Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Hebrews (Polish)
Purpose
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md across the whole book of Hebrews (chapters 1-13), organized for direct promotion into an updated translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json in Phase 1 Step 9. Terms already present in the baseline Romans Language Package are marked [BASELINE REUSE] and carry their exact recorded Polish rendering forward unchanged — no alternative renderings are permitted for these. New terms specific to Hebrews are marked [NEW] and proposed here for the first time, with a recommended risk tier consistent with the baseline’s risk-tier conventions.
Risk tier definitions (identical to baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json): Critical = human theologian review every occurrence; High = human theologian review; Medium = native speaker review; Low = automated review.
Section 1 — Baseline Terms Reused Exactly (No New Analysis Required)
| English term | Polish rendering | Risk | Hebrews chapters where it recurs | Baseline note carried forward |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| faith | wiara | Critical | 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13 | Personal trust in Christ, not inherited identity; applies directly to Hebrews 11’s roll call and 10:38 (Habakkuk quotation) |
| grace | łaska | High | 2, 4, 10, 12, 13 | Unmerited favor; “throne of grace” (4:16) and “Spirit of grace” (10:29) both load-bearing |
| righteousness | sprawiedliwość | Critical | 1, 7, 11, 12 | Melchizedek = “king of righteousness”; 10:38 Habakkuk quote; 11:7 Noah “heir of righteousness” |
| salvation | zbawienie | Critical | 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9 | ”Author/source of eternal salvation” (5:9); “so great a salvation” (2:3) |
| holy | święty | High | 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13 | Applied to Christ (7:26), the Holy Spirit, the sanctuary (“holy places”), and believers |
| saints | święci | Critical | 6, 13 | ”Serving the saints” (6:10); apply baseline’s canonized-sainthood caution wherever this corporate sense occurs |
| sanctification | uświęcenie | High | 2, 9, 10, 12, 13 | ”Without which no one will see the Lord” (12:14); “sanctify the people” (13:12) |
| adoption (conceptually, via inheritance/sonship) | usynowienie | Medium | 1, 2, 12 | Underlies “heir,” “sons,” fatherly discipline in ch.12 |
| resurrection | zmartwychwstanie | Critical | 6, 11, 13 | ”Better resurrection” (11:35); “brought up from the dead” (13:20) |
| lord | Pan | Critical | 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13 | Exclusive supreme lordship; “the Lord will judge his people” (10:30) |
| son_of_god | Syn Boży | Critical | 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 | Central to the entire ch.1 superiority argument and repeated throughout |
| covenant | przymierze | High | 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13 | Old/new covenant contrast is the letter’s central structuring doctrine |
| law | Prawo | High | 7, 8, 9, 10 | The Mosaic law, superseded in its priestly/sacrificial function |
| sin | grzech | Medium | throughout | Universal human problem Christ’s sacrifice addresses once for all |
| called/calling | powołany/powołanie | Critical/High | 3, 9, 11 | Apply baseline’s priesthood/religious-life caution; especially relevant given Hebrews’ own priesthood vocabulary |
| intercession | wstawiennictwo | Critical | 2, 7, 9 | Christ’s/Spirit’s direct intercession; apply baseline’s Marian-mediation caution with heightened force given ch.7’s μεσίτης argument |
| israel | Izrael | Low | 8, 11 | Standard proper name |
| david | Dawid | Low | 4, 11 | Standard proper name |
| jesus | Jezus | Critical | throughout | Standard, unchanged |
| god | Bóg | Critical | throughout | Standard, unchanged |
| holy_spirit | Duch Święty | Critical | 2, 3, 6, 9, 10 | Standard, unchanged; “outraged the Spirit of grace” (10:29) is a Critical apostasy-cluster verse |
| father | Ojciec | Critical | 1, 12 | God as Father; ch.12 fatherly discipline |
| messiah | Mesjasz | Critical | throughout (via Χριστός) | See new christ_title entry below for the titular-usage extension |
| prophet | prorok | Low | 1 | ”Spoke through the prophets” |
| prophecy | proroctwo | Low | 1, 8 | Jeremiah 31 quotation (ch.8) |
| election | wybranie | High | 11 | Underlies the “called”/“chosen” theme of ch.11’s faith exemplars |
| providence | opatrzność Boża | Medium | 1, 12 | ”Upholding all things” (1:3) |
| church | kościół | Medium | 12 | ”Church/assembly of the firstborn” (12:23) |
| peace | pokój | Medium | 7, 12, 13 | ”King of peace” typology (Melchizedek/Salem); “God of peace” (13:20) |
| fellowship | wspólnota | Low | 13 | ”Do not neglect to do good and to share” (13:16) |
| apostle | apostoł | Low | 3 | ”The Apostle and High Priest of our confession” (3:1) |
| thanksgiving | dziękczynienie | Low | — | Not independently thematized in Hebrews but retained for cross-curriculum consistency |
| glory | chwała | Medium | 1, 2, 3, 13 | ”Radiance of God’s glory” (1:3); “led many sons to glory” (2:10) |
Section 2 — New Hebrews-Specific Terms [NEW]
| Term ID | English label | Polish rendering | Risk | Category/Doctrine | Original / Transliteration | Chapters | Rendering notes / rejected alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| high_priest | High priest | najwyższy kapłan | Critical | Christ as the Great High Priest | ἀρχιερεύς / archiereus | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 | Rejected: leaving unglossed as generic “kapłan” alone (loses the “chief/high” comparative force). Must always be taught against the Catholic sacramental priesthood’s claim of ongoing, ministerial participation in Christ’s priestly office. |
| priesthood | Priesthood (office/institution) | kapłaństwo | Critical | Christ as the Great High Priest; Levitical priesthood superseded | ἱερωσύνη / hierōsynē | 7 | Rejected: no viable alternative exists in Polish; risk is managed through mandatory teaching notes distinguishing Christ’s unique, non-transferable priesthood from the sacrament of Holy Orders (sakrament kapłaństwa). |
| levitical_priest | Priest (general/Levitical) | kapłan | High | Superiority over the Levitical Priesthood | ἱερεύς / hiereus | 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 | Used of Aaronic/Levitical priests and Melchizedek; distinguished from ἀρχιερεύς by context, not by a different Polish word, since Polish (like English) lacks a separate common term — flag for consistent contextual disambiguation. |
| sacrifice | Sacrifice / offering | ofiara | Critical | The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | θυσία / thysia | 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13 | Rejected: no viable substitute exists; the term is unavoidable and correct. Mandatory pairing rule: every occurrence describing Christ’s sacrifice must be accompanied, in the surrounding teaching material, by the “raz na zawsze” (once-for-all) qualifier to prevent conflation with the Catholic Mass’s “Najświętsza Ofiara.” |
| offer_up | To offer (a sacrifice) | składać / ofiarować | High | The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | προσφέρω / prospherō | 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 | Verb form of the sacrifice cluster; same collision risk as “ofiara” above. |
| once_for_all | Once for all | raz na zawsze | Critical | The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | ἐφάπαξ, ἅπαξ / ephapax, hapax | 6, 7, 9, 10 | The letter’s central doctrinal claim; must always be rendered identically and never softened or omitted when present in source text. |
| mediator | Mediator | pośrednik | Critical | The New Covenant versus the Old; Access to God through Christ’s Blood | μεσίτης / mesitēs | 8, 9, 12 | Rejected: any rendering that could parallel Mary’s Catholic title “Pośredniczka [wszelkich łask].” Teaching notes must state Christ’s unique mediatorial role without arguing against requesting others’ prayers (parallel structure to baseline’s intercession note). |
| mercy_seat_propitiation | Mercy seat / propitiation | przebłagalnia / przebłaganie | Critical | The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice; Access to God through Christ’s Blood | ἱλαστήριον, ἱλασμός / hilastērion, hilasmos | 2, 9 | Cross-reference to the Romans baseline’s Romans 3:25 ἱλαστήριον rendering; ensure the two curricula’s Language Packages agree on this term family. |
| altar | Altar | ołtarz | High | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | θυσιαστήριον / thysiastērion | 13 | Direct relevance to the Catholic-Protestant “we have an altar” debate; present interpretive range rather than resolving unilaterally. |
| blood | Blood (of Christ/sacrifice) | krew | Critical | The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice; Access to God through Christ’s Blood | αἷμα / haima | 9, 10, 12, 13 | Risk of conflation with Eucharistic “Krew Pańska”; teach as the historical, once-shed blood of the cross, not an ongoing sacramentally-represented substance. |
| redemption | Redemption | odkupienie | High | The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | λύτρωσις, ἀπολύτρωσις / lytrōsis, apolytrōsis | 9, 11 | Standard shared theological vocabulary; risk is minimizing “eternal” into a renewable state. |
| shedding_of_blood | Shedding of blood | wylanie krwi | Critical | The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | αἱματεκχυσία / haimatekchysia | 9 | Rare compound coined for Hebrews 9:22; must retain full substitutionary-atonement force, no metaphorical softening. |
| new_covenant | New covenant | nowe przymierze | High | The New Covenant versus the Old | καινὴ διαθήκη / kainē diathēkē | 8, 9, 12 | Built on baseline przymierze; risk is specific to Hebrews’ extended old/new argument (chs. 8-10). |
| first_covenant | First/old covenant | pierwsze przymierze | Medium | The New Covenant versus the Old | πρώτη διαθήκη / prōtē diathēkē | 8, 9 | Handle with sensitivity given Poland’s Jewish-Christian history (cf. baseline unity_of_jews_and_gentiles doctrine); “superseded,” not “illegitimate.” |
| covenant_testament_wordplay | Covenant/testament wordplay | przymierze / testament (ostatnia wola) | High | The New Covenant versus the Old | διαθήκη / diathēkē | 9 (vv.16-17) | Genuine translation-mechanics loss; requires a translator’s note rather than a lexical solution. |
| melchizedek | Melchizedek | Melchizedek | High | Christ as the Great High Priest | Μελχισέδεκ / Melchisedek | 5, 6, 7 | Proper name; doctrinally load-bearing as the type for Christ’s eternal priesthood; requires OT (Genesis 14) background teaching. |
| order_of_melchizedek | Order of Melchizedek | na sposób / w porządku Melchizedeka | High | Christ as the Great High Priest | τάξις Μελχισέδεκ / taxis Melchisedek | 5, 6, 7 | Requires background teaching; foundational to the ch.7 priesthood argument. |
| permanent_nontransferable_priesthood | Permanent, non-transferable priesthood | nieprzemijające / nieprzechodzące [na innych] kapłaństwo | Critical | Christ as the Great High Priest | ἀπαράβατος / aparabatos | 7 | Direct exegetical crux for the Catholic sacramental-priesthood collision; flag for theologian review every occurrence. |
| once_for_all_offering_self | Self-offering | ofiara z samego siebie | Critical | The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | θυσία ἑαυτοῦ / thysia heautou | 9 | Christ as both priest and victim; must not imply ongoing/repeatable re-presentation. |
| put_away_sin | Put away / annul sin | usunięcie / zgładzenie grzechu | High | The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | ἀθέτησις / athetēsis | 9 | Completed legal act, not an ongoing process. |
| bear_sins_of_many | Bear the sins of many | wziąć na siebie grzechy wielu | Critical | The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | ἀνενέγκειν ἁμαρτίας πολλῶν / anenegkein hamartias pollōn | 9 | Substitutionary atonement plus a scope-of-atonement exegetical question; theologian review required. |
| second_coming_appear | Appear a second time | ukaże się drugi raz | High | Perseverance and Assurance | ἐκ δευτέρου ὀφθήσεται / ek deuterou ophthēsetai | 9 | Distinguish clearly from the once-for-all atoning appearing; this is for salvation-consummation, not further atonement. |
| repentance | Repentance | nawrócenie | Critical | The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages | μετάνοια / metanoia | 6, 12 | Rejected: “pokuta” (too closely tied to the sacrament of Penance/Confession). Apply consistently at 6:1, 6:6, and 12:17. |
| falling_away_apostasy | Falling away / apostasy | odpaść [od wiary] | Critical | The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages | παραπίπτω / parapiptō | 6 | Must be handled in coordination with Perseverance/Assurance doctrine without resolving the tension by softening either side; theologian review every occurrence. |
| drift_away | Drift away | odpłynąć / oddalić się | High | The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages | παραρρέω / pararreō | 2 | First occurrence in the apostasy-warning cluster; gradual, often unnoticed departure. |
| harden_heart | Harden the heart | zatwardzać serca | High | The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages | σκληρύνω / sklērynō | 3, 4 | Willful, culpable resistance; part of the apostasy-cluster vocabulary. |
| sin_deliberately | Sin deliberately | grzeszyć rozmyślnie | Critical | The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages | ἑκουσίως ἁμαρτάνω / hekousiōs hamartanō | 10 | Distinguish carefully from ordinary post-conversion sin; describes settled rejection of Christ’s sacrifice. |
| shrink_back | Shrink back | wycofać się [ku zatraceniu] | Critical | The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages | ὑποστολή / hypostolē | 10 | Companion to “falling away”; theologian review required for cross-chapter consistency. |
| unbelief | Unbelief | niewiara | High | Faith of the Old Testament Saints; Danger of Apostasy | ἀπιστία / apistia | 3, 4 | Direct negative of baseline “wiara”; carries the baseline’s identity-caution in reverse. |
| confidence_boldness | Confidence / boldness | śmiała ufność | High | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | παρρησία / parrēsia | 3, 4, 10 | Load-bearing across three chapters; render consistently; underlines direct access without additional mediating figures. |
| draw_near | Draw near | przystąpić / zbliżyć się | High | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | προσέρχομαι / proserchomai | 4, 7, 10, 11, 12 | Democratizes priestly-approach language to every believer; pair with “confidence.” |
| veil_curtain | Veil / curtain | zasłona | High | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | καταπέτασμα / katapetasma | 6, 9, 10 | Keep identical across all three occurrences; 10:20 identifies it typologically with Christ’s flesh. |
| new_living_way | New and living way | nowa i żywa droga | High | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | ὁδὸς πρόσφατος καὶ ζῶσα / hodos prosphatos kai zōsa | 10 | Sacrificial nuance of “freshly-slain” easily lost; preserve in teaching notes. |
| conscience | Conscience | sumienie | Medium | The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | συνείδησις / syneidēsis | 9, 10, 13 | Standard term; risk that “cleansed conscience” gets read via the confessional rite rather than Christ’s blood directly. |
| perfect_perfection | Perfect / made perfect | uczynić doskonałym / dopełnić | High | Christ as the Great High Priest; Perseverance and Assurance | τελειόω, τελειωτής / teleioō, teleiōtēs | 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 | Both a vocational sense (Christ perfected/qualified through suffering) and a positional sense (believers perfected by Christ’s sacrifice); risk of collision with Catholic “stan doskonałości” (consecrated-life state of perfection). |
| substance_assurance_hypostasis | Substance / assurance / reality (polysemous) | istota (1:3) / ufność (3:14) / rzeczywista podstawa (11:1) | High | Faith of the Old Testament Saints | ὑπόστασις / hypostasis | 1, 3, 11 | Genuine cross-chapter polysemy; context-sensitive rendering required, not a single fixed equivalent. |
| faith_definition | Faith, definitional clause | istota tego, czego się spodziewamy; przekonanie o tym, czego nie widzimy | High | Faith of the Old Testament Saints | πίστις ἐλπιζομένων ὑπόστασις, πραγμάτων ἔλεγχος / pistis… hypostasis, elegchos | 11 | Existing Polish Bible traditions vary; note the variance rather than presenting one rendering as beyond dispute. |
| founder_pioneer | Founder / pioneer | przewodnik / sprawca | High | Christ as the Great High Priest; Perseverance and Assurance | ἀρχηγός / archēgos | 2, 12 | Keep consistent between 2:10 and 12:2 (“founder and perfecter of faith”). |
| sojourners_strangers | Strangers and sojourners | cudzoziemcy i pielgrzymi | High | Faith of the Old Testament Saints | ξένοι καὶ παρεπίδημοι / xenoi kai parepidēmoi | 11 | ”Pielgrzym” risks narrowing to Polish Catholic pilgrimage devotion (Częstochowa); teach the wider eschatological sense. |
| inheritance_heir | Inheritance / heir | dziedzictwo / dziedzic | Medium | Perseverance and Assurance | κληρονομία, κληρονόμος / klēronomia, klēronomos | 1, 6, 9, 11 | Connects to baseline adoption (usynowienie) network. |
| forerunner | Forerunner | prekursor / poprzednik | Low-Medium | Christ as the Great High Priest | πρόδρομος / prodromos | 6 | Standard, low ambiguity. |
| oath | Oath | przysięga | Medium | The New Covenant versus the Old | ὅρκος / horkos | 6, 7 | God’s self-guaranteeing promise. |
| anchor | Anchor (of hope) | kotwica | Low | Perseverance and Assurance | ἄγκυρα / ankyra | 6 | Well-attested metaphor; low risk. |
| discipline_paideia | Fatherly discipline | karanie / wychowanie | High | Perseverance and Assurance | παιδεία / paideia | 12 | Risk of being heard as punitive rejection; pair with father-son relational warmth. |
| sprinkling | Sprinkling (ritual) | pokropienie | High | The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice; The New Covenant versus the Old | ῥαντίζω, ῥαντισμός / rhantizō, rhantismos | 9, 10, 12 | Risk of collision with Catholic holy-water aspersion (pokropienie wodą święconą); anchor as OT ritual background contrasted with, not equated to, sacramental practice. |
| cultic_service_liturgy | Cultic service / ministry (avoid “liturgia”) | służba / służący / służyć [Bogu] | Critical | The New Covenant versus the Old; Christ as the Great High Priest | λειτουργία, λειτουργός, λατρεύω / leitourgia, leitourgos, latreuō | 1, 8, 9, 10, 13 | Never render as “liturgia” — the Polish cognate specifically denotes the codified Catholic Mass rite and would import connotations absent from the Greek. |
| type_shadow_copy | Type / shadow / copy | typ / cień / wzór / odpowiednik | Medium | The New Covenant versus the Old | τύπος, σκιά, ὑπόδειγμα, ἀντίτυπος / typos, skia, hypodeigma, antitypos | 8, 9, 10 | The letter’s typological (shadow/substance) vocabulary family; foundational to the old-vs-new argument. |
| better_superior | Better / superior (comparative motif) | lepszy | Medium | The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood | κρείττων, κρείσσων / kreittōn, kreissōn | 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 | Dominant repeated comparative motif-word (14+ occurrences); render “lepszy” consistently throughout for thematic cohesion. |
| angel | Angel | anioł | Medium | The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood | ἄγγελος / angelos | 1, 2, 13 | Standard term; doctrinal weight is in the superiority comparison, not lexical ambiguity. |
| unshakable_kingdom | Unshakable kingdom | niewzruszone królestwo | Medium | The New Covenant versus the Old | βασιλεία ἀσάλευτος / basileia asaleutos | 12 | Ties to baseline królestwo Boże; emphasizes permanence. |
| christ_title | ”Christ” as recurring title | Chrystus | Critical | The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood; The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | Χριστός / Christos | throughout | Occurs constantly alone (not paired with “Jezus”); must retain full titular (“Anointed One”) weight and stay etymologically linked in teaching to [BASELINE REUSE: Mesjasz]. |
| son_learned_obedience | Christ’s learned obedience | nauczył się posłuszeństwa | High | Christ as the Great High Priest | ἔμαθεν τὴν ὑπακοήν / emathen tēn hypakoēn | 5 | Christ’s own obedience (not believers’); distinguish clearly from baseline’s posłuszeństwo wiary (obedience of faith, applied to believers). |
| confession_homologia | Confession (profession of faith) | wyznanie | Medium | Perseverance and Assurance | ὁμολογία / homologia | 3, 4, 10 | Risk: “wyznanie” also colloquially denotes religious denomination in Polish; context must clarify this is personal profession of hope, not denominational identity. |
| habakkuk_righteous_by_faith | ”The righteous shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4 citation) | (must match Romans 1:17 Polish rendering exactly) | Critical | Faith of the Old Testament Saints; The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages | ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται / ho dikaios ek pisteōs zēsetai | 10 | Cross-document verbatim consistency required with the Romans curriculum’s rendering of this same citation. |
| jesus_christ_unchanging | ”Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, forever” | (fixed confessional rendering, consistent across all Hebrews occurrences) | Critical | The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood | Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ἐχθὲς καὶ σήμερον ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας | 13 | Key confessional verse; treat with the same cross-document consistency discipline as Romans 10:9-10. |
| altar_theology_note | (see altar entry above) | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Section 3 — Terms Reviewed Per Chapter With No New Vocabulary
No chapter of Hebrews is without theological content requiring the Section 1/2 vocabulary above; however, the following chapter-internal passages introduce no terms beyond those already tabled and are noted here explicitly for full-coverage compliance:
- Hebrews 3 (vv.1-6, house/builder illustration): reuses ch.1 Son-of-God and “apostoł” vocabulary; no new terms beyond παρρησία, ἐλπίς, οἶκος already tabled.
- Hebrews 4 (vv.1-11, rest exposition): reuses ch.3 κατάπαυσις; introduces only σαββατισμός, already tabled.
- Hebrews 11 (vv.20-22, Isaac/Jacob/Joseph): reuses the chapter’s definitional faith vocabulary (πίστις, ἐπαγγελία) already tabled; no new terms.
- Hebrews 12 (vv.14-17, holiness and Esau): reuses ἁγιασμός (baseline) and μετάνοια (already tabled at ch.6); no new terms beyond those already covered.
- Hebrews 13 (vv.1-6, ethical exhortations on love, hospitality, marriage, contentment): reuses φιλαδελφία, φιλοξενία (tabled above); the remaining exhortations (marriage honor, contentment, “I will never leave you”) are ethically load-bearing but lexically standard, low-risk Polish vocabulary requiring no glossary entry beyond automated review.
Section 4 — Priority Flags for Translation Memory Update (Step 9)
The following [NEW] terms are recommended for immediate promotion to translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json with Critical risk tier, given their density of collision with dominant Polish Catholic doctrine and practice:
- high_priest (najwyższy kapłan)
- priesthood (kapłaństwo)
- sacrifice (ofiara)
- once_for_all (raz na zawsze)
- mediator (pośrednik)
- mercy_seat_propitiation (przebłagalnia / przebłaganie)
- blood (krew)
- shedding_of_blood (wylanie krwi)
- permanent_nontransferable_priesthood (nieprzemijające kapłaństwo)
- once_for_all_offering_self (ofiara z samego siebie)
- bear_sins_of_many (wziąć na siebie grzechy wielu)
- repentance (nawrócenie)
- falling_away_apostasy (odpaść od wiary)
- sin_deliberately (grzeszyć rozmyślnie)
- shrink_back (wycofać się ku zatraceniu)
- cultic_service_liturgy (służba — never “liturgia”)
- christ_title (Chrystus)
- habakkuk_righteous_by_faith (verbatim match to Romans 1:17)
- jesus_christ_unchanging (fixed confessional rendering)
Load this document alongside analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md before proceeding to Phase 1 Step 9 (Translation Memory and Doctrine Risk Registry updates).
Critical Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: wiara
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: wiara jako tożsamość narodowa i kulturowa (‘Polak-katolik’), wiara odziedziczona automatycznie przez chrzest i Pierwszą Komunię
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews 11’s roll call and 10:38’s Habakkuk citation intensify the baseline Critical caution: personal, active trust demonstrated in concrete action (11:7-8,17,24-27), not inherited religious identity.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: sprawiedliwość
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: sprawiedliwość zdobyta przez zasługi i praktyki religijne
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Applied in Hebrews to Melchizedek (‘king of righteousness,’ 7:2), Noah (‘heir of righteousness,’ 11:7), and the Habakkuk 2:4 citation (10:38, which must match the Romans 1:17 rendering verbatim).
Salvation
Approved rendering: zbawienie
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: zbawienie zapewnione automatycznie przez chrzest, sakramenty i przynależność narodowo-religijną
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews grounds salvation specifically in Christ’s unique high priesthood (‘so great a salvation,’ 2:3; ‘source of eternal salvation,’ 5:9), reinforcing the baseline caution against sacramental or national-belonging framings.
Calling
Approved rendering: powołanie
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: powołanie kapłańskie lub zakonne wyłącznie
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Apply the baseline’s mandatory explicit-context pairing rule with heightened force in Hebrews, given the letter’s own dense priesthood/kapłaństwo vocabulary immediately alongside this term.
Saints
Approved rendering: święci
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: święci kanonizowani, czczeni i proszeni o wstawiennictwo
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Hebrews 6:10 (‘serving the saints’) and 13:12 (‘sanctify the people’); apply the baseline’s canonized-sainthood caution at every occurrence given Poland’s exceptional cultural prominence of canonized sainthood.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: zmartwychwstanie
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews 13:20 (‘brought up from the dead’) and 11:35’s ‘better resurrection,’ which additionally pairs this doctrine with the recurring ‘lepszy’ comparative motif; keep both renderings coordinated.
Lord
Approved rendering: Pan
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Applied to Christ throughout and to God the Father in judgment contexts (10:30, ‘the Lord will judge his people’).
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Syn Boży
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: syn Boży w sensie ogólnym, stosowanym do każdego wierzącego
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ / υἱός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Central to the entire chapter 1 superiority argument and repeated at 4:14; 5:5,8; 6:6; 7:3,28; 10:29. Must remain distinct from the believer’s adoptive ‘usynowienie.‘
Messiah
Approved rendering: Mesjasz
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός (titular; cf. Mashiach background)
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Serves as the conceptual anchor for Hebrews’ constant titular use of ‘Chrystus’ (see christ_title, Section B); the two terms must remain etymologically linked in teaching.
Intercession
Approved rendering: wstawiennictwo
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Rejected alternatives: wstawiennictwo wyłącznie świętych i Maryi jako niezbędnych pośredników
Original: ἐντυγχάνω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews 7:25 describes Christ’s permanent, living intercession; apply the baseline’s Marian-mediation caution with heightened force since ch.7 explicitly argues Christ’s priesthood is non-transferable.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Jezus
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Used constantly throughout Hebrews, frequently paired with the high-priest title (e.g., 4:14, ‘Jezus, Syn Boży, najwyższy kapłan’).
God
Approved rendering: Bóg
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Standard and unambiguous throughout.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Duch Święty
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews 10:29 warns against ‘outraging the Spirit of grace’ — a Critical apostasy-cluster verse.
Father
Approved rendering: Ojciec
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Chapter 12’s fatherly-discipline passage (12:5-11) must present God’s Fatherhood with the same relational warmth already established for Romans 8, not a distant or punitive register.
High Priest
Approved rendering: najwyższy kapłan
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Rejected alternatives: kapłan (bare, loses comparative ‘chief/high’ force)
Original: ἀρχιερεύς
Category: Priesthood
New. Original ἀρχιερεύς. Applied to the Aaronic office and, uniquely, to Christ, who holds it in a wholly different, non-Levitical, unrepeatable order. Direct collision risk: Polish sacramental theology holds ordained priests act ‘in persona Christi’ at Mass. Every occurrence (chs. 2-10) must be taught against any reading in which a human priestly caste shares in, extends, or re-presents Christ’s unique high priesthood. Theologian review required every occurrence.
Priesthood
Approved rendering: kapłaństwo
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: ἱερωσύνη
Category: Priesthood
New. Original ἱερωσύνη (ch.7). No viable Polish alternative exists; lexically identical to the term for the Catholic sacrament of Holy Orders (sakrament kapłaństwa). Mandatory teaching note at every occurrence distinguishing Christ’s unique, personal, non-transferable priesthood from any doctrine of an ongoing, transmissible priestly office.
Sacrifice
Approved rendering: ofiara
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: θυσία
Category: Atonement
New. Original θυσία. No viable substitute exists and the term is doctrinally correct, but sits in direct, sustained collision with Catholic Eucharistic theology of the Mass as ‘Najświętsza Ofiara.’ Every occurrence describing Christ’s sacrifice (chs. 5,7,9-11,13) must be paired in surrounding teaching material with ‘raz na zawsze.’ Theologian review required every occurrence.
Once For All
Approved rendering: raz na zawsze
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἐφάπαξ / ἅπαξ
Category: Atonement
New. Original ἐφάπαξ/ἅπαξ. The letter’s central doctrinal claim (7:27; 9:12,26,28; 10:10). Must always be rendered identically and defended explicitly against any reading, shaped by Mass theology, implying renewal, repetition, or re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice.
Mediator
Approved rendering: pośrednik
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Rejected alternatives: pośrednik równoległy do Maryi jako ‘Pośredniczki wszelkich łask’
Original: μεσίτης
Category: Access
New. Original μεσίτης (8:6; 9:15; 12:24). The single most explosive collision term in the curriculum given Mary’s Catholic title ‘Pośredniczka wszelkich łask,’ reinforced by devotion at Częstochowa. Must be taught, at every occurrence, as Christ’s unique, sole mediatorial role, without arguing against requesting others’ prayers. Theologian review required every occurrence.
Mercy Seat Propitiation
Approved rendering: przebłagalnia / przebłaganie
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἱλαστήριον / ἱλασμός
Category: Atonement
New. Original ἱλαστήριον/ἱλασμός (2:17; 9:5). Must remain consistent with the Romans curriculum’s rendering of ἱλαστήριον at Romans 3:25 for cross-document coherence; guard against reduction to a decorative religious object.
Blood
Approved rendering: krew
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: αἷμα
Category: Atonement
New. Original αἷμα (9:12,14,18-22,25; 10:19,29; 12:24; 13:12,20). Risk of conflation with Eucharistic ‘Krew Pańska.’ Teach explicitly at every occurrence as the historical, once-shed blood of the cross, not an ongoing sacramentally-represented substance.
Shedding Of Blood
Approved rendering: wylanie krwi
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: αἱματεκχυσία
Category: Atonement
New. Original αἱματεκχυσία (9:22), a rare compound likely coined for this verse. The letter’s most concentrated single statement of substitutionary blood atonement; must never be softened into a general metaphor for ‘sacrifice.‘
Permanent Nontransferable Priesthood
Approved rendering: nieprzemijające kapłaństwo
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: ἀπαράβατος
Category: Priesthood
New. Original ἀπαράβατος (7:24). The single exegetical crux most directly relevant to the Catholic sacramental-priesthood collision: must be taught as a direct argument against any doctrine of a perpetuated human priestly office continuing or extending Christ’s high priesthood. Theologian review required every occurrence.
Once For All Offering Self
Approved rendering: ofiara z samego siebie
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: θυσία ἑαυτοῦ
Category: Atonement
New. Original θυσία ἑαυτοῦ (9:14,25-26; 7:27). Christ’s unique combination of priest and victim; must not be rendered in any way suggesting an ongoing or repeatable act echoing Mass theology of re-presentation.
Bear Sins Of Many
Approved rendering: wziąć na siebie grzechy wielu
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἀνενέγκειν ἁμαρτίας πολλῶν
Category: Atonement
New. Original ἀνενέγκειν ἁμαρτίας πολλῶν (9:28). Substitutionary atonement plus a genuine scope-of-atonement exegetical question (‘many’); flag for theologian review rather than resolving the scope question unilaterally.
Repentance
Approved rendering: nawrócenie
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Rejected alternatives: pokuta (sacrament of Penance/Confession)
Original: μετάνοια
Category: Apostasy
New. Original μετάνοια (6:1,6; 12:17). Must NEVER be rendered ‘pokuta,’ which suggests a repeatable ritual act; ‘nawrócenie’ preserves the personal, non-sacramental turning Hebrews describes. Apply consistently at all three occurrences. Theologian review required every occurrence.
Falling Away Apostasy
Approved rendering: odpaść [od wiary]
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Original: παραπίπτω
Category: Apostasy
New. Original παραπίπτω (6:6). The sharpest apostasy-warning term in the book; must be handled in coordination with the Perseverance and Assurance doctrine, presenting both truths without softening either. Theologian review required every occurrence.
Sin Deliberately
Approved rendering: grzeszyć rozmyślnie
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Original: ἑκουσίως ἁμαρτάνοντες
Category: Apostasy
New. Original ἑκουσίως ἁμαρτάνοντες (10:26). Must be carefully distinguished in teaching from ordinary post-conversion sin, which believers commit and are forgiven for elsewhere in the letter.
Shrink Back
Approved rendering: wycofać się [ku zatraceniu]
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Original: ὑποστολή / ὑποστέλλω
Category: Apostasy
New. Original ὑποστολή/ὑποστέλλω (10:39). Companion term to ‘odpaść’ (ch.6); requires theologian review for consistent treatment across chs. 6, 10, and 12.
Torn Veil His Flesh
Approved rendering: zasłona… to jest Jego ciało
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
New. Original καταπέτασμα… τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ (10:20). Identifies Christ’s crucified body with the temple veil separating people from God’s presence. One of the letter’s densest theological images; requires a coordinating translator’s note connecting it to 6:19 and 9:3, and to the Gospel narrative of the veil tearing at the crucifixion.
Cultic Service Liturgy
Approved rendering: służba / służący / służyć [Bogu]
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Rejected alternatives: liturgia, liturg
Original: λειτουργία / λειτουργός / λατρεύω
Category: Priesthood
New. Original λειτουργία/λειτουργός/λατρεύω (1:14 ‘ministering spirits’; 8:2,6; 9:1,21; 10:2; 12:28; 13:10). NEVER render as ‘liturgia’ — the Polish cognate specifically denotes the codified rite of the Catholic Mass and would import connotations absent from the Greek. Also covers OT ‘naczynia służby kultowej’ (vessels of worship, 9:21). Theologian review required every occurrence.
Christ Title
Approved rendering: Chrystus
Doctrine: The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
New. Original Χριστός, used constantly throughout Hebrews as a virtual second name of Jesus. Must retain full titular (‘Anointed One’) weight at every occurrence and stay etymologically linked in teaching to baseline ‘Mesjasz,’ guarding against readers treating ‘Chrystus’ as a mere surname.
Habakkuk Righteous By Faith
Approved rendering: [must match Romans 1:17 rendering exactly]
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται
Category: Salvation
New. Original ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται (Habakkuk 2:4, quoted at Hebrews 10:38). This exact clause must be rendered identically to its Romans 1:17 Polish rendering wherever it occurs, per the cross-document theological-consistency principle.
Jesus Christ Unchanging
Approved rendering: Jezus Chrystus wczoraj i dziś, ten sam także na wieki
Doctrine: The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood
Original: Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ἐχθὲς καὶ σήμερον ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας
Category: Christology
New. Original Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ἐχθὲς καὶ σήμερον ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας (13:8). A key confessional verse grounding the warning against ‘diverse and strange teachings’; requires verbatim cross-occurrence consistency, treated with the same discipline as the baseline’s Romans 10:9-10 confession.
Esau No Place Repentance
Approved rendering: nie znalazł miejsca na nawrócenie
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
New. Original οὐχ εὗρεν μετανοίας τόπον (12:17). A severe warning example tied to the apostasy theme; the exegetical ambiguity (whose repentance is meant — Esau’s or Isaac’s) must be flagged explicitly for theologian review rather than resolved unilaterally in translation. Uses the ‘nawrócenie’ rendering fixed at 6:1,6.
Eternal Covenant Blood
Approved rendering: krew przymierza wiecznego
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
New. Original αἵματι διαθήκης αἰωνίου (13:20). The closing benediction’s summary confession tying blood, covenant, and eternity together; reuses the fixed ‘krew’ and ‘przymierze’ renderings — key confessional verse requiring cross-document consistency.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: Ewangelia
Doctrine: Gospel
Inherited from Romans package. Not independently thematized as a distinct term in Hebrews, but the concept underlies ‘so great a salvation’ (2:3) and the letter’s proclamation vocabulary; rendering remains binding wherever the concept appears.
Grace
Approved rendering: łaska
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: łaska otrzymywana głównie przez zasługi i praktyki sakramentalne
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews 4:16 ‘throne of grace’ and 10:29 ‘Spirit of grace’ (inside the apostasy-warning cluster) are the key load-bearing occurrences; preserve the unmerited-favor sense against infused-merit softening.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: uświęcenie
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: oczyszczenie pokutne, w tym poprzez czyściec
Original: ἁγιασμός / ἁγιάζω
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews explicitly ties sanctification to Christ’s blood/sacrifice (9:13-14; 10:10,14,29; 13:12), contrasting external OT ritual sanctification with inward, complete cleansing; must not collapse into the penitential/purgatorial (czyściec) framework.
Law
Approved rendering: Prawo
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews argues the Law’s priestly and sacrificial functions are superseded by Christ (7:12,19; 8:4; 9:19; 10:1); must not be taught as contempt for the Law’s original divine legitimacy.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: posłuszeństwo wiary
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Rejected alternatives: posłuszeństwo nakazom kościelnym i praktykom religijnym
Inherited from Romans package. Referenced as the believer-facing counterpart that must be kept lexically distinct from Christ’s own ‘nauczył się posłuszeństwa’ (5:8, son_learned_obedience) — Christ’s obedience is not this doctrine’s referent.
Covenant
Approved rendering: przymierze
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: umowa prawna
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. The old-versus-new covenant contrast is Hebrews’ central structuring doctrine (chs. 7-10, 12-13); never rendered as mere ‘umowa.’ See Section B for the covenant_testament_wordplay entry at 9:16-17.
Election
Approved rendering: wybranie
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: przeznaczenie, los
Original: ἐκλογή (conceptual, via ‘chosen’/‘called’)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies the ‘called’/‘chosen’ framing of the Hebrews 11 faith exemplars; avoid fatalistic ‘przeznaczenie/los’ framing.
Levitical Priest
Approved rendering: kapłan
Doctrine: The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood
Original: ἱερεύς
Category: Priesthood
New. Original ἱερεύς. Used of Aaronic/Levitical priests and Melchizedek; Polish, like Greek and English, lacks a separate common noun distinguishing ‘priest’ from ‘high priest’ — disambiguate by context only against ‘najwyższy kapłan.’ Flag for consistent contextual handling across chs. 5, 7-10.
Offer Up
Approved rendering: składać / ofiarować
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: προσφέρω
Category: Atonement
New. Original προσφέρω, the verb form of the sacrifice cluster (5:1,3; 7:27; 8:3; 9:7,14,25,28; 10:1,11-12). When the subject offering is Christ himself, ensure the reflexive self-offering sense is not blurred with a human minister presenting an offering.
Altar
Approved rendering: ołtarz
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: θυσιαστήριον
Category: Atonement
New. Original θυσιαστήριον (13:10). Sits inside the historic Catholic-Protestant debate over the nature of the Christian altar; present the range of interpretive views rather than resolving unilaterally. Theologian review required.
Redemption
Approved rendering: odkupienie
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: λύτρωσις / ἀπολύτρωσις
Category: Atonement
New. Original λύτρωσις/ἀπολύτρωσις (9:12,15). Risk of minimizing ‘eternal’ (αἰωνία) into a renewable rather than permanently secured state.
New Covenant
Approved rendering: nowe przymierze
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: καινὴ διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
New. Original καινὴ διαθήκη (8:8-12; 9:15; 12:24). Built on baseline ‘przymierze’; risk is specific to Hebrews’ extended, multi-chapter old-versus-new argument (chs. 8-10).
Covenant Testament Wordplay
Approved rendering: przymierze / testament (ostatnia wola)
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: διαθήκη (dual sense)
Category: Covenant
New. Original διαThēkē’s dual sense (9:16-17). Polish, like English, splits Greek’s single word into two distinct words; the wordplay is genuinely untranslatable lexically and requires a translator’s note rather than a lexical fix.
Melchizedek
Approved rendering: Melchizedek
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: Μελχισέδεκ
Category: Priesthood
New. Proper name Μελχισέδεκ (chs. 5-7). Lexically simple, but the entire ch.7 legitimacy argument for Christ’s priesthood rests on this figure; requires explicit Genesis 14 background teaching.
Order Of Melchizedek
Approved rendering: na sposób Melchizedeka
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: τάξις Μελχισέδεκ
Category: Priesthood
New. Original τάξις Μελχισέδεκ (5:6,10; 6:20; 7:11,17). Requires background teaching; foundational to the whole ch.7 priesthood-superiority argument.
Put Away Sin
Approved rendering: usunięcie / zgładzenie grzechu
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἀθέτησις / ἀθετέω
Category: Atonement
New. Original ἀθέτησις/ἀθετέω (9:26). Legal nullification, a completed act, not an ongoing process; coordinate with ‘raz na zawsze.‘
Second Coming Appear
Approved rendering: ukaże się drugi raz
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: ἐκ δευτέρου… ὀφθήσεται
Category: Eschatology
New. Original ἐκ δευτέρου… ὀφθήσεται (9:28). Must be clearly distinguished in teaching from the ‘raz na zawsze’ atoning event; this appearing is for salvation-consummation, not further atonement.
Drift Away
Approved rendering: odpłynąć / oddalić się
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Original: παραρρέω
Category: Apostasy
New. Original παραρρέω (2:1). First occurrence of the apostasy-warning cluster; gradual, often unnoticed departure. Thematically linked to the more severe terms following in chs. 3, 6, 10, 12.
Harden Heart
Approved rendering: zatwardzać serca
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Original: σκληρύνω
Category: Apostasy
New. Original σκληρύνω (3:8,13,15; 4:7). Willful, culpable resistance to God’s voice; keep internally consistent with the other warning-passage terms across chs. 2, 6, 10, 12.
Unbelief
Approved rendering: niewiara
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: ἀπιστία
Category: Faith
New. Original ἀπιστία (3:12,19). Direct negative of the baseline’s Critical ‘wiara’; describes personal distrust of God’s word, not merely a lack of national/cultural religiosity.
Confidence Boldness
Approved rendering: śmiała ufność
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: παρρησία
Category: Access
New. Original παρρησία (3:6; 4:16; 10:19,35). Load-bearing across four chapters; render consistently. Directly undercuts any reading requiring an additional human or saintly intermediary for confident access to God.
Draw Near
Approved rendering: przystąpić / zbliżyć się
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: προσέρχομαι
Category: Access
New. Original προσέρχομαι (4:16; 7:25; 10:1,22; 11:6; 12:18,22). Democratizes priestly-approach language to every believer; pair consistently with ‘śmiała ufność.‘
Veil Curtain
Approved rendering: zasłona
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: καταπέτασμα
Category: Access
New. Original καταπέτασμα (6:19; 9:3). Keep rendering identical across occurrences; see torn_veil_his_flesh for the 10:20 typological identification with Christ’s flesh.
New Living Way
Approved rendering: nowa i żywa droga
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: ὁδὸς πρόσφατος καὶ ζῶσα
Category: Access
New. Original ὁδὸς πρόσφατος καὶ ζῶσα (10:20). The sacrificial nuance of πρόσφατος (‘freshly-slain’) is easily lost lexically and should be preserved in teaching notes.
Perfect Perfection
Approved rendering: uczynić doskonałym / dopełnić
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: τελειόω / τελειωτής
Category: Christology
New. Original τελειόω/τελειωτής (2:10; 5:9; 7:28; 10:14; 12:23). Used of Christ’s vocational perfecting through suffering and believers’ positional perfecting through his sacrifice; risk of collision with the Catholic ‘stan doskonałości’ (state of perfection) applied to consecrated religious life.
Substance Assurance Hypostasis
Approved rendering: istota (1:3) / ufność (3:14) / rzeczywista podstawa (11:1)
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: ὑπόστασις
Category: Faith
New. Original ὑπόστασις. A genuine cross-chapter polysemy (essence at 1:3, confident assurance at 3:14, reality/ground at 11:1), not translator inconsistency; requires context-appropriate Polish renderings at each occurrence with a note on the shared Greek root.
Faith Definition
Approved rendering: istota tego, czego się spodziewamy; przekonanie o tym, czego nie widzimy
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: πίστις… ἐλπιζομένων ὑπόστασις, πραγμάτων ἔλεγχος οὐ βλεπομένων
Category: Faith
New. Original πίστις… ἐλπιζομένων ὑπόστασις, πραγμάτων ἔλεγχος οὐ βλεπομένων (11:1). Existing Polish Bible traditions (Biblia Tysiąclecia, Biblia Warszawska) vary in rendering the two dense abstract nouns; note the variance rather than presenting one rendering as beyond dispute. Theologian review required.
Founder Pioneer
Approved rendering: przewodnik / sprawca
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: ἀρχηγός
Category: Christology
New. Original ἀρχηγός (2:10; 12:2, ‘founder and perfecter of faith’). Keep consistent between both occurrences, where it is paired with the τελειωτής root.
Sojourners Strangers
Approved rendering: cudzoziemcy i pielgrzymi
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: ξένοι καὶ παρεπίδημοι
Category: Faith
New. Original ξένοι καὶ παρεπίδημοι (11:13). ‘Pielgrzym’ carries strong independent connotations in Polish Catholic culture (pielgrzymka, especially to Jasna Góra/Częstochowa); teach the wider eschatological ‘not-at-home-in-this-world’ sense explicitly at first occurrence.
Discipline Paideia
Approved rendering: karanie / wychowanie
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: παιδεία
Category: God
New. Original παιδεία (12:5-11). Risk of being heard as strict, authoritarian punishment given Polish cultural associations; must be paired with the relational warmth already established for God’s fatherhood in the Romans 8 baseline material.
Sprinkling
Approved rendering: pokropienie
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ῥαντίζω / ῥαντισμός
Category: Atonement
New. Original ῥαντίζω/ῥαντισμός (9:13,19,21; 10:22; 12:24). Risk of collision with the Catholic practice of aspersion with holy water (pokropienie wodą święconą); anchor explicitly as OT ritual background contrasted with, not equated to, sacramental practice.
Son Learned Obedience
Approved rendering: nauczył się posłuszeństwa
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: ἔμαθεν… τὴν ὑπακοήν
Category: Christology
New. Original ἔμαθεν… τὴν ὑπακοήν (5:8). Christ’s own experiential obedience through suffering, without implication of prior disobedience; keep clearly distinguished from the baseline’s believer-facing ‘posłuszeństwo wiary.‘
Holy Places Sanctuary
Approved rendering: miejsce najświętsze / świątynia niebieska / święte świętych
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
New. Original τὰ ἅγια / ἅγια ἁγίων (9:1-12). The Most Holy Place, and by extension heaven itself, entered once for all by Christ; must not be confused with a physical church building sanctuary.
Purification For Sins
Approved rendering: oczyszczenie z grzechów
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
New. Original καθαρισμὸς [τῶν] ἁμαρτιῶν (1:3). First occurrence of the letter’s central atonement vocabulary, introduced before the priesthood argument is developed from ch.5 onward; anchor point for later chapters.
Ministering Spirits
Approved rendering: duchy służebne
Doctrine: The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood
Rejected alternatives: duchy liturgiczne
New. Original λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα (1:14). Angels as servants performing cultic/administrative service to God, reinforcing the ch.1 hierarchy; avoid ‘liturgiczne,’ which risks the same false-cognate collision as λειτουργία elsewhere — see cultic_service_liturgy.
Anointed
Approved rendering: namaścił
Doctrine: The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood
New. Original ἔχρισεν/χρίω (1:9). Verbal root of ‘Chrystus’/‘Mesjasz’; must be recognized by the reader as etymologically connected, reinforcing rather than fragmenting the messianic argument.
Dead Works
Approved rendering: martwe uczynki
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
New. Original ἔργα νεκρά (6:1; 9:14). Ritual/legal works devoid of spiritual life, contrasted with living faith; echoes the grace-vs-merit contrast already Critical in the baseline Romans package.
Throne Of Grace
Approved rendering: tron łaski
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
New. Original θρόνος τῆς χάριτος (4:16). Believers approach God’s throne directly, confidently, for mercy and help; reinforces the direct, unmediated access doctrine central to Hebrews.
Holy Innocent Unstained
Approved rendering: święty, bez zła, nieskalany
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
New. Original ἅγιος, ἄκακος, ἀμίαντος (7:26). Describes Christ’s sinless moral qualification for priesthood; ‘święty’ here is christological, keep referent (Christ, not the corporate ‘saints’ doctrine) clear.
Perpetually For All Time
Approved rendering: na zawsze / nieprzerwanie
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
New. Original εἰς τὸ διηνεκές (10:1,12,14). Pairs with ‘raz na zawsze’ (ἐφάπαξ): Christ’s single offering achieves a perpetually valid effect, requiring no renewal.
Sinai Zion Contrast
Approved rendering: góra Synaj / góra Syjon
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
New. Original ὄρος Σινᾶ / ὄρος Σιών (12:18-24). The old-versus-new covenant contrast reaches its climactic expression; teaching notes should preserve the emotional register (terror/inaccessibility vs. joy/access) of each side of the contrast.
Sacrifice Of Praise
Approved rendering: ofiara uwielbienia / chwały
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
New. Original θυσία αἰνέσεως (13:15). A non-cultic, verbal/relational ‘sacrifice’ — the letter’s own positive, non-collision-prone redefinition of ‘ofiara’ for the new-covenant era; useful model for teaching the term’s proper new-covenant sense.
Medium Risk Terms
Called
Approved rendering: powołany
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλητός / κεκλημένοι
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Hebrews 9:15 (called to the eternal inheritance) and 11:8 (Abraham called to obey). Apply the baseline priesthood/religious-life caution with heightened force since Hebrews’ own priestly vocabulary sits alongside this term.
Holy
Approved rendering: święty
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews applies this christologically (‘holy, innocent, unstained,’ 7:26) and spatially (9:12’s ‘ta hagia,’ the holy places) in addition to the baseline’s believer-focused sense; keep referents distinct in teaching.
Adoption
Approved rendering: usynowienie
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies Hebrews’ heir/inheritance and fatherly-discipline (ch.12) vocabulary; must remain lexically distinct from Christ’s eternal, non-adoptive ‘Syn Boży’ sonship.
Peace
Approved rendering: pokój
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Melchizedek is typologically ‘king of Salem’ (=peace, 7:2); God is called ‘the God of peace’ in the closing benediction (13:20).
Church
Approved rendering: kościół
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: Kościół jako jedyna prawowita instytucja hierarchiczna
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews 12:23’s ‘church/assembly of the firstborn’ is the whole heavenly assembly of the redeemed, distinct from the capitalized institutional sense central to Polish Catholic ecclesiology.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: królestwo Boże
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies Hebrews 12:28’s ‘unshakable kingdom,’ which we cannot receive shaken; not a political, territorial, or nationalist kingdom.
Sin
Approved rendering: grzech
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: drobne przewinienie (minimizing euphemism)
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews’ repeated insistence that sin is fully and finally dealt with (‘remembered no more,’ 10:17) must not be diluted by an ongoing-purification framework.
Glory
Approved rendering: chwała
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Christ is the ‘radiance of God’s glory’ (1:3, ‘odblask chwały’) who ‘led many sons to glory’ (2:10); the 1:3 metaphor is a deity-of-Christ-bearing statement and must retain full essence-sharing force.
Providence
Approved rendering: opatrzność Boża
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: los, przeznaczenie
Original: φέρων (cf. 1:3 ‘upholding all things’)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews 1:3 (‘upholding all things’) and 12:5-11 (fatherly discipline) both extend this doctrine; avoid fatalistic ‘los/przeznaczenie’ vocabulary in either register.
First Covenant
Approved rendering: pierwsze przymierze
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Rejected alternatives: stare/przestarzałe przymierze (implies illegitimacy)
Original: πρώτη διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
New. Original πρώτη διαθήκη (8:7,13; 9:1,15,18). Requires care given Poland’s historically fraught Jewish-Christian relations; frame as fulfilled/surpassed, never illegitimate.
Conscience
Approved rendering: sumienie
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: συνείδησις
Category: Sanctification
New. Original συνείδησις (9:14; 10:22; 13:18). Risk that ‘cleansed conscience’ is read through the Catholic practice of the examination of conscience before sacramental confession rather than through Christ’s blood directly.
Inheritance Heir
Approved rendering: dziedzictwo / dziedzic
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: κληρονομία / κληρονόμος
Category: Salvation
New. Original κληρονομία/κληρονόμος (1:2,4,14; 6:12,17; 9:15; 11:7-8). Connects to the baseline adoption (usynowienie) network.
Forerunner
Approved rendering: prekursor / poprzednik
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: πρόδρομος
Category: Christology
New. Original πρόδρομος (6:20). Christ entered the heavenly sanctuary ahead of believers, securing their own future entrance.
Oath
Approved rendering: przysięga
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: ὅρκος
Category: Covenant
New. Original ὅρκος (6:13-17; 7:20-21,28). God’s self-binding promise guaranteeing Christ’s priesthood ‘forever’; the doctrinal payload is in the content, not the term itself.
Type Shadow Copy
Approved rendering: typ / cień / wzór / odpowiednik
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: τύπος / σκιά / ὑπόδειγμα / ἀντίτυπος
Category: Covenant
New. Original τύπος/σκιά/ὑπόδειγμα/ἀντίτυπος (8:5; 9:23-24; 10:1). The letter’s typological (shadow/substance) vocabulary family; teach the earthly tabernacle system as a true, God-given, but provisional pattern, not a meaningless precursor.
Better Superior
Approved rendering: lepszy
Doctrine: The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood
Original: κρείττων / κρείσσων
Category: Christology
New. Original κρείττων/κρείσσων, the letter’s dominant repeated comparative motif-word (14+ occurrences: 1:4; 6:9; 7:7,19,22; 8:6; 9:23; 10:34; 11:16,35,40; 12:24). Render ‘lepszy’ consistently throughout for thematic cohesion.
Angel
Approved rendering: anioł
Doctrine: The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood
Original: ἄγγελος
Category: Christology
New. Original ἄγγελος (ch.1; 2:5-9,16; 13:2). Poland’s strong popular devotion to the guardian angel (Anioł Stróż) risks the ch.1-2 comparison being heard as one heavenly helper ranked above another rather than a Creator-versus-created-being contrast; state the contrast explicitly.
Unshakable Kingdom
Approved rendering: niewzruszone królestwo
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: βασιλεία ἀσάλευτος
Category: Kingdom
New. Original βασιλεία ἀσάλευτος (12:28), contrasted with the ‘shaken/removed’ old order (12:27). Ties directly to baseline ‘królestwo Boże’; emphasizes permanence, not a political or nationalist referent.
Confession Homologia
Approved rendering: wyznanie
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: ὁμολογία
Category: Faith
New. Original ὁμολογία (3:1; 4:14; 10:23). ‘Wyznanie’ also colloquially denotes religious denomination in Polish; always pair with its object (‘wyznanie nadziei/wiary w Chrystusa’) to block the denominational reading.
Tabernacle Tent
Approved rendering: przybytek
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
New. Original σκηνή (8:5; 9:1-11). The wilderness tabernacle and, by extension, the heavenly reality it prefigured (9:11’s ‘greater and more perfect tabernacle’); requires OT background note.
Taste Death
Approved rendering: zaznać śmierci
Doctrine: The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood
New. Original γεύομαι θανάτου (2:9). Vivid idiom for personally experiencing death fully; render naturally per idiom-handling rule, not literally.
Tempted
Approved rendering: doświadczony / poddany próbie
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
New. Original πειράζω/πεπειρασμένος (2:18; recurs 4:15). Christ’s genuine temptation qualifies him to sympathize with and help the tempted.
Hope
Approved rendering: nadzieja
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
New. Original ἐλπίς (3:6; 6:18-19; 10:23). Confident, forward-looking expectation grounded in God’s promise, distinct from colloquial wishful ‘mieć nadzieję.‘
Rest Katapausis
Approved rendering: odpoczynek
Doctrine: The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood
New. Original κατάπαυσις (3:11,18; 4:1-11). The promised inheritance-rest, typified by Canaan, forfeited by the wilderness generation’s unbelief but still open to believers.
Sabbath Rest
Approved rendering: odpoczynek szabatowy
Doctrine: The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood
New. Original σαββατισμός (4:9). A permanent, still-future rest patterned on the Sabbath; requires OT background.
Living And Active
Approved rendering: żywe i skuteczne
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
New. Original ζῶν καὶ ἐνεργής (4:12). Scripture’s ongoing, penetrating, personal power; connects to the inspiration-of-Scripture doctrine noted in the Romans baseline.
Mercy Timely Help
Approved rendering: miłosierdzie / pomoc we właściwym czasie
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
New. Original ἔλεος/εὔκαιρος βοήθεια (4:16). The practical, pastoral outcome of having a sympathetic high priest.
Without Genealogy
Approved rendering: bez [rodowego] pochodzenia
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
New. Original ἀγενεαλόγητος (7:3). Underscores that Melchizedek’s (and typologically Christ’s) priestly legitimacy rests on divine appointment, not physical descent.
Indestructible Life
Approved rendering: życie niezniszczalne
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
New. Original ζωὴ ἀκατάλυτος (7:16). The basis of Christ’s permanent priesthood, unlike mortal Levitical priests; related to the resurrection doctrinal cluster.
Guarantor Surety
Approved rendering: poręczyciel / rękojmia
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
New. Original ἔγγυος (7:22). Christ personally guarantees the certainty of the new covenant’s promises.
Obsolete Growing Old
Approved rendering: starzeć się / stawać się przestarzałym
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
New. Original παλαιόω (8:13). The old covenant, by God’s own design, was destined to give way to the new — not abolished as illegitimate, but fulfilled; same Jewish-Christian sensitivity as first_covenant.
Time Of Setting Things Right
Approved rendering: czas naprawienia [wszystkiego]
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
New. Original καιρὸς διορθώσεως (9:10). Christ’s coming as the decisive turning point the old system anticipated but could not itself achieve.
Cloud Of Witnesses
Approved rendering: obłok świadków
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
New. Original νέφος μαρτύρων (12:1). Motivates present perseverance by recalling the ch.11 faithful; ‘witnesses’ primarily means those who bore testimony, not passive spectators — guard against a devotional reading resembling saint-veneration.
Church Of Firstborn
Approved rendering: zgromadzenie / kościół pierworodnych
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
New. Original ἐκκλησία πρωτοτόκων (12:23). The full, gathered company of the redeemed sharing Christ’s own ‘firstborn’ inheritance status; reuses baseline ‘kościół’ with a distinctive qualifier requiring its own brief gloss.
Outside The Camp
Approved rendering: poza obozem
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
New. Original ἔξω τῆς παρεμβολῆς (13:11-13). OT ritual-purity background; Christ’s crucifixion ‘outside the gate’ identifies him with this excluded category and calls believers to share his social reproach.
Leaders
Approved rendering: przewodnicy / liderzy
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: przełożeni (monastic/religious-superior connotation)
New. Original ἡγούμενοι (13:7,17,24). Avoid ‘przełożeni,’ which in Polish carries strong monastic/religious-superior connotations not present in the Greek’s more general leadership term.
Low Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: apostoł
Doctrine: Apostleship
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews 3:1 uniquely applies this title to Christ himself (‘the Apostle and High Priest of our confession’), a Christological extension beyond its normal referent to human messengers.
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: dziękczynienie
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία (conceptual; cf. 12:28 ‘let us offer to God acceptable worship’)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Not independently thematized in Hebrews; retained for cross-curriculum vocabulary consistency (cf. 12:28, ‘acceptable worship’).
Fellowship
Approved rendering: wspólnota
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: świętych obcowanie (specific creedal formula)
Original: κοινωνία / κοινωνέω
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews 13:16 exhorts believers ‘not to neglect to do good and to share.’ Avoid conflating with the specific creedal phrase ‘świętych obcowanie.‘
Prophet
Approved rendering: prorok
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews 1:1 opens with ‘God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.‘
Prophecy
Approved rendering: proroctwo
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. The Jeremiah 31 new-covenant prophecy is quoted at length in Hebrews 8:8-12.
David
Approved rendering: Dawid
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: דָּוִד
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Named among the Hebrews 11 faith exemplars (11:32) and present via typological background to Melchizedek’s kingship.
Israel
Approved rendering: Izrael
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: יִשְׂרָאֵל / Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Addressed directly in the Jeremiah 31 new-covenant quotation (8:8,10) and represented throughout the Hebrews 11 faith roll call.
Anchor
Approved rendering: kotwica
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: ἄγκυρα
Category: Faith
New. Original ἄγκυρα (6:19). Well-attested metaphor in Polish; hope as a secure, unmovable anchor for the soul.
Not Made With Hands
Approved rendering: nieuczyniony rękami [ludzkimi]
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
New. Original ἀχειροποίητος (9:11,24). Contrasts human construction with divine origin; standard compound, minimal ambiguity.
Throne
Approved rendering: tron
Doctrine: The Superiority of Christ over Angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood
New. Original θρόνος (1:8). The Son’s throne is eternal and divine, not merely royal-messianic in a this-worldly sense.
Help Sympathize
Approved rendering: pomagać / współczuć
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
New. Original βοηθέω/συμπαθέω (2:18; 4:15). Christ’s genuine humanity grounds genuine compassion, not distant judgment.
Milk Solid Food
Approved rendering: mleko / stały pokarm
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
New. Original γάλα/βρῶμα (στερεά τροφή) (5:12-14). Standard metaphor for elementary versus mature doctrinal capacity.
Not Neglect Meeting
Approved rendering: nie opuszczać [wspólnych] zebrań
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship and Mutual Care
New. Original μὴ ἐγκαταλείποντες τὴν ἐπισυναγωγὴν ἑαυτῶν (10:25). Deliberate, sustained corporate gathering, tied to mutual encouragement as ‘the Day’ approaches.
World Not Worthy
Approved rendering: świat nie był [ich] godny
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
New. Original οὐκ ἦν ἄξιος ὁ κόσμος (11:38). Honors the suffering faithful of the old covenant as spiritually superior to the world that rejected them.
Brotherly Love
Approved rendering: miłość braterska
Doctrine: Practical Christian Ethics
New. Original φιλαδελφία (13:1). Practical outworking of the ‘church of the firstborn’ family identity from ch.12.
Hospitality
Approved rendering: gościnność
Doctrine: Practical Christian Ethics
New. Original φιλοξενία (13:2). Concrete Christian practice, illustrated by ‘entertaining angels unaware.‘
Shepherd
Approved rendering: pasterz
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
New. Original ποιμήν (13:20). ‘The great Shepherd of the sheep’ — pastoral, protective, resurrection-grounded image of Christ.
Book Scroll
Approved rendering: księga / zwój
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
New. Original βιβλίον (9:19). The physical covenant document (the Law) consecrated with blood, underscoring blood’s centrality even to the giving of the Law.
Referenced passages