Core Glossary

Core Glossary — Luke (English → Cantonese)

This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, spanning Luke 1–24. Terms marked [Baseline] are inherited from the Romans translation_memory.json and MUST be reused exactly as recorded there — no alternative rendering is permitted. Terms marked [New] are introduced for the Luke curriculum and require entry into an updated translation memory prior to Phase 2, with theologian review assigned per risk tier as specified in doctrine_risk_registry.json conventions.

How to Read This Table

Status: Baseline (reused from Romans package) or New (introduced for Luke).
Risk: Critical / High / Medium / Low, per the same risk framework as the baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json.
Chapters: every chapter of Luke where the term is load-bearing.
Collision Note: the specific Hong Kong/Cantonese cultural-religious collision risk, where applicable.

#	English Term	Greek	Transliteration	Cantonese	Jyutping	Status	Risk	Chapters	Collision Note
1	God	θεός	theos	神	san4	Baseline	Critical	all	Never 天主/上帝/老天爺; per baseline.
2	Jesus	Ἰησοῦς	Iēsous	耶穌	je4 sou1	Baseline	Critical	all	Standard form.
3	Lord	κύριος	kyrios	主	zyu2	Baseline	Critical	1-2, 5-24	Never 事頭/老爺.
4	Holy Spirit	πνεῦμα ἅγιον	pneuma hagion	聖靈	sing3 ling4	Baseline	Critical	1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 24	Never 靈 alone; never a 問米-summoned spirit.
5	Father (of God)	πατήρ	patēr	父	fu6	Baseline	High	1-2, 6, 9, 10, 11, 15, 22, 23	Distinguish from ancestor veneration (拜祖先).
6	Messiah/Christ	Χριστός	Christos	基督	gei1 duk1	Baseline	Critical	2, 3, 4, 9, 20, 22, 23, 24	Never conflate with Maitreya (彌勒) or a wish-granting temple deity.
7	Son of God	υἱὸς θεοῦ	huios theou	神嘅兒子	san4 ge3 ji4 zi2	Baseline	Critical	1, 3, 4, 8, 22	Never 天子; never abbreviate to 神人.
8	Gospel	εὐαγγέλιον	euangelion	福音	fuk1 jam1	Baseline	Medium	1-4, 7-9, 16, 20	福 root collides with 恭喜發財 prosperity culture.
9	Grace	χάρις	charis	恩典	jan1 din2	Baseline	Critical	1-2 (implied), 4, 15, 18	Never framed as Wong Tai Sin-style vow-and-offering exchange.
10	Faith	πίστις	pistis	信心	seon3 sam1	Baseline	High	5, 7, 8, 17, 18	Distinguish from 睇相算命.
11	Righteousness	δικαιοσύνη	dikaiosynē	義	ji6	Baseline	Critical	1, 18	Distinguish from 義氣 loyalty-honor code.
12	Justification	δικαίωσις	dikaiōsis	稱義	cing1 ji6	Baseline	Critical	18	Never 修成正果/還神還願.
13	Salvation	σωτηρία	sōtēria	救恩	gau3 jan1	Baseline	Critical	1, 2, 19	Never 解脫/超度/Guanyin epithet.
14	Peace	εἰρήνη	eirēnē	平安	ping4 on1	Baseline	Medium	1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 19, 24	Distinguish from 平安符/老黃曆.
15	Glory	δόξα	doxa	榮耀	wing4 jiu6	Baseline	Medium	2, 9, 17, 19, 24	Distinguish from 面子/威水.
16	Church (typologically anticipated)	ἐκκλησία	ekklēsia	教會	gaau3 wui2	Baseline	Medium	(typological, cf. ch.2 temple)	Never 廟/祠堂.
17	Kingdom of God	βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ	basileia tou theou	神嘅國	san4 ge3 gwok3	Baseline	Medium	4, 6, 8-14, 17-19, 21-23	Keep spiritual, not political, per HK sensitivity.
18	Law	νόμος	nomos	律法	leot6 faat3	Baseline	High	2, 5, 10, 16, 24	Never 禮/規矩/法律.
19	Sin	ἁμαρτία	hamartia	罪	zeoi6	Baseline	High	1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 15, 17-19, 24	Distinguish from 報應/唔衰得.
20	Gentiles/Nations	ἔθνη	ethnē	外邦人	ngoi6 bong1 jan4	Baseline	Medium	2, 21, 24	Never 外江佬/鄉下人-style insider slur.
21	Apostle	ἀπόστολος	apostolos	使徒	si2 tou4	Baseline	Low	6, 9, 11, 17, 22, 24	Never 大師.
22	Prophet	προφήτης	prophētēs	先知	sin1 zi1	Baseline	Low	core passage, 1, 3-4, 6-7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 20, 24	Never 算命佬/風水師.
23	Prophecy/Fulfillment	πληρόω	plēroō	應驗	jing3 jim6	Baseline (extended)	High	core passage, 1, 4, 21, 24	Never cyclical 運程 forecast framing.
24	Scripture	γραφή	graphē	聖經	sing3 ging1	Baseline	High	core passage, 4, 24	Distinguish from 老黃曆.
25	Covenant	διαθήκη	diathēkē	約	joek3	Baseline	High	1, 22	Never 合約/還神還願.
26	David / Seed of David	Δαυίδ	Dauid	大衛	daai6 wai6	Baseline	Medium	1-3, 18-20	Standard proper name.
27	Israel	Ἰσραήλ	Israēl	以色列	ji5 sik1 lit6	Baseline	Medium	1-2, 24	Standard proper name.
28	Abba	Ἀββά	Abba	阿爸	aa3 baa1	Baseline	High	(Lord’s Prayer background, ch.11)	Retain alongside 父.
29	Resurrection	ἀνάστασις	anastasis	復活	fuk6 wut6	Baseline	Critical	9, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24	Never 投胎轉世/問米 framing; distinguish from ch.7’s temporary ἐγείρω.
30	Fellowship	κοινωνία	koinōnia	團契	tyun4 kai3	Baseline	Low	5 (table fellowship theme), 22	Never 同鄉會/結拜.
31	Thanksgiving	εὐχαριστία	eucharistia	感恩	gam2 jan1	Baseline	Low	17 (grateful leper), 22	Standard term.
32	Intercession/Prayer	ἔντευξις	enteuxis	代求/禱告	doi6 kau4 / dou2 gou3	Baseline	Medium	1, 3, 6, 9, 11, 18, 21, 22-23	Distinguish from 求籤/問米.
33	Providence	πρόνοια (theological name)	pronoia	神嘅護理	san4 ge3 wu6 lei5	Baseline	High	12 (Father’s care), 21	Never 天意/運程.
34	Mission	ἀποστολή	apostolē	宣教	syun1 gaau3	Baseline	Medium	9-10, 24	Sensitive to HK public-evangelism climate.
35	Power of God	δύναμις θεοῦ	dynamis theou	神嘅大能	san4 ge3 daai6 nang4	Baseline	High	1, 4, 24	Never 法力/風水嘅力量.
36	Election	ἐκλογή	eklogē	揀選	gaan2 syun2	Baseline	High	6 (choosing the Twelve, thematically)	Never 命運/八字注定.
37	Repentance	μετάνοια	metanoia	悔改	fui3 goi2	New	Critical	3, 5, 13, 15, 17, 24	Never 拜懺 merit-ritual framing; distinct from face-saving apology (賠罪).
38	Forgiveness of Sins / Release	ἄφεσις (ἁμαρτιῶν)	aphesis (hamartiōn)	赦免 (sin.) / 釋放 (release)	se3 min5 / sik1 fong3	New	Critical	core passage, 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 15, 17, 22-24	Never 解脫; single Greek word splits into two Cantonese words — flag every occurrence.
39	Poor	πτωχός	ptōchos	貧窮人	pan4 kung4 jan4	New	High	core passage, 4, 6, 7, 14, 16, 18-19	Avoid framing as lacking 福氣/luck rather than as God’s specially favored recipients.
40	Son of Man	υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου	huios tou anthrōpou	人子	jan4 zi2	New	Critical	5-9, 11-12, 17-19, 21-22, 24	Never flatten to generic “a man”; carries Daniel 7 authority + true humanity.
41	Sinner	ἁμαρτωλός	hamartōlos	罪人	zeoi6 jan4	New	High	5, 7, 15, 18-19	Moral-relational category before God, not mere social/face shame.
42	Disciple/Follow	ἀκολουθέω / μαθητής	akoloutheō / mathētēs	跟從 / 門徒	gan1 cung4 / mun4 tou4	New	Medium	5, 9, 14, 18	Distinguish from casual fandom-following (追星).
43	Anoint	χρίω	chriō	膏 / 膏立	gou1 laap6	New	High	core passage	Distinguish from cosmetic oil use and folk protective-oil/cinnabar rites.
44	Acceptable Year (of the Lord’s favor)	ἐνιαυτὸς δεκτός	eniautos dektos	蒙恩嘅禧年 / 主恩年	mung4 jan1 ge3 hei2 nin4	New	High	core passage	Never an almanac-selected auspicious year (黃道吉日).
45	Today (eschatological)	σήμερον	sēmeron	今日	gam1 jat6	New	Medium	core passage, 19, 23	Distinguish from lucky-day-selection culture (老黃曆).
46	Captive	αἰχμάλωτος	aichmalōtos	被擄嘅人	bei6 lou2 ge3 jan4	New	Medium	core passage	Not a possession/mediumship framing (問米).
47	Recovery of Sight	ἀνάβλεψις	anablepsis	重見光明	cung4 gin3 gwong1 ming4	New	Medium	core passage	Distinguish from Buddhist “enlightenment” (開悟).
48	Oppressed/Crushed	τεθραυσμένος	tethrausmenos	受壓制嘅人	sau6 aat3 zai3 ge3 jan4	New	Medium	core passage	Victims of injustice, part of Good-News-to-Poor doctrine.
49	Synagogue	συναγωγή	synagōgē	會堂	wui6 tong4	New	Medium	core passage, 4, 6-7, 13	Never 廟/祠堂; distinct from church (教會).
50	Sabbath	σάββατον	sabbaton	安息日	on1 sik1 jat6	New	Medium	core passage, 4, 6, 13-14, 23	Distinguish from almanac day-selection (擇日).
51	Devil	διάβολος	diabolos	魔鬼	mo1 gwai2	New	High	4, 8, 10, 22	Distinguish from “hungry ghosts” (餓鬼) / 盂蘭節 culture.
52	Demon	δαιμόνιον	daimonion	邪靈 / 污鬼	ce4 ling4 / wu1 gwai2	New	High	4, 8, 9, 11, 13	Distinguish from 問米 mediumship and ancestral-ghost placation.
53	Authority	ἐξουσία	exousia	權柄	kyun4 beng2	New	High	4-5, 7, 9-10, 20	Never 法力 (medium’s ritual power).
54	Redemption	λύτρωσις	lytrōsis	救贖	gau3 suk6	New	Critical	1-2, 21, 24	Distinguish from pawnshop redemption (當舖贖身) and karmic debt repayment.
55	Savior	σωτήρ	sōtēr	救主	gau3 zyu2	New	Critical	1-2, 19	Flag against trivialization by secular “savior/rescue” business idiom.
56	Virgin	παρθένος	parthenos	處女	cyu5 neoi5	New	Critical	1	Never softened; unique historical divine act, not a folk-goddess-birth myth.
57	Overshadow	ἐπισκιάζω	episkiazō	臨到 / 覆蓋	lam4 dou3 / fuk1 goi3	New	High	1, 9 (transfiguration cloud)	Never folk spirit-possession framing (附身).
58	Wrath	ὀργή	orgē	忿怒 / 神嘅震怒	fan5 nou6	New	High	3, 21	Distinguish from impersonal karmic retribution (報應).
59	Baptism	βάπτισμα	baptisma	洗禮	sai2 lai5	New	High	3, 7, 12, 20	Distinguish John’s baptism from Christian baptism; not generic ritual bathing.
60	Temptation	πειρασμός	peirasmos	試探	si3 taam3	New	Medium	4, 8, 11, 22	Distinguish from gambling “testing fate/luck” idiom.
61	Leprosy/Leper	λεπρός	lepros	痳瘋病人	maa4 fung1 beng6 jan4	New	Medium	5, 7, 17	Ritual/social exclusion under Torah, not folk contagion-taboo.
62	Beatitude/Blessed	μακάριος	makarios	有福	jau5 fuk1	New	Medium	1, 6, 7, 10-12, 14, 23	福-root collision with 恭喜發財 prosperity culture, acute in Beatitudes’ status-reversal.
63	Woe	οὐαί	ouai	有禍了	jau5 wo6 liu5	New	Medium	6, 10-11, 17, 21-22	Solemn prophetic warning, not superstitious curse-formula.
64	Love (agapē)	ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω	agapē / agapaō	愛	oi3	New	High	6-7, 10-11	Distinguish from romantic love (愛情) and reciprocal social-obligation “human feeling” (人情).
65	Raise up (temporary)	ἐγείρω	egeirō	使…從死人中起身	sai2…cung4 sei2 jan4 zung1 hei2 san1	New	High	7	Must not be collapsed into 復活 (final resurrection); flag distinguishing note.
66	Save/Heal (dual-sense)	σῴζω	sōzō	救 / 醫好	gau3 / ji1 hou2	New	Critical	7-8, 17-19	Context-sensitive choice between “healed” and “saved”; default spiritual sense when faith/forgiveness explicit.
67	Word of God	ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ	ho logos tou theou	神嘅道	san4 ge3 dou6	New	Medium	8, 11	Distinguish from generic philosophical “teachings” (道理).
68	Transfiguration	μεταμορφόω	metamorphoō	變像	bin3 zoeng6	New	Critical	9	Never 化身/羽化成仙 — unique unveiling of Christ’s own permanent glory.
69	Cross	σταυρός	stauros	十字架	sap6 zi6 gaa3	New	Critical	9, 14, 23	Retain execution/suffering weight, not decorative accessory.
70	Neighbor	πλησίον	plēsion	鄰舍	leon4 se3	New	Medium	10	Crosses ethnic/social boundaries; not limited to clan/village community.
71	Samaritan	Σαμαρίτης	Samaritēs	撒馬利亞人	saat3 maa5 lei6 aa3 jan4	New	Medium	9-10, 17	Ethnic outsider motif challenging insider/outsider assumptions.
72	Hypocrisy	ὑπόκρισις	hypokrisis	假冒偽善	gaa2 mou6 wai5 sin6	New	Medium	11-12, 20	Distinguish from mere face-maintaining politeness (要面).
73	Treasure	θησαυρός	thēsauros	財寶 / 財富	coi4 bou2 / coi4 fu3	New	Medium	12, 18	Distinguish from feng shui wealth-accumulation and 財神 worship.
74	Blasphemy against the Spirit	βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα	blasphēmia	干犯聖靈	gon1 faan6 sing3 ling4	New	High	12	Not generic disrespect; willful rejection of the Spirit’s testimony.
75	Narrow Door	θύρα	thyra	窄門	zaak3 mun4	New	Medium	13	Urgent, decisive entry, not a leisurely path.
76	Humble/Exalt	ταπεινόω / ὑψόω	tapeinoō / hypsoō	謙卑 / 升高	him1 bei1 / sing1 gou1	New	Medium	14, 18	Distinguish virtuous humility before God from shameful face-loss (跌面).
77	Lost	ἀπόλλυμι	apollymi	失喪	sat1 song3	New	High	15, 19	Not careless bad luck; spiritually perilous separation from God.
78	Joy	χαρά	chara	喜樂	hei2 lok6	New	Medium	15, 24	Distinguish from fortune/luck-based happiness (好運/發財之樂).
79	Compassion (visceral)	σπλαγχνίζομαι	splanchnizomai	動了慈心 / 滿心憐憫	dung6 liu5 ci4 sam1	New	Critical	15 (and thematically 7, 10)	NEVER 慈悲 — near-exclusive Guanyin association (大慈大悲) in HK culture.
80	Mammon/Money (personified)	μαμωνᾶς	mamōnas	瑪門 / 錢財	maa5 mun4 / cin4 coi4	New	High	16	Distinguish from Wealth God (財神) worship; a rival spiritual master, not a deity to honor.
81	Hades	ᾅδης	Hadēs	陰間	jam1 gaan1	New	Critical	16	Distinguish from 陰曹地府/閻羅王 folk bureaucracy and Buddhist 地獄.
82	Kingdom “within/among”	ἐντός	entos	喺你哋當中	hai2 nei5 dei6 dong1 zung1	New	High	17	Avoid individualistic-mystical reading resonant with Buddha-nature/inner-awakening concepts.
83	Eternal Life	ζωὴ αἰώνιος	zōē aiōnios	永生	wing5 sang1	New	Critical	10 (implied), 18	Distinguish from Daoist immortality-cultivation (長生不老/得道成仙) and Buddhist rebirth-escape (解脫輪迴).
84	King	βασιλεύς	basileus	王	wong4	New	Medium	19, 23	Keep exclusively spiritual/messianic, given HK political sensitivities.
85	New Covenant	διαθήκη καινή	diathēkē kainē	新約	san1 joek3	New	Critical	22	Never a commercial contract (合約) or temple vow-exchange (還神還願).
86	Remembrance	ἀνάμνησις	anamnēsis	記念	gei3 nim6	New	Medium	22	Distinguish from ancestor-memorial ritual (祭祖/拜祖先).
87	Paradise	παράδεισος	paradeisos	樂園	lok6 jyun4	New	Critical	23	Distinguish from Buddhist Pure Land (西方極樂世界) and Daoist fairylands (仙境).
88	Witness	μάρτυς	martys	見證人 / 見證	gin3 zing3 jan4	New	Medium	24	Distinguish from secular commercial-testimonial usage.
89	Ascension	ἀναλαμβάνω / ἀνάλημψις	analambanō	被接升天	bei6 zip3 sing1 tin1	New	Critical	24	NEVER 羽化登仙 — deeply embedded Daoist immortal-ascension trope in Cantonese popular/wuxia culture.
90	Genealogy	γενεαλογία	genealogia	家譜	gaa1 pou2	New	Low/Medium	3	Bridges to Cantonese clan-lineage record culture (族譜); must not equate Christ’s divine Sonship with ordinary descent.
91	Circumcision	περιτομή	peritomē	割禮	got3 lai5	New	Medium	2	Requires OT covenant-sign background explanation.
92	Temple	ἱερόν / ναός	hieron / naos	聖殿	sing3 dim6	New	Medium	2, 19-21	Never 廟; distinct from 教會.

Risk Tier Summary (New Terms Introduced for Luke)

Risk	Count	Terms
Critical	15	Repentance, Forgiveness of Sins/Release, Son of Man, Redemption, Savior, Virgin, Save/Heal (σῴζω), Transfiguration, Cross, Compassion (σπλαγχνίζομαι), Hades, Eternal Life, New Covenant, Paradise, Ascension
High	14	Poor, Sinner, Anoint, Acceptable Year, Devil, Demon, Authority, Overshadow, Wrath, Baptism, Love (agapē), Raise up (ἐγείρω), Blasphemy against the Spirit, Lost, Mammon, Kingdom “within/among”
Medium	18	Disciple/Follow, Today, Captive, Recovery of Sight, Oppressed, Synagogue, Sabbath, Temptation, Leprosy, Beatitude, Woe, Word of God, Neighbor, Samaritan, Hypocrisy, Treasure, Narrow Door, Humble/Exalt, Joy, King, Remembrance, Witness, Genealogy, Circumcision, Temple
Low	1	(Genealogy borders Low/Medium; no purely Low-risk new terms beyond incidental proper nouns not tabled separately)

All Critical and High risk new terms require human theologian review per the same routing convention established in the Romans doctrine_risk_registry.json. All Medium risk new terms require native speaker review. This glossary, together with 07_semantic_analysis.md, forms the input to the forthcoming translation_memory.json update and doctrine_risk_registry.json update for the Luke curriculum in subsequent Phase 1 steps.

Critical Risk Terms

God

Approved rendering: 神
Transliteration: san4
Doctrine: Deity of Christ / God
Rejected alternatives: 天主, 上帝, 老天爺
Original: θεός / אֱלֹהִים / יהוה
Category: God

CRITICAL: this Language Package standardizes on 神 for Protestant curriculum consistency. NEVER substitute 天主 (Catholic term) or 上帝, and NEVER use 老天爺 (colloquial impersonal Heaven). [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged, load-bearing throughout Luke.]

Jesus

Approved rendering: 耶穌
Transliteration: je4 sou1
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς / יֵשׁוּעַ
Category: Christology

Standard transliteration shared with Mandarin written form, pronounced in Cantonese. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged, load-bearing throughout Luke.]

Lord

Approved rendering: 主
Transliteration: zyu2
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 事頭, 老爺
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology

Never 事頭 (boss/proprietor) or 老爺 (feudal honorific). [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing in Luke 1-2, 5-24, especially the kingship/authority material of ch.19-20, 23.]

Holy Spirit

Approved rendering: 聖靈
Transliteration: sing3 ling4
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Rejected alternatives: 問米嘅靈, 祖先靈, 靈 (alone)
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God

CRITICAL: always the full compound 聖靈, never 靈 alone, which in Hong Kong folk usage covers ancestral spirits, temple spirits, and spirits summoned in 問米 mediumship. [Inherited from Romans package; intensified in Luke, where the Spirit is narratively active from before Jesus’ birth (ch.1) through his anointing (4:18) to the promised ‘power from on high’ (24:49).]

Messiah

Approved rendering: 基督
Transliteration: gei1 duk1
Doctrine: Messianic Anointing / Messianic Promise
Rejected alternatives: 彌勒, 黃大仙式嘅救世主
Original: Χριστός / מָשִׁיחַ
Category: Christology

CRITICAL: never conflate with Maitreya (彌勒) or a wish-granting temple deity (Wong Tai Sin framing). [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing in Luke 2, 3, 4, 9, 20, 22-24, directly underlying the anointing (膏立) claimed in the core passage.]

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 θεοῦ
Category: Christology

CRITICAL: never 天子 (‘Son of Heaven’, the historic imperial title); never abbreviate to 神人. [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 1:32,35; 3:22,38; 4:3,9; 9:35; 22:70 — must not be read as ordinary descent despite the adjacent genealogy in 3:23-38.]

Grace

Approved rendering: 恩典
Transliteration: jan1 din2
Doctrine: Grace versus Merit
Rejected alternatives: 福氣, 有求必應式嘅恩典, 功德
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation

CRITICAL: never framed as reciprocal temple-vow favor (Wong Tai Sin’s ‘whatever you ask, you shall receive’); never 功德. [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing in Luke 7:36-50 (sinful woman), 15:11-32 (Prodigal Son), 18:9-14 (Pharisee and tax collector), and underlying 4:19’s ‘acceptable year’.]

Righteousness

Approved rendering: 義
Transliteration: ji6
Doctrine: Hypocrisy and True Righteousness
Rejected alternatives: 道德, 善行
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation

CRITICAL: a Confucian Five Constant Virtue also reinforced by triad/gangster-film 義氣 loyalty-code idiom; forensic standing before God, not a loyalty-and-duty code earned and displayed among peers. [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 18:9-14 (Pharisee’s self-righteousness vs. the tax collector’s humble faith).]

Justification

Approved rendering: 稱義
Transliteration: cing1 ji6
Doctrine: Grace versus Merit
Rejected alternatives: 修成正果, 還神還願
Original: δικαίωσις
Category: Salvation

CRITICAL: forensic declaration, never 修成正果 or 還神還願. [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 18:14, ‘this man went down to his house justified’ — directly illustrated narratively by the tax collector’s humble prayer.]

Salvation

Approved rendering: 救恩
Transliteration: gau3 jan1
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Rejected alternatives: 解脫, 超度, 大慈大悲救苦救難
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation

CRITICAL: never 解脫 (Buddhist liberation from samsara), never 超度, never Guanyin’s 大慈大悲救苦救難 epithet. [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 1:69,77; 2:30-32; 19:9-10.]

Resurrection

Approved rendering: 復活
Transliteration: fuk6 wut6
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 投胎轉世, 問米式嘅還魂
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology

CRITICAL: never 投胎轉世 (rebirth) or a 問米 spirit-medium framing. [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 9:22; 18:33; 20:34-38; 24:1-49. Must be distinguished from Luke’s own temporary resuscitation term (see raise_up_temporary, 7:14-15).]

Repentance

Approved rendering: 悔改
Transliteration: fui3 goi2
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: 拜懺, 賠罪
Original: μετάνοια
Category: Repentance

CRITICAL, new for Luke: never 拜懺 (a Buddhist/Daoist ceremonial confession-and-merit rite), never reduced to a face-saving public apology (賠罪). Biblical repentance is Spirit-enabled inward turning toward a personal God producing changed life, not ritual performance or social remedy. Load-bearing at Luke 3:3,8; 5:32; 13:3,5; 15:7,10; 17:3-4; 24:47.

Forgiveness

Approved rendering: 赦免
Transliteration: se3 min5
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: 解脫, 還神還願
Original: ἄφεσις (ἁμαρτιῶν)
Category: Repentance

CRITICAL, new for Luke: renders ἄφεσις in its sin-remission sense. NEVER 解脫 (Buddhist liberation from samsara, already forbidden absolutely under the Romans baseline salvation entry). Because Luke 4:18 uses one Greek word (ἄφεσις) for both this sense and ‘release’ (see release), a mandatory translator note is required at every co-occurrence explaining the split, so the doctrine’s coherence is not lost. Load-bearing at Luke 1:77; 3:3; 5:20-24; 7:47-49; 24:47.

Release

Approved rendering: 釋放
Transliteration: sik1 fong3
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: 解脫
Original: ἄφεσις (αἰχμαλώτοις)
Category: Repentance

CRITICAL, new for Luke: renders ἄφεσις in its literal captivity-release sense at the core passage (Luke 4:18). NEVER 解脫 (Buddhist liberation from samsara/rebirth). Must carry a mandatory translator note linking it to 赦免 (forgiveness), since Luke’s single Greek word covers both senses and the wordplay is otherwise lost in Cantonese.

Son Of Man

Approved rendering: 人子
Transliteration: jan4 zi2
Doctrine: Son of Man Christology
Rejected alternatives: 呢個人 (generic ‘this man’), 人 (generic ‘a human being’)
Original: υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Category: Christology

CRITICAL, new for Luke: must never flatten to a generic ‘a man’. Combines Daniel 7’s exalted judgment-and-kingdom authority with genuine humanity. Highest silent-flattening risk in the whole book — flag every occurrence for theologian review. Load-bearing at Luke 5:24; 6:5; 9:22,26,44,58; 12:8,40; 17:22-30; 18:8; 19:10; 21:27,36; 22:22,48,69; 24:7.

Redemption

Approved rendering: 救贖
Transliteration: gau3 suk6
Doctrine: Redemption
Rejected alternatives: 當舖贖身, 還業障 (karmic debt-repayment)
Original: λύτρωσις / λυτρόω
Category: Salvation

CRITICAL, new for Luke. Distinct from pawnshop redemption (當舖贖身) and karmic debt-repayment. God’s own gracious act of ransoming his people through the Messiah. Load-bearing at Luke 1:68-69; 2:38; 21:28; 24:21.

Savior

Approved rendering: 救主
Transliteration: gau3 zyu2
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Rejected alternatives: 救星 (secular business/entertainment ‘rescuer’ idiom)
Original: σωτήρ
Category: Christology

CRITICAL, new for Luke. The Hong Kong secular idiom of a business or celebrity ‘savior’ (救星) risks trivializing the term; this Savior’s rescue is spiritual and eternal, from sin and its consequences before God. Load-bearing at Luke 2:11 (the angel’s programmatic announcement). Flag for theologian review at every occurrence.

Virgin

Approved rendering: 處女
Transliteration: cyu5 neoi5
Doctrine: Incarnation and Virgin Birth
Rejected alternatives: 少女 (generic ‘young woman’), 任何本地神話式嘅仙女懷孕故事
Original: παρθένος
Category: Christology

CRITICAL, new for Luke. Never softened to ‘young woman’ generically, and never assimilated to any goddess-birth or miraculous-conception folk myth. Unique, historical, once-for-all divine act. Load-bearing at Luke 1:27,34.

Save Heal

Approved rendering: 救 / 醫好
Transliteration: gau3 / ji1 hou2
Doctrine: Faith and Healing
Rejected alternatives: a single undifferentiated Cantonese verb covering both senses (none exists)
Original: σῴζω
Category: Salvation

CRITICAL, new for Luke. Context-sensitive: 救 (drawing on the baseline 救恩 root) for the spiritual sense, 醫好 for the physical-healing sense. Cantonese requires a translator decision between ‘healed’ and ‘saved’ where Greek’s σῴζω uses one verb; default to 救 whenever faith/forgiveness is explicitly in view (as at 7:50). Highest-frequency ambiguity in the book — flag every occurrence (7:50; 8:12,36,48,50; 9:24; 17:19; 18:42; 19:10; 23:35,37,39).

Transfiguration

Approved rendering: 變像
Transliteration: bin3 zoeng6
Doctrine: Transfiguration and Divine Glory
Rejected alternatives: 化身, 羽化, 成仙
Original: μεταμορφόω
Category: Christology

CRITICAL, new for Luke. Never 化身 (a deity’s repeatable manifestation-form, popularly attributed to Guanyin, already forbidden under the Romans baseline incarnation entry) or Daoist immortal-transformation motifs (羽化, 成仙). A unique, temporary unveiling of Christ’s own permanent divine glory. Load-bearing at Luke 9:28-36. Flag for theologian review at every occurrence.

Cross

Approved rendering: 十字架
Transliteration: sap6 zi6 gaa3
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Rejected alternatives: 純裝飾用嘅十字架吊飾
Original: σταυρός
Category: Christology

CRITICAL, new for Luke. An established Chinese Christian term, but must retain full weight as a shameful execution instrument and locus of costly self-denial, not a decorative fashion/jewelry accessory as it can appear in secular Hong Kong contexts. Load-bearing at Luke 9:23; 14:27; 23:26-49.

Compassion Visceral

Approved rendering: 動了慈心
Transliteration: dung6 liu5 ci4 sam1
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion
Rejected alternatives: 慈悲 (forbidden — near-exclusive Guanyin 大慈大悲 association)
Original: σπλαγχνίζομαι
Category: Compassion

CRITICAL, new for Luke. Must explicitly AVOID the stock Buddhist compassion term 慈悲, given its near-exclusive Hong Kong household-devotional association with Guanyin’s epithet 大慈大悲救苦救難. Add a mandatory translator note that this is the Father God’s own compassion, expressed climactically in Christ, not a bodhisattva’s intervention. Load-bearing at Luke 7:13; 10:33; 15:20.

Hades

Approved rendering: 陰間
Transliteration: jam1 gaan1
Doctrine: Eternal Life and the Age to Come
Rejected alternatives: 陰曹地府, 閻羅王主理嘅地府, 地獄 (Buddhist hell-realm)
Original: ᾅδης
Category: Eschatology

CRITICAL, new for Luke. Must be explicitly distinguished from the elaborate Chinese folk-religious underworld bureaucracy (陰曹地府, presided over by 閻羅王/King Yama, with ancestor-appeasement/paper-offering practices) and from Buddhist hell-realms (地獄, part of the rebirth cycle). A temporary intermediate state preceding final resurrection and judgment. Load-bearing at Luke 16:19-31.

Eternal Life

Approved rendering: 永生
Transliteration: wing5 sang1
Doctrine: Eternal Life and the Age to Come
Rejected alternatives: 長生不老, 得道成仙, 解脫輪迴
Original: ζωὴ αἰώνιος
Category: Salvation

CRITICAL, new for Luke. Must be sharply distinguished from Daoist/folk pursuit of physical immortality through cultivation or elixirs (長生不老, 得道成仙 — a well-known wuxia/fantasy-media trope) and from the Buddhist goal of escaping the cycle of rebirth (解脫輪迴, already forbidden under the Romans baseline salvation entry). Unending, resurrection-quality relational life with God through Christ, received by faith. Load-bearing at Luke 10:25; 18:18,30.

New Covenant

Approved rendering: 新約
Transliteration: san1 joek3
Doctrine: The New Covenant in Christ’s Blood
Rejected alternatives: 合約, 還神還願
Original: διαθήκη καινή
Category: Covenant

CRITICAL, new for Luke, built on the baseline High-risk 約. Must retain the relational, blood-sealed, once-for-all covenant sense, never reduced to a commercial contract (合約) nor a temple vow-and-fulfillment exchange (還神還願). Load-bearing at Luke 22:20.

Paradise

Approved rendering: 樂園
Transliteration: lok6 jyun4
Doctrine: Eternal Life and the Age to Come
Rejected alternatives: 西方極樂世界 (Buddhist Pure Land), 仙境 (Daoist fairyland)
Original: παράδεισος
Category: Eschatology

CRITICAL, new for Luke. Must be explicitly distinguished from the Buddhist Pure Land (西方極樂世界, widely known via Hong Kong funeral rites) and Daoist immortal fairylands (仙境). Immediate, personal fellowship with Christ granted by grace to a repentant sinner at death, not a realm attained through merit or ritual. Load-bearing at Luke 23:43 — see the mandatory comma-placement caution in the translation landscape document guarding against the Jehovah’s Witness New World Translation mistranslation.

Ascension

Approved rendering: 被接升天
Transliteration: bei6 zip3 sing1 tin1
Doctrine: Ascension of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 羽化登仙
Original: ἀναλαμβάνω / ἀνάλημψις
Category: Christology

CRITICAL, new for Luke. Must be explicitly and firmly distinguished from the well-known Daoist immortal-ascension motif (羽化登仙, ‘shedding the mortal husk to ascend as an immortal’), deeply embedded in Cantonese popular religious and wuxia/fantasy storytelling culture. A unique, bodily, historical exaltation of the eternal Son to the Father’s right hand as sovereign Lord. Load-bearing at Luke 24:51. Flag for theologian review at every occurrence.

High Risk Terms

Father

Approved rendering: 父
Transliteration: fu6
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
Rejected alternatives: 祖先, 老竇式嘅父
Original: πατήρ
Category: God

God as personal, caring Father, distinct from ancestor veneration (拜祖先). [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing in Luke’s Lord’s Prayer (11:2) and Jesus’ own prayers from the cross (23:34,46).]

Faith

Approved rendering: 信心
Transliteration: seon3 sam1
Doctrine: Faith and Healing
Rejected alternatives: 虔誠, 睇相算命式嘅相信
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith

Personal trust in Christ specifically, distinct from 睇相算命 (fortune-telling/palm-reading confidence). [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing in Luke 5, 7, 8, 17, 18 where faith and healing/salvation (σῴζω) intersect.]

Law

Approved rendering: 律法
Transliteration: leot6 faat3
Doctrine: Law and Covenant Fulfillment
Rejected alternatives: 禮, 規矩, 法律
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant

The Mosaic Law; never 禮, 規矩, or 法律. [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 2:21-24,39; 5:14; 6:1-11; 10:26; 16:16-17; 24:44.]

Sin

Approved rendering: 罪
Transliteration: zeoi6
Doctrine: Universal Human Need of Repentance
Rejected alternatives: 報應, 唔衰得
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin

Not reducible to 報應 (karmic retribution) or 唔衰得 (face/shame framing). [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing across Luke 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 15, 17-19, 24.]

Covenant

Approved rendering: 約
Transliteration: joek3
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant / Law and Covenant Fulfillment
Rejected alternatives: 合約, 還神還願嘅承諾
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant

Never a commercial contract (合約) or temple vow (還神還願). [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 1:72 and underlying 22:20’s 新約, which extends this baseline term.]

Seed Of David

Approved rendering: 大衛嘅後裔
Transliteration: daai6 wai6 ge3 hau6 jeoi6
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: σπέρμα Δαυίδ / υἱὸς Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant

Conveys physical lineage and OT covenant fulfillment; no directly analogous perpetual-lineage covenant concept exists in Cantonese/Pearl River Delta clan tradition (which uses 過繼, adoption-for-succession). [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 1:32-33,69; 18:38-39; 20:41-44, and invoked by petitioners as ‘Son of David’.]

Abba

Approved rendering: 阿爸
Transliteration: aa3 baa1
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
Original: אַבָּא
Category: God

Aramaic term of intimacy; retain the transliteration alongside 父 to convey filial closeness. [Inherited from Romans package; background to Luke 11’s Lord’s Prayer teaching on filial address to God.]

Providence

Approved rendering: 神嘅護理
Transliteration: san4 ge3 wu6 lei5
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
Rejected alternatives: 天意, 運程
Original: πρόνοια
Category: God

Never 天意 (impersonal heaven’s intention) or 運程 (yearly fortune-forecast). [Inherited from Romans package; background to the Father’s care emphasized in Luke 12.]

Power Of God

Approved rendering: 神嘅大能
Transliteration: san4 ge3 daai6 nang4
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and Christ’s Authority over Evil
Rejected alternatives: 法力, 風水嘅力量
Original: δύναμις θεοῦ
Category: God

Never a medium’s ritual power (法力) or feng shui arrangement (風水嘅力量). [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 1:35; 4:14; 24:49 (‘power from on high’).]

Election

Approved rendering: 揀選
Transliteration: gaan2 syun2
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Rejected alternatives: 命運, 八字注定
Original: ἐκλογή / ἐκλέγομαι
Category: Salvation

Never impersonal fate (命運) or birth-chart-determined destiny (八字注定). [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 6:13, Jesus’ choosing of the Twelve.]

Poor

Approved rendering: 貧窮人
Transliteration: pan4 kung4 jan4
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Rejected alternatives: 冇福氣嘅人, 低下階層 (as sole rendering)
Original: πτωχός
Category: Good News to the Poor

New for Luke. Hong Kong’s prosperity-and-luck religious culture (福氣, 恭喜發財, temple wealth petitions) risks framing ‘the poor’ as those lacking fortune rather than God’s specially favored recipients. Load-bearing at the core passage (4:18), 6:20-23 (Beatitudes’ status reversal — most acute collision point), 7:22, 14:13,21, 16:19-31, 18:22.

Sinner

Approved rendering: 罪人
Transliteration: zeoi6 jan4
Doctrine: Jesus’ Table Fellowship with Sinners
Rejected alternatives: 衰人 (mere face-based label)
Original: ἁμαρτωλός
Category: Sin

New for Luke, built on baseline 罪. A moral-relational category before God, not a socially shameful label (cf. baseline’s caution against 唔衰得 face-based framing). Load-bearing at Luke 5:29-32; 7:34,37-39; 15:1-2; 18:13; 19:7.

Anoint

Approved rendering: 膏立
Transliteration: gou1 laap6
Doctrine: Messianic Anointing
Rejected alternatives: 塗油 (cosmetic sense), 點硃砂 (folk protective-oil/cinnabar rite)
Original: χρίω
Category: Christology

New for Luke. Distinct from ordinary cosmetic/medicinal oil use and from folk-ritual anointing of objects with oil or cinnabar (硃砂) for protective blessing, a practice with some currency in Hong Kong temple culture. God’s unique commissioning of the Messiah, the root sense underlying 基督. Load-bearing at the core passage (Luke 4:18) and background to 3:22; 4:1. Flag for theologian review at every occurrence.

Acceptable Year

Approved rendering: 蒙恩嘅禧年
Transliteration: mung4 jan1 ge3 hei2 nin4
Doctrine: Grace versus Merit / Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Rejected alternatives: 黃道吉日, 好日子
Original: ἐνιαυτὸς δεκτός (κυρίου)
Category: Salvation

New for Luke; a constructed compound built on the baseline 恩 root (grace), retaining the Levitical Jubilee (禧年) echo present in the Chinese Union Version’s rendering of Isaiah 61:2/Luke 4:19. Never an almanac-selected auspicious year (黃道吉日, 好日子). Load-bearing at the core passage, Luke 4:19. Requires a definitional gloss at first use since the compound is not yet widely attested.

Devil

Approved rendering: 魔鬼
Transliteration: mo1 gwai2
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and Christ’s Authority over Evil
Rejected alternatives: 餓鬼, 遊魂野鬼
Original: διάβολος
Category: Spiritual Realm

New for Luke. Must be sharply distinguished from Hong Kong’s active folk ‘ghost’ category (鬼), especially ‘hungry ghosts’ (餓鬼) prominent at the Hungry Ghost Festival (盂蘭節), and from wandering ancestral spirits addressed in folk ritual. A single, personal, supremely malevolent being opposed to God. Load-bearing at Luke 4:1-13; 8:12; 22:3,31.

Demon

Approved rendering: 邪靈
Transliteration: ce4 ling4
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and Christ’s Authority over Evil
Rejected alternatives: 問米召嘅靈, 祖先靈
Original: δαιμόνιον
Category: Spiritual Realm

New for Luke. Distinct from spirits contacted through 問米 mediumship and from ancestral/ghost placation rites; personal evil beings subject to Christ’s direct authority, never summoned or negotiated with. Load-bearing at Luke 4:33-36,41; 8:26-39; 9:37-43; 11:14-22; 13:32.

Authority

Approved rendering: 權柄
Transliteration: kyun4 beng2
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and Christ’s Authority over Evil
Rejected alternatives: 法力
Original: ἐξουσία
Category: Christology

New for Luke. Never a feng shui master’s or spirit-medium’s ritual power (法力); a rightful, divinely given authority intrinsic to Christ’s identity. Load-bearing at Luke 4:32,36; 5:24; 9:1; 10:19; 20:2,8.

Overshadow

Approved rendering: 臨到
Transliteration: lam4 dou3
Doctrine: Incarnation and Virgin Birth
Rejected alternatives: 附身
Original: ἐπισκιάζω
Category: God

New for Luke. Must be clearly distinguished from folk spirit-possession framing (附身), associated with 問米 mediumship, which implies displacement of the person’s own agency. Load-bearing at Luke 1:35 and the Transfiguration cloud, 9:34.

Wrath

Approved rendering: 神嘅震怒
Transliteration: san4 ge3 zan3 nou6
Doctrine: Universal Human Need of Repentance
Rejected alternatives: 報應
Original: ὀργή
Category: Sin

New for Luke. Distinct from impersonal karmic retribution (報應) that mechanically ‘catches up’ with a person; the settled judicial anger of a personal God against moral rebellion, calling for repentance. Load-bearing at Luke 3:7 and background to 21.

Baptism

Approved rendering: 洗禮
Transliteration: sai2 lai5
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: 一般宗教潔淨沐浴儀式
Original: βάπτισμα
Category: Sacrament

New for Luke. Distinguish generic folk-religious ritual purification bathing; requires a translator note distinguishing John’s preparatory, repentance-focused baptism from fuller Christian baptism/Spirit-baptism. Load-bearing at Luke 3:3,7,12,16; 7:29; 12:50; 20:4.

Love Agape

Approved rendering: 愛
Transliteration: oi3
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Rejected alternatives: 愛情 (romantic love), 人情 (reciprocal social-obligation debt)
Original: ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω
Category: Ethics

New for Luke. Must be distinguished from romantic love (愛情) and from reciprocal social-obligation ‘human feeling’ debts (人情); unilateral, costly, directed even toward enemies. Load-bearing at Luke 6:27-36; 7:42,47; 10:27; 11:42.

Raise Up Temporary

Approved rendering: 使…從死人中起身
Transliteration: sai2…cung4 sei2 jan4 zung1 hei2 san1
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 復活 (would collapse into the Critical resurrection term)
Original: ἐγείρω
Category: Eschatology

New for Luke. A deliberately verbose descriptive phrase, not a fixed noun, to prevent collapsing the widow of Nain’s son’s temporary resuscitation (7:14-15) into the same category as Christ’s final, unrepeatable 復活. Mandatory distinguishing translator note wherever it occurs.

Blasphemy Against Spirit

Approved rendering: 干犯聖靈
Transliteration: gon1 faan6 sing3 ling4
Doctrine: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
Rejected alternatives: 對宗教人士普通嘅唔尊重
Original: βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον
Category: God

New for Luke, built on the baseline Critical-risk 聖靈. Not generic disrespect toward religious figures; decisive, willful rejection of the Spirit’s testimony to Christ. Load-bearing at Luke 12:10. Flag for theologian review.

Lost

Approved rendering: 失喪
Transliteration: sat1 song3
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: 衰運/唔小心整唔見 (bad-luck/carelessness idiom)
Original: ἀπόλλυμι
Category: Repentance

New for Luke. Must not be trivialized as careless bad luck; a spiritually perilous state of separation from God that God himself actively and joyfully seeks to remedy. Load-bearing at Luke 15:4,6,8-9,17,24,32; 19:10.

Mammon

Approved rendering: 瑪門
Transliteration: maa5 mun4
Doctrine: Wealth and Kingdom Ethics
Rejected alternatives: 財神式嘅財富崇拜
Original: μαμωνᾶς
Category: Ethics

New for Luke; established Traditional-character Chinese Bible transliteration. Flag the risk of conflation with the popular Wealth God (財神), prominent in Hong Kong shop-front and Lunar New Year devotional practice; Mammon names a spiritual rival to God, not a deity to honor. Load-bearing at Luke 16:9,11,13.

Kingdom Within Among

Approved rendering: 喺你哋當中
Transliteration: hai2 nei5 dei6 dong1 zung1
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Rejected alternatives: 喺你心裡面 (individualistic ‘within your heart’), 佛性/內在覺悟 framing
Original: ἐντός
Category: Kingdom

New for Luke. This package prefers the communal/objective-presence rendering over an inward-mystical ‘within you’ alternative, which risks resonance with Buddhist inner Buddha-nature/self-cultivation concepts (佛性/內在覺悟). The kingdom is Christ’s own objective, historical presence in the community’s midst. Load-bearing at Luke 17:21. Flag for theologian review.

Fulfilled

Approved rendering: 應驗
Transliteration: jing3 jim6
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 運程 (cyclical yearly fortune-forecast)
Original: πληρόω (πεπλήρωται)
Category: Covenant

New for Luke, extending the Romans baseline’s fulfillment-of-prophecy framework with a dedicated verb-level term. Must retain a linear, one-time, historical fulfillment sense; never the cyclical fortune-forecast framework (運程) of yearly feng shui/almanac prediction. Load-bearing at the core passage, Luke 4:21, and 24:25-27,44-47.

Scripture

Approved rendering: 聖經
Transliteration: sing3 ging1
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: 老黃曆
Original: γραφή
Category: Covenant

New for Luke. Must be kept distinct from divinatory or almanac reference texts (老黃曆) consulted for guidance in daily Hong Kong life; the direct, God-breathed communication of a personal God. Load-bearing at the core passage (Luke 4:17,21) and 24:27,32,44-45.

Medium Risk Terms

Gospel

Approved rendering: 福音
Transliteration: fuk1 jam1
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Rejected alternatives: 好消息, 喜訊
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation

The 福 root collides with the New Year prosperity greeting 恭喜發財; teaching must make clear the gospel announces salvation, not forecasted prosperity. [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing throughout Luke 1-24, especially the core passage’s εὐαγγελίσασθαι.]

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

Distinct from protective-charm culture (平安符) and lucky-day almanac consultation (老黃曆). [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 1:79; 2:14; 7:50; 8:48; 10:5-6; 19:38,42; 24:36.]

Glory

Approved rendering: 榮耀
Transliteration: wing4 jiu6
Doctrine: Transfiguration and Divine Glory
Rejected alternatives: 面子, 威水
Original: δόξα
Category: God

Distinct from 面子 (face/reputation) and 威水 (flashy success). [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 2:9,14; 9:31-32 (Transfiguration); 24:26.]

Church

Approved rendering: 教會
Transliteration: gaau3 wui2
Doctrine: Church as God’s People (typologically anticipated)
Rejected alternatives: 廟, 祠堂
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church

Never 廟 or 祠堂. [Inherited from Romans package; typologically anticipated in Luke via the synagogue (會堂) and temple (聖殿), both of which must be kept distinct from 教會 itself.]

Kingdom Of God

Approved rendering: 神嘅國
Transliteration: san4 ge3 gwok3
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Rejected alternatives: 天下, 王朝
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom

Keep spiritual, not political, given Hong Kong’s sovereignty sensitivities. [Inherited from Romans package; the single most pervasive doctrinal term in Luke — 4:43; 6:20; 8:1,10; 9:2,11,60; 10:9,11; 11:2,20; 12:31-32; 13:18-21,28-29; 14:15; 17:20-21; 18:16-17,24-25,29; 19:11; 21:31; 22:16,18,29-30; 23:42.]

Gentiles

Approved rendering: 外邦人
Transliteration: ngoi6 bong1 jan4
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Rejected alternatives: 外江佬, 鄉下人
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church

Never a Cantonese insider/outsider clan slur. [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 2:32; 21:24; 24:47, and thematically behind the Samaritan/centurion narratives.]

Prophecy

Approved rendering: 預言
Transliteration: jyu6 jin4
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 求籤, 睇風水擇日
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant

Distinct from temple fortune-stick drawing (求籤) and feng shui date-selection (睇風水擇日). [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing background to the core passage’s Isaiah quotation.]

David

Approved rendering: 大衛
Transliteration: daai6 wai6
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: דָּוִד
Category: Covenant

Standard Cantonese Bible proper name form. [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 1:27,32-33,69; 2:4,11; 3:31; 18:38-39; 20:41-44.]

Israel

Approved rendering: 以色列
Transliteration: ji5 sik1 lit6
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Original: יִשְׂרָאֵל
Category: Covenant

Proper name; be aware of contemporary political sensitivity in some regions. [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 1-2, 24.]

Intercession

Approved rendering: 代求
Transliteration: doi6 kau4
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
Rejected alternatives: 求籤代辦, 問米
Original: ἔντευξις
Category: Faith

Distinct from fortune-stick requests made on someone’s behalf (求籤) and 問米 mediumship. [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 22:32, Jesus’ intercession for Peter.]

Mission

Approved rendering: 宣教
Transliteration: syun1 gaau3
Doctrine: Witness and Proclamation of the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: 洋教傳播
Original: ἀποστολή / πέμπω
Category: Church

Sensitive to Hong Kong’s current public-evangelism climate. [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 9-10 (sending of the Twelve and the Seventy-Two) and 24.]

Disciple

Approved rendering: 門徒
Transliteration: mun4 tou4
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Rejected alternatives: 粉絲/追星族
Original: μαθητής
Category: Discipleship

New for Luke. Distinct from a casual admirer or celebrity-fandom follower (追星); total reorientation of life and loyalty to Christ. Load-bearing at Luke 5:1-11,27-28; 6:13,17,20; 9:1; 14:26-33.

Follow

Approved rendering: 跟從
Transliteration: gan1 cung4
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Rejected alternatives: 追星
Original: ἀκολουθέω
Category: Discipleship

New for Luke. Distinct from casual fandom/celebrity-following idiom (追星), a common Cantonese pop-culture idiom; entails total reorientation of loyalty and life direction. Load-bearing at Luke 5:11,27-28; 9:23,57-62; 18:22,28.

Today Eschatological

Approved rendering: 今日
Transliteration: gam1 jat6
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Rejected alternatives: 老黃曆揀嘅好日子
Original: σήμερον
Category: Kingdom

New for Luke. Must not be assimilated to Hong Kong’s almanac/lucky-day-selection culture (老黃曆, 擇日); marks the unrepeatable moment of God’s saving action breaking into history in Christ. Load-bearing at the core passage (4:21), 19:9, 23:43.

Captive

Approved rendering: 被擄嘅人
Transliteration: bei6 lou2 ge3 jan4
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Rejected alternatives: 被鬼附身嘅人 (問米-adjacent possession framing)
Original: αἰχμάλωτος
Category: Good News to the Poor

New for Luke. Must not be reframed with folk possession/mediumship language (問米, 附身); bondage to sin and its consequences, addressed by Christ’s authority. Load-bearing at the core passage, Luke 4:18.

Recovery Of Sight

Approved rendering: 重見光明
Transliteration: cung4 gin3 gwong1 ming4
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Rejected alternatives: 開悟
Original: ἀνάβλεψις
Category: Salvation

New for Luke. Avoid the Buddhist term 開悟 (‘enlightenment/awakening’); a restoration of physical and spiritual sight granted by Christ’s power, not an inward attainment. Load-bearing at the core passage (4:18) and Luke 18:35-43.

Oppressed

Approved rendering: 受壓制嘅人
Transliteration: sau6 aat3 zai3 ge3 jan4
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Original: τεθραυσμένος
Category: Good News to the Poor

New for Luke. Victims of injustice/oppression whom God’s kingdom specifically favors and defends, not a generic term for hardship. Load-bearing at the core passage, Luke 4:18.

Synagogue

Approved rendering: 會堂
Transliteration: wui6 tong4
Doctrine: Law and Covenant Fulfillment
Rejected alternatives: 廟, 祠堂
Original: συναγωγή
Category: Church

New for Luke. Never 廟 (folk/Daoist/Buddhist temple) or 祠堂 (clan ancestral hall); distinct from 教會 (church). Load-bearing at the core passage (4:16) and Luke 4:33,44; 6:6; 13:10.

Sabbath

Approved rendering: 安息日
Transliteration: on1 sik1 jat6
Doctrine: Law and Covenant Fulfillment
Rejected alternatives: 擇日揀嘅好日子
Original: σάββατον
Category: Covenant

New for Luke. Distinct from generic ‘day off’ and from almanac auspicious/inauspicious day-selection culture (擇日, 睇日子). Load-bearing at the core passage (4:16) and Luke 6:1-11; 13:10-17; 14:1-6; 23:56.

Temptation

Approved rendering: 試探
Transliteration: si3 taam3
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and Christ’s Authority over Evil
Rejected alternatives: 博一博/試命 (gambling ‘testing luck’ idiom)
Original: πειρασμός
Category: Ethics

New for Luke. Distinct from testing one’s luck/fortune (試命/博一博), a common Cantonese gambling idiom; a moral-spiritual trial testing obedience and identity. Load-bearing at Luke 4:1-13; 8:13; 11:4; 22:40,46.

Leprosy

Approved rendering: 痳瘋病人
Transliteration: maa4 fung1 beng6 jan4
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion
Rejected alternatives: 有衰運嘅傳染病人 (folk contagion-taboo framing)
Original: λεπρός
Category: Compassion

New for Luke. Distinguish ritual/social uncleanness under Mosaic law from Cantonese folk notions of contagion-linked taboo or bad fortune; Jesus’ healing touch is compassionate restoration crossing purity boundaries. Load-bearing at Luke 5:12-14; 17:11-19.

Beatitude Blessed

Approved rendering: 有福
Transliteration: jau5 fuk1
Doctrine: Humility and Reversal of Status
Rejected alternatives: 恭喜發財式嘅福氣
Original: μακάριος
Category: Kingdom

New for Luke. Built on the 福 root flagged in the baseline gospel entry; must be clearly taught as God’s favor upon the humble and afflicted, sharply distinguished from the New Year prosperity sense of 福 (恭喜發財). Especially acute at Luke 6:20-23’s status-reversal Beatitudes.

Woe

Approved rendering: 有禍了
Transliteration: jau5 wo6 liu5
Doctrine: Humility and Reversal of Status
Rejected alternatives: 詛咒式嘅講法
Original: οὐαί
Category: Kingdom

New for Luke. A solemn prophetic warning of judgment, not a superstitious curse-formula. Load-bearing at Luke 6:24-26; 11:42-44,46-47,52; 13:34; 19:41-44.

Word Of God

Approved rendering: 神嘅道
Transliteration: san4 ge3 dou6
Doctrine: Witness and Proclamation of the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: 道理 (generic philosophical teachings)
Original: ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Scripture

New for Luke. Keep distinct from generic ‘teachings/wisdom sayings’ (道理); God’s own active, saving self-communication. Load-bearing at Luke 8:11,21; 11:28.

Neighbor

Approved rendering: 鄰舍
Transliteration: leon4 se3
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Rejected alternatives: 只限同鄉/同村嘅人
Original: πλησίον
Category: Ethics

New for Luke. Crosses ethnic and social boundaries (the Good Samaritan, 10:25-37); must not be limited to physical proximity or clan/village-based community only.

Samaritan

Approved rendering: 撒馬利亞人
Transliteration: saat3 maa5 lei6 aa3 jan4
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Rejected alternatives: 外人 (generic ‘outsider’, losing the specific ethnic-religious identity)
Original: Σαμαρίτης
Category: Church

New for Luke; proper/ethnic name. Functions narratively to challenge insider/outsider assumptions, relevant to the unity-of-Jew-and-Gentile-type doctrine in the Romans baseline. Load-bearing at Luke 9:52-56; 10:33; 17:16.

Hypocrisy

Approved rendering: 假冒偽善
Transliteration: gaa2 mou6 wai5 sin6
Doctrine: Hypocrisy and True Righteousness
Rejected alternatives: 要面 (mere face-maintaining politeness)
Original: ὑπόκρισις
Category: Ethics

New for Luke. Distinguish from mere social politeness/face-maintenance (要面), which is not itself sinful; specifically religious pretense misleading others about one’s standing before God. Load-bearing at Luke 11:37-54; 12:1-3; 18:9-14; 20:20-26.

Treasure

Approved rendering: 財寶
Transliteration: coi4 bou2
Doctrine: Wealth and Kingdom Ethics
Rejected alternatives: 風水財運式嘅財富
Original: θησαυρός
Category: Ethics

New for Luke. Must be sharply distinguished from Hong Kong’s feng shui-driven wealth-accumulation and prosperity practices (財神 worship); ‘treasure in heaven’ relativizes, rather than sanctifies, earthly financial security. Load-bearing at Luke 12:13-21,33-34.

Narrow Door

Approved rendering: 窄門
Transliteration: zaak3 mun4
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Original: θύρα
Category: Kingdom

New for Luke. Urgent, decisive entry into the kingdom, not a leisurely optional path among many equally valid options. Load-bearing at Luke 13:24.

Humble Exalt

Approved rendering: 謙卑 / 升高
Transliteration: him1 bei1 / sing1 gou1
Doctrine: Humility and Reversal of Status
Rejected alternatives: 跌面/失禮 (shameful face-loss)
Original: ταπεινόω / ὑψόω
Category: Kingdom

New for Luke. Distinguish virtuous self-lowering rewarded by God from face-losing social humiliation (跌面/失禮), negatively connotated in Cantonese honor culture. Load-bearing at Luke 14:11; 18:14.

Joy

Approved rendering: 喜樂
Transliteration: hei2 lok6
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins / The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Rejected alternatives: 好運/發財之樂 (fortune-based happiness)
Original: χαρά
Category: Discipleship

New for Luke. Distinguish from fortune/luck-based happiness (好運/發財之樂) prominent in Cantonese New Year idiom; joy rooted in relational restoration with God. Load-bearing at Luke 15:7,10,32; 24:52.

King

Approved rendering: 王
Transliteration: wong4
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Original: βασιλεύς
Category: Christology

New for Luke. Given Hong Kong’s political sensitivities around sovereignty language, must be taught as an exclusively spiritual/messianic kingship claim, not a contemporary political statement. Load-bearing at Luke 19:38; 23:2-3,37-38.

Remembrance

Approved rendering: 記念
Transliteration: gei3 nim6
Doctrine: The New Covenant in Christ’s Blood
Rejected alternatives: 祭祖/拜祖先
Original: ἀνάμνησις
Category: Church

New for Luke. Distinguish from ancestor-memorial ritual observance (祭祖, 拜祖先); looks to Christ’s unique, once-for-all saving death, not ongoing filial obligations toward the departed. Load-bearing at Luke 22:19.

Witness

Approved rendering: 見證人
Transliteration: gin3 zing3 jan4
Doctrine: Witness and Proclamation of the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: 商業廣告式嘅『見證』
Original: μάρτυς
Category: Church

New for Luke. Distinguish from casual eyewitness storytelling or commercial-testimonial advertising usage of 見證, common in Hong Kong marketing; authoritative, gospel-founding testimony to Christ’s resurrection. Load-bearing at Luke 24:48.

Genealogy

Approved rendering: 家譜
Transliteration: gaa1 pou2
Doctrine: Genealogical Lineage of Christ
Original: γενεαλογία
Category: Christology

New for Luke. Bridges to Cantonese clan-lineage record-keeping culture (族譜) prominent in Pearl River Delta genealogical practice — a helpful teaching bridge — but must not imply Christ’s divine Sonship is of the same kind as ordinary human descent from Adam. Load-bearing at Luke 3:23-38.

Circumcision

Approved rendering: 割禮
Transliteration: got3 lai5
Doctrine: Law and Covenant Fulfillment
Original: περιτομή
Category: Covenant

New for Luke. Requires Old Testament covenant-sign background explanation for readers with low OT narrative literacy; low direct HK cultural collision risk. Load-bearing at Luke 2:21.

Temple

Approved rendering: 聖殿
Transliteration: sing3 dim6
Doctrine: Law and Covenant Fulfillment
Rejected alternatives: 廟
Original: ἱερόν / ναός
Category: Church

New for Luke. Never 廟; distinct from the New Testament ekklēsia (教會) which succeeds it typologically. Load-bearing at Luke 2:22-52; 19:45-48; 20:1; 21:1,5-6,37-38.

Angel

Approved rendering: 天使
Transliteration: tin1 si2
Doctrine: Angelic Mediation and Annunciation
Rejected alternatives: 神仙, 祖先靈
Original: ἄγγελος
Category: God

New for Luke. Distinguish clearly from folk deities/immortals (神仙) and from ancestral spirits venerated or petitioned in Hong Kong folk religion; a created heavenly messenger, not an object of veneration. Load-bearing at Luke 1:11-38; 2:9-15; 22:43; 24:4-7,23.

Mercy

Approved rendering: 憐憫
Transliteration: lin4 man5
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion
Rejected alternatives: 有求必應式嘅還願恩惠
Original: ἔλεος
Category: Compassion

New for Luke. Distinguish from a transactional favor exchanged for a vow (cf. baseline grace entry’s Wong Tai Sin caution); God’s mercy flows from covenant character, expressed freely, not purchased through ritual payment. Load-bearing at Luke 1:50,54,58,72,78; 10:37.

Prayer

Approved rendering: 禱告
Transliteration: dou2 gou3
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
Rejected alternatives: 求籤, 問米
Original: προσευχή / προσεύχομαι
Category: Faith

New for Luke. Distinguish from drawing a temple fortune-stick (求籤) or consulting a spirit-medium (問米); direct address to the one true, personal God. Load-bearing at Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:18,28-29; 11:1-13; 18:1-14; 22:39-46.

Low Risk Terms

Apostle

Approved rendering: 使徒
Transliteration: si2 tou4
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: 風水師, 大師
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church

Never 大師 (feng shui grandmaster title). [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at Luke 6:13; 9:1-6; 11:49; 17:5; 22:14; 24:10.]

Prophet

Approved rendering: 先知
Transliteration: sin1 zi1
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: 風水師, 算命佬
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant

Never a fortune-teller (算命佬) or feng shui consultant (風水師). [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at the core passage (Isaiah as prophet) and Luke 1, 3-4, 6-7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 20, 24.]

Fellowship

Approved rendering: 團契
Transliteration: tyun4 kai3
Doctrine: Jesus’ Table Fellowship with Sinners
Rejected alternatives: 同鄉會, 結拜
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church

Reserved for its established ecclesial sense; never 同鄉會 or 結拜. [Inherited from Romans package; Luke’s table-fellowship-with-sinners scenes (5:29-32; 7:36-50; 15:1-2,23; 19:1-10) are rendered with a fixed descriptive clause rather than this noun, per 06_linguistic_gap_analysis.md.]

Thanksgiving

Approved rendering: 感恩
Transliteration: gam2 jan1
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία
Category: Faith

Standard term. [Inherited from Romans package; load-bearing at the grateful Samaritan leper, Luke 17:16.]

Referenced passages

LUK.1.32-35 LUK.4.41 LUK.8.28 LUK.9.35 LUK.22.70 LUK.1.15 LUK.1.35 LUK.1.41 LUK.1.67 LUK.2.25-27 LUK.3.16 LUK.3.22 LUK.4.1 LUK.4.14 LUK.4.18 LUK.10.21 LUK.11.13 LUK.12.12 LUK.24.49 LUK.1.32 LUK.3.38 LUK.4.3 LUK.4.9 LUK.7.36-50 LUK.15.11-32 LUK.18.9-14 LUK.11.37-54 LUK.12.1-3 LUK.20.20-26 LUK.2.10-11 LUK.2.30-32 LUK.3.6 LUK.4.25-27 LUK.7.1-10 LUK.10.25-37 LUK.13.29 LUK.17.11-19 LUK.24.47 LUK.9.22 LUK.18.33 LUK.20.34-38 LUK.24.1-49 LUK.1.77 LUK.3.3 LUK.3.8 LUK.5.20-24 LUK.5.32 LUK.7.47-49 LUK.13.3 LUK.13.5 LUK.15.7 LUK.15.10 LUK.17.3-4 LUK.18.13-14 LUK.19.8-9 LUK.5.24 LUK.6.5 LUK.9.26 LUK.9.44 LUK.9.58 LUK.12.8 LUK.12.40 LUK.17.22-30 LUK.18.8 LUK.19.10 LUK.21.27 LUK.21.36 LUK.22.22 LUK.22.48 LUK.22.69 LUK.24.7 LUK.1.68-69 LUK.2.38 LUK.21.28 LUK.24.21 LUK.1.26-38 LUK.2.1-7 LUK.5.20 LUK.7.9 LUK.7.50 LUK.8.25 LUK.8.48 LUK.8.50 LUK.17.19 LUK.18.42 LUK.9.28-36 LUK.5.1-11 LUK.5.27-28 LUK.9.23-25 LUK.9.57-62 LUK.14.25-33 LUK.18.22-23 LUK.18.28-30 LUK.24.52 LUK.7.13 LUK.10.33-37 LUK.15.20 LUK.10.25 LUK.16.19-31 LUK.18.18 LUK.18.30 LUK.23.43 LUK.22.14-20 LUK.24.50-53 LUK.3.21 LUK.5.16 LUK.6.12 LUK.9.18 LUK.9.28-29 LUK.11.1-13 LUK.18.1-14 LUK.22.32 LUK.22.39-46 LUK.23.34 LUK.23.46 LUK.2.21-24 LUK.2.39 LUK.5.14 LUK.6.1-11 LUK.10.26 LUK.13.10-17 LUK.16.16-17 LUK.24.44 LUK.3.7-9 LUK.13.1-5 LUK.15.1-32 LUK.1.27 LUK.1.32-33 LUK.1.69 LUK.2.4 LUK.2.11 LUK.3.31 LUK.18.38-39 LUK.20.41-44 LUK.4.1-13 LUK.4.33-36 LUK.8.26-39 LUK.10.17-20 LUK.11.14-22 LUK.22.3 LUK.22.31 LUK.22.53 LUK.6.20-23 LUK.7.22 LUK.14.13 LUK.14.21 LUK.18.22 LUK.5.29-32 LUK.15.1-2 LUK.15.23 LUK.19.1-10 LUK.12.10 LUK.6.24 LUK.12.13-21 LUK.12.33-34 LUK.14.12-14 LUK.16.1-31 LUK.18.18-25 LUK.4.43 LUK.6.20 LUK.8.1 LUK.8.10 LUK.9.2 LUK.9.11 LUK.9.60 LUK.10.9 LUK.10.11 LUK.11.2 LUK.11.20 LUK.12.31-32 LUK.13.18-21 LUK.13.28-29 LUK.14.15 LUK.17.20-21 LUK.18.16-17 LUK.18.24-25 LUK.18.29 LUK.19.11 LUK.21.31 LUK.22.16 LUK.22.18 LUK.22.29-30 LUK.23.42 LUK.1.1-4 LUK.4.16-21 LUK.24.25-27 LUK.24.44-47 LUK.4.17-21 LUK.24.27 LUK.24.32 LUK.24.44-45 LUK.1.2 LUK.8.11-15 LUK.9.1-6 LUK.10.1-12 LUK.24.46-49 LUK.1.52 LUK.6.20-26 LUK.14.7-14 LUK.3.23-38 LUK.1.11-20 LUK.2.9-15 LUK.22.43 LUK.24.4-7 LUK.24.23

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