Core Glossary

James — Phase 1 Step 1: Core Glossary (Hmong Language Package)

This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, across the entire book of James (chapters 1–5), including the fully verse-by-verse-treated core passage (James 2:14-26). Terms already fixed in the Hmong Romans Language Package Baseline v1.0 are marked Inherited and reused exactly as recorded in assets/translation_memory.json; no alternate gloss is proposed for any of them. Terms newly surfaced by James are marked New — James and are provisional pending formal TM-revision review (per 12_ai_translation_requirements.md §2 rule 4 and §9).

Risk tiers follow the Romans baseline definitions exactly (Critical / High / Medium / Low, see 07_semantic_analysis.md §0).

Doctrine Key

D1 = Faith and Works
D2 = Trials and the Testing of Faith
D3 = Wisdom from Above
D4 = Favoritism and the Poor
D5 = Taming the Tongue
D6 = Worldliness versus Friendship with God
D7 = Prayer and Healing
D8 = Patience and the Lord’s Return
D9 = Confession and Restoration

Glossary Table

#	English Term	Greek / Transliteration	Hmong Rendering	Risk	Doctrine(s)	Chapters	Status	Notes
1	God	θεός / theos	Vajtswv	Low	All	all	Inherited	Reused exactly from Romans TM.
2	Lord	κύριος / kyrios	tus Tswv	Low	D1, D8	1, 2, 5	Inherited	Reused exactly.
3	Jesus Christ	Ἰησοῦς Χριστός / Iēsous Christos	Yexus Khetos	Low	D1, D4	1, 2	Inherited	Reused exactly.
4	Father (God)	πατήρ / patēr	Leej Txiv	Low	D2, D5	1, 3	Inherited	Reused exactly; combines with new phrase “Father of lights.”
5	Human spirit/soul (anthropological)	πνεῦμα / ψυχή / pneuma / psychē	ntsuj plig	High	D1, D9	2, 5	Inherited	Never Vaj-prefixed; James 2:26’s “body without spirit” is anthropological, not the Holy Spirit — Critical disambiguation required.
6	Holy Spirit (disputed referent)	πνεῦμα / pneuma	Vaj Ntsuj Plig (if resolved thus)	Critical	D6	4	Inherited, flagged	James 4:5’s referent is textually disputed; do not resolve silently — [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED].
7	Grace	χάρις / charis	txiaj ntsim	Critical	D6	4	Inherited	Never `koob hmoov`; unchanged from Romans baseline.
8	Faith / believe	πίστις / πιστεύω / pistis / pisteuō	kev ntseeg / ntseeg	Medium–Critical	D1	1, 2	Inherited	Must be anchored to its object; James distinguishes bare intellectual assent from living, working faith — see core passage analysis.
9	Law (Mosaic/divine)	νόμος / nomos	Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes)	Critical	D4	1, 2, 4	Inherited	Mandatory qualifier at every occurrence, including in “royal law” and “law of liberty” compounds.
10	Sin (act & condition)	ἁμαρτία / hamartia	txhaum / kev txhaum	High	D9	1, 2, 4, 5	Inherited	Reused exactly.
11	Death	θάνατος / thanatos	txoj kev tuag	Low	D1, D9	1, 5	Inherited	Reused exactly.
12	Justify / reckon as righteous	δικαιόω / dikaioō	ua kom ncaj ncees / raug suav tias ncaj ncees	Critical	D1	2	Inherited, escalated	Highest-priority harmonization issue in this curriculum: James 2:21,24,25 must never be taught apart from vv.21-23 and the Romans 3:28/4:5 baseline. Mandatory human theologian review, no bypass.
13	Reckon / impute	λογίζομαι / logizomai	suav / suav tias	Critical	D1	2	Inherited	James 2:23 directly quotes the Genesis 15:6 text underlying Romans 4 — proof text that James assumes forensic imputation.
14	Righteousness of God / righteous	δικαιοσύνη / δίκαιος / dikaiosynē / dikaios	Vajtswv txoj kev ncaj ncees / tus ncaj ncees	Critical	D1, D3, D9	1, 2, 3, 5	Inherited	Reused exactly.
15	World	κόσμος / kosmos	lub ntiajteb	Low–Medium	D6	1, 2, 3, 4	Inherited, extended sense	James extends the Romans-neutral sense toward a hostile value-system (1:27, 4:4); teaching note required.
16	Peace	εἰρήνη / eirēnē	kev thaj yeeb	Low	D3, D5	2, 3	Inherited	Reused exactly.
17	Mercy	ἔλεος / eleos	txoj kev khuv leej	Medium	D3, D4	2, 3	Inherited	Kept lexically distinct from grace, per Romans baseline note.
18	Endurance	ὑπομονή / hypomonē	kev ua siab ntev	Low	D2, D8	1, 5	Inherited	Reused exactly; distinguished in teaching from new term “patience” (#42) below.
19	Firstfruits	ἀπαρχή / aparchē	thawj phaus qoob loo / cov ua ntej	Low–Medium	D2	1	Inherited	Reused exactly.
20	Will of God	θέλημα θεοῦ / thelēma theou	Vajtswv lub siab nyiam	Medium	D6, D8	4	Inherited	Reused exactly; underlies “if the Lord wills” (4:15).
21	Boasting	καύχησις / kauchēsis	kev khav theeb	Low	D6	4	Inherited	Reused exactly; James’s `alazoneia` (4:16) is a more negative synonym, see #48.
22	Salvation / save (soteriological)	σωτηρία / σῴζω / sōtēria / sōzō	kev cawm dim / cawm	High	D1, D9	1, 2, 5	Inherited	Always anchored to Yexus Khetos; kept distinct in this book from the physical-healing sense at James 5:15, see #55.
23	Trial / testing (external)	πειρασμός, δοκίμιον / peirasmos, dokimion	kev raug swm sim / kev sim kom paub tias tseeb	Medium	D2	1	New — James	Must be kept lexically distinct from #24 (internal temptation).
24	Temptation (internal enticement)	πειράζω, ἐπιθυμία / peirazō, epithymia	kev raug ntxias kom ua txhaum / kev ntshaw phem	High	D2	1	New — James	Never sourced to God (1:13); collapsing with #23 would make God appear to tempt to sin.
25	Perfect / mature / complete	τέλειος / teleios	zoo kawg nkaus tiav txhij	Low–Medium	D2, D5	1, 3	New — James	Teach as maturity, not sinlessness.
26	Wisdom	σοφία / sophia	tswvyim	Medium	D3	1, 3	New — James	Must be anchored `tswvyim ntawm Vajtswv` to distinguish from divinatory/ancestral counsel.
27	Wisdom from above / earthly-unspiritual-demonic wisdom	σοφία ἄνωθεν / ἐπίγειος, ψυχική, δαιμονιώδης	tswvyim ntawm Vajtswv / tswvyim ntiajteb / tswvyim raws li kev xav ntawm neeg xwb / tswvyim los ntawm dab	High	D3	3	New — James	”Demonic wisdom” borders shamanic spirit-consultation collision domain; requires explicit catechesis.
28	Double-minded	δίψυχος / dipsychos	ob lub siab	Low	D2, D6	1, 4	New — James	Strong natural idiom via `siab` (liver/heart) as seat of will, consistent with Romans baseline conventions.
29	Lowly / rich	ταπεινός / πλούσιος / tapeinos / plousios	tus pluag (txo hwv) / tus nplua nuj	Low	D4	1, 5	New — James	Concrete socioeconomic terms, no collision.
30	Crown of life	στέφανος τῆς ζωῆς / stephanos tēs zōēs	mom kub ntawm txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis	Low–Medium	D2	1	New — James	Built on inherited “eternal life” TM term.
31	Father of lights	πατὴρ τῶν φώτων / patēr tōn phōtōn	Leej Txiv uas tsim tej qhov teeb ci saum ntuj	Low	D2	1	New — James	Built on inherited “Father” TM term.
32	Word of truth / implanted word	λόγος ἀληθείας / ἔμφυτος λόγος	Txoj Lus Tseeb / Txoj Lus uas cog rau hauv (lub siab)	Low–Medium	D2, D1	1	New — James	Agricultural planting-metaphor accessible in agrarian context.
33	Law of liberty	νόμος ἐλευθερίας / nomos eleutherias	Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv) uas pub kev ywj pheej	Critical	D4	1, 2	New — James	Inherits full `Txoj Kevcai` collision risk; mandatory qualifier non-negotiable.
34	Pure and undefiled religion	θρησκεία καθαρὰ καὶ ἀμίαντος / thrēskeia kathara kai amiantos	txoj kev teev hawm Vajtswv uas dawb huv thiab tsis muaj chaw thuam	Critical	D2, D4	1	New — James	NEW FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION: never `kev cai dab qhuas` (would literally mean “spirit-worship customs”).
35	Orphans and widows	ὀρφανοί καὶ χῆραι / orphanoi kai chērai	cov menyuam ntsuag thiab cov poj ntsuam	Low	D4	1	New — James	Standard existing vocabulary.
36	Favoritism / partiality	προσωπολημψία / prosōpolēmpsia	kev saib ntsej muag	Low	D4	2	New — James	Direct negative counterpart of inherited “impartiality of God” TM term.
37	Royal law	νόμος βασιλικός / nomos basilikos	Txoj Kevcai Loj ntawm Vajtswv	Critical	D4	2	New — James	Mandatory `Txoj Kevcai` qualifier retained; built on inherited “love” TM term.
38	Works	ἔργα / erga	tej haujlwm	Critical	D1	2	New — James	Must never be confused with the forbidden Romans substitution `ua zoo`; James’s usage is evidentiary, not meritorious.
39	Dead faith	πίστις νεκρά / pistis nekra	kev ntseeg uas tuag lawm	Critical	D1	2	New — James	The doctrinal hinge of the core passage; never soften to “weak faith.”
40	Friend of God	φίλος θεοῦ / philos theou	phooj ywg ntawm Vajtswv	Low	D1	2	New — James	Positive, no collision.
41	Demons	δαιμόνια / daimonia	cov dab	High	D1	2	New — James	Doctrinally accurate referent but requires catechesis distinguishing from shamanic spirit-engagement; never confused with `Vaj Ntsuj Plig` or `ntsuj plig`.
42	Patience (forbearance while waiting)	μακροθυμία / makrothymia	ua siab ntev tos	Medium	D8	5	New — James	Distinguish in teaching from inherited `hypomonē` (#18), though sharing the same Hmong idiom family.
43	Justified by works / not by faith alone	ἐξ ἔργων δικαιοῦται… οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως μόνον	raug suav tias ncaj ncees vim muaj tej haujlwm… tsis yog vim muaj kev ntseeg xwb	Critical	D1	2	New — James, escalated	James 2:24; mandatory adjacent harmonizing note in every occurrence; no automated-review bypass; see #12 and #13.
44	Teacher	διδάσκαλος / didaskalos	xibhwb	Low–Medium	D5	3	New — James	Comprehension/register only.
45	Tongue	γλῶσσα / glōssa	tus nplaig	Low	D5	3	New — James	Anchors the entire “Taming the Tongue” doctrine.
46	Bridle / control (the tongue)	χαλιναγωγέω / chalinagōgeō	tswj tus nplaig	Low	D5	3	New — James	Natural equestrian/agrarian idiom.
47	Bless (God) / curse (people)	εὐλογέω / καταράομαι / eulogeō / kataraomai	qhuas Vajtswv / foom tsis zoo rau (luag)	Medium	D5	3	New — James	Deliberately distinguished from `koob hmoov`, which remains reserved for ordinary material blessing per Romans baseline.
48	Made in the likeness of God	κατ᾽ ὁμοίωσιν θεοῦ γεγονότας / kath’ homoiōsin theou gegonotas	raug tsim los raws li Vajtswv tus yam ntxwv	Low	D5	3	New — James	Positive anthropological concept.
49	Jealousy / selfish ambition	ζῆλος / ἐριθεία / zēlos / eritheia	kev khib / kev sib cav xav kom tsuas yog kuv/peb thiaj tau	Low–Medium	D3	3, 4	New — James	Descriptive compound.
50	Fruit of righteousness	καρπὸς δικαιοσύνης / karpos dikaiosynēs	qoob loo ntawm txoj kev ncaj ncees	Low–Medium	D3	3	New — James	Harvest metaphor, agrarian-accessible; built on inherited righteousness TM term.
51	Friendship with the world / enmity with God	φιλία τοῦ κόσμου / ἔχθρα τοῦ θεοῦ	kev nyob sib raug zoo/hlub ntiajteb / ua yeeb ncuab rau Vajtswv	High	D6	4	New — James	Doctrinal center of D6; requires extended-`kosmos`-sense teaching note (see #15).
52	Spiritual adultery	μοιχαλίδες / moichalides	cov uas tsis ncaj ncees rau Vajtswv, zoo li tus poj niam tsis ncaj ncees rau nws tus txiv	Medium	D6	4	New — James	Requires full simile framing, not a bare noun.
53	Humble / humble oneself	ταπεινός / ταπεινόω / tapeinos / tapeinoō	txo nws tus kheej	Low–Medium	D6	4	New — James	Deliberately avoids compounding with `hwjchim` to prevent conflict with the mandatory `Vajtswv hwjchim` qualifier convention.
54	Devil	διάβολος / diabolos	dab Ntxwg Nyoog	High	D6	4	New — James	Requires explicit teaching distinguishing the singular defeated arch-enemy from ancestor/nature spirits.
55	Prayer of faith saves/heals the sick (physical)	ἡ εὐχὴ τῆς πίστεως σώσει τὸν κάμνοντα	kho kom zoo (proposed departure from bare “kev cawm dim”)	High	D7	5	New — James, flagged	[TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED]: confirm whether `kho kom zoo` or a qualified physical-sense variant of `kev cawm dim` is preferred; see #22.
56	Anointing with oil	ἀλείφω ἐλαίῳ / aleiphō elaiō	pleev roj rau (tus mob)	High	D7	5	New — James	Borders shamanic healing-ritual collision domain; mandatory non-magical, faith/prayer-centered teaching note.
57	Prayer (general, object-anchored)	προσεύχομαι / proseuchomai	thov Vajtswv	High	D7	5	New — James	Bare `thov` also used for petitioning spirits/ancestors; must always be object-anchored, per the `pehawm`-pattern in the Romans baseline.
58	Confess sins to one another	ἐξομολογεῖσθε ἀλλήλοις τὰς ἁμαρτίας	lees kev txhaum rau ib leeg	Medium	D9	5	New — James	Horizontal, mutual, restorative — distinct from confession to a shamanic intermediary.
59	Effective, powerful (prayer)	ἐνεργουμένη… πολὺ ἰσχύει / energoumenē… poly ischyei	muaj zog kawg thiab ua tau tiag tiag	Low–Medium	D7	5	New — James	Distinct Greek root (ischys) from the flagged `dynamis`/`hwjchim`; deliberately avoids `hwjchim` to sidestep that qualifier convention.
60	Oath / swearing	ὅρκος, ὀμνύω / horkos, omnyō	tsis txhob cog lus twv	High	D9	5	New — James	Traditional oath customs invoke ancestors/spirits as guarantors; teach as a call to simple truthful speech, not merely a restated taboo.
61	Coming of the Lord	παρουσία τοῦ κυρίου / parousia tou kyriou	hnub uas tus Tswv Yexus rov qab los	Low	D8	5	New — James	Standard eschatological phrase; no Romans-baseline precedent, log for TM-revision.
62	Judge standing at the door	κριτὴς πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν ἕστηκεν	tus Txiav Txim twb sawv ntsug ntawm lub qhov rooj lawm	Low–Medium	D8	5	New — James	Vivid image, transfers well.
63	Cover a multitude of sins	καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν / kalypsei plēthos hamartiōn	npog tau ntau yam kev txhaum	Medium	D9	5	New — James	Closing exhortation of the letter; ties to eternal stakes of restoration.
64	Job (proper name)	Ἰώβ / Iōb	Yauj	Low	D8	5	New — James	Proper name, log for TM-revision confirmation against established Hmong Bible tradition.
65	Elijah (proper name)	Ἠλίας / Ēlias	Eliyas	Low	D7	5	New — James	Proper name, log for TM-revision confirmation.
66	Rahab (proper name)	Ῥαάβ / Rhaab	Lahaj	Low	D1	2	New — James	Proper name, log for TM-revision confirmation.

Full-Book Coverage Confirmation

All five chapters of James have been reviewed and contribute load-bearing theological vocabulary; no chapter is silently thin. Chapter-level summary:

Chapter 1: 14 new/inherited terms — trials, temptation, wisdom, double-mindedness, word/implanted word, law of liberty, pure religion (new forbidden-substitution flag). Reviewed in full.
Chapter 2: 1-13 (favoritism, royal law) plus 14-26 (core passage, faith and works) — highest term-density and highest doctrinal risk in the book. Reviewed in full, verse-by-verse for 14-26.
Chapter 3: taming the tongue, wisdom from above vs. earthly/demonic wisdom, fruit of righteousness. Reviewed in full.
Chapter 4: worldliness/friendship with God, grace and humility (reusing Romans-Critical charis), the devil, disputed πνεῦμα referent (flagged). Reviewed in full.
Chapter 5: richest doctrinal concentration outside ch.2 — patience/Lord’s return, prayer and healing (anointing, physical-healing sense of σῴζω flagged), confession and restoration, oaths. Reviewed in full.

Critical Risk Terms

Holy Spirit

Approved rendering: Vaj Ntsuj Plig
Transliteration: pneuma hagion / pneuma hagiōsynēs
Doctrine: Sanctification and Life in the Spirit
Rejected alternatives: bare ntsuj plig (no Vaj prefix) — rejected, denotes an animistic wandering human soul

Fixed collocation; ‘Vaj’ prefix mandatory at every occurrence. Inherited from Romans package. This entry is reserved EXCLUSIVELY for confirmed Holy Spirit referents. James contains no unambiguous direct Holy Spirit reference; the only candidate occurrence (James 4:5) is textually/interpretively disputed and MUST NOT be silently assigned to this entry — see the separate ‘disputed_pneuma_referent_james_4_5’ entry below, which governs that verse instead.

Grace

Approved rendering: txiaj ntsim
Transliteration: charis
Doctrine: Grace and Salvation by Faith Alone
Rejected alternatives: koob hmoov (fortune/blessing tied to fate and ritual correctness) — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN for this sense; would invert sola gratia

koob hmoov reserved exclusively for ordinary material ‘blessing.’ Inherited from Romans package. Reused unchanged at James 4:6 (‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble,’ quoting Proverbs 3:34) — the doctrinal center of Worldliness versus Friendship with God (Critical).

Law Mosaic Divine

Approved rendering: Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes)
Transliteration: nomos
Doctrine: The Law and Its Purpose
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘Txoj Kevcai’ without qualifier — rejected, collapses into kev cai dab qhuas (ancestral spirit-worship customs), imported loanword — rejected, doctrinally inert

Qualifier mandatory at every occurrence without exception. Inherited from Romans package. Reused in James 2:9-11 and 4:11 (the whole-Law/lawgiver argument), and forms the root of two new James-specific compounds requiring the SAME mandatory qualifier without exception: ‘law_of_liberty’ (1:25, 2:12) and ‘royal_law’ (2:8).

Justify Reckon As Righteous

Approved rendering: ua kom ncaj ncees / raug suav tias ncaj ncees
Transliteration: dikaioō
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: ‘ua zoo’ (do good) framing — rejected, reintroduces works-righteousness

Fixed accounting-metaphor phrase for imputation; NO RE-GLOSS PERMITTED. Inherited from Romans package. This is the single highest-priority escalation term in the James curriculum: James 2:21, 2:24, and 2:25 reuse this IDENTICAL Hmong phrase in a construction that, read in isolation, appears to condition justification on works. MANDATORY: every occurrence within James 2:14-26 must carry an adjacent harmonizing note stating that James addresses the evidencing/completing dimension of a faith already reckoned righteous (2:22 ‘faith was completed by works’; 2:23 quotes the same Genesis 15:6 imputation text underlying Romans 4), never the forensic ground of justification, which Romans 3:28/4:5 fixes as by faith alone apart from works. No automated-review bypass permitted; mandatory human theologian review at every occurrence.

Reckon Impute

Approved rendering: suav / suav tias
Transliteration: logizomai
Doctrine: Justification by Faith

Forensic-accounting verb underlying imputed righteousness; kept distinct from sanctification/moral-transformation language. Inherited from Romans package. James 2:23 directly quotes the Genesis 15:6 text underlying Romans 4 (‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness’) — this is the proof text demonstrating that James assumes, rather than denies, forensic imputation of righteousness by faith apart from works. Must always be taught together with ‘justify_reckon_as_righteous’ above.

Righteousness Of God Righteous

Approved rendering: Vajtswv txoj kev ncaj ncees / tus ncaj ncees
Transliteration: dikaiosynē / dikaios
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘kev ncaj ncees’ without the reckoning qualifier — rejected, reads as self-achieved moralism

Must always be paired with ‘justify_reckon_as_righteous.’ Inherited from Romans package. Reused across James 1:20 (human anger does not produce it), 2:23 (Abraham’s crediting), 3:18 (fruit of righteousness), and 5:6,16 (the righteous person’s effective prayer).

Works

Approved rendering: tej haujlwm
Transliteration: erga
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Rejected alternatives: ua zoo (do good) — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN, this is the Romans-forbidden works-righteousness framing rejected at Romans 4:5; must never describe James’s evidentiary works using this phrase

The visible, active outworking of a life — James’s diagnostic evidence of real, living faith (2:14-26). Must be kept lexically and conceptually distinct from the ground of a sinner’s initial acceptance before God; James’s usage is evidentiary/completing, never meritorious. Requires a harmonizing teaching note wherever it co-occurs with justification vocabulary.

Dead Faith

Approved rendering: kev ntseeg uas tuag lawm
Transliteration: pistis nekra
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Rejected alternatives: ‘weak faith’ or ‘incomplete faith’ softening — rejected, blunts James’s diagnostic force that a workless faith-claim is not weak faith but no faith at all

The thesis statement of the core passage (James 2:14-26), forming an inclusio between 2:17 and 2:26. This is the doctrinal hinge of the whole passage; never soften.

Justified By Works Not Faith Alone

Approved rendering: raug suav tias ncaj ncees vim muaj tej haujlwm, tsis yog vim muaj kev ntseeg xwb
Transliteration: ex ergōn dikaioutai anthrōpos kai ouk ek pisteōs monon
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Rejected alternatives: presenting James 2:24 in isolation from vv.21-23 and Romans 3:28/4:5 — FORBIDDEN, would invert sola fide

The passage’s climactic, most-quoted, and most-misused clause (James 2:24). James is not negating sola fide as the doctrine of justification’s ground; he is negating the sufficiency of a merely verbal, workless faith-claim as evidence of salvation. MUST always co-occur with a mandatory adjacent harmonizing note referencing Romans 3:28/4:5 and James 2:21-23. No automated-review bypass permitted; highest-priority escalation item in this curriculum.

Law Of Liberty

Approved rendering: Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv) uas pub kev ywj pheej
Transliteration: nomos eleutherias
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor
Rejected alternatives: dropping the ‘(ntawm Vajtswv)’ qualifier — FORBIDDEN, inherits the full Txoj Kevcai collision risk documented in the Romans baseline

James 1:25, 2:12: the moral law viewed through Spirit-given freedom rather than external compulsion, the standard of judgment. The qualifier is non-negotiable at every occurrence.

Pure Undefiled Religion

Approved rendering: txoj kev teev hawm Vajtswv uas dawb huv thiab tsis muaj chaw thuam
Transliteration: thrēskeia kathara kai amiantos
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith
Rejected alternatives: kev cai dab qhuas — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN, this is the standard Hmong gloss for ‘religion’ and literally means ‘spirit-worship customs’; using it here would brand Christian practice itself as spirit-worship

James 1:26-27: outward religious observance defined not by ritual but by care for orphans/widows and moral purity from the world. NEW FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION established by this Language Package, parallel to the Romans-baseline ‘Txoj Kevcai’ root-collision rule but activated for an entirely different English source word (θρησκεία). Built instead on ‘teev hawm Vajtswv’ (worship, object-anchored) and ‘dawb huv’ (sanctification vocabulary, must be taught as moral purity not ritual cleanness). Mandatory human theologian review. Secondary doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor.

Royal Law

Approved rendering: Txoj Kevcai Loj ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: nomos basilikos
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor
Rejected alternatives: dropping the ‘ntawm Vajtswv’ qualifier — FORBIDDEN

James 2:8: love your neighbor as yourself, identified as the law that, if truly kept, excludes favoritism. Built on ‘law_mosaic_divine’ and ‘love’; the mandatory qualifier is retained without exception.

Disputed Pneuma Referent James 4 5

Approved rendering: [UNRESOLVED — DO NOT ASSIGN A RENDERING WITHOUT THEOLOGIAN SIGN-OFF]
Transliteration: pneuma (James 4:5, disputed)
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God
Rejected alternatives: silently resolving to ‘Vaj Ntsuj Plig’ (Holy Spirit) — FORBIDDEN without theologian sign-off, asserts a disputed doctrinal claim, silently resolving to bare ‘ntsuj plig’ (human spirit) — FORBIDDEN without theologian sign-off, asserts a disputed doctrinal claim

James 4:5 is textually and interpretively disputed in the Greek text itself: the referent may be the human spirit God placed within believers, or the Holy Spirit yearning jealously over them. Per the Romans baseline’s strict lexical wall between ‘holy_spirit’ (never for humans) and ‘human_spirit_soul’ (never for the divine Person), an incorrect resolution in EITHER direction produces a doctrinally false statement, not merely an infelicitous one. This is the only term in either curriculum with no safe default rendering. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: disputed referent, James 4:5] — mandatory human theologian review of the underlying textual/interpretive question, not just the translation, before any Phase 2 content may render this verse.

High Risk Terms

Human Spirit Soul

Approved rendering: ntsuj plig
Transliteration: pneuma / psychē (anthropological)
Doctrine: Sanctification and Life in the Spirit
Rejected alternatives: Vaj Ntsuj Plig — forbidden for this referent, reserved exclusively for the Holy Spirit

Never capitalized/prefixed with ‘Vaj’. Inherited from Romans package. Reused in James 2:26 (‘the body without spirit/breath is dead’ — the animating life-breath, NOT the Holy Spirit; an accidental Vaj-prefix here would create a false doctrinal statement foreign to James’s illustration) and James 5:20 (‘save a soul from death,’ rendered via this anthropological entry or ‘nws txoj sia’).

Sin Act And Condition

Approved rendering: txhaum / kev txhaum
Transliteration: hamartia
Doctrine: Original Sin and Universal Guilt

Inherited from Romans package. Reused in James 1:15 (desire conceives and gives birth to sin, which gives birth to death), 2:9-11 (favoritism as law-breaking sin), 4:17, and 5:15-20 (confession/restoration). James 1:15’s birth-imagery MUST NOT be rendered using ‘nkag’ (the verb for spirit/dab possession), per the Romans-baseline forbidden substitution for ‘sin entered the world’ (Romans 5:12), to avoid suggesting a discrete demonic-infestation event rather than the natural, culpable progression of desire into sin.

Salvation Save

Approved rendering: kev cawm dim / cawm
Transliteration: sōtēria / sōzō
Doctrine: The Gospel as the Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: unanchored ‘dim’ (escape) parallel to shamanic ua neeb soul-rescue — rejected without explicit Christ-anchoring

Always anchor explicitly to Yexus Khetos as sole agent/means. Inherited from Romans package. Reused in its full SOTERIOLOGICAL sense at James 1:21 (the implanted word ‘able to save your souls’), 2:14 (the rhetorical question of whether bare faith-claims save — must not be read as suggesting works save instead of/alongside Christ), and 5:20 (rescuing a wandering soul from death, closing the letter). This entry is explicitly NOT reused for the distinct PHYSICAL-healing sense of the same Greek verb σῴζω at James 5:15 — see the separate new entry ‘prayer_of_faith_heals_physical’ (kho kom zoo), which deliberately departs from this term to avoid diluting eternal salvation’s gravity or implying physical healing is guaranteed.

Sanctification

Approved rendering: kev raug ua kom dawb huv
Transliteration: hagiasmos
Doctrine: Sanctification and Life in the Spirit
Rejected alternatives: treating dawb huv as a repeatable ritual-cleansing state — rejected

Dawb huv also = ritual purity from spirit-contamination in folk practice; must be taught as progressive, Spirit-wrought moral transformation. Inherited from Romans package. Its ‘dawb huv’ vocabulary is reused in two new James-specific contexts requiring the SAME ritual-purity-vs-moral-transformation caution: ‘pure_undefiled_religion’ (James 1:26-27) and ‘purify your hearts, you double-minded’ (James 4:8).

Demons

Approved rendering: cov dab
Transliteration: daimonia
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Rejected alternatives: transliterated loanword — rejected, would be opaque and forfeit the necessary contrast-teaching against shamanic engagement with dab

James 2:19: even demons believe God is one, and shudder — proof that bare intellectual assent is insufficient. ‘Dab’ is the live, active Hmong term for spirits engaged, feared, and propitiated in traditional religion and by the txiv neeb (shaman); doctrinally correct as the actual referent, but requires explicit catechetical framing that these dab are real, defeated, fearful subjects of Vajtswv — never to be placated, consulted, or feared as in shamanic practice. Must never be confused with ‘holy_spirit’ or ‘human_spirit_soul.‘

Brought To Completion Perfected

Approved rendering: raug ua kom tiav txhij
Transliteration: eteleiōthē
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Rejected alternatives: ‘supplementation’ framing (works adding merit to an otherwise-insufficient faith) — rejected, sense is organic maturation of what was already present

James 2:22: works are the completion (not addition) of genuine faith. Must be distinguished from any suggestion that works add merit to faith.

Temptation Internal Enticement

Approved rendering: kev raug ntxias kom ua txhaum / kev ntshaw phem
Transliteration: peirazō / epithymia
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith
Rejected alternatives: merging with trial_testing_external — FORBIDDEN, would make James appear to say God tempts people to sin, directly contradicting 1:13

James 1:13-15: the internal enticement toward sin arising from one’s own desire, explicitly never sourced to God. Must be sharply distinguished from ‘trial_testing_external’ at every occurrence.

Wisdom From Above Vs Earthly Demonic

Approved rendering: tswvyim ntawm Vajtswv / tswvyim ntiajteb / tswvyim raws li kev xav ntawm neeg xwb / tswvyim los ntawm dab
Transliteration: sophia anōthen / epigeios, psychikē, daimoniōdēs
Doctrine: Wisdom from Above
Rejected alternatives: presenting ‘tswvyim los ntawm dab’ alone without the positive alternative — rejected, risks being heard as an accusation against living shamanic practitioners rather than an abstract fruit-diagnostic

James 3:13-17: two competing wisdoms producing two competing kinds of fruit. Naming a wisdom category as dab-sourced sits directly in the collision zone with shamanic spirit-consultation; MUST always be paired with the positive ‘tswvyim ntawm Vajtswv’ alternative in the same teaching unit and framed as a description of a fruit-pattern in conduct, never a targeted accusation.

Friendship With World Enmity With God

Approved rendering: kev nyob sib raug zoo/hlub ntiajteb / ua yeeb ncuab rau Vajtswv
Transliteration: philia tou kosmou / echthra tou theou
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God
Rejected alternatives: reading kosmos here as neutral creation without hostile-value-system co-text — rejected, misses the doctrinal center of the chapter

James 4:4, the doctrinal center of Worldliness versus Friendship with God: mutually exclusive loyalties. Requires the extended-‘world’-sense teaching note, plus explicit teaching that this is a covenantal-loyalty statement (echoing OT ‘spiritual adultery’ language), not a call to withdraw from ordinary social/economic life.

Devil

Approved rendering: dab Ntxwg Nyoog
Transliteration: diabolos
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God
Rejected alternatives: treating as one of many ancestor/nature dab to be negotiated with — FORBIDDEN, this is a singular, personal, already-defeated arch-enemy to be resisted, never propitiated

James 4:7, ‘resist the devil and he will flee from you.’ Established Hmong Christian designation, built on the generic ‘dab’ root shared with ancestor/nature-spirit veneration; requires explicit, repeated catechesis that Ntxwg Nyoog is categorically distinct and never to be feared, propitiated, or negotiated with as in shamanic practice.

Anointing With Oil

Approved rendering: pleev roj rau (tus mob)
Transliteration: aleiphō elaiō
Doctrine: Prayer and Healing
Rejected alternatives: presenting the oil as an efficacious ritual technique in itself — FORBIDDEN, v.15 attributes the healing to the prayer of faith and the Lord, not the oil

James 5:14, church elders anointing the sick with oil while praying over them. Borders the domain of shamanic healing ritual (ua neeb kho mob), which likewise employs a ritual object, prescribed gesture, and appeal to spiritual power for physical restoration. Mandatory teaching note: the oil is a simple, non-magical accompanying sign, not a repeatable, efficacious ritual technique, and involves no appeasement, negotiation, or invocation of any spirit other than God.

Prayer Of Faith Heals Physical

Approved rendering: kho kom zoo
Transliteration: sōzō (physical-healing sense, James 5:15)
Doctrine: Prayer and Healing
Rejected alternatives: bare reuse of ‘kev cawm dim’ (the Romans-baseline soteriological entry, reserved for eternal salvation) — rejected, risks either diluting the soteriological gravity of that term or implying physical healing is guaranteed/equivalent to eternal salvation

James 5:15: ‘the prayer of faith will save/heal the one who is sick.’ A DELIBERATE DEPARTURE from the inherited ‘salvation_save’ entry. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: confirm ‘kho kom zoo’ vs. a qualified physical-sense variant of kev cawm dim] — flagged per escalation rule for a genuinely new theological-term decision with no direct Romans precedent; a teaching note must explain the shared Greek root (σῴζω) and the real but distinct connection between physical and spiritual restoration in Christ.

Prayer Object Anchored

Approved rendering: thov Vajtswv
Transliteration: proseuchomai
Doctrine: Prayer and Healing
Rejected alternatives: bare unanchored ‘thov’ — FORBIDDEN, identical verb used for petitioning ancestors/spirits (thov dab, thov poj koob yawm txwv)

James 5:13-18, load-bearing six times in six verses. Must always be stated with its object ‘Vajtswv,’ following the Romans-baseline ‘pehawm’ object-anchoring convention exactly; never left bare in generated content.

Oath Swearing

Approved rendering: tsis txhob cog lus twv
Transliteration: horkos / omnyō
Doctrine: Confession and Restoration
Rejected alternatives: treating as merely a restatement of the existing taboo against invoking spirits — rejected, undershoots James’s actual point about radical simple truthfulness replacing all guarantee-formulas, resolving so loosely that it fails to address the actual traditional oath-invocation practice — rejected, overshoots into generic honesty advice

James 5:12, ‘let your yes be yes and your no be no.’ Traditional Hmong oath-swearing customs invoke ancestors, spirits, or ritual objects as witnesses/guarantors of a promise, sometimes with a curse-consequence for breaking it; requires explicit, precisely calibrated teaching.

Medium Risk Terms

Faith Believe

Approved rendering: kev ntseeg / ntseeg
Transliteration: pistis / pisteuō
Doctrine: Justification by Faith

Broad verb covering belief/trust/obedience; must always be anchored explicitly to its object. Inherited from Romans package. James 2:14-26 deliberately isolates claimed faith (‘says he has faith’) from demonstrated faith; generated content must never let this noun read as automatically genuine/saving faith in every occurrence — anchor to context (bare claim vs. living, working trust) at each use in the core passage.

Mercy

Approved rendering: txoj kev khuv leej
Transliteration: eleos
Doctrine: Election and the Sovereignty of God
Rejected alternatives: txiaj ntsim (grace) used interchangeably for mercy — rejected, mercy and grace are theologically distinct emphases and must not be flattened into one term

Kept lexically distinct from txiaj ntsim/grace. Inherited from Romans package. Reused at James 2:13 (‘judgment without mercy for the one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment’ — the accountability warning must not be blurred into a generic grace statement) and 3:17 (a fruit of wisdom from above).

Will Of God

Approved rendering: Vajtswv lub siab nyiam
Transliteration: thelēma theou
Doctrine: Election and the Sovereignty of God

Idiomatic anchor in the siab (liver, seat of volition). Inherited from Romans package. Underlies the new James-specific compound ‘if_the_lord_wills’ (4:13-15), the corrective to boastful self-sufficient planning.

No Condemnation

Approved rendering: kev raug txiav txim rau kev puas tsuaj
Transliteration: katakrima
Doctrine: Union with Christ

Legal-idiom bridge via village-court judgment concept. Inherited from Romans package. Its judicial-idiom pattern is reused in the new James-specific entry ‘guilty_of_breaking_whole_law’ (enochos pantōn, James 2:10-11).

Worked Together With Faith

Approved rendering: ua haujlwm ua ke nrog
Transliteration: synērgei
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Rejected alternatives: framing as works ‘helping’ faith justify in a Pauline forensic sense — rejected, describes organic unity/evidence, not causal contribution to justification’s ground

James 2:22: faith and works are shown as organically united, not sequential/competing causes.

Prostitute Rahab Description

Approved rendering: tus poj muag cev / Lahaj uas yog tus poj muag cev
Transliteration: hē pornē
Doctrine: Faith and Works

James 2:25, the deliberately contrasting second example to Abraham. Plain descriptive term, register-sensitive; recommend consistent narrative framing rather than repeated blunt restatement.

Trial Testing External

Approved rendering: kev raug swm sim / kev sim kom paub tias tseeb
Transliteration: peirasmos / dokimion
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith
Rejected alternatives: merging with temptation_internal_enticement — rejected, would make 1:13 self-contradictory (God tempts no one), hmoov/fate framing for why trials occur — rejected, same fatalism-collision reason as the Romans Election entry

James 1:2-4,12: an external circumstance permitted by God that proves and matures faith, met with joy. Must be kept lexically distinct from ‘temptation_internal_enticement.’ No traditional-religion collision identified in the term itself, but a teaching note distinguishing purposeful divine testing from a fatalistic misfortune-framework is required.

Wisdom

Approved rendering: tswvyim (ntawm Vajtswv)
Transliteration: sophia
Doctrine: Wisdom from Above
Rejected alternatives: bare unqualified tswvyim — rejected, risks defaulting hearers toward divinatory/ancestral/shamanic counsel-seeking

James 1:5: wisdom is to be asked of God directly, who gives generously. Must always be anchored ‘tswvyim ntawm Vajtswv’ or ‘thov Vajtswv pub tswvyim rau’ to distinguish from divinatory or ancestral-counsel-seeking; never left as a bare noun in doctrinal register.

Guilty Of Breaking Whole Law

Approved rendering: raug txiav txim tias ua txhaum Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv) huvsi lawm
Transliteration: enochos pantōn
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor

James 2:10-11: one violation makes a person a lawbreaker with respect to the whole law — partiality is not a minor lapse. Built on ‘law_mosaic_divine’ and reuses the ‘no_condemnation’ judicial-idiom pattern; mandatory qualifier retained.

Bless God Curse People

Approved rendering: qhuas Vajtswv / foom tsis zoo rau (luag)
Transliteration: eulogeō / kataraomai
Doctrine: Taming the Tongue
Rejected alternatives: foom koob hmoov rau Vajtswv — rejected, misapplies the material-blessing term upward toward God and stretches koob hmoov beyond its permanently narrow permitted lane

James 3:9-10, the tongue used inconsistently to bless God and curse people made in God’s likeness. Hmong culture has live ritual blessing/cursing formulas (‘foom koob hmoov,’ ‘foom tsis zoo rau’) believed to carry real spiritual efficacy, sometimes invoking ancestors; must be kept clearly distinguished from those ritual-efficacy connotations so James’s ethical point about moral inconsistency is not assimilated into a folk discussion of ritual curse/blessing power.

Spiritual Adultery

Approved rendering: cov uas tsis ncaj ncees rau Vajtswv, zoo li tus poj niam tsis ncaj ncees rau nws tus txiv
Transliteration: moichalides
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God
Rejected alternatives: bare literal adultery vocabulary (deev) without the simile framing — rejected, would read as a literal accusation rather than a covenant-unfaithfulness metaphor

James 4:4, addressing believers metaphorically as unfaithful ‘adulteresses’ for pursuing worldly friendship, echoing OT covenant-unfaithfulness language. Requires the full simile stated, never a bare noun.

Lawgiver And Judge

Approved rendering: tus tsim Kevcai thiab tus Txiav Txim
Transliteration: nomothetēs kai kritēs
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God

James 4:11-12, God’s unique judicial-legislative role, invoked against speaking evil of/judging a fellow believer; anticipates ‘judge_standing_at_door’ (5:9). Secondary doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor.

Patience Forbearance While Waiting

Approved rendering: ua siab ntev tos
Transliteration: makrothymia
Doctrine: Patience and the Lord’s Return
Rejected alternatives: collapsing into ‘kev ua siab ntev’ (hypomonē, endurance-under-trial) without distinction — rejected, these are distinct concepts sharing an idiom family

James 5:7,8,10: forbearance especially toward people/circumstances while awaiting the Lord’s coming, modeled by the farmer and the prophets. Must be distinguished in teaching from the inherited ‘endurance’ entry, though both are grounded in the certainty of the Lord’s coming, not mere stoic waiting.

Confess Sins To One Another

Approved rendering: lees kev txhaum rau ib leeg
Transliteration: exomologeisthe allēlois tas hamartias
Doctrine: Confession and Restoration
Rejected alternatives: framing as confession to a shamanic ritual intermediary who mediates repair with offended spirits — rejected, this is horizontal, mutual, restorative confession within the believing community

James 5:16, paired with mutual prayer for healing. Built on the inherited ‘sin_act_and_condition’ entry; requires a teaching note distinguishing this from priestly/shamanic mediating confession to a religious specialist.

Cover Multitude Of Sins

Approved rendering: npog tau ntau yam kev txhaum
Transliteration: kalypsei plēthos hamartiōn
Doctrine: Confession and Restoration

James 5:19-20, the letter’s closing exhortation, tying Confession and Restoration to eternal stakes. Built on the inherited ‘sin_act_and_condition’ entry.

James Book Title

Approved rendering: Yakaunpaus
Transliteration: Iakōbos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: Yakauj (alternate provisional transliteration) — not selected pending confirmation against established Hmong Bible tradition

Provisional book-title transliteration for the letter of James, consistent with proper-name transliteration conventions already used for Povlauj (Paul) in the Romans baseline. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: confirm against Vaj Lug Kub Npaiv Npaum / HWB’s actual existing book-title rendering] before this is treated as permanent. Cited as ‘Yakaunpaus [chapter]:[verse],’ e.g. ‘Yakaunpaus 2:17,’ per analysis/12_ai_translation_requirements.md §7.

Low Risk Terms

God

Approved rendering: Vajtswv
Transliteration: theos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: Ntuj (impersonal sky/heaven) — rejected, lacks personal deity sense, dab (spirit) — rejected, denotes false/lesser spirit

Established compound (king+lord). Inherited from Romans package. Reused unchanged throughout James (all chapters) as the addressee/source of wisdom, gifts, and judgment.

Lord

Approved rendering: tus Tswv
Transliteration: kyrios
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting

Stable existing usage; applied to God and Christ. Inherited from Romans package. Reused unchanged for James’s opening self-identification (1:1), the Lord of glory (2:1), and the eschatological ‘coming of the Lord’ unit (ch.5).

Jesus Christ

Approved rendering: Yexus Khetos
Transliteration: Iēsous Christos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting

Standard transliteration baseline. Inherited from Romans package. Reused unchanged at James 1:1 and 2:1.

Father God

Approved rendering: Leej Txiv
Transliteration: patēr
Doctrine: Union with Christ

Honorific already settled. Inherited from Romans package. Reused unchanged in James 1:17,27 and 3:9; forms the root of the new James compound ‘father_of_lights’ (1:17).

Death

Approved rendering: txoj kev tuag
Transliteration: thanatos
Doctrine: Original Sin and Universal Guilt

Inherited from Romans package. Reused at James 1:15 (desire’s fatal end-result) and James 5:20 (saving a soul from death, closing the letter).

World

Approved rendering: lub ntiajteb
Transliteration: kosmos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting

Stable term. Inherited from Romans package, where the sense is largely neutral (creation/humanity). James EXTENDS this sense toward a morally hostile value-system opposed to God at 1:27 (‘keep oneself unstained from the world’) and especially 4:4 (‘friendship with the world is enmity with God’), and toward a fire’s destructive scope at 3:6. A mandatory co-text signal distinguishing ‘the world as God’s creation’ from ‘the world as a corrupting system’ is required wherever this extended sense appears — the bare word alone does not carry the distinction and must never be left unmarked in doctrinal teaching on 1:27 or 4:4.

Peace

Approved rendering: kev thaj yeeb
Transliteration: eirēnē
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting

Stable, positive term. Inherited from Romans package. Reused at James 2:16 (‘go in peace,’ exposed as hollow without accompanying action — teach the irony of the empty pious phrase, not a defect in the term itself) and 3:18 (peace sown by peacemakers reaping righteousness).

Endurance

Approved rendering: kev ua siab ntev
Transliteration: hypomonē
Doctrine: Sanctification and Life in the Spirit

Stable idiom (‘long-liver/heart’). Inherited from Romans package. Reused at James 1:3-4,12 (the testing of faith producing endurance) and 5:11 (the endurance of Job). Must be kept distinguished in teaching from the new James-specific term ‘patience_forbearance_while_waiting’ (makrothymia, 5:7-8,10), which shares the same Hmong idiom family but names a distinct Greek concept (forbearance while awaiting the Lord’s return, versus endurance under active pressure/trial).

Boasting

Approved rendering: kev khav theeb
Transliteration: kauchēsis
Doctrine: Justification by Faith

Stable existing term. Inherited from Romans package. Reused at James 4:16 as the base term intensified by the new James-specific entry ‘arrogant_boasting’ (alazoneia), a distinct and more negative Greek synonym referring specifically to presumptuous, self-important boasting about one’s own future plans.

Love

Approved rendering: kev hlub
Transliteration: agapē
Doctrine: Christian Living and Unity in the Church

Stable, existing warm-affection Hmong term. Inherited from Romans package. Reused at James 2:8 as the content of the ‘royal law’ — loving one’s neighbor as oneself (Lev 19:18), the standard by which favoritism is condemned.

Scripture

Approved rendering: Vaj Lug Kub
Transliteration: graphē
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting

Settled compound term (‘royal/sacred writing’). Inherited from Romans package. Reused at James 2:23 (explicitly ‘fulfilled’ by Abraham’s act, quoting Genesis 15:6) and James 4:5 (referenced regarding a disputed ‘Scripture says’ clause).

Truth

Approved rendering: qhov tseeb
Transliteration: alētheia
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting

Stable term. Inherited from Romans package. Forms the root of the new James-specific compound ‘word_of_truth_implanted_word’ (logos alētheias / emphytos logos, James 1:18,21).

Creation

Approved rendering: tej uas raug tsim los
Transliteration: ktisis
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting

Descriptive phrase. Inherited from Romans package. Complements the new James-specific entry ‘made_in_likeness_of_god’ (James 3:9), which grounds the wrongness of cursing people in their God-given creaturely dignity.

Eternal Life

Approved rendering: txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis
Transliteration: zōē aiōnios
Doctrine: Union with Christ

Stable term. Inherited from Romans package. Forms the root of the new James-specific compound ‘crown_of_life’ (stephanos tēs zōēs, James 1:12), the victor’s-wreath image promised to the one who endures trial.

Impartiality Of God

Approved rendering: tsis saib ntsej muag
Transliteration: aprosōpolēmpsia
Doctrine: The Law and Its Purpose

Strong existing Hmong idiom (‘does not show face/favoritism’). Inherited from Romans package. Serves as the direct positive counterpart to the new James-specific term ‘favoritism_partiality’ (kev saib ntsej muag), James’s negation of this very idiom at 2:1,9.

Friend Of God

Approved rendering: phooj ywg ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: philos theou
Doctrine: Faith and Works

The relational outcome of Abraham’s faith-and-works life, granted as a title (James 2:23). Positive, no traditional-religion collision; register should be elevated slightly above ordinary ‘phooj ywg’ usage to preserve the honor of the title.

Tremble With Fear Demons

Approved rendering: ntshai tshee hnyo
Transliteration: phrissousin
Doctrine: Faith and Works

James 2:19: even demons’ ‘faith’ produces terror, not salvation, contrasting with saving faith that produces peace and works.

Foolish Person

Approved rendering: tus neeg ruam
Transliteration: anthrōpe kene
Doctrine: Faith and Works

James 2:20’s direct rebuke of the interlocutor’s error.

Received Welcomed Hospitality

Approved rendering: txais tos
Transliteration: hypodexamenē
Doctrine: Faith and Works

James 2:25, Rahab’s concrete act of hospitality/risk (cf. Joshua 2) — the ‘work’ that vindicates her faith.

Naked Lacking Clothing

Approved rendering: tsis muaj tsoos tsho hnav txaus
Transliteration: gymnoi
Doctrine: Faith and Works

James 2:15, the test-case picture of physical need within the church family.

Lacking Daily Food

Approved rendering: tsis muaj mov noj txaus rau ib hnub twg
Transliteration: leipomenoi tēs ephēmerou trophēs
Doctrine: Faith and Works

James 2:15, paired with ‘naked_lacking_clothing.‘

Bodily Necessities

Approved rendering: tej yam uas lub cev xav tau kom nyob taus
Transliteration: ta epitēdeia tou sōmatos
Doctrine: Faith and Works

James 2:16, the concrete deed (versus empty word) that real faith produces.

Double Minded

Approved rendering: ob lub siab
Transliteration: dipsychos
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith

James 1:8 (instability in prayer) and 4:8 (needing purification). Strong natural Hmong idiom via ‘siab’ (liver/heart) as the established seat of will, consistent with the Romans-baseline conscience/will-of-God conventions; no collision. Secondary doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God (4:8).

Lowly Rich

Approved rendering: tus pluag (txo hwv) / tus nplua nuj
Transliteration: tapeinos / plousios
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor

James 1:9-11 (paradoxical boasting) and 5:1 (denunciation of the exploitative rich). Concrete socioeconomic terms, no collision.

Father Of Lights

Approved rendering: Leej Txiv uas tsim tej qhov teeb ci saum ntuj
Transliteration: patēr tōn phōtōn
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith

James 1:17, God’s good, unchanging character as the giver of every good gift.

Orphans And Widows

Approved rendering: cov menyuam ntsuag thiab cov poj ntsuam
Transliteration: orphanoi kai chērai
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor

James 1:27, the paradigmatic vulnerable, object of pure religion’s care. Standard existing Hmong vocabulary.

Favoritism Partiality

Approved rendering: kev saib ntsej muag
Transliteration: prosōpolēmpsia
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor

James 2:1,9. Direct negative counterpart of the inherited ‘impartiality_of_god’ entry; strong existing idiom transfers cleanly in both positive and negative forms.

Fine Clothing Vs Shabby Clothing

Approved rendering: tus hnav khaub ncaws zoo nkauj thiab looj nplhaib kub / tus hnav khaub ncaws qub qhuav
Transliteration: chrysodaktylios, lampra esthēti / rhypara esthēti
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor

James 2:2-4, the concrete test-case markers of wealth vs. poverty distinguishing the two visitors.

Tongue

Approved rendering: tus nplaig
Transliteration: glōssa
Doctrine: Taming the Tongue

James 1:26, 3:1-12. Direct anatomical term, no collision; consistent use anchors the entire Taming the Tongue doctrine.

Bridle Control Tongue

Approved rendering: tswj tus nplaig
Transliteration: chalinagōgeō
Doctrine: Taming the Tongue

James 1:26, 3:2-3, evidence of maturity. Natural equestrian/agrarian idiom, no collision.

Made In Likeness Of God

Approved rendering: raug tsim los raws li Vajtswv tus yam ntxwv
Transliteration: kath’ homoiōsin theou gegonotas
Doctrine: Taming the Tongue

James 3:9, grounds the wrongness of cursing people in their God-given dignity. Positive anthropological concept, complements ‘creation.‘

Quarrels And Conflicts

Approved rendering: kev sib ceg sib tw
Transliteration: polemoi kai machai
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God

James 4:1, sourced in inward ‘passions at war.‘

Draw Near To God

Approved rendering: txav los ze rau Vajtswv
Transliteration: engisate tō theō
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God

James 4:8, reciprocal promise.

If The Lord Wills

Approved rendering: yog tus Tswv pom zoo
Transliteration: Ean ho kyrios thelēsē
Doctrine: Patience and the Lord’s Return

James 4:13-15, corrective to boastful, self-sufficient planning that ignores God’s sovereignty over life and death. Built on the inherited ‘will_of_god’ entry.

Coming Of The Lord

Approved rendering: hnub uas tus Tswv Yexus rov qab los
Transliteration: parousia tou kyriou
Doctrine: Patience and the Lord’s Return

James 5:7-8, anchors the doctrine; the farmer waiting for the harvest is the model of patient hope. Built on the inherited ‘lord’ entry. No existing Hmong Christian transliteration tradition for ‘parousia’ comparable to Yexus Khetos exists; a full descriptive phrase is standard practice for this eschatological technical term.

Job Proper Name

Approved rendering: Yauj
Transliteration: Iōb
Doctrine: Patience and the Lord’s Return

James 5:11, the OT figure cited as the example of patient endurance under suffering. Proper-name transliteration; log for TM-revision confirmation against established Hmong Bible tradition.

Elijah Proper Name

Approved rendering: Eliyas
Transliteration: Ēlias
Doctrine: Prayer and Healing

James 5:17-18, the OT prophet whose prayer stopped and restarted rain. Proper-name transliteration; log for TM-revision confirmation.

Rahab Proper Name

Approved rendering: Lahaj
Transliteration: Rhaab
Doctrine: Faith and Works

James 2:25, the Gentile prostitute whose act of hospitality vindicated her faith. Proper-name transliteration; log for TM-revision confirmation.

Low-Medium Risk Terms

Firstfruits

Approved rendering: thawj phaus qoob loo / cov ua ntej
Transliteration: aparchē
Doctrine: The Future of Israel

Agricultural harvest-offering imagery, culturally accessible. Inherited from Romans package. Reused at James 1:18 (‘a kind of firstfruits of his creatures’ — believers as the first, dedicated portion of God’s new-creation harvest).

Show Demonstrate Faith By Works

Approved rendering: qhia kom pom
Transliteration: deixon
Doctrine: Faith and Works

James 2:18: works function as the evidence by which invisible faith becomes visible/verifiable. Must be taught as an evidentiary, not causal/meritorious, relationship between works and faith.

Useless Barren Unproductive

Approved rendering: tsis muaj qab hau
Transliteration: argē
Doctrine: Faith and Works

James 2:20, reinforcing v.17’s ‘dead’ with an economic-productivity image (some manuscripts read nekra, ‘dead,’ here instead). Complements but must not replace the ‘tuag’ (dead) language of ‘dead_faith.‘

Perfect Mature Complete

Approved rendering: zoo kawg nkaus tiav txhij
Transliteration: teleios
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith
Rejected alternatives: sinless-perfection framing — rejected, correct sense is maturity/completion

James 1:4 (goal of endurance), 1:25 (law of liberty), 3:2 (the one who does not stumble in speech). Must be taught as maturity, not sinless perfection.

Crown Of Life

Approved rendering: mom kub ntawm txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis
Transliteration: stephanos tēs zōēs
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith

James 1:12, promised to the one who endures trial and stands the test. Victor’s-wreath imagery culturally unfamiliar; transfers via comprehension gloss, not doctrinal collision.

Word Of Truth Implanted Word

Approved rendering: Txoj Lus Tseeb / Txoj Lus uas cog rau hauv (lub siab)
Transliteration: logos alētheias / emphytos logos
Doctrine: Trials and the Testing of Faith

James 1:18 (the gospel message that brings new birth) and 1:21 (the word now rooted within believers, ‘able to save your souls’). Agricultural planting-metaphor culturally accessible in the agrarian Hmong context. Secondary doctrine: Faith and Works.

Teacher

Approved rendering: xibhwb
Transliteration: didaskalos
Doctrine: Taming the Tongue

James 3:1, warning that teachers face stricter judgment. Comprehension/register-level term only.

Jealousy Selfish Ambition

Approved rendering: kev khib / kev sib cav xav kom tsuas yog kuv/peb thiaj tau
Transliteration: zēlos / eritheia
Doctrine: Wisdom from Above

James 3:14,16 (root of earthly wisdom’s disorder) and 4:1-2 (source of quarrels). Descriptive compound phrase, no collision. Secondary doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God.

Fruit Of Righteousness

Approved rendering: qoob loo ntawm txoj kev ncaj ncees
Transliteration: karpos dikaiosynēs
Doctrine: Wisdom from Above

James 3:18, the harvest produced by righteous, peace-sown living. Agricultural-harvest metaphor accessible to the agrarian Hmong context; built on the inherited righteousness term.

Humble Humble Oneself

Approved rendering: txo nws tus kheej
Transliteration: tapeinos / tapeinoō
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God
Rejected alternatives: compounding with hwjchim (power/status) — rejected, avoids conflict with the mandatory ‘Vajtswv hwjchim’ qualifier convention

James 4:6,10, the posture that receives grace and exaltation from God.

Selfish Pleasures Desires

Approved rendering: kev ntshaw kom tau lom zem rau kuv tus kheej
Transliteration: hēdonai
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God

James 4:1,3, the internal root of conflict and of wrongly-motivated prayer.

Arrogant Boasting

Approved rendering: kev khav theeb loj heev, tsis hwm Vajtswv
Transliteration: alazoneia
Doctrine: Worldliness versus Friendship with God

James 4:16, self-important, presumptuous boasting about one’s own plans, condemned as evil. A distinct and more negative Greek synonym intensifying the inherited ‘boasting’ entry.

Judge Standing At Door

Approved rendering: tus Txiav Txim twb sawv ntsug ntawm lub qhov rooj lawm
Transliteration: kritēs pro tōn thyrōn hestēken
Doctrine: Patience and the Lord’s Return

James 5:9, the imminence of final judgment personified, warning against grumbling against one another. Vivid image, transfers well cross-culturally.

Living In Luxury Fattened Hearts

Approved rendering: nyob lom zem tsis paub txaj muag / rov qab pub nplua siab kom rog
Transliteration: espatalēsate / ethrepsate tas kardias
Doctrine: Favoritism and the Poor

James 5:5, self-indulgent excess likened to livestock fattened for slaughter, part of the prophetic denunciation of the exploitative rich.

Effective Powerful Prayer

Approved rendering: muaj zog kawg thiab ua tau tiag tiag
Transliteration: energoumenē… poly ischyei
Doctrine: Prayer and Healing
Rejected alternatives: hwjchim — deliberately rejected here; ischys is a distinct Greek root from dynamis and does not require the mandatory ‘Vajtswv hwjchim’ qualifier convention

James 5:16, the genuine efficacy of fervent, righteous prayer, illustrated by Elijah (5:17-18). Deliberate lexical avoidance decision to sidestep the dynamis/hwjchim qualifier convention while still conveying genuine efficacy.

Medium-High Risk Terms

Altar

Approved rendering: lub thaj fij
Transliteration: thysiastērion
Doctrine: Faith and Works
Rejected alternatives: generalized ritual-offering framing detached from the specific Abraham/Isaac narrative — rejected, would drift into the fij sacrificial domain shared with shamanic appeasement

James 2:21, the backdrop image of Isaac’s near-sacrifice. Built on the ‘fij’ (offering) root already flagged in the Romans baseline (living_sacrifice, propitiation_atoning_sacrifice); must be anchored to the unique historical Abraham/Isaac narrative and never generalized into ritual-offering teaching.

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