Semantic Analysis — Matthew (English → Cantonese)

Method Note

This document analyzes the Koine Greek text of Matthew, chapter by chapter, first to last. The core passage (Matthew 5:1-12, the Beatitudes) receives full verse-by-verse treatment. Every other chapter receives a chapter section covering its load-bearing theological terms with the same seven fields: original word, transliteration, literal meaning, semantic range, English variants, contextual theological meaning, and destination-language (Cantonese) rendering risk. Chapters that introduce no new load-bearing vocabulary state this explicitly and name which earlier terms are reused.

Baseline compliance rule applied throughout: any term already recorded in the Romans translation_memory.json (e.g. 神, 耶穌, 基督, 主, 聖靈, 教會, 使徒, 律法, 罪, 恩典, 信心, 義, 稱義, 救恩, 復活, 蒙召嘅/呼召, 揀選, 約, 神嘅國, 神嘅兒子, 先知, 預言, 外邦人, 榮耀) is reused exactly as recorded. No alternative renderings are proposed for these terms in this document. Where Matthew’s usage nuances a baseline term differently than Romans did, this is flagged as a usage note, not a re-rendering.

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PART A — Core Passage Verse-by-Verse: Matthew 5:1-12 (The Beatitudes)

Setting (5:1-2)

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
ὄχλος	ochlos	crowd, multitude	common people gathered informally, sometimes with a note of the “unlearned masses”	crowd, multitude, people	The audience of the Sermon spans both committed disciples and the wider curious public — the Sermon addresses kingdom life for actual and potential kingdom citizens alike.	群眾 (kwan4 zung3). Low risk. Standard secular term; no collision.
ὄρος	oros	mountain, hill	any elevated terrain; in Matthew evokes a “new Sinai” typology (lawgiver on a mountain)	mountain, mountainside, hill	Deliberate echo of Moses receiving the Law on Sinai — Jesus as greater lawgiver/authoritative teacher.	山 (saan1). Low risk, but teaching notes should make the Sinai typology explicit since Cantonese readers will not automatically supply OT background (per baseline’s general “low OT literacy” audience assumption).
μαθητής	mathētēs	learner, pupil	one who follows and is formed by a teacher’s instruction and way of life, not merely an information-recipient	disciple, follower, student, pupil	The Sermon is addressed primarily to disciples — those already committed to following Jesus — even though crowds overhear.	門徒 (mun4 tou4). Medium risk. In everyday Cantonese culture 門徒 overlaps conceptually with the 師傅/徒弟 (master/apprentice) relationship of a martial-arts school (功夫師傅) or a feng shui/fortune-telling master’s disciple — a very active cultural frame in Hong Kong via kung-fu cinema and living martial-arts lineages. Teaching must clarify biblical discipleship is whole-life allegiance to a divine Lord, not a craft-apprenticeship under a human master.
διδάσκω	didaskō	to teach	authoritative instruction, not mere information transfer	taught, was teaching	Introduces the Authority of Jesus’ Teaching doctrine, confirmed explicitly at 7:28-29.	教導 (gaau3 dou6). Medium risk — see ἐξουσία (authority) note under Matthew 7 below; the term itself is low risk, but the doctrine it introduces requires care throughout the book.

Matthew 5:3

μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
μακάριος	makarios	blessed, fortunate, in a state of flourishing	a declarative pronouncement of a person’s objective condition before God, not a subjective feeling; distinct from εὐλογητός (which is used of God being praised)	blessed, happy, fortunate	God’s own verdict that a person is in the state of highest well-being — a verdict that is often the opposite of what the world would call fortunate.	有福 (jau5 fuk1). CRITICAL RISK. This is the single highest-priority rendering risk in the entire core passage. 福 (fuk1) is the same character anchoring the baseline’s Critical-flagged commercial prosperity/luck culture (恭喜發財, New Year fortune greetings) and is also the root of 福音 (gospel, already flagged Medium in baseline). Every one of the nine Beatitudes opens with this character. Hong Kong readers must not hear “有福” as a fortune-teller’s or temple’s pronouncement of good luck/prosperity about to arrive. The paradox must be preserved and taught explicitly: God pronounces “有福” precisely over the poor-in-spirit, the mourning, and the persecuted — categories that popular fortune culture would call unlucky (唔好命, 冇運行). Translator notes accompanying every Beatitude verse should reinforce this contrast.
πτωχός	ptōchos	destitute, utterly poor, a beggar	(not merely “having little” but abject economic destitution, dependent on others for survival); metaphorically extended to spiritual destitution/utter dependence on God	poor, poor in spirit, spiritually poor, those who know their need of God (paraphrase)	Total, conscious spiritual bankruptcy before God — the opposite of self-sufficient religious confidence — as the entry condition for the kingdom.	Established Cantonese/CUV rendering: 虛心 (heoi1 sam1, “humble/open-hearted”) — but this is an interpretive softening; πτωχός literally means beggar-poor, not merely modest. High risk. Recommend supplementing with 心靈貧窮 (sam1 ling4 pan4 kung4, “poor in spirit/soul”) in teaching materials to recover the destitution sense, while retaining 虛心 as the familiar liturgical form. Risk: softening to mere modesty loses the intended paradox that spiritual bankruptcy, not achievement, opens the kingdom.
πνεῦμα	pneuma	spirit, breath	here: the inner, non-physical dimension of the person (contrast with a purely material/economic poverty)	spirit, inner being	Locates the “poverty” as a spiritual-existential condition, not a literal economic state (though the two are not unrelated in Luke’s parallel).	靈 / 心靈 (ling4 / sam1 ling4). Medium risk used alone — baseline already flags standalone 靈 as colliding with folk ancestral/mediumship spirit-world vocabulary; in this compound (心靈貧窮) the risk is mitigated by context, but translators must never let πνεῦμα here be rendered with a bare 靈 that could be misread as an ancestral or mediumistic spirit.
βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν	basileia tōn ouranōn	kingship/reign of the heavens	Matthew’s characteristic phrase (32 occurrences), a Jewish reverential circumlocution for “kingdom of God” avoiding direct use of the divine name; synonymous in referent with βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ, which Matthew also uses (6:33; 12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43)	kingdom of heaven, kingdom of the heavens, heaven’s reign	God’s own sovereign, saving reign, already breaking in through Christ and consummated at his return — the central organizing theme of Matthew and of this curriculum.	天國 (tin1 gwok3). CRITICAL RISK. See the dedicated Kingdom of Heaven doctrine note below. Must never be confused with 天堂 (heaven as the afterlife destination), with 天命 (Mandate of Heaven — a politically loaded classical Chinese legitimacy concept), or with an impersonal 天意 (“heaven’s will,” already forbidden in the baseline under providence). Also must be taught as theologically identical in referent to 神嘅國 (the baseline’s “kingdom of God” rendering) — Matthew’s variation is stylistic/reverential, not two different kingdoms.

Matthew 5:4

μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται.

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
πενθέω	pentheō	to mourn, to grieve deeply	grief over loss, sin, or the world’s brokenness — stronger than λυπέω (ordinary sadness)	mourn, grieve, are sorrowful	Grief specifically over sin and the fallen state of the world (echoing Isaiah 61’s mourners in Zion), not merely bereavement.	哀慕 / 哀痛 (oi1 mou6 / oi1 tung3). Medium risk. Must be taught as grief over sin/brokenness bringing repentance, not generic bereavement-comfort language, and not the ritual mourning-observance customs of Cantonese funeral practice (守孝, 做七 mourning-period rites), which are procedural rather than penitential.
παρακαλέω (passive: παρακληθήσονται)	parakaleō	to call alongside, to comfort/console	comfort, encouragement, consolation — the same root used of the Holy Spirit as Παράκλητος (Comforter) elsewhere in the NT	will be comforted, will receive comfort	God himself personally comforts the mourner — a promise of God’s own future, decisive intervention, not a vague sentiment of “it gets better.”	得安慰 (dak1 on1 wai3). Low-Medium risk. Standard term; ensure the agent of comfort (God, in the divine passive) is clear in surrounding teaching text, since Cantonese grammar can obscure the implied divine subject.

Matthew 5:5

μακάριοι οἱ πραεῖς, ὅτι αὐτοὶ κληρονομήσουσιν τὴν γῆν.

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
πραΰς	praus	gentle, mild, meek	strength held under control, not passivity or weakness; used of Moses (the meekest man) and of Christ himself (11:29; 21:5)	meek, gentle, humble	Power submitted to God’s will and exercised without self-assertion — a kingdom virtue that inverts worldly status-seeking.	溫柔 (wan1 jau4). Medium risk. In contemporary Cantonese usage 溫柔 is strongly gendered toward soft/passive femininity in popular usage (e.g. describing a gentle woman), risking a reading of meekness as weakness or lack of resolve. Teaching must clarify: biblical meekness is strength restrained for God’s purposes, exemplified by Moses and by Christ, not personality-level passivity.
κληρονομέω	klēronomeō	to inherit, to receive as an heir	receiving a possession by right of relationship (as an heir), not by seizure or achievement	inherit, will inherit, will possess	Echoes Psalm 37’s promise to the meek; anticipates the final, comprehensive restoration of creation to God’s people as heirs, not conquerors.	承受 / 得基業 (sing4 sau6 / dak1 gei1 jip6). Medium risk. Ties conceptually to the baseline’s “adoption” doctrine (兒子嘅名分) — inheritance flows from sonship, not merit or conquest. Distinguish from clan-inheritance customs (分家產, dividing a family estate among sons), which are more transactional/legal than relational.
γῆ	gē	earth, land, ground	the physical earth; in OT background, specifically the Promised Land, extended eschatologically to the renewed whole earth	earth, the land	The final scope of the inheritance is the whole renewed created order, the new heavens and new earth (cf. Matt 19:28; Rev 21), not merely a national territory.	地 / 大地 (dei6 / daai6 dei6). Low risk. Standard vocabulary; supplementary teaching should clarify the eschatological (not merely geographic-political) scope.

Matthew 5:6

μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι αὐτοὶ χορτασθήσονται.

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
πεινάω / διψάω	peinaō / dipsaō	to hunger / to thirst	visceral, urgent physical need, used metaphorically for an urgent spiritual longing	hunger and thirst for, long for, crave	Total, urgent longing for right relationship with and conformity to God — not a mild aspiration but a felt necessity, like physical survival need.	飢渴 (gei1 hot3). Low risk as an image; risk is entirely carried by the object of the hunger (δικαιοσύνη), below.
δικαιοσύνη	dikaiosynē	righteousness, rightness	right standing/right conduct in relation to God’s character and will; in Matthew this spans both God-given right standing and the transformed conduct that flows from it — distinct from the purely forensic sense dominant in Romans	righteousness, justice, right living, what is right	The condition of being and living rightly before God, both received (as a gift sought) and lived out — the material of the whole “righteousness exceeding the Pharisees” theme (5:20).	義 (ji6) — reused exactly from Romans baseline TM. CRITICAL RISK, heightened in Matthew. The baseline’s Critical flag (collision with Confucian 義 as a loyalty-and-honor virtue, reinforced by triad/gangster-film 義氣) is more acute here than in Romans, because Matthew immediately sets righteousness in a comparative, performance-shaped context (“exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes,” 5:20) — precisely the frame in which the loyalty/honor-code collision is easiest to trigger. Every occurrence of 義 in the Sermon on the Mount and in the “righteousness exceeding the Pharisees” doctrine requires an explicit note that this is not winning a moral-performance contest against religious rivals, but hungering for a God-given, God-oriented rightness that exceeds mere rule-keeping.
χορτάζω	chortazō	to feed to satisfaction, to fill (originally of feeding animals fodder)	full satisfaction of appetite	will be filled, will be satisfied	God himself will fully and finally satisfy this longing — echoing the Messianic banquet imagery elsewhere in Matthew (8:11; 22:1-14; 26:29).	得飽足 (dak1 baau2 zuk1). Low risk. Standard term.

Matthew 5:7

μακάριοι οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται.

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
ἐλεήμων / ἔλεος	eleēmōn / eleos	merciful / mercy, compassion shown to one in need or distress	active compassion expressed in concrete help toward the undeserving or suffering; the same root recurs in 9:13 and 12:7 quoting Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”	merciful, showing mercy, compassionate	Kingdom people extend to others the same undeserved compassion they have received from God — mercy given, not mercy earned by prior merit.	憐恤 / 憐憫 (lin4 seot1 / lin4 man5). HIGH RISK — specific to Cantonese context. These terms sit dangerously close in register and semantic field to 慈悲 (ci4 bei1), the standard Chinese Buddhist term for compassion, and specifically to Guanyin’s popular epithet 大慈大悲 (“greatly compassionate, greatly merciful”) — already named and forbidden in the Romans baseline under salvation because Guanyin devotion is extremely common in Hong Kong households. Translators must retain 憐恤/憐憫, never substitute 慈悲, and should flag any segment praising mercy for possible Guanyin-epithet drift in back-translation review.

Matthew 5:8

μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν θεὸν ὄψονται.

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
καθαρός	katharos	clean, pure, unmixed	ritual, moral, or literal physical cleanness depending on context; here explicitly moral/relational (of the καρδία)	pure, clean	Single-minded, undivided moral integrity and devotion toward God — not ritual cleanliness.	清心 (cing1 sam1). High risk. 清心 strongly overlaps with the common Chinese self-cultivation idiom 清心寡慾 (“purify the heart, minimize desire”), a meditative-ascetic ideal drawn from Daoist and Buddhist practice widely known in Cantonese popular culture. Teaching must clarify biblical purity of heart is a God-given moral condition of undivided devotion and integrity, not a meditative-technique-achieved detachment from desire cultivated by self-discipline.
καρδία	kardia	heart	the seat of thought, will, and moral orientation — the whole inner person, not the physical organ or mere emotion	heart, inner being, mind	The location where true righteousness or defilement originates (cf. 15:18-19) — the Sermon’s key anthropological term.	心 (sam1). Low-Medium risk standalone; risk is carried by compounds (清心 above; also 心靈 poor-in-spirit above).
ὁράω (fut. ὄψονται)	horaō	to see	direct, unmediated perception; here eschatological — the beatific vision	will see, shall see	The climactic hope of the whole Sermon and of Scripture: direct, unhindered communion with God himself, reserved for the consummated kingdom (cf. Rev 22:4; 1 Cor 13:12).	見到神 (gin3 dou3 san4). Medium risk. Ensure “see God” (神) is not softened into a generic mystical-enlightenment vision-experience resembling Buddhist/Daoist attainment states (開悟, 得道) already flagged under sanctification in the baseline; this is a relational, personal, future encounter with the personal God, granted by grace, not a self-attained spiritual perception.

Matthew 5:9

μακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ θεοῦ κληθήσονται.

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
εἰρηνοποιός	eirēnopoios	peace-maker	one who actively creates/restores peace, not merely one who avoids conflict	peacemakers, those who make peace	Active reconciling work — between people and God, and between people and each other — as fruit of having received God’s peace (cf. baseline “peace,” 平安, Medium risk).	使人和睦嘅人 (sai2 jan4 wo4 muk6 ge3 jan4). Medium risk. 和睦 (harmony) resonates positively with the Confucian social ideal 和為貴 (“harmony is most precious”) and the common Cantonese social value of avoiding open conflict (唔好嘈交, “don’t quarrel,” often face-preserving rather than reconciling). Teaching must clarify: this is active, costly reconciliation — including gospel proclamation that reconciles people to God — not merely conflict-avoidance or surface harmony-keeping.
υἱοὶ θεοῦ	huioi theou	sons of God	full filial status and standing, echoing the baseline’s Adoption doctrine (兒子嘅名分)	sons of God, children of God	Peacemakers are publicly recognized (κληθήσονται, “will be called”) as bearing God’s own family likeness and standing — ties directly to the Adoption/Sonship doctrine already Critical-flagged for Christ (神嘅兒子) and High-flagged for believers’ adoption in the baseline.	Reuse concept 兒子嘅名分 (adoption) conceptually; direct phrase: 神嘅兒子 (san4 ge3 ji4 zi2) — note: baseline reserves 神嘅兒子 (Critical risk) specifically for Christ’s unique, eternal Sonship (Son of God). Applying the identical phrase to believers here risks flattening the Christ/believer distinction. Recommend: render believers’ sonship here as 神嘅兒女 (san4 ge3 ji4 neoi5, “children of God,” gender-inclusive) or explicitly with the adoption phrase 得兒子嘅名分, reserving the bare 神嘅兒子 title for Christ alone, consistent with baseline’s Critical distinction. High risk if this distinction is not maintained.

Matthew 5:10

μακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
διώκω (perf. pass. δεδιωγμένοι)	diōkō	to pursue, to persecute	hostile pursuit aimed at harm, exclusion, or suppression	persecuted, those who are persecuted	Kingdom righteousness provokes real-world hostility; the reward is the same kingdom promised to the poor in spirit (5:3), forming an inclusio around the Beatitudes.	受迫害 / 被逼迫 (sau6 bik1 hoi6 / bei6 bik1 hoi6). Medium-High risk in the Hong Kong context specifically: given current political sensitivities around religious and civic expression, teaching materials must keep this doctrinally framed (suffering for righteousness/gospel allegiance) and avoid language that could be read as endorsing or inciting political confrontation, per the baseline’s general caution on kingdom/authority passages.
ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης	heneken dikaiosynēs	for the sake of righteousness	causal/purpose phrase specifying the reason for persecution	for righteousness’ sake, because of righteousness	The persecution in view is specifically provoked by gospel-shaped righteous living/allegiance to Christ, not persecution in general (contrast with unjust suffering for wrongdoing, 1 Peter 2:20).	為義 (wai4 ji6). Critical risk — inherits the full 義-collision risk noted at 5:6 above; must not read as suffering for the sake of defending one’s honor/loyalty code (義氣) among peers.

Matthew 5:11-12

μακάριοι ἐστε ὅταν ὀνειδίσωσιν ὑμᾶς καὶ διώξωσιν καὶ εἴπωσιν πᾶν πονηρὸν καθ᾽ ὑμῶν [ψευδόμενοι] ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ. χαίρετε καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὅτι ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολὺς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· οὕτως γὰρ ἐδίωξαν τοὺς προφήτας τοὺς πρὸ ὑμῶν.

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
ὀνειδίζω	oneidizō	to revile, insult, reproach	verbal shaming/insult aimed at a person’s honor or reputation	revile, insult, mock	Shifts the Beatitudes from third person (“blessed are they”) to direct second person (“blessed are you”) — personalizing the cost of discipleship for the hearers themselves.	辱罵 (juk6 maa6). Medium risk. Connects to Hong Kong’s strong face/reputation culture (面子, already flagged under baseline’s “glory” entry) — being shamed publicly is a weighty social cost in Cantonese culture; the Beatitude directly confronts and reverses face-based value with kingdom-based value.
πᾶν πονηρὸν … ψευδόμενοι	pan ponēron … pseudomenoi	every evil thing … falsely	slander, false accusation	say all kinds of evil against you falsely	Suffering unjustly for Christ’s sake, not for actual wrongdoing — a distinction essential to the Cost of Discipleship doctrine.	講假話誣蔑 (gong2 gaa2 waa2 mou4 mit6). Low-Medium risk. Standard vocabulary.
ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ	heneken emou	for my sake	causal phrase attributing the suffering specifically to allegiance to Christ personally	because of me, for my sake	Christologically centers the entire Beatitudes discourse: the suffering in view is Christ-allegiance suffering, tying directly to the Lordship confession already Critical-flagged in the Romans baseline (10:9, 耶穌是主).	為我嘅緣故 (wai4 ngo5 ge3 jyun4 gu3). High risk — ensure “me” is unmistakably Christ himself (not a generic cause), reinforcing exclusive personal allegiance.
χαίρετε καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε	chairete kai agalliasthe	rejoice and exult/leap for joy	a doubled, intensified command to joy — the second verb (ἀγαλλιάω) especially connotes exuberant, even bodily, celebration	rejoice and be glad, rejoice and be exceedingly glad	Joy is commanded, not merely permitted, even in persecution — grounded in the certainty of heavenly reward, not present circumstance.	歡喜快樂 (fun1 hei2 faai3 lok6). Low risk. Standard vocabulary; ensure the imperative force (“rejoice!”) is retained, not softened to a wish.
μισθός	misthos	wage, pay, reward	originally a laborer’s earned wage; in the Gospels extended metaphorically to God’s gracious response to faithfulness	reward, wages, recompense	This is a cross-cutting term for the whole book (see also Matt 6, 10, 16, 19-20, 25). The heavenly reward is God’s gracious response to faithful, Spirit-enabled discipleship — not a wage mechanically earned by merit in a transactional exchange.	賞賜 (soeng2 ce3). CRITICAL RISK, recurring throughout Matthew. μισθός’s root sense as an earned wage creates real tension with the baseline’s Critical grace-vs-merit warning (恩典 must never be transactional, per Wong Tai Sin’s “whatever you ask, you shall receive” framing). Every occurrence of 賞賜/reward language in Matthew must be taught within the framework of grace: God rewards faithfulness that his own grace enabled, not merit that obligates him, and must never be assimilated to 功德 (Buddhist earned merit, already forbidden under grace) or to temple vow-fulfillment exchange (還神還願, already forbidden under justification). This is one of the most important cross-cutting doctrinal notes for the entire Matthew curriculum, since Matthew uses reward-language far more extensively than Romans does.
προφήτης	prophētēs	prophet	reused exactly from Romans baseline (先知, Low risk)	prophets	Grounds present persecution in a long, honored biblical pattern (OT prophets), giving comfort and dignity to suffering disciples.	先知 (sin1 zi1) — reused exactly from baseline. No new risk.

Synthesis note on the core passage: The Beatitudes’ single greatest cross-cutting risk is the repeated 有福/福 pronouncement pattern colliding with Hong Kong’s prosperity-and-luck culture, compounded by the fact that the content of each blessing (poverty, mourning, meekness, persecution) is precisely what popular fortune-culture would label unlucky. A secondary but serious risk is the reward (賞賜/μισθός) theme introduced at 5:12, which recurs pervasively through the rest of the book and must be consistently taught against a grace framework, not a merit-transaction framework.

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PART B — Chapter-by-Chapter Semantic Analysis, Matthew 1–28

Chapter 1 — Genealogy and Birth of Jesus

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
βίβλος γενέσεως	biblos geneseōs	book of genealogy/origin	a formal genealogical record, echoing Genesis’ own opening formula	genealogy, family record, generation	Frames Jesus’ identity as the climax of Israel’s covenant history from the outset — ties directly to Fulfillment of Prophecy and Davidic Covenant doctrines.	家譜 (gaa1 pou2). Low risk. Standard term; needs OT-background teaching support, not translation adjustment.
υἱὸς Δαβίδ	huios Dauid	son of David	a royal, messianic descent title distinct from the “seed of David” descent-formula already in the baseline (σπέρμα Δαυίδ, Romans 1:3)	son of David	Establishes Jesus’ legal/royal Davidic lineage from the genealogy’s first line — sets up the recurring messianic title used by petitioners throughout the book (9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30; 21:9, 15).	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 大衛嘅子孫 (daai6 wai6 ge3 zi2 syun1, “descendant of David”). High risk. Distinguish from baseline’s 大衛嘅後裔 (seed of David, used for the Romans 1:3 physical-descent formula) — related concept, different grammatical function (a vocative/titular address, not a descent-formula). Must not be confused with 天子 (“Son of Heaven,” the Chinese imperial title, already forbidden under Son of God in the baseline) — this is Davidic royal descent, not a claim to divine cosmic emperorship.
παρθένος	parthenos	virgin	a woman who has not had sexual relations; the term underlying the virgin birth doctrine and the fulfillment quotation of Isaiah 7:14	virgin, young woman (disputed in some non-Christian translations of Isaiah)	The virgin conception is a sign of the unique, unrepeatable Incarnation (道成肉身, Critical, already in baseline) — not a symbolic or mythological birth-narrative motif.	童貞女 (tung4 zing1 neoi5). High risk. Must not be softened to a generic “young woman,” which would undercut the miraculous, unique nature of the virgin conception central to the Incarnation doctrine.
Ἐμμανουήλ	Emmanouēl	God with us	transliterated Hebrew name/title, directly interpreted in the text itself	Emmanuel, “God with us”	Directly asserts the Deity of Christ (already Critical in baseline) at the very outset of the book — God himself has come to dwell with his people.	以馬內利 (Ji5 maa5 noi6 lei6) — established transliteration. Critical risk inherited from Deity of Christ doctrine; ensure the accompanying gloss “神與我們同在” (神同我們同在, san4 tung4 ngo5 mun4 tung4 zoi6) is always retained, not dropped, since the transliteration alone conveys nothing to a non-Hebrew-literate reader.
Χριστός	Christos	Christ, Anointed One	reused exactly from Romans baseline (基督, Critical)	Christ, Messiah	Same referent as baseline’s Messiah entry — the one Messiah who has already come.	基督 (gei1 duk1) — reused exactly from baseline.

Chapter 2 — The Magi, Flight to Egypt, Herod’s Slaughter

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
μάγος (pl. μάγοι)	magos	magus, astrologer-sage	Gentile scholar-astrologers from the East; not “wise men” in a generic sense but specifically star-observing court advisors	wise men, magi, astrologers	Gentile inclusion in worship of the newborn King, foreshadowing the Great Commission’s mission to all nations — even as their method (star-reading) is not itself endorsed as revelation.	博士 (bok3 si6) — established CUV/Cantonese rendering. Medium risk, two-fold: (1) modern Cantonese 博士 primarily means “PhD/doctorate holder,” a semantic drift readers must be taught around; (2) more seriously, given Hong Kong’s very active popular astrology/zodiac-reading culture (占星, 生肖運程), teaching must clarify God sovereignly used the magi’s unusual observation to draw them to worship Christ — this is not a validation of astrology/horoscope reading as a legitimate ongoing path to spiritual truth, a caution consistent with the baseline’s rejection of birth-chart divination (八字) under calling/election.
προσκυνέω	proskyneō	to bow down, prostrate, do homage/worship	ranges from formal court homage to a superior, to full religious worship of a deity — context determines which	worship, bow down, do homage	The magi’s homage to the child anticipates true worship of Christ as divine King (culminating at 28:17).	敬拜 / 朝拜 (ging3 baai3 / ciu4 baai3). Medium risk. Vocabulary overlaps with generic temple-worship language (拜神, 拜佛); context must make clear this is worship due exclusively to Christ as divine King, paralleling the Lord (主) entry’s exclusivity requirement in the baseline.
Ναζωραῖος	Nazōraios	Nazarene, of Nazareth	a fulfillment-formula proper name/title	Nazarene	Part of the recurring “that it might be fulfilled” pattern establishing Fulfillment of Prophecy as a Matthean structural device.	拿撒勒人 (Naa4 saat3 lak6 jan4). Low risk. Proper noun; standard form.
πληρωθῇ	plērōthē	might be fulfilled	the passive of πληρόω, used in Matthew’s recurring formula “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet” (1:22; 2:15, 17, 23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 26:56, etc.)	fulfilled, that it might be fulfilled, in fulfillment of	Major cross-cutting term for the Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy doctrine. Denotes deliberate, linear, once-for-all historical fulfillment of specific, prior divine promise.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 應驗 (jing3 jim6) — already implicit in the baseline’s “prophecy” entry (預言) but not formalized as a verb. High risk. Must be distinguished from the cyclical fortune-forecast framework (運程, annual almanac predictions) and from a fortune-stick or horoscope prediction “coming true” by chance (求籤, already flagged under baseline’s prophecy entry) — this is the deliberate fulfillment of God’s specific, ancient, written promise, not a generic prediction proving accurate.

Chapter 3 — John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
βαπτίζω	baptizō	to immerse, dip, wash	a ritual water-immersion; in John’s ministry, an act signifying repentance; in the Great Commission (28:19), the church’s ongoing ordinance	baptize, immerse	Introduces the ordinance that will become central to Christian identity and the Great Commission.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 洗禮 (sai2 lai5) as the noun/ordinance, 施洗 (si1 sai2) as the verb “to baptize” (cf. 施洗約翰, “John the Baptist”). Medium risk. Distinguish from generic ritual washing/purification bathing found in some folk-religious and Daoist practice (ritual hand/face cleansing before worship); baptism signifies repentance and, from ch. 28 onward, incorporation into Christ and the Trinity, not ceremonial cleanliness alone.
μετάνοια / μετανοέω	metanoia / metanoeō	change of mind, turning	a genuine, God-oriented reorientation of mind and life away from sin, not mere regret	repent, repentance, turn from sin	The necessary human response to the in-breaking kingdom (3:2; 4:17) — precedes and enables entry into right relationship with God.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 悔改 (fui3 goi2). Medium risk. Distinguish from superficial regret/remorse (後悔, regret without moral turning) and from the ritual vow-renewal practiced at temples (還神), which addresses a deity-relationship transactionally rather than turning the whole person toward God in trust.
βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν	basileia tōn ouranōn	kingdom of heaven	first occurrence in the book (3:2, in John’s preaching)	kingdom of heaven	See dedicated Kingdom of Heaven doctrine note above (5:3).	天國 (tin1 gwok3). Critical risk — see above.
πνεῦμα ἅγιον	pneuma hagion	Holy Spirit	reused exactly from Romans baseline (聖靈, Critical)	Holy Spirit	Visibly descends on Jesus at his baptism, confirming his identity and inaugurating his Spirit-empowered ministry.	聖靈 (sing3 ling4) — reused exactly from baseline.
υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός	huios mou ho agapētos	my beloved son	a divine declaration of unique filial relationship and pleasure	my beloved Son, my Son, whom I love	The Father’s direct verbal confirmation of Christ’s unique Sonship (ties to Sonship of Christ doctrine, Critical in baseline).	Reuse concept 神嘅兒子 (Son of God, Critical) — here spoken in first person by the Father about Christ; render as 我所愛嘅兒子 (ngo5 so2 ngoi3 ge3 ji4 zi2). Critical risk inherited from Sonship of Christ doctrine.

Chapter 4 — Temptation and the Beginning of Galilean Ministry

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
πειρασμός / πειράζω	peirasmos / peirazō	trial, test, temptation	can mean a neutral “test” or a morally-loaded “temptation to sin,” depending on the tempter’s intent	temptation, testing, trial	Christ’s own successful resistance to the devil’s temptations, over against Israel’s failures in the wilderness — establishes his qualification as faithful representative Son.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 試探 (si3 taam3). Medium risk. Not in the Romans baseline. Distinguish from the ordinary secular sense of “test” (測試); this is morally-loaded temptation to sin/unbelief, orchestrated by a personal tempter, not a neutral trial of skill.
διάβολος	diabolos	slanderer, accuser	the proper title of the personal chief adversary of God and his people, used interchangeably with Σατανᾶς	the devil, the tempter	The personal, singular, defeated-in-advance adversary — see doctrinal note under Chapter 12 (Beelzebul) for the fuller devil/Satan entry.	魔鬼 (mo1 gwai2). Medium risk — see full note at Chapter 12 below.
βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἤγγικεν	basileia tōn ouranōn ēngiken	the kingdom of heaven has drawn near	perfect tense verb indicating a state that has arrived and continues — “has come near” and remains near, not merely “is approaching”	the kingdom of heaven is at hand, has come near, is near	Announces the kingdom’s actual, present in-breaking through Christ’s own presence and ministry — not a future-only hope.	天國近咗 (tin1 gwok3 kan5 zo2). Critical risk — inherits the Kingdom of Heaven doctrine note; ensure “has drawn near” is not rendered as merely a future prediction, since the kingdom is presently inaugurated in Christ.
ἀκολουθέω	akoloutheō	to follow, to accompany as a disciple	to leave one’s former life and follow a teacher, physically and existentially	follow, followed	The concrete, costly act of leaving nets/family/livelihood to follow Christ — foundational for the Discipleship and Cost of Following Jesus doctrine.	跟隨 (gan1 cui4). Low-Medium risk. Standard vocabulary; doctrinal weight (the cost involved) must be carried by surrounding teaching, not the word alone.
εὐαγγέλιον τῆς βασιλείας	euangelion tēs basileias	gospel of the kingdom	compound of two baseline terms	gospel of the kingdom	Explicitly links the Gospel doctrine (福音, Medium, baseline) with the Kingdom of Heaven doctrine (天國, Critical) — the good news IS the arrival of God’s reign in Christ.	天國嘅福音 (tin1 gwok3 ge3 fuk1 jam1) — compound of two already-analyzed terms, both reused/newly established above.

Chapter 5 (5:13-48) — Salt, Light, Fulfilling the Law, the Antitheses

(5:1-12 treated fully in Part A above.)

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
πληρῶσαι (τὸν νόμον)	plērōsai (ton nomon)	to fulfill (the Law)	to bring to intended completion/fullness — distinct sense from πληρωθῇ used for prophecy-fulfillment (Chapter 2 above)	fulfill, complete	Christ does not abolish but brings the Law to its intended, complete meaning and purpose — foundational for the whole Sermon’s ethic.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 成全 (sing4 cyun4, “to fulfill/bring to completion”). High risk — important technical distinction. Must NOT be rendered with the same word (應驗, used for prophecy “coming true”) used for prophecy fulfillment in Chapter 2; these are two distinct senses of πληρόω requiring two distinct Cantonese words (應驗 for prophecy; 成全 for the Law) or confusion will result across the doctrine of Fulfillment of Prophecy versus the Law’s proper role.
νόμος	nomos	Law, Torah	reused exactly from Romans baseline (律法, High)	Law, the Law	The Mosaic Law, which Christ fulfills/completes rather than abolishes.	律法 (leot6 faat3) — reused exactly from baseline.
δικαιοσύνη … περισσεύσῃ πλεῖον	… exceeds …	comparative form: “your righteousness exceeds”	see 5:6 above for full δικαιοσύνη treatment	your righteousness must surpass/exceed	Direct textual anchor of the Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees doctrine (5:20).	義 (ji6) — reused; Critical risk, see 5:6 note; this specific verse (5:20) is the doctrinal proof-text and must carry the fullest translator note against the 義氣 loyalty-honor collision.
τέλειος	teleios	complete, whole, mature	moral/spiritual completeness/wholeness, not sinless perfection in an absolute philosophical sense	perfect, complete, whole, mature	”Be perfect/complete as your heavenly Father is perfect/complete” — a call to wholehearted, undivided godly character, not flawless performance.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 完全 (jyun4 cyun4). Medium-High risk. Must be distinguished from the self-cultivation-attained perfection ideal of Daoist/Buddhist spiritual practice (修煉 achieving mastery/immortal-level attainment, already flagged under sanctification in baseline) — this perfection is relational wholeness reflecting God’s character, received and grown by grace, not self-attained spiritual mastery.

Chapter 6 — The Lord’s Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving, Treasure, Anxiety

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
προσευχή / προσεύχομαι	proseuchē / proseuchomai	prayer / to pray	direct address to God	prayer, pray	Models direct, intimate, Father-oriented prayer (see baseline’s Abba/Father entries) as distinct from ritual petition to any deity.	禱告 (tou2 gou3). Low-Medium risk. Standard Christian term; distinguish from temple petitionary prayer (求神, 求籤) addressed transactionally to a deity for a favor, consistent with baseline’s intercession note.
νηστεία / νηστεύω	nēsteia / nēsteuō	fast / to fast	voluntary abstention from food for spiritual purposes	fasting, fast	An inward act of devotion to be done for God alone, not for public religious reputation — ties to the Hypocrite theme (Chapter 23).	禁食 (gam3 sik6). Low-Medium risk. Distinguish from Buddhist/folk-religious vegetarian vow-days (戒口, already flagged under holiness in baseline) practiced for merit or ritual purity; biblical fasting here is relational devotion to God, not merit accumulation.
ἐλεημοσύνη	eleēmosynē	almsgiving, charitable giving	giving to the poor as an act of mercy/righteousness	giving to the needy, almsgiving, charitable deeds	To be done secretly, for God’s eyes only — reinforces the hypocrisy warning.	施捨 / 賙濟 (si1 se2 / zau1 zai3). Low risk. Standard vocabulary.
θησαυρός	thēsauros	treasure, storehouse	wealth or valued possessions, whether earthly or heavenly	treasure	Directs ultimate loyalty and investment toward heaven, not earthly accumulation.	財寶 (coi4 bou2). Low risk.
μαμωνᾶς	mamōnas	mammon, wealth (personified)	Aramaic loanword for wealth/riches, personified here as a rival master to God	mammon, money, wealth	Wealth is personified as a rival “master” competing for ultimate allegiance — a direct challenge in Hong Kong’s intensely commercial, property- and wealth-driven culture.	瑪門 (Maa5 mun4) — established transliteration retained by CUV and Cantonese Bible tradition. Medium-High risk, culturally significant. This teaching lands with unusual force in Hong Kong given the prominence of wealth-accumulation culture, feng shui-driven property/business practice, and general status-through-wealth social values (already touched under “glory”/威水 in baseline); teaching materials should not soften this personification into a bland “don’t love money too much” — the text presents wealth as a rival god demanding total allegiance.
βασιλεία [τοῦ θεοῦ]	basileia [tou theou]	kingdom of God	Note: at 6:33, Matthew uses “kingdom of God” (τοῦ θεοῦ) rather than his usual “kingdom of heaven”	kingdom of God	Textual variation confirming the synonymous referent of “kingdom of heaven” and “kingdom of God” within Matthew itself — important for the Kingdom of Heaven doctrine note.	神嘅國 (san4 ge3 gwok3) — reused exactly from baseline. No new risk; flag as a teaching point confirming synonymy with 天國.

Chapter 7 — Judging, the Narrow Gate, and Jesus’ Authority

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
κρίνω	krinō	to judge, to discern/decide	ranges from neutral discernment to condemnatory judgment, depending on context (contrast 7:1’s warning against judgmental condemnation with 7:15-20’s call to discern false prophets by fruit)	judge, condemn, discern	Distinguishes forbidden self-righteous condemnation of others from necessary, humble discernment of true versus false teaching.	論斷 (leon6 dyun6, condemnatory judging) vs. 分辨 (fan1 bin6, discern). Medium risk. Care is needed to use two different Cantonese words for the two different senses in view across 7:1-5 and 7:15-20, or the passage’s own internal distinction collapses.
στενὴ πύλη	stenē pylē	narrow gate	a gate too small/narrow for casual, unconsidered entry	narrow gate, strait gate	The costly, deliberate choice required to enter the kingdom, contrasted with the easy, popular “wide gate” leading to destruction.	窄門 (zaak3 mun4). Low risk. Standard vivid image.
ψευδοπροφήτης	pseudoprophētēs	false prophet	compound of baseline’s προφήτης (先知) with the negating prefix ψευδο-	false prophets	Warns of deceptive religious figures who must be discerned by the “fruit” (consistent character and conduct) they produce — highly relevant given Hong Kong’s active market of professional spiritual/fortune-telling consultants.	假先知 (gaa2 sin1 zi1) — reuse baseline 先知 + negation. Medium risk. Teaching should draw the explicit connection to discerning any spiritually-authoritative figure (temple mediums, fortune-tellers, feng shui masters) already flagged elsewhere in the baseline, not only professing Christian teachers.
ἐξουσία	exousia	authority, right to act	the right and standing to act or command, distinct from δύναμις (raw power/might, already 大能 in baseline)	authority, power	Central term for the Authority of Jesus’ Teaching doctrine — 7:28-29: “the crowds were astonished… he taught as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 權柄 (kyun4 beng3). High risk. Must be distinguished from δύναμις/大能 (God’s raw might, already established in baseline for salvation-power) — ἐξουσία is about the right and standing to command, exercised supremely by Christ over teaching (7:29), disease and demons (implicitly through chs. 8-9), sin (9:6), the church’s discipline (16:19; 18:18), and finally “all authority in heaven and on earth” (28:18). Given the baseline’s noted political sensitivity around sovereignty/authority language in Hong Kong, teaching must keep this framed as Christ’s unique divine-messianic authority, never analogized to any specific present political authority structure.

Chapter 8 — Healing Miracles, the Centurion’s Faith, Calming the Storm

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
πίστις	pistis	faith, trust	reused exactly from Romans baseline (信心, High)	faith	The centurion’s faith (8:10, “I have not found such great faith”) models trust in Christ’s authoritative word alone, without need for his physical presence.	信心 (seon3 sam1) — reused exactly from baseline. Additional Matthew-specific risk note: in healing-narrative contexts (8:10, 13; 9:2, 22, 29; 15:28), faith and physical healing are directly linked — teaching must guard against reading this as validating folk-healing practices (visiting a temple deity or medium for physical healing, a live Hong Kong practice) rather than trust placed in Christ’s specific authoritative word.
θεραπεύω	therapeuō	to heal, cure	medical/physical restoration	heal, cure	Demonstrates Christ’s authority (ἐξουσία, see Chapter 7) extending over disease, confirming his messianic identity per Isaiah 53:4, quoted at 8:17.	醫治 (ji1 zi6). Low risk. Standard vocabulary.
δαιμόνιον	daimonion	demon, evil spirit	a personal evil spiritual being under the devil’s dominion	demon, evil spirit	Christ’s authority extends over the demonic realm as well — see full Devil/Satan doctrinal note at Chapter 12.	邪靈 / 鬼 (ce4 ling4 / gwai2). Medium-High risk — see Chapter 12 note; 鬼 alone is an extremely generic Cantonese folk-religious term for any ghost or spirit and must be used carefully in context, always as demonic (evil, personal, under Satan’s authority), not conflated with ancestral or wandering-ghost spirits addressed through Hungry Ghost Festival rites.
ἀκολουθέω	akoloutheō	to follow	reused concept from Chapter 4	follow	8:19-22: the cost of following Christ made explicit (“foxes have holes… the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head”) — key Cost of Discipleship text.	跟隨 (gan1 cui4) — reused; risk as noted at Chapter 4.
κύριε	kyrie	Lord (vocative address)	reused exactly from Romans baseline (主, Critical)	Lord, sir	The centurion’s and disciples’ address to Jesus as “Lord” anticipates the full Lordship confession of Romans 10:9.	主 (zyu2) — reused exactly from baseline.

Chapter 9 — Forgiving Sins, Calling Matthew, Mercy Not Sacrifice, the Harvest

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
ἀφίημι (ἁμαρτίας)	aphiēmi (hamartias)	to release, let go, forgive (sins)	releasing a person from the debt/guilt of an offense	forgive, forgive sins	Christ’s claim of divine authority (ἐξουσία, 9:6) to forgive sins provokes the blasphemy charge that recurs at his trial (ch. 26) — direct assertion of Deity of Christ.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 赦免 (se3 min5). High risk. Not in Romans baseline (Romans discusses forgiveness conceptually through justification/grace but does not isolate this specific verb). Must not be reduced to a merely interpersonal “letting go of a grudge” sense without the specifically divine, authoritative, guilt-canceling sense at stake here — this is God’s own prerogative, claimed by Christ.
τελώνης	telōnēs	tax collector	a socially despised collaborator-class occupation in first-century Judea	tax collector, publican	Matthew’s own calling (9:9) models grace reaching the socially despised — reinforces Grace’s unmerited character (baseline Critical doctrine).	稅吏 (seoi3 lei6). Low risk. Historical-occupational term; brief cultural/historical note needed for audience unfamiliarity, no doctrinal collision.
ἔλεος οὐ θυσίαν	eleos ou thysian	mercy, not sacrifice	direct quotation of Hosea 6:6, repeated at 12:7	I desire mercy, not sacrifice	Prioritizes inward compassion over external ritual performance — a recurring critique of legalistic religiosity feeding directly into the Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees doctrine.	憐恤,不是祭祀 (lin4 seot1, bat1 si6 zai3 zi6). 憐恤 reused per 5:7 note (High risk re: Guanyin epithet collision); 祭祀 (zai3 zi6, “sacrifice/ritual offering”) Medium risk — could resonate with Chinese ancestral/temple sacrificial-offering culture (拜神, burning incense, food offerings), which is broadly positive in Cantonese cultural memory; teaching must clarify this is a critique of legalistic ritual without mercy, not a blanket rejection of all ritual observance.
θερισμός	therismos	harvest	agricultural image extended to the spiritual harvest of receptive people	harvest	”The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few” (9:37) — grounds the Mission to the Nations/Great Commission themes developed fully in chs. 10, 28.	收成 (sau1 sing4). Low risk. Standard agricultural metaphor.

Chapter 10 — Commissioning the Twelve; the Mission Discourse

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
ἀπόστολος	apostolos	one sent with delegated authority	reused exactly from Romans baseline (使徒, Low)	apostle	The Twelve are named and given delegated authority (10:1-2) — establishing the apostolic office foundational to the Church doctrine.	使徒 (si2 tou4) — reused exactly from baseline.
ἐξουσία	exousia	authority	reused concept from Chapter 7	authority	Delegated to the Twelve over unclean spirits and disease (10:1) — Christ’s own authority extended through his commissioned messengers.	權柄 (kyun4 beng3) — reused; High risk, see Chapter 7 note.
πρόβατα ἀπολωλότα (τοῦ οἴκου Ἰσραήλ)	probata apolōlota	lost sheep (of the house of Israel)	sheep who have strayed from the shepherd’s care, a common OT image for God’s covenant people gone astray	lost sheep of Israel	Specifies the initial, salvation-historically ordered scope of the Twelve’s mission (to Israel first) — background for the later, expanded Great Commission scope (ch. 28).	以色列家迷失嘅羊 (ji5 sik1 lit6 gaa1 mai4 sat1 ge3 joeng4). 以色列 reused exactly from baseline (Medium risk, political sensitivity noted there); 羊 (sheep) low risk standard pastoral image.
δωρεάν	dōrean	freely, as a gift, without payment	given without cost or exchange	freely, without charge	”Freely you have received, freely give” (10:8) — directly reinforces the Grace doctrine’s unearned, non-transactional character.	白白噉 (baak6 baak6 gam2). Medium-High risk. Must reinforce, not undercut, the baseline’s grace-vs-merit warning: disciples give as they received — as an unearned gift, never a debt owed back to God or a transactional exchange modeled on temple vow-fulfillment (還神還願).
διωγμός / διώκω	diōgmos / diōkō	persecution / to persecute	reused concept from 5:10-12	persecution, persecuted	Warns disciples explicitly of coming persecution for the sake of the mission — direct continuation of the Cost of Discipleship doctrine.	迫害 (bik1 hoi6) — reused; Medium-High risk, political-sensitivity note as at 5:10.
ὁμολογέω	homologeō	to confess, acknowledge, agree	public verbal acknowledgment/identification with someone or something	acknowledge, confess, declare	”Whoever acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge him before my Father” (10:32) — ties directly to the baseline’s Lordship confession doctrine (耶穌是主, Critical).	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 承認 / 宣認 (sing4 jing6 / syun1 jing6). High risk. Public identification with Christ under threat of persecution — must retain continuity with the Romans 10:9 confession already Critical-flagged in the baseline; this is the same act of public allegiance, now explicitly costly.
μισθός	misthos	reward	reused concept from 5:12	reward	10:41-42: reward promised even for small acts of hospitality shown to Christ’s messengers.	賞賜 (soeng2 ce3) — reused; Critical risk, grace-vs-merit tension noted at 5:12.

Chapter 11 — John the Baptist’s Question; Woes on Unrepentant Cities; the Invitation to Rest

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
ὁ ἐρχόμενος	ho erchomenos	the one who is coming	a messianic title used by John’s disciples (“are you the one who is to come?“)	the one who is to come, the Coming One	Directly tests and confirms Jesus’ Messianic identity via the pattern of prophetic fulfillment (11:4-6, citing Isaiah).	Render contextually within the established 基督/彌賽亞 concept — no separate glossary entry needed beyond the existing Messiah entry (基督, Critical, reused).
σκάνδαλον / σκανδαλίζω	skandalon / skandalizō	stumbling block, trap / to cause to stumble	an obstacle causing offense or moral/spiritual downfall	offense, stumbling block, to be offended	”Blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (11:6) — the possibility of taking offense at Christ’s unexpected, humble Messiahship.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 絆倒 (bun6 dou2, “to stumble/trip”) for the causative sense; 跌倒 (dit3 dou2) for the resultant state. Medium risk. Standard vocabulary; ensure the specific sense (taking offense at Christ himself, not merely being morally tripped up) is clear in context — reused again at ch. 18 for causing “little ones” to stumble.
πραΰς	praus	gentle, meek	reused exactly from 5:5	gentle	Christ describes himself as “gentle and humble in heart” (11:29) — the incarnate model of the very virtue commended in the Beatitudes.	溫柔 (wan1 jau4) — reused; Medium risk as at 5:5.
ζυγός	zygos	yoke	a wooden crossbar joining draft animals for shared labor	yoke	Metaphor for submission to Christ’s teaching/lordship as liberating rather than burdensome, contrasted implicitly with the burdensome legal system of the Pharisees (ch. 23).	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 軛 (aat3). Low-Medium risk — primarily an audience-comprehension risk (agricultural vocabulary with declining currency among urban Hong Kong readers) rather than a doctrinal-collision risk; a brief explanatory gloss (“a farming tool joining two animals to share a burden”) should accompany first use.
ἀνάπαυσις	anapausis	rest, refreshment	cessation from burden/labor	rest	”Come to me… and I will give you rest” (11:28-29) — rest found in relationship with Christ, not in ritual achievement or self-effort.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 安息 (on1 sik1). Medium risk. Connects conceptually to Sabbath rest (安息日, below); must be taught as rest found personally in Christ, distinguished from meditative tranquility states pursued through Daoist/Buddhist practice (already flagged under sanctification/holiness collisions in baseline).

Chapter 12 — Sabbath Controversies; Beelzebul Controversy; the Sign of Jonah; the Unforgivable Sin

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
σάββατον	sabbaton	Sabbath	the weekly day of rest commanded in the Law	Sabbath, the Sabbath day	Christ asserts lordship even over the Sabbath (“the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath,” 12:8) — a direct Deity/Lordship claim.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 安息日 (on1 sik1 jat6). Medium risk. Distinguish from a generic day-off/rest day, and note (lightly) the distinct, unrelated Cantonese almanac practice of selecting auspicious/inauspicious days (擇日) already flagged under prophecy in the baseline — the Sabbath is a covenantal, not an astrologically-auspicious, day.
Βεελζεβούλ	Beelzeboul	Beelzebul (a title for the prince of demons)	proper noun, likely derived from a Canaanite deity title (“lord of the house/dung”) repurposed as a name for Satan	Beelzebul, “the prince of demons”	The Pharisees’ accusation that Christ’s exorcisms are demonically empowered — Christ’s rebuttal directly asserts his authority is from the Spirit of God (12:28), tying to the Kingdom of God’s in-breaking.	別西卜 (Bit6 sai1 buk1). Low risk as a transliterated proper noun; contextual risk carried by the broader devil/Satan entry below.
διάβολος / Σατανᾶς	diabolos / Satanas	the devil / Satan (the adversary)	the same singular personal figure named by two titles across the NT	the devil, Satan	Full doctrinal note (applies to Chapters 4, 8, 9, 12, 13, and others): the personal, singular chief adversary of God, already decisively opposed by Christ’s kingdom-authority.	魔鬼 (mo1 gwai2) / 撒但 (saat3 daan6). Medium-High risk. Cantonese 鬼 (ghost) alone is an extremely broad folk-religious term covering ancestral spirits, wandering ghosts (particularly prominent during the Hungry Ghost Festival, 盂蘭節), and spirits addressed through mediumship (問米, already forbidden under Holy Spirit in the baseline). 魔鬼/撒但 as compound/proper-noun forms are more specific and should always be used rather than a bare 鬼, to avoid folding Satan into the generic Cantonese ghost/ancestral-spirit world.
βλασφημία (τοῦ πνεύματος)	blasphēmia (tou pneumatos)	blasphemy (against the Spirit)	speech that willfully slanders/defiles what belongs to God as holy	blasphemy against the Spirit, the unforgivable sin	12:31-32: a uniquely serious, final rejection of the Spirit’s testimony to Christ — not an accidental sin but settled, willful rejection.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 褻瀆 (sit3 duk6). Critical risk. Combine with reused 聖靈 (Holy Spirit, Critical, baseline) — 褻瀆聖靈. Teaching must make clear this describes a specific, willful, final rejection of the Spirit’s witness to Christ, not casual irreverent speech, and must not be applied loosely to ordinary doubt or momentary sin (which believers regularly commit and are forgiven for), lest anxious believers wrongly fear they have committed it.
σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ	sēmeion Iōna	the sign of Jonah	a typological sign pointing forward to Christ’s death and resurrection (12:40)	the sign of Jonah	Prefigures the Resurrection of Christ (already Critical in baseline, 復活) using a specific OT type.	約拿嘅記號 (Joek3 naa4 ge3 gei3 hou6). Medium risk. Distinguish this typological, prophetic sign from a generic omen/portent-reading practice (求籤, fortune-stick drawing, already flagged under prophecy in baseline) — this is a specific, divinely-intended prefiguration fulfilled in a real historical event, not a symbolic token requiring interpretation by a diviner.

Chapter 13 — Parables of the Kingdom

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
παραβολή	parabolē	parable, comparison	an extended figurative teaching-story requiring spiritually-attuned discernment to understand	parable	Christ’s characteristic teaching method for revealing/concealing kingdom truth depending on the hearer’s receptivity (13:10-17).	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 比喻 (bei2 jyu6). Low-Medium risk. Distinguish from Buddhist/Zen teaching-story traditions (公案, koans) or Daoist allegory, which function differently (paradox-resolution/enlightenment technique) rather than revelation calibrated to existing faith-response.
μυστήριον	mystērion	mystery, hidden truth now disclosed	a truth previously hidden by God, now revealed to those given ears to hear — not an esoteric secret accessible only through occult technique	mystery, secret, hidden truth revealed	”To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (13:11) — revelation granted by grace to disciples, withheld from the hard-hearted.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 奧秘 (ou3 bei3). Medium-High risk. Must be distinguished from esoteric occult secret-knowledge systems (術數, feng shui secret formulas, Buddhist esoteric/tantric practice) prevalent in Hong Kong folk-religious culture — these mysteries are graciously revealed by God to ordinary disciples, not secret ritual knowledge earned through initiation into occult adept practice.
βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν	basileia tōn ouranōn	kingdom of heaven	reused exactly	kingdom of heaven	The chapter’s seven parables (sower, weeds, mustard seed, leaven, treasure, pearl, net) form the fullest single exposition of the kingdom’s nature, growth, and mixed present reality anywhere in the book.	天國 (tin1 gwok3) — reused; Critical risk, see 5:3 note.
συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος	synteleia tou aiōnos	the end/completion of the age	the final, decisive close of the present age at Christ’s return, not one cycle among many	the end of the age	13:39-40, 49: introduces the eschatological framework for the Judgment and the End of the Age doctrine, expanded fully at chs. 24-25.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 世界嘅末了 / 末世 (sai3 gaai3 ge3 mut6 liu5 / mut6 sai3). Critical risk. Must not be conflated with the cyclical cosmic-kalpa-ending concept (劫, kip3) of Chinese Buddhist cosmology, in which worlds are repeatedly destroyed and reconstituted — the biblical “end of the age” is linear, final, and once-for-all, not one destruction-renewal cycle among an ongoing series.
κάμινος τοῦ πυρός	kaminos tou pyros	furnace of fire	a fiery oven, used metaphorically for final judgment	fiery furnace, furnace of fire	Imagery of final, severe judgment for the “weeds” at the harvest — see full Judgment doctrine note at chs. 24-25.	火爐 (fo2 lou4). Medium risk — see the fuller eternal-punishment/Gehenna note at Chapters 16 and 25 below for the associated Critical-level folk-religion collision.
κλαυθμὸς καὶ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων	klauthmos kai brygmos tōn odontōn	weeping and gnashing of teeth	a formulaic idiom for extreme anguish and regret in final judgment, recurring six times in Matthew (8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30)	weeping and gnashing of teeth	Descriptive idiom of anguished, final exclusion from the kingdom’s blessing.	哀哭切齒 (oi1 huk1 cit3 ci2). Medium risk. Avoid illustrating this with imagery drawn from Chinese temple-art depictions of hell torments (地府十殿閻羅 murals, common at some HK/Guangdong temples) — the point is anguished, personal exclusion from God’s presence, not a graphic torture-narrative parallel to folk-religious hell imagery.

Chapter 14 — Death of John the Baptist; Feeding the 5,000; Walking on Water

No new load-bearing theological vocabulary; reuses established terms: πίστις/faith (信心, baseline, including the compound ὀλιγόπιστος “little faith,” 小信, siu2 seon3 — a minor variant form of the already-analyzed faith term, applied to Peter in 14:31), προσκυνέω/worship (敬拜, established at Chapter 2 above, here climaxing in the disciples’ confession “truly you are the Son of God,” reusing 神嘅兒子, Critical, baseline), and βασιλεία (kingdom, implicit in the wilderness-feeding’s echo of manna/messianic banquet themes, reused from Chapters 3-6, 13). No new glossary entries required for this chapter.

Chapter 15 — Tradition of the Elders; True Defilement; the Canaanite Woman’s Faith

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
παράδοσις	paradosis	tradition, that which is handed down	inherited teaching/custom, here specifically the Pharisees’ oral legal tradition elevated above Scripture	tradition, the tradition of the elders	Jesus rebukes human tradition that nullifies God’s actual commandment (15:3, 6) — foundational for the Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees doctrine’s critique of legalism.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 傳統 (cyun4 tung2). Medium-High risk. In Cantonese/Hong Kong culture, 傳統 carries strong positive connotations (ancestral custom, filial continuity, Ching Ming/Chung Yeung observance already flagged under baseline’s “father” entry). Translators must ensure Jesus’ critical framing of merely human tradition displacing God’s Word is not softened by the term’s naturally positive cultural resonance.
κοινόω	koinoō	to make common, defile, render unclean	to render ritually or morally impure	defile, make unclean	”Not what goes into the mouth defiles a person, but what comes out of the heart” (15:11, 18) — relocates true impurity from ritual/dietary categories to the heart’s moral condition.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 污穢 (wu1 wai3). Medium-High risk. Directly parallels the baseline’s holiness note warning against framing purity as dietary/ritual observance (戒口) rather than God-given moral purity — this passage is itself Jesus’ own explicit teaching against exactly that conflation, so the translation must preserve, not undercut, that same distinction.
πίστις	pistis	faith	reused exactly from baseline	faith	The Canaanite (Gentile) woman’s “great faith” (15:28) anticipates the Unity of Jews and Gentiles and Universal Scope of the Gospel doctrines.	信心 (seon3 sam1) — reused.
κύριε, υἱὲ Δαβίδ	kyrie, huie Dauid	Lord, Son of David	combines two already-established titles	Lord, Son of David	A Gentile woman uses the Jewish messianic title in her plea — an early, striking sign of the gospel’s universal reach across ethnic boundaries.	主,大衛嘅子孫 (zyu2, daai6 wai6 ge3 zi2 syun1) — both terms reused from earlier chapters.

Chapter 16 — Peter’s Confession; the Church Founded; the First Passion Prediction

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
ὁ Χριστός, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος	ho Christos, ho huios tou theou tou zōntos	the Christ, the Son of the living God	Peter’s climactic confession (16:16), combining two Critical-risk baseline terms	the Christ, the Son of the living God	The theological center of the whole book: the full, explicit identification of Jesus as both the promised Messiah and the eternal divine Son.	基督,永活神嘅兒子 (gei1 duk1, wing5 wut6 san4 ge3 ji4 zi2) — both terms reused exactly from baseline (基督, Critical; 神嘅兒子, Critical).
ἐκκλησία	ekklēsia	assembly, congregation, church	reused exactly from Romans baseline (教會, Medium)	church	”I will build my church” (16:18) — the first explicit mention of the church as an institution Christ himself founds and owns.	教會 (gaau3 wui2) — reused exactly from baseline.
πύλαι ᾅδου	pylai hadou	gates of Hades	the “gates” (power/dominion) of the realm of the dead/of death and evil, personified as a besieging force that will not prevail against the church	the gates of hell, the gates of Hades, the power of death	Promises the church’s ultimate, unstoppable triumph over death and evil’s dominion.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 陰間嘅門 (jam1 gaan1 ge3 mun4) — ᾅδης (Hades) itself = 陰間 (jam1 gaan1). CRITICAL RISK. 陰間 is the standard Chinese folk-religious term for the underworld realm inhabited by the dead, actively engaged through the Hungry Ghost Festival (盂蘭節, highly prominent in Hong Kong), ancestral offerings, and paper-money burning rites intended to provide for and appease the deceased in that realm. Teaching must make unmistakably clear that biblical Hades/the “gates of Hades” here names death’s defeated dominion which the church, built by Christ, triumphantly overcomes — not the folk-religious underworld bureaucracy that living relatives ritually interact with and provide for. This risk is comparable in severity to the baseline’s Critical flags on resurrection (投胎轉世) and salvation (解脫/超度).
κλεῖδας τῆς βασιλείας	kleidas tēs basileias	keys of the kingdom	delegated authority to open/close access, administer, and declare in Christ’s name	keys of the kingdom	Grants Peter (and by extension the apostolic church) delegated authority — foundational to the Church and Church Discipline doctrine.	天國嘅鎖匙 (tin1 gwok3 ge3 so2 si4) — 天國 reused (Critical); 鎖匙 (keys) low risk standard vocabulary.
δέω / λύω	deō / lyō	to bind / to loose	rabbinic-authority language for authoritatively declaring something forbidden or permitted, and by extension for church discipline’s authority to exclude or restore	bind and loose, forbid and permit	Delegated authority for the church’s disciplinary and doctrinal declarations, ratified in heaven — central to the Church and Church Discipline doctrine (developed further at 18:18).	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 捆綁 (kwan2 bong2, “bind”) / 釋放 (sik1 fong3, “loose/release”). CRITICAL RISK. Must be sharply distinguished from magical/ritual binding practice in Cantonese folk religion — Daoist priests (喃嘸佬) and folk exorcists performing binding rituals/talismanic spells (符咒) against evil spirits, and the ritual power (法力) already forbidden under “power of God” in the baseline. Biblical “binding and loosing” is the church’s Spirit-guided, Scripture-grounded authority to declare and administer doctrine and discipline in Christ’s name, not a magical incantation or ritual binding-spell technique.
σταυρός	stauros	cross	the Roman instrument of execution, and metaphorically the call to self-denying, costly discipleship	cross, take up his cross	”Whoever would come after me must… take up his cross and follow me” (16:24) — the definitive statement of the Cost of Discipleship doctrine.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 十字架 (sap6 zi6 gaa3) — established, widely-known Cantonese Christian term. Medium-High risk. Colloquial secularized Cantonese already uses “揹十字架” (bearing a cross) as a general idiom for carrying a heavy personal burden (financial, family, or workplace hardship) without any reference to Christ or self-denial for his sake. Teaching must ensure the specific sense — costly, chosen, Christ-centered self-denial, potentially unto death — is not diluted into this secularized generic-hardship idiom.
ἀπαρνέομαι (ἑαυτόν)	aparneomai (heauton)	to deny, disown (oneself)	to renounce one’s own will/self-interest/self-preservation as ultimate	deny himself	The precondition for cross-bearing discipleship — subordinating self-interest to allegiance to Christ.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 捨己 / 否認自己 (se2 gei2 / fu2 jing6 zi6 gei2). Medium-High risk. Distinguish from self-erasure or face-losing in the Cantonese social sense (丟臉, losing face, tied to the baseline’s 面子/glory note) — this is a deliberate reordering of ultimate loyalty toward Christ, not self-hatred or social humiliation for its own sake.
ψυχή	psychē	soul, life	the whole, essential self/life, spanning both physical existence and eternal destiny (16:25-26 plays on both senses)	soul, life	”What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul/life?” — the ultimate stakes of discipleship.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 靈魂 (ling4 wan4, soul) / 生命 (sang1 ming6, life) — context-sensitive, both senses active in this passage’s wordplay. Medium risk. Distinguish 靈魂 from the folk-Buddhist concept of a soul destined for reincarnation (輪迴) — the “soul” at stake here faces a final, once-for-all destiny (heaven or judgment), consistent with the baseline’s resurrection-doctrine rejection of a rebirth cycle.

Chapter 17 — The Transfiguration; Second Passion Prediction; Faith Like a Mustard Seed

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
μεταμορφόω	metamorphoō	to be transformed/transfigured	a visible change of outward form/appearance revealing an underlying, previously-hidden reality	was transfigured, was transformed	A momentary, unveiled disclosure of Christ’s pre-existing divine glory — not an acquired power or a repeatable manifestation-form.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 變像 (bin3 zoeng6) / 變貌 (bin3 mou6). Medium-High risk. Must be distinguished from the “power-up transformation” trope common in Cantonese wuxia/fantasy media (變身, a cultivator’s spiritual-practice-earned transformation into a higher state) — the Transfiguration reveals Christ’s already-existing, eternal divine glory momentarily made visible, not a status attained through spiritual cultivation or practice. Also distinct from the baseline’s forbidden 化身 (a deity’s repeatable manifestation-form, e.g. popularly attributed to Guanyin) — this is a unique, unrepeated unveiling, not a repeatable appearance.
υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός	huios mou ho agapētos	my beloved Son	reused exactly from Chapter 3	my beloved Son	The Father’s voice again confirms Christ’s unique Sonship, now specifically commanding the disciples to “listen to him” — reinforcing the Authority of Jesus’ Teaching doctrine.	Reused per Chapter 3 note; Critical risk as established.
πίστις	pistis	faith	reused exactly	faith (as small as a mustard seed)	Even small faith, properly directed toward God, accomplishes what is humanly impossible (17:20) — reinforces trust in God’s power, not the quantity of the believer’s own resolve.	信心 (seon3 sam1) — reused; no new risk beyond baseline note.

Chapter 18 — The Church Discipline Discourse; the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
μικρός (pl. μικροί)	mikros	little, small	Matthew’s term for vulnerable, humble believers (“little ones”) — not necessarily literal children, though the chapter opens with a child as the illustration	little ones, these little ones	Warns with utmost seriousness against causing vulnerable believers to stumble — a direct pastoral application of the humility commended throughout the Sermon.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 小子 (siu2 zi2, “little ones/humble ones”) — risk that modern Cantonese readers hear only “children” literally rather than the broader sense of humble, vulnerable disciples generally; brief clarifying note needed, Low-Medium risk.
σκανδαλίζω	skandalizō	to cause to stumble	reused concept from Chapter 11	causes … to sin, causes … to stumble	Applies the “stumbling block” concept specifically to harming vulnerable believers’ faith — a severe pastoral warning.	絆倒 (bun6 dou2) — reused; Medium risk as at Chapter 11.
ἐκκλησία	ekklēsia	church	reused exactly from baseline	church	”Tell it to the church” (18:17) — the explicit church-discipline procedure, foundational for the Church and Church Discipline doctrine, in tandem with binding/loosing below.	教會 (gaau3 wui2) — reused exactly from baseline.
δέω / λύω	deō / lyō	to bind / to loose	reused exactly from Chapter 16	bind and loose	Repeats the church’s delegated disciplinary authority (18:18), now in the explicit context of a graduated discipline procedure.	捆綁 / 釋放 (kwan2 bong2 / sik1 fong3) — reused; Critical risk as at Chapter 16.
δύο ἢ τρεῖς	dyo ē treis	two or three	the number required both for evidentiary witness (18:16, echoing Deut. 19:15) and for gathered prayer with promised divine presence (18:20)	two or three witnesses; two or three gathered	Grounds church discipline in due process (multiple witnesses, not unilateral accusation) and grounds corporate prayer in Christ’s promised presence — both foundational for healthy church practice.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 兩三個證人 (loeng5 saam1 go3 zing3 jan4, “two or three witnesses”). Low-Medium risk. Standard vocabulary; ensure the due-process function (protecting against false or hasty accusation) is retained in teaching, not merely a numeric detail.
ἀφίημι	aphiēmi	to forgive, release	reused concept from Chapter 9, now the chapter’s dominant theme via the unforgiving-servant parable	forgive	”Seventy times seven” (18:22) — limitless, grace-modeled forgiveness among believers, grounded in the forgiveness they themselves have received from God.	赦免 (se3 min5) — reused; High risk as at Chapter 9; here the risk is compounded by the parable’s merit/debt imagery below.
ὀφειλέτης / ὀφείλημα	opheiletēs / opheilēma	debtor / debt	a legal-financial metaphor for the moral/spiritual debt of sin	debtor, debt	The parable of the unforgiving servant (18:23-35) uses financial-debt imagery for sin and forgiveness — care is needed that this imagery does not reintroduce a transactional, merit-based framework into forgiveness itself.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 債 / 欠債 (zaai3 / him3 zaai3). Medium-High risk. While the debt-metaphor is scriptural and appropriate, translators must ensure surrounding teaching clarifies that God’s own forgiveness of the “unpayable debt” (sin) is itself an act of grace (already Critical in baseline), not a transaction the debtor can ever repay — the parable’s warning is that having received such grace, refusing to extend proportionate grace to others is monstrous, not that forgiveness itself operates by ledger-balancing exchange.

Chapter 19 — Divorce; the Rich Young Man; “With God All Things Are Possible”

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
μοιχεία	moicheia	adultery	sexual unfaithfulness within marriage	adultery	Grounds Jesus’ teaching on marriage’s permanence in the created order (19:4-6, citing Genesis) — not primarily an ethics-of-sexuality risk requiring new doctrinal caution beyond standard vocabulary.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 淫亂 / 通姦 (jam4 lyun6 / tung1 gaan1). Low risk. Standard vocabulary; no significant syncretism risk identified.
εὐνοῦχος	eunouchos	eunuch	a castrated man, or metaphorically one who voluntarily forgoes marriage for kingdom purposes (19:12)	eunuch, those who have made themselves eunuchs	Commends voluntary singleness for the sake of kingdom devotion as a legitimate calling, not a deficiency.	閹人 (jim1 jan4). Low risk doctrinally; primarily requires a brief historical/cultural explanatory note for audience unfamiliarity with the ancient practice, not a rendering-risk.
τέλειος	teleios	complete, perfect	reused exactly from Chapter 5	perfect	19:21: “If you would be perfect… sell what you possess…” — echoes the wholehearted devotion theme of 5:48.	完全 (jyun4 cyun4) — reused; Medium-High risk as at Chapter 5.
πλούσιος	plousios	rich, wealthy	a person of substantial material wealth	rich, wealthy man	The rich young man’s inability to release his wealth for the kingdom directly confronts Hong Kong’s wealth-and-status-driven culture, already flagged under 瑪門/mammon (Chapter 6) and 威水/status display (baseline’s glory note).	有錢人 / 富人 (jau5 cin2 jan4 / fu3 jan4). Low risk as vocabulary; Medium risk in pastoral application given Hong Kong’s property- and wealth-status-conscious culture — teaching should not soften the passage’s genuine challenge.
κάμηλος διὰ τρυπήματος ῥαφίδος	kamēlos dia trypēmatos rhaphidos	a camel through the eye of a needle	proverbial hyperbole for a practical impossibility	camel through the eye of a needle	Vividly asserts the human impossibility of self-achieved entry into the kingdom apart from grace — reinforcing “with God all things are possible” (19:26), directly supporting the Grace doctrine.	駱駝穿針嘅眼 (lok3 to4 cyun1 zam1 ge3 ngaan5). Low risk. Vivid standard image; no adaptation needed.

Chapter 20 — Workers in the Vineyard; the Request of James and John; the Ransom Saying

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν	basileia tōn ouranōn	kingdom of heaven	reused exactly	kingdom of heaven	The vineyard parable (20:1-16) is Matthew’s most direct narrative illustration of grace’s non-transactional character: equal generosity to workers of unequal labor, defying merit-based fairness expectations — a vivid, extended parabolic reinforcement of the Grace doctrine.	天國 (tin1 gwok3) — reused; Critical risk as noted; this specific parable is a prime teaching opportunity for the grace-vs-merit distinction.
διακονέω / διάκονος	diakoneō / diakonos	to serve / servant	active, humble service rendered to others	serve, servant, minister	”Whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (20:26-27) — redefines greatness by self-giving service rather than status, directly confronting Hong Kong’s status/face-consciousness (already flagged under 威水/面子 in baseline).	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 服侍 (fuk6 si6, serve) / 服事 (fuk6 si6, minister/serve, homophone with slightly different usage in church contexts). Low-Medium risk. Standard vocabulary; the doctrinal weight is carried by the status-reversal teaching, not the vocabulary itself.
λύτρον	lytron	ransom price	a price paid to release someone from captivity, debt-bondage, or slavery	ransom, redemption price	”The Son of Man came… to give his life as a ransom for many” (20:28) — major, explicit atonement statement, foundational to the whole doctrine of Christ’s substitutionary death, not otherwise isolated as a distinct term in the Romans baseline.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 贖價 (suk6 gaa3). CRITICAL RISK — one of the most significant new terms in the whole book. Three distinct collision risks converge here: (1) modern Cantonese everyday usage strongly associates 贖 (redeem/ransom) with kidnapping ransom money (贖金, suk6 gam1), a common term in Hong Kong crime-news and drama vocabulary — risking a reading of the atonement as a hostage-negotiation payment to a captor rather than Christ’s voluntary, loving self-substitution; (2) risk of collapsing into the Buddhist/folk concept of paying off karmic debt (還債, associated with popular 因果報應 karma-repayment belief); (3) risk of collapsing into the temple vow-fulfillment exchange framework (還神還願) already Critical-flagged under justification in the baseline. Teaching materials must explicitly state: Christ himself, the giver, freely pays the price — no captor is being paid off, no karmic ledger is being balanced, and no vow-exchange is being fulfilled; this is the Grace doctrine’s costliest, most personal expression.
δοῦλος	doulos	slave, bondservant	one owned by and fully obligated to serve a master, without personal autonomy	servant, slave, bondservant	Applied paradoxically to greatness in the kingdom (20:27) and elsewhere to disciples’ relationship to Christ.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 奴僕 (nou4 buk6). Low-Medium risk. Standard vocabulary; ensure the paradox (greatness through voluntary servanthood) is not lost, and that this is not confused with historic Pearl River Delta indentured/bonded-labor associations, which carry different, non-theological social-historical weight in Cantonese memory.

Chapter 21 — The Triumphal Entry; Cleansing the Temple; the Parable of the Tenants

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
ὡσαννά	hōsanna	Hosanna (“save now/save, we pray”)	a Hebrew liturgical acclamation of praise/appeal originally addressed to God, here applied to Jesus	Hosanna	The crowd’s acclamation directly identifies Jesus with messianic and divine expectation, echoing Psalm 118.	和散那 (wo4 saan3 naa5) — established transliteration. Low risk.
υἱὸς Δαβίδ	huios Dauid	Son of David	reused exactly from Chapter 1	Son of David	The crowd’s acclamation of Jesus with this title at the triumphal entry publicly stages the Messianic Promise and Davidic Covenant doctrines.	大衛嘅子孫 (daai6 wai6 ge3 zi2 syun1) — reused; High risk as at Chapter 1.
οἶκος προσευχῆς / σπήλαιον λῃστῶν	oikos proseuchēs / spēlaion lēstōn	house of prayer / den of robbers	Jesus’ contrast between the temple’s intended purpose (prayer) and its corrupted commercial misuse	house of prayer / den of robbers	The temple-cleansing directly confronts the corruption of worship for profit — a pointed challenge in any commercially-driven culture.	禱告嘅殿 (tou2 gou3 ge3 din6) / 賊窩 (caak6 wo1). Low-Medium risk. Standard, vivid vocabulary; no significant syncretism risk, though the passage’s challenge to commercializing worship carries natural resonance (and application caution) in Hong Kong’s commercially-integrated religious marketplace context.
λίθος (κεφαλὴ γωνίας)	lithos (kephalē gōnias)	stone (head of the corner / cornerstone)	quoting Psalm 118:22 — the rejected stone that becomes the foundational cornerstone	the stone the builders rejected; the cornerstone	Prophesies and interprets Christ’s rejection by Israel’s leaders and his subsequent vindication as the foundation of the new covenant community — ties Fulfillment of Prophecy directly to the Church doctrine.	石頭 / 房角石 (sek6 tau4 / fong4 gok3 sek6). Medium risk. Standard architectural metaphor; ensure the OT background (Psalm 118) is taught explicitly, as the image alone will not convey its prophetic-fulfillment weight to a low-OT-literacy audience.
βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ	basileia tou theou	kingdom of God	reused exactly from Romans baseline	kingdom of God	21:43: “the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people producing its fruits” — a judgment oracle against Israel’s unfaithful leadership, textually confirming (again) the synonymy of “kingdom of God” and “kingdom of heaven” within Matthew.	神嘅國 (san4 ge3 gwok3) — reused exactly from baseline (Medium risk per baseline). Given the passage’s judgment-against-Israel’s-leadership framing, teaching must handle this with the same care the baseline already recommends for Israel-related political sensitivity, keeping the focus doctrinal (fruitful covenant faithfulness) rather than any contemporary ethnic/political reading.

Chapter 22 — The Wedding Feast Parable; Taxes to Caesar; the Greatest Commandment

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν	basileia tōn ouranōn	kingdom of heaven	reused exactly	kingdom of heaven	The wedding-feast parable (22:1-14) again pictures gracious, undeserved invitation to the kingdom banquet, extended even to those originally excluded.	天國 (tin1 gwok3) — reused; Critical risk as established.
κλητοί / ἐκλεκτοί	klētoi / eklektoi	called / chosen	reused exactly from Romans baseline (蒙召嘅/揀選, High)	called / chosen	”Many are called, but few are chosen” (22:14) — reinforces the Divine Calling and Election doctrines already Critical/High-flagged in the baseline within a fresh narrative setting.	蒙召嘅 (mung4 siu6 ge3) / 揀選 (gaan2 syun2) — reused exactly from baseline.
Καῖσαρ	Kaisar	Caesar	the Roman emperor, proper noun	Caesar	”Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (22:21) — distinguishes legitimate civic obligation from ultimate, undivided allegiance to God, directly relevant to the baseline’s general caution about political-authority passages.	凱撒 (Hoi2 saat3). Medium risk, primarily political-sensitivity in application: given Hong Kong’s political climate, teaching materials should present this text as establishing a principled distinction between civic duty and ultimate allegiance to God, not as a coded statement about any specific present political authority.
ἀγαπάω / ἀγάπη	agapaō / agapē	to love / love	self-giving, willed love, directed by commitment rather than mere feeling or attraction; distinguished in Greek from ἔρως (romantic/erotic desire) and φιλία (friendship-affection)	love	The Great Commandment (22:37-39, love God and neighbor) — the summary principle underlying “righteousness exceeding the Pharisees” and the whole Sermon’s ethic.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED (major, cross-cutting term, not isolated in Romans baseline): 愛 (ngoi3). High risk. Modern Cantonese 愛 spans romantic love, familial affection, and general fondness without the distinction Greek marks between ἀγάπη, ἔρως, and φιλία; teaching materials must consistently clarify that the love commanded here is willed, self-giving, covenantal love directed first to God and then to neighbor (including enemies, 5:44), not primarily romantic feeling or mere natural affection for those who are easy to love.
Κύριος	Kyrios	Lord	reused exactly from Romans baseline (主, Critical)	Lord	Jesus’ argument from Psalm 110 (22:41-45) — David’s own “Lord” is also David’s “son” — a direct scriptural argument for the Deity and Lordship of Christ from within the OT itself.	主 (zyu2) — reused exactly from baseline.

Chapter 23 — Woes on the Scribes and Pharisees; Warnings Against Hypocrisy

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
ὑποκριτής	hypokritēs	actor, one who wears a mask; hypocrite	originally a stage actor performing a role; extended metaphorically to one whose outward religious performance masks inward reality	hypocrite, pretender	The chapter’s dominant term, and a major term for the Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees doctrine — righteousness that is mere external performance rather than transformed inward reality.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 假冒為善嘅人 (gaa2 mou6 wai4 sin6 ge3 jan4, “one who feigns/pretends goodness”). Medium-High risk. The underlying theatrical-mask image resonates naturally with Cantonese opera’s famous face-changing tradition (變臉) and with the broader Cantonese face-culture concept (面子, already flagged under “glory” in the baseline) — this resonance can be a helpful illustrative bridge, but teaching must ensure it lands as a warning against inward-outward inconsistency before God specifically, not merely social face-management.
γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαῖοι	grammateis kai Pharisaioi	scribes and Pharisees	specific, historically-situated first-century Jewish religious groups/roles	scribes and Pharisees	Represent a specific religious-legal establishment of Jesus’ own day; teaching must present them accurately as a historical group without generalizing the critique into a broad anti-Jewish caricature — consistent with the baseline’s general sensitivity around Jewish characterizations in the Unity of Jews and Gentiles doctrine.	文士 (man4 si6) / 法利賽人 (Faat3 lei6 coi3 jan4). Low risk as vocabulary (standard proper-noun/role terms); Medium risk in application — teaching notes should explicitly guard against generalized anti-Jewish reading, redirecting the critique toward the universal, cross-cultural danger of religious hypocrisy (relevant to any tradition, including contemporary Christian practice).
ῥαββί	rabbi	my great one, my teacher	an honorific title of respect for a teacher of the Law	Rabbi, teacher	”Do not be called Rabbi… you have one Teacher” (23:8) — critiques status-seeking through honorific religious titles, resonant with Hong Kong’s own title-conscious culture (老師, 師傅, 大師, the last already flagged in the baseline’s apostle entry for its overlap with feng shui “grandmaster” titles).	拉比 (laai1 bei2) — established transliteration. Low-Medium risk. The critique of title-seeking has natural, helpful application to Hong Kong’s status-through-title culture; ensure this application point is drawn out in teaching.
ταπεινόω / ὑψόω	tapeinoō / hypsoō	to humble / to exalt	a reversal-of-status principle — self-humbling leads to divine exaltation, self-exaltation leads to humbling	humble / exalt	”Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (23:12) — a recurring Matthean reversal-of-worldly-status principle.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 自卑 (zi6 bei1, to humble oneself) / 自高 (zi6 gou1, to exalt oneself). Low-Medium risk. Standard vocabulary; ties naturally to the baseline’s caution against face/status-driven readings of “glory” (榮耀) — teaching should draw this connection explicitly.

Chapter 24 — The Olivet Discourse, Part 1: Signs of the End and the Coming of the Son of Man

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
συντέλεια (τοῦ αἰῶνος)	synteleia (tou aiōnos)	the end/completion (of the age)	reused exactly from Chapter 13	the end of the age	The disciples’ question (24:3) frames the whole discourse — final, decisive consummation of the present age.	世界嘅末了 / 末世 — reused; Critical risk as established at Chapter 13.
παρουσία	parousia	presence, arrival, coming	a technical term for a ruler’s official, visible state-arrival; adopted by the NT for Christ’s future, visible, bodily return in glory	coming, the coming of the Son of Man	Major, new eschatological term specific to Judgment and the End of the Age. Christ’s final, singular, universally visible return — the climactic event toward which the whole book points.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 降臨 (gong3 lam4). CRITICAL RISK. Must not be rendered or illustrated in a way that resembles a deity’s repeatable temple-manifestation event (顯靈, already forbidden under Incarnation in the baseline, describing a deity “manifesting power” at a Hong Kong shrine) — the parousia is Christ’s final, visible, bodily, once-for-all return in glory and judgment, not a repeatable spiritual appearance/manifestation of the kind popularly attributed to temple deities.
ψευδόχριστοι καὶ ψευδοπροφῆται	pseudochristoi kai pseudoprophētai	false christs and false prophets	compounds of established terms (基督, 先知) with the negating prefix	false christs, false prophets	Warns against deceptive figures claiming messianic or prophetic authority in the lead-up to the end — directly relevant given Hong Kong’s plural religious marketplace including various self-proclaimed spiritual authorities.	假基督 (gaa2 gei1 duk1) / 假先知 (gaa2 sin1 zi1) — compounds of reused baseline terms. Medium-High risk in application; teaching should note relevance to discerning any claimant to unique spiritual/messianic authority, consistent with the baseline’s general caution around syncretistic religious claims.
θλῖψις	thlipsis	pressure, affliction, tribulation	intense suffering/distress, often specifically eschatological distress preceding the end	tribulation, great tribulation, affliction	Describes the intensity of end-time suffering preceding Christ’s return.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 患難 (waan6 naan6). Low-Medium risk. Standard vocabulary.
υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου	huios tou anthrōpou	son of man	a Danielic (Dan 7:13-14) apocalyptic title for a divinely-authorized, glorious eschatological figure/judge — used by Jesus of himself throughout Matthew (8:20; 9:6; 12:8; 16:27-28; 24:27-31; 25:31; 26:64, etc.), NOT merely a humble self-designation meaning “a human being”	Son of Man	Major, recurring Christological title, requiring formal treatment. Combines humanity and transcendent divine authority in a single title — Christ’s favored self-designation, climaxing in the Olivet Discourse’s picture of the Son of Man “coming on the clouds with power and great glory” (24:30).	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 人子 (jan4 zi2) — established Chinese Christian term. High risk. Modern readers may hear only the surface sense (“a human person”) and miss the specific Danielic apocalyptic-authority freight the title carries; teaching must clarify this is simultaneously a genuine claim to full humanity (against a docetic reading) and to unique divine authority as end-time judge and glorious king (against a merely-humble-human reading) — it must not be flattened toward either pole alone.
ἐκλεκτοί	eklektoi	elect, chosen	reused exactly from Romans baseline concept (揀選, High)	the elect	God’s chosen people are preserved and gathered through the tribulation and at Christ’s return (24:22, 24, 31).	蒙揀選嘅人 (mung4 gaan2 syun2 ge3 jan4) — reused concept from baseline.
γρηγορέω	grēgoreō	to be watchful, alert, awake	vigilant readiness, not passive waiting	watch, be alert, keep watch	The discourse’s repeated exhortation to readiness for an unknown-timed return — foundational for practical Christian eschatological ethics.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 警醒 (ging2 sing2). Low risk. Standard vocabulary.

Chapter 25 — The Olivet Discourse, Part 2: Parables of Judgment (Virgins, Talents, Sheep and Goats)

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
νυμφίος	nymphios	bridegroom	the groom in a wedding, here representing Christ awaited by the church (the virgins/bridesmaids)	bridegroom	The parable of the ten virgins (25:1-13) reinforces watchful readiness for Christ’s return, extending the ch. 24 theme narratively.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 新郎 (san1 long4). Low risk. Standard vocabulary.
τάλαντον	talanton	talent (a large monetary weight/sum)	a specific ancient unit of currency/weight — NOT the English derived sense of “natural ability/talent,” though the parable is often popularly (and legitimately, by extension) applied to stewardship of abilities and resources generally	talents (as money); often preached homiletically as “talents/gifts/abilities”	The parable of the talents (25:14-30) teaches faithful stewardship of what God entrusts, in anticipation of his return and accounting.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 銀子 (ngan4 zi2, “silver/money”) — the standard, historically-accurate Cantonese/CUV rendering, preserving the monetary sense rather than importing the English idiom “talent = ability.” Medium risk. Ensure teaching notes clarify the term denotes an entrusted sum of money in the parable’s literal sense, while legitimately illustrating the broader principle of stewardship over any God-given resource, opportunity, or ability — without letting the English wordplay (“talent” = skill) improperly drive the Cantonese rendering itself.
κρίσις	krisis	judgment, decision, verdict	a formal, decisive verdict rendered by a rightful judge	judgment	Major, cross-cutting term for the Judgment and the End of the Age doctrine, climaxing in the sheep-and-goats scene (25:31-46) — the final, universal separation and verdict rendered by Christ as king and judge.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 審判 (sam2 pun3). High risk. Must be presented as God’s own righteous, final, personal verdict — not an impersonal karmic accounting process (already implicitly cautioned against via the baseline’s rejection of impersonal-fate framings for calling/election/providence) nor a graded, negotiable outcome subject to ritual intervention (paper offerings, intercessory ritual on behalf of the dead) as practiced in Cantonese folk-religious funerary custom.
πρόβατα / ἐρίφια	probata / eriphia	sheep / goats	livestock imagery used to represent the finally-separated righteous and unrighteous	sheep and goats	The final judgment separates humanity based on concrete deeds of mercy shown (or withheld) toward “the least of these” — connecting Judgment directly back to the Mercy and Righteousness themes of the Sermon on the Mount.	羊 (joeng4) / 山羊 (saan1 joeng4). Low risk. Standard pastoral vocabulary.
κόλασις αἰώνιος / ζωὴ αἰώνιος	kolasis aiōnios / zōē aiōnios	eternal punishment / eternal life	αἰώνιος (aiōnios) denotes an unending, final state, not a temporary or cyclically-repeated one; κόλασις denotes a punitive, corrective-in-origin but here final, sentence	eternal punishment, everlasting punishment / eternal life	The climactic, final statement of the two eternal, fixed, mutually exclusive destinies (25:46) — the sharpest single statement of the Judgment doctrine in the whole book.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 永遠嘅刑罰 (wing5 jyun5 ge3 jing4 fat6, eternal punishment) / 永生 (wing5 sang1, eternal life). CRITICAL RISK — among the most significant collisions in the entire Matthew curriculum. Cantonese/Cantonese-Chinese folk religion possesses a well-developed, widely-known popular concept of the underworld’s “Ten Courts” (十殿閻羅) under the judge Yanluo Wang (閻羅王), where the dead undergo temporary torments calibrated to their deeds, followed by eventual reincarnation (輪迴) into a new life — a purificatory, not final, framework, and one in which living relatives can favorably affect the deceased’s outcome through ritual offerings (打齋, 燒紙錢) especially prominent during the Hungry Ghost Festival (盂蘭節). Biblical “eternal punishment” must be taught, explicitly and repeatedly, as fixed and unending, not a longer stage within an ongoing purificatory or reincarnation cycle, and as not alterable by any subsequent ritual action on behalf of the dead by the living. This collision is structurally identical in kind to the baseline’s Critical flag on resurrection (against 投胎轉世) and should be cross-referenced with it in every teaching context.
βασιλεία	basileia	kingdom	reused exactly	inherit the kingdom prepared for you	25:34: the righteous “inherit the kingdom prepared… from the foundation of the world” — final, gracious inheritance of the kingdom, not works-earned entry (the following verses list deeds as evidence of prior transformation, not the ground of acceptance).	天國 / 神嘅國 (reused per context) — Critical risk as established; this passage is a key text for reinforcing the grace-not-merit framework against a possible misreading of 25:35-40 as works-based salvation.

Chapter 26 — The Last Supper; Gethsemane; Betrayal; Arrest; Trial Before the Sanhedrin

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
διαθήκη	diathēkē	covenant	reused exactly from Romans baseline (約, High)	covenant	”This is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (26:28) — directly ties the Lord’s Supper to covenant, atonement, and forgiveness together in a single climactic statement.	約 (joek3) — reused exactly from baseline.
αἷμα	haima	blood	the physical substance, and by metonymy Christ’s sacrificial death itself	blood	Christ’s blood, poured out sacrificially, establishes/ratifies the new covenant — direct atonement language.	血 (hyut3). Low risk as vocabulary; theological weight carried by covenant and ransom (Chapter 20) doctrines already flagged Critical/High.
παραδίδωμι	paradidōmi	to hand over, deliver up, betray	used both of Judas’s culpable betrayal (26:15-16, 21-25) and, elsewhere in the Passion narrative, of the Father’s sovereign purpose in “handing over” the Son — the same verb carrying both human sin and divine purpose simultaneously	betray, hand over, deliver up	A theologically rich double meaning: real human sin (Judas’s betrayal) operating within, not against, God’s sovereign redemptive purpose — an important nuance for the Providence doctrine already High-flagged in the baseline.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 出賣 (ceot1 maai6, “to betray/sell out” — the human-culpability sense) / 交付 (gaau1 fu6, “to hand over/deliver” — the more neutral, purpose-oriented sense). Medium risk. Teaching should note both senses are present across the Passion narrative and should not be flattened into only villainy or only divine mechanism — Judas is genuinely guilty, and God is genuinely sovereign, without contradiction, consistent with the baseline’s Providence doctrine notes on Romans 8:28.
Γεθσημανή	Gethsēmanē	Gethsemane	proper noun, place name	Gethsemane	Site of Christ’s anguished prayer of submission — models costly, faithful prayer amid extreme distress, connecting to the baseline’s Prayer and Intercession doctrine.	客西馬尼 (Haak3 sai1 maa5 nei4). Low risk. Standard transliterated proper noun.
πειρασμός	peirasmos	temptation, trial	reused exactly from Chapter 4	temptation	”Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation” (26:41) — applies the temptation vocabulary pastorally to the disciples’ own spiritual vulnerability.	試探 (si3 taam3) — reused; no new risk beyond Chapter 4 note.
ὁ Χριστός, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ	ho Christos, ho huios tou theou	the Christ, the Son of God	reused exactly	the Christ, the Son of God	The high priest’s direct question (26:63) and Jesus’ affirmative answer under oath — the trial’s central theological claim, met with the charge of blasphemy.	基督 / 神嘅兒子 (reused exactly from baseline) — Critical risk as established; this is the passage where the Messianic Promise, Deity of Christ, and Sonship of Christ doctrines converge most explicitly in the narrative.
βλασφημία	blasphēmia	blasphemy	reused exactly from Chapter 12	blasphemy	The high priest’s charge against Jesus for claiming divine Sonship — ironic, since the charge itself confirms the very claim the Gospel affirms as true.	褻瀆 (sit3 duk6) — reused; Critical risk as at Chapter 12.

Chapter 27 — Trial Before Pilate; the Crucifixion; Death and Burial

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
σταυρόω	stauroō	to crucify	the specific Roman execution method, and by OT background (Deut. 21:23, “cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”) theologically loaded as a curse-bearing death	crucify, crucified	Christ’s actual, historical, physical death by crucifixion — must not be softened to a generic “executed” that loses the specific, theologically-loaded manner of death (a public, shameful, curse-bearing death, cf. Gal 3:13).	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 釘十字架 (deng3 sap6 zi6 gaa3, “nailed to the cross”) — combines reused 十字架 (Chapter 16) with the specific verb “to nail.” Medium risk. Ensure the physical, historical specificity (a real, shameful Roman execution, not a symbolic or mythological death) is retained; connects directly to the baseline’s caution (under resurrection) that Christ’s death and rising are bodily and historical, not symbolic.
βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων	basileus tōn Ioudaiōn	King of the Jews	the mocking title affixed to the cross, ironically true	King of the Jews	The ironic inscription publicly, if mockingly, proclaims the very kingship the Gospel affirms — direct convergence of the Kingdom of Heaven and Messianic Promise doctrines at the cross itself.	猶太人嘅王 (jau4 taai3 jan4 ge3 wong4). Medium risk, chiefly in application given Hong Kong’s political sensitivities around “king/kingdom” language — teaching should keep the focus on the theological irony (a mocked king who is truly King) rather than any contemporary political analogy.
Γολγοθᾶ	Golgotha	place of a skull	proper noun, place name	Golgotha, place of a skull	The specific, historical site of the crucifixion.	各各他 (Gok3 gok3 taa1) — established transliteration. Low risk.
καταπέτασμα	katapetasma	curtain, veil	the temple’s inner curtain separating the Holy of Holies from access	the curtain (of the temple)	Torn “from top to bottom” (27:51) at Christ’s death — symbolizes God’s own act of opening direct access to his presence, foundational to the baseline’s Peace with God doctrine (through justification, believers now have this access).	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 幔子 (maan6 zi2). Low-Medium risk. Standard architectural/liturgical term; the doctrinal weight (access to God opened) should be drawn out explicitly in teaching, connecting to peace-with-God and justification doctrines already established in the baseline.
τάφος	taphos	tomb, grave	a burial place, here specifically the sealed, guarded tomb whose emptiness on the third day becomes central evidence for the Resurrection of Christ (ch. 28).	tomb, grave	The historical, verifiable, guarded tomb — grounding the bodily Resurrection doctrine (Critical, baseline) in concrete, checkable historical claim rather than legend or vision alone.	墳墓 (fan4 mou6). Low risk. Standard vocabulary.

Chapter 28 — The Resurrection and the Great Commission

Greek	Translit.	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Theological Meaning	Cantonese Rendering & Risk
ἠγέρθη	ēgerthē	he was raised, he is risen	reused exactly from Romans baseline (復活, Critical)	he has risen, he is risen	The bodily, historical, once-for-all resurrection, the climactic vindication of every Christological claim made throughout the book.	復活 (fuk6 wut6) — reused exactly from baseline.
προσκυνέω	proskyneō	to worship	reused exactly from Chapter 2	worshiped	The disciples’ worship of the risen Christ (28:9, 17) — full, appropriate response to his now-unmistakably-confirmed divine identity.	敬拜 / 朝拜 (ging3 baai3 / ciu4 baai3) — reused; Medium risk as at Chapter 2.
πᾶσα ἐξουσία	pasa exousia	all authority	the climactic, universal extension of the authority theme introduced at 7:29	all authority	”All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (28:18) — the Great Commission’s theological basis: universal, cosmic authority already Critical-relevant to the Authority of Jesus’ Teaching and Deity of Christ doctrines.	一切嘅權柄 (jat1 cai3 ge3 kyun4 beng3) — 權柄 reused per Chapter 7. High risk as established; this is the climactic occurrence and should be taught as the direct fulfillment/confirmation of every earlier authority-claim in the book.
μαθητεύσατε	mathēteusate	make disciples!	the Great Commission’s core imperative verb — actively forming people into whole-life followers of Christ, not merely securing verbal assent or one-time conversion decisions	make disciples, disciple	The central command of the Great Commission doctrine.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 使…成為門徒 (si2 … sing4 wai4 mun4 tou4, “cause [them] to become disciples”) — standard CUV/Cantonese rendering “使萬民作我的門徒.” High risk — reuses the μαθητής/門徒 risk flagged at 5:1 (martial-arts master/apprentice cultural collision); teaching materials must make clear that discipleship here means comprehensive, lifelong, Spirit-empowered formation into Christlikeness under Christ’s own unique lordship, not a craft-transmission relationship modeled on a human sifu-and-student lineage.
βαπτίζοντες	baptizontes	baptizing	reused exactly from Chapter 3	baptizing	The ongoing, church-administered ordinance marking entry into discipleship and the Trinitarian family.	施洗 (si1 sai2) — reused; Medium risk as at Chapter 3.
εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος	eis to onoma tou Patros kai tou Huiou kai tou Hagiou Pneumatos	into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit	the singular “name” (not “names”) shared by three distinct, named Persons — the New Testament’s clearest single Trinitarian baptismal formula	in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit	The book’s climactic Trinitarian statement. All three component terms (父, 子/神嘅兒子, 聖靈) are already established, Critical-risk baseline terms; the new element is the connecting formula itself.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED: 歸入父、子、聖靈嘅名 (gwai1 jap6 fu6, zi2, sing3 ling4 ge3 ming4) — established CUV/Cantonese rendering. CRITICAL RISK. The Cantonese phrasing must preserve the singular “name” (名, singular) shared equally by three distinct, named Persons — avoid any phrasing that could suggest either three separate names/deities (a tritheism-sounding error) or one deity wearing three successive masks (a modalism-sounding error, which would also risk resonance with the baseline’s forbidden 化身/顯靈 “repeatable manifestation” framing already flagged under Incarnation). This is the single most theologically dense sentence in the entire book and warrants mandatory human theologian review per the baseline’s escalation rules.
πάντα τὰ ἔθνη	panta ta ethnē	all the nations, all peoples	here a maximally inclusive sense (“every people group without exception”), distinct from the baseline’s “gentiles” entry (ἔθνη as non-Jewish peoples specifically, contrasted with Israel)	all nations, all peoples	Foundational text for the Great Commission and Mission to the Nations doctrines — the mission’s scope is now universal, without ethnic restriction, directly fulfilling and expanding the initially Israel-focused mission of Chapter 10.	NEW ENTRY REQUIRED (context-sensitive variant of the baseline’s “gentiles” entry): 萬民 (maan6 man4, “all peoples/all nations”) — the established CUV/Cantonese rendering for this specific Great Commission verse, distinct from 外邦人 (baseline’s rendering for ἔθνη in its Jew/Gentile-contrast sense). High risk if the distinction is missed: translators must use 萬民 here, not 外邦人, since the Great Commission’s scope is “every people without distinction” (consistent with the baseline’s Universal Scope of the Gospel doctrine), not “non-Jewish peoples specifically.”
συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος	synteleia tou aiōnos	the end/completion of the age	reused exactly from Chapters 13, 24	to the end of the age	”I am with you always, to the end of the age” (28:20) — closes the book with the same eschatological horizon that framed the Judgment discourse, now recast as a promise of Christ’s abiding presence with his disciples throughout the mission.	世界嘅末了 / 末世 — reused; Critical risk as established, now applied pastorally as comfort rather than warning.

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End of Part B. This document, together with 08_core_glossary.md, supersedes no baseline entry and must be loaded alongside translation_memory.json, bible_term_registry.json, and doctrine_risk_registry.json for all Phase 2 Matthew translation work.