiguity |
| Manifold wisdom of God | πολυποίκιλος σοφία | حکمت گوناگون خدا | Medium | Mystery of Christ Revealed | 3:10 | — | حکمت overlaps Mulla Sadra’s philosophical hekmat/emanation tradition (cf. baseline فیض note) |
| Full knowledge (of the Son of God) | ἐπίγνωσις (epignōsis) | معرفت کامل (qualified) | High | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 4:13 | unqualified معرفت | معرفت is Sufi experiential-gnosis technical term; must be marked corporate/doctrinal, not mystical-ascent |
| Inner man | ἔσω ἄνθρωπος | انسان درونی | Medium | Mystery of Christ Revealed (strengthening by Spirit) | 3:16 | انسان باطنی | باطن is Shia/Sufi esoteric-knowledge technical term; use neutral درون instead |
| Descended (Christ) | καταβαίνω (katabainō) | پایین آمد (avoid نزول) | High | Mystery of Christ Revealed (Christology) | 4:9 | نزول کرد | نزول is the technical term for Qur’anic revelation-descent (tanzīl); avoid for Christological descent |
| Predestined-adjacent: inheritance | κληρονομία (klēronomia) | میراث | Medium | Election and Predestination / Adoption | 1:11,14,18 | — | Concrete Islamic fiqh inheritance-law resonance; teach as full, undivided, not a fractional legal share |
| Household of God | οἰκεῖοι τοῦ θεοῦ | اهل خانهٴ خدا / خانوادهٴ خدا | Medium | Adoption / Church as Body of Christ | 2:19 | سرپرستی-adjacent framing | Reinforces baseline adoption Critical caution; full family membership, not custodianship |
| Dead (spiritually) | νεκρός (nekros) | مرده | High | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:1,5 | — | Must convey total incapacity, against fitrah/Chinvat residual-goodness assumptions |
| Boast | καυχάομαι (kauchaomai) | فخر کردن | Medium | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:9 | — | Self-congratulation excluded by grace; supports works/grace contrast |
| Workmanship | ποίημα (poiēma) | ساختهٴ دست خدا | Medium | Salvation by Grace through Faith / Walking in Newness of Life | 2:10 | — | Distinguish visibly from اعمال (2:9): what God makes, not what believer does to earn standing |
| Sealed / earnest (Spirit as guarantee) | σφραγίζω / ἀρραβών | مهر شدن / ضمانت | Medium | Election and Predestination / Assurance | 1:13-14 | — | Supports Assurance of Salvation against mizan-uncertainty default |
| Reverence (wife toward husband) | φοβέομαι (phobeomai) | احترام / حرمت گذاشتن | Medium | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 5:33 | — | Same household-codes sensitivity as ὑποτάσσω |
| Servants and masters | δοῦλος / κύριος (lower-case) | غلامان و اربابان | Medium | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 6:5-9 | — | Requires historical-institutional framing; must not conflate ارباب with خداوند (Christ’s Lordship) |
| Ambassador | πρεσβεύω (presbeuō) | سفیر | Medium | Mystery of Christ Revealed / Evangelism (baseline link) | 6:20 | — | Direct pastoral relevance to underground house-church persecution context |
C. Glossary Application Notes
- Priority order for Phase 2: apply Critical-tier terms in Section B with the same absolute, no-substitution enforcement as baseline Critical terms (فیض, نجات, عدالت, etc.). Every Critical-tier new term above requires a
[TRANSLATOR NOTE]per the12_ai_translation_requirements.mdfootnote convention on first occurrence in any translated unit. - کمال (kamal) / انسان کامل exclusion rule: because πλήρωμα (“fullness,” rendered کمال) and τέλειος ἀνήρ (“perfect man,” rendered بلوغ کامل, explicitly not انسان کامل) occur together at Ephesians 4:13, this verse requires mandatory theologian review regardless of otherwise-mechanical translation quality scoring.
- تقلید (taqlid) forbidden substitution: added to the forbidden-substitutions class established by the baseline for برگزیده خدا, شریعت, پارسایی, سرپرستی, آرامش — تقلید must never render “imitators of God” (5:1).
- نزول (nozul) caution, not forbidden: unlike تقلید, نزول is not absolutely forbidden (it may be unavoidable in some idiomatic constructions) but is flagged High-risk and should be avoided in favor of پایین آمد wherever grammatically possible at Ephesians 4:9.
- This glossary must be merged into a single Ephesians-specific
translation_memory.jsonextension file before Phase 2 begins, with all Section B entries assigned version-tracked new entries per the baseline’s “Translation Memory Load and Enforcement Instructions.”
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: خدا
Transliteration: Khoda
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: الله
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: unlike Arabic’s total dependence on Allah, Khoda is a native pre-Islamic Persian word used across Zoroastrian, Christian, and Muslim Persian traditions alike. Strict tawhid theology must be distinguished from the Trinitarian conception denoted by the same word throughout Ephesians’ pervasive God-language (1:3-6:23).
Jesus
Approved rendering: عیسی
Transliteration: Isa
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: the settled, uncontroversial Persian Christian usage with no competing form. The Quranic prophet-only, non-crucified, non-divine narrative must be actively corrected at every occurrence, especially in Ephesians’ atonement passages (1:7, 2:13-16, 5:2).
Lord
Approved rendering: خداوند
Transliteration: Khodavand
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: سرور
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: native pre-Islamic word; the collision is the tawhid objection to ascribing supreme, exclusive Lordship to a human-born man. Ephesians 6:5-9 also uses the same Greek root (κύριος) for a human slave-master, rendered ارباب — the two senses must remain visibly distinct so Christ’s unique Lordship is never diluted.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: پسر خدا
Transliteration: pesar-e khoda
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: برگزیده خدا
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: never substitute the Hezare No’s softened برگزیده خدا. Ephesians’ only explicit occurrence (4:13) lands inside the book’s single most theologically dense verse, paired with fullness/perfect-man vocabulary — mandatory theologian review.
Messiah
Approved rendering: مسیح
Transliteration: Masih
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: occurs pervasively throughout Ephesians (1:1-6:24); every occurrence must actively assert Christ’s own primary, sufficient role against Shia Mahdi-centered displacement.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: روحالقدس
Transliteration: Ruh-ol-Qods
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: same Quranic phrase and tafsir identification with the angel Jibril; the created-being-versus-divine-Person distinction must be explicit at every occurrence. Ephesians 4:30 (‘grieve not the Holy Spirit’) offers a positive teaching opportunity: only a personal being can be grieved.
Father
Approved rendering: پدر
Transliteration: pedar
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: shares the tawhid-anthropomorphism objection to Father-language for God. Ephesians 3:14-15’s ‘every family (patria) is named’ wordplay should be explained in teaching, not smoothed over.
Salvation
Approved rendering: نجات
Transliteration: nejat
Doctrine: Salvation
Original: σωτηρία / σῴζω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: must be distinguished from the Karbala/Hussein martyrdom-intercession framework at every occurrence, including 1:13 and 6:17’s ‘helmet of salvation.‘
Righteousness
Approved rendering: عدالت
Transliteration: edalat
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: پارسایی
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. NEVER پارسایی (Zoroastrian-inflected virtue/piety). Must retain the forensic-relational sense even where Ephesians uses it more ethically (4:24, 5:9) than Romans’ forensic usage, so as not to reintroduce an achievement-of-virtue reading.
Adoption
Approved rendering: فرزندخواندگی
Transliteration: farzand-khandegi
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: سرپرستی
Original: υἱοθεσία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. NEVER سرپرستی. Ephesians 1:5 ties adoption directly to predestined and to inheritance, compounding the collision with Iran’s Quranic-based civil-law custodianship default (Quran 33:4-5).
Resurrection
Approved rendering: قیامت
Transliteration: qiyamat
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Original: ἐγείρω (1:20, 2:6)
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. Shares the Quran’s crucifixion-denial (4:157) problem. Ephesians 2:6’s union-with-Christ resurrection language must retain its already-accomplished force and must not be subordinated to the Mahdi-centered Shia eschatological framework.
Law
Approved rendering: ناموس
Transliteration: namus
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: شریعت
Original: ὁ νόμος τῶν ἐντολῶν (2:15)
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. NEVER شریعت, given Iran’s shari’a-based legal system. Ephesians 2:15 uses this in the specific sense of the ceremonial-boundary aspects of the Law separating Jew from Gentile, requiring the same Critical caution as Romans.
Intercession
Approved rendering: شفاعت
Transliteration: shafa’at
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Original: contextual (προσευχή, δέησις; 6:18-20)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Ephesians 2:18 and 3:12’s ‘direct access’ doctrine reinforces, rather than merely coexists with, this Critical caution against Shia Imam-intercession patterns.
Mystery
Approved rendering: راز
Transliteration: raz
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Original: μυστήριον
Category: Mystery
New Ephesians term (1:9; 3:3,4,6,9; 5:32; 6:19). راز collides with two live native frameworks assuming restricted, elite access to hidden truth: Sufi mystical poetry’s esoteric disclosure to advanced initiates, and Shia esoteric theology’s Imam-guarded باطنی knowledge. Paul’s usage is the theological opposite — fully disclosed and equally available to every believer. No substitute exists; retained with mandatory contextual qualification at every occurrence.
Predestined
Approved rendering: از پیش تعیین کرد
Transliteration: az pish ta’yin kard
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ
Rejected alternatives: مقدر ساخت
Original: προορίζω
Category: Eschatology
New Ephesians term (1:5, 1:11). The natural dictionary rendering مقدر ساخت (from تقدیر/taqdir) is REJECTED as primary: taqdir is the load-bearing term for Islamic qadar-fatalism, carrying strong connotations of impersonal, exhaustive determination of all events including evil. This transparent compound keeps the doctrine anchored to God’s personal, gracious, Christ-centered choice. Mandatory translator’s note at every occurrence.
Redemption
Approved rendering: رهایی (به بهای فدیه)
Transliteration: rahai (be baha-ye fadiye)
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: ἀπολύτρωσις
Category: Salvation
New Ephesians term (1:7, 1:14). The ransom-price component (فدیه) collides with Persian Shia piety’s sacrificial blood-price deliverance narrative centered on Imam Hussein’s martyrdom at Karbala (fada/fedakari vocabulary). Christ’s ransom must be taught as a unique, sufficient, once-for-all payment satisfying divine justice, not analogous to devotional benefit from a martyr’s suffering.
Fullness
Approved rendering: کمال
Transliteration: kamal
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Original: πλήρωμα
Category: Church
New Ephesians term (1:23; 3:19; 4:13). کمال is the exact technical term of the Sufi doctrine of انسان کامل (al-insan al-kamil, ‘the Perfect Man’), an individually-attained mystical perfection. Retained per baseline precedent (فیض, جلال) because no adequate substitute exists, but requires the heaviest possible doctrinal qualification at every occurrence and must NEVER be paired with the noun انسان.
Works
Approved rendering: اعمال
Transliteration: a’mal
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: ἔργα (2:9)
Category: Salvation
New Ephesians term (2:9). اعمال is the precise technical term of the Islamic mizan (deeds-weighing) doctrine, independently reinforced by Zoroastrianism’s Chinvat Bridge. Ephesians 2:9 states the exact inverse of this dominant cultural framework — arguably the single highest-stakes clause in the curriculum for a Persian Muslim-background hearer.
Good Works
Approved rendering: اعمال نیک / کارهای نیک
Transliteration: a’mal-e nik / karha-ye nik
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: ἔργα ἀγαθά (2:10)
Category: Salvation
New Ephesians term (2:10). Strikingly close to the paired Qur’anic formula ‘iman wa ‘amal-e saleh’ (faith and righteous deeds), a joint, co-equal soteriological condition in Islamic theology. Ephesians 2:8-10’s ordering (grace and faith alone save; good works follow as fruit) must be unmistakable at every occurrence, with a mandatory translator’s note.
Children Of Wrath
Approved rendering: به طبیعت، فرزندان خشم
Transliteration: be tabiat, farzandan-e khashm
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Original: φύσει τέκνα ὀργῆς (2:3)
Category: Sin
New Ephesians term (2:3). Directly confronts the Islamic fitrah doctrine (innate purity/sinlessness at birth, Qur’an 30:30), independently reinforced by Zoroastrianism’s Chinvat Bridge. This is Ephesians’ clearest statement of inherited, not earned, guilt and must be taught explicitly against the strong Persian cultural default.
Blood Of Christ
Approved rendering: خون مسیح
Transliteration: khun-e Masih
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: αἷμα Χριστοῦ (1:7; 2:13)
Category: Salvation
New Ephesians term (1:7; 2:13). Persian Shia devotional culture centers an entire annual liturgical calendar (Muharram/Ashura) on the shed blood of Imam Hussein at Karbala, with mourning rituals believed to secure intercessory benefit. Christ’s blood must be taught as a completed, once-for-all, judicially sufficient atonement, categorically distinct from this martyrdom-blood framework.
Cross
Approved rendering: صلیب
Transliteration: salib
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: σταυρός (2:16)
Category: Salvation
New Ephesians term (2:16; also 1:7, 5:2 atonement context). Shares fully the Qur’an’s explicit crucifixion-denial (4:157, shubbiha lahum), identical to the baseline’s Critical treatment of resurrection and messiah. Every occurrence must actively assert the historical reality of the crucifixion.
Perfect Man
Approved rendering: بلوغ کامل
Transliteration: bolugh-e kamel
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Rejected alternatives: انسان کامل
Original: τέλειος ἀνήρ (4:13)
Category: Church
New Ephesians term (4:13). انسان کامل is explicitly REJECTED: it is the named Sufi doctrine of the mystically-perfected sage. Occurring in the same verse as πλήρωμα (‘fullness,’ کمال), a literal rendering would create a doubled collision at the curriculum’s most theologically dense verse. بلوغ کامل preserves the sense while avoiding the noun انسان entirely. Mandatory theologian review at 4:13 regardless of otherwise-mechanical quality scoring.
Principalities And Powers
Approved rendering: فرمانرواییها، قدرتها، جهانداران این ظلمت، نیروهای شرارت روحانی در جایگاههای آسمانی
Transliteration: farmanravayi-ha, qodrat-ha, jahandaran-e in zolmat, niruha-ye sharrat-e ruhani dar jaygah-haye asemani
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God
Original: ἀρχή, ἐξουσία, κοσμοκράτωρ, τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας (1:21; 3:10; 6:12)
Category: Spiritual Warfare
New Ephesians term (1:21; 3:10; 6:12). Zoroastrian dualistic cosmology (Ahura Mazda vs. Angra Mainyu) predisposes Persian hearers to read these powers as a roughly co-equal rival cosmic army rather than created, already-defeated beings operating under Christ’s sovereign authority (1:21). Must be taught in explicit connection with 1:21-22.
Word Of God
Approved rendering: کلام خدا
Transliteration: kalam-e khoda
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God
Original: ῥῆμα θεοῦ (6:17)
Category: Spiritual Warfare
New Ephesians term (6:17). کلام is the precise term of Islamic ‘ilm al-kalam theology, and the Qur’an is formally titled کلامالله (Kalamullah), God’s own uncreated, verbatim speech. Retained as the settled Persian Christian rendering with no viable substitute, but requires heaviest contextual qualification: refers to Christian Scripture (human authors writing in their own words under inspiration), never the Qur’an or its wahy dictation model.
Sacrifice
Approved rendering: قربانی
Transliteration: qorbani
Doctrine: Walking in Newness of Life
Original: θυσία / προσφορά (5:2)
Category: Salvation
New Ephesians term (5:2). قربانی is deeply embedded in Eid-e Qorban’s annual repeated animal sacrifice and Shia Ashura’s martyrdom-sacrifice theology of Imam Hussein. Christ’s sacrifice must be taught as a unique, historical, once-for-all, sufficient atonement, explicitly distinguished from both frameworks.
Light And Darkness
Approved rendering: نور / تاریکی
Transliteration: nur / tariki
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God
Original: φῶς / σκότος (5:8)
Category: Spiritual Warfare
New Ephesians term (5:8). Zoroastrianism — Iran’s own pre-Islamic state religion, still culturally embedded — is organized around a foundational cosmic dualism (Ahura Mazda vs. Angra Mainyu) of comparable, opposing forces. Must be taught as a completed transfer out of a defeated, subordinate condition, not an ongoing battle between co-equal cosmic principalities; connect explicitly to 6:12.
High Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: فیض
Transliteration: feyz
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: لطف
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Must never collapse into the Illuminationist/Mulla Sadra emanationist sense of an automatic ontological overflow. Ephesians 2:8-9 is the sharpest grace-versus-works contrast in the curriculum and requires the personal, freely-given sense reinforced at every occurrence.
Faith
Approved rendering: ایمان
Transliteration: iman
Doctrine: Faith
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Shares Shia iman’s Imamate-belief overlay; must be anchored as personal trust in Christ specifically. Ephesians 2:8 requires faith rendered as the channel (‘through faith’), never the meritorious ground, of salvation.
Apostle
Approved rendering: رسول
Transliteration: rasul
Doctrine: Apostleship
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. The Imamate succession-claim collision applies with added weight at Ephesians 2:20, where apostles/prophets form the church’s literal ‘foundation’ — a claim to unique foundational authority that could be read as competing with Imamate succession claims.
Prophet
Approved rendering: پیامبر
Transliteration: payambar
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Native Persian compound, not an Arabic loanword. Must be paired with fuller titles so as not to be read through Persian Islam’s finality-of-prophethood category (khatam al-anbiya).
Called
Approved rendering: دعوتشده
Transliteration: da’vat-shode
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλητός / κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Ephesians 4:1’s ‘walk worthy of the calling’ links this term directly to the περιπατέω (‘walk’) vocabulary governing the book’s ethics.
Calling
Approved rendering: دعوت
Transliteration: da’vat
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Must convey sovereign summons, not the everyday invitation sense da’vat also carries in ordinary Persian.
Holy
Approved rendering: مقدس
Transliteration: moqaddas
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. At Ephesians 2:21 must be reinforced against a ritual-purity or shrine-holiness reading (see temple entry).
Saints
Approved rendering: مقدسین
Transliteration: moqaddasin
Doctrine: Sainthood
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Corporate sense for all believers, used repeatedly through Ephesians (1:1,15,18; 2:19; 3:8,18; 4:12; 5:3; 6:18); not an elevated ascetic or shrine-venerated class.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: تقدیس
Transliteration: taqdis
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἁγιάζω (5:26)
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Ephesians 5:26 links this directly to the word-of-God and baptismal imagery; must not be read as ritual ablution (ghusl/wudu) or Sufi نفس self-mortification.
Church
Approved rendering: کلیسا
Transliteration: kelisa
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: امت
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. NEVER امت. Ephesians intensifies this doctrine with body/head and temple imagery (1:22-23; 3:10,21; 5:23-32); teach with the underground house-church reality in view, not a building.
Sin
Approved rendering: گناه
Transliteration: gonah
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Original: ἁμαρτία (2:1)
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. Ephesians 2:1-3 intensifies the baseline’s fitrah/Chinvat collision by pairing sin with total spiritual deadness and inherited wrath.
Election
Approved rendering: برگزیدگی خدا
Transliteration: bargozidegi-ye khoda
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Original: ἐκλέγομαι (1:4)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Ephesians 1:4 states this doctrine at its fullest NT intensity, directly paired with predestined; the Imamate’s lineage-based election framework must not be imported.
Israel
Approved rendering: اسرائیل
Transliteration: Esra’il
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ (2:12)
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Requires deliberate pastoral framing distinct from Iran’s officially propagandized anti-Israel political stance; see commonwealth_of_israel for the compounded political-vocabulary risk at 2:12.
Gospel
Approved rendering: انجیل
Transliteration: Injil
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: مژده
Inherited from Romans package. Injil is shared Quranic vocabulary carrying the tahrif (corruption) assumption; must be taught as the NT record itself. Occurs at Ephesians 1:13, 3:6, 6:15 (‘gospel of peace’), 6:19 (‘mystery of the gospel’) — this last pairing requires coordination with the mystery/راز caution.
Abba
Approved rendering: ابا
Transliteration: Abba
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Inherited from Romans package. Not textually repeated in Ephesians, but conceptually relevant to Ephesians’ Father/adoption doctrine (1:5; 3:14-15); retained in this Language Package for teaching continuity with the Romans 8:15 usage.
One New Man
Approved rendering: انسانیت تازه / انسان جدید
Transliteration: ensaniyat-e taze / ensan-e jadid
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: εἷς καινὸς ἄνθρωπος (2:15)
Category: Church
New Ephesians term (2:15). Must be clearly marked corporate (the reconciled Jew-Gentile church as a single new humanity) to avoid a generic ‘new me’ self-improvement misreading, given Iran’s large wellness/self-help publishing market. Distinguish from the individual old-man/new-man renewal language of 4:22-24, which uses the identical Greek phrase in a different sense.
Old New Man Individual
Approved rendering: انسان کهنه / انسان نو
Transliteration: ensan-e kohne / ensan-e no
Doctrine: Walking in Newness of Life
Rejected alternatives: انسان کامل
Original: ὁ παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος / ὁ καινὸς ἄνθρωπος (4:22,24)
Category: Sanctification
New Ephesians term (4:22, 24). Two risks: conflation with the corporate ‘one new man’ of 2:15, and flattening into the Islamic tawbah (‘turning over a new leaf’) moral-resolve framework rather than a change grounded in union with Christ’s death/resurrection. Deliberately uses نو, not کامل, to avoid the insan-e-kamil collision.
Head
Approved rendering: سر
Transliteration: sar
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Original: κεφαλή (1:22; 4:15; 5:23)
Category: Church
New Ephesians term (1:22; 4:15; 5:23). Carries direct, unavoidable resonance with Iran’s codified Islamic family-law headship (qavamiyat, Qur’an 4:34) once reused in the household code. The ecclesial sense (Christ’s organic, life-giving, self-sacrificial headship) must be taught with enough independent force that it is not read back as generic ratification of unqualified male authority.
Body
Approved rendering: بدن
Transliteration: badan
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Original: σῶμα (1:23; 2:16; 3:6; 4:4,12,16,25; 5:23,28,30)
Category: Church
New Ephesians term (1:23; 2:16; 3:6; 4:4,12,16,25; 5:23,28,30). Must not collapse into a generic social-club ‘community’ sense; the organic, Spirit-unified, Christ-headed nature of the metaphor must be taught explicitly, especially given its repeated pairing with سر.
Armor Of God
Approved rendering: زره تمام خدا
Transliteration: zereh-e tamam-e khoda
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God
Rejected alternatives: زره کامل
Original: πανοπλία τοῦ θεοῦ (6:11,13)
Category: Spiritual Warfare
New Ephesians term (6:11, 13). Deliberately renders ‘whole/full’ as تمام rather than کامل to avoid the insan-e-kamil collision. Real contextual risk from Iran’s heavy literal-jihad and Basij militarization rhetoric; must be taught unmistakably as an individual and corporate spiritual metaphor, not a literal or political-military application.
Reconcile
Approved rendering: آشتی دادن
Transliteration: ashti dadan
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Rejected alternatives: مصالحه
Original: ἀποκαταλλάσσω (2:16)
Category: Church
New Ephesians term (2:16). آشتی in ordinary Persian usage denotes a negotiated social truce between offended parties; مصالحه is rejected as an even more explicitly mutual-negotiation term. Must be taught as a unilateral, cross-secured, judicially grounded restoration, not a mutual political settlement between equals.
Access
Approved rendering: دسترسی / راه ورود
Transliteration: dastresi / rah-e vorud
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: προσαγωγή (2:18; 3:12)
Category: Salvation
New Ephesians term (2:18; 3:12). Directly engages the baseline’s Critical intercession (شفاعت) caution: popular Shia piety understands access to God as normally requiring the Imams’ intercession, particularly at their shrines. Must be taught as asserting direct, Spirit-enabled access for every believer without a human intermediary.
Temple
Approved rendering: معبد (مقدس)
Transliteration: ma’bad (moqaddas)
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Original: ναὸς ἅγιος (2:21)
Category: Church
New Ephesians term (2:21). معبد is the standard Persian term for Zoroastrian fire-temples and, most saliently, Shia emamzade/haram shrine complexes toward which believers direct devotion and seek barakat/intercession. Must be actively taught as a deliberate temple-replacement claim — the church itself, not a shrine, is now God’s dwelling.
Commonwealth Of Israel
Approved rendering: تابعیت/ملیت اسرائیل
Transliteration: tabe’iyat/melliyat-e Esra’il
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: πολιτεία τοῦ Ἰσραήλ (2:12)
Category: Covenant
New Ephesians term (2:12). Combines the baseline’s already-High ‘israel’ entry (Iran’s officially propagandized anti-Israel political stance) with explicit citizenship/political vocabulary. Must be framed as the OT covenant people, not the modern nation-state.
Flesh
Approved rendering: نفس (ethical sense); جسم/تن (literal sense)
Transliteration: nafs; jesm/tan
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Original: σάρξ (2:3; 5:29; 6:12)
Category: Sin
New Ephesians term (2:3; 5:29; 6:12). نفس is the central technical term of Sufi/Shia ascetic theology for the lower, carnal self subdued through self-mortification (jihad al-nafs). Offers a genuine bridge but risks importing the entire self-purification program in place of Paul’s argument that the flesh is decisively put to death only through union with Christ. For literal, non-ethical senses use جسم/تن instead.
Mercy
Approved rendering: رحمت
Transliteration: rahmat
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: ἔλεος (2:4)
Category: Salvation
New Ephesians term (2:4). رحمت/رحیم is the single most invoked divine attribute in Persian Islamic piety (بسمالله الرحمن الرحیم). Must be taught as channeled specifically and exclusively through Christ’s death and resurrection (2:5-6), not a general divine leniency available through repentance and deeds alone.
Imitators Of God
Approved rendering: پیروی کردن از خدا
Transliteration: peyravi kardan az khoda
Doctrine: Walking in Newness of Life
Rejected alternatives: تقلید کردن
Original: μιμηταὶ τοῦ θεοῦ (5:1)
Category: Sanctification
New Ephesians term (5:1). تقلید کردن must be AVOIDED ENTIRELY: تقلید is the specific technical term of Shia jurisprudence for a lay believer’s obligatory practice of following a chosen senior cleric’s rulings (marja’ al-taqlid). پیروی کردن avoids evoking clerical-authority-following.
Submission
Approved rendering: تابع بودن / اطاعت کردن
Transliteration: taba’ budan / eta’at kardan
Doctrine: Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships
Original: ὑποτάσσω (5:21,22,24)
Category: Household
New Ephesians term (5:21,22,24). Intersects directly with Iran’s codified Islamic family law (qavamiyat, Qur’an 4:34), granting husbands formal legal headship. Must be taught with 5:21’s mutual-submission framing kept structurally prior and controlling, and husbands’ headship redefined by Christ’s self-giving love (5:25). Requires theologian-level review at every occurrence.
Baptism
Approved rendering: تعمید
Transliteration: ta’mid
Doctrine: Walking in Newness of Life
Original: βάπτισμα (4:5)
Category: Sanctification
New Ephesians term (4:5). The settled, established Persian Christian term with no live competing rendering; risk from the surrounding Iranian ritual-purification culture (ghusl/wudu, Zoroastrian purity rites), which may predispose hearers to read baptism as self-performed purification rather than a sign of union with Christ’s accomplished death and resurrection.
Full Knowledge
Approved rendering: معرفت کامل
Transliteration: ma’refat-e kamel
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Rejected alternatives: معرفت (unqualified)
Original: ἐπίγνωσις (4:13)
Category: Church
New Ephesians term (4:13). معرفت is the specific technical term of Sufi mystical epistemology for experiential, esoteric knowledge attained through a graduated spiritual path. Must always be qualified as corporate and doctrinal (attained through the ministries of 4:11-12), never left unqualified or read as private mystical ascent.
Descended
Approved rendering: پایین آمد
Transliteration: payin amad
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Rejected alternatives: نزول کرد
Original: καταβαίνω / ἀναβαίνω (4:9-10)
Category: Christology
New Ephesians term (4:9-10). نزول is the precise Islamic technical term for the descent of Qur’anic revelation (nozul-e Qur’an/tanzīl); applying it to Christ’s descent risks framing this Christological event through Qur’anic revelation-descent lexicon rather than the incarnation/humiliation-then-exaltation pattern. Not absolutely forbidden but strongly disfavored — use پایین آمد wherever grammatically possible, with an explanatory note.
Dead Spiritually
Approved rendering: مرده
Transliteration: morde
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: νεκρός (2:1,5)
Category: Sin
New Ephesians term (2:1,5). Iranian folk-Islamic and Zoroastrian-influenced anthropology (fitrah, Chinvat deeds-weighing) assumes residual moral capacity in the unregenerate person. مرده must be taught as total, not partial, incapacity, or the core-passage grace-argument (2:1-10) collapses into a synergistic reading.
Medium Risk Terms
Peace
Approved rendering: سلام
Transliteration: salam
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: آرامش
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. NEVER آرامش (secular wellness ‘inner calm’). Ephesians uniquely applies peace to Jew-Gentile reconciliation (2:14-17) as well as peace with God, and must not be read as a negotiated social truce.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: عطایای روحانی
Transliteration: ‘ataya-ye ruhani
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts
Original: χαρίσματα / δόματα
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Always pair with روحانی so the office-gifts of 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher) are not read as ordinary talent or achievement.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: مشارکت
Transliteration: mosharekat
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Original: κοινωνία (adjacent, 3:9 context)
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Shares the ش-ر-ک root with shirk; low independent risk beyond this established resonance. Contextual use at Ephesians 3:9 (koinōnia-adjacent).
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: ملکوت خدا
Transliteration: malakut-e khoda
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ θεοῦ (5:5)
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. Distinguish God’s and Christ’s shared spiritual reign (5:5) from Iran’s own explicitly religious-political governing system (Velayat-e Faqih).
Gentiles
Approved rendering: غیریهودیان
Transliteration: gheyr-yahudian
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: امتها
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. NEVER امتها. Central to Ephesians 2-3’s unity doctrine (2:11; 3:1,6,8).
Glory
Approved rendering: جلال
Transliteration: jalal
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Persian Sufi jalal/jamal devotional resonance may aid tone but must remain anchored to Christ’s specific historical work throughout Ephesians 1, 3.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: قدرت خدا
Transliteration: qodrat-e khoda
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Original: δύναμις θεοῦ (1:19; 3:7,20)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Ephesians 1:19-21 pairs this with an untranslatable four-term power cluster (dynamis/energeia/kratos/ischys); some lexical collapsing is unavoidable but the superabundance point must survive.
Providence
Approved rendering: تدبیر الهی
Transliteration: tadbir-e elahi
Doctrine: Providence
Original: πάντα ἐνεργῶν κατὰ τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ (1:11); οἰκονομία (1:10; 3:9,11)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Keep distinct from folk qadar-style fatalism, especially since Ephesians 1:11 pairs this vocabulary directly with predestined.
Covenant
Approved rendering: عهد
Transliteration: ‘ahd
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: διαθῆκαι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας (2:12)
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Retain the relational, unilaterally-initiated biblical sense; Ephesians 2:12’s ‘covenants of promise.‘
Circumcision
Approved rendering: ختنه / نامختون
Transliteration: khatne / na-makhtun
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: περιτομή / ἀκροβυστία (2:11)
Category: Covenant
New Ephesians term (2:11). Circumcision (khatne) is a familiar Islamic cultural practice in Iran, but here functions as the covenant identity marker separating Jew from Gentile, not hygienic-religious custom; this distinct sense must be taught explicitly.
Dividing Wall
Approved rendering: دیوار جداکننده
Transliteration: divar-e jodakonande
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ (2:14)
Category: Church
New Ephesians term (2:14). Vivid, low-ambiguity image likely alluding to the temple’s actual dividing barrier; the OT temple background must be supplied since Persian readers will not have this architectural referent without explanation.
Love
Approved rendering: محبت
Transliteration: mohabbat
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: ἀγάπη (2:4; 3:17-19; 5:2,25,28,33)
Category: Salvation
New Ephesians term (2:4; 3:17-19; 5:2,25,28,33). محبت is also the primary vocabulary of Persian Sufi love-mysticism (Rumi, Hafez). Can serve as a devotional bridge but must stay anchored to Christ’s specific, historical, self-giving act, not a generalized mystical yearning for union with the Divine Beloved.
Manifold Wisdom
Approved rendering: حکمت گوناگون خدا
Transliteration: hekmat-e gunagun-e khoda
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Original: ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ (3:10)
Category: Mystery
New Ephesians term (3:10). حکمت is the technical term of Persian Islamic philosophy, notably Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Theosophy (already flagged under grace/فیض for its emanationist metaphysics). Must be anchored to God’s specific historical act of uniting Jew and Gentile in the church, not absorbed into that philosophical metaphysical framework.
Inner Man
Approved rendering: انسان درونی
Transliteration: ensan-e daruni
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Rejected alternatives: انسان باطنی
Original: ὁ ἔσω ἄνθρωπος (3:16)
Category: Mystery
New Ephesians term (3:16). انسان باطنی is deliberately AVOIDED: باطن is the specific technical term of Shia and Sufi esoteric theology for hidden truth accessible only through the Imams or a mystical guide. درون (neutral, non-technical ‘interior’) keeps this distinct from that esoteric-knowledge framework.
Inheritance
Approved rendering: میراث
Transliteration: miras
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ
Original: κληρονομία (1:11,14,18)
Category: Covenant
New Ephesians term (1:11,14,18). Ties directly to the baseline’s Critical adoption doctrine. Iranian civil/Islamic inheritance law (fiqh-based, fixed fractional shares among many heirs) makes میراث an extremely concrete, legally-loaded word; must be taught as full and undivided, not a fractional legal share.
Household Of God
Approved rendering: اهل خانهٴ خدا / خانوادهٴ خدا
Transliteration: ahl-e khane-ye khoda / khanevade-ye khoda
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: οἰκεῖοι τοῦ θεοῦ (2:19)
Category: Church
New Ephesians term (2:19). Reinforces the baseline’s Critical adoption caution (فرزندخواندگی): full family membership, not the weaker sarparasti/custodianship default already flagged there.
Boast
Approved rendering: فخر کردن / نازیدن
Transliteration: fakhr kardan / nazidan
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: καυχάομαι (2:9)
Category: Salvation
New Ephesians term (2:9). Self-congratulation, explicitly excluded by a grace-based salvation; supports the works/grace contrast.
Workmanship
Approved rendering: ساختهٴ دست خدا
Transliteration: sakhte-ye dast-e khoda
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: ποίημα (2:10)
Category: Salvation
New Ephesians term (2:10). Should be rendered so as to visibly echo, but not be confused with, اعمال (2:9) — this is what God makes, not what the believer does to be accepted.
Sealed And Earnest
Approved rendering: مهر شدن / ضمانت
Transliteration: mohr shodan / zamanat
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ
Original: σφραγίζω / ἀρραβών (1:13-14)
Category: Salvation
New Ephesians term (1:13-14). Supports the Assurance of Salvation doctrine against the mizan/deeds-weighing uncertainty of popular Islamic piety.
Reverence
Approved rendering: احترام / حرمت گذاشتن
Transliteration: ehteram / hormat gozashtan
Doctrine: Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships
Original: φοβέομαι (5:33)
Category: Household
New Ephesians term (5:33). Carries the same household-codes sensitivity as ὑποτάσσω; must be read within the mutual, Christ-centered framing of the passage, not as unilateral submission language.
Servants And Masters
Approved rendering: غلامان و اربابان
Transliteration: gholaman va arbaban
Doctrine: Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships
Original: δοῦλος / κύριος (lower-case) (6:5-9)
Category: Household
New Ephesians term (6:5-9). Requires historical-institutional framing: addresses the concrete first-century institution, not contemporary employment relations. ارباب (master) must be visibly distinguished from خداوند (Christ’s exclusive Lordship) despite the shared Greek root κύριος.
Ambassador
Approved rendering: سفیر
Transliteration: safir
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Original: πρεσβεύω (6:20)
Category: Church
New Ephesians term (6:20). Paul’s self-description as ‘an ambassador in chains’ carries direct, real pastoral relevance to the underground house-church context given the genuine legal risk of gospel proclamation in Iran.
Trespasses
Approved rendering: تقصیرها / خطاها
Transliteration: taqsir-ha / khata-ha
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Original: παράπτωμα (2:1,5)
Category: Sin
New Ephesians term (2:1,5). No major collision; ensure the distinct nuance from گناه (‘acts’ vs. ‘condition’) is not flattened in translation.
Walk
Approved rendering: رفتار کردن / راه رفتن
Transliteration: raftar kardan
Doctrine: Walking in Newness of Life
Original: περιπατέω (2:2,10; 4:1,17; 5:2,8,15)
Category: Sanctification
New Ephesians term (2:2,10; 4:1,17; 5:2,8,15). Must be rendered consistently as a habitual-life metaphor throughout the book, functioning as a structural inclusio linking the old and new walk across chapters 2, 4, and 5.
Blessing
Approved rendering: متبارک (خدا) / برکت
Transliteration: motabarak (khoda) / barakat
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ
Original: εὐλογητός / εὐλογία (1:3)
Category: God
New Ephesians term (1:3). برکت is widely used in Persian Islamic piety for divine favor mediated through holy persons, places, and relics (shrine barakat). Must be anchored to the specific, Christ-mediated spiritual blessings enumerated in 1:4-14, not a diffuse, mediated sacred power.
Forgiveness
Approved rendering: آمرزش
Transliteration: amorzesh
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: ἄφεσις (1:7)
Category: Salvation
New Ephesians term (1:7). آمرزش is a native Persian word shared across Zoroastrian, Muslim, and Christian usage — a genuine linguistic asset. Ensure it is anchored to the ransom of 1:7 rather than general Islamic tawbah-secured forgiveness apart from a mediator’s atoning payment.
Filled With Spirit
Approved rendering: از روح پُر شوید
Transliteration: az ruh por shavid
Doctrine: Walking in Newness of Life
Original: πληροῦσθε ἐν Πνεύματι (5:18)
Category: Sanctification
New Ephesians term (5:18). Should be distinguished carefully from folk-Islamic and pre-Islamic Persian ecstatic spirit-possession beliefs (including jinn-possession); this is Spirit-empowered, sober, communal worship, not involuntary ecstatic trance.
Unity Of The Spirit
Approved rendering: اتحاد روح
Transliteration: ettehad-e ruh
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Original: ἑνότης τοῦ πνεύματος (4:3)
Category: Church
New Ephesians term (4:3). اتحاد can evoke pan-Islamic Ummah-unity political rhetoric (the same root concern the baseline documents for امت). Teach explicitly as Spirit-wrought unity among believers in Christ, not political-religious solidarity.
Evangelist Pastor Teacher
Approved rendering: مبشر / شبان / معلم
Transliteration: mobasher / shaban / mo’allem
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Original: εὐαγγελιστής, ποιμήν, διδάσκαλος (4:11)
Category: Church
New Ephesians term (4:11). مبشر draws on the established انجیل/gospel root; شبان and معلم are broadly positive, low-collision pastoral and instructional imagery.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: شکرگزاری
Transliteration: shokr-gozari
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Broadly compatible with Islamic shukr vocabulary; low risk (1:16; 5:4,20).
Exhort
Approved rendering: تشویق کردن
Transliteration: tashviq kardan
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω (4:1)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Context-sensitive per baseline note; Ephesians 4:1 (تشویق) / 6:4 (نصیحت for admonition).
Dispensation
Approved rendering: تدبیر (الهی)
Transliteration: tadbir(-e elahi)
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Original: οἰκονομία (1:10; 3:2,9)
Category: Mystery
New Ephesians term (1:10; 3:2,9). Deliberately shares its root with the baseline’s rendering of πρόνοια/‘providence’ (تدبیر الهی); acceptable overlap, since οἰκονομία applies God’s broader providential plan to the mystery’s unfolding.
Equipping
Approved rendering: تجهیز
Transliteration: tajhiz
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Original: καταρτισμός / οἰκοδομή τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ (4:12)
Category: Church
New Ephesians term (4:12). This verse is the doctrinal charter for ‘Gifts for Building Up the Church’; low independent lexical risk beyond the already-flagged بدن (body) term.
Fruit Of The Spirit
Approved rendering: میوهٔ روح
Transliteration: mive-ye ruh
Doctrine: Walking in Newness of Life
Original: ὁ καρπὸς τοῦ πνεύματος (5:9, cf. Gal 5:22)
Category: Sanctification
New Ephesians term (5:9, textual variant; cf. Gal 5:22). Low risk, standard NT ethical vocabulary broadly compatible with existing Persian virtue categories.
Referenced passages