Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Mark — Japanese Destination Language
Risk tiers follow the baseline’s risk definitions exactly (Critical/High/Medium/Low). Status column: [BASELINE REUSE] = rendering fixed by the Romans package, must not be altered; [NEW] = introduced for Mark, proposed for translation memory.
Christology Terms
| English Term | Greek Original | Transliteration | Japanese Rendering | Risk | Status | Chapters | Translation Risk Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Son of God | υἱὸς θεοῦ | huios theou | 神の子 | Critical | [BASELINE REUSE] | 1, 9 | Reuse exactly; never 現人神. |
| Son of Man | ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου | ho huios tou anthrōpou | 人の子 | High | [NEW] | 2, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14 | Risks being heard as mere “human being” without the Daniel 7 apocalyptic-authority background; carries both suffering and glory senses across the book — Mark’s central Christological title. |
| Christ / Messiah | Χριστός | Christos | キリスト | High | [BASELINE REUSE] | 1, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15 | Reuse exactly; requires heavy explanatory teaching per baseline (cultural-brand-name blankness risk). |
| Jesus | Ἰησοῦς | Iēsous | イエス | Critical | [BASELINE REUSE] | all | Reuse exactly; never ゼズス. |
| Lord | κύριος | kyrios | 主 | Critical | [BASELINE REUSE] | 1, 5, 7, 11, 12, 13 | Reuse exactly; distinguish sharply from κατακυριεύω’s domineering sense in 10:42. |
| Incarnation (implied — descended from David/flesh) | (theological category; cf. 10:45’s giving of ψυχή) | — | 受肉 | Critical | [BASELINE REUSE] | background doctrine | Reuse exactly for background teaching material; never 化身/権化. |
| Glory | δόξα | doxa | 栄光 | High | [BASELINE REUSE] | 8, 9, 10, 13 | Never 名誉; James/John’s request in 10:37 shows the very confusion this term must guard against. |
| Beloved Son | ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός | ho huios mou ho agapētos | 愛する子 | Critical | [NEW — extends 神の子] | 1, 9 | Reuse sonship framework from 神の子; never imply adoptive/honorary sonship. |
| Transfigured | μεταμορφόω | metamorphoō | 姿を変える／変貌する | Medium | [NEW] | 9 | Risk of folklore shape-shifting (henge, kitsune/tanuki tales) resonance; clarify as unveiling of pre-existing glory, not magical transformation. |
| ”I am” (divine self-disclosure) | ἐγώ εἰμι | egō eimi | 「わたしだ」 | High | [NEW] | 6, 14 | Reads as flat self-identification in Japanese with zero built-in echo of the LXX divine-name formula; must be actively taught at each occurrence. |
Salvation / Atonement Terms
| English Term | Greek Original | Transliteration | Japanese Rendering | Risk | Status | Chapters | Translation Risk Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ransom | λύτρον | lytron | 贖いの代価 | Critical | [NEW] | 10 (core passage) | Must not collapse into 身代金 (kidnap ransom money) nor into an on-giri repayment-debt frame; Christ pays, we do not repay. Mandatory theologian review every occurrence. |
| ”for/instead of many” | ἀντὶ πολλῶν | anti pollōn | 多くの人のために／の代わりに | High | [NEW] | 10 (core passage) | Preserve ἀντί’s substitutionary force; do not flatten to generic benefit language. |
| Salvation | σωτηρία (implied; verb σῴζω used) | sōzō | 救い／救う | Critical | [BASELINE REUSE] | 5, 8, 10, 13 | Reuse exactly; note Mark’s deliberate healing/salvation double-sense in σῴζω needs explicit unpacking each time. |
| Suffer (Passion necessity) | πάσχω | paschō | 苦しみを受ける | High | [NEW] | 8, 9, 10 | Central term for Necessity of the Cross; must not dilute to generic misfortune. |
| Divine necessity | δεῖ | dei | 〜ねばならない／必ず | High | [NEW] | 8, 9, 10 | Conveys the cross as determined divine purpose, not accident. |
| Cross | σταυρός | stauros | 十字架 | Critical | [BASELINE-adjacent; NEW to registry] | 8, 15 | Established term but faces Japan-specific fashion/tattoo-motif dilution; actively restore historical horror and doctrinal necessity. |
| Life / Soul | ψυχή | psychē | いのち | Medium | [NEW] | 8, 10 (core passage) | Never 魂 (folk-spirit/reincarnation associations); いのち conveys vital, given life. |
| Grace (background doctrine, contrast to ransom) | χάρις | charis | 恵み | Critical | [BASELINE REUSE] | background contrast to 10:45 | Reuse exactly; ransom must not be re-collapsed into on-giri repayment logic that grace itself must resist. |
| Justification / Righteousness (background) | δικαιοσύνη / δικαίωσις | dikaiosynē / dikaiōsis | 義／義と認められること | Critical | [BASELINE REUSE] | background doctrine | Reuse exactly for cross-curriculum consistency with Romans. |
Kingdom Terms
| English Term | Greek Original | Transliteration | Japanese Rendering | Risk | Status | Chapters | Translation Risk Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingdom of God | βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ | basileia tou theou | 神の国 | High | [BASELINE REUSE] | 1, 4, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15 | Reuse exactly; anchor every occurrence against 神国日本 nationalist resonance per baseline. |
| Has drawn near | ἤγγικεν | ēngiken | 近づいた | High | [NEW] | 1 | Must convey already/not-yet tension of kingdom breaking in, not purely future or purely present-political. |
| Mystery of the kingdom | μυστήριον | mystērion | 奥義 | Medium | [NEW] | 4 | Risk of martial-arts/manga “secret technique” (奥義) association; clarify as graciously disclosed truth, not earned esoteric mastery. |
| Elect / Chosen | ἐκλεκτός | eklektos | 選ばれた者 | Medium | [BASELINE REUSE root] | 13 | Cf. baseline 選び; avoid competitive-exam-selection (受験・選抜) framing. |
Discipleship / Servanthood Terms
| English Term | Greek Original | Transliteration | Japanese Rendering | Risk | Status | Chapters | Translation Risk Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Servant | διάκονος | diakonos | 仕える者 | High | [NEW] | 9, 10 (core passage) | Must not soften to サービス業 customer-service sense or feudal retainer duty; voluntary Christlike self-giving. |
| Slave / Bondservant | δοῦλος | doulos | 奴隷 | High | [NEW] | 10 (core passage) | Strong negative chattel-slavery connotation in modern Japanese risks obscuring Jesus’ positive rhetorical escalation; requires careful framing. |
| Great / Greatness | μέγας | megas | 偉い／偉大な | Medium | [NEW] | 9, 10 (core passage) | Intersects with Japan’s status-hierarchy culture (senpai-kōhai, meishi rank signaling); make the reversal concrete. |
| Disciple | μαθητής | mathētēs | 弟子 | Medium | [NEW] | 1–16 (pervasive) | Potentially helpful bridge to Japan’s master-apprentice tradition (craft/martial-arts/Buddhist monastic 弟子) but must clarify grace-based following, not skill-earned mastery — flag as bridge-with-caution, parallel to baseline’s 極楽往生 and 主君 treatment. |
| Follow (me) | ἀκολουθέω | akoloutheō | 従う／ついて来る | Medium | [NEW] | 1, 2, 8, 10 | Distinguish from generic hierarchical-obedience compliance; cf. baseline’s obedience_of_faith caution. |
| Fear | φόβος / φοβέομαι | phobos / phobeomai | 恐れ | Medium | [NEW] | 4, 5, 6, 9, 16 | Distinguish reverential awe before divine power from mere terror or social-shame anxiety; central to Faith and Discipleship amid Fear doctrine. |
| Deny | ἀρνέομαι | arneomai | 否む／知らないと言う | Low-Medium | [NEW] | 14 | Peter’s denial narrative; ties to fear/discipleship-failure theme. |
| Lord it over / dominate | κατακυριεύω | katakyrieuō | 支配する | High | [NEW] | 10 (core passage) | Never let this domineering sense bleed into or be confused with Christ’s own rightful 主 (Lord) authority. |
Authority / Miracle Terms
| English Term | Greek Original | Transliteration | Japanese Rendering | Risk | Status | Chapters | Translation Risk Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authority | ἐξουσία | exousia | 権威 | Medium | [NEW] | 1, 2, 6, 11 | Distinguish personal, inherent divine authority from delegated bureaucratic authority. |
| Demon / Unclean spirit | δαιμόνιον / πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον | daimonion / pneuma akatharton | 悪霊／汚れた霊 | Critical | [NEW] | 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 | Japan’s vivid animistic spirit-world (幽霊, 妖怪) risks reducing demons to folklore entertainment rather than real malevolent beings subject to Christ; never confuse 霊 with 聖霊. |
| Holy Spirit | πνεῦμα ἅγιον | pneuma hagion | 聖霊 | Critical | [BASELINE REUSE] | 1, 3, 12, 13 | Reuse exactly; never 霊 alone. |
| Legion | Λεγιών | Legiōn | レギオン | Medium | [NEW] | 5 | Requires Roman-military historical footnote. |
| Compassion | σπλαγχνίζομαι | splanchnizomai | 深く憐れむ | Medium | [NEW] | 1, 6, 8 | Do not flatten to 同情 (detached sympathy); convey visceral, gut-level compassion. |
| Cleanse (ritual/physical) | καθαρίζω | katharizō | 清める | High | [NEW] | 1, 7 | Homophone-adjacent to 聖い (holy); distinguish from Shinto purification ritual (harae). |
| Clean / Unclean (food law) | καθαρός / κοινός | katharos / koinos | 清い／汚れた | High | [NEW] | 7 | Same homophone caution as above; Jesus relocates defilement to the heart. |
| Heart | καρδία | kardia | 心 | Medium | [NEW] | 7 | Helpful cultural bridge (kokoro resonance) but clarify biblical sense includes will/moral responsibility before God. |
Word / Covenant / Ordinance Terms
| English Term | Greek Original | Transliteration | Japanese Rendering | Risk | Status | Chapters | Translation Risk Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gospel | εὐαγγέλιον | euangelion | 福音 | Medium | [BASELINE REUSE] | 1, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16 | Reuse exactly; biblical-illiteracy blankness risk, not false-concept risk. |
| Repentance | μετάνοια | metanoia | 悔い改め | Medium | [NEW] | 1, 6 | Distinguish from shame-driven formal apology (謝罪) and mere regret (後悔); total reorientation, not face-saving. |
| Baptism | βάπτισμα | baptisma | バプテスマ | High | [NEW] | 1, 10 (core passage) | Distinguish from Shinto ritual purification (misogi/harae); note figurative “baptism into suffering” sense in 10:38–39 needs explicit unpacking. |
| Sin / Forgive | ἁμαρτία / ἀφίημι | hamartia / aphiēmi | 罪／赦す | High | [BASELINE REUSE (罪) + NEW (赦す)] | 1, 2 | 罪 reuse exact; 赦す risks homophone confusion with 許す (“permit”) — verify correct kanji. |
| Sabbath | σάββατον | sabbaton | 安息日 | Medium | [NEW] | 2, 3 | No native equivalent; requires OT/Mosaic Law background teaching. |
| Bridegroom | νυμφίος | nymphios | 花婿 | Low | [NEW] | 2 | Messianic-joy metaphor needs unpacking beyond commercialized wedding imagery. |
| Fasting | νηστεύω | nēsteuō | 断食する | Medium | [NEW] | 2 | Distinguish from Buddhist ascetic self-effort practice (修行). |
| Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit | βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον | blasphēmia eis to Pneuma to Hagion | 聖霊を汚す罪 | Critical | [NEW] | 3, 14 | Combines Critical 聖霊 term with unforgivable-sin doctrine; requires precise, non-alarmist pastoral framing. |
| Will of God | τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ | to thelēma tou theou | 神の御心 | Medium | [NEW] | 3 | Reverent register; must not imply impersonal cosmic order. |
| Tradition | παράδοσις | paradosis | 言い伝え／伝承 | Medium | [NEW] | 7 | Risk of folklore-transmission sound; clarify as human religious tradition vs. divine command. |
| Covenant | διαθήκη | diathēkē | 契約 | High | [BASELINE REUSE] | 14 | Reuse exactly; actively restore relational/sacrificial sense against everyday commercial-contract default. |
| Body / Blood (Lord’s Supper) | σῶμα / αἷμα | sōma / haima | 体／血 | Critical | [NEW] | 14 | Avoid cannibalistic misreading and Shinto blood-taboo (chi no kegare) collision; align with Protestant memorial/spiritual-presence framing consistent with baseline’s evangelical anchor. |
| Abba, Father | Ἀββά ὁ πατήρ | Abba ho patēr | アバ、父よ | Medium | [BASELINE REUSE] | 14 | Reuse exactly; models relational intimacy under duress, addressing baseline’s noted father-figure-distance risk. |
| Cup | ποτήριον | potērion | 杯 | High | [NEW] | 10 (core passage), 14 | No native idiom for “cup” as appointed suffering/fate; must be explained from scratch; distinguish from Shinto sake-cup ritual toasts (omiki). |
| Eternal life | ζωὴ αἰώνιος | zōē aiōnios | 永遠のいのち | Medium | [NEW] | 10 | Distinguish from Buddhist rebirth-cycle immortality. |
Passion / Resurrection Terms
| English Term | Greek Original | Transliteration | Japanese Rendering | Risk | Status | Chapters | Translation Risk Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King of the Jews | βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων | basileus tōn Ioudaiōn | ユダヤ人の王 | Medium | [NEW] | 15 | Preserve bitter irony without unintended nationalist-kingship resonance. |
| Temple curtain | καταπέτασμα | katapetasma | 幕 | Medium | [NEW] | 15 | Low native-collision risk but high biblical-illiteracy risk; requires architectural/theological context teaching. |
| Crucify | σταυρόω | stauroō | 十字架につける | Critical | [NEW — extends σταυρός] | 15 | Reuse cross-term cautions; historical execution horror must not be lost to decorative-motif familiarity. |
| Resurrection | ἀνάστασις | anastasis | 復活 | High | [BASELINE REUSE] | 12, 16 | Reuse exactly; actively counter secular pop-culture “comeback” dilution per baseline. |
| Cry of dereliction | Ἐλωΐ Ἐλωΐ λεμὰ σαβαχθανί | Eloi Eloi lema sabachthani | エロイ、エロイ、ラマ、サバクタニ | Low | [NEW] | 15 | Retain Aramaic transliteration with built-in gloss, per アバ/タリタ・クム convention. |
| Preach the gospel (Great Commission) | κηρύσσω τὸ εὐαγγέλιον | kēryssō to euangelion | 福音を宣べ伝える | Medium | [BASELINE REUSE (福音) + reuse 宣教 root] | 16 | Reuse exactly; frame with baseline’s mission/Kirishitan-history sensitivity. |
Proper Nouns (Low risk, footnote-only)
| English Term | Greek Original | Transliteration | Japanese Rendering | Risk | Status | Chapters | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beelzebul | Βεελζεβούλ | Beelzeboul | ベルゼブル | Low | [NEW] | 3 | Footnote gloss required. |
| Corban | Κορβάν | Korban | コルバン | Low | [NEW] | 7 | Footnote gloss required. |
| Talitha koum | Ταλιθα κουμ | Talitha koum | タリタ、クム | Low | [NEW] | 5 | Retain with built-in gloss. |
| Golgotha | Γολγοθᾶ | Golgotha | ゴルゴタ | Low | [NEW] | 15 | Proper noun. |
| Caesar | Καῖσαρ | Kaisar | カエサル | Low | [NEW] | 12 | Proper noun. |
| Hosanna | ὡσαννά | hōsanna | ホサナ | Low | [NEW] | 11 | Footnote gloss (“save now”). |
Cross-Reference to Romans Baseline
All terms marked [BASELINE REUSE] above are drawn directly from translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json and MUST retain their exact recorded Japanese renderings without modification: 神, イエス, キリスト, 主, 神の子, 聖霊, 神の国, 福音, 信仰, 罪, 栄光, 律法, 契約, 使徒, アバ、父よ, 恵み, 義, 義と認められること, 救い, 復活.
Full-Book Coverage Confirmation
Every chapter of Mark (1–16) is represented above either directly in this glossary or via explicit cross-reference to its semantic analysis section in 07_semantic_analysis.md. No chapter was silently omitted.
Critical Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: 恵み
Transliteration: megumi
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: 恩返しが要る恵み, 功徳
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Never 功徳. In Mark, this is the essential background doctrine against which the Ransom for Many (10:45) must be read: the on-giri (恩・義理) reciprocal-obligation risk flagged for grace applies directly to how readers may re-process the ransom as a debt owed back to Christ rather than a gift Christ gives.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: 義
Transliteration: gi
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 道徳, 正義感
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Retained for cross-curriculum consistency when teaching material connects Mark 10:45’s ransom to Romans’ fuller exposition of justification; never let 義 collapse into the Bushido honor-virtue sense.
Justification
Approved rendering: 義と認められること
Transliteration: gi to mitomerareru koto
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 悟りを開くこと, 解脱
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Background doctrine term retained for consistency between Mark’s atonement narrative and Romans’ fuller exposition; never 悟りを開く.
Salvation
Approved rendering: 救い/救う
Transliteration: sukui/sukuu
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 解脱, 極楽往生
Original: σῴζω (σωτηρία implied)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package (救い); extended with the verb form 救う since Mark deliberately exploits σῴζω’s dual physical-healing / spiritual-salvation sense (5:23, 5:28, 5:34, 8:35, 10:52, 13:13). NEVER 解脱. Teaching notes must make the double meaning explicit at each occurrence so healing is not mistaken for mere recovery nor salvation collapsed into only a spiritual abstraction.
Lord
Approved rendering: 主
Transliteration: shu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 主君, ご主人様
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. In Mark 10:42, the negative κατακυριεύουσιν (‘lord it over,’ rendered 支配する) shares a root concept with 主 and must be sharply distinguished — the entire rhetorical force of 10:43-45 depends on this contrast not blurring.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: 神の子
Transliteration: Kami no Ko
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 現人神, 神の化身
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. NEVER 現人神. Mark’s programmatic opening identification (1:1, 1:11) and the centurion’s echo at 15:39 (‘truly this man was God’s Son’) must carry identical, undiluted weight — never a softened ‘godlike man’ sense.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: 受肉
Transliteration: juniku
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: 化身, 権化
Original: ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. NEVER 化身/権化. Background doctrine explaining why Jesus can be both fully human (hungry, tired, weeping) and fully divine (forgiving sins, stilling storms) within the same Markan narrative.
Jesus
Approved rendering: イエス
Transliteration: Iesu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ゼズス
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly throughout Mark 1-16. NEVER ゼズス (historical Kirishitan-era Portuguese-derived form; reference only in historical background notes).
God
Approved rendering: 神
Transliteration: Kami
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 八百万の神の一柱としての神, 神様
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. The single highest-risk term in the Japanese package generally; require the qualifying 唯一のまことの神 at first occurrence and in doctrinally weighty Markan passages (e.g., 12:29, the Shema quotation; 12:32).
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: 聖霊
Transliteration: Seirei
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 霊, 幽霊
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. NEVER 霊 alone. Given Mark’s unusually high concentration of demon/unclean-spirit material (six-plus chapters, all using 霊), this distinction requires especially vigilant, repeated enforcement throughout this book — see demon_unclean_spirit entry below.
Beloved Son
Approved rendering: 愛する子
Transliteration: ai suru ko
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 養子, 名誉ある子
Original: ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός
Category: Christology
New term for Mark. The Father’s twofold declaration over Jesus at baptism (1:11) and Transfiguration (9:7), extending 神の子’s sonship framework. Must never be softened toward adoptive/honorary sonship, nor toward the hereditary semi-divine-office sense of pre-1946 State Shinto imperial theology (現人神).
Ransom
Approved rendering: 贖いの代価
Transliteration: aganai no daika
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: 身代金, 解放金
Original: λύτρον
Category: Salvation
New term for Mark (10:45), the theological summit of the curriculum. NEVER 身代金 (miidaikin, modern Japanese’s fully live crime-news term for kidnap-ransom money). Compounding risk: Japan’s on-giri (恩・義理) reciprocal-obligation system risks the ransom being processed as a debt WE now owe back to Christ rather than a debt Christ himself paid on OUR behalf. Mandatory human theologian review at every occurrence, matching the baseline’s standard for grace.
Cross
Approved rendering: 十字架
Transliteration: juujika
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Original: σταυρός
Category: Salvation
New term for Mark (8:34, 15:21-32), established Japanese Christian vocabulary but facing a Japan-specific dilution risk distinct from 復活’s pop-culture caution: 十字架 is widely used as a decorative fashion/tattoo/‘gothic’-aesthetic motif in Japanese subculture, entirely detached from religious meaning. Teaching must actively restore both historical horror (a shameful Roman execution device) and doctrinal necessity, not assume familiarity supplies either.
Crucify
Approved rendering: 十字架につける
Transliteration: juujika ni tsukeru
Doctrine: The Death and Resurrection of Christ
Original: σταυρόω
Category: Passion
New term for Mark (15:24-25), extending the cross-term cautions above. Historical execution horror must not be lost to decorative-motif familiarity; mandatory theologian review given centrality to the Necessity of the Cross doctrine.
Demon Unclean Spirit
Approved rendering: 悪霊/汚れた霊
Transliteration: akuryou / kegareta rei
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Rejected alternatives: 妖怪, 幽霊
Original: δαιμόνιον / πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον
Category: Authority
New term for Mark (1:23-27, 3:22-30, 5:1-20, 6:13, 7:24-30, 9:14-29). Japan’s vivid, culturally live animistic spirit-world (幽霊 ghosts, 妖怪 folk spirit-monsters, mainstream horror pop-culture) risks reducing demons to folklore entertainment rather than real malevolent beings genuinely subject to Christ’s authority. NEVER confuse bare 霊 (demon) with 聖霊 (Holy Spirit) — orthographic and conceptual vigilance essential since both use 霊.
Blasphemy Against Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: 聖霊を汚す罪
Transliteration: Seirei wo kegasu tsumi
Doctrine: The Unforgivable Sin: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
Original: βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον
Category: Sin
New term for Mark (3:28-29). Combines the Critical-risk 聖霊 term with the unforgivable-sin doctrine — the most severe warning in Mark. Must be taught precisely (willful, final rejection of the Spirit’s testimony) and not left to generate needless fear in sincere believers, a documented real-world pastoral hazard. Mandatory theologian review.
Body Blood Lords Supper
Approved rendering: 体/血
Transliteration: karada / chi
Doctrine: Institution of the Lord’s Supper and the New Covenant
Original: σῶμα / αἷμα
Category: Covenant
New term for Mark (14:22-24, σῶμα/αἷμα). Must avoid any hint of literal cannibalistic consumption and any collision with Shinto blood-taboo/kegare associations (chi no kegare) that could make ‘drinking blood’ language feel viscerally, ritually transgressive rather than covenantally sacrificial. Maintain consistent Protestant memorial/spiritual-presence framing per the baseline’s evangelical anchor. Mandatory theologian review at every occurrence.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: 信仰
Transliteration: shinkou
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: 信心, 宗教心
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Central to Mark’s Faith and Discipleship amid Fear doctrine, especially 5:36 ‘do not fear, only believe’ (μὴ φοβοῦ, μόνον πίστευε) — must be distinguished from generic ‘both-and’ religious sentiment typical of Japan’s syncretistic shrine-and-temple practice.
Called
Approved rendering: 召された
Transliteration: mesareta
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: 運命づけられた, 天職
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Applies to Jesus’ calling of the Twelve (1:16-20, 2:14, 3:13-19) as a personal, relational summons, not impersonal fate.
Calling
Approved rendering: 召し
Transliteration: meshi
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: 運命, 天職
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. NEVER 運命 alone.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: 聖化
Transliteration: seika
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 修行, 悟り
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Background doctrine; distinguish from 修行 (ascetic training) and 悟り (enlightenment), relevant when connecting Mark’s discipleship material to the Spirit’s ongoing sanctifying work taught more fully in Romans.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: 復活
Transliteration: fukkatsu
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 輪廻転生, カムバック
Original: ἀνάστασις / ἐγείρω
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. NEVER 輪廻転生. In Mark, appears at the Sadducees’ resurrection debate (12:18-27) and Mark’s climactic empty-tomb announcement (16:6) — the secular pop-culture ‘comeback’ dilution risk applies with full force at this climactic moment and must be actively countered, not assumed.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: 神の国
Transliteration: Kami no Kuni
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Rejected alternatives: 神国日本
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Mark’s most frequent theological phrase (1:15, 4:11-32, 9:1, 10:14-25, 12:34, 14:25, 15:43) carries the same pre-1945 State Shinto 神国日本 collision risk documented in the baseline, but Mark’s high frequency requires REPEATED anchoring at every occurrence, not a single footnote at first use.
Sin
Approved rendering: 罪
Transliteration: tsumi
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: 恥, 迷惑をかけること
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Directly relevant to Jesus’ forgiveness-of-sins claim (2:1-12); Japan’s shame-oriented culture (恥, 迷惑) risks reducing 罪 to social face-loss rather than guilt before a holy, personal God.
Glory
Approved rendering: 栄光
Transliteration: eikou
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 名誉
Original: δόξα
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Risk-tier raised to High for Mark given 10:37’s James/John request and the Transfiguration (9:2-8): NEVER 名誉. James and John’s request for seats ‘in your glory’ displays precisely the confusion (worldly court honor) this term must guard against; the passage itself corrects it.
Messiah
Approved rendering: キリスト
Transliteration: Kirisuto
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Rejected alternatives: 救世主
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi (8:29) is the hinge of Mark’s Gospel; most secular Japanese readers know ‘Kirisuto’ only as a foreign cultural brand (commercialized Christmas, Western-style wedding-chapel aesthetics) with no messianic-fulfillment content — heavy explanatory teaching required at 8:29, 9:41, 12:35, 13:21, 14:61-62, 15:32.
Covenant
Approved rendering: 契約
Transliteration: keiyaku
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Mark 14:24, ‘this is my blood of the covenant,’ is the single most doctrinally load-bearing occurrence in Mark: 契約’s fully secularized commercial-contract default sense in modern Japanese must be actively overridden with the relational, sacrificial, blood-sealed sense of the Last Supper.
Providence
Approved rendering: 摂理
Transliteration: setsuri
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: 運命, 宿命
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. NEVER 運命/宿命. Relevant to Mark 10:40’s ‘has been prepared’ (ἡτοίμασται) — the Father’s sovereign, purposive appointment of honor in the kingdom, not impersonal fate.
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: ダビデの子孫
Transliteration: Dabide no shison
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Underlies the ‘Son of David’ title used of Jesus in Mark 10:47-48 and 12:35-37; requires OT covenant background explanation.
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: 人の子
Transliteration: hito no ko
Doctrine: Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God
Rejected alternatives: 天人, 神秘の人物
Original: ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Category: Christology
New term for Mark. Jesus’ preferred self-designation (2:10, 2:28, 8:31, 9:12, 9:31, 10:33-45, 13:26, 14:62), fusing Daniel 7:13-14’s apocalyptic dominion-figure with humility/suffering. The literal Japanese reads as simply ‘a human being/child,’ losing the Daniel 7 background almost no secular Japanese reader independently supplies. Both the suffering sense (8:31) and the glory sense (13:26, 14:62) must be actively taught at each occurrence, exactly as the baseline flags for キリスト’s blankness risk.
I Am Divine Self Disclosure
Approved rendering: 「わたしだ」
Transliteration: “watashi da”
Doctrine: Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God
Rejected alternatives: それは私です
Original: ἐγώ εἰμι
Category: Christology
New term for Mark (6:50, 14:62). Echoes the LXX divine self-disclosure formula (Exod 3:14; Isa 43:10-13) but reads as an entirely ordinary, flat self-identification in Japanese with zero built-in echo of the divine name. Must be actively restored in teaching at both occurrences; 14:62 is the clearest deity claim in Mark and the trigger for the blasphemy charge.
For Many Substitution
Approved rendering: 多くの人のために/の代わりに
Transliteration: ooku no hito no tame ni / no kawari ni
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: 多くの人の利益のために
Original: ἀντὶ πολλῶν
Category: Salvation
New term for Mark (10:45). ἀντί’s direct substitutionary force (‘instead of,’ not merely ‘for the benefit of’) must be actively preserved; simplified paraphrase teaching materials risk flattening this into generic benefit language, losing the substitution at the heart of the atonement doctrine.
Suffer Necessity
Approved rendering: 苦しみを受ける
Transliteration: kurushimi wo ukeru
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Rejected alternatives: 不運に遭う, 災難に遭う
Original: πάσχω
Category: Salvation
New term for Mark (8:31, 9:12, 9:31, 10:33-34). Central term for the Necessity of the Cross doctrine; must not be diluted to generic hardship/misfortune. This is the specific, foretold, redemptively necessary suffering of Isaiah’s Suffering Servant, reinforced by δεῖ in the same verses.
Divine Necessity
Approved rendering: 〜ねばならない/必ず
Transliteration: ~neba naranai / kanarazu
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Rejected alternatives: 〜かもしれない, たぶん〜だろう
Original: δεῖ
Category: Salvation
New term for Mark (8:31 δεῖ). This small word carries the entire weight of the Necessity of the Cross doctrine — the cross as the Father’s determined, Scripture-fulfilling purpose, not a tragic accident. Must be rendered with unambiguous necessity, never mere likelihood.
Servant
Approved rendering: 仕える者
Transliteration: tsukaeru mono
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Rejected alternatives: サービス業の人, 家臣
Original: διάκονος
Category: Discipleship
New term for Mark (9:35, 10:43). Must not soften toward サービス業 (paid, professionalized customer-service connotations) or feudal retainer-subordination (家臣, kashin, status-based duty). Doctrinally load-bearing; flag for theologian review at every occurrence.
Slave Bondservant
Approved rendering: 奴隷
Transliteration: dorei
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Original: δοῦλος
Category: Discipleship
New term for Mark (10:44). Modern Japanese 奴隷 carries strong, almost exclusively negative chattel-slavery/human-trafficking associations that risk obscuring Jesus’ own deliberate, shocking rhetorical escalation. Must be connected forward to his voluntary self-giving in v. 45, not presented as an endorsement of slavery.
Dominate Lord Over
Approved rendering: 支配する
Transliteration: shihai suru
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Original: κατακυριεύω
Category: Discipleship
New term for Mark (10:42, κατακυριεύω). Shares its root concept with 主 (shu, ‘Lord’), the Romans baseline’s Critical Christological term. This negative, domineering sense must never be confused with or bleed into Christ’s own rightful, self-giving Lordship — the entire point of vv. 43-45 is the contrast between these two kinds of ‘lordship.‘
Cleanse Ritual
Approved rendering: 清める
Transliteration: kiyomeru
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Original: καθαρίζω
Category: Authority
New term for Mark (1:40-42, 7:19, καθαρίζω). Near-homophone of 聖い (kiyoi, ‘holy’); distinguish from moral holiness and from Shinto purification ritual (お祓い, harae) addressing kegare through priestly rite rather than a personal compassionate act of the Son of God.
Clean Unclean Food
Approved rendering: 清い/汚れた
Transliteration: kiyoi / kegareta
Doctrine: Purity of Heart versus Ritual Defilement
Original: καθαρός / κοινός
Category: Authority
New term for Mark (7:2, 7:15-23, καθαρός/κοινός). 清い sounds identical to 聖い (holy) though written with different kanji — same homophone-adjacent risk as cleanse_ritual. Jesus’ teaching relocates defilement from external ritual categories to the heart, reversing expectations built by earlier Sabbath/food-law material.
Baptism
Approved rendering: バプテスマ
Transliteration: Baputesuma
Doctrine: Repentance and the Kingdom Response
Rejected alternatives: 洗礼
Original: βάπτισμα
Category: Word
New term for Mark (1:4-11, 10:38-39). Transliterated per Shinkaiyaku convention to distinguish clearly from Shinto ritual purification (禊, misogi; 祓い, harae), which addresses ceremonial pollution rather than repentance from moral sin. The figurative ‘baptism into suffering’ sense (10:38-39) needs explicit unpacking, not assumed from the ritual term alone.
Has Drawn Near
Approved rendering: 近づいた
Transliteration: chikazuita
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Original: ἤγγικεν
Category: Kingdom
New term for Mark (1:15, ἤγγικεν). Must convey the tensed, dynamic already/not-yet ‘breaking-in-ness’ of the kingdom — not a purely future kingdom (blunting Mark’s urgency) nor a fully present political kingdom (risking the nationalist-political misreading flagged for 神の国).
Cup
Approved rendering: 杯
Transliteration: sakazuki
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Original: ποτήριον
Category: Salvation
New term for Mark (10:38-39, 14:36, ποτήριον). Japanese has no equivalent idiom of ‘cup’ as metaphor for a divinely appointed portion of suffering; must be explained from scratch, and must not be confused with the ceremonial sake cup (お神酒, omiki) used in Shinto ritual toasts, which carries celebratory rather than sacrificial connotations.
Medium Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: 福音
Transliteration: fukuin
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: いい知らせ, グッドニュース
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Word
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Mark 1:1 opens the entire Gospel with this word, making correct first-principles introduction foundational for the whole curriculum (see doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy and Gospel Inauguration). Risk remains blankness/biblical-illiteracy, not a competing wrong meaning.
Holy
Approved rendering: 聖い
Transliteration: kiyoi
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 清らか, 穢れがない
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. In Mark, this term sits in a doctrinally sensitive homophone-adjacent neighborhood with 清い/清める (ritual/moral cleanness, katharos/katharizō, chs. 1 and 7); the two must be kept conceptually distinct even though they sound alike.
Peace
Approved rendering: 平安
Transliteration: heian
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: 安心, 癒し
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Mark 5:34’s ‘go in peace’ (ὕπαγε εἰς εἰρήνην) uses this in a healing-and-restoration context; distinguish from generic wellness/self-care 安心/癒し.
Law
Approved rendering: 律法
Transliteration: ritsuhou
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 空気を読むこと, 法律
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Relevant to Mark’s Sabbath and purity-law controversies (2:23-3:6, 7:1-13); NEVER 法律.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: 異邦人
Transliteration: ihoujin
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: 外人
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Mark uses this both in its redemptive-historical sense (7:26, the Syrophoenician woman, an early anticipation of Romans’ unity doctrine) and generically for worldly political rulers (10:42, ‘rulers of the Gentiles’); note the contextual variance. Avoid casual 外人.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: 神の力
Transliteration: Kami no Chikara
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 気, パワー
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Relevant to Mark’s healing narratives (e.g., 5:30, δύναμις going out from Jesus); avoid 気 and パワー given anime/tokusatsu pop-culture superpower associations.
Prophet
Approved rendering: 預言者
Transliteration: yogensha
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: 予言者, 占い師
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Relevant to Mark’s Isaiah/Malachi citations (1:2-3) and John the Baptist’s prophetic role (1:2-8). Always verify the 預 kanji, not 予.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: 預言
Transliteration: yogen
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 予言, 占い
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Same 預言/予言 homophone risk. Mark opens the entire Gospel by framing Jesus’ arrival as prophetic fulfillment (1:1-3); most secular readers have zero OT literacy to recognize this as fulfillment rather than a stand-alone announcement.
Election
Approved rendering: 選び
Transliteration: erabi
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: 合格, 選抜
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Root concept underlying Mark’s 選ばれた者 (‘the elect,’ 13:20, 13:22, 13:27); avoid Japan’s competitive exam/hiring ‘selection’ culture (受験, 選抜) framing.
Intercession
Approved rendering: とりなし
Transliteration: torinashi
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Relevant background for Mark’s prayer scenes (1:35, 6:46, 9:29, 11:24-25, 14:32-39); distinguish from Shinto/Buddhist ritual petition at a shrine or temple (お参り, おみくじ).
Mission
Approved rendering: 宣教
Transliteration: senkyou
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Rejected alternatives: 布教
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Combines with 福音 in Mark 16:15’s Great Commission (‘preach the gospel to all the world’); frame with the Kirishitan-persecution/sakoku historical weight and Japan’s low modern receptivity to evangelism per the baseline’s mission caution.
David
Approved rendering: ダビデ
Transliteration: Dabide
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Relevant to Bartimaeus’s cry ‘Son of David’ (10:47-48) and Jesus’ own question about David’s son/Lord (12:35-37).
Israel
Approved rendering: イスラエル
Transliteration: Isuraeru
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly.
Father
Approved rendering: 父
Transliteration: chichi
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: 家長
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Relevant to Gethsemane (14:36); teaching should actively build relational-intimacy sense given Japan’s culturally distant father-figure associations.
Abba
Approved rendering: アバ
Transliteration: Aba
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Mark 14:36’s アバ、父よ is Jesus’ own anguished, intimate Gethsemane address — models exactly the relational father-intimacy the baseline notes must be actively built, here under extreme duress.
Transfigured
Approved rendering: 姿を変える/変貌する
Transliteration: sugata wo kaeru / henbou suru
Doctrine: The Transfiguration and Divine Glory
Rejected alternatives: 変化する, 変身する
Original: μεταμορφόω
Category: Christology
New term for Mark (9:2-8). NEVER frame with 変化 (henge, fox/tanuki folklore shape-shifting) or 変身 (henshin, anime/tokusatsu ‘transformation’ sequences). This is a momentary unveiling of Christ’s pre-existing divine glory, not a magical change into a different form or identity. Flagged for native speaker review.
Life Soul
Approved rendering: いのち
Transliteration: inochi
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: 魂
Original: ψυχή
Category: Salvation
New term for Mark (8:35-37, 10:45). NEVER 魂 (tamashii, a separable spirit-entity carrying strong ancestral-spirit/reincarnation associations in Japanese folk religion). いのち (typically hiragana per Shinkaiyaku) conveys vital, given, embodied life — Christ’s whole self given as the ransom, not merely his physical body.
Greatness
Approved rendering: 偉い/偉大な
Transliteration: erai / idai na
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Original: μέγας
Category: Discipleship
New term for Mark (9:34-35, 10:43). Japan’s status-conscious hierarchical culture (senpai-kōhai seniority, corporate rank, meishi protocol) makes ‘greatness’ intensely live; teaching must make Jesus’ reversal vivid and concrete, not merely notional.
Disciple
Approved rendering: 弟子
Transliteration: deshi
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
Original: μαθητής
Category: Discipleship
New term for Mark, pervasive across all sixteen chapters. Potentially helpful bridge to Japan’s master-apprentice tradition (craft guilds, martial arts, Buddhist monastic 弟子) but must clarify grace-based following rather than skill-earned mastery — bridge-with-caution, parallel to the baseline’s 主君/極楽往生 treatment.
Follow
Approved rendering: 従う/ついて来る
Transliteration: shitagau / tsuite kuru
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
Original: ἀκολουθέω
Category: Discipleship
New term for Mark (1:18, 2:14, 8:34, 10:21, 10:28, 10:52). Distinguish from generic hierarchical-obedience compliance, consistent with the baseline’s obedience_of_faith caution against Japan’s seniority/corporate-hierarchy culture.
Fear
Approved rendering: 恐れ
Transliteration: osore
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
Original: φόβος / φοβέομαι
Category: Discipleship
New term for Mark (4:41, 5:36, 6:50, 9:32, 16:8). Must be distinguished from mere terror or Japan’s social-shame anxiety (avoiding public embarrassment); reverential awe before divine power requires explicit teaching, not assumed cultural equivalence. Mark’s Gospel notoriously ends (16:8) on unresolved fear, which must not be smoothed over.
Deny
Approved rendering: 否む/知らないと言う
Transliteration: inamu / shiranai to iu
Doctrine: Discipleship Failure and Restoration
Original: ἀρνέομαι
Category: Discipleship
New term for Mark (14:68-72). Peter’s threefold denial; care should be taken this is read as fear-driven failure of faith, later repented and implicitly restored (16:7), not merely social face-loss (恥).
Teacher
Approved rendering: 先生
Transliteration: sensei
Doctrine: The Messianic Secret
Original: Διδάσκαλε
Category: Discipleship
New term for Mark (Διδάσκαλε, 10:35 and throughout). 先生 carries strong positive cultural weight from Japan’s teacher-respect culture but risks flattening Jesus’ unique authority to an ordinary honorific unless the narrative supplies the needed contrast with his fuller identity as 人の子/神の子 — exactly the irony at play in 10:35-45.
Prepared Appointed
Approved rendering: 備えられている/定められている
Transliteration: sonaerarete iru / sadamerarete iru
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: 運命づけられている
Original: ἡτοίμασται
Category: Kingdom
New term for Mark (10:40, ἡτοίμασται). Must not be rendered with 運命 (impersonal fate); this is the Father’s personal, purposive appointment, not blind destiny.
Authority
Approved rendering: 権威
Transliteration: ken’i
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Original: ἐξουσία
Category: Authority
New term for Mark (1:22, 1:27, 2:10, 6:7, 11:28-33). Distinguish from secular bureaucratic/institutional (delegated) authority; this is Jesus’ personal, inherent divine authority, the thread running through the entire Authority doctrine.
Legion
Approved rendering: レギオン
Transliteration: Region
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Original: Λεγιών
Category: Authority
New term for Mark (5:9). The demon-possessed man’s self-naming, echoing a Roman military legion (~6,000 soldiers). Transliterate; requires historical-context footnote reinforcing the Authority doctrine (a multitude Jesus commands with a single word).
Compassion
Approved rendering: 深く憐れむ
Transliteration: fukaku awaremu
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Rejected alternatives: 同情する
Original: σπλαγχνίζομαι
Category: Authority
New term for Mark (1:41, 6:34, 8:2, σπλαγχνίζομαι). Must not be flattened to 同情 (dōjō, ordinary, sometimes detached sympathy); convey visceral, gut-level compassion.
Heart
Approved rendering: 心
Transliteration: kokoro
Doctrine: Purity of Heart versus Ritual Defilement
Original: καρδία
Category: Authority
New term for Mark (7:6, 7:19, 7:21, καρδία). 心 carries deep resonance in Japanese aesthetics/ethics (mono no aware, kokoro as seat of sincerity) — a genuinely helpful bridge — but clarify the biblical sense includes will and moral responsibility before God, not only emotional sincerity.
Repentance
Approved rendering: 悔い改め
Transliteration: kuiaratame
Doctrine: Repentance and the Kingdom Response
Rejected alternatives: 謝罪, 後悔
Original: μετάνοια
Category: Word
New term for Mark (1:4, 1:15, 6:12, μετάνοια). Distinguish from Japan’s shame-oriented formal apology culture (謝罪, the ritual dogeza bow addressing social face-loss) and from mere regret (後悔); this is total reorientation toward God.
Forgive
Approved rendering: 赦す
Transliteration: yurusu
Doctrine: Authority to Forgive Sins
Rejected alternatives: 許す
Original: ἀφίημι
Category: Sin
New term for Mark (2:5-10, ἀφίημι). Homophone-adjacent to the far more common 許す (‘to permit/allow,’ different kanji) — orthographic risk analogous to the baseline’s 預言/予言 caution. Always verify 赦す is used; clarifies release from guilt before God, not casual permission-granting.
Sabbath
Approved rendering: 安息日
Transliteration: ansokubi
Doctrine: Lordship over the Sabbath and the Law
Original: σάββατον
Category: Covenant
New term for Mark (2:23-28, 3:1-6). No Shinto/Buddhist equivalent for a weekly covenant-commanded rest day; requires OT/Mosaic Law background teaching from first principles.
Fasting
Approved rendering: 断食する
Transliteration: danjiki suru
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Original: νηστεύω
Category: Word
New term for Mark (2:18-20). Risks conflation with Buddhist ascetic practice (修行, shugyō) as merit-earning discipline; biblical fasting here is mourning/waiting, reframed by Jesus’ presence.
Will Of God
Approved rendering: 神の御心
Transliteration: Kami no mikokoro
Doctrine: Providence
Original: τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: God
New term for Mark (3:35). Reverent honorific register correctly signals respect but must not imply an impersonal cosmic order akin to fate; God’s will here relationally defines Jesus’ true family.
Tradition
Approved rendering: 言い伝え/伝承
Transliteration: iitsutae / denshou
Doctrine: Lordship over the Sabbath and the Law
Original: παράδοσις
Category: Covenant
New term for Mark (7:3-13, παράδοσις). Risks sounding like folklore/legend transmission (民間伝承); must be clarified as specifically human religious tradition, contrasted with God’s actual commandment.
Temple Curtain
Approved rendering: 幕
Transliteration: maku
Doctrine: The Death and Resurrection of Christ
Original: καταπέτασμα
Category: Passion
New term for Mark (15:38, καταπέτασμα). Low native-collision risk but high biblical-illiteracy risk, since the Herodian Temple’s architectural/theological significance is entirely unfamiliar to most Japanese readers.
King Of The Jews
Approved rendering: ユダヤ人の王
Transliteration: Yudayajin no ou
Doctrine: The Death and Resurrection of Christ
Original: βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων
Category: Passion
New term for Mark (15:2, 15:9, 15:12, 15:18, 15:26). A mocking title used in bitter irony that is nonetheless historically and theologically true; preserve the irony without importing unintended nationalist-political-kingship resonance.
Preach Gospel Great Commission
Approved rendering: 福音を宣べ伝える
Transliteration: fukuin wo nobetsutaeru
Doctrine: The Great Commission and Mission to All Nations
Original: κηρύσσω τὸ εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Word
New term for Mark (16:15, longer ending), combining the inherited 福音 and 宣教 roots. Frame with the baseline’s mission/Kirishitan-history sensitivity — the historical weight of persecution and sakoku, plus Japan’s modern low general receptivity to evangelism.
Mystery Of Kingdom
Approved rendering: 奥義
Transliteration: ougi
Doctrine: The Mystery of the Kingdom in Parables
Rejected alternatives: 秘密
Original: μυστήριον
Category: Kingdom
New term for Mark (4:11, μυστήριον). 奥義 also denotes the ‘secret technique/hidden mastery’ of martial arts and traditional crafts, a common manga/anime dojo trope, risking a frame of esoteric skill earned through effort rather than a truth graciously disclosed by God. 秘密 (himitsu) may be preferable in less technical contexts; flag for native speaker review either way.
Elect Chosen
Approved rendering: 選ばれた者
Transliteration: erabareta mono
Doctrine: The Eschatological Return of the Son of Man
Rejected alternatives: 合格者, 選抜された者
Original: ἐκλεκτός
Category: Kingdom
New term for Mark (13:20, 13:22, 13:27, ἐκλεκτός), extending the inherited 選び root. Avoid Japan’s competitive-exam/hiring ‘selection’ culture (受験, 選抜), which would frame God’s gathering of the elect as merit-based rather than sovereign and gracious.
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: 永遠のいのち
Transliteration: eien no inochi
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Original: ζωὴ αἰώνιος
Category: Salvation
New term for Mark (10:17, 10:30, ζωὴ αἰώνιος). Must be distinguished from Buddhist notions of an ongoing rebirth cycle within samsara; this is resurrection life in fellowship with God, not an endless continuation of the present cycle of existence.
Low Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: 使徒
Transliteration: shito
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: 教祖
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Mark 3:14 and 6:30 name the Twelve as apostles; avoid 教祖 given its post-Aum Shinrikyo negative associations.
Right And Left Honor Seating
Approved rendering: 右/左
Transliteration: migi/hidari
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Original: δεξιῶν / ἀριστερῶν
Category: Discipleship
New term for Mark (10:37, echoed ironically at 15:27). Straightforward vocabulary; leverage Japan’s own seating-hierarchy customs (kamiza/shimoza protocol) in teaching notes to make the honor-seeking request culturally vivid, not soften it.
Bridegroom
Approved rendering: 花婿
Transliteration: hanamuko
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Original: νυμφίος
Category: Word
New term for Mark (2:19-20). The messianic-wedding-joy metaphor needs unpacking beyond modern Japan’s commercialized Western-chapel-aesthetic wedding culture.
Cry Of Dereliction
Approved rendering: エロイ、エロイ、ラマ、サバクタニ
Transliteration: Eroi, Eroi, rama, sabakutani
Doctrine: The Death and Resurrection of Christ
Original: Ἐλωΐ Ἐλωΐ λεμὰ σαβαχθανί
Category: Passion
New term for Mark (15:34, quoting Ps 22:1). Retain the Aramaic transliteration with its built-in gloss (‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’), following the same convention as アバ、父よ and タリタ、クム.
Beelzebul
Approved rendering: ベルゼブル
Transliteration: Beruzeburu
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Original: Βεελζεβούλ
Category: ProperNoun
New proper noun for Mark (3:22). Transliterate; footnote explanation required.
Korban
Approved rendering: コルバン
Transliteration: Koruban
Doctrine: Lordship over the Sabbath and the Law
Original: Κορβάν
Category: ProperNoun
New proper noun for Mark (7:11). An Aramaic vow-formula; transliterate with footnote gloss illustrating the tradition-versus-command contrast of 7:3-13.
Talitha Koum
Approved rendering: タリタ、クム
Transliteration: Tarita, Kumu
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Original: Ταλιθα κουμ
Category: ProperNoun
New term for Mark (5:41). Aramaic phrase Mark himself glosses; retain with its built-in gloss, following the same convention as アバ.
Golgotha
Approved rendering: ゴルゴタ
Transliteration: Gorugota
Doctrine: The Death and Resurrection of Christ
Original: Γολγοθᾶ
Category: ProperNoun
New proper noun for Mark (15:22). Transliterate.
Caesar
Approved rendering: カエサル
Transliteration: Kaesaru
Doctrine: Lordship over the Sabbath and the Law
Original: Καῖσαρ
Category: ProperNoun
New proper noun for Mark (12:14-17). Transliterate; illustrates Jesus’ authority operating in a different register than Rome’s political authority.
Hosanna
Approved rendering: ホサナ
Transliteration: Hosana
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Original: ὡσαννά
Category: ProperNoun
New term for Mark (11:9-10). A Hebrew/Aramaic acclamation, literally ‘save now!’; transliterate with footnote gloss, ties to messianic kingship expectation (cf. Ps 118:25-26).
Referenced passages