Core Glossary
Core Glossary — 1 Thessalonians (English ⇄ Koine Greek ⇄ Cantonese)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, across all five chapters of 1 Thessalonians. Terms already present in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked [BASELINE — REUSE EXACTLY] and their recorded Cantonese rendering, transliteration, and risk tier are restated unchanged. New terms proposed for this curriculum are marked [NEW] and are candidates for addition to translation memory at Step 8/17 of the pipeline.
Section A — Reused Baseline Terms (occurring in 1 Thessalonians)
| Term | Greek | Cantonese (exact) | Jyutping | Risk | Doctrine(s) | 1 Thessalonians occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | θεός | 神 | san4 | Critical | Deity of Christ | 1:1, 1:9, throughout |
| Lord | κύριος | 主 | zyu2 | Critical | Lordship of Christ | throughout, esp. 4:15-17 |
| Jesus | Ἰησοῦς | 耶穌 | je4 sou1 | Critical | Lordship of Christ | throughout |
| Christ | Χριστός | 基督 | gei1 duk1 | Critical | Messianic Promise | throughout |
| Holy Spirit | πνεῦμα ἅγιον | 聖靈 | sing3 ling4 | Critical | Sanctification | 1:5, 1:6, 4:8, 5:19 |
| Son of God | υἱός (τοῦ θεοῦ) | 神嘅兒子 | san4 ge3 ji4 zi2 | Critical | Sonship of Christ | 1:10 |
| Gospel | εὐαγγέλιον | 福音 | fuk1 jam1 | Medium | Gospel | 1:5, 2:2-9, 3:2 |
| Grace | χάρις | 恩典 | jan1 din2 | Critical | Grace | 1:1, 5:28 |
| Peace | εἰρήνη | 平安 | ping4 on1 | Medium | Peace with God | 1:1, 5:3 (ironic use — see note), 5:23 |
| Faith | πίστις | 信心 | seon3 sam1 | High | Faith | 1:3, 1:8, 3:2-10, 5:8 |
| Salvation | σωτηρία | 救恩 | gau3 jan1 | Critical | Salvation | 5:8, 5:9 |
| Church | ἐκκλησία | 教會 | gaau3 wui2 | Medium | Church as God’s People | 1:1, 2:14 |
| Kingdom of God | βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ | 神嘅國 | san4 ge3 gwok3 | Medium | Kingdom Mission | 2:12 |
| Glory | δόξα | 榮耀 | wing4 jiu6 | Medium | Deity of Christ | 2:12, 2:20 |
| Called / Calling | κλητός / κλῆσις | 蒙召嘅 / 呼召 | mung4 siu6 ge3 / fu1 siu6 | High | Divine Calling | 4:7 (implicit), 5:24 |
| Election | ἐκλογή | 揀選 | gaan2 syun2 | High | Effectual Calling | 1:4 |
| Holy | ἅγιος | 聖潔 | sing3 git3 | High | Sanctification | 3:13, 4:3-8, 5:23 |
| Saints | ἅγιοι | 聖徒 | sing3 tou4 | High | Sainthood | 3:13 |
| Sanctification | ἁγιασμός | 成聖 | sing4 sing3 | High | Sanctification | 4:3, 4:4, 4:7, 5:23 |
| Resurrection | ἀνάστασις / ἀνίστημι | 復活 | fuk6 wut6 | Critical | Resurrection of Christ / Believers | 4:14, 4:16 |
| Gentiles | ἔθνη | 外邦人 | ngoi6 bong1 jan4 | Medium | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | 2:16, 4:5 |
| Thanksgiving | εὐχαριστία | 感恩 | gam2 jan1 | Low | Thanksgiving | 1:2, 5:18 |
| Prophecy | προφητεία | 預言 | jyu6 jin4 | Low (elevated to Medium here) | Fulfillment of Prophecy | 5:20 |
| Power of God | δύναμις θεοῦ | 神嘅大能 | san4 ge3 daai6 nang4 | High | Power of God for Salvation | 1:5 |
| Father | πατήρ | 父 | fu6 | High | Adoption into God’s Family | 1:1, 1:3, 3:11, 3:13 |
| Exhort | παρακαλέω | 勸勉 | hyun3 min5 | Low | Mutual Edification | 2:12, 3:2, 4:1, 4:10, 4:18, 5:11, 5:14 |
| Apostle | ἀπόστολος | 使徒 | si2 tou4 | Low | Apostleship | 2:6 |
| Righteousness | δικαιοσύνη (adv. δικαίως) | 義 | ji6 | Critical | Salvation | 2:10 |
Section B — New Terms Introduced in 1 Thessalonians
| Term (English) | Greek | Transliteration | Cantonese Rendering | Jyutping | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Coming / Parousia | παρουσία | parousia | 降臨 (主降臨/基督降臨) | gong3 lam4 | Critical | The Return of Christ | Collides with folk-religious “deity descent” language (神明降臨/落童, tied to 問米 spirit-calling). Must always be paired with 主/基督 and never left as a bare verb. Occurs 2:19, 3:13, 4:15, 5:23. |
| Fallen asleep (death euphemism) | κοιμάομαι | koimaomai | 睡了 | seoi6 liu5 | Critical | Resurrection of Believers / Hope in Grief | Must not merge with Cantonese ancestor-care euphemisms (opposite relational direction) nor with ch.5’s unrelated spiritual-wakefulness “sleep” metaphor (see below). Occurs 4:13, 4:14, 4:15. |
| Caught up (rapture) | ἁρπάζω | harpazō | 被提 | bei6 tai4 | High | The Return of Christ / Resurrection of Believers | Must be distinguished from trance/possession states (出神/魂魄離體) associated with 問米 spirit-calling. Bodily, Christ-directed, permanent. Occurs 4:17. |
| Hope | ἐλπίς | elpis | 盼望 | paan3 mong6 | High | Hope in Grief | Distinguish from secular 希望 (mere wish) and fortune/luck-based confidence. Occurs 1:3, 4:13, 5:8. |
| Grieve / Sorrow | λυπέω | lypeō | 憂傷 / 哀傷 | jau1 soeng1 / oi1 soeng1 | High | Hope in Grief | Must attach the prohibition to hopeless grief only, not to grief itself (avoid Stoic-denial misreading). Occurs 4:13. |
| Day of the Lord | ἡμέρα κυρίου | hēmera kyriou | 主的日子 | zyu2 dik1 jat6 zi2 | High | The Day of the Lord | Must not be conflated with almanac/astrology “auspicious date” culture (通勝/黃曆擇日). Occurs 5:2. |
| Times and seasons | καιροὶ καὶ χρόνοι | kairoi kai chronoi | 時候同日期 | si4 hau6 tung4 jat6 kei4 | High | The Day of the Lord | Same collision risk as above; passage’s point is that such calculation is not given to believers. Occurs 5:1. |
| Wrath (of God) | ὀργή | orgē | 忿怒 (神嘅忿怒) | fan5 nou6 | High | The Day of the Lord | Must not be assimilated to karmic-retribution concept (報應), flagged already under baseline “sin.” Occurs 1:10, 2:16, 5:9. |
| Clouds (theophany) | νεφέλαι | nephelai | 雲 | wan4 | Medium-High | The Return of Christ | Collides with Daoist/folk immortal cloud-riding imagery (騰雲駕霧); clarify as OT theophany-glory imagery. Occurs 4:17. |
| Idols | εἴδωλα | eidōla | 偶像 | ngau5 zoeng6 | High | (feeds Sanctification / Universal Human Accountability) | Direct contact point with active Hong Kong temple culture; handle pastorally. Occurs 1:9. |
| The living and true God | θεῷ ζῶντι καὶ ἀληθινῷ | theō zōnti kai alēthinō | 又真又活嘅神 | jau6 zan1 jau6 wut6 ge3 san4 | Medium-High | Deity of Christ (extension) | Contrast with idol-consecration ritual 開光 (statue “activated” by ritual) is a useful, grounded teaching point. Occurs 1:9. |
| Spirit, soul, body | πνεῦμα, ψυχή, σῶμα | pneuma, psychē, sōma | 靈、魂、體 | ling4, wan4, tai2 | High | Sanctification | 魂 heavily loaded with folk ancestor-spirit/Hungry-Ghost-Festival associations; teach as whole-person sanctification, not an invocable soul-entity. Occurs 5:23. |
| Faithful (of God) | πιστός | pistos | 信實 | seon3 sat6 | Medium-High | Divine Calling / Assurance | Must be kept distinct from human 信心 (faith/trust); this is God’s own reliability. Occurs 5:24. |
| Sexual immorality | πορνεία | porneia | 淫亂 | jam4 lyun6 | Medium-High | Sanctification | Frame as holiness before God, not mere social propriety/face. Occurs 4:3. |
| Vessel / body (one’s own) | σκεῦος | skeuos | 身子 | san1 zi2 | Medium | Sanctification | Ambiguous in Greek (body vs. wife); 器皿 rejected as too literal/impersonal. Occurs 4:4. |
| Love | ἀγάπη | agapē | 愛 / 愛心 | oi3 sam1 | Medium | Hope in Grief (via 1:3, 5:8 triad) | Must convey God-given, self-giving love, not romantic/sentimental love alone. Occurs 1:3, 3:6, 3:12, 4:9, 5:8, 5:13. |
| Endurance / steadfastness | ὑπομονή | hypomonē | 忍耐 / 堅忍 | jan2 noi6 | Low-Medium | Hope in Grief | Active, hope-fueled perseverance, not passive resignation. Occurs 1:3. |
| Full assurance | πληροφορία | plērophoria | 充分嘅確信 | cung1 fan6 ge3 kok3 seon3 | Medium | Assurance of Salvation | Settled confidence, not emotional excitement. Occurs 1:5. |
| Affliction / tribulation | θλῖψις | thlipsis | 患難 | waan6 naan6 | Medium | Hope in Grief / Day of the Lord | Not karmic bad-luck framing. Occurs 1:6, 3:3, 3:7. |
| Satan | Σατανᾶς | Satanas | 撒但 | saat3 daan6 | Medium | (adversary of Return of Christ narrative) | Keep distinct from generic folk “ghosts” (鬼) as a personal cosmic adversary. Occurs 2:18. |
| Crown of boasting | στέφανος καυχήσεως | stephanos kauchēseōs | 誇口嘅冠冕 | kwaa1 hau2 ge3 gun3 min5 | Low-Medium | The Return of Christ | Clarify as not contradicting grace (not self-earned merit badge). Occurs 2:19. |
| Impurity | ἀκαθαρσία | akatharsia | 污穢 | wu1 wai3 | Medium | Sanctification | Contrasted directly with ἁγιασμός at 4:7. Occurs 2:3, 4:7. |
| Deceit / error | δόλος / πλάνη | dolos / planē | 詭詐 / 錯謬 | gwai2 zaa3 / co3 mau6 | Low-Medium | (Gospel integrity) | General moral vocabulary; keep consistent across occurrences. Occurs 2:3. |
| Test / approve | δοκιμάζω | dokimazō | 察驗 | caat3 jim6 | Low-Medium | Spiritual Gifts / Prophecy | Occurs 2:4, 5:21. |
| Word of God | λόγος θεοῦ | logos theou | 神嘅話 | san4 ge3 waa2 | Medium | Inspiration of Scripture | Distinct from 律法 (Mosaic Law). Occurs 2:13. |
| Persecute | διώκω | diōkō | 迫害 | baak3 hoi6 | Low | — | Occurs 2:15. |
| Brotherly love | φιλαδελφία | philadelphia | 弟兄相愛 | dai6 hing1 soeng1 oi3 | Low-Medium | Christian Fellowship | Occurs 4:9. |
| Taught by God | θεοδίδακτος | theodidaktos | 神所教導嘅 | san4 so2 gaau3 dou6 ge3 | Low | Sanctification | Occurs 4:9. |
| Watch / be alert | γρηγορέω | grēgoreō | 警醒 | ging2 sing2 | Medium | The Day of the Lord | MUST be disambiguated from κοιμάομαι’s death-euphemism “sleep” — a different metaphor entirely (spiritual vigilance vs. moral complacency). Occurs 5:6, 5:10. |
| Be sober | νήφω | nēphō | 謹守 / 清醒 | gan2 sau2 | Low-Medium | The Day of the Lord | Occurs 5:6, 5:8. |
| Sons of light | υἱοὶ φωτός | huioi phōtos | 光明之子 | gwong1 ming4 zi1 zi2 | Low-Medium | The Day of the Lord | Contrastive with 黑暗/夜晚. Occurs 5:5. |
| Admonish | νουθετέω | noutheteō | 警戒 | ging2 gaai3 | Low-Medium | Mutual Edification | Distinct from 勸勉 (παρακαλέω) — do not collapse the two Greek verbs into one Cantonese word. Occurs 5:12, 5:14. |
| Unruly / idle | ἄτακτοι | ataktoi | 不守規矩嘅人 | bat1 sau2 kwai1 geoi2 ge3 jan4 | Low-Medium | — | Community-order sense; distinct from baseline’s caution on 規矩 for 律法/Mosaic Law. Occurs 5:14. |
| Do not quench (the Spirit) | (μὴ) σβέννυτε | (mē) sbennute | 唔可熄滅 | m4 ho2 sik1 mit6 | High | Sanctification / Spiritual Gifts | Inherits Holy Spirit’s Critical tier as object of the verb. Occurs 5:19. |
| Sanctify wholly | ἁγιάσαι ὁλοτελεῖς | hagiasai holoteleis | 完全成聖 | jyun4 cyun4 sing4 sing3 | High | Sanctification | Climactic statement; must not be softened to partial/aspirational sanctification. Occurs 5:23. |
| Meeting (the Lord) | ἀπάντησις | apantēsis | 迎見 | jing4 gin3 | Medium | The Return of Christ | Formal royal-welcome sense; avoid generic “meet” and avoid political-loyalty overtones. Occurs 4:17. |
| Blameless | ἀμέμπτως | amemptōs | 無可指摘 | mou4 ho2 zi2 zaak3 | Medium | Sanctification / Assurance | Occurs 2:10, 3:13, 5:23. |
| Idols → living and true God contrast | see above | — | — | — | — | — | (cross-reference; see Section B row above) |
Section C — Terms Requiring Explicit Disambiguation Notes in Phase 2
| Cantonese Surface Form | Underlying Greek Term(s) | Disambiguation Required |
|---|---|---|
| 睡 / 睡了 | κοιμάομαι (4:13-15, death euphemism) vs. καθεύδω/γρηγορέω (5:6-7, spiritual complacency metaphor) | Must not use identical unqualified wording for both senses without a context-clarifying phrase; risk of readers conflating literal death with spiritual laziness. |
| 降臨 | παρουσία (2:19, 3:13, 4:15, 5:23) vs. folk-religious 神明降臨/落童 | Always pair with 主/基督; never leave as a bare verb; route every occurrence to human theologian review. |
| 信 (root) | πίστις/信心 (human faith, throughout) vs. πιστός/信實 (God’s own faithfulness, 5:24) | Keep 信心 and 信實 as distinct lexical choices; do not use one word for both referents. |
| 魂 | ψυχή (5:23, whole-person anthropology) vs. Cantonese folk 魂魄/ancestral-spirit usage | Teaching note required distinguishing biblical usage from folk-religious invocable-soul concept. |
| 平安 | εἰρήνη (1:1, 5:23, genuine peace with God) vs. εἰρήνη (5:3, ironic “false security” of unbelievers) | Flag the ironic use in 5:3 so it is not read as an endorsement of that false peace. |
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: 神
Transliteration: san4
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 天主, 上帝, 老天爺
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Never 天主 (Catholic term) or 上帝 (Term Question); never 老天爺. In 1 Thessalonians occurs throughout, notably 1:9’s contrast with idols (‘turned to God from idols’) and 5:23’s benediction ‘the God of peace himself.‘
Lord
Approved rendering: 主
Transliteration: zyu2
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 事頭, 老爺
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. In 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, ‘the Lord himself’ personally descends and gathers his people; render with full exclusive authority. Given Hong Kong’s political climate, this scene must stay strictly doctrinal, never a coded political-loyalty statement.
Jesus
Approved rendering: 耶穌
Transliteration: je4 sou1
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Standard transliteration, occurs throughout 1 Thessalonians.
Messiah
Approved rendering: 基督
Transliteration: gei1 duk1
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Rejected alternatives: 彌勒, 黃大仙式嘅救世主
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs throughout, including the salvation formula of 5:9-10 (‘through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us’).
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: 聖靈
Transliteration: sing3 ling4
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 問米嘅靈, 祖先靈
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Always the compound 聖靈, never 靈 alone. In 5:19 (‘do not quench the Spirit’) must be read as a personal Agent whose ongoing work can be resisted, not a ritual energy that can be dampened. Also 1:5, 1:6, 4:8.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: 神嘅兒子
Transliteration: san4 ge3 ji4 zi2
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 天子, 神人
Original: υἱὸς αὐτοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. 1:10, ‘to wait for his Son from heaven’ requires the full phrase; never 天子 (‘Son of Heaven’) or abbreviated 神人.
Grace
Approved rendering: 恩典
Transliteration: jan1 din2
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: 福氣, 有求必應式嘅恩典, 功德
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Grace opens and closes the entire letter (1:1, 5:28); never framed as favor obtainable through a vow-and-offering exchange (cf. Wong Tai Sin’s ‘whatever you ask, you shall receive’).
Salvation
Approved rendering: 救恩
Transliteration: gau3 jan1
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 解脫, 超度, 大慈大悲救苦救難
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Risk sharpened in this letter because the core passage (4:13-18) deals directly with death and grief, the exact context in which readers most often encounter Buddhist liberation language. Also 5:8-10.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: 復活
Transliteration: fuk6 wut6
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ / Resurrection of Believers
Rejected alternatives: 投胎轉世, 問米式嘅還魂
Original: ἀνάστασις / ἀνίστημι
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. 4:14 (Christ ‘rose again’), 4:16 (the dead in Christ ‘will rise first’). This is the guarantee-doctrine underlying the whole core passage’s comfort.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: 義
Transliteration: ji6
Doctrine: Salvation / Holiness of Life
Rejected alternatives: 道德, 善行
Original: δικαίως (adv. of δικαιοσύνη)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. 2:10, ‘how holily, righteously, and blamelessly we behaved.’ Must be flagged with a distinguishing note from the Confucian loyalty-and-honor ethic reinforced by Cantonese triad/gangster-film 義氣 code.
Parousia
Approved rendering: 降臨
Transliteration: gong3 lam4
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 主再來 (under-translates the technical, bodily, visible sense), 臨在/臨格 (JW New World Translation’s ‘invisible presence’ doctrine), 主的來臨/主的同在 with Local Church ‘mingling’ footnote framing
Original: παρουσία
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 3:13, 4:15, 5:23 — the book’s central recurring eschatological term. Collides with Hong Kong folk-religious usage of 降臨 for a deity’s ritual descent into a shrine or a possessed medium (神明降臨/落童, tied to 問米 spirit-calling). Must always be explicitly anchored to 主/基督 in the same clause, described as bodily/visible/once-for-all, and never left as a bare verb. Route every occurrence to human theologian review. Also the primary safeguard against 東方閃電/全能神教會 (Eastern Lightning) claims that Christ has already secretly returned.
Fallen Asleep
Approved rendering: 睡了
Transliteration: seoi6 liu5
Doctrine: Resurrection of Believers / Hope in Grief
Rejected alternatives: 過身/走咗 (imports Cantonese funeral-euphemism finality), 投胎轉世, 問米式嘅還魂, 已經睡着咗嘅人 (NWT soul-unconsciousness/annihilationist framing)
Original: κοιμάομαι
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 4:13, 4:14, 4:15. Death euphemism implying temporariness pending resurrection; must not merge with Cantonese ancestor-care funeral euphemisms (opposite relational direction — the living caring for the dead, vs. God raising the dead to himself), nor with ch.5’s unrelated spiritual-wakefulness ‘sleep’ metaphor (see watch_alert below). Never render both senses with identical unqualified wording.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: 信心
Transliteration: seon3 sam1
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: 虔誠, 睇相算命式嘅相信
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Repeatedly tied to specific trust that ‘Jesus died and rose again’ (4:14); not generic piety or fortune-telling confidence. Also 1:3, 1:8, 3:2-10, 5:8.
Called
Approved rendering: 蒙召嘅
Transliteration: mung4 siu6 ge3
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: 天生註定, 命中注定
Original: κλητός / καλέω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. 4:7, 5:24. Must remain a personal, relational summons, never a fate read from a birth chart (八字).
Calling
Approved rendering: 呼召
Transliteration: fu1 siu6
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: 命運, 緣分
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. 2:12 (implicit, ‘calls you into his own kingdom’).
Election
Approved rendering: 揀選
Transliteration: gaan2 syun2
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: 命運, 八字注定
Original: ἐκλογή
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. 1:4, ‘knowing, brothers loved by God, your election.‘
Holy
Approved rendering: 聖潔
Transliteration: sing3 git3
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 清淨, 戒口修行式嘅潔淨
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. 3:13, 4:3-8, 5:23.
Saints
Approved rendering: 聖徒
Transliteration: sing3 tou4
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: 神仙, 得道高人
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. 3:13, ‘with all his saints’ at Christ’s coming — must not be heard as an elite class of Daoist immortals arriving alongside a returning deity.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: 成聖
Transliteration: sing4 sing3
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 修煉, 戒除惡習
Original: ἁγιασμός
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 4:4, 4:7, 5:23 form the densest NT concentration of this term outside a formal doctrinal treatise, making this letter the curriculum’s doctrinal center for Sanctification.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: 神嘅大能
Transliteration: san4 ge3 daai6 nang4
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 法力, 風水嘅力量
Original: δύναμις
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. 1:5, ‘our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power.‘
Father
Approved rendering: 父
Transliteration: fu6
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: 祖先, 老竇式嘅父
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. 1:1, 1:3, 3:11, 3:13. Distinguish from ancestor veneration (拜祖先, 祠堂, Ching Ming/Chung Yeung) — the reverse relational direction from the biblical Father who cares for his children.
Caught Up
Approved rendering: 被提
Transliteration: bei6 tai4
Doctrine: The Return of Christ / Resurrection of Believers
Rejected alternatives: 出神, 魂魄離體, 啦噏都 (transliterated English loanword ‘rapture’)
Original: ἁρπάζω
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 4:17. Established Chinese Christian rendering; must be clearly distinguished from trance/possession states sought through 問米 spirit-calling — 被提 is bodily, Christ-directed, and permanent, not a temporary spirit-departure.
Hope
Approved rendering: 盼望
Transliteration: paan3 mong6
Doctrine: Hope in Grief
Rejected alternatives: 希望 (generic secular wish, e.g. New Year fortune-wishing usage)
Original: ἐλπίς
Category: Faith
NEW. Occurs 1:3, 4:13, 5:8. Confident expectation grounded in Christ’s own resurrection, distinct from generic secular optimism and from Hong Kong culture’s fortune/luck-based confidence.
Grieve
Approved rendering: 憂傷
Transliteration: jau1 soeng1
Doctrine: Hope in Grief
Rejected alternatives: 一概唔可以憂傷 (a blanket ‘do not grieve at all’ reading that falsely teaches stoic denial of emotion)
Original: λυπέω
Category: Faith
NEW. Occurs 4:13. Paul forbids only hopeless grief, not grief itself; the Cantonese clause must keep the qualifier ‘as others who have no hope’ (冇盼望嘅人) bound in the same breath as the prohibition, against the backdrop of Cantonese funeral practice (incense, joss paper, ancestor tablets). Alternative form: 哀傷 (oi1 soeng1).
Day Of The Lord
Approved rendering: 主的日子
Transliteration: zyu2 dik1 jat6 zi2
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 通勝/黃曆揀出嘅日子 (almanac auspicious-date-selection framing)
Original: ἡμέρα κυρίου
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 5:2. Sudden, unpredictable, universal divine intervention; must not be assimilated to Hong Kong’s almanac practice of consulting 通勝/黃曆 for an auspicious calculated date — the passage’s entire point is that this day cannot be calculated.
Times And Seasons
Approved rendering: 時候同日期
Transliteration: si4 hau6 tung4 jat6 kei4
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 通勝/黃曆擇日 calculation framing
Original: καιροὶ καὶ χρόνοι
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 5:1. Same collision risk as day_of_the_lord above; the passage’s point is that such calculation is deliberately not given to believers.
Wrath Of God
Approved rendering: 忿怒
Transliteration: fan5 nou6
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord / Wrath of God and Judgment
Rejected alternatives: 報應 (impersonal karmic retribution, already fenced under baseline ‘sin’)
Original: ὀργή
Category: God
NEW. Always as the compound 神嘅忿怒. Occurs 1:10, 2:16, 5:9 (and contrasted at 5:3, see false_security below). Must remain God’s personal judicial anger, from which Christ delivers believers — sharpened here because ch.5 pairs wrath directly with the Day of the Lord’s sudden personal arrival, a pattern that tempts assimilation to Hong Kong’s day-linked fortune-forecast culture.
Clouds
Approved rendering: 雲
Transliteration: wan4
Doctrine: The Return of Christ (imagery)
Rejected alternatives: 騰雲駕霧/神仙踏雲 (Daoist immortal cloud-riding imagery common in Cantonese opera and folk story)
Original: νεφέλαι
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 4:17. OT theophany/glory-presence imagery (Sinai, the Ascension), marking the visible glory of God at Christ’s return — not a folk-immortal’s mode of transport.
Idols
Approved rendering: 偶像
Transliteration: ngau5 zoeng6
Doctrine: Idolatry and Conversion
Original: εἴδωλα
Category: Sin
NEW. Occurs 1:9, ‘you turned to God from idols.’ The book’s most direct contact point with active Hong Kong temple culture (Wong Tai Sin, Guanyin, ancestral tablets); handle pastorally, without contempt for family members who still practice it, while preserving the text’s clear either/or conversion framing.
Living And True God
Approved rendering: 又真又活嘅神
Transliteration: jau6 zan1 jau6 wut6 ge3 san4
Doctrine: Idolatry and Conversion / Deity of Christ
Original: θεῷ ζῶντι καὶ ἀληθινῷ
Category: God
NEW. Occurs 1:9. Contrasts with the Hong Kong idol-consecration ritual 開光, by which a physical idol is ritually ‘activated’/‘brought to life’ before being considered efficacious. God’s life and truth are not conferred by ritual; he simply is living and true — surface this contrast explicitly in teaching notes.
Spirit Soul Body
Approved rendering: 靈、魂、體
Transliteration: ling4, wan4, tai2
Doctrine: Sanctification of the Whole Person
Rejected alternatives: 心神、心靈、身體 (Catholic Studium Biblicum three-part split, inconsistent with this Protestant-oriented package), Recovery Version’s systematized trichotomist ‘mingling’ metaphysics footnote framing
Original: πνεῦμα, ψυχή, σῶμα
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Occurs 5:23, the climactic sanctification statement of the book. 魂 (soul) is heavily loaded in Cantonese folk religion, tied to ancestor-spirit concepts (魂魄), the Hungry Ghost Festival (盂蘭節), and 問米 spirit-calling of a deceased person’s 魂. Must be taught as one whole person under three aspects, sanctified together, never three separable, independently ritually-engageable parts.
Faithful Of God
Approved rendering: 信實
Transliteration: seon3 sat6
Doctrine: Assurance of God’s Faithfulness
Rejected alternatives: 信心 (would collapse God’s own reliability into human trust directed toward him)
Original: πιστός
Category: God
NEW. Occurs 5:24, ‘faithful is he who calls you.’ Must be kept lexically distinct from 信心; assurance rests on God’s unchanging character, not on the mourner’s own ritual diligence or an exchange that could lapse if an offering or vow-obligation is neglected.
Quench Spirit
Approved rendering: 熄滅
Transliteration: sik1 mit6
Doctrine: Quenching the Spirit / Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: analogy to extinguishing a temple’s ritual flame or incense
Original: μὴ σβέννυτε (τὸ πνεῦμα)
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Occurs 5:19, ‘do not quench the Spirit’ (聖靈, direct object). Inherits Holy Spirit’s Critical tier as grammatical object; must be read as suppressing a personal Spirit’s ongoing work in the church, not a vague warning against discouraging enthusiasm.
Sanctify Wholly
Approved rendering: 完全成聖
Transliteration: jyun4 cyun4 sing4 sing3
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: partial/aspirational sanctification framing
Original: ἁγιάσαι ὁλοτελεῖς
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Occurs 5:23, the climactic sanctification statement of the book (‘may the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly’). Must not be softened.
Medium Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: 福音
Transliteration: fuk1 jam1
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: 好消息, 喜訊
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Gospel
Inherited from Romans package. Root character 福 evokes 恭喜發財 prosperity culture; 1:5’s gospel ‘in power and the Holy Spirit’ must not be reframed as fortune-forecast. Also 2:2-9, 2:13, 3:2.
Peace
Approved rendering: 平安
Transliteration: ping4 on1
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: 平安符式嘅平安, 老黃曆話嘅好日子
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Genuine relational peace in 1:1, 5:23. IMPORTANT: 5:3 uses the same underlying Greek term ironically (‘there is peace and security’ right before judgment) — see new entry ‘false_security’ below for the disambiguated ironic sense; do not read 5:3 as endorsing that false confidence.
Church
Approved rendering: 教會
Transliteration: gaau3 wui2
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: 廟, 祠堂
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. 1:1, 2:14. Never 廟 or 祠堂.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: 神嘅國
Transliteration: san4 ge3 gwok3
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Rejected alternatives: 天下, 王朝
Original: βασιλεία (αὐτοῦ) θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. 2:12, ‘walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory’ — keep framed as spiritual reign, not political program.
Glory
Approved rendering: 榮耀
Transliteration: wing4 jiu6
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 面子, 威水
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. 2:12, 2:20.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: 外邦人
Transliteration: ngoi6 bong1 jan4
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: 外江佬, 鄉下人
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. 2:16, 4:5 (‘the Gentiles who do not know God’ — a covenant-knowledge distinction, not an ethnic slur).
Sexual Immorality
Approved rendering: 淫亂
Transliteration: jam4 lyun6
Doctrine: Sexual Purity / Sanctification
Original: πορνεία
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Occurs 4:3. Must be presented as holiness before God, tied to sanctification, not merely social propriety, face-preservation (面子), or legalistic taboo.
Vessel Body
Approved rendering: 身子
Transliteration: san1 zi2
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 器皿 (overly literal, impersonal alternative)
Original: σκεῦος
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Occurs 4:4. Genuinely ambiguous in Greek (one’s own body vs. one’s own wife); record the alternative rendering per the ambiguity-handling protocol whichever choice is used.
Love
Approved rendering: 愛
Transliteration: oi3
Doctrine: Hope in Grief (faith-love-hope triad)
Rejected alternatives: romantic/sentimental 愛 as commonly used in Cantopop and popular romance idiom
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Faith
NEW. Occurs 1:3, 3:6, 3:12, 4:9, 5:8, 5:13. God-given, self-giving love, part of the book’s central virtue triad recurring at 5:8. Compound form 愛心 (oi3 sam1) also acceptable.
Full Assurance
Approved rendering: 充分嘅確信
Transliteration: cung1 fan6 ge3 kok3 seon3
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 情緒興奮 (emotional excitement)
Original: πληροφορία
Category: Faith
NEW. Occurs 1:5. Settled confidence accompanying the gospel’s reception, not emotional excitement.
Affliction
Approved rendering: 患難
Transliteration: waan6 naan6
Doctrine: Suffering and Affliction
Rejected alternatives: 報應 (karmic bad-luck framing), 風水唔好 (unfavorable feng shui)
Original: θλῖψις
Category: Faith
NEW. Occurs 1:6, 3:3, 3:7. God-appointed normal Christian experience, not a sign of divine displeasure or misfortune.
Satan
Approved rendering: 撒但
Transliteration: saat3 daan6
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare
Rejected alternatives: 鬼 (generic Cantonese folk ‘ghost’)
Original: Σατανᾶς
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW. Occurs 2:18. Established transliteration. Personal cosmic adversary, distinct from generic folk ‘ghosts’ or ancestral spirits, a different category in local folk cosmology.
Crown Of Boasting
Approved rendering: 誇口嘅冠冕
Transliteration: kwaa1 hau2 ge3 gun3 min5
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 功德 (Buddhist earned merit, already fenced under baseline 恩典)
Original: στέφανος καυχήσεως
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 2:19. The victor’s wreath of eschatological joy for faithful gospel labor; should not be confused with a merit-earned reward that contradicts grace.
Impurity
Approved rendering: 污穢
Transliteration: wu1 wai3
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἀκαθαρσία
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Occurs 2:3, 4:7 (‘God has not called us for impurity, but for sanctification’). Keep consistent across both occurrences, directly contrasted with 成聖.
Test Approve
Approved rendering: 察驗
Transliteration: caat3 jim6
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts and Prophecy / Sanctification
Original: δοκιμάζω
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Occurs 2:4 (Paul’s ministry approved by God) and 5:21 (‘test everything’); keep consistent across both distinct uses.
Word Of God
Approved rendering: 神嘅話
Transliteration: san4 ge3 waa2
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: 老黃曆 predictive-almanac framing
Original: λόγος θεοῦ / λόγος κυρίου
Category: Covenant
NEW. Occurs 2:13 (‘the word of God, which is at work in you’) and 4:15 (as ‘a word from the Lord’ grounding the resurrection/rapture teaching). Distinct from 律法 (Mosaic Law); Scripture is direct personal-God communication, not a predictive reference text.
Watch Alert
Approved rendering: 警醒
Transliteration: ging2 sing2
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord / Watchfulness and Readiness
Original: γρηγορέω
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 5:6, 5:10. Spiritual vigilance/alertness metaphor. MUST be disambiguated from fallen_asleep’s death-euphemism 睡了 in 4:13-15 — an entirely different metaphor (moral complacency vs. physical death); never render both senses with identical unqualified wording.
Meeting The Lord
Approved rendering: 迎見
Transliteration: jing4 gin3
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 見 (generic ‘meet’, loses the ceremonial royal-welcome sense)
Original: ἀπάντησις (τοῦ κυρίου)
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 4:17. Formal, ceremonial going-out to receive and escort home an arriving king, applied to Christ’s return; preserve the reception nuance without importing modern political-loyalty overtones given Hong Kong’s political sensitivities.
Blameless
Approved rendering: 無可指摘
Transliteration: mou4 ho2 zi2 zaak3
Doctrine: Sanctification / Holiness of Life
Original: ἀμέμπτως
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Occurs 2:10, 3:13, 5:23.
Trumpet Of God
Approved rendering: 神嘅號筒
Transliteration: san4 ge3 hou6 tung2
Doctrine: The Return of Christ (imagery)
Rejected alternatives: ritual gong/bell used to summon deities at Hong Kong temples
Original: σάλπιγξ θεοῦ
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 4:16. OT theophany/covenant-assembly imagery (Sinai, Joel, Zechariah), not a folk-ritual instrument.
Command Shout
Approved rendering: 命令嘅呼聲
Transliteration: ming6 ling6 ge3 fu1 sing1
Doctrine: The Return of Christ (imagery)
Rejected alternatives: a softened, gentle ‘call’ that loses the sense of sovereign, authoritative summons
Original: κέλευσμα
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 4:16. Imagery of a general’s battlefield command or ship-captain’s call; must not be softened.
False Security
Approved rendering: 平安同穩妥
Transliteration: ping4 on1 tung4 wan2 to5
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord
NEW. Occurs 5:3, ‘while people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come.’ This is an IRONIC use of the peace concept describing unbelievers’ false confidence immediately before judgment; must be flagged with a translator note so it is not misread as endorsing that false peace, distinct from the genuine relational peace with God at 1:1 and 5:23.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: 感恩
Transliteration: gam2 jan1
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία / εὐχαριστέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. 1:2, 5:18.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: 預言
Transliteration: jyu6 jin4
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy / Spiritual Gifts and Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 求籤, 睇風水擇日
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; contextually elevated to Medium attention in this book. 5:20, ‘do not despise prophecies.‘
Exhort
Approved rendering: 勸勉
Transliteration: hyun3 min5
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. 2:12, 3:2, 4:1, 4:10, 4:18, 5:11, 5:14. In 4:18 the comfort/console sense dominates (‘comfort one another with these words’); distinct from 警戒 (νουθετέω, ‘admonish’, see new entry below) — the two Greek verbs must not be collapsed into one Cantonese word.
Apostle
Approved rendering: 使徒
Transliteration: si2 tou4
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: 風水師, 大師
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. 1:1, 2:6.
Endurance
Approved rendering: 忍耐
Transliteration: jan2 noi6
Doctrine: Hope in Grief
Rejected alternatives: 消極忍受 (passive resignation)
Original: ὑπομονή
Category: Faith
NEW. Occurs 1:3. Active, hope-fueled perseverance under trial, not mere passive resignation. Alternative form: 堅忍.
Deceit And Error
Approved rendering: 詭詐 / 錯謬
Transliteration: gwai2 zaa3 / co3 mau6
Doctrine: Gospel Integrity
Original: δόλος / πλάνη
Category: Gospel
NEW. Occurs 2:3. General moral vocabulary contrasted with Paul’s genuine gospel motives; no significant cultural collision, keep consistent across occurrences.
Persecute
Approved rendering: 迫害
Transliteration: baak3 hoi6
Doctrine: Suffering and Affliction
Original: διώκω
Category: Church
NEW. Occurs 2:15.
Brotherly Love
Approved rendering: 弟兄相愛
Transliteration: dai6 hing1 soeng1 oi3
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Original: φιλαδελφία
Category: Church
NEW. Occurs 4:9.
Taught By God
Approved rendering: 神所教導嘅
Transliteration: san4 so2 gaau3 dou6 ge3
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: θεοδίδακτος
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Occurs 4:9, describing brotherly love as directly taught by God.
Sober
Approved rendering: 謹守
Transliteration: gan2 sau2
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord
Original: νήφω
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 5:6, 5:8.
Sons Of Light
Approved rendering: 光明之子
Transliteration: gwong1 ming4 zi1 zi2
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord
Original: υἱοὶ φωτός
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 5:5. Contrastive with 黑暗/夜晚.
Admonish
Approved rendering: 警戒
Transliteration: ging2 gaai3
Doctrine: Mutual Edification and Admonition
Original: νουθετέω
Category: Church
NEW. Occurs 5:12, 5:14. Distinct in nuance from 勸勉 (exhort/comfort); the two Greek verbs must not be collapsed into one Cantonese word across the curriculum.
Unruly
Approved rendering: 不守規矩嘅人
Transliteration: bat1 sau2 kwai1 geoi2 ge3 jan4
Doctrine: Mutual Edification and Admonition
Original: ἄτακτοι
Category: Church
NEW. Occurs 5:14. General community-order sense of 規矩, distinct from baseline’s caution against using 規矩 for 律法/Mosaic Law.
Archangel
Approved rendering: 天使長
Transliteration: tin1 si3 zoeng2
Doctrine: The Return of Christ (imagery)
Original: ἀρχάγγελος
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 4:16.
Birth Pains
Approved rendering: 生產嘅陣痛
Transliteration: sang1 caan2 ge3 zan6 tung3
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord (imagery)
NEW. Occurs 5:3. Plain metaphor for the sudden, inescapable onset of judgment.
Thief In The Night
Approved rendering: 賊喺夜晚
Transliteration: caak2 hai2 je6 maan5
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord (imagery)
NEW. Occurs 5:2. Plain metaphor for suddenness/unpredictability; no significant cultural collision.
Referenced passages