Semantic Analysis

07 — Semantic Analysis: Acts 1–28 (Koine Greek)

How to read this document

Where a term already exists in the Romans baseline translation_memory.json, the entry states “REUSE (Romans TM)” and gives the exact recorded Kannada term — it is not re-derived. New terms proposed for the Acts curriculum are marked “NEW — proposed.” All new terms are risk-tiered using the same Critical/High/Medium/Low framework as the baseline, for incorporation into an Acts-extension of bible_term_registry.json and doctrine_risk_registry.json in a later step.

PART A — CORE PASSAGE: Acts 2:1–41 (Verse-by-Verse)

Acts 2:1

Πεντηκοστή (Pentēkostē) — “fiftieth [day].” Semantic range: the Jewish Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), celebrated 50 days after Passover, originally a harvest/covenant-renewal festival. English variants: “Pentecost,” “Feast of Weeks.” Contextual meaning: the divinely-chosen calendar moment for the Spirit’s coming, tying the church’s birth to Israel’s covenant feasts. NEW — proposed Kannada: ಪಂತೆಕೊಸ್ತೆ (transliteration) with gloss ಐವತ್ತನೆಯ ದಿನದ ಹಬ್ಬ (“feast of the fiftieth day”). Risk: Medium. Requires background explanation of the Jewish festival calendar for readers with no OT liturgical-calendar literacy; low syncretism risk, but easily reduced to “a Christian festival” without the Sinai/harvest背景. Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost.

ὁμοῦ / ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό (“together, in one place”) — ಒಂದೇ ಸ್ಥಳದಲ್ಲಿ. Risk: Low. Descriptive; supports ὁμοθυμαδόν unity theme developed later in the chapter.

Acts 2:2

πνοή (pnoē) — “breath, blowing, wind.” Semantic range: shares the same conceptual root as πνεῦμα (spirit/wind/breath), used elsewhere for divine breath (cf. Genesis 2:7 LXX). English variants: “a sound like a mighty rushing wind,” “a violent wind.” Contextual meaning: an audible, physical sign accompanying the Spirit’s arrival — evokes Sinai theophany imagery (fire, sound, God’s presence descending). NEW — proposed: ಬಲವಾದ ಗಾಳಿಯಂತಿರುವ ಶಬ್ದ. Risk: Low. Natural phenomenon symbolizing the Spirit; the wind/breath/spirit word-play (as with Hebrew ruach) is a valuable teaching point, not a collision risk, provided ಗಾಳಿ (wind) is not confused with ಆತ್ಮ (spirit) as identical terms in translation.

Acts 2:3

γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός (“tongues as of fire”) — ಬೆಂಕಿಯಂತಿರುವ ನಾಲಿಗೆಗಳು. Semantic range: symbolic visual manifestation, not literal flame-worship. English variants: “tongues of fire,” “flame-like tongues.” Contextual meaning: divides and rests on each believer individually — the Spirit’s presence is now given personally to every believer, not centralized in one shrine or priesthood. NEW — proposed: Risk: Medium. Fire-imagery in an Indian devotional context can evoke Agni-worship or ritual homa/fire-offering associations; a translator note should clarify this is symbolic manifestation of the Spirit’s presence, not an element to be venerated.

Acts 2:4

πλησθέντες πνεύματος ἁγίου (“filled with the Holy Spirit”) — reuses ಪವಿತ್ರಾತ್ಮ (Holy Spirit, Critical, REUSE Romans TM) + ತುಂಬಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟು (filled). Risk: Critical (inherits Holy Spirit’s Critical tier — see baseline note on ಪರಮಾತ್ಮ never substituted).

γλῶσσαι ἕτεραι (glōssai heterai) — “other tongues.” Literal: “different/other languages.” Semantic range in Acts 2 specifically: real, humanly-recognizable foreign languages (confirmed by v.6–11, “each one was hearing them speak in his own language”), distinct from the private, uninterpreted ecstatic “tongues” discussed later in 1 Corinthians 12–14. NEW — proposed: ಅನ್ಯಭಾಷೆಗಳು / ಪರಭಾಷೆಗಳು (“other/foreign languages”). Risk: High. This is a genuinely load-bearing collision point for Kannada readers: Karnataka folk religion (village goddess festivals, oracle-possession at shrines such as those associated with Chamundeshwari-linked traditions) includes trance speech where a deity is believed to “come upon” (ಮೈಮೇಲೆ ಬರುವುದು) a medium and speak through them. Acts 2’s tongues must be clearly distinguished as Spirit-enabled proclamation in genuine, recognizable human languages for gospel communication — not ecstatic trance possession, not a loss of the speaker’s consciousness or agency, and not a private prayer-language divorced from intelligible content. Requires a translator note at first occurrence.

Acts 2:5

Ἰουδαῖοι … εὐλαβεῖς (“devout Jews”) — ದೇವಭಕ್ತಿಯುಳ್ಳ ಯೆಹೂದ್ಯರು. Risk: Low. Standard descriptive term; ಭಕ್ತಿ used adjectivally here for general piety is acceptable (contrast with baseline’s caution about ಭಕ್ತಿ as a noun standing in for “faith” — here it modifies a description of prior Jewish piety, not the object/nature of saving trust).

Acts 2:6

No new load-bearing term; continues the “own language” (διάλεκτος, dialektos) motif — ಸ್ವಂತ ಭಾಷೆ/ಆಡುಭಾಷೆ. Risk: Low.

Acts 2:7–8

No new load-bearing term; narrative amazement, reinforces the miracle’s public, verifiable nature (a key apologetic feature distinguishing this from private mystical experience).

Acts 2:9–11

List of nations — proper geographic/ethnic names (Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, Rome, Crete, Arabia) plus προσήλυτοι (prosēlytoi, “proselytes” — Gentile converts to Judaism). NEW — proposed: ಮತಾಂತರಗೊಂಡ ಅನ್ಯಜನಾಂಗದವರು (using ಅನ್ಯಜನಾಂಗದವರು, REUSE Romans TM for “Gentiles”). Risk: Medium. Establishes from the very first gospel proclamation that the audience already spans the whole known world — the seed of the universal-mission doctrine.

μεγαλεῖα τοῦ θεοῦ (“the mighty works of God”) — ದೇವರ ಮಹತ್ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳು. Risk: Low.

Acts 2:12–13

οἶνος γλεῦκος (“new wine,” mocking accusation of drunkenness) — ಹೊಸ ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಾರಸ. Risk: Low. Sets up Peter’s apologetic reply.

Acts 2:14

No new load-bearing term. Peter “lifted up his voice” — first apostolic sermon in the church’s history; establishes Peter’s apostolic authority (ἀπόστολος, REUSE Romans TM ಅಪೊಸ್ತಲ, Medium).

Acts 2:15

No new load-bearing term; “third hour of the day” is a chronological detail supporting the sober, non-ecstatic nature of the event.

Acts 2:16

προφήτης (prophētēs, “prophet”) — REUSE Romans TM ಪ್ರವಾದಿ (Low). Introduces the Joel quotation as the divinely-authoritative interpretive key to the event.

Acts 2:17

ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις (“in the last days”) — ಕಡೇ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ. Semantic range: the eschatological era inaugurated by Christ’s death/resurrection/Spirit-outpouring, running until his return — a single, linear, decisively-inaugurated period. NEW — proposed. Risk: Medium. Must be distinguished from the cyclical yuga-based cosmology of mainstream Hindu time-reckoning (in which a “last age,” Kali Yuga, ends only to restart a new cosmic cycle). Acts’ “last days” are the beginning of the single, final, non-repeating chapter of redemptive history.

ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου (“I will pour out my Spirit”) — ನನ್ನ ಆತ್ಮವನ್ನು ಸುರಿಸುವೆನು. Risk: Medium. Pouring/outpouring imagery is vivid and should be retained plainly; watch for merging with libation-offering imagery (ಅಭಿಷೇಕ/ಎರೆಯುವಿಕೆ) directed at deities in temple ritual — here it is God’s own initiative giving his own personal Spirit, not a devotee’s offering poured out to a deity.

προφητεύσουσιν (“shall prophesy”) — REUSE root of Romans TM ಪ್ರವಾದನೆ (Low), verbal form ಪ್ರವಾದಿಸುವರು.

ὁράσεις … ἐνύπνια (“visions … dreams”) — ದರ್ಶನಗಳು … ಕನಸುಗಳು. Literal: ὅρασις = “a seeing, a sight”; ἐνύπνιον = “something seen in sleep.” NEW — proposed. Risk: HIGH. ದರ್ಶನ is one of the most theologically loaded words available in Kannada religious vocabulary: in mainstream and folk Hindu devotional practice, darshan names the devotee’s act of beholding a deity’s or guru’s image/person, understood as itself conferring blessing through the act of sight. Using ದರ್ಶನ unqualified for the Joel prophecy’s “visions” risks importing this ritual-viewing framework rather than conveying a God-given revelatory disclosure granted sovereignly to the recipient (not sought or earned by devotional viewing practice). Recommend retaining ದರ್ಶನ (it is the best available Kannada word and is already established in Kannada Bible usage for prophetic vision) but requiring a standing translator note at first occurrence distinguishing prophetic ದರ್ಶನ (God’s initiative, revelatory content, verifiable in Scripture) from devotional darshan (devotee’s initiative, image-veneration practice).

Acts 2:18

No new load-bearing term beyond v.17 repeated (“male servants and female servants… they shall prophesy”) — notable for extending the Spirit’s gift across social/gender lines without distinction, reinforcing universal_scope themes.

Acts 2:19–20

τέρατα … σημεῖα (“wonders … signs”) — ಅದ್ಭುತಕಾರ್ಯಗಳು … ಸೂಚಕಕಾರ್ಯಗಳು. Risk: Medium (see fuller treatment at Acts 2:22 below, where it recurs applied to Jesus).

ἡμέρα κυρίου (“the day of the Lord”) — reuses ಕರ್ತ (REUSE Romans TM, Critical) → ಕರ್ತನ ದಿನ. Risk: Critical (inherits Lord’s Critical tier; must retain the exclusive, singular, sovereign referent established in the Romans baseline).

Acts 2:21

πᾶς ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου σωθήσεται (“everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”) — reuses ಕರ್ತ and ರಕ್ಷಣೆ (both REUSE Romans TM, Critical). Risk: Critical. This is the salvation-confession formula that Paul later reprises in Romans 10:13 (already in the baseline’s cross-document consistency rules). The Acts curriculum MUST render this verse identically in wording to however Romans 10:13 is rendered wherever both are cited, per the baseline’s stated principle that key salvation-confession verses require verbatim cross-document consistency. Flag for theologian review and for the Acts-extension consistency rule (see Step 12 equivalent going forward).

Acts 2:22

Ἰησοῦν τὸν Ναζωραῖον (“Jesus of Nazareth”) — reuses ಯೇಸು (REUSE Romans TM, Critical) + proper place-name ನಜರೇತಿನ. Risk: Critical (name of Christ, no deviation permitted).

δυνάμεσι καὶ τέρασι καὶα σημείοις (“mighty works and wonders and signs”) — ಮಹತ್ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳಿಂದಲೂ ಅದ್ಭುತಕಾರ್ಯಗಳಿಂದಲೂ ಸೂಚಕಕಾರ್ಯಗಳಿಂದಲೂ. NEW — proposed. Risk: HIGH. This triad recurs across Acts as the standard vocabulary for apostolic miracles (3:1-10; 4:30; 5:12; 8:6-13; 14:3; 19:11-12). In the Indian context this must be clearly distinguished from (a) the yogic siddhi (attained supernatural power) framework already flagged in the Romans baseline for “spiritual gifts,” and (b) the widespread contemporary phenomenon of popular “godmen”/miracle-working gurus whose feats are marketed as proof of personal spiritual attainment or divine status. Acts’ signs and wonders are God’s own authenticating action through his chosen messengers, pointing away from the messenger to the risen Christ — never evidence of the apostle’s own spiritual attainment. Flag for consistent translator-note treatment at every recurrence.

Acts 2:23

ὡρισμένῃ βουλῇ καὶ προγνώσει τοῦ θεοῦ (“definite plan and foreknowledge of God”) — ದೇವರ ನಿರ್ಣಿತ ಸಂಕಲ್ಪ ಮತ್ತು ಮುಂದರಿವು. Risk: High. Ties directly to the baseline’s Providence/Election caution: God’s sovereign, personal, purposive plan must not be assimilated to ಹಣೆಬರಹ (fatalism) or to an impersonal outworking of the crowd’s karma in crucifying Jesus. The crucifixion is simultaneously God’s ordained plan and human moral responsibility (“you crucified… by the hands of lawless men”) — this tension must be preserved, not resolved into either pure fatalism or pure human autonomy.

Acts 2:24

ἀνέστησεν (“raised up”) + λύσας τὰς ὠδῖνας τοῦ θανάτου (“loosing the pangs/agony of death”) — reuses ಪುನರುತ್ಥಾನ root (REUSE Romans TM, Critical: NEVER ಪುನರ್ಜನ್ಮ). Risk: Critical.

Acts 2:25–28

David’s prophecy (Psalm 16 LXX) quoted — “you will not abandon my soul to Hades (ᾅδης, Hadēs), nor let your Holy One see corruption (διαφθορά, diaphthora).” ᾅδης (Hadēs) — NEW — proposed: ಪಾತಾಳ/ಮೃತರ ಲೋಕ. Risk: Medium. The realm of the dead in biblical usage; must not be conflated with reincarnation-adjacent concepts of an intermediate soul-journey toward rebirth, nor treated as identical to any regional folk concept of ancestor-realms. This is simply “the place/state of the dead,” from which Christ was not abandoned. διαφθορά (diaphthora, “corruption/decay”) — ಕೊಳೆತು ಹೋಗುವಿಕೆ. Risk: Low. Physical bodily decay — underscores the bodily, non-decaying nature of the resurrection body.

Acts 2:29

No new load-bearing term; Δαυίδ (David) REUSE Romans TM ದಾವೀದ (Low).

Acts 2:30

προφήτης REUSE. ὅρκῳ ὤμοσεν (“swore with an oath”) reinforces ὄιαθήκη-adjacent covenant faithfulness (REUSE Romans TM ಒಡಂಬಡಿಕೆ, High) though the noun itself is not present in this verse — the Davidic covenant (already a High-risk doctrine in the Romans baseline) is the presupposition of this whole argument.

Acts 2:31

ἀνάστασις τοῦ Χριστοῦ (“the resurrection of the Christ”) — REUSE ಪುನರುತ್ಥಾನ + ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತ (Critical). Risk: Critical.

Acts 2:32

μάρτυρες (“witnesses”) — ಸಾಕ್ಷಿಗಳು. NEW — proposed. Risk: High. This is the first fully-developed occurrence of a term that, across Acts, undergoes a critical semantic development: from “eyewitness who testifies” (2:32; 1:8) toward “one who testifies even unto death” (the martyrdom sense fully present by 22:20, and implicit already at Stephen’s death in ch.7, where the word is not yet used in its later technical “martyr” sense but the event defines it for Christian usage ever after). Kannada ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ (witness, e.g. in a legal sense) is an adequate base rendering but does not on its own carry the developing “martyr” nuance; a consistent translator note should track this word’s arc across the whole book, since the curriculum’s own doctrine list names “Persecution and Bold Witness” as a major unit.

Acts 2:33

τῇ δεξιᾷ τοῦ θεοῦ ὑψωθείς (“exalted at the right hand of God”) — ದೇವರ ಬಲಗೈ ಕಡೆಗೆ ಉನ್ನತೀಕರಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟನು. Risk: High. Christ’s exaltation to co-regency with the Father; must be read as full deity/lordship (see ch.1 ascension notes and Romans baseline’s ಕರ್ತ entry), not merely an honored teacher’s promotion to a high spiritual station.

τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (“the promise of the Holy Spirit”) — reuses ಪವಿತ್ರಾತ್ಮ (Critical) + NEW — ವಾಗ್ದಾನ (epangelia, “promise”). Risk: High for ವಾಗ್ದಾನ specifically: God’s own binding pledge, tightly linked to the covenant vocabulary (ಒಡಂಬಡಿಕೆ) already established as High risk in the Romans baseline; must not be softened to a general hope or aspiration.

Acts 2:34–35

Κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου (“The Lord said to my Lord,” Psalm 110) — REUSE ಕರ್ತ twice, distinguishing Father and Son as “Lord” and “my Lord.” Risk: Critical. This is a foundational Trinitarian proof-text; the double use of κύριος for both the Father and the enthroned Christ must be rendered so that Kannada readers can see two distinct persons both called ಕರ್ತ, establishing Christ’s co-equal lordship — not one lord elevating a lesser servant-lord.

Acts 2:36

Κύριον αὐτὸν καὶ Χριστὸν ὁ θεὸς ἐποίησεν (“God has made him both Lord and Christ”) — REUSE ಕರ್ತ + ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತ (Critical). Risk: Critical. “Made” (ἐποίησεν) here must not be read as though Jesus became Lord/Messiah only at this point by promotion from a merely human status (an adoptionist misreading); the sermon’s own logic (v.30–31, davidic descent, foreordained resurrection) requires that this is a public installation/declaration of an office and identity that was always his, paralleling the “declared Son of God” language of Romans 1:4 already flagged Critical in the baseline. Cross-reference required.

Acts 2:37

κατενύγησαν τὴν καρδίαν (“cut to the heart”) — ಹೃದಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಚುಚ್ಚಲ್ಪಟ್ಟು / ಮನಮುಟ್ಟಿ. Risk: Medium. Idiom for conviction of sin produced by the Spirit through the Word; find a natural Kannada idiom (e.g., ಹೃದಯ ವೇಧಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿತು) that conveys deep inward conviction rather than literal physical pain, and that does not read as mere emotional guilt divorced from the Spirit’s work.

Acts 2:38

μετανοήσατε (“repent”) — NEW — proposed: ಪಶ್ಚಾತ್ತಾಪಪಡಿರಿ (established Kannada Christian term, from ಪಶ್ಚಾತ್ತಾಪ). Risk: High. Must be sharply distinguished from ಪ್ರಾಯಶ್ಚಿತ್ತ (prāyaścitta), the ritual/expiatory penance of Hindu practice by which a person performs a prescribed act to remove ritual guilt or offset bad karma. Biblical μετάνοια is an inward change of mind/heart that turns from sin to God, issuing in changed life — a gift and response, not a self-performed ritual transaction that itself removes guilt.

βαπτισθήτω … ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (“be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ”) — NEW — proposed: ದೀಕ್ಷಾಸ್ನಾನ (established Kannada Christian compound, “initiation-bath”). Risk: High. Must be distinguished from (a) repeatable ritual purification bathing (ಸ್ನಾನ) at sacred rivers/tanks, understood in popular practice as washing away ritual impurity through repetition, and (b) Hindu ದೀಕ್ಷೆ (dīkṣā), initiation into a guru’s teaching lineage or spiritual practice. Christian baptism here is a one-time, public act of identification with Christ’s death and resurrection and with the believer’s repentance — not a repeatable purification rite nor entry into a guru-lineage.

εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν (“for the forgiveness of your sins”) — reuses ಪಾಪ (REUSE Romans TM, High) + NEW — ಕ್ಷಮೆ (forgiveness). Risk: High. Full, judicial release of guilt granted by a personal God through Christ’s finished work — not a reduction/offsetting of karmic debt nor a ritual removal of pollution.

δωρεὰν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (“the gift of the Holy Spirit”) — reuses ಪವಿತ್ರಾತ್ಮ (Critical) + ವರ structure parallel to Romans TM’s ಆತ್ಮಿಕ ವರಗಳು caution. Risk: High. Must not be read as a merit-earned or self-attained spiritual acquisition (again the siddhi-adjacent risk already flagged in the Romans baseline for “spiritual gifts”).

Acts 2:39

ἡ ἐπαγγελία (“the promise”) REUSE from v.33 treatment above. πᾶσιν τοῖς εἰς μακράν (“all who are far off”) — ದೂರದಲ್ಲಿರುವವರೆಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ. Risk: High. This is the earliest programmatic statement in Acts of Gentile inclusion in the promise (paralleling Ephesians 2:13, 17’s “far off/near” language), directly feeding the curriculum’s “Gospel to Jews and Gentiles” doctrine unit; retain full universal scope, do not narrow to a merely geographic sense divorced from its ethnic/covenantal meaning.

Acts 2:40

διεμαρτύρατο (“bore witness/testified solemnly”) — related to μάρτυς (see v.32 note); παρεκάλει (“continued to exhort”) — REUSE Romans TM ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹಿಸುವುದು (Low). σκολιᾶς γενεᾶς (“crooked generation”) — ವಕ್ರವಾದ ಸಂತತಿ. Risk: Low.

Acts 2:41

οἱ ἀποδεξάμενοι τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ ἐβαπτίσθησαν (“those who received his word were baptized”) — REUSE ದೀಕ್ಷಾಸ್ನಾನ (High, see v.38). προσετέθησαν (“were added”) — ಸೇರಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟರು. ψυχαί (“souls,” here meaning “persons/people”) — ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳು/ಜನರು. Risk: Low–Medium. ψυχή in this verse simply means “persons,” not the philosophical/metaphysical “soul” distinct from body found in some Greek or Hindu dualistic anthropologies; render with a Kannada word for “person/individual” (ಜನರು/ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳು) to avoid importing an unintended soul-body dualism into a headcount statement.

PART B — Chapter-by-Chapter Study of the Whole Book

Chapter 1 — Ascension, Promise, and Apostolic Commission

ἀνελήμφθη (analambanō, “he was taken up”) — NEW — proposed: ಮೇಲಕ್ಕೆ ಎತ್ತಲ್ಪಟ್ಟನು / ಆರೋಹಣ (ascension). Risk: Critical. Christ’s bodily, historical, visible, once-for-all ascension to the Father’s right hand must not be assimilated to a mystic’s spiritual ascent narrative (a live risk given the Lingayat shatsthala path’s culminating upward movement toward Aikya) nor to any generic apotheosis narrative of a revered teacher being “taken up” among the gods. This is the bodily glorification of the God-man who remains a distinct person, returning bodily as promised (1:11).

μάρτυρες (“witnesses,” 1:8) — see fuller treatment at 2:32. Risk: High.

ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς (“to the end/ends of the earth”) — ಭೂಮಿಯ ಕಟ್ಟಕಡೆಯ ವರೆಗೂ. Risk: Medium. Foundational mission-scope statement; reuses baseline’s mission entry (ಮಿಷನ್ / ಸುವಾರ್ತಾ ಪ್ರಸಾರ).

δύναμις (“power,” 1:8) — REUSE Romans TM ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ (never ಶಕ್ತಿ, Critical forbidden-substitution list). Risk: High.

ἡ ἐπαγγελία τοῦ πατρός (“the promise of the Father,” 1:4) — reuses ವಾಗ್ದಾನ (see 2:33) and ತಂದೆ (REUSE Romans TM, Critical).

ἀποκαθιστάνεις τὴν βασιλείαν τῷ Ἰσραήλ (“will you restore the kingdom to Israel,” 1:6) — reuses ದೇವರ ರಾಜ್ಯ (REUSE Romans TM, Medium) and ಇಸ್ರಾಯೇಲ್ (REUSE, Medium). Risk: High. The disciples’ question reflects a political/nationalist misunderstanding of the kingdom that Jesus redirects (v.7-8) toward Spirit-empowered global witness — must not be rendered so as to affirm the disciples’ nationalist assumption as correct.

κλῆρος (“lot,” casting lots to replace Judas, 1:26) — ಚೀಟು. Risk: Low–Medium. A one-time apostolic-era practice of seeking God’s choice; must be distinguished from divination/omen-reading or astrological fortune-casting (ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷ್ಯ) practiced in folk religion — this is trust in God’s sovereign election (ಆಯ್ಕೆ, REUSE Romans TM High), not an attempt to read impersonal fate.

Chapter 2 — CORE PASSAGE (see Part A above)

Chapter 3 — Healing in the Name; Prophetic Fulfillment

ὄνομα (“name,” of Jesus, healing the lame man) — ಹೆಸರು. Risk: High. The Name functions as the locus of divine authority and saving/healing power invoked in faith — a central Acts theme recurring at 3:6, 3:16, 4:7-12, 4:30, 16:18, 19:13-17. Must be distinguished from mantra-repetition efficacy (japa), in which the sacred syllables/name themselves are believed to produce automatic effect through correct repetition irrespective of the speaker’s faith-relationship to the person named; in Acts, healing/salvation occurs through faith in the person Jesus is, not through the phonetic utterance of a formula (dramatized negatively in 19:13-16, the sons of Sceva).

καιροὶ ἀναψύξεως (“times of refreshing,” 3:19) — ಚೈತನ್ಯದ ಕಾಲಗಳು. Risk: Medium. Eschatological relief following repentance.

ἀποκατάστασις πάντων (“restoration of all things,” 3:21) — ಎಲ್ಲಾ ವಿಷಯಗಳ ಪುನಃಸ್ಥಾಪನೆ. Risk: Medium–High. Final cosmic restoration at Christ’s return; must remain a single, future, Christ-centered consummation, not a cyclical renewal within an ongoing cosmic time-cycle.

προφήτης … ὡς ἐμέ (“a prophet like me,” Moses typology, 3:22) — reuses ಪ್ರವಾದಿ (Low).

τὸ σπέρμα (“seed [of Abraham],” 3:25) — reuses covenant vocabulary parallel to Romans TM’s ಒಡಂಬಡಿಕೆ and seed_of_david pattern. Risk: Medium.

Chapter 4 — Bold Witness and the Exclusivity of the Name

παρρησία (parrēsia, “boldness, freedom/confidence of speech”) — NEW — proposed: ಧೈರ್ಯ / ನಿರ್ಭಯವಾಗಿ ಮಾತನಾಡುವಿಕೆ. Risk: High. This is the defining term of the curriculum’s “Persecution and Bold Witness” doctrine unit (occurring at 4:13, 4:29, 4:31, 9:27-28, 13:46, 14:3, 19:8, 26:26, 28:31). It denotes confident, unashamed, public speech empowered by the Spirit in the face of opposition — not mere social confidence or rhetorical skill. Consistent rendering required across every occurrence.

οὐδὲ … ὄνομα ἕτερον … ἐν ᾧ δεῖ σωθῆναι ἡμᾶς (“there is no other name… by which we must be saved,” 4:12) — reuses ಹೆಸರು, ಕರ್ತ, ರಕ್ಷಣೆ. Risk: Critical. This is the sharpest exclusivity claim in Acts and must never be softened, qualified, or rendered comparatively (“a name among names”); it is the direct Acts-parallel to Romans 10:9’s confession, and per the baseline’s own principle for such verses, must retain full, unqualified exclusivity. Flag for mandatory theologian review, paralleling the Universal Scope of the Gospel doctrine’s “no caste barrier” emphasis but here emphasizing “no other savior.”

χάρις τε μεγάλη (“great grace,” 4:33) — reuses ಕೃಪೆ (REUSE Romans TM, High).

ἅπαντα κοινά (“all things in common,” 4:32, cf. 2:44) — ಎಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ಸಮಾನವಾಗಿ ಹಂಚಿಕೊಂಡರು. Risk: Medium. A genuine point of partial cultural resonance with the Lingayat kayaka-dasoha ethic (sacred work and communal sharing) already noted in the Romans baseline — but must be taught as a voluntary, grace-motivated response flowing from transformed hearts, not a religious duty that itself earns standing before God.

Chapter 5 — Ananias and Sapphira; Gamaliel’s Caution

ψεύσασθαι τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον (“to lie to the Holy Spirit,” 5:3) — reuses ಪವಿತ್ರಾತ್ಮ (Critical). Risk: Critical. Establishes the Spirit’s full personhood and deity (lying to the Spirit = lying to God, v.4) — a key Trinitarian data point for the “Holy Spirit and Pentecost” doctrine unit.

φόβος μέγας (“great fear,” 5:5, 5:11) — ದೊಡ್ಡ ಭಯ. Risk: Low. Appropriate awe before a holy God who acts in judgment, not superstitious dread of an impersonal force.

εἰ ἔστιν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων … εἰ δὲ ἐκ θεοῦ ἐστιν (Gamaliel’s “if this is of man… if of God,” 5:38-39) — ಇದು ಮನುಷ್ಯರಿಂದಾದದ್ದಾದರೆ … ದೇವರಿಂದಾದದ್ದಾದರೆ. Risk: Low. A pragmatic test-principle; note it is descriptive wisdom, not itself asserted doctrine.

Chapter 6 — The Seven and the Beginning of Diaconal Ministry

διακονεῖν τραπέζαις / διακονία (diakonein, diakonia — “to serve tables” / “service, ministry”) — NEW — proposed: ಶುಶ್ರೂಷೆ / ಸೇವೆ. Risk: Medium. Establishes the church office of practical care-ministry (the origin of the later “deacon”); must be distinguished from ಪೂಜಾ ಸೇವೆ, ritual temple service rendered to a deity’s image, since this diaconal service is rendered to fellow believers (especially the vulnerable, here Hellenist widows), not cultic service to God via ritual.

πλήρης πίστεως καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου (“full of faith and the Holy Spirit,” describing Stephen, 6:5) — reuses ನಂಬಿಕೆ and ಪವಿತ್ರಾತ್ಮ (both REUSE, High/Critical).

Chapter 7 — Stephen’s Speech and the First Martyrdom

χειροποίητος (“made with hands,” of temples, 7:48) — NEW — proposed: ಕೈಯಿಂದ ಮಾಡಿದ. Risk: High. Stephen’s climactic claim — “the Most High does not dwell in houses made with hands” — is a direct critique applicable to any human-constructed sacred structure or image as a container for the divine. This is theologically essential but culturally sensitive in a context where temple/murti worship is central to majority religious practice; render faithfully and without editorializing, while flagging for careful, respectful pastoral framing in teaching contexts (paralleling Paul’s later, gentler approach at Athens, ch.17).

σκληροτράχηλοι (“stiff-necked,” 7:51) — ಕಠಿಣ ಕೊರಳಿನವರು. Risk: Low. Idiom for stubborn resistance to God’s Spirit; find a natural Kannada equivalent for obstinacy.

Stephen’s death (7:54-60) is the narrative event that permanently colors the later technical sense of μάρτυς (witness → martyr) tracked since 1:8/2:32; the term itself is not yet used here in its later technical sense, but the event is foundational for the doctrine of “Persecution and Bold Witness.” Risk: High for teaching purposes — flag for a doctrinal note bridging 1:8, 2:32, 7:54-60, and 22:20.

Chapter 8 — Philip, Simon Magus, and the Ethiopian Eunuch

μαγεία / μάγος (mageia, magos — “sorcery, magic” / “sorcerer, magician”) — NEW — proposed: ಮಾಟಮಂತ್ರ / ಮಂತ್ರವಾದ. Risk: High. Simon’s error (offering money to purchase the Spirit’s power, 8:18-19) is diagnostic: he conceives of the Spirit’s gift as a transferable magical technique rather than God’s sovereign, freely-given grace. This directly engages the widespread and serious cultural reality of māṭa-mantra (black magic) belief and practicing folk ritual specialists in Karnataka; the passage must be used to draw a firm categorical line between Spirit-given gifts (undertaken in humble faith, never purchased, never a personal possession to wield) and occult/magical power (acquired, manipulated, transactional).

δωρεὰ τοῦ θεοῦ (“the gift of God,” 8:20) — reuses ಕೃಪೆ/gift vocabulary parallel to 2:38. Risk: High.

εὐνοῦχος (“eunuch,” the Ethiopian official, 8:27) — ಕಂಚುಕಿ/ಷಂಡ. Risk: Low–Medium. Historical/social descriptor; note the passage’s significance for the “Gospel to Jews and Gentiles” unit — a court official excluded from full temple participation under the Law (Deuteronomy 23:1) is welcomed without qualification into baptism, anticipating full Gentile inclusion.

Chapter 9 — The Conversion of Paul

ἡ ὁδός (hē hodos, “the Way”) — NEW — proposed: ಮಾರ್ಗ, with mandatory qualifying gloss ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತನ ಮಾರ್ಗ (“the Way that is Christ”). Risk: CRITICAL. This self-designation for the early Christian movement (9:2; also 19:9, 19:23, 22:4, 24:14, 24:22) collides directly with one of the most deeply embedded concepts in Indian religious vocabulary: bhakti-mārga, jñāna-mārga, and karma-mārga are the classical named “paths” to liberation in Hindu soteriology, and the Lingayat shatsthala teaching likewise describes a graded spiritual “path.” Rendering “the Way” as unqualified ಮಾರ್ಗ risks the early church being received as merely one more optional path among many recognized ways to the same ultimate goal — precisely the pluralistic inclusivism the book of Acts as a whole resists (cf. 4:12’s exclusivity claim; 17’s Areopagus argument). Every occurrence requires either the qualifying gloss or surrounding context making unmistakably clear that this “Way” is definition-bound to the person and exclusive lordship of the risen Christ, not a technique or discipline among several valid options. Mandatory theologian review at every occurrence.

σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς (“a chosen instrument/vessel of election,” 9:15) — reuses ಆಯ್ಕೆ (Dēvara Āyke, REUSE Romans TM, High). Risk: High. God’s sovereign initiative in choosing Paul despite (indeed, in the midst of) his persecuting hostility — a strong instance of the Effectual Calling / Election doctrine already flagged High in the baseline, now narratively embodied.

ἀπέπεσαν … ὡς λεπίδες (“scales fell from his eyes,” 9:18) — ಕಣ್ಣಿನಿಂದ ಪೊರೆಗಳಂತಿದ್ದದ್ದು ಬಿದ್ದವು. Risk: Low. Vivid idiom for restored sight/spiritual perception; render meaning plainly if no natural equivalent exists.

Chapter 10 — Cornelius and the Gentile Pentecost

κοινός (koinos, “common, unclean [ritually],” 10:14-15, 10:28) — NEW — proposed: ಅಶುದ್ಧ / ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ. Risk: HIGH. Peter’s vision and its interpretation (“What God has made clean, do not call common”) directly dismantles a ritual purity/impurity boundary — a category of thought with an unusually strong and sensitive parallel in the Indian context, where ritual purity classifications have historically undergirded caste hierarchy. This passage should be taught, as the baseline notes for related material, as a point where the gospel’s universal scope directly confronts purity-based social hierarchy; it must not be softened, but should be handled with the same pastoral care the baseline recommends for caste-related material.

οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήμπτης ὁ θεός (“God shows no partiality,” 10:34) — ದೇವರು ಪಕ್ಷಪಾತ ಮಾಡುವವನಲ್ಲ. Risk: High. Direct doctrinal statement underlying “Unity of Jews and Gentiles” (already High risk in the Romans baseline) and now given a fresh, vivid narrative demonstration to the Gentiles themselves receiving the Spirit exactly as the Jewish believers did at Pentecost (10:44-47).

φοβούμενος τὸν θεόν (“one who feared God,” a God-fearing Gentile, 10:2, 10:22) — NEW — proposed: ದೇವರಿಗೆ ಭಯಪಡುವವನು. Risk: Medium. Describes a Gentile sympathetic to Jewish monotheism and ethics but not a full proselyte; useful background category for teaching the pre-conversion spiritual state of figures like Cornelius.

Chapter 11 — Jerusalem’s Response; Believers First Called “Christians”

μετάνοιαν εἰς ζωήν (“repentance unto life,” 11:18) — reuses ಪಶ್ಚಾತ್ತಾಪ (see 2:38). Risk: High. Explicitly extended to Gentiles by the Jerusalem church’s own acknowledgment — a key confirming moment for the “Gospel to Jews and Gentiles” unit.

Χριστιανοί (Christianoi, “Christians,” 11:26) — NEW — proposed: ಕ್ರೈಸ್ತರು. Risk: Low–Medium. The first occurrence of this now-standard Kannada Christian community name; establish clearly as a distinct proper community identity (belonging to Christ), not a generic label for “religious people” (ಧಾರ್ಮಿಕರು).

Chapter 12 — Persecution by Herod; Angelic Deliverance

ἄγγελος κυρίου (“an angel of the Lord,” 12:7-11) — NEW — proposed: ಕರ್ತನ ದೂತ. Risk: Medium–High. ದೂತ (messenger/angel) must be clearly framed as a created servant-spirit sent by the one God — not a lesser autonomous deity or devata within a pantheon, a distinction of real importance in a culture where a populated spiritual hierarchy of minor deities and spirits is a common conceptual default.

James’s death and Peter’s imprisonment/deliverance continue the “Persecution and Bold Witness” doctrine unit; no additional new load-bearing vocabulary beyond ἄγγελος and reused persecution/prayer terms (προσευχή, REUSE Romans TM pattern already established for prayer/intercession, Medium).

Chapter 13 — Justification Apart from the Law (Pisidian Antioch Sermon)

This chapter contains one of the curriculum’s core doctrinal passages: “by him everyone who believes is justified (δικαιοῦται) from everything from which you could not be justified (δικαιωθῆναι) by the law of Moses (ἐν νόμῳ Μωϋσέως)” (13:38-39).

δικαιοῦται / δικαιωθῆναι — REUSE Romans TM ನೀತಿವಂತರೆಂದು ನಿರ್ಣಯಿಸುವುದು (justification, Critical) exactly as recorded; do not abbreviate. Risk: Critical.

νόμος Μωϋσέως (“the law of Moses”) — REUSE Romans TM ನಿಯಮಶಾಸ್ತ್ರ (law, High; NEVER ಧರ್ಮ). Risk: High.

ἄφεσις ἁμαρτιῶν (“forgiveness of sins,” 13:38) — reuses ಪಾಪ + ಕ್ಷಮೆ (see 2:38). Risk: High.

This passage is the Acts parallel to Romans 3-4’s justification-by-faith argument and directly supplies the curriculum’s “Justification apart from the Law” doctrine unit; render with the identical Critical-tier terms already fixed in the Romans baseline, with no deviation. Flag for mandatory theologian review and cross-document consistency with any parallel Romans passages already translated.

Σέργιος Παῦλος (Sergius Paulus) and Ἐλύμας ὁ μάγος (Elymas the sorcerer, 13:6-12) — reuses ಮಾಟಮಂತ್ರ vocabulary (see ch.8). Risk: High (same magic/Spirit-gift distinction as Simon Magus).

Chapter 14 — Lystra: Mistaken for Gods

Δία καὶ Ἑρμῆν (“Zeus and Hermes,” 14:12) — proper names of Greco-Roman deities the crowd identifies Barnabas and Paul with, attempting to offer sacrifice to them. NEW — proposed: transliterate as ಜೀಯುಸ್ ಮತ್ತು ಹೆರ್ಮೀಸ್ with explanatory gloss. Risk: HIGH. The crowd’s spontaneous impulse to deify unusually gifted human miracle-workers is precisely the same impulse the Romans baseline flags regarding avatāra theology and Lingayat Aikya-attainment categories — extraordinary humans being received as divine or divinely-elevated. Paul and Barnabas’s emphatic refusal (“We also are men, of like nature with you,” 14:15) is a key apologetic model for teaching against exactly this tendency in the Indian context (cf. the “godman” phenomenon, ch.2:22 note, and ch.19’s Artemis riot). Flag for careful cross-referencing across the curriculum.

διὰ πολλῶν θλίψεων (“through many tribulations [we must enter the kingdom of God],” 14:22) — reuses ದೇವರ ರಾಜ್ಯ (REUSE, Medium) + ಸಂಕಟಗಳು (tribulations, Low).

Chapter 15 — The Jerusalem Council

περιτομή (peritomē, “circumcision”) — NEW — proposed: ಸುನ್ನತಿ. Risk: High. The Council’s central question — whether Gentile believers must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved — is resolved decisively in the negative (15:11, “we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will”). Directly reuses ಕೃಪೆ (grace, High) and ರಕ್ಷಣೆ (salvation, Critical); this is the Acts narrative embodiment of “Justification apart from the Law,” and must be rendered with the same care as ch.13.

ζυγός (“yoke,” 15:10, of the law) — ನೊಗ. Risk: Medium. Metaphor for a burden neither Jewish ancestors nor the present generation could bear; useful teaching image, low ambiguity risk on its own but load-bearing for the justification-apart-from-law doctrine.

ἔδοξεν γὰρ τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ καὶ ἡμῖν (“it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us,” 15:28) — reuses ಪವಿತ್ರಾತ್ಮ (Critical). Risk: High. A striking collaborative formula for church decision-making under the Spirit’s authority; must preserve the Spirit’s primacy (named first) while affirming genuine human deliberation, not either a mechanical Spirit-dictation model or a merely human consensus dressed in religious language.

Chapter 16 — Lydia, the Philippian Jailer, and the Python Spirit

τί με δεῖ ποιεῖν ἵνα σωθῶ (“what must I do to be saved,” 16:30) — REUSE ರಕ್ಷಣೆ (Critical). Risk: Critical. This is the clearest personal salvation-inquiry formula in Acts, paired with 16:31’s answer (“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved”) which itself reuses ನಂಬಿಕೆ, ಕರ್ತ, ರಕ್ಷಣೆ. Per the baseline’s own principle for high-use pastoral/salvation-confession verses (cf. Romans 10:9-10, 8:28), this verse pair should be flagged for identical, fixed rendering across every document in the curriculum.

πνεῦμα πύθωνα (“a spirit of Python/divination,” 16:16) — NEW — proposed: ಶಕುನ ಹೇಳುವ ಆತ್ಮ / ಭವಿಷ್ಯ ಹೇಳುವ ದೆವ್ವದ ಆತ್ಮ. Risk: HIGH. This slave girl’s spirit enabling fortune-telling for profit is explicitly identified as an evil spirit that Paul casts out — not a legitimate gift of prophecy. This passage is a crucial teaching opportunity given the widespread practice and cultural respectability of astrology (ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷ್ಯ — already flagged in the Romans baseline registry for “prophet”) and oracle/spirit-medium practices at village shrines throughout Karnataka. The categorical difference between Spirit-given prophecy (submitted to Scripture, glorifying Christ, freely given) and demonic/occult divination (self-serving, commercially exploited, ultimately silenced by Christ’s authority) must be drawn clearly and without ambiguity.

Chapter 17 — Athens: The Areopagus Address

ἀγνώστῳ θεῷ (“to an unknown god,” 17:23) — NEW — proposed: ಅಪರಿಚಿತ ದೇವರು. Risk: HIGH. Paul’s rhetorical bridge from an Athenian altar inscription to the true God must not be read, in a pluralistic Indian religious environment accustomed to inclusivist formulas (e.g., “ekam sat, viprāḥ bahudhā vadanti” — “truth is one, the wise call it by many names”), as endorsing the idea that the many gods of Athens (or by extension of Karnataka) are simply unrecognized names for the true God. Paul’s argument is the opposite: their worship reflects ignorance now decisively ended by God’s self-revelation in Christ and by the coming judgment (17:30-31) — a claim of correction and fulfillment, not equivalence. Mandatory translator note.

κατείδωλον (“full of idols,” describing Athens, 17:16) — reuses ವಿಗ್ರಹಾರಾಧನೆ (idolatry). Risk: High. Direct critique of image-worship; must be rendered faithfully (per the baseline’s rule against softening doctrinal claims) while being pastorally aware this directly touches murti-worship practice central to majority religious life.

ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ ζῶμεν καὶ κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμέν (“in him we live and move and have our being,” 17:28, quoting a Greek poet) — ಆತನಲ್ಲಿ ನಾವು ಜೀವಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ, ಚಲಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ ಮತ್ತು ಇದ್ದೇವೆ. Risk: CRITICAL. This line, if rendered without care, reads as strongly panentheistic/monistic — dangerously close to the Veerashaiva Aikya language the Romans baseline already flags as Critical for “salvation” and “god” (the devotee’s being finally merging into and losing distinction within the divine). Paul’s actual point is creaturely dependence: humanity owes its existence, movement, and continuance entirely to the Creator who remains personally distinct from his creation — not that human selves are ontologically one with or dissolve into God. This verse requires the same Critical-tier handling and mandatory theologian review that the baseline assigns to Romans’ ಐಕ್ಯ-adjacent risk passages.

μετανοεῖν (“repent,” 17:30) — REUSE ಪಶ್ಚಾತ್ತಾಪ (High).

Chapter 18 — Corinth: Gallio’s Ruling

No major new theological vocabulary. Reuses ಸಭೆ-adjacent synagogue/assembly language, ಪ್ರವಾದಿ, and persecution/witness terms established in earlier chapters. συναγωγή (synagōgē, “synagogue”) is used repeatedly across Acts from ch.9 onward — NEW — proposed: ಸಭಾಮಂದಿರ. Risk: Low–Medium. The Jewish assembly-place, distinct from ಸಭೆ (church, the new-covenant assembly, REUSE Romans TM, Medium); maintain this distinction consistently so readers do not conflate the two institutions.

Chapter 19 — Ephesus: Disciples of John, Exorcism, and the Artemis Riot

βάπτισμα Ἰωάννου vs. Spirit-baptism (19:1-7) — reuses ದೀಕ್ಷಾಸ್ನಾನ (High) with a needed clarifying distinction between John’s preparatory baptism of repentance and Christian baptism into the name of the Lord Jesus accompanied by the Spirit’s coming (19:5-6). Risk: High.

Ἄρτεμις τῶν Ἐφεσίων (“Artemis of the Ephesians,” 19:24-41) — proper name of the Greco-Roman goddess; the riot’s cry “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (Μεγάλη ἡ Ἄρτεμις Ἐφεσίων). NEW — proposed: ಆರ್ತೆಮಿ (transliteration) with explanatory gloss. Risk: HIGH. This narrative — mass devotional fervor for a city’s patron goddess, intertwined with the economic interests of silversmiths who profit from her shrine-trade — has an unusually direct structural parallel to prominent goddess devotion and temple economies in Karnataka (cf. the Romans baseline’s own note on Chamundeshwari/Shakta tradition at Mysore under “power_of_god”). This material must be taught with care: presented accurately as a historical narrative about a specific ancient cult, not framed in a way that appears to mock contemporary local devotional life, while faithfully preserving the text’s own clear position that idols “made with hands are not gods” (19:26, echoing ch.7’s ᅡχειροποίητος critique).

ἐξορκιστής (“exorcist,” the sons of Sceva, 19:13-16) — ಬೂತ ಬಿಡಿಸುವವನು. Risk: Medium. Their failed attempt to use “the name of Jesus” as an impersonal magical formula reinforces the ch.3/ch.8 distinction between faith-filled invocation of Christ’s name and mantra-like magical technique.

τὰ περίεργα (“magic arts,” books burned, 19:19) — reuses ಮಾಟಮಂತ್ರ vocabulary (see ch.8, ch.13). Risk: High.

Chapter 20 — Farewell to the Ephesian Elders

πρεσβύτεροι (“elders”) — NEW — proposed: ಹಿರಿಯರು. Risk: Medium. Appointed pastoral office in the local church; distinguish from a generically honored community elder or a guru-status attained through personal spiritual seniority — this is a delegated, accountable office of oversight, not a status earned through ascetic attainment.

ἐπίσκοπος (“overseer,” 20:28) — NEW — proposed: ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷ / ಮೇಲ್ವಿಚಾರಕ. Risk: Medium.

ποιμήν / ποίμνιον (“shepherd” / “flock,” 20:28-29) — NEW — proposed: ಕುರುಬ / ಹಿಂಡು. Risk: Low. Standard pastoral metaphor.

διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου (“through his own blood,” referring to God’s own blood via the Son, 20:28) — reuses ರಕ್ತ (blood, atonement-adjacent). Risk: High. A striking, doctrinally dense phrase implying the deity of Christ (God’s “own blood”); requires careful, non-reductive rendering consistent with the Deity of Christ doctrine already Critical in the Romans baseline.

Chapter 21 — Paul’s Vow and Arrest in Jerusalem

εὐχή (“vow,” the Nazirite-type vow, 21:23-24) — NEW — proposed: ಪ್ರಮಾಣ / ಹರಕೆ. Risk: Medium–High. ಹರಕೆ, the most natural colloquial Kannada equivalent, is the everyday word for a votive pledge made to a deity for a favor granted, deeply embedded in transactional folk-devotional practice (e.g., promising an offering if a prayer is answered). Using it here risks implying Paul’s vow functions the same way; a translator note should clarify this reflects a specific OT Nazirite practice of consecration, undertaken here out of cultural sensitivity to Jewish believers (21:20-24), not a transactional bargain with God for personal favor.

Ἀγαβος and prophecy of Paul’s binding (21:10-11) — reuses ಪ್ರವಾದನೆ (Low).

Chapter 22 — Paul’s Defense: Conversion Retold

ζηλωτὴς ὑπάρχων τοῦ θεοῦ (“being zealous for God,” 22:3) — ದೇವರ ವಿಷಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಸಕ್ತನಾಗಿ. Risk: Medium. Describes pre-conversion Paul’s sincere but misdirected zeal; useful for contrasting sincere religious devotion with saving faith specifically in Christ (reuses the Romans baseline’s ನಂಬಿಕೆ vs. ಭಕ್ತಿ distinction).

Retelling of Paul’s conversion (22:6-21) reuses ಪವಿತ್ರಾತ್ಮ, ಕರ್ತ, ಮಾರ್ಗ (see ch.9); no significant new theological vocabulary, but note μάρτυς finally functions here (22:20, of Stephen: “the blood of your witness Stephen was shed”) with the fuller martyrdom-adjacent sense anticipated since 1:8. Risk: High — flag for the cross-chapter witness/martyr doctrine note.

Chapter 23 — The Sanhedrin and Roman Custody

συνείδησις (“conscience,” 23:1) — NEW — proposed: ಮನಸ್ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ. Risk: Medium–High. Paul’s claim to have “lived before God in all good conscience” presents conscience as a personal moral faculty answerable directly to a personal God — distinct from a fatalistic or impersonal karma-tracking mechanism that merely records merit/demerit without personal relational accountability (cf. the Romans baseline’s providence/karma caution).

Pharisees’ and Sadducees’ dispute over the resurrection (23:6-8) reuses ಪುನರುತ್ಥಾನ (Critical); note this is bodily resurrection to future judgment, not the same category dispute as reincarnation debates familiar in the Indian context — both ancient parties agree resurrection means bodily return from death, they merely disagree whether it occurs at all.

Chapter 24 — Before Felix

δικαιοσύνη … ἐγκράτεια … κρίμα τὸ μέλλον (“righteousness … self-control … judgment to come,” 24:25) — reuses ನೀತಿವಂತಿಕೆ (Critical, REUSE) + ಸಂಯಮ (self-control, Low) + ಬರುವ ನ್ಯಾಯತೀರ್ಪು (coming judgment, Medium). Risk: Critical for ನೀತಿವಂತಿಕೆ specifically — must retain forensic/relational sense already fixed in the baseline, not slide into generic ethical uprightness alone.

ἀνάστασις … δικαίων τε καὶ ἀδίκων (“resurrection of both the just and the unjust,” 24:15) — reuses ಪುನರುತ್ಥಾನ (Critical). Risk: Critical. Bodily resurrection to final judgment for all humanity — must never be rendered with rebirth/reincarnation vocabulary; this ends history in a final reckoning, it does not continue an open cycle.

Chapter 25 — Appeal to Caesar

No new theological vocabulary; civil/legal proceedings (ἐπικαλοῦμαι Καίσαρα, “I appeal to Caesar,” 25:11) are procedurally significant to the narrative but carry Low doctrinal risk. Reuses established persecution/witness themes.

Chapter 26 — Before Agrippa: Conversion Retold a Third Time

ἐλπὶς τῆς εἰς τοὺς πατέρας ἐπαγγελίας (“the hope of the promise made to the fathers,” 26:6) — reuses ವಾಗ್ದಾನ (promise, High) and covenant vocabulary. Risk: High.

ἐπιστρέψαι ἀπὸ σκότους εἰς φῶς καὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ Σατανᾶ ἐπὶ τὸν θεόν (“to turn from darkness to light, and from the authority of Satan to God,” 26:18) — Σατανᾶς (Satan) — NEW — proposed: ಸೈತಾನ (established transliteration). Risk: HIGH. Satan must be understood as a single, personal, defeated-yet-currently-active spiritual adversary opposed to the one God — not merely an impersonal principle of evil, not one hostile deity among many in a populated spiritual hierarchy, and not casually equated with any specific existing folk-demon figure without careful distinction. ἐξουσία (“authority/power”) — ಅಧಿಕಾರ, Medium.

ἐν ὀλίγῳ με πείθεις Χριστιανὸν ποιῆσαι (“in a short time you would persuade me to be a Christian,” Agrippa’s reply, 26:28) — idiom, reuses ಕ್ರೈಸ್ತ (see ch.11). Risk: Low.

Chapter 27 — The Voyage and Shipwreck

No major new theological terminology. The narrative embodies the doctrine of Providence (already High risk in the Romans baseline) through the angelic reassurance (27:23-24) and Paul’s confident trust amid the storm. Reuses ದೇವರ ಪರಿಪಾಲನೆ (REUSE Romans TM). Risk: High (inherited) — flag any rendering that drifts toward ಹಣೆಬರಹ (fatalism) language for the ship’s “fated” course, since the text explicitly attributes the outcome to God’s personal, purposive care communicated through an angel, not to impersonal destiny.

Chapter 28 — Rome, and the Prophetic Hardening of Israel

No significant new theological vocabulary beyond what has already been introduced; the chapter reuses ದೇವರ ರಾಜ್ಯ (kingdom of God, Medium), ಕರ್ತ ಯೇಸು ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತ (Lord Jesus Christ, Critical), and παρρησία (“with all boldness and without hindrance,” 28:31 — reuses ch.4’s term, High).

The closing quotation of Isaiah 6:9-10 on hardened hearing/seeing (“hearing you will hear and never understand,” 28:26-27) reuses ಪ್ರವಾದನೆ (prophecy, Low as a term, but High in theological weight here) and directly parallels the partial-hardening-of-Israel doctrine already treated in the Romans baseline (Romans 9–11 territory). Flag for cross-referencing with any Romans 9-11 material in the wider curriculum; this is Acts’ own bookend statement on Israel’s mixed reception of the gospel and the resulting fuller turn to the Gentiles (28:28, reusing ಅನ್ಯಜನಾಂಗದವರು, Medium).

End of semantic analysis. Proceed to 08_core_glossary.md for the consolidated, risk-tiered glossary table covering every chapter.

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