Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Gospel of John
English → Polish | Full Book Coverage (Chapters 1–21)
Purpose
This glossary catalogues every load-bearing theological term identified in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, across the entire Gospel of John, with its recommended Polish rendering, risk tier, associated doctrine(s), citing chapters, and translation-risk rationale. Per the hard rule governing this Language Package, any term already recorded in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json is reused exactly, with no re-derivation; this glossary marks such terms “REUSED — baseline” and adds John-specific notes only where new nuance or risk arises. New terms not present in the Romans baseline are marked “NEW.”
Risk tiers follow the baseline’s doctrine_risk_registry.json definitions:
- Critical: Human theologian review required for every occurrence.
- High: Human theologian review required.
- Medium: Native speaker review recommended.
- Low: Automated review sufficient.
Section A — Terms Reused Exactly from the Romans Baseline
| English Term | Polish Rendering | Greek (Translit.) | Risk | Doctrine | Chapters Citing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | Bóg | θεός (theos) | Critical | Deity of Christ | 1,3,5,8,9,17,20 | REUSED — baseline. No deviation. |
| Jesus | Jezus | Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous) | Critical | Lordship of Christ | all | REUSED — baseline. |
| Lord | Pan | κύριος (kyrios) | Critical | Lordship of Christ | 20,21 | REUSED — baseline. Anchors Thomas’s confession (20:28). |
| Son of God | Syn Boży | υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (huios theou) | Critical | Deity/Sonship of Christ | 1,3,5,10,11,19,20 | REUSED — baseline. Must remain sharply distinct from believers’ “dzieci Boże” (John’s τέκνα θεοῦ). |
| Holy Spirit | Duch Święty | πνεῦμα ἅγιον (pneuma hagion) | Critical | Holy Spirit as Counselor | 1,3,7,14,15,16,20 | REUSED — baseline. Must be distinguished from generic lowercase “duch” (spirit/wind) — see πνεῦμα wordplay note, John 3:8. |
| Father | Ojciec | πατήρ (patēr) | Critical | Unity of Father and Son; Adoption | 1,3,5,8,10,14,17,20 | REUSED — baseline. |
| grace | łaska | χάρις (charis) | High | Grace | 1 | REUSED — baseline. John 1:14,16-17. |
| glory / glorify | chwała / uwielbić | δόξα / δοξάζω (doxa/doxazō) | High | Deity of Christ; Substitutionary Death | 1,2,7,11,12,13,17 | REUSED — baseline. John-specific note: the cross itself is the “hour” of glorification — a paradox absent from the Romans baseline’s usage; mandatory teaching note. |
| resurrection | zmartwychwstanie | ἀνάστασις (anastasis) | Critical | Resurrection of Christ; Eternal Life | 5,11,20 | REUSED — baseline. Also anchors the I AM saying “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25). |
| salvation / saved | zbawienie | σωτηρία / σῴζω (sōtēria/sōzō) | Critical | Salvation | 3,4,10,12 | REUSED — baseline. |
| Messiah | Mesjasz | Χριστός / Μεσσίας (Christos/Messias) | Critical | Messianic Promise | 1,4,7,11 | REUSED — baseline. |
| incarnation | wcielenie | (theological name for σὰρξ ἐγένετο, John 1:14) | Critical | Incarnation | 1 | REUSED — baseline (doctrine name); the verse itself renders “Słowo stało się ciałem.” |
| sanctification | uświęcenie | ἁγιασμός (hagiasmos, noun) / ἁγιάζω (hagiazō, verb) | High | Sanctification | 10,17 | REUSED — baseline noun; John uses the verb form (ἁγιάζω) in a Christological sense (Father consecrating the Son, 10:36) and a discipleship sense (17:17,19) — flag distinct referents in teaching notes. |
| election / chosen | wybranie | ἐκλέγομαι (eklegomai) | High | Effectual Calling | 15 | REUSED — baseline. “I chose you” (15:16,19). |
| peace | pokój | εἰρήνη (eirēnē) | Medium | Peace with God | 14,16,20 | REUSED — baseline. |
| sin | grzech | ἁμαρτία (hamartia) | High | Universal Human Accountability | 1,8,9,16,20 | REUSED — baseline. |
| righteousness | sprawiedliwość | δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē) | Critical | Universal Human Accountability / Judgment | 16 | REUSED — baseline. John 16:8’s usage (Christ’s vindicated righteousness) must be distinguished via teaching note from the Pauline forensic-justification sense; same word, complementary but distinct referent. |
| kingdom of God / kingdom | królestwo Boże / królestwo | βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ (basileia tou theou) | Medium | Kingdom Mission | 3,18 | REUSED — baseline. |
| David | Dawid | Δαυίδ (Dauid) | Low | Davidic Covenant | (background) | REUSED — baseline. |
| Israel | Izrael | Ἰσραήλ (Israēl) | Low-Medium | Unity of Jews/Gentiles | 1,3 | REUSED — baseline. |
| apostle-conceptual link | (misja / posłał) | ἀποστέλλω / πέμπω (apostellō/pempō) | Medium-High | Mission | 3,17,20 | Conceptual link to baseline “apostoł”/“misja,” not a direct lexical reuse; John’s “sending” pattern (Father→Son→disciples) should be cross-referenced with the Romans baseline mission doctrine. |
| holy (root) | święty | ἅγιος (hagios) | High | Sanctification / Sainthood | 6,10 | REUSED — baseline root. Distinct Christological title “Holy One of God” (6:69) and consecration-verb usage (10:36) must not be confused with baseline’s corporate-sainthood caution (Rom 1:7) — flag the shared root’s differing referents. |
Section B — New Terms Specific to the Gospel of John
B1. Deity and Pre-existence of Christ
| English Term | Polish Rendering | Greek (Translit.) | Risk | Chapters | Rendering Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the Word | Słowo | λόγος (logos) | Critical | 1 | NEW. Capitalize as divine title. Must not read as impersonal principle or mere divine wisdom-personification; escalate every occurrence to theologian review. |
| was (eternal existence) | był | ἦν (ēn, imperfect of εἰμί) | Critical | 1 | NEW. Grammatical marker of pre-existence, contrasted with “became” (stał się) used of created things — requires explicit teaching note since Polish grammar alone does not convey the contrast. |
| was God | Bogiem był / był Bogiem | θεὸς ἦν (theos ēn) | Critical | 1 | NEW. Must convey full, undiminished deity; forbid any “was a god” or “was divine (lesser sense)” rendering. |
| ascended / descended | wstąpić / zstąpić | ἀναβαίνω / καταβαίνω (anabainō/katabainō) | Critical | 3,6 | NEW. Presupposes pre-existent heavenly origin of the Son of Man. |
| before the world existed | zanim świat zaistniał | πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον εἶναι (pro tou ton kosmon einai) | Critical | 17 | NEW. Explicit pre-cosmic temporal claim; pair with John 1:1’s ἦν. |
| only Son / only begotten | jednorodzony | μονογενής (monogenēs) | Critical | 1,3 | NEW. MUST use the established Polish creedal rendering “jednorodzony” (Apostles’/Nicene Creed tradition) for cross-tradition consistency. Distinct from believers’ adoptive “dzieci Boże” status. |
| Son of Man | Syn Człowieczy | υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (huios tou anthrōpou) | High-Critical | 1,3,5,6,9,12,13 | NEW. Draws on Daniel 7’s heavenly authority-figure, not mere humanity emphasis; mandatory teaching note. |
| equal with God | równy Bogu | ἴσος τῷ θεῷ (isos theō) | Critical | 5 | NEW. Narrative-validated deity claim, not merely the accusers’ misunderstanding. |
B2. The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit
| English Term | Polish Rendering | Greek (Translit.) | Risk | Chapters | Rendering Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| born again / from above | narodzić się na nowo | γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν (gennēthē anōthen) | Critical | 3 | NEW. Standardized rendering for this curriculum; MUST carry a translator note supplying the lost “from above” (z góry) sense in every occurrence. This is the single highest-risk term in the core passage — escalate every instance to human theologian review. |
| born of water and the Spirit | narodzić się z wody i z Ducha | γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος (gennēthē ex hydatos kai pneumatos) | Critical | 3 | NEW. Must not default to an automatic-baptismal-regeneration reading; parallel caution to baseline’s “zbawienie” sacramentalism risk. |
| wind/Spirit wordplay | wiatr / Duch | πνεῦμα (pneuma) | High | 3 | NEW. Untranslatable Greek pun; requires mandatory explanatory teaching note. |
| flesh (natural generation) | ciało | σάρξ (sarx) | High | 3 | NEW (John-specific nuance of a term whose doctrine-name “wcielenie” is baseline-reused). Distinguish from Pauline sarx-as-sin-principle. |
| draw | przyciągnąć | ἑλκύω (helkyō) | High | 6 | NEW. Sovereign, effectual drawing; avoid fatalistic framing, per baseline election caution. |
B3. Eternal Life through Faith in Christ
| English Term | Polish Rendering | Greek (Translit.) | Risk | Chapters | Rendering Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eternal life | życie wieczne | ζωὴ αἰώνιος (zōē aiōnios) | Critical | 3,4,5,6,10,11,12,17,20 | NEW. Emphasize present-tense possession by faith (realized eschatology), not future/afterlife-only. Guard against conflation with the Requiem-liturgy phrase “żywot wieczny.” |
| life | życie | ζωή (zōē) | High | 1,5,6,10,11,14 | NEW. Track distinction from the fuller phrase “życie wieczne.” |
| believe | wierzyć | πιστεύω (pisteuō) | Critical | all | NEW verb form of baseline-Critical noun “wiara.” Personal trust, not mere assent — inherits baseline’s caution against “wiara” as inherited identity. |
| perish | zginąć | ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) | High | 3 | NEW. Preserve seriousness of eternal ruin; avoid softened renderings. |
| bread of life | chleb życia | ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς (artos tēs zōēs) | Critical | 6 | NEW (I AM saying #1). |
| resurrection and the life | zmartwychwstanie i życie | ἀνάστασις καὶ ζωή (anastasis kai zōē) | Critical | 11 | NEW (I AM saying #4/5), combines baseline-reused “zmartwychwstanie” with “życie.” |
| purpose statement (believe/life in his name) | (composite: wierzyć / życie / imię) | ἵνα πιστεύ[σ]ητε … ζωὴν ἔχητε ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ | Critical | 20 | NEW. Book’s programmatic thesis verse (20:31); recommend verbatim cross-document consistency rule, analogous to the baseline’s Romans 1:16-17/10:9-10 consistency mandate. |
B4. God’s Love for the World
| English Term | Polish Rendering | Greek (Translit.) | Risk | Chapters | Rendering Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| loved | umiłował | ἀγαπάω (agapaō) | Critical | 3,13,15 | NEW. Use the elevated literary form “umiłował” (not colloquial “pokochał”) at 3:16 to preserve weight. |
| world (kosmos, positive/neutral sense) | świat | κόσμος (kosmos) | High | 1,3,4 | NEW. Track distinct from the negative “world-system opposed to God” sense (see B5). |
| gave | dał | δίδωμι (didōmi) | Medium | 3 | NEW. Decisive, once-for-all giving; avoid durative softening. |
| Savior of the world | Zbawiciel świata | σωτὴρ τοῦ κόσμου (sōtēr tou kosmou) | Critical | 4 | NEW, built on baseline “zbawienie” root; universal scope parallels baseline’s Critical “universal_scope_of_gospel” doctrine. |
B5. Judgment and Belief/Unbelief
| English Term | Polish Rendering | Greek (Translit.) | Risk | Chapters | Rendering Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| judgment | sąd | κρίσις (krisis) | Critical | 3,5,9,12,16 | NEW. Central Johannine redefinition: judgment as present, constituted by response to the light, not solely future-tribunal. |
| condemn / condemned | potępić / potępiony | κρίνω / κατακρίνω (krinō/katakrinō) | High | 3 | NEW. Track “already condemned” (perfect tense, present settled state) at 3:18. |
| world (kosmos, negative/hostile sense) | świat | κόσμος (kosmos) | High | 7,12,14,15,16,17 | NEW (negative sense). “Ruler of this world,” “the world hates you” — disambiguate from B4’s positive sense. |
| light | światło / światłość | φῶς (phōs) | High | 1,3,8,9,12 | NEW. Foundational revelatory-disclosure term; track through I AM saying #2 (8:12; 9:5). |
| darkness | ciemność | σκότος / σκοτία (skotos/skotia) | High | 1,3 | NEW. Both Greek forms render identically in Polish. |
| works (moral quality of deeds) | uczynki / dzieła | ἔργα (erga) | Medium | 3,5,9 | NEW. |
| exposed / convict | ujawnione / przekonać | ἐλέγχω (elegchō) | High | 3,16 | NEW. Cross-reference light’s exposing function (3:20) with the Spirit’s convicting ministry (16:8). |
| wrath | gniew (Boży) | ὀργή (orgē) | High | 3 | NEW. Righteous, judicial wrath, not capricious anger; “remains” (present tense) on unbelief. |
| overcome the world | zwyciężyć świat | νικάω (nikaō) | High | 16 | NEW. Perfect-tense completed victory. |
B6. The Seven “I Am” Statements
| English Term | Polish Rendering | Greek (Translit.) | Risk | Chapters | Rendering Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I am (absolute, unpredicated) | Ja jestem (capitalized: JA JESTEM for absolute divine self-declaration) | ἐγώ εἰμι (egō eimi) | Critical | 8,13,18 | NEW. Echoes Exodus 3:14 LXX; doctrinal anchor of this curriculum unit. Escalate every occurrence. |
| I am the bread of life | Ja jestem chlebem życia | ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς | Critical | 6 | NEW — I AM #1. |
| I am the light of the world | Ja jestem światłość świata | ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου | Critical | 8,9 | NEW — I AM #2. |
| I am the door | Ja jestem drzwiami/bramą | ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα | Critical | 10 | NEW — I AM #3 (mentioned in ch.10 alongside Good Shepherd; full treatment recommended for curriculum unit). |
| I am the good shepherd | Ja jestem dobrym pasterzem | ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός | Critical | 10 | NEW — I AM #4. |
| I am the resurrection and the life | Ja jestem zmartwychwstaniem i życiem | ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή | Critical | 11 | NEW — I AM #5. |
| I am the way, the truth, and the life | Ja jestem drogą i prawdą, i życiem | ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή | Critical | 14 | NEW — I AM #6. |
| I am the true vine | Ja jestem prawdziwym krzewem winnym | ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή | Critical | 15 | NEW — I AM #7. |
B7. The Holy Spirit as Counselor
| English Term | Polish Rendering | Greek (Translit.) | Risk | Chapters | Rendering Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Counselor / Advocate / Comforter | Pocieszyciel | παράκλητος (paraklētos) | Critical | 14,15,16 | NEW. Established Polish rendering narrows semantic range to “comforter” alone; MANDATORY teaching note every occurrence supplying the fuller legal-advocate/helper range. This is the single most important NEW Critical term added by this Language Package. |
| another (Counselor) | inny(ego) | ἄλλος (allos) | High | 14 | NEW. Greek distinguishes ἄλλος (same kind) from ἕτερος (different kind); Polish “inny” does not — supply nuance in teaching note. |
| Spirit of truth | Duch Prawdy | πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας (pneuma tēs alētheias) | High | 14,15,16 | NEW, built on baseline “Duch Święty.” |
| rivers of living water (Spirit) | rzeki wody żywej | ποταμοὶ ὕδατος ζῶντος (potamoi hydatos zōntos) | High | 7 | NEW. Explicitly Spirit-glossed by narrator (7:39); links to ch.4 living-water motif. |
| receive the Holy Spirit | przyjąć Ducha Świętego | λάβετε πνεῦμα ἅγιον (labete pneuma hagion) | Critical | 20 | NEW, built on baseline “Duch Święty.” Proleptic Pentecost bestowal. |
| living water | woda żywa | ὕδωρ ζῶν (hydōr zōn) | Medium-High | 4,7 | NEW. |
B8. Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
| English Term | Polish Rendering | Greek (Translit.) | Risk | Chapters | Rendering Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamb of God | Baranek Boży | ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (amnos tou theou) | High | 1,19 | NEW. Passover/Isaiah 53 typology; connects 1:29 forward to 19:36. |
| lifted up | wywyższony | ὑψόω (hypsoō) | Critical | 3,8,12 | NEW. Deliberate double meaning: crucifixion = exaltation. Fortunate lexical match in Polish “wywyższony.” |
| lay down (one’s) life | oddać życie | τίθημι τὴν ψυχήν (tithēmi tēn psychēn) | Critical | 10 | NEW. Clearest pre-Passion substitutionary-death vocabulary. |
| it is better that one man die | lepiej, aby jeden człowiek umarł za naród | συμφέρει … ἵνα εἷς ἄνθρωπος ἀποθάνῃ | Critical | 11 | NEW. Unwitting Caiaphas-prophecy of substitutionary atonement (Johannine irony). |
| grain of wheat | ziarno pszenicy | ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σίτου (ho kokkos tou sitou) | Medium-High | 12 | NEW. Death-yields-fruitfulness parable. |
| crucify | ukrzyżować | σταυρόω (stauroō) | High | 19 | NEW. |
| it is finished | Wykonało się! | τετέλεσται (tetelestai) | Critical | 19 | NEW. Perfect-tense completed accomplishment, not mere cessation. |
| pierced | przebity/przebili | ἐκκεντέω (ekkenteō) | Medium-High | 19 | NEW. Fulfills Zechariah 12:10 and Passover-lamb typology. |
| eat flesh / drink blood | spożywać ciało / pić krew | φάγητε τὴν σάρκα / πίητε τὸ αἷμα | Critical | 6 | NEW. Sacramental-vs-faith-appropriation interpretive tension; do not resolve unilaterally — preserve textual ambiguity with mandatory teaching note. |
| My Lord and my God | Pan mój i Bóg mój | ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου | Critical | 20 | NEW composite confession, built on baseline “Pan” + “Bóg.” Deliberate worshipful confession, not mere exclamation. |
B9. Unity of the Father and the Son
| English Term | Polish Rendering | Greek (Translit.) | Risk | Chapters | Rendering Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I and the Father are one | Ja i Ojciec jedno jesteśmy | ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν (egō kai ho patēr hen esmen) | Critical | 10 | NEW. Doctrinal anchor of this curriculum unit; hold together relational distinction and essential unity. |
| that they may be one | aby byli jedno | ἵνα ὦσιν ἕν (hina ōsin hen) | Critical | 17 | NEW. Extends Father-Son unity as pattern/ground for believers’ unity. |
| with God (personal distinction) | u Boga | πρὸς τὸν θεόν (pros ton theon) | Critical | 1 | NEW. Establishes personal distinction-within-unity foundational to Trinitarian doctrine. |
| works (unity of divine action) | dzieła | ἔργα (erga) | Medium-High | 5 | NEW (Christological sense, distinct from B5’s “works of deeds”). Evidence of Father-Son unity of action. |
| honor (equal to the Son) | czcić / oddawać cześć | τιμάω (timaō) | High | 5 | NEW. Equal honor due Son and Father. |
B10. Additional Load-Bearing Terms (Cross-Cutting / Structural)
| English Term | Polish Rendering | Greek (Translit.) | Risk | Chapters | Rendering Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sign | znak | σημεῖον (sēmeion) | Medium | 2,3,4,6,9,11,20 | NEW. Never render as generic “cud” (miracle/wonder) alone — preserve “pointing beyond itself” force. |
| hour | godzina | ὥρα (hōra) | High | 2,4,7,8,12,13,17 | NEW. Major structural motif marking approach of the Passion. |
| witness / testify | świadectwo / świadczyć | μαρτυρία / μαρτυρέω (martyria/martyreō) | High | 1,3,5,8,19,21 | NEW. Dominant structural/legal-testimony term across the whole book. |
| truth | prawda | ἀλήθεια (alētheia) | High | 1,3,4,8,14,16,17,18 | NEW. Major recurring term, culminating in I AM #6 (14:6) and “Spirit of truth.” |
| children of God (believers) | dzieci Boże | τέκνα θεοῦ (tekna theou) | High | 1,11 | NEW. Birth-language, distinct from but complementary to baseline’s adoption-language (usynowienie); must not be confused with “Syn Boży.” |
| receive | przyjąć | λαμβάνω (lambanō) | Medium-High | 1,3,20 | NEW. |
| abide | trwać | μένω (menō) | High | 6,8,14,15 | NEW. Major recurring term for vital union with Christ. |
| love one another / new commandment | miłujcie się wzajemnie / nowe przykazanie | ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους / ἐντολὴ καινή | High | 13,15 | NEW, built on B4’s ἀγαπάω. |
| friend, not servant | przyjaciele, a nie słudzy | φίλοι, οὐ δοῦλοι (philoi, ou douloi) | Medium-High | 15 | NEW. |
| fruit | owoc | καρπός (karpos) | Medium | 15 | NEW. |
| Good Shepherd / sheep / one flock | Dobry Pasterz / owce / jedna trzoda | ποιμήν / πρόβατα / μία ποίμνη | Critical/Medium | 10,21 | NEW — see B6, B8; “one flock, one shepherd” thematically parallels baseline’s Jew-Gentile unity doctrine. |
| feed / tend my sheep | paś owce/baranki moje | βόσκω / ποιμαίνω (boskō/poimainō) | Medium-High | 21 | NEW. Peter’s pastoral commission, echoing ch.10. |
| love (ἀγαπάω vs φιλέω distinction) | miłować (ἀγαπάω) / kochać (φιλέω) | ἀγαπάω / φιλέω | High | 21 | NEW. Genuine translation loss in Polish (as in English); mandatory teaching note on the underlying Greek distinction. |
| ruler of this world | władca tego świata | ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου (ho archōn tou kosmou toutou) | High | 12,14,16 | NEW. Satan’s derivative, defeated authority. |
| worship | czcić / kłaniać się | προσκυνέω (proskyneō) | Medium-High | 4,9,20 | NEW. Culminates in worship-response to confessed deity (9:38; 20:28). |
| spirit and truth (worship) | w Duchu i w prawdzie | πνεῦμα καὶ ἀλήθεια (pneuma kai alētheia) | High | 4 | NEW. Intentional ambiguity (Holy Spirit / human spirit) preserved via teaching note, not resolved. |
| kiss/betray → hand over | wydać | παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi) | Medium-High | 13 | NEW. Ironic verbal echo across betrayal and divine-purpose usages. |
| Father’s house, rooms | dom Ojca… mieszkania | οἰκία τοῦ πατρός… μοναί (oikia tou patros… monai) | Medium | 14 | NEW. “Mieszkania” (abiding-places), not “pałace” (mansions) — avoid overtranslation. |
| what is truth? | Co jest prawda? | τί ἐστιν ἀλήθεια; (ti estin alētheia) | High | 18 | NEW. Deliberate dramatic irony (Pilate before Truth incarnate). |
| Holy One of God | Święty Boży | ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ (ho hagios tou theou) | High | 6 | NEW, built on baseline “święty” root; distinct Christological title, not the corporate-believer sense. |
Section C — Chapters Introducing No New Load-Bearing Terms
None. Every chapter of John (1–21) was found to introduce at least one new load-bearing term or a doctrinally significant reuse requiring a fresh teaching note (see analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md Part 2 for full chapter-by-chapter treatment, including Chapter 9’s brief entry, which largely reuses chs. 1, 3, and 8 vocabulary but is retained explicitly for its worship-response term).
Glossary Enforcement Priority (per baseline convention)
- Critical risk terms (Section A items already Critical + all Section B1, B2 core term, B3 core terms, B5 “judgment,” B6 all seven I AM sayings, B8 core substitutionary terms, B9 unity terms) — absolute enforcement, human theologian review every occurrence.
- High risk terms — translation memory/glossary term required; deviation triggers immediate flag.
- Forbidden substitutions (new, John-specific, additive to baseline list):
- NEVER render “narodzić się na nowo” (John 3:3,7) without the accompanying “from above” (z góry) teaching note.
- NEVER render “Pocieszyciel” (παράκλητος) without the accompanying broader advocate/helper teaching note.
- NEVER render “Ja jestem” (absolute ἐγώ εἰμι) as a casual, unemphatic statement — always flag its divine-name echo.
- NEVER collapse “dzieci Boże” (τέκνα θεοῦ, believers) into “Syn Boży” (Son of God, Christ’s unique title).
- NEVER let “spożywać ciało / pić krew” (John 6:51-58) resolve unilaterally toward either an exclusively sacramental or exclusively metaphorical reading without a balancing teaching note.
- Medium risk terms — glossary preferred; deviations permitted with flag.
- Low risk terms — glossary preferred; minor deviations acceptable without flag.
This glossary must be merged into an extended translation_memory.json for the John curriculum in Phase 1 Step 2, preserving every baseline Romans entry unchanged and appending all Section B entries with their assigned risk tiers.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: Bóg
Transliteration: theos
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. John intensifies deity language by directly applying ‘theos’ to the Word (1:1,1:18) and in Thomas’s confession (20:28), the New Testament’s strongest direct ascription of ‘Bóg’ to Jesus.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Jezus
Transliteration: Iēsous
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. No variant-form risk in Polish Bible tradition.
Lord
Approved rendering: Pan
Transliteration: kyrios
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. John 20:28’s ‘ho kyrios mou’ renders ‘Pan mój,’ preserving the same exclusive-supreme-lordship sense established for Romans 10:9.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Syn Boży
Transliteration: huios theou
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: syn Boży w sensie ogólnym, stosowanym do każdego wierzącego
Original: υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Must remain sharply distinguished from believers’ birth-language ‘dzieci Boże’ (τέκνα θεοῦ, 1:12-13; 11:52) despite the shared ‘Boży’ root.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Duch Święty
Transliteration: pneuma hagion
Doctrine: Holy Spirit as Counselor
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: Pneumatology
Inherited from Romans package. Never render lowercase ‘duch’ (generic spirit/wind) in personal-agency contexts; John 3:8’s wind/Spirit wordplay is the primary collision risk since Polish, like English, cannot preserve the single-word pun.
Father
Approved rendering: Ojciec
Transliteration: patēr
Doctrine: Unity of the Father and the Son
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. John’s use is more relationally intense than Romans, since Father-Son unity/equality (5:18; 10:30) and mutual indwelling (14:10-11; 17:21) are central doctrinal claims.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: zmartwychwstanie
Transliteration: anastasis
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. Never render with reincarnation/rebirth-cycle vocabulary. In John also a title Christ applies to himself (11:25, ‘Ja jestem zmartwychwstaniem i życiem’).
Salvation
Approved rendering: zbawienie
Transliteration: sōtēria / sōzō
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: zbawienie zapewnione automatycznie przez chrzest, sakramenty i przynależność narodowo-religijną
Original: σωτηρία / σῴζω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. John 3:17 and 12:47 clarify Christ’s first coming as saving rather than condemning; 4:42’s ‘Zbawiciel świata’ (a Samaritan confession) universalizes salvation’s scope beyond any single ethnic or national group.
Messiah
Approved rendering: Mesjasz
Transliteration: Christos / Messias
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός / Μεσσίας
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. John uniquely transliterates the Hebrew term (1:41; 4:25) alongside the Greek ‘Christos’; both render ‘Mesjasz’ with a note explaining the double designation is one title, not two.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: wcielenie
Transliteration: ho logos sarx egeneto
Doctrine: Incarnation
Original: ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package as the doctrine name. John 1:14 (‘Słowo stało się ciałem’) is this doctrine’s definitional text for the whole Bible, read at every Polish Midnight Mass; the baseline’s caution against narrowing to the nativity scene (szopka) applies with maximum force here.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: sprawiedliwość
Transliteration: dikaiosynē
Doctrine: Judgment and Belief/Unbelief
Rejected alternatives: sprawiedliwość zdobyta przez zasługi i praktyki religijne
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Judgment
Inherited from Romans package exactly. John 16:8-10’s referent is Christ’s own vindicated righteousness demonstrated by his return to the Father, NOT the Pauline forensic-imputation sense central to Romans 3-5. Mandatory teaching note distinguishing the two referents of this same Polish word every occurrence.
Faith
Approved rendering: wiara
Transliteration: pistis
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: wiara jako tożsamość narodowa i kulturowa (‘Polak-katolik’), wiara odziedziczona automatycznie przez chrzest i Pierwszą Komunię
Inherited from Romans package (noun form). John overwhelmingly uses the verb ‘wierzyć’ (98x) rather than this noun; see the separate ‘believe’ entry below, which inherits this identical Critical risk profile.
Word Logos
Approved rendering: Słowo
Transliteration: logos
Doctrine: Deity and Pre-existence of Christ (the Word)
Rejected alternatives: słowo jako bezosobowa zasada rozumu (stoicki logos), personifikacja mądrości Bożej
Original: λόγος
Category: Christology
NEW. Capitalize as a divine title per established Polish Bible convention (1:1,14). Must be read as fully personal and fully divine, not an impersonal rational principle or wisdom-personification. Escalate every occurrence to theologian review.
Eternal Existence En
Approved rendering: był
Transliteration: ēn
Doctrine: Deity and Pre-existence of Christ (the Word)
Original: ἦν
Category: Christology
NEW. Imperfect-tense verb denoting the Word’s continuous, uncreated pre-existence, contrasted with ‘became’ (stał się) used of created things (1:3,6). Polish grammar does not convey this contrast automatically; mandatory teaching note every occurrence (1:1-2).
Was God
Approved rendering: Bogiem był
Transliteration: theos ēn
Doctrine: Deity and Pre-existence of Christ (the Word)
Rejected alternatives: był bogiem (lowercase, ‘a god’), był boski (diminished, qualitative-only divinity)
Original: θεὸς ἦν
Category: Christology
NEW. John 1:1c. Front ‘Bogiem’ where possible to approximate the Greek’s emphatic word order. Polish capitalization (Bóg vs. bóg) is doctrinally load-bearing here; never soften to a lesser or created divine sense.
Ascended Descended
Approved rendering: wstąpić / zstąpić
Transliteration: anabainō / katabainō
Doctrine: Deity and Pre-existence of Christ (the Word)
Original: ἀναβαίνω / καταβαίνω
Category: Christology
NEW. John 3:13; 6:38,62. Presupposes the Son of Man’s pre-existent heavenly origin; only the one who first descended can speak with heavenly authority.
Before The World Existed
Approved rendering: zanim świat zaistniał
Transliteration: pro tou ton kosmon einai
Doctrine: Deity and Pre-existence of Christ (the Word)
Original: πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον εἶναι
Category: Christology
NEW. John 17:5. Explicit pre-cosmic temporal marker; pair with the teaching note on John 1:1’s ‘był’ as a second, unambiguous pre-existence proof-text.
Only Begotten
Approved rendering: jednorodzony
Transliteration: monogenēs
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: umiłowany, szczególny, jedyny syn
Original: μονογενής
Category: Christology
NEW. John 1:14,18; 3:16,18. MUST use the established Polish creedal rendering (Apostles’/Nicene Creed tradition). Categorically distinct from believers’ ‘dzieci Boże’ status. Escalate every occurrence to theologian review.
Equal With God
Approved rendering: równy Bogu
Transliteration: isos theō
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ἴσος τῷ θεῷ
Category: Christology
NEW. John 5:18. Full ontological equality; the narrator validates this claim as accurate perception, not blasphemous misunderstanding.
Believe
Approved rendering: wierzyć
Transliteration: pisteuō
Doctrine: Faith
NEW verb-form entry built on baseline-inherited noun ‘wiara.’ John’s near-exclusive use (98x) of this verb over the noun; must always convey personal trust in a specific, recoverable object (Jesus, his name, his word), never generic religious assent or Polak-katolik inherited identity.
Born Again From Above
Approved rendering: narodzić się na nowo
Transliteration: gennēthē anōthen
Doctrine: The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit
Rejected alternatives: odrodzenie (fixed Catholic catechetical term for baptismal regeneration), narodzić się powtórnie (Biblia Tysiąclecia rendering, loses ‘from above’ entirely)
Original: γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν
Category: Regeneration
NEW. John 3:3,7. Single highest-risk term in the core passage. MUST carry a mandatory translator note supplying the lost ‘from above’ (z góry) sense every occurrence. Escalate every instance to human theologian review.
Born Of Water And Spirit
Approved rendering: narodzić się z wody i z Ducha
Transliteration: gennēthē ex hydatos kai pneumatos
Doctrine: The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit
Original: γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος
Category: Regeneration
NEW. John 3:5. Given Poland’s sacramental culture, carries the same automatic-baptismal-regeneration risk flagged for baseline ‘zbawienie.’ Mandatory teaching note affirming the Spirit, not the water-rite itself, as the regenerating agent.
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: życie wieczne
Transliteration: zōē aiōnios
Doctrine: Eternal Life through Faith in Christ
Rejected alternatives: żywot wieczny (funeral-liturgy phrase, exclusively post-mortem connotation)
Original: ζωὴ αἰώνιος
Category: Salvation
NEW. Render consistently across all 21 chapters (17 occurrences). Mandatory teaching note emphasizing present-tense possession by faith now (3:36; 5:24; 6:47), guarding against a purely future/afterlife-only reading.
Bread Of Life
Approved rendering: chleb życia
Transliteration: artos tēs zōēs
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Original: ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς
Category: Salvation
NEW — I AM saying #1 (John 6:35,48). Established Polish rendering. Escalate to human theologian review.
Resurrection And Life
Approved rendering: zmartwychwstanie i życie
Transliteration: anastasis kai zōē
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Original: ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή
Category: Eschatology
NEW — I AM saying (John 11:25), built on baseline-reused ‘zmartwychwstanie’ plus ‘życie.’ Render ‘Ja jestem zmartwychwstaniem i życiem.‘
Purpose Statement
Approved rendering: wierzyć / życie / imię (composite)
Transliteration: hina pisteusēte… zōēn echēte en tō onomati autou
Doctrine: Eternal Life through Faith in Christ
Original: ἵνα πιστεύ[σ]ητε … ζωὴν ἔχητε ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ
Category: Salvation
NEW. John’s own stated compositional purpose (20:30-31). All constituent terms must reuse established renderings. Recommend the same verbatim cross-document consistency rule the baseline mandates for Romans 1:16-17 and 10:9-10.
Loved
Approved rendering: umiłował
Transliteration: agapaō
Doctrine: God’s Love for the World
Rejected alternatives: pokochał (too colloquial/romantic register)
Original: ἀγαπάω
Category: God
NEW. John 3:16. Use the elevated literary form to preserve the weight and deliberateness of ἀγάπη, distinct from ordinary affection.
Savior Of The World
Approved rendering: Zbawiciel świata
Transliteration: sōtēr tou kosmou
Doctrine: God’s Love for the World
Original: σωτὴρ τοῦ κόσμου
Category: Salvation
NEW, built on baseline ‘zbawienie’ root. John 4:42, confessed by Samaritans. Directly parallels the baseline’s Critical ‘universal_scope_of_gospel’ doctrine.
Judgment
Approved rendering: sąd
Transliteration: krisis
Doctrine: Judgment and Belief/Unbelief
Original: κρίσις
Category: Judgment
NEW. John’s redefinition of ‘the judgment’ as constituted in the present by response to the light (3:19; 5:24,29; 9:39; 12:31; 16:8,11), not solely a future tribunal. Everyday judicial register and ‘Sąd Ostateczny’ iconography both push toward a future-only misreading requiring a mandatory teaching note.
I Am Absolute
Approved rendering: Ja jestem
Transliteration: egō eimi
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Rejected alternatives: jestem (bare copula, dropping the emphatic pronoun per natural Polish register)
Original: ἐγώ εἰμι
Category: Christology
NEW. Echoes Exodus 3:14 LXX (8:24,28,58; 13:19; 18:5-8). MUST retain the explicit pronoun ‘Ja,’ overriding natural Polish pronoun-drop register. Capitalize as ‘JA JESTEM’ for absolute divine self-declaration where context demands. Escalate every occurrence to theologian review.
I Am Light Of World
Approved rendering: Ja jestem światłość świata
Transliteration: egō eimi to phōs tou kosmou
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Original: ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου
Category: Christology
NEW — I AM saying #2 (8:12; 9:5).
I Am Door
Approved rendering: Ja jestem drzwiami
Transliteration: egō eimi hē thyra
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Original: ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα
Category: Christology
NEW — I AM saying #3 (10:7,9). Preserve the exclusivity claim (‘whoever enters through me will be saved’).
I Am Good Shepherd
Approved rendering: Ja jestem dobrym pasterzem
Transliteration: egō eimi ho poimēn ho kalos
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Original: ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός
Category: Christology
NEW — I AM saying #4 (10:11,14), tied directly to Christ’s Substitutionary Death.
I Am Way Truth Life
Approved rendering: Ja jestem drogą i prawdą, i życiem
Transliteration: egō eimi hē hodos kai hē alētheia kai hē zōē
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Original: ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή
Category: Christology
NEW — I AM saying #6 (14:6). Preserve the exclusivity clause (‘no one comes to the Father except through me’) against pluralistic softening.
I Am True Vine
Approved rendering: Ja jestem prawdziwym krzewem winnym
Transliteration: egō eimi hē ampelos hē alēthinē
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Rejected alternatives: Ja jestem prawdziwą winoroślą (more literal but non-standard idiom)
Original: ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή
Category: Christology
NEW — I AM saying #7 (15:1,5). Uses established Polish Bible idiom for ‘vine.‘
Counselor Paraclete
Approved rendering: Pocieszyciel
Transliteration: paraklētos
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit as Counselor
Rejected alternatives: Orędownik (standard Polish title for Mary and the saints as intercessory advocates; collides with the baseline’s Marian-intercession caution on ‘wstawiennictwo’), Adwokat (overly technical courtroom register), Paraklet (transliteration breaks with all existing Polish Bible reading habits)
Original: παράκλητος
Category: Pneumatology
NEW; the single most important new Critical term added by this Language Package. Established Polish rendering narrows παράκλητος to ‘comforter’ alone. Mandatory expansive teaching note every occurrence (14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7) supplying the fuller legal-advocate/helper/teacher range. Escalate every occurrence to theologian review.
Receive Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: przyjmijcie Ducha Świętego
Transliteration: labete pneuma hagion
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit as Counselor
Original: λάβετε πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: Pneumatology
NEW, built on baseline-reused ‘Duch Święty.’ John 20:22, a proleptic bestowal anticipating Pentecost.
Lifted Up
Approved rendering: wywyższony
Transliteration: hypsoō
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: ὑψόω
Category: Christology
NEW. John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32,34. Deliberate double meaning of physical elevation and honorific exaltation — a fortunate lexical match in Polish. Escalate every occurrence to theologian review.
Lay Down Life
Approved rendering: oddać życie
Transliteration: tithēmi tēn psychēn
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: τίθημι τὴν ψυχήν
Category: Christology
NEW. John 10:11,15,17-18. The clearest pre-Passion substitutionary-death vocabulary in the book.
It Is Better One Man Die
Approved rendering: lepiej, aby jeden człowiek umarł za naród
Transliteration: sympherei… hina heis anthrōpos apothanē
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: συμφέρει … ἵνα εἷς ἄνθρωπος ἀποθάνῃ
Category: Christology
NEW. John 11:50-52, Caiaphas’s cynical political calculation reinterpreted by the narrator as unwitting substitutionary-atonement prophecy. Teaching note must draw out the deliberate Johannine irony.
It Is Finished
Approved rendering: Wykonało się!
Transliteration: tetelestai
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Rejected alternatives: Koniec (wrongly suggests simple cessation rather than completed accomplishment)
Original: τετέλεσται
Category: Christology
NEW. John 19:30. Perfect-tense declaration that the redemptive mission is fully and finally accomplished. Escalate to theologian review.
Eat Flesh Drink Blood
Approved rendering: spożywać ciało / pić krew
Transliteration: phagēte tēn sarka… piēte to haima
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: φάγητε τὴν σάρκα… πίητε τὸ αἷμα
Category: Christology
NEW. John 6:51-58. Render literally (unavoidable). Doctrinally contested between the eucharistic reading dominant in Polish Catholic tradition and the faith-appropriation reading clarified by 6:63; mandatory teaching note flagging this tension without unilaterally resolving it.
My Lord And My God
Approved rendering: Pan mój i Bóg mój!
Transliteration: ho kyrios mou kai ho theos mou
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου
Category: Christology
NEW composite confession, built on baseline ‘Pan’ + ‘Bóg.’ John 20:28. Mandatory teaching note: this is a deliberate worshipful confession, not a startled exclamation — a live risk given the colloquial Polish exclamation ‘Boże mój!’
Father Son One
Approved rendering: Ja i Ojciec jedno jesteśmy
Transliteration: egō kai ho patēr hen esmen
Doctrine: Unity of the Father and the Son
Rejected alternatives: zjednoczeni (flattens ontological unity into mere cooperative harmony)
Original: ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν
Category: Christology
NEW. John 10:30, the doctrinal anchor of this curriculum unit. Hold together relational distinction and essential unity, avoiding subordinationist dilution and modalist collapse.
That They May Be One
Approved rendering: aby byli jedno
Transliteration: hina ōsin hen
Doctrine: Unity of the Father and the Son
Original: ἵνα ὦσιν ἕν
Category: Christology
NEW. John 17:11,21-23. Extends Father-Son unity into ecclesiology; maintain the analogy’s direction (divine unity as ground/pattern for believers’ unity).
With God Personal Distinction
Approved rendering: u Boga
Transliteration: pros ton theon
Doctrine: Unity of the Father and the Son
Original: πρὸς τὸν θεόν
Category: God
NEW. John 1:1c. Establishes personal distinction from God the Father while affirming shared nature, foundational to the whole doctrine from the book’s opening verse.
Good Shepherd Sheep Flock
Approved rendering: Dobry Pasterz / owce / jedna trzoda
Transliteration: poimēn / probata / mia poimnē
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Original: ποιμήν / πρόβατα / μία ποίμνη
Category: Christology
NEW. John 10:1-18. ‘One flock, one shepherd’ (10:16) thematically parallels the baseline’s Jew-Gentile unity doctrine.
High Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: łaska
Transliteration: charis
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: łaska otrzymywana głównie przez zasługi i praktyki sakramentalne
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. John 1:16-17 contrasts ‘grace and truth’ through Christ with the Law given through Moses; do not imply the Law was itself devoid of grace.
Glory
Approved rendering: chwała / uwielbić
Transliteration: doxa / doxazō
Doctrine: Glorification through the Cross
Inherited from Romans package (noun ‘chwała’); John adds the verb ‘uwielbić/uwielbiony.’ John-specific risk: the cross itself is called the Son’s ‘hour’ of glorification (12:23; 13:31-32; 17:1) — a paradox absent from Romans’ usage requiring a dedicated teaching note wherever it recurs.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: uświęcenie / poświęcić
Transliteration: hagiasmos / hagiazō
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: oczyszczenie pokutne, w tym poprzez czyściec
Original: ἁγιάζω / ἁγιασμός
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package (noun ‘uświęcenie’); John’s verb ‘poświęcić’ applies both Christologically (Father consecrating the Son, 10:36) and to believers (17:17,19) — two distinct referents sharing one root, neither collapsed into the baseline’s purgatorial caution, which is not directly in view here.
Election
Approved rendering: wybranie / wybrałem
Transliteration: eklegomai
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: przeznaczenie, los
Inherited from Romans package root. John 15:16,19 grounds discipleship and mission in Christ’s prior choice (‘wybrałem was’); avoid fatalistic ‘los/przeznaczenie’ framing.
Sin
Approved rendering: grzech
Transliteration: hamartia
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability and Bondage to Sin
Rejected alternatives: drobne przewinienie (minimizing euphemism)
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. John adds ‘the sin of the world’ removed by the Lamb of God (1:29) and universal bondage to sin resolved only by the Son (8:34-36); the familiar mortal/venial framework must not imply lesser sins leave a person unenslaved.
Holy
Approved rendering: święty
Transliteration: hagios
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package root. John’s Christological title ‘Holy One of God’ (6:69, ‘Święty Boży’) and the Father’s address ‘Holy Father’ (17:11) must not be confused with the baseline’s corporate-sainthood caution (Rom 1:7), which does not recur in John’s text.
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: Syn Człowieczy
Transliteration: huios tou anthrōpou
Doctrine: Son of Man’s Heavenly Authority
Original: υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Category: Christology
NEW. John 1:51; 3:13-14; 5:27; 6:27,53,62; 9:35; 12:23,34; 13:31. Draws on Daniel 7’s heavenly, judging, kingdom-receiving figure. Mandatory teaching note: not primarily an assertion of ordinary humanity.
Wind Spirit Wordplay
Approved rendering: wiatr / Duch
Transliteration: pneuma
Doctrine: The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit
Original: πνεῦμα
Category: Regeneration
NEW. John 3:8. Untranslatable Greek pun (one word for both wind and Spirit); Polish, like English, requires two words. Mandatory explanatory teaching note every occurrence.
Flesh Natural Generation
Approved rendering: ciało
Transliteration: sarx
Doctrine: The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit
Original: σάρξ
Category: Regeneration
NEW John-specific nuance of a term whose doctrine name (‘wcielenie’) is baseline-reused. John 3:6. Distinguish from the Pauline sense of ‘sarx’ as the principle of sin (Romans 7-8) — same Polish word, related but distinct nuance.
Draw
Approved rendering: przyciągnąć
Transliteration: helkyō
Doctrine: The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit
Original: ἑλκύω
Category: Salvation
NEW. John 6:44; cf. 12:32. The Father’s sovereign, effectual drawing; connect to baseline’s ‘wybranie’ caution against fatalistic ‘los/przeznaczenie’ framing while affirming genuine divine initiative.
Life Zoe
Approved rendering: życie
Transliteration: zōē
Doctrine: Eternal Life through Faith in Christ
Original: ζωή
Category: Salvation
NEW. The divine, life-giving quality present in God and imparted through Christ (1:4; 5:26; 6:35; 10:10; 11:25; 14:6). Track as distinct from, but foundational to, ‘życie wieczne.‘
Perish
Approved rendering: zginąć
Transliteration: apollymi
Doctrine: Eternal Life through Faith in Christ
Rejected alternatives: przepadnie (under-translates the seriousness of eternal ruin)
Original: ἀπόλλυμι
Category: Judgment
NEW. John 3:16. The negative counterpart to eternal life; preserve the seriousness of complete, eternal ruin.
World Kosmos
Approved rendering: świat
Transliteration: kosmos
Doctrine: God’s Love for the World
Original: κόσμος
Category: God
NEW. John’s polyvalent term: (1) created order, (2) humanity as object of God’s saving love (3:16; 4:42), (3) the fallen order hostile to God (15:18-19; 17:14-16). Render ‘świat’ consistently but require a sense-disambiguating teaching note every occurrence.
Condemn
Approved rendering: potępić / potępiony
Transliteration: krinō / katakrinō
Doctrine: Judgment and Belief/Unbelief
Original: κρίνω / κατακρίνω
Category: Judgment
NEW. John 3:18’s perfect tense signals a settled, present state. Must render ‘już jest potępiony’ (already stands condemned) — omitting ‘już’ wrongly implies a future-only judgment.
Light
Approved rendering: światło / światłość
Transliteration: phōs
Doctrine: Judgment and Belief/Unbelief
Original: φῶς
Category: Judgment
NEW. Christ’s revelatory self-disclosure (1:4-9; 3:19-21; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35-36,46). Render consistently, distinct from a generic secular light/dark metaphor.
Darkness
Approved rendering: ciemność
Transliteration: skotos / skotia
Doctrine: Judgment and Belief/Unbelief
Original: σκότος / σκοτία
Category: Judgment
NEW. Both Greek forms (σκότος, σκοτία) render identically in Polish; note the synonymy in a teaching note so readers do not assume a distinction.
Exposed Convict
Approved rendering: ujawnić / przekonać
Transliteration: elegchō
Doctrine: Judgment and Belief/Unbelief
Original: ἐλέγχω
Category: Judgment
NEW. Render ‘ujawnić/zdemaskować’ at 3:20 and ‘przekonać’ at 16:8. Cross-reference both occurrences as sharing the same theological logic (light exposes; the Spirit convicts).
Wrath
Approved rendering: gniew Boży
Transliteration: orgē
Doctrine: Judgment and Belief/Unbelief
Original: ὀργή
Category: Judgment
NEW. John 3:36. God’s settled, righteous opposition to sin, not capricious anger; preserve the present-tense ‘remains.‘
Overcome The World
Approved rendering: zwyciężyć świat
Transliteration: nikaō
Doctrine: Judgment and Belief/Unbelief
Original: νικάω
Category: Judgment
NEW. John 16:33. Perfect-tense, already-accomplished victory; must not be softened into a future promise.
Another Of Same Kind
Approved rendering: inny
Transliteration: allos
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit as Counselor
Original: ἄλλος
Category: Pneumatology
NEW. John 14:16. Greek distinguishes ἄλλος (another of the same kind) from ἕτερος (another of a different kind); Polish ‘inny’ does not — supply the continuity-of-ministry-kind nuance in a teaching note.
Spirit Of Truth
Approved rendering: Duch Prawdy
Transliteration: pneuma tēs alētheias
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit as Counselor
Original: πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας
Category: Pneumatology
NEW, built on baseline-reused ‘Duch Święty.’ Render consistently at 14:17; 15:26; 16:13.
Rivers Of Living Water
Approved rendering: rzeki wody żywej
Transliteration: potamoi hydatos zōntos
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit as Counselor
Original: ποταμοὶ ὕδατος ζῶντος
Category: Pneumatology
NEW. John 7:37-39, explicitly Spirit-glossed by the narrator. Links to the ch.4 living-water motif.
Lamb Of God
Approved rendering: Baranek Boży
Transliteration: amnos tou theou
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Christology
NEW. John 1:29,36; fulfilled 19:36. High liturgical familiarity (Agnus Dei, recited at every Catholic Mass) risks devotional numbness; re-ground in Passover/Isaiah 53 typology to counter rote-recitation flattening.
Crucify
Approved rendering: ukrzyżować
Transliteration: stauroō
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: σταυρόω
Category: Christology
NEW. John 19:6,15-20,23,41. Established, unambiguous term for the specific Roman execution method.
Honor Equal To Son
Approved rendering: czcić / oddawać cześć
Transliteration: timaō
Doctrine: Unity of the Father and the Son
Original: τιμάω
Category: Christology
NEW. John 5:23. Equal honor due the Son as is due the Father, a direct implication of shared deity. Pair with worship-vocabulary at 4:20-24 and 20:28 for consistency.
Holy One Of God
Approved rendering: Święty Boży
Transliteration: ho hagios tou theou
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Christology
NEW, built on baseline ‘święty’ root. John 6:69, Peter’s confession. A distinct Christological title, not the baseline’s corporate-believer ‘święci’ sense.
Hour
Approved rendering: godzina
Transliteration: hōra
Doctrine: Glorification through the Cross
Original: ὥρα
Category: Revelation
NEW. A major recurring structural term marking the approach of the Passion (2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1; 17:1). Flag the theologically loaded sense distinct from ordinary time-telling usage.
Witness Testify
Approved rendering: świadectwo / świadczyć
Transliteration: martyria / martyreō
Doctrine: Testimony and Witness to Christ
Original: μαρτυρία / μαρτυρέω
Category: Revelation
NEW, one of John’s dominant structural terms. Render consistently across all 21 chapters. Risk of being heard as generic Evangelical ‘testimony sharing’ rather than John’s deliberate forensic, courtroom-structured argument.
Truth
Approved rendering: prawda
Transliteration: alētheia
Doctrine: Truth and Revelation in Christ
Original: ἀλήθεια
Category: Revelation
NEW, a major recurring load-bearing term (25x), culminating in Christ’s self-identification as ‘the truth’ (14:6). Render consistently across all 21 chapters.
Children Of God
Approved rendering: dzieci Boże
Transliteration: tekna theou
Doctrine: Children of God by New Birth
Rejected alternatives: Synowie Boży (reserved exclusively for Christ)
Original: τέκνα θεοῦ
Category: Salvation
NEW. John 1:12-13; 11:52. John’s birth-language, complementary to but not identical with Romans’ adoption metaphor (‘usynowienie’). Must never be confused with Christ’s unique ‘Syn Boży’ title.
Abide
Approved rendering: trwać
Transliteration: menō
Doctrine: Abiding in Christ (Discipleship)
Original: μένω
Category: Discipleship
NEW, a major recurring term (40x) across chs. 6, 8, 14, 15. Continuing, vital, life-sustaining union with Christ; guard against a moralistic self-improvement misreading.
Love One Another New Commandment
Approved rendering: miłujcie się wzajemnie / nowe przykazanie
Transliteration: agapate allēlous / entolē kainē
Doctrine: The New Commandment to Love One Another
Original: ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους / ἐντολὴ καινή
Category: Discipleship
NEW, built on the ἀγαπάω term. John 13:34-35; 15:12-13,17. Teach the qualitative newness (καινή) against reduction to generic social-harmony language.
Love Agape Vs Philia
Approved rendering: miłować / kochać
Transliteration: agapaō / phileō
Doctrine: The New Commandment to Love One Another
Original: ἀγαπάω / φιλέω
Category: Discipleship
NEW. John 21:15-17. Genuine, irreducible translation loss (Polish, like English, generally uses one verb for both). Recommend ‘miłować’ for ἀγαπάω / ‘kochać’ for φιλέω as an imperfect distinction-preserving device, flagged as interpretive aid, not natural Polish lexical distinction.
Ruler Of This World
Approved rendering: władca tego świata
Transliteration: ho archōn tou kosmou toutou
Doctrine: Judgment and Belief/Unbelief
Original: ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου
Category: Judgment
NEW. John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11. Satan’s derivative, temporary, ultimately defeated authority; ties to the negative sense of κόσμος.
Spirit And Truth Worship
Approved rendering: w Duchu i w prawdzie
Transliteration: pneuma kai alētheia
Doctrine: Worship of Christ
Original: πνεῦμα καὶ ἀλήθεια
Category: Worship
NEW. John 4:20-24. Capitalize ‘Duchu’ per established Polish Bible tradition while flagging the human-spirit dimension in a teaching note — an intentionally preserved ambiguity, not an error to resolve.
What Is Truth
Approved rendering: Co jest prawda?
Transliteration: ti estin alētheia
Doctrine: Truth and Revelation in Christ
Original: τί ἐστιν ἀλήθεια
Category: Revelation
NEW. John 18:38, Pilate’s dismissive rhetorical question posed ironically to the one who has just claimed to be ‘the truth’ (14:6). Flag the deliberate dramatic irony for teaching notes.
Mission Sending
Approved rendering: posłał / misja
Transliteration: apostellō / pempō
Doctrine: The Father-Son-Disciples Sending Pattern
Original: ἀποστέλλω / πέμπω
Category: Kingdom
NEW, conceptually linked to but not lexically identical with baseline ‘misja’/‘apostoł.’ John 17:18; 20:21. The Father→Son→disciples sending-pattern; distinguish from generic humanitarian ‘sending’ devoid of gospel proclamation, per the baseline’s ‘ewangelizacja’ sensitivity.
Medium Risk Terms
Peace
Approved rendering: pokój
Transliteration: eirēnē
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. John 14:27 and 20:19-26 give this added weight as the resurrected Christ’s repeated greeting (‘Pokój wam!’); 16:33 promises this peace amid ongoing tribulation, not its removal.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: królestwo Boże / królestwo
Transliteration: basileia tou theou / basileia
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ / βασιλεία
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. John 3:3,5 equates entering the kingdom with receiving eternal life; 18:36’s ‘not of this world’ guards against nationalist/political misreadings, relevant given Poland’s own history of Church-state entanglement.
Gave
Approved rendering: dał
Transliteration: didōmi
Doctrine: God’s Love for the World
Rejected alternatives: dawał (durative, blunts the once-for-all decisiveness)
Original: δίδωμι
Category: God
NEW. John 3:16. The Father’s decisive, completed act of giving the Son.
Works Erga
Approved rendering: uczynki / dzieła
Transliteration: erga
Doctrine: Judgment and Belief/Unbelief
Original: ἔργα
Category: Judgment
NEW. Deeds/conduct whose moral quality explains the response to the light (3:19-21; 9:3-4). Distinguish from the Christological sense of ‘erga’ as divine action (see works_unity_of_action).
Living Water
Approved rendering: woda żywa
Transliteration: hydōr zōn
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit as Counselor
Original: ὕδωρ ζῶν
Category: Pneumatology
NEW. John 4:10-14; cf. 7:38-39. Flag forward-link to 7:38-39 for a unified teaching note on the Spirit-as-living-water motif.
Grain Of Wheat
Approved rendering: ziarno pszenicy
Transliteration: ho kokkos tou sitou
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σίτου
Category: Christology
NEW. John 12:24. Agricultural death-yields-fruitfulness metaphor, extended as a discipleship principle.
Pierced
Approved rendering: przebity
Transliteration: ekkenteō
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: ἐκκεντέω
Category: Christology
NEW. John 19:34,36-37, fulfilling Zechariah 12:10 and Passover-lamb typology. Ties back to 1:29’s ‘Baranek Boży.‘
Works Unity Of Action
Approved rendering: dzieła
Transliteration: erga
Doctrine: Unity of the Father and the Son
Original: ἔργα
Category: Christology
NEW (Christological sense, distinct from works_erga’s moral-deeds sense). John 5:17-20,36. Christ’s own divine works, evidencing shared nature with the Father.
Sign
Approved rendering: znak
Transliteration: sēmeion
Doctrine: Testimony and Witness to Christ
Rejected alternatives: cud (generic miracle/wonder, loses the ‘pointing beyond itself’ force)
Original: σημεῖον
Category: Revelation
NEW. Never render as generic ‘cud’ alone. First occurrence 2:11; runs through 4,6,9,11,20.
Receive
Approved rendering: przyjąć
Transliteration: lambanō
Doctrine: Testimony and Witness to Christ
Original: λαμβάνω
Category: Revelation
NEW. John 1:11-12; 3:11; 20:22. To accept, welcome, take hold of.
Friend Not Servant
Approved rendering: przyjaciele, a nie słudzy
Transliteration: philoi, ou douloi
Doctrine: Abiding in Christ (Discipleship)
Original: φίλοι, οὐ δοῦλοι
Category: Discipleship
NEW. John 15:15. The relational upgrade of disciples from uninformed servants to friends granted intimate access to the Father’s purposes.
Fruit
Approved rendering: owoc
Transliteration: karpos
Doctrine: Abiding in Christ (Discipleship)
Original: καρπός
Category: Discipleship
NEW. John 15:2,4-5,8,16. The visible outcome of vital, abiding union with Christ.
Feed Tend Sheep
Approved rendering: paś owce moje
Transliteration: boskō / poimainō
Doctrine: Abiding in Christ (Discipleship)
Original: βόσκω / ποιμαίνω
Category: Discipleship
NEW. John 21:15-17. Peter’s pastoral commission, echoing ch. 10’s Good Shepherd imagery; the βόσκω/ποιμαίνω doublet does not require two distinct Polish verbs.
Worship
Approved rendering: czcić / kłaniać się
Transliteration: proskyneō
Doctrine: Worship of Christ
Original: προσκυνέω
Category: Worship
NEW. Culminates in worship-response to confessed deity (9:38; 20:28). Distinguish from culturally normal veneration of saints/icons/relics per the formal Catholic latria/dulia distinction.
Hand Over Betray
Approved rendering: wydać
Transliteration: paradidōmi
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: παραδίδωμι
Category: Christology
NEW. John 13:2,21. The same verb used of Judas’s betrayal and of purposeful divine ‘handing over’ — a deliberate ironic echo, flagged for teaching notes.
Fathers House Rooms
Approved rendering: dom Ojca… mieszkania
Transliteration: oikia tou patros… monai
Doctrine: Abiding in Christ (Discipleship)
Rejected alternatives: pałace (mansions, overtranslation not supported by μονή’s sense of ‘abiding place’)
Original: οἰκία τοῦ πατρός… μοναί
Category: Discipleship
NEW. John 14:2-3. Avoid the grandiose ‘pałace/mansions’ overtranslation.
Low Risk Terms
David
Approved rendering: Dawid
Transliteration: Dauid
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Background figure for messianic expectation (John 7:42).
Israel
Approved rendering: Izrael
Transliteration: Israēl
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. In John also part of the titles ‘teacher of Israel’ (3:10) and ‘King of Israel’ (1:49).
Referenced passages