Semantic Analysis
1 Corinthians — Full-Book Semantic Analysis (Hmong Language Package)
§0. Governing Conventions (carried forward from the Romans baseline)
This document extends, and never contradicts, the Hmong Romans Language Package baseline. All conventions below are inherited unchanged:
- Script: RPA (Romanized Popular Alphabet), White Hmong / Hmong Daw.
- Register: formal, reverent, literary Hmong consistent with existing Hmong Bible translation tradition (Vajtswv Txoj Lus / HWB).
- Risk tiers (unchanged definitions from
assets/bible_term_registry.json):- Critical — doctrinally load-bearing term with a strong, specific collision with Hmong traditional religion (animism/shamanism/ancestor veneration/fate) that could invert or neutralize the doctrine if unaddressed.
- High — real potential for confusion with a specific traditional-religious concept or practice; manageable with a documented disambiguating strategy.
- Medium — partial semantic mismatch, register gap, or comprehension gap with no direct collision with a competing religious system.
- Low — already-stable, safe rendering in existing Hmong Christian usage with minimal ambiguity.
- Reuse rule: Any term already fixed in
assets/translation_memory.json(the Romans baseline) is reused verbatim below and marked[INHERITED — Romans TM]. No alternate gloss may be introduced for a Critical/High inherited term. New terms surfaced by 1 Corinthians are marked[NEW — 1 Cor]and are candidates for a future TM-revision cycle (seeanalysis/08_core_glossary.md). - Citation convention: 1 Corinthians is cited as 1 Kaulinthi (established Hmong Bible tradition abbreviation for the first letter to the Corinthians; parallel in form to the Romans package’s “Loos” convention), format
1 Kaulinthi [chapter]:[verse].
PART A — CORE PASSAGE VERSE-BY-VERSE ANALYSIS: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
This is the theological anchor of the curriculum: Paul’s own summary of the gospel he received and delivered, grounded in Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and appearances — the historical and doctrinal foundation for “The Resurrection of Christ and Believers.”
15:1 — “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand”
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| gospel εὐαγγέλιον euangelion ”good news, victory-announcement” | good news; royal/military victory proclamation; the apostolic message of Christ gospel, good news | The fixed apostolic message about Christ’s death/resurrection, not a general moral teaching | Txoj Moo Zoo [INHERITED — Romans TM]. Low risk; stable existing term. |
| I preached (good-newsed) εὐηγγελισάμην euēngelisamēn ”I brought/announced good news” | verbal cognate of euangelion; formal proclamation preached, announced, evangelized | Paul’s original apostolic proclamation act, not casual teaching | Render as verb built on Txoj Moo Zoo (e.g., “qhia Txoj Moo Zoo”). Low risk. |
| you received παρελάβετε parelabete ”you took/received alongside” | technical term for receiving a fixed tradition passed hand-to-hand received, accepted | Marks vv.1-3 as formal transmission of authoritative tradition, not personal opinion | [NEW — 1 Cor] tau txais (raws li tej lus qub uas muab cev rau). Medium risk — must be distinguished from ordinary “receiving a gift” to preserve the technical sense of authoritative tradition-transmission; comprehension gap only, no collision. |
| you stand ἑστήκατε hestēkate ”you have stood, you now stand” (perfect tense) | firm standing, settled position stand, are standing | The gospel is the immovable ground of the believers’ present position, not a past event only | Descriptive phrase, e.g. nyob ruaj khov rau. Low risk. |
15:2 — “and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain”
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| you are being saved σῴζεσθε sōzesthe ”you are being rescued” (present passive) | ongoing rescue from sin/wrath/death are being saved, are saved | Salvation as a present, ongoing reality grounded in the gospel-content of vv.3-4 | kev cawm dim / cawm [INHERITED — Romans TM]. High risk — must remain anchored explicitly to Yexus Khetos per baseline qualifier rule; the verb dim (“escape”) parallels shamanic soul-rescue (ua neeb), so anchoring to the specific historical gospel content of vv.3-4 (not a generic rescue) is doctrinally essential here. |
| hold fast κατέχετε katechete ”hold down, retain firmly” | grip, retain, keep possession of hold fast, keep firmly | Perseverance in the received apostolic tradition | [NEW — 1 Cor] tuav ruaj. Low risk. |
| in vain εἰκῇ eikē ”without purpose, to no effect” | futility, purposelessness in vain, for nothing | Warns that mere assent without the historical content (Christ truly died/rose) is empty | [NEW — 1 Cor] dhau ntawm qhov tsis muaj qab hau / tsis tau qab hau dab tsi. Low-Medium; comprehension only. |
15:3 — “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures”
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| I delivered παρέδωκα paredōka ”I handed over, passed on” | formal transmission of tradition (paired with parelabon) delivered, handed down, passed on | Fixed technical pair with “received” marking vv.3-7 as a pre-Pauline confessional formula/creed | [NEW — 1 Cor] muab cev rau, paired consistently with tau txais (received). Medium risk — this received/delivered pairing is the technical marker of an authoritative creedal tradition; if rendered with ordinary “tell/give” verbs the formulaic, pre-Pauline authority of the creed is lost. |
| Christ died Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν Christos apethanen ”Christ died” | historical death event Christ died | Central historical-doctrinal claim; real, bodily death, not mere appearance | Yexus Khetos [INHERITED] + tuag (from txoj kev tuag [INHERITED — Romans TM]). Low risk. |
| for our sins ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν hyper tōn hamartiōn hēmōn ”on behalf of / for the sake of our sins” | substitutionary/representative death for our sins, because of our sins | Christ’s death as atoning substitution for sin’s guilt, not mere martyrdom | txhaum / kev txhaum [INHERITED — Romans TM], with rau (for the sake of/on behalf of). High risk inherited — Hmong custom frames wrongdoing as reparable social/ritual fault; must retain the substitutionary “for” (rau/theej) sense already anchored by the baseline qhov theej txhoj kev txhaum (propitiation) entry, not merely “because of.” |
| according to the Scriptures κατὰ τὰς γραφάς kata tas graphas ”according to the writings” | conformity to the prophetic Scriptures (esp. Isaiah 53, Psalms) as the Scriptures say, in fulfillment of Scripture | Grounds the gospel event in prophetic fulfillment, not novel invention | raws li Vaj Lug Kub (using Vaj Lug Kub [INHERITED — Romans TM]). Low risk. |
15:4 — “that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures”
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| he was buried ἐτάφη etaphē ”he was placed in a grave/tomb” | burial rite was buried, was entombed | Confirms the reality of physical death (no burial without a real corpse) | [NEW — 1 Cor] raug muab log. Low risk, though burial customs differ; comprehension-level note only, since Hmong funerary practice (embalming/procession customs) differs from 1st-century Jewish tomb burial — no doctrinal collision, illustrative note recommended. |
| he was raised ἐγήγερται egēgertai ”he has been raised” (perfect tense — abiding result) | bodily resurrection from death, not mere resuscitation or spirit-survival was raised, rose, has been raised | The center of the doctrine: a real, bodily, historical, once-for-all resurrection with ongoing present significance (perfect tense) | [NEW — 1 Cor] raug tsa sawv hauv qhov tuag rov qab los (lit. “was raised to stand up again from the grave/death”). CRITICAL RISK — Hmong traditional religion holds that a deceased person’s soul(s) (ntsuj plig/plig) may linger, be called back ritually (hu plig), or be venerated as an ancestor spirit (dab qhuas), but the body itself is never believed to return to bodily life. Rendering “raised” with vocabulary suggestive of hu plig (soul-calling) or ghost-appearance would reduce the unique, historical, bodily resurrection to a spirit-continuity or soul-recall event. Must be taught explicitly as bodily, historical, once-for-all, and categorically different from both soul-calling ritual and ancestor-spirit persistence. See doctrine entry in analysis/08_core_glossary.md. |
| on the third day τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρ�ᾳ tē tritē hēmera ”on the third day” | specific historical time marker on the third day | Historical specificity anchoring the resurrection in real time, echoing OT patterns (Hosea 6:2, Jonah) | [NEW — 1 Cor] hnub peb. Low risk — though note: Hmong funerary custom involves specific ritual day-counts after death (e.g., third-day and later rites for the soul’s journey); this is a comprehension-level resonance, not a collision, and may even provide a natural bridge point, but any teaching note must clarify Christ’s third-day resurrection is a unique historical event, not a parallel to ritual soul-journey timing. |
15:5 — “and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve”
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| he appeared ὤφθη ōphthē ”he was seen, he appeared” (divine passive) | visual, bodily manifestation of the risen Christ to witnesses appeared, was seen | Emphasizes objective, verifiable, bodily sightings by named witnesses — not visions, dreams, or spirit-apparitions | [NEW — 1 Cor] tshwm los rau ... pom (lit. “appeared and was seen by”). HIGH RISK — must be carefully distinguished from the Hmong concept of a deceased person’s spirit appearing/haunting (dab tuag tshwm, ghost-sightings, ancestor-spirit visitations), which are common folk-religious experiences. The text insists on a real bodily encounter with a living, resurrected man, not a spirit-apparition; teaching note required at every occurrence in this passage (vv.5,6,7,8). |
| Cephas Κηφᾷ Kēpha (Aramaic) “rock” | proper name, Aramaic form of Peter Cephas, Peter | Peter, the leading apostle, named as first witness | [NEW — 1 Cor] Khefas (Petus) — retain the Aramaic-derived name with a gloss to the more familiar “Petus,” per the established pattern for retaining foreign proper names (cf. baseline’s Abba, Leej Txiv retention strategy). Low risk. |
| the twelve τοῖς δώδεκα tois dōdeka ”the Twelve” | the twelve apostles as a recognized body the Twelve, the twelve apostles | The official apostolic college as corporate witnesses | [NEW — 1 Cor] cov kaum ob tug Tub Txib (using tus Tub Txib [INHERITED — Romans TM] for apostle). Low risk. |
15:6 — “Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep”
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| more than five hundred brothers ἐπάνω πεντακοσίοις ἀδελφοῖς epanō pentakosiois adelphois ”over five hundred brothers” | a large body of named/countable eyewitnesses 500 brothers | Mass, verifiable eyewitness testimony — an evidentiary claim, not private mystical experience | Descriptive numeral phrase; dhau tsib pua leej kwvtij. Low risk. |
| fallen asleep κεκοίμηνται kekoimēntai ”have fallen asleep” (euphemism for death) | death viewed as temporary sleep awaiting resurrection fallen asleep, died | Euphemism that presupposes and reinforces the resurrection hope — death is not final | [NEW — 1 Cor] tau tas sim neej / pw tsaug zog tos txoj kev sawv rov qab los. Medium-High risk — the “sleep” euphemism must be anchored to the resurrection hope, not left to merge with the Hmong concept of the deceased’s soul continuing an ancestral existence requiring ongoing ritual feeding/attention; the Christian “sleep” is temporary and ends in bodily resurrection, not perpetual ancestor-spirit status. |
15:7 — “Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles”
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Ἰακώβῳ Iakōbō proper name | the Lord’s brother, later Jerusalem church leader James | Named eyewitness, giving further evidentiary specificity | Yakauj. Low risk — standard transliteration. |
| all the apostles τοῖς ἀποστόλοις πᾶσιν tois apostolois pasin ”all the apostles” | the broader apostolic circle beyond the Twelve all the apostles | Widens the circle of witnesses beyond the Twelve, reinforcing breadth of testimony | tus Tub Txib [INHERITED — Romans TM], pluralized: tag nrho cov Tub Txib. Low risk. |
15:8 — “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me”
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| last of all ἔσχατον δὲ πάντων eschaton de pantōn ”last of all” | final, closing position in a sequence last of all | Paul closes the list of resurrection appearances with his own, on the very margin of legitimacy | [NEW — 1 Cor] dhau ntawm txhua tus, nws tshwm los rau kuv thaum kawg. Low risk. |
| as to one untimely born ὡσπερεὶ τῷ ἐκτρώματι hōsperei tō ektrōmati ”as to a miscarried/stillborn one” | violent, premature, abnormal birth — self-deprecating image as to one born at the wrong time, as to an abortion, untimely born | Paul’s radical self-abasement: he was “born” as an apostle in an abnormal, unworthy, grace-dependent way (via the Damascus encounter, not walking with the earthly Jesus) | [NEW — 1 Cor] zoo li tus me nyuam yug ua ntej caij / tus tsis txawj yug tau zoo. Medium risk — this is a difficult, viscerally self-deprecating image; must not be softened into generic “unworthy,” which loses Paul’s deliberate shock-image, but must also avoid unintended offense/confusion in a culture where miscarriage/stillbirth carries its own strong grief associations — flag for native-speaker sensitivity review, not a doctrinal collision. |
15:9 — “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God”
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| the least ἐλάχιστος elachistos ”smallest, least” (superlative) | lowest in rank/worth the least, the smallest | Paul’s self-assessment grounds his apostleship entirely in grace, not merit | [NEW — 1 Cor] tus tsawg kawg nkaus. Low risk. |
| I persecuted ἐδίωξα ediōxa ”I pursued/hunted down” | active, violent hostility persecuted, hunted, pursued | Paul’s pre-conversion violence against believers, showing the magnitude of grace | [NEW — 1 Cor] tsim txom / caum ntes. Low risk. |
| the church of God τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ tēn ekklēsian tou theou ”the assembly/gathering of God” | the called-out covenant assembly; NT: the body of believers, local or universal the church of God | The people belonging to God whom Paul once opposed — foundational term for the whole letter’s unity doctrine | [NEW — 1 Cor] pawg ntseeg ntawm Vajtswv, building on the pre-existing recognized Hmong Christian compound pawg ntseeg (congregation of believers) already presupposed in the Romans baseline’s tus pab tu pawg ntseeg (deacon) entry. Low risk — already stable in Hmong Christian usage; must always retain the ntawm Vajtswv qualifier at first use in a lesson to keep the God-owned, not merely social-club, sense clear, since this term governs the entire Christian Unity vs. Factionalism doctrine of chapters 1-4, 11-14. |
15:10 — “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me”
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| grace of God χάριτι θεοῦ chariti theou ”by the grace of God” | unmerited divine favor as the sole efficient cause by God’s grace | Grace as the entire explanation for Paul’s transformation and ministry — repeated three times in one verse for emphasis | txiaj ntsim [INHERITED — Romans TM]. Critical risk inherited — must never be rendered koob hmoov (fate/fortune); the triple repetition in this verse makes it the passage’s strongest single statement of grace-alone causation and must retain the fixed TM rendering without exception. |
| not in vain οὐ κενὴ ἐγενήθη ou kenē egenēthē ”did not become empty” | effectiveness, non-futility was not in vain, was not wasted | Grace actually accomplished its transforming purpose in Paul’s life and labor | [NEW — 1 Cor] tsis tau qhuav qhawv / tsis tau dhau ntawm qhov tsis muaj qab hau. Low risk. |
| I worked harder περισσότερον … ἐκοπίασα perissoteron … ekopiasa ”I labored more abundantly” | strenuous labor/toil I worked harder, I labored more | Grace-empowered labor, not self-generated merit — the labor is evidence of grace, not its rival cause | [NEW — 1 Cor] khwv ua haujlwm nyuaj dua lwm tus. Low risk, but pair carefully with the preceding grace clause so labor is read as grace’s fruit, not its ground (parallel discipline to the justification “reckoning” qualifier rule). |
15:11 — “Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you believed”
| Terms | Variants | Contextual theological meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| we proclaim κηρύσσομεν kēryssomen ”we herald, we proclaim publicly” | official, authoritative public announcement we preach, we proclaim | Underscores the unified apostolic message regardless of which apostle speaks it — undercuts factionalism around personalities (cf. ch.1-4) | [NEW — 1 Cor] qhia, built from same root idea as Txoj Moo Zoo proclamation. Low risk. |
| you believed ἐπιστεύσατε episteusate ”you believed, you trusted” | saving faith-response you believed | The Corinthians’ faith-response to the unified apostolic gospel, closing the ring back to v.1’s “received” | kev ntseeg / ntseeg [INHERITED — Romans TM]. Medium risk inherited — must remain anchored to the specific gospel-content of vv.3-4 (Christ’s death/resurrection), not generic belief. |
PART B — CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER STUDY OF THE WHOLE BOOK
Every chapter of 1 Corinthians is reviewed below. Chapters that introduce no new load-bearing vocabulary beyond terms already treated (in this document or in the inherited Romans TM) are explicitly marked as reviewed with no new terms, per the full-book-coverage mandate.
Chapter 1 — Greeting, Thanksgiving, Divisions, Christ Crucified as Wisdom and Power
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| church of God ἐκκλησία τοῦ θεοῦ ekklēsia tou theou assembly of God | see 15:9 above church | Opening address establishes the letter’s ecclesial audience | pawg ntseeg ntawm Vajtswv [NEW — 1 Cor, see 15:9]. Low risk. |
| called (to be saints/apostle) κλητός / κλῆσις klētos / klēsis ”called” | divine summons to salvation and/or office called, calling | God’s effectual summons, foundational to identity and vocation — echoes Romans’ election vocabulary | [NEW — 1 Cor] raug hu (los ntawm Vajtswv). Medium-High risk — must be taught alongside the baseline kev xaiv (election) entry and never rendered with hmoov (fate) vocabulary, per the Romans baseline’s permanent prohibition; God’s calling is personal and purposeful, not impersonal destiny. |
| saints / holy ones ἅγιοι hagioi ”holy ones, set-apart ones” | the sanctified covenant people saints, holy ones | Believers’ identity as those set apart by God, not self-achieved purity | [NEW — 1 Cor] cov dawb huv. High risk — shares the dawb huv root already flagged High in the Romans baseline’s sanctification entry for its folk-ritual-purity collision; must be taught as a status conferred by God’s call, not a ritually achieved cleanness. |
| fellowship κοινωνία koinōnia ”sharing, partnership, joint participation” | close shared bond in Christ; later (ch.10) sacramental participation fellowship, communion, partnership | Believers’ shared participation in Christ, foundational to the unity doctrine and later to the Lord’s Supper | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev sib koom (nrog Yexus Khetos). Medium risk here (comprehension); escalates to High at 10:16-18 (see ch.10 below) where it denotes sacramental participation. |
| divisions/factions σχίσματα schismata ”splits, tears, factions” | quarreling parties within the church divisions, quarrels, factions | The concrete problem addressed in chs. 1-4 (party allegiance to Paul/Apollos/Cephas) | kev sib cais ua pab ua pawg [INHERITED — Romans TM]. Low risk; reused exactly. |
| wisdom σοφία sophia ”skill, cleverness, insight” | worldly rhetorical/philosophical sophistication; also God’s hidden wisdom in the cross wisdom | Paul contrasts human wisdom (rhetoric, status-seeking) with God’s paradoxical wisdom revealed in a crucified Messiah | [NEW — 1 Cor] tswvyim. Critical risk — Hmong culture places very high value on elder/ancestral wisdom (tswvyim laus) and on the shaman’s specialized spiritual insight/knowledge; if “God’s wisdom” is heard as simply a superior version of this same category of prized cultural/spiritual insight, the scandal of the cross (wisdom hidden in weakness and shame) is lost. Must be paired at every occurrence with explicit contrast-teaching against both worldly rhetorical wisdom and shamanic spiritual insight. |
| foolishness μωρία mōria ”folly, absurdity” | that which appears foolish by worldly standards foolishness, folly | The cross appears as folly to the world but is in fact God’s wisdom and power | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev ruam. Medium risk — paired term to wisdom above; no direct traditional-religion collision, but must retain the paradox (what looks foolish is actually saving power), not be softened. |
| the cross σταυρός stauros ”stake, execution-cross” | the literal execution instrument; metonym for Christ’s atoning death and the whole gospel message the cross | The central symbol/reality of the gospel — shame and power inverted | [NEW — 1 Cor] Ntoo Khaub Lig (established Hmong Christian compound term for the cross, consistent with existing Hmong Bible tradition). Low-Medium risk — term itself is stable, but the doctrine “the cross is wisdom and power” (1:18-25) requires teaching, since an instrument of shame/execution being called “powerful” is a genuine paradox needing explicit unpacking, not a lexical fix. |
| power δύναμις dynamis might, capability | supernatural power; here specifically the paradoxical power displayed in the cross power | The cross itself — not merely miracles — is where God’s dynamis is displayed | hwjchim [INHERITED — Romans TM], always qualified Vajtswv hwjchim. High risk inherited — identical to a shaman’s ritual power; here the paradox is sharpened, since the “powerful” event is an execution, which must be explicitly taught as the opposite of a shaman’s power-display (strength through public humiliation, not the reverse). |
| boasting καύχησις / καυχάομαι kauchēsis / kauchaomai boasting, self-glorying | pride in status, wisdom, or lineage — excluded so that “let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” boasting | Applied here (1:29-31) to exclude status-based boasting among the divided factions | kev khav theeb [INHERITED — Romans TM]. Low risk; reused exactly. |
Chapter 2 — The Spirit-Revealed Wisdom of the Cross
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit of God πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ pneuma tou theou God’s Spirit | the Holy Spirit as revealer of hidden divine wisdom Spirit of God | The Spirit alone discloses the cross’s hidden wisdom to believers | Vaj Ntsuj Plig [INHERITED — Romans TM]. Critical risk inherited; “Vaj” prefix mandatory. |
| mystery μυστήριον mystērion hidden secret now revealed | previously hidden divine plan disclosed in the gospel mystery | God’s wisdom, “hidden,” is now disclosed in the crucified/risen Christ | zaj lus zais cia [INHERITED — Romans TM]. Low-Medium risk; reused exactly. |
| natural man / spiritual man ψυχικὸς ἄνθρωπος / πνευματικὸς ἄνθρωπος psychikos anthrōpos / pneumatikos anthrōpos ”soul-ish person” / “Spirit-person” | the unregenerate person who lacks the Spirit vs. the Spirit-indwelt believer who discerns spiritual things natural man, unspiritual person / spiritual person | Only the Spirit-indwelt believer can rightly discern and receive the wisdom of the cross; contrasted categories of persons | [NEW — 1 Cor] tus neeg tsis muaj Vaj Ntsuj Plig nyob hauv nws / tus neeg muaj Vaj Ntsuj Plig nyob hauv nws. Critical risk — the Greek psychikos derives from psychē (soul), which risks being rendered with the baseline’s ntsuj plig (human spirit/soul) term; this MUST NOT be used here, since that term is reserved for the anthropological soul present in every person, not a marker distinguishing “unregenerate” from “Spirit-indwelt.” The distinction must be built entirely on the presence/absence of the Vaj Ntsuj Plig (Holy Spirit), never on a bare “soul” contrast, to avoid implying some humans lack a soul. |
| mind of Christ νοῦς Χριστοῦ nous Christou Christ’s mind/way of thinking | Spirit-given capacity to understand as Christ understands mind of Christ | Believers, through the Spirit, share Christ’s own perspective/discernment | [NEW — 1 Cor] tus kheej thiab kev xav ntawm Yexus Khetos. Low-Medium risk; comprehension gap only. |
Chapter 3 — Human Wisdom, Church Unity, and the Temple of God
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| wisdom of the world σοφία τοῦ κόσμου sophia tou kosmou worldly wisdom | reuses ch.1 sophia entry worldly wisdom | Foolish before God; factional boasting in leaders is a symptom of this worldly wisdom | tswvyim [NEW — 1 Cor, see ch.1] + lub ntiajteb [INHERITED — Romans TM]. Critical risk carried forward from ch.1. |
| temple of God ναὸς θεοῦ naos theou ”sanctuary/inner shrine of God” | the sacred dwelling-place of deity; here applied corporately to the church temple of God | The church corporately (and, in ch.6, the individual body) is God’s dwelling place by the Spirit — a startling reassignment of sacred-space language | [NEW — 1 Cor] lub tuam tsev ntawm Vajtswv. Critical risk — Hmong households and clans maintain altars/shrine-spaces (qhov cim, thaj teev dab) understood as dwelling-places or points of contact for household and ancestor spirits; applying “temple” language to the church/body risks being heard as “a house where a spirit resides” in the animistic sense rather than the unique, exclusive indwelling of the one true God’s Spirit. Must be taught with explicit contrast: this is the Holy Spirit’s indwelling, not a spirit-house, and it excludes (not supplements) any other spirit’s residence. |
| destroy God’s temple φθείρω τὸν ναόν phtheirō ton naon ”corrupt/destroy the temple” | severe warning against factionalism that damages the church destroy | The gravity of divisive behavior — it attacks God’s own dwelling | Descriptive phrase built on lub tuam tsev ntawm Vajtswv above + puas tsuaj. Medium risk; comprehension only. |
Chapter 4 — Apostolic Stewardship and Suffering
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| stewards of the mysteries of God οἰκονόμοι μυστηρίων θεοῦ oikonomoi mystēriōn theou ”household-managers of God’s mysteries” | trusted managers entrusted with another’s household/resources stewards, managers | Apostles as accountable trustees of the gospel, not independent authorities to be factionally championed | [NEW — 1 Cor] tus saib xyuas (uas Vajtswv cob rau lub luag haujlwm). Medium risk; comprehension gap, bridges reasonably to Hmong household-manager roles, no collision. |
| fools for Christ’s sake μωροὶ διὰ Χριστόν mōroi dia Christon ”fools on account of Christ” | willingly appearing foolish/shamed for Christ, contrasted with the Corinthians’ self-perceived wisdom fools for Christ | Reuses ch.1’s foolishness/wisdom contrast, applied now to apostolic suffering and humility versus Corinthian pride | kev ruam [NEW — 1 Cor, see ch.1], applied to Paul’s self-description. Medium risk; carried forward. |
Chapter 5 — Church Discipline and Holiness
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| sexual immorality πορνεία porneia ”fornication, unlawful sexual union” | any sexual relationship outside biblical marriage; here specifically incest (a man with his father’s wife) sexual immorality, fornication | The concrete sin requiring church discipline; central to the Church Discipline and Holiness doctrine | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev deev luag / kev sib deev tsis raws li Vajtswv Txoj Kevcai (lit. “illicit sexual union / sexual union not according to God’s Law”). Critical risk — Hmong customary marriage law recognizes specific prohibited-degree relationships (clan/lineage exogamy rules) that differ from, though partially overlap with, the biblical case here; the term must be broad enough to cover all extramarital/unlawful sexual unions named across chs. 5-7 without being collapsed into only the specific incest case, and must be distinguished from mere customary-law violation to preserve the holiness-of-the-church stakes Paul raises. |
| leaven ζύμη zymē ”yeast, leavening agent” | corrupting influence that spreads through a whole batch leaven, yeast | Metaphor: tolerated sin corrupts the whole congregation, as leaven permeates dough | [NEW — 1 Cor] keeb tsuas. Medium risk; comprehension gap only (leavened-bread imagery may need an illustrative note in a rice-based culinary context), no traditional-religion collision. |
| deliver to Satan / hand over to Satan παραδοῦναι τῷ Σατανᾷ paradounai tō Satana ”hand over to Satan” | formal act of church discipline removing a person from the church’s protective fellowship deliver to Satan, hand over to Satan | A severe disciplinary formula — expulsion from the church’s fellowship, not a magical curse | [NEW — 1 Cor] muab tso rau ... dab Ntxwg Nyoog (kev cai rho tawm ntawm pawg ntseeg). High risk — this formula could easily be heard as parallel to traditional cursing practice (invoking a spirit against a person, foob), which is precisely the wrong association; must be explicitly taught as removal from the church’s protective fellowship for the purpose of eventual repentance/restoration (5:5), never as an invoked curse or magical harm. |
| Satan Σατανᾶς Satanas proper name, “adversary” | the personal evil spiritual enemy Satan | The realm outside the church’s protective fellowship, into which the unrepentant sinner is put | dab Ntxwg Nyoog (established Hmong Christian proper-name rendering for Satan). Low-Medium risk — distinct from the generic term dab (spirit) by the specific name “Ntxwg Nyoog,” already conventionally fixed in Hmong Christian usage; still worth flagging that hearers must not collapse this specific named enemy into the broader category of household/ancestor spirits (dab qhuas), which are not equated with Satan in Hmong custom. |
Chapter 6 — Lawsuits, Sexual Purity, and the Body as Temple
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| lawsuits before unbelievers κρίνεσθαι ἐπὶ τῶν ἀδίκων krinesthai epi tōn adikōn ”to be judged before the unrighteous” | taking internal church disputes to secular courts lawsuits, going to court | Undermines church unity and witness; believers should resolve disputes internally | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev foob rau hauv tsev hais plaub (ntawm cov tsis ntseeg). Medium risk; comprehension-level, no collision. |
| body is the temple of the Holy Spirit τὸ σῶμα ναὸς τοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν Ἁγίου Πνεύματος to sōma naos tou en hymin Hagiou Pneumatos ”the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you” | the individual believer’s body as the Spirit’s dwelling place body as temple | Grounds sexual ethics (avoid porneia) in the Spirit’s indwelling of the individual physical body | lub tuam tsev ntawm Vajtswv [NEW — 1 Cor, see ch.3] applied individually + Vaj Ntsuj Plig [INHERITED]. Critical risk carried forward from ch.3 — now applied to the individual body, sharpening the collision risk with animistic body/spirit-indwelling concepts (multiple souls, possession by household or ancestor spirits); requires explicit teaching that the Holy Spirit’s indwelling is unique, singular, and morally binding, unlike the folk-religious framework of multiple co-resident souls/spirits. |
| bought with a price ἠγοράσθητε τιμῆς ēgorasthēte timēs ”you were purchased for a price” | commercial redemption-purchase language bought with a price | Ties directly to the baseline Redemption doctrine — believers belong to God because Christ paid for them | kev txhiv [INHERITED — Romans TM], with explicit price/purchase language. Medium risk inherited; anchor to Christ as price-payer. |
| glorify God in your body δοξάσατε τὸν θεὸν ἐν τῷ σώματι ὑμῶν doxasate ton theon en tō sōmati hymōn ”glorify God in your body” | embodied worship/obedience glorify God in your body | The practical outworking of temple-indwelling: bodily holiness as worship | lub yeeb koob [INHERITED — Romans TM] (glory) + lub cev nqaij tawv [INHERITED — Romans TM] (body, neutral sense). Low risk. |
Chapter 7 — Marriage and Singleness
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| marriage γάμος gamos ”marriage, wedding” | the marital union marriage | Paul’s teaching addresses marriage as good but not obligatory, in light of the present age | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev sib yuav (established general Hmong term for marriage). Medium risk — Hmong marriage customs (bride-price/nqe mis nqe hno, clan-arranged unions, ancestor-invoking wedding rites) differ substantially from the mutual-consent, one-flesh, spiritually-grounded marriage Paul describes; not a direct doctrinal collision, but requires teaching notes distinguishing the biblical marriage ethic (mutual self-giving, sexual exclusivity, the “one flesh” bond) from customary bride-price/clan-transactional framing, especially at 7:3-5 (mutual conjugal obligation) which Hmong custom’s more unilateral framing could obscure. |
| unmarried / virgin ἄγαμος / παρθένος agamos / parthenos ”unmarried one” / “virgin, unmarried young woman” | singleness as a valid, even advantageous, calling for undivided devotion to the Lord the unmarried, virgins | Paul commends singleness as a legitimate and valuable calling, countering any cultural assumption that marriage is obligatory for full personhood/social standing | [NEW — 1 Cor] tus tsis tau yuav txiv/yuav poj niam / tus ntxhais dawb huv tsis tau yuav txiv. High risk — the qualifier dawb huv again invokes the ritual-purity collision already flagged in the baseline sanctification entry and in this document’s ch.1 “saints” entry; additionally, in traditional Hmong social structure an unmarried adult (especially a woman) can carry stigma or be seen as incomplete/without full clan standing, which is nearly the opposite of Paul’s positive framing of singleness as spiritually advantageous — requires explicit countercultural teaching. |
| conjugal rights / one flesh obligation τὴν ὀφειλὴν / ἐξουσίαν τοῦ σώματος tēn opheilēn / exousian tou sōmatos ”the debt owed” / “authority over the body” | mutual marital obligation and rights over one’s spouse’s body conjugal rights, marital duty | Establishes strict mutuality (neither spouse has unilateral authority) — a notably egalitarian claim for its context | [NEW — 1 Cor] dab tshuav / txoj cai ntawm lub cev (uas yog ob leeg sib koom). Medium risk; comprehension gap regarding the mutuality claim, which should be taught explicitly against any customary framing of unequal marital authority. |
| separate / divorce χωρίζω / ἀπολύω chōrizō / apolyō ”separate, depart from” / “release, divorce” | marital separation/divorce separate, divorce, leave | Paul’s qualified teaching on the permanence of marriage and narrow exceptions | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev sib nrauj. Medium risk; comprehension-level, some divergence from Hmong customary divorce/remarriage practices requiring teaching, not a collision. |
Chapter 8 — Christian Liberty and Idol Meat (I)
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| food offered to idols εἰδωλόθυτα eidōlothyta ”things sacrificed to idols” | meat from animals ritually offered to a pagan deity, later sold/eaten idol meat, food sacrificed to idols | Central case study for Christian Liberty and conscience — the meat itself is religiously neutral, but eating it can wound a weaker conscience | [NEW — 1 Cor] nqaij fij rau dab mlom (built on the baseline dab mlom [INHERITED — Romans TM] for idol). CRITICAL RISK — this is the single most direct and concrete cultural collision point in the entire book: traditional Hmong households and clans regularly offer meat (chicken, pig) to household spirits, ancestor spirits, and other spirits (fij dab, fij xwm kab, ua neeb), and the offered meat is customarily eaten afterward by the family/community. Paul’s teaching that “the idol is nothing” (8:4) yet conscience toward the weak matters is a genuinely nuanced position that must not be flattened into either (a) blanket permission that appears to endorse ongoing participation in ancestor-spirit offering meals, or (b) blanket prohibition that ignores Paul’s own liberty argument. Mandatory human theologian + native-speaker review for any lesson touching this term. |
| knowledge γνῶσις gnōsis ”knowledge” | doctrinal/factual knowledge, here specifically the true insight that idols are nothing knowledge | Knowledge alone, without love, “puffs up” and can wound weaker believers — a key check on Christian Liberty | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev paub. Medium risk; comprehension-level, must be paired with kev hlub [INHERITED — Romans TM] (love) per Paul’s own contrast (8:1-3). |
| liberty / right ἐξουσία exousia ”authority, right, permission” | personal freedom/right to act, distinct from the civil-authority sense of the same Greek word used in Romans 13 liberty, right, freedom | The believer’s genuine right to eat idol meat, which must nonetheless be voluntarily limited for love’s sake | [NEW — 1 Cor] txoj cai (los sis kev ywj pheej). Medium risk — this sense of exousia (personal liberty/right) must be kept lexically distinct from the Romans baseline’s cov muaj hwjchim kav teb chaws (governing authority) rendering of the same Greek word in a civil-government sense, to avoid confusing “my personal right to eat meat” with “delegated civil governmental power.” |
| conscience συνείδησις syneidēsis inner moral awareness | reuses Romans baseline sense conscience | The “weak conscience” that can be wounded by another’s exercise of liberty — central pastoral concern of chs. 8-10 | tej kev paub zoo paub phem hauv lub siab [INHERITED — Romans TM]. Medium risk inherited; reused exactly. |
Chapter 9 — Apostolic Rights Surrendered; Running the Race
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| running the race τρέχειν ἐν σταδίῳ trechein en stadiō ”running in the stadium” | Greco-Roman athletic-games imagery running the race, competing in the games | Illustrates self-discipline in ministry for the sake of the gospel, paralleling Christian Liberty’s self-limitation theme | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev sib tw khiav dhia (hauv qhov kev sib tw). Low-Medium risk; Greco-Roman stadium games are an unfamiliar referent requiring an illustrative note (e.g., comparison to a local footrace/competition), not a doctrinal collision. |
| the prize βραβεῖον brabeion ”prize, award” | victor’s award in a race the prize | The eternal reward motivating disciplined ministry, contrasted with a perishable athletic wreath | [NEW — 1 Cor] khoom nqi zog (uas nyob mus ib txhis). Low risk. |
| self-control ἐγκράτεια enkrateia ”self-mastery” | disciplined restraint of one’s body/desires self-control | The athlete’s discipline as a model for the believer’s disciplined pursuit of ministry and holiness | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev tswj kheej. Low-Medium risk; stable descriptive phrase. |
Chapter 10 — Warnings from Israel’s History; Idol Meat (II); The Lord’s Table vs. the Table of Demons
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| idolatry εἰδωλολατρία eidōlolatria ”idol-worship” | active worship/veneration of idols idolatry | Paul commands fleeing idolatry outright (10:14), distinct from the nuanced idol-meat conscience discussion of ch.8 | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev pehawm dab mlom, built from pehawm [INHERITED — Romans TM, High risk] + dab mlom [INHERITED]. High risk carried forward — the baseline’s mandatory-object rule (pehawm must always be stated with its object) applies with full force; here the explicit contrast Paul draws (you cannot pehawm Vajtswv and pehawm dab at once) is doctrinally central and must be preserved exactly, not softened. |
| the Lord’s table / the table of demons τράπεζα κυρίου / τράπεζα δαιμονίων trapeza kyriou / trapeza daimoniōn ”table of the Lord” / “table of demons” | Paul’s own explicit binary contrast between Christian communion and pagan sacrificial banquets the Lord’s table, the table of demons | The most direct scriptural statement of the very contrast this Language Package must preserve: sharing Christ’s table excludes sharing a spirit-offering table | [NEW — 1 Cor] rooj mov ntawm tus Tswv / rooj mov ntawm dab. CRITICAL RISK — this pairing is Paul’s own built-in safeguard against exactly the collision this Language Package must guard against (ancestor/household-spirit offering meals); it must be translated and taught with maximal clarity and fixed consistency, since it is the passage’s strongest resource for teaching the exclusivity of Christian worship against the very real, ongoing practice of spirit-offering meals in Hmong households. This pairing should be cross-referenced with the Lord’s Supper terms in ch.11. |
| participation / communion κοινωνία koinōnia ”sharing, joint participation” | sacramental participation in Christ’s body/blood via the cup and bread; participation in a sacrifice’s altar fellowship, communion, participation, sharing | The cup/bread are not mere symbols but a real spiritual participation in Christ, just as pagan sacrificial meals involve real participation with “demons” (10:20) | kev sib koom (nrog Yexus Khetos) [NEW — 1 Cor, see ch.1], escalated here to High risk — this sacramental sense of koinōnia (participation in Christ’s body/blood) must be distinguished from the general “fellowship among believers” sense used in ch.1, and must be explicitly contrasted with parallel “participation” language applied to pagan sacrifices, to preserve the force of Paul’s warning. |
| demons δαιμόνια daimonia ”demons, evil spirits” | the spiritual reality behind pagan idol-worship demons | Paul identifies the spiritual beings behind idol-worship as real, malevolent spirits — not merely “nothing” | [NEW — 1 Cor] dab. High risk — using the general Hmong term dab (spirit) here is doctrinally accurate (Paul does identify these as real evil spirits), but this creates a sensitive pastoral and doctrinal point: it directly identifies the spirits behind traditional household/ancestor offerings as dab in the negative, demonic sense Scripture uses elsewhere, which could be heard as a blanket denigration of all ancestor veneration. Requires careful, explicit teaching distinguishing this from a dismissive claim about ancestors as persons, focused instead on the spiritual realities behind idol-sacrifice ritual specifically. |
Chapter 11 — Head Coverings and the Lord’s Supper
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| head covering κατακαλύπτω / περιβόλαιον katakalyptō / peribolaion ”cover over” / “covering, wrap” | a head-covering worn in worship as a sign in the Corinthian cultural context head covering, veil | A culturally-specific sign of order/propriety in worship (11:2-16) whose precise contemporary application is widely and legitimately debated among Bible-believing traditions | [NEW — 1 Cor] ntaub npog taubhau. Medium risk — comprehension gap regarding the specific 1st-century Corinthian cultural signal, not a traditional-religion collision; Hmong turban/headwear customs (phuam) exist but carry different social meaning, so an illustrative note is needed rather than a direct equivalence claim. Flag for translator/theologian discretion on how prescriptively to apply given denominational diversity on this passage. |
| head (as authority-source) κεφαλή kephalē ”head” (literal); “source, authority” (metaphorical) | physical head; metaphorically, headship/source relationship (God-Christ-man-woman chain in 11:3) head, headship | Establishes an authority/order relationship used to ground the head-covering instruction | [NEW — 1 Cor] taub hau (used metaphorically for headship/authority). Medium risk; metaphor comprehension gap, requires careful teaching to avoid either overstating hierarchy or flattening it, consistent with the complementary doctrine of Order in Worship. |
| the Lord’s Supper κυριακὸν δεῖπνον kyriakon deipnon ”the Lord’s dinner/supper” | the sacramental meal commemorating Christ’s death the Lord’s Supper, Communion | The corporate meal Paul corrects the Corinthians for abusing (factional/status-based eating), central to the Lord’s Supper doctrine | [NEW — 1 Cor] Rooj Mov Nco Txog tus Tswv (lit. “the Meal Remembering the Lord”). Critical risk — directly adjacent to, and must be sharply distinguished from, traditional Hmong ancestor-memorial and spirit-feeding meals (noj tsiab, nqe tuag rites, feeding/honoring the spirits of the deceased); must be taught as a unique, once-instituted commemoration of Christ’s unrepeatable atoning death and anticipation of his return, not an ongoing rite of feeding or maintaining relationship with a deceased spirit. Cross-reference the “table of the Lord / table of demons” entry in ch.10. |
| bread / cup ἄρτος / ποτήριον artos / potērion ”bread” / “cup” | the sacramental elements bread, cup | The physical elements of the Supper, representing Christ’s body and blood | [NEW — 1 Cor] khoom noj mov / khob. Low risk; concrete, comprehension-level only. |
| remembrance ἀνάμνησις anamnēsis ”remembrance, memorial” | commemorative recollection (“do this in remembrance of me”) remembrance, memorial | The Supper’s commemorative function, pointing back to Christ’s death | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev nco txog (Yexus Khetos txoj kev tuag). Medium-High risk — must be explicitly anchored to Christ’s death (not left as bare “remembrance”), since unanchored remembrance-of-the-dead language could merge with ancestor-remembrance ritual obligations; the qualifying clause is mandatory. |
| discern the body διακρίνων τὸ σῶμα diakrinōn to sōma ”judging/discerning the body rightly” | recognizing both Christ’s body in the elements and the unity of the church body when partaking discerning the body | Failure to discern the body (in both senses) brings judgment on unworthy participants (11:29-30) | [NEW — 1 Cor] paub cais lub cev (ntawm tus Tswv thiab ntawm pawg ntseeg). High risk — dense double-reference term (Christ’s body in the elements AND the unified church body, cf. ch.12) requiring a dedicated teaching note; must not be resolved into only one sense. |
| new covenant καινὴ διαθήκη kainē diathēkē ”new covenant/agreement” | the new covenant instituted by Christ’s blood, superseding/fulfilling the old new covenant | The cup specifically identified with the new covenant, tying the Supper to the whole redemptive-historical structure of promise and fulfillment | [NEW — 1 Cor] Lus Cog Tseg Tshiab, built on the baseline lus cog tseg [INHERITED — Romans TM] (promise) but marked as a distinct, escalated Medium-High risk term since “covenant” (a binding, ratified agreement) is a denser legal-theological concept than a simple promise; needs a dedicated teaching note distinguishing “covenant” from “promise” while keeping the shared root vocabulary intelligible. |
Chapter 12 — Spiritual Gifts and the Body of Christ
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| spiritual gift χάρισμα πνευματικόν charisma pneumatikon Spirit-given grace-gift | reuses Romans baseline sense spiritual gift | Individual Spirit-given endowments for the common good of the body | ib yam khoom plig ntawm Vaj Ntsuj Plig [INHERITED — Romans TM]. Medium risk inherited; reused exactly. |
| body of Christ / members σῶμα Χριστοῦ / μέλη sōma Christou / melē Christ’s body / members/limbs | reuses Romans baseline sense, now developed at length (12:12-27) as the central unity metaphor body of Christ, members | Central metaphor for interdependent unity-in-diversity within the church, directly countering the factionalism of chs. 1-4 | lub cev ntawm Khetos / cov tswv cuab [INHERITED — Romans TM]. Low risk inherited; reused exactly. |
| speaking in tongues γλώσσαις λαλεῖν glōssais lalein ”speaking in [other] tongues/languages” | Spirit-given utterance, either known human languages or ecstatic Spirit-given speech, requiring interpretation for corporate edification speaking in tongues, glossolalia | One spiritual gift among many, given for a purpose, not a status marker — heavily regulated in ch.14 | [NEW — 1 Cor] hais lus dawb (los ntawm Vaj Ntsuj Plig) (lit. “speaking a sacred/set-apart language, by the Holy Spirit”). CRITICAL RISK — Hmong shamanic practice (txiv neeb ua neeb) includes ecstatic or altered-state speech understood as the medium’s spirit-guide or spirit-language communication during trance ritual; unqualified “speaking in tongues” language risks being assimilated directly into this shamanic-trance-speech category. Must always be anchored explicitly to Vaj Ntsuj Plig as source and taught with explicit, repeated contrast to shamanic trance-speech: this is Spirit-given utterance for the edification of the church and communication toward God, occurring under the speaker’s ordered self-control (14:27-28, 32), not a trance state or spirit-medium phenomenon. |
| prophecy προφητεία prophēteia ”speaking forth, prophetic utterance” | Spirit-given intelligible speech that reveals, exhorts, or comforts, to be tested against apostolic/scriptural truth prophecy | A highly valued gift (14:1) for building up the church through intelligible, Spirit-given, testable speech | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev cev Vajtswv Lus (lit. “the act of relaying/carrying God’s Word”). Critical risk — direct collision with the shamanic role of the spirit-medium (txiv neeb) who speaks on behalf of, or channels messages from, spirits during ritual divination; must be explicitly distinguished by source (Vaj Ntsuj Plig, not an ancestor/nature spirit), content (consistent with the apostolic gospel and Scripture, subject to testing per 14:29), and purpose (edification, not divination of fortune/fate). |
| discerning of spirits διάκρισις πνευμάτων diakrisis pneumatōn ”distinguishing/judging of spirits” | the Spirit-given ability to distinguish the Holy Spirit’s genuine work from counterfeit or evil spiritual activity discerning of spirits | A spiritual gift with direct, explicit relevance to an animistic context: the church needs (and is given) the capacity to distinguish godly from ungodly spiritual phenomena | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev txawj paub seb yog Vaj Ntsuj Plig los sis lwm tus dab. CRITICAL RISK — and a key positive teaching opportunity. This gift directly addresses the exact discernment problem this whole Language Package is built around (distinguishing the Holy Spirit’s genuine work from dab/spirit-world activity); must be translated and taught with special care and prominence, since it equips believers with the very framework needed to navigate all of the other Critical-risk terms in this document (tongues, prophecy, healing claims, etc.). |
| interpretation of tongues ἑρμηνεία γλωσσῶν hermēneia glōssōn ”translation/explanation of tongues” | the companion gift enabling the congregation to understand tongues-speech interpretation of tongues | The regulatory pairing that keeps tongues intelligible and edifying rather than obscure display | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev txhais lus (uas hais los ntawm Vaj Ntsuj Plig). Medium risk; comprehension-level, reinforces the mandatory edification/order framing of the tongues gift above. |
Chapter 13 — Love as the Greater Way
No new load-bearing theological vocabulary beyond terms already established. This chapter’s central term, love (ἀγάπη, agapē), reuses the Romans baseline entry kev hlub [INHERITED — Romans TM, Low risk] exactly. The doctrinal weight of chapter 13 is not primarily lexical but rhetorical/structural (love’s supremacy over tongues, prophecy, and knowledge — each a term already treated above); no new collision risk is introduced. Chapter reviewed; explicitly logged as contributing no new terms.
Chapter 14 — Order in Worship
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| tongues / prophecy γλῶσσα / προφητεία glōssa / prophēteia reuses ch.12 entries | see ch.12 tongues, prophecy | Regulatory instructions for the orderly, edifying exercise of these gifts in corporate worship | hais lus dawb / kev cev Vajtswv Lus [NEW — 1 Cor, see ch.12]. Critical risk carried forward; the regulatory material in this chapter (14:27-33, one at a time, with interpretation, subject to weighing/testing) is itself the primary safeguard against the shamanic-trance-speech collision and must be preserved intact in any teaching content. |
| edification / building up οἰκοδομή / οἰκοδομέω oikodomē / oikodomeō ”building, construction” | figurative: strengthening/building up the church community edification, building up | The controlling purpose-criterion for every gift and worship practice in this chapter (14:3,4,5,12,17,26) | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev txhim kho pawg ntseeg. Medium risk; comprehension-level, no collision; should be consistently used as the evaluative standard term across all gift-related teaching. |
| order τάξις taxis ”arrangement, order, sequence” | orderly, sequential, non-chaotic conduct of worship order, orderliness | ”God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (14:33) — the summary principle for the whole worship-order discussion | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev cai raws qab raws theem. Low-Medium risk; stable descriptive phrase. |
| women should be silent γυναῖκες … σιγάτωσαν gynaikes … sigatōsan ”let women be silent” | a specific, historically and denominationally debated instruction regarding women’s speech in the corporate assembly (14:34-35) women should keep silent | A textually and interpretively complex instruction requiring careful, non-flattened handling; multiple faithful interpretive traditions exist regarding its scope and contemporary application | [NEW — 1 Cor] [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: interpretive scope of 14:34-35 — descriptive local-order instruction vs. universal norm; consult denominational/theological guidance before rendering pastoral application content]. Flag as Medium-High for interpretive sensitivity — this is not a traditional-religion collision risk but a hermeneutical one; per the escalation rules inherited from the Romans package, ambiguous interpretive scope must be flagged for human theologian review rather than resolved unilaterally by translation choice. |
Chapter 15 — The Resurrection of Christ and Believers (continued coverage beyond the core passage, vv.12-58)
Verses 1-11 receive full verse-by-verse treatment in Part A above. The remainder of the chapter (vv.12-58) develops the same central term with the following additional load-bearing vocabulary:
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| resurrection (of the dead) ἀνάστασις (νεκρῶν) anastasis (nekrōn) “a standing-up-again (of the dead)“ | bodily rising from death to renewed, embodied life resurrection | The noun form of the verb treated at 15:4 above; governs the entire chapter’s argument (if Christ is not raised, faith is futile, 15:14,17) | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev sawv hauv qhov tuag rov qab los (built consistently on the 15:4 verb-rendering). CRITICAL RISK, identical grounding and teaching requirement as the 15:4 “he was raised” entry: must be kept categorically distinct from soul-calling (hu plig) and ancestor-spirit persistence beliefs; this is the single highest-density Critical term in the whole book and anchors the entire “Resurrection of Christ and Believers” doctrine. |
| firstfruits ἀπαρχή aparchē ”first portion of a harvest” | reuses Romans baseline sense, here applied to Christ as firstfruits of the resurrection harvest to come firstfruits | Christ’s resurrection guarantees and previews believers’ future resurrection, as a firstfruit guarantees the full harvest | thawj phaus qoob loo / cov ua ntej [INHERITED — Romans TM]. Low-Medium risk inherited; agricultural harvest imagery remains accessible in an agrarian Hmong context. |
| spiritual body / natural body σῶμα πνευματικόν / σῶμα ψυχικόν sōma pneumatikon / sōma psychikon ”Spirit-body” / “soul-body” | the transformed resurrection body (Spirit-empowered, imperishable) contrasted with the present, perishable, natural body spiritual body, natural body | Answers “how are the dead raised, with what body?” (15:35) — the resurrection body is truly bodily, not disembodied spirit-existence | [NEW — 1 Cor] lub cev tshiab uas raug hloov los ntawm Vaj Ntsuj Plig / lub cev ntawm ntiajteb no (nqaij tawv, yuav lwj tag). Critical risk — the same danger flagged in ch.2’s psychikos/pneumatikos pairing recurs here: sōma psychikon must NOT be rendered using the baseline’s ntsuj plig (human soul) term, since Paul is not describing a “soul-body” as opposed to a bodiless-spirit destiny; he is contrasting the present perishable body with the future Spirit-empowered imperishable body — both are genuinely bodily. Must avoid any wording suggesting the resurrection hope is merely “becoming a spirit/soul” (which would align disastrously with folk beliefs about the dead becoming ancestor-spirits) rather than receiving a real, transformed, imperishable body. |
| imperishable / incorruption ἀφθαρσία aphtharsia ”not subject to decay” | the resurrection body’s permanent, undecaying quality imperishable, incorruptible | Contrasted with the present body’s perishability (phthora, decay) | [NEW — 1 Cor] tsis lwj tag mus li. Medium risk; comprehension-level, no collision. |
| victory / sting of death νῖκος / κέντρον τοῦ θανάτου nikos / kentron tou thanatou ”victory” / “the sting/goad of death” | triumph over death, imaged as removing a scorpion/insect’s sting victory, sting of death | The chapter’s climactic celebration: death’s power to harm is decisively removed through Christ’s resurrection | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev yeej / tus xub ntawm txoj kev tuag (building on txoj kev tuag [INHERITED — Romans TM]). Low-Medium risk; vivid imagery, comprehension-level illustrative note recommended (scorpion/wasp-sting analogy may need a locally familiar substitute image), no traditional-religion collision. |
Chapter 16 — The Collection, Closing Instructions, and Greetings
| Terms | Variants | Contextual meaning | Hmong rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| the collection (for the saints) λογεία logeia ”a collection, contribution” | organized financial gift gathered from believers for the Jerusalem church the collection, the offering | Concrete expression of cross-congregational unity and generosity, tying back to the Christian Unity doctrine | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev sau nyiaj pab cov ntseeg (uas raug txom nyem). Low-Medium risk; comprehension-level regarding the specific historical Jerusalem-relief context, no collision; existing Hmong church offering practices provide a ready cultural bridge. |
| Maranatha Μαρανα θα Marana tha (Aramaic) “Our Lord, come!“ | an early Aramaic liturgical acclamation retained untranslated by Paul Maranatha | An urgent prayer for Christ’s return, retained in its original Aramaic form as an intimacy/urgency marker, paralleling “Abba” | [NEW — 1 Cor] retain Maranatha as a transliterated loanword with a mandatory first-use gloss, (“Tus Tswv, thov koj los!”), following the established baseline pattern for Abba, Leej Txiv. Low-Medium risk; requires the same footnote convention as the Romans baseline’s Abba entry. |
| holy kiss φίλημα ἅγιον philēma hagion ”a holy/sacred kiss” | a common 1st-century Mediterranean greeting custom, applied to Christian fellowship holy kiss | A cultural greeting custom carrying the theological freight of sanctified, family-like affection among believers | [NEW — 1 Cor] kev sib hnia dawb huv with a mandatory cultural-adaptation teaching note, since ordinary Hmong greeting customs do not include kissing; recommend illustrative substitution note (e.g., comparison to an existing warm, respectful Hmong greeting custom) rather than a literal-practice mandate. Medium risk; comprehension/cultural-adaptation gap, no traditional-religion collision, but the dawb huv qualifier again touches the ritual-purity collision zone flagged elsewhere — must be clearly anchored to sanctified familial affection, not ritual cleansing. |
| let him be accursed (anathema) ἀνάθεμα anathema ”a thing devoted/cursed, set apart for destruction” | severe formula of exclusion/condemnation for those who do not love the Lord (16:22) let him be cursed, anathema | A solemn, final warning-formula, structurally similar in severity to the ch.5 “deliver to Satan” discipline formula | [NEW — 1 Cor] [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: anathema formula, 16:22] raug muab cais tawm thiab poob rau txim (lit. “be set apart/excluded and fall under judgment”). High risk — carries the same collision danger as the ch.5 “deliver to Satan” formula: could be heard as parallel to traditional invoked-curse practice (foob) rather than a solemn declaration of final divine judgment on persistent unbelief/unlove for Christ; requires the same explicit disambiguating teaching note as ch.5. |
§C. Summary of Full-Book Coverage
All sixteen chapters of 1 Corinthians have been reviewed. Chapters 1-12, 14, 15, and 16 introduce new load-bearing vocabulary as documented above. Chapter 13 introduces no new theological vocabulary (its central term, love/agapē, reuses the Romans-baseline kev hlub entry exactly) and is explicitly logged here as reviewed with no new terms, per the full-book-coverage mandate. This document, together with analysis/08_core_glossary.md, forms the complete Phase 1 Step 1 semantic-analysis deliverable for the Hmong 1 Corinthians Language Package.