07 Semantic Analysis — Titus (Koine Greek → Vietnamese)

Methodology

This analysis covers the entire book of Titus (3 chapters, 46 verses) in the original Koine Greek. The core passage (Titus 2:11–3:8) receives full verse-by-verse treatment. All other material in Titus receives chapter-section treatment covering every load-bearing theological term. For every term, the following six fields are given: original word, transliteration, literal meaning, semantic range, English variants, contextual theological meaning, and destination-language (Vietnamese) rendering risk.

Any term already recorded in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json is reused exactly as recorded there; this is marked “[BASELINE REUSE]” at first occurrence. New terms not present in the Romans baseline are marked “[NEW TERM]” and receive a proposed Vietnamese rendering with a risk tier consistent with the baseline’s Critical/High/Medium/Low framework.

Greek text follows the standard critical (NA28/UBS5) textual tradition; no textual variants in Titus materially affect doctrine at the level this analysis addresses.

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PART A: CORE PASSAGE — Titus 2:11–3:8 (Verse-by-Verse)

Titus 2:11

Greek: Ἐπεφάνη γὰρ ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ σωτήριος πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις English (ESV): “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people”

• χάρις (charis) [BASELINE REUSE] — transliteration: charis; literal meaning: “favor, grace, gift”; semantic range: unearned favor, a gracious gift, sometimes “thanks”; English variants: grace, favor, gift; contextual theological meaning: God’s saving grace is personified as having “appeared” (ἐπιφαίνω) in history — grace is not an abstract force but is inseparable from the historical appearing of Christ (cf. 2 Tim 1:9-10). This is the hinge verse of the whole letter’s doctrine “Grace That Trains for Godly Living.” Vietnamese rendering: ân điển (High risk per baseline; reused exactly). Risk note: must never drift toward phước đức/công đức (Buddhist accumulated merit) — here grace is the acting subject that itself trains behavior, the reverse of merit accumulated by behavior.
• ἐπιφαίνω (epiphainō) [NEW TERM] — transliteration: epiphainō; literal meaning: “to appear, shine forth, become visible”; semantic range: a decisive, once-for-all historical manifestation (used of the sun rising, and of divine manifestation); English variants: appeared, was manifested, shone forth; contextual theological meaning: grace’s “appearing” parallels the “appearing” of glory in 2:13 and of God’s kindness in 3:4 — a threefold epiphany structure unique to Titus, bracketing the core passage. Vietnamese rendering: đã hiện ra / sự hiện ra — proposed risk: High. Risk note: must be kept as a singular, historical, once-for-all disclosure event tied to the incarnation, not rendered in a way that suggests a repeatable divine manifestation (a risk directly parallel to the baseline’s hóa thân caution on incarnation — see baseline “incarnation” entry). Recommend cross-referencing that caution explicitly in translator notes at every occurrence of this verb family in Titus (2:11, 2:13, 3:4).
• σωτήριος (sōtērios) [NEW TERM, related to BASELINE “salvation”] — transliteration: sōtērios; literal meaning: “saving, bringing salvation”; semantic range: adjectival form describing that which effects deliverance; English variants: saving, bringing salvation, salvation-bringing; contextual theological meaning: grace itself is described as the saving/salvation-bringing reality — grace and salvation are inseparably fused in this verse. Vietnamese rendering: reuse baseline sự cứu rỗi root — rendered adjectivally as “…đem lại sự cứu rỗi” (Critical risk per baseline “salvation” entry, reused exactly). Risk note: absolutely never sự giải thoát (Buddhist liberation from the cycle of rebirth).
• πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις (pasin anthrōpois) — literal meaning: “to all men/people”; contextual theological meaning: universal scope of grace’s saving offer, matching baseline doctrine “Universal Scope of the Gospel.” Vietnamese rendering: mọi người — Medium risk; must not be softened into a graded or ancestral-merit-qualified group (per baseline universality guidance).

Titus 2:12

Greek: παιδεύουσα ἡμᾶς ἵνα ἀρνησάμενοι τὴν ἀσέβειαν καὶ τὰς κοσμικὰς ἐπιθυμίας σωφρόνως καὶ δικαίως καὶ εὐσεβῶς ζήσωμεν ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι English (ESV): “training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age”

• παιδεύω (paideuō) [NEW TERM — CRITICAL for curriculum doctrine] — transliteration: paideuō; literal meaning: “to train, discipline, educate (as a child)”; semantic range: covers child-rearing instruction, corrective discipline, and moral formation; English variants: train, discipline, instruct, chasten; contextual theological meaning: grace itself is the active subject doing the training — this is the doctrinal core of “Grace That Trains for Godly Living”: sanctified behavior is the fruit of grace’s inward work, not a precondition for receiving it. Vietnamese rendering: dạy dỗ và rèn luyện — proposed risk: High. Risk note: must be carefully distanced from tu tập (Buddhist self-cultivation/spiritual practice, where the practitioner is the acting agent generating their own moral progress) and from Confucian self-discipline achieved through personal effort (tu thân). The grammatical subject must remain unambiguously “grace,” not the believer.
• ἀσέβεια (asebeia) [NEW TERM] — transliteration: asebeia; literal meaning: “ungodliness, irreverence”; semantic range: the opposite of eusebeia (godliness); disregard or active opposition toward God; English variants: ungodliness, impiety. Vietnamese rendering: sự không tin kính — Medium risk.
• κοσμικὰς ἐπιθυμίας (kosmikas epithymias) — literal meaning: “worldly desires/passions”; ἐπιθυμία semantic range spans neutral “desire” to sinful “lust, craving.” Vietnamese rendering: những sự tham muốn của thế gian — Medium-High risk: caution that Vietnamese “tham” overlaps with the Buddhist term tham (greed/craving, one of the three poisons). This overlap is actually usable here (both traditions condemn worldly craving), but translators must not let the term default to Buddhist psychological categories (mental attachment to be extinguished through insight) rather than moral rebellion against a personal God requiring grace-empowered renunciation.
• σωφρόνως (sōphronōs), δικαίως (dikaiōs), εὐσεβῶς (eusebōs) — three adverbs describing the trained life: “self-controlled,” “righteously” [δικαίως shares the root of BASELINE REUSE sự công bình/righteousness], “godly.” Vietnamese renderings: cách tiết độ, cách công bình, cách tin kính — Medium risk collectively; δικαίως must echo the forensic-then-lived-out sense of righteousness already anchored by the baseline term, not introduce a separate Confucian virtue-cultivation concept (đức hạnh, explicitly rejected in the baseline).
• αἰών (aiōn) [NEW TERM] — transliteration: aiōn; literal meaning: “age, era”; semantic range: a bounded period of time, often contrasted with “the age to come”; English variants: age, world, era. Vietnamese rendering: đời này / thời đại này — Low-Medium risk. Contextual meaning: this present, temporary age is contrasted with the “blessed hope” of v.13, establishing Titus’s linear eschatological time-frame (present age → future appearing), in contrast to a cyclical cosmology.

Titus 2:13

Greek: προσδεχόμενοι τὴν μακαρίαν ἐλπίδα καὶ ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς δόξης τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ English (ESV): “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ”

• ἐλπίς (elpis) [NEW TERM] — transliteration: elpis; literal meaning: “hope, expectation”; semantic range: confident expectation grounded in a trustworthy promise (not wishful uncertainty); English variants: hope, expectation. Vietnamese rendering: sự hy vọng — proposed risk: Medium. Risk note: must be taught as confident assurance grounded in God’s character and promise (cf. baseline “covenant”), distinct from a vague wish or from fatalistic resignation to số phận (fixed fate).
• ἐπιφάνεια (epiphaneia) [NEW TERM, related to 2:11 verb] — transliteration: epiphaneia; literal meaning: “appearing, manifestation”; semantic range: in the Pastoral Epistles this becomes a quasi-technical term for both Christ’s first coming (2 Tim 1:10) and his future return (1 Tim 6:14, 2 Tim 4:1,8; here, Titus 2:13). English variants: appearing, manifestation, glorious appearing. Vietnamese rendering: sự hiện ra — proposed risk: High, same caution as ἐπιφαίνω above regarding a single, unrepeatable, historical/future event, not a cyclical or repeatable divine manifestation.
• δόξα (doxa) [BASELINE REUSE] — Vietnamese rendering: sự vinh hiển (Medium risk per baseline, reused exactly).
• θεός (theos) [BASELINE REUSE] — Vietnamese rendering: Đức Chúa Trời (Critical risk per baseline, reused exactly).
• σωτήρ (sōtēr) [NEW TERM — CRITICAL, directly supports “Deity of Christ” and links to Romans-baseline doctrine “Deity of Christ”] — transliteration: sōtēr; literal meaning: “Savior, deliverer”; semantic range: one who rescues/delivers, applied in the LXX and NT distinctively to God and, in the Pastorals, explicitly and repeatedly to Jesus Christ; English variants: Savior, deliverer, rescuer. Contextual theological meaning: this verse’s Greek grammar (a single article governing “great God and Savior,” known as the Sharp’s-rule construction) identifies Jesus Christ AS “our great God and Savior” — one of the clearest NT affirmations of Christ’s full deity. Vietnamese rendering: Cứu Chúa — proposed risk: Critical. Risk note: the Vietnamese rendering must preserve the single-referent grammatical force (“Đức Chúa Trời vĩ đại và Cứu Chúa của chúng ta là Đức Chúa Giê-xu Christ”) so that the text is not misread as naming two separate figures (God the Father AND a lesser, separate savior-figure), which would undercut the deity-of-Christ argument this verse makes. This must be flagged for mandatory human theologian review at every occurrence (matching the baseline’s existing Critical-risk routing for “Deity of Christ” and “Son of God”).
• Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Iēsou Christou) [BASELINE REUSE for “Jesus”; “Christ” per system-prompt transliteration standard] — Vietnamese rendering: Đức Chúa Giê-xu Christ (Critical risk, reused exactly).

Titus 2:14

Greek: ὃς ἔδωκεν ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἵνα λυτρώσηται ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἀνομίας καὶ καθαρίσῃ ἑαυτῷ λαὸν περιούσιον ζηλωτὴν καλῶν ἔργων English (ESV): “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works”

• λυτρόω (lytroō) [NEW TERM] — transliteration: lytroō; literal meaning: “to redeem, ransom, buy back (from slavery)”; semantic range: commercial/legal metaphor of purchasing freedom, e.g. a slave’s manumission; English variants: redeem, ransom, set free by payment. Contextual theological meaning: Christ’s self-giving death is the payment price that liberates from lawlessness. Vietnamese rendering: cứu chuộc — proposed risk: Medium-High. Risk note: “chuộc” (to redeem/buy back) is an established Vietnamese Bible term; caution that it should not be flattened into a metaphor of merit-transfer (as sometimes practiced in folk-Buddhist merit-transfer rites for the deceased) but kept as a one-time historical, substitutionary payment by Christ himself.
• ἀνομία (anomia) [NEW TERM] — transliteration: anomia; literal meaning: “lawlessness”; related to BASELINE REUSE luật pháp (law). Vietnamese rendering: sự phạm luật pháp / sự vô luật — Medium risk.
• λαὸς περιούσιος (laos periousios) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “a people for [his] own possession”; echoes Exodus 19:5/Deut 14:2 LXX covenant language. Vietnamese rendering: dân riêng (của Ngài) — Medium risk; ties to covenant/election doctrine already established in baseline.
• ζηλωτής (zēlōtēs) — literal meaning: “zealous one, enthusiast.” Vietnamese rendering: sốt sắng — Low risk.
• καλὰ ἔργα (kala erga) [NEW TERM — CRITICAL for curriculum doctrine “Sound Doctrine and Good Works” and “Salvation by Grace not Works”] — transliteration: kala erga; literal meaning: “good works, good deeds”; semantic range: visible deeds of moral/practical goodness; English variants: good works, good deeds, good conduct. Contextual theological meaning: good works here are the purpose and fruit of redemption (Christ purified a people “zealous for good works”), never its means — the doctrinal hinge distinguishing Titus 2:14/3:8 from 3:5. Vietnamese rendering: việc lành (established Vietnamese Protestant Bible term) — proposed risk: Critical. Risk note: this is the single highest-collision term in the whole curriculum. Vietnamese Buddhist culture is saturated with the concept of làm việc thiện / tích công đức (doing good deeds to accumulate merit that improves karmic outcome or rebirth). Every occurrence of “good works” in Titus (1:16; 2:7,14; 3:1,8,14) must carry a translator note anchoring good works as the evidence and outflow of a salvation already fully secured by grace (3:5, “not by works”), never as a contributing cause. This term must always be read in tandem with the “Salvation by Grace not Works” doctrine below.

Titus 2:15

Greek: Ταῦτα λάλει καὶ παρακάλει καὶ ἔλεγχε μετὰ πάσης ἐπιταγῆς· μηδείς σου περιφρονείτω English (ESV): “Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”

• παρακαλέω (parakaleō) [BASELINE REUSE — context-sensitive per baseline note] — Vietnamese rendering: khuyên bảo (exhortation sense, since paired here with rebuke rather than comfort/encouragement) — Low-Medium risk, consistent with baseline’s context-sensitivity guidance (khích lệ for building up vs. khuyên nài/khuyên bảo for exhortation).
• ἐλέγχω (elenchō) [NEW TERM] — transliteration: elenchō; literal meaning: “to reprove, rebuke, expose (wrongdoing)”; semantic range: correction that exposes error, ranging from gentle correction to sharp rebuke (cf. 1:13 ἔλεγχε ἀποτόμως, “rebuke sharply”). Vietnamese rendering: quở trách — Medium risk; must be taught as an act of pastoral authority grounded in sound doctrine, not personal harshness.
• ἐπιταγή (epitagē) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “command, authoritative order.” Vietnamese rendering: quyền — Low-Medium risk.
• περιφρονέω (periphroneō) — literal meaning: “to disregard, despise, look down on.” Vietnamese rendering: xem thường — Low risk.

Titus 3:1

Greek: Ὑπόμιμνῃσκε αὐτοὺς ἀρχαῖς ἐξουσίαις ὑποτάσσεσθαι πειθαρχεῖν πρὸς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἑτοίμους εἶναι English (ESV): “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work”

• ὑποτάσσω (hypotassō) [NEW TERM — CRITICAL for curriculum doctrine “Submission to Authority”] — transliteration: hypotassō; literal meaning: “to arrange under, subordinate oneself”; semantic range: a military/ordering metaphor of voluntary, ordered placement under authority (middle/passive voice: “submit oneself”), distinct from forced subjugation; English variants: submit, be subject to, be subordinate. Contextual theological meaning: submission to civil rulers is here grounded in gospel witness (so that “the word of God may not be reviled,” 2:5) rather than in an absolute, unconditional hierarchy. Vietnamese rendering: vâng phục (reusing the root already established in baseline’s obedience_of_faith = “sự vâng phục của đức tin”) — proposed risk: High. Risk note: must be explicitly distinguished from Confucian tam cương (the three fixed bonds — ruler/subject, father/son, husband/wife) in which submission is owed absolutely and permanently by fixed social rank. Biblical submission here is voluntary, gospel-motivated, provisional to “the present age” (2:12), and does not ground the believer’s ultimate identity or worth in the hierarchy — that identity rests in adoption/heirship (3:7), a doctrine already flagged High risk in the baseline for the same reason.
• ἀρχή / ἐξουσία (archē / exousia) [NEW TERMS] — literal meanings: “ruler/rule” and “authority/power” respectively. Vietnamese rendering: các đấng cầm quyền, các quyền cao hơn mình — Medium risk.
• πειθαρχέω (peitharcheō) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “to obey, be persuaded to obey.” Vietnamese rendering: tuân theo — Medium risk, same submission-doctrine caution as above.
• ἔργον ἀγαθόν (ergon agathon) — see καλὰ ἔργα above (Critical risk term, reused).

Titus 3:2

Greek: μηδένα βλασφημεῖν, ἀμάχους εἶναι, ἐπιεικεῖς, πᾶσαν ἐνδεικνυμένους πραΰτητα πρὸς πάντας ἀνθρώπους English (ESV): “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people”

• βλασφημέω (blasphēmeō) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “to slander, speak evil of, blaspheme.” Vietnamese rendering: nói xấu (of people) / phạm thượng (of God, elsewhere) — Low-Medium risk.
• ἄμαχος (amachos) — literal meaning: “not quarrelsome, peaceable.” Vietnamese rendering: không hay gây gổ — Low risk.
• ἐπιεικής (epieikēs) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “gentle, yielding, considerate, reasonable.” Vietnamese rendering: hiền hòa — Low-Medium risk.
• πραΰτης (prautēs) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “gentleness, meekness (strength under control, not weakness).” Vietnamese rendering: sự nhu mì / sự mềm mại — Medium risk; must not be confused with passive weakness or the Buddhist ideal of non-attachment/detachment (vô ngã, xả) which, while superficially similar, is rooted in extinguishing desire rather than in Christlike strength exercised gently toward others.

Titus 3:3

Greek: Ἦμεν γάρ ποτε καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀνόητοι, ἀπειθεῖς, πλανώμενοι, δουλεύοντες ἐπιθυμίαις καὶ ἡδοναῖς ποικίλαις, ἐν κακίᾳ καὶ φθόνῳ διάγοντες, στυγητοί, μισοῦντες ἀλλήλους English (ESV): “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another”

• ἀπειθής (apeithēs) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “disobedient, unpersuadable”; related to the “obedience of faith” doctrine already flagged High risk in the baseline (its negation). Vietnamese rendering: không vâng phục — Medium-High risk (mirror of baseline “obedience_of_faith” caution).
• πλανάω (planaō) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “to lead astray, deceive, cause to wander.” Vietnamese rendering: bị lầm lạc — Medium risk.
• δουλεύω (douleuō) — literal meaning: “to be a slave to, serve as a slave.” Vietnamese rendering: làm tôi mọi cho — Medium risk; sets up the grace-freedom contrast with the true “slave of God” identity in 1:1 (below).
• κακία / φθόνος (kakia / phthonos) — “malice” and “envy.” Vietnamese rendering: sự hung ác, sự ganh ghét — Low-Medium risk.
• μισέω (miseō) — “to hate.” Vietnamese rendering: ghét — Low risk. Contextual note: this verse’s description of pre-conversion humanity (foolish, enslaved, hateful) is the necessary rhetorical foil for v.4’s “but when the goodness of God appeared” — the same rhetorical move as Romans’ “all have sinned” (baseline: Universal Human Accountability, High risk) and must retain the same unqualified, non-graded universality.

Titus 3:4

Greek: ὅτε δὲ ἡ χρηστότης καὶ ἡ φιλανθρωπία ἐπεφάνη τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ English (ESV): “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared”

• χρηστότης (chrēstotēs) [NEW TERM] — transliteration: chrēstotēs; literal meaning: “kindness, goodness, benevolence”; semantic range: a settled disposition of kindness, distinct from momentary pity; English variants: kindness, goodness, benevolence. Vietnamese rendering: sự nhân từ — proposed risk: Medium.
• φιλανθρωπία (philanthrōpia) [NEW TERM] — transliteration: philanthrōpia; literal meaning: “love of mankind” (philos + anthrōpos); semantic range: benevolent love directed toward humanity as such; English variants: loving kindness, philanthropy, love for mankind. Vietnamese rendering: lòng yêu thương loài người — proposed risk: Medium. Contextual theological meaning: together with χρηστότης, this describes God’s disposition that motivated salvation — again an “appearing” (ἐπιφαίνω, see 2:11 note above), completing the letter’s threefold epiphany pattern (grace / glory / goodness).
• σωτήρ … θεοῦ (sōtēr … theou) — see 2:13 note (Critical risk, “God our Savior” — same deity-of-Savior emphasis, here applied to God the Father, forming a deliberate parallel with 2:13’s application to Christ).

Titus 3:5 — KEY VERSE: Regeneration by the Holy Spirit

Greek: οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων τῶν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ ἃ ἐποιήσαμεν ἡμεῖς ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ αὐτοῦ ἔλεος ἔσωσεν ἡμᾶς διὰ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας καὶ ἀνακαινώσεως πνεύματος ἁγίου English (ESV): “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit”

• ἔργα … ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ (erga en dikaiosynē) [CRITICAL for curriculum doctrine “Salvation by Grace not Works”] — literal meaning: “works [done] in righteousness”; combines NEW TERM ἔργα with BASELINE REUSE δικαιοσύνη (sự công bình). Contextual theological meaning: this is the single most direct statement in Titus of salvation’s exclusion of human merit as its ground — the explicit negative counterpart to 2:14/3:8’s “good works.” Vietnamese rendering: những việc công bình chúng ta đã làm — proposed risk: Critical. Risk note: must be flagged for mandatory theologian review at every occurrence; the negation (“not by works… but according to his mercy”) must never be softened, hedged, or balanced in translation such that works appear to make any causal contribution to salvation. This is the doctrinal companion and necessary corrective to 2:14/3:1/3:8’s positive statements about good works — translator notes should always cross-reference both directions.
• ἔλεος (eleos) [NEW TERM] — transliteration: eleos; literal meaning: “mercy, compassion”; semantic range: compassionate response to another’s need or distress, especially undeserved; English variants: mercy, compassion, pity. Vietnamese rendering: sự thương xót — proposed risk: Medium-High, given close doctrinal partnership with ân điển (grace); the two terms must be kept distinguishable (mercy withholds deserved judgment; grace bestows undeserved favor) while both excluding merit.
• σώζω (sōzō) [BASELINE REUSE, verb form of “salvation”] — Vietnamese rendering: cứu (verb form of sự cứu rỗi, Critical risk, reused).
• λουτρόν (loutron) [NEW TERM] — transliteration: loutron; literal meaning: “washing, bath, laver”; semantic range: a literal washing/bathing vessel or act, used here metaphorically (likely evoking baptism); English variants: washing, bath. Vietnamese rendering: sự rửa — proposed risk: Medium-High. Risk note: must be clearly taught as symbolizing an inward, Spirit-wrought spiritual cleansing accompanying regeneration, not a ritual act that itself produces merit or purification by ceremonial performance (a risk given Vietnamese familiarity with ritual purification acts in folk religion and Buddhist temple practice, e.g., ceremonial bathing of Buddha statues).
• παλιγγενεσία (palingenesia) [NEW TERM — CRITICAL, highest-priority new term in this curriculum] — transliteration: palingenesia; literal meaning: “again-birth, new genesis” (πάλιν “again” + γένεσις “birth/origin”); semantic range: in the only two NT occurrences (Matt 19:28; Titus 3:5), it denotes either cosmic renewal or, as here, the individual believer’s decisive spiritual new birth. English variants: regeneration, new birth, rebirth. Contextual theological meaning: this is the doctrinal anchor for the curriculum item “Regeneration by the Holy Spirit” — a definitive, one-time, Spirit-wrought act of new spiritual life at conversion, theologically parallel to John 3:3-7’s “born again.” Vietnamese rendering: sự sinh lại — proposed risk: CRITICAL. Risk note: this term carries the single most acute syncretism danger in the entire curriculum. Its literal etymology (“again-birth”) superficially parallels tái sinh (“rebirth”), a live and commonly used term in contemporary Vietnamese Buddhist teaching for rebirth within the cycle of saṃsāra (alongside đầu thai and luân hồi, already forbidden in the Romans baseline for “resurrection”). NEVER use tái sinh, đầu thai, or luân hồi. The established Vietnamese Protestant term sự sinh lại (echoing “phải sinh lại” / “sanh lại,” the Bản Dịch Truyền Thống rendering of John 3:3’s “born again”) must be used instead, and every occurrence requires a mandatory translator/theologian note explaining that this is a single, unrepeatable, Spirit-given new-creation event granted once at conversion — the direct opposite of a cyclical process of repeated births across successive existences. This term must be added to translation memory as Critical risk with the same enforcement force as “resurrection” and “salvation.”
• ἀνακαίνωσις (anakainōsis) [NEW TERM] — transliteration: anakainōsis; literal meaning: “renewal, renovation”; semantic range: an ongoing process of being made new, distinguished from the once-for-all παλιγγενεσία by its continuing aspect (cf. Rom 12:2’s cognate verb, part of the sanctification word-group already established in the Romans baseline). English variants: renewal, renovation. Vietnamese rendering: sự đổi mới — proposed risk: Medium. Contextual note: παλιγγενεσία (the decisive new birth) and ἀνακαίνωσις (the ongoing renewal) together form a regeneration-then-sanctification pair, directly parallel to the baseline’s existing distinction between justification (declared once) and sanctification (sự nên thánh, ongoing).
• πνεῦμα ἁγίου (pneuma hagiou) [BASELINE REUSE] — Vietnamese rendering: Đức Thánh Linh (Critical risk, reused exactly). Contextual note: the Spirit is the agent of both the decisive new birth and its ongoing renewal — this verse is a key Trinitarian/pneumatological anchor for the whole curriculum’s regeneration doctrine.

Titus 3:6

Greek: οὗ ἐξέχεεν ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς πλουσίως διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν English (ESV): “whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior”

• ἐκχέω (ekcheō) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “to pour out”; echoes OT/Pentecostal Spirit-outpouring language (cf. Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17-18). Vietnamese rendering: đổ ra — Low-Medium risk.
• πλουσίως (plousiōs) — literal meaning: “richly, abundantly.” Vietnamese rendering: cách rời rộng — Low risk.
• Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ … σωτῆρος (Iēsou Christou … sōtēros) — see 2:13 note (Critical risk, reused); here explicitly names Jesus Christ (rather than the Father) as “our Savior,” completing the pattern in which both Father and Son are named Savior — a further deity-of-Christ data point requiring the same Critical-risk handling.

Titus 3:7

Greek: ἵνα δικαιωθέντες τῇ ἐκείνου χάριτι κληρονόμοι γενηθῶμεν κατ᾽ ἐλπίδα ζωῆς αἰωνίου English (ESV): “so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life”

• δικαιόω (dikaioō) [BASELINE REUSE] — Vietnamese rendering: được xưng công bình (based on baseline sự xưng công bình, High risk, reused exactly).
• χάρις (charis) [BASELINE REUSE] — Vietnamese rendering: ân điển (High risk, reused exactly).
• κληρονόμος (klēronomos) [NEW TERM, directly linked to baseline “adoption” doctrine] — transliteration: klēronomos; literal meaning: “heir, inheritor”; semantic range: one who receives an inheritance by legal right of family status, not by merit or achievement; English variants: heir, inheritor. Contextual theological meaning: justification’s outcome is heirship — full inheritance rights, echoing the baseline’s Romans 8 adoption doctrine. Vietnamese rendering: người thừa kế / kẻ kế tự — proposed risk: High. Risk note: must carry the same caution already established in the baseline’s “adoption” entry — Vietnamese family/inheritance expectations are strongly shaped by Confucian bloodline and primogeniture norms (inheritance flowing through birth order and paternal lineage duty); this heirship must be taught as grace-given status secured entirely by justification in Christ, not as something earned by filial performance or defined by birth-order hierarchy.
• ἐλπὶς ζωῆς αἰωνίου (elpis zōēs aiōniou) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “hope of eternal life.” Vietnamese rendering: sự hy vọng về sự sống đời đời — proposed risk: Medium-High. Risk note: “đời đời” (forever, unending) conveys linear, unending duration well and should be preserved as clearly distinct from an escape from, or a favorable turn within, the cycle of rebirth — eternal life here is a permanent state of relationship with God secured once, not a temporarily improved rebirth destination within an ongoing cycle.

Titus 3:8

Greek: Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος, καὶ περὶ τούτων βούλομαί σε διαβεβαιοῦσθαι, ἵνα φροντίζωσιν καλῶν ἔργων προΐστασθαι οἱ πεπιστευκότες τῷ θεῷ· ταῦτα ἐστὶν καλὰ καὶ ὠφέλιμα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις English (ESV): “The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.”

• πιστός (pistos) [related to BASELINE REUSE “faith”] — literal meaning: “faithful, trustworthy, reliable”; from the same root as đức tin. Vietnamese rendering: đáng tin — Medium risk. This “trustworthy saying” formula (also 1 Tim 1:15, 3:1, 4:9; 2 Tim 2:11) marks a piece of settled apostolic teaching — likely referring back to 3:4-7.
• προΐστημι (proistēmi) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “to devote oneself to, engage in, be diligent in, or (elsewhere) to lead/manage”; here in the sense of purposeful, diligent practice. Vietnamese rendering: chuyên tâm làm — Medium risk.
• καλὰ ἔργα (kala erga) [CRITICAL, reused from 2:14] — Vietnamese rendering: việc lành (Critical risk, reused). This verse forms the closing doctrinal bracket with 2:14 (both frame good works as the purpose and outcome of grace-given salvation) and with 3:5 (the negative counterpart, works are not the means of salvation). Translator notes should present 3:5 and 3:8 together as the two halves of “Salvation by Grace not Works.”
• οἱ πεπιστευκότες τῷ θεῷ (hoi pepisteukotes tō theō) — literal meaning: “those who have believed [in/on] God” — perfect participle of the “faith” root (BASELINE REUSE đức tin), stressing a settled, abiding condition of belief. Vietnamese rendering: những người đã tin Đức Chúa Trời — Medium risk.
• ὠφέλιμος (ōphelimos) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “beneficial, profitable, useful.” Vietnamese rendering: có ích — Low risk.

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PART B: CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER STUDY OF THE WHOLE BOOK

Chapter 1 (Titus 1:1-16) — Full chapter, outside the core passage

Chapter 1 introduces Paul’s apostolic self-identification, states the letter’s purpose, and gives the “Qualifications for Elders” doctrine its fullest statement, closing with a warning against false teachers.

1:1 — Apostolic self-description

• δοῦλος (doulos) [NEW TERM] — transliteration: doulos; literal meaning: “slave, bondservant”; semantic range: one wholly owned by and belonging to a master, with no legal autonomy; English variants: slave, servant, bondservant. Contextual theological meaning: Paul’s self-designation as God’s “slave” is a term of total, devoted belonging and honor, not degradation. Vietnamese rendering: tôi tớ (established Vietnamese Bible term; NOT the literal nô lệ) — proposed risk: Medium-High. Risk note: nô lệ carries strongly negative, dehumanizing connotations in Vietnamese (compounded by the nation’s history with slavery and colonial forced labor) and must be avoided; tôi tớ preserves the positive sense of devoted, total belonging to a good master.
• ἀπόστολος [BASELINE REUSE] — sứ đồ (Medium risk, reused).
• ἐκλεκτός (eklektos) [related to BASELINE REUSE “election”] — Vietnamese rendering: những người được lựa chọn (based on baseline sự lựa chọn, Medium/High risk, reused).
• πίστις [BASELINE REUSE] — đức tin (Medium risk, reused).
• ἐπίγνωσις (epignōsis) [NEW TERM] — transliteration: epignōsis; literal meaning: “full/precise knowledge, recognition”; semantic range: personal, experiential knowledge, more intensive than gnōsis. Vietnamese rendering: sự hiểu biết — proposed risk: Medium-High. Risk note: must be taught as knowledge received through revelation and grace, not self-attained insight or awakening (contrast with Buddhist giác ngộ, “enlightenment,” which is achieved through the practitioner’s own disciplined insight).
• ἀλήθεια (alētheia) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “truth.” Vietnamese rendering: lẽ thật (established Vietnamese Bible term) — Medium risk.
• εὐσέβεια (eusebeia) [NEW TERM — CRITICAL for curriculum doctrine “Grace That Trains for Godly Living”] — transliteration: eusebeia; literal meaning: “godliness, piety, reverence”; semantic range: a comprehensive lived reverence toward God expressed in conduct; English variants: godliness, piety, devotion. Vietnamese rendering: sự tin kính (established term) — proposed risk: High. Risk note: must be distinguished from Confucian ritual/filial piety performance (rooted in maintaining social role and ancestral honor) and from Buddhist religious devotion/merit-seeking observance; biblical godliness flows from grace-given new life (2:11-12), not from performance of religious or familial duty.

1:2-4 — Promise, truthfulness of God, greeting

• ζωὴ αἰώνιος (zōē aiōnios) [NEW TERM] — see note at 3:7. First occurrence here, grounding the letter’s entire structure in the promise of eternal life “before the ages began.” Vietnamese rendering: sự sống đời đời — Medium-High risk (as above).
• ἀψευδής (apseudēs) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “who does not lie, truthful”; a rare compound describing God’s character as the ground of the promise of eternal life. Vietnamese rendering: là Đấng không hề nói dối — Low-Medium risk; positively distinguishes the Christian God from an impersonal, capricious “Heaven” (baseline’s existing caution re: Ông Trời) by grounding hope in an explicitly truthful, personal character.
• ἐπαγγέλλομαι (epangellomai) — “to promise.” Vietnamese rendering: đã hứa — related to BASELINE REUSE giao ước (covenant) conceptually — Medium risk.
• κήρυγμα (kērygma) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “proclamation, that which is preached.” Vietnamese rendering: sự truyền giảng — Medium risk; conceptually related to baseline’s “mission” (công cuộc truyền giáo).
• σωτήρ (sōtēr) [reused from core passage analysis] — first occurrence in the letter (1:3, “God our Savior”). Critical risk, as above.
• γνήσιος (gnēsios) — “genuine, true (child).” Vietnamese rendering: thật — Low risk.
• χάρις καὶ εἰρήνη (charis kai eirēnē) — ân điển và sự bình an [BASELINE REUSE, both terms reused exactly].
• πατήρ (patēr) [BASELINE REUSE] — Cha (High risk, reused).

1:5-9 — Qualifications for Elders (doctrinal core of the chapter)

• πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros) [NEW TERM — CRITICAL for curriculum doctrine “Qualifications for Elders”] — transliteration: presbyteros; literal meaning: “elder, older man”; semantic range: in this context, a specific church office (not merely advanced age); English variants: elder. Vietnamese rendering: trưởng lão (established Vietnamese Protestant Bible/church term) — proposed risk: High. Risk note: Vietnamese village and family social structure carries a strong Confucian concept of authority-by-seniority (age and lineage rank alone conferring social authority); the biblical office must be taught as qualification-based (character, doctrine, household management per 1:6-9), not automatically conferred by age or family seniority.
• ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos) [NEW TERM — CRITICAL] — transliteration: episkopos; literal meaning: “overseer, one who watches over”; used in 1:7 interchangeably with presbyteros in 1:5-6, establishing these as the same office under two descriptive titles (function: oversight; not two distinct church offices). Vietnamese rendering: giám mục (this is the term used in the existing Vietnamese 1926 Bible tradition for this word in the Pastoral Epistles) — proposed risk: High. Risk note: this specific rendering carries a major and distinct collision risk in the Vietnamese context: “giám mục” is also the standard Vietnamese Roman Catholic term for “bishop,” a hierarchical, diocesan, sacramentally-ordained office standing over multiple congregations and priests. Given Vietnam’s substantial and long-established Catholic population, Vietnamese Protestant readers may import Catholic diocesan-bishop expectations onto this term. Every occurrence requires a translator note explicitly stating that Titus uses episkopos as synonymous with presbyteros/elder — a single local congregational overseer, not a regional hierarchical bishop with authority over other elders/congregations.
• οἰκονόμος (oikonomos) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “steward, household manager.” Vietnamese rendering: người quản gia — Medium risk; frames the elder’s authority as delegated stewardship under God, not personal ownership of authority.
• ἀνέγκλητος (anenklētos) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “not open to accusation, blameless, above reproach.” Vietnamese rendering: không chỗ trách được — Medium risk.
• μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἀνήρ (mias gynaikos anēr) — literal meaning: “a one-woman man, husband of one wife.” Vietnamese rendering: chồng của chỉ một vợ — Medium risk; requires teaching note on marital fidelity as a qualification, relevant given historical Vietnamese concubinage practice in some communities.
• Vice list (αὐθάδη, ὀργίλον, πάροινον, πλήκτην, αἰσχροκερδῆ) [NEW TERMS] — “self-willed/arrogant,” “quick-tempered,” “given to wine,” “violent,” “greedy for [dishonest] gain.” Vietnamese renderings: tự phụ, nóng giận, mê rượu, hung bạo, tham lợi bất chính — Low-Medium risk collectively; straightforward moral vocabulary with minimal syncretism risk, though “tham lợi” again touches the Buddhist “tham” (greed) vocabulary noted at 2:12 — acceptable overlap here, both traditions condemning greed, but should not be over-theologized as a Buddhist category.
• Virtue list (φιλόξενον, φιλάγαθον, σώφρονα, δίκαιον, ὅσιον, ἐγκρατῆ) [NEW TERMS] — “hospitable,” “a lover of good,” “self-controlled,” “just/righteous” (echo of δικαιοσύνη), “holy/devout,” “disciplined.” Vietnamese renderings: hay tiếp khách, yêu điều lành, tiết độ, công bình, thánh sạch, biết tự chủ — Low-Medium risk; δίκαιον and ὅσιον should be kept consistent with the already-established sự công bình and thánh baseline terms respectively.
• διδαχή / διδασκαλία (didachē / didaskalia) [NEW TERMS — related to CRITICAL doctrine “Sound Doctrine and Good Works”] — literal meaning: “teaching, doctrine.” Vietnamese rendering: sự dạy dỗ / giáo lý — Medium risk (see fuller treatment under ὑγιαίνω below).
• ὑγιαίνω / ὑγιαίνουσα διδασκαλία (hygiainō / hygiainousa didaskalia) [NEW TERM — CRITICAL, second-highest-priority new term after παλιγγενεσία] — transliteration: hygiainousa didaskalia; literal meaning: “healthy/sound teaching” (from the same root as English “hygiene”); semantic range: teaching that produces spiritual health, as opposed to teaching that is diseased/corrupting; this exact phrase (or close variants) recurs as a structural refrain across the Pastoral Epistles and appears in Titus at 1:9, 1:13, 2:1, 2:2, 2:8. English variants: sound doctrine, healthy teaching, wholesome teaching. Contextual theological meaning: this phrase is the doctrinal spine of the curriculum item “Sound Doctrine and Good Works” — right belief (sound doctrine) and right conduct (good works) are presented throughout Titus as inseparable. Vietnamese rendering: đạo lành (the established Vietnamese Protestant Bible rendering, from earlier Bible translation tradition for this phrase) — proposed risk: High. Risk note: “đạo” is a broad Vietnamese term meaning “way, path, teaching, religion” and is used generically across Vietnamese religious traditions — “đạo Phật” (Buddhism), “đạo Nho” (Confucianism), “đạo Ông Bà” (ancestor veneration), “đạo Công giáo” (Catholicism) — and Vietnamese folk wisdom includes the common relativizing saying “đạo nào cũng dạy làm lành” (“every religion teaches people to do good”). Rendering hygiainousa didaskalia as “đạo lành” risks being heard as “a good moral path/teaching,” one wholesome religious option among many, rather than as the one, specific, apostolic body of revealed truth about Christ that Titus defends against rival teaching (1:10-16, 3:9-11). Every occurrence must carry a translator/theologian note anchoring “đạo lành” to the specific apostolic gospel content taught by Paul and Titus, not to generic moral religious teaching.
• ἀντιλέγω / ἐλέγχω (antilegō / elenchō) — “to contradict/oppose” and “to refute/rebuke” (see 2:15 note). Medium risk.

1:10-16 — False teachers and the “circumcision party”

• ἀνυπότακτος (anypotaktos) [NEW TERM, negation of ὑποτάσσω] — literal meaning: “insubordinate, rebellious, not submitted.” Vietnamese rendering: không chịu vâng phục — Medium-High risk (mirrors the Submission to Authority doctrine’s caution).
• ματαιολόγος / φρεναπάτης (mataiologos / phrenapatēs) [NEW TERMS] — “empty talker” and “deceiver.” Vietnamese rendering: kẻ nói khoác, kẻ lừa dối — Low-Medium risk.
• περιτομή (peritomē) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “circumcision,” here referring to the Jewish/Judaizing faction (“those of the circumcision”). Vietnamese rendering: phái chịu cắt bì — Low risk (requires OT background teaching, no live cultural-analogue collision in Vietnam).
• προφήτης (prophētēs) [BASELINE REUSE] — tiên tri (Low risk, reused). Contextual note: 1:12 quotes a Cretan poet ironically called a “prophet of their own” — a secular usage of the word illustrating that Paul can use the term loosely of a native cultural voice, distinct from the technical OT prophetic office elsewhere reused from the baseline.
• μῦθος (mythos) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “myth, fable, legend.” Vietnamese rendering: chuyện hoang đường — Low-Medium risk; contextual note for translators: Vietnamese culture also has a rich tradition of legends about deified ancestors and folk heroes (e.g., Thánh Trần, already flagged in the baseline’s “saints” entry) — this parallel can be used pedagogically to explain what Paul means by rejecting “myths,” while being careful not to imply Scripture itself is being compared to those legends, only that rival teachers’ speculative material is being rejected.
• ἐντολή (entolē) — “commandment.” Vietnamese rendering: điều răn — Low risk.
• μιαίνω / συνείδησις (miainō / syneidēsis) [NEW TERMS] — “to defile” and “conscience.” Vietnamese renderings: làm ô uế, lương tâm — Low-Medium risk.
• ὁμολογέω / ἀρνέομαι (homologeō / arneomai) [NEW TERMS] — “to confess/profess” and “to deny.” Vietnamese renderings: xưng nhận, chối bỏ — Low-Medium risk. Contextual theological meaning (1:16): “they profess to know God but deny him by their works” — an early statement of the doctrine that authentic faith is demonstrated, not merely verbally professed, directly anticipating the “good works” doctrine developed later in the letter.

Chapter 2 (Titus 2:1-10) — Household instructions preceding the core passage

(2:11-15 is treated in Part A above as part of the core passage; not repeated here.)

This section applies the “sound doctrine” standard (2:1, reusing đạo lành, High risk as above) to specific household groups, and introduces the term for Christian love, notably absent from the Romans baseline.

• πρέπει (prepei) — “is fitting, is proper.” Vietnamese rendering: hiệp với — Low risk.
• πρεσβύτης / πρεσβύτις (presbytēs / presbytis) [NEW TERMS, distinct from πρεσβύτερος] — literal meaning: “older man” / “older woman” (a general age description, NOT the elder office). Vietnamese rendering: các ông già, các bà già (or more formally, người cao tuổi) — Low-Medium risk; translators must keep this clearly distinguished from trưởng lão (the elder office term) despite the shared root, to avoid implying every older person automatically holds church office.
• νηφάλιος / σεμνός (nēphalios / semnos) — “sober-minded” and “dignified/respectable.” Vietnamese renderings: tiết độ, đáng trọng — Low risk.
• ὑπομονή (hypomonē) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “endurance, patient perseverance.” Vietnamese rendering: sự nhịn nhục — Low-Medium risk.
• ἀγάπη (agapē) [NEW TERM — notably absent from the Romans baseline, now required] — transliteration: agapē; literal meaning: “love”; semantic range: in the NT, self-giving, willed love directed toward the good of another, distinguished in Greek from erōs (romantic/desiring love) and philia (friendship affection); English variants: love, charity (archaic). Contextual theological meaning: here specifically the love older women teach younger women toward husbands and children (2:4), and elsewhere in the NT the defining mark of Christian character. Vietnamese rendering: tình yêu thương — proposed risk: High. Risk note: the bare Sino-Vietnamese term ái (愛) — while sometimes used in compound religious vocabulary — carries strong residual Buddhist doctrinal weight as taṇhā (“craving, attachment”), one of the twelve links of dependent origination and a root cause of suffering to be extinguished, not cultivated. The native Vietnamese compound tình yêu thương avoids this collision and is the term already established in Vietnamese Protestant usage (e.g., the “fruit of the Spirit” list). This term should be added to translation memory at High risk with an explicit note contrasting biblical agapē (a virtue to be cultivated and increased) with Buddhist ái/tham (a craving to be extinguished).
• φίλανδρος / φιλότεκνος (philandros / philoteknos) [NEW TERMS] — “loving [one’s] husband,” “loving [one’s] children” (built on philia, not agapē, distinguishing affectionate familial love from the self-giving agapē modeled above). Vietnamese renderings: yêu chồng, yêu con — Low risk.
• ἁγνός (hagnos) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “pure, chaste.” Vietnamese rendering: trong sạch — Medium risk.
• οἰκουργός (oikourgos) — “working at home.” Vietnamese rendering: chăm việc nhà — Low risk.
• ὑποτάσσω (hypotassō) [reused from 3:1 note] — here applied to wives toward husbands (2:5). High risk, same Submission to Authority doctrinal caution.
• βλασφημέω (blasphēmeō) [reused from 3:2 note] — here, “so that the word of God may not be reviled.” Medium risk.
• τύπος (typos) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “pattern, example, model.” Vietnamese rendering: gương mẫu — Low-Medium risk.
• ἀφθορία / σεμνότης (aphthoria / semnotēs) — “integrity” and “dignity.” Vietnamese renderings: sự không hư nát, sự nghiêm trang — Low risk.
• δεσπότης (despotēs) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “master, lord (of a household/slave).” Vietnamese rendering: chủ — Low-Medium risk; paired with δοῦλος/tôi tớ (see 1:1 note) in the household-code instructions to slaves (2:9-10).
• εὐάρεστος (euarestos) — “well-pleasing.” Vietnamese rendering: đẹp lòng — Low risk.
• νοσφίζομαι (nosphizomai) — “to pilfer, steal secretly.” Vietnamese rendering: ăn cắp vật riêng — Low risk.
• κοσμέω (kosmeō) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “to adorn, decorate, honor by adding beauty to.” Vietnamese rendering: làm cho rạng rỡ / tô điểm — Low-Medium risk; contextual meaning (2:10): faithful conduct “adorns” the doctrine of God our Savior — a vivid image directly linking good works (already Critical risk) to the credibility of sound doctrine (already High risk) in the eyes of outsiders.

Chapter 3 (Titus 3:9-15) — Remainder of the chapter after the core passage

(3:1-8 is treated in Part A above; not repeated here.)

This closing section states the “Avoiding Divisive Controversies” doctrine directly, then closes with practical instructions and greetings containing minimal further theological vocabulary.

• ζήτησις (zētēsis) [NEW TERM — CRITICAL for curriculum doctrine “Avoiding Divisive Controversies”] — transliteration: zētēsis; literal meaning: “questioning, investigation, speculation”; semantic range: here pejorative — unproductive, speculative debate. Vietnamese rendering: sự cãi lẽ vô ích / sự tra hỏi vô bổ — proposed risk: Medium-High.
• γενεαλογία (genealogia) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “genealogy.” Vietnamese rendering: gia phả — Low risk. Contextual note: this word carries a distinct cultural weight in Vietnam given the deep cultural and religious significance of ancestral genealogy (gia phả) in ancestor veneration (thờ cúng tổ tiên); the text’s point is narrowly about speculative religious genealogical disputes (likely Jewish/Gnostic), not a wholesale rejection of family genealogical record-keeping as a cultural practice — a distinction worth an explicit teaching note to avoid overreach.
• ἔρις / μάχη (eris / machē) [NEW TERMS] — “strife/contention” and “quarrel/fight,” here specifically “μάχας νομικάς,” “quarrels about the law.” Vietnamese renderings: sự cãi lẫy, sự tranh cạnh — Low-Medium risk.
• νομικός (nomikos) — “pertaining to the law” (here) / “lawyer” (3:13, of Zenas). Vietnamese rendering: về luật pháp / thầy dạy luật — Low risk; related to BASELINE REUSE luật pháp.
• περιΐστημι (periistēmi) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “to avoid, shun, stand away from.” Vietnamese rendering: hãy lánh xa — Medium risk; the direct verb of the doctrine’s title, “Avoiding Divisive Controversies.”
• ἀνωφελής / μάταιος (anōphelēs / mataios) — “unprofitable” and “futile, empty.” Vietnamese renderings: không có ích, vô ích — Low risk.
• αἱρετικὸς ἄνθρωπος (hairetikos anthrōpos) [NEW TERM — CRITICAL for the same doctrine] — transliteration: hairetikos; literal meaning: “factious, divisive” (root of English “heretic,” but here describing a person’s behavior — causing division/faction — rather than necessarily the content of false doctrine); semantic range: one who promotes party-strife and division within the community. English variants: divisive person, factious person, heretic (older translations). Vietnamese rendering: kẻ gây chia rẽ — proposed risk: High. Risk note: avoid rendering with a term equivalent to “dị giáo” or “tà giáo” (“heterodox/heretical teaching,” which centers on doctrinal content and carries strong inquisitorial overtones in translation history); Titus 3:10’s concern, in context (following the list of unproductive controversies), is primarily relational and behavioral — a person who persists in stirring up faction and strife — though this often overlaps with promoting false teaching. A translator note should clarify the distinction so the term is not read as licensing harsh treatment of every doctrinal disagreement, but is reserved for persistent, unrepentant factiousness after repeated admonition.
• νουθεσία (nouthesia) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “admonition, warning instruction.” Vietnamese rendering: lời cảnh cáo — Medium risk.
• παραιτέομαι (paraiteomai) — “to reject, refuse, have nothing more to do with.” Vietnamese rendering: hãy xa lánh — Low-Medium risk.
• ἐκστρέφω / αὐτοκατάκριτος (ekstrephō / autokatakritos) [NEW TERMS] — “to be perverted/warped” and “self-condemned.” Vietnamese renderings: đã trở nên hư hoại, tự chuốc lấy sự đoán phạt cho mình — Low-Medium risk.
• ἁμαρτάνω (hamartanō) [related to BASELINE REUSE “sin”] — Vietnamese rendering: phạm tội (verb form of baseline tội lỗi, Medium risk, reused).

3:12-15 — Closing travel plans and greetings. This section consists chiefly of proper names (Artemas, Tychicus, Zenas, Apollos, Nicopolis) requiring standard Vietnamese Bible transliteration conventions but introducing no new load-bearing theological vocabulary beyond:

• ἄκαρπος (akarpos) [NEW TERM] — literal meaning: “unfruitful.” Vietnamese rendering: không kết quả — Low risk; reinforces the “good works” doctrine one final time (3:14, “so that they may not be unfruitful,” directly following another occurrence of καλῶν ἔργων προΐστασθαι, reused, Critical risk).
• φιλέω (phileō) [NEW TERM, distinct from ἀγάπη] — literal meaning: “to love (with affection/friendship).” Vietnamese rendering: yêu mến — Low risk; the letter’s closing benediction shifts from agapē to phileō (“those who love us in the faith”), a minor but real semantic distinction worth preserving.
• χάρις (charis) [BASELINE REUSE] — closing benediction, ân điển ở cùng hết thảy anh em — High risk, reused exactly, consistent with every other benediction in the Pauline corpus.

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Summary of Coverage Confirmation

All three chapters of Titus have been analyzed in full: Chapter 1 (1:1-16), Chapter 2 (2:1-10 here; 2:11-15 in the core passage), and Chapter 3 (3:1-8 in the core passage; 3:9-15 here). No chapter or verse range was silently omitted. The core passage (2:11-3:8) received full verse-by-verse treatment; all surrounding material received chapter-section treatment at the same field-depth for every load-bearing term.

See 08_core_glossary.md for the consolidated per-term glossary table covering every term identified in this analysis.