John — Phase 1 Semantic Analysis (Hmong Language Package)

§0. Conventions

This document extends, and never contradicts, the Hmong Romans Baseline v1.0 (assets/translation_memory.json, assets/bible_term_registry.json, assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json, 12_ai_translation_requirements.md). Every term below that already has a permanent Romans TM entry (e.g. Vajtswv, tus Tswv, Yexus Khetos, Vaj Ntsuj Plig, kev ntseeg / ntseeg, txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis, kev hlub, lub ntiajteb, qhov tseeb, lub yeeb koob, kev cawm dim / cawm, kev raug ua kom dawb huv, Vajtswv txoj kev ncaj ncees, kev npau taws ntawm Vajtswv, lub Nceeg Vaj ntawm Vajtswv, pehawm / pab teev, Vaj Lug Kub, nyob hauv Khetos, kev xaiv, lub siab tawv, etc.) is reused verbatim and is marked [TM-inherited] below. Only genuinely new terms surfaced by John’s distinct vocabulary (the Word/Logos, the seven “I Am” statements, the Paraclete, the new-birth vocabulary, etc.) are proposed as new entries, each marked [NEW — proposed, pending Phase 2 TM ratification], consistent with how the Romans baseline itself added in_christ_union_formula, love, hope, mercy, and firstfruits as new entries during its own full-coverage review.

Register, script (RPA, White Hmong/Hmong Daw), and risk-tier definitions (Critical/High/Medium/Low) follow bible_term_registry.json’s registry_metadata.risk_tier_definitions exactly.

Citation format for John follows the same convention family as Loos in the Romans package: this document proposes the destination book name Yauhas for the Gospel of John (established transliteration consistent with Hmong Bible tradition), cited as Yauhas [chapter]:[verse].

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PART A — CORE PASSAGE: John 3:1-21 (Verse-by-Verse)

Yauhas 3:1

• Nicodemus, a Pharisee — Greek: Νικόδημος, Φαρισαῖος (Nikodēmos, Pharisaios). Proper name (transliterate: Nikaudemau) plus a party-name already handled by existing Hmong Bible transliteration convention; no doctrinal load. Risk: Low. New proper-noun transliteration, log for TM but not doctrinally sensitive.
• ruler of the Jews — Greek: ἄρχων τῶν Ἰουδαίων (archōn tōn Ioudaiōn). Literal: “one who rules/is first among the Jews.” Semantic range: member of the Sanhedrin, a recognized teacher-authority. English variants: “a ruler of the Jews,” “a Jewish leader.” Contextual meaning: establishes Nicodemus’s high religious status, heightening the shock that Israel’s teacher does not understand the new birth. Hmong: “tus thawj coj ntawm cov Yudas” (reuses [TM-inherited] cov Yudas). Risk: Low.

Yauhas 3:2

• came to Jesus by night — no special term, but literarily significant (light/darkness motif, cf. §Ch.3 continuing analysis, Ch.9, Ch.13). Flag for teaching note only.
• Rabbi — Greek: Ραββί (Rabbi). Transliterated loanword already standard in Hmong Bible tradition: “Xibhwb” or retained “Lavpi” with gloss “Xibhwb” (Teacher). Risk: Low.
• teacher — Greek: διδάσκαλος (didaskalos). Literal: “one who teaches.” Hmong: “xibhwb”. Risk: Low.
• signs — Greek: σημεῖα (sēmeia). Literal: “signs, tokens.” Semantic range: miraculous acts pointing beyond themselves to a deeper truth (distinct from mere “wonders”). English variants: “signs,” “miracles.” Contextual meaning: John’s technical term for Jesus’ miracles as revelatory signs of his identity (cf. 2:11, 2:23, 4:54, 20:30-31). Hmong: “tej txujci tseem ceeb” (signs/wonders of significance). Risk: Low-Medium — must not be flattened to generic “khoom txawv” (something strange) which loses the revelatory, pointing-beyond-itself sense; recommend teaching note tying to 20:30-31’s stated purpose. [NEW — proposed]

Yauhas 3:3

• Truly, truly, I say to you — Greek: Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι (Amēn amēn legō soi). A distinctive Johannine double-amen formula marking solemn, authoritative pronouncement. Hmong: “Kuv qhia tseeb tseeb rau koj”. Risk: Low, but flag for consistency — this exact double-emphasis formula recurs 25 times in John and should render identically every time. [NEW — proposed, stylistic-consistency entry]
• born again / born from above — Greek: γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν (gennēthē anōthen). Literal: “be begotten/born” (gennaō) + “from above / again” (anōthen — Greek deliberately ambiguous between “from above” [spatial-source, i.e., from God] and “a second time/again” [temporal]). Semantic range: this is THE central term of the whole pericope. English variants: “born again” (KJV/ESV majority), “born from above” (NRSV, NIV footnote), “born anew.” Contextual theological meaning: the necessity of a Spirit-wrought regeneration originating from God, not human effort or ritual — foundational to the assigned doctrine The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit.
  • Hmong rendering: “yug dua tshiab (los ntawm sab saum ntuj / los ntawm Vaj Ntsuj Plig)” — “be born again/anew (from above / by the Holy Spirit).”
  • Risk: CRITICAL. Collision: Hmong traditional religion (and broader regional folk-Buddhist/animist cosmology influencing Hmong communities) contains real concepts of a soul being reborn, of ancestor-spirits returning, and of hu plig-style soul-calling and multi-soul continuation across bodies. A bare “yug dua” (born again/a second time) risks being heard as reincarnation of a soul into a new body/life-cycle rather than a definite, once-for-all, Spirit-wrought spiritual regeneration into permanent new life in Christ. This is a new collision not previously documented in the Romans baseline and must be flagged for formal TM-revision review before any curriculum publication. [NEW — proposed, CRITICAL, requires human theologian ratification]
  • Alternatives rejected: bare “yug dua” alone (no qualifier) — rejected, defaults to reincarnation-adjacent reading; “hloov siab tshiab” (renewal of the mind, the Romans 12:2 TM term) — rejected as the primary gloss here, since that term denotes the ongoing transformation of sanctification, not the one-time, definitive, Spirit-originated new-birth event Nicodemus is being confronted with; the two must be kept distinct even though related.

Yauhas 3:4

• How can a man be born when he is old? — Nicodemus’s literalistic misunderstanding; no new term, but illustrates the necessity of the double-meaning gloss above (he hears only the “again”/second-birth sense, missing “from above”). Teaching note: Hmong translation must preserve enough ambiguity that Nicodemus’s confusion makes sense, while the accompanying lesson material resolves it toward “from above/by the Spirit.”
• enter his mother’s womb — descriptive, no theological loading; standard body vocabulary.

Yauhas 3:5

• born of water and the Spirit — Greek: γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος (gennēthē ex hydatos kai pneumatos). Semantic range: debated among interpreters as (a) water = physical birth, Spirit = spiritual birth; (b) water = baptism, Spirit = the Holy Spirit’s regenerating work; (c) water symbolically identified with the Spirit’s cleansing work (cf. Ezek 36:25-27). Contextual meaning here favors (b)/(c): a Spirit-wrought cleansing/regeneration, of which water (baptism) is the outward sign. Hmong: “yug los ntawm dej thiab Vaj Ntsuj Plig”.
  • Risk: High. Directly inherits the Romans-documented [TM-inherited] baptism collision (kev cai raus dej shares the kevcai root with traditional ritual washing to remove spirit-contamination). Must be taught explicitly that water here symbolizes/accompanies the Spirit’s regenerating work; new birth is NOT accomplished by ritual water alone (guard against baptismal-regeneration-as-mere-ritual misreading, distinct from, but adjacent to, the Romans 6 baptism entry).
• the Spirit — Greek: πνεῦμα (pneuma), here with the article referring to the Holy Spirit. Reuse [TM-inherited] Vaj Ntsuj Plig; the mandatory “Vaj” prefix must never be dropped in this verse.
• kingdom of God — Greek: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ (basileia tou theou). Reuse [TM-inherited] lub Nceeg Vaj ntawm Vajtswv. Risk: Low.

Yauhas 3:6

• flesh gives birth to flesh; Spirit gives birth to spirit — Greek: τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς σάρξ ἐστιν, καὶ τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος πνεῦμά ἐστιν. Two lexical items requiring care:
  • flesh (sarx) here denotes ordinary human nature/origin by natural generation — a neutral-adjacent but limitation-emphasizing sense, closest to the Romans [TM-inherited] flesh_neutral_descent_body entry (lub cev nqaij tawv), extended to mean “merely human, unaided, unregenerate origin.” Risk: Critical-adjacent — must be kept distinct from the moral sense (kev xav/kev ua raws li lub cev nqaij tawv) used elsewhere; here it is about origin/capacity, not sinful desire. Recommend a third disambiguating gloss for this specific Johannine sense: “tib neeg lub cev nqaij tawv xwb” (“merely human/natural origin”). [NEW — proposed nuance of existing TM entry, Medium-High]
  • spirit (pneuma), second occurrence, anthropological/regenerated-nature sense — reuse [TM-inherited] ntsuj plig (never “Vaj”-prefixed, since this refers to the human spirit as reborn, not the Holy Spirit Himself), but flag that the reborn human spirit here is a direct effect/gift of the Holy Spirit’s work — teaching note should connect, without collapsing, ntsuj plig (reborn human spirit) and Vaj Ntsuj Plig (the Spirit who regenerates it).

Yauhas 3:7

• Do not marvel — Greek: μὴ θαυμάσῃς (mē thaumasēs). Ordinary verb, no special risk. Hmong: “tsis txhob xav tsis thoob” / “tsis txhob phimhwj.”
• You must be born again — repeats the CRITICAL term from 3:3 above; note the emphatic “you” (plural in Greek, δεῖ ὑμᾶς, addressing all, not just Nicodemus) — teaching note: universality of the new-birth requirement, not a special mandate for religious leaders only.

Yauhas 3:8

• wind blows where it wishes — Greek: τὸ πνεῦμα ὅπου θέλει πνεῖ (to pneuma hopou thelei pnei). Deliberate Greek wordplay: pneuma means both “wind” and “spirit,” so the sentence reads literally “the Spirit/wind blows where it wishes.” Semantic range: sovereignty, invisibility, and untraceable origin/destination of the Spirit’s regenerating work. English variants: “wind”/“Spirit” (translators must choose one referent per clause since English, like Hmong, lacks the single-word double meaning).
  • Risk: Medium — this is a genuine comprehension/literary-device gap, not a doctrinal collision: Hmong has no single word spanning “wind” (cua) and “Spirit” (Vaj Ntsuj Plig), so the wordplay is unavoidably lost. Recommend a translator’s footnote explaining the Greek pun explicitly, since the illustrative force of the analogy (sovereign, invisible, perceptible-by-effect) must still be taught even though the pun itself cannot be reproduced. [NEW — proposed, flag per escalation rule for genuine new comprehension gap]
• so is everyone who is born of the Spirit — reuse new-birth CRITICAL term (3:3) and Vaj Ntsuj Plig.

Yauhas 3:9-10

• How can these things be? / Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? — no new terms; rhetorical structure highlighting the necessity of divine revelation over human religious credentials. Reuse xibhwb (teacher).

Yauhas 3:11

• we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen — testify/witness — Greek: μαρτυροῦμεν (martyroumen). Reuse [TM-inherited] witness (tus timkhawv / verb form “timkhawv”). Risk: Low.
• you do not receive our testimony — receive (lambanō) ordinary verb, no special risk, but thematically ties to the belief/unbelief doctrine developed through v.18-21 below.

Yauhas 3:12

• earthly things / heavenly things — Greek: τὰ ἐπίγεια / τὰ ἐπουράνια (ta epigeia / ta epourania). Literal: “the things upon-earth” / “the things above-heaven.” Contextual meaning: contrast between accessible, illustrative truths (the new birth, drawn from ordinary experience like wind and birth) and the deeper heavenly realities Jesus alone can reveal by virtue of His origin (v.13). Hmong: “tej uas nyob hauv ntiajteb / tej uas nyob saum ntuj ceeb tsheej”. Risk: Low-Medium, comprehension-level contrast; sets up v.13’s pre-existence claim.

Yauhas 3:13

• no one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man — Greek: οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Two load-bearing items:
  • descended from heaven — direct pre-existence claim; Christ’s origin is heavenly prior to His earthly appearing. This is a direct textual anchor for the assigned Doctrine of the Deity and Pre-existence of Christ, paralleling 1:1,14; 6:38,62; 8:58; 17:5. Hmong: “nqes saum ntuj los”. Risk: Critical (doctrinal weight, though the vocabulary itself is not a traditional-religion collision) — must never be softened to a merely figurative “sent from God” framing that loses the literal-prior-existence claim.
  • Son of Man — Greek: ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (ho huios tou anthrōpou). Literal: “the son of the man/of humanity.” Semantic range: a messianic self-designation (echoing Daniel 7:13-14) combining full humanity with heavenly, judging, and glorious authority; NOT a statement of mere ordinary human descent. English variants: “the Son of Man,” occasionally paraphrased “the Human One.” Hmong: “Leej Tub ntawm Neeg”.
  • Risk: Medium-High. Comprehension risk: without teaching, “Leej Tub ntawm Neeg” could be heard as simply “a human being’s son” (generic), losing the messianic-authority freight of the Danielic title. Requires a first-occurrence footnote. Not a traditional-religion collision, but doctrinally load-bearing (recurs at 1:51; 3:14; 5:27; 6:27,53,62; 8:28; 9:35; 12:23,34; 13:31). [NEW — proposed]

Yauhas 3:14

• as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up — Greek: ὕψωσεν… ὑψωθῆναι (hypsōsen… hypsōthēnai), from ὑψόω (hypsoō), “to lift up, exalt.” Semantic range: deliberate double meaning — the literal lifting up of Christ on the cross AND his exaltation/glorification (cf. 8:28; 12:32,34). Typology: Numbers 21:4-9’s bronze serpent, which healed those who looked upon the very thing associated with the judgment (snakebite) against them.
  • Hmong: “yuav raug muab tsa siab” (“must be lifted up”) — proposed to preserve the double sense (physical elevation on the cross / exaltation/glorification), paired with an explanatory teaching note.
  • Risk: High. Two distinct risk vectors: (1) the double-meaning wordplay (lifted up = crucified/exalted) is a comprehension gap, needing explicit teaching, not a lexical fix; (2) the serpent imagery itself is a potential traditional-religion collision — snakes/serpents in Hmong (and broader regional Southeast Asian highland) folk cosmology are frequently associated with maleficent spirits, ill omens, or spirit-transformation narratives; presenting “the serpent” without careful typological framing risks the illustration being absorbed into existing snake-spirit folklore rather than understood as an Old Testament healing-typology pointing to the cross. Requires a dedicated teaching note distinguishing biblical typology from folk-serpent symbolism. [NEW — proposed, High, flag for translator/theologian review]

Yauhas 3:15

• whoever believes in him may have eternal life — reuse [TM-inherited] kev ntseeg / ntseeg (anchored to “him” = Christ, per the mandatory anchoring rule) and txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis (eternal life). Risk: Low (terms stable), but anchoring rule must be observed.

Yauhas 3:16

• For God so loved the world — Greek: Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον (Houtōs gar ēgapēsen ho theos ton kosmon). Reuse [TM-inherited] kev hlub (love, agapē) and lub ntiajteb (world, kosmos). Contextual theological meaning: this is the central verse anchoring the assigned doctrine God’s Love for the World — God’s love as the initiating cause of salvation, directed toward the whole created human order, not a select ethnic or ritual-pure group. Risk: Low lexically, but note doctrinal weight — teaching must preserve the universal scope (“the world,” not merely “the elect” or “Israel”) without collapsing into a denial of the sovereignty themes elsewhere in Scripture; no lexical fix needed, teaching-note only.
• only Son / only begotten Son — Greek: τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ (ton huion ton monogenē), from μονογενής (monogenēs), literally “of a single kind/genus” or “only one of its kind,” traditionally “only-begotten.” Semantic range: uniqueness, not merely “beloved” or “firstborn among many” — the ONE unique Son, without peer, contrasted with believers’ derivative adoptive sonship. English variants: “only Son” (NIV, ESV), “only begotten Son” (KJV, NASB), “one and only Son” (NIV alt).
  • Hmong: “tib leeg Tub” (“the one-and-only Son”) — proposed new entry.
  • Risk: High. Must never be rendered in a way implying Christ was created or began to exist at a point in time (which “yug” — “born” — could suggest if left unqualified); must always retain “tib leeg” (unique/only) to guard the eternal, unique generation of the Son and to distinguish His Sonship categorically from believers’ derivative adoptive sonship ([TM-inherited] adoption_as_sons) and from the merely relational “children of God” language of 1:12. [NEW — proposed, High, ties directly to Deity/Pre-existence doctrine]
• should not perish but have eternal life — perish — Greek: ἀπόλυτο (apolyto), from ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi), “to destroy, ruin, lose.” Semantic range: opposite of eternal life; final, ruinous loss, not annihilation-as-non-existence necessarily, but exclusion from the life God gives. Hmong: “puas tsuaj / ploj mus”. Risk: Low-Medium; reuses the “puas tsuaj” element already present in the Romans [TM-inherited] no_condemnation gloss (kev raug txiav txim rau kev puas tsuaj), giving good cross-corpus consistency. [NEW — proposed, standalone entry]

Yauhas 3:17

• God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world — condemn/judge — Greek: κρίνῃ (krinē), from κρίνω (krinō), “to judge, decide, condemn.” Semantic range: broader than the Romans [TM-inherited] no_condemnation noun (κατάκριμα/katakrima); this is the active verb “to judge/condemn.” Contextual meaning: God’s redemptive purpose in sending the Son is salvific, not (in this stated purpose) condemnatory — though judgment does occur for unbelief (v.18). Hmong: “txiav txim rau”. Risk: High — see extended treatment at v.18-19 below, foundational to the assigned doctrine Judgment and Belief/Unbelief. [NEW — proposed entry, distinct from but cross-referenced to the Romans katakrima entry]
• but in order that the world might be saved through him — reuse [TM-inherited] kev cawm dim / cawm, mandatorily anchored to Christ (“through him” = dhau ntawm nws / los ntawm Yexus Khetos) per the Romans TM rule.

Yauhas 3:18

• Whoever believes in him is not condemned / whoever does not believe is condemned already — Greek: ὁ πιστεύων… οὐ κρίνεται· ὁ δὲ μὴ πιστεύων ἤδη κέκριται (ho pisteuōn… ou krinetai; ho de mē pisteuōn ēdē kekritai). Note the perfect tense κέκριται (“has been judged,” i.e., already, presently, standing condemned) — a striking “already” (realized) element to Johannine judgment theology, distinct from a purely future last-day-only judgment. Hmong: “twb raug txiav txim lawm” (“already stands judged”).
  • Risk: High. This “already” framing must be taught carefully: unbelief’s condemnation is not merely a future event but a present reality tied to the person’s relationship (or lack thereof) to Christ now — this must not be confused with a fatalistic, hmoov-style predetermined-fortune reading (cf. the Romans [TM-inherited] election_choose FORBIDDEN-substitution warning against hmoov vocabulary). The condemnation here is self-incurred through unbelief, not an impersonal fate assigned apart from one’s response. [NEW — proposed, High, cross-references the Romans hmoov-forbidden-substitution principle]
• because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God — reuse [TM-inherited] son_of_god (Leej Tub ntawm Vajtswv) and the CRITICAL monogenēs entry above; “believe in the name of” ties to the believing-into-the-name idiom recurring at 1:12, 20:31.

Yauhas 3:19

• the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light — light — Greek: τὸ φῶς (to phōs); darkness — Greek: τὸ σκότος (to skotos). Semantic range: light = revelation, truth, moral purity, God’s own self-disclosure in Christ (cf. 1:4-9, 8:12, 9:5, 12:35-36,46); darkness = concealment, moral evil, willful rejection of that revelation. Hmong: “qhov kaj” / “qhov tsaus ntuj”.
  • Risk: Medium-High. While light/darkness is a near-universal moral metaphor and transfers reasonably, Hmong traditional cosmology also carries folk associations of night/darkness with active spirit-presence (dab activity, times when protective charms/practices are used) and of daylight with safety from such spirits. There is a risk hearers assimilate John’s light/darkness dualism into a “spirits-are-active-at-night” framework rather than the intended moral-spiritual dualism of revelation-embraced versus revelation-rejected. Requires an explicit teaching note distinguishing the two frameworks. [NEW — proposed, flag per escalation rule for possible collision]

Yauhas 3:20-21

• whoever does evil hates the light… whoever does what is true comes to the light — evil — Greek: φαῦλα/φαῦλος (phaula, “worthless, evil deeds”) — Hmong: “kev phem”; reuse [TM-inherited] qhov tseeb (truth) for “does what is true” (Greek ποιῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν, “doing/practicing the truth” — a Johannine idiom for living in accordance with revealed truth, not merely intellectual assent). Risk: Low-Medium, comprehension-level idiom (“doing the truth” as lived obedience, not just correct belief) — teaching note recommended, not a lexical risk.
• so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God — closing return to the light/darkness and works themes; reuse existing terms, no new vocabulary.

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PART B — FULL BOOK, CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER COVERAGE (John 1–21)

Per the full-book-coverage mandate, every chapter of John is reviewed below. No chapter in this Gospel is theologically “thin” — each is noted to contribute at least one load-bearing term. Terms already fully treated in Part A (core passage) are cross-referenced rather than repeated.

Chapter 1

• the Word (Logos) — Greek: ὁ λόγος (ho logos). Literal: “the word, speech, discourse, reasoned account.” Semantic range in John’s prologue: the eternal, personal self-expression of God, agent of creation, now incarnate — a deliberate theological title, not ordinary “a word/saying.” English variants: “the Word.” Contextual meaning: the primary textual foundation for the assigned doctrine The Deity and Pre-existence of Christ (1:1-3, “the Word was God,” “all things were made through him”). Hmong: “Txoj Lus” — proposed as a fixed, capitalized-register title reserved exclusively for this Christological referent, distinguished from ordinary “cov lus” / “ib los lus” (words/speech in general). Risk: Critical. Must be marked/reserved consistently as a proper theological title at every occurrence (1:1 [×3], 1:14) so it is never mistaken for generic speech, and must never be diluted to “teaching” or “message” alone, which would lose the personal-eternal-agent sense. [NEW — proposed, Critical, requires human theologian ratification given doctrinal centrality]
• only begotten (monogenēs) — see core passage 3:16 treatment; also occurs 1:14, 1:18. Same CRITICAL entry, tib leeg Tub / tib leeg qualifier applied to “glory” in 1:14 (“glory as of the only Son from the Father”).
• flesh (neutral sense) — “the Word became flesh” — Greek: σὰρξ ἐγένετο (sarx egeneto). Reuse [TM-inherited] flesh_neutral_descent_body (lub cev nqaij tawv), here referring to the incarnation — full, genuine human bodily existence taken on by the eternal Word. Risk: Critical (inherited) — must not be confused with the moral-sinful-nature sense; incarnation implies real humanity, not sinfulness.
• grace and truth — Greek: χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας (charitos kai alētheias), 1:14, 1:17. Reuse [TM-inherited] grace (txiaj ntsim) and truth (qhov tseeb). Risk: Critical/Low respectively (inherited); note the mandatory forbidding of koob hmoov for grace applies here with full force.
• Lamb of God — Greek: ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (ho amnos tou theou), 1:29,36. Literal: “the lamb of God.” Semantic range: sacrificial victim, echoing Passover lamb (Exodus 12) and Isaiah 53’s suffering servant “led like a lamb.” Contextual meaning: substitutionary, sin-bearing sacrifice — directly anchors the assigned doctrine Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection. Hmong: “Leej Menyuam Yaj ntawm Vajtswv”. Risk: High. Hmong traditional sacrificial practice centers on pigs, chickens, and cattle offered to spirits/ancestors (fij dab), not sheep; the term is a comprehension gap requiring explanatory typological teaching (Passover substitution, once-for-all sufficiency) and must be explicitly distinguished from repeatable spirit-appeasement offerings — directly cross-referencing the Romans [TM-inherited] propitiation_atoning_sacrifice entry’s collision warning. [NEW — proposed, High]
• children of God (tekna theou) — Greek: τέκνα θεοῦ (tekna theou), 1:12. Literal: “children of God.” Distinct Greek lexeme from υἱοθεσία/huiothesia (“adoption as sons,” the Romans [TM-inherited] term); John’s τέκνα emphasizes new-birth-derived relationship (tied to 3:3-8’s new birth) more than the legal-adoption metaphor Paul favors. Hmong: “cov me nyuam ntawm Vajtswv”. Risk: Medium — should be taught as complementary to, not identical with, the Romans adoption metaphor; both affirm sonship/childship by grace, approached from different metaphors (birth vs. legal adoption). [NEW — proposed]
• John the Baptist’s witness — reuse [TM-inherited] witness (tus timkhawv). Risk: Low.
• Rabbi, Messiah/Christ, Son of God, King of Israel (various titles applied to Jesus in ch.1) — reuse [TM-inherited] Yexus Khetos root and son_of_god; “Messiah” transliterated consistently with “Khetos” (Christ/Anointed One) already fixed. Risk: Low.

Chapter 2

• the hour (hōra) — Greek: ἡ ὥρα (hē hōra), 2:4 (“My hour has not yet come”). Literal: “the hour, the time.” Semantic range: in John, a recurring technical motif for the divinely appointed time of Christ’s death-and-glorification (cf. 7:30; 8:20; 12:23,27; 13:1; 17:1). Contextual meaning: not merely clock-time, but the fixed, sovereign moment of the cross. Hmong: “lub sijhawm (uas tau teem cia)” (“the [appointed] hour/time”). Risk: Medium — comprehension-level literary motif requiring a teaching note on first occurrence so learners recognize it as a recurring thread rather than an isolated remark; no traditional-religion collision identified. [NEW — proposed]
• zeal for your house (temple cleansing) — reuse lub tuam tsev (temple, already standard Hmong Christian vocabulary); “zeal” (Greek ζῆλος, zēlos) — Hmong “kev hlub thiab kub siab lug” — Risk: Low, comprehension-level only.
• temple of his body — 2:19-21, foreshadowing resurrection; ties forward to Ch.20 resurrection_of_christ entry (see below). Risk: Medium, teaching-note connection, not a lexical risk.
• signs — reuse core-passage entry (3:2 sēmeia), 2:11,23.

Chapter 3 (continued, verses 22-36; verses 1-21 fully treated in Part A)

• friend of the bridegroom — 3:29, John the Baptist’s self-description; low-risk cultural imagery, wedding-attendant role transfers reasonably to Hmong wedding customs; comprehension-level only.
• he who comes from above is above all — 3:31, reuses the pre-existence/“from above” vocabulary of 3:13 and the core CRITICAL new-birth term’s “anōthen” root; teaching note should connect these occurrences.
• the wrath of God remains on him — 3:36, reuse [TM-inherited] wrath_of_god (kev npau taws ntawm Vajtswv). Risk: High (inherited).

Chapter 4

• living water — Greek: ὕδωρ ζῶν (hydōr zōn), 4:10-14; recurs 7:38. Literal: “living/flowing water.” Semantic range: ordinary sense = flowing (as opposed to stagnant) water; theological sense = the Spirit-given, eternal-life-producing gift Christ provides, which permanently satisfies. Hmong: “dej muaj sia” (“water that has life,” i.e., life-giving water). Risk: Medium-High. Comprehension gap (metaphor of a permanently satisfying, internally-springing water source) compounded by a possible collision: some Hmong/regional folk-religious streams venerate river or spring spirits associated with life-giving water sources; the metaphor must be explicitly anchored to Christ/the Spirit as the sole living source, not left to resonate with water-spirit veneration traditions. [NEW — proposed, flag for translator review]
• worship in spirit and truth — Greek: προσκυνήσουσιν… ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ (proskynēsousin… en pneumati kai alētheia), 4:23-24. The verb here is προσκυνέω (proskyneō, “bow down to, worship, do homage”), a different lexeme from the Romans [TM-inherited] latreuō/pehawm entry but functionally overlapping; recommend reusing pehawm with the mandatory object-anchoring rule (pehawm Vajtswv) for consistency, adding the qualifying phrase “hauv Ntsuj Plig thiab hauv qhov tseeb” (in Spirit and in truth). Risk: High (inherited collision risk from pehawm/dab veneration, per Romans TM).
• God is spirit — Greek: πνεῦμα ὁ θεός (pneuma ho theos), 4:24. Literal: “spirit [is] God” / “God is spirit.” This is a direct predication about God’s own nature — non-corporeal, not bound to a single sanctuary/location (the immediate point of the verse).
  • Risk: Critical. No existing Romans TM entry addresses this predication. Rendering God’s nature as “Ntsuj” or “Ntsuj Plig” risks confusion with the human/animistic multi-soul concept (ntsuj plig) already flagged in the Romans baseline, or with generic dab (spirit) vocabulary used for lesser/false spirits. This statement must be rendered in a way that unmistakably marks God’s spiritual nature as categorically different from any animistic spirit-being, ideally leveraging the same “Vaj” (royal/sacred) marking strategy already established for the Holy Spirit. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: no safe default rendering identified; recommend theologian-supervised phrase construction, e.g. exploring “Vajtswv yog tus muaj hwjchim ntsuj, tsis muaj cev nqaij tawv” (God is a spiritual being, without a body of flesh) as a longer descriptive paraphrase rather than a risky short predication, pending Phase 2 ratification.]
• Messiah / Christ confession by the Samaritan woman — reuse Yexus Khetos title vocabulary. Risk: Low.

Chapter 5

• equal with God — Greek: ἴσον… τῷ θεῷ (ison… tō theō), 5:18. Literal: “equal to God.” Contextual meaning: the Jewish leaders’ (correct) perception that Jesus’ claim to divine sonship and Sabbath-working prerogative amounts to a claim of full deity — a direct textual anchor for Deity and Pre-existence of Christ and Unity of the Father and the Son. Hmong: “sib npaug nrog Vajtswv”. Risk: Critical — must never be softened to imply mere favored-status or moral likeness; the text intends and the doctrine requires ontological equality. [NEW — proposed, Critical]
• honor the Son as they honor the Father — 5:23; reuse general “kev hwm” (honor) vocabulary; ties to Unity doctrine — the Son’s dignity is inseparable from the Father’s. Risk: Medium, teaching-note level.
• resurrection of life / resurrection of judgment — Greek: ἀνάστασιν ζωῆς… ἀνάστασιν κρίσεως (anastasin zōēs… anastasin kriseōs), 5:29. Literal: “resurrection of life… resurrection of judgment.” Hmong: “kev sawv hauv qhov tuag mus rau txoj sia / kev sawv hauv qhov tuag mus raug txiav txim”. Risk: Medium-High — general resurrection entry (see Ch.11, Ch.20 below); this verse specifically ties resurrection to the Judgment doctrine — teaching note should connect this to the “already/not yet” judgment framing of 3:18-19. [NEW — proposed]

Chapter 6

• I am the bread of life (I AM statement #1) — Greek: ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς (egō eimi ho artos tēs zōēs), 6:35,48. See consolidated treatment of all seven “I Am” statements below (Ch.6/8/10/11/14/15 cross-reference table). Hmong: “Kuv yog tus khoom noj uas muaj txoj sia”.
• manna / true bread from heaven — 6:31-33,49-51; comprehension-level Old Testament background allusion; low collision risk, requires explanatory background note (manna is culturally unfamiliar but the “bread from heaven” concept transfers adequately via teaching).
• eat my flesh, drink my blood — Greek: φάγῃ… τὴν σάρκα… πίῃ… τὸ αἷμα (phagē… tēn sarka… piē… to haima), 6:53-56. Literal: “eat the flesh… drink the blood.” Semantic range: figurative/sacramental language for total appropriation of, and union with, Christ’s atoning death by faith (6:63 clarifies: “the words I have spoken to you are spirit and life,” i.e., not literal cannibalism).
  • Risk: High. Two risk vectors: (1) taken literally, this could be heard as endorsing cannibalism, requiring explicit figurative/sacramental framing; (2) Hmong traditional religion includes ritual blood offerings in spirit-appeasement sacrifice (fij dab); the “blood” (ntshav) vocabulary must be explicitly taught as symbolic union with Christ’s finished substitutionary death, never as a repeatable ritual blood-offering or blood-taboo practice. Cross-reference the Romans [TM-inherited] propitiation_atoning_sacrifice collision warning directly. [NEW — proposed, High]
• drawn by the Father — Greek: ἑλκύσῃ (helkysē), from ἕλκω (helkō), “to draw, drag, attract,” 6:44. Echoes the Romans [TM-inherited] election_choose doctrine (God’s sovereign initiative in bringing a person to faith); recommend cross-referencing that entry’s mandatory hmoov-forbidden-substitution warning here as well, even though “election” is not among this curriculum’s assigned doctrines, since the collision risk is identical. Risk: High (by extension of the Romans entry).

Chapter 7

• living water / Spirit not yet given — 7:37-39; reuse the Ch.4 living water entry; new clarifying note: “the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (7:39) — establishes the pre-Pentecost timeline of the Holy Spirit’s outpouring, relevant background for the assigned doctrine The Holy Spirit as Counselor developed fully in Ch.14-16. Risk: Medium, teaching-note connection.

Chapter 8

• I am the light of the world (I AM statement #2) — Greek: ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου (egō eimi to phōs tou kosmou), 8:12; repeated 9:5. See consolidated I AM table below. Hmong: “Kuv yog qhov kaj rau lub ntiajteb”.
• your father the devil — Greek: ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστέ (hymeis ek tou patros tou diabolou este), 8:44; devil/Satan — Greek: διάβολος (diabolos, “slanderer, accuser”). Already an established Hmong Christian term: “dab ntxwg nyoog”. Risk: High — shares the root morpheme dab with the broad traditional-religion category of spirits (ancestral, household, nature) that are ritually managed/appeased; requires explicit teaching that Satan is a singular, personal, fallen, rebellious angelic enemy of God — categorically different in kind from ancestral or nature spirits, not merely “a stronger or more malicious dab among the many to be negotiated with.” This is inherited convention (the term itself is already standard Hmong Christian usage) but the collision risk itself had no dedicated Romans-package entry and is logged here as newly surfaced. [NEW — proposed entry for an already-standard term, High]
• the truth will set you free — 8:31-32; reuse [TM-inherited] qhov tseeb; freedom — Greek: ἐλευθερώσει (eleutherōsei), from ἐλευθερόω (eleutheroō), “to free, liberate.” Hmong: “kev ywj pheej”. Risk: Low-Medium, comprehension-level (freedom-from-sin’s-bondage vs. political/social freedom, which is the Jewish interlocutors’ initial misunderstanding in 8:33). [NEW — proposed]
• Before Abraham was, I am — Greek: πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι ἐγὼ εἰμί (prin Abraam genesthai egō eimi), 8:58. This is the absolute, unqualified “I AM” — see consolidated treatment below. This is the single strongest textual claim to deity and pre-existence in the whole Gospel outside the Prologue. Risk: Critical.

Chapter 9

• Light of the world — reiterated, 9:5; reuse Ch.8 entry.
• sin and the works of God displayed — 9:1-3; reuse [TM-inherited] sin_act_and_condition (txhaum / kev txhaum); note the disciples’ assumption that suffering directly indexes personal or ancestral sin (a worldview closely paralleling Hmong traditional causal explanations of misfortune via ancestral/spirit displeasure) — Jesus’ correction (“neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God might be displayed”) directly confronts and corrects this cultural framework. Risk: High — flag as a significant teaching opportunity/collision point requiring explicit contrast-teaching, cross-referencing the Romans [TM-inherited] sin_act_and_condition notes on Hmong reparable-fault framing. [NEW — proposed, High]
• put out of the synagogue — 9:22,34; comprehension-level cultural/institutional note (excommunication from a religious assembly); low risk, cultural-context gloss only.

Chapter 10

• I am the door/gate (I AM statement, sometimes counted separately from the Shepherd statement) — Greek: ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα (egō eimi hē thyra), 10:7,9. Hmong: “Kuv yog qhov rooj”. Risk: Low, concrete/culturally accessible imagery (a doorway/gate for a sheepfold).
• I am the good shepherd (I AM statement #3) — Greek: ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός (egō eimi ho poimēn ho kalos), 10:11,14. Hmong: “Kuv yog tus Yug Yaj Zoo”. See consolidated table. Risk: Medium — sheep-herding is not the dominant Hmong highland pastoral practice (compared to pigs, cattle, water buffalo); recommend an illustrative note drawing an analogy to a trusted herder’s care for cattle/buffalo, paralleling the Romans [TM-inherited] olive-tree-grafting comprehension-gap strategy.
• lay down my life for the sheep — life here — Greek: τὴν ψυχήν μου (tēn psychēn mou), from ψυχή (psychē, “soul, life, self”) — a Greek lexeme distinct from πνεῦμα (pneuma). Contextual meaning: Christ’s voluntary, substitutionary self-giving of his own life — directly anchors Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection. Hmong: “muab nws txoj sia rho pov tseg” (give up/lay down his life), rendering ψυχή here as “txoj sia” (life), kept lexically distinct from [TM-inherited] ntsuj plig (the anthropological πνεῦμα/human-spirit entry) and from Vaj Ntsuj Plig (the Holy Spirit). Risk: Medium — comprehension-level distinction; must not be confused with the already-established ntsuj plig/Vaj Ntsuj Plig pair, since ψυχή (psychē) and πνεῦμα (pneuma) are different Greek words with overlapping but distinct semantic fields. [NEW — proposed]
• I and the Father are one — Greek: ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν (egō kai ho patēr hen esmen), 10:30. one — Greek: ἕν (hen, neuter “one thing/one,” not masculine “one person” — grammatically signaling unity of essence/nature, not identity of person). This is the central textual anchor for the assigned doctrine Unity of the Father and the Son. Hmong: “kuv thiab Leej Txiv koom ua ib” (“I and the Father are united as one”). Risk: Critical. Must be rendered/taught to preserve essential, ontological unity (one divine nature/being shared by two distinct Persons), not mere agreement, alliance, or moral harmony (which a looser Hmong rendering of “one” — as in a clan/family being “of one mind” — might otherwise suggest). This same Greek word (hen) recurs in the relationally-applied sense in 17:11,21-22 (“that they may be one as we are one”) — the analogy between divine ontological unity and the church’s relational unity must be taught carefully so the two are not flattened into identical categories. [NEW — proposed, Critical]

Chapter 11

• I am the resurrection and the life (I AM statement #4) — Greek: ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή (egō eimi hē anastasis kai hē zōē), 11:25. See consolidated table. Hmong: “Kuv yog tus sawv hauv qhov tuag thiab txoj sia”.
• resurrection (general, of Lazarus) — Greek: ἀνάστασις (anastasis), 11:24-25. Literal: “a standing-up-again, rising.” Hmong: “kev sawv hauv qhov tuag”. Risk: Medium — must be kept distinguished (see Ch.20 below) from Christ’s own unique, glorified, permanent, world-altering resurrection; Lazarus’s raising here is a temporary reversal of physical death (he will die again), a sign pointing toward, but not identical to, the resurrection Christ Himself accomplishes and grants. [NEW — proposed]
• Martha’s confession — “the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world” (11:27) — reuse [TM-inherited] Yexus Khetos and son_of_god. Risk: Low.

Chapter 12

• the hour has come — reuse Ch.2 hour entry, 12:23,27.
• a grain of wheat… dies… bears much fruit — 12:24; agricultural death/life paradox; comprehension-level, transfers reasonably to a rice/corn-farming Hmong context (unlike the olive/vine images) — low risk, positive cross-cultural bridge.
• my soul is troubled — Greek: ἡ ψυχή μου τετάρακται (hē psychē mou tetaraktai), 12:27. Reuse the Ch.10 psychē = “txoj sia”/inner-self entry; here better rendered contextually as “kuv lub siab” (my inner being/heart) or “kuv tus kheej” (my inner self) rather than “txoj sia” (life), since the sense here is emotional/inner distress, not the giving-up-of-life sense of 10:11. Flag: ψυχή’s range spans both “life” and “inner self/soul-as-seat-of-emotion” — translators must choose contextually. Risk: Medium, comprehension-level.
• ruler of this world — Greek: ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου (ho archōn tou kosmou toutou), 12:31; recurs 14:30, 16:11. Literal: “the ruler of this world.” Title for Satan. Hmong: “tus uas kav lub ntiajteb no”. Risk: High — the verb root “kav” (to rule/govern) is shared with the Romans [TM-inherited] governing_authority entry (cov muaj hwjchim kav teb chaws); must be clearly taught as illegitimate, usurped, temporary authority under God’s ultimate sovereignty, categorically distinct from God-ordained civil authority, to prevent doctrinal blending between the two “ruling” categories. [NEW — proposed, High]
• the Isaiah hardening quotation — 12:37-41; reuse [TM-inherited] hardening (lub siab tawv). Risk: Medium (inherited).

Chapter 13

• a new commandment… love one another — reuse [TM-inherited] love (kev hlub), 13:34-35. Risk: Low.
• now is the Son of Man glorified — reuse Son of Man (Ch.3 entry) and glory ([TM-inherited] lub yeeb koob), 13:31. Risk: Medium (compound, teaching-note on glory-through-suffering paradox).
• foot-washing / servant example — reuse [TM-inherited] servant_slave_doulos associations cautiously (Jesus takes the role of a servant without the term qhev necessarily being used in the Greek here — the verb is διακονέω-adjacent action, not a title); recommend NOT importing qhev into this passage’s teaching notes, to avoid overloading a demonstration-of-humility narrative with the total-ownership bondservant metaphor properly reserved for Romans 1:1/6. Flag as a translator caution rather than a new term.

Chapter 14

• I am the way, and the truth, and the life (I AM statement #5) — Greek: ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή (egō eimi hē hodos kai hē alētheia kai hē zōē), 14:6. See consolidated table. Hmong: “Kuv yog txoj kev, thiab qhov tseeb, thiab txoj sia”.
• the Counselor / Helper / Advocate (Paraclete) — Greek: ὁ παράκλητος (ho paraklētos), 14:16,26; recurs 15:26; 16:7. Literal: “one called alongside” (para-, “beside” + -klētos, from kaleō, “to call”) — i.e., one summoned to stand beside another as advocate, helper, comforter, or legal counselor. Semantic range: advocate in a legal/defense sense, comforter in a consoling sense, counselor/helper in a general-aid sense — English translations vary widely (Comforter [KJV], Counselor [ESV/NIV], Advocate [NRSV], Helper [NASB]) precisely because no single English word captures the full legal-plus-relational range. Contextual theological meaning: this term is the central textual anchor for the assigned doctrine The Holy Spirit as Counselor and is explicitly identified with the Holy Spirit (“the Spirit of truth,” 14:17; 15:26; 16:13) sent to permanently indwell believers after Christ’s departure.
  • Hmong rendering: “tus Pab Txhawb Nqa” (“the Helper who strengthens/stands by/encourages”), always co-occurring with the mandatory [TM-inherited] Vaj Ntsuj Plig marker, i.e. rendered in full as “Vaj Ntsuj Plig, tus Pab Txhawb Nqa” at first occurrence in any lesson unit.
  • Risk: CRITICAL — new collision, not previously documented in the Romans baseline. Hmong traditional religion includes concepts of personal or household guardian-spirits and ancestral protector-spirits who are ritually maintained, fed, and appeased to secure ongoing protection and aid. A “Helper/Advocate” spirit-figure who “comes alongside” and “never leaves” could easily be assimilated into this existing guardian-spirit framework unless explicitly and repeatedly distinguished: the Paraclete is the divine Third Person of the Godhead — personal, permanent, freely given (not ritually maintained or appeasable/losable through ritual failure), and His function is to testify to truth and glorify Christ, not to provide generic household protection. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED / NEW — proposed for human theologian ratification before Phase 2 lock, given this is a brand-new Critical collision point central to an assigned doctrine.]
• I will not leave you as orphans — Greek: οὐκ ἀφήσω ὑμᾶς ὀρφανούς (ouk aphēsō hymas orphanous), 14:18. Hmong: “cov tub ntsuag” (orphans). Risk: Low, comprehension-level, positive emotional resonance (orphan-care is a recognized value in Hmong clan culture).
• peace I leave with you — reuse [TM-inherited] peace (kev thaj yeeb), 14:27. Risk: Low.

Chapter 15

• I am the true vine (I AM statement #6) — Greek: ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή (egō eimi hē ampelos hē alēthinē), 15:1,5. See consolidated table. Hmong: “Kuv yog tsob txiv hmab tseeb”. Risk: Medium — viticulture (vine-growing) is not a traditional Hmong highland agricultural practice, paralleling the Romans [TM-inherited] olive-tree comprehension-gap note; recommend an illustrative analogy to a locally familiar fruiting vine/climbing plant (e.g., bitter melon, chayote, or grape-adjacent regional cultivation now increasingly known) with a mandatory teaching note, per the same strategy already documented for grafted_olive_tree.
• abide in me — Greek: μείνατε ἐν ἐμοί (meinate en emoi), from μένω (menō, “to remain, stay, abide, continue”), 15:4-10. This is John’s own version of the participatory-union idiom that closely parallels Paul’s ἐν Χριστῷ formula. Hmong: recommend directly extending the Romans [TM-inherited] in_christ_union_formula (nyob hauv Khetos) to this Johannine context as “nyob hauv kuv” (“abide/remain in me”) when Christ is the speaker, with the same disambiguating-co-text requirement (never bare spatial “hauv”) already mandated for the Romans entry. Risk: High (inherited from the inherited entry’s own risk level) — cross-corpus consistency is doctrinally important here since both books teach the identical Union-with-Christ reality using structurally parallel language. [NEW — proposed extension of an existing TM entry to John’s vocabulary]
• Parakletos, Spirit of truth — reiterated, 15:26; reuse Ch.14 CRITICAL entry.
• the world hates you — reuse [TM-inherited] world (lub ntiajteb). Risk: Low.

Chapter 16

• Parakletos — continued teaching, 16:7-15; reuse Ch.14 CRITICAL entry; new content: the Spirit “will guide you into all truth” (16:13) and will “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (16:8) — reuse [TM-inherited] sin_act_and_condition, righteousness_of_god_righteous, and the new judgment/krinō entry (core passage v.17-19) in direct connection with the Spirit’s convicting work. Risk: High (compound, inherited).
• sorrow will turn into joy — 16:20-22, childbirth-labor-pain analogy; comprehension-level, universally accessible human experience, low risk, positive cross-cultural bridge (Hmong culture shares the same basic birth-pain-then-joy pattern).
• I have overcome the world — Greek: ἐγὼ νενίκηκα τὸν κόσμον (egō nenikēka ton kosmon), from νικάω (nikaō, “to conquer, overcome, be victorious”), 16:33. Hmong: “kuv kov yeej lub ntiajteb lawm”. Risk: Low-Medium — martial/victory vocabulary is generally positive and low-collision, but recommend a minor teaching note distinguishing Christ’s decisive, once-for-all victory over sin/death/the world-system from any notion of ritualized “spirit-battle” victories sought through shamanic practice, to keep the term in its proper redemptive-historical register. [NEW — proposed]

Chapter 17

• that they may be one — Greek: ἵνα ὦσιν ἕν (hina ōsin hen), 17:11,21-22. Reuse the Ch.10 hen/unity entry, here applied relationally to believers, modeled on (but not identical to) the ontological unity of Father and Son. Risk: Critical (inherited) — the analogy between divine essential unity and the church’s relational unity must be taught with the distinction preserved, not flattened.
• eternal life… this is that they know you — Greek: γινώσκωσιν (ginōskōsin), from γινώσκω (ginōskō, “to know”), 17:3. Semantic range: relational, experiential, covenantal knowing (as in Hebrew yada), not merely intellectual/propositional knowledge. Hmong: “paub”. Risk: Medium — recommend a teaching note distinguishing this relational sense of “knowing God” from mere factual awareness (“paub txog,” knowing about), directly tying Eternal Life through Faith in Christ to ongoing relational knowledge of God, not a one-time transaction only. [NEW — proposed]
• sanctify them in the truth — reuse [TM-inherited] sanctification (kev raug ua kom dawb huv), 17:17,19; here the means is explicitly “the truth” (God’s word) — reuse [TM-inherited] truth/scripture. Risk: High (inherited).
• before the foundation of the world you loved me — 17:5,24; reuse and reinforce the pre-existence textual base (see 1:1, 3:13, 8:58) for the Deity and Pre-existence of Christ doctrine. Risk: Critical (doctrinal weight, no new lexical item).

Chapter 18

• My kingdom is not of this world — reuse [TM-inherited] lub Nceeg Vaj ntawm Vajtswv and lub ntiajteb, 18:36. Risk: Low (inherited), but teaching-note on the spiritual, non-political nature of Christ’s kingship recommended given the immediate political trial context.
• What is truth? — reuse [TM-inherited] qhov tseeb, 18:38. Risk: Low.
• Peter’s denial — no new theological vocabulary; narrative material reusing existing terms.

Chapter 19

• It is finished — Greek: τετέλεσται (tetelestai), from τελέω (teleō, “to complete, finish, accomplish, bring to its intended end”), 19:30. Perfect tense, signaling a completed action with ongoing, permanent effect. Contextual meaning: the definitive, sufficient completion of Christ’s atoning work — the single most concentrated textual anchor for Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection as a finished, unrepeatable act. Hmong: “Tiav lawm” (“It is finished/accomplished”).
  • Risk: Critical. Must be directly and explicitly cross-referenced to the Romans [TM-inherited] propitiation_atoning_sacrifice entry (qhov theej txhoj kev txhaum) and its mandatory “once-for-all, sufficient, unrepeatable” teaching requirement. Any rendering or teaching implying an ongoing or repeatable atoning work (which would align this term with shamanic repeatable-appeasement patterns) is forbidden. [NEW — proposed, Critical, direct extension of an existing Critical Romans entry]
• King of the Jews (inscription) — reuse Yudas/kingship vocabulary already established. Risk: Low.
• blood and water from Christ’s side — 19:34; reuse blood/haima vocabulary (Ch.6 entry); symbolic/theological significance (often connected to both the reality of physical death and to baptism/Eucharist typology in historic Christian interpretation) — recommend a teaching note but no new lexical risk beyond the already-flagged blood entry.

Chapter 20

• He is risen / the resurrection of Christ — Greek: ἠγέρθη (ēgerthē, from ἐγείρω, egeirō, “to raise up”) and ἀνέστη-family vocabulary describing the event narratively. Contextual meaning: Christ’s own bodily, historical, permanent, glorified resurrection — the capstone of Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection, categorically distinct from Lazarus’s temporary reversal-of-death (Ch.11) or the general “resurrection of life/judgment” (Ch.5) yet to come for others. Hmong: “Yexus sawv hauv qhov tuag rov qab los lawm”.
  • Risk: Critical. Direct collision: Hmong traditional ancestor veneration presupposes that a deceased person’s spirit persists, must be ritually honored, fed, and can be called back or consulted (hu plig, ancestral altar practices) — but this is spirit-continuation, NOT bodily resurrection, and the ancestor remains among the dead, to be appeased, not a living, embodied, victorious, once-for-all-risen person walking among the living. Christ’s resurrection must be explicitly and repeatedly taught as categorically different from ancestor-spirit continuation: it is bodily, historical, witnessed, unrepeatable, and the basis of the believer’s own future bodily resurrection hope — not a spirit’s ongoing presence to be ritually managed. [NEW — proposed, Critical, requires human theologian ratification; this is arguably the single most consequential doctrinal-collision point in the entire Gospel of John for a Hmong audience.]
• My Lord and my God — Greek: ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου (ho kyrios mou kai ho theos mou), 20:28 (Thomas’s confession). Reuse [TM-inherited] tus Tswv (Lord) and Vajtswv (God) in combined confessional form. Risk: Critical (compound of two Low-risk inherited terms used together as the Gospel’s climactic, explicit deity-confession) — teaching note must preserve that this is a direct, worshipful address of Jesus as fully God, not merely an exclamation of surprise.
• Receive the Holy Spirit — 20:22; reuse [TM-inherited] Vaj Ntsuj Plig; John’s own “mini-Pentecost” moment. Risk: Critical (inherited).
• As the Father has sent me, I am sending you — 20:21; reuse the apostolic-sending root already present in [TM-inherited] apostle (tus Tub Txib, from the same “sent one” concept); recommend connecting this verse explicitly to that established entry. Risk: Medium (inherited, connective note only).
• that you may believe… and have life — 20:31 (John’s stated purpose for the whole Gospel); reuse [TM-inherited] kev ntseeg / ntseeg and txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis, anchored to Yexus Khetos and son_of_god. Risk: Low (inherited), but doctrinally central as the Gospel’s own thesis statement — recommend flagging in curriculum design as a natural closing-summary verse.

Chapter 21

• Do you love me? (agapē vs. philia) — Greek alternates ἀγαπᾷς (agapas, from ἀγαπάω, agapaō) and φιλεῖς (phileis, from φιλέω, phileō) across Peter’s three-question dialogue with Jesus (21:15-17). Semantic range: some interpreters see a deliberate distinction (sacrificial/covenantal love vs. affectionate/friendship love); others see stylistic variation without sharp doctrinal difference. Hmong has a single primary term, [TM-inherited] kev hlub, covering both. Risk: Low-Medium — this is a genuine comprehension-level loss (the Greek wordplay/possible nuance cannot be reproduced in Hmong with a single lexeme), not a doctrinal collision; recommend a translator’s footnote noting the two Greek words at this passage specifically, without forcing an artificial two-word Hmong distinction that the existing TM does not support. [NEW — proposed, flag per escalation rule for a genuine literary-nuance gap]
• feed my sheep / tend my sheep — reuse the Ch.10 shepherd/sheep imagery and its comprehension-gap note. Risk: Medium (inherited).
• follow me — reuse discipleship vocabulary already implicit in kev ntseeg/obedience-of-faith family; no new lexical risk.
• the disciple whom Jesus loved — reuse [TM-inherited] love. Risk: Low.

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PART C — CONSOLIDATED TABLE: The Seven “I Am” Statements (assigned doctrine cross-reference)

#	Reference	Greek	Hmong rendering	Risk
1	6:35,48	ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς	Kuv yog tus khoom noj uas muaj txoj sia	Medium (comprehension: bread as a staple food transfers to rice-as-staple in Hmong culture; teaching note recommended to bridge bread→rice-equivalent staple-food imagery)
2	8:12; 9:5	ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου	Kuv yog qhov kaj rau lub ntiajteb	Medium-High (shares the light/darkness dualism collision risk noted at 3:19)
3	10:7,9 (door) / 10:11,14 (shepherd)	ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα / ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός	Kuv yog qhov rooj / Kuv yog tus Yug Yaj Zoo	Low (door) / Medium (shepherd, pastoral comprehension gap)
4	11:25	ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή	Kuv yog tus sawv hauv qhov tuag thiab txoj sia	Critical (directly ties to the resurrection-collision risk documented at Ch.20)
5	14:6	ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή	Kuv yog txoj kev, thiab qhov tseeb, thiab txoj sia	Critical (exclusivity claim — “no one comes to the Father except through me” — must never be softened to a pluralistic “one way among several” reading)
6	15:1,5	ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή	Kuv yog tsob txiv hmab tseeb	Medium (viticulture comprehension gap, parallels Romans’ olive-tree note)
7 (absolute)	8:58 (also 8:24; 13:19)	ἐγώ εἰμι (unqualified)	Kuv Yog	Critical — echoes the divine self-name of Exodus 3:14 LXX; the single highest-stakes Christological claim in the book

All seven require the mandatory qualifier “Kuv yog…” to be rendered identically at every occurrence for stylistic and doctrinal consistency, per the same principle already governing fixed collocations in the Romans TM.

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PART D — Full-Book Coverage Confirmation

All 21 chapters of John have been reviewed above (Part B). No chapter was found to introduce zero new load-bearing theological vocabulary; each chapter’s distinctive contribution is logged explicitly, consistent with the full-book-coverage mandate. Where a chapter’s vocabulary substantially overlaps with an already-treated chapter (e.g., Ch.9 reusing Ch.8’s “Light of the World,” Ch.15-16 reusing Ch.14’s Paraclete), this is noted explicitly as reuse rather than re-analyzed from scratch.