Core Glossary
08 Core Glossary — 1 Thessalonians — English → Filipino
How to Read This Table
- Status: [BASELINE] = already recorded in the Romans Language Package, reused exactly, no new entry required in translation_memory.json. [NEW] = introduced by this curriculum; must be added to translation memory before Phase 2 begins.
- Risk: Critical / High / Medium / Low, per the same framework as
doctrine_risk_registry.json. - Chapters: every chapter in which the term is load-bearing.
| # | English term | Greek (translit.) | Filipino rendering | Status | Risk | Chapters | Reason / Collision Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gospel | euangelion | Mabuting Balita | BASELINE | Medium | 1, 2 | Reused exactly; well-established, low-syncretism term. |
| 2 | Grace | charis | biyaya | BASELINE | High | 1 | Reused exactly; must never be framed as utang na loob. |
| 3 | Peace | eirēnē | kapayapaan | BASELINE | Medium | 1 | Reused exactly. |
| 4 | Faith | pistis | pananampalataya | BASELINE | Medium | 1, 3, 4, 5 | Reused exactly; object of faith is Christ/the resurrection message. |
| 5 | Love | agapē | pag-ibig | NEW | Medium | 1, 4, 5 | Ordinary usage leans romantic; context must mark this as committed, others-directed Christian love, part of the faith-love-hope triad. |
| 6 | Hope | elpis | pag-asa | NEW | High | 1, 4, 5 | Core doctrine “Hope in Grief.” Risk of collapsing into generic optimism or fatalistic bahala na resignation; must be tied to the specific, certain content of the resurrection/parousia hope, not wishful thinking. |
| 7 | Election | eklogē | pagkahirang | BASELINE | Medium | 1 | Reused exactly; not swerte/kapalaran. |
| 8 | Power of God / Holy Spirit | dynamis / pneuma hagion | kapangyarihan ng Diyos / Espiritu Santo | BASELINE | High/Critical | 1, 4, 5 | Reused exactly; never anting-anting, anito, or bare kaluluwa. |
| 9 | Affliction / Tribulation | thlipsis | kapighatian | NEW | High | 1, 3 | Risk of folk-fatalistic or karmic “deserved suffering” (kabayaran) framing rather than gospel-faithfulness under real hardship. |
| 10 | Idols | eidōlon | mga diyus-diyosan | NEW | Critical | 1 | CRITICAL: direct collision with Filipino Catholic devotional image culture (santos, Santo Niño, processions). Must preserve the text’s own target — worship of false gods — without editorializing on the separate, sensitive question of religious images; every occurrence needs a teaching note keeping the referent precise and the tone respectful. |
| 11 | The Living and True God | theos zōn kai alēthinos | Diyos na buhay at tunay | BASELINE | High | 1 | Reused exactly; never Bathala. |
| 12 | Wrath (of God) | orgē | poot ng Diyos | NEW | High | 1, 5 | Must remain personal, just divine judgment — not an impersonal curse (sumpa) or fatalistic retribution. |
| 13 | Imitators | mimētēs | tagasunod / tumularan | NEW | Low | 1 | Standard discipleship-pattern term; minimal risk. |
| 14 | Testing / Approving | dokimazō | subukin / suriin | NEW | Medium | 2, 5 | Must stay consistent across 2:4 (testing ministry motives) and 5:21 (testing all things); distinct from peirazō (tempt). |
| 15 | Glory | doxa | kaluwalhatian | BASELINE | High | 2 | Reused exactly. |
| 16 | Soul / Life (human) | psychē | kaluluwa | NEW | High | 2, 5 | Distinct from the baseline’s Holy Spirit prohibition on bare kaluluwa, but shares the same underlying cultural association with the spirit-world (ghosts, ancestor souls); must read as the whole human self/life, not a wandering spirit, and must not be conflated with Espiritu Santo when paired with it in 5:23. |
| 17 | Blameless | amemptos | walang kapintasan | NEW | Medium | 2, 3, 5 | Consistent rendering required across recurrences; tied to holiness-at-the-parousia theme. |
| 18 | Called / Calling | kaleō / klēsis | tinawag / pagkatawag | BASELINE | High/Medium | 2 | Reused exactly; here God’s call into his kingdom and glory. |
| 19 | Kingdom of God | basileia tou theou | Kaharian ng Diyos | BASELINE | Medium | 2 | Reused exactly. |
| 20 | Word of God / Word of the Lord | logos theou / logos kyriou | salita ng Diyos / salita ng Panginoon | NEW | Medium | 2, 4 | Must be held as a distinct, equally weighted authority from Church tradition/magisterial teaching, per the baseline’s Inspiration of Scripture doctrine note. |
| 21 | Satan | satanas | Satanas | NEW | Medium | 2 | Established transliteration; keep personal (a real adversary), not a symbol for generic bad luck. |
| 22 | Crown (of boasting) | stephanos | korona | NEW | Low | 2 | Eschatological reward imagery; minimal risk. |
| 23 | The Return of Christ / Coming | parousia | pagparito ng Panginoon | NEW | Critical | 2, 3, 4 | Core doctrine anchor. Risk of entanglement with Philippine home-grown millenarian/apocalyptic movements (date-setting, rival returning figures); must stay anchored to the historical, singular, Christ-centered event. |
| 24 | The Tempter / Tempt | ho peirazōn / peirazō | ang manunukso / tukso | NEW | Medium | 3 | Testing with malicious intent, distinct from dokimazō (testing to approve). |
| 25 | Holiness (state) | hagiōsynē | kabanalan | NEW | Medium | 3 | Distinguish from pagpapabanal (the ongoing sanctifying process, baseline) as the resulting consecrated character/state. |
| 26 | Sanctification | hagiasmos | pagpapabanal | BASELINE | Medium | 4 | Reused exactly; central ethical term of ch. 4, this curriculum’s Sanctification doctrine. |
| 27 | Sexual Immorality | porneia | pakikiapid | NEW | High | 4 | Sensitive-topic risk of euphemism or narrowing under contemporary social pressure; must retain full biblical breadth (any sexual activity outside marriage), not only adultery. |
| 28 | Vessel (body / wife) | skeuos | sisidlan / katawan / asawa | NEW | Medium | 4 | Genuine exegetical ambiguity between “one’s own body” and “one’s own wife”; flag for translator decision, do not silently resolve. |
| 29 | Lust / Desire | epithymia | masamang pagnanasa | NEW | Medium | 4 | Disordered sexual passion “like the Gentiles who do not know God.” |
| 30 | Gentiles | ethnē | mga Hentil | BASELINE | Medium | 4 | Reused exactly; here in the pejorative-in-context sense of pagan nations, not a neutral ethnic label. |
| 31 | The Avenger | ekdikos | tagapaghiganti | NEW | Medium | 4 | Ties personal sexual ethics to divine justice, anticipating ch. 5’s Day of the Lord. |
| 32 | Taught by God | theodidaktos | tinuruan ng Diyos | NEW | Low | 4 | Minimal risk. |
| 33 | Brotherly Love | philadelphia | pagmamahal sa mga kapatid | NEW | Low | 4 | Minimal risk. |
| 34 | Asleep (euphemism for death in Christ) | koimaō | mga natutulog (kay Kristo) | NEW | Critical | 4 | CORE PASSAGE TERM. Risk of collision with (a) soul-sleep doctrine (not taught here) and (b) Filipino death/mourning practices (Undas, novena for the dead, ancestor-spirit beliefs). Every occurrence needs a teaching note: affirms certain future bodily resurrection in Christ, not soul-sleep and not ancestor-spirit continuity. |
| 35 | Resurrection (of Christ / of believers) | anistēmi / anastasis | pagkabuhay na mag-uli | BASELINE | Medium | 4 | Reused exactly; core doctrine “Resurrection of Believers,” grounded in Christ’s own historical resurrection. |
| 36 | Caught Up (gathered to Christ) | harpazō | aagawin / dadalhin (sa mga alapaap) | NEW | High | 4 | Sudden, sovereign gathering act of God; must not be over-specified into a particular millennial timetable not asserted by the verse, nor read as spirit-abduction. |
| 37 | Archangel | archangelos | arkanghel | NEW | High | 4 | Filipino Catholic devotional culture venerates specific named archangels (San Miguel); teaching must keep the archangel as an announcing herald of Christ’s return, not a shift of devotional focus onto the archangel. |
| 38 | Trumpet of God | salpinx theou | trumpeta ng Diyos | NEW | Low | 4 | Minimal risk; echoes OT theophany imagery. |
| 39 | To Meet (the Lord) | apantēsis | pagsalubong (sa Panginoon) | NEW | Medium | 4 | Favorable cultural resonance with Filipino pagsalubong welcome-practice; clarify the object is Christ himself, not a devotional image/procession figure. |
| 40 | Lord | kyrios | Panginoon | BASELINE | High/Critical | 4, 5 | Reused exactly; exclusive, supreme, personal Lordship — not delegated to any intercessory figure. |
| 41 | Day of the Lord | hēmera kyriou | Araw ng Panginoon | NEW | Critical | 5 | Core doctrine anchor, paired with parousia. Risk of date-setting speculation and disaster-omen reading given the Philippines’ history of home-grown apocalyptic movements; must retain the text’s own emphasis on unpredictability, against speculation. |
| 42 | Sons of Light / Sons of Day | huioi phōtos / huioi hēmeras | mga anak ng liwanag / mga anak ng araw | NEW | Medium | 5 | Must convey moral/spiritual identity, not an independent light-vs-darkness dualistic cosmology. |
| 43 | Sober / Alert | nēphō | magpakahinahon / maging matino | NEW | Medium | 5 | Ethical corollary of Day-of-the-Lord expectancy. |
| 44 | Watch / Stay Alert | grēgoreō | magbantay | NEW | Low/Medium | 5 | Paired with nēphō; minimal independent risk. |
| 45 | Salvation | sōtēria | kaligtasan | BASELINE | Critical | 4, 5 | Reused exactly; every occurrence needs the standard teaching note distinguishing faith-received salvation from sacramentally-guaranteed salvation. |
| 46 | Admonish | noutheteō | paalalahanan / pagsawayin | NEW | Low | 5 | Minimal risk. |
| 47 | Unruly / Idle | ataktos | magulo / walang disiplina | NEW | Low | 5 | Minimal risk. |
| 48 | Prayer (general) | proseuchomai | pananalangin | NEW | Medium | 5 | Must be kept distinct from pamamagitan (baseline’s specific intercession term), so this is not read as prayer through a go-between figure but ongoing personal communion with God. |
| 49 | Thanksgiving | eucharisteō | pasasalamat | BASELINE | Low | 1, 5 | Reused exactly. |
| 50 | Quench the Spirit | sbennymi to pneuma | huwag pigilan/patayin ang Espiritu Santo | NEW | High | 5 | Denominational sensitivity between charismatic/Pentecostal and cessationist-leaning Philippine Christian traditions regarding ongoing prophetic gifts; present as a call to discernment (with v.21’s testing), not license for uncritical acceptance nor grounds for suppressing gifts outright. |
| 51 | Prophecy | prophēteia | propesiya | BASELINE | Low | 5 | Reused exactly. |
| 52 | Despise (prophecies) | exoutheneō | huwag hamakin | NEW | Medium | 5 | Paired with propesiya; minor independent risk. |
| 53 | Spirit, Soul, and Body | pneuma, psychē, sōma | espiritu, kaluluwa, at katawan | NEW | High | 5 | The middle term (kaluluwa) carries the same spirit-world association flagged at 2:8; must not be conflated with Espiritu Santo in this same verse’s pairing, nor imply ancestor-spirit assumptions about the soul’s post-death state. |
| 54 | Holy Kiss | philēma hagion | banal na halik | NEW | Medium | 5 | Literal form is not the customary Filipino greeting; a cultural-adaptation note preserving the doctrinal content (warm, pure, family-like greeting) is appropriate. |
Doctrine-to-Term Cross-Reference (for Doctrine Risk Registry Extension)
| Curriculum Doctrine | Primary Terms | Highest Risk Tier |
|---|---|---|
| The Return of Christ | parousia (pagparito ng Panginoon), harpazō (aagawin), apantēsis (pagsalubong), archangelos (arkanghel) | Critical |
| Resurrection of Believers | koimaō (mga natutulog), anastasis (pagkabuhay na mag-uli) | Critical |
| Sanctification | hagiasmos (pagpapabanal), hagiōsynē (kabanalan), porneia (pakikiapid) | High |
| Hope in Grief | elpis (pag-asa), lypeō (magdalamhati), parakaleō (pasiglahin/aliwin) | High |
| The Day of the Lord | hēmera kyriou (Araw ng Panginoon), orgē (poot ng Diyos), nēphō/grēgoreō (magpakahinahon/magbantay) | Critical |
This glossary extends, and must be loaded alongside, the baseline Romans translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json. All [BASELINE] terms above are enforced exactly as recorded there; only [NEW] terms require new translation-memory entries before Phase 2 processing of 1 Thessalonians begins.
Critical Risk Terms
Asleep In Christ
Approved rendering: mga natutulog (kay Kristo)
Transliteration: mga natutulog (kay Kristo)
Doctrine: Resurrection of Believers
Rejected alternatives: namatay (flattens the euphemism and loses its forward-looking force)
Original: κοιμάομαι (κοιμωμένων / κοιμηθέντας)
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Greek koimaō (koimōmenōn/koimēthentas). Occurs 4:13-15; also 1 Th relevance to Christ’s resurrection guarantee at 4:14,16. CRITICAL: risks (1) confusion with soul-sleep doctrine, which this passage does not teach, and (2) entanglement with Filipino death/mourning practice (Undas, novena para sa kaluluwa, lamay, ancestor-spirit beliefs). Every occurrence requires a teaching note affirming certain future bodily resurrection in Christ, not soul-sleep and not ancestor-spirit continuity. Retain the sleep-euphemism; do not flatten to a literal ‘namatay.‘
Day Of The Lord
Approved rendering: Araw ng Panginoon
Transliteration: Araw ng Panginoon
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord
Original: ἡμέρα κυρίου
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Greek hēmera kyriou. Occurs 5:2. CRITICAL: Philippine history of home-grown apocalyptic/millenarian movements creates pressure toward date-setting and disaster-omen reading (typhoons, eclipses, calendar dates). Every occurrence needs a teaching note anchoring the term to its stated unpredictability (5:2-3, ‘like a thief in the night’) specifically against date-setting speculation.
God
Approved rendering: Diyos
Transliteration: Diyos
Doctrine: Turning from Idols to the Living God
Rejected alternatives: Bathala
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. In 1:9, ‘the living and true God’ is the letter’s sharpest contrast term against idolatry. Never Bathala.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Espiritu Santo
Transliteration: Espiritu Santo
Doctrine: Reception of the Gospel / Quenching and Testing the Spirit
Rejected alternatives: anito, kaluluwa
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1:5-6; 4:8; 5:19. Never anito or bare kaluluwa. Must remain clearly distinct from the human psychē (kaluluwa) paired in the same verse at 5:23.
Idols
Approved rendering: mga diyus-diyosan
Transliteration: mga diyus-diyosan
Doctrine: Turning from Idols to the Living God
Original: εἴδωλα
Category: Sin
NEW. Greek eidōla. Occurs 1:9. CRITICAL: direct collision with Filipino Catholic devotional image culture (santos, Santo Niño, Black Nazarene, Marian images). Preserve the text’s own target — worship of false gods — without editorializing on the separate question of religious images; every occurrence needs a teaching note keeping the referent precise and the tone respectful.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Jesus
Transliteration: Jesus
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Established Filipino Protestant Bible spelling.
Lord
Approved rendering: Panginoon
Transliteration: Panginoon
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. In 4:16, ‘the Lord himself’ descends — no substitute or intermediary agent. Occurs throughout the letter (1:1,3,6,8; 3:8,11-13; 4:1-2,6,15-17; 5:2,9,12,23,27-28).
Parousia
Approved rendering: pagparito ng Panginoon
Transliteration: pagparito ng Panginoon
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
Rejected alternatives: presensya (Watchtower/NWT-style ‘invisible presence’ framing)
Original: παρουσία
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Occurs 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23. CRITICAL: Philippine home-grown millenarian/Colorum-type movements attach specific dates, sites, or rival returning figures to end-time expectation. Never bare pagparito — always with Panginoon attached. Must never be softened toward an ‘invisible presence’ framing (cf. NWT-tl); every occurrence needs a teaching note anchoring the term to the singular, historical, Christ-centered event.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: pagkabuhay na mag-uli
Transliteration: pagkabuhay na mag-uli
Doctrine: Resurrection of Believers
Original: ἀνάστασις / ἀνίστημι
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1:10 (Christ’s own resurrection); 4:14,16 (believers’ guaranteed future resurrection). Must never be rendered with a term for reincarnation or an ongoing cycle.
Salvation
Approved rendering: kaligtasan
Transliteration: kaligtasan
Doctrine: Divine Wrath
Rejected alternatives: seguradong pumunta sa langit dahil sa sakramento
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 5:8-9, appropriated by ‘the helmet of the hope of salvation,’ deliverance from the coming wrath. Every occurrence needs the standard teaching note distinguishing faith-received salvation from sacramentally-guaranteed salvation.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Anak ng Diyos
Transliteration: Anak ng Diyos
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ (cf. ‘his Son from heaven’)
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1:10, ‘wait for his Son from heaven,’ directly previewing the Return of Christ doctrine.
High Risk Terms
Affliction
Approved rendering: kapighatian
Transliteration: kapighatian
Doctrine: Suffering for the Gospel
Original: θλῖψις
Category: Christian Life
NEW. Greek thlipsis. Occurs 1:6; 3:3-4,7. Risk of folk-fatalistic or karmic ‘kabayaran’ (deserved-suffering) framing rather than gospel-faithfulness under real, external persecution.
Archangel
Approved rendering: arkanghel
Transliteration: arkanghel
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
Original: ἀρχάγγελος
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Greek archangelos. Occurs 4:16. Filipino Catholic devotional culture venerates specific named archangels (especially San Miguel Arkanghel) with feast days and intercessory petitions. Teaching must keep the archangel as an announcing herald of Christ’s return, not shift devotional attention onto the archangel figure itself.
Called
Approved rendering: tinawag
Transliteration: tinawag
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: κλητός / καλέω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 2:12 (into God’s kingdom and glory), 4:7 (to holiness).
Calling
Approved rendering: pagkatawag
Transliteration: pagkatawag
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Noun form, latent in the letter’s calling language.
Caught Up
Approved rendering: aagawin / dadalhin (sa mga alapaap)
Transliteration: aagawin at dadalhin sa mga alapaap
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
Rejected alternatives: biglang mawawala (too vague, risks folk spirit-abduction association)
Original: ἁρπάζω (ἁρπαγησόμεθα)
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Greek harpazō (harpagēsometha). Occurs 4:17. Must read as God’s sovereign, sudden gathering act, not a vague ‘disappearance’ absorbed into unrelated folk notions of spirit-abduction, and not over-specified into a particular millennial timetable not asserted by the verse itself. Recommended fixed phrase: ‘kami…ay aagawin at dadalhin sa mga alapaap.‘
Election
Approved rendering: pagkahirang
Transliteration: pagkahirang
Doctrine: Divine Election
Rejected alternatives: swerte, kapalaran
Original: ἐκλογή
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1:4; never swerte/kapalaran.
Faith
Approved rendering: pananampalataya
Transliteration: pananampalataya
Doctrine: Reception of the Gospel
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Part of the letter’s faith-love-hope triad (1:3; 5:8); object of faith is Christ and the resurrection message (4:14).
Father
Approved rendering: Ama
Transliteration: Ama
Doctrine: Prayer and Thanksgiving
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1:1,3; 3:11,13. Keep distinct from the reverence-title Padre and from ancestor-veneration petitions.
Glory
Approved rendering: kaluwalhatian
Transliteration: kaluwalhatian
Doctrine: Apostolic Integrity and Word of God
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 2:6,12.
Grace
Approved rendering: biyaya
Transliteration: biyaya
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: utang na loob
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs in the opening greeting, 1:1, and closing benediction, 5:28. Never utang na loob.
Holy
Approved rendering: banal
Transliteration: banal
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἅγιος / ἁγίως
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 2:10 (Paul’s conduct); 4:4,7; 5:23 (believers’ character). Shares root with the baseline’s Critical sainthood caution; sanctification describes every believer’s normal life, not an elite devotional class.
Hope
Approved rendering: pag-asa
Transliteration: pag-asa
Doctrine: Hope in Grief
Original: ἐλπίς
Category: Faith
NEW. Greek elpis. Core term of the curriculum’s Hope in Grief doctrine (4:13; 5:8) and third term of the faith-love-hope triad (1:3). Pag-asa doubles for everyday wishful hoping and risks flattening into bahala-na-style fatalistic resignation (Critical for providence in the baseline). Every occurrence needs framing tying pag-asa to the specific, certain resurrection/parousia content of 4:14-17, not generalized optimism.
Living And True God
Approved rendering: Diyos na buhay at tunay
Transliteration: Diyos na buhay at tunay
Doctrine: Turning from Idols to the Living God
NEW phrase built on baseline ‘god’ entry. Occurs 1:9, the direct contrast term to idols; the sharpest conversion-language contrast in the letter.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: kapangyarihan ng Diyos
Transliteration: kapangyarihan ng Diyos
Doctrine: Reception of the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: anting-anting
Original: δύναμις θεοῦ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1:5; never anting-anting.
Quench The Spirit
Approved rendering: huwag pigilan / patayin ang Espiritu Santo
Transliteration: sbennymi to pneuma
Doctrine: Quenching and Testing the Spirit
Original: τὸ πνεῦμα μὴ σβέννυτε
Category: God
NEW. Greek to pneuma mē sbennyte. Occurs 5:19. Must reuse the baseline’s full Espiritu Santo (never bare anito or kaluluwa). Denominational sensitivity between charismatic/Pentecostal and cessationist-leaning Philippine Christian traditions; present as a call to discernment paired with 5:21’s testing, not license for uncritical acceptance nor grounds for outright suppression.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: pagpapabanal
Transliteration: pagpapabanal
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἁγιασμός
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Central ethical term of ch.4 (4:3-4,7) and 5:23. Must never be interchanged with hagiōsynē (kabanalan, the resulting state) — pagpapabanal is the ongoing process.
Sexual Immorality
Approved rendering: pakikiapid
Transliteration: pakikiapid
Doctrine: Sexual Purity
Original: πορνεία
Category: Sin
NEW. Greek porneia. Occurs 4:3. Any sexual activity outside the marriage covenant. Contemporary Filipino social norms increasingly normalize premarital/extramarital relationships, creating pressure to euphemize or narrow this term; must retain full biblical breadth.
Soul Life
Approved rendering: kaluluwa
Transliteration: kaluluwa
Doctrine: Wholeness of Sanctification
Original: ψυχή
Category: Anthropology
NEW. Greek psychē. Occurs 2:8 (Paul’s own life/self given in love) and recurs 5:23. Distinct from the baseline’s Holy Spirit prohibition on bare kaluluwa, but shares the same underlying spirit-world association (souls of the departed, ancestor veneration); must read as the whole inner self/life, never a ghost or the Holy Spirit.
Spirit Soul Body
Approved rendering: espiritu, kaluluwa, at katawan
Transliteration: pneuma kai psychē kai sōma
Doctrine: Wholeness of Sanctification
Original: πνεῦμα καὶ ψυχὴ καὶ σῶμα
Category: Anthropology
NEW. Occurs 5:23. A threefold description of the whole human person (debated as strict trichotomy vs. rhetorical wholeness-emphasis). The middle term (kaluluwa) carries the same spirit-world association flagged for psychē at 2:8; must not be conflated with Espiritu Santo appearing in the same letter, nor import ancestor-spirit assumptions about the soul’s post-death state.
Wrath
Approved rendering: poot ng Diyos
Transliteration: poot ng Diyos
Doctrine: Divine Wrath
Rejected alternatives: sumpa
Original: ὀργή
Category: God
NEW. Greek orgē. Occurs 1:10; 5:9. Must remain the personal, just judgment of the living God, not an impersonal curse (sumpa) or fatalistic retribution (kabayaran).
Medium Risk Terms
Always With The Lord
Approved rendering: lagi kaming makakasama ng Panginoon
Transliteration: pantote syn kyriō esometha
Doctrine: Hope in Grief
NEW. Greek pantote syn kyriō esometha. Occurs 4:17. The climactic promise and true point of the passage; must retain ‘always/forever,’ not soften to a temporary or occasional companionship.
Avenger
Approved rendering: tagapaghiganti
Transliteration: tagapaghiganti
Doctrine: Divine Justice and Vengeance
Original: ἔκδικος
Category: God
NEW. Greek ekdikos. Occurs 4:6. Ties personal sexual ethics to divine justice, anticipating the Day of the Lord; must not be read as license for personal revenge or an utang-na-loob-style reciprocal-debt framework.
Blameless
Approved rendering: walang kapintasan
Transliteration: walang kapintasan
Doctrine: Holiness Oriented Toward the Lord’s Coming
Original: ἄμεμπτος / ἀμέμπτως
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Greek amemptos/amemptōs. Occurs 2:10; 3:13; 5:23. Consistent rendering required across all three recurrences; tied to holiness-oriented-toward-the-parousia theme.
Church
Approved rendering: iglesia
Transliteration: iglesia
Doctrine: Church Order and Leadership
Rejected alternatives: simbahan
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1:1, addressed to the assembly at Thessalonica.
Despise Prophecy
Approved rendering: huwag hamakin ang mga propesiya
Transliteration: exoutheneō
Doctrine: Quenching and Testing the Spirit
Original: προφητείας μὴ ἐξουθενεῖτε
Category: Church
NEW. Greek exoutheneō. Occurs 5:20. Paired with propesiya (baseline term); balanced against 5:21’s command to test all things.
Destruction
Approved rendering: kapahamakan
Transliteration: kapahamakan
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord
Original: ὄλεθρος
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Greek olethros. Occurs 5:3. Tied to the wrath/judgment theme of 1:10; should read as personal divine judgment, not an impersonal calamity or fate.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: mga Hentil
Transliteration: mga Hentil
Doctrine: Sexual Purity
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 4:5 in the pejorative-in-context sense (‘like the Gentiles who do not know God’); also 2:16. Context must clarify this is not a neutral ethnic label here.
Gospel
Approved rendering: Mabuting Balita
Transliteration: mabuting balita
Doctrine: Reception of the Gospel
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1:5; 2:2,4,8,9; 3:2. No change.
Grieve
Approved rendering: magdalamhati
Transliteration: magdalamhati
Doctrine: Hope in Grief
Original: λυπέω
Category: Faith
NEW. Greek lypeō. Occurs 4:13. Paul forbids hopeless grief, not grief itself; must be distinguished from the actual forbidden target (grieving without hope). Filipino mourning culture (lamay, siyam na araw, ika-40 araw) is emotionally intense and must not be characterized as un-Christian.
Holiness State
Approved rendering: kabanalan
Transliteration: kabanalan
Doctrine: Holiness Oriented Toward the Lord’s Coming
Original: ἁγιωσύνη
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Greek hagiōsynē. Occurs 3:13. Distinguish from pagpapabanal (hagiasmos, the ongoing sanctifying process) as the resulting consecrated state/character. Directly ties Sanctification to the Return of Christ.
Holy Kiss
Approved rendering: banal na halik
Transliteration: philēma hagion
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship and Greeting
Original: φίλημα ἅγιον
Category: Church
NEW. Greek philēma hagion. Occurs 5:26. A kiss-greeting is not the customary Filipino greeting form (pagmamano, handshake, or beso in some contexts); a cultural-adaptation note is appropriate so the doctrinal content — warm, pure, family-like greeting — is preserved even where the literal form is adapted.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: Kaharian ng Diyos
Transliteration: Kaharian ng Diyos
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 2:12.
Love
Approved rendering: pag-ibig
Transliteration: pag-ibig
Doctrine: Brotherly Love
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Faith
NEW. Greek agapē. Ordinary Filipino usage of pag-ibig leans romantic; context must mark this as committed, others-directed Christian love, the second term of the faith-love-hope triad (1:3), and the substance of the ‘breastplate’ in 5:8.
Lust Desire
Approved rendering: masamang pagnanasa
Transliteration: masamang pagnanasa
Doctrine: Sexual Purity
Original: ἐπιθυμία
Category: Sin
NEW. Greek epithymia. Occurs 4:5, contrasted with holiness, ‘like the Gentiles who do not know God.‘
Meeting The Lord
Approved rendering: pagsalubong (sa Panginoon)
Transliteration: pagsalubong sa Panginoon
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
Original: ἀπάντησις
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Greek apantēsis. Occurs 4:17. Favorable cultural resonance with the Filipino practice of pagsalubong (formally welcoming and escorting home an arriving honored guest); teaching should clarify the object here is Christ himself returning, always stated explicitly (‘kay Kristo mismo’), not a devotional image or procession figure.
Peace
Approved rendering: kapayapaan
Transliteration: kapayapaan
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1:1; 5:23.
Prayer
Approved rendering: pananalangin
Transliteration: pananalangin
Doctrine: Prayer and Thanksgiving
Original: προσεύχομαι
Category: Faith
NEW. Greek proseuchomai. Occurs 5:17. Must be kept distinct from the baseline’s specific intercession term (pamamagitan, used of a particular person interceding on behalf of another), so this verse is not read as commending prayer through an intercessory go-between.
Satan
Approved rendering: Satanas
Transliteration: Satanas
Doctrine: Opposition from Satan
Original: Σατανᾶς
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW. Occurs 2:18. Established, transliterated term; keep personal — a real adversary — not a symbol for generic bad luck.
Sober
Approved rendering: magpakahinahon / maging matino
Transliteration: nēphō
Doctrine: Spiritual Alertness and Sobriety
Original: νήφω
Category: Christian Life
NEW. Greek nēphō. Occurs 5:6,8. The ethical corollary of Day-of-the-Lord expectancy; retain vigilant clear-headedness, not mere calmness.
Sons Of Light
Approved rendering: mga anak ng liwanag / mga anak ng araw
Transliteration: mga anak ng liwanag / mga anak ng araw
Doctrine: Spiritual Alertness and Sobriety
Original: υἱοὶ φωτός / υἱοὶ ἡμέρας
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Greek huioi phōtos / huioi hēmeras. Occurs 5:5. Must convey moral/spiritual identity and readiness, not an independent dualistic light-vs-darkness cosmology found in some folk or syncretic frameworks.
Tempter
Approved rendering: ang manunukso
Transliteration: ang manunukso
Doctrine: Opposition from Satan
Original: ὁ πειράζων / πειράζω
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW. Greek ho peirazōn / peirazō. Occurs 3:5. Must be kept distinct from dokimazō (testing that approves) as testing with malicious intent to destroy, not to refine.
Testing Approving
Approved rendering: subukin / suriin
Transliteration: subukin / suriin
Doctrine: Apostolic Integrity and Word of God
Original: δοκιμάζω
Category: Church
NEW. Greek dokimazō. Occurs 2:4; 5:21. Must stay consistent across both occurrences and be kept distinct from peirazō (to tempt/test with malicious intent).
Vessel
Approved rendering: sisidlan / katawan / asawa
Transliteration: sisidlan / katawan / asawa
Doctrine: Sexual Purity
Original: σκεῦος
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Greek skeuos. Occurs 4:4. Genuine, longstanding exegetical ambiguity between ‘one’s own body’ and ‘one’s own wife’; flag for translator decision at the segment level, do not silently resolve either direction.
Word Of God
Approved rendering: salita ng Diyos / salita ng Panginoon
Transliteration: salita ng Diyos / salita ng Panginoon
Doctrine: Apostolic Integrity and Word of God
Original: λόγος θεοῦ / λόγος κυρίου
Category: Scripture
NEW. Greek logos theou / logos kyriou. Occurs 2:13; 4:15. Must be held as a distinct, equally weighted authority from Church tradition or magisterial teaching, per the baseline’s Inspiration of Scripture doctrine note.
Low Risk Terms
Admonish
Approved rendering: paalalahanan / pagsawayin
Transliteration: noutheteō
Doctrine: Church Order and Leadership
NEW. Greek noutheteō. Occurs 5:12,14. Minimal risk.
Birth Pang
Approved rendering: pananakit ng panganganak
Transliteration: odin
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord
NEW. Greek ōdin. Occurs 5:3. Metaphor for suddenness and inescapability; minimal independent risk.
Bring Together With Him
Approved rendering: dadalhin (ng Diyos) na kasama niya
Transliteration: dadalhin na kasama niya
Doctrine: Resurrection of Believers
NEW. Greek axei syn autō. Occurs 4:14. God will bring the dead-in-Christ along with Christ at his return — a reunion, not an abandonment. Must retain the ‘together with him’ relational force.
Brotherly Love
Approved rendering: pagmamahal sa mga kapatid
Transliteration: pagmamahal sa mga kapatid
Doctrine: Brotherly Love
Original: φιλαδελφία
Category: Church
NEW. Greek philadelphia. Occurs 4:9-10. Minimal risk; standard familial-affection term for the church community.
Brothers
Approved rendering: mga kapatid
Transliteration: mga kapatid
Doctrine: Hope in Grief
NEW. Greek adelphoi. Occurs 4:13 and throughout the letter as the standard pastoral, familial address term. Extends to the whole faith-family, not blood siblings only.
Clouds
Approved rendering: mga alapaap
Transliteration: mga alapaap
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
NEW. Greek nephelai. Occurs 4:17. Echoes OT theophany cloud imagery and Christ’s ascension/future coming.
Crown
Approved rendering: korona
Transliteration: korona
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
Original: στέφανος
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Greek stephanos. Occurs 2:19, ‘crown of boasting’ at Christ’s parousia. Eschatological reward imagery; minimal independent risk.
Exhort
Approved rendering: pasiglahin
Transliteration: pasiglahin
Doctrine: Hope in Grief
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. In 4:18 decisively the comfort/encourage sense (aliwin/pasiglahin), grieving believers comforting one another with the resurrection hope; also 5:11,14.
Imitators
Approved rendering: tagasunod / tumularan
Transliteration: tagasunod / tumularan
Doctrine: Suffering for the Gospel
Original: μιμηταί
Category: Church
NEW. Greek mimētai. Occurs 1:6. Standard discipleship-pattern term; minimal risk.
Into The Air
Approved rendering: sa himpapawid
Transliteration: sa himpapawid
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
NEW. Greek eis aera. Occurs 4:17. Minimal independent risk.
Leaders
Approved rendering: mga namumuno sa inyo
Transliteration: proistamenous
Doctrine: Church Order and Leadership
NEW. Greek proistamenous. Occurs 5:12. Minimal risk.
Precede
Approved rendering: mauna
Transliteration: mauna
Doctrine: Resurrection of Believers
NEW. Greek phthanō (phthasōmen). Occurs 4:15. Corrects the Thessalonians’ fear that death disadvantages the departed — living believers will not ‘beat’ the dead-in-Christ to the reunion with Christ.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: propesiya
Transliteration: propesiya
Doctrine: Quenching and Testing the Spirit
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 5:20, balanced with 5:21’s command to test all things.
Shout Of Command
Approved rendering: utos na sigaw / malakas na tinig ng utos
Transliteration: keleusma
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
NEW. Greek keleusma. Occurs 4:16. Royal, authoritative summons accompanying Christ’s descent.
Strengthen
Approved rendering: patatagin
Transliteration: patatagin
Doctrine: Suffering for the Gospel
NEW. Greek stērizō. Occurs 3:2, paired with parakaleō (‘to strengthen and encourage’). Minimal independent risk.
Taught By God
Approved rendering: tinuruan ng Diyos
Transliteration: tinuruan ng Diyos
Doctrine: Brotherly Love
Original: θεοδίδακτος
Category: Church
NEW. Greek theodidaktos. Occurs 4:9. Minimal risk; straightforward descriptive term.
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: pasasalamat
Transliteration: pasasalamat
Doctrine: Prayer and Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία / εὐχαριστέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1:2; 5:18.
Thief In The Night
Approved rendering: magnanakaw sa gabi
Transliteration: magnanakaw sa gabi
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord
NEW. Greek kleptēs en nykti. Occurs 5:2. Low-risk metaphor for suddenness; reinforces the unpredictability teaching note for Araw ng Panginoon.
Trumpet Of God
Approved rendering: trumpeta ng Diyos
Transliteration: trumpeta ng Diyos
Doctrine: The Return of Christ
Original: σάλπιγξ θεοῦ
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Greek salpinx theou. Occurs 4:16. Echoes OT theophany and covenant-assembly imagery; minimal independent risk.
Unruly
Approved rendering: mga magulo / walang disiplina
Transliteration: ataktos
Doctrine: Church Order and Leadership
NEW. Greek ataktos. Occurs 5:14. Military-metaphor term (out of ranks); minimal risk.
Watch
Approved rendering: magbantay
Transliteration: grēgoreō
Doctrine: Spiritual Alertness and Sobriety
Original: γρηγορέω
Category: Christian Life
NEW. Greek grēgoreō. Occurs 5:6. Paired with sobriety; minimal independent risk.
Referenced passages