The Pauline Key Words πνεῦμα and σάρξ and their Translation 29 met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. (NIV). (11c) This was so that the Law’s requirements might be fully satisfied in us as we direct our lives not by our natural inclinations but by the Spirit. (NJB). (11d) ... that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (NKJ). From these examples, we can draw the conclusion that πνεῦμα, except in the meaning of “breath” and in a few other cases, is translated concord- antly. This concordant translation of πνεῦμα, even in generally rather interpretative translations, is opposed to the large series of expressions rendering σάρξ, such as “human nature”, “self-indulgence”, “natural in- clinations”, “sinful nature” and the like. Apparently the word “spirit” is clear enough in the context of Paul’s letters, while “flesh” is not, or evokes associations not meant by the author, associations with taboo and sexual- ity. While rather concordant translations continue to use the word flesh in most contexts, the more interpretative translations opt for paraphrasing the notion in certain contexts, either to make these associations explicit (e.g., “sinful nature”), or to exclude them (e.g., “human nature”). 4. Conclusions In the letters of Paul, πνεῦμα and σάρξ are key words. They appear in different contexts, often contrasted with each other. The lexical mean- ing of these terms has been discussed for about two thousand years and the results of this tradition can be found in dictionaries, commentaries and other reference works. A feeling of dissatisfaction with regard to the descriptive methods of these works was at the base of our investigation: a new reading of the source texts, combined with a cognitive view on semantics. This approach enabled us to work out diagrams in which the meanings of the two terms are presented in a structured way. These networks subsequently served as a basis for the original purpose of our investigation, of which this article gives a sample: a description of the translation of πνεῦμα and σάρξ in recent Bible translations. The fact that these are recurrent words in the Pauline corpus, made it possible to observe their translation from a specific point of view. The main ques- tion was to which extent lexical repetition, a formal aspect of the source text, is preserved in translation or, more precisely, to which extent the conservation of this formal aspect interferes with the transmission of the original meaning, and, where it seems to do, which of the two, the form