Core Glossary
Core Glossary — 2 John
This glossary covers every load-bearing theological term across the whole book of 2 John (a single chapter, 13 verses; see 07_semantic_analysis.md for full verse-level treatment). Citation format follows the baseline convention: 2 યોહાનનો પત્ર chapter:verse (book name = “2 યોહાનનો પત્ર,” established Gujarati Bible convention for the Second Epistle of John).
Legend: Reused = term/rendering already fixed in the Romans baseline translation_memory.json, applied here without modification. New = term introduced in this curriculum, to be added to translation memory before Phase 2.
Terms Reused Exactly from Romans Baseline
| Term (EN) | Original | Gujarati | Risk | Baseline Doctrine | 2 John Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| grace | χάρις | કૃપા | Critical | Grace | 1:3 |
| peace | εἰρήνη | શાંતિ | Medium | Peace with God | 1:3 |
| God | θεός | પરમેશ્વર | Critical | Deity of Christ | 1:3, 1:4, 1:9 |
| Father | πατήρ | પિતા | High | Adoption into God’s Family | 1:3, 1:4, 1:9 |
| Jesus | Ἰησοῦς | ઈસુ | Critical | Lordship of Christ | 1:3, 1:7 |
| Son of God (concept) | υἱὸς τοῦ πατρός | પરમેશ્વરનો પુત્ર / પિતાનો પુત્ર | Critical | Sonship of Christ | 1:3, 1:9 |
| Christ (established transliteration, AI requirements doc) | Χριστός | ખ્રિસ્ત | Critical | Deity/Sonship of Christ | 1:3, 1:7, 1:9 |
| church/fellowship root (κοινωνία, positive sense — contrast term, not directly occurring but governs κοινωνέω risk) | κοινωνία | સંગત | Low | Christian Fellowship | (governs 1:11 risk by contrast) |
| election (doctrinal category governing ἐκλεκτός) | ἐκλογή / ἐκλεκτός | પરમેશ્વરની પસંદગી (concept) | High | Effectual Calling | (governs 1:1, 1:13 risk) |
New Terms Introduced in 2 John
| Term (EN) | Original / Translit. | Gujarati | Translit. (Gujarati) | Risk | Doctrine | Rejected Alternatives | Notes | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| truth | ἀλήθεια / alētheia | સત્ય | satya | High | Walking in Truth and Love | — | Loaded in Hindu (Vedic/satyagraha) and Jain (satya mahāvrata) frameworks as ethical virtue or metaphysical absolute achieved by self-discipline; here it is the specific revealed gospel truth about Christ received as a gift, not an ascetic attainment. | 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4 |
| love | ἀγάπη / agapē | પ્રેમ | prem | High | Walking in Truth and Love | — | Collides with Vaishnav prema-bhakti (devotional romantic love toward Krishna, salient given Dwarka in Gujarat). Must be anchored as self-giving, commandment-shaped love among believers, not devotional bhakti-love. | 1:1, 1:3, 1:5, 1:6 |
| mercy | ἔλεος / eleos | દયા | dayā | Medium | Grace (adjacent) | — | Common in Hindu bhakti for a deity’s compassion toward devotees; retain the Christ-mediated, covenantal sense paired with grace/peace. | 1:3 |
| commandment | ἐντολή / entolē | આજ્ઞા | āgnā | Medium | Walking in Truth and Love; Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | — | Also names a guru’s binding instruction in Swaminarayan bhakti and Jain monasticism; anchor as God’s own character-instruction, not merit-earning guru-directive. | 1:4, 1:5, 1:6 |
| new commandment | ἐντολὴ καινή / entolē kainē | નવી આજ્ઞા | navī āgnā | High | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | — | Explicitly denies doctrinal novelty; pair with “from the beginning” to block any reading permitting new/advanced revelation. | 1:5 |
| walk (conduct) | περιπατέω / peripateō | ચાલવું | cālvũ | High | Walking in Truth and Love | — | Collides with Jain mārga (self-propelled ascetic path to moksha); anchor as obedience flowing from truth already received as gift. | 1:4, 1:6 |
| world | κόσμος / kosmos | જગત | jagat | Critical | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | સંસાર | NEVER સંસાર — collides with the Hindu/Jain cyclical realm of rebirth/worldly existence; જગત keeps the created/human order sense without the samsara-cycle association. | 1:7 |
| deceiver | πλάνος / planos | ભુલાવનારા | bhulāvanārā | High | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | પ્રપંચી (less preferred) | Must carry active doctrinal culpability for leading others astray about Christ’s nature, not generic disagreement. | 1:7 |
| confess | ὁμολογέω / homologeō | કબૂલ કરવું | kabūl karavũ | High | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | — | Public, doctrinally binding acknowledgment (parallel to Romans 10:9 escalation rule), not private opinion. | 1:7 |
| come in the flesh (incarnation phrase) | ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί / erchomenon en sarki | દેહમાં આવ્યા | dehmāṅ āvyā | Critical | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation (= baseline Incarnation doctrine) | અવતાર | NEVER અવતાર (repeatable avatar-descent, especially salient given Dwarka). Pairs with baseline’s દેહધારણ. Affirms a real, permanent, non-illusory human body — the exact point the false teachers deny. | 1:7 |
| flesh | σάρξ / sarx | દેહ | deh | Critical | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | માંસ (too literal/butcher-sense) | Must not imply an illusory (māyā) or temporary karmic-shell body (a live Jain association); Christ’s body is real and enduring. | 1:7 |
| antichrist | ἀντίχριστος / antichristos | અંતિખ્રિસ્ત | antikhrist | Critical | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | — | Transliterated, as with baseline’s મસીહા pattern. No existing Gujarati religious analog (unlike incarnation, which can be corrected against avatar theology); must be built from Scripture from first principles for all audiences. | 1:7 |
| reward | μισθός / misthos | બદલો | badlo | High | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | ફળ | NEVER ફળ — collides with karma-phal (mechanically earned fruit of deeds); બદલો preserves a relational reward from a personal God for perseverance in grace-received truth. | 1:8 |
| go ahead / progress beyond | προάγω / proagō | આગળ વધી જવું | āgaḷ vadhī javũ | High | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | — | Risk of reading apostasy as praiseworthy advancement, given Jain gunasthāna (graded spiritual stages) and Hindu spiritual-evolution frameworks; this “advancing” is condemned, not commended. | 1:9 |
| abide/remain | μένω / menō | રહેવું | rahevũ | High | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | — | Must convey active ongoing fidelity, not static residence; consistent across 1:2 and 1:9. | 1:2, 1:9 |
| teaching/doctrine | διδαχή / didachē | શિક્ષણ | śikṣaṇ | High | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | ઉપદેશ | NEVER ઉપદેશ — the common Gujarati word for a guru’s/Tirthankara’s religious discourse; risks framing Christ’s apostolic doctrine as one wise teacher’s sayings among many rather than the specific binding doctrine of Christ’s person and work. | 1:9, 1:10 |
| receive (hospitality) | λαμβάνω / lambanō | સ્વીકારવું | svīkārvũ | Medium-High | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | — | Denotes formal, legitimizing reception (endorsed standing), not withholding of basic human kindness; translator note recommended given Gujarati atithi-satkar (hospitality) cultural values. | 1:10 |
| house | οἰκία / oikia | ઘર | ghar | Low | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | — | Literal dwelling/household functioning as a base of ministry legitimization. | 1:10 |
| greeting (say “Rejoice!”/welcome) | χαίρειν (λέγειν) / chairein | સલામ / શુભેચ્છા | salām / śubhecchā | Medium-High | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | — | Withholding this formal greeting withholds public doctrinal legitimization; wordplay with χαρά/χαίρω is lost in Gujarati — translator note recommended. | 1:10, 1:11 |
| share/participate (in evil) | κοινωνέω / koinōneō | ભાગીદાર થવું | bhāgīdār thavũ | High | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | સંગત | NEVER સંગત (reserved for positive Christian fellowship per baseline); a distinct root is required so complicity-in-evil is never confused with blessed fellowship in Christ. | 1:11 |
| evil works | ἔργα πονηρά / erga ponēra | દુષ્ટ કામ | duṣṭ kām | Medium | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | — | False teaching about Christ is treated as moral evil, not neutral opinion. | 1:11 |
| elder | πρεσβύτερος / presbyteros | વડીલ | vaḍīl | Medium | Apostleship (adjacent) | — | Risk of reading as generic age/caste-community elder rather than apostolic teaching authority; translator note recommended. | 1:1 |
| lady | κυρία / kyria | માનવવંતાં બહેન | mānavvantāṅ bahen | Medium | Address/Identity | — | Shares Greek root with κύριος (“Lord”) but denotes only human social standing; must never be built on પ્રભુ (reserved exclusively for Christ’s Lordship). | 1:1, 1:5 |
| elect (adjective) | ἐκλεκτός / eklektos | પસંદ કરેલ(ી) | pasand karel(ī) | High | Effectual Calling (adjacent) | નસીબ, નિયતિ | Same doctrinal weight as baseline’s High-risk “election”; God’s personal sovereign choice, not fate/destiny/karma. | 1:1, 1:13 |
| children | τέκνα / tekna | બાળકો | bāḷako | Low-Medium | Christian Identity (adjacent) | — | Literal or spiritual children/converts; distinct from baseline’s technical “adoption” (દત્તકપણું) doctrine. | 1:1, 1:4, 1:13 |
| forever/eternity | αἰών / aiōn | સદાકાળ | sadākāḷ | Medium | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ (adjacent) | અનંતકાળ | Avoid અનંતકાળ — associated with Jain beginningless/endless cosmic time-cycle; સદાકાળ isolates linear, personal, everlasting duration. | 1:2 |
| joy | χαρά / chara | આનંદ | ānand | Medium | Walking in Truth and Love (adjacent) | — | Collides with Vedantic Sat-Chit-Ānanda bliss theology and Swaminarayan usage; anchor as relational joy in fellowship/truth, not impersonal self-realized bliss. | 1:12 |
| greet (epistolary closing) | ἀσπάζομαι / aspazomai | સલામ પાઠવવી | salām pāṭhavvī | Low-Medium | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment (contrast) | — | Genuine greeting freely given among believers, contrasting with the withheld χαίρειν of 1:10; share greeting-root vocabulary with 1:10 for the contrast to remain visible. | 1:13 |
| sister | ἀδελφή / adelphē | બહેન | bahen | Low | Christian Fellowship (adjacent) | — | Likely personifies a sister congregation; standard familial term. | 1:13 |
Risk Tier Summary (2 John New Terms)
| Risk | Count | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 4 | world (κόσμος), come in the flesh (ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί), flesh (σάρξ), antichrist (ἀντίχριστος) |
| High | 11 | truth, love, new commandment, walk, deceiver, confess, reward, go ahead/progress beyond, abide/remain, teaching/doctrine, share/participate (negative), elect |
| Medium | 8 | mercy, commandment, receive (hospitality), greeting (χαίρειν), evil works, elder, lady, forever/eternity, joy |
| Low | 5 | house, children, greet (ἀσπάζομαι), sister, (supporting low-risk function terms noted in 07_semantic_analysis.md) |
Review routing (per baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json conventions): all Critical and High terms above require Human theologian review in Phase 2; Medium terms require Native speaker review; Low terms require Automated review only.
This glossary must be merged into translation_memory.json (new terms added, version incremented) before any Phase 2 segment translation of 2 John begins, per the Pre-flight Checklist in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md.
Critical Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: કૃપા
Transliteration: kṛpā
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: મહેરબાની, કર્મફળ, પુણ્ય, નિર્જરા
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. In 2 John 1:3 stands in a triad with mercy (દયા) and peace (શાંતિ), given jointly ‘from God the Father and from Jesus Christ’ — the joint divine source, not a devotionally-earned favor, must remain unambiguous. Still Critical risk wherever it occurs, even though the 2 John doctrine grouping ‘Grace, Mercy, and Peace from God’ is tiered Medium at the doctrine level for this shorter treatment.
God
Approved rendering: પરમેશ્વર
Transliteration: Parmeśvar
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ઈશ્વર, ભગવાન, યહોવા
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. NEVER ભગવાન. In 2 John also NEVER the transliterated divine name યહોવા (a Jehovah’s Witness Watchtower-material pattern documented in analysis/05_translation_landscape.md that subordinates the Son). 2 John 1:9 makes ‘having God’ contingent on Christological fidelity, so precision here is load-bearing.
Jesus
Approved rendering: ઈસુ
Transliteration: Īsu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ઈસા
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. NEVER ઈસા (Urdu/Muslim-associated form, documented as a live folk-tract drift risk in analysis/05_translation_landscape.md). 2 John 1:3, 1:7.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: પરમેશ્વરનો પુત્ર / પિતાનો પુત્ર
Transliteration: Parmeśvarno Putra / Pitāno Putra
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: દેવપુરુષ, અવતારી પુરુષ, ગુરુના પસંદ કરેલા શિષ્ય જેવો પુત્ર
Original: υἱὸς τοῦ πατρός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package; core rendering reused exactly. 2 John 1:3 uses the phrase-variant υἱὸς τοῦ πατρός (‘the Son of the Father’), rendered પિતાનો પુત્ર but naming the identical eternal, co-equal Sonship doctrine; 1:9 presupposes the same doctrine (‘has both the Father and the Son’). Must never read as an honorary or adoptive sonship comparable to a bhakti guru’s elevated disciple or an avatar’s special status.
Christ
Approved rendering: ખ્રિસ્ત
Transliteration: Khrist
Doctrine: Sonship and Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: મહાન ગુરુ, અવતાર
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
New for this curriculum (the Romans baseline TM fixed only the doctrinal title-rendering મસીહા for Χριστός; ખ્રિસ્ત is the established proper-name-element transliteration per the baseline AI requirements doc). Used in ‘ઈસુ ખ્રિસ્ત’ (1:3) and as the object of Christ’s binding ‘teaching’ (1:7, 1:9). Keep distinct in function from મસીહા; do not substitute one for the other. Antitrinitarian and Jehovah’s Witness Gujarati tract material renders ‘the Son’/‘Christ’ language in subordinationist ways this project must not echo (see analysis/05_translation_landscape.md §4.1-4.2).
World
Approved rendering: જગત
Transliteration: jagat
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: સંસાર
Original: κόσμος
Category: Christology
New for this curriculum. NEVER સંસાર, which in both Hindu and Jain usage names the cyclical realm of worldly existence/rebirth the soul seeks liberation from — a false-cognate collision as serious as the baseline’s મોક્ષ/મુક્તિ warning for ‘salvation.’ જગત preserves the created, humanly inhabited order sense without invoking the samsara-cycle concept. 2 John 1:7.
Come In The Flesh
Approved rendering: દેહમાં આવ્યા
Transliteration: dehmāṅ āvyā
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: અવતાર
Original: ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί
Category: Christology
New for this curriculum. The letter’s central Christological flashpoint (1:7); directly triggers the baseline’s Critical Incarnation doctrine. NEVER frame as અવતાર (a repeatable divine descent, unusually salient given Dwarka’s Vaishnav avatar theology in Gujarat) and never suggest the body was illusory/temporary — the very docetic error this verse condemns. Pairs conceptually with baseline’s દેહધારણ (incarnation). Affirms a real, historical, permanent human body.
Flesh
Approved rendering: દેહ
Transliteration: deh
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: માંસ
Original: σάρξ
Category: Christology
New for this curriculum. Christ’s genuine physical humanity, denied by the false teachers (1:7). Must not imply an illusory (māyā) or temporary karmic-shell body — a live Jain association, since Jain doctrine treats the body as a prison of karmic matter. Avoid the overly literal, butcher-sense માંસ. Christ’s દેહ is real and enduring.
Antichrist
Approved rendering: અંતિખ્રિસ્ત
Transliteration: antikhrist
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: ખોટો ગુરુ, ધર્મ-વિરોધી
Original: ἀντίχριστος
Category: Christology
New for this curriculum. Transliteration, following the baseline’s મસીહા pattern. No existing Gujarati religious analog in either Hindu or Jain frameworks — unlike incarnation, which can be corrected against avatar theology, this concept must be built entirely from Scripture. NEVER paraphrase as ‘a false guru’ or ‘one who opposes dharma’ (a documented interfaith-softening drift pattern, see analysis/05_translation_landscape.md §4.3). 2 John 1:7.
High Risk Terms
Father
Approved rendering: પિતા
Transliteration: Pitā
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: સૃષ્ટિકર્તા
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. 2 John 1:3, 1:4, 1:9. The Father-Son pairing in 1:3 and 1:9 must stay visibly parallel to Romans’ Trinitarian usage.
Election
Approved rendering: પરમેશ્વરની પસંદગી
Transliteration: Parmeśvarnī Pasandagī
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: નસીબ, નિયતિ, કર્મ-ફળ
Original: ἐκλογή / ἐκλεκτός
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly as the governing doctrinal concept. Governs the adjective ἐκλεκτός (‘elect,’ 2 John 1:1, 1:13) — see ‘elect’ below for the specific adjectival rendering applied to the letter’s addressee(s).
Truth
Approved rendering: સત્ય
Transliteration: satya
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
Original: ἀλήθεια
Category: Christian Living
New for this curriculum. Loaded in Hindu (satya/satyagraha as cosmic-ethical reality attained through discipline) and Jain (satya as one of the five ascetic mahāvratas) frameworks. Here it is the specific revealed gospel truth about Christ, received as a gift (cf. 1:4’s ἐλάβομεν, ‘received’), never a self-cultivated ethical or metaphysical attainment. Occurs 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4; repetition across these verses is rhetorically deliberate and must not be smoothed into varied synonyms.
Love
Approved rendering: પ્રેમ
Transliteration: prem
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Christian Living
New for this curriculum. Everyday Gujarati love-word but also the central term of Vaishnav prema-bhakti (devotional/romantic love toward Krishna), especially salient given Dwarka’s location in Gujarat. Defined by the text itself in 1:6 as obedient walking according to God’s commandments, not feeling. Must be anchored as commandment-shaped, mutual love among believers grounded in received truth. Occurs 1:1, 1:3, 1:5, 1:6.
New Commandment
Approved rendering: નવી આજ્ઞા
Transliteration: navī āgnā
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and the Teaching Office
Original: ἐντολὴ καινή
Category: Christian Living
New for this curriculum. 2 John 1:5. Explicitly denies doctrinal novelty (‘not as though writing a new commandment… but the one we have had from the beginning’). MUST always be paired in translation and teaching with ‘આરંભથી’ (‘from the beginning’) so the phrase is never misread as license for doctrinal innovation — directly relevant to guarding against the deceivers’ implicit claim to advanced revelation.
Walk
Approved rendering: ચાલવું
Transliteration: cālvũ
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
Original: περιπατέω
Category: Christian Living
New for this curriculum. The ‘walking/path’ metaphor closely parallels Jain mārga theology (the ascetic’s self-directed path toward moksha through the gunasthāna stages) and general Indian ‘spiritual path’ idiom. Must be anchored explicitly to obedience flowing from truth and love already received as gifts (1:4), not a self-propelled ascetic progression toward liberation. Occurs 1:4, 1:6.
Deceiver
Approved rendering: ભુલાવનારા
Transliteration: bhulāvanārā
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: પ્રપંચી
Original: πλάνος
Category: Christology
New for this curriculum. Must carry active, doctrinally specific moral culpability for misleading others about Christ’s incarnation, not generic disagreement or a rival teacher merely holding a different view — easily lost given Gujarat’s culture of polite religious pluralism. 2 John 1:7.
Confess
Approved rendering: કબૂલ કરવું
Transliteration: kabūl karavũ
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Original: ὁμολογέω
Category: Christology
New for this curriculum. Must convey formal, public, doctrinally binding acknowledgment, not private opinion or polite agreement — parallel to the baseline’s Romans 10:9 confession escalation rule; treat with the same review priority. 2 John 1:7.
Reward
Approved rendering: બદલો
Transliteration: badlo
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ફળ
Original: μισθός
Category: Perseverance
New for this curriculum. NEVER ફળ (phal), which in both Hindu and Jain usage names karma-phal, the mechanically earned fruit of one’s own deeds — consistent with the baseline’s rejection of કર્મફળ for ‘grace.’ બદલો preserves a relational reward given by a personal God for perseverance in grace-received truth. 2 John 1:8.
Go Ahead
Approved rendering: આગળ વધી જવું
Transliteration: āgaḷ vadhī javũ
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Original: προάγω
Category: Perseverance
New for this curriculum. In a Gujarati religious environment shaped by Jain gunasthāna (graded stages of spiritual advancement toward liberation) and Hindu notions of spiritual evolution, ‘advancing beyond’ sounds admirable. 2 John 1:9 condemns this ‘advancing’ as apostasy, not progress. A translator note reversing the expected positive valence is REQUIRED at every occurrence.
Abide
Approved rendering: રહેવું
Transliteration: rahevũ
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Original: μένω
Category: Perseverance
New for this curriculum. Must convey active, ongoing fidelity, not mere static residence. Consistency between 1:2 (truth abiding in believers) and 1:9 (abiding in the teaching of Christ) is mandatory, since 1:9 is the letter’s single clearest statement of the Perseverance doctrine.
Teaching
Approved rendering: શિક્ષણ
Transliteration: śikṣaṇ
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ઉપદેશ
Original: διδαχή
Category: Perseverance
New for this curriculum. NEVER ઉપદેશ, the common Gujarati word for a guru’s or Tirthankara’s religious discourse (used of both Hindu bhakti gurus and Jain Agamic teaching of Mahāvīra). ઉપદેશ risks framing Christ’s teaching as one more guru’s wise sayings among many equally valid others rather than the specific, binding apostolic doctrine on which fellowship with God (1:9) and legitimate hospitality (1:10) both depend.
Receive
Approved rendering: સ્વીકારવું
Transliteration: svīkārvũ
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
Original: λαμβάνω
Category: Church
New for this curriculum. In the 1:10 hospitality sense, must convey formal, legitimizing reception (endorsed doctrinal standing), not withholding of basic human kindness — REQUIRES a translator note given Gujarati atithi-satkar (hospitality) cultural values. Distinct from the 1:4 sense of passively receiving a commandment as a gift (see baseline receive/λαμβάνω pattern).
Share In Evil
Approved rendering: ભાગીદાર થવું
Transliteration: bhāgīdār thavũ
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
Rejected alternatives: સંગત
Original: κοινωνέω
Category: Church
New for this curriculum. MUST NOT be rendered with સંગત, reserved exclusively for positive Christian fellowship (κοινωνία). Using સંગત here would wrongly equate complicity in a false teacher’s evil works with blessed fellowship in Christ — the opposite of 2 John 1:11’s point. A distinct root is required to keep the two senses doctrinally separated.
Elect
Approved rendering: પસંદ કરેલ(ી)
Transliteration: pasand karel(ī)
Doctrine: Divine Election and Calling
Rejected alternatives: નસીબ, નિયતિ
Original: ἐκλεκτός
Category: Salvation
New for this curriculum. Carries the same doctrinal weight as the baseline’s High-risk ‘election’ doctrine (પરમેશ્વરની પસંદગી). Must not be read as નસીબ or નિયતિ (fate/destiny) or karma-determined status; God’s personal, sovereign choice. Brackets the letter, occurring at both 1:1 and 1:13.
Medium Risk Terms
Peace
Approved rendering: શાંતિ
Transliteration: śānti
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: મનની શાંતિ
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. 2 John 1:3. Distinguish from psychological calm or the inner tranquility sought through Jain ahimsa-based self-discipline, prominent in Gujarati culture.
Mercy
Approved rendering: દયા
Transliteration: dayā
Doctrine: Grace, Mercy, and Peace from God
Original: ἔλεος
Category: God
New for this curriculum. Common in Gujarati bhakti speech for a deity’s compassion cultivated through devotion. In 2 John 1:3 must retain the specifically Christ-mediated, covenantal sense paired with કૃપા and શાંતિ, not devotional favor sought through worship or petition.
Commandment
Approved rendering: આજ્ઞા
Transliteration: āgnā
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
Original: ἐντολή
Category: Christian Living
New for this curriculum. Also names a guru’s binding instruction to a disciple in Swaminarayan bhakti and Jain monastic obedience structures. Must be anchored as instruction flowing from God’s own character (love), received as grace, not an arbitrary guru-directive earning merit through compliance. Occurs 1:4, 1:5, 1:6.
Greeting
Approved rendering: સલામ / શુભેચ્છા
Transliteration: salām / śubhecchā
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
Original: χαίρειν (λέγειν)
Category: Church
New for this curriculum. Withholding this formal greeting (1:10-11) withholds public doctrinal legitimization from a false teacher. The wordplay linking χαίρω (1:4), χαίρειν (1:10-11), and χαρά (1:12) is untranslatable into Gujarati; a translator note is recommended so the doctrinal point survives without the pun.
Evil Works
Approved rendering: દુષ્ટ કામ
Transliteration: duṣṭ kām
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
Original: ἔργα πονηρά
Category: Church
New for this curriculum. Standard term; carries the doctrinal point that false teaching about Christ (1:7) is treated as moral evil, not neutral opinion. 2 John 1:11.
Elder
Approved rendering: વડીલ
Transliteration: vaḍīl
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and the Teaching Office
Rejected alternatives: ગુરુ, આચાર્ય
Original: πρεσβύτερος
Category: Church
New for this curriculum. In Gujarati village and caste life વડીલ commonly denotes a family/community elder whose authority rests on age and social status, not delegated apostolic teaching office. Guru/acharya-model authority (self-attained spiritual status) must also be avoided as an alternative frame. Translator note recommended distinguishing this from both ordinary elder-respect and guru-attainment. 2 John 1:1.
Lady
Approved rendering: માનવવંતાં બહેન
Transliteration: mānavvantāṅ bahen
Doctrine: Divine Election and Calling
Rejected alternatives: કુરિયા (transliteration alone)
Original: κυρία
Category: Church
New for this curriculum. Address term for the recipient (an individual matron or, more likely, a personified congregation); shares a root with κύριος (‘Lord’) in Greek but denotes only human social rank. MUST NOT be rendered with any form built on પ્રભુ, reserved exclusively for the Lordship of Christ. Translator note required. 2 John 1:1, 1:5.
Forever
Approved rendering: સદાકાળ
Transliteration: sadākāḷ
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ (adjacent)
Rejected alternatives: અનંતકાળ
Original: αἰών (εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα)
Category: Eschatology
New for this curriculum. Avoid અનંતકાળ, associated with the beginningless, endless Jain cosmological time-cycle already flagged in the baseline (Fulfillment of Prophecy doctrine). સદાકાળ isolates linear, personal, everlasting duration tied to God’s own eternity. 2 John 1:2.
Joy
Approved rendering: આનંદ
Transliteration: ānand
Doctrine: Joy in Christian Fellowship
Original: χαρά
Category: Christian Living
New for this curriculum. આનંદ is the central term of Vedantic Sat-Chit-Ānanda bliss theology and of Gujarat’s Swaminarayan tradition for impersonal, self-realized bliss. In 2 John 1:12, joy is specifically relational — made complete through anticipated personal fellowship — not an impersonal meditative state.
Rejoice
Approved rendering: આનંદ પામ્યો
Transliteration: ānand pāmyo
Doctrine: Joy in Christian Fellowship
Original: χαίρω
Category: Christian Living
New for this curriculum. The elder’s personal joy over the congregation’s faithfulness (1:4), sharing a Greek root with the greeting-word χαίρειν withheld from deceivers (1:10-11) and with χαρά (1:12). The wordplay is untranslatable into Gujarati, but the doctrinal contrast — joy over truth versus withheld greeting to error — must survive; translator note recommended.
Possess Have God
Approved rendering: ધરાવવું / હોવું
Transliteration: dharāvvũ / hovũ
Doctrine: Sonship and Deity of Christ
Original: ἔχω (τὸν θεόν, τὸν πατέρα, τὸν υἱόν)
Category: Christology
New for this curriculum. Relational possession of/standing in covenant relationship with God, contingent on abiding in Christ’s teaching (1:9). The relational, covenantal sense (not merely intellectual assent) must be preserved; ‘having’ the Father and the Son together is the letter’s marker of authentic fellowship with God, forfeited by those who deny the incarnation.
Low Risk Terms
Fellowship
Approved rendering: સંગત
Transliteration: saṅgat
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: મિત્રતા
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Does not itself occur as a noun in 2 John’s text but governs the risk boundary for the letter’s negative verb κοινωνέω (1:11, see ‘share_in_evil’ below) and the relational joy of 1:12. This positive term must be kept doctrinally distinct from complicity in a false teacher’s evil works.
House
Approved rendering: ઘર
Transliteration: ghar
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
Original: οἰκία
Category: Church
New for this curriculum. Literal dwelling/household functioning as a base of ministry support/legitimization for traveling teachers (1:10). Standard term, low doctrinal risk beyond its role in the hospitality doctrine.
Children
Approved rendering: બાળકો
Transliteration: bāḷako
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love (adjacent)
Original: τέκνα
Category: Church
New for this curriculum. The lady’s literal children or, more likely, a congregation’s members/converts (1:1, 1:4, 1:13). Distinct from the baseline’s technical Adoption doctrine (દત્તકપણું); τέκνα here is a plain relational term, not the technical inheritance-sonship doctrine.
Sister
Approved rendering: બહેન
Transliteration: bahen
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship (adjacent)
Original: ἀδελφή
Category: Church
New for this curriculum. Likely a sister congregation personified, echoing the ‘elect lady’ personification of 1:1 (1:13). Standard familial term; no significant doctrinal risk.
Greet Closing
Approved rendering: સલામ પાઠવવી
Transliteration: salām pāṭhavvī
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment (contrast)
Original: ἀσπάζομαι
Category: Church
New for this curriculum. The genuine, freely-extended epistolary closing greeting sent from a sister congregation (1:13). Should use the same greeting-root vocabulary as the withheld greeting of 1:10 so the contrast (withheld greeting to deceivers vs. freely given greeting among the faithful) remains visible to the Gujarati reader.
Referenced passages