Core Glossary
Core Glossary: Revelation (Kurdish / Kurmanji)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, spanning Revelation chapters 1–22 and the core passage (Revelation 21:1–8). It extends, and never contradicts, the baseline Romans translation_memory.json. Terms already fixed by the baseline are marked [BASELINE — reuse exactly] and are not renegotiated here.
Risk tiers: Critical (human theologian review, every occurrence) · High (human theologian review) · Medium (native speaker review) · Low (automated review).
Section 1 — Baseline Terms Reused from the Romans Language Package
These terms recur throughout Revelation and MUST use the exact Kurdish rendering already fixed in the baseline. No new analysis is needed; only the chapters of Revelation where each occurs are recorded here for coverage tracking.
| Term | Kurdish (Baseline) | Risk (Baseline) | Chapters in Revelation | Note for Revelation Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | Xwedê | Critical | 1, 4, 5, 7, 11, 15, 19–22 (throughout) | Frequently paired with “Almighty” (Pantokrator) and “Alpha/Omega” — new critical compounds requiring joint teaching |
| Jesus | Îsa | Critical | 1, 5, 12, 14, 17, 19, 22 | Must retain “Ho martys ho pistos” (faithful witness) framing at 1:5 |
| Lord | Xudan | Critical | 1, 4, 11, 17, 19, 22 | Peaks at 19:16 “King of kings and Lord of lords” and 22:20 “Come, Lord Jesus” |
| Son of God | Kurê Xwedê | Critical | 2:18 | Distinct from, but must be taught alongside, “Son of Man” (new term) and adoptive “son” language at 21:7 |
| Holy Spirit | Ruhê Pîroz | Critical | 1, 2–3 (“what the Spirit says”), 14, 19, 22 | Ch.1’s “seven Spirits” requires explicit reconciliation with this singular baseline term |
| Father | Bav | Critical | 1:6; 2:27; 3:5,21; 14:1 | Used more sparingly than in Romans; same caution applies |
| Holy | Pîroz | Medium/High | 4 (Trisagion), 6, 20, 21 | Ch.4’s threefold repetition needs Trinitarian teaching note |
| Saints | Pîrozan | High | 5, 8, 11, 13, 14, 16–19 | Frequent martyrdom association strengthens, not weakens, the baseline’s “not a Sufi elite” caution |
| Church | Dêr / Civata Mesîhî | High | 1–3 (seven churches), 22 | The seven letters are addressed to congregations (ekklēsia), reinforcing the “gathered people, not building” sense |
| Kingdom of God | Padîşahiya Xwedê | Critical | 1, 11, 12, 19 | Climactic use at 11:15 and 19 requires maximal anchoring against Kurdish statehood-aspiration conflation |
| Salvation | Rizgarî | Critical | 7, 12, 19 | ”Salvation belongs to our God” (7:10; 19:1) — must be anchored to God’s own action, not human liberation struggle |
| Grace | Kerem | High | 1, 22 | Opens and closes the book; must retain contrast with merit |
| Faith | Îman | High | 2, 13, 14 (“faith of the saints”), 17 | Perseverance-in-faith emphasis strengthens the “personal trust, not creedal assent” caution |
| Glory | Rûmet | High | 1, 4, 5, 7, 11, 14–16, 18–19, 21 | Especially concentrated in 21:11, 21:23–24 |
| Messiah/Christ | Mesîh | Critical | 1, 11, 12, 20 | ”Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (11:15) is a peak load-bearing occurrence |
| Prophet | Pêxember | High | 10, 11 (two witnesses), 16, 19, 20 | Counterbalanced by “false prophet” (new term below) |
| Prophecy | Pêxemberî | Low | 1, 10, 19, 22 | Framing device opening and closing the book (1:3; 22:7,10,18,19) |
| Resurrection | Rabûn | Critical | 1, 20 | ”First resurrection” (20:5-6) is a new compound requiring the full baseline caution |
| Israel | Îsraîl | Medium | 2, 7, 21 | Twelve tribes named on the gates (21:12) |
| David | Dawid | Medium | 3, 5, 22 | ”Root of David,” “Key of David” (3:7) |
| Seed/Root of David | Dûndana Dawid / Koka Dawid | High | 5, 22 | New compound “Koka Dawid” (Root) alongside baseline “Dûndana Dawid” (Seed) |
| Covenant | Peyman | High | 11 (ark of the covenant) | Brief but load-bearing OT-continuity reference |
| Apostle | Şandî | Medium | 18, 21 | Twelve foundations named for the apostles (21:14) |
| Election/Calling | Bangkirî / Hilbijartin | High | 17:14 (“called, chosen, and faithful”) | Reinforces the baseline’s democratic-election caution |
| Amen | Amîn | Low | 1, 3, 5, 7, 19, 22 | Standard transliteration convention |
| Thanksgiving | Spasî | Low | 4, 7, 11 | Standard doxological vocabulary |
Section 2 — New Terms Introduced by Revelation
| # | Term (English) | Original (Greek, Translit.) | Kurdish Rendering | Doctrine | Risk | Chapters | Rationale Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Revelation / Apocalypse | ἀποκάλυψις, apokalypsis | Peyxam | Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation | High | 1 | Genre-title; must be distinguished from Islamic wahy (verbatim dictation) model of revelation |
| 2 | Faithful Witness / Witness (person) | μάρτυς, martys | Şahid | Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution | Critical | 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 17 | Must be kept sharply distinct from Kurdish “şehîd” (martyr), a term with enormous independent weight in Islamic and Kurdish nationalist/political usage (fallen fighters venerated as şehîd across Kurdish society) |
| 3 | Firstborn of the Dead | πρωτότοκος τῶν νεκρῶν, prōtotokos tōn nekrōn | Yekemîn ê ji nav Miriyan Rabûyî | Deity/Sonship of Christ (baseline); Return and Reign of Christ | Critical | 1 | Risk of being read as confirming Christ’s createdness rather than preeminence-in-rank |
| 4 | Ruler of the Kings of the Earth | ὁ ἄρχων τῶν βασιλέων τῆς γῆς | Serokê Padîşahên Erdê | Sovereignty of God over History | High | 1 | Anticipates 19:16; must not be read as endorsing a specific political order |
| 5 | Kingdom and Priests | βασιλείαν, ἱερεῖς, basileian, hiereis | Padîşahî û Kahîn | Church as God’s People (baseline) | High | 1 | Corporate spiritual identity, not political state or hereditary caste |
| 6 | Alpha and Omega / Beginning and End | Ἄλφα καὶ τὸ Ὦ, ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος | Alfa û Omega / Destpêk û Dawî | Deity of Christ; Sovereignty of God over History | Critical | 1, 21, 22 | Identical title applied to both Father (21:6) and Son (22:13) — the deity claim itself |
| 7 | Almighty | παντοκράτωρ, pantokratōr | Xudanê Her Tiştî | Sovereignty of God over History | High | 1, 4, 11, 15, 16, 19, 21 | Native compound deliberately preferred over Arabic-loan “Qadîr” to avoid narrowing into one specific Islamic Divine Name |
| 8 | Son of Man | υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, huios anthrōpou | Kurê Mirov | Return and Reign of Christ | High | 1, 14 | Risk of flattening into the generic regional idiom “ibn Adam” (a person), losing the Daniel 7 divine-judge allusion |
| 9 | Seven Spirits | τὰ ἑπτὰ πνεύματα | Heft Ruh | Worship of the Lamb; Sovereignty of God | Critical | 1, 3, 4, 5 | Must be taught as the one Holy Spirit’s symbolic fullness, never as multiple spirits |
| 10 | Lampstands | λυχνίαι, lychniai | Çira | Church as God’s People | Medium | 1 | Symbol of the seven churches (1:20) |
| 11 | Keys of Death and Hades | κλεῖς τοῦ θανάτου καὶ ᾅδου | Kilîtên Mirinê û Hadêsê | Return and Reign of Christ; Final Victory over Evil | High | 1 | Christ’s authority over death, secured by resurrection |
| 12 | The One Who Conquers / Overcomer | ὁ νικῶν, ho nikōn | Serkeftî | Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution | High | 2, 3, 12, 15, 21 | ”Serkeftin/serkeftî” is standard Kurdish political/armed-struggle victory vocabulary; must anchor to spiritual perseverance, parallel to baseline Rizgarî caution |
| 13 | Synagogue of Satan | συναγωγὴ τοῦ Σατανᾶ | Civata Şeytên | Perseverance under Persecution | High | 2, 3 | Must not be read as antisemitic or a general statement about Jewish people; historical-local reference only |
| 14 | Tribulation | θλῖψις, thlipsis | Tengasî | Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution | High | 2, 7 | Distinguish from general political/ethnic Kurdish suffering while not denying real overlap |
| 15 | Crown of Life | στέφανος τῆς ζωῆς | Tacê Jiyanê | Perseverance under Persecution | Medium | 2 | Victor’s-wreath reward imagery |
| 16 | Hidden Manna | μάννα κεκρυμμένον | Manna ya Veşartî | Perseverance under Persecution | Medium | 2 | Exodus-echo spiritual sustenance |
| 17 | Morning Star | ἀστὴρ πρωϊνός, astēr prōinos | Stêrka Sibehê | Return and Reign of Christ | Medium | 2, 22 | Regional astrological/Venus associations must not obscure the messianic title |
| 18 | Book of Life | βιβλίον τῆς ζωῆς | Pirtûka Jiyanê | Assurance of Salvation (baseline); Judgment of the Wicked | High | 3, 13, 17, 20, 21 | Must be taught as grace-grounded assurance, not a merit ledger |
| 19 | Lukewarm/Hot/Cold | χλιαρός/ζεστός/ψυχρός | Ne germ ne sar / Germ / Sar | Perseverance and Faithful Witness | Low | 3 | Spiritual complacency metaphor |
| 20 | Twenty-Four Elders | οἱ πρεσβύτεροι, presbyteroi | Rîspî | Worship of the Lamb; Sovereignty of God over History | High | 4, 5, 7, 11, 14, 19 | Deliberately NOT rendered “pîr,” to avoid the baseline’s documented Sufi hereditary-shrine-veneration collision |
| 21 | Holy, Holy, Holy | ἅγιος ἅγιος ἅγιος | Pîroz, Pîroz, Pîroz | Worship of the Lamb; Sovereignty of God | High | 4 | Trisagion; Trinitarian resonance needs explicit teaching |
| 22 | Worthy | ἄξιος, axios | Layiq | Worship of the Lamb; Deity of Christ | Critical | 5 | The worship-worthiness question itself — the deity claim in concentrated form |
| 23 | Lamb | ἀρνίον, arnion | Berx | Worship of the Lamb (central curriculum doctrine) | Critical | 5–7, 12–19, 21–22 (throughout) | Christ’s central sacrificial-yet-sovereign title; worship of the Lamb alongside God is the paradigm deity claim; distinguish from Eid al-Adha/Qurban ritual-sacrifice associations |
| 24 | Slain | ἐσφαγμένον, esphagmenon | Hatî Serjêkirin | Worship of the Lamb; Return and Reign of Christ | Critical | 5, 13 | Must retain the reality of violent sacrificial death against the regional crucifixion-denial default |
| 25 | New Song | ᾠδὴ καινή, ōdē kainē | Stiraneke Nû | Worship of the Lamb | Low | 5, 14, 15 | Worship-language marker |
| 26 | Purchased/Redeemed | ἠγόρασας, ēgorasas | Kirî | Salvation (baseline) | High | 5, 14 | Ransom-price language; anchor to Christ’s blood, not political liberation |
| 27 | Seal (noun/verb) | σφραγίς/σφραγίζω | Mor / Morkirî | Sovereignty of God over History | Medium | 5–8, 20, 22 | Structuring device for God’s ordered unfolding of history |
| 28 | Souls Under the Altar | ψυχαὶ ὑποκάτω τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου | Canên li Binê Gorî | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | High | 6 | Legitimate martyrs’ lament for justice |
| 29 | Wrath of the Lamb | ὀργὴ τοῦ ἀρνίου | Hêrsa Berx | Worship of the Lamb; Judgment of the Wicked | Critical | 6 | Deliberate paradox (gentle Lamb + righteous Judge); neither pole may be softened |
| 30 | Great Tribulation | θλῖψις μεγάλη | Tengasiya Mezin | Perseverance under Persecution | High | 7 | Intensified form of ch. 2–3 term |
| 31 | White Robes (washed in blood) | στολαὶ λευκαί | Kirasên Spî | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | High | 6, 7, 19 | Paradox of purity through blood must be retained, not smoothed into generic purity |
| 32 | Trumpet | σάλπιγξ, salpigx | Boriya | Sovereignty of God over History | Low | 8–11 | Structuring device paralleling the seals |
| 33 | Abyss / Bottomless Pit | ἄβυσσος, abyssos | Kortala Bêbin | Judgment of the Wicked; Sovereignty of God | High | 9, 11, 17, 20 | Must stay distinct from Hades and the final lake of fire |
| 34 | Abaddon/Apollyon | Ἀβαδδὼν/Ἀπολλύων | Abadon / Apolyon (Wêrankar) | Sovereignty of God over History | Medium | 9 | Proper-name pair meaning “Destroyer”; even destructive powers remain under God’s limit |
| 35 | Mystery | μυστήριον, mystērion | Sir | Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation | Medium | 10, 17 | Interpretive-key marker |
| 36 | Two Witnesses | δύο μάρτυρες, dyo martyres | Herdu Şahid | Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution | Critical | 11 | Narrative embodiment of testimony-unto-death and vindication; same şahid/şehîd caution as term #2 |
| 37 | Kingdom of the World Become the Kingdom of Our Lord | ἐγένετο ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ κόσμου τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν | Padîşahiya Vê Dinyayê Bû ya Xudanê Me | Kingdom of God (baseline); Return and Reign of Christ | Critical | 11 | Single most acute risk in the book for Kurdish-statehood conflation; must be taught as exclusively spiritual/eschatological |
| 38 | The Beast (from sea/earth) | θηρίον, thērion | Heywan | Return and Reign of Christ; Judgment of the Wicked | Critical | 11, 13, 14, 16–20 | Direct collision risk with Islamic Dabbat al-Ard (Qur’an 27:82) and Dajjal eschatology, in which Isa (a prophet only) defeats Dajjal and later dies — risks reducing Christ to a subordinate prophetic figure and flattening Revelation’s beast into existing Islamic apocalyptic folklore |
| 39 | Great Sign | σημεῖον μέγα, sēmeion mega | Nîşana Mezin | Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation | Medium | 12 | Explicit symbolic-mode marker |
| 40 | Woman Clothed with the Sun | γυνὴ περιβεβλημένη τὸν ἥλιον | Jina bi Rojê Xemilandî | Church as Bride of Christ; Sovereignty of God | High | 12 | Risk of over-identification with Mary interacting with Qur’anic Maryam reverence; corporate/covenant reading must be explicit |
| 41 | Great Red Dragon | δράκων μέγας πυρρός | Ejdehayê Sor ê Mezin | Assurance of Final Victory over Evil | High | 12 | Risk of assimilation into Kurdish/Persian dragon-slaying heroic folklore (e.g., Shahnameh) rather than being read as Satan |
| 42 | Satan / the Devil | Σατανᾶς / διάβολος | Şeytan | Assurance of Final Victory over Evil; Judgment of the Wicked | Critical | 2, 3, 12, 13, 20 | Uniquely acute Kurdish-context risk: the Yazidi minority faith’s Melek Taus has been repeatedly, falsely conflated with Satan/Iblis by outsiders, including by ISIS as partial justification for the 2014 genocide against Yazidis; extreme sensitivity required in any teaching or translation touching this term. Also carries the standard shared-vocabulary caution with the Qur’anic Iblis narrative |
| 43 | Accuser | κατήγωρ, katēgōr | Sûcdarker | Assurance of Salvation (baseline) | Medium | 12 | Legal-forensic image of Satan’s now-defeated accusation |
| 44 | Mark of the Beast | χάραγμα τοῦ θηρίου | Nîşana Heywanî | Judgment of the Wicked; Perseverance under Persecution | Critical | 13, 14, 16, 19, 20 | Real pastoral relevance given differing legal/social pressures on Christians across Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria; avoid speculative contemporary identification |
| 45 | Number of the Beast (666) | ἀριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου | Hijmara Heywanî: 666 | Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation | Medium | 13 | Discourage speculative modern numerological application |
| 46 | Worship the Beast | προσκυνέω τὸ θηρίον | Perizîna Heywanî | Worship of the Lamb (counterfeit) | Critical | 13, 14 | Dark parody of true worship of the Lamb; same Kurdish verb “perizîn” used for both — context must disambiguate object |
| 47 | False Prophet | ψευδοπροφήτης, pseudoprophētēs | Pêxemberê Derewîn | Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation; Judgment of the Wicked | High | 13, 16, 19, 20 | Reuse baseline “prophet” finality-of-prophethood caution; avoid contemporary named-figure application |
| 48 | Eternal Gospel | εὐαγγέλιον αἰώνιον | Mizgîniya Herheyî | Gospel (baseline) | Medium | 14 | Qualifier “eternal” paired consistently with baseline Mizgînî |
| 49 | Babylon the Great | Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη | Babîlona Mezin | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | High | 14, 16–18 | Symbolic, trans-historical category; must not be identified with any specific present-day nation or political rival |
| 50 | Torment | βασανισμός, basanismos | Êşkence | Judgment of the Wicked | High | 14, 18, 20 | Loaded with lived Kurdish political-torture resonance; requires trauma-aware pastoral framing |
| 51 | Harvest / Sickle / Winepress | θερισμός/δρέπανον/ληνός | Dirûn / Desar / Şerabxane | Judgment of the Wicked | Medium | 14 | Agricultural final-judgment imagery |
| 52 | Song of Moses and of the Lamb | ᾠδὴ Μωϋσέως καὶ τοῦ ἀρνίου | Stirana Mûsa û Stirana Berx | Worship of the Lamb; Sovereignty of God over History | High | 15 | Exodus-deliverance typology; must not collapse into political-liberation vocabulary field |
| 53 | Bowls (of wrath) | φιάλαι, phialai | Tas | Sovereignty of God over History | Low | 15, 16 | Final complete judgment sequence |
| 54 | Armageddon | Ἁρμαγεδών, Harmagedōn | Armagedon | Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil | Critical | 16 | Acute recent-history risk: ISIS explicitly framed war against Kurdish Peshmerga/YPG-YPJ forces in apocalyptic terms (magazine Dabiq); must not be heard as validating or echoing that violent apocalyptic rhetoric; anchor as God’s sovereign, non-human-executed victory |
| 55 | The Great Prostitute/Harlot | πόρνη μεγάλη, pornē megalē | Fahîşeya Mezin | Judgment of the Wicked | High | 17 | OT prophetic idiom for systemic idolatry; honor/shame dynamics require careful framing, not literal commentary on women |
| 56 | Beast with Seven Heads, Ten Horns | θηρίον… κεφαλὰς ἑπτὰ καὶ κέρατα δέκα | Heywana bi Heft Serî û Deh Strûyan | Return and Reign of Christ; Judgment of the Wicked | Critical | 13, 17 | Successive world-powers under God’s sovereign judgment (reuse Beast caution) |
| 57 | Babylon Is Fallen, Is Fallen | ἔπεσεν ἔπεσεν Βαβυλών | Babîlon ket, ket! | Judgment of the Wicked | High | 18 | Prophetic-lament repetition; reuse Babylon caution |
| 58 | Mourning of the Merchants | ἐπένθησαν οἱ ἔμποροι | Şînkirina Bazirganan | Judgment of the Wicked | Medium | 18 | Warning against economic complicity with unjust systems |
| 59 | Hallelujah | Ἁλληλουϊά, Hallēlouia | Hallelûya | Worship of the Lamb | Low | 19 | Untranslated liturgical exclamation, per established convention |
| 60 | Marriage Supper of the Lamb | γάμος τοῦ ἀρνίου | Şahiya Zewaca Berx | Church as Bride of Christ | High | 19 | Reuse Bride (aşîret marriage-alliance) and Lamb cautions together |
| 61 | Fine Linen = Righteous Deeds | βύσσινον, τὰ δικαιώματα | Kitanê Zelal û Paqij / Karên Adalet | Church as Bride of Christ; Salvation (baseline) | Critical | 19 | Must be read as fruit, not ground, of imputed righteousness (baseline caution) |
| 62 | The Word of God (title for Christ) | ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ, ho logos tou theou | Peyva Xwedê | Deity of Christ; Return and Reign of Christ | Critical | 19 | Qur’an calls Jesus “a Word from Him” (4:171) but denotes only miraculous creation/birth, explicitly NOT the eternal personal divine Logos of John 1/Revelation 19 — a major, specific collision requiring direct contrast every occurrence |
| 63 | King of Kings and Lord of Lords | βασιλεὺς βασιλέων καὶ κύριος κυρίων | Padîşahê Padîşahan û Xudanê Xudanan | Return and Reign of Christ; Lordship of Christ (baseline) | Critical | 17, 19 | Echoes the historical Persian imperial title “Shahanshah” (King of Kings, used until 1979 Iran); must be taught as a unique cosmic-spiritual claim, not an echo of earthly imperial titulature |
| 64 | Thousand Years / Millennium | χίλια ἔτη, chilia etē | Hezar Sal | Return and Reign of Christ; Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation | High | 20 | Reserve interpretive-schema (millennial-view) debate for doctrinal teaching notes, not resolved silently by translation |
| 65 | First Resurrection | ἀνάστασις πρώτη | Rabûna Yekemîn | Resurrection (baseline); Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | Critical | 20 | Must not suggest a repeating death/rebirth cycle (Yazidi kiras guhertin caution, reused) |
| 66 | Great White Throne | θρόνος μέγας λευκός | Text Mezin ê Spî | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | High | 20 | Final universal judgment imagery |
| 67 | Judgment | κρίσις, krisis | Dadgehî | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | High | 20 | Comprehensive final verdict on every person’s deeds |
| 68 | Hades | ᾅδης, hadēs | Hadês | Judgment of the Wicked; Return and Reign of Christ | High | 1, 6, 20 | Intermediate state of the dead; must be distinguished from both the final lake of fire and from the Islamic intermediate state barzakh |
| 69 | Lake of Fire | λίμνη τοῦ πυρός | Gola Agir | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | Critical | 19, 20, 21 (core passage) | Final, conscious, eternal judgment; must not be softened into temporary purgation |
| 70 | Second Death | θάνατος δεύτερος | Mirina Duyemîn | Judgment of the Wicked; Resurrection (baseline) | Critical | 2, 20, 21 (core passage) | Must not be confused with any reincarnation-adjacent notion (reuse Yazidi kiras guhertin caution) |
| 71 | New Jerusalem | Ἱερουσαλὴμ καινή | Orşelîma Nû | New Heaven and New Earth | High | 3 (implicit “my God’s city”), 21 (core passage), 22 | Risk of geopolitical (Jerusalem/Zion) misreading given Kurdish favorable sentiment toward Israel (baseline note) |
| 72 | Bride | νύμφη, nymphē | Bûk | Church as Bride of Christ | High | 19, 21 (core passage), 22 | Aşîret marriage-alliance/bride-price customs risk framing this as transactional rather than covenantal-love relationship |
| 73 | Tabernacle/Dwell (God with man) | σκηνή/σκηνόω | Kon / Bi Xelkê re Jiyîn | New Heaven and New Earth | High | 7, 13, 15, 21 (core passage) | Requires explicit OT tabernacle/Shekinah background teaching |
| 74 | Throne (of God/Lamb, joint) | θρόνος, thronos | Text | Sovereignty of God over History; Worship of the Lamb | Medium (generic) / Critical (joint throne, ch. 22) | 1, 3–7, 12, 14, 16, 19–22 | The singular joint throne of God-and-Lamb (22:1,3) is itself a deity claim |
| 75 | Twelve Gates/Foundations (tribes/apostles) | πυλῶνες/θεμέλιοι | Derî / Bingeh | Unity of Jews and Gentiles (baseline); Church as God’s People | High | 21 | Unity of OT and NT people of God in one city |
| 76 | Nations Bringing Their Glory | τὰ ἔθνη… τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν | Miletan… Rûmeta Xwe | New Heaven and New Earth | High | 21 | Positive, inclusive sense (distinct from Romans’ contrastive Gentile usage); genuine pastoral asset for Kurdish ethnic-national identity, taught within submission to Christ |
| 77 | Nothing Unclean Shall Enter | οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ πᾶν κοινόν | Tiştekî Neqedandî Nakeve Hundir | New Heaven and New Earth | Medium | 21 | Final moral-spiritual purity |
| 78 | River of the Water of Life | ποταμὸς ὕδατος ζωῆς | Çemê Ava Jiyanê | New Heaven and New Earth | Medium | 21 (core, v.6), 22 | Continuation of core-passage spring-of-life imagery |
| 79 | Tree of Life | ξύλον τῆς ζωῆς | Dara Jiyanê | New Heaven and New Earth | High | 2, 22 | Risk of assimilation into generic regional Tree-of-Life decorative/folk-religious motif |
| 80 | No More Curse | οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι κατάθεμα | Êdî Nifir Nabe | New Heaven and New Earth | Medium | 22 | Reversal of Genesis 3 curse |
| 81 | His Servants Will Worship Him | οἱ δοῦλοι αὐτοῦ λατρεύσουσιν αὐτῷ | Xulamên wî perizîna wî bikin | Worship of the Lamb | High | 7, 22 | Singular pronoun intentionally preserves God-and-Lamb joint-throne ambiguity |
| 82 | Soon/Quickly | ταχύ/ἐν τάχει | Zû | Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil | High | 1, 2, 3, 22 | Risk of being heard as date-setting or coded political-imminence claim, paralleling baseline Rizgarî caution |
| 83 | The Spirit and the Bride Say, Come | τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ νύμφη λέγουσιν Ἔρχου | Ruh û Bûk dibêjin, Were! | Church as Bride of Christ | High | 22 | Reuse Bride and Holy Spirit cautions jointly |
| 84 | Do Not Add / Do Not Take Away | μὴ ἐπιθῇ/ἀφέλῃ | Zêde nekin / Jê Dernexin | Inspiration of Scripture (baseline) | Medium | 22 | Canon-closing warning |
| 85 | Come, Lord Jesus | Ἔρχου, κύριε Ἰησοῦ | Were, Xudan Îsa! | Lordship of Christ (baseline); Return and Reign of Christ | Critical | 22 | Must reuse baseline Xudan/Îsa exactly; the book’s climactic Lordship confession |
Section 3 — Coverage Confirmation
All 22 chapters of Revelation have been analyzed. No chapter introduces zero new load-bearing vocabulary; each chapter section in 07_semantic_analysis.md documents either new terms or explicit reuse of previously-established terms with chapter-specific intensification (e.g., ch. 18 intensifies but does not newly introduce the Babylon material of ch. 14 and 17).
Total new terms catalogued: 85 Total baseline terms reused: 24 Critical-risk terms (new + reused combined) requiring theologian review at every occurrence: Alpha and Omega, Firstborn of the Dead, Seven Spirits, Worthy, Lamb, Slain, Wrath of the Lamb, Two Witnesses, Kingdom of the World Become the Kingdom of Our Lord, The Beast, Satan/the Devil, Mark of the Beast, Worship the Beast, Armageddon, Beast with Seven Heads Ten Horns, Fine Linen = Righteous Deeds, The Word of God (title), King of Kings and Lord of Lords, First Resurrection, Lake of Fire, Second Death, Come Lord Jesus — plus all baseline Critical terms (God, Jesus, Lord, Son of God, Holy Spirit, Father, Kingdom of God, Salvation, Messiah, Resurrection).
This glossary must be merged into an updated translation_memory.json (version increment required) and cross-checked against a new doctrine_risk_registry.json for Revelation before Phase 2 segment translation begins.
Critical Risk Terms
Salvation
Approved rendering: Rizgarî
Transliteration: rizgarî
Doctrine: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. rizgarî/azadî are the defining vocabulary of Kurdish political-nationalist liberation; must be anchored to Christ’s personal, spiritual deliverance. Revelation extension: reaches its most doxological concentration at 7:10, 12:10, 19:1 (‘Salvation belongs to our God’) — every occurrence must attach salvation explicitly to God’s/the Lamb’s own action, never human liberation struggle.
Adoption
Approved rendering: Kurxwendin
Transliteration: kurxwendin
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Inherited from Romans package. Shares the Quranic restriction on adoption (33:4-5) and Kurdish tribal (aşîret) lineage structures. Revelation extension: 21:7’s ‘he will be my son’ and the new ‘inherit’ term (below) reuse this framing; must be taught explicitly against the same tribal/Quranic default, and sharply distinguished from Christ’s own unique, eternal Sonship.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: Rabûn
Transliteration: rabûn
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Inherited from Romans package. Shares the Quran’s crucifixion-denial and the Yazidi ‘kiras guhertin’ (reincarnation) risk. Revelation extension: the intensified compound ‘first_resurrection’ (Rabûna Yekemîn, 20:5-6) must not suggest a repeating death/rebirth cycle; this remains a single, historically decisive, non-repeating event.
Lord
Approved rendering: Xudan
Transliteration: Xudan
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Inherited from Romans package. Applying supreme, exclusive Lordship to Jesus is the deity claim itself; never softened. Revelation extension: peaks at 19:16 (‘King of kings and Lord of lords’) and climactically at 22:20 (‘Come, Lord Jesus’), which must match the fixed Romans 10:9 rendering ‘Îsa Xudan e’ in spirit and force.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Kurê Xwedê
Transliteration: Kurê Xwedê
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Inherited from Romans package. Guards against both the Quranic denial and the inverted Sufi/Yazidi mystical-absorption or divine-manifestation over-assimilation risk. Revelation extension: must be kept sharply distinct from ‘Son of Man’ (rank/human-identity title, ch.1,14) and from the adoptive ‘son’ promised to the overcomer at 21:7 (see ‘son_believer’ below).
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: Padîşahiya Xwedê
Transliteration: padîşahiya Xwedê
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Inherited from Romans package. Must never be heard as validating Kurdish statehood aspiration. Revelation extension: reaches maximal intensity at 11:15 (‘the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord’) — the single most acute risk-point for this conflation in the whole curriculum; requires mandatory theologian-authored teaching commentary at every occurrence, not translation alone.
Messiah
Approved rendering: Mesîh
Transliteration: Mesîh
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Inherited from Romans package. Carries the same pre-loaded Quranic content as Arabic’s al-Masih; Alevi/Yarsani expectations add a further comparison layer for some audiences. Revelation extension: peak occurrence at 11:15, ‘the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.‘
Jesus
Approved rendering: Îsa
Transliteration: Îsa
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Inherited from Romans package. Carries the Quranic prophet-only, non-crucified, non-divine narrative that must be actively corrected. Revelation extension: must retain ‘ho martys ho pistos’ (faithful witness) framing at 1:5 and the climactic closing prayer ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ (22:20).
God
Approved rendering: Xwedê
Transliteration: Xwedê
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Allah
Inherited from Romans package. Native Old-Iranian-root word; strict tawhid must be distinguished from the Trinitarian conception denoted by the same word. Revelation extension: repeatedly paired with titles applied identically to the Lamb (joint throne, joint worship, Alpha and Omega) — the deity-of-Christ argument in concentrated form throughout this book.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Ruhê Pîroz
Transliteration: Ruhê Pîroz
Doctrine: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Shares the Quranic identification with the angel Jibril; the created-being-versus-divine-Person distinction must be explicit at every occurrence. Revelation extension: must be explicitly reconciled with the symbolic ‘seven Spirits’ (1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6) as this one Spirit’s sevenfold fullness, never multiple spirit-beings.
Father
Approved rendering: Bav
Transliteration: Bav
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Inherited from Romans package. Shares the region’s tawhid-anthropomorphism objection to Father-language for God. Revelation extension: used more sparingly than in Romans (1:6; 2:27; 3:5,21; 14:1); the same caution applies without diminishment.
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: Adaleta ku tê hesibandin
Transliteration: adaleta ku tê hesibandin
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: Adaleta ku tê bidestxistin
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: must retain ‘credited/reckoned,’ never ‘earned.’ Revelation extension: must be read together with the new term ‘fine_linen_righteous_deeds’ (19:8) — the Bride’s garment of righteous deeds is the fruit of this credited righteousness, never its ground; teaching in isolation risks a works-righteousness reading.
Faithful Witness
Approved rendering: Şahid
Transliteration: şahid
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Rejected alternatives: şehîd
ABSOLUTE RULE: never render as ‘şehîd.’ Şehîd (martyr) carries enormous independent weight in Kurdish nationalist and Islamic usage, venerating fallen fighters. ‘Şahid’ concerns testimony, never political/military martyrdom; attach an explicit distinguishing clause at first occurrence in every teaching unit.
Firstborn Of The Dead
Approved rendering: Yekemîn ê ji nav Miriyan Rabûyî
Transliteration: yekemîn ê ji nav miriyan rabûyî
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: a birth-order/kinship-based literal rendering of ‘firstborn’
Rank/preeminence language (as in Colossians 1:15,18), not birth-order or createdness. Deliberately avoids kinship/birth vocabulary entirely to resist being read as confirming Christ’s createdness. Read together with baseline ‘son_of_god’ and ‘resurrection.‘
Alpha And Omega
Approved rendering: Alfa û Omega / Destpêk û Dawî
Transliteration: alfa û omega / destpêk û dawî
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Identical title applied to God the Father (1:8; 21:6) and to Christ (22:13) — the deity-of-Christ argument itself. Must never be softened or explained away as merely honorific. Greek letter-names transliterated; paired with the native paraphrase ‘Destpêk û Dawî’ (Beginning and End) for intelligibility.
Seven Spirits
Approved rendering: Heft Ruh
Transliteration: heft ruh
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over History
Rejected alternatives: reading as multiple distinct spirit-beings
Symbolic number denoting the fullness/completeness of the one Holy Spirit (cf. Isaiah 11:2), never multiple spirits. Risk of misreading via folk-Islamic angelology/jinn categories, or as compromising Trinitarian monotheism if left unexplained; must always be reconciled explicitly with baseline ‘holy_spirit.‘
Worthy
Approved rendering: Layiq
Transliteration: layiq
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
The worship-worthiness question itself. Declaring Christ uniquely worthy of the same worship as God (5:12-13) is the deity-of-Christ claim in concentrated form.
Lamb
Approved rendering: Berx
Transliteration: berx
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Christ’s central title in Revelation (28 occurrences). Worship (perizîn) directed to the Lamb equally with the One on the throne (5:13-14) is the paradigm claim tawhid theology rejects as shirk. Regional Eid al-Adha/Qurban sacrificial-lamb imagery is a real asset but must be explicitly distinguished from that tradition’s repeated ritual commemoration — this is a unique, once-for-all, divine self-sacrifice.
Slain
Approved rendering: Hatî Serjêkirin
Transliteration: hatî serjêkirin
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
The permanent marks of Christ’s violent, sacrificial death, visible even in his risen, enthroned glory. Must retain both the reality of a violent, sacrificial death AND simultaneous risen sovereignty; must not be softened given the shared regional Quranic crucifixion-denial.
Wrath Of The Lamb
Approved rendering: Hêrsa Berx
Transliteration: hêrsa berx
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
A deliberate paradox: the gentle sacrificial Lamb is also the righteous Judge (6:16). Neither pole may be softened — removing the wrath, or losing the Lamb’s sacrificial gentleness, both distort the doctrine.
Two Witnesses
Approved rendering: Herdu Şahid
Transliteration: herdu şahid
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Rejected alternatives: şehîd
Same şahid/şehîd caution as ‘faithful_witness’; here the narrative literally depicts testimony unto death and resurrection (11:3-13), making terminological precision essential.
Kingdom Of The World Become Kingdom Of Our Lord
Approved rendering: Padîşahiya Vê Dinyayê Bû ya Xudanê Me
Transliteration: padîşahiya vê dinyayê bû ya xudanê me
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission and God’s Reign
The single most acute risk-point in the whole book for being heard as validating a specific present-day political outcome such as Kurdish statehood. Must be taught as the final, exclusively spiritual and eschatological triumph of Christ’s reign over history, never as a template for any nation’s political program.
The Beast
Approved rendering: Heywan
Transliteration: heywan
Doctrine: The Beast and False Worship
Symbol of persecuting political-religious power (sea-beast) and deceptive false-religious authority serving it (earth-beast/false prophet). Direct collision risk with Islamic Dabbat al-Ard (Qur’an 27:82) and Dajjal eschatology, in which Isa is a prophet-only figure who defeats the Dajjal and later dies naturally — risks reducing Christ to a subordinate prophetic figure and flattening the beast into existing Islamic apocalyptic folklore.
Satan The Devil
Approved rendering: Şeytan
Transliteration: şeytan
Doctrine: Spiritual Conflict and Satan’s Defeat
ABSOLUTE RULE: the Yazidi minority faith’s central figure Melek Taus (‘Peacock Angel’) has been repeatedly and falsely conflated with Satan/Iblis by outsiders, including by ISIS as partial justification for the 2014 genocide against Yazidis. Teaching material must never use this term to make any comparative statement, even implicit, about Yazidi belief. Also carries the standard shared-vocabulary caution with the Qur’anic Iblis narrative (a jinn who refused to bow to Adam — a different origin-story than Revelation’s fallen-angel/ancient-serpent depiction).
Mark Of The Beast
Approved rendering: Nîşana Heywanî
Transliteration: nîşana heywanî
Doctrine: The Beast and False Worship
Symbol of allegiance/ownership enabling participation in the beast’s economic/social system. Requires acute pastoral sensitivity given genuinely differing legal/social pressures on Christian minorities across Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria; avoid speculative identification with any specific contemporary technology, government, or political program.
Worship The Beast
Approved rendering: Perizîna Heywanî
Transliteration: perizîna heywanî
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Counterfeit worship, a direct parody of the true worship due to God and the Lamb. The same Kurdish verb ‘perizîn’ serves both true and false worship, so the object must always be explicitly marked (‘perizîna Berx’ vs. ‘perizîna Heywanî’) so context makes it unmistakable.
Beast Seven Heads Ten Horns
Approved rendering: Heywana bi Heft Serî û Deh Strûyan
Transliteration: heywana bi heft serî û deh strûyan
Doctrine: The Beast and False Worship
Symbolic representation of successive world-empires/powers in opposition to God, all ultimately under his sovereign judgment. Reuse ‘the_beast’ caution in full.
Armageddon
Approved rendering: Armagedon
Transliteration: armagedon
Doctrine: Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil
Symbolic place-name for the final gathering of powers opposed to God (16:16). ACUTE RECENT-HISTORY RISK: ISIS explicitly framed its own campaign, including the war fought directly against Kurdish Peshmerga and YPG/YPJ forces, in deliberately apocalyptic terms (propaganda magazine Dabiq named for an end-times-linked Syrian town). Must be anchored as God’s sovereign, non-humanly-executed final victory, never heard as validating or echoing that recent, violent rhetoric.
Fine Linen Righteous Deeds
Approved rendering: Kitanê Zelal û Paqij / Karên Adalet
Transliteration: kitanê zelal û paqij / karên adalet
Doctrine: Sanctification
The Bride’s garment identified explicitly as ‘the righteous deeds of the saints’ (19:8). Must be read together with baseline ‘imputed_righteousness’: these are the fruit of grace, never its ground; risk of collapsing into works-righteousness if taught in isolation.
The Word Of God Title
Approved rendering: Peyva Xwedê
Transliteration: peyva Xwedê
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: transliterated ‘Logos’
A divine title for Christ as the rider on the white horse (19:13), echoing John 1:1,14. The Qur’an calls Jesus ‘a Word from Him’ (Kalimatun minhu, Sura 4:171), denoting only his miraculous, word-spoken creation/birth — explicitly NOT the eternal, personal, divine Logos of John 1 and Revelation 19. One of the most theologically consequential collision points in the curriculum; requires direct, explicit contrast every occurrence.
King Of Kings Lord Of Lords
Approved rendering: Padîşahê Padîşahan û Xudanê Xudanan
Transliteration: padîşahê padîşahan û xudanê xudanan
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: transliteration/echo of ‘Shahanshah’
Supreme title of absolute sovereignty over all earthly kings and lords (17:14; 19:16). ‘King of Kings’ echoes ‘Shahanshah,’ the actual historical imperial title of Persian/Iranian monarchs used until 1979, carrying direct living political-historical memory for Kurdish communities under Iran especially. Must be taught as a unique cosmic-spiritual claim, never an echo of, or implicit endorsement of, historical earthly imperial titulature.
Beast And False Prophet Lake Of Fire
Approved rendering: Heywan û Pêxemberê Derewîn ketin Gola Agir
Transliteration: heywan û pêxemberê derewîn ketin gola agir
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
First occurrence (19:20) of the final judgment of the beast and false prophet. Reuse ‘the_beast,’ ‘false_prophet,’ and ‘lake_of_fire’ cautions jointly.
First Resurrection
Approved rendering: Rabûna Yekemîn
Transliteration: rabûna yekemîn
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Distinguished from a ‘second’/general resurrection (20:5-6). Reuse baseline ‘resurrection’ caution in full; the ‘first/second’ qualifier must not suggest a repeating cycle of deaths-and-rebirths (Yazidi kiras guhertin), but a single, historically decisive event with an ordered future consummation.
Lake Of Fire
Approved rendering: Gola Agir
Transliteration: gola agir
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Final place of judgment for the unrepentant, the beast, false prophet, Satan, Death, and Hades (19:20; 20:10,14-15; 21:8). Must be taught as final and everlasting judgment, distinct from any notion of temporary purification; must not be softened into a merely symbolic warning devoid of real consequence.
Second Death
Approved rendering: Mirina Duyemîn
Transliteration: mirina duyemîn
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Final, eternal separation from God, distinct from ordinary physical death (2:11; 20:6,14; 21:8). Must not be confused with any doctrine of reincarnation/rebirth (Yazidi kiras guhertin caution, reused from baseline ‘resurrection’); a singular, final, non-repeating judgment-death, the theological opposite of a cycle.
Come Lord Jesus
Approved rendering: Were, Xudan Îsa!
Transliteration: were, xudan îsa!
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
The church’s climactic closing prayer (22:20), echoing the Aramaic ‘Maranatha.’ Must reuse baseline ‘Xudan’ and ‘Îsa’ exactly, consistent with ‘Îsa Xudan e’ (Romans 10:9); this is the book’s final and climactic Lordship confession and must never be softened.
Son Believer
Approved rendering: Kur
Transliteration: kur
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
The redeemed believer’s adoptive-son status before God (21:7), distinct from Christ’s unique divine Sonship. Must be sharply distinguished in teaching from baseline ‘Kurê Xwedê’ (Son of God): believers become adopted sons by grace; Christ alone is Son by eternal nature. Collapsing the two categories would corrupt both the Adoption doctrine and the Sonship-of-Christ doctrine.
High Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: Kerem
Transliteration: kerem
Doctrine: Grace
Inherited from Romans package. Risk of implying an elite, Sufi-keramet-style favor reserved for advanced spiritual figures rather than grace freely given to all. Revelation extension: opens (1:4) and closes (22:21) the whole book; must be taught alongside ‘without_payment’ (dōrean, 21:6) as the same free-gift theology.
Faith
Approved rendering: Îman
Transliteration: iman
Doctrine: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Must be anchored as personal trust in Christ, not creedal assent. Revelation extension: the perseverance-under-persecution emphasis (2:13,19; 13:10; 14:12; 17:14) strengthens this caution; negated directly by ‘faithless’ (Bêîman, 21:8).
Saints
Approved rendering: Pîrozan
Transliteration: pîrozan
Doctrine: Sainthood
Inherited from Romans package. Must not be read as the hereditary, shrine-venerated Sufi ‘pîr’ elite. Revelation extension: the frequent martyrdom association (5:8; 6:9-11; 8:3-4; 13:7,10; 14:12; 17:6; 19:8) strengthens rather than weakens this caution — saints remain an ordinary, corporate designation for all suffering believers.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: Teqdîs
Transliteration: teqdîs
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: Pakkirin
Inherited from Romans package. Pakkirin risks reading as ritual cleanliness. Revelation extension: the paradox of robes made white by washing them in the Lamb’s blood (7:14) and the Bride’s fine-linen garment of ‘righteous deeds’ (19:8) must both be taught as the Spirit’s ongoing work and as fruit — never ground — of imputed righteousness.
Church
Approved rendering: Dêr
Transliteration: dêr
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Inherited from Romans package. Dêr = building; ‘Civata Mesîhî’ needed for the gathered-people sense. Revelation extension: the seven letters (ch.2-3) address real congregations under varying persecution pressure; region-aware framing is acutely relevant given religious-freedom variance across the four states Kurdish spans.
Sin
Approved rendering: Guneh
Transliteration: guneh
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Inherited from Romans package. Shares the region’s Islamic fitrah (innate purity) doctrine. Revelation extension: 1:5 (‘freed us from our sins by his blood’) grounds the book’s opening doxology in Christ’s atoning work; ‘azad kirin’ (freed) there must be anchored to this atoning sense, not political liberation.
Prophet
Approved rendering: Pêxember
Transliteration: pêxember
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Inherited from Romans package. Same finality-of-prophethood risk as Arabic’s nabi. Revelation extension: applied to the two witnesses (11:10) and directly counterbalanced throughout by ‘false_prophet’ (see below).
Covenant
Approved rendering: Peyman
Transliteration: peyman
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Kurdish aşîret alliance-making tradition is revocable and negotiated between equals, unlike the unilateral biblical covenant. Revelation extension: the ark of the covenant appears in the heavenly temple (11:19), a brief but load-bearing OT-continuity reference.
Election
Approved rendering: Hilbijartin
Transliteration: hilbijartin
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Inherited from Romans package. Also the modern standard word for democratic elections. Revelation extension: 17:14 (‘called, chosen, and faithful’) reinforces this caution; God’s sovereign, unilateral choice must be distinguished from a vote.
Mission
Approved rendering: Peywira Mizgîniyê
Transliteration: peywira Mizgîniyê
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Inherited from Romans package. Safety implications differ significantly by host state. Revelation extension: reused for ‘Mission and Evangelism to the Nations’ (5:9; 7:9; 14:6; 21:24,26); ‘nations bringing their glory’ is a genuine positive asset for Kurdish ethnic-national identity when taught within submission to Christ’s reign.
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: Dûndana Dawid
Transliteration: dûndana Dawid
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Conveys physical lineage and OT covenant fulfillment. Revelation extension: a new companion compound ‘Koka Dawid’ (Root of David, 5:5; 22:16) must be taught alongside this baseline term as pointing to the same Davidic-messianic fulfillment, not a separate concept.
Holy Holy Holy
Approved rendering: Pîroz, Pîroz, Pîroz
Transliteration: pîroz, pîroz, pîroz
Doctrine: Sanctification
The Trisagion (4:8), echoing Isaiah 6:3. Historically read by Christian tradition as pointing to the Trinity; must not be flattened to mere Hebraic-superlative emphasis, nor left to appear as contradicting tawhid without explanation. Builds on but is a distinct, elevated-risk compound of the baseline ‘holy’ entry.
Revelation Apocalypse
Approved rendering: Peyxam
Transliteration: peyxam
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: direct transliteration of ‘apokalypsis’
The book’s own genre-title. Must be distinguished from the Islamic wahy model of verbatim divine dictation; this is a disclosed vision mediated through, and expressed in, John’s own idiom, yet still fully authoritative. Serves as the destination-language book name for citation purposes.
Ruler Of Kings Of The Earth
Approved rendering: Serokê Padîşahên Erdê
Transliteration: serokê padîşahên erdê
Doctrine: The Return and Reign of Christ
Anticipates 19:16. Christ’s sovereignty over all earthly rulers, including any Kurdish national-political aspiration; must not be read as endorsing a specific political order.
Kingdom And Priests
Approved rendering: Padîşahî û Kahîn
Transliteration: padîşahî û kahîn
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission and God’s Reign
Echoes Exodus 19:6. Corporate, spiritual identity for all believers, not a political state nor a hereditary priestly caste.
Almighty
Approved rendering: Xudanê Her Tiştî
Transliteration: xudanê her tiştî
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over History
Rejected alternatives: Qadîr
Native compound deliberately preferred over the Arabic-loan ‘Qadîr,’ which would narrow the term into one specific Islamic Divine Name rather than conveying total, unrivaled sovereignty.
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: Kurê Mirov
Transliteration: kurê mirov
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: generic regional idiom ‘ibn Adam’ treated as equivalent
Daniel 7’s enthroned, divine-human judge-figure. Risk of flattening into the generic regional idiom for ‘a person,’ losing the specific divine-judge allusion. A deliberately double-edged title: fully human, yet the Daniel 7 figure who receives everlasting dominion and is worshipped.
Throne
Approved rendering: Text
Transliteration: text
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over History
The controlling image of the entire book. Generic occurrences carry Medium-tier stakes on their own, but the singular joint ‘throne of God and of the Lamb’ (22:1,3) is Critical and must be preserved as one shared throne, not two — itself a deity-of-Christ claim (see ‘Worship of the Lamb’ doctrine).
Keys Of Death And Hades
Approved rendering: Kilîtên Mirinê û Hadêsê
Transliteration: kilîtên mirinê û hadêsê
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Christ’s sovereign authority over death and the realm of the dead, secured by his own resurrection (1:18). Read together with the ‘hades’ entry (ch.20).
The One Who Conquers
Approved rendering: Serkeftî
Transliteration: serkeftî
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
‘Serkeftin/serkeftî’ is standard Kurdish political/armed-struggle victory vocabulary (Peshmerga, YPG/YPJ campaign narratives). Every occurrence must be collocated with ‘bi baweriyê’ (through faith) or ‘di Mesîh de’ (in Christ), never left as a bare reward-formula. Repeated seven times across the letters (ch.2-3) and again at 21:7.
Synagogue Of Satan
Approved rendering: Civata Şeytên
Transliteration: civata şeytên
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
A specific historical group of unbelieving opponents in first-century Smyrna and Philadelphia. Must not be read as antisemitic or a blanket statement about Jewish people, especially given the baseline’s noted favorable Kurdish popular sentiment toward Jewish people/Israel.
Tribulation
Approved rendering: Tengasî
Transliteration: tengasî
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Suffering for Christ specifically; distinguishable from, though it may overlap painfully with, the political/ethnic suffering already well known to Kurdish communities across all four host states.
Great Tribulation
Approved rendering: Tengasiya Mezin
Transliteration: tengasiya mezin
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Intensified form of the ch.2-3 tribulation; the severe testing the faithful undergo before final vindication (7:14).
Book Of Life
Approved rendering: Pirtûka Jiyanê
Transliteration: pirtûka jiyanê
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation
Register of those who belong to God, determining final destiny. Must be taught as grace-grounded assurance secured before the foundation of the world (13:8; 17:8), never a merit ledger one must earn one’s way into (3:5; 20:12,15; 21:27).
Twenty Four Elders
Approved rendering: Rîspî
Transliteration: rîspî
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over History
Rejected alternatives: pîr
Deliberately NOT rendered ‘pîr,’ which the baseline flags as loaded with Kurdish Sufi hereditary shrine-veneration and intercessory-status associations still socially significant in parts of Iraqi Kurdistan. ‘Rîspî’ (tribal-council elder) conveys honored representative status without that collision.
Purchased Redeemed
Approved rendering: Kirî
Transliteration: kirî
Doctrine: Salvation
Ransom/redemption-price language: Christ’s blood as the price of redemption from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation (5:9). Must be anchored to Christ’s atoning blood-price, not the political-liberation lens documented for baseline ‘salvation.‘
Souls Under The Altar
Approved rendering: Canên li Binê Gorî
Transliteration: canên li binê gorî
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
The martyrs’ souls awaiting vindication, crying ‘How long, O Lord?’ (6:9-11). The imprecatory cry should be taught as legitimate lament, not impatience or lack of faith.
White Robes
Approved rendering: Kirasên Spî
Transliteration: kirasên spî
Doctrine: Sainthood
Robes of purity, victory, and vindication, explicitly washed white in the Lamb’s blood (7:14; 19:8). The paradox of purity-through-blood must be preserved, not smoothed into a generic purity metaphor.
Abyss
Approved rendering: Kortala Bêbin
Transliteration: kortala bêbin
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
The place of temporary imprisonment for demonic powers. Must be kept strictly distinct from Hades (intermediate state of the dead) and the lake of fire (final judgment); collapsing these three terms would blur the book’s careful judgment sequence.
Woman Clothed With The Sun
Approved rendering: Jina bi Rojê Xemilandî
Transliteration: jina bi rojê xemilandî
Doctrine: The Church as Bride of Christ
Symbol most likely representing the covenant people of God (Israel/church), not a specific individual. Risk of over-identification with Mary alone, interacting with significant Islamic reverence for Maryam; the corporate/covenant reading must be taught explicitly alongside any messianic-birth application.
Great Red Dragon
Approved rendering: Ejdehayê Sor ê Mezin
Transliteration: ejdehayê sor ê mezin
Doctrine: Spiritual Conflict and Satan’s Defeat
Explicitly identified in 12:9 as ‘that ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan.’ Kurdish/Persian folklore has a rich dragon-slaying heroic tradition (Shahnameh’s Fereydun/Zahhak legend); risk of assimilation into this heroic-legendary genre rather than being understood as Satan. Every occurrence must retain the in-text identification with Satan, never left as an unglossed noun.
False Prophet
Approved rendering: Pêxemberê Derewîn
Transliteration: pêxemberê derewîn
Doctrine: The Beast and False Worship
The second beast’s later title (16:13; 19:20; 20:10), a deceiving religious authority serving the first beast’s system. Reuse baseline ‘prophet’ finality-of-prophethood caution; avoid any implication of contemporary claims about specific named religious figures or traditions.
Babylon The Great
Approved rendering: Babîlona Mezin
Transliteration: babîlona mezin
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Symbolic name for the world’s idolatrous, oppressive political-economic-religious system (ch.14,17-18). Must be taught as a symbolic, trans-historical category; over-literalizing it to a specific contemporary nation, ethnic group, or political rival is a serious pastoral risk given real regional political tensions.
Babylon Is Fallen
Approved rendering: Babîlon ket, ket!
Transliteration: babîlon ket, ket!
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Prophetic-lament repetition (cf. Isaiah 21:9) proclaiming certain, decisive judgment on the corrupt world-system (18:2).
Great Prostitute
Approved rendering: Fahîşeya Mezin
Transliteration: fahîşeya mezin
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
OT prophetic idiom (cf. Hosea, Ezekiel 16, 23) for idolatrous unfaithfulness, personifying the corrupt world-system. Strong regional honor/shame dynamics require the metaphor to be taught explicitly as inherited OT idiom for systemic spiritual unfaithfulness, never as commentary on women or sexuality as such.
Torment
Approved rendering: Êşkence
Transliteration: êşkence
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Severe, ongoing suffering as final judgment (14:9-11). ‘Êşkence’ is the standard Kurdish word for (state) torture, carrying heavy, specific, lived resonance given documented human-rights abuses against Kurdish political prisoners across the region; a genuine rhetorical asset for conveying real severity but requires trauma-aware pastoral framing, never casual homiletical use, and never pairing with named contemporary perpetrators.
Song Of Moses And Of The Lamb
Approved rendering: Stirana Mûsa û Stirana Berx
Transliteration: stirana mûsa û stirana berx
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Joins Exodus-deliverance typology (Exodus 15) with the Lamb’s redemption (15:3-4). Must not be collapsed with the region’s own vocabulary of political deliverance/liberation, per the baseline ‘salvation’ caution.
Marriage Supper Of The Lamb
Approved rendering: Şahiya Zewaca Berx
Transliteration: şahiya zewaca berx
Doctrine: The Church as Bride of Christ
Consummation of the Bride/Lamb relationship (cf. 21:2,9). Reuse the Bride (aşîret marriage-alliance) and Lamb cautions jointly.
Thousand Years
Approved rendering: Hezar Sal
Transliteration: hezar sal
Doctrine: The Return and Reign of Christ
A symbolic or literal period of Christ’s reign/Satan’s binding (20:1-6), a matter of legitimate Christian disagreement (premillennial/amillennial/postmillennial). Render plainly and reserve interpretive-schema commentary for teaching notes, never resolved silently by translation.
Great White Throne
Approved rendering: Text Mezin ê Spî
Transliteration: text mezin ê spî
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Final judgment-seat imagery (20:11) before which every person stands.
Judgment
Approved rendering: Dadgehî
Transliteration: dadgehî
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
God’s final, righteous, comprehensive verdict on every person’s deeds (20:12-13). Kurdish legal vocabulary is drawn from modern secular/civil court systems; must be paired with courtroom-transcending qualifiers (‘dawî,’ ‘hertim’ — final, eternal) so it is not read as an appealable civil proceeding.
Hades
Approved rendering: Hadês
Transliteration: hadês
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
The intermediate holding-place of the dead (1:18; 6:8; 20:13-14), distinct from the final lake of fire and from the abyss (demonic imprisonment). Must not be conflated with the Islamic intermediate state barzakh, which is conceived differently.
New Jerusalem
Approved rendering: Orşelîma Nû
Transliteration: orşelîma nû
Doctrine: The New Heaven and New Earth
The heavenly counterpart/fulfillment of earthly Jerusalem/Zion (3:12; 21:2; 21:10). Risk of being heard as endorsing a specific this-worldly geopolitical claim about literal Jerusalem, given Kurdish popular favorable sentiment toward Israel and intense regional political salience; must be anchored as the symbolic, consummated presence of God, per the ‘kingdom_of_god’ pattern.
Bride
Approved rendering: Bûk
Transliteration: bûk
Doctrine: The Church as Bride of Christ
The church as Christ’s betrothed, prepared and adorned for consummated union (19:7; 21:2,9; 22:17). Kurdish aşîret marriage customs (arranged marriage, bride-price/kalın, family-alliance function) risk framing this as transactional rather than covenantal love freely secured by Christ; requires explicit teaching contrast at every occurrence, parallel to the baseline covenant/aşîret-peyman caution.
Tabernacle Dwell
Approved rendering: Konê Xwedê / Ew ê bi wan re bijî
Transliteration: konê xwedê / ew ê bi wan re bijî
Doctrine: The New Heaven and New Earth
OT tabernacle/Shekinah-presence imagery (21:3), echoing John 1:14. Requires the OT tabernacle background to be explicitly supplied; without it, readers may hear only a generic ‘God will be near,’ missing the specific fulfillment-of-tabernacle/temple theology.
Twelve Gates Foundations
Approved rendering: Deh û Du Derî (Eşîr) / Deh û Du Bingeh (Şandî)
Transliteration: deh û du derî (eşîr) / deh û du bingeh (şandî)
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Twelve gates named for the tribes and twelve foundations named for the apostles (21:12-14), uniting OT and NT people of God in one city. Should not be read through the lens of Kurdish aşîret tribal-confederation structures as merely another honor-based kinship system.
Nations Bringing Their Glory
Approved rendering: Miletan… Rûmeta Xwe
Transliteration: miletan… rûmeta xwe
Doctrine: The New Heaven and New Earth
Redeemed nations’ cultural/national distinctiveness honored, not erased, in the eschatological city (21:24,26). A genuine pastoral asset for Kurdish national-ethnic identity, provided it is taught as fulfilled within, not apart from, submission to Christ’s reign.
Tree Of Life
Approved rendering: Dara Jiyanê
Transliteration: dara jiyanê
Doctrine: The New Heaven and New Earth
Restoration of Edenic access lost in Genesis 3, bearing continuous fruit and healing leaves (2:7; 22:2,14,19). Widespread decorative ‘Tree of Life’ motif across Zoroastrian, Yazidi, and broader regional folk-art risks assimilating the specific biblical meaning into a generic regional symbol; requires explicit narrative anchoring at first teaching occurrence.
His Servants Will Worship Him
Approved rendering: Xulamên wî wê perizîna wî bikin
Transliteration: xulamên wî wê perizîna wî bikin
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Cultic service/worship as the ongoing eternal vocation of the redeemed (7:15; 22:3). The singular pronoun ‘wî’ intentionally preserves the God-and-Lamb joint-throne ambiguity of 22:1,3.
Soon Quickly
Approved rendering: Zû
Transliteration: zû
Doctrine: Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil
Imminence of Christ’s return in God’s own reckoning of time (1:1,3; 2:16; 3:11; 22:7,12,20), not necessarily strict human chronological nearness. Risk of being heard as either a falsifiable date-setting claim or a coded political-imminence message, paralleling the baseline ‘salvation’ caution.
Spirit And Bride Say Come
Approved rendering: Ruh û Bûk dibêjin, Were!
Transliteration: ruh û bûk dibêjin, were!
Doctrine: The Church as Bride of Christ
The church’s Spirit-empowered longing for Christ’s return (22:17). Reuse the Bride and Holy Spirit cautions jointly; the corporate, Spirit-filled prayer of the church for consummation.
New Qualitative
Approved rendering: Nû
Transliteration: nû
Doctrine: The New Heaven and New Earth
Kainos = new-in-kind, not merely new-in-time (neos). Kurdish ‘nû’ covers both senses without distinction and defaults to ‘new in time’ if unqualified. Must not be flattened to imply mere replacement/discontinuity, nor read as ‘restored to original’ continuity only; requires an explicit teaching gloss at 21:1 and 21:5.
Death
Approved rendering: Mirin
Transliteration: mirin
Doctrine: Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil
Physical death, personified as an end-time enemy finally destroyed (20:14). Must be read together with 20:14 and 21:8’s ‘second death’ so the ordinary word is not flattened; the finality of death’s own defeat is the point (21:4).
It Is Done
Approved rendering: Temam bû!
Transliteration: temam bû!
Doctrine: The New Heaven and New Earth
Perfect tense (21:6): completed, settled accomplishment, echoing Christ’s ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30). Must not be softened into a mere future hope; the perfect tense conveys settled certainty.
I Am Making All Things New
Approved rendering: Ez her tiştî nû dikim
Transliteration: ez her tiştî nû dikim
Doctrine: The New Heaven and New Earth
Present-tense renewal (21:5): ‘I am making,’ not merely ‘I will make.’ Must be preserved so the renewal is understood as God’s own ongoing sovereign act, not a future human-achieved utopia.
Without Payment
Approved rendering: Belaş / Bêpere
Transliteration: belaş / bêpere
Doctrine: Grace
Freely, as a gift, without cost (21:6) — the same semantic family as grace-vocabulary. Should be taught in explicit connection with baseline ‘Kerem’ and its Sufi-keramet caution: God’s free gift to all who thirst, not an elite reward for advanced spiritual attainment.
Inherit
Approved rendering: Dê wê wek mîrat wergire
Transliteration: dê wê wek mîrat wergire
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family (baseline doctrine); Sonship of Christ (Revelation registry)
Receiving as an heir; full inheritance-right language for the one who conquers (21:7). Reuse the baseline Adoption (Kurxwendin) framing: must be taught against the Quranic/tribal aşîret default that treats non-biological sons as lacking full inheritance rights.
Faithless
Approved rendering: Bêîman
Transliteration: bêîman
Doctrine: Faith
Without faith; those who reject or abandon trust in Christ (21:8), the direct negation of baseline ‘Îman.’ Mirrors the baseline faith doctrine caution exactly: absence of personal trust in Christ, not failure of creedal recitation.
Medium Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: Mizgînî
Transliteration: mizgînî
Doctrine: Gospel
Inherited from Romans package. A native Kurdish word for ‘good news,’ not an Arabic loanword like Injil. Some readers will also know Încîl via shared Islamic vocabulary carrying the tahrif assumption; qualify as the specific NT record when likely. Revelation extension: paired with the qualifier ‘herheyî’ (eternal/everlasting) at 14:6 — see ‘eternal_gospel’ below; the two terms must always be taught together.
Apostle
Approved rendering: Şandî
Transliteration: şandî
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: Resûl
Inherited from Romans package. Native word avoiding the Rasul Allah collision. Revelation extension: the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem are named for the twelve apostles (21:14); anchors NT-era foundational authority within the eschatological city.
Holy
Approved rendering: Pîroz
Transliteration: pîroz
Doctrine: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Standard native word for holy/sacred. Revelation extension: the Trisagion (‘Holy, Holy, Holy,’ 4:8) requires an explicit Trinitarian teaching layer — see the new compound entry ‘holy_holy_holy’ below, which carries its own elevated risk rating.
Glory
Approved rendering: Rûmet
Transliteration: rûmet
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Inherited from Romans package. Must be anchored to Christ’s specific historical/eschatological glory, not generalized mystical splendor. Revelation extension: especially concentrated at 21:11, 21:23-24 (the city’s light) and 21:24,26 (‘nations bringing their glory’).
Providence
Approved rendering: Rêveberiya Xwedê
Transliteration: rêveberiya Xwedê
Doctrine: Providence
Inherited from Romans package. Keep distinct from folk qadar fatalism. Revelation extension: serves as the doctrinal anchor for ‘The Sovereignty of God over History’ across the entire seal/trumpet/bowl judgment sequence (ch. 6-16).
David
Approved rendering: Dawid
Transliteration: Dawid
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Shared, positively-regarded Quranic figure; supply the covenant-king-to-Messiah typology explicitly. Revelation extension: ‘Root of David’ (5:5) and ‘Key of David’ (3:7) alongside ‘seed of David’ (22:16).
Israel
Approved rendering: Îsraîl
Transliteration: Îsraîl
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Inherited from Romans package. Kurdish popular sentiment toward Israel is often notably favorable. Revelation extension: the twelve tribes are sealed (7:4-8) and named on the New Jerusalem’s gates (21:12).
Lampstands
Approved rendering: Çira
Transliteration: çira
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Symbol explicitly identified in 1:20 as the seven churches; the church’s calling to bear Christ’s light in the world.
Crown Of Life
Approved rendering: Tacê Jiyanê
Transliteration: tacê jiyanê
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Victor’s-wreath (athletic/military imagery) reward, here eternal life itself as the reward for faithful endurance.
Hidden Manna
Approved rendering: Manna ya Veşartî
Transliteration: manna ya veşartî
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Echoes Exodus manna; spiritual sustenance reserved for the overcomer — Christ as the true, hidden bread of life.
Morning Star
Approved rendering: Stêrka Sibehê
Transliteration: stêrka sibehê
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Venus, brightest ‘star’ at dawn; reused at 22:16 as Christ’s own self-title. Regional astrological/astronomical folk-associations must not obscure the specific messianic title.
Seal
Approved rendering: Mor / Morkirî
Transliteration: mor / morkirî
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over History
A mark of ownership/authentication and, when broken, release of judgment; also the mark of divine ownership/protection on believers (7:3). Structuring device for God’s sovereign unfolding of history.
Abaddon Apollyon
Approved rendering: Abadon / Apolyon (Wêrankar)
Transliteration: abadon / apolyon (wêrankar)
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over History
Proper-name pair (Hebrew/Greek), both meaning ‘Destroyer.’ Transliterate both forms with the gloss ‘(Wêrankar)’; even destructive powers remain under God’s sovereign limit.
Mystery
Approved rendering: Sir
Transliteration: sir
Doctrine: Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation
Interpretive-key marker signaling symbolic, non-literal reading of the vision (10:7; 17:5,7).
Great Sign
Approved rendering: Nîşana Mezin
Transliteration: nîşana mezin
Doctrine: Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation
Explicit apocalyptic-symbol marker introducing the woman and the dragon (12:1,3); signals deliberately symbolic, non-literal narrative mode.
Accuser
Approved rendering: Sûcdarker
Transliteration: sûcdarker
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation
Satan’s now-defeated legal accusation against believers before God’s court (12:10); ties to Romans 8:1’s ‘no condemnation.‘
Number Of The Beast
Approved rendering: Hijmara Heywanî: 666
Transliteration: hijmara heywanî: 666
Doctrine: Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation
Symbolic numerical value (likely gematria for a specific historical figure, commonly understood as Nero, 13:18). Teaching should explicitly discourage speculative modern-day numerological identification.
Eternal Gospel
Approved rendering: Mizgîniya Herheyî
Transliteration: mizgîniya herheyî
Doctrine: Mission and Evangelism to the Nations
The unchanging gospel message proclaimed to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people (14:6). The qualifier ‘herheyî’ (eternal/everlasting) must be paired consistently with the baseline ‘Mizgînî’ term, never substituted for it.
Harvest Sickle Winepress
Approved rendering: Dirûn / Desar / Şerabxane
Transliteration: dirûn / desar / şerabxane
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Agricultural judgment-imagery echoing Joel 3:13; final ingathering of judgment upon persistent evil (14:14-20).
Mourning Of The Merchants
Approved rendering: Şînkirina Bazirganan
Transliteration: şînkirina bazirganan
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Economic lament over the loss of profitable commerce with the corrupt system (18:11-19); warning against complicity with and economic dependence on unjust systems.
Nothing Unclean Shall Enter
Approved rendering: Tiştekî Neqedandî Nakeve Hundir
Transliteration: tiştekî neqedandî nakeve hundir
Doctrine: The New Heaven and New Earth
Moral-spiritual purity requirement for entry into the eschatological city (21:27).
River Of The Water Of Life
Approved rendering: Çemê Ava Jiyanê
Transliteration: çemê ava jiyanê
Doctrine: The New Heaven and New Earth
Continuation of the core passage’s ‘spring of the water of life’ (21:6), now flowing from the throne (22:1).
No More Curse
Approved rendering: Êdî Nifir Nabe
Transliteration: êdî nifir nabe
Doctrine: The New Heaven and New Earth
Final reversal of the Genesis 3 curse (22:3); complete undoing of the Fall’s consequences.
Do Not Add Or Take Away
Approved rendering: Zêde nekin… Jê dernexin
Transliteration: zêde nekin… jê dernexin
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Canon-closing warning against tampering with the prophetic text (22:18-19); establishes the fixed, complete authority of the prophetic Scripture.
Sea
Approved rendering: Derya
Transliteration: derya
Doctrine: The New Heaven and New Earth
Literal body of water; also symbolic throughout Revelation of chaos, the abyss, the nations, and the beast’s source (13:1). Its absence at 21:1 signals the final removal of chaos and threat, not a claim about literal geography.
Coming Down
Approved rendering: Ji jor daketî / Hatî xwarê
Transliteration: ji jor daketî / hatî xwarê
Doctrine: The New Heaven and New Earth
Descending from above; consistently marks divine origin/gift, not human achievement (21:2,10). The city is God’s gift and initiative, not a human political or religious achievement.
Prepared
Approved rendering: Amade kirî
Transliteration: amade kirî
Doctrine: The Church as Bride of Christ
Passive-voice readiness (21:2): made ready by another, not by self-effort. Grace-shaped preparation, not self-adornment or merit.
People Covenant
Approved rendering: Gel
Transliteration: gel
Doctrine: The New Heaven and New Earth
A people bound to God by covenant (21:3), not merely an ethnic or national population. Must be distinguished from ethnic-national ‘people’ (miletê Kurd) given exceptionally strong ethnic-national self-identification in Kurdish culture; this is God’s trans-ethnic covenant people.
Trustworthy And True
Approved rendering: Bawerî pê were kirin û rast in
Transliteration: bawerî pê were kirin û rast in
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Reliability and genuineness of the divine promise (21:5), guaranteeing its certainty. Shares its root with baseline ‘faith’ (Îman); care is needed that this reliability-of-testimony sense is not confused with saving faith itself.
Cowardly
Approved rendering: Tirsonek
Transliteration: tirsonek
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Failure of nerve under pressure/persecution (21:8), the direct negative counterpart to ‘the one who conquers.’ Must be taught as failure to persevere in witness, not merely a character flaw.
Vice List Murderers Immoral Idolaters Liars
Approved rendering: Kujer / Zînakar / Pûtperest / Derewîn
Transliteration: kujer / zînakar / pûtperest / derewîn
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Standard NT vice-list categories (21:8), comprehensive judgment on persistent, unrepentant sin. Must be read as characterizing unrepentant persistence, not any single lapse.
Sorcerers
Approved rendering: Efsûngêr / Cadûger
Transliteration: efsûngêr / cadûger
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Occult/drug-assisted divination or magic (21:8), a form of idolatry and rebellion against God. Regional folk-Islamic and folk-practice familiarity with magic/amulets (nivişt) makes this a live category, not merely academic.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: Spasî
Transliteration: spasî
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Inherited from Romans package. Standard doxological vocabulary. Revelation extension: recurs in the heavenly throne-room doxologies (4:9; 5:14; 7:12; 19:4).
Prophecy
Approved rendering: Pêxemberî
Transliteration: pêxemberî
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Inherited from Romans package. Revelation extension: frames the whole book as its own self-designation (1:3; 22:7,10,18-19), the canon-closing genre marker.
Amen
Approved rendering: Amîn
Transliteration: amîn
Doctrine: Thanksgiving and Worship Liturgy
New term for the Revelation package, drawing on the transliteration convention already named in the baseline requirements document (12_ai_translation_requirements.md). Closes doxologies and the book itself (1:6,7; 3:14; 5:14; 7:12; 19:4; 22:20-21).
Lukewarm Hot Cold
Approved rendering: Ne germ ne sar / Germ / Sar
Transliteration: ne germ ne sar / germ / sar
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Metaphor of spiritual fervor versus complacency (Laodicea, 3:15-16); warning against nominal, complacent faith.
New Song
Approved rendering: Stiraneke Nû
Transliteration: stiraneke nû
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Worship-language marking a decisively new act of God, celebrating the Lamb’s unique redemptive achievement.
Trumpet
Approved rendering: Boriya
Transliteration: boriya
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over History
Signal of divine announcement/judgment; structuring device paralleling the seals (ch. 8-11).
Bowls Of Wrath
Approved rendering: Tas
Transliteration: tas
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over History
Vessels of God’s final, complete judgment (ch. 15-16), parallel to the seals and trumpets.
Hallelujah
Approved rendering: Hallelûya
Transliteration: hallelûya
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Untranslated liturgical exclamation (‘Praise the LORD’), preserved per the established convention already fixed for ‘Amîn’ (Amen). Climactic corporate worship at Babylon’s fall and the Lamb’s marriage (19:1,3,4,6).
City
Approved rendering: Bajar
Transliteration: bajar
Doctrine: The Church as Bride of Christ
The eschatological community of God’s people pictured as a city — corporate, not merely architectural.
Adorned
Approved rendering: Xemilandî
Transliteration: xemilandî
Doctrine: The Church as Bride of Christ
Ordered, made beautiful (21:2); the bride’s beauty is bestowed, not self-generated. Continuation of the ‘prepared’ theme.
Detestable
Approved rendering: Nefret lê
Transliteration: nefret lê
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Abominable, given over to idolatrous corruption (21:8); ritual/moral abhorrence vocabulary.
Referenced passages