Core Glossary
Core Glossary — 3 John — English → Assamese
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md. Terms marked Reused duplicate an entry already fixed in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json and MUST use that exact Assamese rendering. Terms marked New must be added to translation memory (with incremented version number) before Phase 2 processing begins, per the baseline’s Translation Memory Load and Enforcement Instructions.
Since 3 John is a single-chapter book, all terms below are drawn from that one chapter — full-book coverage is complete by definition.
Doctrine 1: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
| English Term | Greek (translit.) | Assamese Rendering (translit.) | Risk | Status | Risk Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| stranger/guest (traveling minister) | ξένος (xenos) | অতিথি (otithi) | Medium | New | Positive cultural bridge with Assamese/Indian atithi-hospitality ethic, but must stay tied to gospel-partnership motive (v.7–8), not generic guest-reverence. |
| send on their way | προπέμπω (propempō) | যাত্ৰাত সহায় কৰি আগবঢ়াই দিয়া (jatrat sohay kori agbaray dia) | Medium | New | Must remain concrete/material provision, not softened to verbal blessing only. |
| worthily of God | ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ (axiōs tou theou) | ঈশ্বৰৰ যোগ্যভাৱে (Iswôror jogyôvabe) | Medium | New | Standard of excellence anchored to God’s character, not social reciprocity custom. |
| to receive/support | ὑπολαμβάνω (hypolambanō) | গ্ৰহণ কৰি সহায় কৰা (grôhon kori sohay kora) | Medium | New | Distinguish from ἐπιδέχομαι (mere welcome) — this is active material support. |
| to receive/welcome/accept | ἐπιδέχομαι (epidechomai) | গ্ৰহণ কৰা (grôhon kora) | Medium | New | Legitimating acceptance of a person’s authority/standing, contrasted with Diotrephes’ refusal. |
| fellow worker | συνεργός (synergos) | সহকৰ্মী (xohokôrmi) | Low | New | Uses -কৰ্মী, not কৰ্ম, avoiding karma-doctrine register. |
| brothers | ἀδελφός (adelphos) | ভাই (bhai) | Low | New | Standard fictive-kinship term for fellow believers/missionaries. |
| the Name (for Christ’s sake) | ὄνομα (onoma) | নাম (naam) | Critical | New | Direct collision with Ekasarana Dharma’s naam-dharma/naam-kirtan/নামঘৰ devotional complex; mandatory translator note every occurrence. |
| Gentiles/pagans (unbelieving outsiders) | ἐθνικός (ethnikos) | অনযাতি (onyojati) | Medium | Reused (contextual note added) | Reuses baseline term but here carries narrower “unbelieving outsider” sense distinct from Romans’s inclusive usage. |
| we ought | ὀφείλω (opheilō) | … উচিত/লাগে (uchit/lage) | Low | New | Standard moral-obligation phrasing. |
Doctrine 2: Imitating Good rather than Evil
| English Term | Greek (translit.) | Assamese Rendering (translit.) | Risk | Status | Risk Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| imitate | μιμέομαι (mimeomai) | অনুকৰণ কৰা (anukorôn kora) | Medium | New | Cultural bridge with guru/Sant-life imitation tradition; note must anchor standard to God’s character, not a specific human teacher. |
| evil | κακός (kakos) | বেয়া (beya) | Medium | New | Common moral word; risk of flattening the ontological claim (“has not seen God”) into generic ethics. |
| good | ἀγαθός (agathos) | ভাল (bhal) | Medium | New | Same flattening risk as κακός; anchor to identity/relationship claim in v.11. |
| doing good / is of God | ἀγαθοποιῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν | ভাল কাম কৰা… ঈশ্বৰৰ পৰা হয় | High | New | Regeneration/identity claim, not merit claim; risk of karma-merit misreading. |
| has not seen God | οὐχ ἑώρακεν τὸν θεόν | ঈশ্বৰক দেখা নাই (Iswôrok dekha nai) | High | New | Deliberately avoids দৰ্শন (darshan) vocabulary to prevent collision with ritual deity/guru-viewing practice. |
| works/deeds | ἔργα (erga) | কাম (kam) — never কৰ্ম | High | New | কৰ্ম invokes the technical Hindu karma-doctrine register (rebirth-consequence theory); standing rule for this curriculum. |
Doctrine 3: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
| English Term | Greek (translit.) | Assamese Rendering (translit.) | Risk | Status | Risk Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| elder | πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros) | প্ৰাচীন (pracin) | Medium | New | Distinguish from social village-elder role and from Satradhikar guru-succession office (parallel to baseline’s “apostle” Medium tier). |
| church | ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) | মণ্ডলী (môndoli) | Medium | Reused exactly | Never নামঘৰ or মন্দিৰ, per baseline prohibition. |
| loving to be first / preeminence | φιλοπρωτεύων (philoprōteuōn) | নিজকে প্ৰথম কৰিবলৈ ভাল পোৱা | High | New | Load-bearing term for the doctrine; must critique Diotrephes’ personal character, not delegitimize legitimate leadership structures generally. |
| to slander | καταλαλέω (katalaleō) | বেয়া কথাৰে নিন্দা কৰা (beya kôthare ninda kora) | Low | New | Standard defamation vocabulary. |
| to hinder/forbid | κωλύω (kōlyō) | বাধা দিয়া (badha dia) | Low | New | No significant collision. |
| to cast out (expel from church) | ἐκβάλλω (ekballō) | মণ্ডলীৰ পৰা বাহিৰ কৰি পেলাই দিয়া | Medium | New | Distinguish unjust, power-driven expulsion (condemned here) from legitimate biblical church discipline; sensitive given Satra/caste social-exclusion parallels. |
| to remind | ὑπομιμνήσκω (hypomimnēskō) | সোঁৱৰাই দিয়া (xanwarai dia) | Low | New | Standard vocabulary. |
Doctrine 4: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
| English Term | Greek (translit.) | Assamese Rendering (translit.) | Risk | Status | Risk Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| to testify/bear witness | μαρτυρέω (martyreō) | সাক্ষ্য দিয়া (sakkhyô diya) | Low | New | Standard Christian testimony vocabulary; no rival concept. |
| testimony/witness (noun) | μαρτυρία (martyria) | সাক্ষ্য (sakkhyô) | Low | New | Same root as μαρτυρέω; keep consistent. |
| true | ἀληθής (alēthēs) | সত্য (xotyo) | Medium | New | Shares root/collision risk with ἀλήθεια (see Doctrine 5); lower stakes here (modifies testimony’s reliability specifically). |
| faithful (of a deed) | πιστόν (piston) | বিশ্বাসযোগ্য কাম (biswaxjogyô kam) | Medium | New | Shares root with baseline’s High-risk “faith” (বিশ্বাস); keep visibly connected without collapsing into saving-faith doctrine. |
Doctrine 5: Truth and Christian Fellowship
| English Term | Greek (translit.) | Assamese Rendering (translit.) | Risk | Status | Risk Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| truth | ἀλήθεια (alētheia) | সত্য (xotyo) | High | New | Collision with Vedantic Satya/Brahman impersonal-absolute concept; mandatory distinguishing note at first occurrence. |
| to walk (conduct one’s life) | περιπατέω (peripateō) | চলা (cola); idiom সত্যত চলা | Medium | New | Risk of conflation with Hindu marga/pilgrimage path-concepts; note as ethical-lifestyle metaphor. |
| love (covenantal) | ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω (agapē/agapaō) | প্ৰেম / প্ৰেম কৰা (prem / prem kora) | High | New | Collision with prema-bhakti devotional-emotional register in Assamese Vaishnavite tradition. |
| beloved | ἀγαπητός (agapētos) | প্ৰিয় (priyo) | Low | New | Standard term of address. |
| soul | ψυχή (psychē) | প্ৰাণ (pran) | Medium | New | Distinguish from আত্মা (reserved for πνεῦμα/Holy Spirit) and from narrower Sanskritic prāṇa (vital-breath) sense. |
| joy | χαρά (chara) | আনন্দ (anondo) | Low | New | Standard vocabulary. |
| to prosper | εὐοδοῦσθαι (euodousthai) | উন্নতি হওক / ভাল হওক | Medium | New | Prosperity-gospel misreading risk; must stay calibrated to soul’s prospering per v.2. |
| spiritual children | τέκνα (tekna) | সন্তান (xontan) | Medium | New | Guard against assimilation into guru–shishya spiritual-parentage pattern; mark explicitly as spiritual/pastoral, not lineage-based. |
| friend | φίλος (philos) | বন্ধু (bandhu) | Medium | New | Deliberate term-shift from ἀδελφός at letter’s close; preserve relational-warmth distinction, do not collapse into “brother” rendering. |
| peace | εἰρήνη (eirēnē) | শান্তি (xanti) | Medium | Reused exactly | Baseline tier retained; here functions as epistolary greeting (lower stakes than Romans 5:1 forensic usage). |
| to greet | ἀσπάζομαι (aspazomai) | সম্ভাষণ জনোৱা (xombhaxôn zonuwa) | Low | New | Standard epistolary closing vocabulary. |
Proper Names (Low Risk — Transliteration Consistency Only)
| English | Greek (translit.) | Assamese |
|---|---|---|
| Gaius | Γάϊος (Gaios) | গায়াস |
| Diotrephes | Διοτρέφης (Diotrephēs) | দিয়ট্ৰেফীজ |
| Demetrius | Δημήτριος (Dēmētrios) | ডিমিট্ৰিয়াছ |
| John (traditional author) | Ἰωάννης (Iōannēs) | যোহন |
Risk Tier Summary
| Tier | Count | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 1 | নাম (the Name) |
| High | 8 | প্ৰেম (love), সত্য/ἀληθής (truth/true — 2 entries), ঈশ্বৰক দেখা নাই (has not seen God), ঈশ্বৰৰ পৰা হয় (is of God), কাম vs. কৰ্ম (works/deeds), নিজকে প্ৰথম কৰিবলৈ ভাল পোৱা (loves preeminence) |
| Medium | 17 | (see tables above) |
| Low | 15 | (see tables above) |
All High and Critical terms above require Human Theologian review per the baseline’s escalation rules. Medium terms require Native Speaker review. Low terms are eligible for automated review only, consistent with doctrine_risk_registry.json conventions.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: ঈশ্বৰ
Transliteration: Iswôr
Doctrine: Regeneration Evidenced by Conduct
Rejected alternatives: ভগৱান, পৰমেশ্বৰ
Inherited from Romans package. Standard Assamese Bible Society term for the one true God. In 3 John 1:11, load-bearing for ‘is of God’ / ‘has not seen God’ (see is_of_god, has_not_seen_god entries below); never ভগৱান, which carries devotional ista-devata ambiguity.
Jesus
Approved rendering: যীচু
Transliteration: Yisu
Doctrine: Mission Motivated by the Name
Rejected alternatives: ঈছা
Inherited from Romans package. Though 3 John’s Greek text does not use the name ‘Jesus’ explicitly, the letter’s ‘the Name’ (ὄνομα, v.7) refers to Christ’s person and authority; any translator note accompanying নাম must anchor back to this established Assamese form, যীচু, and never to ঈছা (the Assamese Muslim-context form).
The Name
Approved rendering: নাম
Transliteration: naam
Doctrine: Mission Motivated by the Name
Rejected alternatives: নামৰ বলত
Original: ὄνομα
Category: Christology/Mission
CRITICAL: New. Renders ὄνομα (v.7), NT theological shorthand for Christ’s person, authority, and mission — the missionaries’ motive for going out. নাম (naam) is the master devotional word of Srimanta Sankardev’s Ekasarana Dharma: the tradition is popularly called naam-dharma, its central congregational practice is naam-kirtan (chanting the divine Name as a saving/purifying act in itself), and its prayer-house is literally called নামঘৰ (already Critical/forbidden for ‘church’ in the baseline). MANDATORY translator note required at EVERY occurrence, not merely first use, distinguishing ‘the Name’ (Christ’s person and authority as missionary motive) from naam-kirtan (ritual chanting as a devotional practice believed to be salvific in itself). Highest-priority fence in this entire curriculum.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: বিশ্বাস
Transliteration: biswax
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Rejected alternatives: শ্ৰদ্ধা, ভক্তি
Inherited from Romans package. Root shared with πιστόν (‘faithful’, v.5, see faithful_deed entry below); ভক্তি remains excluded for the same reasons as in Romans — bhakti-devotional surrender is not equivalent to biblical trust-faith or trustworthy conduct.
Is Of God
Approved rendering: ঈশ্বৰৰ পৰা হয়
Transliteration: Iswôror pora hoi
Doctrine: Regeneration Evidenced by Conduct
Rejected alternatives: ঈশ্বৰৰ পৰা পুণ্য লাভ কৰে
Original: ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν
Category: Regeneration
New. Renders ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν (v.11), a Johannine source/origin idiom for those born of/belonging to God — a regeneration/identity claim, not a merit claim. Without a mandatory clarifying note, this risks a karma-merit misreading (good deeds purchasing divine status), precisely the বৰ-transaction logic the baseline’s grace doctrine excludes. The note must state: the good deed is evidence of an already-existing relationship with God, not its cause.
Has Not Seen God
Approved rendering: ঈশ্বৰক দেখা নাই
Transliteration: Iswôrok dekha nai
Doctrine: Regeneration Evidenced by Conduct
Rejected alternatives: ঈশ্বৰৰ দৰ্শন পায় নাই
Original: οὐχ ἑώρακεν τὸν θεόν
Category: Knowledge of God
New. Renders οὐχ ἑώρακεν τὸν θεόν (v.11). দৰ্শন (darshan) — the technically closer Assamese religious-register word for ‘seeing’ a deity/guru — is deliberately rejected because it names a ritual-visual devotional practice treated as itself meritorious in Assamese Hindu/Vaishnavite worship. The plain verb দেখা is used instead. Mandatory translator note required at every occurrence clarifying this is relational, saving knowledge of God evidenced in conduct, not physical/ritual sight of an image or guru. Standing curriculum rule: never দৰ্শন for this Johannine ‘seeing God’ idiom.
Works Deeds
Approved rendering: কাম
Transliteration: kam
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Rejected alternatives: কৰ্ম
Original: ἔργα
Category: Ethics
New. Renders ἔργα (v.10, Diotrephes’ deeds; applicable wherever ‘works/deeds’ occur elsewhere in this curriculum, e.g. implicitly in v.11’s good/evil doing). কৰ্ম (karma) is the technical term of the pan-Indian karma doctrine — deeds generating binding consequence across rebirths within সংসাৰ — already implicitly excluded by the baseline’s rejection of কৰ্মফল for ‘grace’. Standing curriculum-wide rule: কাম, never কৰ্ম, for ἔργα throughout this curriculum.
Loving Preeminence
Approved rendering: নিজকে প্ৰথম কৰিবলৈ ভাল পোৱা
Transliteration: nizoke prôthôm koribole bhal powa
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Rejected alternatives: অহংকাৰী
Original: φιλοπρωτεύων
Category: Church Leadership
New. Renders φιλοπρωτεύων (v.9), the specific named sin driving Diotrephes’ misconduct — love of status and self-exaltation, not doctrinal error. No single Assamese word exists for this compound Greek vice; অহংকাৰী (‘arrogant’) is rejected as too generic, losing the specific love-of-preeminent-office sense. Must critique Diotrephes’ personal character within a legitimate office, never becoming a blanket critique of the Satradhikar guru-succession structure itself, which is outside this letter’s scope.
Truth
Approved rendering: সত্য
Transliteration: xotyo
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀλήθεια
Category: Truth
New. Renders ἀλήθεια (vv.1, 3 x2, 4, 8, 12 x2), the letter’s master term, occurring in nearly every section. সত্য is also the standard Assamese term for the Vedantic Satya, an impersonal metaphysical Absolute (cf. the national motto সত্যমেৱ জয়তে). No viable single-word alternative exists in Assamese — সত্য is unavoidable as the ordinary word for ‘true/truth’. Mandatory distinguishing translator note required at EVERY occurrence (not just first use, given this term’s density in a 14-verse letter), parallel to the baseline’s পৰিত্ৰাণ vs. মোক্ষ treatment: biblical ἀλήθεια here is relational and moral — fidelity to the revealed gospel and Christ’s character, evidenced in conduct — not an impersonal cosmic Absolute realized through meditation.
Love
Approved rendering: প্ৰেম
Transliteration: prem
Doctrine: Covenantal Love in Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: মৰম
Original: ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω
Category: Fellowship
New. Renders ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω (vv.1, 2 implicit, 5 implicit, 11 implicit, 14 implicit). মৰম (ordinary affection) is rejected as too weak for covenantal, self-giving love. প্ৰেম is the technical Assamese Vaishnavite/Ekasarana term for prema-bhakti — a devotee’s loving, emotionally absorptive devotion to a chosen deity. No substitute avoids this collision (a purely dry/legalistic alternative would undercorrect and lose the letter’s genuine warmth). Mandatory distinguishing note required at first use: biblical ἀγάπη here is covenantal, ethical, truth-anchored love among believers, not devotional absorption in a deity.
Medium Risk Terms
Church
Approved rendering: মণ্ডলী
Transliteration: môndoli
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Rejected alternatives: মন্দিৰ, নামঘৰ
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Reused exactly for ἐκκλησία at 3 John 1:6, 1:9, 1:10. Never নামঘৰ (the Ekasarana Dharma prayer-house institution) or মন্দিৰ (Hindu temple). In v.10, Diotrephes’ unjust expulsion is ‘from the মণ্ডলী’ — the term itself is not at doctrinal risk here, but the social weight of expulsion from a congregation must be handled per the cast_out entry below.
Peace
Approved rendering: শান্তি
Transliteration: xanti
Doctrine: Covenantal Love in Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: সুখ, প্ৰশান্তি
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Fellowship
Inherited from Romans package. Reused exactly for εἰρήνη at 3 John 1:14. Here it functions as an ordinary epistolary greeting-formula, lower doctrinal stakes than Romans 5:1’s forensic ‘peace with God’; use the established rendering for cross-curriculum consistency with a lighter-touch note appropriate to this lower-stakes occurrence.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: অনযাতি
Transliteration: onyojati
Doctrine: Mission Motivated by the Name
Rejected alternatives: বিদেশী
Inherited from Romans package (ἔθνη sense: non-Jewish peoples being incorporated into God’s people). See the separate ‘gentiles_pagans’ entry below for 3 John 1:7’s narrower ἐθνικός sense; both use the identical Assamese word and require contextual notes to distinguish the two rhetorical functions across curricula.
Stranger Guest
Approved rendering: অতিথি
Transliteration: otithi
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: বিদেশী
Original: ξένος
Category: Hospitality
New. Renders ξένος (v.5). Positive cultural bridge with the Assamese/pan-Indian ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ guest-honoring ethic, but must be anchored by note to the specific gospel-partnership motive of vv.7-8 (‘for the sake of the Name’, ‘fellow workers for the truth’), not read as generic guest-reverence detached from mission.
Send On Journey
Approved rendering: যাত্ৰাত সহায় কৰি আগবঢ়াই দিয়া
Transliteration: jatrat sohay kori agbaray dia
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: বিদায় দিয়া
Original: προπέμπω
Category: Hospitality
New. Renders προπέμπω (v.6). Assamese lacks a single verb for ‘provision and escort a traveler onward’; বিদায় দিয়া (‘to bid farewell’) is rejected as too weak, reducing costly material provision to a mere verbal send-off.
Worthily Of God
Approved rendering: ঈশ্বৰৰ যোগ্যভাৱে
Transliteration: Iswôror jogyôvabe
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: সম্মানীয় ব্যক্তিৰ দৰে
Original: ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Hospitality
New. Renders ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ (v.6). Anchors the standard of excellence to God’s own character (ঈশ্বৰ, reused exactly from baseline), not to social reciprocity custom or generic guest-honor.
Receive Support
Approved rendering: গ্ৰহণ কৰি সহায় কৰা
Transliteration: grôhon kori sohay kora
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: গ্ৰহণ কৰা (alone)
Original: ὑπολαμβάνω
Category: Hospitality
New. Renders ὑπολαμβάνω (v.8). Must be distinguished from ἐπιδέχομαι (see receive_welcome below) — this verb specifically carries active material provision, not mere social/legitimating welcome.
Receive Welcome
Approved rendering: গ্ৰহণ কৰা
Transliteration: grôhon kora
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Rejected alternatives: স্বীকাৰ কৰা
Original: ἐπιδέχομαι
Category: Church Leadership
New. Renders ἐπιδέχομαι (vv.9, 10). Diotrephes’ refusal to ‘receive’ the Elder and the traveling brothers is a refusal of legitimate pastoral authority/fellowship, not material stinginess; keep distinct from receive_support above.
Gentiles Pagans
Approved rendering: অনযাতি
Transliteration: onyojati
Doctrine: Mission Motivated by the Name
Rejected alternatives: বিদেশী, পৰজাতি
Original: ἐθνικός
Category: Church
New (contextual instance of the baseline term). Renders ἐθνικός (v.7) — unbelieving outsiders from whom the missionaries deliberately refused support, to avoid any appearance of financial motive. Uses the identical Assamese word as the baseline’s ‘gentiles’ (ἔθνη), but here carries the narrower, more exclusionary ‘unbelieving outsider’ sense rather than Romans’s inclusive ‘nations brought into God’s people’ sense. A contextual note distinguishing the two functions is required wherever this verse is treated.
Imitate
Approved rendering: অনুকৰণ কৰা
Transliteration: anukorôn kora
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Rejected alternatives: নকল কৰা
Original: μιμέομαι
Category: Ethics
New. Renders μιμέομαι (v.11). নকল কৰা (‘to copy/counterfeit’) is rejected — it carries a mechanical, fake-replication sense unsuited to patterning one’s life after a moral exemplar. Imitation of an exemplary life is a positive Assamese Vaishnavite category (imitating a Sant’s or guru’s conduct); a note must anchor the standard imitated to God’s own character, not to any human teacher or Satradhikar lineage.
Evil
Approved rendering: বেয়া
Transliteration: beya
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Rejected alternatives: অধৰ্ম
Original: κακός
Category: Ethics
New. Renders κακός (v.11). অধৰ্ম is rejected to avoid importing the dharma/adharma cosmic-duty framework. Plain, everyday moral word; risk is flattening the verse’s ontological claim into generic ethical advice unless the accompanying note ties it to ‘has not seen God’.
Good
Approved rendering: ভাল
Transliteration: bhal
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Rejected alternatives: পুণ্য
Original: ἀγαθός
Category: Ethics
New. Renders ἀγαθός (v.11). পুণ্য is rejected to avoid importing a merit/karma-accumulation framework for ‘good deeds’. Must be anchored via note to the identity/relationship claim ‘is of God’ rather than read as generic ethical praise.
Elder
Approved rendering: প্ৰাচীন
Transliteration: pracin
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Rejected alternatives: গুৰু, গাঁৱৰ প্ৰাচীন (unqualified)
Original: πρεσβύτερος
Category: Church Leadership
New. Renders πρεσβύτερος (v.1), the author’s self-designation as a recognized pastoral authority/overseer, not merely a man of advanced age. Must be distinguished from both the ordinary social-age village-elder role and the Satradhikar guru-succession office at the head of an Ekasarana Satra. গুৰু is explicitly rejected, parallel to baseline’s rejection of গুৰু for ‘apostle’. This letter’s Diotrephes doctrine depends on the contrast between this legitimate, humble office and Diotrephes’ self-exalting misuse of a similar authority.
Cast Out
Approved rendering: মণ্ডলীৰ পৰা বাহিৰ কৰি পেলাই দিয়া
Transliteration: môndolir pora bahir kori pelai dia
Doctrine: Legitimate Authority versus Abuse of Church Discipline
Rejected alternatives: জাত দিয়া (caste-exclusion idiom)
Original: ἐκβάλλω
Category: Church Leadership
New. Renders ἐκβάλλω (v.10), the climax of Diotrephes’ abuse — unilateral, unjust expulsion. Caste-exclusion idiom explicitly rejected to avoid importing unrelated social-ostracism connotations. Expulsion carries heavy social weight in Assamese religious life (Satra/Namghar community exclusion, caste-based ostracism); a note is required distinguishing Diotrephes’ condemned, unjust action from legitimate biblical church discipline exercised elsewhere in Scripture.
True
Approved rendering: সত্য
Transliteration: xotyo
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Original: ἀληθής
Category: Truth
New. Renders ἀληθής (v.12), modifying the reliability of the Elder’s own testimony. Shares root and underlying collision risk with the doctrine 5 term truth/ἀλήθεια below; the same distinguishing note applies by cross-reference, though stakes are lower here (testimonial reliability, not the letter’s grand theological theme).
Faithful Deed
Approved rendering: বিশ্বাসযোগ্য কাম
Transliteration: biswaxjogyô kam
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Rejected alternatives: ভাল কাম
Original: πιστόν ποιεῖς
Category: Faith
New. Renders πιστόν ποιεῖς (v.5), ‘you do a faithful/trustworthy thing’ describing Gaius’s hospitality. ভাল কাম (generic ‘good deed’) is rejected as it loses the root connection to বিশ্বাস (faith). Must remain visibly rooted in বিশ্বাস without collapsing into the distinct doctrine of saving faith itself.
Walk Conduct
Approved rendering: চলা (সত্যত চলা)
Transliteration: cola (xotyôt cola)
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: মাৰ্গত চলা
Original: περιπατέω
Category: Christian Conduct
New. Renders περιπατέω (vv.3, 4), the ethical-lifestyle metaphor ‘to walk’. মাৰ্গত চলা (‘to walk on the path’) is rejected to avoid conflation with the Hindu concept of a spiritual marga or literal pilgrimage (tirtha-yatra). Note required framing this as an everyday conduct metaphor, not a ritual path chosen among rivals — preserving the exclusivity implicit in ‘the truth’ (definite, singular).
Soul
Approved rendering: প্ৰাণ
Transliteration: pran
Doctrine: Spiritual Fatherhood and Pastoral Affection
Rejected alternatives: আত্মা
Original: ψυχή
Category: Anthropology
New. Renders ψυχή (v.2). আত্মা is rejected — baseline reserves it exclusively for πνεῦμα/Holy Spirit contexts. প্ৰাণ is the least-bad available option, though Sanskritic/Vedantic anthropology narrows ‘prana’ to vital breath/life-force, smaller than ψυχή’s full ‘whole inner person’ range. Note required clarifying ψυχή here means the whole inner person — mind, will, spiritual condition — not merely biological vitality.
Prosper
Approved rendering: উন্নতি হওক / ভাল হওক
Transliteration: unnoti howk / bhal howk
Doctrine: Spiritual Fatherhood and Pastoral Affection
Rejected alternatives: সমৃদ্ধ হওক
Original: εὐοδοῦσθαι
Category: Blessing
New. Renders εὐοδοῦσθαι (v.2). সমৃদ্ধ হওক (‘become wealthy’) is rejected as it risks a purely material-prosperity reading. This verse is a classic prosperity-gospel proof text; the Assamese rendering must keep the soul-clause and the wish-clause grammatically yoked in the same sentence, so outward prospering is read as calibrated to, not independent of, the soul’s condition — a reading that could otherwise resonate with popular Lakshmi-prosperity devotion in the wider Assamese religious landscape.
Spiritual Children
Approved rendering: সন্তান
Transliteration: xontan
Doctrine: Spiritual Fatherhood and Pastoral Affection
Rejected alternatives: শিষ্য
Original: τέκνα
Category: Fellowship
New. Renders τέκνα (v.4), the Elder’s spiritual children in the faith. শিষ্য (‘disciple’) is rejected because it directly imports the guru-shishya institutional structure. Must be marked explicitly as ordinary pastoral/spiritual affection for those the Elder led to faith, not a formal guru-lineage claim, since the guru-shishya relationship is a load-bearing structure within Ekasarana Satra life.
Friend
Approved rendering: বন্ধু
Transliteration: bandhu
Doctrine: Covenantal Love in Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: ভাই
Original: φίλος
Category: Fellowship
New. Renders φίλος (v.14). ভাই is explicitly rejected here — it is reserved for ἀδελφός earlier in the letter (vv.3, 5, 10); the letter’s deliberate closing shift from ‘brother’ to ‘friend’ (cf. John 15:14-15) must be preserved distinctly, not flattened to a single Assamese term.
Low Risk Terms
Fellowship
Approved rendering: সহভাগিতা
Transliteration: xohobhagita
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: বন্ধুত্ব, সমাজ
Inherited from Romans package. Shared participation in Christ and with fellow believers; underlies the letter’s whole theme of hospitality-as-fellowship even though κοινωνία is not used as a headword term in 3 John’s Greek text itself.
Fellow Worker
Approved rendering: সহকৰ্মী
Transliteration: xohokôrmi
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: সহকৰ্ম
Original: συνεργός
Category: Church
New. Renders συνεργός (v.8). Uses the suffix -কৰ্মী, not the bare root কৰ্ম, so as not to invoke the technical karma-doctrine register (see works_deeds standing rule below).
Brothers
Approved rendering: ভাই
Transliteration: bhai
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: সহোদর
Original: ἀδελφός
Category: Fellowship
New. Renders ἀδελφός (vv.3, 5, 10). Fictive-kinship term for fellow believers/missionaries; must be kept visibly distinct from friend/বন্ধু (φίλος, v.14) — do not collapse the letter’s deliberate closing term-shift into this word.
We Ought
Approved rendering: … উচিত / লাগে
Transliteration: … uchit / lage
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ὀφείλω
Category: Ethics
New. Renders ὀφείλω (v.8), moral obligation to support faithful gospel workers. Standard phrasing; no significant doctrinal collision.
Slander
Approved rendering: বেয়া কথাৰে নিন্দা কৰা
Transliteration: beya kôthare ninda kora
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: καταλαλέω
Category: Church Leadership
New. Renders καταλαλέω (v.10). Standard defamation vocabulary; no significant doctrinal collision.
Hinder
Approved rendering: বাধা দিয়া
Transliteration: badha dia
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: κωλύω
Category: Church Leadership
New. Renders κωλύω (v.10), Diotrephes’ obstruction of those wanting to receive the traveling brothers. Standard vocabulary.
Remind
Approved rendering: সোঁৱৰাই দিয়া
Transliteration: xanwarai dia
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: ὑπομιμνήσκω
Category: Church Leadership
New. Renders ὑπομιμνήσκω (v.10), the Elder’s stated intent to call Diotrephes to account in person. Standard vocabulary.
Testify
Approved rendering: সাক্ষ্য দিয়া
Transliteration: sakkhyô diya
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Original: μαρτυρέω
Category: Witness
New. Renders μαρτυρέω (vv.3, 6, 12), applied to both Gaius and Demetrius. No competing religious concept; must be rendered consistently at every occurrence.
Testimony
Approved rendering: সাক্ষ্য
Transliteration: sakkhyô
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Original: μαρτυρία
Category: Witness
New. Renders μαρτυρία (v.12), the noun form of μαρτυρέω; keep root-consistent with testify.
Beloved
Approved rendering: প্ৰিয়
Transliteration: priyo
Doctrine: Covenantal Love in Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀγαπητός
Category: Fellowship
New. Renders ἀγαπητός (vv.1, 2, 5, 11). Standard term of address; no rival religious concept competes for this word.
Joy
Approved rendering: আনন্দ
Transliteration: anondo
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: χαρά
Category: Fellowship
New. Renders χαρά (v.4). Standard vocabulary.
Rejoice
Approved rendering: আনন্দিত হ’লো
Transliteration: anondit hôlo
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
New. Renders ἐχάρην, aorist of χαίρω (v.3), ‘I rejoiced’ at the report of Gaius’s truth-walk. Standard vocabulary.
Greet
Approved rendering: সম্ভাষণ জনোৱা
Transliteration: xombhaxôn zonuwa
Doctrine: Covenantal Love in Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀσπάζομαι
Category: Fellowship
New. Renders ἀσπάζομαι (v.14). Standard epistolary closing vocabulary.
Pray Wish
Approved rendering: প্ৰাৰ্থনা কৰি কামনা কৰা
Transliteration: prarthona kori kamona kora
Doctrine: Spiritual Fatherhood and Pastoral Affection
New. Renders εὔχομαι (v.2), the Elder’s prayer-wish for Gaius. Not a magical incantation or ritual formula; standard vocabulary.
Health
Approved rendering: স্বাস্থ্যৱান হওক
Transliteration: sasthyoban howk
Doctrine: Spiritual Fatherhood and Pastoral Affection
New. Renders ὑγιαίνειν (v.2). Standard vocabulary.
Ink And Pen
Approved rendering: কলি আৰু কলম
Transliteration: koli aru kôlôm
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
New. Renders μέλανος καὶ καλάμου (v.13). Simple material-culture detail; no doctrinal content.
Face To Face
Approved rendering: মুখা-মুখি
Transliteration: mukha-mukhi
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: মুখৰ পৰা মুখ
New. Renders στόμα πρὸς στόμα (v.14), literally ‘mouth to mouth’. A literal rendering (মুখৰ পৰা মুখ) is rejected as unnatural/confusing; the natural Assamese idiom for ‘face to face’ preserves the meaning of direct, personal conversation without doctrinal loss.
Gaius
Approved rendering: গায়াস
Transliteration: Gaios
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Γάϊος
Category: Proper Names
New. Recipient of the letter; render consistently throughout the curriculum.
Diotrephes
Approved rendering: দিয়ট্ৰেফীজ
Transliteration: Diotrephēs
Doctrine: Proper Names
Rejected alternatives: etymological translation (‘nourished by Zeus’)
Original: Διοτρέφης
Category: Proper Names
New. Named leader who refuses the Elder’s authority. Retain transliterated form; never translate the Greek etymological meaning, which would accidentally import a foreign deity name into the Assamese text.
Demetrius
Approved rendering: ডিমিট্ৰিয়াছ
Transliteration: Dēmētrios
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Δημήτριος
Category: Proper Names
New. Commended witness; retain transliterated form throughout the curriculum.
John
Approved rendering: যোহন
Transliteration: Iōannēs
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Ἰωάννης
Category: Proper Names
New (reuses established Assamese Gospel/Epistles form). Traditional author of the letter, self-identified as ‘the Elder’ (প্ৰাচীন).
Referenced passages