Semantic Analysis

Semantic Analysis — Ephesians (Koine Greek → Polish)

Scope and Method

This analysis covers the entire book of Ephesians, chapters 1–6, in the original Koine Greek (Nestle-Aland text tradition). The core passage, Ephesians 2:1–10, receives full verse-by-verse treatment. Every other chapter receives a chapter-level treatment of its load-bearing theological terms using the same analytical fields:

Original (Greek word, in Greek script)
Transliteration
Literal meaning
Semantic range
English variants (as found across major English versions)
Contextual theological meaning (specific to its use in Ephesians)
Destination-language (Polish) rendering risk

Where a term already exists in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json, the established Polish rendering is reused exactly and flagged [BASELINE TERM — REUSE EXACTLY]. New terms introduced by Ephesians are analyzed fresh and proposed for addition to translation memory in 08_core_glossary.md.

Polish renderings below are anchored, per the baseline standard, to Biblia Tysiąclecia (Catholic standard) vocabulary for widely shared terms, cross-checked against Biblia Warszawska/Gdańska (Protestant) usage where relevant.

CORE PASSAGE: Ephesians 2:1–10 (Verse-by-Verse)

Ephesians 2:1

Greek: Καὶ ὑμᾶς ὄντας νεκροὺς τοῖς παραπτώμασιν καὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν

νεκρός (nekros) — “dead”

Literal meaning: physically dead, lifeless corpse.
Semantic range: extends metaphorically to spiritual deadness — total incapacity, not sickness or weakness.
English variants: “dead,” “dead in,” “spiritually dead.”
Contextual theological meaning: describes the pre-conversion state of every person — not merely morally impaired but utterly without spiritual life, unable to respond to God apart from his initiative (sets up the “but God” of v.4).
Polish rendering risk: martwy / umarli. Medium risk. Must not be softened to “chorzy duchowo” (spiritually sick) or “słabi” (weak), which would imply latent capacity to help oneself toward salvation — contradicting the total inability this term establishes, foundational to “Salvation by Grace through Faith.”

παράπτωμα (paraptōma) — “trespass”

Literal meaning: a false step, a falling beside the mark.
Semantic range: sin as a specific act/transgression, distinguishable from ἁμαρτία’s broader “missing the mark.”
English variants: “trespasses,” “transgressions,” “wrongdoings.”
Contextual theological meaning: paired with ἁμαρτία for rhetorical fullness — every category of wrongdoing, deliberate and inadvertent.
Polish rendering risk: występek / przewinienie. Low-Medium risk. Standard vocabulary; avoid rendering with a term implying only minor lapses (drobne uchybienie), which would undercut the “dead” language it modifies.

ἁμαρτία (hamartia) — “sin” [BASELINE TERM — REUSE EXACTLY: grzech]

Contextual note: here in the plural, “your sins,” reinforcing accumulated personal guilt, not an abstract principle only.

Ephesians 2:2

Greek: ἐν αἷς ποτε περιεπατήσατε κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος, τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ νῦν ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας

αἰών (aiōn) — “age”

Literal meaning: an age, era, or the present world-order.
Semantic range: chronological age; also “this present evil age” as a moral-spiritual system opposed to God.
English variants: “course,” “age,” “ways.”
Contextual theological meaning: describes a governing pattern of thought and life dominated by rebellion against God, not merely a time period.
Polish rendering risk: wiek (tego świata). Medium risk. Must be distinguished from neutral chronological “wiek” (age of a person); render as “duch/porządek tego świata” contextually to avoid a flat, non-theological reading.

ἄρχων τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος (archōn tēs exousias tou aeros) — “ruler of the authority/power of the air”

Literal meaning: the ruler who holds authority over “the air.”
Semantic range: a title for Satan as head of a hierarchy of hostile spiritual powers occupying the space between earth and heaven.
English variants: “prince of the power of the air,” “ruler of the kingdom of the air.”
Contextual theological meaning: establishes a real, personal, cosmic adversary — directly relevant to the “Spiritual Warfare” doctrine developed fully in ch. 6.
Polish rendering risk: władca, który rządzi mocami powietrza. High risk. Polish folk piety retains vivid vernacular categories for malevolent spiritual agency (zły, nieczysty, złe moce) that can either trivialize this figure into folklore or, conversely, cause avoidance of the concept altogether in more skeptical urban register. Must be taught as a genuine personal being under God’s ultimate sovereignty, not folklore.

ἀπείθεια (apeitheia) — “disobedience”

Literal meaning: unwillingness to be persuaded; disobedience.
Semantic range: settled, characteristic resistance to God, not an isolated act.
English variants: “disobedience,” “unbelief,” “those who are disobedient.”
Contextual theological meaning: “sons of disobedience” is a Hebraic idiom for people characterized by disobedience; connects unbelief and rebellion as one condition.
Polish rendering risk: nieposłuszeństwo. Medium risk. Low collision risk lexically, but should be linked explicitly to unbelief (niewiara), not framed merely as bad behavior corrigible by better conduct.

Ephesians 2:3

Greek: ἐν οἷς καὶ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἀνεστράφημέν ποτε ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῆς σαρκὸς ἡμῶν, ποιοῦντες τὰ θελήματα τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ τῶν διανοιῶν, καὶ ἤμεθα τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποί

ἐπιθυμία (epithymia) — “desire, lust”

Literal meaning: strong desire, craving.
Semantic range: neutral desire in secular Greek; in Paul, almost always disordered, self-serving desire.
English variants: “lusts,” “desires,” “cravings.”
Contextual theological meaning: the driving force of the “old self,” relevant to ch. 4’s “old man/new man” contrast.
Polish rendering risk: pożądliwości. Low-Medium risk. Standard Bible vocabulary; avoid narrowing exclusively to sexual desire — Paul’s scope includes intellectual and volitional appetites (“τῶν διανοιῶν”).

σάρξ (sarx) — “flesh”

Literal meaning: physical body tissue.
Semantic range: literal body; also the whole fallen human nature in rebellion against God (Pauline technical sense).
English variants: “flesh,” “sinful nature,” “flesh and its desires.”
Contextual theological meaning: not the physical body itself but the entire orientation of unregenerate humanity.
Polish rendering risk: ciało. High risk — collides with the SAME Polish word used for “ciało” as the Body of Christ (ecclesial, Eph 1:23; 4:12) and “Ciało” as the Eucharistic Real Presence in Catholic devotional language. Context must always disambiguate: “ciało” here = fallen human nature, a wholly distinct sense requiring explicit catechetical flagging every occurrence.

τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς (tekna physei orgēs) — “children by nature of wrath”

φύσις (physis): “nature” — inherent, not merely acquired, condition.
ὀργή (orgē): “wrath” — God’s settled, righteous judicial anger against sin, not a fit of temper.
English variants: “by nature children of wrath,” “deserving of wrath,” “objects of wrath.”
Contextual theological meaning: universal, inherited condition prior to any act — grounds “Universal Human Accountability” (cf. Romans baseline doctrine) inside Ephesians’ own argument.
Polish rendering risk: z natury dzieci gniewu. High risk. “Gniew Boży” must be preserved as God’s righteous judicial response to sin, not softened to disappointment or reframed as impersonal cosmic consequence.

Ephesians 2:4

Greek: ὁ δὲ Θεὸς πλούσιος ὢν ἐν ἐλέει, διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἀγάπην αὐτοῦ ἣν ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς

ἔλεος (eleos) — “mercy”

Literal meaning: compassion shown toward those in distress or need.
Semantic range: pity, compassion, withheld deserved punishment.
English variants: “mercy,” “compassion.”
Contextual theological meaning: distinguished from χάρις (grace) that follows in v.5 — mercy withholds deserved judgment; grace bestows undeserved favor. Both are needed for the full picture.
Polish rendering risk: miłosierdzie. Medium risk. “Boże Miłosierdzie” carries very strong contemporary Polish Catholic devotional weight (the Divine Mercy devotion of St. Faustina Kowalska, the Divine Mercy Sunday feast, the Divine Mercy image “Jezu, ufam Tobie”). This is largely a cultural asset for this passage, but teaching must clarify Ephesians 2:4’s mercy is the objective ground of salvation accomplished at the cross, not primarily the devotional/liturgical observance associated with the shrine at Kraków-Łagiewniki.

ἀγάπη (agapē) — “love”

Literal meaning: selfless, deliberate love.
Semantic range: God’s self-giving covenantal love; distinguished from erotic or merely affectionate love.
English variants: “love,” “great love.”
Contextual theological meaning: the motive cause of salvation, prior to and independent of human merit.
Polish rendering risk: miłość. Low risk. Standard, unambiguous.

Ephesians 2:5

Greek: καὶ ὄντας ἡμᾶς νεκροὺς τοῖς παραπτώμασιν συνεζωοποίησεν τῷ Χριστῷ — χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι

συζωοποιέω (syzōopoieō) — “make alive together with”

Literal meaning: compound of σύν (“with”) + ζωοποιέω (“make alive”) — to co-vivify.
Semantic range: unique to Paul (here and Colossians 2:13); denotes union with Christ’s own resurrection life, not merely a fresh start.
English variants: “made us alive together with Christ,” “raised us to life with Christ,” “gave us life with Christ.”
Contextual theological meaning: salvation is participation in Christ’s own resurrection, not an isolated individual transaction — grounds “Walking in Newness of Life” and union-with-Christ theology carried over from the Romans baseline’s “Christian Identity in Christ” doctrine (Critical there).
Polish rendering risk: razem z Chrystusem przywrócił do życia / ożywił wraz z Chrystusem. High risk. Polish lacks a single compound verb; translators must not flatten this into a generic “ożywił nas” that loses the “with Christ” co-resurrection sense — this is the theological center of the verse.

χάρις (charis) — “grace” [BASELINE TERM — REUSE EXACTLY: łaska]

Contextual note: dative of means, “by grace” — the instrumental cause of salvation. This is one of the two thesis statements of the entire epistle (with 2:8) and must render identically to any other Ephesians occurrence.

σῴζω (sōzō) — “save” [BASELINE TERM — REUSE EXACTLY: zbawienie / verb form of zbawiony]

Contextual note: perfect passive periphrastic “ἐστε σεσωσμένοι” — “you have been and remain saved,” a completed-with-ongoing-result state. Polish must preserve this settled, completed sense (e.g., “jesteście zbawieni”) and must never be rendered as a process still underway or contingent on ongoing merit — directly relevant to the baseline’s Critical “Salvation” doctrine and to “Assurance of Salvation.”

Ephesians 2:6

Greek: καὶ συνήγειρεν καὶ συνεκάθισεν ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ

συνεγείρω (synegeirō) — “raise together with”

Literal meaning: co-resurrection, parallel to συζωοποιέω.
Semantic range: shared resurrection status with Christ.
English variants: “raised us up with him,” “raised us together.”
Contextual theological meaning: believers’ resurrection is already, in a positional/spiritual sense, accomplished in Christ.
Polish rendering risk: wraz z Nim wskrzesił. Medium-High risk. Must retain “wraz z” (together with) — dropping it collapses union-with-Christ theology into generic renewal language.

συγκαθίζω (synkathizō) — “seat together with”

Literal meaning: to cause to sit down together.
Semantic range: enthronement imagery — sharing Christ’s position of authority and rest.
English variants: “seated us with him,” “made us sit together.”
Contextual theological meaning: believers already share, positionally, in Christ’s heavenly enthronement — a strong present-tense claim within Ephesians’ “already” emphasis.
Polish rendering risk: wraz z Nim posadził. Medium risk. As above; avoid vague renderings that lose the enthronement/authority sense.

ἐπουράνιος (epouranios) — “heavenly places”

Literal meaning: “upon/in the heavens.”
Semantic range: the unseen spiritual realm — both the realm of God’s throne (1:20; 2:6) and the realm contested by hostile powers (3:10; 6:12).
English variants: “heavenly places,” “heavenly realms,” “in heaven.”
Contextual theological meaning: a spatial-theological category unique to Ephesians’ cosmology, framing both believers’ present position in Christ and the arena of “Spiritual Warfare.”
Polish rendering risk: okręgi niebieskie / sfery niebiańskie. Medium risk. No exact vernacular equivalent; avoid rendering simply as “niebo” (heaven, singular, final-destination sense), which would erase the “present spiritual realm” nuance distinct from eschatological heaven.

Ephesians 2:7

Greek: ἵνα ἐνδείξηται ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσιν τοῖς ἐπερχομένοις τὸ ὑπερβάλλον πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ ἐν χρηστότητι ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ

πλοῦτος (ploutos) — “riches, wealth”

Literal meaning: material wealth.
Semantic range: figurative abundance, especially of God’s grace/glory (a favorite Ephesians image: 1:7, 1:18, 2:7, 3:8, 3:16).
English variants: “riches,” “immeasurable riches,” “wealth.”
Contextual theological meaning: emphasizes the sheer scale and gratuitousness of grace, displayed for eternity as evidence of God’s character.
Polish rendering risk: bogactwo. Low risk. Standard.

χρηστότης (chrēstotēs) — “kindness”

Literal meaning: goodness, kindness, benevolence.
Semantic range: God’s benevolent disposition in action, distinguished from mere sentiment.
English variants: “kindness,” “goodness.”
Contextual theological meaning: the tone in which grace is administered — not grudging or merely just, but warmly generous.
Polish rendering risk: dobroć / łaskawość. Low risk.

Ephesians 2:8

Greek: τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι διὰ τῆς πίστεως· καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν, Θεοῦ τὸ δῶρον

πίστις (pistis) — “faith” [BASELINE TERM — REUSE EXACTLY: wiara]

Contextual note: the instrument (διὰ) through which grace-given salvation is received, not its meritorious cause. Together with v.5’s χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι, this forms the epistle’s central “grace through faith” formula and must be rendered with absolute consistency: “łaską jesteście zbawieni przez wiarę.” Any deviation across lessons on Ephesians is a Critical-risk failure per baseline consistency rules.

δῶρον (dōron) — “gift”

Literal meaning: a gift, present.
Semantic range: a freely given object, without any sense of payment or exchange.
English variants: “gift,” “the gift of God.”
Contextual theological meaning: the referent of “this” (τοῦτο) is debated (faith itself, or salvation as a whole) but in either reading the point is identical: it is not self-generated. Reinforces the total gratuity underlying “Salvation by Grace through Faith” and “Election.”
Polish rendering risk: dar. Medium risk. Distinguish from “dary duchowe” (spiritual gifts, ch. 4) — same root word but a different referent (the gift of salvation itself, not a Spirit-given ability); flag for translator clarity so the two senses are not conflated across the epistle.

Ephesians 2:9

Greek: οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων, ἵνα μή τις καυχήσηται

ἔργον (ergon) — “work, deed”

Literal meaning: a deed, action, work performed.
Semantic range: any human effort, religious observance, or moral achievement offered as a basis for standing before God.
English variants: “works,” “good deeds,” “human effort.”
Contextual theological meaning: explicitly excluded as the ground of salvation — the epistle’s central polemical term for “Salvation by Grace through Faith,” parallel to the baseline Romans treatment of grace vs. works (4:4–5; 11:5–6).
Polish rendering risk: uczynki. CRITICAL risk. Polish Catholic catechesis retains a well-developed theology of “uczynki miłosierdzia” (works of mercy) and merit gained through sacramental cooperation; this verse’s negation (“nie z uczynków”) must be preserved with its full force — salvation is not from works of any kind, sacramental or moral — without any softening gloss suggesting works retain a contributory role in justification itself. This is the same collision point flagged in the baseline for “grace,” “justification,” and “imputed_righteousness,” now sharpened by Ephesians’ single clearest negative statement in the whole New Testament on this point.

καυχάομαι (kauchaomai) — “boast”

Literal meaning: to glory in, take pride in, boast.
Semantic range: self-congratulation, taking credit.
English variants: “boast,” “take credit,” “be proud.”
Contextual theological meaning: salvation by grace through faith, apart from works, eliminates any basis for self-congratulation before God — all glory returns to God alone.
Polish rendering risk: chlubić się. Low risk. Standard.

Ephesians 2:10

Greek: αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν ποίημα, κτισθέντες ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἐπὶ ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς, οἷς προητοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς ἵνα ἐν αὐτοῖς περιπατήσωμεν

ποίημα (poiēma) — “workmanship, that which is made”

Literal meaning: a thing made, a work of craftsmanship (root of English “poem”).
Semantic range: an artifact, product, masterwork.
English variants: “workmanship,” “handiwork,” “masterpiece,” “God’s work of art.”
Contextual theological meaning: believers are God’s own creative product — resumes the “created” language of Genesis but now applied to the “new creation” in Christ; balances v.9’s negation with a positive purpose for good works, which follow salvation rather than producing it.
Polish rendering risk: dzieło. Medium risk. Must retain the sense of God as the sole craftsman/author, not merely “produkt” or “wytwór,” which sound mechanical; the point is purposeful, skilled, personal creation.

κτίζω (ktizō) — “create”

Literal meaning: to create, form, bring into being (used of God’s creative acts).
Semantic range: exclusively divine creative activity in the New Testament; never used of ordinary human making.
English variants: “created,” “made.”
Contextual theological meaning: salvation is a new-creation act, paralleling Genesis 1 — grounds “Walking in Newness of Life” doctrine (cf. ch. 4’s “new self”).
Polish rendering risk: stworzony. Low-Medium risk. Standard theological vocabulary; ensure it is read as ongoing new-creation reality “in Christ,” not merely one’s original biological creation.

ἔργα ἀγαθά (erga agatha) — “good works”

Note the deliberate contrast with v.9’s ἔργα: works are excluded as the ground of salvation (v.9) but reintroduced here as its fruit and purpose (v.10). This distinction is theologically load-bearing and must be visibly preserved in Polish — the same word “uczynki” functions in both a rejected and an affirmed sense within two verses, and only the surrounding clause structure disambiguates. Translator notes should flag this deliberately.
Polish rendering risk: dobre uczynki. High risk for the reason above — the paired-verse contrast (v.9 “not by works” vs. v.10 “created for good works”) must not be blurred into a single flattened statement about works in general.

προετοιμάζω (proetoimazō) — “prepare beforehand”

Literal meaning: to make ready in advance.
Semantic range: God’s advance, sovereign preparation of the specific good works believers will do — ties to “Election and Predestination.”
English variants: “prepared in advance,” “prepared beforehand,” “God had planned in advance.”
Contextual theological meaning: even the believer’s post-salvation obedience is itself divinely planned, not autonomously self-generated — extending grace’s priority into the whole Christian life.
Polish rendering risk: przygotował wcześniej / z góry przygotował. Medium-High risk. Must not be flattened into “God knew we would do these things” (mere foreknowledge) if the context intends purposive foreordaining; align with the same doctrinal caution the baseline attaches to “election”/“providence” — avoid fatalistic “przeznaczenie” vocabulary while preserving genuine divine sovereignty.

περιπατέω (peripateō) — “walk”

Literal meaning: to walk, go about.
Semantic range: a common Pauline metaphor for one’s manner of life/conduct.
English variants: “walk,” “live,” “conduct ourselves.”
Contextual theological meaning: the goal of salvation is a transformed manner of life — directly names the “Walking in Newness of Life” doctrine and anticipates its repeated use through chs. 4–5 (“walk in love,” “walk as children of light,” “walk wisely”).
Polish rendering risk: postępować / chodzić (w nowości życia). Low-Medium risk. Standard Pauline idiom in Polish Bible tradition (“abyśmy postępowali” / “abyśmy w nich chodzili”); ensure consistent rendering across every later occurrence in chs. 4–5 for doctrinal continuity.

CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER STUDY OF THE WHOLE BOOK

Chapter 1 — Election, Redemption, and the Mystery of God’s Plan

ἐκλέγομαι (eklegomai) — “choose, elect” (1:4)

Literal/semantic: to select from a group for oneself.
English variants: “chose,” “elected.”
Contextual meaning: God’s choice of believers “before the foundation of the world,” in Christ — the root act behind the baseline’s “election” doctrine.
Polish rendering risk: wybrał (root shared with baseline “wybranie”). High risk. Must retain personal, purposeful divine choice, per baseline’s rejection of fatalistic “los/przeznaczenie” framing for this term family.

προορίζω (proorizō) — “predestine, foreordain” (1:5, 1:11)

Literal meaning: to mark out/determine beforehand.
Semantic range: purposeful advance determination by God, distinct from impersonal fate.
English variants: “predestined,” “predetermined,” “foreordained.”
Contextual theological meaning: God’s advance decision to adopt believers “through Jesus Christ,” grounding assurance rather than anxiety.
Polish rendering risk: CRITICAL. Standard Polish Bible tradition (Biblia Tysiąclecia) renders this “przeznaczył,” but the baseline Romans package explicitly rejected “przeznaczenie” as an alternative for “election” precisely because Polish vernacular “przeznaczenie/los” carries strong fatalistic, quasi-astrological connotations (horoscope culture: “to było jego przeznaczenie”). Ephesians 1:5, 1:11 require the verb form for standard readability, creating direct tension with the baseline’s caution. This curriculum must render “przeznaczył” only with an explicit accompanying doctrinal note clarifying this is God’s loving, purposeful choice in Christ (note the immediate context “in love,” 1:4b–5a), not impersonal destiny — every occurrence flagged for human theologian review.

υἱοθεσία (huiothesia) — “adoption” (1:5) [BASELINE TERM — REUSE EXACTLY: usynowienie]

Contextual note: Biblia Tysiąclecia’s phrase “przybranych synów” must yield here to the baseline-established single term “usynowienie” for cross-curriculum consistency, per pipeline mandate.

ἀπολύτρωσις (apolytrōsis) — “redemption” (1:7, 1:14)

Literal meaning: buying back, ransom-release, especially of a slave or captive.
Semantic range: deliverance secured at a cost.
English variants: “redemption,” “ransom,” “deliverance.”
Contextual theological meaning: secured “through his blood” (1:7) — a costly, blood-purchased deliverance, not a generic rescue.
Polish rendering risk: odkupienie. High risk (though doctrinally well-aligned with Catholic tradition, where “Odkupienie” is a major devotional and doctrinal category). Ensure it is taught as accomplished once, decisively, at the cross (Eph 1:7), not an ongoing sacramental process requiring supplementation.

ἄφεσις (τῶν παραπτωμάτων) (aphesis) — “forgiveness (of trespasses)” (1:7)

Literal meaning: release, letting go, cancellation of debt.
Semantic range: full remission, not partial or probationary pardon.
English variants: “forgiveness,” “remission.”
Contextual theological meaning: total, immediate forgiveness secured “through his blood,” parallel to and inseparable from redemption.
Polish rendering risk: odpuszczenie (grzechów). Medium risk. Must not be presented as contingent on the sacrament of confession (spowiedź) as its necessary channel in this passage’s sense — Ephesians locates the forgiveness in Christ’s blood, received by grace through faith (cf. 2:8).

μυστήριον (mystērion) — “mystery” (1:9; also 3:3-9; 5:32; 6:19)

Literal meaning: a secret; something hidden, requiring disclosure to be known.
Semantic range: in Paul, specifically God’s previously hidden redemptive plan, now disclosed in the gospel.
English variants: “mystery,” “secret plan,” “hidden purpose.”
Contextual theological meaning: names the whole epistle’s central revelation-motif — God’s eternal plan, centered in Christ, to unite Jew and Gentile into one body (fully developed in ch. 3) and, by extension, Christ and the church (5:32).
Polish rendering risk: CRITICAL. “Tajemnica” in Polish Catholic religious culture is heavily associated with the sacramental/liturgical sense (Tajemnice Różańca — the Mysteries of the Rosary; Tajemnica Eucharystii; sakramentalna tajemnica). Ephesians’ sense is historically specific and disclosure-oriented (a once-hidden plan now openly proclaimed), not a permanently unfathomable devotional mystery to be contemplated in repetitive prayer. Every occurrence needs an explicit distinguishing note; flagged for human theologian review throughout the epistle.

οἰκονομία (oikonomia) — “administration, plan, stewardship” (1:10; 3:2, 9)

Literal meaning: household management.
Semantic range: a stewardship, arrangement, or ordered plan for administering something.
English variants: “plan,” “administration,” “stewardship,” “dispensation.”
Contextual theological meaning: God’s ordered unfolding of his redemptive plan “in the fullness of time” — closely tied to μυστήριον.
Polish rendering risk: zamysł / plan (Boży). Medium-High risk. Older Polish theological vocabulary sometimes uses “ekonomia zbawienia” (a Latinate loan mirroring Catholic dogmatic-theology usage); this is acceptable for advanced study but should be paired with plain-language “plan” or “zamysł” for general audiences to avoid confusion with financial “ekonomia.”

κληρονομία (klēronomia) — “inheritance” (1:11, 1:14, 1:18)

Literal meaning: a possession received by inheritance.
Semantic range: guaranteed future possession secured by covenant/familial relationship, not luck or achievement.
English variants: “inheritance,” “portion,” “heritage.”
Contextual theological meaning: believers’ guaranteed future possession in Christ, connected to adoption (υἱοθεσία) — sons receive an inheritance.
Polish rendering risk: dziedzictwo. Medium risk. Standard; ensure it is read as certain and grace-secured, not as something believers might yet forfeit through insufficient merit.

ἀρραβών (arrabōn) — “down payment, pledge, guarantee” (1:14)

Literal meaning: a first installment guaranteeing the full payment to follow (a commercial/legal term).
Semantic range: a deposit securing a future transaction.
English variants: “guarantee,” “deposit,” “pledge,” “down payment.”
Contextual theological meaning: the Holy Spirit himself, given now, guarantees believers’ future full inheritance — grounds assurance.
Polish rendering risk: rękojmia. Medium risk (established Tysiąclecia rendering). Preserve the legal-guarantee force; do not soften to a vague “znak” (sign), which loses the binding, unconditional-guarantee sense.

σφραγίζω (sphragizō) — “seal” (1:13; 4:30)

Literal meaning: to stamp with a seal, marking ownership, authenticity, or security.
Semantic range: ownership mark; security against tampering; official ratification.
English variants: “sealed,” “marked,” “stamped.”
Contextual theological meaning: the Spirit’s presence marks believers as God’s secure possession, not a probationary or revocable status.
Polish rendering risk: opieczętowani. Medium risk. Standard; avoid a purely ritual reading (e.g., conflated with sacramental sealing language such as “sakrament bierzmowania” — Confirmation — sometimes popularly described using seal imagery); this is the Spirit’s own act, not a separate ecclesial rite performed upon the believer.

σῶμα (sōma) / κεφαλή (kephalē) — “body” / “head” (1:22-23)

κεφαλή: literal meaning “head” (anatomical); semantic range extends to “source,” “authority over,” “preeminence.”
σῶμα: literal meaning “body”; here, the church as Christ’s body, with him as head.
English variants: “head,” “body,” “head over the church.”
Contextual theological meaning: introduces the “Church as the Body of Christ” doctrine at its fullest — organic, vital union with Christ as the church’s authoritative and life-giving head, not a merely organizational relationship.
Polish rendering risk: CRITICAL (głowa / ciało). “Ciało Chrystusa” is a phrase with intense, primary Eucharistic resonance in Polish Catholic devotional and liturgical life (the consecrated Host is routinely called “Ciało Chrystusa” / “Ciało Pańskie,” e.g. at the words of distribution “Ciało Chrystusa” — response “Amen”). Ephesians’ ecclesial usage (the church as Christ’s body) must be clearly distinguished from this sacramental usage in every occurrence, without denying or diminishing either category — flagged for human theologian review throughout the epistle. “Głowa” (head) carries a parallel high-risk overlap with household-code usage in ch. 5 (husband as head of wife) and must be tracked as two related but distinguishable applications of the same metaphor.

πλήρωμα (plērōma) — “fullness” (1:23; also 3:19; 4:13)

Literal meaning: that which fills, a full complement.
Semantic range: completeness, totality; in 1:23, the church as the “fullness” that fills/completes Christ’s body-presence in the world; in 3:19 and 4:13, the fullness of God/Christ believers are to attain.
English variants: “fullness,” “that which fills,” “complete measure.”
Contextual theological meaning: a rich, somewhat difficult concept expressing the church’s intimate, filling relationship to Christ and believers’ call to Christlike maturity.
Polish rendering risk: pełnia. High risk. “Pełnia” has acquired secondary associations in some Polish New Age / esoteric and Theosophical-adjacent discourse (cosmic “fullness,” self-actualization language) circulating in wellness culture; must be anchored tightly to its Christ-centered, ecclesial referent each time, not left as an abstract spiritual-fulfillment term.

ἀρχή, ἐξουσία, δύναμις, κυριότης (archē, exousia, dynamis, kyriotēs) — “rule, authority, power, dominion” (1:21)

Literal/semantic: a fourfold list of ranked cosmic-spiritual powers, echoed again in 3:10 and 6:12.
English variants: “rule and authority, power and dominion,” “every power, ruler, authority, and dominion.”
Contextual theological meaning: Christ is exalted “far above” every such power — establishes his supremacy over the very forces named again as the object of “Spiritual Warfare” in ch. 6.
Polish rendering risk: Zwierzchność, Władza, Moc, Panowanie (capitalized, following Tysiąclecia convention when referring to ranked spirit-powers). Medium-High risk. “Panowanie” (dominion) here names a hostile or at least subordinate power-category, while the same root underlies “Pan” (Lord) and “panowanie Chrystusa” (Lordship of Christ) elsewhere — contextual clarity is essential so the two uses are never confused; Christ’s “Panowanie” is supreme and unique, these are subordinate powers under him.

Chapter 2 (continued: 2:11–22) — Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity

ἔθνη (ethnē) / πάντες (Gentiles) [BASELINE TERM — REUSE EXACTLY: poganie]

Contextual note: 2:11 “you Gentiles in the flesh” — reuse baseline caution: “poganie” carries a stronger negative charge in Polish than the neutral ethnic sense intended here; the passage’s rhetorical point (Gentile believers were formerly excluded, now included) must not be undercut by an unintentionally pejorative-sounding label for the very people being welcomed.

ἀλλότριος / ξένος (allotrios / xenos) — “alien(s) / stranger(s)” (2:12, 2:19)

Literal meaning: belonging to another; foreign.
Semantic range: legal-political exclusion from citizenship and covenant privilege.
English variants: “strangers,” “aliens,” “foreigners,” “excluded.”
Contextual theological meaning: describes Gentiles’ former total exclusion from Israel’s covenant privileges — sets up the dramatic reversal (“but now,” 2:13) central to the unity doctrine.
Polish rendering risk: cudzoziemcy / przychodnie. Medium risk. Standard vocabulary; ensure the force of total prior exclusion is not diluted, since the “far off brought near” (2:13) contrast is the doctrinal point.

πολιτεία τοῦ Ἰσραήλ (politeia tou Israēl) — “commonwealth of Israel” (2:12) [reuses baseline: Izrael]

Literal meaning: citizenship, civic community.
Semantic range: full covenant membership and its legal-communal privileges.
English variants: “commonwealth of Israel,” “citizenship of Israel,” “community of Israel.”
Contextual theological meaning: what Gentiles were excluded from and are now, in Christ, granted full membership in — informs “fellow citizens with the saints” language later in the chapter (2:19).
Polish rendering risk: społeczność Izraela. Medium risk. Requires Old Testament covenant background (as flagged in the Romans baseline for “covenant” and “Davidic Covenant”); Polish readers without catechetical grounding may read this as merely political/ethnic rather than covenantal.

διαθῆκαι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας (diathēkai tēs epangelias) — “covenants of promise” (2:12) [BASELINE TERM — REUSE EXACTLY: przymierze]

φραγμός (phragmos) — “dividing wall” (2:14)

Literal meaning: a fence, barrier, partition wall.
Semantic range: a literal architectural barrier (echoing the Jerusalem Temple’s Court of the Gentiles barrier) used metaphorically for the Law’s separating function.
English variants: “dividing wall,” “wall of hostility,” “barrier.”
Contextual theological meaning: Christ has “torn down” this wall — the Law’s separating, exclusionary function is abolished in him, not the moral law’s content per se.
Polish rendering risk: mur (rozdzielający). Medium risk, with strong (positive, teachable) cultural resonance: Poland’s own history of dividing walls (e.g., the Warsaw Ghetto wall) gives this image unusual immediacy and pastoral weight for Polish audiences engaging Jewish-Gentile unity — an asset for teaching, but must remain anchored to the specific Temple-barrier background, not generalized into a purely modern political metaphor.

ἔχθρα (echthra) — “hostility, enmity” (2:14, 2:16)

Literal meaning: enmity, hatred, hostile relationship.
Semantic range: mutual hostility, both horizontal (Jew-Gentile) and vertical (humanity-God).
English variants: “hostility,” “enmity.”
Contextual theological meaning: the dividing wall itself is identified with this hostility, which Christ’s cross abolishes on both axes simultaneously.
Polish rendering risk: wrogość. Low-Medium risk. Standard vocabulary.

εἷς καινός ἄνθρωπος (heis kainos anthrōpos) — “one new man / new humanity” (2:15)

Literal meaning: one single new human being/humanity.
Semantic range: not “one new group” merely socially, but a genuinely new humanity created in Christ, transcending the prior Jew-Gentile categories.
English variants: “one new man,” “one new humanity,” “one new person.”
Contextual theological meaning: names the doctrine directly — the church is not merely a merger of two groups but a wholly new creation-category, paralleling ch. 4’s individual “new self” (καινὸς ἄνθρωπος) at the corporate level.
Polish rendering risk: jeden nowy człowiek. High risk. Must not be read as merely sociological (integration/tolerance) — this is an ontological new-creation claim; note also the deliberate lexical link to ch. 4:24’s individual “nowy człowiek” (new self), which should use identical Polish wording for consistency across the epistle.

ναός / οἰκοδομή / ἀκρογωνιαῖος / θεμέλιος (naos / oikodomē / akrogōniaios / themelios) — “temple / building / cornerstone / foundation” (2:20-21)

Literal/semantic: architectural metaphor for the church as God’s dwelling — apostles/prophets as foundation, Christ as cornerstone, the whole structure “growing” into a temple.
English variants: “temple,” “building,” “cornerstone,” “chief cornerstone,” “foundation.”
Contextual theological meaning: the church replaces the Jerusalem Temple as God’s dwelling place among his people — a bold claim requiring careful, explicit teaching.
Polish rendering risk: świątynia / budowla / kamień węgielny / fundament. Medium risk. “Świątynia” in Polish Catholic usage readily evokes physical church buildings and basilicas (e.g., major pilgrimage shrines); this passage’s referent is the people of God collectively, not a building — must be explicitly distinguished, especially given Poland’s strong tradition of monumental church architecture and pilgrimage sites.

κατοικητήριον τοῦ θεοῦ (katoikētērion tou theou) — “dwelling place of God” (2:22)

Literal meaning: a place of habitation.
Semantic range: God’s manifest presence dwelling among/within his people, by the Spirit.
English variants: “dwelling,” “dwelling place,” “habitation.”
Contextual theological meaning: parallels the Old Testament tabernacle/temple presence of God, now located in the corporate church by the Spirit.
Polish rendering risk: przybytek / mieszkanie (Boga). Medium risk. “Przybytek” carries an appropriately reverent, tabernacle-echoing register in Polish Bible tradition; ensure it is not read as referring to a physical sanctuary building only.

Chapter 3 — The Mystery of Christ Revealed

ἀποκαλύπτω / ἀποκάλυψις (apokalyptō / apokalypsis) — “reveal / revelation” (3:3, 3:5)

Literal meaning: to uncover, unveil.
Semantic range: disclosure of what was previously hidden or unknown.
English variants: “revealed,” “made known,” “revelation.”
Contextual theological meaning: God has now disclosed, through the apostles and prophets, the mystery of Gentile inclusion — a completed, historically situated act of revelation in Scripture.
Polish rendering risk: objawić / objawienie. High risk. “Objawienie” in Polish Catholic religious culture carries strong associations with post-biblical private revelations and apparitions (e.g., Fatima, and within Poland, Marian and Divine Mercy apparition traditions associated with St. Faustina). Ephesians’ usage refers strictly to the once-for-all apostolic revelation now recorded in Scripture, not a continuing category of private mystical disclosure — this distinction should be made explicit whenever the term appears.

μυστήριον (mystērion) — “mystery” (3:3, 3:4, 3:6, 3:9) — see Ch. 1 entry; CRITICAL, same risk profile, now developed at length: the specific content of the mystery is defined explicitly in 3:6 as “Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” — this content must be preserved with precision, not left as a vague “hidden truth.”

συγκληρονόμος / σύσσωμος / συμμέτοχος (synklēronomos / syssōmos / symmetochos) — “fellow heir / fellow member of the body / fellow partaker” (3:6)

Literal meaning: three σύν- (“with/together”) compounds emphasizing shared, equal status.
Semantic range: full, equal participation — not associate or second-class membership.
English variants: “fellow heirs,” “members of the same body,” “sharers together in the promise.”
Contextual theological meaning: precisely defines the content of the “mystery” — Gentiles share fully and equally, not partially, in Israel’s covenant blessings, now reframed around Christ.
Polish rendering risk: współdziedzice / współczłonkowie ciała / współuczestnicy obietnicy. Medium-High risk. The compound “współ-” prefix must be preserved in each term to retain the equality emphasis; a flattened rendering (merely “also receive”) would understate Paul’s rhetorical insistence on full parity between Jewish and Gentile believers.

πολυποίκιλος σοφία (polypoikilos sophia) — “manifold wisdom” (3:10)

Literal meaning: “many-colored/variegated” wisdom.
Semantic range: rich, multifaceted divine wisdom displayed through the church.
English variants: “manifold wisdom,” “many-colored wisdom,” “infinite variety of God’s wisdom.”
Contextual theological meaning: the church’s existence itself — Jew and Gentile united — is the display piece proving God’s wisdom to the cosmic powers (ἀρχαί καὶ ἐξουσίαι, reprising the ch.1 list).
Polish rendering risk: wielorak/przeróżna mądrość. Low-Medium risk. Standard.

παρρησία (parrēsia) — “boldness, confident access” (3:12)

Literal meaning: freedom of speech; frank, unrestrained openness.
Semantic range: confident access to God, without fear or hesitation.
English variants: “boldness,” “confidence,” “free access.”
Contextual theological meaning: believers’ confident access to God “through faith in him” — a direct, unmediated confidence, relevant to the Romans baseline’s caution regarding intercession/mediation.
Polish rendering risk: śmiały przystęp / ufność. Medium risk. Should reinforce direct access to God through Christ, avoiding any implication that such boldness is properly mediated primarily through other intercessory figures (cf. baseline’s caution on “wstawiennictwo” regarding Marian/saintly intercession).

πλάτος, μῆκος, ὕψος, βάθος (platos, mēkos, hypsos, bathos) — “breadth, length, height, depth” (3:18)

Literal/semantic: spatial dimensions used figuratively for the immeasurable vastness of Christ’s love.
English variants: “how wide and long and high and deep.”
Contextual theological meaning: an intentionally exhaustive, poetic expression of love’s immensity, resistant to full comprehension yet still to be “known” experientially (3:19).
Polish rendering risk: szerokość, długość, wysokość, głębokość. Low risk. Standard.

Chapter 4 — One Body, Gifts for Building Up the Church, and the New Self

ἑνότης (henotēs) — “unity” (4:3, 4:13)

Literal meaning: oneness.
Semantic range: a unity to be actively maintained (4:3, “of the Spirit”) and one to be positively attained/grown into (4:13, “of the faith”).
English variants: “unity.”
Contextual theological meaning: unity is both a given reality believers must guard and a maturity goal they must grow toward — two distinct but related senses in the same chapter.
Polish rendering risk: jedność. Medium risk. Note the ecumenical resonance “jedność” carries in contemporary Polish church life (Catholic-Protestant-Orthodox ecumenical dialogue, “Tydzień Modlitw o Jedność Chrześcijan” — Week of Prayer for Christian Unity); this is generally a teaching asset but should be anchored to Ephesians’ specific Spirit-given, doctrinally-defined unity (4:3-6, 4:13) rather than left as a generic ecumenical-goodwill term.

σύνδεσμος τῆς εἰρήνης (syndesmos tēs eirēnēs) — “bond of peace” (4:3) [εἰρήνη BASELINE TERM — REUSE EXACTLY: pokój]

σύνδεσμος: literal “that which binds together,” a ligament or unifying bond.
Polish rendering risk: więź (pokoju). Low-Medium risk. Standard, following established Tysiąclecia phrasing “więź, jaką jest pokój.”

κλῆσις (klēsis) — “calling” (4:1, 4:4) [BASELINE TERM — REUSE EXACTLY: powołanie]

Contextual note: “the calling to which you have been called” — reuse baseline Critical flag: must not default to the culturally dominant Polish Catholic sense of a call to priesthood/religious life; this is every believer’s calling to the unity and conduct just described.

ταπεινοφροσύνη, πραΰτης, μακροθυμία (tapeinophrosynē, prautēs, makrothymia) — “humility, gentleness, patience” (4:2)

Literal/semantic: a triad of relational virtues undergirding unity — humility (low self-assessment), gentleness (controlled strength), patience/longsuffering (forbearance under provocation).
English variants: “humility,” “gentleness,” “patience,” “longsuffering,” “forbearance.”
Contextual theological meaning: the practical virtues by which the doctrinal unity of 4:3-6 is actually maintained in community life.
Polish rendering risk: pokora, łagodność, wielkoduszność (cierpliwość). Low risk. Standard.

βάπτισμα (baptisma) — “baptism” (4:5, “one baptism”)

Literal meaning: immersion, washing.
Semantic range: the singular, unifying rite marking entrance into the one body.
English variants: “one baptism.”
Contextual theological meaning: named among the sevenfold unity-markers (one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father) as itself a unifying, not divisive, reality.
Polish rendering risk: jeden chrzest. High risk. Baptismal theology is a significant point of difference between Catholic (infant baptism, sacramental regeneration) and many Evangelical/Protestant Polish traditions (believer’s baptism, symbolic/ordinance view); this curriculum, given its mixed Catholic/Evangelical audience (per the baseline’s stated audience profile), should present “one baptism” as Paul’s own unity-affirming point without adjudicating the sacramental-vs-ordinance debate — flag for native speaker/theologian review to keep this ecumenically careful.

δωρεά / δόμα (dōrea / doma) — “gift” (4:7-8)

Literal meaning: a gift, freely given.
Semantic range: Christ’s gift(s) to the church, distributed individually (“to each one,” 4:7) and corporately (the offices listed in 4:11).
English variants: “grace,” “gift,” “gifts.”
Contextual theological meaning: distinct from, though related to, “dary duchowe” (spiritual_gifts) already in translation memory from Romans — here specifically Christ’s post-ascension gifting of the church with ministry offices.
Polish rendering risk: dar. Medium risk. See the note under Eph 2:8 above regarding potential conflation with “dary duchowe”; keep the referent (ministry offices, 4:11) clear in context.

ἀπόστολος, προφήτης, εὐαγγελιστής, ποιμήν, διδάσκαλος (apostolos, prophētēs, euangelistēs, poimēn, didaskalos) — the “fivefold” ministry gifts (4:11) [ἀπόστολος, προφήτης BASELINE TERMS — REUSE EXACTLY: apostoł, prorok]

εὐαγγελιστής (euangelistēs) — “evangelist.” Semantic range: one whose ministry is proclaiming the gospel, distinct from an apostle’s foundational authority or a pastor’s ongoing shepherding. Polish rendering risk: ewangelista. Medium risk — in Polish usage “ewangelista” most commonly refers to the four Gospel-writers (Mateusz, Marek, Łukasz, Jan — “czterej Ewangeliści”); this Ephesians 4:11 sense (an ongoing church ministry office/gift) must be distinguished from that far more familiar referent.
ποιμήν (poimēn) — “pastor, shepherd.” Semantic range: one who tends and protects the flock, an image applied elsewhere to Christ himself (“Good Shepherd”) and, in Catholic usage, to bishops and the Pope (“Dobry Pasterz,” “pasterz Kościoła”). Polish rendering risk: pasterz. Medium-High risk — must be presented as a broader church-ministry gift given to build up believers generally (4:12), not narrowed exclusively to the ordained hierarchical office in the Catholic institutional sense, while also not being flattened into a purely functional “team leader” role that loses its shepherding, care-of-souls connotation.
διδάσκαλος (didaskalos) — “teacher.” Polish rendering risk: nauczyciel. Low risk.

καταρτισμός (katartismos) — “equipping” (4:12)

Literal meaning: making fit, complete, or fully ready (used of setting a bone, or preparing equipment).
Semantic range: bringing to full functional readiness for a task.
English variants: “to equip,” “for the equipping of,” “to prepare.”
Contextual theological meaning: the fivefold gifts exist to equip all believers for ministry, not to concentrate ministry in a specialist clergy class alone — directly relevant to “Gifts for Building Up the Church.”
Polish rendering risk: przygotowanie / wyposażenie. Medium risk. Must convey that every believer is being equipped for active ministry (“do dzieła służby,” 4:12), not merely trained to be a passive recipient of clergy-led ministry.

οἰκοδομή (oikodomē) — “building up, edification” (4:12, 4:16, 4:29)

Literal meaning: the act of building, or a building.
Semantic range: constructive strengthening of the church, individually and corporately — connects to the baseline Romans doctrine “Mutual Edification.”
English variants: “building up,” “edification,” “strengthening.”
Contextual theological meaning: the goal of both the ministry-gifts (4:12) and ordinary speech (4:29) is the constructive growth of the whole body.
Polish rendering risk: budowanie. Low risk. Consistent with baseline Romans usage (“wzajemne budowanie”).

τέλειος / νήπιος (teleios / nēpios) — “mature/complete” vs. “infant/child” (4:13-14)

Literal meaning: τέλειος = brought to completion, full growth; νήπιος = an infant, small child.
Semantic range: spiritual maturity vs. immaturity, expressed through susceptibility to doctrinal instability (“tossed by the waves,” “carried about by every wind of doctrine”).
English variants: “mature,” “full-grown,” “perfect” / “children,” “infants.”
Contextual theological meaning: the goal of the equipping ministries is doctrinal and relational maturity, protecting the church from instability and deception.
Polish rendering risk: dojrzały / dzieci. Medium risk. “Doskonały” should be avoided for τέλειος here (it suggests sinless perfection, a different and more contested category in Catholic-Protestant dialogue on sanctification); “dojrzały” better conveys the growth-to-completion sense intended.

παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος / καινὸς ἄνθρωπος (palaios anthrōpos / kainos anthrōpos) — “old self / new self” (4:22, 4:24)

Literal meaning: “old man/human being” and “new man/human being.”
Semantic range: one’s former, unregenerate identity and pattern of life, versus the new identity created in Christ — an individual-level parallel to 2:15’s corporate “one new man.”
English variants: “old self,” “old man,” “former way of life” / “new self,” “new man,” “new nature.”
Contextual theological meaning: names the “Walking in Newness of Life” doctrine at the individual level; grounded in a definite past event (“put off… put on”) rather than a gradual self-improvement project achieved by willpower alone.
Polish rendering risk: stary człowiek / nowy człowiek. High risk. Must retain the decisive, once-for-all “put off / put on” (ἀποτίθημι / ἐνδύω — Polish: zrzucić / przyoblec) imagery as a definite act flowing from union with Christ, matching the baseline Romans “Christian Identity in Christ” Critical doctrine (ch. 6, 8, 12 there) — not merely gradual moral reformation.

ἀνανεόω / ἀνακαίνωσις (ananeoō / anakainōsis) — “renew(al)” (4:23)

Literal meaning: to make new again; renewal.
Semantic range: ongoing renewal “of the mind,” distinct from the once-for-all “new self” event — the process by which the new identity is progressively lived out.
English variants: “renewed,” “renewal,” “be transformed.”
Contextual theological meaning: the mind’s ongoing renewal is the mechanism connecting definitive new-creation identity to daily transformed conduct.
Polish rendering risk: odnowienie. Medium risk. Standard; keep distinct from the once-for-all “created” (κτίζω) language of 2:10 and 4:24 — this is the ongoing outworking, not the founding event.

δικαιοσύνη καὶ ὁσιότης (dikaiosynē kai hosiotēs) — “righteousness and holiness” (4:24) [δικαιοσύνη BASELINE TERM — REUSE EXACTLY: sprawiedliwość]

ὁσιότης (hosiotēs): literal meaning “piety, devout holiness”; semantic range close to but distinct from ἁγιωσύνη/ἁγιασμός (baseline’s “uświęcenie” family) — emphasizing reverent godliness in relation to God specifically.
Polish rendering risk: świątobliwość. Medium risk. A somewhat elevated, less common Polish word; ensure it is not confused with canonized-saint associations (“świątobliwość” shares a root with “święty/świętość” flagged Critical in the baseline for “saints” — keep this as describing the new self’s God-oriented character, not sainthood status).

Chapter 5 — Walking in Love and Light; Household Codes; the Great Mystery

μιμητής (mimētēs) — “imitator” (5:1)

Literal meaning: one who imitates, a copier.
Semantic range: to pattern one’s life after a model.
English variants: “imitators,” “followers.”
Contextual theological meaning: believers are to imitate God’s own self-giving love as revealed in Christ (5:2) — the ethical outworking of “Walking in Newness of Life.”
Polish rendering risk: naśladowca. Low-Medium risk. Positively resonant with the long-standing Polish devotional tradition of “O naśladowaniu Chrystusa” (Thomas à Kempis’s Imitatio Christi); ensure the specific Ephesians referent (imitating God’s/Christ’s self-giving love, 5:2) is not diluted into a generalized devotional-imitation piety detached from this specific ethical content.

προσφορὰ καὶ θυσία (prosphora kai thysia) — “offering and sacrifice” (5:2)

Literal meaning: a formal cultic offering (προσφορά) and a sacrifice (θυσία), sacrificial-system vocabulary.
Semantic range: Christ’s self-giving death described in the Old Testament’s own sacrificial categories.
English variants: “offering and sacrifice,” “fragrant offering.”
Contextual theological meaning: identifies Christ’s death as the fulfillment and terminus of the sacrificial system — a single, historical, once-for-all self-offering.
Polish rendering risk: ofiara. CRITICAL risk. “Ofiara” is also the standard Polish term for the Mass as a sacrifice (“Ofiara Mszy Świętej” — the Sacrifice of the Mass), a central and historically contested point in Catholic-Protestant dialogue regarding whether/how Christ’s sacrifice is “re-presented” in the Eucharist. Ephesians 5:2 itself refers to Christ’s historical, once-for-all self-giving at the cross; this passage should not be used, in either direction, to adjudicate the Catholic-Protestant Eucharistic-sacrifice debate, but the once-for-all historical referent of the term here must be kept clear. Flag for human theologian review.

πορνεία, ἀκαθαρσία, πλεονεξία (porneia, akatharsia, pleonexia) — “sexual immorality, impurity, greed/covetousness” (5:3, 5:5)

Standard Pauline vice list terms.
Polish rendering risk: nierząd, nieczystość, chciwość. Low-Medium risk. Standard vocabulary.

εἰδωλολάτρης (eidōlolatrēs) — “idolater” (5:5)

Literal meaning: one who serves/worships an idol.
Contextual theological meaning: greed is equated with idolatry — a heart-worship category, not merely ritual image-worship.
Polish rendering risk: bałwochwalca. Low risk. Standard.

φῶς / σκότος (phōs / skotos) — “light / darkness” (5:8)

Literal/semantic: a foundational biblical dualism for moral-spiritual condition, not merely visibility.
English variants: “light,” “darkness.”
Contextual theological meaning: “you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” — an identity statement (not merely “you were in darkness”), reinforcing the definitive-transformation theme of ch. 4’s old/new self.
Polish rendering risk: światło / ciemność. Low-Medium risk. Standard; preserve the identity-statement force (“jesteście światłością,” not merely “byliście w ciemności”) rather than flattening to a behavioral description only.

πληρόω (πνεύματι) (plēroō pneumati) — “be filled (with the Spirit)” (5:18)

Literal meaning: to fill completely.
Semantic range: ongoing, repeated, Spirit-controlled empowerment for life (contrasted with drunkenness) — a present imperative, not a one-time event.
English variants: “be filled with the Spirit,” “let the Spirit fill you.”
Contextual theological meaning: results in worship, gratitude, and submission (5:19-21) — the Spirit-filled life is communal and worship-oriented, not primarily an isolated ecstatic experience.
Polish rendering risk: napełnieni Duchem. Medium risk. Poland’s significant Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement (“Odnowa w Duchu Świętym”) gives this phrase strong contemporary resonance; this can be a teaching asset, but the passage’s own content (worship, thanksgiving, mutual submission) should anchor the term, rather than importing external expectations about specific charismatic manifestations not addressed in this text.

ὑποτάσσω (hypotassō) — “submit, be subject to” (5:21, 5:22, 5:24)

Literal meaning: to arrange under, to place in voluntary submission to an order or authority.
Semantic range: ranges from mutual, reciprocal deference (5:21, “submitting to one another”) to a specific, asymmetric wife-to-husband application (5:22-24) framed by analogy to the church’s submission to Christ.
English variants: “submit,” “be subject to,” “defer to.”
Contextual theological meaning: this is the load-bearing term for the “Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships” doctrine; 5:21’s mutual submission frames and qualifies 5:22-24’s specific instruction, and both must be read alongside 5:25-33’s far more extensive command to husbands to sacrificially love as Christ loved the church.
Polish rendering risk: poddanie się / bycie posłusznym. CRITICAL risk. Contemporary Polish public discourse on marriage and gender roles is shaped by significant, sometimes polarized, currents — from traditional complementarian teaching reinforced by aspects of Catholic pastoral tradition, to Pope John Paul II’s Mulieris Dignitatem and “theology of the body,” which explicitly frame spousal submission as mutual self-giving rather than one-directional subordination, to strong contemporary secular/feminist critique of “poddanie się” language in marriage. This curriculum must render both the mutual-submission frame (5:21) and the specific wife-to-husband instruction (5:22-24) with precision, without either overstating a one-directional hierarchy Paul does not intend in isolation from 5:21 and 5:25-33, or erasing the distinct, asymmetric language Paul does in fact use. Flag every occurrence for human theologian review.

κεφαλή (kephalē) — “head” (5:23) — see Ch. 1 note; here applied to the husband-wife relationship by analogy to Christ-church headship.

Polish rendering risk: głowa. CRITICAL risk, extending the Ch. 1 flag: this specific application (husband as head of wife) is among the most contested texts in contemporary Polish (and global) Christian discourse on marriage; render literally (“głowa”) without softening or expanding paraphrase, but ensure accompanying teaching material supplies Paul’s own defining content for headship (self-sacrificial, Christ-like love, 5:25-30) rather than leaving “głowa” open to culturally-supplied authoritarian content Paul does not intend.

σωτήρ (sōtēr) — “Savior” (5:23, of Christ) — related to [BASELINE TERM: zbawienie]

New term for translation memory: Zbawiciel. Medium risk. Standard, well-established Polish Bible term; ensure consistent capitalization and exclusive Christological reference in this context (Christ as Savior of the church/body).

μυστήριον μέγα (mystērion mega) — “great mystery” (5:32, marriage as a type of Christ and the church)

Contextual theological meaning: Paul explicitly labels the Christ-church/husband-wife typology a “mystery,” using the same term developed in ch. 1 and 3.
Polish rendering risk: CRITICAL, with a uniquely important historical note: the Latin Vulgate rendered this same Greek μυστήριον as sacramentum — “hoc est sacramentum magnum” — and this specific verse is the historic exegetical root of the Roman Catholic doctrine of marriage as one of the seven sacraments. Notably, the modern Biblia Tysiąclecia itself renders the Greek here as “Tajemnica to wielka” (not “sakrament”), following the Greek rather than the Vulgate. This curriculum should preserve “wielka tajemnica” (matching both the Greek and the modern Catholic Polish Bible text) while explicitly flagging, in teaching notes, that catechetical tradition has historically connected this verse to sacramental marriage theology via the Vulgate’s “sacramentum” — a connection this curriculum should note as historical background without either affirming or importing full Catholic sacramental theology into the exegesis of Paul’s own argument (which is about the Christ-church typology illuminating marriage, not primarily about marriage as a channel of sacramental grace). Flag for human theologian review.

Chapter 6 — Household Codes (Children, Parents, Slaves, Masters) and the Armor of God

ὑπακούω / τιμάω (hypakouō / timaō) — “obey / honor” (6:1-2)

Literal/semantic: ὑπακούω = to obey, submit to instruction; τιμάω = to honor, value highly, treat with respect (echoing the fifth commandment).
English variants: “obey,” “honor.”
Contextual theological meaning: children’s obedience to parents “in the Lord” — framed as a natural extension of the household-code section, not an isolated cultural norm.
Polish rendering risk: być posłusznym / czcić. Low-Medium risk. Standard.

παιδεία καὶ νουθεσία κυρίου (paideia kai nouthesia kyriou) — “discipline and instruction of the Lord” (6:4)

Literal meaning: παιδεία = upbringing/training, often with corrective discipline; νουθεσία = admonition, verbal correction/instruction — cf. baseline’s “exhort/napominać” root.
Semantic range: comprehensive child-rearing combining formative discipline and verbal instruction.
English variants: “discipline and instruction,” “training and instruction.”
Contextual theological meaning: fathers are directed toward Christ-centered nurture, not provoking children to anger (6:4a) — balances the preceding command to children.
Polish rendering risk: wychowanie i pouczanie (Pańskie). Medium risk. Ensure “wychowanie” is understood as holistic, loving formation, not merely disciplinary correction in a narrow punitive sense.

δοῦλος / κύριος (doulos / kyrios) — “bondservant/slave” / “master” (6:5-9) [κύριος overlaps BASELINE TERM: Pan — distinct sense here]

δοῦλος: literal meaning “slave, bondservant,” a person legally owned by another; semantic range in the Greco-Roman world included a wide variety of social and economic conditions, some markedly different from later chattel slavery.
κύριος here: “master” in the household sense, distinct from but deliberately echoed by “your Master (κύριος) also is in heaven” (6:9) — a wordplay linking the human κύριος to the ultimate κύριος, Christ.
English variants: “slaves/bondservants,” “masters”; some versions use “servants/employers” as a dynamic-equivalence choice.
Contextual theological meaning: addresses actual first-century slavery, instructing both parties toward Christ-centered conduct, while relativizing all human “mastery” under Christ’s own ultimate lordship — must be taught with historical-cultural framing, not read as a timeless endorsement of slavery as an institution, nor casually flattened into modern employer-employee relations without comment.
Polish rendering risk: niewolnicy / panowie. Medium-High risk. Requires explicit historical-cultural framing in teaching notes to avoid either (a) implying biblical endorsement of slavery as such, or (b) obscuring the specific first-century social reality Paul is addressing by over-modernizing the language. Note the deliberate κύριος wordplay (human “pan”/master vs. Christ as ultimate “Pan”) should be preserved and explained, since “Pan” is the baseline’s Critical-risk term for Christ’s own exclusive Lordship (Romans 10:9) — the dual usage here needs careful disambiguation so readers do not confuse the categories.

προσωπολημψία (prosōpolēmpsia) — “partiality, favoritism” (6:9)

Literal meaning: “receiving/regarding the face” — judging by external appearance/status.
Contextual theological meaning: God shows no partiality between master and slave — grounds the mutual accountability of both parties before Christ.
Polish rendering risk: wzgląd na osobę. Low risk. Standard.

πανοπλία τοῦ θεοῦ (panoplia tou theou) — “full armor of God” (6:11, 6:13)

Literal meaning: πανοπλία = a soldier’s complete set of armor and weaponry (from πᾶς + ὅπλον, “all arms”).
Semantic range: the complete, sufficient divine provision for spiritual conflict; nothing partial or self-supplied.
English variants: “full armor of God,” “whole armor of God,” “armor of God.”
Contextual theological meaning: names the “Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God” doctrine directly; the armor is God’s own provision, actively “put on” by the believer, not passively received or worn as a talisman.
Polish rendering risk: cała zbroja Boża. CRITICAL risk. Polish folk-Catholic devotional culture retains a robust tradition of physical protective sacred objects worn or carried for spiritual protection — the “medalik” (devotional medal), “szkaplerz” (scapular), and blessed rosaries, sometimes popularly regarded as affording protection against evil in a manner functionally similar to how this passage’s “armor” might be misunderstood. This curriculum must clearly teach that Paul’s armor is not a physical object or amulet but the active, ongoing appropriation of truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, the gospel, and the Spirit’s word/prayer (6:14-18) — a deliberate, engaged spiritual disposition and practice, not a worn talisman. Flag for human theologian review.

πάλη (palē) — “struggle, wrestling” (6:12)

Literal meaning: a wrestling match (a single-combat athletic image, sharper than the more general “war/battle”).
Semantic range: close, personal, ongoing combat.
English variants: “struggle,” “wrestle,” “contend.”
Contextual theological meaning: intensifies the imagery — this is not distant warfare but immediate, personal spiritual conflict.
Polish rendering risk: walka / zmaganie. Medium risk. Standard; “zmaganie” better preserves the wrestling-match intensity than a generic “wojna” (war).

αἷμα καὶ σάρξ (haima kai sarx) — “blood and flesh” (6:12, human opponents, negated)

Literal meaning: a Hebraic idiom for ordinary human beings.
Contextual theological meaning: clarifies the real enemy is not other people but spiritual powers — critical for defusing interpersonal hostility (including household-code and church-conflict contexts) by relocating ultimate conflict to the spiritual realm.
Polish rendering risk: krew i ciało (following standard Tysiąclecia word order). Medium risk. Minor lexical overlap with Eucharistic “Ciało i Krew Pańska” (Body and Blood of the Lord) exists at the word level, though reversed order and clearly human, negated referent make confusion unlikely in context; still worth a brief translator note given “ciało” is already flagged Critical for its Eucharistic/ecclesial/fallen-nature triple ambiguity across the epistle (2:3; 1:23; 6:12).

Zwierzchności, Władze, rządcy/władcy tego świata tej ciemności, złe duchy (kosmokratōr, archē, exousia, pneumatika tēs ponērias) — “rulers, authorities, cosmic powers of this present darkness, spiritual forces of evil” (6:12) — reprising Ch. 1’s fourfold power-list and Ch. 3:10’s cosmic audience.

κοσμοκράτωρ (kosmokratōr): literal “world-ruler,” a term also used in contemporary astrological/occult contexts in the wider Hellenistic world for cosmic rulers of fate.
Polish rendering risk: władcy tego świata (tej ciemności) / złe duchy. High risk. As with the Ch. 1 and 2:2 entries, must be taught as real, personal spiritual beings under God’s ultimate sovereignty and already defeated in principle by Christ (1:20-22), avoiding both (a) folk-superstition flattening into vague “zły urok” (curse) categories common in rural folk piety, and (b) rationalist dismissal that strips the passage of its intended seriousness about real spiritual conflict.

ζώνη ἀληθείας, θώραξ δικαιοσύνης, θυρεός τῆς πίστεως, περικεφαλαία τοῦ σωτηρίου, μάχαιρα τοῦ Πνεύματος (ζώνη, θώραξ, θυρεός, περικεφαλαία, μάχαιρα) — the individual armor pieces (6:14-17) [δικαιοσύνη, πίστις, σωτήριον overlap BASELINE TERMS: sprawiedliwość, wiara, zbawienie]

ζώνη (zōnē) “belt” → pas (prawdy); θώραξ (thōrax) “breastplate” → pancerz (sprawiedliwości); θυρεός (thyreos) “shield” (a large, body-length Roman shield, not a small buckler) → tarcza (wiary); περικεφαλαία (perikephalaia) “helmet” → przyłbica (zbawienia); μάχαιρα (machaira) “sword” (a short combat sword) → miecz (Ducha).
Contextual theological meaning: each piece pairs a piece of Roman military equipment with a specific spiritual reality already established elsewhere in the epistle (truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, the Spirit/word of God) — reinforcing that spiritual victory is grounded in realities already given in Christ, actively appropriated, not newly manufactured virtues.
Polish rendering risk: Medium overall, but each piece inherits the risk profile of its paired baseline term (sprawiedliwość: Critical: faith: Critical; zbawienie: Critical) — translators must not treat the armor list as merely decorative martial imagery separable from these Critical-risk theological terms.

ῥῆμα Θεοῦ (rhēma theou) — “word of God” (6:17, defining the “sword of the Spirit”)

Literal meaning: a spoken word or utterance (distinct from λόγος, though overlapping in reference to Scripture).
Semantic range: God’s spoken/proclaimed word, here identified as the Spirit’s own weapon.
English variants: “word of God,” “the word.”
Contextual theological meaning: connects Scripture’s authority to the Spirit’s active work in spiritual conflict.
Polish rendering risk: Słowo Boże. Medium risk. Ensure this is read as Scripture/God’s spoken message, not conflated with the distinct Christological title “Słowo” (Logos, John 1:1, “na początku było Słowo”) which, while theologically related, is a different referent requiring contextual clarity.

προσευχή, δέησις (proseuchē, deēsis) — “prayer, petition/supplication” (6:18)

Literal/semantic: general prayer and specific, urgent requests, “at all times, in the Spirit.”
Polish rendering risk: modlitwa i prośba. Low-Medium risk. Standard.

πρεσβεύω / ἁλυσίς (presbeuō / halysis) — “ambassador” / “chain” (6:20)

πρεσβεύω: literal meaning “to act as an ambassador/elder envoy,” a formal diplomatic role.
ἁλυσίς: literal chain/fetter — Paul’s actual imprisonment.
English variants: “ambassador,” “representative” / “chains.”
Contextual theological meaning: Paul identifies his apostolic task as a diplomatic representation of Christ’s kingdom, undertaken even from prison — reinforcing “Mission to the Nations” (Romans baseline doctrine) in a uniquely vivid, personal image.
Polish rendering risk: poseł (w kajdanach). Low-Medium risk. Follow established Tysiąclecia rendering “poseł” (envoy/ambassador) over the more modern loanword “ambasador,” which carries contemporary secular-diplomatic connotations; either is acceptable but should be applied consistently throughout the curriculum.

Summary of Cross-Chapter Doctrinal Term Clusters

For Phase 2 planning, the following load-bearing term clusters recur across multiple chapters and must be rendered with absolute internal consistency:

χάρις / πίστις / σῴζω / ἔργα (grace / faith / save / works): 2:5, 2:8-9, 3:7 — the epistle’s central soteriological formula.
μυστήριον: 1:9, 3:3-9, 5:32, 6:19 — single consistent rendering “tajemnica” required throughout, each occurrence flagged.
σῶμα / κεφαλή: 1:22-23, 2:16, 4:4, 4:12, 4:15-16, 5:23, 5:30 — ecclesial body/head imagery, Critical throughout.
καινός ἄνθρωπος (2:15 corporate; 4:24 individual): identical Polish phrase required across both senses to preserve the deliberate literary echo.
ἀρχαί, ἐξουσίαι, δυνάμεις, κοσμοκράτορες (1:21, 3:10, 6:12): consistent power-list rendering required across all three occurrences.
ὑποτάσσω / κεφαλή (5:21-33): household-code Critical cluster, requiring theologian review at every occurrence.

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