Core Glossary
Core Glossary — 1 Timothy — English → Cantonese
Purpose and Usage Notes
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, across all six chapters of 1 Timothy, into a single reference table organized by risk tier (consistent with the baseline Romans Language Package’s four-tier convention: Critical / High / Medium / Low).
Baseline reuse enforcement: Terms marked “Y” in the Baseline Reuse column MUST use the exact Cantonese rendering recorded in the baseline translation_memory.json. No deviation is permitted, per the hard rule governing this project.
New terms: Terms marked “N” are proposed additions for this curriculum, consistent with the baseline’s risk-tiering method and Hong Kong cultural-collision analysis. These are recommended for formal addition to an updated translation_memory.json in a subsequent step; until then, they should be treated as provisionally binding within the 1 Timothy curriculum for internal consistency.
Named curriculum doctrines (per the Phase 1 parameters) are cross-referenced in the Notes column where a term is a primary anchor term for one of the eight named doctrines:
- Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
- Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
- Christ as the One Mediator
- Public Worship and Prayer
- The Church as Pillar of Truth
- Godliness and Contentment
- Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
- Guarding the Deposit of Faith
CRITICAL Risk Tier
Human theologian review required for every occurrence.
| # | English Term | Greek / Transliteration | Cantonese Rendering (Jyutping) | Chapter(s) | Baseline Reuse | Named Doctrine | Collision / Risk Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | God | θεός / theos | 神 (san4) | 1-6 | Y | — | Baseline: never 天主 or 上帝; Protestant-curriculum consistency term. |
| 2 | Jesus | Ἰησοῦς / Iēsous | 耶穌 (je4 sou1) | 1-6 | Y | — | Standard baseline transliteration. |
| 3 | Christ | Χριστός / Christos | 基督 (gei1 duk1) | 1-6 | Y | — | Baseline: never conflate with Maitreya (彌勒) or wish-granting temple deities. |
| 4 | Lord | κύριος / kyrios | 主 (zyu2) | 1,6 | Y | — | Baseline: never 事頭 or 老爺; exclusive supreme Lordship. |
| 5 | Grace | χάρις / charis | 恩典 (jan1 din2) | 1,6 | Y | — | Baseline: never frame as reciprocal temple-vow favor (Wong Tai Sin paradigm). Opens and closes the letter (1:2; 6:21). |
| 6 | Faith (personal trust) | πίστις / pistis | 信心 (seon3 sam1) | 1,3 (v.13),6 | Y | — | Baseline sense only — personal trust in Christ. Must be distinguished from the “body of doctrine” sense of πίστις; see #34 below. |
| 7 | Salvation | σωτηρία / sōtēria | 救恩 (gau3 jan1) | 1,2 | Y | — | Baseline: never 解脫, 超度, or Guanyin’s epithet. |
| 8 | Righteousness | δικαιοσύνη / dikaiosynē | 義 (ji6) | 6 (v.11, virtue list) | Y | — | Baseline: flag distinguishing forensic-standing sense from Cantonese loyalty-honor idiom (義氣) whenever used; here in a virtue-pursuit list, a related but distinct sense from Romans’ forensic-justification usage — flag the difference in teaching notes. |
| 9 | Holy Spirit | πνεῦμα ἅγιον / pneuma hagion | 聖靈 (sing3 ling4) | 3 (v.16),4 | Y | — | Baseline: never 靈 alone; never confuse with deceiving spirits (πλάνα πνεύματα, #17 below) or δαιμόνιον (#18). |
| 10 | Incarnation | ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί / ephanerōthē en sarki | 道成肉身 (dou6 sing4 juk6 san1) | 3 (v.16) | Y | Church as Pillar of Truth (hymn content) | Baseline: never 化身 or 顯靈. Direct textual anchor in the Christ-hymn (3:16). |
| 11 | Mediator | μεσίτης / mesitēs | 中保 (zung1 bou2) | 2 | N | Christ as the One Mediator | New Critical term. Never apply to: spirit-medium (問米), ancestor-tablet ritual access, Guanyin/temple-deity intercession, or (in ecumenical comparison) Catholic intercession of Mary/saints. “One” (εἷς) must be rendered emphatically: 只有一個中保. |
| 12 | Ransom | ἀντίλυτρον / antilytron | 贖價 (suk6 gaa3) | 2 | N | Christ as the One Mediator | New High/Critical term (escalated to Critical given direct atonement-doctrine link). Never frame as a criminal kidnap ransom (贖金) or a temple vow-fulfillment payment (還神還願). |
| 13 | Savior | σωτήρ / sōtēr | 救主 (gau3 zyu2) | 1,2,4 | N | — | New Critical term, functionally paired with baseline’s 救恩. Never explained via Guanyin’s “greatly compassionate, saving from suffering” epithet. |
| 14 | Justification (soteriological, believers) | δικαίωσις-family / δικαιόω | 稱義 (cing1 ji6) | (cross-reference only; not directly occurring as a soteriological term in 1 Timothy, but essential for disambiguating #15) | Y | — | Baseline term; reserved exclusively for a believer’s forensic declaration of righteousness. Must NOT be used for Christ’s own vindication (see #15). |
| 15 | ”Vindicated/justified in the Spirit” (of Christ) | ἐδικαιώθη ἐν πνεύματι / edikaiōthē en pneumati | 被聖靈證實 (bei6 sing3 ling4 zing3 sat6) | 3 (v.16) | N | Church as Pillar of Truth (hymn) | Deliberately NOT 稱義 (#14). Christ-hymn clause describing Christ’s own vindication by the Spirit, a distinct theological category from a sinner’s justification by faith. |
| 16 | Mystery (of the faith / of godliness) | μυστήριον / mystērion | 奧祕 (ou3 bei3) | 3 (vv.9,16) | N | Sound Doctrine; Church as Pillar of Truth | Never suggest esoteric occult secret-knowledge (feng shui secrets 風水秘訣, divination arts); a formerly-hidden, now openly-revealed truth. |
| 17 | Deceiving spirits | πλάνα πνεύματα / plana pneumata | 迷惑人嘅邪靈 (mai4 waak6 jan4 ge3 ce4 ling4) | 4 | N | Sound Doctrine vs. False Teaching | Must never be confused with 聖靈 (#9); source of the doctrines of demons (#18). |
| 18 | Demons / doctrines of demons | δαιμόνιον / daimonion | 鬼魔 (gwai2 mo1) | 4 | N | Sound Doctrine vs. False Teaching | Must be distinguished from ancestral spirits (祖先), Hungry Ghost Festival spirits (盂蘭節), spirit-medium consultation (問米), and generic Cantonese ghost-story folklore (鬼故) — names evil spiritual beings opposed to God, not any of these folk categories. |
| 19 | Devil (personal, “the devil”) | διάβολος (with article) / ho diabolos | 魔鬼 (mo1 gwai2) | 3 (vv.6-7) | N | Qualifications for Church Leadership | FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION TRAP: the identical Greek word διάβολος recurs in 3:11 with the ordinary meaning “slanderer” (of women) and must there be rendered 講人是非嘅人/詆謗者, NOT 魔鬼. Confusing the two senses produces a serious mistranslation. |
| 20 | The Deposit (of faith) | παραθήκη / parathēkē | 所託付嘅（信仰／道理） (so2 tok3 fu6 ge3) | 6 (v.20) | N | Guarding the Deposit of Faith | Never a returnable financial security deposit (按金/押金) nor a votive object deposited before a temple deity (寄託/許願); the apostolic gospel content entrusted for faithful guarding and transmission. Anchors a named curriculum doctrine. |
| 21 | King of kings, Lord of lords | βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων καὶ κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων | 萬王之王，萬主之主 (maan6 wong4 zi1 wong4, maan6 zyu2 zi1 zyu2) | 6 (v.15) | N | — | Escalation of baseline’s Critical Lordship-of-Christ doctrine. Must remain exclusively doctrinal; extreme care given Hong Kong political sensitivities around sovereignty language (per baseline’s existing Romans 13/14 guidance). |
| 22 | Overseer / Bishop | ἐπίσκοπος / episkopos | 監督 (gaam1 duk1) | 3 (vv.1-2) | N | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Distinguish from secular “supervisor/inspector” sense and from the Anglican/Catholic diocesan-bishop office (主教); functionally the same office as πρεσβύτερος (#23) — see interpretive note. Core-passage anchor term. |
HIGH Risk Tier
Human theologian review required.
| # | English Term | Greek / Transliteration | Cantonese Rendering (Jyutping) | Chapter(s) | Baseline Reuse | Named Doctrine | Collision / Risk Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Elder | πρεσβύτερος / presbyteros | 長老 (zoeng2 lou5) | 3 (via ἐπίσκοπος equivalence), 5 | N | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Collides with clan/ancestral-hall age-based seniority governance; office defined by 1 Tim 3 qualifications, not age/lineage alone. Same office as ἐπίσκοπος — flag interpretive equivalence note. Also note 5:1’s generic (non-office) usage. |
| 24 | Deacon | διάκονος / diakonos | 執事 (zap1 si6) | 3 (vv.8-13) | N | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Distinguish from a temple or clan ancestral-hall administrative functionary role (廟／祠堂執事); biblically-defined church office of Spirit-empowered service. Core-passage anchor term. |
| 25 | Council/body of elders | πρεσβυτέριον / presbyterion | 長老團 (zoeng2 lou5 tyun4) | 4 (v.14) | N | Qualifications for Church Leadership | FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION: never 長老會, the standard Chinese/Cantonese denominational name for the Presbyterian Church. |
| 26 | Sound doctrine | διδασκαλία ὑγιαίνουσα / didaskalia hygiainousa | 純正嘅教義 (seon4 zing3 ge3 gaau3 ji6) | 1,4,6 | N | Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching | Retain the health/sickness metaphor’s force (contrast with νοσέω, #45); not “the Christian option” among plural religious choices — claims exclusive divine authority. |
| 27 | Teach a different/false doctrine | ἑτεροδιδασκαλέω / heterodidaskaleō | 教導異端 (gaau3 dou6 ji6 dyun1) | 1,6 | N | Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching | 異端 generically means “heresy” relative to any religious system’s own orthodoxy; anchor explicitly to deviation from the apostolic gospel deposit. |
| 28 | Godliness | εὐσέβεια / eusebeia | 敬虔 (ging3 kin4) | 2,3,4,6 (8 occurrences total) | N | Godliness and Contentment | Same collision class as baseline’s flagged 虔誠 (rejected for “faith”): risk of reading as generic religious piety toward any deity rather than specifically Christ-centered devotion. One of the letter’s most load-bearing terms — occurs 8 times. |
| 29 | Contentment | αὐτάρκεια / autarkeia | 知足 (zi1 zuk1) | 6 (v.6) | N | Godliness and Contentment | Extremely high cultural salience via the proverb 知足常樂; must be anchored to godliness/eternal perspective (6:6-8), not generic Daoist/Buddhist detachment pursued as its own virtue. |
| 30 | Widow | χήρα / chēra | 寡婦 (gwaa2 fu5) | 5 | N | Care for Widows and the Household of Faith | Contrast with clan/ancestral-hall widow-support (or marginalization) structures and Confucian widow-chastity ideology (守寡, 牌坊); church care is a distinct covenant-community obligation activated when family support is unavailable. |
| 31 | Filial repayment toward parents | ἀμοιβὴν ἀποδιδόναι τοῖς προγόνοις | 報答父母祖輩嘅養育之恩 | 5 (v.4) | N | Care for Widows and the Household of Faith | Rare point of genuine positive convergence with Confucian 孝/報答父母恩 concepts already otherwise flagged as collision risks elsewhere in the baseline — affirm the resonance while anchoring ultimate ground in εὐσεβεῖν (godliness) toward God. |
| 32 | Honor (esp. elder financial support) | τιμή (διπλῆς τιμῆς) / timē | 敬奉 (ging3 fung6) [elder-support context]; 尊敬 (zyun1 ging3) [general respect] | 5 (vv.3,17) | N | Qualifications for Church Leadership; Care for Widows | 敬奉 risks suggesting a religious offering to a deity/ancestor (敬奉祖先/敬奉神明); must clarify material support/remuneration honoring a human leader, not cultic veneration. |
| 33 | Exercise authority / domineer | αὐθεντέω / authenteō | 轄制 (hit3 zai3) [negative sense] or 掌管權柄 (zoeng2 gun2 kyun4 beng3) [neutral sense] | 2 (v.12) | N | — | Genuinely disputed lexical range among evangelical scholars; MUST be flagged for mandatory theologian review with alternative rendering recorded, not silently resolved. |
| 34 | ”The faith” (body of doctrine sense of πίστις) | πίστις / pistis (doctrinal sense) | 信仰 (seon3 jong6) | 3 (vv.9,11 “faithful”),4,6 | N (distinct sense from baseline #6) | Sound Doctrine; Guarding the Deposit of Faith | Distinct from [BASELINE #6 — 信心], the personal-trust sense. 1 Timothy uses πίστις in this “deposit of doctrine” sense repeatedly (1:19; 3:9; 4:1,6; 6:10,21); flag every occurrence for correct sense-selection. |
| 35 | Childbearing (2:15) | τεκνογονία / teknogonia | 生育 (sang1 juk6) | 2 (v.15) | N | — | Adjacent to Critical salvation-by-grace doctrine; must not imply works-based or gender-specific salvation. Flag for mandatory theologian review every occurrence. |
| 36 | Godliness as a means of gain (condemned) | πορισμὸν εἶναι τὴν εὐσέβειαν | 以為敬虔係生財之道 | 6 (v.5) | N | Sound Doctrine; Godliness and Contentment | Direct textual anchor for confronting the baseline’s flagged commercial-prosperity collision risk (福音/福 and Wong Tai Sin transactional-grace paradigm) — a natural, explicit teaching point. |
| 37 | Love of money / a root of all kinds of evils | φιλαργυρία, ῥίζα πάντων τῶν κακῶν | 貪財 (taam1 coi4); 各種罪惡嘅根源 (gok3 zung2 zeoi6 ok3 ge3 gan1 jyun4) | 3 (v.3, negated),6 (v.10) | N | Godliness and Contentment | Preserve “a root of various evils” (anarthrous Greek), avoid absolutizing to “THE one root of literally all evil”; direct relevance to Hong Kong’s commercial culture. |
| 38 | Universal scope (“all people”) | πᾶς ἄνθρωπος / pas anthrōpos | 所有人 (so2 jau5 jan4) | 2 (vv.1,4) | N (concept parallels baseline’s universal_scope_of_gospel) | Public Worship and Prayer | Must not be softened toward local/insider-outsider or social-hierarchy-graded reading, consistent with baseline’s existing High-risk universality flag. |
| 39 | Savior of all, especially believers | σωτὴρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων, μάλιστα πιστῶν | 尤其係啲信嘅人 (qualifying phrase; paired with #13 救主) | 4 (v.10) | N | — | Retain the qualifying phrase in full; adjacency to Critical salvation/election doctrines requires careful non-universalist, non-contradictory handling. |
| 40 | Pillar (of the truth) | στῦλος / stylos | 柱石 (cyu5 sek6) | 3 (v.15) | N | The Church as Pillar of Truth | Anchor metaphor for named doctrine; minor feng shui structural-pillar association risk, anchor clearly to truth-upholding function. |
| 41 | Household of God | οἶκος θεοῦ / oikos theou | 神嘅家 (san4 ge3 gaa1) | 3 (v.15),4-5 (household concept) | N | The Church as Pillar of Truth; Care for Widows | Positive resonance with Cantonese extended-family/clan instincts, but must be clarified as spiritual family in Christ, not biological/ancestor-linked clan household. |
| 42 | Manifested in flesh (see also #10 Incarnation) | ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί | 顯現喺肉身 (hin2 jin6 hai2 juk6 san1) | 3 (v.16) | Y (via 道成肉身) | Church as Pillar of Truth | Cross-listed with #10; never 化身 or 顯靈. |
MEDIUM Risk Tier
Native speaker review recommended.
| # | English Term | Greek / Transliteration | Cantonese Rendering (Jyutping) | Chapter(s) | Baseline Reuse | Named Doctrine | Collision / Risk Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | Church | ἐκκλησία / ekklēsia | 教會 (gaau3 wui2) | 3,5 | Y | Church as Pillar of Truth | Baseline: never 廟 or 祠堂. |
| 44 | Law | νόμος / nomos | 律法 (leot6 faat3) | 1 | Y | — | Baseline term, High in Romans context; retained Medium-High relevance here as background for sound-doctrine discussion. |
| 45 | Sin / sinner | ἁμαρτία, ἁμαρτωλός / hamartia, hamartōlos | 罪, 罪人 (zeoi6, zeoi6 jan4) | 1 | Y | — | Baseline term. |
| 46 | Peace | εἰρήνη / eirēnē | 平安 (ping4 on1) | 1 | Y | — | Baseline term. |
| 47 | Glory | δόξα / doxa | 榮耀 (wing4 jiu6) | 1,3 (v.16) | Y | — | Baseline term. |
| 48 | Prophecy | προφητεία / prophēteia | 預言 (jyu6 jin4) | 4 (v.14) | Y | — | Baseline term. |
| 49 | Intercession | ἔντευξις / enteuxis | 代求 (doi6 kau4) | 2 (v.1) | Y | Public Worship and Prayer | Baseline term. |
| 50 | Thanksgiving | εὐχαριστία / eucharistia | 感恩 (gam2 jan1) | 2 (v.1) | Y | Public Worship and Prayer | Baseline term. |
| 51 | Spiritual gift (singular) | χάρισμα / charisma | 恩賜 (jan1 ci3) | 4 (v.14) | Y (concept) | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Never 神通 or 法力, per baseline. |
| 52 | Apostle | ἀπόστολος / apostolos | 使徒 (si2 tou4) | 1,2 | Y | — | Baseline term. |
| 53 | Mercy | ἔλεος / eleos | 憐憫 (lin4 man5) | 1 (v.2) | N | — | Distinguish from Guanyin’s popular 慈悲 epithet already flagged under baseline’s “salvation.” |
| 54 | Conscience | συνείδησις / syneidēsis | 良心 (loeng4 sam1) | 1,3 (v.9),4 | N | Sound Doctrine; Qualifications for Church Leadership | Distinguish from innate Confucian moral sense; conscience rightly calibrated by gospel truth. |
| 55 | Prayer (general) | προσευχή / proseuchē | 禱告 (tou2 gou3) | 2 (v.1) | N | Public Worship and Prayer | Distinguish from temple fortune-stick petitions (求籤), incense offerings (上香), Buddhist chanting (誦經). |
| 56 | Myths | μῦθος / mythos | 無稽之談 (mou4 kai1 zi1 taam4) | 1,4 | N | Sound Doctrine vs. False Teaching | Never 神話 (would embed 神 and risk association with actual folk-deity legends, e.g. Wong Tai Sin origin stories). |
| 57 | Genealogies | γενεαλογία / genealogia | 族譜 (zuk6 pou2) | 1 | N | Sound Doctrine vs. False Teaching | Note the positive cultural weight of clan genealogical records in Pearl River Delta culture; text condemns speculative myth-making, not genealogy itself. |
| 58 | Truth | ἀλήθεια / alētheia | 真理 (zan1 lei5) | 3 (v.15) | N | The Church as Pillar of Truth | Anchor to God’s revealed truth in the gospel, not one truth-claim among many in a pluralistic religious marketplace. |
| 59 | Foundation/support | ἑδραίωμα / hedraiōma | 根基 (gan1 gei1) | 3 (v.15) | N | The Church as Pillar of Truth | Low-medium; paired metaphor with 柱石 (#40). |
| 60 | Sanctify (of food/objects) | ἁγιάζω / hagiazō | 藉住神嘅道同禱告成為潔淨嘅 | 4 (v.5) | N (distinct sense from baseline 成聖) | — | Distinguish from baseline’s person-directed moral sanctification (成聖); here an object set apart for right use through thanksgiving prayer. |
| 61 | Training/exercise (spiritual) | γυμνάζω, γυμνασία / gymnazō, gymnasia | 操練 (cou1 lin6) | 4 (vv.7-8) | N | Godliness and Contentment | Distinguish from martial-arts/qigong training regimens (baseline’s 修煉 caution under sanctification). |
| 62 | Hope | ἐλπίς / elpis | 盼望 (pong3 mong6) | 4 (v.10) | N | — | Distinguish from generic good-luck hope or fortune-stick-derived hope (求籤). |
| 63 | Laying on of hands | ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν / epithesis tōn cheirōn | 按手 (on3 sau2) | 4 (v.14),5 (v.22) | N | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Distinguish from folk-healing touch or qigong “energy transmission” imagery; symbolic commissioning act with prayer. |
| 64 | ”Widow indeed” | ὄντως χήρα / ontōs chēra | 真正嘅寡婦 (zan1 zing3 ge3 gwaa2 fu5) | 5 (vv.3,5,16) | N | Care for Widows and the Household of Faith | Distinguishes the specific object of church material care from widows with available family support. |
| 65 | Rebuke/reprove | ἐλέγχω / elenchō | 責備 (zaak3 bei6) | 5 (vv.1,20) | N | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Preserve differing registers (gentle appeal vs. public rebuke); correction aimed at restoration, not face-shaming. |
| 66 | Purity (personal integrity) | ἁγνός / hagnos | 純潔 (seon4 kit3) | 5 (v.22) | N (distinct sense from baseline 聖潔) | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Related but distinct from baseline’s 聖潔 (moral set-apartness); here personal relational integrity in exercising ordaining authority. |
| 67 | Slave/bondservant; master | δοῦλος, δεσπότης | 奴僕 (nou4 buk6); 主人 (zyu2 jan4) | 6 (vv.1-2) | N | — | Requires sensitive contemporary application given Hong Kong’s foreign domestic helper employment context; avoid endorsing chattel slavery or flattened literal social transposition. |
| 68 | Sick/obsessed with controversy | νοσέω περὶ ζητήσεις | 沉迷爭論到病態嘅程度 | 6 (v.4) | N | Sound Doctrine vs. False Teaching | Preserve rhetorical health/sickness wordplay contrasting with διδασκαλία ὑγιαίνουσα (#26). |
| 69 | Good confession | ὁμολογία / homologia | 宣認 (syun1 jing6) | 6 (vv.12-13) | N | Christ as the One Mediator (Lordship link) | Distinguish from a temple vow/oath (許願/發誓); connect thematically to baseline’s Romans 10:9 “耶穌是主” confession. |
| 70 | Immortality / unapproachable light | ἀθανασία, φῶς ἀπρόσιτον | 不朽 (bat1 nau2); 無人能夠接近嘅光 | 6 (v.16) | N | — | Retain exclusivist doxological force; avoid Daoist-immortal (神仙) resonance if decontextualized. |
| 71 | Rich / uncertain riches / generous | πλούσιος, πλοῦτος ἄδηλος, εὐμετάδοτος, κοινωνικός | 富足, 唔可靠嘅財富, 樂於分享 | 6 (vv.17-19) | N | Godliness and Contentment | κοινωνικός distinct sense from baseline’s 團契 (κοινωνία); high contemporary relevance to Hong Kong’s wealth-conscious culture. |
| 72 | False knowledge | γνῶσις ψευδώνυμος | 假稱為知識嘅學問 | 6 (v.20) | N | Sound Doctrine; Guarding the Deposit of Faith | May extend cautiously in teaching notes to esoteric divinatory systems (術數) claiming hidden knowledge, though immediate referent is a specific historical teaching movement. |
| 73 | Guard (the deposit) | φυλάσσω / phylassō | 謹守 (gan2 sau2) | 6 (v.20) | N | Guarding the Deposit of Faith | Active, vigilant protective care, not passive retention. |
| 74 | Satan | Σατανᾶς / Satanas | 撒但 (saat3 daan2) | 1 (v.20) | N (standard term, not in baseline list) | — | Keep distinct from generic Cantonese “ghost” folk categories; a specific personal spiritual adversary. |
LOW Risk Tier
Automated review sufficient.
| # | English Term | Greek / Transliteration | Cantonese Rendering (Jyutping) | Chapter(s) | Baseline Reuse | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | Trustworthy saying (formula) | πιστὸς ὁ λόγος | 這話是可信嘅 | 1,3,4 | N | Marks authoritative apostolic-tradition statements; minor risk if rendered like a folk-proverb introduction. |
| 76 | Above reproach / blameless | ἀνεπίλημπτος, ἀνέγκλητος | 無可指摘, 無可指控 | 3 (vv.2,10) | N | Not sinless perfection; no legitimate ground for accusation. |
| 77 | Husband of one wife | μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα | 只有一個妻子嘅丈夫 | 3 (vv.2,12) | N | Escalated to High above (#see High tier note); listed here for cross-reference completeness only — treat per High-tier guidance. |
| 78 | Sober-minded | νηφάλιος | 清醒 (cing1 sing2) | 3 (vv.2,11) | N | Literal and figurative clarity of mind. |
| 79 | Self-controlled | σώφρων, σωφροσύνη | 自律 (zi6 leot6) | 2,3 | N | Distinguish from meditative-cultivation self-mastery. |
| 80 | Respectable / orderly | κόσμιος | 端正 (dyun1 zing3) | 2,3 | N | Outward conduct reflecting inner discipline. |
| 81 | Hospitable | φιλόξενος | 好客 (hou2 haak3) | 3 (v.2) | N | Minor logistical note re: HK housing density. |
| 82 | Able to teach | διδακτικός | 善於教導 (sin6 jyu4 gaau3 dou6) | 3 (v.2) | N | Escalated to High above given direct doctrinal-competence link; listed here for completeness. |
| 83 | Not given to wine / not violent | πάροινος, πλήκτης | 酗酒, 好動武 | 3 (v.3) | N | Straightforward vice terms. |
| 84 | Gentle / peaceable | ἐπιεικής, ἄμαχος | 溫和, 唔好爭鬥 | 3 (v.3) | N | Straightforward virtue terms. |
| 85 | Manages household well | προΐστημι + οἶκος | 好好管理 | 3 (vv.4,12) | N | Domestic-leadership test qualification. |
| 86 | Dignity/seriousness | σεμνότης, σεμνός | 莊重 (zong1 zung6) | 2,3 | N | Weighty, respect-commanding demeanor. |
| 87 | New convert | νεόφυτος | 初信嘅人 (co1 seon3 ge3 jan4) | 3 (v.6) | N | About spiritual tenure/maturity, not chronological age. |
| 88 | Puffed up with conceit | τυφόω | 自高自大 | 3 (v.6) | N | Pride-related vice term. |
| 89 | Good testimony from outsiders | μαρτυρία καλή, οἱ ἔξωθεν | 好名聲, 教會以外嘅人 | 3 (v.7) | N | Distinguish from 面子 (face-preservation). |
| 90 | Double-tongued | δίλογος | 講一套做一套 | 3 (v.8) | N | Insincerity/inconsistency in speech to different hearers. |
| 91 | Greedy for [dishonest] gain | αἰσχροκερδής | 貪不義之財 | 3 (v.8) | N | Escalated to High above given financial-integrity stakes; listed here for completeness. |
| 92 | Tested/proved | δοκιμάζω | 先經考驗 (sin1 ging1 haau2 jim6) | 3 (v.10) | N | Character/competency examination over time, not divinatory testing. |
| 93 | Good standing | βαθμὸς καλός | 美好嘅地位 | 3 (v.13) | N | God-given spiritual standing, not social prestige/威水. |
| 94 | Boldness/confidence | παρρησία | 坦然無懼嘅信心 / 膽量 | 3 (v.13) | N | Gospel-rooted confidence flowing from Christ’s mediating work. |
| 95 | Example/pattern | τύπος | 榜樣 (bong2 joeng2) | 4 (v.12) | N | Straightforward. |
| 96 | Public reading of Scripture | ἀναγνώσις | 誦讀聖經 | 4 (v.13) | N | Worship-element vocabulary. |
| 97 | Progress/growth | προκοπή | 長進 (coeng4 zeon3) | 4 (v.15) | N | Ties personal growth to public credibility. |
| 98 | Two or three witnesses | δύο ἢ τριῶν μαρτύρων | 兩三個證人 | 5 (v.19) | N | OT judicial-corroboration standard, procedural fairness. |
| 99 | Food and covering | διατροφή, σκεπάσματα | 食物同遮蓋 | 6 (v.8) | N | Concrete content of biblical contentment. |
| 100 | Grace be with you (benediction) | χάρις μεθ᾽ ὑμῶν | 願恩典常與你哋同在 | 6 (v.21) | Y | Baseline 恩典 reused; bookends the letter with 1:2. |
Summary Statistics
| Risk Tier | Count | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 22 | Human theologian, every occurrence |
| High | 20 | Human theologian |
| Medium | 32 | Native speaker review recommended |
| Low | 26 | Automated review sufficient |
| Total glossary terms | 100 |
New terms proposed for formal addition to translation_memory.json: 74 (all entries marked “N” above). Recommend a dedicated Phase 1 Step 2/3 pass to formally merge these into an updated, version-incremented translation memory file before Phase 2 segment translation begins, per the existing Language Package’s “Translation Memory Load and Enforcement Instructions.”
Terms requiring mandatory sense-disambiguation flags within the same book (same Greek root, different senses requiring different Cantonese renderings depending on context):
- πίστις: personal trust (信心, baseline) vs. body of doctrine (信仰, new) — occurs in both senses within 1 Timothy itself.
- διάβολος: “the devil” (魔鬼) vs. common-noun “slanderer” (講人是非嘅人) — both senses occur within the same chapter (ch. 3).
- δικαιόω-family: believer’s justification (稱義, baseline) vs. Christ’s own vindication (被聖靈證實, new) — 3:16 requires the latter, never the former.
- ἁγιάζω/ἁγιασμός-family: person-directed moral sanctification (成聖, baseline) vs. object-directed consecration for use (4:5, new phrase) — distinct senses, same root.
- τιμή: simple respect (尊敬) vs. honor-inclusive-of-material-support (敬奉, elder context) — same word, different registers within ch. 5.
- πρεσβύτερος: formal office (長老) vs. generic “older man/woman” (5:1-2) — same word, must be disambiguated contextually.
Critical Risk Terms
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 baseline; enforced exactly. Bookends 1 Timothy (1:2; 6:21) — consistency between these two occurrences is mandatory. Never framed as Wong Tai Sin-style transactional favor.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: 義
Transliteration: ji6
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 道德, 善行
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package baseline. Also occurs in a virtue-pursuit list at 1 Timothy 6:11 — a related but distinct sense from forensic justification; flag distinguishing note (against 義氣 loyalty-idiom) in every context including this list usage.
Justification
Approved rendering: 稱義
Transliteration: cing1 ji6
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 修成正果, 還神還願
Inherited from Romans package baseline. Reserved exclusively for a believer’s forensic declaration of righteousness. Must NEVER be used for Christ’s own vindication at 1 Timothy 3:16 (see ‘vindicated_in_the_spirit’).
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 baseline. Central to 1 Timothy 1:15-16; 2:3-6; 4:10.
Lord
Approved rendering: 主
Transliteration: zyu2
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 事頭, 老爺
Original: κύριος
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package baseline. Escalated in 1 Timothy 6:15 to ‘Lord of lords’ — see ‘king_of_kings_lord_of_lords’.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: 道成肉身
Transliteration: dou6 sing4 juk6 san1
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: 化身, 顯靈
Original: ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package baseline. Direct textual anchor at 1 Timothy 3:16’s Christ-hymn opening line.
Jesus
Approved rendering: 耶穌
Transliteration: je4 sou1
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package baseline.
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 baseline. 1 Timothy’s stacked doxological titles (1:17; 6:15-16) reinforce exclusivity against Hong Kong’s plural deity landscape.
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 baseline. Must be kept sharply distinct from 1 Timothy 4:1’s ‘deceiving spirits’ (迷惑人嘅邪靈) and never confused with them.
Christ
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: God
Inherited from Romans package baseline. Central to the 3:16 Christ-hymn and the 2:5 Mediator passage.
Savior
Approved rendering: 救主
Transliteration: gau3 zyu2
Doctrine: Salvation and the Savior-God
Rejected alternatives: 大慈大悲救苦救難式嘅救主, 觀音式嘅救苦救難者
Original: σωτήρ
Category: God
New Critical term, functionally paired with the baseline’s 救恩. Used of God the Father (1:1; 2:3; 4:10). Must never be explained via Guanyin’s popular epithet 大慈大悲救苦救難.
King Of Kings Lord Of Lords
Approved rendering: 萬王之王，萬主之主
Transliteration: maan6 wong4 zi1 wong4, maan6 zyu2 zi1 zyu2
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 世界之王（過於一般化）
Original: βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων καὶ κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων
Category: God
New Critical term escalating the baseline’s Lordship-of-Christ doctrine to its most emphatic cosmic-sovereignty statement (6:15). Must remain exclusively doctrinal; extreme care given Hong Kong’s political sensitivities around sovereignty and loyalty language.
Mediator
Approved rendering: 中保
Transliteration: zung1 bou2
Doctrine: Christ as the One Mediator
Rejected alternatives: 問米, 中介人（世俗化嘅字眼）
Original: μεσίτης
Category: Christology
New Critical term anchoring the named doctrine. Never applied to a 問米 spirit-medium, ancestor-tablet ritual access, Guanyin/Wong Tai Sin intercession, or (in ecumenical comparison) the Catholic doctrine of Mary/the saints as intercessors. The numeral ‘one’ (εἷς) must be rendered emphatically: 只有一個中保 (2:5).
Ransom
Approved rendering: 贖價
Transliteration: suk6 gaa3
Doctrine: Christ as the One Mediator
Rejected alternatives: 贖金, 還神還願
Original: ἀντίλυτρον
Category: Christology
New term (2:6). Never a criminal kidnap-ransom (贖金, a scenario familiar from HK crime media) or a temple vow-fulfillment payment (還神還願); Christ’s self-giving satisfies God’s own righteous requirement, freely given by God himself.
Vindicated In The Spirit
Approved rendering: 被聖靈證實
Transliteration: bei6 sing3 ling4 zing3 sat6
Doctrine: Incarnation and the Christ-Hymn
Rejected alternatives: 稱義
Original: ἐδικαιώθη ἐν πνεύματι
Category: Christology
New term (3:16). Deliberately NOT 稱義, which is reserved exclusively for a believer’s forensic justification. Rendering this clause with 稱義 would wrongly imply Christ himself needed to be declared righteous as a sinner would.
Overseer
Approved rendering: 監督
Transliteration: gaam1 duk1
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: 主教, 監工
Original: ἐπίσκοπος
Category: Church Leadership
New Critical term, core-passage anchor (3:1-2). Distinguish from the secular ‘supervisor/inspector’ sense and from the Anglican/Catholic diocesan bishop office (主教); functionally the same office as 長老 (elder) — teach explicitly.
Mystery
Approved rendering: 奧祕
Transliteration: ou3 bei3
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching; The Church as Pillar of Truth
Rejected alternatives: 風水秘訣
Original: μυστήριον
Category: Sound Doctrine
New Critical term (3:9 ‘mystery of the faith’; 3:16 ‘mystery of godliness’). Must never suggest esoteric occult knowledge accessible only to initiated masters, paralleling feng shui secrets (風水秘訣) or divination arcana; the gospel mystery is now openly revealed to all.
Deceiving Spirits
Approved rendering: 迷惑人嘅邪靈
Transliteration: mai4 waak6 jan4 ge3 ce4 ling4
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and False Spirits
Rejected alternatives: 聖靈（絕對唔可以混淆）
Original: πλάνα πνεύματα
Category: Sound Doctrine
New Critical term (4:1). Must never be confused with the personal, divine Holy Spirit (聖靈); the root cause of the false teaching described, source of ‘doctrines of demons’.
Demons
Approved rendering: 鬼魔
Transliteration: gwai2 mo1
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and False Spirits
Rejected alternatives: 祖先靈, 盂蘭節嘅鬼, 問米嘅靈, 鬼故嘅鬼
Original: δαιμόνιον
Category: Sound Doctrine
New Critical term (4:1). Must be taught as naming evil spiritual beings actively opposed to God’s truth — NOT ancestral spirits honored at Ching Ming/Chung Yeung, NOT Hungry Ghost Festival (盂蘭節) spirits, NOT 問米-consulted spirits, and NOT folkloric/entertainment 鬼故 ghosts.
Devil
Approved rendering: 魔鬼
Transliteration: mo1 gwai2
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and False Spirits
Rejected alternatives: 鬼（一般化嘅鬼）
Original: διάβολος (with article, ὁ διάβολος)
Category: Sound Doctrine
New Critical term (3:6-7, ὁ διάβολος with article). FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION TRAP: the identical Greek word recurs in 3:11 as a common noun meaning ‘slanderer’ (of women) and must there be rendered 講人是非嘅人, NEVER 魔鬼.
Slanderer
Approved rendering: 講人是非嘅人
Transliteration: gong2 jan4 si6 fei1 ge3 jan4
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and False Spirits
Rejected alternatives: 魔鬼
Original: διάβολος (common noun, μὴ διαβόλους)
Category: Sound Doctrine
New Critical term (3:11, μὴ διαβόλους — the identical Greek word as ‘the devil’ in 3:6-7, here used as an ordinary common noun). Must NEVER be rendered 魔鬼; doing so would offensively imply the women in view are literally satanic. Mandatory theologian review every occurrence.
Deposit Of Faith
Approved rendering: 所託付嘅信仰
Transliteration: so2 tok3 fu6 ge3 seon3 jong6
Doctrine: Guarding the Deposit of Faith
Rejected alternatives: 按金, 押金, 寄託, 許願
Original: παραθήκη
Category: Sound Doctrine
New Critical term (6:20, παραθήκη). Never a returnable financial security deposit (按金/押金, heavily used in Hong Kong’s rental/property economy) nor a votive object deposited before a temple deity (寄託/許願); the apostolic gospel content entrusted for faithful guarding and transmission. Anchors a named curriculum doctrine.
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
Inherited from Romans package baseline. In 1 Timothy reserved strictly for the personal-trust sense of πίστις (e.g. 1:5,14,19; 3:13; 6:11-12). See ‘the_faith_body_of_doctrine’ below for the distinct doctrinal-deposit sense of πίστις, which must NOT use this rendering.
Law
Approved rendering: 律法
Transliteration: leot6 faat3
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 禮, 規矩, 法律
Original: νόμος
Category: Sound Doctrine
Inherited from Romans package baseline. Background for 1 Timothy 1:8-9’s discussion of the law’s proper use.
Sin
Approved rendering: 罪
Transliteration: zeoi6
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: 報應, 唔衰得
Inherited from Romans package baseline. 1 Timothy 1:9,15 — Christ’s mission is explicitly ‘to save sinners’ (罪人).
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 baseline. Named in 1 Timothy 1:2’s opening greeting.
Called
Approved rendering: 蒙召嘅
Transliteration: mung4 siu6 ge3
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: 天生註定, 命中注定
Inherited from Romans package baseline. Relevant to 1 Timothy 6:12 (‘the good confession… to which you were called’).
Exclusivist Doxology Of God
Approved rendering: 獨一嘅神，萬世嘅王，唔朽壞、睇唔見嘅神
Transliteration: duk6 jat1 ge3 san4, maan6 sai3 ge3 wong4, m4 nau2 waai6, tai2 m4 gin3 ge3 san4
Doctrine: Deity and Sovereignty of God
Original: μόνος θεός, βασιλεὺς τῶν αἰώνων, ἄφθαρτος, ἀόρατος
Category: God
New term (1:17). Stacked exclusivist titles must be preserved without softening, given Hong Kong’s plural religious landscape’s many honorific eternity/invisibility deity-descriptions.
Manifested In Flesh
Approved rendering: 顯現喺肉身
Transliteration: hin2 jin6 hai2 juk6 san1
Doctrine: Incarnation and the Christ-Hymn
Rejected alternatives: 化身, 顯靈
Original: ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί
Category: Christology
New term cross-listed with 道成肉身. The verb φανερόω itself must never render as 顯靈 or 化身 — the one, permanent, unique incarnation of the eternal Son, not a repeatable deity-appearance (3:16).
The Faith Body Of Doctrine
Approved rendering: 信仰
Transliteration: seon3 jong6
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching; Guarding the Deposit of Faith
Rejected alternatives: 信心（人格化信任嘅字眼，唔啱呢個意思）
Original: πίστις (doctrinal sense)
Category: Faith
New term. Distinct sense of πίστις — the deposit of apostolic doctrine, not personal trust (see baseline ‘faith’ = 信心). Occurs at 1:19; 3:9; 4:1,6; 6:10,21. Every occurrence must be sense-checked before rendering.
Childbearing
Approved rendering: 生育
Transliteration: sang1 juk6
Doctrine: Gender and Church Order in Worship
Rejected alternatives: 靠生仔得救（過度簡化、誤導嘅講法）
Original: τεκνογονία
Category: Salvation
New term (2:15). Sits directly adjacent to the Critical salvation-by-grace doctrine; must not imply a works-based or gender-specific means of salvation. Flag for mandatory theologian review every occurrence.
Savior Of All Especially Believers
Approved rendering: 萬人嘅救主，尤其係啲信嘅人嘅救主
Transliteration: maan6 jan4 ge3 gau3 zyu2, jau4 kei4 hai6 di1 seon3 ge3 jan4 ge3 gau3 zyu2
Doctrine: Salvation and the Savior-God
Original: σωτὴρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων, μάλιστα πιστῶν
Category: Salvation
New term (4:10). Full compound must be retained without abbreviation to preserve the universal/particular tension without lapsing into universalism or contradicting the Critical election doctrine.
Elder
Approved rendering: 長老
Transliteration: zoeng2 lou5
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: 族長, 鄉紳
Original: πρεσβύτερος
Category: Church Leadership
New term. Collides with clan/ancestral-hall age-based seniority governance; office defined by 1 Timothy 3’s qualifications, not age/lineage alone. The generic non-office usage in 5:1-2 (‘an older man/woman’) must be disambiguated from the formal-office usage in 5:17,19.
Deacon
Approved rendering: 執事
Transliteration: zap1 si6
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: 廟／祠堂執事
Original: διάκονος
Category: Church Leadership
New term, core-passage anchor (3:8-13). Distinguish from a temple or clan ancestral-hall administrative functionary role; a biblically-defined church office of Spirit-empowered service.
Council Of Elders
Approved rendering: 長老團
Transliteration: zoeng2 lou5 tyun4
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Ordination
Rejected alternatives: 長老會
Original: πρεσβυτέριον
Category: Church Leadership
New term (4:14). FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION: never render as 長老會, the standard Chinese/Cantonese denominational name for the Presbyterian Church — would wrongly suggest Timothy was ordained by ‘a Presbyterian Church’ body.
Husband Of One Wife
Approved rendering: 只有一個妻子嘅丈夫
Transliteration: zi2 jau5 jat1 go3 cai1 zi2 ge3 zoeng6 fu1
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: 對妻子忠誠嘅丈夫（只講忠誠，冇講婚姻歷史）, 忠於婚姻
Original: μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα / ἄνδρες
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:2,12). Must avoid a rendering read as endorsing concubinage-adjacent historical Cantonese/Pearl River Delta practice (legal until 1930 in China / 1971 in Hong Kong) as merely a numerical technicality; emphasis falls on marital faithfulness and singular devotion.
Able To Teach
Approved rendering: 善於教導
Transliteration: sin6 jyu4 gaau3 dou6
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: 識講嘢（過於一般化嘅溝通技巧）
Original: διδακτικός
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:2). The qualification most directly distinguishing the overseer from a merely respectable person; must not be softened to general communication skill divorced from doctrinal content.
Greedy For Dishonest Gain
Approved rendering: 貪不義之財
Transliteration: taam1 bat1 ji6 zi1 coi4
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: 貪財（過於一般化，失去咗『不義』語感）
Original: αἰσχροκερδής
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:8). Must retain the ‘shameful/dishonest’ nuance rather than being flattened to generic love-of-money (see ‘love_of_money’, ch.6); direct contemporary force given Hong Kong’s frequent financial-mismanagement scandal coverage in religious/charitable organizations.
Authenteo Exercise Authority
Approved rendering: 轄制（負面含義）／掌管權柄（中性含義）
Transliteration: hit3 zai3 / zoeng2 gun2 kyun4 beng3
Doctrine: Gender and Church Order in Worship
Original: αὐθεντέω
Category: Church Leadership
New term (2:12). Genuinely disputed lexical range among evangelical scholars themselves; must be flagged for mandatory theologian review with the alternative rendering explicitly recorded, never silently resolved.
Sound Doctrine
Approved rendering: 純正嘅教義
Transliteration: seon4 zing3 ge3 gaau3 ji6
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Rejected alternatives: 其中一個宗教選項嘅教義
Original: διδασκαλία ὑγιαίνουσα
Category: Sound Doctrine
New term (1:10; 4:6; 6:3). Must retain the health/sickness metaphor’s force; must not be framed as merely ‘the Christian option’ among Hong Kong’s plural religious-teaching marketplace — claims exclusive divine authority.
Teach A Different Doctrine
Approved rendering: 教導異端
Transliteration: gaau3 dou6 ji6 dyun1
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Original: ἑτεροδιδασκαλέω
Category: Sound Doctrine
New term (1:3; 6:3). 異端 can mean ‘heresy’ relative to any religious system’s own internal orthodoxy; must be anchored explicitly to deviation from the apostolic gospel deposit specifically.
All People Universal Scope
Approved rendering: 所有人
Transliteration: so2 jau5 jan4
Doctrine: Public Worship and Prayer
Original: πᾶς ἄνθρωπος
Category: Worship and Prayer
New term (2:1,4). Must not be softened toward any local/insider-outsider or social-hierarchy-graded reading, consistent with the baseline’s existing universality-preservation rule (Romans 3:23; 10:12-13).
Household Of God
Approved rendering: 神嘅家
Transliteration: san4 ge3 gaa1
Doctrine: The Church as Pillar of Truth; Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
Rejected alternatives: 祠堂／血緣家族
Original: οἶκος θεοῦ
Category: Ecclesiology
New term (3:15). Positively resonates with Hong Kong’s extended-family/clan instincts, but must be clarified as a spiritual family constituted by faith in Christ, not a biological/ancestor-linked clan household.
Pillar Of Truth
Approved rendering: 柱石
Transliteration: cyu5 sek6
Doctrine: The Church as Pillar of Truth
Rejected alternatives: 風水嘅結構柱
Original: στῦλος
Category: Ecclesiology
New term (3:15, στῦλος). Anchor metaphor for the named doctrine; minor feng shui structural/geomantic pillar-significance risk, must anchor clearly to the truth-upholding function.
Godliness
Approved rendering: 敬虔
Transliteration: ging3 kin4
Doctrine: Godliness and Contentment
Rejected alternatives: 虔誠（過於一般化）
Original: εὐσέβεια
Category: Godliness and Ethics
New term, occurs 8 times (2:2; 3:16; 4:7,8; 6:3,5,6,11) — one of the letter’s most load-bearing terms. Same collision class as the baseline’s rejected 虔誠 for ‘faith’: risks reading as generic religious piety toward any deity rather than Christ-centered devotion. Requires an object-of-reverence qualifier on first use per lesson unit.
Contentment
Approved rendering: 知足
Transliteration: zi1 zuk1
Doctrine: Godliness and Contentment
Rejected alternatives: 知足常樂式嘅道家超脫（脈絡缺失時）
Original: αὐτάρκεια
Category: Godliness and Ethics
New term (6:6, αὐτάρκεια). Extremely high cultural salience via the proverb 知足常樂 (common on calligraphy, shop signage throughout Hong Kong); must be anchored to godliness/eternal perspective (6:6-8), not generic Daoist/Buddhist detachment pursued for its own sake.
Godliness As Means Of Gain
Approved rendering: 以為敬虔係生財之道
Transliteration: ji5 wai4 ging3 kin4 hai6 sang1 coi4 zi1 dou6
Doctrine: Godliness and Contentment; Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Original: πορισμὸν εἶναι τὴν εὐσέβειαν
Category: Godliness and Ethics
New term (6:5). Direct, explicit denunciation of exactly the transactional view of religion already flagged in the baseline under ‘gospel’ and ‘grace’ (Wong Tai Sin paradigm) — a natural, textually-grounded teaching point for confronting Hong Kong’s commercial-prosperity religious culture.
Love Of Money
Approved rendering: 貪財
Transliteration: taam1 coi4
Doctrine: Godliness and Contentment; Stewardship of Wealth
Rejected alternatives: 各種罪惡嘅根源（配套片語，非取代詞）
Original: φιλαργυρία, ῥίζα πάντων τῶν κακῶν
Category: Godliness and Ethics
New term (3:3 negated as 唔貪財; 6:10, φιλαργυρία/ῥίζα πάντων τῶν κακῶν). Preserve ‘a root of various evils,’ resisting over-absolutization into ‘THE root of ALL evil’ (avoid the fixed idiom 萬惡之根 without a clarifying note); high contemporary relevance to Hong Kong’s commercial culture.
Widow
Approved rendering: 寡婦
Transliteration: gwaa2 fu5
Doctrine: Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
Rejected alternatives: 受清譽表彰嘅守寡（避免將教會關懷等同於宗族名節模式）
Original: χήρα
Category: Family and Household
New term (5:3-16). Must be taught against the backdrop of traditional Pearl River Delta clan culture, where widow support was handled entirely within clan/ancestral-hall structures, and where a widow’s continued chastity (守寡) was historically prized, sometimes commemorated with a chastity memorial arch (牌坊). The church’s care model is a distinct, gospel-grounded covenant-community obligation.
Filial Repayment
Approved rendering: 報答父母祖輩嘅養育之恩
Transliteration: bou3 daap3 fu6 mou5 zou2 pui2 ge3 joeng5 juk6 zi1 jan1
Doctrine: Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
Original: εὐσεβεῖν τὸν ἴδιον οἶκον, ἀμοιβὴν ἀποδιδόναι τοῖς προγόνοις
Category: Family and Household
New term (5:4). A rare point of genuine positive convergence with the Confucian concept of 孝/報答父母恩, deeply embedded in Cantonese family ethics — affirm the resonance while anchoring the ultimate ground in godliness (εὐσεβεῖν) directed first toward God, not filial duty as an end in itself.
Honor Material Support
Approved rendering: 敬奉（長老供奉語境）；尊敬（一般尊重語境）
Transliteration: ging3 fung6; zyun1 ging3
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons); Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
Rejected alternatives: 敬奉祖先／敬奉神明（宗教獻祭語感）
Original: τιμή, διπλῆς τιμῆς
Category: Family and Household
New term (5:3,17-18, τιμή/διπλῆς τιμῆς). 敬奉 risks suggesting a religious offering to a deity/ancestor; must be clarified as material support/remuneration honoring a human leader for labor, explicitly not cultic veneration.
Medium Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: 福音
Transliteration: fuk1 jam1
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: 好消息, 喜訊
Inherited from Romans package baseline; enforced exactly, no modification. Relevant to 1 Timothy 1:11 (‘the glorious gospel of the blessed God’).
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: Worship and Prayer
Inherited from Romans package baseline. Part of 1 Timothy 1:2’s opening greeting triad.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: 屬靈恩賜
Transliteration: suk6 ling4 jan1 ci3
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts
Rejected alternatives: 法力, 神通
Inherited from Romans package baseline (plural concept). See ‘spiritual_gift’ below for the singular application at 1 Timothy 4:14.
Church
Approved rendering: 教會
Transliteration: gaau3 wui2
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: 廟, 祠堂
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Ecclesiology
Inherited from Romans package baseline. 1 Timothy 3:5,15 adds the possessive ‘of God’/‘of the living God,’ reinforcing divine ownership.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: 外邦人
Transliteration: ngoi6 bong1 jan4
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: 外江佬, 鄉下人
Inherited from Romans package baseline. In 1 Timothy 3:16’s Christ-hymn (‘proclaimed among the nations’), render contextually as 萬國/列邦 rather than 外邦人, since the hymn line is a positive missionary statement, not a Jew/Gentile distinction; flag for native speaker review on register.
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 baseline. Closes the 1:17 doxology and the 3:16 Christ-hymn (‘taken up in glory’).
Prophecy
Approved rendering: 預言
Transliteration: jyu6 jin4
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 求籤, 睇風水擇日
Original: προφητεία
Category: Ministry and Gifts
Inherited from Romans package baseline. Accompanies Timothy’s ordination (4:14); also guided Timothy’s calling (1:18).
Intercession
Approved rendering: 代求
Transliteration: doi6 kau4
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Rejected alternatives: 求籤代辦, 問米
Original: ἔντευξις
Category: Worship and Prayer
Inherited from Romans package baseline. Part of 1 Timothy 2:1’s four-fold prayer vocabulary.
Mercy
Approved rendering: 憐憫
Transliteration: lin4 man5
Doctrine: Grace toward the Worst of Sinners
Rejected alternatives: 慈悲
Original: ἔλεος
Category: God
New term. Part of 1 Timothy 1:2’s opening greeting triad (grace, mercy, peace). Must be distinguished from the Buddhist compassion concept 慈悲 attached to Guanyin’s popular epithet, already flagged in the baseline under ‘salvation.‘
Immortality Unapproachable Light
Approved rendering: 不朽；無人能夠接近嘅光
Transliteration: bat1 nau2; mou4 jan4 nang4 gau3 zip3 gan6 ge3 gwong1
Doctrine: Deity and Sovereignty of God
Rejected alternatives: 神仙式嘅不死
Original: ἀθανασία, φῶς ἀπρόσιτον
Category: God
New term (6:16). Must retain exclusivist doxological force; avoid Daoist-immortal (神仙) resonance if decontextualized from its worship-directed function.
Good Confession
Approved rendering: 宣認
Transliteration: syun1 jing6
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 許願, 發誓
Original: ὁμολογία, ὁμολογέω
Category: Christology
New term (6:12-13). Distinguish from a temple vow/oath (許願/發誓); thematically connects to the baseline’s Romans 10:9 ‘耶穌是主’ salvation confession model.
Hope
Approved rendering: 盼望
Transliteration: pong3 mong6
Doctrine: Salvation and the Savior-God
Rejected alternatives: 求籤得嚟嘅好運, 好運
Original: ἐλπίς
Category: Faith
New term (4:10). Distinguish from generic good-luck hope or hope derived from drawing a temple fortune-stick (求籤); biblical hope rests on God’s proven character and promise.
Above Reproach
Approved rendering: 無可指摘；無可指控
Transliteration: mou4 ho2 zi2 zaak3; mou4 ho2 zi2 hung3
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: 完美無瑕（暗示無罪嘅完美主義）
Original: ἀνεπίλημπτος, ἀνέγκλητος
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:2,10). Not sinless perfection; distinguish from a face-preserving reputation standard (面子) — actual moral integrity, not appearance-management.
Self Controlled
Approved rendering: 自律
Transliteration: zi6 leot6
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: 修煉
Original: σώφρων, σωφροσύνη
Category: Church Leadership
New term (2:9,15; 3:2). Distinguish from Daoist/Buddhist self-restraint attained through meditative cultivation (修煉); Spirit-enabled moral discipline, not a technique of spiritual attainment.
Manages Household Well
Approved rendering: 好好管理家庭
Transliteration: hou2 hou2 gun2 lei5 gaa1 ting4
Doctrine: Household Ethics and Family Duty
Rejected alternatives: 管教有威權嘅家長式管理
Original: προΐστημι + οἶκος
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:4-5,12). Should not be read as demanding a Confucian patriarchal household-control model for its own sake; the point is a demonstrated pattern of trustworthy, loving leadership.
New Convert
Approved rendering: 初信嘅人
Transliteration: co1 seon3 ge3 jan4
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: 後生仔（年齡導向，錯誤）
Original: νεόφυτος
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:6). About spiritual tenure/maturity, not chronological age; conflating the two risks reinforcing a Confucian age-based-seniority reading of leadership qualification.
Good Testimony From Outsiders
Approved rendering: 好名聲
Transliteration: hou2 ming4 sing1
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: 面子
Original: μαρτυρία καλή, οἱ ἔξωθεν
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:7). Must be distinguished from 面子 (face/social reputation-management); genuine God-honoring integrity recognized by outsiders, not strategic face-preservation.
Tested And Proved
Approved rendering: 先經考驗
Transliteration: sin1 ging1 haau2 jim6
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: 求籤
Original: δοκιμάζω, ἀνέγκλητος
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:10). Must not be confused with fortune-telling ‘testing’ practices (e.g. 求籤); character/competency examination by the church over time, not divination.
Good Standing
Approved rendering: 美好嘅地位
Transliteration: mei5 hou2 ge3 dei6 wai6
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: 威水
Original: βαθμὸς καλός
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:13). Must not import 面子/status-climbing connotations (avoid 威水 ‘impressive/flashy success’); God-given spiritual standing, not social prestige.
Boldness
Approved rendering: 坦然無懼嘅信心
Transliteration: taan2 jin4 mou4 geoi6 ge3 seon3 sam1
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Original: παρρησία
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:13, παρρησία). Should not be confused with worldly boldness/assertiveness; gospel-rooted confidence flowing from Christ’s mediating work (2:5).
Laying On Of Hands
Approved rendering: 按手
Transliteration: on3 sau2
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Ordination
Rejected alternatives: 氣功『運氣』式嘅按手
Original: ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν
Category: Church Leadership
New term (4:14; 5:22). Must be distinguished from folk-healing hand-touch practices or martial-arts/qigong ‘energy transmission’ imagery; a symbolic commissioning act with prayer, not a channel of mystical power transfer.
Rebuke
Approved rendering: 責備
Transliteration: zaak3 bei6
Doctrine: Church Discipline
Rejected alternatives: 當眾令人冇面嘅羞辱
Original: ἐλέγχω
Category: Church Leadership
New term (5:1,20). Preserve differing registers (gentle appeal vs. public rebuke); correction aimed at restoration, not face-shaming (面子) denunciation.
Purity Personal Integrity
Approved rendering: 純潔
Transliteration: seon4 kit3
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Original: ἁγνός
Category: Church Leadership
New term (5:22). Related to but distinct from the baseline’s 聖潔 (holy, moral set-apartness); here personal relational integrity in exercising ordaining authority.
Myths
Approved rendering: 無稽之談
Transliteration: mou4 kai1 zi1 taam4
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Rejected alternatives: 神話
Original: μῦθος
Category: Sound Doctrine
New term (1:4; 4:7). Must never be rendered 神話, which embeds 神 and risks association with actual folk-deity origin legends (e.g. Wong Tai Sin’s).
Genealogies
Approved rendering: 族譜
Transliteration: zuk6 pou2
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Original: γενεαλογία
Category: Sound Doctrine
New term (1:4). Pearl River Delta clan culture places high positive value on 族譜; the text condemns speculative myth-making attached to genealogies, not genealogy itself.
False Knowledge
Approved rendering: 假稱為知識嘅學問
Transliteration: gaa2 cing1 wai4 zi1 sik1 ge3 hok6 man6
Doctrine: Guarding the Deposit of Faith
Rejected alternatives: 術數
Original: γνῶσις ψευδώνυμος
Category: Sound Doctrine
New term (6:20). May be cautiously extended in teaching notes to esoteric ‘special knowledge’ systems (feng shui, divinatory arts 術數), though the immediate historical referent is a specific first-century teaching movement.
Sick With Controversy
Approved rendering: 沉迷爭論到病態嘅程度
Transliteration: cam4 mai4 zaang1 leon6 dou3 beng6 taai3 ge3 cing4 dou6
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Original: νοσέω περὶ ζητήσεις
Category: Sound Doctrine
New term (6:4, νοσέω). Preserve the rhetorical health/sickness wordplay contrasting with 純正嘅教義 (1:10; 4:6; 6:3).
Guard
Approved rendering: 謹守
Transliteration: gan2 sau2
Doctrine: Guarding the Deposit of Faith
Original: φυλάσσω
Category: Sound Doctrine
New term (6:20, φυλάσσω). Active, vigilant protective care, not passive retention.
Conscience
Approved rendering: 良心
Transliteration: loeng4 sam1
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching; Qualifications for Church Leadership
Original: συνείδησις
Category: Sound Doctrine
New term (1:5,19; 3:9; 4:2). Must clarify this is conscience rightly calibrated by the gospel and Scripture, not merely an innate Confucian moral sense.
Satan
Approved rendering: 撒但
Transliteration: saat3 daan2
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and False Spirits
Rejected alternatives: 鬼故嘅鬼
Original: Σατανᾶς
Category: Sound Doctrine
New term (1:20). Standard transliteration; must be kept distinct from generic Cantonese ‘ghost/demon’ folk categories — Satan is a specific personal being, not one spirit among many folk-religious spirit categories.
Prayer
Approved rendering: 禱告
Transliteration: tou2 gou3
Doctrine: Public Worship and Prayer
Rejected alternatives: 求籤, 上香, 誦經
Original: προσευχή
Category: Worship and Prayer
New term (2:1). Must be distinguished from drawing a temple fortune-stick with a request (求籤), burning incense with a petition (上香), or Buddhist chanting/mantra recitation (誦經); direct, personal address to God through the one Mediator.
Trustworthy Saying
Approved rendering: 這話是可信嘅
Transliteration: ni1 waa6 si6 ho2 seon3 ge3
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Rejected alternatives: 民間諺語式嘅開場白
Original: πιστὸς ὁ λόγος
Category: Worship and Prayer
New term (1:15; 3:1; 4:9, πιστὸς ὁ λόγος). Must not be rendered with a generic proverb-introducing phrase used for folk sayings or fortune-telling maxims; introduces Scripture-level authoritative teaching.
Foundation
Approved rendering: 根基
Transliteration: gan1 gei1
Doctrine: The Church as Pillar of Truth
Original: ἑδραίωμα
Category: Ecclesiology
New term (3:15, ἑδραίωμα). Paired metaphor with 柱石.
Truth
Approved rendering: 真理
Transliteration: zan1 lei5
Doctrine: The Church as Pillar of Truth
Original: ἀλήθεια
Category: Ecclesiology
New term (3:15, ἀλήθεια). Must be anchored to God’s revealed truth in the gospel, not treated as one truth-claim among many in Hong Kong’s pluralistic religious-philosophical marketplace (including feng shui masters’ claims to reveal hidden truths).
Training For Godliness
Approved rendering: 操練
Transliteration: cou1 lin6
Doctrine: Godliness and Contentment
Rejected alternatives: 修煉
Original: γυμνάζω, γυμνασία
Category: Godliness and Ethics
New term (4:7-8, γυμνάζω/γυμνασία). Distinguish from martial-arts/qigong training regimens (修煉) and generic secular fitness culture; Spirit-enabled discipline with eternal, not merely present-life, value.
Rich And Uncertain Riches
Approved rendering: 富足；唔可靠嘅財富；樂於分享
Transliteration: fu3 zuk1; m4 ho2 kaau3 ge3 coi4 fu3; lok6 jyu4 fan1 hoeng2
Doctrine: Stewardship of Wealth
Original: πλούσιος, πλοῦτος ἄδηλος, εὐμετάδοτος, κοινωνικός
Category: Godliness and Ethics
New term (6:17-19). κοινωνικός shares a root with the baseline’s 團契 (κοινωνία) but here denotes generosity/willingness-to-share, a distinct sense; high contemporary relevance given Hong Kong’s wealth-conscious commercial culture.
Sanctify Food
Approved rendering: 藉住神嘅道同禱告成為潔淨嘅
Transliteration: ze3 zyu6 san4 ge3 dou6 tung4 tou2 gou3 sing4 wai4 git3 zing6 ge3
Doctrine: Godliness and Contentment
Rejected alternatives: 成聖（人格化道德意義，唔啱用喺食物）
Original: ἁγιάζεται
Category: Godliness and Ethics
New term (4:5, ἁγιάζεται). Distinct sense from the baseline’s 成聖 (the Spirit’s moral sanctifying work in believers); describes food being rightly received/consecrated for use through thanksgiving prayer, not moral transformation of a person.
Widow Indeed
Approved rendering: 真正嘅寡婦
Transliteration: zan1 zing3 ge3 gwaa2 fu5
Doctrine: Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
Original: ὄντως χήρα
Category: Family and Household
New term (5:3,5,16, ὄντως χήρα). Distinguishes the specific object of the church’s ongoing material care from widows who have available family support.
Slave Master
Approved rendering: 奴僕；主人
Transliteration: nou4 buk6; zyu2 jan4
Doctrine: Ministry to Slaves and Household Servants
Original: δοῦλος, δεσπότης
Category: Family and Household
New term (6:1-2). Requires sensitive, contextualized teaching given Hong Kong’s large population of live-in foreign domestic helpers; avoid endorsing chattel slavery or a flattened literal transposition onto modern domestic labor arrangements.
Spiritual Gift
Approved rendering: 恩賜
Transliteration: jan1 ci3
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts in Ministry
Rejected alternatives: 神通, 法力
Original: χάρισμα
Category: Ministry and Gifts
New term, singular application of the baseline’s 屬靈恩賜 concept (4:14, χάρισμα). Must never be rendered 神通 or 法力, per the baseline’s forbidden-substitution list for spiritual gifts.
Low Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: 使徒
Transliteration: si2 tou4
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: 風水師, 大師
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Ministry and Gifts
Inherited from Romans package baseline. Paul’s self-designation, 1 Timothy 1:1.
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: 感恩
Transliteration: gam2 jan1
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία
Category: Worship and Prayer
Inherited from Romans package baseline. Part of 1 Timothy 2:1’s four-fold prayer vocabulary and 4:3-4’s proper reception of food.
Sober Minded
Approved rendering: 清醒
Transliteration: cing1 sing2
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Original: νηφάλιος
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:2,11). Literal and figurative clarity of mind, not merely abstinence from alcohol.
Respectable Orderly
Approved rendering: 端正
Transliteration: dyun1 zing3
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Original: κόσμιος
Category: Church Leadership
New term (2:9; 3:2). Outward conduct reflecting inner discipline.
Hospitable
Approved rendering: 好客
Transliteration: hou2 haak3
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Original: φιλόξενος
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:2). Minor logistical note re: Hong Kong’s dense high-rise housing making literal home-hospitality logistically different from the ancient context.
Gentle Peaceable
Approved rendering: 溫和；唔好爭鬥
Transliteration: wan1 wo4; m4 hou2 zaang1 dau3
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Original: ἐπιεικής, ἄμαχος
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:3).
Not Given To Wine Or Violence
Approved rendering: 酗酒；好動武
Transliteration: jau3 zau2; hou3 dung6 mou5
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Original: πάροινος, πλήκτης
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:3).
Dignity
Approved rendering: 莊重
Transliteration: zong1 zung6
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Original: σεμνότης, σεμνός
Category: Church Leadership
New term. Appears three times (2:2; 3:4; 3:8) as a hallmark of Christian public bearing.
Puffed Up With Conceit
Approved rendering: 自高自大
Transliteration: zi6 gou1 zi6 daai6
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Original: τυφόω
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:6).
Double Tongued
Approved rendering: 講一套做一套
Transliteration: gong2 jat1 tou3 zou6 jat1 tou3
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: 講大話（過於一般化）
Original: δίλογος
Category: Church Leadership
New term (3:8). Must not be flattened to generic ‘liar,’ which loses the nuance of inconsistency between different hearers.
Two Or Three Witnesses
Approved rendering: 有兩三個證人證實
Transliteration: jau5 loeng5 saam1 go3 zing3 jan4 zing3 sat6
Doctrine: Church Discipline
Original: ἐπὶ δύο ἢ τριῶν μαρτύρων
Category: Church Leadership
New term (5:19). OT judicial-corroboration standard, procedural fairness safeguard protecting church leaders from unsubstantiated accusation.
Petition Supplication
Approved rendering: 祈求
Transliteration: kei4 kau4
Doctrine: Public Worship and Prayer
Original: δέησις
Category: Worship and Prayer
New term (2:1, δέησις). Part of the four-fold prayer vocabulary alongside 禱告, 代求, 感恩.
Public Reading Of Scripture
Approved rendering: 誦讀聖經
Transliteration: zung6 duk6 sing3 ging1
Doctrine: Public Worship and Prayer
Original: ἡ ἀνάγνωσις
Category: Worship and Prayer
New term (4:13). Public reading of Scripture in the gathered assembly, alongside exhortation and teaching.
Food And Covering
Approved rendering: 食物同遮蓋
Transliteration: sik6 mat6 tung4 ze1 goi3
Doctrine: Godliness and Contentment
Original: διατροφή, σκεπάσματα
Category: Godliness and Ethics
New term (6:8, διατροφή/σκεπάσματα). Grounds contentment in basic provision, not comprehensive material security or prosperity.
Example Pattern
Approved rendering: 榜樣
Transliteration: bong2 joeng2
Doctrine: Ministry and Gifts
Original: τύπος
Category: Ministry and Gifts
New term (4:12, τύπος). Timothy is to ‘set the believers an example.‘
Progress Growth
Approved rendering: 長進
Transliteration: coeng4 zeon3
Doctrine: Ministry and Gifts
Original: προκοπή
Category: Ministry and Gifts
New term (4:15, προκοπή). Ties personal growth to public credibility, echoing the overseer’s ‘good testimony’ qualification (3:7).
Timothy
Approved rendering: 提摩太
Transliteration: tai4 mo4 taai3
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Ordination
New proper-name term. Standard established Cantonese Bible-translation form for Τιμόθεος, the letter’s recipient.
Ephesus
Approved rendering: 以弗所
Transliteration: ji5 fat1 so2
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
New proper-name term. Location of Timothy’s ministry (1:3); standard established form.
Hymenaeus
Approved rendering: 許米乃
Transliteration: heoi2 mai5 naai5
Doctrine: Church Discipline
New proper-name term. Named false teacher handed over to Satan (1:20); low doctrinal weight, proper name only.
Alexander
Approved rendering: 亞歷山大
Transliteration: aa3 lik6 saan1 daai6
Doctrine: Church Discipline
New proper-name term. Named false teacher handed over to Satan (1:20); low doctrinal weight, proper name only.
Referenced passages