Semantic Analysis
Semantic Analysis: Acts 1–28 (Koine Greek → Assamese)
Methodology Note
This analysis follows the baseline Romans Language Package as the controlling authority for all terms already recorded in translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json. Where a term recurs from Romans (e.g. πνεῦμα ἅγιον, χάρις, πίστις, δικαιοσύνη, σωτηρία, κύριος, ἀπόστολος), the established Assamese rendering is reused exactly and marked “(reused baseline term)” with only the Acts-specific contextual nuance added. New terms introduced by Acts receive full treatment: original word, transliteration, literal meaning, semantic range, English variants, contextual theological meaning, and destination-language rendering with risk tier and grounded reason.
Risk tiers follow the baseline’s four-tier framework (Critical / High / Medium / Low), and this analysis pays special attention to Assam’s specific religious landscape: Ekasarana Dharma (Sankardev’s Vaishnavite tradition, Namghar/Satra institutions, naam-kirtan, guru/Satradhikar succession), broader Assamese Hindu Shakta practice (Kamakhya, deodhani spirit-possession trance, Durga/Mahishasura mythology), rural folk-religious practice (ওঝা shamans, tantra-mantra), and Assam’s substantial Muslim community (whose vocabulary for practices like circumcision and martyrdom must not be casually imported into Christian theological register).
PART 1 — Core Passage: Acts 2:1–41 (Pentecost), Verse by Verse
Acts 2:1
Πεντηκοστή (Pentēkostē)
- Literal meaning: “fiftieth [day]”
- Semantic range: the Jewish Feast of Weeks/Harvest (Shavuot), celebrated fifty days after Passover, later associated in rabbinic tradition with the giving of the Torah at Sinai
- English variants: “Pentecost,” “the day of Pentecost,” “Feast of Weeks”
- Contextual theological meaning: The day on which the Spirit is poured out is not incidental — Luke deliberately sets the birth of the church on this established pilgrim feast, tying Spirit-outpouring to Israel’s covenant calendar
- Assamese rendering: পেন্তিকোষ্ট (transliteration, gloss: পঞ্চাশৎ পৰ্ব “Feast of the Fiftieth Day”) — Risk: Medium. Must be explained as a historic Jewish pilgrim feast; do not allow it to be read as parallel to Assamese harvest festivals (Bihu) or treated as a generic “spring festival.”
Acts 2:2
πνοή (pnoē) — with wordplay on πνεῦμα
- Literal meaning: “breath, blowing, blast”
- Semantic range: wind, breath, gust; shares a root-family with πνεῦμα (spirit/wind/breath)
- English variants: “wind,” “blast,” “rushing”
- Contextual theological meaning: Echoes the Hebrew ruach wordplay (wind/breath/spirit) present at creation (Genesis 1:2) and in Ezekiel’s valley of bones — an audible sign that God’s Spirit-breath is now moving.
- Assamese rendering: বতাহ (batah, “wind”) — Risk: Low-Medium. Assamese আত্মা (Spirit) does not carry the same wind/breath double-sense as Greek πνεῦμα or Hebrew ruach; a translator note explaining the lost wordplay is recommended at first occurrence, not a substitution of terms.
Acts 2:3
πῦρ (pyr, “fire”) — γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός (“tongues as of fire”)
- Literal meaning: fire
- Semantic range: literal flame; symbolically, divine presence and purifying power (burning bush, Sinai’s fire, refiner’s fire)
- English variants: “fire,” “flame,” “tongues of fire”
- Contextual theological meaning: Visible sign of the Spirit’s arrival, echoing OT theophany imagery (Exodus 3, 19).
- Assamese rendering: জুই (jui, “fire”) — Risk: Low. Standard vocabulary; symbolic, not requiring doctrinal caution beyond noting theophanic background.
Acts 2:4
ἐπλήσθησαν πνεύματος ἁγίου (“they were filled with [the] Holy Spirit”) and ἐλάλουν ἑτέραις γλώσσαις (“spoke in other tongues”)
- πλήσθησαν (from πίμπλημι, “to fill”) — Literal: “were filled/made full”; Semantic range: to be completely filled, saturated, taken over; English variants: “filled,” “were filled”
- γλῶσσα (glōssa) — Literal: “tongue” (the organ) or “language”; Semantic range: physical tongue; a spoken human language; (later, in 1 Corinthians, an ecstatic utterance) — in Acts 2 the text specifies these are real, known human languages recognized by the hearers (v.6, 8, 11)
- Contextual theological meaning: This is the defining Pentecost sign: the Spirit takes full possession of the believers and enables them to speak real foreign languages they had never learned, reversing Babel’s confusion (Genesis 11) with Spirit-given intelligibility for the nations.
- Assamese rendering: পবিত্ৰ আত্মাৰে পূৰ্ণ হ’ল (using baseline পবিত্ৰ আত্মা, reused) + অন্য ভাষাত কথা কোৱা (“spoke in other languages”) — Risk: High. Two distinct risks: (1) “filled with the Spirit” must be clearly distinguished from Assamese Shakta/tribal deodhani spirit-possession trance phenomena (at Kamakhya and other Shakta shrines, mediums are believed to become possessed by a deity and act/speak involuntarily) — the Spirit’s filling in Acts produces coherent, intelligible speech and Christ-centered proclamation, not trance loss of self-control; (2) “tongues” must be rendered as real known languages here (অন্য ভাষা), not as unintelligible ecstatic utterance, to avoid confusion with folk-oracular trance speech.
Acts 2:5
εὐλαβής (eulabēs)
- Literal meaning: “reverent, cautious, taking hold well [of God]”
- Semantic range: devout, pious, God-fearing
- English variants: “devout,” “godly,” “God-fearing”
- Contextual theological meaning: Describes diaspora Jews who kept faithful Jewish piety despite living outside Judea, present in Jerusalem for the feast.
- Assamese rendering: ঈশ্বৰভয়ী (Iswôrbhoyi, “God-fearing”) — Risk: Medium. Avoid ভক্তিপৰায়ণ (“bhakti-devoted”), which would tie this description to the Vaishnavite/Ekasarana bhakti devotional framework rather than simple covenant piety toward the one God of Israel.
Acts 2:6
διάλεκτος (dialektos)
- Literal meaning: “dialect, manner of speech”
- Semantic range: a distinct language or regional speech-form
- English variants: “language,” “tongue,” “dialect”
- Contextual theological meaning: Emphasizes that each hearer recognized their own native/regional language — a real linguistic miracle, not vague noise.
- Assamese rendering: নিজ ভাষা (nij bhaxa, “own language”) — Risk: Low.
Acts 2:7–8
No new load-bearing terms; narrative expression of astonishment (θαυμάζω, “to marvel”). Reinforces the historicity of the miracle (real Galileans heard speaking real foreign languages).
Acts 2:9–11
Geographic/ethnic list (Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, Rome, Cretans, Arabians). No new theological vocabulary — proper nouns only — but this list is the narrative seed of the Universal Scope of the Gospel doctrine (cf. baseline doctrine universal_scope_of_gospel): the gospel is immediately heard across ethnic and linguistic lines, anticipating the Jew-Gentile mission of the whole book.
Acts 2:12
No new terms; continued amazement, perplexity (διαπορέω).
Acts 2:13
γλεῦκος (gleukos)
- Literal meaning: “sweet new wine, must”
- Semantic range: freshly pressed, unfermented or newly fermented wine
- English variants: “new wine,” “sweet wine”
- Contextual theological meaning: Mockers misread Spirit-filled joy and Spirit-given speech as drunkenness — the same category error later addressed directly by Peter (v.15). This mockery echoes the same risk noted at v.4: outsiders interpret Spirit-phenomena through an intoxication/trance framework.
- Assamese rendering: নতুন দ্ৰাক্ষাৰস (natun drakkharôx, “new grape-wine”) — Risk: Low-Medium. Keep the contrast crisp: Peter’s rebuttal (v.15) must clearly separate Spirit-filling from drunkenness/intoxication so the passage cannot be read as endorsing an altered-consciousness experience akin to folk trance states.
Acts 2:14–15
μεθύω (methyō)
- Literal meaning: “to be drunk, intoxicated”
- Semantic range: literal drunkenness from wine
- English variants: “drunk,” “intoxicated”
- Contextual theological meaning: Peter explicitly denies this explanation — it is only 9 a.m. (“the third hour of the day”), and what onlookers are seeing is the Spirit’s work, not intoxication.
- Assamese rendering: মতলিয়া (motoliya, “drunk”) — Risk: Low.
Acts 2:16
Reuses baseline prophecy (ভাববাণী) and prophet (ভাববাদী): “this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel.” (reused baseline term) — anchors Pentecost in OT fulfillment, tying to the baseline doctrine fulfillment_of_prophecy.
Acts 2:17
ἐκχεῶ (ekcheō, future ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου)
- Literal meaning: “I will pour out”
- Semantic range: to pour out liquid; figuratively, to give abundantly and publicly
- English variants: “pour out,” “pour forth”
- Contextual theological meaning: God’s Spirit is given lavishly and universally (“upon all flesh” — πᾶσα σάρξ), not rationed to a priestly or prophetic elite as under the old covenant.
- Assamese rendering: বাকি দিয়া (baki diya, “to pour out”) — Risk: Medium. Pair explicitly with পবিত্ৰ আত্মা (Holy Spirit, reused) so the “pouring” reads as an act of the personal God, not an impersonal spiritual force being dispersed (avoid resonance with an impersonal shakti-energy diffusion concept).
Acts 2:18
Continuation of the Joel quotation; no new terms — reuse of মতা/মতনি (called/calling, via “sons and daughters shall prophesy”) and ভাববাণী (prophecy).
Acts 2:19
Reuses σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα (signs and wonders) — apocalyptic imagery: blood, fire, vapor of smoke. See full treatment under “Signs and Wonders” in Part 2 (first full definition at Acts 2:22/2:43). Assamese: চিন আৰু আচৰিত কাৰ্য.
Acts 2:20
ἡμέρα Κυρίου (hēmera Kyriou, “day of the Lord”)
- Literal meaning: “day of [the] Lord”
- Semantic range: the eschatological day of God’s decisive judgment and salvation
- English variants: “day of the Lord,” “the great and glorious day”
- Contextual theological meaning: Cosmic upheaval language (sun darkened, moon to blood) marking the arrival of the age of salvation inaugurated at Pentecost and consummated at Christ’s return.
- Assamese rendering: প্ৰভুৰ দিন (Probhur din, using baseline প্ৰভু “Lord,” reused) — Risk: Medium. Must be presented as God’s own appointed day of judgment/salvation in linear history, not assimilated to a cyclical end-of-age concept such as the end of a yuga (era) in Hindu cosmology, nor to a vague “doomsday.”
Acts 2:21
ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου (“calls upon the name of the Lord”)
- ἐπικαλέομαι (epikaleomai) — Literal: “to call upon, invoke, appeal to”; Semantic range: to summon aid by name, to appeal to a name for rescue or legal standing; English variants: “calls on,” “invokes,” “appeals to”
- Contextual theological meaning: Salvation is granted to whoever personally and sincerely calls on the Lord (i.e., the risen, exalted Jesus, per v.36) by name — this is the invitation-verse of the whole sermon, quoted again in Romans 10:13.
- Assamese rendering: প্ৰভুৰ নামত মাতে (“calls on the name of the Lord,” reusing প্ৰভু) + baseline পৰিত্ৰাণ (salvation) for σωθήσεται — Risk: High. Must be clearly distinguished from repetitive devotional Name-invocation (naam-kirtan, japa) practiced toward a chosen deity in Ekasarana/Vaishnavite bhakti; here the “calling” is a personal, once-for-all appeal for rescue to a specific, historically identified Lord (Jesus, crucified and risen), not a repeatable devotional technique that itself generates merit.
Acts 2:22
δυνάμεις καὶ τέρασι καὶ σημείοις (“mighty works and wonders and signs”)
- δύναμις (dynamis) — Literal: “power, ability, might”; Semantic range: inherent power, a powerful deed/miracle, capability; English variants: “power,” “mighty work,” “miracle”
- Contextual theological meaning: God himself “attested” (ἀπεδειξεν, “publicly demonstrated”) Jesus through these acts — miracles are God’s own certification of Jesus, not Jesus’ independent display of personal power.
- Assamese rendering: আচৰিত কাৰ্য (accôritô karyô, “wonderful/marvelous deeds”) extending the baseline pattern of pairing শক্তি with ঈশ্বৰৰ — Risk: Medium. Must not be framed using vocabulary associated with siddhi (supernatural powers attained through yogic/tantric practice/austerity); these are God’s own acts done through and for Jesus, not powers Jesus acquired through spiritual discipline.
Acts 2:23
ὡρισμένῃ βουλῇ καὶ προγνώσει τοῦ θεοῦ (“by the determined plan and foreknowledge of God”)
- βουλή (boulē) — Literal: “counsel, plan, purpose, will”; Semantic range: a deliberate decision or resolved plan; English variants: “plan,” “purpose,” “will,” “counsel”
- πρόγνωσις (prognōsis) — Literal: “foreknowledge”; Semantic range: knowing beforehand, foreordaining knowledge; English variants: “foreknowledge,” “foreordained plan”
- Contextual theological meaning: The cross was not an accident or a tragic defeat but occurred exactly within God’s sovereign, foreordained plan — even while the human agents (“you”) remain morally responsible for the killing (ἀνείλατε, “you killed”).
- Assamese rendering: ঈশ্বৰৰ নিৰ্ধাৰিত পৰিকল্পনা আৰু পূর্বজ্ঞান — using baseline ঈশ্বৰৰ বিধান (providence) framework for βουλή, and পূর্বজ্ঞান (purbojyan, “foreknowledge”) for πρόγνωσις — Risk: High. Must be framed as the personal, purposive plan of a sovereign God who holds human agents accountable, not impersonal fate (ভাগ্য) or karmic inevitability (কৰ্মফল) that would erase human responsibility for the crucifixion.
Acts 2:24
ἀνέστησεν (“raised up”) — reuse baseline পুনৰুত্থান (resurrection). ὠδῖνες τοῦ θανάτου (“the pangs/birth-pangs of death”)
- ὠδίν (ōdin) — Literal: “birth-pang, travail”; Semantic range: labor pain, intense agony; English variants: “pangs,” “agony,” “cords [of death]”
- Contextual theological meaning: Death could not hold Jesus — its grip is pictured as labor-pain that must, by necessity, give way to new life.
- Assamese rendering: মৃত্যুৰ বেদনা (mrityur bedona, “death’s pain/agony”) — Risk: Low. Poetic imagery; the resurrection term itself carries the baseline’s Critical-risk caution (never পুনৰ্জন্ম).
Acts 2:25–28
Quotation of Psalm 16:8–11 (David prophesying of the Messiah). Reuses baseline দায়ূদ (David) and ভাববাণী (prophecy). New term:
ᾅδης (Hadēs)
- Literal meaning: “Hades,” the realm/abode of the dead
- Semantic range: the shadowy place of departed spirits awaiting resurrection (distinct from the NT’s final place of punishment, Gehenna)
- English variants: “Hades,” “the grave,” “the realm of the dead”
- Contextual theological meaning: David’s body was not “abandoned to Hades” but was raised — a claim applied prophetically to the Messiah’s resurrection, not David’s own (v.29–31).
- Assamese rendering: মৃতলोक (mritolok, “realm of the dead”) — Risk: Medium. Must be distinguished from the Hindu cosmological Naraka/Patal Lok (underworld realms tied to karmic retribution and the rebirth cycle); Hades here is simply the temporary abode of the dead awaiting bodily resurrection, not a tier of karmic punishment or a way-station in reincarnation.
Acts 2:29
πατριάρχης (patriarchēs)
- Literal meaning: “patriarch, father of a tribe/nation”
- Semantic range: a revered ancestral founding father
- English variants: “patriarch,” “forefather”
- Contextual theological meaning: Peter respectfully names David “the patriarch,” grounding his argument in shared reverence for Israel’s history before making his christological claim.
- Assamese rendering: পিতৃপুৰুষ (pitripurux, “ancestral father”) — Risk: Low.
Acts 2:30
Reuse of baseline messiah (মচীহ), covenant (নিয়ম, via the Davidic oath), and seed_of_david (দায়ূদৰ বংশৰ). “God had sworn with an oath to him” ties directly to the baseline doctrine davidic_covenant.
Acts 2:31
“He foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ” — reuse baseline পুনৰুত্থান (resurrection) + মচীহ (Messiah/Christ). (reused baseline terms)
Acts 2:32
μάρτυρες (martyres, “witnesses”)
- Literal meaning: “witnesses”
- Semantic range: one who testifies to what they have personally seen/experienced, especially in a legal or formal sense
- English variants: “witnesses”
- Contextual theological meaning: The apostles’ authority to proclaim the resurrection rests on direct, eyewitness testimony, not received tradition or speculation.
- Assamese rendering: সাক্ষী (xakhi, “witness”) — Risk: Medium. Foundational term for the whole book’s
persecution_and_bold_witnessdoctrine; see full treatment in Part 2 under Acts 1 and Acts 7 (Stephen).
Acts 2:33
ὑψωθείς (hypsōtheis, “having been exalted”)
- Literal meaning: “lifted up, raised high, exalted”
- Semantic range: physical elevation; figuratively, being raised to a position of highest honor/authority
- English variants: “exalted,” “lifted up”
- Contextual theological meaning: Jesus’ exaltation to the Father’s right hand is the basis for his sending of the Spirit — resurrection and ascension together enthrone him as Lord.
- Assamese rendering: উন্নত কৰা হ’ল (unnôtô kôra hôl, “was exalted/raised in honor”) — Risk: Medium. Avoid vocabulary implying Jesus was “promoted” from a lower to higher divine status (which would compromise the baseline’s Critical
deity_of_christdoctrine); the exaltation is public vindication and enthronement of one who is already eternally the Son, not an elevation in nature.
ἐπαγγελία (epangelia, “promise”)
- Literal meaning: “promise, pledge”
- Semantic range: a formal declaration of intent to give something; in NT usage, God’s covenant promises
- English variants: “promise”
- Contextual theological meaning: The Spirit poured out at Pentecost is “the promise of the Holy Spirit” received by Christ from the Father — fulfillment of OT covenant promise (cf. Joel, and later v.39, “the promise is for you and your children”).
- Assamese rendering: প্ৰতিজ্ঞা (protijnya, “promise/covenant pledge”) — Risk: Medium. Keep tied to God’s own covenant faithfulness (reuse baseline নিয়ম framework), not a generic assurance.
Acts 2:34–35
Quotation of Psalm 110:1. Reuse baseline প্ৰভু (Lord/κύριος) for both occurrences of “Lord” in the quotation — a text Jesus himself used messianically (cf. Mark 12:36). No new terms.
Acts 2:36
Climactic verse: “Let all Israel be assured of this: God has made him both Lord (κύριος) and Christ (χριστός).” Reuse baseline প্ৰভু (Lord, Critical) and মচীহ (Messiah/Christ, Critical). This is the doctrinal apex of the sermon and must be rendered without qualification: যীচুকে প্ৰভু আৰু মচীহ পাতিছে — Risk: Critical (inherited directly from baseline lordship_of_christ and messianic_promise). No softening permitted; this is not one honorific among several devotional titles.
Acts 2:37
κατενύγησαν τὴν καρδίαν (“were pierced/cut to the heart”)
- κατανύσσομαι (katanyssomai) — Literal: “to pierce, prick, stab”; Semantic range: to be stabbed with strong emotion, deeply troubled/convicted; English variants: “cut to the heart,” “deeply troubled,” “pierced”
- Contextual theological meaning: The Spirit-empowered preaching of the cross and resurrection produces immediate, deep conviction of sin in the hearers — not mere intellectual assent but a piercing realization of guilt (“what shall we do?”).
- Assamese rendering: হৃদয়ত বিদ্ধ হ’ল (hridoyôt biddhô hôl, “were pierced in heart”) — Risk: Medium. A figurative expression of conviction of sin; ensure it is not misread as literal wounding, and that it is tied to the Spirit’s conviction, not self-generated guilt/remorse (see repentance below).
Acts 2:38
The hinge verse of the whole passage, combining several Critical/High terms:
μετανοήσατε (repent, imperative of μετανοέω)
- Literal meaning: “change your mind,” from μετά (change) + νοέω (to think/perceive)
- Semantic range: a decisive turning of mind and direction, away from sin and toward God
- English variants: “repent,” “turn,” “change your mind”
- Contextual theological meaning: Not mere regret but a Spirit-enabled reorientation of the whole person toward God, the necessary first response to the gospel.
- Assamese rendering: মন-পালটন কৰক (mon-paloton kôrok, “turn/change your mind [and direction]”) — Risk: High. Must never be rendered প্ৰায়শ্চিত্ত (a Hindu ritual act of penance/expiation performed to remove accumulated karmic sin) or তপস্যা (ascetic austerity performed for merit); biblical repentance is a Spirit-enabled turning toward the true God in response to grace, not a self-performed ritual act that earns removal of guilt.
βαπτισθήτω (be baptized, from βαπτίζω)
- Literal meaning: “to dip, immerse, submerge”
- Semantic range: ritual immersion in water; in Christian usage, the once-for-all initiatory rite marking union with Christ’s death/resurrection and entrance into the believing community
- English variants: “baptize,” “be baptized”
- Contextual theological meaning: A public, one-time act of identification with Christ commanded alongside repentance, “in the name of Jesus Christ.”
- Assamese rendering: বাপ্তিস্ম লওক / বাপ্তাইজ হওক (established transliterated Assamese Christian term) — Risk: High. Must be sharply distinguished from Hindu/Assamese ritual bathing for purification (e.g., holy dips in the Brahmaputra, Magh Bihu ritual bathing, Kamakhya purification rites), which are repeatable acts believed to cleanse ritual impurity or accumulated sin through the act of washing itself. Christian baptism is a single, unrepeatable act of faith-obedience marking identification with Christ’s death and resurrection, not a repeatable purification technique.
εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν (“for/unto the forgiveness of your sins”)
- ἄφεσις (aphesis) — Literal: “release, sending away, letting go”; Semantic range: legal pardon, release from debt/captivity, forgiveness; English variants: “forgiveness,” “remission,” “release”
- Contextual theological meaning: God’s judicial pardon of sins, granted through Christ’s finished work, received at repentance/baptism — a legal release, not merely an emotional sense of relief.
- Assamese rendering: পাপ ক্ষমা (pap khôma, “forgiveness/pardon of sin,” building on baseline পাপ) — Risk: High. Must not be conflated with karma-removal (পাপ-নাশ, “sin-destruction”) achieved through pilgrimage, ritual, or austerity; this is a legal pardon granted once by a personal God on the basis of Christ’s atoning work, not a cumulative merit-balancing process.
λήμψεσθε τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (“you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”)
- δωρεά (dōrea) — Literal: “gift, free gift”; Semantic range: a gift given freely, without payment or merit; English variants: “gift,” “free gift”
- Contextual theological meaning: The Spirit is given as an unearned gift attending genuine repentance and baptism — reinforcing (as in Romans) that grace precedes and is not conditioned on merit.
- Assamese rendering: দান (dan, “gift”) paired with baseline পবিত্ৰ আত্মা — Risk: High. Must preserve the grace/merit contrast established in the baseline (
gracedoctrine): this gift is not a boon (বৰ) granted in exchange for devotion or austerity, but freely given upon repentance and faith.
Acts 2:39
Continuation: “For the promise (ἐπαγγελία, reuse from v.33) is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls (προσκαλέσηται, reuse baseline মতা) to himself.” Reinforces universal_scope_of_gospel and effectual_calling doctrines — no new terms, but doctrinally load-bearing.
Acts 2:40
σκολιᾶς γενεᾶς (“crooked generation”)
- σκολιός (skolios) — Literal: “crooked, bent, curved”; Semantic range: morally twisted, perverse; English variants: “crooked,” “corrupt,” “perverse”
- Contextual theological meaning: Echoes Deuteronomy 32:5, describing the moral condition from which believers are urged to be saved.
- Assamese rendering: কুটিল প্ৰজন্ম (kutil projonmo, “crooked/perverse generation”) — Risk: Low.
Acts 2:41
προσετέθησαν (“were added”)
- προστίθημι (prostithēmi) — Literal: “to add to, place additionally”
- Semantic range: to be joined/incorporated into an existing group
- English variants: “were added,” “were added to their number”
- Contextual theological meaning: The response to the gospel is immediately corporate — new believers are numbered among the visible community, not left as isolated individual converts. Foundational for the
church_as_gods_peopledoctrine. - Assamese rendering: যোগ দিয়া হ’ল (jog diya hôl, “were added/joined”) — Risk: Low-Medium. Should be read alongside baseline মণ্ডলী (church) to establish that response to the gospel results in incorporation into a visible, accountable community, not merely private belief.
PART 2 — Chapter-by-Chapter Study of the Whole Book of Acts
Chapter 1
| Terms | Variants | Contextual Meaning in Acts | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| kingdom of God βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ God’s reign | ”kingdom of God” | Risen Jesus teaches the disciples about God’s kingdom for 40 days (1:3); reused from Romans | ঈশ্বৰৰ ৰাজ্য (reused) | Medium |
| baptized with the Holy Spirit βαπτισθήσεσθε ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ immersed/overwhelmed with the Spirit | ”baptized with the Holy Spirit” | Contrasts John’s water baptism with the coming Spirit-baptism (1:5), foundational for Acts 2 | বাপ্তিস্ম + পবিত্ৰ আত্মা (compound) | High — must show contrast between John’s preparatory water rite and Christ’s own Spirit-baptism; not two instances of the same ritual technique |
| power δύναμις ability/might for a task | ”power" | "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (1:8) — empowerment for witness, extending the baseline power_of_god pattern beyond Romans 1:16’s salvation-specific sense | ঈশ্বৰৰ শক্তি (reused, extended sense) | High |
| witnesses…to the end of the earth μάρτυρες…ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς those who testify, to earth’s farthest point | ”witnesses,” “to the ends of the earth” | The Great Commission’s geographic and testimonial scope — the programmatic verse for the whole book | সাক্ষী (see full term at 2:32) + “পৃথিৱীৰ শেষ সীমালৈ” | High — ties to mission_to_nations and great_commission_fulfilled; avoid confrontational/colonial framing (see baseline mission note) |
| taken up (ascension) ἀνελήμφθη was lifted/taken up | ”taken up,” “ascended” | Jesus visibly, bodily ascends into heaven (1:9-11) — a historical, bodily departure, with promised bodily return | স্বৰ্গলৈ তুলি লৈ যোৱা হ’ল | High — must be presented as a unique, historical, bodily event marking the permanent exaltation of the God-man, not analogous to a deity’s periodic mythic return to a celestial abode after a temporary avatar-episode (same caution as baseline incarnation) |
| lots κλῆρος a lot/token cast to decide | ”lots,” “cast lots” | Choosing Matthias as Judas’ replacement by prayer and casting lots (1:26) | চিঠি খেলোৱা / গুটি মৰা | Medium — must not be conflated with astrological divination or fortune-telling (গণনা, already flagged in baseline under prophecy); this is Scripture-guided petitionary discernment, not occult divination |
Chapter 2
Treated in full in Part 1 (verses 1–41). Verses 42–47 (not part of the assigned core-passage range but completing the chapter) introduce additional load-bearing terms:
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| apostles’ teaching | διδαχή τῶν ἀποστόλων | teaching, doctrine | The new believers’ devotion to apostolic instruction (2:42) as one of four marks of the early church | শিক্ষা | Low |
| breaking of bread | κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου | breaking of bread | Communal meal / Lord’s Supper practice (2:42, 46) | পিঠা ভাঙা | Medium — distinguish from Hindu prasad-sharing after temple worship; here the meal commemorates Christ’s broken body, not merit-transfer through blessed food |
| all things in common | εἶχον ἅπαντα κοινά | held all things common | Voluntary, Spirit-motivated sharing of possessions (2:44-45) | সাধাৰণ সম্পত্তি হিচাপে ৰাখিলে | Medium — avoid political “communism” framing (loaded in Assam’s regional political history) and avoid equating with the Satra institution’s compulsory monastic communal-property vows for celibate bhakats; this is voluntary generosity flowing from grace, not an enforced rule |
Chapter 3
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Servant (of God) | παῖς [θεοῦ] | servant, child | Peter calls Jesus God’s “Servant” (3:13, 26), echoing Isaiah’s Suffering Servant | ঈশ্বৰৰ দাস | High — must not be confused with generic guru-disciple sevaka (devotee-servant) language common in Vaishnavite bhakti; this is a specific messianic title rooted in Isaiah, describing the unique Servant through whom God accomplishes salvation |
| Holy and Righteous One | τὸν ἅγιον καὶ δίκαιον | the Holy and Righteous One | Christological title (3:14) | পবিত্ৰ আৰু ধাৰ্মিক জন (reused পবিত্ৰ/ধাৰ্মিকতা) | Critical (inherited from baseline holy/righteousness) |
| Author/Prince of life | ἀρχηγὸς τῆς ζωῆς | leader/originator/pioneer of life | Christ as the source and pioneer of resurrection life (3:15) | জীৱনৰ কৰ্তা | High — conveys unique originating authority over life and resurrection, not one life-giving guru or avatar-figure among others |
| sins wiped away | ἐξαλειφθῆναι…τὰς ἁμαρτίας | to wipe/blot out | Repentance results in sins being blotted out (3:19) | পাপ মোচন হ’ব | High — reinforces ἄφεσις-language already treated at 2:38; a judicial removal by God, not karma-erasure through merit |
| restoration of all things | ἀποκατάστασις πάντων | restoration | Eschatological hope of cosmic restoration at Christ’s return (3:21) | সকলো বস্তুৰ পুনৰুদ্ধাৰ | Medium — a future, Christ-centered cosmic renewal, not a cyclical yuga-restoration pattern |
Chapter 4
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| boldness | παρρησία | freedom of speech, confidence | Peter and John’s fearless speech before the council (4:13, 29, 31) | সাহস / নিৰ্ভীকভাৱে | Medium — foundational term for persecution_and_bold_witness |
| salvation in no one else | οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἄλλῳ οὐδενὶ ἡ σωτηρία | salvation in no other | Exclusivity claim (4:12), reuse baseline পৰিত্ৰাণ | পৰিত্ৰাণ (reused) | Critical — must retain unqualified exclusivity; do not soften to “a way” among several valid paths |
| cornerstone | κεφαλὴ γωνίας | head of the corner | Christ as the rejected-but-vindicated cornerstone (4:11, citing Psalm 118) | চুকৰ প্ৰধান শিল | Medium |
| filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke the word with boldness | ἐπλήσθησαν…πνεύματος ἁγίου καὶ ἐλάλουν… μετὰ παρρησίας | filled, spoke boldly | Repeated Spirit-filling produces bold proclamation (4:31), confirming this is the normal, repeatable effect pattern of Spirit-filling (distinct from a one-time ecstatic trance) | পবিত্ৰ আত্মাৰে পূৰ্ণ হৈ…সাহসেৰে কথা কলে | High (reused framework from 2:4) |
Chapter 5
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lie to the Holy Spirit | ψεύσασθαι…τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον | to lie/deceive | Ananias and Sapphira’s sin (5:3, 9) treated as lying directly to God, not merely to the church | পবিত্ৰ আত্মাক প্ৰবঞ্চনা কৰা | High — reinforces the Holy Spirit’s full personhood and deity (baseline holy_spirit, Critical); sinning against the community is sinning against God himself |
| great fear | φόβος μέγας | great fear | Communal reverent fear following God’s judgment on hypocrisy (5:5, 11) | মহা ভয় | Low |
| rejoicing to suffer for the Name | χαίροντες…ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος | rejoicing for the sake of the Name | Apostles rejoice at being counted worthy to suffer disgrace for Jesus’ name (5:41) | নামৰ কাৰণে দুখভোগ কৰাত আনন্দিত হোৱা | High — models the pattern for persecution_and_bold_witness: suffering embraced with joy, not stoic endurance or fatalistic resignation |
Chapter 6
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| serve tables / ministry, deacon | διακονεῖν τραπέζαις / διακονία | to serve, service, ministry | Appointment of seven to serve/administer food distribution (6:1-6), origin of the deacon office | পৰিচৰ্যা / পৰিচাৰক | Medium — distinct church office of practical service, not a Satradhikar-style hierarchical guru-role |
| full of the Spirit and wisdom | πλήρης πνεύματος καὶ σοφίας | full of Spirit, wisdom | Qualification for the seven (6:3) | আত্মা আৰু বুদ্ধিৰে পূৰ্ণ | Medium |
| blasphemy | βλασφημία | slander, defamation, impious speech against God | False accusation against Stephen (6:11, 13) | ঈশ্বৰনিন্দা | Medium |
Chapter 7
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| living oracles | λόγια ζῶντα | living words/utterances | The Law described as “living oracles” received by Moses (7:38) | জীৱন্ত বাক্য | Medium — reinforces inspiration_of_scripture; God-breathed, active words, not a static legal code |
| resist the Holy Spirit | ἀντιπίπτετε τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ | to resist, oppose | Stephen’s indictment of persistent unbelief (7:51) | পবিত্ৰ আত্মাৰ প্ৰতিৰোধ কৰা | High (reused holy_spirit framework) |
| Son of Man | υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου | son of man | Stephen’s vision of Jesus standing at God’s right hand (7:56) — a Danielic (Dan. 7:13-14) title of divine authority and coming judgment | মানুহৰ পুত্ৰ | Critical — this self-designation of Christ must not be flattened to mean merely “a human being,” nor conflated with a periodically-descending avatar-being; it names the exalted, glorified Christ exercising divine authority |
| stoning | λιθοβολέω | to stone | Stephen’s death, the first Christian martyrdom (7:58-60) | শিলগুটিৰে মাৰি পেলোয়া | Low (narrative); the martyrdom motif itself is treated under “witness/martyr” (see Ch.1 and glossary) |
| receive my spirit / do not hold this sin against them | δέξαι τὸ πνεῦμά μου / μὴ στήσῃς αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην | receive my spirit; forgive | Stephen’s Christ-imitating final words (7:59-60), modeling forgiveness under persecution | মোৰ আত্মা গ্ৰহণ কৰক / এই পাপ তাৎলৈ গণ্য নকৰিব | High — reinforces forgiveness-under-persecution as normative Christian response, not passive fatalism |
Chapter 8
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sorcery / magician | μαγεία / μάγος | magic arts; a practitioner of magic | Simon the sorcerer (8:9-11) practiced μαγεία before believing | মায়াবী / যাদুকৰ | High — must be distinguished from Assam’s widespread rural ওঝা (folk healer/exorcist) and tantra-mantra practices; text frames this as illegitimate occult power, contrasted sharply with the Spirit’s genuine, God-given power |
| gift of God | δωρεὰν τοῦ θεοῦ | free gift | Simon tries to buy the Spirit’s power with money (8:20) — reuse δωρεά (see 2:38) | ঈশ্বৰৰ দান | High — reinforces that the Spirit’s power can never be purchased or earned; direct reinforcement of the grace/merit contrast |
| eunuch | εὐνοῦχος | a castrated male official | The Ethiopian eunuch (8:27ff), previously excluded from full temple worship (Deut. 23:1), receives the gospel and baptism | নপুংসক | Low — narrative/social-status term; theologically significant as an early sign of the gospel’s boundary-breaking inclusivity (universal_scope_of_gospel) |
| what prevents me from being baptized? | τί με κωλύει βαπτισθῆναι | what hinders | The eunuch’s request (8:36) — reuse baseline baptism term | বাপ্তিস্ম লওঁতে কি বাধা আছে (reused) | High |
Chapter 9
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the Way | ἡ ὁδός | the road/path | First designation of the Christian movement (9:2); recurs at 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22 | পথ (“সেই পথ”) | High — risks conflation with the Hindu concept of marga (a valid spiritual path among several: bhakti-marga, jnana-marga, karma-marga) and with Ekasarana Dharma’s own self-understanding as a path (naam-dharma); must be rendered/glossed as the singular way inaugurated in Christ, not one path among many |
| scales fell from his eyes | ἀπέπεσαν…αἱ λεπίδες | scales fell off | Saul’s physical blindness lifts at his conversion (9:18) | তাৰ চকুৰ পৰা যেন খোলা খহি পৰিল | Low (vivid narrative image tied to Conversion of Paul doctrine) |
| chosen instrument | σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς | a vessel of election | God’s description of Saul to Ananias (9:15) | মনোনীত পাত্ৰ | Medium — ties directly to baseline election (ঈশ্বৰৰ মনোনয়ন); God’s sovereign choice, not Saul’s own merit or spiritual achievement |
Chapter 10
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| common / unclean (ceremonial) | κοινός | common, ordinary, ritually unclean | Peter’s vision: “what God has made clean, do not call common” (10:15, 28) — abolition of OT ceremonial food distinctions to open table-fellowship with Gentiles | সাধাৰণ / অশুচি | High — direct engagement with ritual-purity categories; must be framed as the fulfillment/reinterpretation of specific OT ceremonial law opening Jew-Gentile fellowship, and must not be read as a general dismissal of purity concepts nor allowed to collide unexamined with Hindu caste-linked food-purity codes (jaat-paat) still present in Assamese social life — the text’s real target is the Jew-Gentile boundary, not purity concepts as such |
| God shows no partiality | οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήμπτης ὁ θεός | not a receiver/respecter of faces | Peter’s programmatic statement (10:34) | ঈশ্বৰ পক্ষপাতিত্ব নকৰে | High — directly parallels baseline’s unity_of_jews_and_gentiles and confronts caste-based spiritual hierarchy still present in Assamese social structure; retain full force, do not soften |
| Holy Spirit fell on all who heard | ἐπέπεσε τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐπὶ πάντας | fell upon | The “Gentile Pentecost” (10:44) — same Spirit-gift pattern as Acts 2 given now to Gentiles without prior circumcision | পবিত্ৰ আত্মা সকলোৰ ওপৰত নামি আহিল (reused holy_spirit) | High |
Chapter 11
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| repentance that leads to life | μετάνοιαν εἰς ζωήν | repentance unto life | Jerusalem church’s recognition that God has granted repentance to Gentiles too (11:18) | জীৱনৰ কাৰণে মন-পালটন (reused) | High |
| Christians | Χριστιανός | belonging to Christ | Believers first called “Christians” at Antioch (11:26) | খ্ৰীষ্টিয়ান | Low-Medium — established transliterated term; note it names identification with Christ specifically, not a generic religious-community label |
Chapter 12
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| angel of the Lord | ἄγγελος Κυρίου | messenger of the Lord | Delivers Peter from prison (12:7-11); strikes Herod in judgment (12:23) | প্ৰভুৰ দূত | Medium — দূত (messenger) is appropriate here for a created angelic being (unlike apostle/প্ৰেৰিত, which the baseline reserves for human sent-ones); note the distinction between দূত (angel/messenger) and প্ৰেৰিত (apostle) to avoid conflation |
| the word of God increased | ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ηὔξανεν | grew, multiplied | Programmatic growth-summary statement (12:24) | ঈশ্বৰৰ বাক্য বৃদ্ধি হৈ গৈছিল | Low |
Chapter 13
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| set apart | ἀφορίσατε | separate, mark off | Holy Spirit’s command to set apart Barnabas and Saul for mission work (13:2) | পৃথক কৰক | High — reinforces baseline doctrine separation_unto_gods_service; must not be confused with Satra-tradition monastic renunciation (celibate bhakats withdrawing from ordinary life); this is a setting-apart for active missionary sending, not withdrawal |
| sorcerer opposing the gospel | μάγος (Elymas/Bar-Jesus) | magician | Opposition from occult practice (13:6-11), reuse of Ch.8’s category | মায়াবী (reused) | High |
| justified / freed | δικαιοῦται | is declared righteous / is set free | Paul’s Antioch sermon: “by him everyone who believes is justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses” (13:38-39) | ধাৰ্মিক বুলি গণ্য কৰা (reused baseline term) | Critical — this is Acts’ clearest statement of justification_apart_from_the_law; must use the full compound baseline phrase, never shortened to mere “forgiveness” |
| children of the covenant | υἱοὶ…τῆς διαθήκης | sons of the covenant | Reuse baseline নিয়ম (covenant) | নিয়মৰ সন্তান (reused) | High |
Chapter 14
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| living God | θεὸς ζῶν | living God | Paul/Barnabas refuse worship at Lystra, pointing to “the living God who made heaven and earth” (14:15) as against Zeus/Hermes | জীৱন্ত ঈশ্বৰ | High — direct contrast with lifeless, mythic deities (here Greco-Roman, but functionally analogous to any local pantheon); reuse baseline ঈশ্বৰ, emphasize “living” to distinguish the true Creator from a murti or mythic figure |
| elders | πρεσβύτεροι | elders (church office) | Paul and Barnabas appoint elders in every church (14:23) | প্ৰাচীন | Medium — a spiritual-oversight office distinct from a village পঞ্চায়ত elder or a Satra’s Satradhikar succession-hierarchy |
Chapter 15
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| circumcision | περιτομή | cutting of the foreskin | Central debate at the Jerusalem Council: must Gentile believers be circumcised to be saved? (15:1, 5) | ত্বকচ্ছেদ | High — must not be rendered সুন্নত (the Islamic term for circumcision, prominent given Assam’s Muslim population); this is a specific Mosaic covenant-sign debate settled by grace, not a generic religious/cultural rite comparable to Islamic practice |
| saved through grace | διὰ τῆς χάριτος…σωζόμεθα | saved by grace | Peter’s Council speech (15:11) — reuse baseline অনুগ্ৰহ/পৰিত্ৰাণ | অনুগ্ৰহৰ যোগেদি পৰিত্ৰাণ (reused) | Critical |
| sexual immorality | πορνεία | sexual immorality, fornication | Part of the Jerusalem decree for Gentile believers (15:20, 29) | ব্যভিচাৰ | Medium |
| what has been strangled / blood | πνικτόν / αἷμα | strangled meat; blood | Dietary elements of the decree, rooted in Levitical food law sensitivities for mixed Jew-Gentile fellowship (15:20, 29) | টেঙাই মৰা প্ৰাণী / তেজ | Low-Medium — historical-cultural note required; not a permanent universal dietary law but a temporary accommodation for table-fellowship unity |
Chapter 16
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| spirit of divination (python spirit) | πνεῦμα πύθωνα | python-spirit, a spirit of soothsaying | The slave girl’s fortune-telling spirit at Philippi (16:16), which Paul casts out | গণক আত্মা / ভবিষ্যদ্বক্তা আত্মা | High — direct collision risk with Assamese folk-oracular and spirit-medium traditions (deodhani trance-mediums, village ওঝা-গণক practices); this spirit’s speech, though accurate, is exposed as an illegitimate occult power subordinate to and expelled by Christ’s authority, not a valid channel of divine insight |
| household baptized | ἐβαπτίσθη…ὁ οἶκος αὐτῆς / αὐτοῦ | household was baptized | Lydia’s household (16:15) and the jailer’s household (16:33) — reuse baptism term | পৰিয়ালেৰে বাপ্তিস্ম লোৱা (reused) | High |
| what must I do to be saved? | τί με δεῖ ποιεῖν ἵνα σωθῶ | what must I do to be saved | The Philippian jailer’s question (16:30) — reuse baseline পৰিত্ৰাণ | পৰিত্ৰাণ পাবৰ কাৰণে মই কি কৰিব লাগে (reused) | Critical |
Chapter 17
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| idols | εἴδωλα | images, idols | Paul’s distress at Athens’ idols (17:16) and his Areopagus argument (17:22-31) | মূৰ্তি | Critical — the same Assamese word used for sacred images (murti) in Hindu temple worship; the text’s polemic (these are lifeless images, not the living God) must be preserved with theological precision, framed specifically against the source text’s target (idolatrous image-worship), without becoming a blanket ethnic/religious slur against Hindu neighbors |
| unknown god | ἄγνωστος θεός | unknown god | The altar inscription Paul uses as a rhetorical bridge (17:23) | নজনা ঈশ্বৰ | Medium |
| in him we live and move and have our being | ἐν αὐτῷ…ζῶμεν καὶ κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμέν | live, move, exist | Paul’s quotation of Greek poets applied to the true God (17:28) | তাতেই আমি জীয়াই থাকো, চলি ফুৰো, আৰু আছো | Medium — must remain clearly theistic/personal (the biblical God who is distinct from creation), not slide toward a pantheistic reading (all-pervading impersonal Brahman) that Assamese Vedantic hearers might otherwise supply |
| Gentiles turning to God through repentance | reuse | — | Areopagus sermon calls all nations to repent (17:30) | মন-পালটন (reused) | High |
Chapter 18
No major new theological vocabulary; reuses the Way, synagogue (see Ch.19 for full treatment), Christ, believers, grace. Chapter narrates ministry in Corinth (Gallio’s tribunal, a purely civil/legal matter with low doctrinal risk) and the ministry team of Aquila and Priscilla. Reviewed: no new load-bearing terms beyond reuse of Ch.1–17 vocabulary.
Chapter 19
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| synagogue | συναγωγή | assembly, gathering-place | Jewish assembly-house, recurring throughout Acts (13:5,14; 14:1; 17:1,10,17; 18:4,7,19; 19:8, etc.), given full treatment here at its most doctrinally significant occurrence | সমাজ-গৃহ | High — must NEVER be rendered নামঘৰ (the specific Ekasarana Dharma prayer-house institution, forbidden per baseline) nor মন্দিৰ (Hindu temple); সমাজ-গৃহ (“assembly house”) preserves the distinct Jewish institutional identity |
| John’s baptism vs. baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus | βάπτισμα Ἰωάννου / εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ | John’s baptism; baptism into the name | Ephesian disciples who knew only John’s baptism are re-baptized in Jesus’ name and receive the Spirit (19:1-7) | যোহনৰ বাপ্তিস্ম / প্ৰভু যীচুৰ নামত বাপ্তিস্ম | High — preserves the distinction between John’s preparatory repentance-baptism and the fuller, Spirit-conferring Christian baptism “in the name of the Lord Jesus” |
| Great is Artemis of the Ephesians | Μεγάλη ἡ Ἄρτεμις Ἐφεσίων | idol-cult acclamation | Riot provoked by economic threat to the idol-trade (19:23-41) | ইফিষীয়াবিলাকৰ আৰ্তেমিছ মহান | High (idol-collision, reuse মূৰ্তি framework) — illustrates how gospel proclamation directly threatens entrenched idol-based economic and civic systems |
Chapter 20
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the whole counsel/will of God | πᾶσαν τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ θεοῦ | the whole plan/counsel | Paul’s claim to have proclaimed the full scope of God’s revealed will (20:27) | ঈশ্বৰৰ সম্পূর্ণ ইচ্ছা/পৰামর্শ | Medium (reuse βουλή from 2:23) |
| overseers / shepherds / flock | ἐπίσκοποι / ποιμένες / ποίμνιον | overseers; shepherds; flock | Paul’s charge to the Ephesian elders to shepherd God’s flock (20:17, 28) | অধ্যক্ষ / ৰখীয়া / মেৰ-জাক | Medium — pastoral-care office language; distinct from a Satradhikar’s institutional guru-authority over a Satra’s resident bhakats |
Chapter 21
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| purify (Nazirite vow) | ἁγνίζω | to purify, cleanse ceremonially | Paul undergoes a Jewish purification rite to avoid unnecessary offense (21:24, 26) | শুচি কৰা | Medium — an OT ceremonial-law observance in transition, not itself salvific; distinguish from Hindu ritual-purification practice while narrating the historical event accurately |
| prophesied by the Spirit | διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος (Agabus, 21:11) | through the Spirit | Prophetic warning of Paul’s coming suffering — reuse ভাববাণী/পবিত্ৰ আত্মা | পবিত্ৰ আত্মাৰ যোগেদি ভাববাণী (reused) | Medium |
Chapter 22
Largely a retelling of Paul’s conversion (reuse Ch.9 terms: the Way, called, chosen instrument) before a hostile crowd, plus Paul’s Roman citizenship (a civic/legal fact, low doctrinal risk). No new load-bearing theological vocabulary beyond Chapter 9’s reused terms.
Chapter 23
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanhedrin / council | συνέδριον | council, assembly | Jewish ruling council before whom Paul is tried (23:1, 6ff) | মহাসভা | Medium |
| resurrection debate (Pharisees vs. Sadducees) | ἀνάστασιν…οὔτε ἄγγελον οὔτε πνεῦμα | resurrection, angel, spirit | Sadducees deny resurrection, angels, and spirits, causing a doctrinal split among Paul’s judges (23:8) — reuse baseline পুনৰুত্থান | পুনৰুত্থান (reused) | Critical (baseline resurrection risk applies fully) |
Chapter 24
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sect | αἵρεσις | a chosen course, party, sect | Opponents call the Way “a sect” (τῆς αἱρέσεως, 24:5, 14; also 28:22) | সম্প্ৰদায় | High — Ekasarana Dharma itself is commonly self-designated as a sampradaya within Assamese Vaishnavism; using this same word for “the Nazarene sect” (originally a somewhat dismissive outsider label in the source text) risks implying Christianity is merely one sampradaya among Assam’s several Vaishnavite/Shakta traditions. Acceptable when reporting the accusation verbatim (that is literally what the opponents call it), but must be accompanied by a translator note clarifying that the Way is not self-understood as one sampradaya among many but as the fulfillment of God’s singular saving purpose |
| self-control | ἐγκράτεια | self-mastery, self-control | Paul’s address to Felix on righteousness, self-control, and coming judgment (24:25) | আত্মসংযম | Low |
| judgment [to come] | κρίμα / κρίσις | judgment | Future divine judgment (24:25) | ভবিষ্যতৰ বিচাৰ | Medium |
Chapter 25
Legal/civic narrative (Festus, appeal to Caesar, introduction of Agrippa). No new theological vocabulary; reuses Ch.23-24 legal and resurrection terms. Reviewed explicitly: primarily procedural/narrative content.
Chapter 26
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Satan | Σατανᾶς | adversary (Hebrew loan) | Paul recounts his commission: to turn people “from the power of Satan to God” (26:18) | শয়তান | Critical — Satan is a real, personal, currently active fallen being opposing God, not a mythic demon/asura permanently defeated within a cyclical cosmic drama (as in Durga/Kamakhya Mahishasura-mardini narratives prominent in Assamese Shakta tradition); this distinction must be made explicit at first occurrence to prevent readers assimilating Satan into an already-resolved mythic-battle framework |
| sanctified by faith in me | ἡγιασμένοις πίστει τῇ εἰς ἐμέ | sanctified, made holy | Believers “sanctified” specifically through faith in Christ (26:18) — reuse baseline পবিত্ৰীকৰণ/বিশ্বাস | পবিত্ৰীকৰণ…বিশ্বাসৰ যোগেদি (reused) | High |
| turn from darkness to light | ἐπιστρέψαι…ἀπὸ σκότους εἰς φῶς | turn from darkness to light | Conversion imagery (26:18) | আন্ধাৰৰ পৰা পোহৰলৈ ঘুৰি অহা | Medium — must remain tied to moral/spiritual rescue from sin’s dominion, not merely psychological enlightenment or gnostic-style illumination |
Chapter 27
Shipwreck narrative en route to Rome. Reuse baseline providence (ঈশ্বৰৰ বিধান) for God’s sustaining care through the storm (27:22-25, an angelic assurance of safety). No new theological vocabulary beyond reused providence framework; primarily narrative/nautical detail.
Chapter 28
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal / Range | Contextual Meaning | Assamese Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| without hindrance | ἀκωλύτως | unhinderedly, without obstruction | The book’s final word: Paul preaches the kingdom of God “quite openly and unhindered” (28:31) | কোনো বাধা নোহোৱাকৈ | Low-Medium — the triumphant closing note of great_commission_fulfilled: the gospel’s advance cannot ultimately be stopped by imprisonment or opposition |
| kingdom of God | βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ | God’s reign | Reused from Ch.1; final summary of Paul’s Rome ministry (28:23, 31) | ঈশ্বৰৰ ৰাজ্য (reused) | Medium |
Summary
Acts introduces a substantial layer of new theological vocabulary beyond the Romans baseline — most critically around baptism, repentance, the Way/sect language, synagogue, idols, tongues/Spirit-filling phenomena, sorcery/divination spirits, Satan, and Son of Man — precisely the terms most exposed to collision with Ekasarana Dharma, broader Assamese Hindu/Shakta practice, folk-shamanic tradition, and (for circumcision/martyrdom vocabulary) Assam’s Muslim community’s religious lexicon. Every Critical/High risk term above carries a specific, grounded cultural rationale and must be routed to human theologian or native-speaker review per the risk tiers defined in the baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json framework, extended in analysis/09_doctrine_risk_registry.json (Phase 1, subsequent step).