Core Glossary
Core Glossary: Acts 1–28 (English–Malay)
This glossary extends the Romans baseline translation_memory.json. Terms already recorded in the Romans baseline are marked (baseline reuse) and their renderings are reused exactly per project rules, never re-derived. New terms introduced by the Acts curriculum are marked (NEW) and risk-rated using the identical Critical/High/Medium/Low framework. All terms are cited to the chapter(s) where they are load-bearing in 07_semantic_analysis.md.
Risk tiers drive Phase 2 review routing exactly as in the Romans baseline: Critical/High → human theologian review; Medium → native speaker review; Low → automated review.
A. Baseline Terms Reused Exactly (from Romans translation_memory.json)
| Term | Malay Rendering | Risk | Acts Chapters Where Load-Bearing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gospel | Injil | High | 8, 15, 20 | Baseline reuse; “gospel of the grace of God” (20:24) |
| Grace | Kasih kurnia | High | 13, 15, 18, 20 | Central to justification-apart-from-law argument (15:11) |
| Faith | Iman | High | 3, 6, 13, 16, 20, 26 | Object of faith (Yesus/Tuhan Yesus) always stated |
| Righteousness | Kebenaran | Critical | 22, 24 | Also used as a christological title (“the Righteous One,” 22:14) |
| Justification | Diperbenarkan | Critical | 13 | Acts 13:38-39, clearest “justification apart from law” text in Acts |
| Salvation | Keselamatan | Critical | 2, 4, 11, 16, 28 | 4:12 “no other name… by which we must be saved” |
| Apostle | Rasul | High | 1, 4, 6 | Matthias’s qualification criteria (1:21-22) reinforce eyewitness sense |
| Called / Calling | Dipanggil / Panggilan | High | 2 | 2:39 “as many as the Lord our God will call” |
| Holy | Kudus | High | 2 (Ps 16 citation) | “your Holy One” (2:27) applied to Christ |
| Saints | Orang kudus | High | (recurs generally) | No new Acts-specific risk beyond baseline |
| Sanctification | Pengudusan | High | 26 | ”a place among those who are sanctified” (26:18) |
| Resurrection | Kebangkitan | Critical | 2, 4, 17, 23, 24 | Central OT-fulfillment argument in Peter’s and Paul’s sermons |
| Lord | Tuhan | Critical | 2, 4, 16 | Double-Kyrios structure in Ps 110 citation (2:34-35) |
| Son of God | Anak Allah | Critical | 9 | First content of Saul’s own preaching post-conversion (9:20) |
| Peace | Damai sejahtera | Medium | (general) | No new Acts-specific occurrence beyond baseline sense |
| Spiritual Gifts | Karunia rohani | Medium | 2 (adjacent) | Related to “gift of the Holy Spirit” (2:38), see dorea entry below |
| Thanksgiving | Kesyukuran | Low | 2 | Praise vocabulary field (2:47) |
| Fellowship | Persekutuan | Low | 2 | 2:42, foundational “Church as Community” text |
| Church | Gereja | Medium | 20 | ”shepherd the church of God” (20:28) |
| Kingdom of God | Kerajaan Allah | Medium | 1, 8, 14, 19, 20, 28 | Programmatic in 1:3,1:6 and closing verse 28:31 |
| Law | Hukum Taurat | High | 13, 15 | ”law of Moses” (13:39; 15:1,5,10) — central to justification debate |
| Sin | Dosa | High | 2, 5, 7, 22 | 2:38 “forgiveness of sins”; 7:60 Stephen’s forgiveness of persecutors |
| Gentiles | Bangsa bukan Yahudi | Medium | 10, 11, 13, 15 | Central to whole “Gospel to Jews and Gentiles” doctrine |
| Glory | Kemuliaan | High | 12 | Herod’s failure to give glory to God (12:23) |
| Power of God | Kuasa Allah | High | 1, 2 | 1:8 programmatic; contrasted with sihir (sorcery) throughout |
| Messiah/Christ | Kristus | Critical | 2, 9, 13, 18 | Paired with Yesus; never Al-Masih |
| Prophet | Nabi | High | 2 (Joel), 28 (Isaiah) | Joel’s/Isaiah’s prophetic office contrasted with closed nubuwwah |
| Prophecy | Nubuat | Medium | 2, 19, 28 | Includes NEW note on gender-inclusive “sons and daughters prophesy” |
| Covenant | Perjanjian | Medium | 2 (implicit), 13 | Davidic covenant background |
| Election | Pilihan Allah | High | 13 | ”appointed to eternal life” (13:48) |
| Intercession | Perantaraan | Critical | (general) | No new Acts-specific occurrence; reuse only |
| Providence | Pemeliharaan Allah | High | 2, 27 | 2:23 “determined plan and foreknowledge of God” |
| Mission | Penyebaran Injil | High | (general) | Underlies whole “Great Commission Fulfilled” doctrine |
| David | Daud | Medium | 2, 13 | Davidic covenant/seed-of-David argument |
| Israel | Israel | Medium | 2 | ”house of Israel” (2:36) |
| Jesus | Yesus | Critical | throughout | Never Isa; paired with Kristus in doctrinal contexts |
| God | Allah | Critical | throughout | Especially sensitive at Acts 17 (Areopagus) and Acts 10 |
| Holy Spirit | Roh Kudus | Critical | 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 15 | Core Acts term; personal agency reinforced repeatedly (5:3, 7:51) |
| Father | Bapa | Critical | 2 | 2:33, Trinitarian-shaped clause |
| Exhort | Menasihati | Low | 2 | 2:40 |
| Seed of David | Keturunan Daud | Medium | 13 | 13:22-23 |
| Imputed Righteousness | Kebenaran yang diperhitungkan | Critical | 13 (adjacent) | Underlies 13:38-39 justification argument |
B. New Terms Introduced by Acts (Risk-Tiered)
Critical Risk (Human Theologian Review Required)
| Term | Original (Greek) | Malay Rendering | Chapters | Risk Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unclean / common (ceremonial) | κοινόν / ἀκάθαρτον (koinon/akatharton) | Najis / tidak tahir | 10 | Do not render with haram/halal. Malaysia’s operative JAKIM halal-certification legal system would be directly imported into Peter’s vision if these terms were used, obscuring that Acts 10 abolishes the Mosaic ceremonial dietary law specifically, not a general or contemporary Islamic legal category. |
High Risk (Human Theologian Review Required)
| Term | Original (Greek) | Malay Rendering | Chapters | Risk Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repentance / repent | μετάνοια / μετανοέω (metanoia/metanoeō) | Pertobatan / Bertobat | 2, 3, 11, 17, 22, 26 | Shares root with Islamic taubat (tawbah), a well-developed doctrine of effort-inclusive turning back to Allah; must be taught as Spirit-enabled turning specifically toward faith in Yesus Kristus, object always stated. |
| Baptism / baptize | βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω (baptisma/baptizō) | Baptisan / Dibaptis | 2, 8, 16, 19, 22 | Central salvation-identity marker; must be taught as a response marking, not a ritual cause of, forgiveness already secured by grace through faith; distinct from Islamic wudhu’ ritual ablution. |
| Witness | μάρτυς (martys) | Saksi | 1, 2, 22, 26 | Programmatic term for the whole book (1:8); must be kept as “eyewitness testimony,” never rendered or associated with syahid (see forbidden substitution below). |
| Martyrdom (dying while testifying) | (developing sense of μάρτυς) | Mati sebagai saksi / kesaksian sehingga mati (descriptive phrase; NOT a single-word loan) | 7, 22 | Never use syahid. In Islamic theology, syahid is a specific, formally-taught category of one who dies in jihad/for the faith and is guaranteed direct entry to paradise, tied to armed struggle. Stephen’s death must be described with a descriptive Malay phrase, not this loanword. |
| The Way (self-designation) | ἡ ὁδός (hē hodos) | Jalan Tuhan / Jalan itu | 9, 18, 19, 22, 24 | Resonates with Islamic As-Sirat al-Mustaqim (the Straight Path); must be taught as relational following of Christ’s person, not primarily a code of law or ritual observance. |
| Sorcery / magic | μαγεία (mageia) | Sihir | 8, 13, 19 | Directly contrasted with Kuasa Allah; connects to existing baseline caution about bomoh/occult kuasa ghaib practice in Malay culture. |
| Circumcision | περιτομή (peritomē) | Sunat / Berkhitan | 15 | Widely and positively practiced Islamic-cultural rite in Malaysia; must be framed as a historically-bounded Mosaic covenant-sign question, not commentary on the Islamic practice of khitan. |
| Boldness | παρρησία (parrhēsia) | Keberanian / dengan yakin dan terus terang | 4, 28 | Central to “Persecution and Bold Witness” doctrine; must convey Spirit-given confidence under threat, not natural recklessness. |
| Signs and wonders (of apostles) | σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα (sēmeia kai terata) | Tanda dan mukjizat | 2 (v.43), 3, 4 | Mukjizat in Islamic usage denotes miracles proving a prophet’s authenticity (a closed, scripture-bearing office); must always be accompanied by teaching distinguishing apostolic Spirit-authentication from Islamic nabi/rasul prophethood. |
| Stoning | λιθοβολέω (lithoboleō) | Merajam / melontar batu | 7, 14 | Merajam evokes contemporary Malaysian hudud legal-punishment debates; must be framed as illegitimate mob violence, not legitimate judicial process, and not a comment on Islamic criminal law. |
| Divination spirit | πνεῦμα πύθωνα (pneuma pythōna) | Roh tenungan / roh peramal | 16 | Must be distinguished from Roh Kudus and from the broader Malay ilmu ghaib/bomoh divination category; exorcised by Christ’s name, not appeased. |
| Unknown God (rhetorical bridge) | Ἀγνώστῳ θεῷ (Agnōstō theō) | Allah yang tidak dikenali | 17 | Given Allah’s own Critical baseline sensitivity, Paul’s apologetic bridge must not be read as endorsing religious pluralism; teaching must show Paul immediately identifies and names the true God through Christ’s resurrection. |
| ”Last days” (inaugurated) | ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις (en tais eschatais hēmerais) | Pada hari-hari akhir | 2 | Heavily populated concept in Malay-Muslim eschatology (Mahdi, Dajjal, return of Isa); must be taught as an already-inaugurated reality beginning at Pentecost, not merely a future countdown. |
| Prophesying (sons and daughters) | προφητεύσουσιν (prophēteusousin) | Bernubuat | 2 | Gender-inclusive Spirit-empowered proclamation, distinct from the closed, exclusively-male prophetic office (nubuwwah) of Islamic theology, which is considered sealed. |
| Evil spirit | πνεῦμα πονηρόν (pneuma ponēron) | Roh jahat | 19 | Distinct from Roh Kudus and from the Islamic jin category (which includes morally ambiguous/potentially good members); this is unambiguously malevolent, defeated by Christ’s name. |
| Filled with the Holy Spirit (repeated empowering) | ἐπλήσθησαν Πνεύματος Ἁγίου (eplēsthēsan Pneumatos Hagiou) | Dipenuhi dengan Roh Kudus | 2, 4, 6, 9, 13 | Recurring empowerment formula; must be distinguished from spirit-possession/trance in Malay bomoh practice and from a strictly one-time-only reading. |
| Other tongues (Pentecost) | ἑτέραις γλώσσαις (heterais glōssais) | Bahasa-bahasa lain | 2 | Must be clearly taught as real, known human languages miraculously spoken/understood (confirmed v.6-11), distinct from ecstatic trance speech in regional spirit-medium practice. |
| Determinate counsel and foreknowledge | ὡρισμένῃ βουλῇ καὶ προγνώσει (hōrismenē boulē kai prognōsei) | Rancangan dan pengetahuan Allah yang ditetapkan lebih dahulu | 2 | Providence/predestination language; never render with takdir (fatalistic decree); must preserve divine sovereignty alongside human moral culpability. |
| Ordained/appointed to eternal life (election) | τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον (tetagmenoi eis zōēn aiōnion) | Ditetapkan untuk hidup kekal | 13 | Strong sovereign-election text parallel to Romans 8:28-30/9:11-12; never takdir-style fatalism. |
| Set apart for ministry | ἀφορίζω (aphorizō) | Mengasingkan / diasingkan | 13 | Direct commissioning narrative behind Romans 1:1’s “set apart”; must not be read as Sufi ascetic withdrawal. |
| ”The Righteous One” (christological title) | ὁ δίκαιος (ho dikaios) | Yang Benar | 22 | Applies Kebenaran directly to Christ’s person as a title, distinct from (but related to) believers’ imputed righteousness. |
| Power of Satan | ἐξουσία τοῦ Σατανᾶ (exousia tou Satana) | Kuasa Iblis / Syaitan | 26 | Broadly intelligible but requires teaching on the NT’s cosmic-conflict framework rather than assumed equivalence with Islamic angelology/demonology’s fuller hierarchy. |
Medium Risk (Native Speaker Review Recommended)
| Term | Original (Greek) | Malay Rendering | Chapters | Risk Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devout / God-fearing | εὐλαβής / εὐσεβής / φοβούμενος τὸν θεόν (eulabēs/eusebēs/phoboumenos ton theon) | Orang yang saleh / orang yang takut akan Allah | 2, 10 | Avoid warak (Arabic-Islamic ritual-scrupulousness register); must not imply piety itself is the meritorious ground of standing before God. |
| Mother tongue / dialect | διάλεκτος (dialektos) | Bahasa ibunda / loghat | 2 | Babel-reversal theological point (God’s message given in every mother tongue) contrasts with sacred-language-centrality in other traditions; worth surfacing in teaching. |
| Breaking of bread | κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου (klasis tou artou) | Memecahkan roti | 2 | Dual reference (ordinary meal + commemorative meal) not yet sharply distinguished in the text; avoid over-specifying a fixed liturgical sacrament. |
| All things common | ἅπαντα κοινά (hapanta koina) | Segala kepunyaan mereka menjadi kepunyaan bersama | 2 | Distinguish from modern communist ideology and from the Islamic zakat obligatory-almsgiving framework; this is voluntary Spirit-motivated generosity. |
| Restoration of all things | ἀποκατάστασις πάντων (apokatastasis pantōn) | Pemulihan segala sesuatu | 3 | Must be linear/once-for-all, not confused with cyclical restoration or reincarnation-adjacent cosmology. |
| Obey God rather than men | πειθαρχεῖν δεῖ θεῷ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀνθρώποις (peitharchein…) | Kita harus taat kepada Allah lebih daripada manusia | 5 | Specific-conflict principle, not general license for civil disobedience; contrast with Romans 13:1-7’s general submission instruction. |
| Deacon / servant office | διακονεῖν / διάκονος (diakonein/diakonos) | Pelayan jemaah / diaken | 6 | Distinct office from apostle; distinguish from Islamic religious-leadership titles (imam, ustaz, tok guru). |
| Laying on of hands | ἐπιθέντος τὰς χεῖρας (epithentos tas cheiras) | Menumpangkan tangan | 8, 19 | Distinguish from folk-healing touch practices (bomoh/dukun); efficacy attributed entirely to the Spirit, not ritual technique. |
| God is no respecter of persons | προσωπολήμπτης (prosōpolēmptēs) | Allah tidak memandang bulu | 10 | Theological hinge of Cornelius narrative; render plainly, not hedged. |
| Christian (identity label) | Χριστιανός (Christianos) | Kristian / orang Kristian | 11, 26 | Identity term connected to the fusion of Malay ethnicity and Islam in Malaysian constitutional/popular usage; must be taught as identity rooted in union with Christ. |
| Elder | πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros) | Penatua | 14, 20 | Distinguish from general honorific for elders and from Islamic leadership titles; specific NT church office. |
| Overseer | ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos) | Penilik jemaah / pengawas jemaah | 20 | Same office as “elder” viewed functionally; teach together, not as separate offices at this stage. |
| Yoke (of the law) | ζυγός (zygos) | Kuk | 15 | Vivid burden-metaphor tied to Hukum Taurat; preserve imagery. |
| Sect / party | αἵρεσις (hairesis) | Aliran (preferred over Mazhab) | 24 | Mazhab specifically denotes Sunni jurisprudential schools in Malaysian usage; aliran avoids this misleading legal-school association. |
| Vow | εὐχή (euchē) | Nazar | 21 | Also a well-developed Islamic devotional concept; clarify Paul’s vow reflects cultural sensitivity/freedom, not works-merit for salvation. |
| Resuscitation (Eutychus) | ἤρθη νεκρός… ζῶντα (ērthē nekros… zōnta) | Dihidupkan semula | 20 | Distinguish from Kebangkitan (Christ’s permanent, glorified resurrection); this is a return to mortal life, subject to future death. |
| Good conscience | συνείδησις ἀγαθή (syneidēsis agathē) | Hati nurani yang bersih/baik | 23 | Not itself the ground of righteousness before God; distinguish from forensic Diperbenarkan. |
| Cast lots | κλῆρος (klēros) | Membuang undi | 1 | Bounded, non-recurring historical decision method; not fortune-telling/divination. |
Low Risk (Automated Review Sufficient)
| Term | Original (Greek) | Malay Rendering | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pentecost | πεντηκοστή (Pentēkostē) | Pentakosta | 2 | Proper-noun transliteration; tie to OT Feast of Weeks in teaching. |
| Rushing wind (sign) | πνοή βιαία (pnoē biaia) | Angin yang kencang bertiup | 2 | Simile, not literal storm claim. |
| Tongues as of fire | γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός (glōssai hōsei pyros) | Lidah-lidah seperti api | 2 | Symbolic/visionary imagery. |
| Pricked/cut to the heart | κατενύγησαν τὴν καρδίαν (katenygēsan tēn kardian) | Tertikam hati | 2 | Render vividly, not flattened. |
| Times of refreshing | καιροὶ ἀναψύξεως (kairoi anapsyxeōs) | Masa-masa kesegaran | 3 | Tied to Lord’s presence, not mere psychological relief. |
| Stiff-necked | σκληροτράχηλοι (sklērotrachēloi) | Keras kepala / tegar tengkuk | 7 | Vivid OT covenant-lawsuit idiom for obstinacy. |
| Great fear | φόβος μέγας (phobos megas) | Ketakutan yang besar | 5 | Straightforward. |
| Wisdom | σοφία (sophia) | Hikmat | 6 | Shared comfortably across religious registers. |
| Zeus / Hermes (proper names) | Ζεύς / Ἑρμῆς (Zeus/Hermēs) | Zeus / Hermes | 14 | Transliterate; do not substitute local deity names. |
| Vain things (idols) | μάταια (mataia) | Perkara yang sia-sia / berhala | 14 | Shared anti-idolatry ground with Islamic vocabulary. |
| Angel of the Lord | ἄγγελος Κυρίου (angelos Kyriou) | Malaikat Tuhan | 12, 27 | Do not assume correspondence to a specific named Islamic angel. |
| Roman citizen | Ῥωμαῖος (Rhōmaios) | Warganegara Rom | 21, 22 | Civil/legal status, not theological. |
| Appeal to Caesar | Καίσαρα ἐπικαλοῦμαι (Kaisara epikaloumai) | Merayu kepada Kaisar | 25 | Legal term. |
| Heavenly vision / light | οὐράνιος ὀπτασία / φῶς (ouranios optasia/phōs) | Penglihatan syurgawi / cahaya dari langit | 26 | Descriptive theophany language. |
| Viper | ἔχιδνα (echidna) | Ular berbisa | 28 | Narrative/cultural-superstition color. |
C. Chapters Reviewed With No New Load-Bearing Vocabulary
| Chapter | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Reviewed — no new terms | Reuses “the Way” (ch.9), “baptism of John” precursor to ch.19, Kristus |
| 27 | Reviewed — no new terms | Reuses “angel of the Lord” (ch.12) and providence themes (baseline Pemeliharaan Allah) |
D. Forbidden Substitution List — Acts-Specific Additions
(To be layered on top of the existing baseline forbidden-substitution list in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md.)
| Concept | NEVER use | ALWAYS use instead | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martyr / dying witness | Syahid | Saksi (witness) + descriptive phrase (“mati sebagai saksi”) | Syahid = Islamic jihad-death category guaranteeing paradise; not the Greek martys sense |
| Unclean / common (Acts 10) | Haram / (tidak) halal | Najis / tidak tahir | Imports Malaysia’s operative JAKIM halal-legal system into Mosaic ceremonial law text |
| Circumcision debate (Acts 15) | Framing as commentary on Islamic khitan practice | Frame strictly as Mosaic covenant-sign question | Prevents misreading as polemic against a positively-practiced Malay-Islamic rite |
| Sect (hairesis) | Mazhab | Aliran | Mazhab specifically denotes Sunni jurisprudential schools |
| Stoning (Acts 7, 14) | Framing as legitimate/legal | Frame explicitly as illegitimate mob violence | Avoids resonance with contemporary Malaysian hudud debate |
| Signs and wonders (apostolic) | Mukjizat used without qualification | Tanda dan mukjizat + explicit teaching note distinguishing apostolic authentication from nabi/rasul prophethood | Mukjizat is tied to the closed prophetic-authentication category in Islamic theology |
This glossary extends but does not override translation_memory.json (Romans baseline). All Section A terms must be enforced exactly as recorded there. Section B new terms should be added to translation_memory.json (with version increment) before Phase 2 translation of Acts begins, per the Load and Enforcement Instructions in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md.
Critical Risk Terms
Righteousness
Approved rendering: Kebenaran
Transliteration: keh-beh-NAH-rahn
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: amal soleh (righteous deeds, as the ground itself)
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Acts uses Kebenaran both for believers’ forensic standing (13:38-39) and as a christological title, ‘the Righteous One’ (ho dikaios, 22:14) applied to Christ himself; both senses must be distinguished from amal soleh.
Justification
Approved rendering: Diperbenarkan
Transliteration: dee-per-beh-NAHR-kahn
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: diampunkan (forgiven, alone)
Original: δικαίωσις / δικαιόω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 13:38-39 is the clearest ‘justification apart from the law’ text in Acts, stating people are freed/justified ‘from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses’ — must retain full forensic-declaration weight, never softened to mere forgiveness.
Salvation
Approved rendering: Keselamatan
Transliteration: keh-seh-lah-MAH-tahn
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: masuk syurga (entering paradise, as the whole content)
Original: σωτηρία / σῴζω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 4:12 (‘no other name under heaven… by which we must be saved’) and 16:31 are among the strongest exclusivity/certainty statements in the NT; must never be diluted into hope for syurga deferred to Judgment Day.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: Kebangkitan
Transliteration: keh-bahng-KIT-ahn
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: diangkat naik ke syurga (being raised up to heaven, without dying)
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. Resurrection is argued repeatedly and centrally throughout Acts (2:24-32; 4:2; 13:30-37; 17:31-32; 23:6; 24:15,21; 26:23), directly opposing Qur’an 4:157; a real prior death (2:23; 3:15; 5:30; 10:39; 13:28-29) must always be affirmed alongside Kebangkitan.
Lord
Approved rendering: Tuhan
Transliteration: TOO-hahn
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: tuan (master/sir, non-divine)
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 2:34-36 preserves a double-Kyrios structure from Psalm 110 (‘The Lord said to my Lord’), climaxing in ‘God has made him both Lord and Christ’ — both occurrences must be retained distinctly as Tuhan.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Anak Allah
Transliteration: AH-nahk ahl-LAHH
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: kekasih Allah (God’s beloved one), wakil Allah (God’s representative)
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 9:20 records this as the very first content of Saul/Paul’s own preaching immediately after his conversion — must never be softened to a euphemism.
Messiah
Approved rendering: Kristus
Transliteration: KRIS-toos
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Rejected alternatives: Al-Masih (the Qur’anic title, deliberately avoided)
Original: Χριστός / מָשִׁיחַ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 2:36 (‘God has made him both Lord and Christ’), 9:20,22; 13:33; 17:3; 18:5,28 all press this identification; Al-Masih remains forbidden per established Alkitab convention.
Intercession
Approved rendering: Perantaraan
Transliteration: peh-rahn-tah-RAH-ahn
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Rejected alternatives: syafaat (mainstream Sunni doctrine of Muhammad’s Judgment-Day intercession)
Original: ἔντευξις / ὑπερεντυγχάνω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. No distinct new Acts-specific occurrence of Christ’s/the Spirit’s intercession, but the church’s corporate intercessory prayer (1:14; 4:24-31; 12:5,12) operates in the same conceptual field and must remain distinguished from syafaat Nabi Muhammad.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Yesus
Transliteration: YEH-soos
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Isa (the Qur’anic name, deliberately avoided)
Original: Ἰησοῦς / יֵשׁוּעַ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Used throughout Acts, paired with Kristus in doctrinally significant contexts (2:36; 9:20; 17:3; 18:5); never Isa.
God
Approved rendering: Allah
Transliteration: ahl-LAHH
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Tuhan (reserved for ‘Lord’ in this Language Package)
Original: θεός / אֱלֹהִים
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Especially sensitive at Acts 17:23 (‘to an unknown god,’ Paul’s Areopagus bridge) and Acts 10 (Peter’s vision); Malaysia’s legal/political contest over Allah’s use by non-Muslims remains the single most sensitive term in this Language Package.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Roh Kudus
Transliteration: ROHKH KOO-doos
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: Jibril (the archangel Gabriel), roh halus (a generic nature/subtle spirit in traditional Malay animist belief)
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Acts is saturated with this term; 5:3 (‘lie to the Holy Spirit’) and 7:51 (‘you always resist the Holy Spirit’) are especially strong data points for the Spirit’s full personhood against both the archangel-Jibril and roh halus misreadings.
Father
Approved rendering: Bapa
Transliteration: BAH-pah
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: Pencipta (Creator, as a substitute to avoid relational language)
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 2:33 (‘having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit’) presents a Trinitarian-shaped clause; must be taught relationally, never retreating to a flatter Pencipta.
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: Kebenaran yang diperhitungkan
Transliteration: keh-beh-NAH-rahn yahng dee-per-hee-TOONG-kahn
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: kebenaran yang diusahakan (earned/worked-for righteousness)
Original: ἐλογίσθη … εἰς δικαιοσύνην / δικαιοῦται
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Directly underlies Acts 13:38-39’s justification argument.
Unclean Common
Approved rendering: Najis / tidak tahir
Transliteration: NAH-jis / TEE-dahk TAH-hir
Doctrine: Ceremonial Law and Clean/Unclean
Rejected alternatives: haram (forbidden; Malaysia’s live, state-administered JAKIM halal-legal category), (tidak) halal (its paired opposite)
Original: κοινόν / ἀκάθαρτον
Category: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
NEW (Acts). Do not render with haram/halal. Using that vocabulary for Peter’s vision (Acts 10:14, 10:28) would import Malaysia’s currently-operating halal certification system into the text and obscure that the passage abolishes the Mosaic ceremonial food law specifically, not the Islamic dietary category.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: Injil
Transliteration: IN-jeel
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: berita baik (generic ‘good news’, without the proclamation weight)
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. In Acts also used of ‘the gospel of the grace of God’ (20:24) and Philip’s gospel preaching to the Ethiopian eunuch (8:35); must convey authoritative proclamation, not generic good news.
Grace
Approved rendering: Kasih kurnia
Transliteration: KAH-sih KOOR-nee-ah
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: rahmat (mercy, operates within a deeds-still-matter Islamic soteriological framework)
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Central to Acts 15:11, the Jerusalem Council’s ruling that Jew and Gentile alike are saved ‘through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way,’ and to 20:24, ‘the gospel of the grace of God.‘
Faith
Approved rendering: Iman
Transliteration: ee-MAHN
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: kepercayaan (generic belief/trust)
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Acts repeatedly names the object of faith explicitly (‘faith in his name,’ 3:16; ‘believe on the Lord Jesus,’ 16:31); this explicit naming must be preserved so Iman is never read as generic assent to the pillars of Islamic iman.
Apostle
Approved rendering: Rasul
Transliteration: RAH-sool
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: utusan (a lower-weight, purely secular ‘envoy/messenger’)
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 1:21-22 defines the apostolic qualification as eyewitness testimony to the risen Christ from John’s baptism onward — valuable teaching material distinguishing Rasul in the NT sense from the Islamic rasul/nabi category.
Called
Approved rendering: Dipanggil
Transliteration: dee-PAHNG-gil
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: dijemput (invited, as to a social event)
Original: κλητός
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 2:39, ‘as many as the Lord our God will call,’ extends the sovereign summons explicitly to ‘all who are far off’ — never rendered with fatalistic takdir framing.
Calling
Approved rendering: Panggilan
Transliteration: pahng-GIL-ahn
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: jemputan
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. No distinct new Acts-specific occurrence beyond the called/calling field already covered at 2:39.
Holy
Approved rendering: Kudus
Transliteration: KOO-doos
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: suci (ritually/physically clean)
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 2:27, citing Psalm 16, applies ‘your Holy One’ to Christ himself as proof his body would not see corruption — an important extension of Kudus as a title for Christ’s person, not only believers’ status.
Saints
Approved rendering: Orang kudus
Transliteration: OH-rahng KOO-doos
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: wali (Sufi saints venerated at keramat sites in traditional Malay Islam)
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. No distinct new Acts-specific occurrence beyond the general corporate sense already established.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: Pengudusan
Transliteration: peng-goo-DOO-sahn
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: penyucian (ritual purification)
Original: ἁγιασμός / ἡγιασμένοι
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 26:18 pairs ‘forgiveness of sins’ with ‘a place among those who are sanctified’ — reinforcing sanctification as Spirit-given standing among God’s people, not ritual purification.
Law
Approved rendering: Hukum Taurat
Transliteration: HOO-koom tow-RAHT
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: Syariah / Hukum Syariat (an operative parallel legal system in Malaysia)
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Central to the justification argument at 13:38-39 and the Jerusalem Council’s ruling at 15:1-11; never Syariah.
Sin
Approved rendering: Dosa
Transliteration: DOH-sah
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: kesilapan (mistake/error)
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 2:38 (‘forgiveness of your sins’) and 7:60 (Stephen’s forgiveness of his persecutors) both anchor major doctrinal moments; Islamic anthropology’s fitrah resistance to inherited guilt still applies.
Glory
Approved rendering: Kemuliaan
Transliteration: keh-moo-lee-AH-ahn
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: nur (divine light, associated with Nur Muhammad devotion in the historic Malay Sufi tradition)
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 12:23, Herod’s failure to give glory to God preceding his death, is a stark warning narrative about a ruler usurping divine honor for himself; nur remains forbidden.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: Kuasa Allah
Transliteration: KOO-ah-sah ahl-LAHH
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: kuasa ghaib (occult/supernatural power associated with bomoh shamanic practice)
Original: δύναμις θεοῦ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Programmatic at Acts 1:8 (‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you’) and repeatedly contrasted with sihir throughout Acts (chs.8, 13, 16, 19).
Prophet
Approved rendering: Nabi
Transliteration: NAH-bee
Doctrine: Inspiration and Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: ahli nujum (fortune-teller/astrologer)
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Elevated from Low (Romans bible_term_registry) to High for Acts, since Acts repeatedly cites named OT prophets (Joel, 2:16; Isaiah, 28:25-27) as the interpretive key to Christ, while also establishing a Spirit-democratized ‘bernubuat’ (2:17-18) doctrinally distinct from Nabi as the closed Islamic prophetic office.
Election
Approved rendering: Pilihan Allah
Transliteration: pee-LEE-hahn ahl-LAHH
Doctrine: Election and Divine Sovereignty
Rejected alternatives: takdir (fate/predetermined decree)
Original: ἐκλογή / τεταγμένοι
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 13:48 (‘as many as were appointed to eternal life believed’) is one of the strongest sovereign-election texts in Acts; never takdir-style impersonal fatalism.
Providence
Approved rendering: Pemeliharaan Allah
Transliteration: peh-meh-lee-hah-RAH-ahn ahl-LAHH
Doctrine: Sovereign Providence in Suffering
Rejected alternatives: takdir (fate/decree)
Original: βουλή / πρόνοια
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 2:23’s ‘determined plan and foreknowledge of God’ and the storm/shipwreck narrative of ch.27 extend this doctrine; the paradox of divine sovereignty alongside human guilt (2:23) needs explicit teaching support.
Mission
Approved rendering: Penyebaran Injil
Transliteration: peh-nyeh-BAH-rahn IN-jeel
Doctrine: Great Commission Fulfilled
Rejected alternatives: misi (colonial-era missionary connotations), dakwah-style framing (the specifically Islamic outreach term)
Original: ἀποστολή / μάρτυς … ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package, elevated in weight for Acts. Acts 1:8 (‘you will be my witnesses… to the end of the earth’) is the programmatic thesis for the entire book, fulfilled at 28:31; proselytizing Muslims remains legally restricted in Malaysia.
Repentance
Approved rendering: Bertobat / Pertobatan
Transliteration: ber-TOH-baht / per-toh-BAH-tahn
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Rejected alternatives: taubat used without qualification (collapses into the Islamic effort-inclusive doctrine)
Original: μετάνοια / μετανοέω
Category: Salvation
NEW (Acts). Shares its root with Islamic taubat, a well-developed doctrine of turning back to Allah through sincere remorse, restitution, and renewed obedience, where human effort functions as partly meritorious. Must always be taught as Spirit-worked turning toward faith in the crucified and risen Yesus Kristus (2:38, 3:19, 11:18, 17:30, 20:21, 26:20), object always stated.
Baptism
Approved rendering: Baptisan / Dibaptis / Berbaptis
Transliteration: bahp-TEE-sahn / dee-BAHP-tis / ber-BAHP-tis
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Rejected alternatives: equating with wudhu’ ritual ablution
Original: βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω
Category: Ordinances and Practices
NEW (Acts). Established Alkitab term, phonetically transparent and not Islamic-vocabulary-derived. Must be taught as response to grace already given through repentance and faith (2:38; 16:31; 22:16), not itself the meritorious cause of forgiveness, and distinguished from wudhu’ ritual ablution.
Witness
Approved rendering: Saksi
Transliteration: SAHK-see
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Rejected alternatives: syahid (never; see martyrdom entry)
Original: μάρτυς
Category: Persecution and Witness
NEW (Acts). Programmatic across the whole book (1:8; 2:32; 5:32; 10:39; 13:31; 22:15; 26:16); must be rendered saksi consistently and never associated with syahid.
Martyrdom
Approved rendering: Mati sebagai saksi / kesaksian sehingga mati
Transliteration: MAH-tee seh-BAH-gai SAHK-see / keh-SAHK-see-ahn seh-HING-gah MAH-tee
Doctrine: Martyrdom and Forgiveness of Persecutors
Rejected alternatives: syahid (Islamic jihad-death category guaranteeing paradise — absolutely forbidden as a single-word substitute)
Original: μάρτυς (developing sense)
Category: Persecution and Witness
NEW (Acts), descriptive phrase, NOT a single-word loan. Syahid in Islamic theology is tied to dying in armed jihad and guaranteeing direct entry to paradise — categorically different from Stephen’s testimony-costing-his-life while forgiving his killers (7:54-60). Never lexicalize into a single loanword.
The Way
Approved rendering: Jalan Tuhan / Jalan itu
Transliteration: JAH-lahn TOO-hahn / JAH-lahn EE-too
Doctrine: The Way as Christian Self-Designation
Rejected alternatives: direct equation with As-Sirat al-Mustaqim without qualification
Original: ἡ ὁδός
Category: Church
NEW (Acts). Resonates with As-Sirat al-Mustaqim (‘the Straight Path’), recited daily in Al-Fatihah. Must be taught as personal, relational following of and union with Yesus Kristus specifically (9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22), not primarily a code of law or ritual observance, though it may serve as a respectful cultural bridge once this distinction is clear.
Sorcery
Approved rendering: Sihir
Transliteration: SEE-hir
Doctrine: Deliverance from Occult and False Spiritual Power
Original: μαγεία / μαγεύω
Category: Spiritual Powers
NEW (Acts). Directly contrasted with Kuasa Allah in the Simon Magus (8:9-24) and Elymas (13:6-11) narratives; connects to the baseline caution about bomoh shamanic practice as a live substrate beneath official religious life in parts of Malay culture.
Circumcision
Approved rendering: Sunat / Berkhitan
Transliteration: SOO-naht / ber-KHEE-tahn
Doctrine: Gentile Inclusion and the Jerusalem Council
Rejected alternatives: framing as commentary on the Islamic khitan practice
Original: περιτομή
Category: Covenant
NEW (Acts). Sunat/berkhitan is a widely and positively practiced rite in Malaysian Islamic culture. The Jerusalem Council’s question (15:1, 15:5) must be framed strictly as a historically-bounded Mosaic covenant-sign debate resolved by grace alone (15:11), never as commentary on the independently-arising Islamic practice.
Boldness
Approved rendering: Keberanian / dengan yakin dan terus terang
Transliteration: keh-beh-rah-NEE-ahn
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Rejected alternatives: natural courage/recklessness framing divorced from the Spirit
Original: παρρησία
Category: Persecution and Witness
NEW (Acts). Central to the whole ‘Persecution and Bold Witness’ doctrine, recurring at key junctures (4:13,29,31; 9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; 26:26; 28:31). Must convey Spirit-given confidence under threat, rendered consistently across all occurrences.
Signs And Wonders Apostolic
Approved rendering: Tanda dan mukjizat
Transliteration: TAHN-dah dahn mook-JEE-zaht
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: mukjizat used without qualification (implies the closed nabi/rasul scripture-authenticating office)
Original: σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
NEW (Acts). Mukjizat in standard Malay/Indonesian Islamic usage denotes miracles authenticating a prophet’s office. Retain mukjizat (the most natural Malay word) but always accompany with explicit teaching that apostolic signs (2:43; 3:1-10; 4:30; 5:12-16; 14:3; 19:11-12) authenticate apostolic authority and the resurrection message, not new scripture-bearing prophethood.
Stoning
Approved rendering: Merajam / melontar batu
Transliteration: meh-RAH-jahm / meh-LON-tahr BAH-too
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Rejected alternatives: framing as legitimate/legal judicial process
Original: λιθοβολέω
Category: Persecution and Witness
NEW (Acts). Merajam carries strong contemporary association with hudud, an actively debated Islamic criminal-law penalty in Malaysia’s dual civil/Syariah legal system. Stephen’s (7:58-60) and Paul’s (14:19) stonings must be framed explicitly as illegitimate mob violence, never legitimate judicial process.
Divination Spirit
Approved rendering: Roh tenungan / roh peramal
Transliteration: ROHKH teh-NOONG-ahn / ROHKH peh-rah-MAHL
Doctrine: Deliverance from Occult and False Spiritual Power
Original: πνεῦμα πύθωνα
Category: Spiritual Powers
NEW (Acts). Must be distinguished from Roh Kudus (the source of genuine, God-honoring prophecy, 2:17-18) and from the broader Malay ilmu ghaib/bomoh divination category. Paul’s exorcism (16:16-18), by direct command in Jesus’ name, is a direct confrontation between Kuasa Allah and counterfeit occult power.
Unknown God
Approved rendering: Allah yang tidak dikenali
Transliteration: ahl-LAHH yahng TEE-dahk dee-keh-NAH-lee
Doctrine: Apologetics and Engagement with Paganism
Rejected alternatives: reading as endorsement of religious pluralism
Original: Ἀγνώστῳ θεῷ
Category: Evangelism and Apologetics
NEW (Acts). Given Allah’s own Critical, legally-contested sensitivity in Malaysia, Paul’s rhetorical strategy (17:23-31) must not be read as claiming the Athenians already worship the true God adequately under a different name; Paul uses their admitted ignorance only as a bridge, then specifically names God through Christ’s resurrection (17:31).
Last Days
Approved rendering: Hari-hari akhir / zaman akhir
Transliteration: HAH-ree HAH-ree AH-khir / ZAH-mahn AH-khir
Doctrine: Inspiration and Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις
Category: Eschatology
NEW (Acts). Zaman akhir/hari-hari akhir is a heavily populated concept in Malay-Muslim eschatology (Mahdi, Dajjal, the return of Isa a.s.). Peter’s citation of Joel (2:17) must be taught as announcing these ‘last days’ have already begun at Pentecost, not merely a future countdown.
Prophesying Inclusive
Approved rendering: Bernubuat
Transliteration: ber-noo-boo-AHT
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: equating with the closed Islamic nubuwwah office
Original: προφητεύσουσιν
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
NEW (Acts). This gender-inclusive, status-inclusive prophesying (2:17-18) is theologically distinct from the closed, exclusively-male prophetic office of Islamic theology, considered sealed with Muhammad. Must be taught as the fruit of the Spirit’s outpouring on all who believe.
Evil Spirit
Approved rendering: Roh jahat
Transliteration: ROHKH JAH-haht
Doctrine: Deliverance from Occult and False Spiritual Power
Rejected alternatives: equating with the broader, morally-mixed Islamic jin category
Original: πνεῦμα πονηρόν
Category: Spiritual Powers
NEW (Acts). Must be distinguished from Roh Kudus and from the Islamic jin category, which includes both good and evil members (some jin reportedly convert, per Qur’an 72). Roh jahat (19:12-16) denotes an unambiguously malevolent, defeated-by-Christ’s-name power.
Filled With Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Dipenuhi dengan Roh Kudus
Transliteration: dee-peh-NOO-hee deh-ngahn ROHKH KOO-doos
Doctrine: Spirit Empowerment for Witness
Rejected alternatives: reading as trance/possession phenomenology
Original: πλήθω / ἐπλήσθησαν Πνεύματος Ἁγίου
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
NEW (Acts). Recurring empowerment formula (2:4; 4:8,31; 6:5; 9:17; 13:9,52) describing repeated Spirit-empowerment for bold witness. Must be distinguished from possession/trance in traditional Malay bomoh spirit-mediumship practice, and taught as repeatable, not one-time-only.
Other Tongues
Approved rendering: Bahasa-bahasa lain
Transliteration: bah-HAH-sah bah-HAH-sah LAH-in
Doctrine: Tongues as Sign of the Spirit
Rejected alternatives: ecstatic/unintelligible trance-speech framing
Original: ἑτέραι γλῶσσαι / ἴδια διάλεκτος
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
NEW (Acts). The doctrinally load-bearing term for the whole Holy Spirit and Pentecost unit. Must be rendered so it is clearly known human languages miraculously spoken, confirmed by hearers recognizing their own native dialektos (2:6-11) — never confused with ecstatic trance utterance in regional spirit-medium practice.
Determinate Counsel
Approved rendering: Rancangan dan pengetahuan Allah yang ditetapkan lebih dahulu
Transliteration: rahn-CHAHNG-ahn dahn peng-eh-tah-HOO-ahn ahl-LAHH yahng dee-teh-TAHP-kahn LEH-bih dah-HOO-loo
Doctrine: Election and Divine Sovereignty
Rejected alternatives: takdir (fatalistic, impersonal decree)
Original: ὡρισμένη βουλὴ καὶ πρόγνωσις
Category: Providence
NEW (Acts). Never render with takdir. Acts 2:23 holds together divine sovereignty and human moral culpability for the crucifixion in a single clause — a tension popular Malay takdir-framed fatalism would collapse into simple predetermined inevitability without moral responsibility.
Appointed To Eternal Life
Approved rendering: Ditetapkan untuk hidup kekal
Transliteration: dee-teh-TAHP-kahn OON-took HEE-doop keh-KAHL
Doctrine: Election and Divine Sovereignty
Rejected alternatives: takdir-style impersonal fatalism
Original: τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον
Category: Salvation
NEW (Acts). Acts 13:48 (‘as many as were appointed to eternal life believed’) is one of the strongest sovereign-election texts in Acts, paralleling Romans 8:28-30/9:11-12. Must never be rendered with takdir-style impersonal fatalism.
Set Apart For Ministry
Approved rendering: Mengasingkan / diasingkan
Transliteration: meng-ah-SING-kahn / dee-ah-SING-kahn
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: Sufi ascetic-withdrawal framing
Original: ἀφορίζω
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
NEW (Acts). Acts 13:2 (‘the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul’) is the direct commissioning narrative behind Paul’s later self-description in Romans 1:1. Must not be read as Sufi ascetic withdrawal but as a specific, bounded, Spirit-initiated commissioning.
The Righteous One
Approved rendering: Yang Benar
Transliteration: yahng beh-NAHR
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Original: ὁ δίκαιος
Category: Christology
NEW (Acts). Applies Kebenaran directly to Christ as a christological title (22:14), distinct from believers’ imputed righteousness. Teaching should note this dual usage to avoid confusing Christ’s own inherent righteousness with believers’ credited righteousness.
Power Of Satan
Approved rendering: Kuasa Iblis / Syaitan
Transliteration: KOO-ah-sah IB-lees / SHY-tahn
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul
Rejected alternatives: assumed full equivalence with Islamic angelology/demonology’s ranked hierarchy
Original: ἐξουσία τοῦ Σατανᾶ
Category: Spiritual Powers
NEW (Acts). Malay has two available terms, Iblis (the proper-name Qur’anic figure) and Syaitan (the more general tempting/evil-spirit term); teaching must clarify the NT’s cosmic light-versus-darkness conflict framework (26:18), decisively resolved through Christ’s victory, without assuming full doctrinal equivalence with Islamic demonology.
Medium Risk Terms
Peace
Approved rendering: Damai sejahtera
Transliteration: DAH-mai seh-jah-TEH-rah
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: ketenangan (inner calm)
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. No distinct new Acts-specific doctrinal development beyond the general sense established in Romans.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: Karunia rohani
Transliteration: kah-ROO-nee-ah roh-HAH-nee
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts
Rejected alternatives: keramat (a miraculous power attributed to a venerated wali’s grave-site)
Original: χάρισμα / χαρίσματα
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Adjacent to the ‘gift of the Holy Spirit’ (dorea, 2:38) and the diversity of ministries established through the Seven (ch.6) and elders/overseers (chs.14, 20).
Church
Approved rendering: Gereja
Transliteration: geh-REH-jah
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: jemaah (used broadly for a mosque congregation or generic religious assembly)
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 20:28, ‘shepherd the church of God,’ ties Gereja to the elder/overseer’s pastoral responsibility; distinct from a state-recognized religious institution under Malaysia’s civil/Syariah dual jurisdiction.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: Kerajaan Allah
Transliteration: keh-rah-JAH-ahn ahl-LAHH
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Rejected alternatives: pentadbiran Allah (God’s administration)
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. Programmatic across Acts (1:3,6; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23,31); the disciples’ politically-loaded misreading in 1:6 mirrors Kerajaan’s double meaning as ‘government’ in modern Malay — a built-in teaching illustration.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: Bangsa bukan Yahudi
Transliteration: BAHNG-sah BOO-kahn yah-HOO-dee
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: kafir (unbeliever/infidel, a contested pejorative Islamic-legal category)
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Central to the whole ‘Gospel to Jews and Gentiles’ doctrine unit (Acts 10, 11, 13, 15); kafir remains forbidden.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: Nubuat
Transliteration: noo-boo-AHT
Doctrine: Inspiration and Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: ramalan (fortune-telling/prediction)
Original: προφητεία / προφητεύω
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 2:17-18’s inclusion of ‘sons and daughters,’ ‘menservants and maidservants’ democratizes Spirit-given proclamation beyond a closed office; must not be confused with ramalan.
Covenant
Approved rendering: Perjanjian
Transliteration: per-jahn-jee-AHN
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: kontrak (bare commercial contract)
Original: διαθήκη / ἐπαγγελία
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies the Davidic covenant argument in Peter’s (2:29-31) and Paul’s (13:22-23,32-33) sermons, and the extended promise ‘to you and your children and to all who are far off’ (2:39).
David
Approved rendering: Daud
Transliteration: dah-OOD
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: Δαυίδ / דָּוִד
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Central to both Peter’s (2:25-31) and Paul’s (13:22-23,34-37) sermons’ Davidic-covenant argument for the resurrection.
Israel
Approved rendering: Israel
Transliteration: iss-rah-EL
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 2:36 (‘let all the house of Israel know for certain’) and recurring ‘men of Israel’ addresses; handle with the same contemporary-geopolitical pastoral awareness as the Romans baseline.
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: Keturunan Daud
Transliteration: keh-too-ROO-nahn dah-OOD
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: σπέρμα Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 13:22-23 directly echoes Romans 1:3’s argument; Malay royal-lineage tradition (salasilah diraja) remains a genuine cultural bridge.
Obey God Rather Than Men
Approved rendering: Kita harus taat kepada Allah lebih daripada manusia
Transliteration: KEE-tah HAH-roos TAH-aht keh-PAH-dah ahl-LAHH LEH-bih dah-ree-PAH-dah mah-NOO-see-ah
Doctrine: Obedience to God over Human Authority
Rejected alternatives: general license for civil disobedience
Original: πειθαρχεῖν δεῖ θεῷ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀνθρώποις
Category: Persecution and Witness
NEW (Acts). Distinct from ketaatan iman (obedience of faith, baseline High-risk term). Applies specifically when human authority commands direct disobedience to God (5:29); contrast with Romans 13:1-7’s general submission instruction. Doctrine-level routing is elevated to human theologian given contemporary Malaysian religious-authority sensitivities, though the term itself is Medium risk.
Devout God Fearing
Approved rendering: Orang yang saleh / orang yang takut akan Allah
Transliteration: OH-rahng yahng SAH-leh / OH-rahng yahng TAH-koot AH-kahn ahl-LAHH
Doctrine: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: warak (Arabic-Islamic-register ritual-scrupulousness term)
Original: εὐλαβής / εὐσεβής / φοβούμενος τὸν θεόν
Category: Piety
NEW (Acts). Avoid warak. Cornelius (10:2) is the key ‘God-fearer’ example; devout characters in Acts (2:5; 10:2) still need the gospel preached to them — piety itself must not be presented as the meritorious ground of standing before God.
Mother Tongue Dialect
Approved rendering: Bahasa ibunda / loghat
Transliteration: bah-HAH-sah EE-boon-dah / LOH-ghaht
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Original: διάλεκτος
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
NEW (Acts). Reinforces that Pentecost’s tongues (2:6-8) are genuine known languages, deliberately reversing Babel’s confusion of languages (Genesis 11); surfaces the contrast with sacred-liturgical-language centrality found in other religious traditions.
Breaking Of Bread
Approved rendering: Memecahkan roti
Transliteration: meh-meh-CHAH-kahn ROH-tee
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: over-specifying a fixed liturgical sacrament
Original: κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου
Category: Church
NEW (Acts). Should be taught with its double reference (2:42,46; 20:7,11) intact — ordinary shared meals and commemorative remembrance — without over-specifying a fixed liturgical sacrament not yet clearly differentiated in the text.
All Things Common
Approved rendering: Segala kepunyaan mereka menjadi kepunyaan bersama
Transliteration: seh-GAH-lah keh-POO-nyah-ahn meh-REH-kah men-JAH-dee keh-POO-nyah-ahn ber-SAH-mah
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: equating with obligatory zakat almsgiving, modern communist-ideology framing
Original: ἅπαντα κοινά / εἶχον ἅπαντα κοινά
Category: Church
NEW (Acts). Must be taught as voluntary, Spirit-motivated generosity within the specific early Jerusalem community (2:44-45; 4:32-35), not a universal command, and distinguished from both a modern communist-ideological reading and the Islamic zakat framework.
Restoration Of All Things
Approved rendering: Pemulihan segala sesuatu
Transliteration: peh-moo-LEE-hahn seh-GAH-lah seh-SOO-ah-too
Doctrine: Minor Miracles of Restoration
Rejected alternatives: cyclical-restoration/reincarnation-adjacent cosmology
Original: ἀποκατάστασις πάντων
Category: Eschatology
NEW (Acts). Must be taught as a linear, once-for-all consummation (3:21), never confused with cyclical restoration or reincarnation-adjacent cosmology; linked forward to the full biblical hope of new creation.
Deacon Servant Office
Approved rendering: Pelayan jemaah / diaken
Transliteration: peh-LAH-yahn jeh-MAH-ah / dee-AH-ken
Doctrine: Church Governance and Leadership
Rejected alternatives: imam, ustaz, tok guru (Islamic religious-leadership titles with different institutional connotations)
Original: διακονεῖν τραπέζαις / διάκονος
Category: Church Governance
NEW (Acts). The Seven (6:1-6) establish this office; should be distinguished from Rasul as a separate governance office, and from Islamic religious-leadership titles.
Laying On Of Hands
Approved rendering: Menumpangkan tangan
Transliteration: meh-noom-PAHNG-kahn TAH-ngahn
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: folk-healing touch practices associated with bomoh/dukun
Original: ἐπιθέντος τὰς χεῖρας
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
NEW (Acts). Must be distinguished from folk-healing touch practices (8:17-19; 9:12,17; 13:3; 19:6; 28:8); efficacy is attributed entirely to the Spirit’s sovereign action, not any inherent power in the apostles’ hands or ritual technique.
No Respecter Of Persons
Approved rendering: Allah tidak memandang bulu / tidak berat sebelah
Transliteration: ahl-LAHH TEE-dahk meh-mahn-DAHNG BOO-loo
Doctrine: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: προσωπολήμπτης / οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήμπτης
Category: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
NEW (Acts). The theological hinge of the whole Cornelius narrative (10:34); should be rendered plainly and forcefully, not hedged.
Christian Label
Approved rendering: Kristian / orang Kristian
Transliteration: KRIS-tee-ahn / OH-rahng KRIS-tee-ahn
Doctrine: Christian Identity and Suffering
Original: Χριστιανός
Category: Church
NEW (Acts). First applied at Antioch (11:26), later used self-referentially (26:28). Connects to the Romans baseline’s christian_identity_in_christ doctrine regarding the fusion of Malay ethnicity and Islam in Malaysian usage; must be taught as identity rooted in union with Christ.
Elder
Approved rendering: Penatua
Transliteration: peh-nah-TOO-ah
Doctrine: Church Governance and Leadership
Rejected alternatives: orang tua-tua (general honorific for an older person), imam, tok guru, ustaz (Islamic leadership titles)
Original: πρεσβύτερος
Category: Church Governance
NEW (Acts). Should be distinguished from the general honorific for an older person and from Islamic religious-leadership titles; Acts 14:23 and 20:17 establish this as a specific NT church office.
Overseer
Approved rendering: Penilik jemaah / pengawas jemaah
Transliteration: peh-NEE-lik jeh-MAH-ah / peng-AH-wahs jeh-MAH-ah
Doctrine: Church Governance and Leadership
Original: ἐπίσκοπος
Category: Church Governance
NEW (Acts). Acts 20:28 uses episkopos of the same men called presbyteroi at 20:17, establishing these as overlapping/synonymous offices at this early period; teach together, not as two separate offices.
Yoke Of Law
Approved rendering: Kuk
Transliteration: KOOK
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Original: ζυγός
Category: Covenant
NEW (Acts). A vivid burden-metaphor tied to Hukum Taurat that should be preserved in Peter’s Jerusalem Council speech (15:10).
Sect Party
Approved rendering: Aliran (preferred over Mazhab)
Transliteration: ah-LEE-rahn
Doctrine: The Way as Christian Self-Designation
Rejected alternatives: Mazhab (specifically denotes the four recognized Sunni jurisprudential schools)
Original: αἵρεσις
Category: Church
NEW (Acts). Mazhab in standard Malaysian usage denotes a Sunni jurisprudential school, which could misleadingly suggest early Christianity (24:14) was a legal variant within Judaism’s own framework; Aliran avoids this association.
Vow
Approved rendering: Nazar
Transliteration: NAH-zahr
Doctrine: Church Governance and Leadership
Rejected alternatives: framing vow-taking as meritorious for salvation
Original: εὐχή
Category: Ordinances and Practices
NEW (Acts). Nazar is also a recognized concept in Malay Islamic devotional practice. Paul’s vow (21:23-24) should be taught as cultural sensitivity and freedom, not an implication that vow-taking itself is meritorious for salvation.
Resuscitation
Approved rendering: Dihidupkan semula
Transliteration: dee-HEE-doop-kahn seh-MOO-lah
Doctrine: Minor Miracles of Restoration
Rejected alternatives: conflation with Kebangkitan (Christ’s own permanent resurrection)
Original: ἤρθη νεκρός … ζῶντα
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
NEW (Acts). Must be distinguished from Kebangkitan, reserved for Christ’s once-for-all resurrection; these (Eutychus, 20:9-12; Tabitha, 9:36-42) are returns to ordinary mortal life, subject to future death again.
Good Conscience
Approved rendering: Hati nurani yang bersih / baik
Transliteration: HAH-tee noo-RAH-nee yahng ber-SEEH
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: presenting as itself the ground of righteousness before God
Original: συνείδησις ἀγαθή
Category: Ethics
NEW (Acts). A recognized moral-psychological category (23:1); must not be presented as itself the ground of righteousness before God, the distinct forensic status of Diperbenarkan.
Cast Lots
Approved rendering: Membuang undi
Transliteration: mem-BOO-ahng OON-dee
Doctrine: Church Governance and Leadership
Rejected alternatives: fortune-telling/divination framing
Original: κλῆρος
Category: Church Governance
NEW (Acts). A bounded, non-recurring decision-making practice entrusting a choice to God’s sovereignty (1:26); not fortune-telling (contrast with the divination spirit of ch.16); not prescribed as ongoing church practice.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: Kesyukuran
Transliteration: keh-shoo-KOO-rahn
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία / αἰνέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 2:47, 3:8-9, and 16:25 (Paul and Silas singing hymns in prison) extend this praise-vocabulary field; low doctrinal risk.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: Persekutuan
Transliteration: per-seh-koo-TOO-ahn
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: persaudaraan (brotherhood, generic/ethnic)
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 2:42 is the foundational ‘Church as Community’ text pairing koinonia with the apostles’ teaching, breaking of bread, and prayer.
Exhort
Approved rendering: Menasihati
Transliteration: meh-NAH-see-HAH-tee
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 2:40, Peter ‘exhorted’ the crowd; context leans toward the urgent-entreaty sense (merayu).
Pentecost
Approved rendering: Pentakosta / Hari Pentakosta
Transliteration: pen-tah-KOS-tah
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Original: πεντηκοστή
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
NEW (Acts). Established proper-noun transliteration in Alkitab tradition; a brief note tying it to the OT Feast of Weeks (Hari Raya Tujuh Minggu) helps readers unfamiliar with Israel’s festival calendar.
Rushing Wind
Approved rendering: Bunyi seperti angin yang kencang bertiup
Transliteration: BOO-nyee seh-PER-tee AH-ngin yahng KEN-chahng ber-TEE-oop
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: literal storm-wind claim (must remain a simile)
Original: πνοὴ βιαία
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
NEW (Acts). Must be phrased as a simile rather than a literal storm-wind claim, taught alongside Roh Kudus as an accompanying sign, not the Spirit’s essence reduced to an impersonal force.
Tongues As Of Fire
Approved rendering: Lidah-lidah seperti api
Transliteration: LEE-dah LEE-dah seh-PER-tee AH-pee
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: confusion with occult fire rituals in traditional Malay folk practice
Original: γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
NEW (Acts). Symbolic/visionary imagery echoing OT fire-theophanies; should be taught as symbolic of divine presence resting individually on each believer.
Cut To The Heart
Approved rendering: Tertikam hati
Transliteration: ter-TEE-kahm HAH-tee
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Original: κατενύγησαν τὴν καρδίαν
Category: Salvation
NEW (Acts). Should be rendered vividly (2:37), not flattened into mere surprise or sadness.
Times Of Refreshing
Approved rendering: Masa-masa kesegaran
Transliteration: MAH-sah MAH-sah keh-seh-GAH-rahn
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Original: καιροὶ ἀναψύξεως
Category: Eschatology
NEW (Acts). An evocative phrase (3:19) tied to the Lord’s presence rather than merely psychological relief; should not be reduced to the ketenangan caution already noted under peace in the baseline.
Stiff Necked
Approved rendering: Keras kepala / tegar tengkuk
Transliteration: KEH-rahs keh-PAH-lah / TEH-gahr TENG-kook
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: σκληροτράχηλοι
Category: Persecution and Witness
NEW (Acts). A vivid OT covenant-lawsuit idiom for persistent, obstinate resistance to God (Stephen’s speech, 7:51); should not be flattened to a generic ‘stubborn.‘
Great Fear
Approved rendering: Ketakutan yang besar
Transliteration: keh-tah-KOO-tahn yahng beh-SAHR
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Original: φόβος μέγας
Category: Church
NEW (Acts). The awe-filled fear gripping the early church after Ananias and Sapphira’s deaths (5:5, 5:11); reinforces the seriousness of sinning against the Spirit’s personal presence.
Wisdom Sophia
Approved rendering: Hikmat
Transliteration: HEEK-maht
Doctrine: Church Governance and Leadership
Original: σοφία
Category: Church Governance
NEW (Acts). Practical, Spirit-given wisdom qualifying leaders (the Seven, 6:3,10); shared comfortably across Malay religious registers without significant collision.
Zeus Hermes
Approved rendering: Zeus / Hermes
Transliteration: ZOOS / HER-mees
Doctrine: Apologetics and Engagement with Paganism
Rejected alternatives: substituting a local Malay/animist deity name
Original: Ζεύς / Ἑρμῆς
Category: Evangelism and Apologetics
NEW (Acts). Transliterate; do not substitute a local deity name. Paul and Barnabas forcefully refuse worship (14:15), sharpening by contrast the uniqueness of Christ’s own acceptance of worship elsewhere in the NT.
Vain Things Idols
Approved rendering: Perkara yang sia-sia / berhala
Transliteration: per-KAH-rah yahng SEE-ah SEE-ah / ber-HAH-lah
Doctrine: Apologetics and Engagement with Paganism
Original: μάταια
Category: Evangelism and Apologetics
NEW (Acts). A standard biblical anti-idolatry polemic term (14:15) broadly shared with Islamic anti-idolatry vocabulary, a genuine point of resonance.
Angel Of The Lord
Approved rendering: Malaikat Tuhan
Transliteration: mah-LAH-ee-kaht TOO-hahn
Doctrine: Sovereign Providence in Suffering
Original: ἄγγελος Κυρίου
Category: God
NEW (Acts). A recognized biblical category (12:7, 12:23, 27:23); note Islamic angelology assigns specific named/ranked angels (Jibril, Mikail, Izrail) and this unnamed angel should not be assumed to correspond to a specific Islamic figure.
Roman Citizen
Approved rendering: Warganegara Rom
Transliteration: WAHR-gah-neh-GAH-rah ROHM
Doctrine: Civil and Legal Narrative Background
Original: Ῥωμαῖος
Category: Civil and Legal
NEW (Acts). A civil/legal status term, not directly theological, though it structures the entire remaining narrative of Paul’s legal defense (21:39; 22:25-29).
Appeal To Caesar
Approved rendering: Merayu kepada Kaisar
Transliteration: meh-RAH-yoo keh-PAH-dah KAI-sahr
Doctrine: Civil and Legal Narrative Background
Original: Καίσαρα ἐπικαλοῦμαι
Category: Civil and Legal
NEW (Acts). Paul’s formal legal appeal to the emperor’s court (25:11); a legal, not theological, term.
Heavenly Vision
Approved rendering: Penglihatan syurgawi / cahaya dari langit
Transliteration: peng-lee-HAH-tahn shoor-GAH-wee / chah-HAH-yah DAH-ree LAH-ngit
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul
Original: οὐράνιος ὀπτασία / φῶς
Category: Conversion and Testimony
NEW (Acts). Descriptive theophany language for the Damascus-road light and vision (26:13, 26:19); straightforward to render.
Viper
Approved rendering: Ular berbisa
Transliteration: OO-lahr ber-BEE-sah
Doctrine: Apologetics and Engagement with Paganism
Original: ἔχιδνα
Category: Narrative
NEW (Acts). The snake that bit Paul on Malta (28:3-6); narrative/cultural-superstition color, showing a pattern (also ch.14) of pagan audiences oscillating between condemnation and deification.
Referenced passages