Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Book of Mark (Hmong)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term surfaced in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, covering Mark chapters 1-16 in full. Per the governing baseline (assets/translation_memory.json, analysis/12_ai_translation_requirements.md §2), all terms already fixed in the Romans TM are reused verbatim and marked [INHERITED]; no alternate gloss may be substituted for any Critical or High risk_level inherited term. New terms surfaced specifically by Mark’s content are marked [NEW] and are proposed for TM-revision review; until ratified, any generated content using them should be flagged [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED] per the escalation rules in §9 of the governing requirements document.
Risk tier definitions (identical to baseline): Critical = doctrinally load-bearing term with a strong, specific collision with Hmong traditional religion; High = real potential for confusion with a specific traditional-religious concept, manageable with a documented disambiguation strategy; Medium = comprehension gap or partial semantic mismatch, no direct collision; Low = stable, safe existing rendering.
Section A — Inherited Terms (reused exactly from Romans TM, applied to Mark)
| # | English Term | Hmong Rendering | Risk | Chapters (Mark) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | God | Vajtswv | Low | all | [INHERITED] |
| A2 | Lord | tus Tswv | Low | 1, 5, 11, 12, 13 | [INHERITED]; High doctrinal weight at 12:35-37 (implicit deity claim) |
| A3 | Jesus Christ | Yexus Khetos | Low | all | [INHERITED]; standalone “Khetos” title also occurs, see B-entries |
| A4 | Father (God) | Leej Txiv | Low | 11, 13, 14 | [INHERITED] |
| A5 | Holy Spirit | Vaj Ntsuj Plig | Critical | 1, 3, 12, 13 | [INHERITED]; Vaj-prefix mandatory at every occurrence, no exceptions |
| A6 | human spirit/soul | ntsuj plig | High | 2, 8, 14 | [INHERITED]; never Vaj-prefixed; kept distinct from psychē (see B-entry “life/self”) |
| A7 | Son of God | Leej Tub ntawm Vajtswv | Low | 1, 3, 5, 9, 15 | [INHERITED]; climactic confession at 15:39 |
| A8 | Gospel | Txoj Moo Zoo | Low | 1, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16 | [INHERITED] |
| A9 | Apostle / the Twelve | tus Tub Txib | Medium | 3, 6 | [INHERITED] |
| A10 | Servant/Slave (doulos) | qhev | High | 10 | [INHERITED]; core-passage escalation term, v.44 |
| A11 | Peace | kev thaj yeeb | Low | 4, 5, 9 | [INHERITED] |
| A12 | Faith / Believe | kev ntseeg / ntseeg | Medium | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 16 | [INHERITED]; central to “Faith and Discipleship amid Fear” doctrine |
| A13 | Kingdom of God | lub Nceeg Vaj ntawm Vajtswv | Low (escalates contextually) | 1, 3, 4, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15 | [INHERITED]; see B-entry “kingdom at hand” for the dynamic in-breaking sense unique to Mark |
| A14 | Power | hwjchim | High | 1, 5, 6, 9, 12, 13 | [INHERITED]; always qualified “Vajtswv hwjchim” / Jesus’ own inherent authority, never bare |
| A15 | Salvation / Save | kev cawm dim / cawm | High | 3, 5, 8, 10, 13, 15, 16 | [INHERITED]; always anchored to Yexus Khetos |
| A16 | Sin | txhaum / kev txhaum | High | 1, 2, 3, 14 | [INHERITED] |
| A17 | Law (Mosaic/Divine) | Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes) | Critical | 1, 2, 7, 10, 12 | [INHERITED]; qualifier mandatory; must be kept distinct from B-entry “tradition of the elders” |
| A18 | Scripture | Vaj Lug Kub | Low | 1, 12, 14, 15 | [INHERITED] |
| A19 | World | lub ntiajteb | Low | 8, 13, 14, 16 | [INHERITED] |
| A20 | Witness | tus timkhawv | Low | 13, 14 | [INHERITED] |
| A21 | Governing Authority | cov muaj hwjchim kav teb chaws | High | 12, 13, 15 | [INHERITED]; contrast with B-entry “lord it over” (negative worldly example) |
| A22 | Death | txoj kev tuag | Low | 5, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16 | [INHERITED] |
| A23 | Eternal Life | txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis | Low | 10 | [INHERITED] |
| A24 | Glory | lub yeeb koob | Low | 8, 9, 10, 13 | [INHERITED]; High doctrinal weight in core passage v.37 |
| A25 | Mystery | zaj lus zais cia | Low-Medium | 4 | [INHERITED] |
| A26 | Will of God | Vajtswv lub siab nyiam | Medium | 3 | [INHERITED] |
| A27 | Love | kev hlub | Low | 12 | [INHERITED] |
| A28 | Baptism | kev cai raus dej | High | 1, 10, 16 | [INHERITED]; metaphorical extension in core passage v.38-39 escalates to High, see B-entry |
| A29 | Abba, Father | Abba, Leej Txiv | Low-Medium | 14 | [INHERITED]; this Mark 14:36 verse is the very source-text of the Romans baseline entry |
| A30 | Righteous | tus ncaj ncees | Low | 2 | [INHERITED] |
| A31 | Worship (cultic) | pehawm | High | 7 | [INHERITED]; always with stated object |
| A32 | Mercy | txoj kev khuv leej | Medium | 1, 6, 8, 9, 10 | [INHERITED]; also verb-form root for B-entry “compassion” |
| A33 | Promise | lus cog tseg | Low | — (root only) | [INHERITED]; root for B-entry “covenant” |
Section B — New Terms Surfaced by Mark (proposed TM-revision entries)
| # | Category | English Term | Greek | Transliteration | Definition | Hmong Rendering | Risk | Chapters | Alternatives Rejected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | Christology | Son of Man | υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου | huios tou anthrōpou | Jesus’ self-chosen title fusing ordinary humanity with Daniel 7’s exalted, authoritative heavenly figure | tus Tub ntawm Tibneeg | Critical | 2, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14 | ”Leej Tub Neeg” (honorific Leej) — rejected for now pending review, since it risks overclaiming and collapsing the deliberate humility/authority tension into a purely honorific title too early in the narrative | Mandatory teaching note at every occurrence explaining both the humility pole and the Dan. 7 authority pole; must never be flattened to a bare synonym for “Jesus.” Doctrine anchor: “Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God.” |
| B2 | Atonement | Ransom | λύτρον | lytron | The price paid to purchase the freedom of a slave/captive; here, Christ’s life as the price of the many’s freedom | nqi txhiv | Critical | 10 (core passage, v.45) | Transliterated loanword — rejected, opaque and defeats needed contrast-teaching; “kev txhiv” alone (bare, reused unmarked from Romans’ “redemption” entry) — rejected, loses the specific “price paid” nuance of lytron vs. the general “act of redeeming” of apolytrōsis | Built on baseline’s kev txhiv (redemption) root for continuity across books; must be explicitly distinguished from shamanic sacrificial appeasement, as with the baseline’s hilastērion entry. Doctrine anchor: “The Ransom for Many.” |
| B3 | Atonement | For many / in place of many (substitution) | ἀντὶ πολλῶν | anti pollōn | Strong substitutionary preposition: “instead of/in exchange for” many, not merely “on behalf of” | theej cov neeg coob | Critical | 10 (v.45), 14 (v.24, parallel “poured out for many”) | “rau ntau tus” (merely “for many,” benefactive only) — rejected, loses the strict substitutionary force of anti | Reuses baseline’s theej root (from “propitiation” entry) for internal consistency. Fixed collocation recommended: muab nws txoj sia ua nqi txhiv theej cov neeg coob. Doctrine anchor: “The Ransom for Many.” |
| B4 | Sacrament/Covenant | Covenant | διαθήκη | diathēkē | A solemn, binding, sacrificial agreement instituted by Christ’s own blood | Vajtswv Txoj Kev Cog Lus | High | 14 (Last Supper, v.24) | Bare lus cog tseg (ordinary promise, baseline “promise” entry) alone — rejected, too weak to carry the sacrificial, blood-sealed, binding sense of diathēkē | Positive bridge via Hmong blood-oath covenant custom, but risk of being heard as a reciprocal/renewable oath-ritual rather than Christ’s unilateral, sufficient, once-for-all covenant; must be taught alongside B2/B3. |
| B5 | Authority & Power | Jesus’ divine authority | ἐξουσία | exousia | Jesus’ inherent right/authority to teach, forgive sins, exorcise demons, and command nature | hwjchim (qualified: “Yexus tus kheej muaj hwjchim”) | Critical | 1, 2, 3, 11 | Bare unqualified hwjchim — FORBIDDEN, identical to a shaman’s (txiv neeb) ritual power | Distinct application of the baseline’s flagged power-root from the Romans “governing_authority” entry (delegated civil power); here it is inherent divine authority. Doctrine anchor: “Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature.” |
| B6 | Spiritual Beings | Demon / unclean spirit | δαιμόνιον / πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον | daimonion / pneuma akatharton | A malevolent spiritual being opposing God, cast out by Jesus’ word | dab (demon) / dab qias (unclean spirit) | Critical | 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 | Euphemistic softening (e.g., “evil influence”) — rejected, would obscure the actual referent Mark intends and remove the needed contrast-teaching opportunity | Exact indigenous term for spirits negotiated with by txiv neeb shamans; correct as-is, but requires the single most important contrast-teaching in this curriculum: Jesus casts out dab by sovereign word, not ritual negotiation/appeasement. |
| B7 | Purity/Law | Leprosy / leper | λέπρα / λεπρός | lepra / lepros | A skin disease causing ritual uncleanness and social exclusion under Mosaic law | mob ruas | Medium | 1 | — | Comprehension gap: no equivalent Hmong purity-exclusion category; needs explanatory note on Mosaic law, not a lexical fix. |
| B8 | Emotion/Ethics | Compassion | σπλαγχνίζομαι | splagchnizomai | Visceral, gut-level compassion motivating Jesus’ healing/feeding acts | khuv leej (verb form) | Low | 1, 6, 8, 9 | — | Reuses baseline’s mercy-root (A32) as a verb; good internal consistency, no new collision. |
| B9 | Salvation/Grace | Repentance | μετάνοια / μετανοέω | metanoia / metanoeō | A God-ward turning from sin, distinct from mere regret or social apology-restitution | hloov siab lees txim | High | 1 | Reuse of baseline’s hloov siab tshiab (renewal of the mind) unmarked — rejected, conflates the initial turning from sin with the later, ongoing Pauline sanctification concept | Must be taught as more than reparable social/ritual fault-restitution (per Romans’ “sin” entry note); this is the necessary initial response paired with faith at the Kingdom’s inauguration. |
| B10 | Eschatology/Kingdom | Kingdom has drawn near / is at hand | ἤγγικεν | ēngiken | Perfect tense: an action begun whose effect is now present; the Kingdom has begun breaking in but is not yet consummated | twb los ze zuj zog lawm | High | 1 | Static “lub Nceeg Vaj yog” (the kingdom simply exists/is) — rejected, loses the dynamic in-breaking, already/not-yet sense | Risk: Hmong “Nceeg Vaj” evokes a static territorial dynasty; requires explicit already/not-yet teaching to avoid the same nationalistic-kingdom misunderstanding James and John display at 10:37. Doctrine anchor: “The Kingdom of God Breaking In.” |
| B11 | Sin/Judgment | Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit | βλασφημία | blasphēmia | Willful, hardened attribution of the Spirit’s work to Satan; the one unforgivable sin | kev hais lus rhuas Vaj Ntsuj Plig | Critical | 3, 14 | Generic “insult”/“disrespect” — rejected, mutes the unique, unforgivable severity Mark assigns this sin | Vaj-prefix mandatory (per A5); must be taught as categorically different from ordinary insult or reparable ritual-taboo violation. |
| B12 | Proper Noun | Beelzebul | Βεελζεβούλ | Beelzeboul | Proper name for the prince of demons | Npe-exenpub | Low | 3 | — | Transliteration, first-use gloss required. |
| B13 | Teaching Form | Parable | παραβολή | parabolē | A comparison-story that both reveals and conceals kingdom truth | zaj lus piv txwv | Low-Medium | 4, 12 | dab neeg (“spirit-story/legend”) — FORBIDDEN, falsely associates Jesus’ teaching form with the animistic-legend genre | No collision if the forbidden substitution is avoided. |
| B14 | Emotion/Discipleship | Fear | φόβος / φοβέομαι | phobos / phobeomai | Dread, terror, awe — the recurring foil to faith throughout Mark | kev ntshai | Low-Medium | 4, 5, 6, 9, 16 | — | Doctrine anchor: “Faith and Discipleship amid Fear”; must be taught as the dramatic counterpoint to kev ntseeg (A12) at every occurrence. |
| B15 | Proper Noun/Spiritual Beings | Legion | Λεγιών | Legiōn | Proper name given by the Gerasene demoniac, echoing a Roman military unit | Legioos | Low | 5 | — | Reinforces B6 (Critical risk carried forward). |
| B16 | Christology/Healing | ”Your faith has saved/healed you” | ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέν σε | hē pistis sou sesōken se | Same Greek verb root covers both physical healing and spiritual salvation | koj txoj kev ntseeg tau cawm koj / kho koj zoo | Medium | 5, 10 | Resolving the wordplay to only “healed” or only “saved” — rejected, loses Mark’s deliberate double sense | Reuses A12 (faith) + A15 (salvation) roots; teach the dual sense explicitly. |
| B17 | Proper Noun (retained) | Talitha cumi | Ταλιθὰ κούμ | Talitha koum | Aramaic command, “little girl, arise” | Talitha khumas | Low | 5 | — | Retained per the Abba Aramaic-retention convention; footnote required. |
| B18 | Law/Tradition | Tradition of the elders | παράδοσις τῶν πρεσβυτέρων | paradosis tōn presbyterōn | Human customs handed down, sharply distinguished from divine commandment | tej kab ke qub ntawm cov txwj laus | High | 7 | Any rendering using the kevcai root — rejected, would blur the very Law/tradition distinction Jesus draws; must remain visibly distinct from A17 | Must never share a root morpheme with Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv/Mauxes). |
| B19 | Purity/Law | Clean / unclean (ritual defilement) | κοινός / κοινόω | koinos / koinoō | Ritually common/impure vs. set apart; Jesus relocates the source of defilement from external contact to the heart | qias / ua qias (contrasted with dawb huv) | Critical | 7 | Treating this purely as a hygiene-law comprehension gap — rejected, understates the direct collision with folk ritual-purity-from-spirit-contamination already flagged in the Romans baseline’s sanctification entry | Major teaching opportunity: this passage directly addresses the dawb huv collision the baseline anticipated; cross-reference recommended when teaching sanctification/baptism. |
| B20 | Anthropology | Heart | καρδία | kardia | The seat of moral will, thought, and desire | lub siab | Low-Medium | 7 | — | Consistent with baseline’s siab-as-moral-seat convention (conscience, will of God entries). |
| B21 | Proper Noun (retained) | Corban | Κορβᾶν | Korban | A Hebrew vow-formula dedicating something to God, exploited to evade filial duty | Khaupas (+ gloss) | Low-Medium | 7 | — | Transliteration with explanatory gloss. |
| B22 | Christology | The Christ (standalone title) | ὁ Χριστός | ho Christos | Peter’s confession; the Messianic title used independently of the compound name | Khetos (as standalone title) | Low (lexical) / High (doctrinal hinge) | 8, 14, 15 | — | Narrative turning-point of the Gospel; teach forward to 10:45 and 14:61-62. |
| B23 | Messianic Secret | Silencing command | ἐπιτιμάω / diastellomai etc. | epitimaō | Jesus’ strict command to keep His identity secret | txwv tsis pub qhia rau leej twg | Medium | 1, 3, 8, 9 | — | Literary-structural device, not a lexical collision; requires narrative-strategy teaching note. Doctrine anchor: “The Messianic Secret.” |
| B24 | Necessity of the Cross | Cross / take up the cross | σταυρός | stauros | A Roman execution-instrument; metaphorically, costly self-denying discipleship | Ntoo Khaub Lig | Critical | 8, 10, 15 | Generic “execution post/tree” with no fixed term — rejected, needs a single fixed, permanent rendering for consistency across the whole curriculum | Must be distinguished from ancestral funerary/spirit-gate wood structures; distinct from Christ’s unique atoning death (see B2/B3). Doctrine anchor: “The Necessity of the Cross.” |
| B25 | Discipleship | Deny himself / life (psychē) | ἀρνέομαι ἑαυτόν / ψυχή | arneomai heauton / psychē | Renounce oneself; psychē = one’s very self/vital existence, distinct from pneuma | tso nws tus kheej tseg / txoj sia | Medium | 8, 10 | Rendering psychē with ntsuj plig (A6) — rejected, conflates two distinct Greek anthropological terms under one Hmong word | Kept lexically distinct from A6 per baseline anthropology-disambiguation convention. |
| B26 | Servanthood | General servant (ethical, not church office) | διάκονος / διακονέω | diakonos / diakoneō | One who renders humble service to others; general ethical sense, NOT the recognized church office of Rom 16:1 | tus uas pab lwm tus | Medium | 9, 10 (core passage v.43, v.45) | Reusing baseline’s tus pab tu pawg ntseeg (church-office “deacon_servant” entry) — rejected, anachronistic ecclesial office-language in a pre-church Gospel narrative | Must be kept distinct from A9/A10’s deacon_servant-family baseline entries. Doctrine anchor: “Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness.” |
| B27 | Judgment | Gehenna / hell | Γέεννα | Geenna | Valley of Hinnom, used as an image of final judgment/destruction | chaw kub taws txhaum mus ib txhis | Medium-High | 9 | Direct transliteration alone with no gloss — rejected, opaque without explanation | Comprehension gap; avoid conflating with ancestral-spirit-realm concepts. |
| B28 | Sovereignty | ”It has been prepared” (divine pre-arrangement) | ἡτοίμασται | hētoimastai | Passive perfect implying the Father’s prior, sovereign arrangement | twb npaj cia lawm (ntawm Leej Txiv) | Medium | 10 (core passage v.40) | hmoov (fate) vocabulary — FORBIDDEN, same collision risk as the baseline’s election/foreknowledge entries | Must echo the baseline’s forbidden-substitution rule for election/predestination. |
| B29 | Discipleship | Indignant | ἀγανακτέω | aganaktein | Petty resentful displeasure among peers, not righteous/judicial anger | chim rau | Low-Medium | 10 (core passage v.41) | kev npau taws (baseline “wrath_of_god” root) — rejected, would wrongly dignify petty rivalry as righteous divine wrath | Deliberately kept separate from A-baseline wrath-of-God vocabulary. |
| B30 | Worldly Greatness (negative example) | Lord it over / exercise authority over | κατακυριεύω / κατεξουσιάζω | katakyrieuō / katexousiazō | Domineering, self-serving mastery over subordinates — the negative foil to Christlike servanthood | kav lawv nkaus li tus tswv kav nws qhev / swb hwjchim rau lawv | High | 10 (core passage v.42) | Leaving tswv/hwjchim roots unmarked as simply “rule” — rejected, risks blending this corrupted example with the reverent titles tus Tswv (A2) and qualified Vajtswv hwjchim (B5) | Must be explicitly taught as the rejected worldly model, polarized against both divine Lordship and Jesus’ own servant-authority. Doctrine anchor: “Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness.” |
| B31 | Messianic Title | Son of David | υἱὸς Δαυίδ | huios Dauid | Davidic-Messianic title used publicly by Bartimaeus | Tus Tub ntawm Daviv | Low-Medium | 10, 11, 12 | — | Requires brief note on Davidic Messianic expectation; connects to A2’s High-weight entry at 12:35-37. |
| B32 | Proper Noun (retained) | Hosanna | Ὡσαννά | Hōsanna | Aramaic/Hebrew acclamation, “save now,” repurposed as praise | Hauxana | Low | 11 | — | Retained transliteration per Abba precedent. |
| B33 | Temple/Judgment | Den of robbers | σπήλαιον λῃστῶν | spēlaion lēstōn | Jeremiah 7:11 quotation condemning corrupted temple worship | qhov chaw uas cov tub sab nkaum | Low | 11 | — | Descriptive, no collision. |
| B34 | Eschatology | Abomination of desolation | τὸ βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως | to bdelygma tēs erēmōseōs | Danielic image of a defiling sacrilege in the holy place | yam qias vuab tsuab uas ua rau chaw pe hawm nyob do cuas | Medium-High | 13 | Generic “a bad/evil thing” — rejected, trivializes the specific apocalyptic referent | Requires dedicated teaching connecting to Daniel’s prophecy. |
| B35 | Eschatology | Watch / be alert | γρηγορέω | grēgoreō | A call to spiritual/eschatological vigilance | ceev faj | Low-Medium | 13, 14 | — | Ties to the faith-amid-fear doctrine’s eschatological dimension. |
| B36 | Christology | ”I am” (possible divine self-disclosure) | ἐγώ εἰμι | egō eimi | A simple affirmative possibly echoing the divine self-naming of Exodus 3:14 LXX | Kuv yog | High | 14 | A flattened, purely conversational rendering with no teaching note — rejected, could obscure the possible divine-name echo giving the blasphemy charge its full force | Recommend teaching note parallel to the Romans baseline’s handling of Christ’s deity at Rom 9:5. |
| B37 | Proper Noun (retained) | Cry of dereliction | Ἐλωὶ Ἐλωὶ, λεμὰ σαβαχθανι; | Eloi Eloi lema sabachthani | Psalm 22:1 quotation in Aramaic, retained then translated by Mark | Aramaic retained + Vajtswv, Vajtswv, ua li cas koj tso kuv tseg? | Low-Medium | 15 | — | Retained per Aramaic-retention convention (Abba, Talitha koum). |
| B38 | Temple/Symbolism | Temple curtain/veil | τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ | to katapetasma tou naou | The veil separating the Holy of Holies, torn at Jesus’ death | daim ntaub thaiv hauv lub Tuam Tsev | Low-Medium | 15 | — | Descriptive, comprehension-level; symbolizes opened access to God. |
Doctrine-to-Term Cross-Reference (for Phase 2 doctrine risk registry construction)
| Doctrine | Primary Terms (Critical/High) |
|---|---|
| Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God | B1 (Son of Man), A7 (Son of God), B22 (the Christ), B24 (Cross), core-passage B2/B3 |
| The Kingdom of God Breaking In | A13 (Kingdom of God), B10 (kingdom at hand) |
| Faith and Discipleship amid Fear | A12 (Faith), B14 (Fear), B16 (faith-that-saves/heals) |
| The Necessity of the Cross | B24 (Cross), B25 (deny himself/psychē), B1 (Son of Man suffering) |
| Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness | A10 (qhev/slave), B26 (general servant), B30 (lord it over) |
| The Messianic Secret | B23 (silencing command), B1 (Son of Man ambiguity), B22 (the Christ) |
| Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature | B5 (Jesus’ authority), B6 (demon/unclean spirit), A14 (power) |
| The Ransom for Many | B2 (ransom), B3 (for many/substitution), B4 (covenant), A10 (qhev) |
Escalation note: Every doctrine in this cross-reference touches at least one Critical-tier term; per the governing baseline’s routing rule, all content generated against this glossary must be routed to mandatory human theologian review before publication, with no automated-review bypass, consistent with assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json’s established convention.
Critical Risk Terms
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Vaj Ntsuj Plig
Transliteration: pneuma hagion
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Rejected alternatives: bare ntsuj plig (no Vaj prefix) — rejected, denotes an animistic wandering human soul
Inherited from Romans package. Vaj prefix mandatory at every occurrence with zero exceptions, including Mark 1:8-12 (baptism/wilderness), 3:28-29 (blasphemy against the Holy Spirit — the single highest-stakes occurrence in the whole book, since confusing the divine Person with a human soul here would trivialize the one unforgivable sin), 12:36, and 13:11.
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, doctrinally inert
Inherited from Romans package. Qualifier mandatory at every occurrence (Sabbath controversies 2:23-28, 3:1-6; divorce 10:2-9; greatest commandment 12:28-31). Must be kept lexically and conceptually distinct from tradition_of_the_elders (below) — Mark 7:8-9 depends on this exact Law/tradition contrast, which runs in the OPPOSITE disambiguation direction from this entry’s own qualifier rule.
Propitiation Atoning Sacrifice
Approved rendering: qhov theej txhoj kev txhaum
Transliteration: hilastērion
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: transliterated loanword — rejected, opaque, defeats contrast-teaching, bare ‘qhov theej’ without ‘once for all’ qualifier — rejected
Inherited from Romans package. Retained here as the root of the ‘theej’ morpheme reused in substitution_for_many below (Mark 10:45, 14:24); this lexical reuse is intentional cross-book reinforcement, signaling to Hmong readers that the same substitutionary logic operating at Romans 3:25 operates again at Mark 10:45.
Election Choose
Approved rendering: kev xaiv (Vajtswv xaiv raws li nws lub siab nyiam)
Transliteration: eklogē / eklegomai
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: hmoov (impersonal fate/fortune) vocabulary — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN
Inherited from Romans package. Not independently narrated as a distinct pericope in Mark, but retained because its forbidden-substitution rule (never hmoov-family vocabulary) directly governs the new it_has_been_prepared entry below (Mark 10:40).
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: tus Tub ntawm Tibneeg
Transliteration: ho huios tou anthrōpou
Doctrine: Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God
Rejected alternatives: Leej Tub Neeg (honorific ‘Leej’) — rejected, overclaims and collapses the deliberate humility/authority tension too early in the narrative
NEW ENTRY. Deliberately uses the ordinary classifier ‘tus’ rather than the honorific ‘Leej’ to preserve the humility pole of the title, creating real risk that hearers hear only ‘a human being’ and miss the Daniel 7:13-14 authority-and-glory pole (Mark 13:26, 14:62). Occurs 2:10, 2:28, 8:31,38, 9:9,12,31, 10:33,45, 13:26, 14:21,41,62. Mandatory teaching note required at EVERY occurrence explaining both poles; must never be flattened to a bare synonym for ‘Jesus.’ Grounds the Ransom saying (10:45).
Ransom
Approved rendering: nqi txhiv
Transliteration: lytron
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: transliterated loanword — rejected, opaque, defeats needed contrast-teaching against shamanic appeasement, bare ‘kev txhiv’ (reused unmarked from Romans redemption entry) — rejected, loses the specific ‘price paid’ nuance of lytron vs. the general ‘act of redeeming’ of apolytrōsis
NEW ENTRY, THE doctrinal anchor term of the entire Mark curriculum (10:45). Built on the redemption entry’s ‘kev txhiv’ root with ‘nqi’ (price) added to isolate the price-paid nuance. Positive bridge via Hmong debt-redemption custom (buying back a pawned person/item), but must be explicitly and always distinguished from that custom’s repeatable, negotiable, market-transaction character: this is a single, sufficient, once-for-all price-payment, never a repeatable ritual transaction with spirits.
Substitution For Many
Approved rendering: theej cov neeg coob
Transliteration: anti pollōn
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: ‘rau ntau tus’ (merely benefactive ‘for many’) — rejected, loses the strict substitutionary force of anti
NEW ENTRY. Reuses the ‘theej’ root from propitiation_atoning_sacrifice for internal cross-book consistency. Grounds substitutionary/vicarious atonement at 10:45, echoed at 14:24 (‘poured out for many,’ same fixed rendering required for narrative-theological continuity). Recommended fixed collocation for the whole clause: ‘muab nws txoj sia ua nqi txhiv theej cov neeg coob.‘
Jesus Divine Authority
Approved rendering: hwjchim (qualified: “Yexus tus kheej muaj hwjchim”)
Transliteration: exousia / dynamis
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Rejected alternatives: bare unqualified hwjchim — FORBIDDEN, identical to a shaman’s (txiv neeb) ritual power
NEW ENTRY, distinct application of the power/hwjchim root: this is Christ’s own INHERENT authority (1:22,27; 2:10; 3:15; 5:1-20; 6:7; 9:1; 11:28-33), distinct from delegated civil authority (governing_authority) and from the condemned worldly example (lord_it_over). Never bare; qualifier is a structural, non-negotiable generation constraint.
Demon Unclean Spirit
Approved rendering: dab / dab qias
Transliteration: daimonion / pneuma akatharton
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Rejected alternatives: euphemistic softening (e.g. ‘evil influence’) — rejected, obscures the actual referent and removes the needed contrast-teaching opportunity
NEW ENTRY. Exact indigenous term for spirits Hmong shamans (txiv neeb) ritually negotiate with via ua neeb ceremonies (Mark 1:23-27,34; 3:11,22; 5:1-20; 6:13; 7:25-30; 9:17-29). Correct as-is, but requires the single most important contrast-teaching in the whole curriculum: Jesus expels dab instantly, permanently, by sovereign word alone — never negotiation, payment, or appeasement.
Blasphemy Against Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: kev hais lus rhuas Vaj Ntsuj Plig
Transliteration: blasphēmia
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Rejected alternatives: generic ‘insult’/‘disrespect’ — rejected, mutes the unique, unforgivable severity
NEW ENTRY. Mark 3:28-29, the one unforgivable sin. Must retain the mandatory Vaj prefix (holy_spirit entry) and be explicitly taught as categorically different from ordinary insult or reparable ritual-taboo violation — willful, hardened attribution of God’s work to evil.
Blasphemy Trial Charge
Approved rendering: kev hais lus rhuas Vajtswv
Transliteration: blasphēmia
Doctrine: Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God
NEW ENTRY. Mark 14:64, the formal trial charge against Jesus. Direct narrative fulfillment of the danger named at 3:28-29, now falsely applied to Jesus Himself — dramatic irony that His accusers are the true blasphemers. Kept as a distinct entry from blasphemy_against_holy_spirit because the object differs (God generally vs. the Spirit specifically) though the underlying Hmong phrase-family is shared.
Clean Unclean Ritual Defilement
Approved rendering: qias / ua qias
Transliteration: koinos / koinoō
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: treating this purely as a hygiene-law comprehension gap — rejected, understates the direct collision with folk ritual-purity-from-spirit-contamination already flagged in the Romans baseline’s sanctification entry
NEW ENTRY. Mark 7:14-23, set in direct antithesis to ‘dawb huv’ (the very root the Romans baseline flags for sanctification). This passage is a MAJOR TEACHING OPPORTUNITY: Jesus Himself relocates defilement from external/ritual to internal/moral, directly resolving the dawb huv collision the Romans baseline only anticipated. Recommend mandatory cross-referencing when teaching Romans’ sanctification doctrine.
Cross
Approved rendering: Ntoo Khaub Lig
Transliteration: stauros
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Rejected alternatives: generic ‘execution post/tree’ with no fixed term — rejected, needs a single fixed, permanent rendering for curriculum-wide consistency
NEW ENTRY. Fixed as the permanent term, paralleling historic Hmong Christian transliteration-based usage. Occurs at 8:34 (imitative call to discipleship) and 15:21-37 (Christ’s own unique atoning death). MUST carry a co-text disambiguation marker (e.g., ‘raws li Yexus tau ua’) at every occurrence of the imitative sense so the two are never collapsed into one; must also be distinguished from any ancestral funerary wood-post, spirit-gate, or grave-marker structures in Hmong custom.
High Risk Terms
Human Spirit Soul
Approved rendering: ntsuj plig
Transliteration: pneuma (anthropological)
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: Vaj Ntsuj Plig — forbidden for this referent, reserved exclusively for the Holy Spirit
Inherited from Romans package. Never Vaj-prefixed. In Mark this entry must additionally be kept distinct from ‘txoj sia’ (psychē, deny_self_life_psyche entry below) — two different Greek anthropological concepts that must never be conflated under one Hmong word, with acute stakes given the proximity of 3:28-29 (blasphemy against the Spirit) to 8:35 (losing one’s psychē/life) only five chapters apart.
Servant Slave Doulos
Approved rendering: qhev
Transliteration: doulos
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Rejected alternatives: koom tes (co-worker/partner) — rejected softening, erases total-surrender force
Inherited from Romans package. Escalated significance in Mark: at 10:44 Jesus applies this term aspirationally to every disciple’s definition of greatness (‘whoever would be first must be slave of all’), and at 10:45 to His own self-description, not merely as an apostolic self-designation as in Romans 1:1. Must be paired with a catechetical note distinguishing voluntary, honored total self-giving in imitation of Christ from involuntary chattel slavery.
Power
Approved rendering: hwjchim
Transliteration: dynamis
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Rejected alternatives: bare, unqualified hwjchim — FORBIDDEN, identical to a shaman’s (txiv neeb) ritual power
Inherited from Romans package. In Mark this root is now overloaded across THREE distinct senses that must never be left to collide: (1) Christ’s own inherent divine authority (see jesus_divine_authority entry, qualified ‘Yexus tus kheej muaj hwjchim’), (2) delegated civil authority (governing_authority entry), (3) the condemned worldly ‘lording over’ example (see lord_it_over entry, 10:42). No two senses may appear in the same paragraph without an explicit differentiating clause. This is the single most overloaded root in the entire Mark package.
Salvation Save
Approved rendering: kev cawm dim / cawm
Transliteration: sōtēria / sōzō
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
Rejected alternatives: unanchored ‘dim’ (escape) parallel to shamanic ua neeb soul-rescue — rejected without explicit Christ-anchoring
Inherited from Romans package. In Mark this verb deliberately blurs physical healing and spiritual salvation in a single word (see faith_that_saves_heals entry, 5:34, 10:52); always anchor explicitly to Yexus Khetos as sole agent/means.
Sin Act And Condition
Approved rendering: txhaum / kev txhaum
Transliteration: hamartia
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Inherited from Romans package. Object of both John’s baptism of repentance (1:4-5) and Jesus’ authority to forgive (2:5-10, see forgiveness_of_sins entry below, kept lexically distinct from justification vocabulary).
Governing Authority
Approved rendering: cov muaj hwjchim kav teb chaws
Transliteration: exousia
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Rejected alternatives: unmarked hwjchim framing rulers’ authority as shamanic spiritual power — rejected
Inherited from Romans package. Invoked in the render-to-Caesar controversy (12:13-17) and Jesus’ trial before Pilate (15:1-15). Must be clearly marked as delegated, God-ordained civil authority, distinct from Christ’s own inherent divine authority (jesus_divine_authority entry) and from the negative worldly-domination example (lord_it_over entry).
Baptism
Approved rendering: kev cai raus dej
Transliteration: baptizō / baptisma
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Rejected alternatives: transliterated loanword (‘npativ’ style) — rejected, sidesteps the kevcai collision, baptism as testimony only — rejected, loses union/participation sense
Inherited from Romans package for the literal sacramental sense (Mark 1:4-11). Risk ESCALATES to High specifically in the core passage’s metaphorical extension (10:38-39), where ‘baptism’ means being engulfed in suffering-unto-death, not a second water-rite; must always carry an explicit teaching note distinguishing the two senses while retaining the identical Hmong string.
Worship Serve Cultic
Approved rendering: pehawm
Transliteration: latreuō / proskyneō
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: bare, unanchored pehawm — FORBIDDEN, identical verb used for pehawm dab
Inherited from Romans package. Mark 7:6-7 (quoting Isaiah on empty lip-worship); object must always be stated (‘pehawm Vajtswv’).
Foreknow Predestine
Approved rendering: twb paub ua ntej lawm / twm chaw ua ntej lawm
Transliteration: proginōskō / proorizō
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: hmoov (fate) vocabulary — rejected, same collision risk as election_choose
Inherited from Romans package. Retained for the same reason as election_choose — it_has_been_prepared (Mark 10:40) must be taught alongside both entries with explicit contrast to impersonal hmoov.
Covenant New
Approved rendering: Vajtswv Txoj Kev Cog Lus
Transliteration: diathēkē
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘lus cog tseg’ (ordinary promise) alone — rejected, too weak to carry the sacrificial, blood-sealed, binding sense of diathēkē
NEW ENTRY. ‘My blood of the covenant’ (Mark 14:24), the Last Supper’s liturgical enactment of the same substitutionary logic the Ransom saying states propositionally (10:45). Positive bridge via Hmong blood-oath covenant custom, but risk is High that this could be heard as a reciprocal, renewable oath-ritual (like a clan blood-pact) rather than Christ’s unilateral, sufficient, once-for-all sacrificial covenant. Must be taught in explicit connection with ransom and substitution_for_many.
Repentance
Approved rendering: hloov siab lees txim
Transliteration: metanoia / metanoeō
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Rejected alternatives: reuse of ‘hloov siab tshiab’ (renewal_of_the_mind) unmarked — rejected, conflates initial conversion-turning with later ongoing sanctification
NEW ENTRY. John’s and Jesus’ opening summons (Mark 1:4,15). Must be taught as more than the reparable social/ritual-apology-restitution custom Hmong tradition applies to wrongdoing — this is a God-ward turning, not a clan-restitution transaction.
Kingdom At Hand
Approved rendering: twb los ze zuj zog lawm
Transliteration: ēngiken
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Rejected alternatives: static ‘lub Nceeg Vaj yog’ (the kingdom simply exists) — rejected, loses the dynamic in-breaking, already/not-yet sense
NEW ENTRY. Perfect tense of ēngiken (Mark 1:15) has no single Hmong grammatical equivalent; this fixed periphrasis is locked and must never be flattened to a simple future (‘the kingdom is coming’), or it produces the identical nationalistic-enthronement misunderstanding James and John display at 10:37.
Tradition Of The Elders
Approved rendering: tej kab ke qub ntawm cov txwj laus
Transliteration: paradosis tōn presbyterōn
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: any rendering using the ‘kevcai’ root — rejected, would blur exactly the Law/tradition distinction Jesus draws at Mark 7:8-9
NEW ENTRY. Deliberately avoids the kevcai root reserved for law_mosaic_divine — the OPPOSITE disambiguation direction from that entry’s own qualifier rule, and must be flagged for translator attention so a well-meaning drafter does not ‘correct’ this toward kevcai vocabulary.
The Christ Standalone
Approved rendering: Khetos
Transliteration: ho Christos
Doctrine: Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God
NEW ENTRY. Peter’s confession (Mark 8:29), the trial (14:61), and the mocking (15:32). Lexically Low (shares the transliteration root of Yexus Khetos) but High doctrinal weight as the narrative’s hinge-point, immediately followed by the first Passion prediction and rebuke. Must be taught forward to 10:45 and 14:61-62 so ‘Christ’ is never severed from suffering.
Lord It Over
Approved rendering: kav lawv nkaus li tus tswv kav nws qhev / swb hwjchim rau lawv
Transliteration: katakyrieuō / katexousiazō
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Rejected alternatives: leaving the tswv/hwjchim roots unmarked as simply ‘rule’ — rejected, risks blending this corrupted example with the reverent titles tus Tswv and qualified Vajtswv hwjchim
NEW ENTRY. Mark 10:42 (core passage). Deliberately reuses the reverent ‘tswv’ (lord/master) root, the ‘qhev’ (slave) root, and the flagged ‘hwjchim’ root IN A CONDEMNED, NEGATIVE EXAMPLE. Every occurrence must carry a ‘this is the rejected worldly pattern’ framing marker in the same or immediately adjacent clause.
I Am Divine Disclosure
Approved rendering: Kuv yog
Transliteration: egō eimi
Doctrine: Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God
Rejected alternatives: a flattened, purely conversational rendering with no teaching note — rejected, could obscure the possible divine-name echo giving the blasphemy charge its full force
NEW ENTRY. Mark 14:62, Jesus’ direct answer to the high priest, possibly echoing the divine self-naming of Exodus 3:14 LXX. Recommend a teaching note parallel to the Romans baseline’s handling of Christ’s deity at Romans 9:5.
Medium Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: tus Tub Txib
Transliteration: apostolos
Doctrine: General / Ecclesial Office
Inherited from Romans package. Applied to ‘the Twelve’ (hoi dōdeka) at Mark 3:14-19 and their sending at 6:7. Bridges to secular clan-messenger role; lacks inherent post-resurrection commissioning sense.
Faith Believe
Approved rendering: kev ntseeg / ntseeg
Transliteration: pistis / pisteuō
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
Inherited from Romans package. Central to the Faith-amid-Fear doctrine as the recurring counterpoint to ‘kev ntshai’ (fear) throughout Mark (4:40, 5:34-36, 9:23-24, 10:52, 11:22-24, 16:16 longer ending). Must always be object-anchored to Christ.
Will Of God
Approved rendering: Vajtswv lub siab nyiam
Transliteration: thelēma tou theou
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. ‘Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother’ (Mark 3:35).
Mercy
Approved rendering: txoj kev khuv leej
Transliteration: eleeō / eleos
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
Rejected alternatives: txiaj ntsim (grace) used interchangeably for mercy — rejected, distinct emphases
Inherited from Romans package. Bartimaeus’s cry for mercy (Mark 10:47-48); also the verb-root for compassion_splagchnizomai below.
Redemption
Approved rendering: kev txhiv
Transliteration: apolytrōsis
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Inherited from Romans package. Retained here specifically as the root morpheme underlying the new ‘nqi txhiv’ (ransom-price) entry below — apolytrōsis (the general act of redeeming) is distinguished from lytron (the specific price paid), which Mark 10:45 requires.
Leprosy
Approved rendering: mob ruas
Transliteration: lepra / lepros
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
NEW ENTRY. Mark 1:40-45; comprehension gap only — no equivalent Hmong purity-exclusion category; needs explanatory note on Mosaic ritual-exclusion law.
Faith That Saves Heals
Approved rendering: koj txoj kev ntseeg tau cawm koj / kho koj zoo
Transliteration: hē pistis sou sesōken se
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
Rejected alternatives: resolving the wordplay to only ‘healed’ or only ‘saved’ — rejected, loses Mark’s deliberate double sense
NEW ENTRY. Mark 5:34 (woman with the flow of blood) and 10:52 (Bartimaeus). Same Greek verb root covers both physical healing and spiritual salvation; must be taught explicitly as intentional ambiguity, never silently resolved.
Silencing Command
Approved rendering: txwv tsis pub qhia rau leej twg
Transliteration: epitimaō / diastellomai
Doctrine: The Messianic Secret
NEW ENTRY. Mark 1:34,44; 3:11-12; 5:43; 7:36; 8:30; 9:9. Not a lexical collision but a literary-structural device; requires a dedicated narrative-strategy teaching note (progressive revelation, avoiding premature political messianism) rather than a vocabulary fix.
Deny Self Life Psyche
Approved rendering: tso nws tus kheej tseg / txoj sia
Transliteration: arneomai heauton / psychē
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Rejected alternatives: rendering psychē with ntsuj plig — rejected, conflates two distinct Greek anthropological terms under one Hmong word
NEW ENTRY. Mark 8:35 and again at 10:45 (‘give his life,’ muab nws txoj sia). Kept lexically distinct from human_spirit_soul (ntsuj plig, anthropological pneuma) per the baseline’s anthropology-disambiguation convention; ‘txoj sia’ for psychē is locked.
General Servant Diakonos
Approved rendering: tus uas pab lwm tus
Transliteration: diakonos / diakoneō
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Rejected alternatives: reusing the Romans baseline’s church-office term ‘tus pab tu pawg ntseeg’ (Phoebe’s recognized office, Rom 16:1) — rejected, anachronistic in this pre-church Gospel narrative
NEW ENTRY. Mark 9:35, and the core passage 10:43,45. General ethical sense — humble service to anyone, NOT a recognized church office. This is the direct model for the Son of Man’s own self-description in 10:45. Must never be confused with the servant_slave_doulos entry’s total-surrender escalation at 10:44.
It Has Been Prepared
Approved rendering: twb npaj cia lawm (ntawm Leej Txiv)
Transliteration: hētoimastai
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: hmoov (fate) vocabulary — FORBIDDEN, same collision risk as the election_choose/foreknow_predestine entries
NEW ENTRY. Mark 10:40 (core passage). Perfect passive implying the Father’s prior, sovereign, personal arrangement of the seats of honor — must be taught in explicit cross-reference to election_choose and foreknow_predestine’s forbidden-substitution rule.
Cup Of Suffering
Approved rendering: lub khob (ntawm kev txom nyem)
Transliteration: potērion
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
NEW ENTRY. Mark 10:38-39 (core passage) and 14:36 (Gethsemane). Metaphorical cup-as-appointed-destiny has no native Hmong idiom; comprehension gap requiring first-use gloss, but MUST remain lexically identical at both occurrences to preserve Mark’s deliberate echo linking James/John’s naive request to Jesus’ own costly submission.
Forgiveness Of Sins
Approved rendering: raug zam txhaum
Transliteration: aphiēmi (hamartiai apheōntai)
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
NEW ENTRY. Mark 2:5-10, pronounced by Jesus with divine authority. Distinct from the Romans baseline’s ‘reckon/justify’ vocabulary (forensic imputation of righteousness) — this is the release of a debt/guilt, a related but distinguishable action; must not be conflated with ‘raug suav tias ncaj ncees.‘
Right Hand Left Hand Seats Of Honor
Approved rendering: sab tes xis / sab tes laug
Transliteration: ek dexiōn / ex aristerōn
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
NEW ENTRY. Mark 10:37,40 (core passage). Ancient royal-court seating idiom transfers reasonably via Hmong court/clan-elder seating custom, but must be anchored to the irony that Jesus’ actual ‘right and left’ at Golgotha are two criminals (15:27).
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
Inherited from Romans package. Reused throughout Mark without change.
Lord
Approved rendering: tus Tswv
Transliteration: kyrios
Doctrine: Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God
Inherited from Romans package. Lexical risk remains Low in Mark, but doctrinal weight escalates sharply at Mark 12:35-37 (Psalm 110 quotation, ‘the Lord said to my Lord’), an implicit deity claim that must be taught alongside the Son of Man/Son of God tension.
Jesus Christ
Approved rendering: Yexus Khetos
Transliteration: Iēsous Christos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. The standalone title ‘Khetos’ (see the_christ_standalone entry below) shares this transliteration root but is tracked separately for its narrative-hinge function at Mark 8:29.
Father God
Approved rendering: Leej Txiv
Transliteration: patēr
Doctrine: Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God
Inherited from Romans package. Appears at Mark 1:11 (baptism), 8:38, 11:25, 13:32, and centrally at 14:36 (Gethsemane, ‘Abba, Leej Txiv’), the very source text of the abba_father entry below.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Leej Tub ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: huios theou
Doctrine: Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God
Rejected alternatives: diminished-sonship renderings found in sectarian materials — rejected, must preserve full deity
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Mark 1:1, 1:11, 3:11, 5:7, 9:7, and climactically at 15:39 (the centurion’s Gentile confession at the foot of the cross). Must never be used without proximate co-text anchoring to the Passion, since the title’s honorific weight (Leej) risks being heard as severed from suffering if taught in isolation from 15:39.
Gospel
Approved rendering: Txoj Moo Zoo
Transliteration: euangelion
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Mark’s opening word (1:1) programmatically titles the whole book; recurs at 1:14-15, 8:35, 10:29, 13:10, 14:9, and the longer ending 16:15.
Peace
Approved rendering: kev thaj yeeb
Transliteration: eirēnē
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. ‘Peace, be still!’ (4:39), 5:34, 9:50.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: lub Nceeg Vaj ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: basileia tou theou
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Inherited from Romans package. Lexically Low risk but escalates contextually wherever the dynamic in-breaking sense is in view — see kingdom_at_hand entry below for the specific 1:15 in-breaking construction. Static-dynasty misreadings underlie the same nationalistic misunderstanding James and John display at 10:37.
Scripture
Approved rendering: Vaj Lug Kub
Transliteration: graphē
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Cited at Mark 1:2, 12:10,24,36, 14:21,27,49, 15:28 (textual variant).
World
Approved rendering: lub ntiajteb
Transliteration: kosmos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Mark 8:36, 13:10, 14:9, 16:15 (longer ending).
Witness
Approved rendering: tus timkhawv
Transliteration: martys / martyrion
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Mark 13:9-10 (testimony before councils and nations) and 14:55-59 (false witnesses at trial).
Death
Approved rendering: txoj kev tuag
Transliteration: thanatos
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Inherited from Romans package. Overcome by Jesus’ authority (Jairus’s daughter, 5:35-43), foretold of Himself (8:31, 9:31, 10:33-34), undergone (15:37), and reversed (16:1-8).
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis
Transliteration: zōē aiōnios
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. The rich young man’s question (Mark 10:17, 10:30); connects to Jesus’ correction of a salvation-by-works misconception, paralleling Romans’ justification-by-faith doctrine.
Glory
Approved rendering: lub yeeb koob
Transliteration: doxa
Doctrine: Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God
Inherited from Romans package. Lexically Low but High doctrinal stakes at the core passage (10:37): James and John request immediate triumphant glory, which Jesus redefines as reached only through the cross (cf. 8:38, 13:26). Must always be taught alongside the Suffering-Servant doctrine so ‘glory’ is never detached from suffering.
Love
Approved rendering: kev hlub
Transliteration: agapaō
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. The greatest commandment, love of God and neighbor (Mark 12:29-31); direct parallel to Romans 13:8-10’s ‘love fulfills the law’ teaching.
Righteousness Of God Righteous
Approved rendering: tus ncaj ncees
Transliteration: dikaios / dikaioi
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package (baseline entry also covers ‘Vajtswv txoj kev ncaj ncees’). In Mark 2:17 (‘I came not to call the righteous but sinners’) this ‘righteousness’ is self-assessed, not the imputed righteousness of the Romans Critical entry; teaching note recommended to keep the two uses distinct.
Promise
Approved rendering: lus cog tseg
Transliteration: epangelia
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Inherited from Romans package. Not independently narrated in Mark but retained as the root morpheme underlying the intensified covenant_new entry below.
Nations Gentiles
Approved rendering: lwm Haiv Neeg
Transliteration: ethnē
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Inherited from Romans package. Reused at Mark 10:42, but with a contextual POLARITY SHIFT: Jesus cites Gentile rulers pejoratively as the model of worldly rule His disciples must NOT imitate, contrasting with the neutral/positive missiological sense in Romans. Teaching note required so the reversal is read as a critique of worldly power, not ethnic disparagement.
Jew
Approved rendering: cov Yudas
Transliteration: Ioudaios
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Mark 15:26 (‘King of the Jews’).
Compassion Splagchnizomai
Approved rendering: khuv leej
Transliteration: splagchnizomai
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
NEW ENTRY (verb form). Mark 1:41, 6:34, 8:2, 9:22. Reuses the mercy entry’s root; good internal consistency, no new collision.
Beelzebul
Approved rendering: Npe-exenpub
Transliteration: Beelzeboul
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
NEW ENTRY. Proper name, prince of demons (Mark 3:22). Transliteration; first-use gloss required, following the Abba retention precedent.
Legion
Approved rendering: Legioos
Transliteration: Legiōn
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
NEW ENTRY. Proper name given by the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20), echoing a Roman military unit; reinforces the demon_unclean_spirit Critical-risk entry.
Talitha Koum
Approved rendering: Talitha khumas
Transliteration: Talitha koum
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
NEW ENTRY. Retained Aramaic command, ‘little girl, arise’ (Mark 5:41), paralleling the retained Abba precedent; footnote required.
Hosanna
Approved rendering: Hauxana
Transliteration: Hōsanna
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
NEW ENTRY. Mark 11:9-10, Triumphal Entry acclamation. Retained transliteration per the Abba precedent; first-use gloss required.
Den Of Robbers
Approved rendering: qhov chaw uas cov tub sab nkaum
Transliteration: spēlaion lēstōn
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW ENTRY. Mark 11:15-17, Jeremiah 7:11 quotation condemning corrupted temple worship, spoken during the temple-cleansing.
New Wine Old Wineskins
Approved rendering: cawv tshiab rau hauv lub hnab tawv qub
Transliteration: oinon neon / askous palaious
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW ENTRY. Mark 2:21-22, metaphor for the newness of Jesus’ teaching relative to old religious forms; descriptive rendering, no collision.
King Of The Jews
Approved rendering: Tus Vajntxwv ntawm cov Yudas
Transliteration: ho basileus tōn Ioudaiōn
Doctrine: Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God
NEW ENTRY. Mark 15:26, Pilate’s mocking inscription, ironically the truest title Jesus bears; reuses the jew entry’s ‘cov Yudas.‘
Great First Worldly Greatness Redefined
Approved rendering: loj / muaj koob meej ; thawj / tus tseem ceeb tshaj
Transliteration: megas / prōtos
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
NEW ENTRY. Mark 10:43-44 (core passage). Plain descriptive status terms; the doctrinal weight lies in the paradoxical redefinition (greatness = service, first = slave of all), not in lexical collision.
Teacher Address
Approved rendering: xibhwb
Transliteration: Didaskale
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW ENTRY. Vocative address used ironically by James and John (Mark 10:35, core passage) immediately before a status-seeking request revealing they have not grasped what kind of Teacher Jesus is; standard address term, no lexical collision, but the irony should be preserved in any core-passage teaching note.
Low-Medium Risk Terms
Mystery
Approved rendering: zaj lus zais cia
Transliteration: mystērion
Doctrine: The Messianic Secret
Inherited from Romans package. ‘The secret of the kingdom of God’ (4:11) directly connects the Kingdom-breaking-in doctrine to the Messianic Secret doctrine.
Abba Father
Approved rendering: Abba, Leej Txiv
Transliteration: Abba ho patēr
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Rejected alternatives: dropping ‘Abba’ entirely as untranslatable — rejected, flattens filial intimacy
Inherited from Romans package. Mark 14:36 (Gethsemane) is the very source text of this Romans baseline entry; the Son’s submission to the Father’s will here models the obedience later required of every disciple.
Renewal Of The Mind
Approved rendering: hloov siab tshiab
Transliteration: anakainōsis tou noos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Retained here specifically because the new repentance entry below (Mark 1:4,15) MUST be kept lexically distinct from this term: repentance is the initial, God-ward turning from sin at conversion, while this entry describes the later, ongoing Pauline sanctification concept. The two must never be conflated.
Parable
Approved rendering: zaj lus piv txwv
Transliteration: parabolē
Doctrine: The Messianic Secret
Rejected alternatives: dab neeg (‘legend/folktale,’ literally ‘spirit-story/spirit-legend’) — FORBIDDEN, falsely associates Jesus’ teaching form with the animistic-legend genre
NEW ENTRY. Mark 4 (sower, seeds, lamp, mustard seed) and 12 (tenants). No collision if the forbidden substitution is strictly avoided.
Fear
Approved rendering: kev ntshai
Transliteration: phobos / phobeomai
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
NEW ENTRY. The recurring foil to faith throughout Mark (4:41, 5:15,33-36, 6:49-52, 9:32, 16:8). Standard term, no lexical collision, but must always be taught as replaced by trust in Christ’s demonstrated authority — never as an invitation to abandon spiritual protection with nothing substituted, given Hmong daily life’s structural organization around fear of malevolent spirits.
Heart Kardia
Approved rendering: lub siab
Transliteration: kardia
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW ENTRY. Mark 7:21 (‘out of the heart of man come evil thoughts’). Consistent with the established Hmong convention of siab (liver/heart) as the seat of moral awareness already present in the Romans baseline’s conscience and will-of-god entries.
Corban
Approved rendering: Khaupas (ib yam khoom uas twv cia rau Vajtswv)
Transliteration: Korban
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW ENTRY. Mark 7:11, a Hebrew vow-formula exploited to evade honoring one’s parents. Transliteration with mandatory explanatory parenthetical gloss.
Indignant
Approved rendering: chim rau
Transliteration: aganaktein
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Rejected alternatives: kev npau taws (the Romans baseline’s ‘wrath_of_god’ root) — rejected, would wrongly dignify petty rivalry as righteous divine wrath
NEW ENTRY. Mark 10:41 (core passage), the ten disciples’ petty resentment at James and John’s request. Deliberately kept separate from the baseline wrath-of-God vocabulary.
Son Of David
Approved rendering: Tus Tub ntawm Daviv
Transliteration: huios Dauid
Doctrine: Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God
NEW ENTRY. Bartimaeus’s public Messianic cry (Mark 10:47-48), also 11:10, 12:35-37. Requires a brief note on Davidic Messianic expectation; connects to the Lord entry’s High-weight occurrence at 12:35-37.
Watch Be Alert
Approved rendering: ceev faj
Transliteration: grēgoreō
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
NEW ENTRY. Mark 13:33-37 (climaxing ‘no one knows the day or hour’) and 14:34-38 (Gethsemane). Ties directly to the faith-amid-fear doctrine’s eschatological dimension.
Cry Of Dereliction
Approved rendering: Aramaic retained + “Vajtswv, Vajtswv, ua li cas koj tso kuv tseg?”
Transliteration: Eloi Eloi lema sabachthani
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Rejected alternatives: translating only, omitting the retained Aramaic — rejected, erases Mark’s own deliberate retain-then-translate literary device
NEW ENTRY. Mark 15:34, direct Psalm 22:1 quotation in Aramaic, retained then translated by Mark himself. Marks the acute climax of the Necessity-of-the-Cross doctrine.
Temple Curtain
Approved rendering: daim ntaub thaiv hauv lub Tuam Tsev
Transliteration: to katapetasma tou naou
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
NEW ENTRY. Mark 15:38, the veil torn at Jesus’ death, symbolizing direct access to God opened through Christ’s death.
Sabbath
Approved rendering: Hnub Xanpataus
Transliteration: sabbaton
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
NEW ENTRY. Mark 2:23-28, 3:1-6. Transliteration; comprehension gap only, no native weekly-rest analog, no traditional-religion collision.
Stone Rejected Cornerstone
Approved rendering: lub pob zeb uas cov kws tsim tsev tsis lees yuav
Transliteration: lithos hon apedokimasan hoi oikodomountes
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
NEW ENTRY. Mark 12:10-11, Psalm 118 quotation applied to Christ’s rejection-then-vindication, echoing the suffering-then-glory pattern of the whole book; reuses the Romans baseline’s stumbling_block imagery family (‘pob zeb’) for internal consistency.
Transfiguration
Approved rendering: hloov mus zoo li lwm yam
Transliteration: metamorphoō
Doctrine: The Messianic Secret
NEW ENTRY. Mark 9:2-8, a momentary lifting of the Messianic Secret’s veil for the inner circle; comprehension-level descriptive phrase, no collision.
Medium-High Risk Terms
Gehenna
Approved rendering: chaw kub taws txhaum mus ib txhis
Transliteration: Geenna
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: direct transliteration alone with no gloss — rejected, opaque without explanation
NEW ENTRY. Mark 9:43-48. Descriptive rendering since no exact Hmong afterlife-judgment concept exists; comprehension gap requiring careful teaching to avoid conflating with ancestral-spirit-realm concepts.
Abomination Of Desolation
Approved rendering: yam qias vuab tsuab uas ua rau chaw pe hawm nyob do cuas
Transliteration: to bdelygma tēs erēmōseōs
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: generic ‘a bad/evil thing’ — rejected, trivializes the specific Danielic apocalyptic referent
NEW ENTRY. Mark 13:14, the Olivet Discourse’s central apocalyptic sign. Requires dedicated teaching connecting to Daniel’s prophecy.