Core Glossary
Micah — Core Glossary (Hmong Language Package)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term surfaced in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, covering Micah chapters 1-7 in full. Terms marked [TM-INHERITED] reuse the exact Hmong rendering already fixed in assets/translation_memory.json (Romans baseline) with no modification, per the hard rule that established renderings must be reused exactly. Terms marked [NEW] are proposed for this curriculum and require the logging/review process specified in the governing AI translation requirements document (§2.4, §9) before becoming permanent TM entries.
Risk tier definitions (inherited from assets/bible_term_registry.json): Critical = doctrinally load-bearing with a strong, specific collision with Hmong traditional religion; High = real potential for confusion, manageable with a documented disambiguation strategy; Medium = partial semantic mismatch/comprehension gap, no direct collision; Low = stable, safe existing rendering.
A. Divine Persons & Names
| Term | Hebrew Original | Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God (Elohim) | אֱלֹהִים | Elohim | Vajtswv | [TM-INHERITED] | Low | All | all |
| LORD (covenant name) | יהוה | YHWH | tus Tswv | [TM-INHERITED] | Low | All | all |
| Spirit of the LORD | רוּחַ יְהוָה | ruach YHWH | Vaj Ntsuj Plig | [TM-INHERITED] | Critical | Judgment on Corrupt Leaders (true vs. false prophecy) | 3 |
| your God (possessive covenant address) | אֱלֹהֶיךָ | Eloheicha | koj tus Vajtswv | [TM-INHERITED] (base term) | Low | True Worship vs. Empty Ritual; Justice, Mercy, Humility | 6, 7 |
| God on high | אֱלֹהֵי מָרוֹם | Elohei marom | Vajtswv (qualified: tus nyob siab tshaj plaws) | [NEW] | Medium | True Worship vs. Empty Ritual | 6 |
B. Worship, Ritual, and Sacrifice
| Term | Hebrew Original | Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| burnt offering | עוֹלָה | olah | khoom fij hlawv tag nrho | [NEW] | High | True Worship vs. Empty Ritual | 6 |
| calves a year old | עֲגָלִים בְּנֵי שָׁנָה | ’egel ben shanah | menyuam nyuj ib xyoos | [NEW] | Low-Medium | True Worship vs. Empty Ritual | 6 |
| thousands of rams / rivers of oil | אֵילִים / נַחֲלֵי־שָׁמֶן | elim / nachale shamen | txiv yaj ntau txhiab tus / roj ntau ntau npaum li dej ntws | [NEW] | Low-Medium | True Worship vs. Empty Ritual | 6 |
| firstborn (rhetorical child-sacrifice question) | בְּכוֹר | bekor | tus tub hlob (rhetorically rejected) | [NEW] | Critical | True Worship vs. Empty Ritual | 6 |
| bow myself (before God) | כָּפַף | kaphaph | txo hau/khoom ntshis (object always stated: rau ntawm Vajtswv) | [NEW] | Medium-High | True Worship vs. Empty Ritual | 6 |
| come before / approach | קָדַם | qadam | tuaj cuag / tuaj ntsib | [NEW] | Low-Medium | True Worship vs. Empty Ritual | 6 |
| idol / carved image | פֶּסֶל / דַּב מְלוֹם concept | pesel | dab mlom | [TM-INHERITED] | High | True Worship vs. Empty Ritual; Judgment on Corrupt Leaders | 1, 5 |
| worship (implicit cultic sense, contrast to true obedience) | — (contextual) | — | pehawm (always with object: pehawm Vajtswv) | [TM-INHERITED] | High | True Worship vs. Empty Ritual | 6 |
| high places | בָּמוֹת | bamot | context-disambiguated (“toj siab” for literal; flagged separately for cultic-shrine sense) | [NEW] | High | True Worship vs. Empty Ritual; Judgment on Corrupt Leaders | 1 |
C. Justice, Mercy, Humility (Core Doctrinal Cluster)
| Term | Hebrew Original | Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| justice (do justice, mishpat) | מִשְׁפָּט | mishpat | kev txiav txim ncaj | [NEW] | Critical | Justice, Mercy, and Humility; Judgment on Corrupt Leaders | 6 (core); 2, 3, 6:9-16 |
| righteousness (of God’s acts) | צְדָקָה / צִדְקוֹת | tsedaqah | Vajtswv txoj kev ncaj ncees | [TM-INHERITED] | High | Justice, Mercy, and Humility | 6 |
| love (verb, ‘ahab) | אָהַב | ’ahab | kev hlub | [TM-INHERITED] | Low | Justice, Mercy, and Humility | 6 |
| mercy / steadfast love (chesed) | חֶסֶד | chesed | txoj kev khuv leej | [TM-INHERITED] | High (elevated from baseline Medium due to added covenant-fidelity nuance) | Justice, Mercy, and Humility; Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 6, 7 |
| walk humbly with your God | הַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם | hatsnea lekhet ‘im | taug kev ua neeg txo hwj chim nrog koj tus Vajtswv | [NEW] | High | Justice, Mercy, and Humility | 6 |
| the godly/faithful one (chasid) | חָסִיד | chasid | tus ncaj ncees thiab hlub ruaj khov (with cross-reference note) | [NEW] | Medium | Justice, Mercy, and Humility; Judgment on Corrupt Leaders | 7 |
| require / seek (darash) | דָּרַשׁ | darash | xav tau / thov kom | [NEW] | Low-Medium | Justice, Mercy, and Humility | 6 |
| O man (‘adam, generic) | אָדָם | ’adam | koj, tus neeg (NOT “Adas”) | [NEW] | Medium | Justice, Mercy, and Humility | 6 |
D. Sin, Guilt, and Judgment
| Term | Hebrew Original | Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sin (chattah) | חַטָּאת | chattah | txhaum / kev txhaum | [TM-INHERITED] | High | True Worship vs. Empty Ritual; Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 6, 7 |
| transgression / rebellion (pesha) | פֶּשַׁע | pesha | txhaum / kev txhaum (with distinguishing note: covenant rebellion) | [TM-INHERITED, sense-flagged] | High | True Worship vs. Empty Ritual | 6 |
| iniquity / guilt (avon) | עָוֹן | avon | txhaum / kev txhaum (with distinguishing note: borne guilt) | [TM-INHERITED, sense-flagged] | Critical | Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 7 |
| soul/self (nephesh) | נֶפֶשׁ | nephesh | kuv tus kheej / kuv txoj sia (NOT ntsuj plig) | [NEW] | High | True Worship vs. Empty Ritual | 6 |
| wrath of God (bounded by mercy) | אַף | ’aph | kev npau taws ntawm Vajtswv | [TM-INHERITED] | High | Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 7 |
| divination / diviners (qesem) | קֶסֶם | qesem | kev ua yees siv / kev saib yaig (condemned false-prophecy practice) | [NEW] | Critical | Judgment on Corrupt Leaders | 3 |
| sorceries/witchcraft (kesaphim) | כְּשָׁפִים | kesaphim | kev ua khawv koob / kev ua yees siv (condemned) | [NEW] | Critical | Judgment on Corrupt Leaders | 5 |
| covenant lawsuit / controversy (riv) | רִיב | riv | kev sib cav txog kev cog lus | [NEW] | Medium | Judgment on Corrupt Leaders | 6 |
| oppress / seize / covet | עָשַׁק / גָּזַל / חָמַד | ashaq / gazal / chamad | quab yuam / txeeb / ntshaw | [NEW] | Medium | Judgment on Corrupt Leaders | 2 |
| eat the flesh of my people (exploitation) | אֹכְלֵי שְׁאֵר עַמִּי | okhle she’ar ‘ammi | noj tej neeg tus nqaij (figurative) | [NEW] | Medium | Judgment on Corrupt Leaders | 3 |
| false balance / deceitful weights | מֹאזְנֵי מִרְמָה | mirmah | teev nyiaj tsis raug / rab teev dag ntxias | [NEW] | Medium | Judgment on Corrupt Leaders | 6 |
E. The Coming Ruler from Bethlehem
| Term | Hebrew Original | Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem Ephrathah | בֵּית־לֶחֶם אֶפְרָתָה | Beit-Lechem Efratah | Npelehee Efalathas | [NEW] | Low-Medium | The Coming Ruler from Bethlehem | 5 |
| ruler (moshel) | מוֹשֵׁל | moshel | tus uas yuav kav | [NEW] | High | The Coming Ruler from Bethlehem | 5 |
| from of old, from everlasting (qedem/olam) | מִקֶּדֶם / עוֹלָם | qedem / ‘olam | txij thaum ub los, txij tim ub tas mus li | [NEW] | Critical | The Coming Ruler from Bethlehem | 5 |
| shepherd (ra’ah) | רָעָה | ra’ah | tus yug yaj / yug | [NEW] | Low | The Coming Ruler from Bethlehem | 5 |
| he shall be their peace | שָׁלוֹם | shalom | kev thaj yeeb | [TM-INHERITED] | Low | The Coming Ruler from Bethlehem | 5 |
| Son of God (NT fulfillment cross-reference only) | υἱὸς θεοῦ (NT) | huios theou | Leej Tub ntawm Vajtswv | [TM-INHERITED] | Low | The Coming Ruler from Bethlehem (teaching note only, not a direct OT lexical equivalent) | 5 (note) |
F. Hope, Covenant, and Restoration
| Term | Hebrew Original | Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| remnant (she’erit) | שְׁאֵרִית | she’erit | cov seem | [TM-INHERITED] | Low | Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 2, 4, 5, 7 |
| promise / covenant oath (to Abraham) | אֱמֶת / הַשְּׁבֻעָה | ’emet / shevu’ah | lus cog tseg | [TM-INHERITED] | Medium | Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 7 |
| truth / faithfulness (‘emet) | אֱמֶת | ’emet | qhov tseeb (covenant-fidelity sense flagged) | [TM-INHERITED] | Medium | Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 7 |
| pardon iniquity / cast sins into the sea | נָשָׂא עָוֹן / הִשְׁלִיךְ | nasa avon / hishlikh | zam txim thiab tshem kev txhaum mus deb | [NEW] | Critical | Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 7 |
| I will look to / wait for the God of my salvation | צָפָה / יֶשַׁע | tsaphah / yesha | kev cia siab; kev cawm dim (anchored to Vajtswv, OT-era, forward-pointing to Yexus Khetos) | [TM-INHERITED, extended] | High | Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 7 |
| latter days (‘acharit hayyamim) | בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים | ’acharit hayyamim | tom qab no / lub sijhawm tom ntej | [NEW] | Low-Medium | Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 4 |
| the word of the LORD | דְּבַר־יְהוָה | devar YHWH | Vajtswv Txoj Lus | [NEW] | Low | Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 4 |
| law/instruction (torah, universal eschatological sense) | תּוֹרָה | torah | Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes) | [TM-INHERITED] | Critical | Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 4 |
| swords into plowshares | חֶרְבוֹתָם לְאִתִּים | charvot / ‘ittim | ntaj hloov ua khoom laij teb | [NEW] | Low | Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 4 |
| each under his vine and fig tree | אִישׁ תַּחַת גַּפְנוֹ וּתְאֵנָתוֹ | gafn / te’enah | txhua tus nyob kaj siab lug hauv nws thaj chaw | [NEW] | Low | Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 4 |
| walk in the name of the LORD (vs. nations’ gods) | הָלַךְ בְּשֵׁם | halak be-shem | ncaj nraim taug kev hauv lub npe ntawm tus Tswv (contrast framing) | [NEW] | Medium | Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 4 |
G. Peoples & Places
| Term | Hebrew Original | Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samaria | שֹׁמְרוֹן | Shomron | Xamalis | [NEW] | Low | Judgment on Corrupt Leaders | 1 |
| Jerusalem | יְרוּשָׁלַיִם | Yerushalayim | Yeluxalees | [NEW] | Low | (all) | 1, 3, 4 |
| Zion | צִיּוֹן | Tsiyon | Xi-oo | [NEW] | Low | Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness | 3, 4 |
| Jacob / Israel | יַעֲקֹב / יִשְׂרָאֵל | Ya’aqov / Yisra’el | Yakhauj / Yixalayees | [NEW]/[TM-INHERITED style] | Low | All | all |
| Judah | יְהוּדָה | Yehudah | Yudas (OT tribal/kingdom sense, distinguished from NT ethnonym) | [TM-INHERITED, sense-flagged] | Low | All | 1 |
| Omri / Ahab | עֹמְרִי / אַחְאָב | Omri / Ach’av | Aumelis / Ahaj | [NEW] | Low | Judgment on Corrupt Leaders | 6 |
H. Chapter Coverage Log
| Chapter | New terms contributed? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yes | High places, idols, harlotry-metaphor, mourning rites, place names — see analysis §Ch.1 |
| 2 | Yes | Oppression/seizure vocabulary, remnant (first occurrence), false comfortable prophecy |
| 3 | Yes | Divination (Critical), Spirit of the LORD (Critical), exploitation metaphor |
| 4 | Yes | Eschatological “latter days,” torah/word of the LORD, swords-to-plowshares, name-allegiance contrast |
| 5 | Yes | Coming Ruler from Bethlehem cluster (Critical), shepherd, peace, sorceries (Critical) |
| 6 | Yes (core passage + 6:1-5, 9-16) | Full verse-by-verse treatment in Part A; covenant lawsuit, righteous acts, false balances, historical kings in remainder of chapter |
| 7 | Yes | Godly-one lament, hope/salvation vocabulary, climactic forgiveness doctrine cluster (Critical), wrath bounded by mercy, covenant fidelity to Abraham |
Explicit full-book coverage confirmation: All seven chapters of Micah have been reviewed. No chapter was silently skipped; every chapter contributed at least one load-bearing term requiring glossary treatment, consistent with the full-book-coverage mandate. No chapter is “thin” in this book — Micah’s seven chapters form a tightly integrated judgment-and-hope structure in which every chapter carries doctrinal weight relevant to at least one of the five assigned doctrines.
Critical Risk Terms
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Vaj Ntsuj Plig
Transliteration: ruach YHWH / pneuma hagion
Doctrine: Judgment on Corrupt Leaders
Rejected alternatives: bare ntsuj plig (no Vaj prefix) — rejected, denotes an animistic wandering human soul
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Reused for ‘the Spirit of the LORD’ empowering Micah’s true prophecy (3:8), contrasted with condemned diviners (3:6-7, 11). Mandatory ‘Vaj’ prefix at every occurrence. Teaching note required distinguishing OT task-specific prophetic empowerment from the NT doctrine of permanent Spirit-indwelling (Romans 8), while affirming the same divine Person.
Righteousness Of God Righteous
Approved rendering: Vajtswv txoj kev ncaj ncees / tus ncaj ncees
Transliteration: dikaiosynē theou / dikaios
Doctrine: Justice, Mercy, and Humility
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘kev ncaj ncees’ without the reckoning qualifier — rejected, reads as self-achieved moralism
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified string. Referenced here as the forensic-imputation sense that MUST be kept distinct from Micah’s mishpat (justice-in-practice, see mishpat_do_justice) and from tsedaqah’s historical-acts sense in Micah 6:4-5 (see tsedaqah_righteous_acts_historical). Must always retain ‘raug suav tias ncaj ncees’ when the forensic-imputed sense is intended.
Justify Reckon As Righteous
Approved rendering: ua kom ncaj ncees / raug suav tias ncaj ncees
Transliteration: dikaioō / logizomai
Doctrine: Justice, Mercy, and Humility
Rejected alternatives: ‘ua zoo’ (do good) framing — rejected, reintroduces works-righteousness
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Referenced here as the fixed reckoning-clause that mishpat/chasid vocabulary in Micah must NEVER receive, to keep social-ethical justice (Micah) lexically distinct from forensic imputed justification (Romans).
Law Mosaic Divine
Approved rendering: Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes)
Transliteration: torah / nomos
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘Txoj Kevcai’ without qualifier — rejected, collapses into kev cai dab qhuas (ancestral spirit-worship customs)
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Reused at 4:2 for torah ‘going out from Zion’ to the nations in the eschatological age. Mandatory qualifier retained even for this broadened, universal-instruction sense; teaching note required distinguishing this eschatological register from ch.6’s covenant-lawsuit register.
Bekor Firstborn Rhetorical Question
Approved rendering: tus tub hlob (lus nug uas raug tsis lees, teb tias tsis yog)
Transliteration: bekori be-pish’i
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Rejected alternatives: standalone rendering without the v.8 rejection adjacent — FORBIDDEN, could badly imply God entertains or condones child sacrifice
Micah 6:7. The rhetorical climax of the sacrificial escalation, immediately and categorically answered ‘no’ by v.8. MUST NEVER be excerpted or taught apart from its rejection in the same unit. Directly confronts the ritual-escalation logic (‘bigger/costlier offering secures greater favor’) underlying traditional propitiation practice — same collision class as the Romans baseline’s Critical propitiation entry. Mandatory teaching note required at every use.
Mishpat Do Justice
Approved rendering: kev txiav txim ncaj
Transliteration: mishpat
Doctrine: Justice, Mercy, and Humility
Rejected alternatives: Romans baseline’s ‘raug suav tias ncaj ncees’ reckoning-clause applied to mishpat — FORBIDDEN, imports forensic imputation into social-ethical justice, generic ‘kev ncaj ncees’ with no verb-of-practice — rejected, loses mishpat’s active, socially-enacted sense
Micah 6:8 (core requirement #1); 2:1-2, 3:1-3, 9-11, 6:9-16 (violations indicted). Deliberately built on the shared ‘ncaj’ root with Romans’ righteousness/justification vocabulary to preserve a coherent Hmong theological lexical family, while OMITTING the fixed ‘suav tias’ reckoning-clause that belongs exclusively to justification by faith. Must be broadened by teaching note (not just at first occurrence) to mishpat’s fuller OT sense of proactive social advocacy for the vulnerable (widow, orphan, poor), not merely reactive verdict-rendering. HIGHEST-DENSITY collision risk in the book alongside the ncaj-ncees family generally.
Avon Iniquity Guilt
Approved rendering: txhaum / kev txhaum (sense-flagged: kev nyuaj siab poob rau qhov txhaum)
Transliteration: avon
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Micah 7:18-19. The weight/consequence of guilt borne by the sinner; third member of the sin-word triad, appearing at the book’s theological climax where the flattening risk is highest. Must be paired with the summary teaching note connecting all three Hebrew sin-words AND with the active-forgiveness phrase (see nasa_avon_pardon_iniquity_cast_into_sea) so guilt is understood as actually lifted, not merely overlooked.
Qesem Divination
Approved rendering: kev ua yees siv / kev saib yaig
Transliteration: qesem / qosemim
Doctrine: Judgment on Corrupt Leaders
Rejected alternatives: transliterated loanword — rejected, would be doctrinally inert and evade the necessary contrast-teaching, mirroring the Romans baseline’s rejection of a transliterated hilastērion, blanket condemnation of Hmong cultural/ethnic identity — FORBIDDEN, misrepresents the text’s own narrower target
Micah 3:6-7, 11. Direct, unavoidable collision with contemporary Hmong shamanic practice (txiv neeb, ua neeb saib) — not merely historical folk-memory, unlike most Romans-book collisions. Must always be framed using the text’s own internal criterion: condemnation of hired, profit-driven, manipulative false prophecy (3:11 makes the profit-motive explicit), explicitly contrasted with Micah’s own Spirit-empowered true prophecy (3:8). Escalated to mandatory human-theologian-plus-native-speaker-pastor review, the single highest-priority item in the whole Language Package.
Kesaphim Sorceries Witchcraft
Approved rendering: kev ua khawv koob / kev ua yees siv
Transliteration: kesaphim
Doctrine: Judgment on Corrupt Leaders
Rejected alternatives: blanket condemnation of Hmong cultural/ethnic identity — FORBIDDEN
Micah 5:12. Occult ritual practices for manipulating spiritual power or fate, purged at the coming ruler’s arrival. Same collision class and framing requirement as qesem_divination; the text condemns manipulative occult power-seeking as incompatible with trust in God’s promised king, not Hmong ethnic identity or culture generally.
Qedem Olam From Of Old From Everlasting
Approved rendering: txij thaum ub los, txij tim ub tas mus li
Transliteration: miqqedem, mi-yme ‘olam
Doctrine: The Coming Ruler from Bethlehem
Rejected alternatives: flattening into ordinary human ancestry language — rejected, erases the messianic weight later affirmed of Christ, overclaiming as explicit Trinitarian/pre-existence statement — rejected, the Hebrew text does not itself make this claim
Micah 5:2. Ancient/eternal-origin language, theologically dense and disputed even among scholars: Hebrew primarily signals ancient Davidic royal lineage; Christian tradition reads it as pointing toward Christ’s pre-existence. No Hmong idiom natively carries both freights simultaneously — this is a genuine, non-lexically-resolvable gap. Render literally; supply the historic Christian messianic/pre-existence reading as a CLEARLY MARKED, separate teaching note/footnote, never folded into the base verse rendering. Must never be rendered with vocabulary borrowed from the Leej Tub ntawm Vajtswv framework.
Torah Universal Eschatological Sense
Approved rendering: Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes)
Transliteration: torah
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘Txoj Kevcai’ without qualifier — rejected, collapses into ancestral-custom vocabulary
Duplicate cross-reference entry to law_mosaic_divine above; retained separately here to flag the Micah 4:2 eschatological/universal-instruction sense explicitly within the Hope doctrine cluster. Same mandatory qualifier and teaching-note requirements apply without exception.
Nasa Avon Pardon Iniquity Cast Into Sea
Approved rendering: zam txim thiab tshem kev txhaum mus deb
Transliteration: nasa avon / tashlikh bi-metsulot yam chattotam
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘zam txim’ (forgive) alone — rejected, loses the specific ‘active, final removal to an inaccessible place’ contribution of the verse, kev txhiv (redemption) or kev sib haum xeeb (reconciliation) reused unmodified — rejected, these Romans-fixed entries do not capture nasa avon’s specific compound sense
Micah 7:18-19. The book’s climactic doxology and single largest genuine missing-vocabulary gap: God’s uniqueness expressed as active, gracious removal of guilt, not merely legal-declarative pardon. Genuinely NEW compound construction, no TM precedent. Must never be abbreviated to bare ‘zam txim’ in any content touching 7:18-19. Must be paired with the summary sin-word-triad teaching note. Must be taught as God’s OWN initiative/character (‘who is a God like you’), never contingent on or triggered by sufficient ritual reparation.
High Risk Terms
Human Spirit Soul
Approved rendering: ntsuj plig
Transliteration: pneuma (anthropological)
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Rejected alternatives: Vaj Ntsuj Plig — forbidden for this referent, reserved exclusively for the Holy Spirit
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Referenced here NEGATIVELY as a forbidden rendering: ‘nephesh’ (soul/self) in Micah 6:7 must NOT use this entry, because Hmong traditional religion holds a person to possess multiple ntsuj plig (souls), which would falsely imply only one soul-part bears guilt. See nephesh_soul_self entry for the correct Micah-specific rendering.
Wrath Of God
Approved rendering: kev npau taws ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: orgē theou / ‘aph
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Rejected alternatives: unqualified ‘npau taws’ associated only with capricious spirit/ancestor anger — rejected without explicit contrast teaching
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Reused across the judgment oracles (chs.1,2,3,5) and, climactically, at 7:18 to affirm wrath’s LIMITATION (‘he will not retain his anger forever’), not its absence or illusory nature. Teaching note must hold both wrath’s reality and its covenant-bounded non-finality together; never taught as ritual-appeasable.
Idol
Approved rendering: dab mlom
Transliteration: pesel / pesilim / eidōlon
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Rejected alternatives: generic ‘statue’ softening — rejected, must not soften since the text condemns exactly this category
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Reused for Samaria’s carved images (1:7, smashed in judgment) and idols purged at the coming ruler’s arrival (5:13). Already the correct, doctrinally-sound Hmong term for spirit-images venerated in traditional religion.
Sin Act And Condition
Approved rendering: txhaum / kev txhaum
Transliteration: hamartia / chattah, pesha, avon
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified string. In Micah this single Hmong lexeme must carry THREE distinct Hebrew sin-words: chattah (‘missing the mark,’ 6:7), pesha (‘covenant rebellion,’ 6:7 — see pesha_transgression_rebellion), and avon (‘borne guilt/iniquity,’ 7:18-19 — see avon_iniquity_guilt). This flattening is a documented, accepted limitation (not silently ignored); mandatory teaching note required at 6:7 (first convergence) and 7:18-19 (climactic convergence) naming and briefly glossing all three underlying terms.
Power
Approved rendering: hwjchim
Transliteration: dynamis
Doctrine: Justice, Mercy, and Humility
Rejected alternatives: bare, unqualified hwjchim — FORBIDDEN, identical to a shaman’s (txiv neeb) ritual power
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Referenced here because Micah’s humility idiom ‘txo hwj chim’ (walk humbly, 6:8) shares this flagged morpheme; the humility idiom is the antonym-use (self-lowering, not wielding power) but must never appear bare — always anchored to ‘nrog Vajtswv’ in the same clause. See hatsnea_lekhet_walk_humbly entry.
Salvation Save
Approved rendering: kev cawm dim / cawm
Transliteration: sōtēria / sōzō / yesha
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Rejected alternatives: unanchored ‘dim’ (escape) parallel to shamanic ua neeb soul-rescue — rejected without explicit anchoring
Inherited from Romans package, string unmodified, but ANCHORING CONVENTION EXTENDED for this OT book: at 7:7 (‘I will look to the God of my salvation’), the Romans baseline’s mandatory post-incarnation anchor to Yexus Khetos is inapplicable (pre-incarnation confession). For this and all future OT contexts, anchor instead to Vajtswv as the OT-era Savior, with a separately-formatted forward-pointing teaching note (not an inline clause) toward Christ’s fulfillment. This extension is flagged for human theologian review before being adopted as a standing rule for future OT Language Packages.
Worship Serve Cultic
Approved rendering: pehawm / pab teev
Transliteration: latreuō (contextual)
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Rejected alternatives: bare, unanchored pehawm — FORBIDDEN, identical verb used for pehawm dab (ancestor/spirit veneration)
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Reused in the ch.6 mock-liturgy contrast between cultic ritual-approach and true covenant obedience. Object must always be stated (‘pehawm Vajtswv’); Micah 6:6-8 is a textbook case the Romans baseline’s own mandatory teaching-note requirement anticipated — recommend explicit cross-reference to Romans 12:1 (living sacrifice) when teaching both books together.
Original Sin Adam Christ Typology
Approved rendering: Adas / kev ua txhaum (ntawm Adas)
Transliteration: Adam; paraptōma
Doctrine: Justice, Mercy, and Humility
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Referenced here PURELY NEGATIVELY: Micah 6:8’s generic address ‘O man’ (‘adam, common noun) must NEVER be rendered with this proper-name entry (‘Adas’), which refers exclusively to the historical first man in the Genesis/Romans 5 federal-headship argument. See adam_generic_o_man entry for the correct Micah rendering.
All Israel Will Be Saved
Approved rendering: tag nrho cov Yixalayees yuav dim
Transliteration: pas Israēl sōthēsetai
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Rejected alternatives: flattening to generic clan/lineage-continuity language — rejected, loses covenant-salvation claim
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Referenced here as the direct doctrinal parallel to Micah 7:20’s oath sworn to Abraham/Jacob: both texts ground present/future covenant hope in God’s irrevocable, ancient covenant faithfulness (cf. Romans 11:29). Recommend explicit cross-book teaching link when both texts are taught together.
Olah Burnt Offering
Approved rendering: khoom fij hlawv tag nrho
Transliteration: olah / olot
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Rejected alternatives: transliterated loanword — rejected, no transliteration tradition exists and would be doctrinally inert
Micah 6:6. Reuses the ‘fij’ sacrificial domain shared with Christ’s atonement and shamanic appeasement; must be explicitly marked as literal historical Israelite temple ritual which Micah himself relativizes, neither Christ’s atonement nor the NT ethical-devotion metaphor nor repeatable spirit-appeasement (fij dab). First rung of the sacrificial-escalation catalogue.
Bamot High Places
Approved rendering: toj siab (geographic sense) / chaw teev dab saum roob (illicit-shrine sense)
Transliteration: bamot
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Rejected alternatives: single flattened rendering ignoring the bimodal referent — rejected, risks suggesting God descends TO a worship-shrine rather than UPON the mountains in judgment, or erases the idolatry-critique sense elsewhere
Micah 1:3-4. Genuinely bimodal Hebrew term: literal mountain heights (theophanic judgment) vs. illicit hilltop worship shrines elsewhere in the OT. Must be disambiguated by context at every occurrence, never given a single fixed transliteration or paraphrase.
Tsedaqah Righteous Acts Historical
Approved rendering: Vajtswv txoj kev ncaj ncees
Transliteration: tsedaqah / tsidqot YHWH
Doctrine: Justice, Mercy, and Humility
Micah 6:4-5. Reuses the Romans baseline’s fixed string exactly, but for a DIFFERENT referent: God’s concrete historical acts of covenant faithfulness/deliverance (the Exodus, wilderness guidance) recited as evidence in the covenant lawsuit — NOT the forensic imputed-righteousness sense central to Romans 3-4. Mandatory teaching note at every occurrence in this chapter (not merely first use, given density of reuse) to prevent readers from assuming this verse teaches justification-by-imputation.
Chesed Steadfast Love Covenant Loyalty
Approved rendering: txoj kev khuv leej
Transliteration: chesed
Doctrine: Justice, Mercy, and Humility
Rejected alternatives: mere-pity/compassion-only framing without covenant-loyalty dimension — rejected, under-teaches chesed’s settled relational-faithfulness sense
Micah 6:8 (core requirement #2, paired with ‘ahab/love); 7:18, 7:20 (God delights in chesed). Reuses the Romans-baseline ‘mercy’ string exactly (no re-gloss), but documents an ELEVATED risk (High, vs. Romans’ Medium) because Hebrew chesed additionally carries covenant-loyalty/faithfulness beyond mere compassion-toward-the-miserable. Mandatory teaching note at every occurrence distinguishing ‘loyal love that keeps promises’ from ordinary pity.
Hatsnea Lekhet Walk Humbly
Approved rendering: taug kev ua neeg txo hwj chim nrog koj tus Vajtswv
Transliteration: hatsnea lekhet ‘im-Eloheicha
Doctrine: Justice, Mercy, and Humility
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘txo hwj chim’ with no anchor — FORBIDDEN, risks unintended resonance with the shamanic-power-flagged ‘hwjchim’ morpheme
Micah 6:8 (core requirement #3). The natural Hmong humility idiom shares its root morpheme with the Romans baseline’s flagged ‘hwjchim’ (dynamis/power, High, identical to shamanic ritual power). This is the antonym-use (self-lowering one’s own status, not wielding supernatural power), but must NEVER appear bare; mandatory anchoring within the same clause to ‘nrog Vajtswv,’ structurally paralleling the baseline’s ‘Vajtswv hwjchim’ and ‘pehawm Vajtswv’ anchoring pattern.
Pesha Transgression Rebellion
Approved rendering: txhaum / kev txhaum (sense-flagged: kev fav xeeb rau kev cog lus)
Transliteration: pesha
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Micah 6:7. Willful covenant rebellion, the strongest of the OT’s three primary sin-words. Reuses the fixed ‘txhaum’ string but requires a first-occurrence teaching note distinguishing ‘rebellion against covenant’ from ‘missing the mark’ (chattah) and ‘borne guilt’ (avon), part of the sin-word triad converging at 6:7 and climactically at 7:18-19.
Nephesh Soul Self
Approved rendering: kuv tus kheej / kuv txoj sia
Transliteration: nephesh
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Rejected alternatives: ntsuj plig (Romans-fixed human_spirit_soul entry) — FORBIDDEN for this referent, would imply only one ‘soul-part’ among several is guilty, undermining the verse’s totalizing force
Micah 6:7 (‘sin of my soul’). The whole living self/person/life-force, broader than the Greek anthropological pneuma and NOT one soul-fragment among several as in Hmong animistic belief. Structural substitution rule: nephesh in this verse is NEVER rendered ntsuj plig.
Moshel Ruler
Approved rendering: tus uas yuav kav
Transliteration: moshel
Doctrine: The Coming Ruler from Bethlehem
Rejected alternatives: Leej Tub ntawm Vajtswv (Son of God, Romans baseline) — FORBIDDEN in the OT text itself, prematurely resolves the OT-to-NT typological gap, Yexus Khetos — FORBIDDEN in the OT text itself, anachronistic
Micah 5:2. The awaited Davidic king’s governing office. Deliberately generic/non-titular rendering; forward-pointing teaching note connecting to NT fulfillment required, but confined to a clearly marked footnote, never folded into the verse rendering itself.
Tsaphah Yesha Wait For God Of My Salvation Ot Anchor
Approved rendering: kev cia siab; kev cawm dim (anchored to Vajtswv, forward-pointing to Yexus Khetos in a separate teaching note)
Transliteration: atsappeh l’Elohei yish’i
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Rejected alternatives: inline anchoring to ‘Yexus Khetos’ within the verse clause itself — rejected as anachronistic; the OT speaker could not have intended this, dropping the Christ-connection entirely — rejected, loses the yesha/Yeshua name-cognate’s forward-pointing resonance
Micah 7:7. Confident, expectant hope amid societal collapse, using a salvation-word (yesha) cognate with the name Yeshua/Jesus. Reuses TM-fixed hope and salvation_save strings, but applies the OT-era anchoring EXTENSION documented in the salvation_save entry above. Flagged for human theologian review as a precedent-setting decision for all future OT Language Packages, not a Micah-only exception.
Medium Risk Terms
Truth
Approved rendering: qhov tseeb
Transliteration: alētheia / ‘emet
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified string; risk elevated from Low (Romans) to Medium here because Hebrew ‘emet (7:20, faithfulness to Abraham) carries a richer covenant-fidelity sense than the baseline’s factual-truth scope. Comprehension-level enrichment note recommended; no traditional-religion collision.
Redemption
Approved rendering: kev txhiv
Transliteration: apolytrōsis
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Referenced here only to be kept DISTINCT from the new Micah-specific compound ‘zam txim thiab tshem kev txhaum mus deb’ (pardon iniquity / cast into the sea, 7:19) — the two must not be collapsed into one concept in exposition.
Reconciliation
Approved rendering: kev sib haum xeeb (nrog Vajtswv)
Transliteration: katallagē
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘kev sib haum xeeb’ with no God-ward anchor — rejected, defaults to merely horizontal reconciliation
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Referenced here only to be kept DISTINCT from the new Micah-specific pardon-iniquity compound (see nasa_avon_pardon_iniquity_cast_into_sea entry).
Mercy
Approved rendering: txoj kev khuv leej
Transliteration: eleos (Romans scope)
Doctrine: Election and the Sovereignty of God
Rejected alternatives: txiaj ntsim (grace) used interchangeably for mercy — rejected, kept lexically distinct
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified string and unmodified base risk (Medium, scoped to compassion-toward-the-miserable/eleos). See the NEW Micah-specific entry chesed_steadfast_love_covenant_loyalty below, which documents this SAME translation string carrying an ADDITIONAL, elevated (High) risk in Micah 6:8 and 7:18-20 due to Hebrew chesed’s covenant-loyalty dimension not present in the Romans-scoped sense.
God On High
Approved rendering: Vajtswv (tus nyob siab tshaj plaws, muaj hwjchim thiab yeeb koob)
Transliteration: Elohei marom
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘Ntuj’ (impersonal sky/heaven) — rejected per the Romans baseline’s own ‘god’ entry exclusion, lacks personal-deity sense
Micah 6:6. Descriptive qualifying phrase required, never a single noun; emphasizes God’s transcendent majesty, heightening the absurdity of trying to ‘pay’ Him with livestock.
Chasid The Godly Faithful One
Approved rendering: tus ncaj ncees thiab hlub ruaj khov rau Vajtswv
Transliteration: chasid
Doctrine: Justice, Mercy, and Humility
Micah 7:2. Person marked by steadfast covenant loyalty (same root as chesed); their disappearance signals societal collapse, the premise for the hope-confession of 7:7. Cross-reference note required distinguishing this ethical-relational sense from the forensic-imputation ‘ncaj ncees’ cluster.
Adam Generic O Man
Approved rendering: koj, tus neeg
Transliteration: ‘adam (common noun)
Doctrine: Justice, Mercy, and Humility
Rejected alternatives: ‘Adas’ (the Romans baseline’s proper-name Adam) — FORBIDDEN, imports unrelated Genesis/Romans 5 federal-headship typology into Micah’s exhortation
Micah 6:8. Generic address to humanity, universalizing the answer beyond Micah’s immediate audience. Must remain generic; never the proper name.
Riv Covenant Lawsuit
Approved rendering: kev sib cav txog kev cog lus
Transliteration: riv
Doctrine: Judgment on Corrupt Leaders
Micah 6:1-2. The formal covenant-lawsuit genre framing ch.6 (and arguably chs.1-3): YHWH prosecutes Israel for covenant breach before witnesses (mountains, hills). Legal-court bridge concept structurally similar to the Romans baseline’s village-court analogy for katakrima (no_condemnation).
Oppress Seize Covet
Approved rendering: quab yuam / txeeb / ntshaw
Transliteration: ashaq / gazal / chamad
Doctrine: Judgment on Corrupt Leaders
Micah 2:1-2. Premeditated economic exploitation of the powerless — corrupt landowners devising and executing land/house seizure. Directly answered by mishpat (Micah 6:8). Comprehension-level, no traditional-religion collision.
Eat The Flesh Of My People
Approved rendering: noj tej neeg tus nqaij (piv txwv rau kev tsim txom)
Transliteration: okhle she’ar ‘ammi
Doctrine: Judgment on Corrupt Leaders
Rejected alternatives: literal-historical-claim framing — rejected, must be marked as figurative
Micah 3:2-3. Vivid cannibalism-imagery metaphor for exploitative rulers. Graphic force must be preserved for rhetorical impact, but requires a clarifying note that this is figurative indictment of exploitation, not a literal claim.
False Balance Deceitful Weights
Approved rendering: teev nyiaj tsis raug / rab teev dag ntxias
Transliteration: mo’zne mirmah
Doctrine: Judgment on Corrupt Leaders
Micah 6:11. Rigged commercial measuring instruments used to defraud, a concrete instance of the injustice 6:8 condemns. Comprehension-level, no collision, straightforward application to modern economic honesty.
Nataph False Comfortable Prophecy
Approved rendering: kev cev lus qhuab qhia zoo nkauj tab sis dag
Transliteration: nataph
Doctrine: Judgment on Corrupt Leaders
Micah 2:11. Prophets who preach smoothly, telling people what pleases them; satirizes self-serving false prophecy. Needs teaching note distinguishing true Spirit-empowered prophetic office (ch.3, see holy_spirit entry) from this.
Halak Beshem Walk In The Name Of The Lord
Approved rendering: ncaj nraim taug kev hauv lub npe ntawm tus Tswv
Transliteration: nelekh be-shem YHWH Eloheinu
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Rejected alternatives: framing implying endorsement of religious pluralism — rejected
Micah 4:5. Covenant-identity/loyalty contrast between Israel’s allegiance to YHWH and the nations’ allegiance to their own gods. Must be read as a contrast of loyalty (true God vs. idols/dab mlom), never as an endorsement of religious pluralism.
Etnan Zonah Hire Of A Prostitute
Approved rendering: nqi ntawm tus poj muag cev
Transliteration: etnan zonah
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Micah 1:7. Metaphor for idolatrous wealth gained through spiritual unfaithfulness — covenant unfaithfulness as spiritual adultery (cf. Hosea). Comprehension gap requiring a cultural bridging note; no direct collision with a Hmong traditional-religion practice, though should be taught alongside covenant-relationship vocabulary (lus cog tseg, promise).
Low Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: Vajtswv
Transliteration: Elohim
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, unmodified. Reused throughout Micah for Elohim/YHWH-as-God. Also the base term underlying ‘God on high’ (6:6) and ‘your God’ (6:8, 7:7) with additional qualifiers — see god_on_high and covenant_address_your_god entries.
Lord
Approved rendering: tus Tswv
Transliteration: YHWH
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: Yehauvas (NWT-style divine-name transliteration) — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN, per Romans baseline §3.1, reaffirmed here for the covenant name YHWH itself, not only NT quotations of it
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Renders the covenant name YHWH throughout Micah, including the covenant-lawsuit oracle (ch.6) and the doxology (ch.7).
Jesus Christ
Approved rendering: Yexus Khetos
Transliteration: Iēsous Christos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Referenced here PRIMARILY as a forbidden premature substitution: ‘ruler’ (moshel, 5:2) and the OT salvation confession (7:7) must NOT be collapsed into this NT title within the base OT translation text itself; reserve for clearly marked NT-fulfillment teaching notes only.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Leej Tub ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: huios theou
Doctrine: The Coming Ruler from Bethlehem
Rejected alternatives: diminished-sonship renderings — rejected, must preserve full deity
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Referenced here as a forbidden premature substitution for ‘ruler’ (moshel, 5:2) in the OT text; use only in a clearly marked NT-fulfillment teaching note.
Promise
Approved rendering: lus cog tseg
Transliteration: epangelia / ‘emet, shevu’ah
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Reused for God’s ancient covenant oath to Abraham/Jacob (7:20), directly paralleling the Romans doctrine of God’s irrevocable covenant calling (Romans 11:29, see all_israel_will_be_saved entry).
Jew
Approved rendering: cov Yudas
Transliteration: Ioudaios / Yehudah
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified transliteration root reused as ‘Yudas’ for the OT tribe/kingdom of Judah (1:1, 1:9). Sense-flagged: distinguish the OT tribal/kingdom referent from the NT ethnonym (plural, people-group) sense in teaching notes.
Love
Approved rendering: kev hlub
Transliteration: agapē / ‘ahab
Doctrine: Justice, Mercy, and Humility
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Reused for ‘ahab in Micah 6:8’s ‘love kindness/mercy’ (love the verb, paired with chesed the object).
Hope
Approved rendering: kev cia siab
Transliteration: elpis / tsaphah
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Reused for Micah 7:7’s confident, expectant waiting (‘I will look to the LORD’); must be taught as confident expectation grounded in God’s promise/character, not mere optimism, consistent with the Romans baseline’s own teaching note on this term.
Remnant
Approved rendering: cov seem
Transliteration: hypoleimma / she’erit
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Inherited from Romans package, unmodified. Reused across Micah 2:12, 4:7, 5:7-8, 7:18 for the surviving faithful portion of Israel preserved through judgment.
Covenant Address Your God
Approved rendering: koj tus Vajtswv
Transliteration: Eloheicha / Elohei yish’i
Doctrine: Justice, Mercy, and Humility
Micah 6:8, 7:7. Built from the fixed ‘Vajtswv’ term plus possessive; grounds the threefold requirement and the salvation confession in personal covenant relationship, not abstract ethics.
Higgid Told Declared
Approved rendering: tau qhia meej lawm
Transliteration: higgid
Doctrine: Justice, Mercy, and Humility
Micah 6:8. Answers the rhetorical escalation of 6:6-7 decisively: God has already, plainly revealed what He requires. No collision.
Raah Shepherd
Approved rendering: tus yug yaj / yug
Transliteration: ra’ah
Doctrine: The Coming Ruler from Bethlehem
Micah 5:4; cf. 7:14. Describes the coming ruler’s governance as protective, nurturing pastoral care rather than domination. Concrete pastoral imagery, culturally accessible via Hmong highland agrarian familiarity.
Devar Yhwh Word Of The Lord
Approved rendering: Vajtswv Txoj Lus
Transliteration: devar YHWH
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Micah 4:2. Authoritative divine speech paired with torah as the content drawing the nations to Zion. Strong, pre-existing, doctrinally safe anchor — this is the very phrase used to name the Hmong Bible-translation tradition itself.
Swords Into Plowshares
Approved rendering: ntaj hloov ua khoom laij teb
Transliteration: charvotam le’ittim
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Micah 4:3. Agricultural repurposing of weapons symbolizing universal eschatological peace. Concrete agrarian imagery transfers well to a Hmong farming context.
Vine And Fig Tree
Approved rendering: txhua tus nyob kaj siab lug hauv nws thaj chaw
Transliteration: ish tachat gafno u-te’enato
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Micah 4:4. Idiom for peaceful, secure agrarian prosperity, each household undisturbed — concrete picture of covenant peace (kev thaj yeeb). Vine/fig tree botanically less familiar than rice/local fruit trees, but the settled-security idiom transfers with a brief illustrative note.
Samaria
Approved rendering: Xamalis
Transliteration: Shomron
Doctrine: Judgment on Corrupt Leaders
Micah 1:1, 1:6-7. Capital of the northern kingdom (Israel), judged for idolatry. PROVISIONAL proper-noun transliteration; comprehension-level footnote required; logged for TM-revision review.
Jerusalem
Approved rendering: Yeluxalees
Transliteration: Yerushalayim
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Micah 1:1, 1:9; 3:12; 4:1-2. Capital of the southern kingdom (Judah), judged (1:9, 3:12) yet the site of eschatological hope (4:1-2). PROVISIONAL; highest-priority item among proper nouns for cross-check against any existing published Hmong OT text given its high frequency.
Zion
Approved rendering: Xi-oo
Transliteration: Tsiyon
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Micah 3:12; 4:2. The temple mount/Jerusalem, site of both judgment and eschatological pilgrimage-hope. PROVISIONAL transliteration, logged for TM-revision review.
Jacob Israel
Approved rendering: Yakhauj / Yixalayees
Transliteration: Ya’aqov / Yisra’el
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Covenant-people names addressed throughout in both judgment and hope oracles (e.g. 7:20). ‘Yixalayees’ reuses the Romans baseline’s established style; ‘Yakhauj’ newly logged for TM-revision review.
Judah Ot Kingdom Sense
Approved rendering: Yudas
Transliteration: Yehudah
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Micah 1:1, 1:9. The southern kingdom/tribe, named alongside Israel/Samaria as under judgment. Reuses the Romans baseline’s transliteration root (‘cov Yudas’); sense-flagged here as the OT tribal/kingdom singular referent, distinguished in teaching from the NT ethnonym (plural, people-group) sense.
Omri Ahab
Approved rendering: Aumelis / Ahaj
Transliteration: Omri / Ach’av
Doctrine: Judgment on Corrupt Leaders
Micah 6:16. Northern-kingdom kings notorious for institutionalized idolatry and injustice, invoked as the historical pattern Judah has imitated. PROVISIONAL transliterations, comprehension-level footnote required, low doctrinal weight (historical-illustration function only).
Low-Medium Risk Terms
Qadam Come Before
Approved rendering: tuaj cuag / tuaj ntsib
Transliteration: qadam
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Rejected alternatives: shamanic-consultation idiom (approaching a txiv neeb for a ritual reading) — rejected, would reinforce rather than critique the transactional-worship framing
Micah 6:6. Opens the mock-liturgy: ceremonial/cultic approach to God, not a spirit-consultation idiom.
Egel Ben Shanah Calves A Year Old
Approved rendering: menyuam nyuj ib xyoos
Transliteration: ‘egel ben shanah
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Micah 6:6. Prime, unblemished young sacrificial animal; comprehension-level only, no calf-sacrifice cultural referent but prime-animal-offering logic is accessible via existing Hmong sacrificial-animal practice, requiring a distinguishing note.
Elim Nachale Shamen Rams And Oil
Approved rendering: txiv yaj ntau txhiab tus / roj ntau npaum li dej ntws
Transliteration: ‘elim / nachale shamen
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Micah 6:7. Hyperbolic quantity language continuing the rhetorical escalation; comprehension gap only (oil-libation offering unfamiliar). Illustrative teaching note recommended, paralleling the Romans baseline’s grafted-olive-tree note strategy.
Darash Require Seek
Approved rendering: xav tau / thov kom
Transliteration: darash
Doctrine: Justice, Mercy, and Humility
Micah 6:8. Frames the threefold requirement as God’s actual, ongoing covenantal demand, not a suggestion. No collision.
Beit Lechem Efratah Bethlehem Ephrathah
Approved rendering: Npelehee Efalathas
Transliteration: Beit-Lechem Efratah
Doctrine: The Coming Ruler from Bethlehem
Micah 5:2. Small, seemingly insignificant Judean town, ancestral home of David; quoted in Matthew 2:6 (LXX Bēthleem) of Christ’s birth. PROVISIONAL transliteration, logged for TM-revision review; priority verification recommended against any existing published Hmong OT text before this package exits DRAFT status.
Acharit Hayyamim Latter Days
Approved rendering: tom qab no / lub sijhawm tom ntej
Transliteration: ‘acharit hayyamim
Doctrine: Hope of Restoration and Forgiveness
Micah 4:1. Eschatological horizon introducing the vision of universal pilgrimage to God’s house. Comprehension gap (eschatological time-idiom) only, no collision.
Mourning Rites Qorchah Yelel
Approved rendering: kev quaj ntsuag, chais taub hau, quaj nyiav yam li tus hma
Transliteration: qorchah / yelel
Doctrine: Judgment on Corrupt Leaders
Micah 1:8-10. Ritual mourning gestures (shaved head, wailing like jackals) for coming disaster; Micah performs ritual lament over the judgment on his own people. Comprehension-level only; Hmong funerary/mourning vocabulary transfers descriptively with no doctrinal collision.
Medium-High Risk Terms
Kaphaph Bow Myself
Approved rendering: txo hau ntawm Vajtswv / khoom ntshis rau ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: kaphaph
Doctrine: True Worship versus Empty Ritual
Rejected alternatives: bowing/prostration left with no stated object — rejected, matches ancestor-veneration ritual posture (khoom plig, fij dab)
Micah 6:6. Object of bowing must always be explicitly stated as Vajtswv, paralleling the mandatory ‘pehawm Vajtswv’ anchoring strategy.