Core Glossary
08 Core Glossary — 2 John (English → Malayalam)
This glossary lists every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, covering the entire book of 2 John (vv.1–13). Terms already present in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json are marked Reused and MUST use the exact recorded Malayalam rendering — no deviation permitted. Terms not present in the baseline are marked New — Proposed and carry a recommended rendering plus risk tier for Phase 1 Step 2+ (Linguistic Gap Analysis) and eventual addition to translation memory. Risk tiers follow the baseline’s Critical/High/Medium/Low framework exactly.
| English Term | Greek (transliteration) | Malayalam Rendering (transliteration) | Risk | Status | Doctrine | Key Passage(s) | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | θεός (theos) | ദൈവം (daivam) | Critical | Reused | Christ-Centered Ministry / all doctrines | 1:3, 1:9 | Per baseline; avoid ഭഗവാന്. |
| Jesus | Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous) | യേശു (yeshu) | Critical | Reused | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | 1:3, 1:7 | Per baseline; not ഈശോ in this register. |
| Christ | Χριστός (Christos) | ക്രിസ്തു (kristu) | Critical | Reused | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | 1:3, 1:7, 1:9 | Per baseline; not മിശിഹാ in this register. |
| Father | πατήρ (patēr) | പിതാവ് (pithavu) | Critical | Reused | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:3, 1:4, 1:9 | Per baseline. |
| Son (of the Father / of God) | υἱός (huios) | ദൈവപുത്രന് / പിതാവിന്റെ പുത്രന് (daivaputhran / pithavinte puthran) | Critical | Reused, with phrase-note | Sonship of Christ; Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:3, 1:9 | Baseline ദൈവപുത്രന് reused for υἱὸς θεοῦ constructions; use പിതാവിന്റെ പുത്രന് specifically where Greek reads “Son of the Father” (1:3) to track the exact phrase. NEVER ദേവപുത്രന്. |
| grace | χάρις (charis) | കൃപ (krupa) | High | Reused | Grace | 1:3 | Per baseline; keep source of grace = Christ’s finished work, not bhakti-merit. |
| peace | εἰρήνη (eirēnē) | സമാധാനം (samadhanam) | Low | Reused | Peace with God | 1:3 | Per baseline. |
| flesh (incarnation context) | σάρξ (sarx) | ജഡം (jadam) [verse-level]; മാംസധാരണം (mamsadharanam) [doctrine-name] | Critical | Reused concept, rendering nuance flagged | Incarnation; Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | 1:7 | NEVER അവതാരം. Use ജഡത്തില് വന്നു for the verse text (established Malayalam Bible pattern, cf. 1 John 4:2), reserve മാംസധാരണം (baseline) for doctrine-name references. Flag both usages for theologian review. |
| truth | ἀλήθεια (alētheia) | സത്യം (satyam) | Medium | New — Proposed | Walking in Truth and Love | 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4 | Deeply established (cf. “Satyavedapustakam” as the Malayalam Bible’s own name). Risk: conflation with Advaitic/Vedantic impersonal “Satya” (ultimate reality/Brahman) rather than John’s relational, revealed, Christ-centered truth. |
| love | ἀγάπη (agapē) | സ്നേഹം (sneham) | Medium | New — Proposed | Walking in Truth and Love | 1:1, 1:3, 1:5, 1:6 | NEVER പ്രേമം (romantic/erotic connotation in contemporary Malayalam usage). Must be defined per v.6 as obedience-shaped, not mere sentiment. |
| commandment | ἐντολή (entolē) | കല്പ്പന (kalpana) | Medium | New — Proposed | Walking in Truth and Love | 1:4, 1:5, 1:6 | Must stay tethered to love (vv.5–6), not heard as bare legalism disconnected from “obedience of faith.” |
| walking (conduct of life) | περιπατέω (peripateō) | നടക്കുന്നു / ജീവിതം നടത്തുന്നു (nadakkunnu / jeevitham nadathunnu) | Medium | New — Proposed | Walking in Truth and Love | 1:4, 1:6 (×2) | Metaphor transfers naturally in Malayalam Bible tradition; ensure habitual/ongoing aspect retained, not a punctual act. |
| deceiver(s) | πλάνος / πλάνοι (planos / planoi) | വഞ്ചകന് / വഞ്ചകര് (vanchakan / vanchakar) | High | New — Proposed | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | 1:7 (×2) | Must retain moral culpability; do not soften to neutral “different teacher.” |
| world | κόσμος (kosmos) | ലോകം (lokam) | Medium | New — Proposed | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | 1:7 | Standard term; ensure moral/spiritual sense (opposition to God) is clear from context, not flattened to neutral geography. |
| confess / confessing | ὁμολογέω (homologeō) | ഏറ്റുപറയുന്നു (ettuparayunnu) | Medium | New — Proposed | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | 1:7 | Formal, public, propositional confession — parallels Romans 10:9 confession language; do not soften to “believe/think.” |
| antichrist | ἀντίχριστος (antichristos) | അന്തിക്രിസ്തു (anthikrishtu) | Critical | New — Proposed | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | 1:7 | Established Malayalam Bible transliteration (cf. 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3). Must denote the specific doctrinal category of denying Christ’s true nature, not a generic “villain.” |
| watch yourselves | βλέπετε ἑαυτούς (blepete heautous) | സ്വയം സൂക്ഷിച്ചുകൊള്വിന് (swayam sookshichukolvin) | Low | New — Proposed | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:8 | Standard vigilance language. |
| reward (full reward) | μισθὸν πλήρη (misthon plērē) | പൂര്ണ്ണ പ്രതിഫലം (poornna prathiphalam) | Medium | New — Proposed | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:8 | Must be distinguished from a merit-earned wage that grounds justification; a reward for perseverance within a grace relationship. Flag alongside grace/works language per baseline rule. |
| goes on ahead / transgresses | προάγω (proagō) | മുന്നോട്ടു പോകുന്നവന് / അതിക്രമിക്കുന്നവന് (munnottu pokunnavan / athikramikkunnavan) | High | New — Proposed | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:9 | Risk of being misheard as commending “spiritual progress/advancement” — the opposite of the intended sense. Prefer അതിക്രമിക്കുന്നവന് or an explanatory phrase. |
| abide / remain | μένω (menō) | നിലനില്ക്കുന്നു (nilanilkkunnu) | Medium | New — Proposed | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:2, 1:9 | Johannine keyword for settled relational abiding; do not flatten to generic “stay” (തുടരുക). |
| teaching / doctrine (of Christ) | διδαχή (didachē) | ഉപദേശം (upadesham); fixed phrase ക്രിസ്തുവിന്റെ ഉപദേശം | High | New — Proposed | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:9, 1:10 (×2) | Collision risk: ഉപദേശം is also the standard word for a Hindu guru’s spiritual instruction. Always anchor to the fixed phrase “the teaching of Christ,” never standalone. Flag for theologian review. |
| receive into the house (hospitality) | λαμβάνειν εἰς οἰκίαν (lambanein eis oikian) | വീട്ടില് സ്വീകരിക്കുക (veettil swekarikkuka) | High | New — Proposed | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | 1:10 | Deep Kerala cultural value of hospitality (atithi sathkaram) across all religious communities; teaching notes must frame this as a narrow, doctrinally bounded exception, not general inhospitality to outsiders. |
| greeting (formal, “Rejoice”/“Hail”) | χαίρειν (chairein) | വന്ദനം / സ്വാഗതം പറയരുത് (vandanam / swagatham parayaruthu) | Medium | New — Proposed | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | 1:10, 1:11 | Refers to the formal endorsement-greeting of ancient hospitality codes, not ordinary courtesy; must not be read as license for personal rudeness. |
| shares/participates in (evil works) | κοινωνέω (koinōneō) | പങ്കാളിയാകുന്നു (pankaliyakunnu) | High | New — Proposed, DISTINCT FROM κοινωνία | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | 1:11 | NEVER render with കൂട്ടായ്മ (the baseline’s warm, positive fellowship term) — opposite valence. Reserve കൂട്ടായ്മ exclusively for legitimate Christian fellowship. |
| evil works | ἔργα πονηρά (erga ponēra) | ദുഷ്പ്രവൃത്തികള് (dushpravruthikal) | Medium | New — Proposed | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | 1:11 | Distinguish from baseline’s general sin term പാപം; emphasizes active, deliberate wrongdoing (spreading false doctrine). |
| elder (church office) | πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros) | മൂപ്പന് (moopan) | Medium | New — Proposed | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:1 | Also the ordinary Malayalam word for a village/tribal headman; anchor to recognized apostolic teaching authority, not generic community leadership. |
| elect / chosen (adjective) | ἐκλεκτός / ἐκλεκτή (eklektos / eklektē) | തിരഞ്ഞെടുക്കപ്പെട്ട (thiranjedukkappetta) | High | New — Proposed | Divine Calling / Election (cf. baseline “election” noun, High risk) | 1:1, 1:13 | Must be rendered consistently at both occurrences (v.1 “elect lady,” v.13 “elect sister”); convey God’s sovereign gracious choice, never fatalistic idiom (തലയെഴുത്ത്). |
| lady / Kyria (addressee) | κυρία (kyria) | മാന്യസ്ത്രീ (manyasthree) OR transliterated proper name കുറിയ (kuriya) | High | New — Proposed, exegetically ambiguous | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | 1:1, 1:5, 1:13 | Ambiguous: individual householder vs. personified local church; choice affects how the hospitality warning is applied. Flag for human theologian decision; render consistently across all three occurrences. |
| children | τέκνα (tekna) | മക്കള് (makkal) | Low | New — Proposed | — | 1:1, 1:4, 1:13 | Standard term, literal and spiritual-family senses both attested. |
| mercy | ἔλεος (eleos) | കരുണ (karuna) | Medium | New — Proposed | Grace (extended triadic greeting) | 1:3 | Sanskrit-derived term also central to Buddhist compassion (karuna) vocabulary; teach alongside കൃപ (grace) to keep the two theologically distinguishable. |
| sister | ἀδελφή (adelphē) | സഹോദരി (sahodari) | Low | New — Proposed | — | 1:13 | Standard, low-ambiguity term. |
| joy | χαρά (chara) | സന്തോഷം (santhosham) | Low | New — Proposed | — | 1:12 | Standard term; relational warmth appropriate to closing tone. |
| face to face (idiom) | στόμα πρὸς στόμα (stoma pros stoma) | മുഖാമുഖം (mukhamukham) | Low | New — Proposed | — | 1:12 | Idiom-handling case: use natural Malayalam equivalent, not a literal “mouth to mouth” rendering. |
| paper and ink | χάρτης καὶ μέλαν (chartēs kai melan) | പേപ്പറും മഷിയും (paeparum mashiyum) | Low | New — Proposed | — | 1:12 | Purely material/cultural reference; no doctrinal weight. |
Risk Tier Summary (2 John Glossary)
| Risk Tier | Count | Review Routing (per baseline conventions) |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 4 | Human theologian review (God/Jesus/Christ/Father reused Critical + Son-of-Father phrase-note + flesh/incarnation nuance + antichrist) |
| High | 8 | Human theologian review |
| Medium | 13 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 7 | Automated review |
Cross-References to Baseline Package
- Reused terms above MUST match
translation_memory.jsonentries exactly:god,jesus,messiah(Christ),father,son_of_god,grace,peace, and the incarnation concept underlyingincarnation(മാംസധാരണം), with the verse-level ജഡം nuance newly flagged for this curriculum. - New terms proposed here (truth, love, commandment, deceiver, world, confess, antichrist, teaching/doctrine, hospitality/receive-into-house, greeting, κοινωνέω-negative-sense, evil works, elder, elect/chosen-adjective, κυρία, children, mercy, sister, joy, idiom terms) are candidates for addition to an updated
translation_memory.jsonin Phase 1 Step 2 (Linguistic Gap Analysis) and should be assigned permanent entries before Phase 2 segment translation begins. - The κοινωνέω/κοινωνία distinction (v.11 vs. baseline’s positive fellowship term) and the διδαχή/ഉപദേശം guru-collision risk are the two highest-priority new-term escalations for this curriculum, given their potential to invert or dilute doctrinal meaning if merged with existing positive-register vocabulary.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: ദൈവം
Transliteration: daivam
Doctrine: Deity of Christ / Sonship and Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ഭഗവാന്
Inherited from Romans package. ദൈവം is comparatively neutral, shared vocabulary across Malayalam’s religious communities; avoid ഭഗവാന്, which carries a specifically Hindu-devotional register. Occurs 2 John 1:3, 1:9.
Jesus
Approved rendering: യേശു
Transliteration: yeshu
Doctrine: Confession of Christ’s True Nature / Sonship and Deity of Christ
Inherited from Romans package. The standard modern Malayalam Bible (Satyavedapustakam) form, required for this curriculum’s Bible-study register. ഈശോ is a legitimate Syriac-liturgical heritage alternative, not used here. Occurs 2 John 1:3, 1:7.
Messiah
Approved rendering: ക്രിസ്തു
Transliteration: kristu
Doctrine: Confession of Christ’s True Nature / Sonship and Deity of Christ
Inherited from Romans package (baseline key ‘messiah’, Malayalam ക്രിസ്തു). Required rendering for Χριστός in this curriculum’s Bible-study register; മിശിഹാ is a legitimate liturgical alternative not used here. Occurs 2 John 1:3, 1:7, 1:9, as the content of the confession the deceivers deny (v.7) and of ‘the teaching of Christ’ (v.9-10).
Father
Approved rendering: പിതാവ്
Transliteration: pithavu
Doctrine: Sonship and Deity of Christ
Inherited from Romans package. God as personal Father; source of the commandment to love (v.4) and named alongside the Son as the ground of true fellowship with God (v.9). Occurs 2 John 1:3, 1:4, 1:9.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: ദൈവപുത്രന്
Transliteration: daivaputhran
Doctrine: Sonship and Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ദേവപുത്രന്
Inherited from Romans package. Use for υἱὸς θεοῦ-type constructions in 2 John, e.g. 1:9’s ‘the Father and the Son.’ NEVER ദേവപുത്രന് (‘son of a deva’), which would place Christ within a Hindu pantheon of celestial beings rather than as the eternal, unique Son within the Godhead. Distinguish from the phrase-level ‘son_of_the_father’ entry below, required specifically at 2 John 1:3.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: മാംസധാരണം
Transliteration: mamsadharanam
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: അവതാരം
Inherited from Romans package as the doctrine-name compound (‘flesh-taking’). Reserve for teaching-note/doctrine-header references to the Incarnation as a theological category in 2 John material. NEVER അവതാരം. For the verse-level rendering of 2 John 1:7’s ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί itself, use the distinct entry ‘flesh_incarnation’ below (ജഡത്തില് വന്നു), not this doctrine-name compound.
Antichrist
Approved rendering: അന്തിക്രിസ്തു
Transliteration: anthikrishtu
Doctrine: Antichrist Doctrine
New term for 2 John. Established transliterated Malayalam Bible term (cf. 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3). Must denote this specific doctrinal category — opposition to Christ’s true incarnate nature — and not be diluted into a generic apocalyptic-villain trope from popular/film usage. Occurs 1:7.
Flesh Incarnation
Approved rendering: ജഡത്തില് വന്നു
Transliteration: jadathil vannu
Doctrine: Incarnation / Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: അവതാരം, മാംസധാരണം (at verse level)
New term for 2 John, DISTINCT FROM THE DOCTRINE-NAME ‘incarnation’ ENTRY ABOVE. This is the required VERSE-LEVEL rendering of 2 John 1:7’s ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί (‘coming in flesh’), following the established Malayalam Bible pattern at the parallel 1 John 4:2 (‘യേശുക്രിസ്തു ജഡത്തിൽ വന്നു’). Use ജഡത്തില് വന്നു at verse level; reserve the doctrine-name compound മാംസധാരണം for teaching-note/header references to the Incarnation as a theological category. NEVER അവതാരം under any circumstance — the highest-priority forbidden substitution in this curriculum, since a generically-trained AI system may default to it as a fluent-sounding but doctrinally false choice the Saint Thomas Christian tradition never used. This term is the letter’s doctrinal center; flag every occurrence for human theologian review.
Son Of The Father
Approved rendering: പിതാവിന്റെ പുത്രന്
Transliteration: pithavinte puthran
Doctrine: Sonship and Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ദേവപുത്രന്
New term for 2 John, phrase-level distinct from the baseline ‘son_of_god’ entry. Required specifically for 2 John 1:3’s exact Greek phrase ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ πατρός (‘the Son of the Father’), which differs from the more familiar υἱὸς θεοῦ (‘Son of God’) construction used elsewhere (e.g. 1:9’s ‘the Father and the Son,’ where ദൈവപുത്രന് associations still apply contextually). NEVER ദേവപുത്രന്, which wrongly places Christ within a Hindu pantheon of celestial beings rather than as the eternal, co-equal Son within the Godhead. Occurs 1:3 only; render ദൈവപുത്രന് wherever the Greek reads υἱὸς θεοῦ elsewhere in the curriculum.
High Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: കൃപ
Transliteration: krupa
Doctrine: Grace, Mercy, and Peace
Rejected alternatives: പുണ്യം
Inherited from Romans package. In 2 John 1:3, part of the triadic greeting ‘grace, mercy, peace’ (distinct from the more familiar Pauline ‘grace and peace’ pair). Source of grace must remain Christ’s finished work, not bhakti-devotion merit.
Election
Approved rendering: ദൈവത്തിന്റെ തിരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പ്
Transliteration: daivathinte thiranjeduppu
Doctrine: Divine Election of Believers
Rejected alternatives: വിധി, തലയെഴുത്ത്
Inherited from Romans package (noun form). Underlies the adjectival ‘elect_chosen’ entry below used at 2 John 1:1 and 1:13. Never വിധി (fate) or തലയെഴുത്ത് (fatalism idiom).
Deceiver
Approved rendering: വഞ്ചകന് / വഞ്ചകര്
Transliteration: vanchakan / vanchakar
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
New term for 2 John. Strong, unambiguous Malayalam vocabulary with no positive religious-tradition competitor. High risk because softening this term (e.g. to a neutral ‘different teacher’ or ‘one who disagrees’) would blunt John’s explicit moral-culpability warning; must retain active, purposeful misleading, not mere doctrinal variance. Occurs 1:7 (twice, plural and singular archetype).
Goes On Ahead
Approved rendering: അതിക്രമിക്കുന്നവന്
Transliteration: athikramikkunnavan
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Rejected alternatives: മുന്നോട്ടു പോകുന്നവന്
New term for 2 John. NEVER a literal ‘goes ahead/advances’ rendering (മുന്നോട്ടു പോകുന്നവന്), which could be misheard as commending spiritual progress — the very self-justification the false teachers likely used, and the opposite of John’s intended warning. Prefer അതിക്രമിക്കുന്നവന് (‘transgresses, oversteps’) or an explanatory phrase. Occurs 1:9.
Teaching Of Christ
Approved rendering: ഉപദേശം (fixed phrase: ക്രിസ്തുവിന്റെ ഉപദേശം)
Transliteration: upadesham (fixed phrase: kristuvinte upadesham)
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
New term for 2 John. ഉപദേശം is also the standard Malayalam word for a Hindu guru’s spiritual instruction (upadesha), risking a flattening of ‘the teaching of Christ’ into one teaching among many valid spiritual paths. ALWAYS use the fixed phrase ക്രിസ്തുവിന്റെ ഉപദേശം; flag any standalone occurrence of ഉപദേശം for human theologian review before acceptance. Occurs 1:9, 1:10 (twice).
Receive Into House
Approved rendering: വീട്ടില് സ്വീകരിക്കുക
Transliteration: veettil swekarikkuka
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
New term for 2 John. Deep Kerala cultural-collision risk: hospitality (അതിഥി സത്ക്കാരം) is a near-sacred value across every Kerala religious community (Hindu, Christian, Muslim/Mappila alike). Teaching notes accompanying this term must explicitly frame v.10 as a narrow, doctrinally bounded exception (withholding public endorsement from itinerant teachers denying the incarnation), never a general instruction toward inhospitality. Occurs 1:10.
Shares In Evil
Approved rendering: പങ്കാളിയാകുന്നു
Transliteration: pankaliyakunnu
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
Rejected alternatives: കൂട്ടായ്മ
New term for 2 John, DISTINCT FROM THE POSITIVE ‘fellowship’ ENTRY ABOVE. Describes becoming a partner/participant in another’s wrongdoing by association and endorsement (v.11) — the opposite valence of κοινωνία’s usual positive sense. NEVER render with കൂട്ടായ്മ. Occurs 1:11.
Elect Chosen
Approved rendering: തിരഞ്ഞെടുക്കപ്പെട്ട
Transliteration: thiranjedukkappetta
Doctrine: Divine Election of Believers
Rejected alternatives: തലയെഴുത്ത്
New term for 2 John (adjectival form of baseline ‘election’). Must convey God’s sovereign, gracious choice, never drifting toward fatalistic idioms (തലയെഴുത്ത്, ‘writing on the forehead’). MUST be rendered identically at both occurrences: v.1 (‘elect lady’) and v.13 (‘elect sister’), preserving the letter’s deliberate structural parallel.
Kyria Lady
Approved rendering: മാന്യസ്ത്രീ / കുറിയ (theologian decision pending; render identically at all three occurrences once chosen)
Transliteration: manyasthree / kuriya
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
New term for 2 John. Genuine exegetical ambiguity: κυρία may denote an individual Christian woman of standing (descriptive title മാന്യസ്ത്രീ) or, per many commentators, a personification of a local congregation (transliterated proper name കുറിയ). This choice materially affects how the hospitality/discernment instruction (vv.10-11) is applied. FLAGGED for human theologian decision before Phase 2 begins; whichever rendering is chosen must be used consistently at v.1, v.5, and v.13.
Medium Risk Terms
Truth
Approved rendering: സത്യം
Transliteration: satyam
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love / Truth as an Abiding Apostolic Reality
New term for 2 John. Deeply established in Malayalam Christian usage (the Malayalam Bible is itself titled Satyavedapustakam), but risks conflation with Advaita Vedantic/Hindu philosophical Satya as impersonal, monistic ultimate reality (Brahman-as-Sat) rather than John’s relational, revealed, Christ-centered truth. Anchor explicitly to ‘the truth concerning Christ’ at first occurrence per section (1:1-4).
Love
Approved rendering: സ്നേഹം
Transliteration: sneham
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love / Love as Obedience, Not Sentiment
Rejected alternatives: പ്രേമം
New term for 2 John. NEVER പ്രേമം, which in contemporary Malayalam (especially film/media usage) carries a strong romantic/erotic connotation. Must be defined per v.6 as obedience-shaped (‘this is love, that we walk according to his commandments’), not mere sentiment. Occurs 1:1, 1:3, 1:5, 1:6.
Commandment
Approved rendering: കല്പ്പന
Transliteration: kalpana
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
New term for 2 John. Standard Malayalam Bible term for divine commandment. Must stay tethered to love (vv.5-6) so it is not heard as cold legalism disconnected from the baseline’s ‘obedience of faith’ framework. Occurs 1:4, 1:5, 1:6.
Walking Conduct
Approved rendering: നടക്കുന്നു / ജീവിതം നടത്തുന്നു
Transliteration: nadakkunnu / jeevitham nadathunnu
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
New term for 2 John. The metaphor transfers naturally in Malayalam Bible tradition (cf. ‘സത്യത്തില് നടക്കുക’); ensure the habitual/ongoing aspect is retained, not collapsed into a single punctual act. Occurs 1:4, 1:6 (twice).
World
Approved rendering: ലോകം
Transliteration: lokam
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
New term for 2 John. Standard, low-ambiguity Malayalam word for ‘world.’ Ensure the moral/spiritual sense (a sphere in opposition to God, into which deceivers have ‘gone out’) is clear from context and does not collapse into a neutral geographic sense. Occurs 1:7.
Confess
Approved rendering: ഏറ്റുപറയുന്നു
Transliteration: ettuparayunnu
Doctrine: Confession of Christ’s True Nature
New term for 2 John. Parallels the baseline’s Romans 10:9 confession language. Must preserve formal, public, propositional force; the confession denied by the deceivers concerns Jesus Christ’s coming in the flesh. Do not soften to a private ‘believe/think.’ Occurs 1:7.
Full Reward
Approved rendering: പൂര്ണ്ണ പ്രതിഫലം
Transliteration: poornna prathiphalam
Doctrine: Reward and Grace Distinction
New term for 2 John. Must be distinguished, per the baseline’s grace-vs-merit safeguard (cf. Romans 4:4-5, 11:5-6), from any suggestion that this reward is the ground of one’s justification before God; it is a reward for faithful perseverance within an already-grace-based relationship. Flag for native-speaker review whenever co-occurring with grace/works language. Occurs 1:8.
Abide Remain
Approved rendering: നിലനില്ക്കുന്നു
Transliteration: nilanilkkunnu
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ / Truth as an Abiding Apostolic Reality
Rejected alternatives: തുടരുക
New term for 2 John. Johannine keyword for persistent, settled relational abiding (cf. John 15). Do not flatten to generic ‘stay/continue’ (തുടരുക), which loses the relational, communion-with-God weight. Occurs 1:2, 1:9.
Greeting Formal
Approved rendering: വന്ദനം / സ്വാഗതം പറയരുത്
Transliteration: vandanam / swagatham parayaruthu
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
New term for 2 John. Refers to the specific formal greeting that functioned as public endorsement in the ancient hospitality code, not ordinary courtesy. Must not be read as license for personal rudeness in a Malayalam culture where greeting a guest is a strong social reflex. Occurs 1:10, 1:11.
Evil Works
Approved rendering: ദുഷ്പ്രവൃത്തികള്
Transliteration: dushpravruthikal
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
New term for 2 John. Standard Malayalam Bible vocabulary. Distinguish from the baseline’s general sin term പാപം; here the emphasis is active, deliberate wrongdoing (spreading false doctrine about Christ’s incarnation), not the broader theological category of sin as such. Occurs 1:11.
Elder
Approved rendering: മൂപ്പന്
Transliteration: moopan
Doctrine: Church Eldership and Apostolic Authority
New term for 2 John. Standard, established Malayalam church-office term for elder/presbyter, but also the ordinary word for a village, tribal, or community headman (e.g. Adivasi മൂപ്പന്), which could dilute the term’s specifically apostolic and ecclesial authority. Anchor to the writer’s recognized apostolic teaching authority undergirding the letter’s doctrinal warnings. Occurs 1:1.
Mercy
Approved rendering: കരുണ
Transliteration: karuna
Doctrine: Grace, Mercy, and Peace
New term for 2 John. Sanskrit-derived term also central to Buddhist ethical vocabulary (karuna, one of the four Brahmaviharas) and general Indian compassion-virtue usage. Risk is that God’s ἔλεος could be flattened into a generic, humanly-achievable compassion virtue rather than a specific divine disposition toward sinners flowing from Christ’s work. Always teach alongside കൃപ (grace) so the two remain theologically distinguishable. Occurs 1:3, in the triadic greeting distinct from the Romans baseline’s paired ‘grace and peace.‘
Low Risk Terms
Peace
Approved rendering: സമാധാനം
Transliteration: samadhanam
Doctrine: Grace, Mercy, and Peace
Inherited from Romans package. Part of the triadic greeting at 2 John 1:3. Low risk; established usage.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: കൂട്ടായ്മ
Transliteration: koottayma
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment (contrast term)
Rejected alternatives: സൗഹൃദം
Inherited from Romans package, positive-valence κοινωνία term. CRITICAL FENCE FOR THIS CURRICULUM: NEVER use this term for 2 John 1:11’s κοινωνέω (‘shares in evil works’), which is the opposite valence. Reserve കൂട്ടായ്മ exclusively for legitimate, positive Christian fellowship contexts across this curriculum; see the distinct ‘shares_in_evil’ entry below for v.11.
Watch Yourselves
Approved rendering: സ്വയം സൂക്ഷിച്ചുകൊള്വിന്
Transliteration: swayam sookshichukolvin
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
New term for 2 John. Standard vigilance language guarding against the danger named in v.7; no competing religious-tradition term. Occurs 1:8.
Children
Approved rendering: മക്കള്
Transliteration: makkal
Doctrine: Christian Joy and Family Fellowship
New term for 2 John. Standard, well-established Malayalam term for children, literal and spiritual-family senses both attested. Occurs 1:1, 1:4, 1:13.
Sister
Approved rendering: സഹോദരി
Transliteration: sahodari
Doctrine: Christian Joy and Family Fellowship
New term for 2 John. Standard, low-ambiguity term for a fellow believer regarded as family. Occurs 1:13.
Joy Fulfilled
Approved rendering: സന്തോഷം പൂര്ണ്ണമാകുവാന്
Transliteration: santhosham poornnamakuvan
Doctrine: Christian Joy and Family Fellowship
New term for 2 John. Standard vocabulary; relational warmth appropriate to the letter’s personal, pastoral closing tone. Occurs 1:12.
Face To Face Idiom
Approved rendering: മുഖാമുഖം
Transliteration: mukhamukham
Doctrine: Christian Joy and Family Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: വായോടു വായ്
New term for 2 John. Idiom-handling case per baseline rule: a literal Malayalam rendering (‘വായോടു വായ്’, ‘mouth to mouth’) would sound physically odd rather than idiomatic; use the natural equivalent മുഖാമുഖം. Occurs 1:12.
Paper And Ink
Approved rendering: പേപ്പറും മഷിയും
Transliteration: paeparum mashiyum
Doctrine: Christian Joy and Family Fellowship
New term for 2 John. Purely material/cultural reference to ancient writing media; no doctrinal weight. Occurs 1:12.
Referenced passages