Core Glossary
1 John — Core Glossary (Hmong Language Package)
Risk Tier Definitions (unchanged from Romans baseline)
| Tier | Definition |
|---|---|
| Critical | Doctrinally load-bearing term with a strong, specific collision with Hmong traditional religion (animism/shamanism/ancestor veneration/fate/reincarnation) 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. |
| Low | Already-stable, safe rendering in existing Hmong Christian usage with minimal ambiguity. |
Review routing (unchanged from Romans baseline): Critical/High → human theologian review mandatory. Medium → native speaker review mandatory. Low → automated review sufficient.
Section A — Terms Inherited Verbatim from the Romans Translation Memory
These renderings are permanent TM entries and MUST be reused character-for-character in all 1 John curriculum content. No alternate gloss may be introduced.
| # | English Term | Greek (1 John form, if distinct) | Hmong Rendering (TM) | Risk | Doctrine(s) in 1 John | Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | God | θεός | Vajtswv | Low | All | 1-5 |
| A2 | Lord | κύριος | tus Tswv | Low | Assurance; Testing the Spirits (4:15 anchor) | 4 |
| A3 | Jesus Christ | Ἰησοῦς Χριστός | Yexus Khetos | Low | Incarnation and Antichrist; all | 1-5 |
| A4 | Father (God) | πατήρ | Leej Txiv | Low | Fellowship; New Birth | 1-5 |
| A5 | Holy Spirit | πνεῦμα (τὸ ἅγιον/τῆς ἀληθείας) | Vaj Ntsuj Plig | Critical | Testing the Spirits; Assurance; Fellowship | 3, 4, 5 |
| A6 | human spirit/soul (anthropological, if referenced) | πνεῦμα | ntsuj plig | High | Testing the Spirits (contrast use only) | 4 |
| A7 | Son of God | υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ | Leej Tub ntawm Vajtswv | Low | Incarnation; Assurance | 1, 4, 5 |
| A8 | Gospel (background concept; message proclaimed) | — (cf. ἀγγελία, distinct lexeme, see B-section) | Txoj Moo Zoo | Low | General | — |
| A9 | Faith / Believe | πίστις / πιστεύω | kev ntseeg / ntseeg | Medium | Assurance; Overcoming the World | 3, 4, 5 |
| A10 | Sin (act & condition) | ἁμαρτία | txhaum / kev txhaum | High | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| A11 | Propitiation / Atoning Sacrifice | ἱλασμός (cognate of ἱλαστήριον) | qhov theej txhoj kev txhaum | Critical | God is Love; Confession and Forgiveness | 2, 4 |
| A12 | Love | ἀγάπη | kev hlub | Low | God is Light and God is Love; Love for the Brethren | 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| A13 | Truth | ἀλήθεια | qhov tseeb | Low | General; Testing the Spirits | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| A14 | World | κόσμος | lub ntiajteb | Low | Overcoming the World; Testing the Spirits | 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| A15 | Eternal Life | ζωὴ αἰώνιος | txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis | Low | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | 1, 2, 3, 5 |
| A16 | Death | θάνατος | txoj kev tuag | Low | Love for the Brethren; Assurance | 3, 5 |
| A17 | Righteousness / Righteous | δικαιοσύνη / δίκαιος | Vajtswv txoj kev ncaj ncees / tus ncaj ncees | Critical | Confession and Forgiveness; New Birth | 2, 3 |
| A18 | Witness | μάρτυς / μαρτυρία | tus timkhawv / tej lus timkhawv | Low | Assurance; Incarnation | 1, 4, 5 |
| A19 | Idol | εἴδωλον | dab mlom | High | (Closing exhortation, exclusive devotion) | 5 |
| A20 | Unrighteousness | ἀδικία | kev tsis ncaj ncees | Low | Confession and Forgiveness | 1, 5 |
| A21 | Stumbling block (no occasion of stumbling) | σκάνδαλον | qhov/pob zeb ua rau dawm ceg | Low-Medium | Love for the Brethren | 2 |
| A22 | Ashamed / not shrink in shame | αἰσχύνομαι (cognate of ἐπαισχύνομαι) | txaj muag | Low | Assurance | 2 |
| A23 | Hope | ἐλπίς | kev cia siab | Low | Love for the Brethren; Assurance | 3 |
| A24 | Will of God | θέλημα θεοῦ | Vajtswv lub siab nyiam | Medium | Assurance (prayer) | 5 |
| A25 | Redemption (background concept) | — (cf. λύτρωσις-family not directly used; cross-referenced from “laid down His life”) | kev txhiv | Medium | Love for the Brethren (cross-ref) | 3 |
| A26 | Adoption as sons (contrastive cross-reference to τέκνα θεοῦ, see B12) | υἱοθεσία (not used in 1 John; contrast term) | raug muab coj los ua me tub (ntawm Vajtswv) | Medium | New Birth (contrast concept) | 3 |
| A27 | In Christ / union formula (contrastive cross-reference to μένω, see B9) | ἐν Χριστῷ (not the dominant 1 John formula; contrast term) | nyob hauv Khetos | High | Fellowship; Assurance (cross-ref) | — |
| A28 | Flesh (neutral: descent/body) | σάρξ | lub cev nqaij tawv | Critical | Incarnation and Antichrist | 4 |
| A29 | Flesh (moral: sinful nature) | σάρξ (ἐπιθυμία τῆς σαρκός) | kev xav/kev ua raws li lub cev nqaij tawv | Critical | Overcoming the World | 2 |
| A30 | Worship/Serve (cultic; closing idol warning) | (implied by εἴδωλον context, cf. πεhawm) | pehawm (+ mandatory object) | High | (Closing exhortation) | 5 |
| A31 | Debtor / obligation idiom (cross-reference) | ὀφείλω (cognate of ὀφειλέτης) | tshuav nqi (idiom) | Low | Love for the Brethren (cross-ref) | 4 |
| A32 | Firstfruits (background agricultural bridge, cross-ref for “seed of God”) | — (cross-ref to σπέρμα, see B13) | thawj phaus qoob loo (idiom cross-ref) | Low-Medium | New Birth (cross-ref) | 3 |
| A33 | Sanctification (cross-referenced collision pattern for καθαρίζω/ἁγνίζω, see B7/B8) | ἁγιασμός (not directly used; pattern cross-ref) | kev raug ua kom dawb huv | High | Confession and Forgiveness (cross-ref) | 1, 3 |
| A34 | No condemnation (cross-referenced contrast for κόλασις, 4:18) | κατάκριμα (not directly used; contrast cross-ref) | kev raug txiav txim rau kev puas tsuaj | Medium | God is Light and God is Love (cross-ref) | 4 |
Section B — New Terms Surfaced in 1 John (No Prior TM Entry)
These terms require formal TM-revision review before becoming permanent, per 12_ai_translation_requirements.md §2.4 and §9. Renderings below are the Phase 1 recommended baseline pending that review.
| # | English Term | Greek | Transliteration | Hmong Rendering (proposed) | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters | Collision / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | Word of life | ὁ λόγος τῆς ζωῆς | ho logos tēs zōēs | txoj lus uas muaj txoj sia nyob | Low-Medium | Incarnation and Antichrist | 1 | Comprehension gap only; distinct from Gospel/Txoj Moo Zoo. |
| B2 | Eyewitness sensory-verification chain | ἀκηκόαμεν, ἑωράκαμεν, ἐθεασάμεθα, ἐψηλάφησαν | akēkoamen, heōrakamen, etheasametha, epsēlaphēsan | peb tau hnov, tau pom, tau ntsia ntsoov, thiab peb txhais tes tau kov lawm | Critical | Incarnation and Antichrist | 1 | Anti-docetic emphasis; must not be abbreviated, loses force against denial of real physicality. |
| B3 | Fellowship | κοινωνία | koinōnia | kev sib koom | Medium | Fellowship with God and One Another | 1 | Positive clan/communal bridge; must teach vertical-then-horizontal order explicitly. |
| B4 | Light / Darkness | φῶς / σκοτία | phōs / skotia | qhov kaj / qhov tsaus ntuj | High | God is Light and God is Love | 1, 2 | ”God is Light” identity-statement risk; darkness-as-spiritually-perilous is a positive pre-existing Hmong intuition to be anchored to holiness, not left vague. |
| B5 | ”God is Light” / “God is Love” — identity/essence predication | ὁ θεὸς φῶς/ἀγάπη ἐστίν | ho theos phōs/agapē estin | Vajtswv yog qhov kaj / Vajtswv yog kev hlub | High | God is Light and God is Love | 1, 4 | MUST use copula yog (true identity), never zoo li (comparison/simile) — the single highest-stakes grammatical choice in the whole book. |
| B6 | Walk (conduct) | περιπατέω | peripateō | taug kev / coj lub neej | Low-Medium | Fellowship; God is Light | 1, 2 | Standard conduct-metaphor; comprehension-level only. |
| B7 | Cleanse (by the blood) | καθαρίζω | katharizō | ntxuav kom huv | High | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | 1 | Ritual-purification collision, parallel to TM sanctification (#46); must teach once-for-all, not repeatable ritual. |
| B8 | Purify oneself | ἁγνίζω | hagnizō | ua kom nws tus kheej dawb huv | High | Assurance; New Birth | 3 | Same collision class as B7; hope-motivated self-discipline, not ritual cleansing. |
| B9 | Abide / Remain | μένω | menō | nyob ruaj nrees hauv | High | Fellowship with God and One Another; Assurance | 2, 3, 4 | Mandatory “ruaj nrees” (steadfast) qualifier; without it, risks spatial/mediumship misreading. Cross-ref TM’s nyob hauv Khetos (A27). |
| B10 | Confess | ὁμολογέω | homologeō | lees paub | Medium | Confession and Forgiveness; Incarnation and Antichrist | 1, 2, 4 | Distinct senses: confess sin (1:9) vs. confess Christ’s identity (2:23; 4:2-3, 15) — same verb, both senses must remain lexically identical per John’s own wordplay. |
| B11 | Forgive | ἀφίημι | aphiēmi | zam txim | Low | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | 1 | Stable existing Hmong Christian term. |
| B12 | Born of God / Children of God | γεννάω / τέκνα θεοῦ | gennaō / tekna theou | yug los ntawm Vajtswv / cov me nyuam ntawm Vajtswv | Critical | Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth | 2, 3, 4, 5 | Highest-priority new collision in this Language Package: risk of assimilation into Hmong multi-soul/reincarnation belief. Must be taught as a single, permanent, non-repeatable divine re-creation. Distinct from but complementary to TM’s adoption_as_sons (A26). |
| B13 | Seed of God | σπέρμα | sperma | noob ntawm Vajtswv | Medium | New Birth | 3 | Agricultural bridge (cf. TM firstfruits, A32); compounds B12’s collision risk, teach together. |
| B14 | Devil / Satan | διάβολος | diabolos | Ntxwg Nyoog | High | Incarnation and Antichrist; Overcoming the World | 3 | Established Hmong Christian proper name; must be distinguished from the broader, appeasement-seeking dab spirit category — a defeated personal enemy, not a spirit to negotiate with. |
| B15 | The evil one | ὁ πονηρός | ho ponēros | tus limhiam | Medium-High | Overcoming the World | 2, 5 | Synonym/title for B14; same disambiguation applies. |
| B16 | Advocate (of Christ before the Father) | παράκλητος | paraklētos | tus sawv cev thov Vajtswv pab | High | Confession and Forgiveness; Assurance | 2 | Risk of conflation with shamanic ritual intermediation (txiv neeb); Christ’s advocacy grounded in His finished righteousness, not negotiated appeasement. |
| B17 | Commandment | ἐντολή | entolē | tej lus samhwm | Medium | (cross-cutting: Love for the Brethren, Assurance) | 2, 3, 4, 5 | Deliberately distinct from TM’s Txoj Kevcai (Law, Critical, A-inherited-by-reference) to avoid the kevcai-root Mosaic-Law collision; this is Christ’s own love-directive. |
| B18 | New/old commandment | ἐντολὴ καινή/παλαιά | entolē kainē/palaia | lus samhwm tshiab / qub | Low-Medium | Love for the Brethren | 2 | Comprehension-level only. |
| B19 | Last hour | ἐσχάτη ὥρα | eschatē hōra | lub sijhawm kawg | Low | Incarnation and Antichrist | 2 | Eschatological marker; no collision. |
| B20 | Antichrist | ἀντίχριστος | antichristos | tus Tawm Tsam Khetos (gloss: Antikhetos) | High | The Incarnation and Antichrist | 2, 4 | Comprehension gap plus doctrinal weight; must be tied explicitly to denial of Christ’s true identity/incarnation, not a generic “evil spirit.” |
| B21 | Deny | ἀρνέομαι | arneomai | tsis lees paub | Low | Incarnation and Antichrist | 2 | Direct antonym of B10. |
| B22 | Anointing | χρῖσμα | chrisma | kev tau txais Vaj Ntsuj Plig los qhia peb | High | Testing the Spirits; Assurance | 2 | Risk of magical-substance/protective-charm misreading; render functionally (Spirit’s teaching ministry), not as literal oil. |
| B23 | Holy One (Christ) | ὁ ἅγιος | ho hagios | tus Dawb Huv | Medium | Testing the Spirits | 2 | Reuses TM dawb huv root; comprehension-level. |
| B24 | Confidence / Boldness | παρρησία | parrēsia | kev txaus siab tsis ntshai | Medium | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | 2, 3, 4, 5 | Courtroom/eschatological-confidence sense; distinguish from mere casualness. |
| B25 | Lust of the flesh / lust of the eyes / pride of life | ἐπιθυμία τῆς σαρκός / τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν / ἀλαζονεία τοῦ βίου | epithymia tēs sarkos / tōn ophthalmōn / alazoneia tou biou | kev ntshaw ntawm lub cev nqaij tawv / ntawm qhov muag; kev khav ntawm lub neej | Medium | Overcoming the World | 2 | Reuses TM flesh_moral periphrasis (A29) as base for first term. |
| B26 | Sin is lawlessness | ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία | hē hamartia estin hē anomia | kev txhaum yog kev tsis coj raws li Vajtswv txoj kevcai | Medium | Confession and Forgiveness; New Birth | 3 | Broad moral-order sense, not narrowly Mosaic; teach breadth explicitly. |
| B27 | Passed from death to life | μεταβαίνω ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν | metabainō ek tou thanatou eis tēn zōēn | hla dhau txoj kev tuag mus rau txoj sia | Low | Love for the Brethren | 3 | Reuses TM death/life terms exactly. |
| B28 | Laid down His life | τίθημι τὴν ψυχήν | tithēmi tēn psychēn | muab nws txoj sia tso tseg | Medium | Love for the Brethren | 3 | Cross-ref TM redemption (A25) and propitiation (A11); ethical-exemplar emphasis. |
| B29 | Bowels of compassion / shuts up heart | σπλάγχνα / κλείω | splanchna / kleiō | lub siab hlub / kaw lub siab | Low-Medium | Love for the Brethren | 3 | Strong natural idiom parallel (siab = liver, seat of emotion). |
| B30 | Heart condemns | καταγινώσκω ἡ καρδία | kataginōskē hē kardia | lub siab liam | Medium | Assurance of Salvation | 3 | Extends TM conscience entry (cross-ref) into explicit assurance-argument use. |
| B31 | Murderer | ἀνθρωποκτόνος | anthrōpoktonos | tus tua neeg | Low | Love for the Brethren | 3 | Typological (Cain); no collision. |
| B32 | Test the spirits | δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα | dokimazete ta pneumata | sim cov ntsuj plig | Critical | Testing the Spirits | 4 | Direct collision with shaman’s (txiv neeb) core spirit-discernment function; must be taught as a doctrinal-content test only, never ritual/experiential discernment. |
| B33 | Christ come in the flesh | ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα | en sarki elēlythota | los ua neeg thiab muaj lub cev nqaij tawv tiag tiag | Critical | The Incarnation and Antichrist | 4 | Collision with spirit-mediumship/channeling; must affirm a permanent, ontological union, not a temporary spirit-indwelling episode. Reuses TM flesh_neutral (A28) carefully — never the moral-sense periphrasis (A29). |
| B34 | Spirit of truth / Spirit of error | πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας / τῆς πλάνης | pneuma tēs alētheias / tēs planēs | Vaj Ntsuj Plig qhov tseeb / ib yam ntsuj plig dag ntxias | Critical | Testing the Spirits | 4 | Vaj-prefix rule applies rigidly to the true Spirit only; false spirit must never receive the Vaj prefix nor be confused with the anthropological ntsuj plig (A6/TM #6). [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED per 07_semantic_analysis.md]. |
| B35 | Overcome / Victory | νικάω / νίκη | nikaō / nikē | yeej / kev yeej | Medium | Overcoming the World | 2, 4, 5 | Comprehension-level; distinguish “the world” as value-system, not physical creation or ritual-power domain. |
| B36 | Savior (of the world) | σωτήρ | sōtēr | tus Cawmseej | High | God is Light and God is Love (4:14) | 4 | Cognate to TM salvation/save (High); must remain anchored to Christ alone, distinguished from shamanic soul-rescue. |
| B37 | Day of judgment | ἡμέρα τῆς κρίσεως | hēmera tēs kriseōs | hnub Vajtswv txiav txim | Low-Medium | Assurance of Salvation | 4 | Transparent compound; no collision. |
| B38 | Fear (dread) / torment | φόβος / κόλασις | phobos / kolasis | kev ntshai / kev raug txim | Low | God is Light and God is Love; Assurance | 4 | Distinguish anxious dread from reverent awe via teaching note, not separate lexeme. |
| B39 | Perfect / Perfected (love) | τέλειος / τελειόω | teleios / teleioō | kev hlub uas zoo tag nrho / ua kom dhau chaw | Medium | God is Light and God is Love | 4 | Maturity/completeness, not sinless flawlessness; avoid reintroducing works-anxiety. |
| B40 | Brother | ἀδελφός | adelphos | kwvtij | Low | Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth | 2, 3, 4 | Positive clan-kinship bridge; teach that this “clan” transcends blood-clan boundaries. |
| B41 | Hate | μισέω | miseō | ntxub | Low | Love for the Brethren | 2, 3, 4 | Direct antonym of love; no collision. |
| B42 | Liar | ψεύστης | pseustēs | tus dag | Low | Love for the Brethren; Confession | 1, 2, 4 | Stable existing term. |
| B43 | Children of God vs. children of the devil | τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ / τοῦ διαβόλου | tekna tou theou / tou diabolou | cov me nyuam ntawm Vajtswv / ntawm Ntxwg Nyoog | Critical | Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth | 3 | Combines B12 and B14 collision risks; the epistle’s starkest either-or contrast. |
| B44 | Water, blood, and Spirit (three witnesses) | τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ τὸ αἷμα … τὸ πνεῦμα | to hydōr kai to haima … to pneuma | dej thiab ntshav thiab Vaj Ntsuj Plig | Medium | Assurance; Incarnation | 5 | Cross-ref TM baptism (A-inherited by reference) for “water”; Vaj-prefix retained for “Spirit.” |
| B45 | Know that you have eternal life | εἰδῆτε ὅτι ζωὴν ἔχετε αἰώνιον | eidēte hoti zōēn echete aiōnion | kom nej paub tseeb tias nej twb muaj txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis lawm | Medium-High | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | 5 | Thesis statement of the epistle’s stated purpose; must distinguish settled Scripture-grounded assurance from fatalistic omen-reading (hmoov-adjacent risk). |
| B46 | Sin unto death / not unto death | ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον / μὴ πρὸς θάνατον | hamartia pros thanaton / mē pros thanaton | kev txhaum uas coj mus rau txoj kev tuag / tsis coj mus rau txoj kev tuag | Medium | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | 5 | Pastoral-precision risk, not traditional-religion collision; avoid speculative identification of specific sins. |
| B47 | Understanding | διάνοια | dianoia | kev totaub / lub siab paub | Low | Assurance; God is Light and God is Love | 5 | God-given capacity to know the true God, contrasted with idols. |
| B48 | Keep yourselves from idols (closing exhortation) | φυλάξατε ἑαυτὰ ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων | phylaxate heauta apo tōn eidōlōn | ceev faj tsis txhob pehawm dab mlom | High | (Closing exhortation; cross-cutting all eight doctrines) | 5 | Reuses TM idol (A19) and worship (A30) terms exactly; most explicit traditional-religion collision point in the whole book. |
| B49 | Message / that which we proclaim | ἀγγελία | angelia | zaj lus tshaj tawm | Low-Medium | Fellowship; God is Light and God is Love | 1, 3 | Distinct lexeme from εὐαγγέλιον (Gospel, A8); comprehension-level only. |
| B50 | Know (relational vs. factual) | γινώσκω / οἶδα | ginōskō / oida | paub | Medium | (cross-cutting: all doctrines) | 1-5 | Hmong “paub” does not lexically distinguish relational/experiential knowing (γινώσκω) from settled factual knowing (οἶδα); teaching note required wherever the distinction is theologically significant (e.g., 5:13 οἶδα vs. 4:7-8 γινώσκω). |
Cross-Chapter Coverage Confirmation
Per the full-book-coverage mandate, every chapter of 1 John has been reviewed and contributes load-bearing terms as follows — no chapter is silently skipped:
- Chapter 1 — reviewed; contributes B1-B11 (Word of life, eyewitness testimony, fellowship, light/darkness, God-is-Light identity statement, walk, cleanse, confess, forgive) plus inherited terms A10, A13, A20.
- Chapter 2 — reviewed; contributes B16-B25 (advocate, commandment, new/old commandment, last hour, antichrist, deny, anointing, Holy One, confidence, lust-of-flesh/eyes/pride-of-life) plus inherited terms A17, A21, A22, A29.
- Chapter 3 — reviewed; contributes B12-B13, B26-B31 (born of God/children of God, seed of God, sin-is-lawlessness, passed from death to life, laid down His life, bowels of compassion, heart condemns, murderer) plus inherited terms A16, A23, A25, A26, A33.
- Chapter 4 — reviewed in full: verses 1-6 contribute B32-B35 (test the spirits, Christ come in flesh, spirit of truth/error, overcome); verses 7-21 (the core passage) receive full verse-by-verse treatment in Part A of
07_semantic_analysis.mdand contribute B5 (God-is-Love identity statement), B9 (abide/remain), B36-B39 (Savior, day of judgment, fear/torment, perfected love), B40-B42 (brother, hate, liar), B17 (commandment, restated 4:21) plus inherited terms A5, A6, A9, A11, A12, A34. - Chapter 5 — reviewed; contributes B44-B48 (water/blood/Spirit witnesses, know-you-have-eternal-life thesis statement, sin unto/not unto death, understanding, keep-from-idols closing exhortation) plus inherited terms A15, A19, A24, A30.
No chapter of 1 John was found to introduce zero new theological vocabulary; the book’s short length and doctrinal density mean every chapter is load-bearing for at least one of the eight assigned doctrines.
Critical Risk Terms
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Vaj Ntsuj Plig
Transliteration: pneuma hagion / to pneuma tēs alētheias
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Rejected alternatives: bare ntsuj plig (no Vaj prefix) — rejected, denotes an animistic wandering human soul
Inherited from Romans package. Mandatory ‘Vaj’ prefix rule now interacts with the Testing-the-Spirits doctrine: the true Spirit of truth must always retain ‘Vaj’; the deceiving spirit of error must never receive it (see spirit_of_truth / spirit_of_error entries below).
Propitiation Atoning Sacrifice
Approved rendering: qhov theej txhoj kev txhaum
Transliteration: hilastērion / hilasmos
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: transliterated loanword — rejected, would be opaque and prevent needed contrast-teaching against shamanic appeasement, bare ‘qhov theej’ without a once-for-all qualifying clause — rejected, reads as one appeasement among many
Inherited from Romans package (fixed rendering for hilastērion, Rom 3:25), extended here to the cognate lexeme hilasmos (2:2; 4:10) carrying the identical doctrinal referent. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: confirm cross-lexeme TM extension before this note is finalized as unconditional.] Must retain full once-for-all/sufficient teaching apparatus.
Grace
Approved rendering: txiaj ntsim
Transliteration: charis
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: koob hmoov (fortune/blessing tied to fate and ritual correctness) — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN
Inherited from Romans package. Not directly lexicalized in 1 John but load-bearing background for ‘His commandments are not burdensome’ (5:3) and the grace-not-works logic underlying new birth; koob hmoov prohibition carried forward unconditionally.
Righteousness Of God Righteous
Approved rendering: Vajtswv txoj kev ncaj ncees / tus ncaj ncees
Transliteration: dikaiosynē theou / dikaios
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘kev ncaj ncees’ without the imputation-consistent qualifier — rejected, reads as self-achieved moralism
Inherited from Romans package. Applied to Christ’s own righteousness grounding His Advocacy (2:1) and to practiced righteousness as evidence, never ground, of new birth (2:29; 3:7,10).
Justify Reckon As Righteous
Approved rendering: ua kom ncaj ncees / raug suav tias ncaj ncees
Transliteration: dikaioō / logizomai
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: ‘ua zoo’ (do good) framing — rejected, reintroduces works-righteousness
Inherited from Romans package. Cross-referenced to guard against reversing the causal order of practiced righteousness and new birth in 1 John 2:29 and 3:7,10.
Flesh Neutral Descent Body
Approved rendering: lub cev nqaij tawv
Transliteration: sarx (neutral)
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Rejected alternatives: bare nqaij used unmarked for both senses — rejected, collapses neutral and moral senses of flesh
Inherited from Romans package. Exclusively used for Christ’s genuine physical humanity in the Incarnation test (4:2); must never drift toward the moral-sense periphrasis.
Flesh Moral Sinful Nature
Approved rendering: kev xav/kev ua raws li lub cev nqaij tawv
Transliteration: sarx (moral)
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Rejected alternatives: bare nqaij tawv reused unmarked from neutral sense — rejected
Inherited from Romans package. Base for the ‘lust of the flesh’ component of the threefold worldly-desire catalogue (2:16).
Law Mosaic Divine
Approved rendering: Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes)
Transliteration: nomos
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘Txoj Kevcai’ without qualifier — rejected, collapses into kev cai dab qhuas
Inherited from Romans package. Cross-referenced in 1 John’s own ‘sin is lawlessness’ formula (3:4), which deliberately broadens the reference to God’s moral order generally rather than the Mosaic code narrowly — this breadth must be taught explicitly alongside the inherited qualifier pattern.
Eyewitness Sensory Verification Chain
Approved rendering: peb tau hnov, tau pom, tau ntsia ntsoov, thiab peb txhais tes tau kov lawm
Transliteration: akēkoamen, heōrakamen, etheasametha, epsēlaphēsan
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Rejected alternatives: abbreviated ‘we heard about Him’ — rejected, strips the anti-docetic eyewitness-physicality force
NEW TERM — 1 John package. A fourfold cumulative sensory chain (1:1-3) that must never be truncated; exists precisely to rule out any docetic or spirit-mediumship-adjacent reading of the incarnation.
Born Of God
Approved rendering: yug los ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: gennaō
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Rejected alternatives: any pairing with hu plig (ritual soul-retrieval) or reincarnation-adjacent vocabulary — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Highest-priority new collision in this Language Package (7 occurrences: 2:29; 3:9x2; 4:7; 5:1x2,4,18). Must be taught as a single, permanent, non-repeatable divine re-creation, never additive to or one instance within the Hmong multi-soul/reincarnation framework.
Children Of God
Approved rendering: cov me nyuam ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: tekna theou
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Complementary to, never a replacement for, adoption_as_sons; birth = internal re-creation of nature, adoption = legally bestowed inheritance rights (3:1-2,10).
Children Of The Devil
Approved rendering: cov me nyuam ntawm Ntxwg Nyoog
Transliteration: tekna tou diabolou
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Combines the born_of_god and devil_satan collision risks; the epistle’s starkest either-or contrast (3:10), always taught as a paired unit with children_of_god.
Test The Spirits
Approved rendering: sim cov ntsuj plig
Transliteration: dokimazete ta pneumata
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Rejected alternatives: any framing implying shamanic experiential/ritual spirit-discernment technique — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Direct, unavoidable collision with the txiv neeb shaman’s core ritual function (4:1). Mandatory non-negotiable teaching: this is a doctrinal-content test applied to teaching claims, never an experiential technique; believers never engage spirits directly as a shaman would.
Christ Come In The Flesh
Approved rendering: los ua neeg thiab muaj lub cev nqaij tawv tiag tiag
Transliteration: en sarki elēlythota
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Rejected alternatives: temporary spirit-visitation/channeling framing — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN, drifting to the flesh_moral_sinful_nature periphrasis — rejected, Christ’s human body carries no sinful nature
NEW TERM — 1 John package. The single most doctrinally load-bearing clause in the epistle (4:2); must be taught as a permanent, unique, ontological union of full deity and full humanity from conception, never a temporary spirit-indwelling episode.
Spirit Of Truth
Approved rendering: Vaj Ntsuj Plig qhov tseeb
Transliteration: to pneuma tēs alētheias
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Rejected alternatives: dropping the Vaj prefix — FORBIDDEN, this IS the Holy Spirit
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Mandatorily retains the Vaj-prefix rule (4:6); never rendered with bare ntsuj plig.
Spirit Of Error
Approved rendering: ib yam ntsuj plig dag ntxias
Transliteration: to pneuma tēs planēs
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Rejected alternatives: adding the Vaj prefix — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN, would elevate a deceiving spirit to divine status, bare ‘ntsuj plig’ alone — rejected, implies merely one of a person’s own animistic souls
NEW TERM — 1 John package. By the mirror-image of the Vaj-prefix rule, must NEVER receive ‘Vaj’ (4:6). [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: confirm whether a dab-root alternative more precisely signals ‘false/demonic spirit’ before this becomes an unconditional permanent entry.]
High Risk Terms
Human Spirit Soul
Approved rendering: ntsuj plig
Transliteration: pneuma (anthropological)
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Rejected alternatives: Vaj Ntsuj Plig — forbidden for this referent, reserved exclusively for the Holy Spirit
Inherited from Romans package. In 1 John this bare form also names the grammatical object of the 4:1 doctrinal test (‘sim cov ntsuj plig’) and must never be capitalized/prefixed.
Sin Act And Condition
Approved rendering: txhaum / kev txhaum
Transliteration: hamartia
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Inherited from Romans package. 1 John additionally defines sin as lawlessness (3:4) and requires teaching sin as a condition Christ’s blood alone cleanses, not a repeatable ritual restitution.
Idol
Approved rendering: dab mlom
Transliteration: eidōlon
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Rejected alternatives: generic ‘statue’ softening — rejected
Inherited from Romans package. The epistle’s closing warning (5:21) is the single most explicit traditional-religion collision point in the whole book.
In Christ Union Formula
Approved rendering: nyob hauv Khetos
Transliteration: en Christō
Doctrine: Fellowship with God and One Another
Rejected alternatives: bare spatial ‘hauv’ with no fixed co-text — rejected, misses participatory sense
Inherited from Romans package, retained as a required cross-reference term contrasted with 1 John’s dominant durative ‘abide/remain’ (menō) vocabulary, which is a distinct though related fellowship formula.
Worship Serve Cultic
Approved rendering: pehawm / pab teev
Transliteration: latreuō
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Rejected alternatives: bare, unanchored pehawm — FORBIDDEN, identical verb used for pehawm dab
Inherited from Romans package. Object must always be stated; underlies the closing exhortation’s implicit exclusive-devotion contrast with idols (5:21).
Sanctification
Approved rendering: kev raug ua kom dawb huv
Transliteration: hagiasmos
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: treating dawb huv as a repeatable ritual-cleansing state — rejected
Inherited from Romans package, retained as the pattern cross-reference for 1 John’s own cleanse (katharizō) and purify (hagnizō) vocabulary, which share the identical dawb huv collision risk.
Baptism
Approved rendering: kev cai raus dej
Transliteration: baptizō / baptisma
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Rejected alternatives: transliterated loanword — rejected
Inherited from Romans package, retained as the cross-reference for the ‘water’ witness in 5:6-8’s triad (water, blood, and Spirit).
Salvation Save
Approved rendering: kev cawm dim / cawm
Transliteration: sōtēria / sōzō
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Rejected alternatives: unanchored ‘dim’ (escape) parallel to shamanic ua neeb soul-rescue — rejected
Inherited from Romans package. Root cognate of 1 John’s own agent-noun ‘Savior’ (sōtēr, 4:14), which must carry forward the identical Christ-alone anchoring mandate.
Light Of God
Approved rendering: qhov kaj
Transliteration: phōs
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Must be anchored to moral purity/truth (1:5-7; 2:9-10), not left as a vague folk darkness-danger intuition.
Darkness
Approved rendering: qhov tsaus ntuj
Transliteration: skotia
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Hmong folk belief independently associates darkness with heightened spirit danger; this intuition is a helpful teaching bridge only if explicitly anchored to moral impurity and separation from God.
God Is Light God Is Love Identity
Approved rendering: Vajtswv yog qhov kaj / Vajtswv yog kev hlub
Transliteration: ho theos phōs estin / ho theos agapē estin
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Rejected alternatives: ‘Vajtswv zoo li qhov kaj/kev hlub’ (comparative ‘is like’) — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN, reduces John’s ontological essence-claim to a mere simile
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Mandatory ‘yog’ (true-identity) copula at every occurrence (1:5; 4:8,16); single highest-stakes grammatical choice in the whole book.
Cleanse By Blood
Approved rendering: ntxuav kom huv
Transliteration: katharizō
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: repeatable ritual-purification framing — rejected, must be taught as once-for-all
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Shares the dawb huv-adjacent ritual-purification collision documented for the Romans TM’s sanctification entry; Christ’s blood cleanses once, completely, sufficiently (1:7,9).
Purify Oneself
Approved rendering: ua kom nws tus kheej dawb huv
Transliteration: hagnizō
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Rejected alternatives: ritual-cleansing-to-placate-a-spirit framing — rejected
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Hope-motivated, Spirit-enabled moral discipline (3:3), never a ritual act performed to restore ritual status.
Abide Remain
Approved rendering: nyob ruaj nrees hauv
Transliteration: menō
Doctrine: Fellowship with God and One Another
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘nyob hauv’ (no ruaj nrees qualifier) — FORBIDDEN, risks a mediumship/temporary-indwelling misreading
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Mandatory ‘ruaj nrees’ (steadfast) qualifier at every occurrence (2:6-3:24; 4:12-16, including the core passage’s climactic 4:16). Parallel to, but distinct from, the Romans TM’s ‘nyob hauv Khetos’ formula.
Devil Satan
Approved rendering: Ntxwg Nyoog
Transliteration: diabolos
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Rejected alternatives: dab-root coinage — rejected, would conflate the singular defeated personal enemy with the broader negotiable dab spirit category
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Established Hmong Christian proper name; must be taught as a single, personal, already-defeated enemy under Christ’s authority (3:8), never one spirit among the appeasement-seeking dab category.
Advocate Paraclete
Approved rendering: tus sawv cev thov Vajtswv pab
Transliteration: paraklētos
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: transliterated loanword — rejected, doctrinally inert, evades the necessary contrast-teaching against shamanic ritual intermediation
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Christ’s ongoing heavenly intercession (2:1), grounded in His own finished righteousness, not ritual technique or negotiated appeasement — direct functional-overlap risk with the txiv neeb shaman’s intermediary role.
Antichrist
Approved rendering: tus Tawm Tsam Khetos
Transliteration: antichristos
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Rejected alternatives: bare transliteration as the primary rendering — rejected; ‘Antikhetos’ retained only as a secondary cross-reference gloss to Revelation, generic ‘evil spirit’ framing — rejected, must be tied to the specific denial of Christ’s incarnation named in 2:22 and 4:2-3
NEW TERM — 1 John package.
Anointing
Approved rendering: kev tau txais Vaj Ntsuj Plig los qhia peb
Transliteration: chrisma
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Rejected alternatives: literal ‘oil’-substance gloss — rejected, risks a magical-protective-charm/amulet misreading
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Rendered functionally as the Holy Spirit’s indwelling teaching ministry (2:20,27), never as a literal ritual substance; mandatory Vaj prefix retained.
Savior
Approved rendering: tus Cawmseej
Transliteration: sōtēr
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Rejected alternatives: unanchored use not explicitly tied to Christ — rejected, mirrors the Romans TM’s salvation_save mandate
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Agent-noun cognate of salvation_save (4:14); must remain anchored to Christ alone, distinguished from shamanic soul-rescue (ua neeb).
Keep From Idols
Approved rendering: ceev faj tsis txhob pehawm dab mlom
Transliteration: phylaxate heauta apo tōn eidōlōn
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
NEW TERM — 1 John package. The epistle’s closing exhortation (5:21) and single most explicit traditional-religion collision point in the whole book; combines idol and worship_serve_cultic entries exactly as fixed.
Medium Risk Terms
Faith Believe
Approved rendering: kev ntseeg / ntseeg
Transliteration: pistis / pisteuō
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Inherited from Romans package. In 1 John, faith is explicitly identified as the instrument of overcoming the world (5:4-5) and must always be anchored to Christ’s identity (5:1,5,10,13).
Will Of God
Approved rendering: Vajtswv lub siab nyiam
Transliteration: thelēma theou
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Inherited from Romans package. The standard for effective, confident prayer (5:14).
Redemption
Approved rendering: kev txhiv
Transliteration: apolytrōsis
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Inherited from Romans package as a cross-reference term for the price-payment dimension of ‘He laid down His life for us’ (3:16).
Adoption As Sons
Approved rendering: raug muab coj los ua me tub (ntawm Vajtswv)
Transliteration: huiothesia
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Inherited from Romans package, retained as a required cross-reference/contrast term against 1 John’s own birth-based ‘children of God’ (τέκνα θεοῦ) vocabulary; the two must be taught as complementary, never collapsed.
No Condemnation
Approved rendering: kev raug txiav txim rau kev puas tsuaj
Transliteration: katakrima
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Inherited from Romans package, retained as a contrast-cross-reference for 4:18’s torment/fear language: the very anxiety Christ’s no-condemnation removes.
Fellowship Koinonia
Approved rendering: kev sib koom
Transliteration: koinōnia
Doctrine: Fellowship with God and One Another
Rejected alternatives: treating as horizontal-only social fellowship — rejected, reverses John’s vertical-then-horizontal order
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Positive bridge via Hmong clan/communal-sharing culture; must be taught vertical-first (1:3).
Confess Christs Identity
Approved rendering: lees paub
Transliteration: homologeō
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Same verb as confess_sin below; disambiguated only by explicit object in context (2:23; 4:2-3,15), per John’s deliberate wordplay — never split into two lexemes.
Confess Sin
Approved rendering: lees paub (peb tej kev txhaum)
Transliteration: homologeō
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
NEW TERM — 1 John package. No exact indigenous analogue for confessing moral fault directly to a deity for forgiveness (1:9); comprehension gap requiring positive teaching.
Seed Of God
Approved rendering: noob ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: sperma autou
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Agricultural bridge (3:9); compounds the born_of_god collision and must be taught jointly with it, never independently.
Commandment
Approved rendering: tej lus samhwm
Transliteration: entolē
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Rejected alternatives: Txoj Kevcai (the Romans TM’s Mosaic Law term) — rejected, would trigger the kevcai-root Mosaic-Law collision; this is Christ’s own New Covenant love-directive
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Recurs throughout (2:3-4,7-8; 3:22-24; 4:21; 5:2-3), primarily the command to love.
Holy One Christ
Approved rendering: tus Dawb Huv
Transliteration: ho hagios
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Title for Christ as source of the anointing (2:20); comprehension-level only.
Confidence Boldness
Approved rendering: kev txaus siab tsis ntshai
Transliteration: parrēsia
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Rejected alternatives: collapsing into casual ease/presumption — rejected, must retain courtroom/eschatological-tribunal sense
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Recurs at 2:28; 3:21; 4:17; 5:14; requires teaching note at each recurrence.
Lust Of Flesh Eyes Pride Of Life
Approved rendering: kev ntshaw ntawm lub cev nqaij tawv / ntawm qhov muag; kev khav ntawm lub neej
Transliteration: epithymia tēs sarkos / tōn ophthalmōn / alazoneia tou biou
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Threefold taxonomy of worldly temptation (2:16); first component reuses the flesh_moral_sinful_nature periphrasis.
Sin Is Lawlessness
Approved rendering: kev txhaum yog kev tsis coj raws li Vajtswv txoj kevcai
Transliteration: hē hamartia estin hē anomia
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Deliberately includes the Romans-mandated qualifier pattern; the reference is to God’s moral order broadly, not the Mosaic code narrowly (3:4) — this breadth must be taught explicitly.
Laid Down His Life
Approved rendering: muab nws txoj sia tso tseg rau peb
Transliteration: tēn psychēn autou ethēken
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Christ’s self-sacrificial death as pattern/ground for sacrificial brotherly love (3:16); cross-references redemption and propitiation_atoning_sacrifice.
Heart Condemns
Approved rendering: lub siab liam
Transliteration: kataginōskē hē kardia
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Extends the Romans-established conscience idiom (siab as moral seat) into explicit assurance-argument use (3:20).
Overcome Victory
Approved rendering: yeej / kev yeej
Transliteration: nikaō / nikē
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Believers’ decisive spiritual victory over the evil one and false teachers (2:13-14; 4:4; 5:4-5).
Overcome The World
Approved rendering: yeej lub ntiajteb
Transliteration: nika ton kosmon
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Rejected alternatives: ritual-power/protective-technique framing — rejected, faith alone is the identified means of victory (5:4-5)
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Must not drift toward a territorial or ritual-power domain paralleling the Romans TM’s hwjchim/shamanic-power collision, even though that lexeme is not used here.
Perfect Perfected Love
Approved rendering: kev hlub uas zoo tag nrho / ua kom dhau chaw
Transliteration: teleios / teleioō
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Rejected alternatives: ‘flawless performance’ framing — rejected, reintroduces works-anxiety
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Love reaching its designed, mature, full realization through action (4:12,17-18), not sinless perfectionism.
Water Blood Spirit Witnesses
Approved rendering: dej thiab ntshav thiab Vaj Ntsuj Plig
Transliteration: to hydōr kai to haima … to pneuma
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Triadic testimony structure (5:6-8); requires connective teaching to baptism (water) and propitiation_atoning_sacrifice (blood); Vaj prefix mandatorily retained for the third witness.
Sin Unto Death
Approved rendering: kev txhaum uas coj mus rau txoj kev tuag / tsis coj mus rau txoj kev tuag
Transliteration: hamartia pros thanaton / mē pros thanaton
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Rejected alternatives: speculative identification of specific named unforgivable sins — rejected, pastoral overreach
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Pastorally delicate distinction (5:16-17); risk is doctrinal-pastoral precision, not a traditional-religion collision.
Know Relational Vs Factual
Approved rendering: paub
Transliteration: ginōskō / oida
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Hmong does not lexically distinguish relational/experiential knowing (γινώσκω) from settled/factual knowing (οἶδα, esp. 5:13’s thesis vs. 4:7-8’s relational sense); teaching note required wherever the distinction is theologically significant.
Low Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: Vajtswv
Transliteration: theos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Stable across all five chapters of 1 John; no new collision.
Lord
Approved rendering: tus Tswv
Transliteration: kyrios
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Used in the confessional anchor of 4:15.
Jesus Christ
Approved rendering: Yexus Khetos
Transliteration: Iēsous Christos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package.
Father God
Approved rendering: Leej Txiv
Transliteration: patēr
Doctrine: Fellowship with God and One Another
Inherited from Romans package; pairs with Leej Tub for the Son throughout 1 John.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Leej Tub ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: huios theou
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Rejected alternatives: diminished-sonship renderings — rejected, must preserve full deity
Inherited from Romans package. The confessional test-object of 4:15 and 5:5.
Gospel
Approved rendering: Txoj Moo Zoo
Transliteration: euangelion
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Kept lexically distinct from 1 John’s own ‘word of life’ (B1) and ‘message’ (angelia) vocabulary, which are separate lexemes John deliberately chose.
Love
Approved rendering: kev hlub
Transliteration: agapē
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Inherited from Romans package. Central term of the core passage (4:7-21); must always be anchored to its sacrificial, God-originated content (4:9-10), not generic affection.
Truth
Approved rendering: qhov tseeb
Transliteration: alētheia
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package.
World
Approved rendering: lub ntiajteb
Transliteration: kosmos
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Inherited from Romans package. In 1 John, teaching note required distinguishing the God-opposing value-system sense (2:15-17; 5:19) from the neutral creation referent (not otherwise used in 1 John).
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis
Transliteration: zōē aiōnios
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Inherited from Romans package. Central assurance-object of the epistle’s thesis statement (5:11-13).
Death
Approved rendering: txoj kev tuag
Transliteration: thanatos
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Inherited from Romans package.
Witness
Approved rendering: tus timkhawv / tej lus timkhawv
Transliteration: martys / martyria
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Inherited from Romans package. Grounds apostolic eyewitness testimony (1:2; 4:14) and God’s own testimony (5:9-11).
Unrighteousness
Approved rendering: kev tsis ncaj ncees
Transliteration: adikia
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Inherited from Romans package. Object cleansed by confession (1:9).
Ashamed
Approved rendering: txaj muag
Transliteration: aischynomai
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Inherited from Romans package. Applied to not shrinking in shame at Christ’s coming (2:28).
Hope
Approved rendering: kev cia siab
Transliteration: elpis
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Inherited from Romans package. Motivates active self-purification in hope of Christ’s appearing (3:3); must be distinguished from mere optimism.
Debtor
Approved rendering: tus tshuav nqi
Transliteration: opheiletēs
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Inherited from Romans package as an optional debt-idiom cross-reference for 4:11’s ‘we also ought (opheilomen) to love one another’.
Forgive
Approved rendering: zam txim
Transliteration: aphiēmi
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Already an established, stable Hmong Christian term (1:9); no collision.
Last Hour
Approved rendering: lub sijhawm kawg
Transliteration: eschatē hōra
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Eschatological marker signaling the present era of antichrists (2:18).
Deny
Approved rendering: tsis lees paub
Transliteration: arneomai
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Direct antonym of confess_christs_identity (2:22-23).
Passed From Death To Life
Approved rendering: peb twb hla dhau txoj kev tuag mus rau txoj sia lawm
Transliteration: metabebēkamen ek tou thanatou eis tēn zōēn
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Brotherly love as evidentiary marker of an already-completed transition (3:14).
Murderer
Approved rendering: tus tua neeg
Transliteration: anthrōpoktonos
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Typological title applied to Cain (3:12,15).
Fear Dread Torment
Approved rendering: kev ntshai / kev raug txim
Transliteration: phobos / kolasis
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Anxious dread of condemnation displaced by mature love (4:18); must be distinguished from reverent awe via teaching note only, since Hmong lacks a separate lexeme for the two senses.
Brother
Approved rendering: kwvtij
Transliteration: adelphos
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Positive clan-kinship bridge; teaching note required that this brotherhood transcends and relativizes blood-clan boundaries (2:9-11; 3:10-17; 4:20-21).
Hate
Approved rendering: ntxub
Transliteration: miseō
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Direct antithesis to love; diagnostic test of false profession (2:9,11; 3:15; 4:20).
Liar
Approved rendering: tus dag
Transliteration: pseustēs
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Diagnostic term for false profession of love (4:20), sinlessness (1:10), or Christ’s identity (2:22).
Understanding
Approved rendering: kev totaub / lub siab paub
Transliteration: dianoia
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
NEW TERM — 1 John package. God-given capacity to know the true God, contrasted with idols (5:20).
Little Children Address
Approved rendering: kuv cov me nyuam
Transliteration: teknia
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Affectionate pastoral address (2:1,12,28; 3:7,18; 4:4; 5:21); must remain visually/lexically distinct from the doctrinal children_of_god term despite surface similarity.
Low-Medium Risk Terms
Stumbling Block
Approved rendering: qhov/pob zeb ua rau dawm ceg
Transliteration: skandalon
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Inherited from Romans package. Applied to the absence of an occasion for stumbling in the one who loves his brother (2:10).
Firstfruits
Approved rendering: thawj phaus qoob loo / cov ua ntej
Transliteration: aparchē
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Inherited from Romans package as an agricultural-imagery cross-reference bridging to 1 John’s own ‘seed of God’ (sperma) vocabulary in 3:9.
Word Of Life
Approved rendering: txoj lus uas muaj txoj sia nyob
Transliteration: ho logos tēs zōēs
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Rejected alternatives: conflating with Txoj Moo Zoo (Gospel) — rejected, distinct lexeme foregrounding Christ’s incarnate physicality
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Anchors the whole epistle in eyewitness testimony to the incarnate Christ (1:1).
Walk Conduct
Approved rendering: taug kev / coj lub neej
Transliteration: peripateō
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Standard conduct-metaphor for walking in light vs. darkness (1:6-7; 2:6,11).
New Old Commandment
Approved rendering: lus samhwm tshiab / qub
Transliteration: entolē kainē / palaia
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Comprehension-level compound (2:7-8).
Bowels Of Compassion
Approved rendering: kaw nws lub siab hlub
Transliteration: kleisē ta splanchna autou
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Strong natural idiomatic parallel: both Greek (bowels) and Hmong (siab, liver) locate deep emotion in an internal organ (3:17).
Day Of Judgment
Approved rendering: hnub Vajtswv txiav txim
Transliteration: hēmera tēs kriseōs
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Grounds confidence-language in the future eschatological tribunal (4:17).
Message Proclaimed
Approved rendering: zaj lus tshaj tawm
Transliteration: angelia
Doctrine: Fellowship with God and One Another
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Distinct lexeme from euangelion (Gospel); comprehension-level only (1:5; 3:11).
Medium-High Risk Terms
The Evil One
Approved rendering: tus limhiam
Transliteration: ho ponēros
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
NEW TERM — 1 John package. Synonym/title for devil_satan (2:13-14; 5:19); same disambiguation strategy applies.
Know You Have Eternal Life
Approved rendering: kom nej paub tseeb tias nej twb muaj txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis lawm
Transliteration: eidēte hoti zōēn echete aiōnion
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Rejected alternatives: hmoov-adjacent fatalistic omen/fortune-reading framing — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN
NEW TERM — 1 John package. The epistle’s stated thesis statement (5:13); must be anchored explicitly to God’s own testimony and present faith-relation to the Son.