Core Glossary
Malachi — Core Glossary
Curriculum: Malachi
Destination language: Mandarin (Simplified Chinese, CUV 神版 register)
Core passage: Malachi 3:1–4
Companion document: analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified across the whole book of Malachi (chapters 1–4), citing the chapter(s) of occurrence. Terms already present in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked [BASELINE — REUSE EXACTLY] and their recorded Mandarin rendering is carried over unchanged, per the hard rule that established renderings must be reused exactly. Newly proposed terms for this curriculum are marked [NEW] and should be added to translation memory following the Step 1 → Step 2 pipeline before Phase 2 translation begins.
Table 1: Terms Reused from Baseline (Romans) Translation Memory
| English Term | Hebrew Original | Mandarin (unchanged) | Doctrine Risk (baseline) | Malachi Chapter Citations | Reuse Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | אֱלֹהִים (Elohim) | 神 | Critical | 1, 2, 3, 4 (pervasive) | Reuse exactly. Note: Malachi’s dominant divine designation is the personal covenant name YHWH (see 耶和华, new term below), not the generic Elohim-noun; 神 remains correct wherever “God” (not “the LORD”) appears in English text. |
| Lord (title) | אָדוֹן (adon) | 主 | Critical | 3:1 | Reuse exactly for the title in 3:1’s “the Lord whom you seek.” Mandatory translator note connecting this OT occurrence forward to the NT’s exclusive Lordship confession (Romans 10:9) so the same character 主 is not read as merely a generic honorific here. |
| covenant | בְּרִית (berit) | 约 | High | 2:4-5, 2:8, 2:10, 2:14, 3:1 | Reuse exactly. Malachi’s “covenant of Levi,” “covenant of our fathers,” and marriage covenant all use this term — reinforces the baseline’s caution against a commercial-contract reading (合同/契约 rejected). |
| law | תּוֹרָה (torah) | 律法 | High | 2:6-9, 4:4 | Reuse exactly when torah refers to the Mosaic legal corpus (4:4, “law of Moses”); for the broader sense of priestly “instruction” in 2:6-9, see 训诲 [NEW] below. |
| righteousness | צֶדֶק / צְדָקָה (tsedeq/tsedaqah) | 义 (also 公义 in compound forms) | Critical | 3:3, 3:18, 4:2 | Reuse the 义 root exactly; retain baseline’s mandatory distinguishing note (vs. the Confucian virtue) at every occurrence, including compounds like 公义的日头 (Sun of Righteousness, 4:2) and 义人/恶人 (righteous/wicked, 3:18). |
| sin / sinner (implied conduct) | חֵטְא-adjacent conduct (not a dedicated lexeme in Malachi but presupposed throughout) | 罪 | High | (implicit throughout 1:6-2:9, 3:5) | Reuse exactly where the concept of moral offense against God is in view (e.g., corrupt priestly conduct, sorcery, adultery, oppression in 3:5). |
| prophet | נָבִיא (navi, cf. 4:5 “Elijah the prophet”) | 先知 | Low | 4:5 | Reuse exactly. |
| Moses | מֹשֶׁה (Mosheh) | 摩西 | — | 4:4 | Reuse exactly (established CUV proper name). |
| Israel | יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisra’el) | 以色列 | Medium | 1:1, 1:5, 2:11, 2:16 | Reuse exactly. |
| David (background reference, Levitical/royal covenant theme) | — | 大卫 | Medium | (contextual/background only; not a direct lexeme in Malachi) | Retained for curriculum cross-reference to the Davidic/Levitical covenant theme, not a direct occurrence in Malachi’s text. |
| holy / holiness (conceptual, re: acceptable offerings) | קָדוֹשׁ-adjacent purity concepts | 圣洁 | High | 1:11, 2:11, 3:3 | Reuse exactly for moral/relational set-apartness; do not use for mere ritual-purity technique (cf. baseline’s rejection of 清净). |
Table 2: New Terms Introduced by Malachi (Proposed for Translation Memory Addition)
| English Term | Hebrew Original | Transliteration | Mandarin Rendering | Doctrine | Risk | Chapter Citations | Alternatives Rejected | Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LORD (divine personal name) | יהוה | YHWH | 耶和华 (Yēhéhuá) | God’s Unchanging Love / all doctrines | Critical | 1–4 (pervasive) | 天, 老天爷, 上帝 (for this package) | Must be kept visually and conceptually distinct from 神 (generic God-noun) and 主 (adon/kyrios title), while teaching that all three refer to the one true God. Malachi’s argument depends on this being the covenant-keeping personal name, not an abstract deity-title. Consistent with baseline’s existing “term question” discussion under 神. |
| LORD of hosts | יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת | YHWH Tseva’ot | 万军之耶和华 (wànjūn zhī Yēhéhuá) | The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord | Critical | 1:6, 1:8-14, 2:2, 2:4, 2:7-8, 2:12, 2:16, 3:1, 3:5, 3:7, 3:10-12, 3:14, 3:17, 4:1, 4:3 | 万能的耶和华 (less standard) | Establishes God’s unrivaled sovereign authority to send the messenger, purify, and judge. Standard CUV form; use consistently throughout. |
| my messenger / messenger (forerunner) | מַלְאָכִי / מַלְאָךְ | mal’akhi / mal’akh | 使者 (shǐzhě) | The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord | Critical | 3:1; cf. 1:1 (prophet’s name itself) | 天使 (angel), 使徒 (apostle) | Human prophetic forerunner (traditionally identified with John the Baptist), not an angelic being (天使) nor an apostolic office-holder (使徒, baseline term for a distinct NT office). Requires translator note on every occurrence. |
| messenger of the covenant | מַלְאַךְ הַבְּרִית | mal’akh habberit | 立约的使者 (lìyuē de shǐzhě) | The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord | Critical | 3:1 | 天使, 使徒 | Traditionally read as Christ himself. Must be kept distinct from the human forerunner-messenger earlier in the same verse — two figures, two notes. |
| the Day (of the LORD) | יוֹם (יְהוָה) | yom (YHWH) | 日子 / 耶和华的日子 (rìzi / Yēhéhuá de rìzi) | The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord | Critical | 3:2, 3:17, 4:1, 4:5 | 黄历吉日/凶日-flavored renderings | Must not be assimilated to the Chinese folk-calendar concept of an auspicious/inauspicious day selected by almanac divination (择日). This is a personally, sovereignly appointed day of moral reckoning under YHWH. |
| great and awesome day of the LORD | יוֹם יְהוָה הַגָּדוֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא | yom YHWH hagadol vehanora | 耶和华大而可畏之日 (Yēhéhuá dà ér kěwèi zhī rì) | The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord | Critical | 4:5 | — | The technical eschatological climax term. Never assimilate to Chinese cyclical dynastic historiography (治乱循环) or a fortune-calendar doomsday concept. |
| sun of righteousness | שֶׁמֶשׁ צְדָקָה | shemesh tsedaqah | 公义的日头 (gōngyì de rìtóu) | The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord | Critical | 4:2 | — | Double risk: (1) reuses the Critical-risk 义 root — God’s own righteous, vindicating character, not human moral achievement; (2) risk of assimilation to folk solar-deity veneration (太阳星君) — must be taught as metaphor for God’s vindicating righteousness, not an astral power. |
| book of remembrance | סֵפֶר זִכָּרוֹן | sefer zikkaron | 纪念册 (jìniàncè) | God’s Unchanging Love for His People / The Call to Repentance | Critical | 3:16 | 功过簿/功过格-flavored renderings | Direct structural collision with the Chinese folk-morality merit-and-demerit ledger tradition (功过簿), the same class of risk the baseline flags as Critical for grace vs. 功德. Must be taught as God’s personal, relational, grace-grounded remembrance of his faithful people, never a merit-tally determining reward. |
| I do not change (God’s unchanging nature) | לֹא שָׁנִיתִי | lo shaniti | 我并不改变 / 我总不改变 (wǒ zǒng bù gǎibiàn) | God’s Unchanging Love for His People | Critical | 3:6 | 天道 (impersonal cosmic constancy) | Anchor verse for the curriculum’s first doctrine. Personal, relational constancy grounding Israel’s continued existence despite unfaithfulness — not impersonal metaphysical or cosmic immutability. |
| love (God’s electing love) | אָהַב (ahav) | ahav | 爱 (ài) | God’s Unchanging Love for His People | High | 1:2 | — | Covenantal, electing, steadfast love opening the book; not mere sentiment nor karmically-earned favor. |
| hated (covenantal rejection) | שָׂנֵא (sane) | saneti | 恨恶 (hèn’è) | God’s Unchanging Love for His People | High | 1:3 | — | Hebrew covenantal-election idiom (“loved/hated” = “chosen/not chosen”), quoted directly in Romans 9:13 — cross-reference required; not primarily emotional hatred. |
| curse (judicial pronouncement) | קְלָלָה / חֵרֶם | qelalah / cherem | 咒诅 (zhòuzǔ) | Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant | High | 2:2; 4:6 | 下咒, 施咒 (folk magical curse-casting) | Sovereign, judicial divine pronouncement, not a ritual-magic technique. |
| profane / desecrate | חִלֵּל (chillel) | mechallelim | 亵渎 (xièdú) | Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant | Medium-High | 2:10-11 | — | Treating the covenant/God’s name as common rather than holy. |
| act treacherously / faithlessly | בָּגַד (bagad) | boged | 行诡诈 (xíng guǐzhà) | Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage | High | 2:10, 2:14-16 | — | Relational betrayal of a covenant partner (God or spouse); central verb of the marriage-covenant section. |
| wife of your youth | אֵשֶׁת נְעוּרִים | esheth ne’urim | 幼年所娶的妻 (yòunián suǒ qǔ de qī) | Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage | Medium | 2:14-15 | — | Lifelong, God-witnessed marriage covenant framing. |
| divorce / put away a wife | שָׁלַח אִשָּׁה | shalach ishah | 休妻 (xiūqī) [flagged] | Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage | High | 2:16 | 离弃 (líqì, “abandon,” as a possible softer alternative) | CUV’s traditional term overlaps with the historic Chinese legal concept of a husband’s unilateral divorce right (七出). Mandatory translator note: this passage condemns covenant-breaking divorce; it does not endorse or merely regulate the old patriarchal divorce tradition. |
| godly offspring | זֶרַע אֱלֹהִים | zera Elohim | 虔诚的后裔 (qiánchéng de hòuyì) | Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage | Medium | 2:15 | — | Note the adjective 虔诚 here modifies “offspring,” a distinct grammatical use from its rejection as a rendering of “faith” (πίστις) elsewhere in the baseline — clarify to avoid cross-contamination for learners. |
| rob / defraud (God) | קָבַע (qova) | qova | 夺取 (duóqǔ) | Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage | High | 3:8-9 | — | Vivid covenant-unfaithfulness charge; not merely failing an institutional quota nor feeding a cosmic merit-ledger. |
| tithe(s) | מַעֲשֵׂר (ma’aser) | ma’aser | 十一奉献 (shíyī fèngxiàn) | Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage | Medium | 3:8, 3:10 | 十分之一的捐 (more literal but less idiomatic) | Modern established Chinese Christian usage. |
| contribution / offering | תְּרוּמָה / מִנְחָה | terumah / minchah | 供物 (gòngwù) | Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage / Corrupt Worship | Medium | 1:10-11, 1:13, 2:12-13, 3:3-4, 3:8 | 祭品 (jìpǐn, folk ancestor/temple offering) | Distinguish from folk ancestor-veneration or temple-idol offerings; this is covenant tribute to the one true God. |
| test / prove (God’s invitation) | בָּחַן (bachan) | bachanu | 试验 (shìyàn) | Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage / Call to Repentance | Medium-High | 3:10 | — | A specific, limited, God-initiated invitation to test his faithfulness through obedient tithing; not a general principle for testing God, nor comparable to folk vow-and-repay bargaining (许愿还愿). |
| return / repent | שׁוּב (shuv) | shuvu / ve’ashuvah | 转向 / 归向 (zhuǎnxiàng / guīxiàng) | The Call to Repentance before the Great Day | High | 3:7 | 悔改 (huǐgǎi, viable but shifts emphasis to inward remorse over relational return) | Central repentance appeal of the book: “Return to me, and I will return to you.” Emphasizes relational turning-back over inward remorse alone; cross-reference to NT 悔改 doctrine required. |
| treasured possession | סְגֻלָּה (segullah) | segullah | 特特归我 (tè tè guī wǒ) | God’s Unchanging Love for His People | High | 3:17 | — | God’s tender, paternal claim on his faithful people; connects to adoption/sonship themes in the baseline without implying earned status. |
| those who fear the LORD | יִרְאֵי יְהוָה | yir’ei YHWH | 敬畏耶和华的人 (jìngwèi Yēhéhuá de rén) | The Call to Repentance before the Great Day | Medium | 3:16 | — | Marks the faithful remnant by reverent awe, distinct from mere ritual observance. |
| burn incense (universal worship image) | קְטוֹרָה מֻקְטָר | qetorah muqtar | 焚香 (fénxiāng) | Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant | Critical | 1:11 | — | The most visually loaded ritual act in Chinese folk religion/Buddhism/Daoism. Mandatory note: the prophetic image describes future worship of the true God, not an endorsement of incense-ritual generally across religious traditions. |
| priest(s) | כֹּהֵן (kohen) | kohanim | 祭司 (jìsī) | Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant | Medium | 1:6, 2:1, 2:7 | 和尚, 道士, 法师 (Buddhist/Daoist religious specialists) | Distinct from Buddhist/Daoist ritual specialist titles. |
| altar | מִזְבֵּח (mizbeach) | mizbeach | 祭坛 (jìtán) | Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant | Low | 1:7, 1:10 | — | Standard established Christian term. |
| refiner’s fire | אֵשׁ מְצָרֵף | esh metsaref | 炼净的火 (liàn jìng de huǒ) | The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord | High | 3:2-3 | 地狱之火 (punitive hell-fire image) | Corrective/purifying judgment toward God’s own people, not merely punitive/annihilating fire. |
| refine / purify | צָרַף / טָהֵר (tsaraf / taher) | metsaref / metaher | 炼净 / 洁净 (liànjìng / jiéjìng) | The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord | High | 3:3 | 清净 (Daoist/Buddhist ritual stillness) | God-initiated purification of his covenant people, not self-cultivated ritual purity. |
| sons of Levi | בְּנֵי־לֵוִי | b’nei Levi | 利未的子孙 (Lìwèi de zǐsūn) | Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant | Medium | 2:1, 3:3 | — | Requires OT priestly-office background note for low-OT-literacy readers. |
| great King | מֶלֶךְ גָּדוֹל | melekh gadol | 大君王 (dà jūnwáng) | The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord | Medium | 1:14 | 天下共主-flavored renderings | Cross-reference baseline’s 神的国 caution against 天下/王朝 framing. |
| sorcerer | מְכַשֵּׁף (mekhashshef) | mekhashshef | 行邪术的 (xíng xiéshù de) | The Call to Repentance before the Great Day | High | 3:5 | — | Direct condemnation of occult practice; live pastoral sensitivity given widespread Chinese folk fortune-telling/mediumship. |
| turning of hearts (fathers to children) | הֵשִׁיב לֵב אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים | heshiv lev avot al banim | 使父亲的心转向儿女 (shǐ fùqīn de xīn zhuǎnxiàng érnǚ) | The Call to Repentance before the Great Day | Medium | 4:6 | — | Resonates with Confucian filial harmony (孝) but must be taught as God-initiated relational restoration flowing from repentance, not a social duty discharged as a debt (cf. baseline’s 孝顺 caution). |
| Elijah the prophet | אֵלִיָּהוּ הַנָּבִיא | Eliyahu hanavi | 以利亚先知 (Yǐlìyà xiānzhī) | The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord | High | 4:5 | — | Promised forerunner, NT-identified with John the Baptist; cross-reference to “my messenger” (3:1) required to unify the book’s messenger-motif. |
| law/instruction (priestly torah) | תּוֹרָה (in priestly-instruction sense) | torah | 训诲 (xùnhuì) | Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant | Medium | 2:6-9 | 礼教 (Confucian ritual-propriety instruction) | Distinct sense from the codified Mosaic legal corpus (律法); the priest’s teaching/instructional function specifically. |
Risk Summary for Malachi New-Term Additions
| Risk Tier | Count | Review Routing (per baseline convention) |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 8 | Human theologian review — every occurrence |
| High | 12 | Human theologian review |
| Medium-High | 2 | Human theologian review (borderline; recommend theologian, minimum native speaker) |
| Medium | 8 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 2 | Automated review |
Note for Phase 2 pipeline integration: All Critical and High risk terms above must be added to translation_memory.json with doctrine_risk fields matching this glossary before any Malachi segment is processed, per the Pre-flight Checklist in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md. The 焚香 (incense), 纪念册 (book of remembrance), and 休妻 (divorce) entries are flagged as the highest-sensitivity culturally loaded terms in this book and should receive priority attention in the forthcoming doctrine_risk_registry.json extension for Malachi.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: 神
Transliteration: Shén
Doctrine: God’s Unchanging Love for His People
Rejected alternatives: 上帝, 天, 老天爷
Original: אֱלֹהִים
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package; reuse exactly. In Malachi, 神 (the generic/covenant God-noun, Hebrew Elohim) alternates far more densely with the personal covenant name 耶和华 (YHWH, see new term below) than in Romans. Teaching must clarify these designate the same one true God, not two deities.
Lord
Approved rendering: 主
Transliteration: zhǔ
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 主人, 老爷
Original: אָדוֹן
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package; reuse exactly for the Hebrew title adon in Malachi 3:1 (‘the Lord whom you seek’). Because the baseline reserves 主 with Critical-risk protection for Christ’s exclusive Lordship confession (Romans 10:9), this OT occurrence requires a mandatory translator note connecting it forward to the NT confession so 主 is not read as a merely generic honorific here.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: 义
Transliteration: yì
Doctrine: Divine Justice: The Distinction Between the Righteous and the Wicked
Rejected alternatives: 道德, 善行
Original: צֶדֶק / צְדָקָה
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; reuse exactly. Recurs in Malachi 3:3 (‘offerings in righteousness’), 3:18, and 4:2 (‘sun of righteousness’, see new compound term below) and in the new term 义人/恶人 (righteous/wicked). The mandatory Confucian-virtue distinguishing note applies at every occurrence, including inside new compounds.
Yhwh
Approved rendering: 耶和华
Transliteration: Yēhéhuá
Doctrine: God’s Unchanging Love for His People
Rejected alternatives: 上帝 (rejected for this package, per baseline’s Term Question discussion under 神), 天, 老天爷
Original: יהוה
Category: God
NEW TERM. The personal, covenant-revealed name of Israel’s God, used pervasively as the speaker of every Malachi oracle. Must remain visually and conceptually distinct from 神 (the generic God-noun) and 主 (the adon/kyrios title), while all three are taught as referring to the one true God. Malachi 3:6 (‘I, YHWH, do not change’) depends on this being the personal covenant name, not an abstract deity-title like the impersonal 天 or the politically-loaded historic 上帝.
Yhwh Of Hosts
Approved rendering: 万军之耶和华
Transliteration: wànjūn zhī Yēhéhuá
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 万能的耶和华
Original: יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת
Category: God
NEW TERM. Standard CUV compound, used over 20 times across Malachi’s four short chapters. Establishes God’s unrivaled sovereign, militarily-commanding authority behind every judgment oracle in the book. Reject 万能的耶和华 as it drifts toward a generic omnipotence abstraction rather than the commander-of-armies sense.
Messenger
Approved rendering: 使者
Transliteration: mal’akh / mal’akhi
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 天使, 使徒
Original: מַלְאָךְ / מַלְאָכִי
Category: Christology/Messenger
NEW TERM. The human prophetic forerunner sent to prepare the way before YHWH’s coming (Malachi 3:1); the prophet’s own name (‘my messenger’) doubles as this title. Must be kept visually/conceptually distinct from 天使 (tiānshǐ, ‘angel,’ a heavenly being) and from the baseline’s 使徒 (shǐtú, ‘apostle,’ a distinct NT office). Traditionally identified with John the Baptist (Mark 1:2). Requires a translator note on every occurrence.
Messenger Of The Covenant
Approved rendering: 立约的使者
Transliteration: mal’akh habberit
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 天使, 使徒, 使者 (used unqualified for this figure)
Original: מַלְאַךְ הַבְּרִית
Category: Christology/Messenger
NEW TERM. A distinct, covenant-bearing figure who comes to his temple (Malachi 3:1), traditionally identified with Christ himself. Must be kept distinct from the human forerunner-messenger named earlier in the same verse — two figures compressed into one verse, each requiring its own translator note.
Day Of The Lord
Approved rendering: 日子
Transliteration: yom (YHWH)
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 黄历所定的吉日/凶日-flavored renderings, 择日-style framing
Original: יוֹם (יְהוָה)
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. The sovereignly appointed occasion of God’s coming in judgment and purification (Malachi 3:2, 3:17, 4:1, 4:5). Must not be assimilated to the Chinese folk-calendar practice of selecting auspicious/inauspicious days by almanac divination (择日).
Great And Dreadful Day Of The Lord
Approved rendering: 耶和华大而可畏之日
Transliteration: yom YHWH hagadol vehanora
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Original: יוֹם יְהוָה הַגָּדוֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. The climactic, decisive day of divine judgment and salvation announced in Malachi 4:5, the technical eschatological climax term of the book. Must never be assimilated to the cyclical rise-and-fall pattern of Chinese dynastic historiography (治乱循环) or to a fortune-calendar’s impersonally-calculated doomsday.
Sun Of Righteousness
Approved rendering: 公义的日头
Transliteration: shemesh tsedaqah
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 太阳星君-flavored renderings
Original: שֶׁמֶשׁ צְדָקָה
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. The dawning vindication and healing promised to those who fear God’s name at the Day of the LORD (Malachi 4:2), read with messianic overtones. Double risk: (1) reuses the Critical-risk 义 root — God’s own righteous, vindicating character, not a status achieved through human moral cultivation; (2) the solar imagery risks assimilation to Chinese folk/astral deity veneration (e.g. 太阳星君).
Book Of Remembrance
Approved rendering: 纪念册
Transliteration: sefer zikkaron
Doctrine: God’s Unchanging Love for His People
Rejected alternatives: 功过簿, 功过格
Original: סֵפֶר זִכָּרוֹן
Category: God’s Providence
NEW TERM. A written record God keeps of those who feared him and spoke well of him, an assurance of divine attentiveness to the faithful remnant (Malachi 3:16). Sits directly beside the Chinese folk-morality merit-and-demerit ledger tradition (功过簿/功过格) — structurally the same Critical-risk collision the baseline flags for grace vs. 功德. Must be taught as God’s personal, relational, grace-grounded remembrance, never a merit-tally determining reward.
Unchanging
Approved rendering: 我总不改变
Transliteration: lo shaniti
Doctrine: God’s Unchanging Love for His People
Rejected alternatives: 天道 (impersonal cosmic constancy)
Original: לֹא שָׁנִיתִי
Category: God
NEW TERM. God’s declaration ‘I do not change’ (Malachi 3:6), the theological anchor for the curriculum’s first doctrine. Must be taught as a personal, relational constancy — the ground of Israel’s continued existence despite unfaithfulness — never impersonal metaphysical or cyclical cosmic-order (天道) constancy.
Righteous And Wicked
Approved rendering: 义人/恶人
Transliteration: tsaddiq / rasha
Doctrine: Divine Justice: The Distinction Between the Righteous and the Wicked
Original: צַדִּיק / רָשָׁע
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM. The distinction God will make plain on the coming Day between one in right covenantal standing and one in a state of guilt (Malachi 3:18, cf. 4:1, 4:3). Reuses the baseline’s Critical-risk 义 root; requires the identical distinguishing note against a Confucian-virtue reading.
Burn Incense
Approved rendering: 焚香
Transliteration: qetorah muqtar
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Original: קְטוֹרָה מֻקְטָר
Category: Worship
NEW TERM. The image of incense offered in Malachi’s vision of future, universal, pure worship of God’s name among the nations (Malachi 1:11). The single most visually and ritually loaded act of Chinese folk religion, Buddhism, and Daoism. Mandatory translator note distinguishing the prophetic image (future exclusive worship of YHWH) from any endorsement of incense-ritual generally across religious traditions.
High Risk Terms
Covenant
Approved rendering: 约
Transliteration: yuē
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Rejected alternatives: 合同, 契约
Original: בְּרִית
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; reuse exactly. Malachi’s ‘covenant of Levi’ (2:4-5, 8), ‘covenant of our fathers’ (2:10), and marriage-as-covenant (2:14) all reinforce the baseline’s caution against a commercial-contract reading.
Law
Approved rendering: 律法
Transliteration: lǜfǎ
Doctrine: The Call to Repentance before the Great Day
Rejected alternatives: 礼, 道德规范, 法律
Original: תּוֹרָה
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; reuse exactly when torah refers to the codified Mosaic legal corpus (Malachi 4:4, ‘law of Moses’). For the distinct priestly-instruction sense in 2:6-9, see the new term 训诲 below; do not conflate the two senses under a single Mandarin word.
Sin
Approved rendering: 罪
Transliteration: zuì
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Rejected alternatives: 报应, 罪犯式的罪
Original: (implicit throughout; cf. חֵטְא-adjacent conduct)
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package; reuse exactly. Applies implicitly throughout Malachi’s indictments of corrupt priestly conduct (1:6-2:9), sorcery, adultery, and oppression (3:5) — moral offense against a personal God, not merely legal infraction or karmic retribution.
Holy
Approved rendering: 圣洁
Transliteration: shèngjié
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Rejected alternatives: 清净, 圣人般的
Original: קָדוֹשׁ (conceptual; cf. 1:11, 2:11, 3:3)
Category: Worship
Inherited from Romans package; reuse exactly for moral/relational set-apartness (1:11, 2:11, 3:3). Do not use for mere ritual-purity technique (baseline rejects 清净, the Daoist/Buddhist meditative-purity term).
Love
Approved rendering: 爱
Transliteration: ahav
Doctrine: God’s Unchanging Love for His People
Original: אָהַב
Category: Covenant
NEW TERM. God’s covenantal, electing love for Jacob/Israel, the book’s opening thesis (Malachi 1:2). Lexically simple but doctrinally load-bearing: must be taught as chosen, steadfast covenant love, not mere sentiment, and explicitly not favor earned through accumulated merit (功德), the same collision the baseline flags as Critical for grace.
Hated
Approved rendering: 恨恶
Transliteration: saneti
Doctrine: God’s Unchanging Love for His People
Original: שָׂנֵא
Category: Covenant
NEW TERM. Covenantal language of election/non-election (‘Esau I have hated,’ Malachi 1:3), quoted directly in Romans 9:13. Mandatory translator note explaining the Hebrew election idiom (loved/hated = chosen/not chosen) so readers do not imagine capricious divine emotion. Direct cross-reference to Romans 9 required for curriculum consistency.
Curse
Approved rendering: 咒诅
Transliteration: qelalah / cherem
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Rejected alternatives: 下咒, 施咒
Original: קְלָלָה / חֵרֶם
Category: Covenant
NEW TERM. God’s judicial pronouncement of covenant curse against a faithless priesthood (2:2) and the final warning of utter judgment absent repentance (4:6). Must be distinguished from folk/Daoist ritual curse-casting — a sovereign, judicial pronouncement, not a magical technique.
Profane
Approved rendering: 亵渎
Transliteration: chillel
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Original: חִלֵּל
Category: Covenant
NEW TERM. To treat the covenant or God’s name as common/unholy rather than sacred (Malachi 2:10-11). A serious relational offense against a personal God, not mere ritual carelessness or etiquette failure (distinguish from Confucian 礼教).
Act Treacherously
Approved rendering: 行诡诈
Transliteration: bagad
Doctrine: Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage
Original: בָּגַד
Category: Marriage and Family
NEW TERM. Central verb of Malachi 2:10-16, describing covenant-breaking generally and marital infidelity specifically. Requires a note that this is relational betrayal of a covenant partner (God, or one’s spouse), not merely legal dishonesty.
Divorce
Approved rendering: 休妻
Transliteration: shalach ishah
Doctrine: Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage
Rejected alternatives: 离弃 (considered as a softer clarifying gloss alongside 休妻)
Original: שָׁלַח אִשָּׁה
Category: Marriage and Family
NEW TERM. Unilateral dismissal of a wife, explicitly condemned as covenant-breaking that God hates (Malachi 2:16). CUV’s traditional rendering overlaps with the historic Chinese legal/social concept of a husband’s unilateral divorce right under the ‘seven grounds for divorcing a wife’ (七出). Mandatory translator note on every occurrence: this passage condemns covenant-breaking divorce; it does not endorse or merely regulate the old patriarchal divorce tradition.
Sorcerer
Approved rendering: 行邪术的
Transliteration: mekhashshef
Doctrine: The Call to Repentance before the Great Day
Original: מְכַשֵּׁף
Category: Sin
NEW TERM. A practitioner of magical/occult arts, listed among those God will judge (Malachi 3:5). Connects to the baseline’s existing distinction between biblical prophecy and divination/fortune-telling (算卦/占卜); a live pastoral-cultural sensitivity given widespread Chinese folk practice of consulting mediums, fortune-tellers, and geomancers today.
Rob Defraud
Approved rendering: 夺取
Transliteration: qova
Doctrine: Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage
Original: קָבַע
Category: Stewardship
NEW TERM. God’s startling charge that Israel is ‘robbing’ him through withheld tithes (Malachi 3:8-9). Anchors the tithing doctrine; must be taught as covenant unfaithfulness toward a personal God, not merely failure to meet an institutional quota, nor feeding a cosmic merit-ledger.
Test
Approved rendering: 试验
Transliteration: bachan
Doctrine: Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage
Original: בָּחַן
Category: Stewardship
NEW TERM. God’s unusual invitation to test him by obedient tithing and see his blessing (Malachi 3:10). Distinguish from presumptuously testing God and from folk-religious ‘testing’ of a deity’s power through ritual bargaining (许愿还愿). God himself extends this specific, limited invitation; it is not a general principle for testing God to extract blessing.
Word Of The Lord
Approved rendering: 耶和华的话
Transliteration: devar-YHWH
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Original: דְּבַר־יְהוָה
Category: Prophecy/Revelation
NEW TERM. The formal prophetic-book superscription marking Malachi’s message as direct divine speech (Malachi 1:1). Distinguish from Confucian classical wisdom-sayings (经/子书) — verbal revelation from a personal God, not sage-wisdom teaching.
Elijah The Prophet
Approved rendering: 以利亚先知
Transliteration: Eliyahu hanavi
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Original: אֵלִיָּהוּ הַנָּבִיא
Category: Christology/Messenger
NEW TERM. The historical prophet Elijah, promised as an eschatological forerunner before the great and dreadful Day of the LORD (Malachi 4:5), NT-identified with John the Baptist (Matt 17:10-13). Requires a cross-reference note tying this figure to ‘my messenger’ in Malachi 3:1 so learners see the book’s messenger-motif as unified.
Refiners Fire
Approved rendering: 炼净的火
Transliteration: esh metsaref
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 地狱之火
Original: אֵשׁ מְצָרֵף
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. The smelting fire that purifies precious metal by burning away impurity, used as an image of God’s coming judgment (Malachi 3:2). Must not be conflated with the popular Buddhist/folk image of punitive, retributive hell-fire; this fire is corrective and restorative toward God’s own covenant people.
Refine
Approved rendering: 炼净
Transliteration: tsaraf / taher / ziqqeq
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 清净
Original: צָרַף / טָהֵר / זִקַּק
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. God’s disciplinary purification of his covenant priesthood so their worship becomes acceptable again (Malachi 3:3). Must be taught as God-initiated purifying work on his people, not self-cultivated ritual purity (baseline rejects 清净 for the same reason under ‘holy’).
Treasured Possession
Approved rendering: 特特归我
Transliteration: segullah
Doctrine: God’s Unchanging Love for His People
Original: סְגֻלָּה
Category: God’s Unchanging Love
NEW TERM. God’s tender, paternal claim on his faithful people at the coming Day (Malachi 3:17). Requires a note connecting this to the broader biblical theme of God’s people as his treasured inheritance (Exodus 19:5), reinforcing the ‘Unchanging Love’ doctrine rather than implying earned special status.
Return
Approved rendering: 转向
Transliteration: shuv
Doctrine: The Call to Repentance before the Great Day
Rejected alternatives: 悔改 (viable but shifts emphasis toward inward remorse over relational return)
Original: שׁוּב
Category: Repentance
NEW TERM. The book’s central repentance appeal: ‘Return to me, and I will return to you’ (Malachi 3:7). CUV renders 转向/归向 rather than the NT’s typical 悔改; a mandatory bridging note connects shuv’s relational ‘turning back’ sense to the NT repentance doctrine taught elsewhere in the curriculum.
Medium Risk Terms
David
Approved rendering: 大卫
Transliteration: Dàwèi
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Original: — (background reference only; not a direct Malachi lexeme)
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; reuse exactly. Not a direct lexeme in Malachi’s text; retained for curriculum cross-reference to the Davidic/Levitical covenant background underlying the priesthood critique.
Israel
Approved rendering: 以色列
Transliteration: Yǐsèliè
Doctrine: God’s Unchanging Love for His People
Original: יִשְׂרָאֵל
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; reuse exactly. The covenant people addressed throughout Malachi (1:1, 1:5, 2:11, 2:16).
Wife Of Youth
Approved rendering: 幼年所娶的妻
Transliteration: esheth ne’urim
Doctrine: Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage
Original: אֵשֶׁת נְעוּרִים
Category: Marriage and Family
NEW TERM. The wife taken in one’s younger years, emphasizing a lifelong covenant bond (Malachi 2:14-15). Frames marriage as a lifelong, God-witnessed bond violated by the divorces condemned in this chapter.
Witness
Approved rendering: 见证
Transliteration: ed
Doctrine: Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage
Original: עֵד
Category: Marriage and Family
NEW TERM. YHWH’s role as witness to the marriage covenant (Malachi 2:14), elevating marriage to covenantal, not merely contractual, status. Cross-reference the baseline’s 约 (covenant) framing to avoid a merely commercial ‘contract’ reading.
Godly Offspring
Approved rendering: 虔诚的后裔
Transliteration: zera Elohim
Doctrine: Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage
Original: זֶרַע אֱלֹהִים
Category: Marriage and Family
NEW TERM. Offspring raised in covenant faithfulness, the God-intended purpose of marriage undermined by faithless divorce (Malachi 2:15). Note: 虔诚 here modifies ‘offspring’ as an adjective of devout character, a distinct grammatical usage from its rejection elsewhere in the baseline as a rendering of ‘faith’ (πίστις, too generic) — a clarifying note prevents cross-contamination between the two senses.
Adulterer
Approved rendering: 犯奸淫的
Transliteration: mena’ef
Doctrine: The Call to Repentance before the Great Day
Original: מְנָאֵף
Category: Sin
NEW TERM. One who commits adultery, listed among those God will judge (Malachi 3:5). Paired with the marriage-covenant theme of chapter 2.
Tithe
Approved rendering: 十一奉献
Transliteration: ma’aser
Doctrine: Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage
Rejected alternatives: 十分之一的捐 (more literal but less idiomatic)
Original: מַעֲשֵׂר
Category: Stewardship
NEW TERM. The tenth portion owed to God, withheld by Israel and the specific test of covenant faithfulness in Malachi 3:8-10. Recommend the established modern Chinese Christian term over a more literal but less idiomatic rendering.
Offering
Approved rendering: 供物
Transliteration: terumah / minchah
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Rejected alternatives: 祭品 (folk ancestor/temple offering)
Original: תְּרוּמָה / מִנְחָה
Category: Worship
NEW TERM. General cultic offering or contribution brought to God (Malachi 1:10-11, 1:13, 2:12-13, 3:3-4, 3:8). Distinguish from 祭品, the term for folk ancestor-veneration or temple-idol offerings — this is covenant tribute to the one true God.
Windows Of Heaven
Approved rendering: 天上的窗户
Transliteration: arubot hashamayim
Doctrine: Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage
Original: אֲרֻבּוֹת הַשָּׁמַיִם
Category: Stewardship
NEW TERM. Vivid image of the abundance of blessing that follows covenant-faithful tithing (Malachi 3:10). Note the blessing is covenantal — a response to faithfulness — not a magical/mechanical guarantee comparable to fortune-invoking folk ritual.
Temple
Approved rendering: 圣殿
Transliteration: heikhal
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 庙, 寺, 道观
Original: הֵיכָל
Category: Worship
NEW TERM. The physical Second Temple in Jerusalem, the seat of God’s covenant presence, to which the Lord suddenly comes (Malachi 3:1). Distinguish from folk/Buddhist/Daoist temple buildings per the baseline’s ‘church’ note — the same collision logic applies here.
Prepare The Way
Approved rendering: 预备道路
Transliteration: pinnah derekh
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Original: פִּנָּה־דֶרֶךְ
Category: Christology/Messenger
NEW TERM. The clearing of obstacles to prepare a road for a royal/divine arrival (Malachi 3:1). Avoid feng-shui-flavored ‘clearing a path’ language associated with geomantic road/gate rituals; avoid bare 道 alone, given the baseline’s caution that 道 alone risks a Daoist cosmic-principle reading (cf. 道成肉身 note).
Turning Of Hearts
Approved rendering: 使父亲的心转向儿女
Transliteration: heshiv lev avot al banim
Doctrine: The Call to Repentance before the Great Day
Original: הֵשִׁיב לֵב־אָבוֹת עַל־בָּנִים
Category: Repentance
NEW TERM. The relational, restorative fruit of repentance promised before the great Day — reconciling estranged generations (Malachi 4:6). Resonates positively with Confucian filial harmony (孝) but must be taught as God-initiated relational restoration flowing from repentance, not a social duty discharged as an obligation (孝顺).
Those Who Fear The Lord
Approved rendering: 敬畏耶和华的人
Transliteration: yir’ei YHWH
Doctrine: God’s Unchanging Love for His People
Original: יִרְאֵי יְהוָה
Category: Repentance
NEW TERM. The faithful remnant marked by reverent awe of YHWH, distinct from the defiant majority (Malachi 3:16). Reverent, relational awe, not mere external ritual observance.
Great King
Approved rendering: 大君王
Transliteration: melekh gadol
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 天下共主-flavored renderings
Original: מֶלֶךְ גָּדוֹל
Category: God
NEW TERM. God’s kingship over the nations, asserted in Malachi 1:14. Cross-reference the baseline’s 神的国 caution against 天下 (‘all under heaven’) or 王朝 (‘dynasty’) framing.
Priest
Approved rendering: 祭司
Transliteration: kohen
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Rejected alternatives: 和尚, 道士, 法师
Original: כֹּהֵן
Category: Priesthood
NEW TERM. The Levitical priest, addressee of God’s rebuke for corrupt worship (Malachi 1:6, 2:1, 2:7). Distinct from Buddhist/Daoist ritual-specialist titles — a covenant office within Israel’s cultic system, not a generalized religious-professional category.
Sons Of Levi
Approved rendering: 利未的子孙
Transliteration: b’nei Levi
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Original: בְּנֵי־לֵוִי
Category: Priesthood
NEW TERM. The Levitical priestly line, the corrupt priesthood of Malachi’s day and the object of promised divine restoration (Malachi 2:1, 3:3). Requires an OT priestly-office background note for readers with low OT literacy.
Table Of The Lord
Approved rendering: 耶和华的台
Transliteration: shulchan YHWH
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Original: שֻׁלְחָן יְהוָה
Category: Worship
NEW TERM. The altar understood metaphorically as a table set before God (Malachi 1:7, 1:12). Must be distinguished from Buddhist/folk offering tables (供桌) set before ancestor tablets or temple idols.
Blemished Offering
Approved rendering: 有残疾的
Transliteration: mum / iver / pisseach / choleh
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Original: מוּם / עִוֵּר / פִּסֵּח / חֹלֶה
Category: Worship
NEW TERM. Blind, lame, or diseased sacrificial animals offered in contempt of God (Malachi 1:8, 1:13-14). Requires a framing note that the sin condemned is contempt toward God, not merely procedural sloppiness.
Pure Offering
Approved rendering: 洁净的供物
Transliteration: minchah tehorah
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Original: מִנְחָה טְהוֹרָה
Category: Worship
NEW TERM. A ritually and morally unblemished offering, contrasted with the defective offerings condemned earlier in Malachi 1.
Despise
Approved rendering: 藐视
Transliteration: bazah
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Original: בָּזָה
Category: Worship
NEW TERM. The priests’ fundamental sin of holding God’s name and worship in contempt (Malachi 1:6-7).
Instruction
Approved rendering: 训诲
Transliteration: torah (priestly-instruction sense)
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Rejected alternatives: 礼教 (Confucian ritual-propriety instruction)
Original: תּוֹרָה (priestly-instruction sense)
Category: Covenant
NEW TERM. The priest’s authoritative teaching function — ‘true instruction was in his mouth’ (Malachi 2:6-9) — broader than but related to the codified Law. Distinct sense from 律法; distinguish from Confucian ritual-propriety instruction; this is a priest’s God-derived teaching office, now corrupted by partiality (2:9).
Low Risk Terms
Prophet
Approved rendering: 先知
Transliteration: xiānzhī
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 算命先生
Original: נָבִיא
Category: Prophecy/Revelation
Inherited from Romans package; reuse exactly. Applies specifically to Elijah the prophet (Malachi 4:5, see new term 以利亚先知 below).
Moses
Approved rendering: 摩西
Transliteration: Móxī
Doctrine: The Call to Repentance before the Great Day
Original: מֹשֶׁה
Category: Covenant
NEW addition to translation memory: not present in the baseline Romans TM, but required for Malachi 4:4’s closing exhortation (‘remember the law of Moses’). Established CUV proper-name transliteration; low doctrinal risk.
Devourer
Approved rendering: 吞吃的
Transliteration: ha’okhel
Doctrine: Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage
Original: אֹכֵל
Category: Stewardship
NEW TERM. A consuming agricultural pest, the reversal image of blessing withheld when the tithe is withheld (Malachi 3:11). Low doctrinal risk beyond general agricultural imagery.
Storehouse
Approved rendering: 仓库
Transliteration: beit ha’otsar
Doctrine: Faithfulness in Tithing and Marriage
Original: בֵּית הָאֹצָר
Category: Stewardship
NEW TERM. The temple storeroom into which faithful tithes were to flow, enabling the temple’s ministry (Malachi 3:10).
Healing
Approved rendering: 医治
Transliteration: marpe
Doctrine: The Coming Messenger and the Day of the Lord
Original: מַרְפֵּא
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. The restorative outcome of the Day of the LORD for those who fear God’s name, alongside the sun of righteousness (Malachi 4:2).
Altar
Approved rendering: 祭坛
Transliteration: mizbeach
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Original: מִזְבֵּח
Category: Worship
NEW TERM. The place of sacrificial offering at the temple (Malachi 1:7, 1:10). Standard, established Chinese Christian term with low collision risk.
Governor
Approved rendering: 省长
Transliteration: pechah
Doctrine: Corrupt Worship and a Broken Covenant
Original: פֶּחָה
Category: Worship
NEW TERM. A Persian-period provincial administrator, invoked to shame the priests’ defective offerings (Malachi 1:8). Historical-background term with low doctrinal risk.
Referenced passages