Semantic Analysis
07 Semantic Analysis — Ephesians (English → Vietnamese)
Methodology
This analysis proceeds in two parts, per the PRD Phase 1 Step 1 mandate for full-book coverage:
- Part 1 — Core Passage Verse-by-Verse: Ephesians 2:1–10, the theological anchor of the curriculum, analyzed clause by clause in Koine Greek.
- Part 2 — Chapter-by-Chapter Study of the Whole Book: Ephesians 1, 2:11–22, 3, 4, 5, 6, covering every chapter first to last. Each chapter section documents its load-bearing theological terms with the same fields as the core passage: original word, transliteration, literal meaning, semantic range, English variants, contextual theological meaning, and destination-language (Vietnamese) rendering risk.
Every term already recorded in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json is reused exactly as established (see citations “[Romans TM]” throughout). New terms introduced by Ephesians are analyzed fresh and proposed for addition to the Language Package in 08_core_glossary.md.
Ephesians is unusually dense theologically for its length — every one of its six chapters introduces new load-bearing vocabulary. No chapter in this book is a “no new terms” chapter.
Special attention is paid throughout to a risk class not prominent in the Romans baseline but highly salient in Ephesians: collisions with Vietnamese folk spirit-practice vocabulary (ancestor veneration, spirit mediumship/hầu đồng, protective amulets/bùa, folk temple worship, and the đền/spirit-hierarchy worldview), triggered by Ephesians’ extensive treatment of spiritual warfare, heavenly places, household relationships, and cultic/sacrificial imagery. These are flagged explicitly wherever they occur.
Part 1 — Core Passage Verse-by-Verse: Ephesians 2:1–10
Ephesians 2:1
Greek: Καὶ ὑμᶰς ὄντας νεκροὺς τοῖς παραπτώμασιν καὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν, Gloss: “And you being dead in your trespasses and your sins,“
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dead | νεκρούς (nekrous) | nekrous | corpse-like, lifeless | physical death; figurative spiritual deadness/inability | ”dead,” “lifeless” | Describes the unregenerate human condition before God: not merely sick but incapable of responding to God apart from his initiating act (cf. v.5). Sets up the “but God” reversal of v.4. | đã chết (linguistically simple, but risk Medium: must be taught as spiritual death — separation from God’s life — not physical death or an intermediate state awaiting rebirth. No direct folk-term collision, but pairing with v.5’s “made alive” (see below) raises the Critical resurrection-vocabulary concern.) |
| trespasses | παραπτώμασιν (paraptōmasin) | paraptōmasin | a false step, a fall/lapse | moral failure, transgression, sin considered as a “falling aside” from the right path | ”trespasses,” “transgressions,” “offenses” | Distinguished from ἁμαρτία (sin, generic “missing the mark”) by its “falling/stumbling” nuance — repeated specific acts of wrongdoing. | lỗi lầm (new term; transliteration: loi lam). Risk Medium. Keep visibly distinct from tội lỗi (sin — [Romans TM]) to preserve Paul’s twofold phrase; must not be softened into simple “mistakes” (unintentional error), which would erase moral culpability. |
| sins | ἁμαρτίαις (hamartiais) | hamartiais | missing the mark | moral transgression against a personal God | ”sins” | [Romans TM: tội lỗi] — reused exactly. Moral transgression before a personal God, not impersonal bad karma (nghiệp xấu). | tội lỗi [Romans TM, unchanged]. Risk Medium (per baseline). |
Contextual note: V.1 states the diagnosis that vv.4–10 will reverse. The doubling of paraptōmasin and hamartiais is emphatic, not distinct theological categories — both describe the same universal, comprehensive condition addressed in Romans’ “all have sinned” (baseline doctrine: Universal Human Accountability). Translators must not let the double vocabulary create the impression of two different classes of wrongdoing (e.g., a folk-graded ranking of “small offenses” vs. “grave sins” akin to karmic weighting).
Ephesians 2:2
Greek: ἐν αἷς ποτε περιεπατήσατε κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος, τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ νῦν ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας· Gloss: “in which you once walked, according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit now working in the sons of disobedience;“
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| walked | περιεπατήσατε (periepatēsate) | periepatēsate | walked around, conducted oneself | habitual conduct/way of life | ”walked,” “lived,” “conducted yourselves” | Paul’s characteristic metaphor for a whole pattern of life (recurs 2:10; 4:1,17; 5:2,8,15). Marks the “before” state, contrasted with the “walk” of v.10. | ăn ở / bước đi (established Bản Dịch Truyền Thống idiom for περιπατέω). Risk Medium: must be consistently rendered across the book as “conduct of life,” not literal ambulation, and tracked as a recurring keyword tying Ephesians together (see doctrine: Walking in Newness of Life). |
| course/age of this world | τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου (ton aiōna tou kosmou toutou) | ton aiōna tou kosmou toutou | the age of this world-system | the present, fallen world-order under Satan’s sway | ”course of this world,” “ways of this world,” “spirit of the age” | Describes a comprehensive, hostile system opposed to God, not merely bad individual choices. | trào lưu của thế gian này / thời đại của thế gian này. Risk Medium. Avoid rendering with “kiếp” (a Buddhist term for a cosmic era within cyclical rebirth); keep αἰών linear/historical, not cyclical. |
| ruler of the authority of the air | τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος (ton archonta tēs exousias tou aeros) | ton archonta tēs exousias tou aeros | the ruler of the authority of the air | title for Satan as head of a real, organized, but limited and doomed spiritual dominion | ”prince of the power of the air,” “ruler of the kingdom of the air” | A personal, defeated (cf. ch.6) enemy, not an impersonal territorial force. | vua cầm quyền chốn không khí. Risk High: Vietnamese folk cosmology includes aerial/sky spirits and an elaborate spirit hierarchy; this phrase must be taught with a clear note that it names Satan personally — a single defeated rebel under God’s ultimate sovereignty — not a class of impersonal “thần linh không khí” to be placated or feared as one negotiates among many spirits. |
| sons of disobedience | τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας (tois huiois tēs apeitheias) | tois huiois tēs apeitheias | sons characterized by disobedience | Hebraic idiom: those characterized/defined by a quality | ”sons of disobedience,” “those who are disobedient” | Describes the unregenerate as a class, defined by their relationship to God’s authority, not primarily to human parents (though this same idiom recurs re: household relations in ch.6). | con của sự không vâng phục. Risk Medium. |
Contextual note: This verse names the “power behind” humanity’s fallen walk, directly seeding the Spiritual Warfare doctrine developed fully in ch.6. The “ruler…of the air” is the same figure as the “devil” (6:11) and must be rendered with a single consistent Vietnamese identity across the book.
Ephesians 2:3
Greek: ἐν οἷς καὶ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἀνεστράφημέν ποτε ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῆς σαρκὸς ἡμῶν, ποιοῦντες τὰ θελήματα τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ τῶν διανοιῶν, καὶ ἤμεθα τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποί· Gloss: “among whom we all also once lived, in the desires of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and of the mind, and we were by nature children of wrath, as also the rest;“
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| desires of the flesh | ἐπιθυμίαις τῆς σαρκός (epithymiais tēs sarkos) | epithymiais tēs sarkos | strong cravings of the flesh | disordered appetites of fallen human nature | ”lusts of the flesh,” “desires of the flesh” | Not the physical body as such but human nature in rebellion against God. | những sự ham muốn của xác thịt. Risk Medium. |
| flesh | σαρκός (sarkos) | sarkos | flesh, meat, body | (1) physical body (2) fallen human nature opposed to God’s Spirit | ”flesh,” “body,” “human/sinful nature” | Fallen moral condition, distinct from mere physicality. Reused from the incarnation phrase’s σάρξ but here in its ethical, negative sense. | xác thịt [consistent with Romans TM’s incarnation phrase root]. Risk Medium: same word must carry both a neutral (physical, e.g., “flesh” in “seed of David according to the flesh”) and negative (sinful nature) sense — context must disambiguate at each occurrence. |
| by nature | φύσει (physei) | physei | by nature, natively | inherent, birth-condition, not merely acquired by imitation | ”by nature,” “naturally” | States the universality and inherited character of the fallen condition — not a status earned through this-life bad deeds only. | theo bổn tính / bởi bổn tính. Risk Medium: must not be read as denying moral responsibility (as “born flawed” might in fatalistic folk framing), but rather as describing humanity’s inherited condition in Adam, which the gospel of grace directly answers. |
| children of wrath | τέκνα…ὀργῆς (tekna orgēs) | tekna orgēs | children characterized by wrath | those who are, by nature, objects/heirs of God’s righteous judgment | ”children of wrath,” “objects of wrath,” “deserving wrath” | Describes a real, personal, moral liability before a holy God — the human race under judgment prior to Christ’s rescue. | con của sự thịnh nộ. Risk High: God’s wrath is his personal, righteous, judicial response to sin — never to be flattened into an impersonal karmic retribution (nghiệp báo) that operates automatically apart from God’s character and will. This distinction must be preserved every time ὀργή occurs (also 5:6). |
Ephesians 2:4
Greek: ὁ δὲ θεὸς πλούσιος ὢν ἐν ἐλέει, διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἀγάπην αὐτοῦ ἣν ἠγάπησεν ἡμᶰς, Gloss: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us,“
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | θεός (theos) | theos | God | the one true God | ”God” | [Romans TM: Đức Chúa Trời] — reused exactly. | Đức Chúa Trời [Romans TM]. Risk High (per baseline): every occurrence must carry enough context that a personal, covenant-making God is meant, not the impersonal fate-dispensing “Ông Trời” of folk speech. |
| rich in mercy | πλούσιος…ἐν ἐλέει (plousios en eleei) | plousios en eleei | rich in mercy | abundant, overflowing compassion shown to those in genuine need/distress | ”rich in mercy,” “full of mercy” | Marks the decisive pivot of the passage (“But God…”) — mercy is God’s initiating, unearned compassion toward those under wrath (v.3), not a response to any merit. | giàu lòng thương xót. New term, sự thương xót (mercy). Risk High: must be distinguished from Buddhist compassion (từ bi), which in popular piety is often framed as a virtue cultivated by the compassionate one (e.g., a bodhisattva) rather than a personal, relational response of a covenant God moved toward specific persons he loves. God’s mercy here is inseparable from his personal love (next clause), not a detached universal benevolence. |
| love | ἀγάπην (agapēn) | agapēn | love | self-giving, covenantal love, as opposed to romantic or merely affectionate love | ”love,” “great love” | God’s own initiating, self-giving love — the ground of salvation, not a response earned by the objects of that love (who were, per v.3, “children of wrath”). | tình yêu thương. Risk Medium. Should be distinguished from generic “tình yêu” (which in Vietnamese usage often carries romantic connotations) by consistently pairing with a modifier (“tình yêu thương của Đức Chúa Trời”) in theological contexts. |
Ephesians 2:5
Greek: καὶ ὄντας ἡμᶰς νεκροὺς τοῖς παραπτώμασιν συνεζωοποίησεν τῷ Χριστῷ – χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι – Gloss: “even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved –“
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| made alive together (with Christ) | συνεζωοποίησεν (synezōopoiēsen) | synezōopoiēsen | co-vivified, made alive together with | union with Christ in his own resurrection life, applied to formerly dead sinners | ”made us alive together with,” “quickened together with” | Direct verbal echo of Christ’s own resurrection (ζωοποιέω/ἐγείρω), now extended to believers by union with him. This is the same resurrection-life vocabulary the Romans baseline flags as Critical. | được ban cho sự sống lại cùng với Đấng Christ (verb rooted in sự sống lại [Romans TM]). Risk Critical: must be rendered so as to reuse the established resurrection root exactly, and must never be rendered with vocabulary evoking đầu thai or luân hồi (rebirth/reincarnation). This is not a new incarnation or a repeatable cycle of dying-and-returning; it is a once-for-all spiritual union with Christ’s own historical, bodily resurrection, applied now to the believer’s standing and future. |
| grace | χάριτι (chariti) | chariti | by grace, by favor | unmerited favor | ”by grace” | [Romans TM: ân điển] — reused exactly; this clause is the thesis statement of the whole passage. | ân điển [Romans TM]. Risk High (per baseline): never phước đức/công đức/ơn nghĩa. |
| saved | σεσωσμένοι (sesōsmenoi, perfect passive) | sesōsmenoi | having been saved (with continuing effect) | past completed action with present abiding result | ”you have been saved,” “you are saved” | The perfect tense stresses a completed, settled rescue with ongoing effect — not a status still being earned or in doubt. | được cứu (verb form of [Romans TM: sự cứu rỗi]). Risk Critical: never được giải thoát (Buddhist liberation from rebirth). The perfect tense’s “already accomplished, abidingly true” nuance should be preserved in surrounding teaching notes even though Vietnamese verb morphology does not mark tense/aspect the same way. |
Contextual note: The parenthetical “by grace you have been saved” is the interpretive key inserted mid-sentence before Paul even finishes the main clause (completed in v.6) — signaling its supreme importance. This exact clause recurs, expanded, in v.8, and per the AI Translation Requirements’ Theological Consistency Rules, both instances must be rendered identically in Vietnamese.
Ephesians 2:6
Greek: καὶ συνήγειρεν καὶ συνεκάθισεν ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, Gloss: “and raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,“
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| raised up (with him) | συνήγειρεν (synēgeiren) | synēgeiren | co-raised, raised together with | resurrection vocabulary applied corporately to believers, in union with Christ | ”raised us up with him” | Cognate of ἐγείρω, the standard resurrection verb. Continues the Critical resurrection vocabulary from v.5. | Rendered with the same sự sống lại root [Romans TM]. Risk Critical — same forbidden-substitution rule as v.5 applies. |
| seated (with him) | συνεκάθισεν (synekathisen) | synekathisen | co-seated, seated together with | enthronement/authority imagery — sharing Christ’s position of honor and victory | ”seated us with him” | Believers already share, positionally, in Christ’s triumphant exaltation over the powers named in 1:20–21 and 6:12. | được đồng ngồi với Ngài. Risk Medium. |
| heavenly places | τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις (tois epouraniois) | tois epouraniois | the heavenly [places/realms] | the unseen spiritual realm where Christ reigns, angelic/demonic powers operate, and believers’ true standing is located (recurs 1:3,20; 3:10; 6:12) | “heavenly places,” “heavenly realms” | A key Ephesians term binding together Christology (1:20), ecclesiology (2:6), the mystery (3:10), and spiritual warfare (6:12). | các nơi trên trời. Risk High — a genuine new syncretism risk not present in the Romans baseline: Vietnamese Buddhist cosmology uses cõi trời for heavenly/deva realms attained through merit within the cycle of rebirth. Cõi trời must never be used for ἐπουράνιος. Use the more neutral, non-cosmological các nơi trên trời and always anchor it to “in Christ Jesus” — a relational, not merit-attained, location. |
Ephesians 2:7
Greek: ἵνα ἐνδείξηται ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσιν τοῖς ἐπερχομένοις τὸ ὑπερβάλλον πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ ἐν χρηστότητι ἐφ’ ἡμᶰς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. Gloss: “so that he might show in the ages to come the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ages to come | τοῖς αἰῶσιν τοῖς ἐπερχομένοις (tois aiōsin tois eperchomenois) | tois aiōsin tois eperchomenois | the coming ages | future eras of linear, historical time under God’s ongoing purpose | ”ages to come,” “future ages” | Salvation’s purpose extends into an unending, linear future under God’s sovereign display, not a cycle of repeated ages/aeons. | các thời đại hầu đến. Risk High: avoid kiếp (a Sino-Vietnamese Buddhist term for a cosmic cycle-era within samsara); use thời đại (epoch/era in ordinary linear historical sense). |
| surpassing riches of his grace | τὸ ὑπερβάλλον πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ (to hyperballon ploutos tēs charitos autou) | to hyperballon ploutos tēs charitos autou | the surpassing/overflowing wealth of his grace | superlative abundance | ”riches of grace,” “surpassing riches” | Grace is not a bare minimum sufficiency but lavish abundance, displayed as an eternal exhibit of God’s character. | sự giàu có dư dật của ân điển Ngài (built on [Romans TM: ân điển]). Risk Medium. |
| kindness | χρηστότητι (chrēstotēti) | chrēstotēti | kindness, goodness | benevolent disposition expressed in action | ”kindness,” “goodness” | God’s grace is expressed personally and warmly, not as cold legal transaction. | lòng nhân từ. Risk Medium. |
Ephesians 2:8
Greek: τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι διὰ πίστεως· καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν, θεοῦ τὸ δῶρον· Gloss: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,“
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| by grace…saved | τῇ χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι | tē chariti este sesōsmenoi | (see v.5) | (see v.5) | (see v.5) | Restates v.5’s thesis in full, now with the instrumental means (faith) stated. Per the Theological Consistency Rules, this clause and v.5’s parenthetical must be rendered identically in Vietnamese wherever they occur across all curriculum documents. | được cứu bởi ân điển [must match v.5 exactly]. Risk Critical. |
| through faith | διὰ πίστεως (dia pisteōs) | dia pisteōs | through/by means of faith | the instrumental means by which grace-salvation is received, not its ground | ”through faith,” “by faith” | [Romans TM: đức tin] — reused exactly. Faith is the empty hand that receives, not a meritorious act that earns. | đức tin [Romans TM]. Risk Medium (per baseline); object of faith is Christ, established from context (vv.6–7). |
| this | τοῦτο (touto) | touto | this thing/matter | grammatically ambiguous referent — most likely the whole preceding salvation-by-grace-through-faith event, not “faith” alone (a classic exegetical question) | “this,” “this is” | Whatever precise grammatical antecedent, the theological point is unambiguous: the entire salvation transaction, including any faith exercised, originates outside the human self. | điều đó. Risk Medium — an ambiguity to flag for native-speaker/theologian review per the Ambiguity Handling rule; the doctrinal weight of the sentence does not depend on resolving the antecedent, so the Vietnamese rendering should preserve the same open construction rather than artificially disambiguating in a way that could imply faith itself is meritorious. |
| gift | δῶρον (dōron) | dōron | gift, that which is given | a freely given present, requiring nothing in return | ”gift” | Salvation, from origin to reception, is entirely God’s giving — the direct opposite of a debt owed or a merit earned. This is the term that most directly parallels and reinforces the Grace doctrine’s core distinction. | sự ban cho (of God) — new term, distinct from ân tứ (spiritual gift/charisma, [Romans TM]). Risk High: must be kept visibly distinct from ơn nghĩa (a reciprocal-debt-creating favor) and from phước đức/công đức (Buddhist merit); this “gift” creates no debt and answers no accumulated merit. |
Ephesians 2:9
Greek: οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων, ἵνα μή τις καυχήσηται. Gloss: “not of works, so that no one may boast.”
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| works | ἔργων (ergōn) | ergōn | deeds, works, labors | human moral/religious effort considered as a basis for standing before God | ”works,” “deeds,” “works of the law” | The explicit negative: salvation’s basis excludes any human effort, religious observance, or accumulated merit whatsoever — the single most theologically load-bearing word in the core passage after “grace” and “faith.” | việc làm / công việc. Risk Critical: this is the exact point at which Buddhist công đức (accumulated merit through good deeds/religious practice) and Confucian đức hạnh-style moral achievement must be most sharply and explicitly excluded. The AI Translation Requirements’ escalation rule (“any segment where grace is being contrasted with works/merit/reciprocal debt”) applies directly to this verse; it must always be flagged for human theologian review. |
| boast | καυχήσηται (kauchēsētai) | kauchēsētai | to boast, glory, take pride in | self-congratulation over one’s own achievement or status | ”boast,” “take credit,” “be proud” | The stated purpose of excluding works: to remove every ground for self-credit, protecting grace from being reinterpreted as reward. | khoe mình / tự hào. Risk Medium: the goal is to exclude self-congratulation before God specifically, not to teach a generic cultural virtue of modesty; keep the theological referent (“before God,” implicit from context) recoverable. |
Ephesians 2:10
Greek: αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν ποίημα, κτισθέντες ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἐπὶ ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς, οἷς προητοίμασεν ὁ θεὸς ἵνα ἐν αὐτοῖς περιπατήσωμεν. Gloss: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| workmanship | ποίημα (poiēma) | poiēma | that which is made, a work/product | God’s own creative handiwork; the same root as “poem” in English, i.e., a crafted work | ”workmanship,” “handiwork,” “masterpiece” | Believers are not the source but the product of God’s saving action — reinforcing v.9’s exclusion of self-generated works by identifying the believer’s very existence-in-Christ as God’s making. | công việc tạo thành [của Đức Chúa Trời] (cf. established Bản Dịch Truyền Thống’s simpler “việc Ngài làm ra,” an acceptable variant). Risk Medium. |
| created | κτισθέντες (ktisthentes) | ktisthentes | having been created | new-creation language, echoing Genesis creation | ”created,” “made” | Salvation is a new-creation act, not a self-improvement project — directly supports the doctrine of Walking in Newness of Life. | được dựng nên / được tạo dựng. Risk Medium. |
| good works | ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς (ergois agathois) | ergois agathois | good deeds | deeds that flow from and express new-creation life in Christ, as the FRUIT rather than the ROOT of salvation | ”good works,” “good deeds” | Sharply distinguished from v.9’s “works” (the excluded ground of salvation): these are the consequence, never the cause. The distinction between these two occurrences of “works” within two verses is the single most important disambiguation task in this passage. | việc lành. Risk High: translators and reviewers must be able to see, side by side, that v.9’s ἔργα (excluded as a basis for salvation) and v.10’s ἔργα ἀγαθά (the intended fruit of salvation) are the same Greek root used in opposite theological directions. A footnote/translator note distinguishing these two uses should accompany every translation of this passage. |
| prepared beforehand | προητοίμασεν (proētoimasen) | proētoimasen | prepared in advance | God’s prior sovereign planning, echoing “predestined” (1:5,11) | “prepared beforehand,” “planned in advance” | Ties good works back to God’s eternal purpose (Election and Predestination doctrine), not to human initiative. | đã sắm sẵn trước. Risk Medium — related to the Critical predestination term (see Ch.1 below); should not be confused with fatalistic số phận (fixed fate), since here what is fore-planned is specifically good works flowing from grace, exercised through the believer’s own responsible “walking.” |
| walk | περιπατήσωμεν (peripatēsōmen) | peripatēsōmen | that we might walk | see v.2 above — habitual conduct of life | ”walk,” “live,” “conduct ourselves” | Closes the passage’s ring structure: the “walk” of death (v.2) is reversed into the “walk” of grace-produced good works (v.10) — the governing metaphor for the whole book’s ethical sections (chs.4–6). | ăn ở / bước đi [same root as v.2]. Risk Medium. |
Part 2 — Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis of the Whole Book
Chapter 1 (Ephesians 1:1–23)
Chapter 1 is a single extended sentence of praise (1:3–14) followed by Paul’s prayer-report (1:15–23), establishing the doctrines of Election/Predestination and the Church as Christ’s Body/Fullness that recur throughout the letter.
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| blessed (us) | εὐλογήσας (eulogēsas) | eulogēsas | having spoken well of/bestowed benefit | God’s gracious bestowal, not a reward for merit | ”blessed,” “bestowed blessing” | The opening word of the letter’s theme: every spiritual blessing originates in God’s initiative “in Christ.” | đã ban phước cho. Risk Medium: keep visibly distinct from the merit-based phước đức; the blessing here is bestowed sheerly by grace, sharing the root “phước” but not the merit-accumulation sense. |
| chose/election | ἐξελέξατο (exelexato) | exelexato | he chose out | God’s sovereign, personal, pre-temporal selection (“before the foundation of the world,” 1:4) | “he chose,” “elected” | [Romans TM: sự lựa chọn / verb được chọn] — reused. | được chọn / sự lựa chọn [Romans TM]. Risk High (per baseline): never số mệnh (fate). |
| predestined/foreordained | προορίσας (proorisas) | proorisas | having marked out/decided beforehand | God’s sovereign advance determination of believers’ adoption and inheritance | ”predestined,” “foreordained,” “determined beforehand” | The theological backbone of the doctrine “Election and Predestination in Christ.” Distinguished from eklegomai (chose) by emphasizing the plan laid out in advance, not merely the choice made. | sự định trước / verb đã định trước. New term. Risk Critical: the single highest-stakes new term in this doctrine area. Vietnamese folk religion has a robust, ready-made fatalistic vocabulary — số phận, số mệnh, định mệnh, nghiệp — into which “predestined” could easily and wrongly collapse. God’s foreordination must be taught as the sovereign, personal, loving plan of a covenant God who also holds people responsible and calls them to freely believe (cf. 1:13 “when you believed”), not an impersonal, unalterable cosmic mechanism indifferent to human response. Every occurrence (1:5, 1:11) requires human theologian review. |
| adoption | υἱοθεσίαν (huiothesian) | huiothesian | placement as a son | full legal son-status with inheritance rights | ”adoption,” “sonship” | [Romans TM: sự làm con nuôi] — reused exactly. | sự làm con nuôi [Romans TM]. Risk High (per baseline): teach grace/intimacy, not Confucian hierarchical filial obligation. |
| redemption | ἀπολύτρωσιν (apolytrōsin) | apolytrōsin | a buying back, ransoming | deliverance secured at a price — here, Christ’s blood | ”redemption” | Salvation pictured as a rescue purchased at cost, not self-attained liberation. | sự cứu chuộc. New term. Risk High: must be distinguished from repaying a karmic or ancestral debt (a “buying back” framed as one’s own moral labor); here the price is paid entirely by Christ on the believer’s behalf, received by grace (echoes 2:8–9 directly). |
| blood | αἵματος (haimatos) | haimatos | blood | Christ’s literal, atoning, sacrificial death | ”blood,” “his blood” | Grounds redemption/forgiveness in a real, historical, substitutionary death. | huyết. New term for this glossary (though standard Vietnamese Bible vocabulary). Risk High: in ordinary Vietnamese usage “huyết”/“dòng huyết” also connotes bloodline/clan descent; must be anchored clearly to Christ’s atoning sacrificial death, not confused with ancestral-bloodline covenant concepts important in Vietnamese lineage culture. |
| forgiveness | ἄφεσιν (aphesin) | aphesin | release, sending away | full remission/cancellation of moral debt | ”forgiveness,” “remission” | Trespasses (see 2:1) are not merely overlooked but formally released. | sự tha thứ. New term. Risk Medium. |
| mystery (of his will) | μυστήριον (mystērion) | mystērion | a secret; something formerly hidden, now disclosed | in Paul, a truth hidden in God’s plan across ages, now revealed in the gospel — never a truth attained through esoteric insight or initiation | ”mystery,” “secret” | Central to the doctrine “The Mystery of Christ Revealed” — the union of Jew and Gentile in Christ, and God’s cosmic plan, disclosed by revelation, not discovered by contemplative practice. | sự mầu nhiệm. New term (established Vietnamese Bible usage). Risk High: must be sharply distinguished from esoteric or occult “huyền bí” (hidden/occult secrets accessed through ritual or meditative attainment); Paul’s mystērion is a truth that was hidden but is now openly proclaimed to everyone, the opposite of privileged secret knowledge reserved for initiates. |
| fullness of times | τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν καιρῶν (to plērōma tōn kairōn) | to plērōma tōn kairōn | the fullness of the times/seasons | the divinely appointed climactic moment in history | ”fullness of time,” “fullness of the times” | God’s redemptive plan unfolds on a linear historical timeline reaching a divinely set climax in Christ. | kỳ hạn đã trọn / khi thì kỳ đã đầy đủ. Risk Medium. |
| inheritance | κληρονομίαν / κληρονομίας (klēronomian) | klēronomian | inheritance, allotted portion | the believer’s guaranteed future possession in Christ, and (1:18) God’s own “inheritance” in the saints | ”inheritance” | Recurs 1:11,14,18; 5:5. Central to Election/Predestination doctrine. | cơ nghiệp. New term (established Vietnamese Bible usage). Risk High: Vietnamese culture attaches great weight to family inheritance and especially to hương hỏa (ancestral property maintained specifically to fund ancestor-worship rites); this spiritual inheritance in Christ must be clearly distinguished from ancestral estate obligations — it is received by grace through union with Christ, carries no ritual-maintenance duty toward the dead, and cannot be forfeited by failing a family duty. |
| sealed | ἐσφραγίσθητε (esphragisthēte) | esphragisthēte | you were sealed/stamped | marked with an official, ownership-confirming, protective seal | ”sealed,” “marked” | The Holy Spirit himself is the seal, marking believers as God’s own possession and guaranteeing final redemption (recurs 4:30). | được đóng dấu. New term. Risk High: must be distinguished from a protective amulet or charm (bùa) used in Vietnamese folk practice to ward off evil; the Spirit’s seal is not a magical object of protection acquired through ritual but the presence of a divine Person guaranteeing a promise already secured by grace. |
| guarantee/down payment | ἀρραβών (arrabōn) | arrabōn | earnest money, pledge, deposit | a partial payment guaranteeing the full amount to come | ”guarantee,” “deposit,” “down payment,” “earnest” | The Spirit’s present indwelling guarantees, but does not yet exhaust, the believer’s full future inheritance. | của cầm (established Vietnamese Bible commercial-pledge idiom). Risk Medium. |
| power, working, might, strength | δύναμις, ἐνέργεια, κράτος, ἰσχύς (dynamis, energeia, kratos, ischys) | dynamis, energeia, kratos, ischys | power / active working / dominion-strength / strength | Paul stacks near-synonyms (1:19) for rhetorical emphasis on the sheer magnitude of the resurrection-power now available to believers | ”power,” “working,” “mighty power,” “strength” | Ties directly to [Romans TM: quyền năng của Đức Chúa Trời] and anticipates the armor-of-God/spiritual warfare vocabulary of ch.6. | quyền năng, năng lực, quyền lực, sức mạnh (built on [Romans TM root]). Risk Medium. |
| rule, authority, power, dominion | ἀρχή, ἐξουσία, δύναμις, κυριότης (archē, exousia, dynamis, kyriotēs) | archē, exousia, dynamis, kyriotēs | ruling-source / delegated-authority / power / lordship-dominion | a fourfold naming of ranked spiritual/angelic-demonic powers over which Christ is now supreme (1:21) | “rule and authority and power and dominion,” “principalities and powers” | Foundational vocabulary for the Spiritual Warfare doctrine (see also 3:10; 6:12); Christ is exalted far above every such power, not merely one deity among a spirit-hierarchy. | mọi quyền cai trị, mọi thẩm quyền, mọi quyền năng, mọi quyền thống trị. Risk High: Vietnamese folk religion features an extensive, ranked hierarchy of spirits (thần, thổ địa, thành hoàng, tổ tiên, vong linh); this passage must be taught as placing Christ in absolute, unrivaled supremacy over any and every such power, not as adding him to that hierarchy as its highest member. |
| head | κεφαλήν (kephalēn) | kephalēn | head | source, authority, organic-unity metaphor for Christ’s relationship to the Church | ”head” | Foundational for “The Church as the Body of Christ” doctrine; recurs 4:15; 5:23. | đầu. New term. Risk High: sets up the ch.5 household-code application of the same metaphor to marriage; must be taught as a relationship of loving, self-giving headship (cf. 5:25), not raw hierarchical dominance. |
| body | σῶμα (sōma) | sōma | body | the Church as Christ’s organic, living body, of which he is head | ”body” | Central ecclesiological metaphor (recurs 4:4,12,16; 5:23,30). | thân thể. New term. Risk High: teach organic, living union with Christ and one another, not mere institutional membership; must not be confused with the resurrection-body vocabulary used of Christ’s own physical resurrection body (a different, though related, referent). |
| fullness (of him who fills all in all) | τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ τᶰ πάντα ἐν πᶰσιν πληρουμένου (to plērōma tou ta panta en pasin plēroumenou) | to plērōma… plēroumenou | the fullness of the one who fills all things in all things | the Church as the space/sphere in which Christ’s own fullness is expressed and displayed | ”fullness,” “the fullness of him who fills everything” | Major recurring term (1:23; 3:19; 4:13); central to both Church-as-Body and Mystery doctrines. | sự đầy dẫy. New term. Risk High: avoid the Sino-Vietnamese Buddhist term viên mãn (perfect completion/consummation attained through spiritual practice); use sự đầy dẫy (fullness/filling), which conveys Christ’s own overflowing presence filling the Church as a gift, not a self-attained state of perfection. |
Chapter 2, continued (Ephesians 2:11–22)
Having treated 2:1–10 as the core passage, this section covers the chapter’s remaining verses, which pivot from individual salvation to the corporate reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles — the doctrine of “Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity.”
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gentiles | ἔθνη (ethnē) | ethnē | nations, peoples | [Romans TM: dân ngoại] | “Gentiles,” “nations” | Reused exactly. | dân ngoại [Romans TM]. Risk Medium (per baseline). |
| circumcision/uncircumcision | περιτομή / ἀκροβυστία (peritomē / akrobystia) | peritomē / akrobystia | cutting-around / foreskin | the OT covenant sign and the (derogatory Jewish) label for those lacking it | ”circumcision,” “uncircumcision” | Marks the old ethnic-religious dividing line now abolished in Christ. | phép cắt bì / không cắt bì. Risk Medium — requires OT background teaching for an audience with generally low OT narrative literacy. |
| strangers to the covenants of promise | ξένοι τῶν διαθηκῶν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας (xenoi tōn diathēkōn tēs epangelias) | xenoi tōn diathēkōn tēs epangelias | foreigners to the covenants of promise | Gentiles’ former exclusion from Israel’s covenant privileges | ”strangers to the covenants of promise” | Reuses [Romans TM: giao ước]. | giao ước [Romans TM] + người xa lạ/khách lạ (new: “strangers/aliens”). Risk Medium. |
| hope | ἐλπίδα (elpida) | elpida | hope | confident expectation grounded in God’s promise, not a vague wish | ”hope” | The Gentiles’ former condition: “having no hope and without God in the world” — describes genuine spiritual desolation apart from Christ. | sự trông cậy (established Vietnamese Bible term, standard in Christian usage though not previously recorded in the Romans TM). Risk Medium: contrast with fatalistic resignation in folk belief, where “hope” for a good rebirth or fortune is uncertain and impersonal; biblical hope is certain because it rests on a personal, promise-keeping God. |
| peace | εἰρήνη (eirēnē) | eirēnē | peace | [Romans TM: sự bình an], here extended from vertical (God-humanity) to horizontal (Jew-Gentile) reconciliation | ”peace,” “our peace” | Christ himself “is our peace” (2:14), uniting hostile groups, not merely calming individual anxiety. | sự bình an [Romans TM]. Risk Medium, extended note: this occurrence adds a horizontal, social-unity dimension to the baseline’s vertical, justification sense — both senses must be taught together here. |
| dividing wall | τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ (to mesotoichon tou phragmou) | to mesotoichon tou phragmou | the middle-wall of the fence/partition | likely alludes to the Jerusalem Temple’s barrier separating the Court of the Gentiles from Israel’s inner courts | ”dividing wall,” “wall of partition/hostility” | Concrete architectural image for the abolished Jew-Gentile barrier. | vách ngăn. New term. Risk Medium: requires a Temple-architecture explanatory note for readers without OT/Temple background familiarity. |
| enmity | ἔχθρα (echthra) | echthra | hostility, enmity | active hostility, not mere difference | ”hostility,” “enmity” | Names the real, active hostility (both Jew-Gentile and humanity-God) that Christ’s cross abolishes. | sự thù nghịch. New term. Risk Medium. |
| abolish(ed) | καταργήσας (katargēsas) | katargēsas | having nullified, rendered inoperative | setting aside the law’s function as a covenant-boundary marker/divider | ”abolished,” “set aside,” “made void” | Refers to the ceremonial/boundary-marking function of the Law separating Jew and Gentile — not the moral law’s abiding validity (cf. Romans’s continuing use of law language). | bãi bỏ / phá đổ. Risk High: a theologically delicate point requiring human theologian review to prevent readers from wrongly concluding the whole Law, including its moral content, has been erased. |
| one new man | ἕνα καινὸν ἄνθρωπον (hena kainon anthrōpon) | hena kainon anthrōpon | one new man/humanity | a genuinely new corporate humanity created in Christ out of the two formerly divided groups — not merely a truce between two unchanged parties | ”one new man,” “one new humanity,” “one new people” | The central positive term for the doctrine “Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity.” | một người mới (glossed in teaching contexts as “một nhân loại mới,” a new corporate humanity). New term. Risk High: must be taught as a genuinely new corporate reality created by Christ’s cross, not merely social tolerance or a coalition of two groups retaining their old identities side by side. |
| reconcile | ἀποκαταλλάξῃ (apokatallaxē) | apokatallaxē | to reconcile fully, restore to favor | decisive removal of hostility and restoration of relationship, accomplished by Christ’s cross | ”reconcile,” “make peace” | Both Jew-Gentile reconciliation and reconciliation to God “in one body through the cross” are in view together. | hòa giải. New term. Risk High: must be distinguished from Vietnamese folk-religious appeasement rituals (e.g., cúng giải hạn, rites to appease offended ancestral or nature spirits and avert misfortune); biblical reconciliation is accomplished once for all by Christ’s finished sacrificial death, not achieved or maintained by ongoing ritual offerings. |
| access | προσαγωγήν (prosagōgēn) | prosagōgēn | a bringing-near, means of approach | direct, unmediated approach to God the Father, made possible “through him, by one Spirit" | "access” | Recurs 3:12; directly relevant to the doctrine of Prayer and Intercession (baseline Critical risk) — positive teaching point: believers approach God directly, without any human or spirit intermediary. | được đến gần (Đức Chúa Cha). New term. Risk High: reinforces the baseline’s caution against modeling prayer on petitioning ancestor spirits (cầu xin tổ tiên) — here Scripture itself teaches direct access to the Father through Christ and the Spirit, with no intermediary figure required or permitted. |
| fellow citizens | συμπολῖται (sympolitai) | sympolitai | co-citizens | shared civic membership in God’s people, replacing the language of exclusion (“strangers,” 2:12,19) | “fellow citizens” | Corporate identity metaphor reinforcing the “one new man” doctrine. | đồng công dân. New term. Risk Medium. |
| household of God / members of the household | οἰκεῖοι τοῦ θεοῦ (oikeioi tou theou) | oikeioi tou theou | members of God’s household/family | belonging to God’s own family, with all the intimacy the family metaphor implies | ”members of the household of God,” “God’s household” | Extends the Father/adoption doctrine (baseline High risk) into a corporate ecclesiological key. | người nhà của Đức Chúa Trời. New term. Risk High: this family-of-God metaphor resonates powerfully and positively with Vietnamese family culture, but must be taught as a spiritual family transcending and reordering biological clan, lineage, and ancestor-veneration loyalties — not replacing filial devotion to living parents (cf. ch.6) but relativizing ultimate loyalty to the family-of-origin’s ancestral religious obligations. |
| cornerstone | ἀκρογωνιαῖος (akrogōniaios) | akrogōniaios | the extreme-corner [stone] | the foundational stone determining a building’s alignment and stability | ”chief cornerstone,” “cornerstone” | Christ as the stone that both anchors and unites the whole structure — echoing Isaiah/Psalms. | đá góc nhà. New term. Risk Medium. |
| holy temple | ναὸν ἅγιον (naon hagion) | naon hagion | holy temple/sanctuary | the Church as God’s own dwelling-place, the inner sanctuary itself, not merely a religious building | ”holy temple” | The Church, corporately, is where God himself dwells by his Spirit. | đền thờ thánh. Risk High: this is a term requiring the same caution the Romans baseline applies to “church” — never render bare as “đền” (a folk temple to a deified hero or local spirit); always use the qualified compound đền thờ (established Vietnamese Bible term for a house of worship devoted to the true God), reinforced by “thánh,” and taught as the corporate people, not merely a building. |
| dwelling place (of God) | κατοικητήριον (katoikētērion) | katoikētērion | a place of dwelling/habitation | God’s own chosen residence, now the Church, not a shrine housing an image or relic | ”dwelling place,” “habitation” | Reinforces that God himself, personally, indwells his people. | nơi Đức Chúa Trời ngự. Risk Medium. |
Chapter 3 (Ephesians 3:1–21)
Chapter 3 develops “The Mystery of Christ Revealed” as Paul’s specific stewardship, and closes with a prayer for the church’s empowerment and a doxology.
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mystery of Christ | τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ Χριστοῦ (to mystērion tou Christou) | to mystērion tou Christou | see Ch.1 | see Ch.1 | ”mystery of Christ” | Specifically identified here (3:6) as the truth that Gentiles are “fellow heirs…members of the same body…partakers of the promise” — the mystery’s content is the doctrine of Unity of Jews and Gentiles itself. | sự mầu nhiệm của Đấng Christ [see Ch.1 entry]. Risk High. |
| stewardship/administration | οἰκονομίαν (oikonomian) | oikonomian | household-management, stewardship | Paul’s specific God-given assignment to administer/dispense the grace and mystery entrusted to him | ”stewardship,” “administration,” “dispensation” | Describes Paul’s apostolic office as a trusted management role, not self-appointed authority. | chức vụ quản trị. New term. Risk Medium. |
| revealed | ἀπεκαλύφθη (apekalyphthē) | apekalyphthē | was uncovered/disclosed | God’s own disclosure of previously hidden truth to chosen human messengers (apostles/prophets), by the Spirit | ”revealed,” “made known” | Ties directly to the baseline doctrine “Inspiration of Scripture” — God-given revelation through chosen human authors, not truth discovered through meditative insight or enlightenment (as in Buddhist or Confucian sage-transmission models). | được bày tỏ / được tỏ ra. New term. Risk Medium–High given direct relevance to the Inspiration of Scripture doctrine (baseline High risk). |
| fellow heirs | συγκληρονόμα (synklēronoma) | synklēronoma | co-inheritors | Gentiles share fully, equally, in the inheritance — cf. cơ nghiệp (Ch.1) | “fellow heirs,” “joint heirs” | Reinforces full equality, not junior-partner status, for Gentile believers. | cùng làm kẻ kế tự (built on cơ nghiệp). Risk Medium. |
| manifold wisdom of God | ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ (hē polypoikilos sophia tou theou) | hē polypoikilos sophia tou theou | the many-colored/multifaceted wisdom of God | God’s wisdom displayed through the Church, visible even “to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (3:10) | “manifold wisdom,” “many-colored wisdom” | God’s own wisdom, displayed as an object lesson to the spiritual powers, through the existence of the unified multi-ethnic Church. | sự khôn sáng nhiều mặt của Đức Chúa Trời. New term. Risk High: must be distinguished from Buddhist trí tuệ/Prajñā (wisdom attained through enlightened insight and spiritual cultivation); this is God’s own eternal wisdom, displayed by him through the Church, not a state of insight humans achieve. |
| unsearchable riches of Christ | τὸ ἀνεξιχνίαστον πλοῦτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ (to anexichniaston ploutos tou Christou) | to anexichniaston ploutos tou Christou | the untrackable/unfathomable riches of Christ | Christ’s inexhaustible resources, the content of Paul’s gospel preaching to the Gentiles | ”unsearchable riches,” “unfathomable riches” | Emphasizes the surpassing, inexhaustible worth of the gospel message. | sự giàu có không thể dò được của Đấng Christ. New term. Risk Medium. |
| boldness and access | παρρησίαν καὶ προσαγωγήν (parrēsian kai prosagōgēn) | parrēsian kai prosagōgēn | boldness and a bringing-near | confident, unashamed approach to God, grounded in Christ’s finished work | ”boldness and access” | Reinforces 2:18’s access doctrine with the added dimension of confidence in approaching God — key positive contrast to fearful or uncertain approaches to spiritual powers/ancestors in folk practice. | sự dạn dĩ và được đến gần [access term reused from Ch.2]. Risk High: directly relevant to the Prayer and Intercession doctrine (baseline Critical) — this confident, direct access through Christ stands in explicit contrast to appeasement-based approaches to ancestor spirits or protective deities. |
| rooted and grounded (in love) | ἐρριζωμένοι καὶ τεθεμελιωμένοι (errizōmenoi kai tethemeliōmenoi) | errizōmenoi kai tethemeliōmenoi | having been rooted and founded | agricultural + architectural metaphors for stability | ”rooted and grounded,” “rooted and established” | Believers’ stability is grounded in Christ’s love, not in accumulated merit or ritual observance. | châm rễ và lập nền. Risk Low. |
| filled with all the fullness of God | πληρωθῆτε εἰς πᶰν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ θεοῦ (plērōthēte eis pan to plērōma tou theou) | plērōthēte eis pan to plērōma tou theou | that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God | the goal of Paul’s prayer: believers’ full experiential appropriation of God’s own fullness | ”filled with all the fullness of God” | Continues the πλήρωμα theme (see Ch.1). | được đầy dẫy trọn cả sự đầy dẫy của Đức Chúa Trời [built on sự đầy dẫy]. Risk High, per Ch.1’s πλήρωμα entry. |
Chapter 4 (Ephesians 4:1–32)
Chapter 4 turns to practical exhortation, grounding “Gifts for Building Up the Church” doctrine (4:1–16) and beginning “Walking in Newness of Life” (4:17–32).
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| calling | κλήσεως (klēseōs) | klēseōs | calling, summons | [Romans TM: sự kêu gọi] | “the calling,” “vocation” | Reused exactly — walk “worthy of the calling” ties ethics directly to God’s prior summons. | sự kêu gọi [Romans TM]. Risk High (per baseline). |
| one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father | ἓν σῶμα, ἓν πνεῦμα…εἷς κύριος, μία πίστις, ἓν βάπτισμα, εἷς θεὸς καὶ πατήρ | hen sōma, hen pneuma…heis kyrios, mia pistis, hen baptisma, heis theos kai patēr | one body, one Spirit… | a sevenfold confessional unity statement | ”one body…one God and Father of all” | The doctrinal ground of Church unity; reuses [Romans TM: Chúa, đức tin, Đức Chúa Trời, Cha]. New element: baptism. | Reused terms per [Romans TM]. Baptism = phép báp-têm (established Vietnamese transliterated Bible term). Risk Medium for baptism (an established sacramental term with low ambiguity risk in Vietnamese Protestant usage). |
| gifts: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers | ἀποστόλους, προφήτας, εὐαγγελιστάς, ποιμένας καὶ διδασκάλους | apostolous, prophētas, euangelistas, poimenas kai didaskalous | apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers | the specific offices/gifts Christ gives to equip the Church, distinct from the general “spiritual gifts” (charismata) of Romans 12 | ”apostles…pastors and teachers” | Central to “Gifts for Building Up the Church” doctrine. Reuses [Romans TM: sứ đồ, tiên tri]; new: evangelist, pastor, teacher. | sứ đồ, tiên tri [Romans TM] + new: người truyền giảng Tin Lành (evangelist), người chăn / mục sư (pastor), người dạy dỗ (teacher). Risk Medium: established modern Vietnamese Protestant church-office vocabulary; low syncretism risk, but must be kept distinct from generic religious-teacher roles (e.g., Buddhist monk/thầy, folk ritual specialist/thầy cúng). |
| equipping | καταρτισμόν (katartismon) | katartismon | full-preparation, equipping | preparing believers for their functional role in the body | ”equipping,” “training” | Purpose of the gifted offices: not personal status but the body’s functioning. | sự trang bị trọn vẹn. New term. Risk Medium. |
| building up (the body) | οἰκοδομήν (oikodomēn) | oikodomēn | building, construction | [baseline doctrine: Mutual Edification, Low risk] extended corporately here | ”building up,” “edifying” | Reused sense, corporate application. | sự gây dựng [consistent with baseline Mutual Edification doctrine]. Risk Low. |
| unity of the Spirit / bond of peace | ἑνότητα τοῦ πνεύματος…τῷ συνδέσμῳ τῆς εἰρήνης | henotēta tou pneumatos…tō syndesmō tēs eirēnēs | unity of the Spirit…bond of peace | the Spirit-given unity believers already possess and are exhorted to “keep,” not create | ”unity of the Spirit,” “bond of peace” | Reinforces both Church-unity doctrine and reuses [Romans TM: sự bình an]. | sự hiệp một của Thánh Linh / dây liên kết của sự bình an. New terms. Risk Medium. |
| mature man / maturity | ἄνδρα τέλειον (andra teleion) | andra teleion | a complete/mature man | corporate spiritual maturity, “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" | "mature man,” “full maturity” | Goal of the equipping ministries — corporate Christlikeness, reusing πλήρωμα. | người trưởng thành / bậc thành nhân. New term. Risk Medium. |
| descended / ascended | κατέβη / ἀνέβη (katebē / anebē) | katebē / anebē | went down / went up | Christ’s unique, historical, once-for-all descent (incarnation) and ascent (ascension/exaltation) | “he descended…he ascended” | Directly continuous with the Critical Incarnation doctrine (baseline) — a unique, unrepeatable, historical movement, not a repeatable manifestation. | Ngài đã xuống / Ngài đã lên. New terms. Risk High: must be taught in continuity with the baseline’s Incarnation caution — this descent-and-ascent is a single, historical, unrepeated event in the identity of the one eternal Son, never framed as one of several possible manifestations (hóa thân) of a deity. |
| old man / new man | τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον / τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωπον | ton palaion anthrōpon / ton kainon anthrōpon | the old man / the new man | the believer’s former identity in Adam, decisively put off, versus the new identity in Christ, put on | ”old self/man,” “new self/man” | Central to “Walking in Newness of Life” — a definitive, once-for-all change of identity, not a gradual moral self-improvement project. | người cũ / người mới. New terms. Risk High: must convey a decisive, Christ-accomplished change of identity (echoing Christian Identity in Christ, baseline High risk), not a program of gradual self-cultivation resembling Confucian moral self-improvement or Buddhist purification through repeated practice across lifetimes. |
| renewed in the spirit of your mind | ἀνανεοῦσθαι τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ νοὸς ὑμῶν | ananeousthai tō pneumati tou noos hymōn | to be renewed in the spirit of your mind | ongoing Spirit-worked transformation of inner disposition and thinking | ”renewed in mind,” “renewed in the spirit of your mind” | Connects to [Romans TM doctrine: Sanctification, sự nên thánh]. | được đổi mới trong tâm thần. New term. Risk Medium. |
| grieve the Holy Spirit | μὴ λυπεῖτε τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον (mē lypeite to Pneuma to Hagion) | mē lypeite to Pneuma to Hagion | do not grieve/sadden the Holy Spirit | the Spirit’s personal, relational responsiveness to believers’ sin | ”do not grieve the Holy Spirit” | [Romans TM: Đức Thánh Linh] reused; this verse itself is strong positive evidence for the Spirit’s personhood — directly reinforcing the baseline’s Critical caution against the impersonal folk category thần linh. | làm buồn Đức Thánh Linh [term reused, Đức Thánh Linh, Romans TM]. Risk High: an important positive teaching opportunity — the Spirit can be grieved precisely because he is a personal divine being, not an impersonal force or generic spirit category. |
Chapter 5 (Ephesians 5:1–33)
Chapter 5 continues “Walking in Newness of Life” (5:1–20) and opens “Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships” with the husband-wife instruction (5:21–33).
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| imitators of God | μιμηταὶ τοῦ θεοῦ (mimētai tou theou) | mimētai tou theou | imitators of God | moral imitation of God’s character (specifically his self-giving love), not ontological aspiration to become divine | ”imitators of God,” “followers of God” | Grounds Christian ethics in reflecting God’s own revealed character, especially in Christ’s self-giving. | kẻ noi theo Đức Chúa Trời. New term. Risk Medium: must be distinguished from any implication of self-attained deification (relevant given some Vietnamese Buddhist teaching on attaining Buddhahood); this is moral imitation of a transcendent, personal God’s character, not becoming God. |
| walk in love | περιπατεῖτε ἐν ἀγάπῃ (peripateite en agapē) | peripateite en agapē | see Ch.1–2 walk entries | ”walk in love” | Christ’s self-giving love (5:2) as the pattern for believers’ “walk.” | ăn ở/bước đi trong tình yêu thương [terms reused]. Risk Medium. | |
| offering and sacrifice, a fragrant aroma | προσφορὰν καὶ θυσίαν εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας (prosphoran kai thysian eis osmēn euōdias) | prosphoran kai thysian eis osmēn euōdias | an offering and sacrifice, for an aroma of sweet fragrance | OT sacrificial-cultic language (echoing Leviticus/Exodus) applied to Christ’s self-giving death on the cross | ”a fragrant offering and sacrifice” | Christ’s death is God’s own once-for-all, perfectly accepted sacrifice — the fulfillment and end of the entire OT sacrificial system. | lễ vật và của lễ có mùi thơm. New term. Risk Critical: this is one of the most significant new syncretism risks in the whole book. The imagery of an offering with pleasing aroma presented to a deity closely resembles the Vietnamese ancestor-veneration practice of burning incense (đốt nhang) and presenting food offerings (cúng lễ vật) to deceased ancestors and spirits to honor and appease them. This passage requires an explicit teaching note in every occurrence: Christ’s self-offering is a unique, once-for-all, historical atoning sacrifice presented to God the Father, accomplishing what OT sacrifices only foreshadowed — it is emphatically not a repeatable ritual offering, and believers do not replicate or continue it through their own offerings to Christ or to the departed. Human theologian review mandatory. |
| sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness | πορνεία, ἀκαθαρσία, πλεονεξία (porneia, akatharsia, pleonexia) | porneia, akatharsia, pleonexia | fornication/sexual sin, uncleanness, greed | vice list marking behavior incompatible with the “children of light” identity | ”sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness” | Ordinary NT vice vocabulary. | gian dâm, ô uế, tham lam. Risk Medium. |
| children of light / of darkness | τέκνα φωτός / σκότος (tekna phōtos / skotos) | tekna phōtos / skotos | children of light / darkness | a moral-spiritual dualism describing two mutually exclusive identities/allegiances, not a balanced pair of complementary cosmic forces | ”children of light,” “sons of darkness” | Light decisively exposes and defeats darkness (5:8–14); this is not equilibrium but conquest. | con của sự sáng / sự tối tăm. New term. Risk High: must be clearly distinguished from a yin-yang (âm dương)-style complementary dualism, in which light and darkness are balanced, mutually necessary opposites; biblical light/darkness is a moral antithesis in which light is called to expose and overcome darkness, not to remain in balance with it. |
| be filled with the Spirit | πληροῦσθε ἐν πνεύματι (plērousthe en pneumati) | plērousthe en pneumati | be being filled in/by the Spirit | ongoing, Spirit-controlled life, contrasted with drunkenness (5:18) — full, conscious yieldedness to the Spirit’s influence, with retained self-control and rational speech/song (5:19–20) | “be filled with the Spirit” | Central to Walking in Newness of Life. | được đầy dẫy Đức Thánh Linh [term reused, Đức Thánh Linh, Romans TM]. Risk Critical: this is a major new risk area for the Vietnamese context specifically. Vietnamese folk spirit-mediumship practice (hầu đồng / lên đồng, spirit-possession trance rituals in which a medium is temporarily “mounted” by a spirit and loses ordinary self-control and identity) provides a ready but doctrinally opposite cultural template. Being “filled with the Holy Spirit” must be taught as retaining full personal identity, moral responsibility, and rational self-control (contrast 5:18’s “be not drunk”), in an ongoing relationship with a personal divine Person — not a trance state of being taken over or “mounted” by a spirit who displaces the person’s own agency. Human theologian review mandatory for every occurrence (also 4:30 context, Acts, etc. in wider curriculum). |
| submit to one another | ὑποτασσόμενοι ἀλλήλοις (hypotassomenoi allēlois) | hypotassomenoi allēlois | submitting to one another | mutual, reciprocal submission among believers “out of reverence for Christ” — the governing principle introducing the household code that follows | ”submitting to one another” | Frames the wife/husband instruction that follows as an expression of a broader mutual-submission ethic, not one-directional domination. | vâng phục nhau. New term. Risk High: this framing verse must be read together with the specific instructions to wives and husbands that follow; omitting or under-teaching it risks a one-sided reading of the household code. |
| wives submit to husbands | αἱ γυναῖκες τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν…ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ (hai gynaikes tois idiois andrasin…hōs tō kyriō) | hai gynaikes…hōs tō kyriō | wives [submit] to their own husbands…as to the Lord | wifely submission modeled on, and qualified by, submission to Christ | ”wives, submit to your husbands…as to the Lord” | Central text of the Household Codes doctrine. | vợ vâng phục chồng…như vâng phục Chúa vậy [reusing Chúa, Romans TM]. Risk High: this instruction sits in significant tension with the Confucian tam cương/tòng phu framework of total wifely subordination as an unconditional social duty. Teaching must make clear that the analogy is specifically to submission “as to the Lord” — i.e., an act of worship-motivated trust in Christ, bounded and reframed by the husband’s own simultaneous, weightier obligation (v.25) to sacrificial, Christ-like love — not an endorsement of unqualified patriarchal authority as a cultural given. Human theologian review mandatory. |
| husbands love wives (as Christ loved the church) | οἱ ἄνδρες, ἀγαπᶰτε τᶰς γυναῖκας, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἠγάπησεν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ ἑαυτὸν παρέδωκεν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς | hoi andres, agapate tas gynaikas, kathōs kai ho Christos ēgapēsen tēn ekklēsian kai heauton paredōken hyper autēs | husbands, love [your] wives, as also Christ loved the church and gave himself for her | self-sacrificial, Christ-modeled love as the husband’s defining obligation — the weightier, more demanding half of the marital instruction | ”husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her” | Balances and reframes the wife’s instruction; husbands are held to the standard of Christ’s own self-giving death. | chồng yêu vợ…như Đấng Christ đã yêu Hội Thánh, phó chính mình vì Hội Thánh [reusing Hội Thánh, Romans TM, and tình yêu thương]. Risk High: same doctrine as above; must be taught as equally weighty (arguably weightier) than the wife’s instruction, correcting any tendency to isolate v.22 without v.25. |
| one flesh | μία σάρξ (mia sarx) | mia sarx | one flesh | the Genesis 2:24 marital-union formula, quoted and applied typologically to Christ and the Church | ”one flesh” | Marriage itself becomes a living picture (“mystery”) of Christ’s union with his people. | nên một thịt [reusing xác thịt root, though here in its neutral physical/marital sense, not its Ch.2 sinful-nature sense — context disambiguates]. Risk Medium. |
| great mystery | τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστίν (to mystērion touto mega estin) | to mystērion touto mega estin | this mystery is great | marriage’s ultimate meaning is disclosed as a living picture of Christ and the Church — connecting the Mystery doctrine directly to the Household Codes doctrine | ”this is a great mystery,” “this mystery is profound” | Ties together two of the curriculum’s nine doctrines explicitly. | sự mầu nhiệm lớn [reusing sự mầu nhiệm, Ch.1]. Risk High. |
Chapter 6 (Ephesians 6:1–24)
Chapter 6 completes the Household Codes (children/parents, 6:1–4; bondservants/masters, 6:5–9), then delivers the letter’s climactic Spiritual Warfare and Armor of God passage (6:10–20), closing with final greetings.
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Vietnamese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| children, obey your parents in the Lord | τὰ τέκνα, ὑπακούετε τοῖς γονεῦσιν ὑμῶν ἐν κυρίῳ | ta tekna, hypakouete tois goneusin hymōn en kyriō | children, obey your parents in the Lord | filial obedience explicitly grounded in and bounded by allegiance to Christ (“in the Lord”), not free-floating hierarchical duty | ”children, obey your parents in the Lord” | Distinct nuance from the baseline’s caution against đạo hiếu as a basis for gospel-obedience: here the text itself commands filial obedience, but reframes its ultimate ground and authority as belonging “in the Lord,” not to an autonomous ancestral-hierarchical system. | con cái, hãy vâng phục cha mẹ mình trong Chúa [reusing Chúa, Romans TM]. Risk High: requires careful, nuanced teaching distinguishing this passage’s positive command (which genuinely overlaps with and affirms Vietnamese filial values) from the baseline’s caution about đạo hiếu as a wrong basis for gospel-obedience elsewhere; here the continuity with Vietnamese family values should be affirmed while still relocating final authority in Christ, not the ancestral system per se. Human theologian review recommended given the doctrinal nuance required. |
| honor your father and mother | τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα (tima ton patera sou kai tēn mētera) | tima ton patera sou kai tēn mētera | honor your father and mother | citation of the fifth commandment (Exodus 20:12), given as the first commandment with a promise | ”honor your father and mother” | Direct OT quotation; legitimately overlaps with Vietnamese hiếu kính vocabulary. | hiếu kính cha mẹ. New term for this glossary (established Vietnamese Bible rendering). Risk High: unlike most collision cases in this glossary, this is a place where Scripture’s own vocabulary appropriately and intentionally overlaps with Confucian filial-piety language; the needed distinction is not “avoid this term” but “anchor it to God’s own commandment and promise, not to ancestor-worship ritual obligation, which is a separate matter Scripture does not endorse.” |
| fathers, do not provoke your children | οἱ πατέρες, μὴ παροργίζετε τᶰ τέκνα ὑμῶν | hoi pateres, mē parorgizete ta tekna hymōn | fathers, do not provoke your children to anger | limits paternal authority; balances the preceding command to children | ”fathers, do not provoke your children to anger” | Reciprocal household-code balance, paralleling the husband/wife balance in ch.5. | các người cha, đừng chọc cho con cái mình tức giận. New term. Risk Medium. |
| bondservants, masters | δοῦλοι, κύριοι (douloi, kyrioi) | douloi, kyrioi | slaves/servants, masters/lords | first-century household/economic institution of slavery, addressed with Christ-centered ethical instruction rather than either endorsed or immediately abolished | ”bondservants and masters,” “slaves and masters” | κύριος here functions as ordinary “master,” distinct from its exclusive theological sense applied to Christ ([Romans TM: Chúa], flagged as needing careful distinction from generic usage) — the text itself models this distinction by grounding both servant’s obedience and master’s conduct in the “same Lord in heaven” (6:9). | tôi mọi (bondservants) / chủ (masters). New terms. Risk High: requires explicit historical-context teaching that first-century slavery differed from later chattel-slavery institutions, and that the passage’s goal is establishing Christ-centered service ethics for existing relationships, not a permanent endorsement of the institution of slavery; must not be read as license for exploitative labor relationships in a contemporary Vietnamese setting. |
| no partiality | οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολημψία (ouk estin prosōpolēmpsia) | ouk estin prosōpolēmpsia | there is no receiving-of-face | God shows no favoritism based on social status, extending the baseline’s Universal Human Accountability doctrine into household relations | ”there is no partiality,” “he shows no favoritism” | Directly grounds servant/master equality before Christ. | không thiên vị. New term. Risk Medium: some tension with Vietnamese honor-based social deference norms (kính trên nhường dưới), worth noting though not a doctrine-altering risk. |
| whole armor of God | τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ θεοῦ (tēn panoplian tou theou) | tēn panoplian tou theou | the full/complete armor of God | God’s own provided spiritual equipment for defensive and offensive spiritual battle, received by faith and prayer, not acquired through ritual or magical means | ”the whole armor of God,” “the full armor of God” | The controlling metaphor of the doctrine “Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God.” | khí giới của Đức Chúa Trời (also “cả bộ khí giới”). New term. Risk Critical: must be sharply distinguished from Vietnamese folk-magic protective objects — amulets/charms (bùa), protective talismans, and ritual items obtained from folk religious specialists (thầy pháp, thầy cúng) to ward off evil spirits. God’s armor is not a magical object acquired through ritual but consists of Christ’s own truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, and the Spirit’s word, appropriated through faith, obedience, and prayer. Human theologian review mandatory for every occurrence. |
| devil | τοῦ διαβόλου (tou diabolou) | tou diabolou | the slanderer, the accuser | the personal, defeated, but still active enemy — same figure as the “ruler of the power of the air” (2:2) | “the devil” | Consistent identity with 2:2’s figure; must be rendered with a single, stable Vietnamese identity throughout the book. | ma quỉ. New term (established Vietnamese Bible vocabulary). Risk High: must be distinguished from ma alone (a wandering ghost/spirit of the dead in Vietnamese folk belief); the compound ma quỉ names a specific personal fallen being (Satan), already under God’s judgment and Christ’s authority, not a generic folk-category spirit or restless ancestor-ghost. |
| schemes/wiles | τᶰς μεθοδείας (tas methodeias) | tas methodeias | the [crafty] methods/schemes | organized, deliberate, deceptive strategy, not random temptation | ”wiles,” “schemes,” “strategies” | The devil operates strategically, requiring a correspondingly deliberate defense (the armor). | mưu kế. New term. Risk High. |
| principalities, powers, rulers of this age’s darkness, spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places | τᶰς ἀρχάς, τᶰς ἐξουσίας, τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τούτου, τᶰ πνευματικᶰ τῆς πονηρίας ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις | tas archas, tas exousias, tous kosmokratoras tou skotous toutou, ta pneumatika tēs ponērias en tois epouraniois | the rulers, the authorities, the world-rulers of this darkness, the spiritual [forces] of evil in the heavenly places | a fourfold, escalating description of the organized hierarchy of fallen spiritual powers believers contend against — real but defeated, subordinate to Christ’s supremacy (1:21) | “principalities…powers…rulers of the darkness of this world…spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” | The single highest-stakes new syncretism-risk passage in Ephesians relative to the Romans baseline. | các quyền, các thế lực, các vua chúa của thế gian mờ tối này, các thần dữ ở các miền trên trời. New terms. Risk Critical: Vietnamese folk religion possesses an elaborate, culturally vivid hierarchy of spiritual beings — territorial/land spirits (thổ địa), village tutelary spirits (thành hoàng), ancestral spirits (vong linh, hồn ma), and malevolent ghosts (ma, quỷ) — engaged through offerings, mediums, exorcists (thầy pháp), and protective rituals. This passage’s taxonomy of evil spiritual powers must be taught as referring to a real, organized, but already defeated and subordinate hierarchy under Christ’s absolute authority (established in 1:21), engaged by believers exclusively through prayer, faith, Scripture, and righteous living (the armor) — never through folk exorcism ritual, spirit mediumship, ancestral appeasement, or protective amulets. This is the single most important passage in the entire book for human theologian review. |
| breastplate of righteousness | τὸν θώρακα τῆς δικαιοσύνης (ton thōraka tēs dikaiosynēs) | ton thōraka tēs dikaiosynēs | the breastplate of righteousness | [Romans TM: sự công bình] applied defensively as protective armor | ”breastplate of righteousness” | The same forensic righteousness of the Romans baseline, now pictured as vital protective covering in spiritual battle. | giáp bằng sự công bình [reusing sự công bình, Romans TM]. Risk High: must convey the same forensic, Christ-given righteousness of the baseline (received, not earned) functioning here as protection — not a moral-merit shield built by the believer’s own accumulated virtue or good deeds. |
| shield of faith | τὸν θυρεὸν τῆς πίστεως (ton thyreon tēs pisteōs) | ton thyreon tēs pisteōs | the (large) shield of faith | [Romans TM: đức tin] as active, battle-ready trust, quenching the enemy’s attacks | ”shield of faith” | Faith itself, not a physical talisman, repels spiritual attack. | thuẫn đức tin [reusing đức tin, Romans TM]. Risk Medium: must be kept clearly a matter of trust/reliance on Christ, not a magical protective object. |
| helmet of salvation | τὴν περικεφαλαίαν τοῦ σωτηρίου (tēn perikephalaian tou sōtēriou) | tēn perikephalaian tou sōtēriou | the helmet of salvation | [Romans TM: sự cứu rỗi] as protective covering for the mind | ”helmet of salvation” | The Critical baseline salvation term, reused with the added protective-armor image. | mão trụ bằng sự cứu rỗi [reusing sự cứu rỗi, Romans TM]. Risk High: forbidden-substitution rule against sự giải thoát still applies fully; additionally must not become a talisman-like object independent of trust in Christ’s finished saving work. |
| sword of the Spirit, the word of God | τὴν μάχαιραν τοῦ πνεύματος, ὅ ἐστιν ῥῆμα θεοῦ (tēn machairan tou pneumatos, ho estin rhēma theou) | tēn machairan tou pneumatos, ho estin rhēma theou | the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God | Scripture, wielded by the Spirit, as the sole offensive weapon in the list | ”sword of the Spirit, the word of God” | [Romans TM: Đức Thánh Linh] reused; new: word of God as the source of offensive spiritual power. | gươm của Đức Thánh Linh, là lời của Đức Chúa Trời [reusing Đức Thánh Linh]. Risk Medium. |
| praying always in the Spirit | προσευχόμενοι ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ ἐν πνεύματι (proseuchomenoi en panti kairō en pneumati) | proseuchomenoi en panti kairō en pneumati | praying at every season/time in the Spirit | continual, Spirit-empowered prayer as the sustaining posture for spiritual warfare | ”praying at all times in the Spirit” | Directly reactivates the baseline’s Critical caution on Prayer and Intercession, now in the specific context of spiritual conflict. | cầu nguyện luôn…trong Đức Thánh Linh [reusing intercession/prayer vocabulary]. Risk Critical: as with the baseline’s original caution, this prayer must never be modeled on petitioning ancestor spirits or invoking protective folk deities for aid in spiritual battle; it is communion with the personal Holy Spirit and intercession grounded in Christ’s finished victory over the powers (1:20–21), not an apotropaic ritual invocation. |
| ambassador (in chains) | πρεσβεύω…ἐν ἁλύσει (presbeuō…en halysei) | presbeuō…en halysei | I am an ambassador…in a chain | Paul’s self-description as an authorized representative of the gospel even while imprisoned | ”ambassador…in chains” | Distinct from sứ đồ (apostle, a specific commissioned office) — here a general image of authorized representation. | sứ giả (ambassador/envoy) — new term, distinct from [Romans TM: sứ đồ]. Risk Medium. |
Cross-Chapter Summary
Ephesians introduces a substantially larger new-term burden than the Romans baseline anticipated, concentrated in three areas of special concern for the Vietnamese context:
- Spiritual-power/spirit-hierarchy vocabulary (chs. 1, 3, 6): principalities/powers/rulers of darkness, heavenly places, the ruler of the power of the air, the devil, the armor of God — all requiring careful distinction from Vietnamese folk religion’s spirit hierarchy, protective amulets, and exorcism/mediumship practices. This is the single largest new risk category introduced by this curriculum.
- Family/household vocabulary (chs. 2, 5, 6): household of God, wives/husbands, children/parents, honor father and mother, redemption/inheritance — requiring careful, nuanced navigation between genuine positive overlap with Vietnamese family values and clear correction of hierarchical or ancestor-obligation framings the text does not support.
- Cultic/sacrificial and Spirit-filling vocabulary (ch. 5): the fragrant offering/sacrifice and being filled with the Spirit — both requiring explicit distinction from ancestor-offering ritual and spirit-mediumship trance respectively.
All terms established in the Romans baseline (translation_memory.json, bible_term_registry.json) have been reused exactly and are marked “[Romans TM]” throughout. All new terms proposed above are catalogued with full risk rationale in 08_core_glossary.md for incorporation into the Language Package.