Core Glossary
Core Glossary: Colossians (English–Polish)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, across all four chapters of Colossians, into per-term entries suitable for direct promotion into a Colossians-specific translation_memory.json extending the Romans baseline. Terms are grouped by curriculum doctrine. Terms already governed by the baseline Romans Language Package are marked Reused (Romans TM) and MUST use the identical recorded Polish rendering; New (Colossians) terms are proposed for addition to translation memory upon theologian approval. Every Critical/High risk entry states a specific, grounded reason.
Risk tier definitions (per baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json): Critical = human theologian review every occurrence; High = human theologian review; Medium = native speaker review; Low = automated review sufficient.
1. Supremacy and Sufficiency of Christ over Creation
| Term (Eng.) | Greek / Transliteration | Polish rendering | Risk | TM status | Notes / grounded reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| image | εἰκών / eikōn | obraz | Critical | New | Collides with “obraz” as venerated devotional icon (e.g., Obraz Jasnogórski); must teach Christ as ontological disclosure of God’s being, not a representative icon. |
| invisible | ἀόρατος / aoratos | niewidzialny | Medium | New | Standard; pair consistently with “obraz.” |
| firstborn | πρωτότοκος / prōtotokos | pierworodny | Critical | New | Highest-stakes term in the book: Jehovah’s Witnesses’ (Świadkowie Jehowy) NWT-influenced reading treats this as “first created being”; must always be taught as rank/inheritance supremacy, never origin, reinforced by v.16’s creation claim. |
| creation | κτίσις / ktisis | stworzenie | High | New | Must stay lexically tied to κτίζω’s rendering to preserve the “Christ made it, therefore is not part of it” argument. |
| to create | κτίζω / ktizō | stworzyć / zostać stworzonym | High | New | See above; Christ is always grammatical agent/goal, never object, of this verb. |
| thrones/dominions/rulers/authorities | θρόνοι, κυριότητες, ἀρχαί, ἐξουσίαι | trony, panowania, zwierzchności, władze | High | New | Must read as spiritual/angelic powers, setting up ch.2’s warning against angel-worship and cosmic syncretism. |
| before all things | πρὸ πάντων / pro pantōn | przed wszystkim | High | New | Reinforces preexistence, blocking any “first-created” misreading of πρωτότοκος. |
| hold together | συνίστημι / synistēmi | [wszystko] istnieje/trwa spójnie w Nim | Medium | New | Active sustaining-cause sense, not passive/pantheistic “existing within.” |
| preeminent | πρωτεύω / prōteuō | mieć/być pierwszym we wszystkim | Medium | New | Rare climactic term; preserve summarizing force. |
| fullness | πλήρωμα / plērōma | pełnia | Critical | New | Reclaimed Gnostic technical term; must be identical at 1:19 and 2:9; guard against drift toward vague “spiritual abundance” language (contemporary charismatic/New Age risk). |
| dwell | κατοικέω / katoikeō | zamieszkać (na stałe) | High | New | Permanent, not temporary, indwelling; pair with σωματικῶς (bodily) at 2:9. |
2. Christ as Head of the Church
| Term (Eng.) | Greek / Transliteration | Polish rendering | Risk | TM status | Notes / grounded reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| head | κεφαλή / kephalē | głowa | Critical | New | Must retain both organic life-source and governing-authority senses; risk of pull toward institutional-office reading (e.g., analogy to visible ecclesial head) given Polish “Kościół” institutional culture already flagged in Romans baseline. |
| body | σῶμα / sōma | ciało | High | New | Multivalent across the book: church-as-body (1:18, 1:24), individual body (3:5), and “substance” contrasted with shadow (2:17) — track sense per occurrence; do not conflate the 2:17 usage with the church-body usage. |
| church | ἐκκλησία / ekklēsia | kościół | Medium | Reused (Romans TM) | Baseline note applies: distinguish gathered/universal body of Christ from capitalized institutional “Kościół.” |
| beginning | ἀρχή / archē (1:18 sense) | początek | Medium | New | Distinct sense from ἀρχή as “ruling power” (1:16, rendered zwierzchności) — same Greek word, different Polish word required by context; flag both occurrences for disambiguation. |
3. Reconciliation through the Cross
| Term (Eng.) | Greek / Transliteration | Polish rendering | Risk | TM status | Notes / grounded reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| reconcile / reconciliation | ἀποκαταλλάσσω / apokatallassō | pojednać / pojednanie | Critical | New | Cosmic-scope reconciliation accomplished once at the cross, received by faith; must not be taught as progressively achieved through merit or sacrament, per the same caution already established for grace/justification in the Romans baseline. |
| make peace | εἰρηνοποιέω / eirēnopoieō | uczynić pokój | Medium | New | Active accomplishment, not mere calm; builds on Reused peace (pokój). |
| peace | εἰρήνη / eirēnē | pokój | Medium | Reused (Romans TM) | Baseline note applies (relational/covenantal, not psychological calm). |
| blood | αἷμα / haima | krew | High | New | Standard word; catechetical risk only — must retain OT sacrificial-atonement background, not merely devotional imagery. |
| cross | σταυρός / stauros | krzyż | High | New | Standard, well-established term; leverage rich Polish devotional culture (crucifixes, Droga Krzyżowa) but anchor explicitly to the specific cosmic-reconciliation claim of this passage. |
| redemption | ἀπολύτρωσις / apolytrōsis | odkupienie | Critical | New | Price-paid, decisive deliverance; must not be taught as a status accrued gradually through sacramental participation, paralleling the Romans baseline’s “salvation” caution. |
| forgiveness of sins | ἄφεσις (τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν) / aphesis | odpuszczenie grzechów | High | New | Complete and decisive; avoid conflation with the ongoing post-baptismal confession framework as the sole means of maintaining forgiven status. |
| sin | ἁμαρτία / hamartia | grzech | Medium | Reused (Romans TM) | Baseline note applies. |
| record of debt | χειρόγραφον / cheirographon | zapis dłużny / dokument obciążający | High | New | Vivid legal-debt image for canceled condemnation; must not be flattened to generic “our sins.” |
| decrees / regulations | δόγμα(τα) / dogma(ta); δογματίζεσθε | przepisy / nakazy / postanowienia (never dogmat) | High | New | Direct lexical-confusion risk with Polish Catholic technical term dogmat (binding article of Catholic doctrine); using “dogmat” would wrongly suggest Paul condemns church doctrine as such. |
| disarm/strip | ἀπεκδύομαι / apekdyomai | rozbroić / obnażyć | Medium | New | Military-defeat imagery over cosmic powers. |
| triumph | θριαμβεύω / thriambeuō | prowadzić w triumfalnym pochodzie | Medium | New | Roman-triumph imagery; brief cultural note recommended in teaching materials. |
4. Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
| Term (Eng.) | Greek / Transliteration | Polish rendering | Risk | TM status | Notes / grounded reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| philosophy | φιλοσοφία / philosophia | filozofia | Medium | New | Targets a specific deceptive system at Colossae, not intellectual inquiry generally; must not be over-broadened. |
| human tradition | παράδοσις τῶν ἀνθρώπων / paradosis tōn anthrōpōn | tradycja ludzka / ludzkie podanie | High | New | Direct collision with the Polish Catholic doctrine of Sacred Tradition (Święta Tradycja); text critiques a specific human-devised syncretistic system, not Tradition as a category — must state this distinction explicitly, continuing the caution already flagged in the Romans baseline’s “inspiration_of_scripture” doctrine. |
| elemental spirits / basic principles | στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου / stoicheia tou kosmou | żywioły świata / duchy żywiołów | Critical | New | Genuinely ambiguous even in Greek scholarship; connects to ongoing Polish folk-superstition/occult practices (horoscopes, talismans); flag ambiguity explicitly, lean toward “powers defeated in Christ” per 2:15. |
| wisdom | σοφία / sophia | mądrość | Medium-High | New | Contrasted with false teachers’ claimed wisdom; must be taught as exclusively and fully located in Christ. |
| knowledge / full knowledge | γνῶσις, ἐπίγνωσις / gnōsis, epignōsis | wiedza / poznanie / [pełne] poznanie | High | New | Targets the false teachers’ claimed esoteric knowledge; connects to contemporary Polish New Age/esoteric “hidden knowledge” spirituality as a modern parallel risk; true γνῶσις is knowledge of Christ, not secret spiritual attainment. |
| deceive by false reasoning | παραλογίζομαι / paralogizomai | zwodzić fałszywymi argumentami | Medium | New | Sets warning tone. |
| worship of angels | θρησκεία τῶν ἀγγέλων / thrēskeia tōn angelōn | kult anieli / cześć oddawana aniołom | Critical | New | Structural parallel to the Romans baseline’s Critical caution on Marian/saintly intercession (wstawiennictwo): devotion to created intermediaries rather than Christ alone; relevant given Polish guardian-angel devotion (Anioł Stróż) and broader devotional space shared with saints. |
| false humility | ταπεινοφροσύνη (negative sense) / tapeinophrosynē | pokora (context: showy/self-promoting asceticism) | Medium | New | Same Polish word carries opposite valence positively at 3:12 — flag context-dependence explicitly. |
| self-made religion | ἐθελοθρησκία / ethelothrēskia | religia własnego wymysłu / pobożność wymyślona przez samego siebie | High | New | Connects to Polish Catholic ascetic practice (Wielki Post fasting, mortyfikacja); must distinguish self-devised, Christ-independent asceticism from legitimate Scripture-commended discipline practiced in dependence on Christ. |
| severity to the body | ἀφειδία σώματος / apheidia sōmatos | srogość względem ciała / surowe umartwianie ciała | High | New | Same grounded reason as ἐθελοθρησκία; sensitive given devotional resonance of “umartwienie” in Polish penitential vocabulary. |
| deity / Godhead | θεότης / theotēs | Bóstwo | Critical | New | Abstract divine-nature term, lexically distinct from Bóg (God, the person); consistent with the Romans baseline registry’s doctrine name “bóstwo Chrystusa” (deity_of_christ) — explicit cross-reference required. |
| bodily | σωματικῶς / sōmatikōs | cieleśnie / w postaci ciała | Critical | New | Excludes docetism; teach in continuity with the Romans baseline’s “incarnation” doctrine (wcielenie), reinforcing real, permanent embodiment beyond a Christmas-nativity association. |
| circumcision | περιτομή / peritomē | obrzezanie | Medium | New | Requires OT covenant background; metaphorical use here (spiritual circumcision in Christ). |
| baptism | βαπτισμός / baptismos | chrzest | Critical | New | Most theologically sensitive term in the book for the Polish context: efficacy tied explicitly to “faith in the working of God” (2:12); must not be taught as automatically effecting union with Christ apart from personal faith, paralleling the Romans baseline’s central salvation/faith cautions, while still affirming its real biblical significance as the sign of that union. |
| trespass | παράπτωμα / paraptōma | wykroczenie / przewinienie | Medium | New | Near-synonym of grzech (sin) with a “specific lapse” nuance; not a separate doctrinal category. |
| Sabbath / festival / new moon | σάββατον, ἑορτή, νεομηνία | szabat, święto, nów | Medium | New | OT ceremonial calendar; connects to Romans baseline’s “law” doctrine (Prawo). |
| shadow / substance | σκιά / σῶμα (2:17 sense) | cień / rzeczywistość | Medium-High | New | σῶμα here means “substantial reality,” NOT “body” as used elsewhere in the letter (church, physical body) — explicit cross-reference risk within the same document. |
5. Union with Christ (Died and Raised With Him)
| Term (Eng.) | Greek / Transliteration | Polish rendering | Risk | TM status | Notes / grounded reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| raised with Christ | συνηγέρθητε (τῷ Χριστῷ) / synēgerthēte | powstaliście / zostaliście wskrzeszeni wraz z Chrystusem | Critical | New | Present, already-true reality of shared resurrection life; must not be reduced to future-only hope nor assumed automatically true apart from living faith-union, paralleling Romans’ “faith”/“salvation” cautions. |
| buried with him | συνθάπτω / synthaptō (2:12) | pogrzebani z Nim | High | New | Paired image with “raised with”; grounds union-with-Christ doctrine in baptism’s symbolism (see βαπτισμός above). |
| life hidden with Christ in God | ἡ ζωὴ ὑμῶν κέκρυπται σὺν τῷ Χριστῷ ἐν τῷ θεῷ | wasze życie jest ukryte z Chrystusem w Bogu | Critical | New | Directly parallel to Romans baseline’s Critical “christian_identity_in_christ” doctrine; here the Gentile congregation’s lack of any ethnic-heritage claim makes the universal principle (identity in Christ alone, never in ethnic/national/cultural heritage) even sharper — teach in full continuity with the Romans baseline’s caution on “wiara”/“tożsamość” and national identity. |
| Christ our life | Χριστός… ἡ ζωὴ ἡμῶν | Chrystus… nasze życie | High | New | Reinforces union-with-Christ identity language. |
| no Greek and Jew… Christ is all in all | οὐκ ἔστιν Ἕλλην καὶ Ἰουδαῖος… Χριστός | (doctrine, see unity terms) | Medium | Reused doctrine (unity_of_jews_and_gentiles) | Extended beyond Jew/Gentile to all ethnic/social categories; preserve full breadth per Romans baseline pastoral-sensitivity note on Polish Jewish-Christian history. |
6. Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
| Term (Eng.) | Greek / Transliteration | Polish rendering | Risk | TM status | Notes / grounded reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| old self / old man | παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος / palaios anthrōpos | stary człowiek | Critical | New | Decisive, completed removal (aorist), flowing from union with Christ’s death; not an ongoing uncertain struggle requiring recurring sacramental cleansing — distinguish from, though it connects to, the Romans baseline’s “sanctification” caution on the purgatorial framework. |
| new self / new man | νέος/καινός ἄνθρωπος | nowy człowiek | Critical | New | Matched contrasting pair with “stary człowiek”; actively “put on,” continually renewed. |
| being renewed | ἀνακαινούμενον / anakainoumenon | odnawiany (stale) | Medium | New | Ongoing-process sense, distinct from the completed put-off/put-on acts. |
| according to the image of the Creator | κατ’ εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος αὐτόν | według obrazu Tego, który go stworzył | High | Reused terms (obraz, stworzyć) | Deliberate intra-book cross-reference to 1:15’s core-passage vocabulary — Polish rendering must match exactly. |
| vice list (sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness) | πορνεία, ἀκαθαρσία, πάθος, ἐπιθυμία κακή, πλεονεξία | nierząd, nieczystość, namiętność, złe pożądanie, chciwość | High | New | πλεονεξία explicitly equated with idolatry (εἰδωλολατρία) — must not be softened; relevant to contemporary Polish material-prosperity culture. |
| idolatry | εἰδωλολατρία / eidōlolatria | bałwochwalstwo | High | New | Equated with greed in 3:5; standard term, doctrinally weighty equation must be preserved. |
| wrath of God | ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ / orgē tou theou | gniew Boży | High | New | Personal, judicial reality; must not be softened to impersonal consequence. |
| virtue list (compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience) | σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ, χρηστότης, ταπεινοφροσύνη, πραΰτης, μακροθυμία | serdeczne współczucie, dobroć, pokora, łagodność, wielkoduszność | Medium | New | Positive counterpart to vice lists; ταπεινοφροσύνη here is positive sense (contrast 2:18/2:23). |
| bond of perfection/completeness | σύνδεσμος τῆς τελειότητος / syndesmos tēs teleiotētos | więź [doskonałej] jedności | Medium | New | Love’s unifying, completing function over the virtue list. |
| let the peace of Christ rule/arbitrate | εἰρήνη τοῦ Χριστοῦ βραβεύετω / brabeuetō | niech pokój Chrystusa rozstrzyga [w waszych sercach] | Medium | New | Athletic-arbitration image; “rozstrzygać” preferred over flatter “rule/reign” verb. |
| psalms, hymns, spiritual songs | ψαλμοί, ὕμνοι, ᾠδαὶ πνευματικαί | psalmy, hymny, pieśni duchowe | Low | New | Standard worship vocabulary. |
7. Household Codes
| Term (Eng.) | Greek / Transliteration | Polish rendering | Risk | TM status | Notes / grounded reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| submit | ὑποτάσσω / hypotassō | być poddaną / poddawać się | Critical | New | Genuine contemporary sensitivity given modern gender-equality discourse; render precisely as the text’s relational ordering “in the Lord” (3:18b), without erasing its grammar or detaching it from the husband’s reciprocal sacrificial-love command (3:19) and the section’s repeated final anchor in Christ’s own lordship. |
| love your wives | ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας | kochajcie/miłujcie swoje żony | High | Reused term (ἀγάπη → miłość) | Carries the same theological weight as ἀγάπη elsewhere in the letter (1:4, 3:14); must not be under-translated relative to that established weight. |
| obey your parents | ὑπακούετε τοῖς γονεῦσιν | bądźcie posłuszne rodzicom | Medium | New (reused root ὑπακούω) | General household-ethic obedience; explicitly distinct from the Romans baseline’s soteriological “obedience of faith” (posłuszeństwo wiary) phrase, though same lexical family. |
| slaves obey your masters | δοῦλοι, ὑπακούετε τοῖς κυρίοις | niewolnicy, bądźcie posłuszni panom | High | New | Full historical honesty required (“niewolnik,” not a softened “servant”); curriculum must teach this as pastoral instruction within an existing social institution, not a timeless endorsement of slavery, while noting the letter’s own trajectory (cf. the companion letter to Philemon and Onesimus, named in Col 4:9). |
| Lord (divine) vs. master (human) | κύριος / kyrios (dual referent) | Pan (divine, capitalized) vs. pan (human, lowercase) | Critical | Reused (Romans TM: Pan) for divine sense; New for human sense | Polish capitalization convention is the only tool preserving Paul’s deliberate wordplay (3:22–4:1); absolute consistency required — a slip either deifies a human master or de-capitalizes a reference to Christ. |
| inheritance / reward | κληρονομία, κλῆρος / klēronomia, klēros | dziedzictwo | Medium | New | Connects to Romans baseline’s adoption doctrine (usynowienie) inheritance-rights language; here extended to bondservants who under Roman law could inherit nothing — a deliberate reversal-of-status image. |
| partiality | προσωπολημψία / prosōpolēmpsia | wzgląd na osobę / stronniczość | Low-Medium | New | Reinforces relativizing of social hierarchy under Christ’s own higher lordship. |
| fairness/equity (masters to slaves) | ἰσότης / isotēs | sprawiedliwie / z uczciwością | Medium | New | Must be distinguished from the Romans baseline’s Critical soteriological term sprawiedliwość (forensic righteousness) — here ordinary ethical fairness, not justification language; flag to prevent doctrinal over-reading. |
8. Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily
(Primary terms — πλήρωμα/pełnia, θεότης/Bóstwo, σωματικῶς/cieleśnie, κατοικέω/zamieszkać — are tabulated above under “Supremacy and Sufficiency of Christ over Creation” and “Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism,” since Colossians 1:19 and 2:9 are this doctrine’s two textual anchors. See those entries; no separate re-listing to avoid duplicate, inconsistent renderings.)
9. General / Reused Terms from the Romans Baseline (Carried Forward Unchanged)
| Term (Eng.) | Greek | Polish rendering | Risk | Colossians occurrences | Baseline note (unchanged) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| apostle | ἀπόστολος | apostoł | Low | 1:1 | Established, unambiguous. |
| saints | ἅγιοι | święci | Critical | 1:2, 1:4, 1:12, 1:26 | Must carry all-believers clarifying note against canonized-saints reading. |
| holy | ἅγιος | święty | High | 1:22, 3:12 | Moral/relational set-apartness for every believer. |
| faithful / faith | πιστός / πίστις | wierny / wiara | Critical | 1:2, 1:4, 1:23, 2:5, 2:7, 2:12 | Personal trust in Christ, not inherited national-religious identity. |
| grace | χάρις | łaska | High | 1:2, 1:6, 3:16, 4:6, 4:18 | Unmerited favor; resist merit-cooperation framing. |
| peace | εἰρήνη | pokój | Medium | 1:2, 3:15 | Relational/covenantal, not mere calm. |
| thanksgiving | εὐχαριστία | dziękczynienie | Low | 1:3, 1:12, 2:7, 3:15, 3:17, 4:2 | Standard. |
| gospel | εὐαγγέλιον | Ewangelia | High | 1:5, 1:23 | Specific proclamation of salvation in Christ. |
| power | δύναμις | moc | Medium | 1:11, 1:29 | God’s enabling power. |
| kingdom | βασιλεία | królestwo | Medium | 1:13 | ”Kingdom of the Son of his love”; not political/institutional. |
| resurrection | ἀνάστασις-family (πρωτότοκος ἐκ νεκρῶν, συνηγέρθητε) | zmartwychwstanie | Critical | 1:18, 2:12, 3:1 | Bodily, historical, once-for-all; here extended to believers’ present union with it. |
| Lord | κύριος (divine referent) | Pan | Critical | throughout (1:3, 1:10, 3:17, 3:24, etc.) | Exclusive, supreme lordship; see capitalization note under Household Codes. |
| Son (of his love) | υἱός (τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ) | Syn [Jego umiłowany] | Medium | 1:13 | Evokes but should not be flattened relative to the full “Syn Boży” formula. |
| incarnation (doctrine) | cf. σωματικῶς, “flesh” language | wcielenie | High | 2:9 (doctrine anchor) | See Fullness of Deity entries above. |
| sin | ἁμαρτία | grzech | Medium | 1:14, 2:13 | Universal moral transgression. |
| glory | δόξα | chwała | Medium | 1:11, 1:27, 3:4 | God’s radiant presence/honor. |
| election / chosen | ἐκλεκτοί | wybrani | High | 3:12 | God’s sovereign personal choice; avoid fatalistic framing. |
| church | ἐκκλησία | kościół | Medium | 1:18, 1:24, 4:15, 4:16 | Distinguish gathered body from institutional “Kościół.” |
| God | θεός | Bóg | Critical | throughout | Standard. |
| Jesus / Christ | Ἰησοῦς / Χριστός | Jezus / Chrystus | Critical | throughout | Established proper-name forms. |
| Father | πατήρ | Ojciec | Critical | 1:2, 1:3, 1:12, 3:17 | God as personal Father. |
| Holy Spirit | πνεῦμα (ἅγιον implied) | Duch [Święty] | Critical | 1:8 | Personal third Person of the Trinity. |
Glossary Statistics
- Total terms catalogued: 68
- Reused exactly from Romans baseline TM: 25
- New terms proposed for Colossians extension of translation memory: 43
- Risk distribution (new terms only): Critical: 13 · High: 15 · Medium: 13 · Low: 2
- Doctrine coverage: All 8 curriculum doctrines populated; core passage (1:15–20) terms cross-referenced into doctrines 1, 2, 3, and 8 per their multiple theological functions.
- Chapters covered: 1, 2, 3, 4 — full book. No chapter lacked new load-bearing vocabulary; each chapter’s contribution is itemized above.
This glossary is the Phase 1 Step 1 deliverable feeding Phase 1 Step 2 (Doctrine Risk Registry extension) and must be loaded alongside the baseline translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json before any Phase 2 Colossians segment translation begins.
Critical Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: wiara
Transliteration: pistis
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: wiara jako tożsamość narodowa i kulturowa (‘Polak-katolik’), wiara odziedziczona automatycznie przez chrzest i Pierwszą Komunię
Original: πίστις / πιστός
Category: Faith
Personal trust in Christ, not inherited national-religious identity. Occurs Col 1:2, 1:4, 1:23, 2:5, 2:7, 2:12. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Saints
Approved rendering: święci
Transliteration: hagioi
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: święci kanonizowani, czczeni i proszeni o wstawiennictwo
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Must carry the all-believers clarifying note against a canonized-saints-only reading (Maksymilian Kolbe, Faustyna Kowalska, etc.). Occurs Col 1:2, 1:4, 1:12, 1:26. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Messiah
Approved rendering: Mesjasz
Transliteration: Christos / Mashiach
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
The unique, Old Testament-promised Anointed One fulfilled exclusively in Jesus; background for Colossians’ pervasive use of ‘Chrystus’ as Christ’s name/title. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Intercession
Approved rendering: wstawiennictwo
Transliteration: hyperentynchanei / enteuxis
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Rejected alternatives: wstawiennictwo wyłącznie świętych i Maryi jako niezbędnych pośredników
Must not default to Marian or saintly mediation as the necessary model. Directly relevant background for Col 2:18’s warning against angel-worship, a structurally parallel risk. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Jesus
Approved rendering: Jezus
Transliteration: Iēsous / Yeshua
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Standard across all Polish Bible traditions. [Inherited from Romans package.]
God
Approved rendering: Bóg
Transliteration: theos / Elohim / YHWH
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: θεός
Category: God
Standard and unambiguous; must remain lexically distinct from ‘Bóstwo’ (see new term ‘deity’ below). [Inherited from Romans package.]
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Duch Święty
Transliteration: pneuma hagion
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: πνεῦμα (ἅγιον implied)
Category: God
Standard and unambiguous personal third Person of the Trinity. Occurs Col 1:8. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Father
Approved rendering: Ojciec
Transliteration: patēr
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
God as personal Father. Occurs Col 1:2, 1:3, 1:12, 3:17. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: poczytana sprawiedliwość
Transliteration: elogisthē autō eis dikaiosynēn
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: sprawiedliwość wlana (kategoria trydencka)
Righteousness credited by faith, not infused/merited. Conceptual background for Col 1:22’s ‘blameless’ status secured by Christ’s reconciling work, not self-achieved. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Righteousness
Approved rendering: sprawiedliwość
Transliteration: dikaiosynē
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: sprawiedliwość zdobyta przez zasługi i praktyki religijne
Right standing before God through faith, not merit. Must be kept lexically and doctrinally distinct from the ordinary ethical ‘sprawiedliwie/uczciwie’ (fairness) used in Col 4:1’s household instruction — see new term ‘fairness_equity’ below. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Justification
Approved rendering: usprawiedliwienie
Transliteration: dikaiōsis
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: stopniowe uświęcenie zamiast deklaracji prawnej
Forensic declaration, not gradual sacramental transformation alone; background theology for Colossians’ reconciliation/redemption cluster. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Salvation
Approved rendering: zbawienie
Transliteration: sōtēria
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: zbawienie zapewnione automatycznie przez chrzest, sakramenty i przynależność narodowo-religijną
Reconciliation with God received by faith, not automatic through sacrament or national-religious belonging. Directly parallels Colossians’ ‘odkupienie’ (redemption) and ‘pojednanie’ (reconciliation) terms. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Resurrection
Approved rendering: zmartwychwstanie
Transliteration: anastasis
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Original: ἀνάστασις-family (πρωτότοκος ἐκ νεκρῶν, συνηγέρθητε)
Category: Eschatology
Bodily, historical, once-for-all resurrection. In Colossians extended to believers’ present union with Christ’s resurrection life (Col 1:18 ‘firstborn from the dead’; 2:12, 3:1 ‘raised with Christ’). [Inherited from Romans package.]
Lord
Approved rendering: Pan
Transliteration: kyrios
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: κύριος (divine referent)
Category: Christology
Exclusive, supreme lordship. Used pervasively of Christ throughout Colossians (1:3, 1:10, 3:17, 3:24, etc.). Requires absolute capitalization discipline against the lowercase human ‘pan’ (master) in Col 3:22-4:1 — see new term ‘lord_master_wordplay’ below. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Syn Boży
Transliteration: huios theou
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: syn Boży w sensie ogólnym, stosowanym do każdego wierzącego
Unique, eternal, divine Sonship, distinct from believers’ adoptive sonship. Colossians 1:13’s ‘Syn Jego umiłowany’ should evoke but not dilute this full formula. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Image
Approved rendering: obraz
Transliteration: eikōn
Doctrine: Deity of Christ (Colossians anchor)
Rejected alternatives: ikona (loanword, introduces Orthodox/aesthetic connotation not present in the Greek)
Original: εἰκών
Category: Christology
Col 1:15. Collides with ‘obraz’ as venerated devotional icon (e.g., Obraz Jasnogórski). Must be taught as Christ’s ontological disclosure of God’s own being, not a representative icon.
Firstborn
Approved rendering: pierworodny
Transliteration: prōtotokos
Doctrine: Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Rejected alternatives: pierwszy stworzony (matches the Świadkowie Jehowy Przekład Nowego Świata reading of Christ as first created being)
Original: πρωτότοκος
Category: Christology
Col 1:15, 1:18. The single highest-stakes collision term in the book: the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ (Świadkowie Jehowy) New World Translation, in wide circulation in Poland, reads this as ‘first created being.’ Every occurrence requires a non-negotiable teaching note anchoring the word to rank/inheritance-supremacy per v.16’s creation claim.
Head
Approved rendering: głowa
Transliteration: kephalē
Doctrine: Christ as Head of the Church
Original: κεφαλή
Category: Church
Col 1:18, 2:10, 2:19. Must retain both organic life-source and governing-authority senses; risk of pull toward an institutional-office reading given Polish ‘Kościół’ culture (e.g., analogy to a visible ecclesial head).
Fullness
Approved rendering: pełnia
Transliteration: plērōma
Doctrine: Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily
Original: πλήρωμα
Category: Christology
Col 1:19, 2:9. Reclaimed Gnostic-adjacent technical term; must render identically at both occurrences and never drift toward vague ‘spiritual abundance’ language (contemporary charismatic/New Age risk in Poland).
Deity
Approved rendering: Bóstwo
Transliteration: theotēs
Doctrine: Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily
Original: θεότης
Category: Christology
Col 2:9. Abstract divine-nature term, lexically distinct from ‘Bóg’ (God, the person). Cross-reference explicitly to the Romans baseline registry’s ‘deity_of_christ’ doctrine name.
Bodily
Approved rendering: cieleśnie
Transliteration: sōmatikōs
Doctrine: Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily
Original: σωματικῶς
Category: Christology
Col 2:9. Excludes docetism and any partial-incarnation reading; teach in continuity with ‘wcielenie,’ reinforcing permanent embodiment beyond the Christmas-nativity (szopka) association.
Reconcile
Approved rendering: pojednać / pojednanie
Transliteration: apokatallassō
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: ἀποκαταλλάσσω
Category: Salvation
Col 1:20, 1:22. Cosmic-scope reconciliation accomplished once at the cross, received by faith; must not be taught as progressively achieved through merit, penance, or the ongoing sacramental system.
Redemption
Approved rendering: odkupienie
Transliteration: apolytrōsis
Doctrine: Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins
Original: ἀπολύτρωσις
Category: Salvation
Col 1:14. Decisive, price-paid deliverance, not a status gradually accrued through sacramental participation, paralleling the baseline ‘salvation’ caution.
Elemental Spirits
Approved rendering: żywioły świata / duchy żywiołów
Transliteration: stoicheia tou kosmou
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
Original: στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:8, 2:20. Genuinely ambiguous even in Greek scholarship; connects to Polish folk-superstition/occult practices (horoscopes, talismans). Flag the ambiguity explicitly rather than resolving it silently; lean toward ‘powers defeated in Christ’ per 2:15.
Worship Of Angels
Approved rendering: kult anieli / cześć oddawana aniołom
Transliteration: thrēskeia tōn angelōn
Doctrine: Warning against Worship of Angels
Rejected alternatives: czczenie anielskie bez zastrzeżeń (fails to distinguish from legitimate acknowledgment of angels’ existence and ministry)
Original: θρησκεία τῶν ἀγγέλων
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:18. Structural parallel to the Romans baseline’s Marian/saintly intercession caution; relevant given Polish guardian-angel devotion (Anioł Stróż). Must clarify Paul condemns angels as objects of cultic devotion, not mere acknowledgment of their existence (cf. Col 1:16).
Baptism
Approved rendering: chrzest
Transliteration: baptismos
Doctrine: Baptism as Sign of Faith-Union with Christ
Rejected alternatives: chrzest jako mechanizm automatycznie skutkujący zjednoczeniem z Chrystusem, niezależnie od osobistej wiary
Original: βαπτισμός
Category: Salvation
Col 2:12. Efficacy explicitly tied to ‘faith in the working of God’; must not be taught as automatically effecting union with Christ apart from personal faith, while still affirming baptism’s real biblical significance.
Mystery
Approved rendering: tajemnica
Transliteration: mystērion
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Now Revealed
Original: μυστήριον
Category: False Teaching
Col 1:26, 1:27, 2:2, 4:3. Heavily used in Catholic devotional contexts (tajemnice różańcowe, Eucharistic mystery); must be taught as a previously hidden truth now openly proclaimed once for all — the reverse of an ongoing devotional mystery for recurring contemplation.
Raised With Christ
Approved rendering: powstaliście / zostaliście wskrzeszeni wraz z Chrystusem
Transliteration: synēgerthēte
Doctrine: Union with Christ: Died and Raised With Him
Original: συνηγέρθητε (τῷ Χριστῷ)
Category: Salvation
Col 2:12, 3:1. The ‘already’ reality of shared resurrection life must not be reduced to future-only hope, nor assumed automatic apart from living faith-union — same caution pattern as the baseline’s ‘faith’/‘salvation’ entries.
Life Hidden With Christ
Approved rendering: wasze życie jest ukryte z Chrystusem w Bogu
Transliteration: hē zōē hymōn kekryptai syn tō Christō en tō theō
Doctrine: Christian Identity in Christ (Colossians anchor)
Rejected alternatives: wasze życie jest w Bogu (drops ‘ukryte’ and ‘z Chrystusem,’ weakening the union claim)
Original: ἡ ζωὴ ὑμῶν κέκρυπται σὺν τῷ Χριστῷ ἐν τῷ θεῷ
Category: Salvation
Col 3:3. The letter’s strongest identity statement; directly parallel to the baseline’s ‘christian_identity_in_christ’ doctrine; the Gentile congregation’s lack of ethnic-heritage claim sharpens the universal principle.
Old Self
Approved rendering: stary człowiek
Transliteration: palaios anthrōpos (apekdysamenoi)
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Original: παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος (ἀπεκδυσάμενοι)
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:9. Completed, definitive event flowing from union with Christ’s death, not an ongoing struggle requiring recurring sacramental cleansing.
New Self
Approved rendering: nowy człowiek
Transliteration: neos/kainos anthrōpos (endysamenoi)
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Original: νέος/καινός ἄνθρωπος (ἐνδυσάμενοι)
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:10. Matched, contrasting pair with ‘stary człowiek’; a new, Christ-shaped identity actively put on.
Submit
Approved rendering: być poddaną / poddawać się
Transliteration: hypotassō
Doctrine: Household Codes
Rejected alternatives: wzajemne poddanie się bez rozróżnienia ról (erases the text’s actual grammar), bezwarunkowe posłuszeństwo mężowi (detaches from the reciprocal command of 3:19)
Original: ὑποτάσσω
Category: Household
Col 3:18. Render precisely as the text’s relational ordering ‘w Panu,’ anchored to the husband’s reciprocal sacrificial-love command (3:19) and the section’s repeated final appeal to Christ’s own lordship.
Lord Master Wordplay
Approved rendering: Pan (divine) / pan (human)
Transliteration: kyrios (dual referent)
Doctrine: Household Codes
Rejected alternatives: pan (lowercase) used for Christ, or Pan (uppercase) used for the human master — either choice destroys the deliberate wordplay
Original: κύριος (dual referent: human master / divine Lord)
Category: Household
Col 3:22-4:1. Polish capitalization convention is the only tool preserving Paul’s deliberate κύριος wordplay; absolute orthographic consistency required — treat as a formatting-level Critical control.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: Ewangelia
Transliteration: euangelion
Doctrine: Gospel
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Standard term shared by Catholic and Protestant Polish Bibles. Must be taught as the specific proclamation of salvation through Christ, not a generic uplifting message. Occurs Col 1:5, 1:23. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Grace
Approved rendering: łaska
Transliteration: charis
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: łaska otrzymywana głównie przez zasługi i praktyki sakramentalne
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Unmerited favor; resist merit-cooperation framing. Occurs Col 1:2, 1:6, 3:16, 4:6, 4:18. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Sanctification
Approved rendering: uświęcenie
Transliteration: hagiasmos
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: oczyszczenie pokutne, w tym poprzez czyściec
The Spirit’s ongoing work of making believers holy; must not collapse into the purgatorial/penitential framework. Relevant background for Col 3:5-14 ethical transformation. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Law
Approved rendering: Prawo
Transliteration: nomos
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
The Mosaic law/Torah. Background for Col 2:14 (canceled legal decrees) and 2:16-17 (Sabbath/festivals as shadow). [Inherited from Romans package.]
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: posłuszeństwo wiary
Transliteration: hypakoē pisteōs
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Rejected alternatives: posłuszeństwo nakazom kościelnym i praktykom religijnym
Obedience flowing from faith, not compliance with religious precept. Must be explicitly distinguished from the general household-ethic ‘obey’ (ὑπακούω) of Col 3:20, 3:22, which is a different, non-soteriological register of the same root. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Covenant
Approved rendering: przymierze
Transliteration: diathēkē
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: umowa prawna
Relational covenant bond, not a mere legal contract. Background for Col 2:11’s metaphorical circumcision. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Election
Approved rendering: wybranie
Transliteration: eklogē
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: przeznaczenie, los
Original: ἐκλεκτοί
Category: Salvation
God’s sovereign personal choice; avoid fatalistic ‘przeznaczenie/los’ framing. Underlies Col 3:12’s address to believers as ‘wybrani’ (chosen ones). [Inherited from Romans package.]
Incarnation
Approved rendering: wcielenie
Transliteration: ho logos sarx egeneto
Doctrine: Incarnation
Original: cf. σωματικῶς, θεότης, ‘flesh’ language
Category: Christology
The eternal Son’s permanent assumption of human nature. Colossians 2:9’s ‘cieleśnie’ (bodily) is this doctrine’s strongest single anchor in the letter; must not narrow to the Christmas nativity (szopka) association. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Creation
Approved rendering: stworzenie
Transliteration: ktisis
Doctrine: Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Original: κτίσις
Category: Creation
Col 1:15, 1:23. Must stay lexically identical to the rendering of κτίζω so the argument that Christ is over creation because he made it remains visible.
Create
Approved rendering: zostać stworzonym / stworzyć
Transliteration: ktizō
Doctrine: Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Rejected alternatives: powstać (would obscure Christ’s exclusive agent/goal role)
Original: κτίζω
Category: Creation
Col 1:16 (twice), 3:10. Christ is always grammatical agent/goal, never object, of this verb; enforce identical root across all forms.
Cosmic Powers
Approved rendering: trony, panowania, zwierzchności, władze
Transliteration: thronoi, kyriotētes, archai, exousiai
Doctrine: Christ’s Supremacy over Cosmic Powers and Spiritual Authorities
Rejected alternatives: rządy ziemskie / władze polityczne (would blunt the spiritual-powers argument)
Original: θρόνοι, κυριότητες, ἀρχαί, ἐξουσίαι
Category: Creation
Col 1:16. Must read recognizably as spiritual/angelic powers so as not to blunt Christ’s supremacy over the whole spiritual order and to set up 2:18’s angel-worship warning. Retain the fourfold enumeration exactly.
Before All Things
Approved rendering: przed wszystkim
Transliteration: pro pantōn
Doctrine: Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Original: πρὸ πάντων
Category: Christology
Col 1:17. Must visibly reinforce, not merely repeat, the preexistence point already made at ‘pierworodny,’ blocking any ‘first-created’ misreading.
Body
Approved rendering: ciało
Transliteration: sōma
Doctrine: Christ as Head of the Church
Original: σῶμα
Category: Church
Col 1:18, 1:24, 3:5. Multivalent: church-as-body, individual physical body, and (2:17 only, a distinct sense) ‘substantial reality’ — never render 2:17 as ‘ciało’; see new term ‘substance_reality’.
Dwell
Approved rendering: zamieszkać (na stałe)
Transliteration: katoikeō
Doctrine: Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily
Rejected alternatives: zamieszkać (bez zaznaczenia trwałości — mogłoby sugerować chwilową wizytę)
Original: κατοικέω
Category: Christology
Col 1:19. Permanent, not temporary, indwelling; always include an explicit permanence marker; pair conceptually with ‘cieleśnie’ (2:9).
Blood
Approved rendering: krew
Transliteration: haima
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: αἷμα
Category: Salvation
Col 1:20. Standard word; risk is catechetical — ‘krew krzyża’ must retain its OT sacrificial-atonement background, not read as merely emotive devotional imagery.
Cross
Approved rendering: krzyż
Transliteration: stauros
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: σταυρός
Category: Salvation
Col 1:20. Leverage Poland’s rich devotional/material cross-culture (crucifixes, Droga Krzyżowa) but anchor explicitly to this passage’s specific claim of cosmic reconciliation accomplished once, historically, at the cross.
Forgiveness Of Sins
Approved rendering: odpuszczenie grzechów
Transliteration: aphesis tōn hamartiōn
Doctrine: Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins
Original: ἄφεσις τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν
Category: Salvation
Col 1:14. Complete and decisive; avoid conflation with the ongoing post-baptismal confession framework as the sole means of maintaining forgiven status.
Record Of Debt
Approved rendering: zapis dłużny / dokument obciążający
Transliteration: cheirographon
Doctrine: Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: nasze grzechy (too vague — loses the specific legal-document image)
Original: χειρόγραφον
Category: Salvation
Col 2:14. Vivid legal-debt image for canceled condemnation; supplement with a brief cultural-historical footnote in teaching material.
Decrees Regulations
Approved rendering: przepisy / nakazy / postanowienia
Transliteration: dogma(ta) / dogmatizesthe
Doctrine: Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: dogmat, dogmatyzować się
Original: δόγμα(τα) / δογματίζεσθε
Category: Covenant
Col 2:14, 2:20. ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION on ‘dogmat’: direct lexical-confusion risk with the Polish Catholic technical term for a binding article of doctrine (e.g., dogmat o Niepokalanym Poczęciu).
Domain Of Darkness
Approved rendering: władza / panowanie ciemności
Transliteration: exousia tou skotous
Doctrine: Christ’s Supremacy over Cosmic Powers and Spiritual Authorities
Original: ἐξουσία τοῦ σκότους
Category: Salvation
Col 1:13. Real spiritual dominion decisively overthrown, not merely reformed; must not be flattened to a moral metaphor.
Human Tradition
Approved rendering: tradycja ludzka / ludzkie podanie
Transliteration: paradosis tōn anthrōpōn
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
Rejected alternatives: Tradycja (capitalized, would conflate with the Catholic doctrinal category Święta Tradycja)
Original: παράδοσις τῶν ἀνθρώπων
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:8. Never capitalize. Must state explicitly that this verse critiques a specific human-devised syncretistic system at Colossae, not the Sacred Tradition category as such.
Wisdom
Approved rendering: mądrość
Transliteration: sophia
Doctrine: Wisdom and Knowledge Fully in Christ
Original: σοφία
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:3. Must be taught as fully and exclusively located in Christ, countering any sense of Christ-independent supplementary wisdom.
Knowledge
Approved rendering: wiedza / poznanie
Transliteration: gnōsis
Doctrine: Wisdom and Knowledge Fully in Christ
Original: γνῶσις
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:3. Targets the false teachers’ claimed esoteric knowledge; connects to contemporary Polish New Age/esoteric ‘hidden knowledge’ spirituality.
Full Knowledge
Approved rendering: [pełne] poznanie
Transliteration: epignōsis
Doctrine: Wisdom and Knowledge Fully in Christ
Original: ἐπίγνωσις
Category: False Teaching
Col 1:9, 1:10. Relational, revealed knowledge of God’s will, not the false teachers’ esoteric γνῶσις (2:3, 2:8).
Self Made Religion
Approved rendering: religia własnego wymysłu
Transliteration: ethelothrēskia
Doctrine: Warning against Self-Devised Asceticism
Original: ἐθελοθρησκία
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:23. Connects to Wielki Post fasting and penitential mortyfikacja; must distinguish self-devised, Christ-independent asceticism from legitimate Scripture-commended discipline.
Severity To Body
Approved rendering: srogość względem ciała / surowe umartwianie ciała
Transliteration: apheidia sōmatos
Doctrine: Warning against Self-Devised Asceticism
Original: ἀφειδία σώματος
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:23. Especially sensitive given the devotional resonance of ‘umartwienie’ in Polish penitential vocabulary; distinguish Paul’s target from historic Christian fasting practiced in dependence on Christ.
Substance Reality
Approved rendering: rzeczywistość
Transliteration: sōma (2:17 sense)
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
Rejected alternatives: ciało (would wrongly import the church-body/physical-body sense used everywhere else in Colossians)
Original: σῶμα (2:17 sense)
Category: Covenant
Col 2:17. Must NEVER be rendered ‘ciało’ here — the only occurrence in the letter where σῶμα means ‘the solid reality that casts a shadow,’ not ‘body.’ Flag as a mandatory intra-letter cross-reference risk.
Buried With Him
Approved rendering: pogrzebani z Nim
Transliteration: synthaptō
Doctrine: Union with Christ: Died and Raised With Him
Original: συνθάπτω
Category: Salvation
Col 2:12. Paired image with ‘raised with,’ grounding union with Christ in baptism’s symbolism.
Christ Our Life
Approved rendering: Chrystus… nasze życie
Transliteration: Christos… hē zōē hēmōn
Doctrine: Christian Identity in Christ (Colossians anchor)
Original: Χριστός… ἡ ζωὴ ἡμῶν
Category: Salvation
Col 3:4. Reinforces, and must not weaken, the identity claims of 3:3.
Image Of Creator
Approved rendering: według obrazu Tego, który go stworzył
Transliteration: kat’ eikona tou ktisantos auton
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Col 3:10. Deliberate intra-book cross-reference to 1:15’s ‘obraz’/‘stworzyć’ vocabulary; the same Polish words must recur here so readers perceive the link.
Sexual Immorality
Approved rendering: nierząd
Transliteration: porneia
Doctrine: Sanctification and Ethical Transformation
Original: πορνεία
Category: Sin
Col 3:5. Part of the vice catalogue belonging to the old self, to be decisively put to death.
Covetousness
Approved rendering: chciwość
Transliteration: pleonexia
Doctrine: Covetousness as Idolatry
Rejected alternatives: chciwość jako coś podobnego do bałwochwalstwa (simile softens the direct predicative equation of the text)
Original: πλεονεξία
Category: Sin
Col 3:5. Explicitly equated (not merely compared) with idolatry; must not be softened, directly relevant to contemporary Polish material-prosperity culture.
Idolatry
Approved rendering: bałwochwalstwo
Transliteration: eidōlolatria
Doctrine: Covetousness as Idolatry
Original: εἰδωλολατρία
Category: Sin
Col 3:5. The doctrinally weighty equation with covetousness must be preserved as a direct grammatical equation, not treated as hyperbole.
Wrath Of God
Approved rendering: gniew Boży
Transliteration: orgē tou theou
Doctrine: Covetousness as Idolatry
Original: ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Sin
Col 3:6. Personal, moral, judicial reality; must not be softened into an impersonal consequence-only framing.
Love
Approved rendering: miłość
Transliteration: agapē
Doctrine: Sanctification and Ethical Transformation
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Sanctification
Col 1:4, 1:8, 3:14, 3:19. Not present in the Romans baseline TM despite centrality; must be taught as active, self-giving love, God’s character, and the binding, completing virtue among believers — must carry equal weight at every occurrence.
Love Your Wives
Approved rendering: kochajcie / miłujcie swoje żony
Transliteration: agapate tas gynaikas
Doctrine: Household Codes
Col 3:19. Must carry the same theological weight already established for ἀγάπη at 1:4 and 3:14; must not be under-translated relative to that weight.
Slaves Obey Masters
Approved rendering: niewolnicy, bądźcie posłuszni panom
Transliteration: douloi, hypakouete tois kata sarka kyriois
Doctrine: Slavery and Social Order in the Household Code
Rejected alternatives: pracownicy/służący bądźcie posłuszni (softens the historical reality of niewolnictwo)
Original: δοῦλοι, ὑπακούετε τοῖς κατὰ σάρκα κυρίοις
Category: Household
Col 3:22. Must use ‘niewolnicy’ for full historical honesty; teach as pastoral instruction within an existing social institution, not a timeless endorsement, cross-referencing Onezym/Philemon (Col 4:9).
Hope
Approved rendering: nadzieja
Transliteration: elpis
Doctrine: Hope and Assurance (Colossians anchor)
Original: ἐλπίς
Category: Faith
Col 1:5, 1:23, 1:27. Absent from the Romans baseline TM though doctrinally central; must convey confident certainty grounded in Christ’s finished work, not wishful uncertainty, given Catholic catechesis’s greater emphasis on uncertainty regarding final salvation.
Medium Risk Terms
Holy
Approved rendering: święty
Transliteration: hagios
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Set apart for God and morally pure; applies to all believers. Col 1:22, 3:12. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Peace
Approved rendering: pokój
Transliteration: eirēnē
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Relational peace with God through justification, not merely inner calm. Occurs Col 1:2, 3:15. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Church
Approved rendering: kościół
Transliteration: ekklēsia
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: Kościół jako jedyna prawowita instytucja hierarchiczna
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Distinguish the gathered/universal body of believers from the capitalized institutional ‘Kościół’. Occurs Col 1:18, 1:24, 4:15, 4:16. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: królestwo Boże
Transliteration: basileia tou theou
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
God’s sovereign reign, not a political state or institutional church. Background for Col 1:13’s ‘kingdom of the Son of his love’. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Sin
Approved rendering: grzech
Transliteration: hamartia
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: drobne przewinienie (minimizing euphemism)
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Moral transgression before a personal God. Occurs Col 1:14, 2:13. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Gentiles
Approved rendering: poganie
Transliteration: ethnē
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Background concept for Col 3:11’s extension of Jew/Gentile unity to all ethnic/social categories (Greek/Jew, barbarian/Scythian, slave/free). [Inherited from Romans package.]
Glory
Approved rendering: chwała
Transliteration: doxa
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
God’s radiant honor and presence. Occurs Col 1:11, 1:27, 3:4. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Power Of God
Approved rendering: moc Boża
Transliteration: dynamis theou
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Standard, unambiguous rendering, specific to Romans 1:16. Distinguish from Colossians’ more general ‘moc’ (see new term ‘power_general’ below) for enabling strength in ministry/endurance. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Providence
Approved rendering: opatrzność Boża
Transliteration: pronoia
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: los, przeznaczenie
God’s personal, purposive governance; avoid fatalistic framing. Background for Col 1:17’s ‘hold together’ (συνίστημι) sustaining-cause claim. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Mission
Approved rendering: misja
Transliteration: apostolē / pempō
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Background for Col 4:3-6’s gospel-opportunity and outsider-facing conduct instructions. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Adoption
Approved rendering: usynowienie
Transliteration: huiothesia
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Full son-status with complete inheritance rights. Background for Col 1:12 and 3:24’s ‘dziedzictwo’ (inheritance) language, including its deliberate extension to bondservants who under Roman law could inherit nothing. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Invisible
Approved rendering: niewidzialny
Transliteration: aoratos
Doctrine: Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Original: ἀόρατος
Category: God
Col 1:15. Standard; pair consistently with ‘obraz’ so the invisible-God/visible-image logic is not lost.
Visible
Approved rendering: widzialny
Transliteration: horatos
Doctrine: Christ’s Supremacy over Cosmic Powers and Spiritual Authorities
Original: ὁρατός
Category: Creation
Col 1:16. Merism with ‘niewidzialny’ extends Christ’s creative supremacy into the spirit-world, setting up the ch.2 warning against angel-worship.
Hold Together
Approved rendering: istnieje / trwa spójnie w Nim
Transliteration: synistēmi
Doctrine: Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Rejected alternatives: istnieje w Nim (bez czynnego sensu podtrzymywania — brzmi panteistycznie)
Original: συνίστημι
Category: Christology
Col 1:17. Active, sustaining-cause sense must be preserved, not a passive/pantheistic-sounding ‘existing within him.‘
Preeminent
Approved rendering: być pierwszym we wszystkim
Transliteration: prōteuō
Doctrine: Christ as Head of the Church
Original: πρωτεύω
Category: Christology
Col 1:18. Rare climactic word stating the purpose of Christ’s resurrection-primacy; preserve summarizing force.
Beginning Arche 1 18
Approved rendering: początek
Transliteration: archē
Doctrine: Christ as Head of the Church
Rejected alternatives: zwierzchności (correct only for the ruling-power sense of the same Greek word in 1:16, not for the origin sense in 1:18)
Col 1:18. Same Greek word rendered ‘zwierzchności’ at 1:16 (ruling power); here it must be rendered ‘początek’ (origin) instead. Flag both occurrences for disambiguation.
Make Peace
Approved rendering: uczynić pokój
Transliteration: eirēnopoieō
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: εἰρηνοποιέω
Category: Salvation
Col 1:20. Active, achievement-oriented sense, not merely descriptive calm; consistent with baseline caution against reducing ‘pokój’ to inner tranquility.
Disarm
Approved rendering: rozbroić / obnażyć
Transliteration: apekdyomai
Doctrine: Christ’s Supremacy over Cosmic Powers and Spiritual Authorities
Original: ἀπεκδύομαι
Category: Salvation
Col 2:15. Military-defeat imagery; connects to the ch.1 cosmic-powers list and the warning against angel-worship at 2:18.
Triumph
Approved rendering: prowadzić w triumfalnym pochodzie
Transliteration: thriambeuō
Doctrine: Christ’s Supremacy over Cosmic Powers and Spiritual Authorities
Original: θριαμβεύω
Category: Salvation
Col 2:15. Roman-triumph imagery; requires brief cultural/historical explanation in teaching material, not in the running biblical text.
Alienated Estranged
Approved rendering: wyobcowani / oddaleni
Transliteration: apallotrioō
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: ἀπαλλοτριόω
Category: Salvation
Col 1:21. Sets up the contrast between former estrangement and present peace secured through reconciliation.
Blameless
Approved rendering: nienaganny / bez zarzutu
Transliteration: amōmos, anenklētos
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: ἄμωμος, ἀνέγκλητος
Category: Salvation
Col 1:22. A status secured by Christ’s reconciling work, not self-achieved moral perfection; connects to the baseline’s imputed-righteousness caution.
Philosophy
Approved rendering: filozofia
Transliteration: philosophia
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
Original: φιλοσοφία
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:8. Targets a specific deceptive system at Colossae, not intellectual inquiry generally; must not be over-broadened.
Deceive False Reasoning
Approved rendering: zwodzić fałszywymi argumentami
Transliteration: paralogizomai
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
Original: παραλογίζομαι
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:4. Sets the warning tone for the chapter’s central doctrine.
False Humility
Approved rendering: pokora (w sensie: pozorna/wystawna)
Transliteration: tapeinophrosynē (negative sense)
Doctrine: Warning against Self-Devised Asceticism
Original: ταπεινοφροσύνη (negative sense)
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:18, 2:23. Same Polish word (‘pokora’) carries the opposite, positive valence at 3:12 — mandatory context flag at every occurrence.
Circumcision
Approved rendering: obrzezanie
Transliteration: peritomē
Doctrine: Union with Christ: Died and Raised With Him
Original: περιτομή
Category: Covenant
Col 2:11. Requires OT covenant background; metaphorical spiritual circumcision accomplished in union with Christ, immediately preceding the baptism statement of 2:12.
Trespass
Approved rendering: wykroczenie / przewinienie
Transliteration: paraptōma
Doctrine: Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins
Original: παράπτωμα
Category: Sin
Col 2:13. Near-synonym-with-nuance for ‘grzech,’ not a separate doctrinal category.
Sabbath Festival New Moon
Approved rendering: szabat, święto, nów
Transliteration: sabbaton, heortē, neomēnia
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
Original: σάββατον, ἑορτή, νεομηνία
Category: Covenant
Col 2:16. Requires OT covenant/calendar background; connects to the baseline’s ‘law’ doctrine (Prawo).
Shadow
Approved rendering: cień
Transliteration: skia
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
Original: σκιά
Category: Covenant
Col 2:17. Pairs with σῶμα’s distinct ‘substantial reality’ sense in this one verse only — see ‘substance_reality’ below.
Being Renewed
Approved rendering: odnawiany (stale)
Transliteration: anakainoumenon
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Original: ἀνακαινούμενον
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:10. Ongoing-process sense, distinct from the completed put-off/put-on acts; preserves the already/ongoing doctrinal structure.
Impurity
Approved rendering: nieczystość
Transliteration: akatharsia
Doctrine: Sanctification and Ethical Transformation
Original: ἀκαθαρσία
Category: Sin
Col 3:5. Standard term paired with πορνεία.
Evil Desire
Approved rendering: złe pożądanie
Transliteration: epithymia kakē
Doctrine: Sanctification and Ethical Transformation
Original: ἐπιθυμία κακή
Category: Sin
Col 3:5. Part of the ‘earthly’ conduct vice catalogue.
Compassion
Approved rendering: serdeczne współczucie
Transliteration: splanchna oiktirmou
Doctrine: Sanctification and Ethical Transformation
Original: σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:12. Positive counterpart to the 3:5/3:8 vice lists.
Bond Of Perfection
Approved rendering: więź [doskonałej] jedności
Transliteration: syndesmos tēs teleiotētos
Doctrine: Sanctification and Ethical Transformation
Original: σύνδεσμος τῆς τελειότητος
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:14. Love’s binding, completing function over the whole virtue list must be visible, not merely one virtue among many.
Peace Of Christ Rule
Approved rendering: niech pokój Chrystusa rozstrzyga
Transliteration: eirēnē tou Christou brabeuetō
Doctrine: Mutual Edification and Corporate Worship
Rejected alternatives: niech pokój Chrystusa panuje/rządzi (flatter verb, loses the athletic-arbitration imagery)
Original: εἰρήνη τοῦ Χριστοῦ βραβεύετω
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:15. Rare athletic-arbitration verb; ‘rozstrzygać’ preferred over a flatter ‘rule/reign’ verb.
Obey Parents
Approved rendering: bądźcie posłuszne rodzicom
Transliteration: hypakouete tois goneusin
Doctrine: Household Codes
Original: ὑπακούετε τοῖς γονεῦσιν
Category: Household
Col 3:20. General household-ethic obedience; explicitly distinct from the baseline’s soteriological ‘posłuszeństwo wiary,’ though from the same lexical family (ὑπακούω).
Inheritance
Approved rendering: dziedzictwo
Transliteration: klēronomia / klēros
Doctrine: Inheritance and Reward
Original: κληρονομία / κλῆρος
Category: Household
Col 1:12, 3:24. Connects to the baseline’s adoption doctrine (usynowienie); in 3:24 deliberately extended to bondservants who under Roman law could inherit nothing — a reversal-of-status image.
Fairness Equity
Approved rendering: sprawiedliwie / z uczciwością
Transliteration: isotēs
Doctrine: Slavery and Social Order in the Household Code
Rejected alternatives: sprawiedliwość (would import the Critical soteriological forensic-righteousness sense from the baseline)
Original: ἰσότης
Category: Household
Col 4:1. Ordinary ethical fairness/equity, not justification language; flag to prevent readers importing the baseline’s doctrinal weight into this ethical-household context.
Walk Conduct
Approved rendering: postępować / prowadzić życie
Transliteration: peripateō
Doctrine: Sanctification and Ethical Transformation
Original: περιπατέω
Category: Sanctification
Col 1:10, 2:6, 3:7, 4:5. Comprehensive ethical-life metaphor; render consistently across all four occurrences.
Stewardship
Approved rendering: szafarstwo / powierzone zadanie
Transliteration: oikonomia
Doctrine: Apostolic Suffering and Christ-Centered Ministry
Original: οἰκονομία
Category: Church
Col 1:25. Descriptive periphrasis preferred over a single opaque loanword.
Admonish
Approved rendering: przestrzegać / napominać (w sensie korygującym)
Transliteration: noutheteō
Doctrine: Apostolic Suffering and Christ-Centered Ministry
Original: νουθετέω
Category: Church
Col 1:28, 3:16. Distinguish this word’s more corrective nuance from the baseline’s ‘napominać’ (there rendering παρακαλέω’s more comforting ‘encourage’ nuance) so the two are not merged without note.
Mature
Approved rendering: dojrzały
Transliteration: teleios
Doctrine: Apostolic Suffering and Christ-Centered Ministry
Original: τέλειος
Category: Sanctification
Col 1:28. Complete/full-grown, not sinless perfection; risk of legalistic ‘moral perfectionism’ misreading.
Minister Servant
Approved rendering: sługa / służący
Transliteration: diakonos
Doctrine: Apostolic Suffering and Christ-Centered Ministry
Original: διάκονος
Category: Church
Col 1:23, 1:25. Avoid the later ecclesiastical-office overtone (‘diakon’ as ordained office) where the broader ‘servant’ sense is intended.
Door Of The Word
Approved rendering: drzwi [otwarte] dla słowa
Transliteration: thyra tou logou
Doctrine: Prayer and Perseverance
Original: θύρα τοῦ λόγου
Category: Church
Col 4:3. Connects to the baseline’s ‘evangelism’ doctrine note on avoiding confrontational proselytism framing in the historically Catholic Polish context.
Prayer
Approved rendering: modlitwa
Transliteration: proseuchē
Doctrine: Prayer and Perseverance
Original: προσευχή
Category: Church
Col 4:2. Distinct from the baseline’s Critical ‘wstawiennictwo’ (intercession) entry; general instruction to persistent prayer, not a statement about mediating figures — note the distinction so the two are not merged.
Kingdom Of The Beloved Son
Approved rendering: królestwo Syna Jego umiłowanego
Transliteration: basileia tou huiou tēs agapēs autou
Doctrine: Christ’s Supremacy over Cosmic Powers and Spiritual Authorities
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Col 1:13. The Hebraic idiom ‘Son of his love’ should evoke, without diluting, the full ‘Syn Boży’ formula; ‘królestwo’ is not political/institutional.
Unity No Distinctions
Approved rendering: nie ma Greka i Żyda… lecz Chrystus jest wszystkim we wszystkich
Transliteration: ouk estin Hellēn kai Ioudaios… alla panta kai en pasin Christos
Doctrine: Unity of All Peoples in Christ
Col 3:11. Extends the baseline’s unity_of_jews_and_gentiles doctrine beyond the Jew-Gentile pairing to all ethnic/social categories (barbarian/Scythian, slave/free); preserve full breadth, do not narrow back.
Power General
Approved rendering: moc
Transliteration: dynamis
Doctrine: Apostolic Suffering and Christ-Centered Ministry
Col 1:11, 1:29. God’s general enabling might for endurance and gospel labor; distinct from the baseline’s Critical-adjacent ‘moc Boża’ (power_of_god), specific to Romans 1:16 — do not conflate the two entries.
Low Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: apostoł
Transliteration: apostolos
Doctrine: Apostleship
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Established, unambiguous term. Col 1:1. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: dziękczynienie
Transliteration: eucharistia
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία
Category: Faith
Standard term. Occurs Col 1:3, 1:12, 2:7, 3:15, 3:17, 4:2. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Exhort
Approved rendering: napominać
Transliteration: parakaleō
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Comforting/encouraging nuance; must be distinguished from the more corrective νουθετέω (see new term ‘admonish’ below), which Colossians uses at 1:28 and 3:16. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Christ Proper Name
Approved rendering: Chrystus
Transliteration: Christos
Doctrine: Deity of Christ (Colossians anchor)
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Used throughout Colossians predominantly as a proper name/title bound to ‘Jezus’ (Chrystus Jezus); standard established Polish Bible-translation form.
Kindness
Approved rendering: dobroć
Transliteration: chrēstotēs
Doctrine: Sanctification and Ethical Transformation
Original: χρηστότης
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:12. Standard virtue vocabulary.
Gentleness
Approved rendering: łagodność
Transliteration: prautēs
Doctrine: Sanctification and Ethical Transformation
Original: πραΰτης
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:12. Standard virtue vocabulary.
Patience
Approved rendering: wielkoduszność / cierpliwość
Transliteration: makrothymia
Doctrine: Sanctification and Ethical Transformation
Original: μακροθυμία
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:12. Standard virtue vocabulary.
Psalms Hymns Songs
Approved rendering: psalmy, hymny, pieśni duchowe
Transliteration: psalmoi, hymnoi, ōdai pneumatikai
Doctrine: Mutual Edification and Corporate Worship
Original: ψαλμοί, ὕμνοι, ᾠδαὶ πνευματικαί
Category: Church
Col 3:16. Standard worship vocabulary across Polish Bible and liturgical traditions.
Partiality
Approved rendering: wzgląd na osobę / stronniczość
Transliteration: prosōpolēmpsia
Doctrine: Slavery and Social Order in the Household Code
Original: προσωπολημψία
Category: Household
Col 3:25. Reinforces the chapter’s relativizing of all human status distinctions under Christ’s higher lordship.
Fellow Servant
Approved rendering: współsługa
Transliteration: syndoulos
Doctrine: Apostolic Suffering and Christ-Centered Ministry
Original: σύνδουλος
Category: Church
Col 4:7, 4:10. Deliberately echoes the δοῦλος/κύριος theme of ch.3: even Paul describes himself and co-workers as fellow slaves of the one true Lord.
Watchful
Approved rendering: czuwać
Transliteration: grēgoreō
Doctrine: Prayer and Perseverance
Original: γρηγορέω
Category: Church
Col 4:2. Standard vigilance term.
Making The Most Of Time
Approved rendering: wykorzystujcie każdą chwilę / sposobność
Transliteration: exagorazomenoi ton kairon
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Col 4:5. Idiom; render for natural meaning rather than literalistic ‘buying’ imagery.
Seasoned With Salt
Approved rendering: słowo… przyprawione solą, pełne łaski
Transliteration: en chariti, halati ērtymenos
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Col 4:6. Idiom for gracious, winsome speech toward outsiders; the salt image translates naturally into Polish.
Referenced passages