Core Glossary
Core Glossary — 3 John (English–Greek–Bodo)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md. Terms already present in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked [REUSED] and their baseline rendering is enforced exactly, per the hard rule that established renderings must never be altered. All other terms are new to this curriculum and are proposed here for Phase 1 confirmation before Phase 2 translation begins.
Reused Baseline Terms (enforce exactly, no changes)
| English Term | Greek | Bodo Rendering | Transliteration | Risk (baseline) | 3 John Verses | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | θεός | ईश्वर | Isor | Critical | 1:6, 1:11 (×2) | Never बाथौबुरै. Reused exactly |
| Church | ἐκκλησία | मण्डली | mwndoli | Medium | 1:6, 1:9, 1:10 | Never नमासोलि (Bathou/Kherai worship site) |
| Peace | εἰρήνη | सान्ति | santi | Medium | 1:14 | Relational peace, not household protection from misfortune |
| Gentiles | ἐθνικός / ἔθνος | गैर-जुथुद | goir-juthud | Medium | 1:7 | Contextual nuance shift: here means unbelieving outsiders in a financial-independence argument, not the Jew/Gentile unity category |
New Terms Introduced by 3 John
| English Term | Greek (transliteration) | Bodo Rendering | Transliteration | Doctrine | Risk Tier | 3 John Verses | Rejected Alternatives / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elder (church office) | πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros) | प्राचीन | prachin | Church Leadership and Pride | High | 1:1 | Rejected: बुरहा/बर’ऐ (Bathoubwrai/Kherai-pantheon elder-honorifics, forbidden). Pan-Indian Protestant loan-convention for the office of elder; confirm regional attestation with Bodo theologian |
| Beloved | ἀγαπητός (agapētos) | गुनां | gunang | Truth and Christian Fellowship | Medium | 1:1, 1:2, 1:5, 1:11 | Vocative term of endearment; provisional, confirm naturalness with native speaker |
| Love | ἀγάπη (agapē) | गुनांथिनाय | gunangthinai | Truth and Christian Fellowship | High | 1:6 | Provisional descriptive compound for covenantal/self-giving love, distinct from romantic affection; confirm before wide deployment, following the same caution applied to “grace” and “covenant” in the baseline |
| Truth | ἀλήθεια (alētheia) | सत्य | sotyo | Truth and Christian Fellowship | High | 1:1, 1:3 (×2), 1:4, 1:8, 1:12 (×2) | Must be taught as the revealed gospel reality centered in Christ, not Brahma Dharma’s reform-ethic virtue of personal truthfulness (सत्य as cardinal Hindu-influenced virtue). Occurs 8 times in 14 verses — the letter’s dominant theme word |
| Soul | ψυχή (psychē) | जिउ | jiu | Truth and Christian Fellowship | Medium | 1:2 | Distinct from पबित्र आत्था (Holy Spirit, [REUSED]) and from ancestral household spirits (बुरहा-बुरही आत्था, forbidden in baseline) |
| Prosper | εὐοδοῦσθαι (euodousthai) | बार’नाय | barnai | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers / Truth and Fellowship | High | 1:2 | CRITICAL TEACHING NOTE: risks collision with Bathou/Kherai reciprocal offering-for-prosperity logic (parallel to baseline’s “grace” caution). Must be taught as a personal epistolary blessing subordinated to spiritual health, never a ritual/prosperity-gospel guarantee |
| Health | ὑγιαίνειν (hygiainein) | गाहाय मोजां थानाय | gahai mwjang thanai | (supporting term) | Medium | 1:2 | Ordinary wellness language; risk only if isolated from the “just as your soul prospers” qualifier |
| Rejoice / Joy | χαίρω / χαρά (chairō / chara) | रांजानाय | ranjanai | Truth and Christian Fellowship | Low-Medium | 1:3, 1:4 | Standard joy vocabulary; retain causal link to verified gospel-faithfulness |
| Brother (fellow believer) | ἀδελφός (adelphos) | भाइ | bhai | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Medium | 1:3, 1:5, 1:10 | Must be distinguished from Bodo clan (afad) blood-lineage kinship, parallel to baseline’s “adoption” caution |
| Testify / Witness (verb) | μαρτυρέω (martyreō) | साक्ष्य होनाय | sakshyo honai | Commendation of Faithful Witness | High | 1:3, 1:6, 1:12 (×2) | Must be distinguished from a doudini’s Kherai-trance oracular utterance; this is ordinary, verifiable human testimony to observed godly conduct |
| Testimony (noun) | μαρτυρία (martyria) | साक्ष्य | sakshyo | Commendation of Faithful Witness | High | 1:12 | Same rationale as above; reused consistently with the verb form |
| Walk / Conduct (metaphor) | περιπατέω (peripateō) | हरनाय-सरनाय | harnai-sarnai | Truth and Christian Fellowship | Medium | 1:3, 1:4 | Habitual moral/spiritual lifestyle; not literal walking nor ritual procession |
| Children (spiritual) | τέκνα (tekna) | फिसाजो | phisajo | Truth and Christian Fellowship | Medium | 1:4 | Spiritual, not biological/clan, parentage; parallel to baseline’s “adoption” caution |
| Faithful (act/deed) | πιστόν (piston) | बिश्वासजोग्य | biswasjog | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Medium | 1:5 | Built on baseline’s बिश्वास (faith) root; conveys trustworthy/loyal action flowing from faith |
| Stranger / Guest | ξένος (xenos) | आगु | agu | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Medium | 1:5 | Positive cultural resonance with Bodo hospitality custom; must be tied explicitly to gospel-mission support, not generic reciprocity |
| Send on the way (support for journey) | προπέμπω (propempō) | सफरनि थाखाय हेफाजाब होनाय | safarni thakhai hefajab honai | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Medium | 1:6 | Descriptive compound conveying material provision, not a bare farewell greeting |
| Worthy (of God) | ἀξίως (axiōs) | जागोन | jagon | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Low-Medium | 1:6 | Paired with reused ईश्वर; standard once God’s own established meaning is secure |
| The Name (Christ) | τὸ ὄνομα (to onoma) | मुं (taught explicitly as जिसुनि मुं) | mung (Jisuni mung) | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Critical | 1:7, 1:14 (generic use) | CRITICAL: the letter’s only christological reference. Must never be taught as a name-invocation formula for ritual power, given the significance of invoked spirit-names in Bathou/Kherai practice. Always gloss as “the name of Jesus Christ” |
| Ought / Obligation | ὀφείλω (opheilō) | नांगou | nangou | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Low | 1:8 | Standard modal of obligation |
| Receive / Welcome | ὑπολαμβάνω / ἐπιδέχομαι (hypolambanō / epidechomai) | जागायनाय | jagainai | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers / Church Leadership and Pride | High | 1:8 (positive), 1:9, 1:10 (×2, negative) | Same Bodo verb carries opposite moral polarity depending on context (godly welcome vs. Diotrephes’ prideful refusal); this contrast must be flagged explicitly in every teaching use |
| Fellow worker | συνεργός (synergos) | संगि मावगारि | sangi mabgari | Truth and Christian Fellowship | Medium | 1:8 | Shared partnership specifically in gospel truth-work, not generic labor-cooperative or clan work-party bond |
| Love of preeminence / loves to be first | φιλοπρωτεύων (philoprōteuōn) | फोरोथोमाव थानो सोंलायनाय | phorothomao thano songlainai | Church Leadership and Pride | Critical | 1:9 | CRITICAL: hapax legomenon naming the letter’s core diagnosed sin. Risk of being read as ordinary, even respectable, status-seeking against the backdrop of Bodo clan/village status hierarchies and graded ritual-specialist roles (e.g., the doudini’s distinctive status); must be confirmed with a native-speaking theologian |
| Slander / malicious gossip | φλυαρέω + λόγοις πονηροῖς (phlyareō + logois ponērois) | बेजा रावजों सानथिनाय | beja rawjw santhinai | Church Leadership and Pride | High | 1:10 | Must be distinguished from legitimate church discipline or honest correction; the text names this as sin, not a model of valid critique |
| Hinder / forbid | κωλύω (kōlyō) | बन्द होनाय | bandh honai | Church Leadership and Pride | Medium | 1:10 | Active blocking of others’ godly action, not mere disapproval |
| Cast out / expel | ἐκβάλλω (ekballō) | फेलाय बोहनाय | phelai bohnai | Church Leadership and Pride | High | 1:10 | Must be taught as Diotrephes’ illegitimate abuse of authority, not a model for valid church discipline; exclusion carries heavy social weight in Bodo community life |
| Works / deeds | ἔργα (erga) | मावफुं | mabphun | Church Leadership and Pride | Medium | 1:10 | Concrete, observable interpersonal/administrative conduct; not ritual works/offerings |
| Imitate | μιμέομαι (mimeomai) | उदाहरण लानाय | udaharon lanai | Imitating Good rather than Evil | High | 1:11 | Deliberate imitation of a fellow believer’s godly moral character; must not be read as ritual imitation of a deity’s or ancestor’s mythic pattern of action |
| Evil (moral) | κακός (kakos) | बेया | beya | Imitating Good rather than Evil | Medium | 1:11 (×2) | Standard moral-evil vocabulary; anchor to the Diotrephes narrative |
| Good (moral) | ἀγαθός (agathos) | मोजां | mwjang | Imitating Good rather than Evil | Medium | 1:11 (×2) | Standard moral-good vocabulary; anchor to the Demetrius narrative |
| Do good | ἀγαθοποιέω (agathopoieō) | मोजां मावनाय | mwjang mabnai | Imitating Good rather than Evil | Medium | 1:11 | Evidence of belonging to God, not an independent ethical rule |
| Do evil | κακοποιέω (kakopoieō) | बेया मावनाय | beya mabnai | Imitating Good rather than Evil | Medium | 1:11 | Evidence of not truly knowing God |
| Has seen God (idiom for knowing God) | ἑώρακεν τὸν θεόν (heōraken ton theon) | ईश्वरखौ नुनाय | Isorkhou nunai | Imitating Good rather than Evil | Medium-High | 1:11 | Figurative Johannine idiom for relational/experiential knowledge, not literal vision; risk of confusion given Bathou worship’s own deliberately aniconic (non-visual) devotion to Bathoubwrai |
| True / truthful | ἀληθής (alēthēs) | सत्यजोग्य | sotyojog | Commendation of Faithful Witness | Medium | 1:12 | Built on सत्य root; conveys verified, corroborated reliability of testimony |
| Ink and pen | μέλαν καὶ κάλαμος (melan kai kalamos) | मसि आरो कलम | mosi aro kolom | (literary device) | Low | 1:13 | No theological risk; standard loanwords |
| Face to face | στόμα πρὸς στόμα (stoma pros stoma) | मुखा-मुखि | mukha-mukhi | (idiom) | Low | 1:14 | Idiom for direct, unmediated conversation |
| Greet | ἀσπάζομαι (aspazomai) | जोहार होनाय | johar honai | (epistolary convention) | Low-Medium | 1:14 (×2) | Provisional; confirm no unwanted ritual-greeting connotation with native speaker |
| Friend | φίλος (philos) | सथाय | sathai | Truth and Christian Fellowship | Low-Medium | 1:14 | Distinguish from, yet keep complementary to, भाइ (brother); both name relationships within the same believing community |
| By name (individually) | κατ᾿ ὄνομα (kat’ onoma) | मुं-मुं जों | mung-mung jw | (pastoral care) | Low | 1:14 | Individualized, personal recognition; low risk |
Proper Names
| English Term | Greek (transliteration) | Bodo Rendering | Transliteration | Risk Tier | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaius | Γάϊος (Gaios) | गायुस | Gaius | Low | Standard transliteration; letter’s addressee |
| Diotrephes | Διοτρεφής (Diotrephēs) | दियोत्रिफेस | Diyotriphes | Low | Standard transliteration; negative case study |
| Demetrius | Δημήτριος (Dēmētrios) | दिमेत्रियुस | Dimetriyus | Low | Standard transliteration; positive case study |
Risk Tier Summary for 3 John New Terms
| Risk Tier | Count | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 2 | The Name (Christ), Love of preeminence (φιλοπρωτεύων) |
| High | 9 | Elder, Love (ἀγάπη), Truth, Prosper, Testify/Witness, Testimony, Receive/Welcome, Slander, Cast out/expel, Imitate (note: 9 listed terms; Truth also independently High) |
| Medium | 18 | Beloved, Soul, Health, Brother, Walk/Conduct, Children, Faithful (act), Stranger/Guest, Send on the way, Fellow worker, Hinder, Works/deeds, Evil, Good, Do good, Do evil, True, Has seen God (Medium-High) |
| Low / Low-Medium | 6 | Rejoice/Joy, Worthy, Ought, Ink and pen, Face to face, Greet, Friend, By name |
Review routing follows the same convention established in the baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json: all Critical and High risk terms above require human theologian review before Phase 2 deployment; Medium risk terms require native speaker review; Low risk terms require automated review only. This routing will be formalized in the forthcoming doctrine_risk_registry.json update for 3 John.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: ईश्वर
Transliteration: Isor
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: बाथौबुरै (never use as the primary term for the biblical God; reserve strictly for describing traditional Bathou belief)
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, copied exactly, no changes. In 3 John additionally governs the Johannine idiom ‘has [not] seen God’ (1:11), which must be taught as figurative relational knowledge evidenced by conduct, not a literal-vision claim — a distinction that needs explicit framing given Bathou worship’s own deliberately aniconic devotion centered on the sijou plant. Also governs ‘worthy of God’ (1:6) and ‘fellow workers with the truth’ framed as gospel partnership with God’s own mission.
Jesus
Approved rendering: जिसु
Transliteration: Jisu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Inherited from Romans package, copied exactly, no changes. Never appears directly in 3 John’s Greek text, but is doctrinally required in every teaching expansion of ‘the Name’ (τὸ ὄνομα, 1:7, 1:14), which must always be glossed as जिसुनि मुं (the Name of Jesus), never left bare.
Messiah
Approved rendering: मसीह
Transliteration: mosih
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Inherited from Romans package, copied exactly, no changes. Not present directly in 3 John’s Greek text; retained here because teaching material may expand ‘the Name’ as जिसु मसीहनि मुं (the Name of Jesus Christ) for maximal doctrinal clarity, following the same expansion pattern documented in 05_translation_landscape.md.
The Name
Approved rendering: मुं (जिसुनि मुं)
Transliteration: mung (Jisuni mung)
Doctrine: Authority of the Name of Christ in Mission
Original: τὸ ὄνομα
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: the letter’s only christological reference (1:7), and never accompanied by ‘Jesus’ or ‘Christ’ directly in the Greek itself; also recurs in the generic greeting sense ‘by name’ (1:14, distinct usage, see by_name entry). Bare मुं risks being heard through Bathou/Kherai ritual practice, in which invoking a deity’s or ancestor-spirit’s name is understood to carry ritual power or protective force, and in which the doudini channels a named pantheon-spirit during Kherai puja trance utterances. MUST always be expanded to जिसुनि मुं (or जिसु मसीहनि मुं) in teaching text — never left bare. Underlies the entire Hospitality to Traveling Ministers doctrine as its theological ground.
Love Of Preeminence
Approved rendering: फोरोथोमाव थानो सोंलायनाय
Transliteration: phorothomao thano songlainai
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: φιλοπρωτεύων
Category: Church
CRITICAL: a hapax legomenon (occurring only in 1:9) naming Diotrephes’ controlling desire for first-place status — the letter’s diagnosed core sin. Descriptive compound (‘desire to remain in the first place’) must be taught with precision as self-exalting pride within church leadership, since Bodo traditional clan and village status hierarchies, and the graded, recognized ritual-specialist status of the doudini within Kherai practice, could otherwise cause this specific sin to be read as ordinary, even respectable, status-seeking rather than a named spiritual fault requiring correction. Must be confirmed with a native-speaking theologian before deployment.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: बिश्वास
Transliteration: biswas
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: भरोसा (generic trust, too weak alone)
Inherited from Romans package, copied exactly, no changes. In 3 John this root underlies the new compound बिश्वासजोग्य (‘faithful act,’ 1:5), commending Gaius’s hospitality as an act of covenant faithfulness flowing from faith, not merely social kindness.
Elder
Approved rendering: प्राचीन
Transliteration: prachin
Doctrine: Legitimate Pastoral Authority (the Elder)
Rejected alternatives: बुरहा/बर’ऐ (honorific elder-titles reserved for Bathoubwrai and Kherai-pantheon elder-deities, forbidden)
Original: πρεσβύτερος
Category: Church
The author’s self-designation (3 John 1:1), a recognized pastoral-oversight office whose legitimate authority Diotrephes rejects (1:9). प्राचीन is a Sanskrit/Assamese loan already used across Indian Protestant churches for the biblical office of elder, carrying no native deity-elder resonance. Also relates to the Church Leadership and Pride doctrine as the authority Diotrephes refuses to receive. Confirm regional attestation with a Bodo-speaking theologian before wide deployment.
Love
Approved rendering: गुनांथिनाय
Transliteration: gunangthinai
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Christian Fellowship
Provisional descriptive compound for covenantal, self-giving ἀγάπη-love (1:6), publicly attested before the church through concrete hospitality, distinct from romantic or merely affectionate love. Follows the same provisional-compound caution the baseline applies to ‘adoption,’ ‘covenant,’ and ‘fellowship.’ Confirm with a Bodo-speaking theologian before wide deployment; this is the letter’s structural pivot verse for the Hospitality to Traveling Ministers doctrine as well.
Truth
Approved rendering: सत्य
Transliteration: sotyo
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀλήθεια
Category: Faith
The letter’s dominant theme word, occurring eight times in fourteen verses (1:1, 1:3 x2, 1:4, 1:8, 1:12 x2). Risks collision with Brahma Dharma’s reform-ethic virtue of personal truthfulness, an achievable moral quality within its Hindu-influenced karma-oriented code, rather than the revealed gospel reality centered on Christ that this letter means. Apply a single upfront doctrinal framing statement rather than a footnote at every occurrence; reserve explicit inline notes for 1:3-4 and 1:12 where the Brahma Dharma contrast is most load-bearing. Also underlies the Commendation of Faithful Witness doctrine (1:12, ‘the truth itself’ bears witness).
Prosper
Approved rendering: बार’नाय
Transliteration: barnai
Doctrine: Spiritual and Physical Well-Being (Greeting Wish)
Original: εὐοδοῦσθαι
Category: Christian Fellowship
A personal epistolary wish (1:2) for Gaius’s prospering, explicitly subordinated to (‘just as’) the condition of his soul. Sits exactly in the register of Bathou/Kherai household offerings that seek prosperity and protection from Bathoubwrai, Mainao, and the wider pantheon through reciprocal ritual exchange — the same do-ut-des logic already flagged for ‘grace’ in the Romans baseline. Must never be quoted or taught apart from its soul-health qualifying clause; never a ritual guarantee or prosperity-gospel promise. Opens the letter, so it is the first doctrinal risk any reader encounters.
Testify Witness
Approved rendering: साक्ष्य होनाय
Transliteration: sakshyo honai
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Original: μαρτυρέω
Category: Faith
To give truthful, reliable eyewitness report of another’s conduct (1:3, 1:6, 1:12). Must be distinguished sharply from a doudini’s Kherai-trance utterance, which functions in traditional practice as a spirit’s own mediated ‘testimony’ delivered through a human vessel. This is ordinary, first-hand human observation, never a channeled oracular pronouncement.
Testimony
Approved rendering: साक्ष्य
Transliteration: sakshyo
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Original: μαρτυρία
Category: Faith
Noun form of verified witness, intensified in 1:12 by triple repetition (testified by everyone, by the truth itself, and by John). Same rationale as the verb form: must be kept categorically distinct from doudini oracular trance-testimony during Kherai puja, especially given the recognizable comparative-religion category of multiply-attested spirit-testimony that the triple structure could otherwise evoke.
Receive Welcome
Approved rendering: जागायनाय
Transliteration: jagainai
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: ὑπολαμβάνω / ἐπιδέχομαι
Category: Church
The identical Bodo verb carries opposite moral polarity depending on context: godly welcome, a positive obligation (1:8), versus Diotrephes’ prideful, authority-rejecting refusal (1:9) and his prevention of others from welcoming (1:10). Every occurrence must carry an explicit context flag stating which polarity is active; this contrast must never be flattened. Also load-bearing for the Hospitality to Traveling Ministers and Legitimate Pastoral Authority doctrines.
Slander
Approved rendering: बेजा रावजों सानथिनाय
Transliteration: beja rawjw santhinai
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: φλυαρέω + λόγοις πονηροῖς
Category: Church
Malicious, groundless talk against another’s character — Diotrephes’ abuse of speech against John and his associates (1:10). Must be clearly distinguished from legitimate church discipline or honest correction; the text names this as sin, never a model of valid critique of ministry.
Cast Out Expel
Approved rendering: फेलाय बोहनाय
Transliteration: phelai bohnai
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: ἐκβάλλω
Category: Church
Diotrephes’ expulsion of faithful believers from the church, the letter’s starkest example of leadership pride causing real harm (1:10). Must be taught explicitly as Diotrephes’ illegitimate abuse of authority — the opposite of a model for legitimate church discipline — given that exclusion from clan, church, or Kherai-observant village community carries heavy social weight in Bodo community life.
Imitate
Approved rendering: उदाहरण लानाय
Transliteration: udaharon lanai
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: μιμέομαι
Category: Sanctification
Deliberate patterning of one’s own conduct on an example — the letter’s explicit command to imitate Demetrius rather than Diotrephes (1:11), the doctrinal center of this doctrine. Must be taught as deliberate imitation of a fellow believer’s godly moral character, never as ritual imitation of a deity’s or ancestral spirit’s mythic pattern of action, a distinct category familiar from Bathou oral tradition and household ancestor veneration. Always name the specific human object of imitation (Demetrius’s observable conduct).
Has Seen God
Approved rendering: ईश्वरखौ नुनाय
Transliteration: Isorkhou nunai
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: ἑώρακεν τὸν θεόν
Category: God
A Johannine idiom (cf. 1 John 3:6, 4:20) in which moral practice, not visual perception, is the true evidence of relational knowledge of God (1:11). Because Bathou worship is deliberately aniconic (centered on the sijou plant, never an image of Bathoubwrai), this language could be misheard as a literal claim about visual perception. Teaching notes must state plainly this is figurative, never a claim about a visible or invisible deity, nor an allusion to a doudini’s trance-vision experience.
Medium Risk Terms
Church
Approved rendering: मण्डली
Transliteration: mwndoli
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: नमासोलि (Bathou/Kherai shrine site or worship ground, never use)
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, copied exactly, no changes. In 3 John also names the community before whom Gaius’s love was testified (1:6) and, in Diotrephes’ case, the body from which faithful believers are wrongfully expelled (1:10) — this abuse must never be normalized as ordinary church discipline.
Peace
Approved rendering: सान्ति
Transliteration: santi
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, copied exactly, no changes. In 3 John this is the closing epistolary blessing (1:14), relational peace among believers and with God — distinguish from the household harmony and protection from misfortune traditionally sought through Bathou and Kherai offerings.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: गैर-जुथुद
Transliteration: goir-juthud
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: ἐθνικός / ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, copied exactly, no changes. Contextual nuance shift in 3 John 1:7: here names ‘unbelieving outsiders’ from whom traveling gospel workers refused financial support, within a financial-independence argument, rather than the Jew/Gentile people-group unity category central to Romans. Both senses must be taught as related but distinct uses of the same term.
Beloved
Approved rendering: गुनां
Transliteration: gunang
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀγαπητός
Category: Christian Fellowship
Vocative term of warm address used four times in this short letter (1:1, 1:2, 1:5, 1:11). Provisional; confirm naturalness with a native speaker before wide deployment. Low-medium risk since relational rather than directly theological vocabulary.
Soul
Approved rendering: जिउ
Transliteration: jiu
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ψυχή
Category: Anthropology
The whole inner life and character of a person (1:2), already flourishing through Gaius’s faithfulness and made the standard against which bodily well-being is measured. Must be kept distinct from पबित्र आत्था (Holy Spirit, baseline term) and from ancestral/household spirits (बुरहा-बुरही आत्था), which are forbidden. Also load-bearing for the Spiritual and Physical Well-Being doctrine.
Health
Approved rendering: गाहाय मोजां थानाय
Transliteration: gahai mwjang thanai
Doctrine: Spiritual and Physical Well-Being (Greeting Wish)
Original: ὑγιαίνειν
Category: Christian Fellowship
Ordinary physical well-being, the object of a friend’s concern (1:2). Medium risk of being read as a health-and-wealth guarantee if isolated from the letter’s own soul-prospering qualifier.
Rejoice Joy
Approved rendering: रांजानाय
Transliteration: ranjanai
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: χαίρω / χαρά
Category: Christian Fellowship
Joy specifically triggered by verified reports of gospel-faithful conduct (1:3, 1:4), not general happiness. Must retain its causal link to verified faithfulness in teaching materials rather than presented as free-floating emotion.
Brother
Approved rendering: भाइ
Transliteration: bhai
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ἀδελφός
Category: Church
Fellow believer, used of the traveling gospel workers (1:3, 1:5) and of those Diotrephes refuses to receive (1:10). Must be explicitly taught as figurative/spiritual kinship among believers, distinct from the blood-and-clan (afad) lineage bonds central to traditional Bodo kinship structure — parallel to the caution already recorded for ‘adoption’ in the Romans baseline.
Walk Conduct
Approved rendering: हरनाय-सरनाय
Transliteration: harnai-sarnai
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: περιπατέω
Category: Sanctification
Figurative for one’s habitual, observable pattern of moral and spiritual conduct (1:3, 1:4). Must be taught as habitual moral/spiritual lifestyle, not literal walking nor ritual procession; avoid resonance with pilgrimage or processional practice in regional folk religion.
Children Spiritual
Approved rendering: फिसाजो
Transliteration: phisajo
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: τέκνα
Category: Church
John’s converts, called ‘my children’ (1:4) — pastoral, not biological, fatherhood. Must be explicitly distinguished from Bodo clan (afad) lineage and inheritance, which runs through biological birth-descent, the same caution already recorded for ‘adoption’ (गोसोआव फैनाय) in the Romans baseline.
Faithful Act
Approved rendering: बिश्वासजोग्य
Transliteration: biswasjog
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: πιστόν (ποιεῖς)
Category: Hospitality
A loyal, trustworthy act — Gaius’s hospitality toward traveling ministers, commended as an act of covenant faithfulness (1:5). Built on the baseline’s established बिश्वास (faith) root plus the Sanskrit ‘-जोग्य’ (worthy) suffix, consistent with baseline compounding practice.
Stranger Guest
Approved rendering: आगु
Transliteration: agu
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ξένος
Category: Hospitality
An itinerant gospel worker unknown personally to the host, received purely because they serve ‘the Name’ (1:5, 1:7). Bodo traditional hospitality customs toward guests provide positive cultural resonance, but teaching must tie this hospitality explicitly to gospel-mission support ‘for the sake of the Name,’ never generic village-honor reciprocity or the expectation of a return favor.
Send On Way
Approved rendering: सफरनि थाखाय हेफाजाब होनाय
Transliteration: safarni thakhai hefajab honai
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: προπέμπω
Category: Hospitality
To equip and escort a traveler, including material provision, so gospel work can continue (1:6). Descriptive compound built from widely understood loanwords (‘safar’ = journey, ‘hefajab’ = help/support); avoids a bare ‘farewell greeting’ reading.
Worthy Of God
Approved rendering: जागोन
Transliteration: jagon
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Hospitality
Hospitality measured against God’s own character, becoming an act of worship (1:6). Uses जागोन (Sanskrit/Assamese loan ‘worthy’) paired with the reused ईश्वर; medium risk, straightforward once God’s own established doctrinal meaning is secured.
Fellow Worker
Approved rendering: संगि मावगारि
Transliteration: sangi mabgari
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: συνεργός
Category: Church
A partner in gospel work, made so by supporting traveling ministers (1:8). Compound built on ‘माव’ (work) plus agent suffix ‘-गारि’ (parallel to the baseline’s गोदान जायगारि for ‘apostle’), plus ‘संगि’ (companion, loan). Must be taught as shared partnership in gospel truth-work specifically, not a generic labor-cooperative or clan work-party bond. Also relevant to the Authority of the Name doctrine (partnership in Name-centered mission).
Hinder Forbid
Approved rendering: बन्द होनाय
Transliteration: bandh honai
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: κωλύω
Category: Church
Diotrephes’ active blocking of other believers who want to extend hospitality to traveling ministers (1:10). Medium risk of being read as simple social disapproval rather than an active abuse of authority preventing others’ godly action.
Works Deeds
Approved rendering: मावफुं
Transliteration: mabphun
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: ἔργα
Category: Church
Concrete, observable actions John will publicly document regarding Diotrephes’ pattern of conduct (1:10). Medium risk mainly of confusion with ‘ritual deeds/offerings’ if unqualified; teaching notes should specify these are interpersonal/administrative actions, not ritual works.
Evil Moral
Approved rendering: बेया
Transliteration: beya
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: κακός
Category: Sanctification
Morally bad conduct, exemplified by Diotrephes and held up as the pattern not to imitate (1:11). Standard moral-evil vocabulary; risk is mainly under-specification without the Diotrephes narrative anchor.
Good Moral
Approved rendering: मोजां
Transliteration: mwjang
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: ἀγαθός
Category: Sanctification
Morally good conduct, exemplified by Demetrius and held up as the pattern to imitate (1:11). Standard moral-good vocabulary; risk is mainly under-specification without the Demetrius narrative anchor.
Do Good
Approved rendering: मोजां मावनाय
Transliteration: mwjang mabnai
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: ἀγαθοποιέω
Category: Sanctification
Moral goodness expressed in action, presented as evidence of belonging to God (1:11). Must be linked to ‘is of God’ (spiritual origin/family likeness), not treated as an independent ethical rule detached from relationship with God.
Do Evil
Approved rendering: बेया मावनाय
Transliteration: beya mabnai
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: κακοποιέω
Category: Sanctification
Moral evil expressed in action, presented as evidence of not truly knowing God (1:11). Parallel caution to मोजां मावनाय above.
True Truthful
Approved rendering: सत्यजोग्य
Transliteration: sotyojog
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Original: ἀληθής
Category: Faith
Reliable, verified truthfulness, used of John’s own testimony about Gaius, Demetrius, and Diotrephes (1:12). Built on the established सत्य (truth) root with the ‘-जोग्य’ (worthy/-ful) suffix, consistent with बिश्वासजोग्य (1:5); risk mainly of under-emphasis if translated as a bare adjective without conveying verified, corroborated reliability.
Greet
Approved rendering: जोहार होनाय
Transliteration: johar honai
Doctrine: Personal Christian Correspondence and Greeting
Original: ἀσπάζομαι
Category: Christian Fellowship
Ordinary warm personal greeting exchanged among believers, closing the letter (1:14). Provisional rendering; confirm with a native speaker that it carries no unwanted ritual-greeting connotation before wide deployment.
Friend
Approved rendering: सथाय
Transliteration: sathai
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: φίλος
Category: Christian Fellowship
A personal friend within the local believing community, distinguished from ἀδελφός (brother) though overlapping in reference (1:14). Should be taught alongside भाइ (brother) as two overlapping but distinct relational terms within the same believing community, not as two separate social classes.
Low Risk Terms
Ought Obligation
Approved rendering: नांगou
Transliteration: nangou
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ὀφείλω
Category: Hospitality
Moral obligation to support traveling gospel workers, framed as flowing from gospel partnership (1:8). Standard Bodo modal for obligation; low doctrinal risk.
Ink And Pen
Approved rendering: मसि आरो कलम
Transliteration: mosi aro kolom
Doctrine: Personal Christian Correspondence and Greeting
Original: μέλαν καὶ κάλαμος
Category: Epistolary Convention
The physical writing implements of the ancient world, a literary convention marking John’s preference for face-to-face communication (1:13). Purely descriptive; standard Assamese/Hindi-region loanwords carry no theological risk.
Face To Face
Approved rendering: मुखा-मुखि
Transliteration: mukha-mukhi
Doctrine: Personal Christian Correspondence and Greeting
Original: στόμα πρὸς στόμα
Category: Christian Fellowship
An idiom for direct, personal, unmediated conversation, expressing John’s closing preference for personal presence (1:14). Standard idiom; low risk.
By Name
Approved rendering: मुं-मुं जों
Transliteration: mung-mung jw
Doctrine: Personal Christian Correspondence and Greeting
Original: κατ᾿ ὄνομα
Category: Christian Fellowship
Individualized, personal recognition of each believer, a mark of intimate pastoral care (1:14). Straightforward compound; low risk. Note distinct sense from the_name (τὸ ὄνομα/मुं at 1:7) — here ‘name’ means an ordinary personal name, not the christological reference; do not conflate the two entries in teaching.
Gaius
Approved rendering: गायुस
Transliteration: Gaius
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: Γάϊος
Category: Church
The letter’s addressee, commended for his faithful hospitality to traveling ministers. Standard proper-name transliteration, following the pattern of दाऊद/इस्राएल in the Romans baseline.
Diotrephes
Approved rendering: दियोत्रिफेस
Transliteration: Diyotriphes
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes)
Original: Διοτρεφής
Category: Church
A named local church leader whose prideful, controlling behavior is judged in the letter — the negative case study. Standard proper-name transliteration; the name itself carries no doctrinal content, though the behavior attached to it does (see love_of_preeminence, receive_welcome, slander, cast_out_expel entries).
Demetrius
Approved rendering: दिमेत्रियुस
Transliteration: Dimetriyus
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness (Demetrius)
Original: Δημήτριος
Category: Church
A named believer commended in the strongest terms by everyone, by the truth itself, and by John — the positive case study. Standard proper-name transliteration; the name itself carries no doctrinal content, though the triple-attested commendation attached to it does (see testify_witness, testimony entries).
Referenced passages