Semantic Analysis
Semantic Analysis — 1 John (Full Book) | English → Bengali
Methodology and Scope
This document analyzes 1 John in the original Koine Greek across all five chapters. The core passage, 1 John 4:7-21, receives full verse-by-verse treatment: every load-bearing term is given with original Greek word, transliteration, literal meaning, semantic range, English variants, contextual theological meaning in this passage, and the Bengali destination-language rendering with its risk tier. Every other chapter of 1 John (1, 2, 3, the non-core portion of 4, and 5) receives a chapter section covering its own load-bearing theological vocabulary with the same fields. Where a chapter introduces no new term beyond what has already been analyzed, that is stated explicitly rather than silently skipped.
Baseline authority. Where a term already has an established rendering in the Romans translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json (e.g. ঈশ্বর for God, যীশু for Jesus, পাপ for sin, ধার্মিকতা for righteousness, সহভাগিতা for fellowship, পুনরুত্থান for resurrection, ঈশ্বরের পুত্র for Son of God, পবিত্র আত্মা for Holy Spirit, দেহধারণ for incarnation, ব্যবস্থা for law), that rendering is reused exactly and is marked [Reused — Romans TM] below. New terms required specifically for 1 John’s vocabulary are analyzed fresh and risk-tiered using the same Critical/High/Medium/Low framework as the baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json.
Major recurring cultural-collision risk flagged across this book: 1 John’s core passage is built on the repeated noun ἀγάπη (“love”) and the confession ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν (“God is love,” 4:8, 16). Bengal is also the historic birthplace and heartland of Gaudiya Vaishnavism (the Chaitanya bhakti movement, centered in Nadia district, West Bengal), whose central theological category is prema (প্রেম) — supreme devotional love, modeled paradigmatically on the romantic/erotic love of Radha and Krishna. Because প্রেম is also the established Bengali Christian Bible word for ἀγάπη, this collision is unavoidable and is treated as Critical throughout this analysis, parallel to the baseline’s treatment of শক্তি (Shakta goddess-power) for “power of God.”
Part 1 — Core Passage Verse-by-Verse: 1 John 4:7-21
4:7 — Ἀγαπητοί, ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους, ὅτι ἡ ἀγάπη ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν, καὶ πᾶς ὁ ἀγαπῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται καὶ γινώσκει τὸν θεόν.
(“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀγαπητοί agapētoi ”beloved ones” dearly loved | term of affectionate pastoral address beloved, dear friends | John’s habitual address to the churches; establishes relational, not doctrinal-abstract, tone | প্রিয়তমেরা / প্রিয় ভাইয়েরা | Low |
| ἀγάπη / ἀγαπῶμεν agapē / agapōmen ”love” (noun) / “let us love” (verb, subjunctive) selfless, self-giving love | ranges from divine self-giving love to ordinary affection; NT narrows it toward God’s self-giving, sacrificial love love, charity (older English) | The love God’s people are commanded to have for one another, sourced in God himself, not human sentiment | প্রেম (noun) / আমরা যেন একে অপরকে ভালোবাসি (verb) | Critical — direct collision with Gaudiya Vaishnava prema devotional-erotic love theology, historically centered in Bengal; প্রেম is nonetheless the established Bengali Christian rendering and must be retained, but every occurrence in this doctrine unit requires reinforcing context (self-giving, not romantic/emotional) rather than an alternative word |
| ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ek tou theou ”from/out of God” source/origin preposition | God as the source, not merely the example, of love ”of God,” “from God” | Love is not a human achievement but originates in God’s own nature | ঈশ্বর থেকে | Medium |
| γεγέννηται (γεννάω) gegennētai (gennaō) “has been born/begotten” (perfect passive) to beget, to bring to birth | physical birth; metaphorical spiritual new birth born, begotten | New birth (regeneration) as the root of a transformed capacity to love — ties directly to curriculum doctrine “Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth” | ঈশ্বর থেকে জন্ম নেওয়া | High — must never be rendered with বা confused with পুনর্জন্ম (reincarnation, explicitly forbidden in baseline for “resurrection”); this is a one-time, non-repeatable spiritual birth |
| γινώσκει (γινώσκω) ginōskei (ginōskō) “knows” to know by experience/relationship | relational, experiential knowledge, not mere intellectual data know, understand, perceive | Relational knowledge of God, evidenced by love, opposing the false Gnostic-style claim to “know God” while lacking love | জানে / চেনে | Medium — experiential knowing (চেনা/জানা) must be distinguished from mere factual knowledge |
4:8 — ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν οὐκ ἔγνω τὸν θεόν, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν.
(“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν ho theos agapē estin ”God is love” predicate nominative identifying God’s essential nature | not “God loves” but “love is what God essentially is” God is love | The thesis statement of the doctrine unit “God is Light and God is Love” — describes God’s very being, not merely an activity of his | ঈশ্বর প্রেম | Critical — same প্রেম collision as v.7, intensified because this is a direct ontological claim about God’s nature; must never be softened into “ঈশ্বর প্রেমময়” (God is loving) alone without also preserving the stronger identity-claim of the Greek predicate nominative in teaching notes |
| θεός (reuse) theos God [Reused — Romans TM] | — God | — | ঈশ্বর | Critical (baseline) |
4:9 — ἐν τούτῳ ἐφανερώθη ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν, ὅτι τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ ἀπέσταλκεν ὁ θεὸς εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα ζήσωμεν διʼ αὐτοῦ.
(“In this the love of God was manifested among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐφανερώθη (φανερόω) ephanerōthē (phaneroō) “was manifested/made visible” to make visible, disclose | revelation of something previously hidden manifested, revealed, shown | God’s love is not abstract; it became historically visible in a concrete act (the sending of the Son) | প্রকাশিত হইল / প্রকাশিত হয়েছে | High — must not be rendered with language implying a repeatable divine “appearance” (অবতার-adjacent risk); this is a singular historical disclosure, tied to the Incarnation doctrine |
| τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ ton huion autou ton monogenē ”his only/uniquely-begotten Son” μονογενής = one-of-a-kind, unique | uniqueness of relation, not merely “only child” numerically only-begotten Son, one and only Son, unique Son | Christ’s eternal, unique, non-created Sonship — directly continuous with baseline “Son of God” / “Sonship of Christ” doctrine | তাঁর একমাত্র পুত্র | Critical — reuses baseline ঈশ্বরের পুত্র framework; একমাত্র পুত্র must be read as unique/eternal Sonship, not biological or created — a live pastoral concern for Muslim-background readers per baseline system prompt |
| ἀπέσταλκεν (ἀποστέλλω) apestalken (apostellō) “has sent” (perfect) to send with a commission/purpose | sending with delegated purpose (root of “apostle”) sent, has sent | The Father’s sending of the Son as a deliberate saving mission | পাঠিয়েছেন / প্রেরণ করেছেন | Medium — shares root with প্রেরিত (apostle, baseline) |
| κόσμος kosmos ”world” ordered system; humanity; the created order; or the world-system opposed to God | ranges from neutral “created order” to morally negative “world under sin’s dominion” — here neutral/salvific-object sense world, humanity, the world | The object of God’s saving mission — all humanity, not a favored ethnic or caste group | জগৎ | Medium — context-sensitive; contrast with 1 John 2:15’s morally negative sense of the same word (see Chapter 2 below) |
| ζήσωμεν (ζάω) zēsōmen (zaō) “we might live” to live, be alive | ranges from mere biological life to the fullness of spiritual/eternal life live, have life | Life secured through Christ’s saving mission — anticipates ζωὴ αἰώνιος (eternal life) in ch.5 | আমরা যেন জীবন পাই | High — see “eternal life” entry, Chapter 5 |
4:10 — ἐν τούτῳ ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγάπη, οὐχ ὅτι ἡμεῖς ἠγαπήκαμεν τὸν θεόν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι αὐτὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς καὶ ἀπέστειλεν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἱλασμὸν περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν.
(“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἱλασμός hilasmos ”propitiation, means of atonement” that which turns away wrath / covers sin | ranges from generic “appeasement” to the specific biblical sense of a divinely-provided, once-for-all atoning sacrifice propitiation, atoning sacrifice, atonement | Christ himself — not a human ritual act — is God’s own provision that deals fully with the guilt and wrath due to sin | পাপের প্রায়শ্চিত্তীয় বলিদান (আমাদের পাপের জন্য খ্রীষ্ট নিজেই সেই বলিদান) | Critical — প্রায়শ্চিত্ত is the standard Sanskritic Hindu/Bengali term for self-performed ritual penance or expiation for sin (pilgrimage, austerity, ritual acts one performs to atone). Used alone, it wrongly implies a human-achieved remedy. The compound phrase must always keep Christ as the sacrifice God himself provided, never a penance the believer performs. Never render as merely “প্রায়শ্চিত্ত” unqualified |
| ἁμαρτία (reuse) hamartia sin [Reused — Romans TM] | — sin | — | পাপ | High (baseline) |
4:11 — Ἀγαπητοί, εἰ οὕτως ὁ θεὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν ἀλλήλους ἀγαπᾶν.
(“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὀφείλομεν (ὀφείλω) opheilomen (opheilō) “we owe / are obligated” moral debt/obligation | ranges from financial debt to moral duty ought, are obligated, owe it | Love for others is a debt of gratitude flowing from having been loved, not law-keeping that earns merit | আমাদের… উচিত / আমরা ঋণী | Medium — must not be read as works-based religious duty (cf. baseline’s obedience_of_faith caution against ধর্মীয় কর্তব্য পালন) |
4:12 — θεὸν οὐδεὶς πώποτε τεθέαται· ἐὰν ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους, ὁ θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν μένει καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη αὐτοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν τετελειωμένη ἐστίν.
(“No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| τεθέαται (θεάομαι) tetheatai (theaomai) “has seen/beheld” to gaze upon, behold with attention | ranges from casual sight to deliberate contemplation seen, beheld | God’s invisibility to physical sight; contrasted with his visibility through love lived out in the community | দেখেনি / দর্শন করে নাই | Low-Medium |
| μένει (μένω) menei (menō) “abides/remains” to stay, dwell, remain continuously | ranges from staying in a physical place to ongoing relational union abides, remains, dwells, lives in | Key Johannine term for continuous, relational indwelling union between God and the believer — not a one-time event | স্থির থাকেন / থাকেন | High — recurring key term through ch.2-4; must consistently convey ongoing relational indwelling, not a temporary or occasional visit |
| τετελειωμένη (τελειόω) teteleiōmenē (teleioō) “has been perfected/completed” to bring to completeness/maturity, reach the intended goal | ranges from moral perfection to simple completion of a process perfected, made complete, brought to full expression | God’s love reaching its full, intended expression through the community’s mutual love — a process of maturing, not sinless flawlessness | পরিপূর্ণ হয় | High — must NOT be rendered সিদ্ধ, the Sanskritic term for a Hindu yogic siddha (perfected/liberated adept possessing siddhi supernatural powers); this would import a self-attained spiritual-perfection framework contrary to grace. Use পরিপূর্ণ/সম্পূর্ণ |
4:13 — Ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ μένομεν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ δέδωκεν ἡμῖν.
(“By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.”)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| πνεῦμα pneuma spirit breath, wind, spirit (human or divine) | ranges from human “spirit/disposition” to the Holy Spirit himself, and (in ch.4:1-6) to spiritual beings/influences being tested Spirit, spirit | Here the Holy Spirit as the given, indwelling proof of mutual abiding | আত্মা (তাঁর আত্মা থেকে আমাদিগকে দান করিয়াছেন — context implies পবিত্র আত্মা) | Critical when referring to the Holy Spirit — reuses baseline পবিত্র আত্মা; must be distinguished from the generic/plural πνεύματα of 4:1 (“test the spirits”), where আত্মা alone (lowercase sense, no পবিত্র) refers to spiritual influences under discernment, not the Holy Spirit himself |
4:14 — καὶ ἡμεῖς τεθεάμεθα καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ ἀπέσταλκεν τὸν υἱὸν σωτῆρα τοῦ κόσμου.
(“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.”)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| μαρτυροῦμεν (μαρτυρέω) martyroumen (martyreō) “we testify/bear witness” to give witness/testimony, often as an eyewitness | ranges from legal testimony to eyewitness proclamation testify, witness, bear witness | Apostolic eyewitness testimony grounding the church’s proclamation — root of later “martyr,” though martyrdom is not the sense here | সাক্ষ্য দিই | Medium — clarify in teaching notes that this is eyewitness testimony, not (yet) the later “martyrdom” sense that developed from this root |
| σωτῆρα (σωτήρ) sōtēra (sōtēr) “Savior” one who rescues/delivers | ranges from a this-worldly rescuer/benefactor to the unique divine Savior Savior, deliverer, rescuer | Christ as the unique Savior of the world, tied to baseline’s পরিত্রাণ (salvation) root | ত্রাণকর্তা | Medium-High — must retain the exclusivity implicit in the term; consistent with baseline’s rejection of মুক্তি/মোক্ষ/নাজাত for “salvation” |
| πατήρ (reuse) patēr Father [Reused — Romans TM] | — Father | — | পিতা | Critical (baseline) |
4:15 — ὃς ἂν ὁμολογήσῃ ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ὁ θεὸς ἐν αὐτῷ μένει καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ θεῷ.
(“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὁμολογήσῃ (ὁμολογέω) homologēsē (homologeō) “confesses” to say the same thing as, to acknowledge/agree openly | ranges from a private acknowledgment to a public, formal creedal confession confess, acknowledge, profess | A public, decisive acknowledgment of a specific Christological truth — parallel to Romans 10:9’s confession “Jesus is Lord” | স্বীকার করে | High — must not be read as a private ritual admission to a priest (sacramental confession); this is an open declarative confession of who Jesus is, paralleling but distinct from confession of personal sin in 1:9 (same Greek verb, different object) |
| Ἰησοῦς / υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (reuse) Iēsous / huios tou theou Jesus / Son of God [Reused — Romans TM] | — Jesus / Son of God | — | যীশু / ঈশ্বরের পুত্র | Critical (baseline) |
4:16 — καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐγνώκαμεν καὶ πεπιστεύκαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην ἣν ἔχει ὁ θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν. ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν, καὶ ὁ μένων ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ ἐν τῷ θεῷ μένει καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐν αὐτῷ μένει.
(“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| πεπιστεύκαμεν (πιστεύω) pepisteukamen (pisteuō) “we have believed/trusted” root noun πίστις = faith [Reused — Romans TM: বিশ্বাস] | — believed, trusted, put faith in | Faith and knowledge together grasp and rest in the specific, revealed love of God — not generic religious sentiment | আমরা বিশ্বাস করেছি | High (baseline root) |
| ὁ μένων ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ ho menōn en tē agapē ”the one abiding in love” — | continuous dwelling within the sphere/reality of love he who abides/lives in love | Repetition of the thesis for emphasis: abiding in love = abiding in God himself | যে প্রেমে থাকে | Critical (compounded প্রেম + মেনো risk; see 4:7-8, 4:12) |
4:17 — Ἐν τούτῳ τετελείωται ἡ ἀγάπη μεθʼ ἡμῶν, ἵνα παρρησίαν ἔχωμεν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως, ὅτι καθὼς ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐσμὲν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ.
(“By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we in this world.”)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| παρρησίαν (παρρησία) parrēsian (parrēsia) “boldness/confidence/freedom of speech” originally civic free-speech; NT sense of unashamed confidence before God | ranges from social boldness to eschatological confident standing at judgment confidence, boldness, freedom | Confident standing before God on judgment day, grounded in Christ’s finished work — directly continuous with baseline doctrine “Assurance of Salvation” | সাহস / দৃঢ় প্রত্যয় | High — ties to baseline’s assurance_of_salvation doctrine (High risk); must be distinguished from the Islamic orthodox position that final judgment outcome cannot be known with certainty before death, and from karmic uncertainty about rebirth outcomes |
| κρίσεως (κρίσις) kriseōs (krisis) “judgment” a legal decision/verdict | ranges from a human court’s ruling to God’s final eschatological judgment judgment, day of judgment | The final divine assize, at which believers stand assured, not fearful | বিচার (বিচারের দিন) | Medium |
4:18 — φόβος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ, ἀλλʼ ἡ τελεία ἀγάπη ἔξω βάλλει τὸν φόβον, ὅτι ὁ φόβος κόλασιν ἔχει, ὁ δὲ φοβούμενος οὐ τετελείωται ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ.
(“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”)
| Term | Original | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| φόβος | phobos | ”fear” | dread, terror; also reverent awe in other contexts | ranges from healthy reverence to servile terror | fear, dread, terror | Here specifically the terror of judgment/punishment, which mature love displaces — not reverent awe of God elsewhere commended | ভয় | Low-Medium — context distinguishes servile dread (here) from reverent fear of God (elsewhere in Scripture); a translator note is useful to prevent a flattened single reading |
| τελεία ἀγάπη | teleia agapē | ”perfect/complete love” | — | see τελειόω above | Mature, fully-formed love that has done its complete work in a believer, expelling servile dread of judgment | পরিপূর্ণ প্রেম | Critical — compounds both the প্রেম risk (4:7-8) and the সিদ্ধ/পরিপূর্ণ risk (4:12); never সিদ্ধ প্রেম | |
| κόλασιν (κόλασις) | kolasin (kolasis) | “punishment/torment” | penal correction/torment | ranges from disciplinary correction to eschatological torment | punishment, torment | The dread object of servile fear — judicial punishment | শাস্তি / যন্ত্রণা | Low-Medium |
4:19 — ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν, ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς.
(“We love because he first loved us.”)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| πρῶτος prōtos ”first” temporal/causal priority | first in time, first in causal sequence first, initiated first | God’s love is the initiating cause; human love is responsive, not originating — reinforces grace, not merit-based reciprocity | প্রথমে | Medium — must reinforce grace priority (cf. baseline grace doctrine: “unmerited… apart from human merit”) |
4:20 — ἐάν τις εἴπῃ ὅτι ἀγαπῶ τὸν θεόν, καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ μισῇ, ψεύστης ἐστίν· ὁ γὰρ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ὃν ἑώρακεν, τὸν θεὸν ὃν οὐχ ἑώρακεν οὐ δύναται ἀγαπᾶν.
(“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀδελφός adelphos ”brother” literal sibling; NT extended to fellow believer | ranges from biological brother to fellow member of the church family, regardless of gender brother, fellow believer | The concrete, visible test-case of love for God: love for fellow believers in the community, of any gender | ভাই / ভ্রাতা (সহবিশ্বাসী অর্থে, নারী-পুরুষ উভয়ে অন্তর্ভুক্ত) | Medium — ভাই literally reads as male; a translator/footnote clarifying that “brother/brethren” denotes all fellow believers, not only men, is recommended for clarity in Bengali, which has no gender-neutral single-word equivalent |
| μισῇ (μισέω) misē (miseō) “hates” to hate, be hostile toward | ranges from mild dislike to active hostility hates, detests | Active hostility toward a fellow believer, incompatible with any claim to love God | ঘৃণা করে | Low |
| ψεύστης pseustēs ”liar” one who speaks falsehood | — liar | A claim to love God unaccompanied by love for the brethren is exposed as false, not merely inconsistent | মিথ্যাবাদী | Low |
4:21 — καὶ ταύτην τὴν ἐντολὴν ἔχομεν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ, ἵνα ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὸν θεὸν ἀγαπᾷ καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ.
(“And this commandment we have from him: that whoever loves God must also love his brother.”)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐντολή entolē ”commandment” an authoritative directive | ranges from a specific instruction to the whole body of God’s moral requirement commandment, command | Love for the brethren is not optional piety but a direct, binding command from Christ himself, grounded in — not earning — the relationship already established by grace | আজ্ঞা | Medium — must not be read as legalistic works-righteousness earning standing before God; the command flows from, and evidences, a relationship already secured by grace (cf. baseline obedience_of_faith) |
Part 2 — Chapter-by-Chapter Study of the Whole Book
Chapter 1 (1 John 1:1-10)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὁ λόγος τῆς ζωῆς ho logos tēs zōēs ”the Word of life” λόγος = word/discourse/reason; here a title for Christ | echoes John 1:1’s Logos Christology; the eternal, preexistent Word who is also the source of life the Word of life | Opens the letter by asserting Christ’s eternal preexistence and full deity, against opponents who denied his real, full humanity (proto-Gnostic/docetic teaching) | জীবনের বাক্য | Critical — parallels John 1:1’s Logos Christology (already Critical-tier under baseline’s deity_of_christ and incarnation doctrines); বাক্য (not কথা) is the established term for the divine Logos-title |
| ἀκηκόαμεν, ἑωράκαμεν, ἐθεασάμεθα, ἐψηλάφησαν akēkoamen, heōrakamen, etheasametha, epsēlaphēsan ”we have heard, seen, gazed upon, touched with our hands” verbs of direct sensory perception | eyewitness/tactile testimony verbs heard, seen, looked upon, touched | Emphatic eyewitness, physical testimony to Christ’s real, tangible humanity — directly refutes docetic denial that Christ truly came in the flesh | আমরা শুনিয়াছি, দেখিয়াছি, স্পর্শ করিয়াছি | High — reinforces baseline’s humanity_of_christ doctrine (High risk); crucial against both ancient docetism and, pastorally, against any modern reading (Hindu illusionist or Islamic non-crucifixion) that treats Christ’s physical human experience as apparent rather than real |
| κοινωνία (reuse) koinōnia fellowship [Reused — Romans TM] | — fellowship | Shared participation in Christ and with one another, the letter’s central pastoral goal | সহভাগিতা | Low (baseline) |
| φῶς phōs ”light” literal light; NT: God’s holy, self-revealing nature and moral purity | ranges from physical light to a moral-spiritual metaphor for truth, purity, and revelation light | ”God is light” (1:5) — God’s total moral purity and self-disclosing truthfulness, with no admixture of evil | আলো | Medium — generally safe, but note the wide comparative-religious currency of “divine light” imagery (Hindu jyoti/Brahman-as-light, Sufi nur); a brief contextual note that this is a moral-purity claim (no darkness/sin in God), not a metaphysical light-substance claim, avoids syncretistic misreading |
| σκοτία skotia ”darkness” literal darkness; NT: moral/spiritual falsehood and sin | absence of light; moral evil, deception, alienation from God darkness | The opposite moral-spiritual condition to walking with God; not a rival cosmic power (contra some dualistic readings) | অন্ধকার | Medium — must not be misread as implying an equally-powerful cosmic dualism (a live risk given both Zoroastrian-influenced and folk-syncretic light/dark dualisms circulating regionally); darkness is privation/rebellion, not a co-equal force |
| περιπατέω (“walk”) peripatōmen ”walk” to walk about, conduct one’s life | metaphor for ongoing conduct/manner of life walk, live, conduct oneself | Habitual, ongoing manner of life, either in light or darkness | চলা / জীবনযাপন করা | Low |
| κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν koinōnian echomen ”we have fellowship” — | see κοινωνία have fellowship | Fellowship with God and with one another is tested by whether one walks in the light | সহভাগিতা আছে | Low (baseline term reused) |
| ὁμολογῶμεν (ὁμολογέω) homologōmen ”we confess” see 4:15 above; here the object is one’s own sin, not a creedal truth | acknowledgment of one’s own sin before God confess (our sins) | Ongoing, honest acknowledgment of sin as the condition for ongoing fellowship and cleansing — not a one-time event, and not a sacramental act performed through a human mediator | (আমাদের পাপ) স্বীকার করি | High — same verb as 4:15’s confession of Christ but a distinct object (personal sin) and distinct doctrinal weight; must be read as direct confession to God in the fellowship of believers, not a Catholic-style sacramental confession to a priest, given this curriculum’s Protestant mainstream register |
| ἀφίημι/ἀφῇ aphē (subjunctive of aphiēmi) “he may forgive” to release, let go, forgive a debt | forgiveness of moral debt forgive | God’s faithful, promised forgiveness given in response to honest confession — grounded in his own character (“faithful and just”), not human merit | ক্ষমা করেন | Medium — baseline already notes ক্ষমা is legitimate for ordinary forgiveness but must not be confused with, or substituted for, the fuller forensic ধার্মিক বলে গণ্য হওয়া (justification) |
| καθαρίζω/καθαρίσῃ katharisē (katharizō) “he may cleanse” to make clean, purify | ranges from literal washing to moral/ritual purification cleanse, purify | God’s cleansing from the guilt and defilement of sin, secured through Christ’s blood (1:7) | শুদ্ধ করেন | High — avoid শুচি/অশুচি vocabulary, which carries strong Hindu ritual-purity (shuddhi) connotations; শুদ্ধ করা is the safer available option but still requires a contextual note that this is moral cleansing from sin’s guilt through Christ, not ritual purification |
| αἷμα haima ”blood” literal blood; NT: the atoning, sacrificial death of Christ | ranges from literal blood to the technical sense of sacrificial atoning death blood (of Jesus) | Christ’s sacrificial death as the ground of ongoing cleansing from sin | রক্ত (যীশুর রক্ত) | High — ties to atonement/propitiation doctrine (cf. 4:10 ἱλασμός); must retain the sacrificial-substitutionary sense |
| ψεύστην ποιοῦμεν αὐτόν pseustēn poioumen auton ”we make him a liar” — | — make God out to be a liar | The severe consequence of denying one’s sin: calling God’s own testimony about universal sinfulness false | তাঁকে মিথ্যাবাদী করি | Medium — ties to baseline universal_human_accountability doctrine (High risk); must not be softened |
Chapter 2 (1 John 2:1-29)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| παράκλητος paraklētos ”advocate, one called alongside to help” legal-forensic sense: an advocate/defense counsel; also translated “Comforter/Helper” for the Spirit elsewhere in John’s writings | ranges from legal advocate to general helper/comforter, depending on referent advocate, counselor, helper | Here specifically Christ’s ongoing heavenly intercessory advocacy for believers who sin — a legal-relational role before the Father | মধ্যস্থ | High — ties directly to baseline’s intercession doctrine (Medium risk) and must be sharply distinguished from the shrine-based folk practice of seeking a pir’s or saint’s intercession, common in both folk Islam and folk Catholicism in Bengal; Christ alone, seated with the Father, is this Advocate |
| ἱλασμός (reuse from 4:10) hilasmos propitiation see 4:10 above | — propitiation | Christ himself as the propitiation, “not for ours only but also for the whole world” — universalizing scope | প্রায়শ্চিত্তীয় বলিদান | Critical (see 4:10) |
| ἐντολή (reuse from 4:21) entolē commandment see 4:21 | — commandment | ”Whoever keeps his word” — obedience as evidence of genuinely knowing Christ, not the ground of that knowledge | আজ্ঞা | Medium (see 4:21) |
| μένω (reuse from 4:12-16) menō abide see 4:12 | — abide, remain | ”The one who says he abides in him ought to walk as he walked” — abiding entails ethical conformity to Christ’s pattern of life | থাকা / স্থির থাকা | High (see 4:12) |
| κόσμος (contrast sense) kosmos world (negative moral sense: “do not love the world”) see 4:9, but here the morally negative sense: humanity/creation organized in rebellion against God | ranges as in 4:9, but 2:15-17 specifically activates the negative, anti-God “world-system” sense the world, worldliness | The system of values opposed to God — not creation itself, which God loves (cf. 4:9), but the fallen order of desire and pride | জগৎ | High — the same word জগৎ carries opposite valences in 4:9 (object of God’s saving love) and 2:15 (object believers must not love); a translator note distinguishing these two senses of the same Greek/Bengali word is required to prevent doctrinal confusion |
| ἐπιθυμία τῆς σαρκός / τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν, ἀλαζονεία τοῦ βίου epithymia tēs sarkos / tōn ophthalmōn, alazoneia tou biou ”desire of the flesh / of the eyes, pride/boastfulness of life” disordered desire; ostentatious self-display | the triad summarizing worldly temptation lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life | The threefold pattern of worldly temptation, contrasted with doing the will of God, which alone endures | মাংসের অভিলাষ, চক্ষুর অভিলাষ, জীবনের অহংকার | Medium |
| ἀντίχριστος antichristos ”antichrist” — one who is against/instead-of Christ a specific end-time opponent of Christ, and (in 1 John specifically) the spirit/teaching that denies Christ has come, already active in many false teachers | ranges from a single future eschatological figure (elsewhere in NT/later tradition) to a present spirit of denial active in “many antichrists” already in John’s own day antichrist, the antichrist | Anyone (or any teaching-spirit) that denies that Jesus is the Christ, and specifically denies the Father-Son relationship | প্রতিখ্রীষ্ট | Critical — Bengali Muslim readers are broadly familiar with the parallel Islamic eschatological figure দাজ্জাল (Dajjal), a false-messiah deceiver at the end of the age. The two concepts share a structural role (false-messiah deceiver opposing the true Messiah at history’s end) but are doctrinally distinct — Islamic eschatology’s Dajjal opposes a returning Isa within a framework that itself denies Christ’s deity and prior crucifixion/resurrection. প্রতিখ্রীষ্ট (transliterated, not দাজ্জাল) must be used, with a translator note available for teaching contexts explaining the distinct doctrinal frameworks so the two are not conflated as “the same figure by different names” |
| χρῖσμα chrisma ”anointing” an anointing (with oil), literal or metaphorical | the act/substance of anointing; metaphorically, the Holy Spirit’s teaching presence in the believer anointing | The Holy Spirit’s indwelling teaching ministry, given to all believers (not an elite few, contra the Gnostic opponents’ claim to special secret knowledge) | অভিষেক | High — অভিষেক is also the standard Bengali term for Hindu ritual anointing of deity images (e.g., Shiva/Durga abhisheka in temple worship); its use here for the Holy Spirit’s teaching ministry is established Bible usage (paralleling খ্রীষ্ট/“Anointed One” itself) but requires a clear teaching-context note distinguishing the Spirit’s internal teaching anointing from any external ritual anointing rite |
| ψεῦδος / ἀρνέομαι pseudos / arneomai ”lie” / “deny” falsehood / to disown, refuse to acknowledge | — lie / deny | The great lie is denial that Jesus is the Christ, and denial of the Father-Son relationship together (2:22-23) | মিথ্যা / অস্বীকার করা | High — ties to messianic_promise and sonship_of_christ doctrines (baseline Critical) |
| παρρησία (reuse from 4:17) parrēsia confidence see 4:17 | — confidence | Confidence at Christ’s return (parousia), rather than shame | সাহস | High (see 4:17) |
| γεννάω (reuse from 4:7) gennaō born/begotten see 4:7 | — born of him | ”Everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him” — righteous living as evidence, not cause, of new birth | ঈশ্বর থেকে জন্ম নেওয়া | High (see 4:7) |
| δίκαιος dikaios ”righteous” adjective form related to δικαιοσύνη [Reused root — Romans TM: ধার্মিকতা] | practicing what is right before God righteous | Practical righteousness of life flowing from new birth | ধার্মিক | High (baseline root) — must not collapse into ধর্ম (forbidden per baseline) |
Chapter 3 (1 John 3:1-24)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| τέκνα θεοῦ tekna theou ”children of God” τέκνον = child (by birth/nature), distinct from υἱός (son, legal/inheritance status) | family-belonging language children of God | Believers’ present identity and status as God’s own family, with a future hope of transformation (“we shall be like him”) | ঈশ্বরের সন্তান | High — distinct from, but doctrinally related to, baseline’s দত্তকপুত্রতা (adoption/full son-status); সন্তান (child) should not be read as implying a lesser status than দত্তকপুত্রতা’s full inheritance-rights framing — both point to genuine, secure family belonging |
| ἁγνίζω hagnizō ”purify” to make pure/holy | ranges from ceremonial purification to moral self-purification in hope of Christ’s return purify | Believers actively purify themselves in view of the hope of seeing Christ and becoming like him | শুচি/শুদ্ধ করে | Medium — same ritual-purity caution as καθαρίζω in ch.1; prefer শুদ্ধ করে, note this is moral self-discipline flowing from hope, not ritual observance |
| ἀνομία anomia ”lawlessness” rejection of/rebellion against God’s law | sin defined specifically as lawlessness (rebellion against God’s authority), not merely error or weakness lawlessness, sin | Sin’s essential character is rebellion against God’s rightful authority, not merely a mistake or ritual defect | ব্যবস্থাহীনতা | Medium — built on baseline’s ব্যবস্থা (law); must retain the note that ব্যবস্থা here is the Mosaic Law/God’s moral authority generally, not ধর্ম |
| φανερόω (reuse from 4:9) phaneroō manifest see 4:9 | — appeared, was manifested | Christ appeared to take away sins (3:5) and to destroy the works of the devil (3:8) | প্রকাশিত হলেন | High (see 4:9) |
| διάβολος diabolos ”devil, slanderer” the accuser/slanderer | a proper title for Satan, the personal spiritual adversary the devil | A real, personal spiritual adversary opposed to God, not a symbolic personification of impersonal evil or bad karma | শয়তান | Medium — শয়তান is shared vocabulary across Bengali Christian, Muslim, and even some Hindu popular usage (similar to আব্বা’s cross-tradition familiarity noted in the baseline); this shared familiarity is generally an asset here since the concept of a personal evil adversary is broadly, though not identically, held across traditions |
| σπέρμα (θεοῦ) sperma (theou) “seed (of God)“ literal seed; metaphor for God’s implanted life/nature | figurative: the divine life/nature implanted in the believer at new birth, the “root” of resistance to habitual sin God’s seed, his nature | The abiding, God-given new nature that inclines the born-again believer away from habitual sin | ঈশ্বরের বীজ | Medium — figurative and easily misheard literally; a translator note clarifying this refers to the implanted new nature/Spirit, not a literal or reproductive image, and is unrelated to unrelated Tantric “bija” (seed-syllable) concepts, is recommended |
| ἀδελφός (reuse from 4:20) adelphos brother see 4:20 | — brother | The concrete field of testing for genuine love — Cain and Abel as the negative paradigm | ভাই/ভ্রাতা | Medium (see 4:20) |
| μισέω (reuse from 4:20) miseō hate see 4:20 | — hate | ”Whoever hates his brother is a murderer” — hatred and murder placed on the same moral continuum | ঘৃণা করা | Low (see 4:20) |
| ἀνθρωποκτόνος anthrōpoktonos ”murderer” one who kills a human being | — murderer | The severe moral equivalence John draws between hatred and murder (echoing Christ’s Sermon on the Mount ethic) | নরঘাতী | Low |
| μεταβαίνω ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν metabainō ek tou thanatou eis tēn zōēn ”to have passed/crossed over from death into life” a decisive transfer of realm/state | a completed, decisive transition already accomplished, not a gradual or uncertain process passed from death to life | Assurance language: believers who love the brethren already possess, decisively, a transferred spiritual state | মৃত্যু থেকে জীবনে গিয়েছি | High — ties to assurance_of_salvation doctrine (baseline High risk) |
| τίθημι τὴν ψυχήν tithēmi tēn psychēn ”to lay down one’s life/soul” to give up one’s life sacrificially | Christ’s sacrificial self-giving as the pattern for costly, sacrificial love of the brethren lay down (his/our) life | The measure and pattern of true love: sacrificial self-giving after Christ’s example, not sentiment alone | প্রাণ (জীবন) দেওয়া | High — ties to atonement doctrine (see ἱλασμός, 4:10) as the pattern for costly Christian love |
| σπλάγχνα splanchna ”inward parts/bowels” (idiom for the seat of compassion) literal viscera; idiomatic seat of deep emotion/compassion | compassion, tender pity compassion, pity, heart (idiomatically) | Withholding practical compassion from a brother in need directly contradicts any claim to have God’s love abiding in oneself | মমতা / করুণা | Medium — করুণা is also the principal Buddhist term for compassion (one of the Four Immeasurables); মমতা is the safer, more neutral Bengali option, paralleling the baseline’s caution about কৃপা/করুণা-adjacent vocabulary |
| ἀλήθεια alētheia ”truth” that which is real/reliable, opposed to falsehood | ranges from factual accuracy to the full revealed reality of God in Christ truth | Love expressed “in deed and truth,” not merely “in word” — genuine, substantiated love as opposed to empty verbal profession | সত্য (কার্যে ও সত্যে) | Medium |
| καρδία kardia ”heart” the seat of will, conscience, and inner conviction (not primarily emotion, as in modern English) | the inner moral-volitional center of a person heart, conscience | The site of the believer’s self-assessment and God-given assurance before him | হৃদয় / অন্তর | Low-Medium |
| πείθω/πείσομεν peithō ”persuade/assure/set at rest” to convince, reassure | assurance of conscience before God reassure, set our hearts at rest | Assurance grounded in God’s greater knowledge, not the fluctuating verdict of one’s own conscience alone | নিশ্চিত করব / প্রবোধ দিব | Medium — ties to assurance_of_salvation |
| πνεῦμα (reuse, 3:24) pneuma Spirit see 4:13 | — Spirit | The indwelling Spirit as the concrete evidence and ground of mutual abiding between God and the believer | পবিত্র আত্মা | Critical (baseline) |
Chapter 4, verses 1-6 (non-core portion; 4:7-21 is treated fully in Part 1 above)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| δοκιμάζω dokimazō ”test, examine, prove” to test the genuineness of metal/character by examination | ranges from testing metal’s purity to examining spiritual claims for authenticity test, examine, discern | Believers are commanded to actively, discerningly examine spiritual claims/teachers against apostolic, Christ-confessing truth — the doctrine “Testing the Spirits” named explicitly in this curriculum | পরীক্ষা করা | Medium — must convey careful doctrinal discernment against a fixed apostolic standard, not occult divination or subjective spiritual intuition |
| πνεῦμα / πνεύματα (plural, non-Holy-Spirit sense) pneuma / pneumata ”spirit(s)“ see 4:13 above for the Holy Spirit sense; here the wider sense of spiritual influences/teaching-sources behind human teachers | ranges from the Holy Spirit specifically to generic spiritual influences, both true and false, behind religious teaching spirits (to be tested) | The spiritual source behind any teacher/teaching must be tested — not every spiritual claim is from God | আত্মা (আত্মাসমূহ) | High — must be visually/contextually distinguished from পবিত্র আত্মা (capitalized, the Holy Spirit specifically); an untested plural “আত্মা” here could be misread through either a Hindu framework of many devas/spirits or a folk-Islamic framework of jinn, both of which are real background assumptions for Bengali readers about “testing spirits”; a translator note anchoring the test strictly to Christological confession (4:2-3) is essential |
| ψευδοπροφήτης pseudoprophētēs ”false prophet” one who falsely claims to speak for God | — false prophet | Many false prophets/teachers have gone out into the world, requiring the test named above | ভুয়া ভাববাদী / মিথ্যা ভাববাদী | Medium — built on baseline’s ভাববাদী (prophet, Low risk); adding ভুয়া/মিথ্যা (false) raises the risk given the doctrinal stakes of discerning true from false spiritual authority |
| ὁμολογέω (reuse, of the incarnation) homologeō confess see 4:15 and 1:9 | — confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh | The precise doctrinal test: does a teaching-spirit confess the real, historical Incarnation of Christ? | স্বীকার করে (যীশু খ্রীষ্ট মাংসে আসিয়াছেন) | Critical — this is the letter’s explicit doctrinal test for distinguishing the Spirit of God from the spirit of antichrist; directly engages both ancient docetism and, in the contemporary Bengali context, both the Islamic denial that a divine being took on real human flesh and suffered/died, and any Hindu framework that would treat this as one temporary divine appearance among many |
| σάρξ sarx ”flesh” literal human flesh/body; also (in Paul) the sinful human nature — sense is context-dependent | ranges from neutral physical body to morally negative “sinful nature” depending on author and context; here (John) the neutral physical-body sense, affirming real human embodiment flesh, human body | ”Come in the flesh” affirms Christ’s real, full physical human nature — directly continuous with baseline’s incarnation doctrine (দেহধারণ) | মাংসে (আসা) | Critical — must be read together with baseline’s দেহধারণ (incarnation); the confession is that the eternal Son permanently, truly assumed real human flesh — not a temporary divine appearance (অবতার-risk) and not an illusory or non-physical appearance |
| ἀντίχριστος (reuse from ch.2) antichristos antichrist see Chapter 2 above | — the spirit of antichrist | The spirit of denial of the incarnation is identified as the spirit of antichrist, already active | প্রতিখ্রীষ্টের আত্মা | Critical (see Chapter 2) |
| νικάω nikaō ”overcome, conquer, be victorious” to win a victory, prevail | ranges from military/athletic victory to spiritual victory over evil influences overcome, conquer, have victory over | Believers “have overcome” false spirits/teachers because greater is he (the Spirit/Christ) who is in them than he who is in the world — introduces the doctrine “Overcoming the World,” developed fully in ch.5 | জয় করেছি | Medium-High — must convey a victory already secured through Christ’s indwelling presence, not a believer’s own spiritual power/attainment (again guarding against a siddha/personal-spiritual-power misreading); fuller treatment in Chapter 5 below |
Chapter 5 (1 John 5:1-21)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Bengali rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| πιστεύω (reuse) pisteuō believe [Reused — Romans TM: বিশ্বাস] | — believe | ”Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God” — faith and new birth bound together | বিশ্বাস করে | High (baseline) |
| γεννάω (reuse, intensified in ch.5) gennaō born (of God) see 4:7 | — born again, born of God | The repeated ground of the whole letter’s ethical and assurance argument: new birth produces faith, love, and victory over the world | ঈশ্বর থেকে জন্ম নেওয়া | High (see 4:7) |
| νικάω / νίκη (reuse and expansion) nikaō / nikē overcome / victory see 4:4 | — overcome the world, victory | ”This is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith” — victory over the world’s system is secured specifically through faith, not asceticism, ritual, or personal spiritual attainment; the curriculum doctrine “Overcoming the World” is anchored here | জয় / বিজয় | High — must be clearly tied to faith in Christ as the mechanism of victory, not to renunciation/asceticism (a live comparative risk given Hindu sannyasa and Sufi ascetic frameworks for “overcoming the world,” both already flagged as comparative risks in the baseline’s separation_unto_gods_service doctrine) |
| κόσμος (reuse) kosmos world see 4:9 and ch.2 | — the world | Here specifically the world-system that opposes God and is overcome by faith | জগৎ | High (see ch.2) |
| πνεῦμα, ὕδωρ, αἷμα (the three witnesses) pneuma, hydōr, haima ”Spirit, water, and blood” three distinct witnesses testifying to the truth about Jesus Christ | debated referents (traditionally: the Spirit’s testimony, Christ’s baptism, Christ’s death) Spirit, water, blood | Threefold testimony confirming the truth about Jesus Christ, presented together with God’s own testimony that grounds eternal life | আত্মা, জল, রক্ত | Medium-High — note for translators: some historic English editions (following the Textus Receptus “Comma Johanneum”) add explicit trinitarian language at 5:7 (“the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit”) not found in the earliest Greek manuscripts; this curriculum should follow the earlier manuscript tradition (as in modern critical Greek texts) and flag any base text used in Phase 2 that includes the Comma Johanneum for theologian review before translation |
| μαρτυρία (reuse) martyria testimony see 4:14 (μαρτυρέω) | — testimony, witness | God’s own testimony concerning his Son is greater than any human testimony | সাক্ষ্য | Medium (see 4:14) |
| ζωὴ αἰώνιος zōē aiōnios ”eternal life” ζωή = life; αἰώνιος = age-long/eternal | ranges from mere unending duration to the full biblical sense of a qualitatively new, unending personal relationship with God through Christ eternal life, everlasting life | The climactic gift of the whole letter: certain, present possession of unending life in relationship with God through the Son — the doctrine “Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life” is anchored here | অনন্ত জীবন | Critical — must never be conflated with মুক্তি/মোক্ষ (Hindu liberation from the rebirth cycle, already forbidden under baseline’s salvation doctrine) nor read as mere unending duration abstracted from relationship with God through the Son; “he who has the Son has life” (5:12) is the interpretive key |
| παρρησία (reuse) parrēsia confidence see 4:17 | — confidence (in prayer) | Confidence in approaching God in prayer, according to his will — direct access without a human or saintly intermediary | সাহস (প্রার্থনায়) | High (see 4:17) — reinforces baseline’s prayer_and_intercession doctrine’s caution against shrine-based intercessory-figure practices |
| αἴτημα aitēma ”request, petition” a specific thing asked for | — request, petition | The specific content of a prayer request made with confidence according to God’s will | প্রার্থনার বিষয় / আবেদন | Low |
| ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον hamartia pros thanaton ”sin leading to/unto death” a category of sin John distinguishes from sin in general | a debated category (traditionally understood as decisive, unrepentant apostasy) contrasted with ordinary sin for which intercession is encouraged sin unto death, mortal sin | A pastoral distinction cautioning about praying for a category of decisive, apparently unrepentant rejection of Christ, while still encouraging ongoing intercession for sin generally | মৃত্যুজনক পাপ | Medium — must not be rendered in a way that suggests a Catholic “mortal sin” sacramental category with attached penitential ritual requirements; keep it as a pastoral-descriptive category, not a sacramental classification |
| φυλάσσω / τηρέω phylassō / tēreō ”guard, keep watch over, keep oneself from” to protect, keep safe, keep away from | — keep yourself, guard yourself | The letter’s closing pastoral charge: guard oneself from idolatry, consistent with the whole letter’s concern for doctrinal and moral fidelity | নিজেকে রক্ষা করা / নিজেকে দূরে রাখা | Low-Medium |
| εἴδωλον eidōlon ”idol” an image/representation of a deity, an object of worship other than the true God | ranges from a literal cultic image to anything that functionally displaces God as the object of ultimate devotion idols | The letter’s closing warning: keep yourselves from idols — a direct, concrete warning highly salient in a Hindu-majority regional context, and metaphorically extendable to any rival object of ultimate devotion | মূর্তি | High — culturally direct and unavoidable in the Hindu-majority West Bengal context, where deity images (murti) are a normal, visible feature of religious life; মূর্তি (a general, descriptive word for “image/idol,” rather than প্রতিমা, which carries the specific festival/Durga Puja association) is recommended to keep the warning theologically clear without being gratuitously provocative toward a specific festival practice; requires native-speaker pastoral judgment on tone per the baseline’s kingdom_mission caution |
Summary of Cross-Book Doctrinal Risk Themes
| Curriculum doctrine | Primary chapters | Concentration of Critical/High risk terms |
|---|---|---|
| God is Light and God is Love | 1, 4 | ἀγάπη/প্রেম (Critical), φῶς/আলো (Medium), ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν (Critical) |
| Fellowship with God and One Another | 1, 4 | κοινωνία/সহভাগিতা (Low, baseline), μένω/থাকা (High) |
| Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | 1 | ὁμολογέω/স্বীকার করা (High), ἀφίημι/ক্ষমা করা (Medium), καθαρίζω/শুদ্ধ করা (High) |
| Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth | 2, 3, 4 | γεννάω/জন্ম নেওয়া (High), ἀδελφός/ভাই (Medium), μισέω/ঘৃণা করা (Low) |
| The Incarnation and Antichrist | 1, 2, 4 | σάρξ/মাংসে (Critical), ἀντίχριστος/প্রতিখ্রীষ্ট (Critical), φανερόω/প্রকাশিত হওয়া (High) |
| Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | 3, 4, 5 | ζωὴ αἰώνιος/অনন্ত জীবন (Critical), παρρησία/সাহস (High), τετελειωμένη/পরিপূর্ণ (High) |
| Overcoming the World | 4, 5 | νικάω/জয় করা (High), κόσμος/জগৎ (High) |
| Testing the Spirits | 4 | πνεῦμα (plural, non-Holy-Spirit sense)/আত্মা (High), ὁμολογέω (of the incarnation)/স্বীকার করে (Critical) |
This document should be read together with analysis/08_core_glossary.md, which consolidates every term above (reused and new) into a single per-term glossary table for Phase 2 translation memory extension.