Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Luke (Hmong Destination Language)
Risk tiers follow the Romans baseline definitions exactly: Critical (strong, specific traditional-religion collision, doctrine-inverting if unaddressed), High (real confusion risk, manageable with a documented strategy), Medium (comprehension/register gap, no direct collision), Low (stable, minimal ambiguity).
A. Divine Persons, Titles & Spirit-World Categories
| # | English Term | Greek / Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | God | θεός / theos | Vajtswv | TM-REUSE | Low | All | all | Reuse exact. |
| 2 | Lord | κύριος / kyrios | tus Tswv | TM-REUSE | Low | All | all | Reuse exact. |
| 3 | Jesus Christ | Ἰησοῦς Χριστός / Iēsous Christos | Yexus Khetos | TM-REUSE | Low | All | all | Reuse exact; note 4:18’s “anointed” verb links etymologically to Khetos. |
| 4 | Father (God) | πατήρ / patēr | Leej Txiv | TM-REUSE | Low | Prayer and Dependence on God; Holy Spirit’s Work | 1,3,6,10,11,12,15,22,23,24 | Reuse exact. |
| 5 | Holy Spirit | πνεῦμα ἅγιον / pneuma hagion | Vaj Ntsuj Plig | TM-REUSE | Critical | Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History | 1,3,4,10,11,12,24 | Mandatory Vaj prefix at every occurrence without exception, esp. 1:35 (overshadowing) and 12:10 (blasphemy against the Spirit). |
| 6 | human spirit (anthropological) / ghost-appearance sense | πνεῦμα / pneuma | ntsuj plig | TM-REUSE | Critical | Kingdom Present and Future (resurrection) | 24 | 24:37-39 uses this term for a mere “ghost/spirit” explicitly contrasted with Jesus’ resurrected flesh-and-bones body; must never receive the Vaj prefix, and must be taught in sharp contrast to Hmong beliefs about the continuing spirit-presence of the dead. |
| 7 | Son of God | υἱὸς θεοῦ / huios theou | Leej Tub ntawm Vajtswv | TM-REUSE | Low | Union with Christ; Jesus as Savior | 1,3,4 | Reuse exact. |
| 8 | Most High | ὕψιστος / hypsistos | tus uas Siab Tshaj Plaws | NEW | Low-Medium | Holy Spirit’s Work; Jesus as Savior | 1,6,8 | Comprehension-level; no collision. |
| 9 | angel | ἄγγελος / angelos | tus tim tswv | NEW | Medium | Holy Spirit’s Work (annunciation); Kingdom Present/Future (24) | 1,2,9,12,15,24 | Must be distinguished from ancestral/nature dab; angels neither require nor accept ritual appeasement. |
| 10 | devil / Satan | διάβολος, σατανᾶς / diabolos, satanas | dab ntxwg nyoog | NEW | Critical | Jesus as Savior (temptation, ch. 4); Kingdom Present/Future | 4,8,10,11,13,22 | Singular cosmic adversary; must be kept categorically distinct from generic dab (below) and from ancestor spirits. |
| 11 | demon / unclean spirit | δαιμόνιον, πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον / daimonion, pneuma akatharton | dab / dab phem / dab qias | NEW | Critical | Holy Spirit’s Work (Spirit vs. demonic power); Kingdom Present/Future | 4,6,7,8,9,10,11,13 | The single highest-risk new lexical category in Luke: identical vocabulary to Hmong animism’s negotiated/appeased spirits. Jesus’ exorcisms must be taught as authoritative, one-word, final expulsions — never negotiated or appeased — sharply distinct from txiv neeb shamanic practice. Recommend dedicated Phase 2 doctrinal-note priority equal to or exceeding the Romans baseline’s hwjchim caution. |
| 12 | Son of Man | υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου / huios tou anthrōpou | tus Tub ntawm Neeg | NEW | Medium | Jesus as Savior; Kingdom Present/Future | 5,6,7,9,11,12,17,18,19,21,22,24 | Literal Hmong gloss lacks Daniel 7 heavenly-authority overtones; mandatory teaching note. |
| 13 | Son of David | υἱὸς Δαυίδ / huios Dauid | tus Tub ntawm Dexes | NEW | Medium | Jesus as Savior | 18,20 | Comprehension gap: Davidic covenant/kingship background must be taught explicitly. |
| 14 | prophet | προφήτης / prophētēs | yaj saub | NEW | High | Holy Spirit’s Work; Repentance and Forgiveness (fulfillment theme) | 1,3,4,7,9,11,13,16,24 | Established Hmong Christian rendering drawn from the folk-mythological figure Yawm Saub, historically tied to Hmong millenarian king-messiah movements; must be taught strictly as a covenant spokesman for Israel’s God (e.g., Isaiah), never as, or conflated with, Hmong nationalist-messianic folklore. |
B. Gospel, Salvation & Repentance Core
| # | English Term | Greek / Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Gospel / good news | εὐαγγέλιον / euangelion | Txoj Moo Zoo | TM-REUSE | Low | Good News to Poor; Jesus as Savior | 1,2,4,7,8,9,16,20 | Reuse exact; verb form tshaj tawm Txoj Moo Zoo for euangelizomai. |
| 16 | faith / believe | πίστις, πιστεύω / pistis, pisteuō | kev ntseeg / ntseeg | TM-REUSE | Medium | Jesus as Savior; Repentance and Forgiveness | all | Always anchor explicitly to Jesus. |
| 17 | salvation / save | σωτηρία, σῴζω / sōtēria, sōzō | kev cawm dim / cawm | TM-REUSE | High | Jesus as Savior; all doctrines converge here | 1,2,3,7,8,9,13,17,18,19,23 | Always anchor explicitly to Yexus Khetos; extremely high-frequency in Luke. |
| 18 | repentance / repent | μετάνοια, μετανοέω / metanoia, metanoeō | kev hloov siab lees txim | NEW | Critical | Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins | 3,5,11,13,15,17,24 | Must be distinguished both from ordinary reparable-social-fault apology custom and from TM’s hloov siab tshiab (renewal of the mind, sanctification-stage). Core doctrinal term of the whole curriculum. |
| 19 | forgiveness / release (sin sense) | ἄφεσις (ἁμαρτιῶν) / aphesis (hamartiōn) | kev zam txim | NEW | Critical | Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins | 1,3,4,5,7,11,17,23,24 | Same Greek noun as the captivity-release sense (below); mandatory teaching link between the two senses. |
| 20 | liberty / release (captivity sense) | ἄφεσις / aphesis | kev tso dawb | NEW | High | Good News to Poor and Marginalized | 4 | See above; the programmatic 4:18 double-sense term. |
| 21 | poor | πτωχός / ptōchos | cov pluag | NEW | Medium | Good News to Poor and Marginalized | 1,2,4,6,7,14,16,18,19,21 | Must preserve literal socio-economic force alongside spiritual application; do not spiritualize away. |
| 22 | blessed (Beatitudes) | μακάριος / makarios | [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED] — candidates: koob hmoov (with mandatory contrast-teaching) or tau txais kev zoo siab tshaj ntawm Vajtswv | NEW | High — flagged, unresolved | Good News to Poor and Marginalized | 6 | koob hmoov is the Romans baseline’s forbidden term for grace (fate/merit collision); Beatitudes deliberately invert ordinary fortune-logic, heightening the risk. Escalate to theologian + native-speaker review before Phase 2 fixing. |
| 23 | blessed (acclamation, triumphal entry) | εὐλογημένος / eulogēmenos | Koob hmoov nyob rau … | NEW | Medium | Jesus as Savior | 19 | Different Greek root from #22 (eulogeō vs makarios); flag for a single coherent cross-book “blessed” strategy alongside #22. |
| 24 | mercy | ἔλεος / eleos | txoj kev khuv leej | TM-REUSE | Medium | Jesus’ Compassion; Prayer | 1,10,17,18 | Kept distinct from txiaj ntsim (grace) per baseline. |
| 25 | grace / favor | χάρις / charis | txiaj ntsim | TM-REUSE | Critical | Good News to Poor; Jesus as Savior | 1,2,4 | Never koob hmoov for this sense. |
| 26 | compassion (visceral) | σπλαγχνίζομαι / splagchnizomai | khuv leej tu siab | NEW | Low-Medium | Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship | 7,10,15 | Intensified form of #24; defining marker across Good Samaritan, Prodigal Father, widow of Nain. |
C. Peoples, Social Groups & Table Fellowship
| # | English Term | Greek / Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Jew | Ἰουδαῖος / Ioudaios | cov Yudas | TM-REUSE | Low | Jesus as Savior for All Nations | 23 | Reuse exact. |
| 28 | nations / Gentiles | ἔθνη / ethnē | lwm Haiv Neeg | TM-REUSE | Low | Jesus as Savior for All Nations | 2,21,24 | Reuse exact. |
| 29 | Samaritan | Σαμαρίτης / Samaritēs | cov Xamalis | NEW | Medium | Jesus as Savior for All Nations | 9,10,17 | Comprehension gap on Jewish-Samaritan ethnic hostility; no direct traditional-religion collision. |
| 30 | sinner | ἁμαρτωλός / hamartōlos | tus txhaum | NEW | High | Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners | 5,6,7,15,18,19 | Built on TM txhaum root; must be objective guilt-status, not merely social label, even where Luke uses it as a reversible social category. |
| 31 | tax collector | τελώνης / telōnēs | tus sau se | NEW | Medium | Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship | 3,5,7,15,18,19 | Preserve first-century social-outcast connotation, not neutral “tax officer.” |
| 32 | Pharisee | Φαρισαῖος / Pharisaios | cov Falixais | NEW | Low | Repentance; Table Fellowship | 5,6,7,11,14,15,16,18 | Established transliteration. |
| 33 | scribe / lawyer (of the Law) | γραμματεύς, νομικός / grammateus, nomikos | tus qhia Txoj Kevcai | NEW | Medium | The Law’s role (background) | 5,10,11,20 | Must carry the TM Law qualifier when referencing their subject matter. |
| 34 | table fellowship (eat together) | συνανάκειμαι, συνεσθίω / synanakeimai, synesthiō | koom noj koom haus | NEW | High | Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners | 5,7,14,15,19 | Collides with Hmong ritual-feast and clan-honor meal customs; must be taught as grace-based inclusion, never ritual-purity transfer or honor-earned status. |
| 35 | widow | χήρα / chēra | poj ntsuam | NEW | Low-Medium | Good News to Poor; Prayer and Dependence | 2,4,7,18,20,21 | Standard vocabulary word; minor comprehension caution re: unrelated Hmong folk-narrative figure of similar name. |
| 36 | neighbor | πλησίον / plēsion | tus nyob ze | NEW | Medium | Jesus as Savior for All Nations; Compassion | 10 | Must be explicitly taught as extending beyond kwv tij clan-boundary categories. |
D. Law, Covenant & Ritual Practice
| # | English Term | Greek / Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | Law (Mosaic/Divine) | νόμος / nomos | Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes) | TM-REUSE | Critical | The Law’s background role | 2,10,16,24 | Mandatory qualifier at every occurrence, no exceptions. |
| 38 | circumcision | περιτομή / peritomē | kev txiav (raws li Txoj Kevcai Mauxes) | TM-REUSE | Medium | Background | 1,2 | Reuse exact. |
| 39 | covenant | διαθήκη / diathēkē | kev cog lus (nrog Vajtswv) | NEW | Medium | Holy Spirit’s Work; Repentance and Forgiveness | 1,22 | Distinct from TM lus cog tseg (promise) though related; bridges via clan-alliance/marriage-oath custom. |
| 40 | new covenant in [Christ’s] blood | καινὴ διαθήκη ἐν αἵματι / kainē diathēkē en haimati | kev cog lus tshiab hauv (kuv) cov ntshav | NEW | Critical | Repentance and Forgiveness; Jesus as Savior | 22 | Direct collision with shamanic blood-offering/appeasement ritual; must be taught as Christ’s unique, sufficient, once-for-all sacrificial blood. |
| 41 | Sabbath | σάββατον / sabbaton | hnub Xanpatau | NEW | Low | Kingdom Present and Future (background) | 4,6,13,14 | Established transliteration. |
| 42 | synagogue | συναγωγή / synagōgē | tsev sablaj | NEW | Low | Core passage background | 4,6,13 | Established term. |
| 43 | temple | ἱερόν, ναός / hieron, naos | lub Tuam Tsev | NEW | Low | Prayer and Dependence on God | 2,4,19,20,21,24 | Comprehension-level. |
| 44 | tithe | δεκάτη / dekatē | ib feem kaum | NEW | Low-Medium | Background (Pharisaic legalism critique) | 11,18 | Comprehension gap, no exact cultic-tithing custom. |
E. Atonement, Sin, Judgment & Afterlife
| # | English Term | Greek / Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | sin (act and condition) | ἁμαρτία / hamartia | txhaum / kev txhaum | TM-REUSE | High | Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins | all | Reuse exact. |
| 46 | wrath of God | ὀργὴ θεοῦ / orgē theou | kev npau taws ntawm Vajtswv | TM-REUSE | High | Background (John’s preaching) | 3 | Reuse exact. |
| 47 | justify / reckon as righteous | δικαιόω / dikaioō | ua kom ncaj ncees / raug suav tias ncaj ncees | TM-REUSE | Critical | Repentance and Forgiveness; cross-book Justification confirmation | 18 | 18:14’s tax-collector parable is a direct narrative confirmation of the Romans-baseline Justification doctrine; must retain full mandatory qualifier. |
| 48 | mammon | μαμωνᾶς / mamōnas | Mamoos (nyiaj txiag) | NEW | Medium-High | Good News to Poor (rich/poor reversal) | 16 | Retained Aramaic loanword + gloss, parallel to TM’s Abba pattern; teach as a personified wealth-idol, conceptually parallel to (not equated with) TM dab mlom. |
| 49 | Hades / place of the dead | ᾅδης / Hadēs | chaw nyob ntawm cov tuag uas raug kev txom nyem | NEW | Critical | Good News to Poor; end-time accountability | 16 | Must be sharply distinguished from Hmong ancestral spirit-realm cosmology; fixed, unalterable-by-ritual, conscious post-mortem state. |
| 50 | Abraham’s bosom | κόλπος Ἀβραάμ / kolpos Abraam | hauv Anplahas caj npab | NEW | Low-Medium | Good News to Poor | 16 | Positive counterpart to #49; teach as a pair. |
| 51 | paradise | παράδεισος / paradeisos | lub Vaj Kaj Siab | NEW | Medium | Repentance and Forgiveness; Kingdom Present/Future | 23 | Positive afterlife term for the repentant; teach in contrast to #49. |
| 52 | resurrection | ἀνάστασις / anastasis | kev sawv hauv qhov tuag rov qab los | NEW | Critical | Kingdom of God Present and Future | 20,24 | Bodily, not disembodied-spirit continuation; teach jointly with #6 and #49. |
| 53 | ghost/spirit vs. flesh-and-bones body | πνεῦμα vs. σάρκα καὶ ὀστέα / pneuma vs. sarka kai ostea | ntsuj plig (negative case) vs. cev nqaij tawv thiab pob txha | NEW | Critical | Kingdom of God Present and Future | 24 | Directly confronts Hmong beliefs about the wandering spirit of the deceased; top-priority doctrinal collision point for Phase 2. |
F. Discipleship, Ethics & Prayer
| # | English Term | Greek / Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | apostle | ἀπόστολος / apostolos | tus Tub Txib | TM-REUSE | Medium | Cost and Joy of Discipleship | 6,9,11,17,22,24 | Reuse exact. |
| 55 | love | ἀγάπη, ἀγαπάω / agapē, agapaō | kev hlub | TM-REUSE | Low | Cost and Joy of Discipleship; Compassion | 6,7,10,11 | Reuse exact. |
| 56 | kingdom of God | βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ / basileia tou theou | lub Nceeg Vaj ntawm Vajtswv | TM-REUSE | Low | Kingdom of God Present and Future | 1,4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,16,17,18,19,21,22,23 | Reuse exact; teaching must consistently distinguish present/“already” texts from future/“not yet” texts. |
| 57 | authority / power | ἐξουσία, δύναμις / exousia, dynamis | hwjchim (qualified: Vajtswv hwjchim) | TM-REUSE | High | Holy Spirit’s Work; Jesus as Savior | 1,4,5,8,9,10,11,20,22,24 | Mandatory qualifier at every occurrence; especially acute in exorcism/healing contexts (ch. 4,8) where shamanic-power collision risk is highest. |
| 58 | worship (cultic) | προσκυνέω / proskyneō | pehawm | TM-REUSE | High | Jesus as Savior; Kingdom Present/Future | 4,24 | Always with explicit object (pehawm Vajtswv/pehawm Yexus). |
| 59 | cross (take up) | σταυρός / stauros | ntoo Khaub Lig | NEW | Medium | Cost and Joy of Discipleship | 9,14,23 | Established Hmong Christian term; retain literal execution-instrument background in teaching. |
| 60 | cost of discipleship (follow) | ἀκολουθέω / akoloutheō | raws Yexus qab | NEW | High | Cost and Joy of Discipleship | 5,9,14,18 | Confronts filial/funeral-duty obligations (9:59-62); requires honest, non-minimizing pastoral teaching. |
| 61 | household division | διαμερισμός / diamerismos | kev sib cais hauv tsev neeg | NEW | High | Cost and Joy of Discipleship | 12 | Direct challenge to clan/family unity and shared ancestral-ritual participation; real-world pastoral collision, not mere comprehension gap. |
| 62 | humility | ταπείνωσις, ταπεινόω / tapeinos, tapeinoō | kev txo hwjchim | NEW | Medium — flag | Good News to Poor; Cost of Discipleship | 1,14 | Standard idiom contains the flagged hwjchim morpheme; confirm safety in TM-revision review. |
| 63 | endurance | ὑπομονή / hypomonē | kev ua siab ntev | TM-REUSE | Low | Cost and Joy of Discipleship | 21 | Reuse exact. |
| 64 | joy (heavenly, over repentance) | χαρά / chara | kev zoo siab | NEW | High (linked to #18) | Repentance and Forgiveness; Cost and Joy of Discipleship | 2,10,15,19,24 | The “joy” pole of the discipleship doctrine; carries the repentance term’s risk by association. |
| 65 | prayer | προσεύχομαι, προσευχή / proseuchomai, proseuchē | thov Vajtswv / kev thov Vajtswv | NEW | Low | Prayer and Dependence on God | 1,3,5,6,9,10,11,18,19,21,22 | Established, stable Hmong Christian term. |
| 66 | daily bread | ἐπιούσιος ἄρτος / epiousios artos | mov noj txhua hnub | NEW | Medium | Prayer and Dependence on God | 11 | Underlying Greek term’s precise sense genuinely disputed; preserve sense of ongoing sufficiency/trust. |
| 67 | anxiety / worry | μεριμνάω / merimnaō | txhawj xeeb | NEW | Low | Prayer and Dependence on God | 12 | Comprehension-level. |
| 68 | faithful steward | οἰκονόμος / oikonomos | tus saib xyuas vaj tse | NEW | Low-Medium | Cost and Joy of Discipleship | 12,16 | Comprehension-level. |
| 69 | will of God | θέλημα θεοῦ / thelēma theou | Vajtswv lub siab nyiam | TM-REUSE | Medium | Prayer and Dependence on God | 22 | Reuse exact; Gethsemane’s supreme model instance. |
| 70 | anointed | χρίω / chriō | pleev roj tsa (xaiv thiab tsa ua) | NEW | Medium | Jesus as Savior; Holy Spirit’s Work | 4 | Etymological link to Khetos; core-passage term. |
G. Additional Comprehension-Level / Narrative Terms
| # | English Term | Greek / Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | word of God | ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ / ho logos tou theou | Vajtswv Txoj Lus | NEW | Low | Kingdom of God Present and Future | 8 | Kept distinct from TM Vaj Lug Kub (written Scripture) though related. |
| 72 | Scripture | γραφή / graphē | Vaj Lug Kub | TM-REUSE | Low | Repentance and Forgiveness (fulfillment) | 4,24 | Reuse exact. |
| 73 | fulfilled | πληρόω / plēroō | tiav lawm / raug ua kom tiav raws li Vaj Lug Kub | NEW | Medium-High | Core doctrinal hinge, all doctrines | 4,24 | Use fuller phrase in teaching contexts to preserve deliberate-accomplishment sense. |
| 74 | today (immediacy marker) | σήμερον / sēmeron | hnub no | NEW | High (doctrinal weight) | Kingdom of God Present and Future | 2,4,19,23 | Preserve as emphatic present-fulfillment marker across all four occurrences. |
| 75 | year of the Lord’s favor (Jubilee) | ἐνιαυτὸς δεκτός / eniautos dektos | lub xyoo uas tus Tswv pom zoo | NEW | Medium | Good News to Poor and Marginalized | 4 | Cross-teach with TM kev txhiv (redemption); never render “favor” with koob hmoov. |
| 76 | vineyard | ἀμπελών / ampelōn | daim teb txiv hmab | NEW | Low | Background (parable of tenants) | 20 | Minor cultural adaptation (grapevines unfamiliar). |
| 77 | manger | φάτνη / phatnē | lub thoob rau tsiaj noj | NEW | Low | Good News to Poor | 2 | Comprehension-level. |
| 78 | leprosy | λέπρα, λεπρός / lepra, lepros | mob ruas | NEW | Low | Jesus’ Compassion | 5,17 | Comprehension-level. |
| 79 | tomb | μνημεῖον / mnēmeion | qhov ntxa | NEW | Low | Kingdom Present and Future | 23,24 | Comprehension-level. |
| 80 | den of robbers / house of prayer | σπήλαιον λῃστῶν / οἶκος προσευχῆς / spēlaion lēstōn / oikos proseuchēs | qhov chaw nkaum ntawm tub sab / lub tsev thov Vajtswv | NEW | Low | Prayer and Dependence on God | 19 | Comprehension-level. |
| 81 | image (Caesar’s) | εἰκών / eikōn | duab | NEW | Low | Background | 20 | Comprehension-level. |
| 82 | watchful / alert | γρηγορέω / grēgoreō | ceev faj | NEW | Low | Prayer and Dependence on God | 21 | Comprehension-level. |
| 83 | power from on high / promise of the Father | δύναμις ἐξ ὕψους / epangelia tou patros | Vajtswv hwjchim saum ntuj lo / Leej Txiv tej lus cog tseg | TM-REUSE (composite) | High | Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History | 24 | Bridges directly to Acts; reuses hwjchim and lus cog tseg TM entries. |
Glossary Notes for Phase 2 Handoff
- Every row marked NEW requires formal TM-revision review before being treated as a permanent, locked rendering, per the Romans baseline’s escalation rules (§9 of
12_ai_translation_requirements.md). None of the NEW renderings above should be assumed final. - Rows marked Critical or High with bolded risk levels are candidates for automatic routing to human theologian review in any future Luke doctrine-risk registry, consistent with the Romans baseline’s routing convention.
- Term #22 (Beatitudes’ “blessed”) is explicitly left unresolved and flagged
[TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED]rather than assigned a permanent rendering, per the baseline’s escalation-rule pattern for genuine collision ambiguity. - The demon/
dabcategory (#11), the resurrection/ghost-vs-body contrast (#6, #52, #53), the Hades/paradise pair (#49, #51), and the new-covenant-blood term (#40) are flagged as meriting doctrinal-note priority equal to or exceeding the Romans baseline’s highest-priority collision terms (hwjchim,koob hmoov,Vaj Ntsuj Plig), given the intensity and frequency with which Luke’s narrative material activates Hmong animistic and ancestor-veneration collision points. - This glossary, together with
analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, constitutes the complete Phase 1 Step 1 deliverable for the Luke Hmong Language Package and is the required input to Phase 1 Step 2 (doctrine risk registry) and Phase 2 (AI translation requirements) for this curriculum.
Critical Risk Terms
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Vaj Ntsuj Plig
Transliteration: pneuma hagion / pneuma hagiōsynēs
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Rejected alternatives: bare ntsuj plig (no Vaj prefix) — rejected, denotes an animistic wandering human soul
Fixed collocation; ‘Vaj’ prefix mandatory at every occurrence to mark the divine Person and distinguish from the multi-soul animistic concept (hu plig). Inherited from Romans package. Risk is elevated in Luke beyond the Romans baseline at 1:35 (overshadowing of Mary) and 12:10 (blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) — the mandatory prefix must never be dropped at either locus.
Righteousness Of God Righteous
Approved rendering: Vajtswv txoj kev ncaj ncees / tus ncaj ncees
Transliteration: dikaiosynē theou / dikaios
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
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’ entry to preserve the forensic, imputed sense. Inherited from Romans package. Background doctrinal anchor for Luke 18:9-14’s confirmation of the Justification-by-Faith doctrine.
Justify Reckon As Righteous
Approved rendering: ua kom ncaj ncees / raug suav tias ncaj ncees
Transliteration: dikaioō / logizomai
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: ‘ua zoo’ (do good) framing — rejected, reintroduces works-righteousness
Fixed accounting-metaphor phrase for imputation; kept distinct from sanctification/moral-transformation language. Inherited from Romans package. Luke 18:14 (Pharisee and tax collector) is a direct narrative confirmation of the Romans-baseline Justification doctrine and must retain the full mandatory qualifier with the same severity documented there.
Law Mosaic Divine
Approved rendering: Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes)
Transliteration: nomos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘Txoj Kevcai’ without qualifier — rejected, collapses into kev cai dab qhuas (ancestral spirit-worship customs), imported loanword for ‘law’ — rejected, would be doctrinally inert
Qualifier ‘(ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes)’ mandatory at every occurrence without exception, including within the fixed phrase ‘the Law and the Prophets’ (Luke 16:29,31). Inherited from Romans package.
Flesh Neutral Descent Body
Approved rendering: lub cev nqaij tawv
Transliteration: sarx (neutral) / sarka kai ostea
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Rejected alternatives: bare nqaij used unmarked for both senses — rejected, collapses neutral and moral senses of flesh
Inherited from Romans package. Reused compound ‘cev nqaij tawv thiab pob txha’ (flesh and bones) at Luke 24:39, deliberately contrasted with the negated ‘ntsuj plig’ (mere ghost/spirit) sense in the same verse — see ghost_spirit_vs_flesh_and_bones below.
Grace
Approved rendering: txiaj ntsim
Transliteration: charis
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
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’ contexts, never for salvific grace. Inherited from Romans package. Applies to Mary ‘finding favor with God’ (1:30), the boy Jesus growing ‘in favor with God and man’ (2:52), and the Nazareth congregation’s reaction to Jesus’ ‘gracious words’ (4:22).
Devil Satan
Approved rendering: dab ntxwg nyoog
Transliteration: diabolos / satanas
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
NEW. Established Hmong Christian rendering, but must be explicitly taught as a single, named, uniformly hostile cosmic enemy — categorically distinct from the plural, generic dab category of Hmong animism (which includes ancestral and nature spirits not automatically regarded as hostile) and from ancestor spirits specifically. Conflating this figure with ancestor spirits or the broader dab category would badly distort both categories. Tempts Jesus (4:1-13); enters Judas (22:3); named as claiming false ‘authority’ (4:6).
Demon Unclean Spirit
Approved rendering: dab / dab phem / dab qias
Transliteration: daimonion / pneuma akatharton
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
NEW. The single highest-risk lexical category in the entire Luke Language Package: dab is the exact, live vocabulary of Hmong animism for spirits negotiated with, bargained with, or appeased through txiv neeb shamanic ritual (ua neeb). Jesus’ exorcisms must be taught as authoritative, one-word, final expulsions by his own spoken word/hwjchim — never negotiated, bargained with, or appeased — in direct, repeated, explicit contrast to shamanic practice (4:33-36,41; 6:18; 7:21; 8:26-39 the Gerasene ‘Legion’; 9:37-43; 10:17-20; 11:14-23 the Beelzebul controversy; 13:11-16). Recommend this receive Phase 2 doctrinal-note priority equal to or exceeding ‘hwjchim.’ The verb ‘nkag’ (to enter, of a spirit) is textually appropriate here since these possessions are literal and narratively real, unlike the forbidden metaphorical Romans 5:12 usage.
Repentance
Approved rendering: kev hloov siab lees txim
Transliteration: metanoia / metanoeō
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: ordinary Hmong apology/restitution custom framing — rejected, too horizontal and low-stakes, TM ‘hloov siab tshiab’ (renewal of the mind) — rejected as a substitute; repentance is the initiating turn, not the ongoing sanctification-stage transformation
NEW. Hmong custom typically frames wrongdoing as a reparable social/ritual fault addressed through apology, restitution, or ritual correction toward elders or spirits — a comparatively low-stakes, horizontal transaction. Biblical repentance is a total, God-ward reorientation tied to receiving God’s aphesis (forgiveness/release), not merely restoring social equilibrium. Core doctrinal term occurring at the programmatic opening (3:3), the parable chapter (15:7,10), and the closing commission (24:47); also 5:32, 11:32, 13:1-5, 17:3-4.
Forgiveness Of Sins
Approved rendering: kev zam txim
Transliteration: aphesis (hamartiōn)
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: conflation with ordinary Hmong social-fault forgiveness (letting go of a grudge) — rejected, must carry the God-ward, guilt-canceling sense
NEW. Shares the single Greek noun aphesis with the captivity-release sense (liberty_release_captivity); mandatory teaching link between the two so hearers see Jesus’ liberation of the oppressed and his forgiveness of sinners as facets of one Lukan mission. Demonstrated narratively at 5:20-24 (paralytic), 7:47-49 (sinful woman), prayed for reciprocally at 11:4, extended proactively from the cross at 23:34 prior to any confessed repentance by the recipients, and universalized at 24:47.
New Covenant In Blood
Approved rendering: kev cog lus tshiab hauv (kuv) cov ntshav
Transliteration: hē kainē diathēkē en tō haimati mou
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
NEW. Hmong shamanic ritual practice includes animal blood offerings to appease spirits/ancestors (e.g., sacrificial blood used in healing/funeral rites). This verse’s ‘blood of the covenant’ (22:20) must be explicitly and repeatedly taught as Christ’s own unique, sufficient, once-for-all sacrificial blood — never a repeatable blood-offering exchange with God, and never assimilated into the shamanic blood-appeasement pattern, paralleling the Romans baseline’s caution against treating hilastērion/propitiation and fij/sacrifice language as repeatable appeasement.
Hades Place Of The Dead
Approved rendering: chaw nyob ntawm cov tuag uas raug kev txom nyem
Transliteration: Hadēs
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Rejected alternatives: any phrase implying the deceased join or remain contactable by the ancestors — rejected, would assimilate to Hmong ancestor-veneration cosmology
NEW. Hmong traditional cosmology holds that the dead journey to and dwell with ancestors, continuing to interact with and be venerated/appeased by living descendants. Hades in the Rich Man and Lazarus parable (16:19-31) must be taught as a place of conscious, fixed post-mortem consequence entirely distinct from the Hmong ancestral spirit-realm concept — the rich man cannot return to warn the living, cannot be appeased by ritual, and his state is unalterable by descendants’ actions.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: kev sawv hauv qhov tuag rov qab los
Transliteration: anastasis
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Rejected alternatives: assimilation to a spirit’s continued post-mortem wandering/ancestral-realm existence — rejected, reincarnation-adjacent framing — rejected
NEW. Must be carefully distinguished from generic Hmong folk notions of a spirit’s continued post-mortem existence/journey to the ancestors. Biblical resurrection (20:27-40 debate with the Sadducees; ch. 24 empty tomb) is a specific, future, bodily event — the same body renewed and transformed, not a disembodied spirit’s ongoing wandering. Must be taught jointly with human_spirit_soul and hades_place_of_the_dead.
Ghost Spirit Vs Flesh And Bones
Approved rendering: ntsuj plig (negative case) vs. cev nqaij tawv thiab pob txha
Transliteration: pneuma … sarka kai ostea
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Rejected alternatives: softening/allegorizing into ‘his soul continued on’ — rejected, Luke is making a deliberately anti-disembodied-continuation point
NEW. At 24:37-39 Jesus deliberately disproves the disciples’ fear that they are seeing a ghost/spirit, insisting on the physical, bodily reality of the resurrection using the TM ‘ntsuj plig’ term in its negated, non-divine sense, explicitly contrasted with ‘flesh and bones.’ This directly and explicitly confronts the Hmong worldview in which the deceased may continue to exist and interact with the living as ntsuj plig/dab — the very reason funeral rites exist, to guide the departed soul to the ancestors. Identified across all Luke Phase 1 analyses as the single highest-priority collision point in the entire book; requires top-tier, zero-exception theologian review.
High Risk Terms
Human Spirit Soul
Approved rendering: ntsuj plig
Transliteration: pneuma (anthropological)
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Rejected alternatives: Vaj Ntsuj Plig — forbidden for this referent, reserved exclusively for the Holy Spirit
Never capitalized/prefixed with ‘Vaj’; must remain lexically distinct from the Holy Spirit entry. Inherited from Romans package. In Luke 24:37-39 this same term is used in its negated ‘mere ghost’ sense, explicitly contrasted with Jesus’ flesh-and-bones resurrected body; see ghost_spirit_vs_flesh_and_bones below.
Wrath Of God
Approved rendering: kev npau taws ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: orgē theou
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: unqualified ‘npau taws’ associated only with capricious spirit/ancestor anger — rejected without explicit contrast teaching
Paul’s/John’s wrath is righteous/judicial, not appeasable by ritual, unlike traditional spirit-anger. Inherited from Romans package. John the Baptist’s ‘wrath to come’ (Luke 3:7) requires the same contrast-teaching.
Idol
Approved rendering: dab mlom
Transliteration: eidōlon
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: generic ‘statue’ softening — rejected, must not soften the term
Actual Hmong term for spirit-images venerated in traditional religion. Inherited from Romans package. Referenced conceptually (not lexically merged) in the teaching contrast for Mammon (Luke 16:13) as a parallel category of false rival worship-object.
Sin Act And Condition
Approved rendering: txhaum / kev txhaum
Transliteration: hamartia
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Hmong custom frames wrongdoing as reparable social/ritual fault; must be taught as objective, inherited, God-ward guilt-condition. Inherited from Romans package. Underlies ‘tus txhaum’ (sinner) throughout Luke.
Baptism
Approved rendering: kev cai raus dej
Transliteration: baptizō / baptisma
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Rejected alternatives: transliterated loanword (‘npativ’ style) — rejected, baptism-as-testimony-only catechesis — rejected, loses union-with-Christ doctrine
Shares kevcai root with ritual purification from spirit-contamination; must be taught as once-for-all identification with Christ’s death/resurrection. Inherited from Romans package. In Luke chapters 3, 6-7 this term denotes John’s preparatory rite; see baptism_of_repentance_john below for the qualifier distinguishing it from the full Christian baptismal reality.
Power
Approved rendering: hwjchim
Transliteration: dynamis
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Rejected alternatives: bare, unqualified hwjchim — FORBIDDEN, identical to a shaman’s (txiv neeb) ritual power
Always qualify as ‘Vajtswv hwjchim’ (God’s power). Inherited from Romans package. Especially acute in Luke’s exorcism/healing contexts (4:36; 8:46) and must be explicitly marked as hostile/derivative, not equal, when applied to the devil’s counterfeit claim (4:6) or ‘the power of darkness’ (22:53).
Salvation Save
Approved rendering: kev cawm dim / cawm
Transliteration: sōtēria / sōzō
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
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. Extremely high-frequency across Luke, capstone at 19:10 (‘the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost’); in universal-scope passages (2:32; 3:6; 19:10; 24:47) must be paired with explicit ‘for all peoples/nations’ phrasing so universality is not silently lost.
Worship Serve Cultic
Approved rendering: pehawm / pab teev
Transliteration: latreuō / proskyneō
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Rejected alternatives: bare, unanchored pehawm — FORBIDDEN, identical verb used for pehawm dab (ancestor/spirit veneration)
Object of pehawm must always be stated (‘pehawm Vajtswv’/‘pehawm Yexus’). Inherited from Romans package. Especially acute at Luke 4:8, where the devil literally solicits worship, and at 24:52, the disciples’ worship of the risen/ascending Christ.
Governing Authority
Approved rendering: cov muaj hwjchim kav teb chaws
Transliteration: exousia
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: unmarked hwjchim framing rulers’ authority as shamanic spiritual power — rejected
Must be clearly marked as delegated, God-ordained civil authority, distinct from supernatural/shamanic power. Inherited from Romans package. Background for Luke 20:20-26 (paying taxes to Caesar).
Original Sin Adam Christ Typology
Approved rendering: Adas / kev ua txhaum (ntawm Adas)
Transliteration: Adam; paraptōma
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Rejected alternatives: ‘sin entered’ rendered with nkag (the verb for spirit/dab possession) — rejected in this metaphorical Romans usage, suggests demonic infestation rather than federal guilt transmission
Federal/inherited guilt is culturally unfamiliar; requires dedicated teaching note. Inherited from Romans package. Luke’s genealogy uniquely traces Jesus to Adam rather than stopping at Abraham (3:23-38), grounding universal human solidarity in the same category; must be taught alongside this Romans entry. NOTE: unlike the forbidden metaphorical Romans 5:12 usage, the verb ‘nkag’ IS textually appropriate for the literal, narratively real demonic possession accounts in Luke 8:26-39 and 9:37-43 — this literal/metaphorical distinction must not be over-generalized.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: kev raug ua kom dawb huv
Transliteration: hagiasmos
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
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. Background for Luke’s ‘unclean’ healing narratives (8:43-48) where Jesus reverses expected purity-transfer logic.
Prophet
Approved rendering: yaj saub
Transliteration: prophētēs
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
NEW. This is the established Hmong Christian rendering, but it is drawn from Yawm Saub, a figure in Hmong oral tradition/folk mythology (a heavenly, secret-revealing ancestor-figure historically bound up with 19th-20th century Hmong millenarian king-messiah expectation movements). Mandatory teaching note: yaj saub in Scripture denotes strictly a divinely-called human spokesman of the covenant God of Israel, never a coded reference to Hmong ethnic-national deliverance mythology. Occurs at the core passage (4:17, Isaiah), Zechariah’s Benedictus (1:76, John), 7:16,26-28,39, 9:8,19, 11:29-32,47-50, 13:33-34, 16:29,31, 24:19,25,27,44.
Liberty Release Captivity
Approved rendering: kev tso dawb
Transliteration: aphesis
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
NEW. The programmatic double-sense term of Luke 4:18: the same Greek noun (aphesis) covers both this captive-release sense and the sin-forgiveness sense (forgiveness_of_sins). Risk of NOT connecting the two: hearers may treat social liberation and personal forgiveness as unrelated topics, missing Luke’s integrative Jubilee theology that fuses ‘Good News to the Poor’ and ‘Repentance and Forgiveness’ into a single word at the ministry’s launch.
Blessed Beatitudes
Approved rendering: [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED — UNRESOLVED: candidates are (i) koob hmoov with mandatory contrast-teaching that this is sovereignly granted favor, not ritual-earned fortune, or (ii) tau txais kev zoo siab tshaj ntawm Vajtswv, avoiding the hmoov root entirely]
Transliteration: makarios
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Rejected alternatives: koob hmoov used without qualification — provisionally rejected pending review, since it is the Romans baseline’s permanently forbidden fate/merit-fortune term for grace and Beatitudes deliberately invert ordinary fortune-logic
NEW — UNRESOLVED, formally flagged per escalation rules. Do not allow provisional use of koob hmoov to appear in any draft or published content pending theologian + native-speaker review. Occurs at Luke 6:20-23, paired with matching ‘woes’ (6:24-26).
Sinner
Approved rendering: tus txhaum
Transliteration: hamartōlos
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
NEW, built on the TM txhaum root. Must be taught as an objective, God-ward guilt-status, not merely a social label, even while Luke also clearly uses it as a social category (tax collectors, the sinful woman) that Jesus deliberately and scandalously reverses through table fellowship. Occurs 5:8,30,32; 6:32-34; 7:34,37,39; 15:1-2,7,10; 18:13; 19:7.
Table Fellowship
Approved rendering: koom noj koom haus
Transliteration: synanakeimai / synesthiō
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
NEW. Communal eating in Hmong culture carries strong ritual and clan-honor weight (e.g., noj tsiab New Year feasting, laig dab/ancestor-offering meals, and strict social rules about who may share a meal with whom). Jesus’ deliberate, scandalous inclusion of tax collectors and ‘sinners’ (5:29-32; 7:36-39; 15:1-2; 19:1-10) and the Great Banquet’s inclusion of the poor and disabled (14:12-24) must be taught explicitly as grace-based acceptance and forgiveness-in-progress — never assimilated into ritual purity/impurity transfer or a status-conferring honor-feast that guests must earn.
Follow Discipleship Call
Approved rendering: raws Yexus qab
Transliteration: akoloutheō
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
NEW. The radical severing of filial/burial obligations (9:59-62, ‘let the dead bury their dead’) directly confronts the paramount Hmong cultural value of filial duty and proper ancestral funeral rites; requires explicit teaching that Jesus is not devaluing family loyalty as such but asserting an even higher, prior claim on the disciple’s allegiance — a genuine, high-stakes pastoral tension point, not merely a comprehension gap. Also 5:1-11,27-28; 14:25-33; 18:22,28.
Household Division
Approved rendering: kev sib cais hauv tsev neeg
Transliteration: diamerismos
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
NEW. Clan and extended-family unity, including shared participation in ancestral ritual observance, is a paramount value in Hmong social structure; conversion to Christ can and does produce exactly this kind of familial rupture in real Hmong contexts (e.g., a convert’s refusal to participate in ancestor-veneration rites). This is a live, real-world pastoral collision point requiring careful, honest teaching (12:51-53) — neither minimizing the cost nor treating family division as a goal in itself.
Joy
Approved rendering: kev zoo siab
Transliteration: chara
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
NEW. The ‘joy’ pole of the Cost-and-Joy-of-Discipleship doctrine; carries repentance’s Critical risk by direct association, since heaven’s joy ‘over one sinner who repents’ (15:7,10) ties the two concepts inseparably together. Also 2:10 (‘great joy’); 10:17-20; 19:6; 24:52.
Today Immediacy Marker
Approved rendering: hnub no
Transliteration: sēmeron
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Rejected alternatives: softened paraphrase ‘in these days’ — rejected, blunts the emphatic present-fulfillment marker
NEW. Lexically simple but High doctrinal weight — must be preserved in translation as an emphatic, fronted marker of present fulfillment across all four occurrences (2:11; 4:21; 19:9; 23:43), never softened into vague generality.
Power From On High Promise Of The Father
Approved rendering: Vajtswv hwjchim saum ntuj lo / Leej Txiv tej lus cog tseg
Transliteration: dynamis ex hypsous / epangelia tou patros
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
NEW composite, built from TM ‘hwjchim’ (qualified) and TM ‘lus cog tseg’ (promise) plus TM ‘Leej Txiv’ (Father), implying the fixed ‘Vaj Ntsuj Plig’ referent. Recommend locking this as a single fixed collocation now (not independently-qualified parts recombined ad hoc) since it is the hinge into a future Acts Language Package. Closes the Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History doctrine on a forward-looking note, Luke 24:49.
Baptism Of Repentance John
Approved rendering: kev cai raus dej rau kev hloov siab lees txim
Transliteration: baptisma metanoias
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: treating John’s baptism as identical in sacramental force to the full Christian baptismal formula — rejected, would imply the preparatory rite already carried the fuller Romans-6 union-with-Christ reality
NEW — gap identified and closed per analysis/06_linguistic_gap_analysis.md §2.3 recommendation. John’s water rite (3:3,7,12,16,21) is preparatory and repentance-signifying, doctrinally distinct from, though anticipatory of, Christian baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection (Romans 6, TM baptism entry). Must be taught as such, not collapsed into the fuller sacramental reality.
Medium Risk Terms
Faith Believe
Approved rendering: kev ntseeg / ntseeg
Transliteration: pistis / pisteuō
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Broad verb covering belief/trust/obedience; must always be anchored explicitly to its object (Christ) to avoid generic-belief drift. Inherited from Romans package. Frequently the instrumental means of both physical healing and salvation in Luke (7:9,50; 8:48; 17:19; 18:42).
Circumcision
Approved rendering: kev txiav (raws li Txoj Kevcai Mauxes)
Transliteration: peritomē
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
No native Hmong practice; comprehension gap requiring explanatory gloss, not a collision. Inherited from Romans package. Appears at the naming of John (1:59) and Jesus (2:21).
Redemption
Approved rendering: kev txhiv
Transliteration: apolytrōsis
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Good economic-legal bridge via Hmong debt-redemption custom; needs anchoring to Christ as price-payer. Inherited from Romans package. Cross-taught with the Jubilee ‘year of the Lord’s favor’ (Luke 4:19) and reused at ‘your redemption draws near’ (21:28).
Will Of God
Approved rendering: Vajtswv lub siab nyiam
Transliteration: thelēma theou
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
Good idiomatic anchor (volition/affection located in the siab, ‘liver’), but risks being heard as mere preference rather than sovereign purpose. Inherited from Romans package. Gethsemane’s ‘not my will, but yours’ (22:42, first-person adaptation: ‘tsis yog kuv lub siab nyiam, tiamsis koj li xwb’) is the supreme model instance for the Prayer and Dependence on God doctrine.
Mercy
Approved rendering: txoj kev khuv leej
Transliteration: eleos
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
Rejected alternatives: txiaj ntsim (grace) used interchangeably for mercy — rejected, kept lexically distinct
Inherited from Romans package. Central refrain of the Magnificat (1:50,54,58,72,78), the Good Samaritan (10:37), the ten lepers (17:13), and the tax collector’s prayer (18:13).
Apostle
Approved rendering: tus Tub Txib
Transliteration: apostolos
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Bridges to secular clan-messenger role; lacks inherent post-resurrection commissioning sense. Inherited from Romans package. The Twelve formally designated at Luke 6:13.
Angel
Approved rendering: tus tim tswv
Transliteration: angelos
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
NEW. Must be taught as a holy messenger dispatched by God, categorically distinct from ancestral/nature dab which Hmong tradition negotiates with or appeases; angels neither require nor accept ritual offerings. Occurs across the annunciation narratives (1, 2), Gethsemane (22:43), and the resurrection (24:4-7,23).
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: tus Tub ntawm Neeg
Transliteration: huios tou anthrōpou
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
NEW. Literal Hmong gloss (‘child of a person’) lacks the Daniel 7:13-14 heavenly-authority overtones; mandatory teaching note distinguishing this title from a generic ‘human being’ self-reference. Jesus’ preferred self-title throughout (5:24; 6:5,22; 7:34; 9:22,26,44,58; 11:30; 12:8,10,40; 17:22-30; 18:8,31; 19:10; 21:27,36; 22:22,48,69; 24:7).
Son Of David
Approved rendering: tus Tub ntawm Dexes
Transliteration: huios Dauid
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
NEW. Comprehension gap requiring a teaching note on the Davidic covenant/kingship promise (2 Sam 7). Blind beggar’s cry (18:38-39); background at 20:41-44.
Poor
Approved rendering: cov pluag
Transliteration: ptōchos
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
NEW. Not a traditional-religion collision, but a doctrine-preservation risk: must resist collapsing into a purely ‘spiritually poor’ metaphor and must preserve its literal, socio-economic force alongside its spiritual application (1:53; 2:7-20; 4:18; 6:20-24; 7:22; 14:13,21; 16:19-31; 18:22; 19:8; 21:1-4).
Rich
Approved rendering: cov nplua nuj
Transliteration: plousios
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
NEW — gap identified and closed per analysis/06_linguistic_gap_analysis.md §1.1/§6 recommendation. Structural antithesis to ‘cov pluag’; currently had no dedicated registry entry despite carrying the ‘rich’ pole of Luke’s rich/poor reversal (1:53; 6:24; 12:16-21; 16:19-31; 18:24-25). Must be taught so that wealth itself is not condemned (cf. Zacchaeus, ch. 19) but rather trust in wealth (see mammon).
Blessed Triumphal Entry
Approved rendering: Koob hmoov nyob rau tus Vajntxwv uas tuaj…
Transliteration: eulogēmenos
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
NEW. Different underlying Greek root (eulogeō, ‘to speak well of/bless’) from blessed_beatitudes’ makarios; koob hmoov may be less doctrinally fraught here since this is closer to an acclamation/benediction than a paradox-laden sovereign-favor pronouncement, but must be reviewed alongside blessed_beatitudes so both Lukan uses of ‘blessed’ receive one coherent cross-book strategy before Phase 2 lock. Luke 19:38.
Samaritan
Approved rendering: cov Xamalis
Transliteration: Samaritēs
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
NEW, following the established transliteration pattern of TM cov Yudas/cov Kilis. Chiefly a comprehension gap: without explanatory background on Jewish-Samaritan animosity, the Good Samaritan parable’s (10:25-37) and grateful-leper episode’s (17:11-19) rhetorical shock is lost. May be bridged pedagogically via Hmong inter-clan rivalry dynamics without implying doctrinal equivalence. Also 9:51-56.
Tax Collector
Approved rendering: tus sau se
Transliteration: telōnēs
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
NEW. Comprehension-level risk: care must be taken that the term does not default to a neutral modern ‘tax officer’ connotation that loses the first-century social-outcast force Luke intends (Levi ch. 5; the parable of ch. 18; Zacchaeus ch. 19; also 3:12; 7:29,34; 15:1).
Scribe Lawyer
Approved rendering: tus qhia Txoj Kevcai
Transliteration: grammateus / nomikos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW. Must carry the TM Law qualifier (Txoj Kevcai ntawm Vajtswv/Mauxes) whenever referencing their subject matter, to avoid collapsing their teaching authority into generic custom-keeping expertise. Occurs 5:21,30; 10:25; 11:45-52; 20:1,39,46.
Neighbor
Approved rendering: tus nyob ze
Transliteration: plēsion
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
NEW. Literal gloss risks a merely geographic reading. Hmong social obligation is organized primarily around kwv tij (clan/lineage) categories; the Good Samaritan parable’s whole point is to extend the ‘neighbor’ category beyond kin/clan/ethnic in-group boundaries to any person in need, an explicit teaching emphasis that must not be assumed to transfer automatically from the literal gloss (10:25-37).
Covenant
Approved rendering: kev cog lus (nrog Vajtswv)
Transliteration: diathēkē
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
NEW. Comprehension gap, since no exact ANE-style covenant-treaty analogue exists in Hmong custom; bridges partially via clan-alliance/marriage-oath customs. Must be kept distinct from, though clearly related to, TM ‘lus cog tseg’ (promise). Grounds Zechariah’s Benedictus (1:72-73).
Paradise
Approved rendering: lub Vaj Kaj Siab
Transliteration: paradeisos
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
NEW. Comprehension-level; must be taught in explicit contrast to hades_place_of_the_dead as the positive, blessed post-mortem state for the repentant, immediately granted by Christ’s own authority (‘with me,’ 23:43), not earned by merit.
Cross Take Up
Approved rendering: ntoo Khaub Lig
Transliteration: stauros
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
NEW, established Hmong Christian term. Must be taught as a metaphor of costly, voluntary self-denial and willingness to suffer for Christ, not merely a decorative religious symbol; the literal execution-instrument background should be preserved in teaching (9:23; 14:27).
Humility
Approved rendering: kev txo hwjchim
Transliteration: tapeinos / tapeinoō
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
NEW — flagged for review. The standard idiom literally contains the ‘hwjchim’ morpheme already flagged High/Critical elsewhere (shamanic-power collision domain); the idiom denotes lowering one’s status rather than wielding spiritual power, but this must be confirmed safe as-is or replaced in a future TM-revision cycle. Occurs 1:48,52 (Magnificat) and 14:11 (banquet etiquette).
Prayer
Approved rendering: thov Vajtswv / kev thov Vajtswv
Transliteration: proseuchomai / proseuchē
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
NEW. Established, stable Hmong Christian term, but must be taught in explicit contrast to Hmong ritual address to ancestors/spirits (which seeks favorable outcomes through correct ritual formula/negotiation): biblical prayer is relational trust in a sovereign, personal God who cannot be manipulated by ritual leverage. Occurs across 1:13; 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:18,28-29; 10:38-42; 11:1-13; 18:1-8,9-14; 19:45-46; 21:36; 22:39-46.
Daily Bread
Approved rendering: mov noj txhua hnub
Transliteration: ho epiousios artos
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
NEW. The underlying Greek term’s precise sense is genuinely disputed even in scholarship (epiousios is a rare, possibly coined word); the Hmong rendering should preserve the sense of ongoing daily sufficiency and trust without over-specifying an unsettled meaning. Luke 11:3.
Anointed
Approved rendering: pleev roj tsa (xaiv thiab tsa ua)
Transliteration: chriō
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
NEW. No direct collision with Hmong tradition (no strong analogous ritual-oil practice), but a comprehension gap; mandatory teaching note linking this verb to the already-fixed title Khetos (Christos, ‘Anointed One’) so hearers see the etymological connection between the title and 4:18’s ‘he has anointed me.’ Flagged in analysis/06_linguistic_gap_analysis.md §4 for possible Phase 2 reconsideration of a transliterated-verb alternative.
Year Of The Lords Favor Jubilee
Approved rendering: lub xyoo uas tus Tswv pom zoo
Transliteration: eniautos dektos
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Rejected alternatives: koob hmoov for ‘favor’ — FORBIDDEN, would imply a fated/ritual-earned favorable season rather than God’s sovereign gracious act
NEW. Comprehension gap: the Levitical Jubilee institution has no exact Hmong cultural analogue but bridges reasonably to TM ‘kev txhiv’ (redemption, anchored to Hmong debt-redemption custom) and should be cross-taught with it. Core-passage term, Luke 4:19.
Unclean Ceremonial
Approved rendering: tsis huv / qias
Transliteration: akathartos
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
NEW. Reuses the dawb huv purity-domain vocabulary flagged in the Romans baseline (sanctification entry) in negated form; must be taught that Jesus reverses expected purity-transfer logic (he is not defiled; the woman is healed, 8:43-48).
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.
Lord
Approved rendering: tus Tswv
Transliteration: kyrios
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Stable existing usage; applied to God and Christ. Inherited from Romans package.
Jesus Christ
Approved rendering: Yexus Khetos
Transliteration: Iēsous Christos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Standard transliteration baseline. Inherited from Romans package.
Father God
Approved rendering: Leej Txiv
Transliteration: patēr
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
Honorific already settled; pairs with ‘Leej Tub’ for the Son. Inherited from Romans package.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Leej Tub ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: huios theou
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Rejected alternatives: diminished-sonship renderings found in sectarian materials — rejected, must preserve full deity
Honorific parallel to Leej Txiv. Inherited from Romans package.
Gospel
Approved rendering: Txoj Moo Zoo
Transliteration: euangelion
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Settled Hmong Christian term (‘good news’). Inherited from Romans package. Verb form (euangelisasthai, Luke 4:18) rendered ‘tshaj tawm Txoj Moo Zoo.‘
Promise
Approved rendering: lus cog tseg
Transliteration: epangelia
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Stable existing phrase for a solemn covenant pledge. Inherited from Romans package. Grounds Zechariah’s Benedictus (1:55, 1:72-73) and the promise of the Spirit (24:49).
Nations Gentiles
Approved rendering: lwm Haiv Neeg
Transliteration: ethnē
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Clear contrastive term to ‘cov Yudas’. Inherited from Romans package. Used at Simeon’s prophecy (2:32) and the Great Commission (24:47).
Jew
Approved rendering: cov Yudas
Transliteration: Ioudaios
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Established transliteration. Inherited from Romans package. Appears within the ironic title ‘King of the Jews’ (23:38).
Death
Approved rendering: txoj kev tuag
Transliteration: thanatos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Stable term. Inherited from Romans package.
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis
Transliteration: zōē aiōnios
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Stable term. Inherited from Romans package.
Heir
Approved rendering: tus qub txeeg qub teg
Transliteration: klēronomos
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Strong positive resonance with Hmong lineage-inheritance custom. Inherited from Romans package. Reused at the Prodigal Son’s inheritance demand (Luke 15:12).
Glory
Approved rendering: lub yeeb koob
Transliteration: doxa
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Stable existing term. Inherited from Romans package. Angelic doxology (2:14) and Transfiguration (9:28-36).
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: lub Nceeg Vaj ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: basileia tou theou
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Stable existing Hmong Christian term. Inherited from Romans package. Hmong’s lack of tense-marking on this fixed noun phrase means every occurrence must be accompanied by explicit temporal framing in the surrounding sentence to distinguish ‘already’ (10:9,11; 17:20-21) from ‘not yet’ (21:27-31) senses.
Endurance
Approved rendering: kev ua siab ntev
Transliteration: hypomonē
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Stable idiom (‘long-liver/heart’). Inherited from Romans package. ‘By your endurance you will gain your lives’ (21:19).
Scripture
Approved rendering: Vaj Lug Kub
Transliteration: graphē
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Settled compound term (‘royal/sacred writing’). Inherited from Romans package. Central at the core passage (4:21) and the Emmaus/closing appearances (24:27, 32, 44-45), forming a deliberate bookend.
Love
Approved rendering: kev hlub
Transliteration: agapē
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Stable, existing warm-affection Hmong term. Inherited from Romans package. ‘Love your enemies’ (6:27-35); the sinful woman’s love as evidence of forgiveness (7:47).
Pharisee
Approved rendering: cov Falixais
Transliteration: Pharisaios
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW. Established transliteration; comprehension-level only. Occurs across chapters 5,6,7,11,14,15,16,18.
Sabbath
Approved rendering: hnub Xanpatau
Transliteration: sabbaton
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW. Established transliteration in Hmong Bible tradition; comprehension-level only. Occurs 4:16,31; 6:1-11; 13:10-16; 14:1-6.
Synagogue
Approved rendering: tsev sablaj
Transliteration: synagōgē
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW. Established Hmong Christian usage (‘house of assembly’); should be kept distinct from any tsev kaiv/tsev dab (spirit-house) vocabulary if such terms surface in oral paraphrase. Core-passage setting (4:16-21) plus 6:6; 13:10.
Temple
Approved rendering: lub Tuam Tsev
Transliteration: hieron / naos
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
NEW. Comprehension-level; recurring setting for major scenes (presentation 2:22-38, boyhood dialogue 2:41-51, cleansing 19:45-48, teaching ch. 20-21, closing worship 24:53).
Anxiety Worry
Approved rendering: txhawj xeeb
Transliteration: merimnaō
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
NEW. Comprehension-level; reinforces trust-based dependence on the Father (12:22-31).
Word Of God
Approved rendering: Vajtswv Txoj Lus
Transliteration: ho logos tou theou
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
NEW, established Hmong Christian compound. Should be kept distinct in usage from TM ‘Vaj Lug Kub’ (the fixed written Scripture text) even though closely related. The seed in the Parable of the Sower (8:4-15).
Scroll Book
Approved rendering: phau ntawv
Transliteration: biblion
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW. Comprehension-level only (scroll format unfamiliar), not doctrinal. Core-passage term, Luke 4:17,20.
Vineyard
Approved rendering: daim teb txiv hmab
Transliteration: ampelōn
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW. Minor cultural adaptation (grapevines unfamiliar in the Hmong highland context, though tenant-farming/landlord relationships are culturally accessible). Parable of the Wicked Tenants, Luke 20:9-19.
Manger
Approved rendering: lub thoob rau tsiaj noj
Transliteration: phatnē
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
NEW. Comprehension-level; emphasizes the humble circumstances of the Savior’s birth, an early embodiment of Good News to the Poor. Luke 2:7,12,16.
Leprosy
Approved rendering: mob ruas
Transliteration: lepra / lepros
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
NEW. Comprehension-level; ten-lepers narrative (17:11-19) fuses marginalized-healing with the Savior-for-All-Nations theme via the grateful Samaritan. Also 5:12-14.
Tomb
Approved rendering: qhov ntxa
Transliteration: mnēmeion
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
NEW. Comprehension-level; sets up the empty-tomb resurrection narrative. Luke 23:50-56; 24:1-12.
Den Of Robbers House Of Prayer
Approved rendering: qhov chaw nkaum ntawm tub sab / lub tsev thov Vajtswv
Transliteration: spēlaion lēstōn / oikos proseuchēs
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
NEW. Comprehension-level; names prayer as the temple’s proper function, connecting to the Prayer and Dependence on God doctrine (19:45-46).
Image Caesars
Approved rendering: duab
Transliteration: eikōn
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW. Comprehension-level (20:25); background for the governing-authorities doctrine already flagged in the Romans baseline.
Watchful Alert
Approved rendering: ceev faj
Transliteration: grēgoreō / agrypneō
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
NEW. Comprehension-level; directly links eschatological watchfulness to prayer (21:34-36).
Low-Medium Risk Terms
Stumbling Block
Approved rendering: qhov/pob zeb ua rau dawm ceg
Transliteration: proskomma / skandalon / lithos proskommatos
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Concrete imagery transfers well cross-culturally. Inherited from Romans package. Reused at the rejected ‘cornerstone’ teaching (Luke 20:17-18).
Mystery
Approved rendering: zaj lus zais cia
Transliteration: mystērion
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Comprehension gap only, no collision. Inherited from Romans package. Reused at ‘to you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God’ (Luke 8:10).
Most High
Approved rendering: tus uas Siab Tshaj Plaws
Transliteration: hypsistos
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
NEW. Comprehension-level; no traditional-religion collision identified. Applied to God the Father and, by extension, to Jesus as ‘Son of the Most High’ (1:32), asserting supreme deity.
Compassion Visceral
Approved rendering: khuv leej tu siab
Transliteration: splagchnizomai
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
NEW. Intensified form of ‘mercy’; defining marker across the widow of Nain (7:13), the Good Samaritan (10:33), and the Prodigal Father (15:20), establishing this doctrine’s emotional center.
Widow
Approved rendering: poj ntsuam
Transliteration: chēra
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
NEW. Standard, unmarked Hmong vocabulary word for ‘widow,’ carrying no inherent supernatural sense; note only that Hmong folk narrative tradition also contains an unrelated legendary figure sometimes referenced by a similar phrase — a comprehension-level caution, not a doctrinal collision. Occurs 2:37; 4:25-26; 7:11-17; 18:1-8; 20:47; 21:1-4.
Tithe
Approved rendering: ib feem kaum
Transliteration: dekatē
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW. Comprehension gap; no exact Hmong cultic-tithing custom, though proportional-giving concepts are intelligible. Occurs 11:42; 18:12.
Abrahams Bosom
Approved rendering: hauv Anplahas caj npab
Transliteration: kolpos Abraam
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
NEW. Positive counterpart-destination for the righteous poor (Lazarus, 16:19-31); must be taught alongside hades_place_of_the_dead as the parable’s antithetical pairing, never in isolation.
Faithful Steward
Approved rendering: tus saib xyuas vaj tse
Transliteration: oikonomos
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
NEW. Comprehension-level discipleship-responsibility metaphor (12:42; 16:1-8).
Custom
Approved rendering: nws li kev cai / raws li nws txeev ua
Transliteration: ethos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW. Shares the kevcai morpheme with TM ‘Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv/Mauxes)’; must be phrased so it clearly denotes personal habitual practice, not the covenantal Law itself, to avoid morpheme-driven confusion at 4:16.
Medium-High Risk Terms
Mammon
Approved rendering: Mamoos (nyiaj txiag)
Transliteration: mamōnas
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Rejected alternatives: bare paraphrase ‘wealth’ with no personification — rejected, loses Jesus’ deliberate personification of a rival master
NEW. Retained Aramaic loanword plus Hmong gloss, parallel to the Romans baseline’s Abba pattern. Must be explicitly taught that Mammon functions as a personified false rival to God — a wealth-idol — placing it in the same conceptual category as TM ‘dab mlom’ (idol) without literally equating the two terms. Luke 16:13.
Fulfilled
Approved rendering: tiav lawm / raug ua kom tiav raws li Vaj Lug Kub tau hais tseg
Transliteration: peplērōtai (plēroō)
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
NEW. Recommend the fuller phrase in teaching contexts (not just narrative retelling) to prevent hearers from reading ‘fulfilled’ as mere coincidental occurrence rather than the deliberate accomplishment of long-promised divine purpose. The theological hinge of the core passage (4:21) and its bookend at 24:44-45.