Core Glossary
Matthew — Core Glossary (Hmong Language Package)
This glossary compiles every load-bearing theological term surfaced in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, spanning all 28 chapters of Matthew. Section A lists terms reused exactly from the baseline Romans assets/translation_memory.json (no re-gloss permitted for Critical/High entries, per governing document §2.1). Section B lists new terms surfaced specifically in Matthew, with full risk documentation; these are provisional pending formal TM-revision review and are flagged [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED] where indicated in the semantic analysis.
Risk tier definitions are inherited unchanged from assets/bible_term_registry.json:
- Critical — doctrinally load-bearing term with a strong, specific collision with Hmong traditional religion that could invert or neutralize the doctrine if unaddressed.
- High — real potential for confusion with a specific traditional-religious concept/practice; manageable with a documented disambiguating strategy.
- Medium — partial semantic mismatch, register gap, or comprehension gap with no direct collision.
- Low — already-stable, safe rendering with minimal ambiguity.
Section A — Terms Reused Exactly from Baseline Romans TM
| # | English Term | Hmong Rendering (TM-fixed) | Risk | Matthew Chapters | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | God | Vajtswv | Low | all | No change from baseline. |
| A2 | Lord | tus Tswv | Low | all | No change from baseline. |
| A3 | Jesus Christ | Yexus Khetos | Low | all | No change from baseline. |
| A4 | Father (God) | Leej Txiv | Low | 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 23, 24, 26, 28 | No change; pairs with “Leej Tub.” |
| A5 | Holy Spirit | Vaj Ntsuj Plig | Critical | 1, 3, 4, 10, 12, 28 | ”Vaj” prefix mandatory at every occurrence, including the Great Commission’s baptismal formula (28:19). |
| A6 | Human spirit/soul (anthropological) | ntsuj plig | High | 5, 11, 26, 27 | Never “Vaj”-prefixed; used e.g. for “poor in spirit” (5:3), “rest for your souls” (11:29), “the spirit is willing” (26:41). |
| A7 | Son of God | Leej Tub ntawm Vajtswv | Low | 3, 4, 8, 14, 16, 17, 26, 27 | No change; climactic at 16:16, 27:54. |
| A8 | Gospel | Txoj Moo Zoo | Low | 4, 9, 11, 24, 26 | ”Gospel of the kingdom” (4:23, 9:35, 24:14) combines with new kingdom_of_heaven entry (B1 below). |
| A9 | Faith / Believe | kev ntseeg / ntseeg | Medium | 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 17, 21 | Must always be anchored to Christ as object, per baseline rule. |
| A10 | Law (Mosaic/Divine) | Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes) | Critical | 5, 7, 11, 12, 15, 19, 22, 23 | Mandatory qualifier retained at every occurrence without exception. |
| A11 | Righteousness of God / righteous | Vajtswv txoj kev ncaj ncees / tus ncaj ncees | Critical | 1, 3, 5, 6 | Matthew introduces a distinct ethical/practical sense (5:20, 6:33) requiring extra disambiguation — see B12. |
| A12 | Justify / Reckon as righteous | ua kom ncaj ncees / raug suav tias ncaj ncees | Critical | (implicit; no direct Matthean forensic-justification proof-text as dense as Rom 4, but the qualifier discipline must still govern any use of “ncaj ncees” root) | Carried forward as a structural safeguard for B12. |
| A13 | Sin (act & condition) | txhaum / kev txhaum | High | 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 26 | Distinguished from metanoia/repentance (B4) and from social-repair “thov txim.” |
| A14 | Wrath of God | kev npau taws ntawm Vajtswv | High | 3 | John the Baptist’s preaching. |
| A15 | Salvation / Save | kev cawm dim / cawm | High | 1, 8, 9, 10, 14, 16, 18, 19, 24, 27 | Always anchored to Yexus Khetos as sole agent. |
| A16 | Power | hwjchim | High | 6, 7, 9, 22, 24, 26, 28 | Always qualified; see also B11 (Jesus’ own authority) for the sharpened Matthean sub-sense. |
| A17 | Kingdom of God | lub Nceeg Vaj ntawm Vajtswv | Low | 6, 12, 19, 21 | Matthew’s alternate form to kingdom_of_heaven (B1); teaching note establishes strict referential equivalence. |
| A18 | Baptism | kev cai raus dej | High | 3, 28 | John’s baptism (ch.3) and the Great Commission’s Trinitarian baptismal formula (28:19). |
| A19 | Sanctification | kev raug ua kom dawb huv | High | (conceptually present at 5:8, 15:11-20’s purity discourse; term root reused, see B cross-refs) | See B entries on heart-purity and ritual-purity collision. |
| A20 | Mercy | txoj kev khuv leej | Medium | 5, 9, 15, 18, 20, 23 | Kept lexically distinct from txiaj ntsim/grace. |
| A21 | Grace | txiaj ntsim | Critical | (not thematically foregrounded in Matthew as in Romans, but the permanent prohibition on koob hmoov substitution still governs any occurrence) | See B2 for the related but distinct makarios/“blessed” collision risk. |
| A22 | Peace | kev thaj yeeb | Low | 5, 10 | Contrastive use at 10:34 requires a teaching note (see analysis). |
| A23 | Worship/Serve (cultic, latreuō) | pehawm / pab teev | High | (not directly attested with this specific Greek verb in Matthew’s core passages reviewed; retained for consistency) | Distinguished from proskyneō (B23). |
| A24 | Apostle | tus Tub Txib | Medium | 10 | The Twelve. |
| A25 | Redemption | kev txhiv | Medium | (conceptual substrate for B14, ransom) | See B14 for the distinct lytron nuance. |
| A26 | Promise | lus cog tseg | Low | 1, 2 (fulfillment contexts) | Distinguished from B16 (covenant, diathēkē). |
| A27 | Nations / Gentiles | lwm Haiv Neeg | Low | 4, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 21 | Distinguished from B22 (inclusive “all nations,” Great Commission). |
| A28 | Idol | dab mlom | High | (not directly foregrounded in Matthew’s core doctrines but retained for consistency; contrast with B18, demons) | |
| A29 | Heir | tus qub txeeg qub teg | Low | 5, 21, 25 | Reused verbally at 5:5 (“inherit the earth”). |
| A30 | Glory | lub yeeb koob | Low | 6, 16, 17, 19, 24, 25 | Transfiguration (ch.17), Son of Man’s coming (ch.24-25). |
| A31 | Truth | qhov tseeb | Low | (implicit in “amen” formula, B19) | |
| A32 | Eternal life | txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis | Low | 19, 25 | Deliberately parallel to B15 (eternal punishment). |
| A33 | Endurance | kev ua siab ntev | Low | 10, 24 | Persecution/end-times contexts. |
| A34 | Love | kev hlub | Low | 5, 19, 22 | ”Love your enemies” (5:44) and greatest commandment (22:37-40) both flagged for context-specific notes. |
| A35 | Hope | kev cia siab | Low | (implicit substrate for eschatological passages, ch.24-25) | |
| A36 | Witness | tus timkhawv | Low | 10, 24, 26 | Testimony under persecution and at trial. |
| A37 | Scripture | Vaj Lug Kub | Low | 1, 2, 4, 21, 22, 26 | Fulfillment-formula contexts throughout. |
| A38 | Governing Authority | cov muaj hwjchim kav teb chaws | High | 22 (paying taxes to Caesar) | Distinct from B11 (Jesus’ own, non-delegated authority). |
| A39 | Election / Choose | kev xaiv (Vajtswv xaiv raws li nws lub siab nyiam) | Critical | 22, 24 | ”Many called, few chosen” (22:14); elect gathered at the end (24:22, 24, 31). Mandatory volitional-clause qualifier and permanent hmoov prohibition retained. |
| A40 | Debtor | tus tshuav nqi | Low | 6, 18 | Lord’s Prayer debt-forgiveness metaphor; unforgiving servant parable. |
| A41 | Flesh (neutral: descent/body) | lub cev nqaij tawv | Critical | 1 | Genealogy/lineage substrate. |
| A42 | World | lub ntiajteb | Low | 4, 5, 13, 24, 28 | |
| A43 | Adoption as sons | raug muab coj los ua me tub (ntawm Vajtswv) | Medium | 5 | ”Called sons of God” (5:9). |
| A44 | Ashamed | txaj muag | Low | 5 (comprehension note re: 5:11’s shame/honor dynamic) | |
| A45 | Will of God | Vajtswv lub siab nyiam | Medium | 6, 7, 24 | |
| A46 | Stumbling block | qhov/pob zeb ua rau dawm ceg | Low-Medium | 21 (cornerstone imagery, contrastive) | |
| A47 | Firstfruits (agrarian bridge convention) | thawj phaus qoob loo / cov ua ntej | Low-Medium | (methodological precedent cited for B-section agrarian metaphors) |
Section B — New Terms Surfaced in Matthew (Provisional — Pending TM-Revision Review)
| # | English Term | Greek | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Hmong Rendering | Risk | Chapters | Doctrine(s) | Notes / Collision Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | Kingdom of Heaven | βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν | basileia tōn ouranōn | reign/kingdom of the heavens | lub Nceeg Vaj Saum Ntuj Ceeb Tsheej | High | 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25 | Kingdom of Heaven | Matthew’s characteristic circumlocution; must be taught as strictly equivalent referent to A17 (kingdom of God); primary risk is collapse into a merely locative afterlife-destination reading rather than God’s present-and-future reign. |
| B2 | Blessed | μακάριος | makarios | blessed, to-be-congratulated, flourishing | tau koob hmoov ntawm Vajtswv (qualifier ntawm Vajtswv mandatory) | Critical | 5 | Kingdom of Heaven; Discipleship | koob hmoov alone denotes fate/fortune bestowed by ancestors/spirits per ritual correctness — the same collision class permanently forbidden for grace (A21); usable here ONLY with the God-qualifier attached at every occurrence. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED before TM lock.] |
| B3 | Disciple | μαθητής | mathētēs | learner, apprentice | thwjtim | Low | 1 (5:1) and throughout | Discipleship and the Cost of Following | Stable existing Hmong Christian term; must be taught as total-life allegiance, not casual pupilage. |
| B4 | Repentance | μετάνοια | metanoia | change of mind/turning | kev hloov siab lees txim | Medium | 3, 4 | Kingdom of Heaven; Judgment | Must be distinguished from social-repair thov txim custom. |
| B5 | Son of David | υἱὸς Δαυίδ | huios Dauid | son of David | tus Tub ntawm Daviv Vajntxwv | Medium | 1, 9, 12, 15, 20, 21, 22 | Messiah and Son of David | Dynastic/messianic title, not mere biological descent. |
| B6 | Christ (title use) | ὁ Χριστός | ho Christos | the Anointed One | tus Khetos | Low-Medium | 1, 2, 11, 16, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27 | Messiah and Son of David | Extends baseline compound name; risk is under-recognition as a debated title (16:16, 26:63) rather than mere name-component. |
| B7 | Fulfillment formula | πληρωθῇ / πληρόω | plērōthē / plēroō | that it might be fulfilled | kom tiav raws li Vaj Lug Kub uas hais cia lawm | Medium | 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 21, 26, 27 | Fulfillment of OT Prophecy | Comprehension-level; must convey sovereign follow-through on God’s own prior word, not mere coincidental prediction-matching. |
| B8 | Prophet | προφήτης | prophētēs | one who speaks for God | tus cev Vajtswv lus | High | 1 (implicit), 2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 21, 22, 23, 24 | Fulfillment of OT Prophecy | Collision risk with shamanic diviners (txiv neeb, txiv xaiv) who claim to relay spirit-messages; must be explicitly distinguished. |
| B9 | False prophets | ψευδοπροφῆται | pseudoprophētai | false ones who speak for God | cov cev lus dag | High | 7, 24 | Fulfillment of OT Prophecy; Judgment | Inherits B8’s collision risk, sharpened by the “false” qualifier. |
| B10 | Amen, I say to you | ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν | amēn legō hymin | truly I say to you | kuv hais tseeb rau nej | Low-Medium | throughout | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | Solemn authoritative-pronouncement marker. |
| B11 | Authority (Jesus’ own) | ἐξουσία | exousia | authority, right, power to act | hwjchim, mandatorily qualified as Yexus Khetos li hwjchim (uas nws muaj ntawm nws tus kheej) | Critical | 7, 8, 9, 10, 21, 28 | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | Distinct from A38 (delegated civil authority) and from bare shamanic hwjchim; Jesus’ authority is inherent, not delegated or ritual-negotiated. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED before TM lock.] |
| B12 | Righteousness exceeding (ethical/practical sense) | δικαιοσύνη (5:20, 6:33 sense) | dikaiosynē | rightness of conduct/character | kev ncaj ncees uas dhau li cov Falixais tus | Critical | 5, 6 | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees; Justification by Faith (cross-reference) | Must be kept distinct from A11/A12’s forensic-imputation sense while not falling into works-righteousness; dual-sense caution required. |
| B13 | ”You have heard… but I say to you” formula | ἠκούσατε… ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν | ēkousate… egō de legō hymin | authoritative reinterpretation formula | nej tau hnov hais tias… tiamsis kuv hais rau nej tias | Critical | 5 | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching; The Law and Its Purpose | Jesus’ word set alongside/above the Law as previously taught; requires fulfillment-not-abolition teaching note. |
| B14 | Ransom | λύτρον | lytron | price paid to release a captive/slave | nqi txhiv | Medium | 20 | (Atonement substrate for Discipleship/Cost) | Distinct Greek lexeme from A25 (apolytrōsis); anchored explicitly to Christ as price-payer. |
| B15 | Eternal punishment | κόλασιν αἰώνιον | kolasin aiōnion | eternal punishment/correction | kev raug txim mus ib txhis | High | 13, 25 | Judgment and the End of the Age | Must preserve exact grammatical parallelism with A32 (eternal life); risk of softening into temporary/disciplinary punishment. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED for parallelism in any full-verse quotation of 25:46.] |
| B16 | Covenant | διαθήκη | diathēkē | solemn compact/legal disposition | kev cog lus (ntawm Vajtswv) | Medium | 26 | (Atonement/Last Supper substrate) | Distinct from A26 (promise/pledge content); qualifier marks divine unilateral initiative vs. mutual human contract. |
| B17 | Church / assembly | ἐκκλησία | ekklēsia | called-out assembly | pawg ntseeg | Medium (doctrine-level High) | 16, 18 | The Church and Church Discipline | Foundational text (16:18); lexically stable but doctrinally load-bearing, requiring theologian-level review despite Medium lexical risk. |
| B18 | Demons / unclean spirits | δαιμόνια / πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον | daimonia / pneuma akatharton | demons / unclean spirit | dab | Critical | 4 (Satan, related), 8, 9, 12, 15, 17 | (Authority of Jesus’ Teaching; Kingdom of Heaven substrate) | Identical term to venerated/feared ancestral and household spirits in Hmong traditional religion; lexically accurate but pastorally explosive — mandatory human theologian review before any publication. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED — highest-sensitivity term in this Language Package.] |
| B19 | Cast out demons | ἐκβάλλω δαιμόνια | ekballō daimonia | to throw out demons | ntiab dab tawm | Critical | 8, 9, 10, 12, 17 | (as above) | Inherits B18’s collision risk directly. |
| B20 | Satan / devil | Σατανᾶς / διάβολος | Satanas / diabolos | adversary / slanderer | Xatas / dab ntxwg nyoog | Low-Medium | 4, 12, 13, 16, 25 | (Authority substrate) | dab ntxwg nyoog already an established Hmong Christian compound distinct from generic dab; lower risk than B18 but still requires first-use distinguishing note. |
| B21 | Son of Man | υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου | huios tou anthrōpou | son of man | tus Tub ntawm Tib Neeg | High | 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26 | Messiah and Son of David; Judgment and the End of the Age | Risk of comprehension-collapse into merely “a human being,” missing the Daniel 7 apocalyptic-authority sense entirely. |
| B22 | Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit | βλασφημία τοῦ Πνεύματος | blasphēmia tou Pneumatos | slander of the Spirit | hais lus phem rho Vaj Ntsuj Plig | Critical | 12 | Judgment and the End of the Age | Mandatory “Vaj” prefix (per A5) absolutely required; dropping it voids the doctrine’s force entirely. |
| B23 | Worship (proskyneō) | προσκυνέω | proskyneō | to prostrate oneself before, do homage | pe hawm (object always stated: pe hawm Yexus Khetos) | High | 2 (magi), 8, 9, 14, 15, 18, 20, 28 | Messiah and Son of David; Great Commission | Identical verb to ancestral/spirit veneration (pe hawm dab); distinguished from A23 (latreuō) but carries the same mitigation strategy — object never left bare. |
| B24 | Hypocrite | ὑποκριτής | hypokritēs | stage-actor, pretender | tus ncauj dawb siab dub | Medium | 6, 15, 22, 23, 24 | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | Idiom transfers well; comprehension-level risk only. |
| B25 | Pharisees | Φαρισαῖοι | Pharisaioi | (proper noun, sect name) | cov Falixais | Low | 3, 5, 9, 12, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22, 23 | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | Established transliteration. |
| B26 | Sadducees | Σαδδουκαῖοι | Saddoukaioi | (proper noun, sect name) | cov Xadukais | Low | 3, 16, 22 | (as above) | Established transliteration. |
| B27 | Scribes | γραμματεῖς | grammateis | writing-experts | cov Xibhwb Qhia Vaj Lug Kub | Low | 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 15, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23 | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees; Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | Contrasted at 7:29 (“not as their scribes”). |
| B28 | Tradition of the elders | παράδοσις τῶν πρεσβυτέρων | paradosis tōn presbyterōn | handed-down teaching of the elders | kevcai ntawm cov txwj laus | Medium-High | 15 | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees; The Law and Its Purpose | Deliberately shares kevcai root with A10 (Law) for contrastive purposes; must never be confused as the same referent as Txoj Kevcai ntawm Vajtswv/Mauxes. |
| B29 | Yoke | ζυγός | zygos | wooden yoke (draft animal) | lub quab | Medium | 11 | The Law and Its Purpose; Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | Good agrarian bridge; metaphorical (not literal-labor) sense requires a comprehension note. |
| B30 | Bind and loose | δέω / λύω | deō / lyō | to bind / to loose | khi thiab daws | Medium | 16, 18 | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching; The Church and Church Discipline | Rabbinic technical idiom; no native equivalent, requires dedicated teaching note. |
| B31 | Excommunication / put out of the church | (18:17 procedure) | — | — | muab nws tshem tawm hauv pawg ntseeg | Medium | 18 | The Church and Church Discipline | Bridges well to real Hmong clan-expulsion custom; must be taught as restoration-aimed, not merely punitive. |
| B32 | Take up his cross | σταυρός (αὐτοῦ) | stauros (autou) | (his) cross | kwv nws tus ntoo khaub lig | Medium-High | 10 (implicit), 16, 27 | Discipleship and the Cost of Following | Comprehension gap (unfamiliar Roman execution custom); distinguish disciple’s metaphorical cross-bearing from Christ’s unique atoning cross. |
| B33 | Deny himself | ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτόν | aparnēsasthō heauton | let him deny himself | tso nws tus kheej tseg | Medium | 16 | Discipleship and the Cost of Following | Comprehension-level. |
| B34 | Filial priority in discipleship | (10:37, “loves father/mother more than me”) | philei… hyper eme | to love [family] beyond [Christ] | nyiam Leej Txiv thiab niam txiv ntau dua li nyiam Kuv (Yexus) | High | 8, 10 | Discipleship and the Cost of Following | Direct, specific collision with Hmong filial-piety/ancestor-honor custom; requires the same “distinguish command from denigration” framing used for qhev in the baseline. |
| B35 | Little faith | ὀλιγόπιστος | oligopistos | of little faith | tus muaj kev ntseeg tsawg | Low | 14, 17 | Discipleship and the Cost of Following | Extends A9. |
| B36 | Magi / wise men | μάγοι | magoi | astrologer-sages | cov txawj ntse saib hnub qub | Medium | 2 | Fulfillment of OT Prophecy; Great Commission (Gentile inclusion anticipated) | Must never be rendered with txiv neeb (shaman) vocabulary. |
| B37 | Immanuel | Ἐμμανουήλ | Emmanouēl | God with us | Imanuyees (Vajtswv nrog peb nyob) | Medium | 1 | Fulfillment of OT Prophecy; Messiah | Transliteration + mandatory gloss, per Abba convention. |
| B38 | Virgin | παρθένος | parthenos | virgin | tus ntxhais uas tsis tau deev txiv | High | 1 | Fulfillment of OT Prophecy; Messiah | Must not reuse dawb huv (purity) root, to avoid conflation with sanctification/ritual-purity vocabulary. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED to confirm against existing Hmong Bible tradition phrasing.] |
| B39 | Angel | ἄγγελος | angelos | messenger | tus tubtxib saum ntuj | Medium | 1, 2, 4, 28 | (Messiah/Fulfillment substrate) | Must be distinguished from dab (B18) — a heavenly messenger of God, not an ancestral/nature spirit. |
| B40 | Mammon | μαμωνᾶς | mamōnas | wealth (personified) | Mamoos | Low | 6 | Discipleship and the Cost of Following | Transliteration with mandatory gloss. |
| B41 | Tax collectors / sinners | τελῶναι | telōnai | toll/tax collectors | cov sau se | Low-Medium | 5, 9, 10, 11, 18, 21 | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | Socially despised occupation-class; no native Hmong analogue but concept transfers. |
| B42 | Make disciples | μαθητεύσατε | mathēteusate | make learners/apprentices | cob qhia kom ua thwjtim | Medium | 28 | The Great Commission; Discipleship | Central imperative of the Great Commission. |
| B43 | All nations (inclusive) | πάντα τὰ ἔθνη | panta ta ethnē | all the nations/peoples | txhua haiv neeg | Low-Medium | 24, 25, 28 | The Great Commission | Distinct nuance from A27 (lwm Haiv Neeg, contrastive Gentile/Jew sense); the two must be kept distinguishable by context. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED to prevent confusion with A27 across curriculum content.] |
| B44 | End of the age | συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος | synteleia tou aiōnos | completion of the age | thaum kawg ntawm ntiajteb no | Low-Medium | 13, 24, 28 | Judgment and the End of the Age; The Great Commission | Comprehension-level. |
| B45 | Coming of the Son of Man (parousia) | παρουσία | parousia | arrival/presence | Tus Tub ntawm Tib Neeg rov qab los | Medium | 24 | Judgment and the End of the Age | Must avoid conflation with ancestor-spirit “return” beliefs via a comprehension-level teaching note. |
| B46 | Abomination of desolation | (24:15, quoting Daniel) | — | — | tej uas qias vuab tsuab uas ua rau qhov chaw dawb huv nyob do cuas | Medium-High | 24 | Fulfillment of OT Prophecy; Judgment and the End of the Age | Substantial historical/narrative gloss required; high doctrinal density, low direct collision. |
| B47 | Least of these | οἱ ἐλάχιστοι | hoi elachistoi | the very least | cov tsawg kawg nkaus | Low-Medium | 25 | Judgment and the End of the Age; Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | Ties judgment to ethical practice. |
| B48 | ”It is I” (divine self-disclosure echo) | ἐγώ εἰμι | egō eimi | I am | kuv ntag, tsis txhob ntshai | Medium-High | 14 | Messiah and Son of David | Divine-name echo (Exod 3:14 LXX) must be carried by teaching note, not lexical choice. |
| B49 | Sign of Jonah | (12:38-41) | sēmeion Iōna | sign of Jonah | cim ntawm Yaunas | Medium | 12 | Fulfillment of OT Prophecy | Typological; requires narrative gloss of the Jonah account. |
| B50 | Sabbath | σάββατον | sabbaton | Sabbath, seventh-day rest | Hnub Xanpataus | Low | 12 | The Law and Its Purpose | Transliteration; comprehension-gap only. |
Governing Notes for Section B
- All Section B entries are provisional pending formal TM-revision review by a human theologian, per
analysis/12_ai_translation_requirements.md§2.4 and §9. None may be treated as a permanent, locked rendering until that review is complete. - Entries flagged
[TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED]in the source semantic analysis (B2, B11, B15, B18, B38, B43) require escalation to human theologian review before ANY Phase 2 curriculum content using them is published, consistent with the escalation rules of the governing AI requirements document. - B18/B19 (demons / cast out demons, rendered
dab/ntiab dab tawm) constitute the single highest-sensitivity lexical decision surfaced in this Language Package and must not be finalized without dedicated theologian consultation addressing the ancestor-veneration implications specifically, not merely the general animism collision already documented elsewhere in the baseline. - No entry in this glossary contradicts or proposes an alternate rendering for any Critical or High
doctrine_riskterm already fixed in the baseline Romanstranslation_memory.json; all Section A entries are reused character-for-character as recorded there.
Critical Risk Terms
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Vaj Ntsuj Plig
Transliteration: pneuma hagion / pneuma hagiōsynēs
Doctrine: Sanctification and Life in the Spirit
Rejected alternatives: bare ntsuj plig (no Vaj prefix) — rejected, denotes an animistic wandering human soul
Inherited from Romans package. Mandatory ‘Vaj’ prefix retained at every Matthew occurrence without exception (1, 3, 4, 10, 12, 28), including 12:31-32’s unforgivable-sin warning and 28:19’s Trinitarian baptismal formula — the single most theologically catastrophic point at which this prefix could be dropped.
Law Mosaic Divine
Approved rendering: Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes)
Transliteration: nomos
Doctrine: The Law and Its Purpose
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘Txoj Kevcai’ without qualifier — rejected, collapses into kev cai dab qhuas (ancestral spirit-worship customs), imported loanword for ‘law’ — rejected, would be doctrinally inert and evade the needed contrast-teaching
Inherited from Romans package. Mandatory qualifier retained without exception in Matthew 5, 7, 11, 12, 15, 19, 22, 23; 5:17’s ‘fulfill the Law’ claim ties this term to both Fulfillment of OT Prophecy and Authority of Jesus’ Teaching doctrines.
Righteousness Of God Righteous
Approved rendering: Vajtswv txoj kev ncaj ncees / tus ncaj ncees
Transliteration: dikaiosynē theou / dikaios
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘kev ncaj ncees’ without the reckoning qualifier — rejected, reads as self-achieved moralism
Inherited from Romans package. Matthew introduces a distinct ethical/practical sense at 5:6, 5:10, 5:20, 6:33 (see new entry righteousness_exceeding_pharisees) requiring disambiguation from this forensic sense; the two must never be blended.
Justify Reckon As Righteous
Approved rendering: ua kom ncaj ncees / raug suav tias ncaj ncees
Transliteration: dikaioō / logizomai
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: ‘ua zoo’ (do good) framing — rejected, reintroduces works-righteousness
Inherited from Romans package. No direct Matthean forensic-justification proof-text as dense as Rom 4, but the qualifier discipline still structurally governs any ‘ncaj ncees’ occurrence in Matthew, especially in proximity to the new ethical-righteousness sense (5:20, 6:33).
Grace
Approved rendering: txiaj ntsim
Transliteration: charis
Doctrine: Grace and Salvation by Faith Alone
Rejected alternatives: koob hmoov (fortune/blessing tied to fate and ritual correctness) — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN for this sense
Inherited from Romans package. Not thematically foregrounded as a distinct lexical item in Matthew, but the permanent prohibition on koob hmoov substitution governs any occurrence, and is the direct baseline analogue to the new, narrowly-qualified blessed_makarios entry below (Matt 5:3-11), where koob hmoov is permitted ONLY under a mandatory God-qualifier scoped to that passage.
Election Choose
Approved rendering: kev xaiv (Vajtswv xaiv raws li nws lub siab nyiam)
Transliteration: eklogē / eklegomai
Doctrine: Election and the Sovereignty of God
Rejected alternatives: hmoov (impersonal fate/fortune) vocabulary — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN
Inherited from Romans package. Reused at Matthew 22:14 (‘many are called, but few are chosen’) and 24:22,24,31 (the elect gathered at the end). Mandatory volitional-clause qualifier and permanent hmoov prohibition retained exactly.
Flesh Neutral Descent Body
Approved rendering: lub cev nqaij tawv
Transliteration: sarx (neutral)
Doctrine: Original Sin and Universal Guilt
Rejected alternatives: bare nqaij used unmarked for both senses — rejected
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies the genealogy/lineage material of Matthew 1.
Kingdom Of Heaven
Approved rendering: lub Nceeg Vaj Saum Ntuj Ceeb Tsheej
Transliteration: basileia tōn ouranōn
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: unqualified locative-only translation implying merely ‘the place you go when you die’ — rejected, loses the present-and-future in-breaking-reign sense
NEW — surfaced across Matthew 3,4,5,7,8,10,11,13,16,18,19,20,22,23,25 as Matthew’s characteristic circumlocution for God’s reign. Must be taught as strictly equivalent in referent to kingdom_of_god (inherited); primary risk is collapse into a merely locative afterlife destination. Escalated to Critical because it organizes the entire Gospel and co-occurs with the Critical blessed_makarios term within the Beatitudes.
Blessed Makarios
Approved rendering: tau koob hmoov ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: makarios
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘koob hmoov’ with no qualifier — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN, identical collision class already forbidden for grace and election, ‘zoo siab’ (merely happy/glad) — rejected, loses the declared-divine-favor/eschatological sense entirely
NEW — the Beatitudes’ (Matt 5:3-12) signature word. The qualifier ‘ntawm Vajtswv’ is structurally mandatory at every one of the ten Beatitude occurrences with zero exceptions. This is a narrow, qualified re-permission of a root otherwise permanently forbidden in this Language Package family; scope is locked to Matthew 5:3-11 only pending formal theologian review, and must not be generalized to any other blessing context without a fresh TM-revision. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED before TM lock — highest-priority review item in this Language Package alongside authority_jesus_own and demons_unclean_spirits.]
Authority Jesus Own
Approved rendering: hwjchim, mandatorily qualified as ‘Yexus Khetos li hwjchim (uas nws muaj ntawm nws tus kheej)‘
Transliteration: exousia
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Rejected alternatives: bare hwjchim — FORBIDDEN, identical to shamanic ritual power, ‘Vajtswv hwjchim’ formula alone (the baseline general-power qualifier) — rejected as insufficient here, since it does not convey the inherent/non-delegated nuance Matthew requires, cov muaj hwjchim kav teb chaws (the delegated civil-authority formula) — rejected, would wrongly suggest Jesus’ authority is granted/delegated rather than inherently his own
NEW — Matthew 7, 8, 9, 10, 21, 28 (culminating in 28:18’s ‘all authority… has been given to me’). Distinct from both the baseline’s general ‘Vajtswv hwjchim’ sense and the delegated civil-authority sense; Jesus’ authority is inherent, neither delegated nor ritually negotiated. This is a three-way crowded neighborhood around the single lexeme hwjchim, ranked the #1 highest-risk ambiguity in this Language Package. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED before TM lock.]
Righteousness Exceeding Pharisees
Approved rendering: kev ncaj ncees uas dhau li cov Falixais tus
Transliteration: dikaiosynē (5:20, 6:33 sense)
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘ncaj ncees’ with no comparative/exceeding framing — rejected, would blend with the forensic-imputation sense or read as self-achieved moralism
NEW — Matthew 5:6,10,20; 6:33. Must be kept distinct from righteousness_of_god_righteous (forensic sense); framed as fruit-of-righteousness lived, not ground-of-righteousness given. Any lesson touching both senses requires an explicit cross-reference teaching note.
You Have Heard But I Say Formula
Approved rendering: nej tau hnov hais tias… tiamsis kuv hais rau nej tias
Transliteration: ēkousate… egō de legō hymin
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
NEW — Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus’ sixfold authoritative reinterpretation formula. The clearest textual anchor for the Authority of Jesus’ Teaching doctrine; requires mandatory fulfillment-not-abolition teaching note (consistent with 5:17) at every occurrence, since it appears to set Jesus’ word alongside/above Txoj Kevcai.
Demons Unclean Spirits
Approved rendering: dab
Transliteration: daimonia / pneuma akatharton
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: any softened/generic alternative avoiding ‘dab’ — rejected as lexically inaccurate; the New Testament daimonia genuinely correspond to hostile spiritual beings both Paul and Matthew present as opposed to God
NEW — Matthew 8, 9, 12, 15, 17. The single highest-sensitivity lexical decision in this Language Package: dab is the actual, everyday Hmong term for ancestral, household, and nature spirits central to traditional Hmong religious practice, still actively venerated by many Hmong families. Lexically accurate for the hostile NT daimonia, but carries serious pastoral/doctrinal risk of being heard as a sweeping claim that ALL traditional Hmong spirit-veneration, including ancestor veneration specifically, constitutes demonic engagement. The fence required is a narrative-level pastoral-process fence, not a wording fix — no lexical alternative exists. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED — mandatory human theologian review before any publication using this term, addressing ancestor-veneration implications specifically.]
Cast Out Demons
Approved rendering: ntiab dab tawm
Transliteration: ekballō daimonia
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
NEW — Matthew 8, 9, 10, 12, 17. Inherits demons_unclean_spirits’ collision risk directly; ties to Kingdom of Heaven doctrine via 12:28 (‘if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you’).
Blasphemy Against Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: hais lus phem rho Vaj Ntsuj Plig
Transliteration: blasphēmia tou Pneumatos
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
NEW — Matthew 12:31-32. The unique, unforgivable sin of attributing the Spirit’s work to Satan. The mandatory ‘Vaj’ prefix rule for the Holy Spirit is absolutely non-negotiable here; dropping it would render this as blasphemy against a mere human/animistic soul, entirely voiding the doctrine’s force.
High Risk Terms
Human Spirit Soul
Approved rendering: ntsuj plig
Transliteration: pneuma (anthropological)
Doctrine: Sanctification and Life in the Spirit
Rejected alternatives: Vaj Ntsuj Plig — forbidden for this referent, reserved exclusively for the Holy Spirit
Inherited from Romans package. Reused at Matthew 5:3 (‘poor in spirit’), 11:29 (‘rest for your souls’), 26:41 (‘the spirit is willing’), 27. Never ‘Vaj’-prefixed.
Sin Act And Condition
Approved rendering: txhaum / kev txhaum
Transliteration: hamartia
Doctrine: Original Sin and Universal Guilt
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 1, 3, 6 (Lord’s Prayer debt-forgiveness), 9, 12, 18, 26. Must be distinguished from repentance (metanoia) and from social-repair ‘thov txim’ custom.
Wrath Of God
Approved rendering: kev npau taws ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: orgē theou
Doctrine: Original Sin and Universal Guilt
Rejected alternatives: unqualified ‘npau taws’ associated only with capricious spirit/ancestor anger — rejected without explicit contrast teaching
Inherited from Romans package. Reused at Matthew 3:7, John the Baptist’s preaching of ‘the wrath to come.‘
Salvation Save
Approved rendering: kev cawm dim / cawm
Transliteration: sōtēria / sōzō
Doctrine: The Gospel as the Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: unanchored ‘dim’ (escape) parallel to shamanic ua neeb soul-rescue — rejected without explicit Christ-anchoring
Inherited from Romans package. Reused throughout Matthew (1, 8, 9, 10, 14, 16, 18, 19, 24, 27), including Peter’s cry ‘Lord, save me’ (14:30) and the cross narrative (27:40-42). Always anchored explicitly to Yexus Khetos.
Power
Approved rendering: hwjchim
Transliteration: dynamis
Doctrine: The Gospel as the Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: bare, unqualified hwjchim — FORBIDDEN, identical to a shaman’s (txiv neeb) ritual power
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 6, 7, 9, 22, 24, 26, 28. Always qualified as ‘Vajtswv hwjchim.’ See also the new Matthew-specific entry authority_jesus_own for a distinct, further-qualified Christological sub-sense of the same lexeme.
Baptism
Approved rendering: kev cai raus dej
Transliteration: baptizō / baptisma
Doctrine: Union with Christ
Rejected alternatives: transliterated loanword (‘npativ’ style) — rejected, baptism-as-testimony-only catechesis omitting ‘into His death’ language — rejected
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 3 (John’s baptism) and 28:19 (Great Commission’s Trinitarian baptismal formula), the single highest term-density Trinitarian passage in the Gospel.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: kev raug ua kom dawb huv
Transliteration: hagiasmos
Doctrine: Sanctification and Life in the Spirit
Rejected alternatives: treating dawb huv as a repeatable ritual-cleansing state — rejected
Inherited from Romans package. Root shared conceptually with Matthew’s ‘pure in heart’ Beatitude (5:8) and the chapter 15 ritual-purity-vs-heart-purity controversy, which sharpens rather than resolves the baseline collision risk.
Worship Serve Cultic
Approved rendering: pehawm / pab teev
Transliteration: latreuō
Doctrine: Christian Living and Unity in the Church
Rejected alternatives: bare, unanchored pehawm — FORBIDDEN, identical verb used for pehawm dab (ancestor/spirit veneration)
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 4:10 (temptation narrative, ‘worship the Lord your God and serve him only’). Distinguished from the new, much more frequent proskyneō entry (worship_proskyneo).
Idol
Approved rendering: dab mlom
Transliteration: eidōlon
Doctrine: Original Sin and Universal Guilt
Rejected alternatives: generic ‘statue’ softening — rejected
Inherited from Romans package. Not thematically foregrounded in Matthew’s core doctrines but retained for registry completeness and consistency; contrast with the new demons_unclean_spirits (dab) entry.
Governing Authority
Approved rendering: cov muaj hwjchim kav teb chaws
Transliteration: exousia
Doctrine: Christian Living and Unity in the Church
Rejected alternatives: unmarked hwjchim framing rulers’ authority as shamanic spiritual power — rejected
Inherited from Romans package. Reused at Matthew 22 (paying taxes to Caesar). Must be kept clearly distinguished from the new authority_jesus_own entry (Jesus’ inherent, non-delegated authority).
Prophet
Approved rendering: tus cev Vajtswv lus
Transliteration: prophētēs
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: txiv neeb / txiv xaiv (shamanic diviner) vocabulary — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN, would conflate the biblical prophet with a spirit-medium
NEW — Matthew 1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 21, 22, 23, 24. Real collision risk with shamanic diviners who also claim to relay spirit-messages; must be explicitly distinguished as one who speaks God’s own revealed, written word, verifiable against Scripture, not one who channels/negotiates with spirits.
False Prophets
Approved rendering: cov cev lus dag
Transliteration: pseudoprophētai
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
NEW — Matthew 7:15, 24:11,24. Inherits the prophet entry’s collision risk, sharpened by the ‘false’ qualifier; must not imply the entire category of prophetic speech is inherently suspect.
Eternal Punishment
Approved rendering: kev raug txim mus ib txhis
Transliteration: kolasin aiōnion
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
Rejected alternatives: softened rendering toward temporary/disciplinary punishment (a plausible drift from kolasis’s ‘correction’ nuance) — rejected, would blunt Matthew’s deliberate grammatical parallel with eternal life
NEW — Matthew 13:42,50 and climactically 25:46, explicitly parallel to eternal_life in the same verse. Must preserve exact grammatical parallelism with eternal_life in any full-verse rendering of 25:46; any drift is publication-blocking. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED to confirm final phrasing preserves parallelism.]
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: tus Tub ntawm Tib Neeg
Transliteration: huios tou anthrōpou
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
Rejected alternatives: transliterated loanword — rejected, would be doubly opaque, losing both the ordinary ‘human being’ surface sense and the Daniel 7 apocalyptic-authority depth sense
NEW — Matthew 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26. Coexists as (a) a generic Semitic idiom for ‘a human being’ and (b) Jesus’ preferred self-designation drawing on Daniel 7:13-14’s exalted, authority-bearing apocalyptic figure. Primary risk is comprehension collapse into sense (a) alone; mandatory teaching note required at first occurrence (8:20) and reinforced at each major recurrence (16:27-28, 24:30, 25:31, 26:64). Also ties to Judgment and the End of the Age doctrine.
Worship Proskyneo
Approved rendering: pe hawm (object always stated: pe hawm Yexus Khetos)
Transliteration: proskyneō
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
Rejected alternatives: leaving the object unstated/implied — FORBIDDEN, identical verb used for pe hawm dab (ancestral/spirit veneration)
NEW — Matthew 2 (magi), 8, 9, 14, 15, 18, 20, and climactically 28:9,17 (post-resurrection). Identical verb to ancestral/spirit veneration; distinguished from the baseline’s worship_serve_cultic (latreuō) but carries the same mitigation strategy at higher frequency (8+ occurrences). The 28:9,17 occurrences require a dedicated deity-implication teaching note, since this is the strongest data point for Jesus’ full deity in the book.
Filial Priority Discipleship
Approved rendering: nyiam Leej Txiv thiab niam txiv ntau dua li nyiam Kuv (Yexus)
Transliteration: phileō… hyper eme
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Rejected alternatives: any rendering implying contempt for or abandonment of parents — rejected, must preserve reordered ultimate allegiance without denigrating the underlying filial relationship
NEW — Matthew 8:21-22 (‘let the dead bury their own dead’), 10:37. Direct, specific collision with Hmong filial-piety and ancestor-honor custom, in which loyalty to parents/clan and associated ritual obligations (including ancestor veneration and burial rites) are among the most sacred social duties. Requires the same ‘distinguish command from denigration’ pastoral framing used for the baseline’s servant_slave_doulos entry; ranked among the highest-priority pastoral-risk items in this Language Package.
Virgin
Approved rendering: tus ntxhais uas tsis tau deev txiv
Transliteration: parthenos
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: reusing the dawb huv (purity) root — rejected, would conflate virginity-status with the ritual/moral purity vocabulary used for sanctification and heart-purity elsewhere
NEW — Matthew 1:23, citing Isaiah 7:14. Doctrinally essential to the miraculous, prophecy-fulfilling nature of Jesus’ conception; separate, explicitly descriptive phrase required to avoid the dawb huv collision. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED to confirm against existing Hmong Bible tradition’s established phrase before finalizing.]
Medium Risk Terms
Faith Believe
Approved rendering: kev ntseeg / ntseeg
Transliteration: pistis / pisteuō
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 8 (centurion), 9, 13, 14 (little faith), 15 (Canaanite woman), 17 (mustard seed), 21. Always anchored to Christ as object.
Mercy
Approved rendering: txoj kev khuv leej
Transliteration: eleos
Doctrine: Election and the Sovereignty of God
Rejected alternatives: txiaj ntsim (grace) used interchangeably for mercy — rejected, mercy and grace are theologically distinct emphases
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 5:7 (Beatitude), 9:27, 15:22, 18:21-35 (unforgiving servant), 20:30-31, 23. Kept lexically distinct from grace.
Apostle
Approved rendering: tus Tub Txib
Transliteration: apostolos
Doctrine: General / Ecclesial Office
Inherited from Romans package. Reused at Matthew 10 (the Twelve).
Redemption
Approved rendering: kev txhiv
Transliteration: apolytrōsis
Doctrine: Grace and Salvation by Faith Alone
Inherited from Romans package. Conceptual substrate for the new, distinct ransom (lytron) entry at Matthew 20:28.
Adoption As Sons
Approved rendering: raug muab coj los ua me tub (ntawm Vajtswv)
Transliteration: huiothesia
Doctrine: Union with Christ
Inherited from Romans package. Reused at Matthew 5:9 (‘called sons of God’).
Will Of God
Approved rendering: Vajtswv lub siab nyiam
Transliteration: thelēma theou
Doctrine: Election and the Sovereignty of God
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 6, 7, 24 (Lord’s Prayer, ‘no one knows the day or hour’).
Repentance
Approved rendering: kev hloov siab lees txim
Transliteration: metanoia
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: thov txim (social apology/restitution custom) treated as equivalent — rejected, addresses horizontal/social debt, not God-ward inward reorientation
NEW — Matthew 3:2, 4:17. Must be distinguished from the Hmong customary practice of thov txim.
Son Of David
Approved rendering: tus Tub ntawm Daviv Vajntxwv
Transliteration: huios Dauid
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
NEW — Matthew 1, 9, 12, 15, 20, 21, 22. Comprehension-level risk: strong positive resonance with Hmong clan-lineage/ancestor-honor custom, but must be taught as a specific covenant-kingship claim (2 Sam 7), not mere genealogical/clan pride.
Fulfillment Formula
Approved rendering: kom tiav raws li Vaj Lug Kub uas hais cia lawm
Transliteration: hina plērōthē / plērōthē to rhēthen
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
NEW — recurs roughly a dozen times (1:22, 2:15, 2:17, 2:23, 4:14, 5:17, 8:17, 12:17, 13:35, 21:4, 26:56, 27:9). Must convey God’s sovereign follow-through on his own prior word, not coincidental prediction-matching.
Ransom
Approved rendering: nqi txhiv
Transliteration: lytron
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
NEW — Matthew 20:28. Distinct Greek lexeme from the baseline’s redemption (apolytrōsis); must be anchored explicitly to Christ as the price-payer.
Covenant
Approved rendering: kev cog lus (ntawm Vajtswv)
Transliteration: diathēkē
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
NEW — Matthew 26:28, ‘this is my blood of the covenant.’ Distinct from promise (pledge content) — covenant denotes the formal, binding arrangement. Qualifier ‘(ntawm Vajtswv)’ required to mark God’s unilateral, gracious initiative rather than a negotiated mutual contract, consistent with Hmong marriage/clan-covenant custom being a positive but imperfect bridge.
Church Assembly
Approved rendering: pawg ntseeg
Transliteration: ekklēsia
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
NEW — Matthew 16:18 (‘on this rock I will build my church’), 18:17. Lexically stable and already established in Hmong Christian usage with no direct animistic collision, but foundational and doctrinally load-bearing; routed to human theologian review at the doctrine level regardless of the term’s own lexical simplicity.
Hypocrite
Approved rendering: tus ncauj dawb siab dub
Transliteration: hypokritēs
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
NEW — Matthew 6, 15, 22, 23, 24. Idiom (‘clean mouth, dark heart’) transfers well; comprehension-level risk only, ensuring the idiom is understood as specifically religious pretense.
Yoke
Approved rendering: lub quab
Transliteration: zygos
Doctrine: The Law and Its Purpose
NEW — Matthew 11:28-30. Good agrarian bridge (the wooden yoke used for oxen in Hmong agrarian life); comprehension-level note required to clarify the metaphorical, not literal-labor, sense contrasting Pharisaic legal burden with Jesus’ ‘easy’ yoke.
Bind And Loose
Approved rendering: khi thiab daws
Transliteration: deō / lyō
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
NEW — Matthew 16:19, 18:18. Rabbinic technical idiom for authoritative decisions to prohibit/permit and withhold/grant forgiveness; no native Hmong equivalent, requires dedicated teaching note. Ties both Authority of Jesus’ Teaching and Church and Church Discipline doctrines.
Excommunication Church Discipline
Approved rendering: muab nws tshem tawm hauv pawg ntseeg
Transliteration: (Matt 18:17 procedure)
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
Rejected alternatives: treating this as identical to, and functioning exactly like, punitive clan expulsion with no restoration goal — rejected
NEW — Matthew 18:15-17. Bridges well to the real Hmong cultural practice of formal clan/community expulsion for serious offense (positive comprehension bridge), but requires a mandatory restoration-aimed teaching note (18:15, ‘if he listens, you have gained your brother’) to avoid collapsing into a purely punitive clan-justice framework.
Deny Himself
Approved rendering: tso nws tus kheej tseg
Transliteration: aparnēsasthō heauton
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
NEW — Matthew 16:24. Self-renunciation as a precondition of discipleship; comprehension-level only.
Magi
Approved rendering: cov txawj ntse saib hnub qub
Transliteration: magoi
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: txiv neeb (shaman) vocabulary — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN, would conflate biblical astrologer-sages with Hmong shamanic practice
NEW — Matthew 2:1-12. Descriptive paraphrase (‘wise ones who observe the stars’) chosen over transliteration specifically because it does the disambiguating work of excluding shamanic framing directly.
Immanuel
Approved rendering: Imanuyees (Vajtswv nrog peb nyob)
Transliteration: Emmanouēl
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
NEW — Matthew 1:23. Transliteration + mandatory gloss, following the baseline’s Abba, Leej Txiv convention; the name itself is theologically load-bearing (it IS the content of the prophecy).
Angel
Approved rendering: tus tubtxib saum ntuj
Transliteration: angelos
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
NEW — Matthew 1, 2, 4, 28. Must be clearly distinguished from dab (demons_unclean_spirits) at every occurrence to prevent hearers from placing angels in the same category as venerated or feared traditional spirits.
Make Disciples
Approved rendering: cob qhia kom ua thwjtim
Transliteration: mathēteusate
Doctrine: The Great Commission
NEW — Matthew 28:19. Central imperative of the Great Commission; comprehension-level compound built directly on the disciple entry.
Coming Of Son Of Man Parousia
Approved rendering: Tus Tub ntawm Tib Neeg rov qab los
Transliteration: parousia
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
NEW — Matthew 24:3,27,37,39. Reuses son_of_man; requires a comprehension-level teaching note distinguishing Christ’s singular, visible, glorious cosmic return from Hmong beliefs about ancestor-spirits ‘returning’ or being ritually summoned.
Sign Of Jonah
Approved rendering: cim ntawm Yaunas
Transliteration: sēmeion Iōna
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
NEW — Matthew 12:38-41. Typological sign pointing to Jesus’ burial and resurrection; requires mandatory narrative gloss of the Jonah account.
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 exactly throughout Matthew (all chapters).
Lord
Approved rendering: tus Tswv
Transliteration: kyrios
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Reused exactly throughout Matthew (all chapters); applied to God and to Jesus.
Jesus Christ
Approved rendering: Yexus Khetos
Transliteration: Iēsous Christos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Reused exactly throughout Matthew (all chapters).
Father God
Approved rendering: Leej Txiv
Transliteration: patēr
Doctrine: Union with Christ
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew chapters 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 23, 24, 26, 28, including the Lord’s Prayer (6:9) and the Great Commission’s baptismal formula (28:19).
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Leej Tub ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: huios theou
Doctrine: Union with Christ
Rejected alternatives: diminished-sonship renderings found in sectarian materials — rejected, must preserve full deity
Inherited from Romans package. Climactic in Matthew at 16:16 (Peter’s confession) and 27:54 (centurion’s confession); also 3:17, 4:3-6, 8:29, 14:33, 17:5, 26:63.
Gospel
Approved rendering: Txoj Moo Zoo
Transliteration: euangelion
Doctrine: The Gospel as the Power of God for Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Combines with the new kingdom_of_heaven entry in Matthew’s characteristic phrase ‘gospel of the kingdom’ (4:23, 9:35, 24:14).
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: lub Nceeg Vaj ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: basileia tou theou
Doctrine: Christian Living and Unity in the Church
Inherited from Romans package. Matthew’s alternate form to the new kingdom_of_heaven entry, used at 6:33, 12:28, 19:24, 21:31, 21:43 — these are the primary proof-texts for teaching strict referential equivalence between the two forms.
Peace
Approved rendering: kev thaj yeeb
Transliteration: eirēnē
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 5:9 (peacemakers) and contrastively at 10:34 (‘not peace but a sword’), which requires a teaching note clarifying this describes social division discipleship provokes, not a reversal of peace-with-God doctrine.
Promise
Approved rendering: lus cog tseg
Transliteration: epangelia
Doctrine: Election and the Sovereignty of God
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 1-2 fulfillment contexts. Distinguished from the new covenant (diathēkē) entry, which denotes the formal binding arrangement rather than the pledge content.
Nations Gentiles
Approved rendering: lwm Haiv Neeg
Transliteration: ethnē
Doctrine: The Future of Israel
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 4, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 21 (contrastive Gentile/Jew sense). Must be kept distinguishable by context from the new all_nations_inclusive entry (Great Commission, ch.24-25, 28).
Heir
Approved rendering: tus qub txeeg qub teg
Transliteration: klēronomos
Doctrine: Union with Christ
Inherited from Romans package. Reused verbally in Matthew 5:5 (‘inherit the earth’), 19:29, 25:34.
Glory
Approved rendering: lub yeeb koob
Transliteration: doxa
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 6, 16, 17 (Transfiguration), 19, 24, 25.
Truth
Approved rendering: qhov tseeb
Transliteration: alētheia
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Implicit substrate for Matthew’s ‘amen, I say to you’ solemnity formula (new entry amen_i_say_to_you).
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis
Transliteration: zōē aiōnios
Doctrine: Union with Christ
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 19:16,29 and 25:46, deliberately parallel in the same verse to the new eternal_punishment entry; exact grammatical parallelism between the two must be preserved in any full-verse rendering of 25:46.
Endurance
Approved rendering: kev ua siab ntev
Transliteration: hypomonē
Doctrine: Sanctification and Life in the Spirit
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 10 (persecution) and 24 (end-times endurance).
Love
Approved rendering: kev hlub
Transliteration: agapē
Doctrine: Christian Living and Unity in the Church
Inherited from Romans package. Reused at Matthew 5:44 (‘love your enemies,’ flagged High in this specific context for direct tension with Hmong clan-honor retaliation custom) and 22:37-40 (greatest commandment).
Hope
Approved rendering: kev cia siab
Transliteration: elpis
Doctrine: Sanctification and Life in the Spirit
Inherited from Romans package. Implicit substrate for Matthew’s eschatological passages (ch.24-25).
Witness
Approved rendering: tus timkhawv
Transliteration: martys
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 10 (persecution testimony), 24, 26 (trial).
Scripture
Approved rendering: Vaj Lug Kub
Transliteration: graphē
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Reused throughout Matthew’s fulfillment-formula contexts and debate scenes (1, 2, 4, 21, 22, 26).
Debtor
Approved rendering: tus tshuav nqi
Transliteration: opheiletēs
Doctrine: The Gospel as the Power of God for Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Reused metaphorically in Matthew 6 (Lord’s Prayer debt-forgiveness petition) and 18 (unforgiving servant parable).
World
Approved rendering: lub ntiajteb
Transliteration: kosmos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package. Reused in Matthew 4, 5, 13, 24, 28.
Ashamed
Approved rendering: txaj muag
Transliteration: epaischynomai
Doctrine: The Gospel as the Power of God for Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Comprehension-anchor for Matthew 5:11’s shame/honor dynamic (embracing reproach for Christ’s sake against Hmong shame-avoidance custom).
Disciple
Approved rendering: thwjtim
Transliteration: mathētēs
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
NEW — already stable in existing Hmong Christian usage. Foundational to the Discipleship doctrine, occurring throughout Matthew (5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 27, 28). First occurrence (5:1) requires a teaching note establishing total-life allegiance, not casual pupilage.
Pharisees
Approved rendering: cov Falixais
Transliteration: Pharisaioi
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
NEW — established transliteration; proper-noun sect name, no collision. Matthew 3, 5, 9, 12, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22, 23.
Sadducees
Approved rendering: cov Xadukais
Transliteration: Saddoukaioi
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
NEW — established transliteration; proper-noun sect name, no collision. Matthew 3, 16, 22.
Scribes
Approved rendering: cov Xibhwb Qhia Vaj Lug Kub
Transliteration: grammateis
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
NEW — descriptive occupational term (‘teachers who instruct in the Sacred Writing’); contrasted at 7:29 with Jesus’ authoritative teaching. Matthew 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 15, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23.
Little Faith
Approved rendering: tus muaj kev ntseeg tsawg
Transliteration: oligopistos
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
NEW — Matthew 14:31, 17:20. Extends faith_believe directly; no collision.
Mammon
Approved rendering: Mamoos
Transliteration: mamōnas
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
NEW — Matthew 6:24. Transliteration with mandatory gloss (‘wealth treated as a false god/master’) to preserve the personification Jesus intends (‘cannot serve two masters’).
Sabbath
Approved rendering: Hnub Xanpataus
Transliteration: sabbaton
Doctrine: The Law and Its Purpose
NEW — Matthew 12:1-14. Transliteration; comprehension-gap only, no native Hmong weekly-rest-day tradition but no collision with traditional religion.
Low-Medium Risk Terms
Stumbling Block
Approved rendering: qhov/pob zeb ua rau dawm ceg
Transliteration: proskomma / skandalon / lithos proskommatos
Doctrine: Election and the Sovereignty of God
Inherited from Romans package. Reused contrastively at Matthew 21:42 (rejected stone become cornerstone).
Firstfruits
Approved rendering: thawj phaus qoob loo / cov ua ntej
Transliteration: aparchē
Doctrine: The Future of Israel
Inherited from Romans package. Cited as the methodological precedent for agrarian-metaphor illustrative notes used throughout Matthew’s parable material (ch.13, 20).
Christ Title
Approved rendering: tus Khetos
Transliteration: ho Christos
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
NEW — extends the baseline compound name Yexus Khetos; Matthew 1, 2, 11, 16, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27. Risk is under-recognition as a debated title (16:16, 26:63) rather than mere name-component; teaching note required at first title-only usage.
Amen I Say To You
Approved rendering: kuv hais tseeb rau nej
Transliteration: amēn legō hymin
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Rejected alternatives: retaining transliterated ‘Amen’ mid-clause — rejected, existing Hmong Christian usage reserves ‘Amen’ for prayer-closing contexts, creating confusing double-duty
NEW — recurs throughout the Gospel as Jesus’ solemn, self-authenticating pronouncement formula. Comprehension-level; ties to the Authority of Jesus’ Teaching doctrine.
Satan Devil
Approved rendering: Xatas / dab ntxwg nyoog
Transliteration: Satanas / diabolos
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
NEW — Matthew 4, 12, 13, 16, 25. ‘Dab ntxwg nyoog’ is already a settled Hmong Christian compound specifically for Satan, distinct in force from generic ‘dab’ and thus lower risk; still requires a first-use note distinguishing Satan as a singular, defeated adversary from the broader dab category.
Tax Collectors Sinners
Approved rendering: cov sau se
Transliteration: telōnai
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
NEW — Matthew 5, 9, 10, 11, 18, 21. Socially despised occupation-class; no exact Hmong social analogue, but the ‘despised occupation’ concept transfers; comprehension-gap only.
All Nations Inclusive
Approved rendering: txhua haiv neeg
Transliteration: panta ta ethnē
Doctrine: The Great Commission
NEW — Matthew 24:14, 25:32, 28:19. Distinct nuance from nations_gentiles (contrastive Gentile/Jew sense); the two must be kept distinguishable by context — modifier (‘lwm’ vs. ‘txhua’) never dropped even in space-constrained contexts. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED to prevent confusion with nations_gentiles across curriculum content.]
End Of The Age
Approved rendering: thaum kawg ntawm ntiajteb no
Transliteration: synteleia tou aiōnos
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
NEW — Matthew 13:39-40, 24:3, 28:20. Comprehension-level only; anchors both Judgment and the End of the Age and the Great Commission’s closing promise.
Least Of These
Approved rendering: cov tsawg kawg nkaus (ntawm kuv cov kwvtij)
Transliteration: hoi elachistoi
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
NEW — Matthew 25:31-46, sheep and goats judgment scene. Ties judgment to ethical practice, reinforcing Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees’ practical-obedience strand.
Medium-High Risk Terms
Tradition Of The Elders
Approved rendering: kevcai ntawm cov txwj laus
Transliteration: paradosis tōn presbyterōn
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
NEW — Matthew 15:2-6. Deliberately shares the kevcai root with law_mosaic_divine for contrastive purposes (Jesus critiques exactly this elevated human custom); requires a careful teaching note that this is never the same referent as Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes).
Take Up His Cross
Approved rendering: kwv nws tus ntoo khaub lig
Transliteration: stauros (autou)
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
NEW — Matthew 10:38 (implicit), 16:24, grounded in Christ’s own literal cross (ch.27). Comprehension gap: the Roman execution custom is culturally unfamiliar; must distinguish the disciple’s metaphorical cross-bearing from Christ’s unique, unrepeatable atoning cross.
Abomination Of Desolation
Approved rendering: tej uas qias vuab tsuab uas ua rau qhov chaw dawb huv nyob do cuas
Transliteration: (Matt 24:15, quoting Daniel)
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
NEW — Matthew 24:15. Substantial narrative/historical gloss required; high doctrinal density but no direct animistic collision. Ties Fulfillment of OT Prophecy and Judgment and the End of the Age doctrines.
It Is I Ego Eimi
Approved rendering: kuv ntag, tsis txhob ntshai
Transliteration: egō eimi
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
NEW — Matthew 14:27. The literal Hmong rendering carries no inherent divine-name echo (unlike the Greek/Hebrew intertext with Exodus 3:14 LXX); theological weight must be carried entirely by an explanatory teaching note, not lexical choice. Risk is under-teaching, not mistranslation.