Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Acts, English → Marathi
Purpose and Rules
This glossary registers every load-bearing theological term encountered across the full book of Acts (chapters 1–28), citing the chapter(s) in which each term is load-bearing. It is organized in three sections:
- Section A — Terms already established in the Romans baseline
translation_memory.json. These MUST be reused with the EXACT recorded Marathi rendering; this section documents where and how each is used in Acts and flags any Acts-specific nuance. - Section B — New terms required by Acts, not present in the Romans baseline. These are proposed for addition to translation memory with full risk assessment, to be carried into Phase 2 asset files.
- Section C — Proper names newly introduced in Acts, given their established/standard Marathi Bible transliteration.
Risk tiers follow the baseline’s definitions exactly (Critical / High / Medium / Low), and all Critical/High entries carry a specific, grounded reason tied either to Warkari bhakti devotional practice, Hindu caste purity-purity/karma frameworks, Navayana Buddhist teaching, or Greco-Roman polytheism as encountered directly in the Acts narrative.
Section A — Reused Baseline Terms (from Romans translation_memory.json)
These renderings are NON-NEGOTIABLE and must appear identically in all Acts materials.
| English Term | Marathi (Exact) | Risk (baseline) | Key Acts Chapters | Acts-Specific Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gospel | शुभवर्तमान | High | 1, 8, 10, 13-20 (preaching narratives) | Same single historical proclamation; Acts narrates its spread, not a new gospel |
| Grace | कृपा | Critical | 4, 6, 11, 13-15, 18, 20 | Acts 15:11 (“saved through grace, even as they”) is the book’s central grace-not-law statement |
| Faith | विश्वास | High | 3, 6, 8-11, 13-17, 20, 24, 26-27 | Consistently the personal-trust-in-Christ sense; also root of “the faith” as a body of belief in later chapters |
| Righteousness | नीतिमत्त्व | Critical | 7 (the Righteous One), 13, 17, 24 | Never धर्म; applies both to Christ’s title and to ethical preaching before Felix |
| Justification | नीतिमान ठरवणे | Critical | 13 | Acts 13:38-39 is the clearest “apart from the law” justification text in the book |
| Salvation | तारण | Critical | 2, 4, 10-11, 13, 15-16, 27-28 | Never मोक्ष/मुक्ती/निर्वाण; Acts 4:12 exclusivity + Acts 2:21/10:34-35 universality both preserved |
| Apostle | प्रेषित | Medium | 1, 4-6, 8-9, 11, 14-16 | Distinguished from generic “sent one”; delegated commissioned authority |
| Called/Calling | बोलावलेले / पाचारण | High | 2, 9, 13, 16 | God’s sovereign initiative; never devotee-initiated seeking |
| Holy | पवित्र | High | throughout | Moral/relational set-apartness |
| Saints | पवित्र जन | High | 9, 26 | Corporate designation for believers, never संत |
| Sanctification | पवित्रीकरण | High | 20, 26 | Spirit’s ongoing work, distinct from ritual purity |
| Resurrection | पुनरुत्थान | Critical | 1-2, 4, 17, 23-24, 26 | Never पुनर्जन्म/पुनर्भव; bodily, historical, once-for-all, central to Sanhedrin dispute in ch.23 |
| Lord | प्रभू | Critical | 2, 4, 9-11, 16, 22, 26 | Exclusive supreme lordship; consistency-locked at 2:21, 2:36, 16:31 |
| Son of God | देवाचा पुत्र | Critical | 9, 13 | Applied to Paul’s earliest preaching after conversion |
| Incarnation | देहधारण | Critical | (conceptual background to ch. 2:22-24, 14) | Never अवतार; ch.14’s pagan “gods come down as men” episode is a direct biblical warrant for this caution |
| Peace | शांती | Medium | 9, 10, 15 | Relational peace, not meditative calm |
| Spiritual Gifts | आत्मिक कृपादान | Medium | 2 (background), 6 | Distinct from the new term “gift of the Holy Ghost” (Section B) |
| Thanksgiving | उपकारस्तुती | Low | 27-28 | Standard usage |
| Fellowship | सहभागिता | Low | 2 | Shared communal life in Christ |
| Church | मंडळी | Medium | 2, 5, 8-9, 11-16, 20 | Never देऊळ/मंदिर; the gathered, growing community |
| Kingdom of God | देवाचे राज्य | Medium | 1, 14, 19-20, 28 | Bookends the entire narrative (1:3 and 28:31) |
| Law | नियमशास्त्र | High | 13, 15, 18, 21, 24-25 | Never धर्म/धम्म; central to “Justification apart from the Law” |
| Sin | पाप | High | 2-3, 5, 7, 10, 26 | Moral transgression before a personal God |
| Gentiles | अन्यजातीय | Medium | 9-11, 13-15, 18, 21-22, 26, 28 | Central to “Gospel to Jews and Gentiles” doctrine |
| Glory | गौरव | High | 2, 7, 12 | Christ’s exaltation and Stephen’s vision |
| Obedience of Faith | विश्वासाचे आज्ञापालन | High | 5-6 (conceptual: obeying God rather than men) | Related but distinct from direct baseline citation context |
| Power of God | देवाचे सामर्थ्य | High | 1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 19 | Never शक्ती; contrasted directly with sorcery/occult power in chs. 8, 19 |
| Messiah/Christ | मसीहा / ख्रिस्त | Critical | 2-3, 5, 8-9, 17-18, 24, 26 | मसीहा for “Messiah” (OT-promised deliverer); ख्रिस्त as the transliterated proper-name element per system transliteration standard |
| Prophet | संदेष्टा | Low | 2-3, 7-8, 13, 15, 21 | Applied to OT prophets, Agabus, and (of Jesus) typologically |
| Prophecy | भविष्यवाणी | Low | 2, 11 (implied), 21 | God-inspired declaration |
| Covenant | करार | High | 2-3, 7 | Davidic covenant background to Peter’s sermon |
| Election | देवाची निवड | High | 9, 13 | ”Chosen vessel,” “ordained to eternal life” |
| Intercession | मध्यस्थी | Medium | (background; not heavily thematized in Acts) | — |
| Providence | देवाचे विधान | High | 2:23, 27 | Sovereign plan + human responsibility; never fatalistic karma framing |
| Mission | मिशन / सुवार्ता प्रसार | Medium | 1, 8-9, 13-20, 22, 26, 28 | Structural theme of the whole book |
| David | दावीद | Medium | 2, 4, 13, 15 | Established form |
| Israel | इस्राएल | Medium | 1-2, 4, 5, 7, 9-10, 13, 21, 26, 28 | Established form |
| Jesus | येशू | Critical | throughout | Never ईसा |
| God | परमेश्वर | Critical | throughout | Never देव/भगवान alone in doctrinal contexts |
| Holy Spirit | पवित्र आत्मा | Critical | throughout, esp. 1-2, 4-5, 8, 10, 13, 19 | Never परमात्मा/ब्रह्म; central to the whole book |
| Father | पिता | Critical | 1-2 | God’s promise of the Spirit “of the Father” |
| Exhort | उत्तेजन देणे | Low | 2, 11, 14-16, 20 | Context-sensitive per baseline rule |
| Imputed Righteousness | आरोपित नीतिमत्त्व | Critical | 13 (conceptual background) | Contrast with law-works |
Section B — New Terms Required by Acts (Proposed for Translation Memory Addition)
| # | English Term | Marathi Rendering | Transliteration | Risk | Doctrine Category | Key Acts Chapters | Rationale / Alternatives Rejected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pentecost | पेन्तेकोस्त | Pentekost | Medium | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 2, 20 | Retained transliteration of the specific historical Jewish feast day (Feast of Weeks) fulfilled at the Spirit’s outpouring; alternatives rejected: a descriptive generic “Spirit-festival” phrase, which would obscure its rootedness in a specific one-time OT-fulfillment calendar event |
| 2 | Tongues (of the Spirit; “other tongues”) | (इतर) भाषा | (itar) bhāṣā | High | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 2, 10, 19 | Must denote real, identifiable human languages (xenolalia); alternatives rejected: a term implying unintelligible ecstatic utterance, which would risk conflation with local spirit-possession trance idiom (“अंगात येणे”) or tantric/yogic altered-state speech |
| 3 | Tongues (flame-shaped, visual sign) | (अग्नीसारख्या) जिभा | (agnīsārkhyā) jibhā | Medium | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 2 | Retains the physical-organ/flame-shape sense distinct from #2; translator note required to flag the Greek γλῶσσα wordplay lost between these two Marathi words |
| 4 | Outpouring of the Spirit (pour out) | (आत्मा) ओतणे | (ātmā) otaṇe | High | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 2, 10 | Sovereign, gracious divine giving, never a devotionally-drawn-down blessing; alternatives rejected: a verb suggesting the Spirit is invoked/summoned by devotional technique |
| 5 | Repentance / repent | पश्चात्ताप / पश्चात्ताप करणे | paśchāttāp | Critical | Repentance and Baptism | 2-3, 5, 8, 11, 17, 19, 26 | CRITICAL: must be distinguished from Hindu प्रायश्चित्त (ritual/ascetic expiation performed to cancel karmic sin-debt) and from Buddhist self-correcting acknowledgment of unwholesome karma without reference to a personal God; biblical repentance is Spirit-enabled turning to a forgiving personal God, granted as gift (11:18), not a self-performed penitential technique. Alternatives rejected: मनःपरिवर्तन (mere “change of mind,” too weak), प्रायश्चित्त (rejected — ritual/karmic expiation) |
| 6 | Baptism / baptize | बाप्तिस्मा | bāptismā | High | Repentance and Baptism | 1-2, 8-11, 16, 18-19, 22 | Established Marathi Christian transliteration retained; must not be conflated with Hindu तीर्थस्नान/गंगास्नान ritual purificatory bathing for merit. Alternatives rejected: स्नान (ritual bath — rejected, implies merit-earning purification) |
| 7 | Remission/forgiveness of sins | पापांची क्षमा | pāpāṃcī kṣamā | High | Repentance and Baptism; Justification apart from the Law | 2-3, 5, 10, 13, 26 | Forgiveness graciously granted through Christ, not karmic debt “worked off” through penance. Alternatives rejected: पापक्षालन (which can imply a ritual “washing away,” risking purification-rite overtones) |
| 8 | Gift of the Holy Ghost/Spirit (indwelling gift) | पवित्र आत्म्याचे दान | pavitra ātmyāce dān | High | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 2, 8, 10-11 | Distinct from आत्मिक कृपादान (spiritual gifts/charismata for ministry, baseline); this is the Spirit’s own indwelling presence given at conversion to every believer alike, not an unevenly-distributed enablement |
| 9 | Witness(es) / bear witness | साक्षीदार / साक्ष देणे | sākṣīdār / sākṣ deṇe | High | Persecution and Bold Witness | 1-2, 4-7, 10, 13, 22, 26 | Consistent rendering required across the book; semantic bridge toward “one who testifies even at the cost of life” becomes explicit at Stephen’s death (ch.7) — flag with translator note at that occurrence |
| 10 | Boldness / boldly | धैर्य / धैर्याने | dhairya / dhairyāne | High | Persecution and Bold Witness | 4, 9, 13-14, 18-19, 26, 28 | Spirit-given confidence, not natural courage or Buddhist-style self-cultivated equanimity; must be tied explicitly to Holy Spirit empowerment (4:31) |
| 11 | Signs and wonders / miracles (mighty works) | चिन्हे व अद्भुते / सामर्थ्यशाली कृत्ये | cinhe va adbhute / sāmarthyaśālī kṛtye | High | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 2-5, 8, 14, 19 | Reuse सामर्थ्य (never शक्ती) for δύναμις; distinguish sharply from जादूटोणा (sorcery, ch.8, 19) |
| 12 | Council / Sanhedrin | न्यायसभा | nyāyasabhā | Medium | Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Persecution | 4-7, 22-23 | Avoid पंचायत (caste/village-council connotation in Maharashtra); न्यायसभा keeps this a specific Jewish judicial body |
| 13 | Persecution | छळ | chaḷ | High | Persecution and Bold Witness | 4-9, 11-14, 16, 21-26 | Suffering specifically for the gospel testimony, not generic hardship or karmic misfortune |
| 14 | Circumcision | सुंता | suntā | High | Justification apart from the Law | 7, 10, 15-16, 21 | Jewish ceremonial covenant sign; the Jerusalem Council’s ruling that Gentiles need not be circumcised is the narrative center of “Justification apart from the Law” |
| 15 | Common / unclean (ceremonial) | अशुद्ध / सामान्य | aśuddha / sāmānya | CRITICAL | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 10-11, 15 | CRITICAL: direct collision with Maharashtra’s Brahminical शुद्ध/अशुद्ध caste-purity framework historically used to stigmatize Dalit communities — the very framework the 1956 Ambedkarite Buddhist conversion rejected. Peter’s vision must be translated so its purity-hierarchy-dismantling force is unmistakable: God himself abolishes ceremonial-purity exclusion. Requires mandatory theologian review and translator note every occurrence |
| 16 | God is no respecter of persons / impartial | देव पक्षपात करत नाही | dev pakṣapāt karat nāhī | Critical | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 10, 15 | Direct, unqualified statement of divine impartiality regardless of status/ethnicity/caste; must not be softened |
| 17 | The Way (name for the Christian movement) | (तो) मार्ग | (to) mārg | High | The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Conversion of Paul | 9, 16 (implicit), 19, 22, 24 | HIGH RISK: मार्ग (“path/way”) is already deeply loaded — भक्तिमार्ग/ज्ञानमार्ग/कर्ममार्ग in Hindu thought and अष्टांगिक मार्ग (Noble Eightfold Path) in Navayana Buddhism both name self-directed disciplines toward liberation. “The Way” in Acts must be built up explicitly as trusting, following union with a specific person (the risen Lord Jesus), not a self-directed technique or one path among several toward a shared impersonal goal. Mandatory translator note every occurrence |
| 18 | Sorcery / magic / curious arts | जादूटोणा | jādūṭoṇā | High | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 8, 13, 19 | Contrasted with Spirit-given, ungraspable divine power; relevant given living occult/tantra practice; also names the sin of trying to purchase spiritual power (“simony,” ch.8) |
| 19 | Idols / idolatry | मूर्ती / मूर्तिपूजा | mūrtī / mūrtipūjā | CRITICAL | The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; general apologetic chapters | 14-15, 17, 19 | CRITICAL: direct collision with Warkari murti-devotion (Vitthal’s image at Pandharpur) central to regional bhakti practice. Must be framed doctrinally (contrast between the living God and manufactured/venerated images) and never as a blanket cultural insult; ch.14’s “the gods have come down to us” episode is itself the biblical warrant parallel to the baseline’s अवतार caution |
| 20 | Unknown god | अज्ञात देव | ajñāt dev | Medium | The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (apologetic encounter) | 17 | Must not be read as endorsing religious pluralism (“all paths reach the same unknown God”); Paul’s rhetorical move corrects and fulfills, rather than affirms equivalence |
| 21 | Christian(s) | ख्रिस्ती | khristī | Low-Medium | Church as Community | 11, 26 | Established term; originally an outsider label at Antioch |
| 22 | Breaking of bread | भाकर मोडणे | bhākar moḍaṇe | Medium | Church as Community | 2, 20 | Retain literal “breaking of bread” rather than a generic “meal” term, preserving continuity with Lord’s-Supper practice |
| 23 | Had all things in common | सर्व वस्तू एकत्र ठेवल्या | sarv vastū ekatra ṭhevlyā | Medium | Church as Community | 2, 4 | Voluntary Spirit-motivated generosity, not compulsory economic redistribution or caste-based mutual-aid networks |
| 24 | Elders | वडील | vaḍīl | Low-Medium | Church as Community; Apostolic Authority | 11, 14-15, 20-21 | Established Marathi Christian usage for recognized church leadership |
| 25 | Overseers/bishops | अध्यक्ष / पर्यवेक्षक | adhyakṣa / paryavekṣak | Medium | Church as Community | 20 | Pastoral oversight function, used interchangeably with “elders” in context |
| 26 | Serve tables (diaconal ministry) | मेजांची सेवा करणे | mejāṃcī sevā karaṇe | Medium | Church as Community | 6 | Establishes a distinct, complementary church office alongside apostolic word-ministry |
| 27 | Laying on of hands | हात ठेवणे | hāt ṭhevaṇe | Medium | Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Church as Community | 6, 8-9, 13, 19 | Commissioning/impartation of the Spirit’s power and confirmation of office; must not be conflated with folk-healing touch rituals or guru-śiṣya blessing-lineage transmission |
| 28 | ”In the name of Jesus” (authority formula) | येशूच्या नावाने | Yeśūcyā nāvāne | Critical | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 2-4, 8, 16, 19 | Denotes personal authority/belonging invoked through genuine faith, never a repeatable magical incantation or mantra-repetition technique (cf. Warkari नामस्मरण); Acts 19:13-16 (sons of Sceva) is the text’s own explicit warning against this misunderstanding |
| 29 | Vow (temporary ceremonial) | नवस | navas | Medium | Conversion of Paul (background); cultural accommodation | 18, 21 | Must be clarified as a specific temporary OT/Jewish ceremonial-purity vow (Nazirite-type), not the common Hindu/folk devotional bargain-vow to a deity (also called नवस) made at shrines such as Pandharpur |
| 30 | Defense (legal/testimonial speech) | बचाव / समर्थन | bacāv / samarthan | Medium | Persecution and Bold Witness | 22, 24-26 | Formal speech pattern establishing repeated bold testimony before hostile courts |
| 31 | Unhindered | निर्विघ्नपणे | nirvighnapaṇe | Medium | The Great Commission Fulfilled | 28 | Closing word of the book; triumphant, unstoppable completion of the mission mandate, not mere passive absence of obstacle |
| 32 | Ordained/appointed to eternal life | अनंतकाळच्या जीवनासाठी नेमलेले | anantakāḷcyā jīvanāsāṭhī nemlele | High | Justification apart from the Law; Election (baseline) | 13 | Reuse देवाची निवड framework; must not echo karma-birth determinism |
| 33 | Power of Satan | सैतानाचा अधिकार | saitānācā adhikār | Medium | Conversion of Paul; Justification apart from the Law | 26 | Personal, defeated spiritual authority opposed to God’s reign — not an impersonal generalized evil-force concept |
| 34 | Light from heaven (conversion theophany) | स्वर्गातून प्रकाश | svargātūn prakāś | High | Conversion of Paul | 9, 22, 26 | Sovereign divine interruption/initiative, not the result of the convert’s own religious seeking |
| 35 | Chosen/elect vessel | निवडलेले पात्र | nivaḍlele pātra | High | Conversion of Paul; Election (baseline) | 9 | Reuse देवाची निवड; instrument set apart by God’s sovereign choice, not karma/destiny-determined status |
| 36 | ”The word of God grew and multiplied” (growth refrain) | देवाचे वचन वाढत गेले व पसरत गेले | devāce vacan vāḍhat gele va pasrat gele | High | The Great Commission Fulfilled | 6, 12, 19 | Recurring structural marker; consistent rendering required at each of its three occurrences |
Section C — Proper Names Newly Introduced in Acts
| English Name | Marathi (Established/Standard Transliteration) | Chapters |
|---|---|---|
| Peter | पेत्र | 1-12, 15 |
| Stephen | स्तेफन | 6-8 |
| Philip (the evangelist) | फिलिप्प | 6, 8, 21 |
| Barnabas | बर्णबा | 4, 9, 11, 13-15 |
| Cornelius | करनेल्य | 10 |
| Simon (Magus) | शिमोन (जादूगार) | 8 |
| Saul/Paul | शौल / पौल | 7-28 |
| Ananias (of Damascus) | हनन्या | 9 |
| Barnabas’ companion John Mark | योहान मार्क | 12-13, 15 |
| Herod (Agrippa I) | हेरोद | 12 |
| Lydia | लुदिया | 16 |
| Silas | सीलास | 15-18 |
| Timothy | तीमथ्य | 16 |
| Aquila and Priscilla | अक्विला व प्रिस्किला | 18 |
| Apollos | अपुल्लो | 18-19 |
| Felix | फेलिक्स | 23-24 |
| Festus | फेस्त | 24-26 |
| Agrippa (II) | अग्रिप्पा | 25-26 |
| Caesar | कैसर | 25 |
| Artemis/Diana | अर्तमी | 19 |
Cross-Reference Note
All Section A terms are governed exclusively by the Romans baseline translation_memory.json; no deviation is permitted for Acts. All Section B terms are proposed NEW entries requiring formal addition to translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json (with corresponding entries in a forthcoming doctrine_risk_registry.json extension for Acts) before Phase 2 segment translation begins. Terms marked CRITICAL in Section B (共 #15 common/unclean, #19 idols/idolatry) require mandatory human theologian review at every occurrence, consistent with the baseline’s risk-tier review-routing rules.
Critical Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: कृपा
Transliteration: kṛpā
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: कर्मफळ, पुण्य, स्वतःच्या प्रयत्नाने मिळवलेले
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 15:11 (‘through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they’) is Acts’ central grace-not-law statement, of equal theological weight to Romans 3:23-24; कृपा still risks reading as Vitthal’s devotional favor and must be reinforced as unearned and Christ-specific at every occurrence (4:33; 11:23; 13:43; 14:26; 18:27; 20:24,32).
Righteousness
Approved rendering: नीतिमत्त्व
Transliteration: nītimattva
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: धर्म, पुण्य
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Applied to Christ’s title ‘the Righteous One’ (7:52), Paul’s ethical preaching before Felix (24:25), and the eschatological judge (17:31). Never धर्म.
Justification
Approved rendering: नीतिमान ठरवणे
Transliteration: nītimān ṭharavaṇe
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: माफी मिळणे, पुण्य कमावणे
Original: δικαίωσις / δικαιόω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 13:38-39 is the clearest ‘apart from the law’ justification statement in the book; must remain the compound phrase, never abbreviated.
Salvation
Approved rendering: तारण
Transliteration: tāraṇ
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: मोक्ष, मुक्ती, निर्वाण
Original: σωτηρία / σῴζω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 4:12 states exclusivity; Acts 2:21/10:34-35/16:31 state unqualified universality. Both must stand together without softening either side. Never मोक्ष/मुक्ती/निर्वाण.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: पुनरुत्थान
Transliteration: punarutthān
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: पुनर्जन्म, पुनर्भव
Original: ἀνάστασις / ἀνίστημι
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. Central to Peter’s sermon (2:24-32), repeated apostolic preaching (4:2,33; 17:18,31-32), and the Sanhedrin’s Pharisee-Sadducee dispute (23:6-8) and Paul’s defense (24:15,21; 26:23). Never पुनर्जन्म or पुनर्भव.
Lord
Approved rendering: प्रभू
Transliteration: prabhū
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: स्वामी, ईश्वर
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Consistency-locked at Acts 2:21, 2:36, 10:36, and 16:31 (‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved’) — identical rendering required at every occurrence.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: देवाचा पुत्र
Transliteration: devācā putra
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: देवपुरुष, अवतारी पुरुष
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Applied to Paul’s earliest post-conversion preaching in Damascus synagogues (9:20).
Incarnation
Approved rendering: देहधारण
Transliteration: dehadhāraṇ
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: अवतार, बोधिसत्त्वाचा पुनर्जन्म
Original: ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο (conceptual; cf. Acts 2:22-24, 14:11)
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 14:11-15’s episode (‘the gods are come down to us in the likeness of men’) is Acts’ own built-in biblical warrant for rejecting avatar-descent imagery, structurally parallel to why अवतार must never be used. Never अवतार.
Messiah
Approved rendering: मसीहा
Transliteration: Masīhā
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Rejected alternatives: अवतारी पुरुष
Original: Χριστός / מָשִׁיחַ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Central to Peter’s (2:31,36; 3:18,20), Paul’s (9:22; 17:3; 18:5,28), and the whole book’s Jewish-messianic argument; ख्रिस्त retained as the proper-name transliteration element per system standard.
Jesus
Approved rendering: येशू
Transliteration: Yeśū
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ईसा
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Used throughout all 28 chapters. Never ईसा.
God
Approved rendering: परमेश्वर
Transliteration: Parameśvar
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: देव, भगवान
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Especially load-bearing in Acts 14 and 17, where Paul explicitly contrasts परमेश्वर with Greco-Roman polytheistic ‘gods’ and manufactured idols.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: पवित्र आत्मा
Transliteration: Pavitra Ātmā
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: परमात्मा, ब्रह्म
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. The central actor of the entire book, especially chs. 1-2, 4-5, 8, 10, 13, 19; Acts 5:3-4 (lying to the Holy Ghost) confirms his full personal deity. Never परमात्मा/ब्रह्म.
Father
Approved rendering: पिता
Transliteration: Pitā
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: निर्माता
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. ‘The promise of the Father’ (1:4; 2:33) names the Father as the source and giver of the Spirit.
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: आरोपित नीतिमत्त्व
Transliteration: āropit nītimattva
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: स्वकष्टार्जित नीतिमत्त्व
Original: ἐλογίσθη…εἰς δικαιοσύνην (conceptual background)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Conceptual background to Acts 13:38-39’s justification-apart-from-law statement; must not be rendered as self-earned righteousness.
Name Of Jesus Authority
Approved rendering: येशूच्या नावाने
Transliteration: Yeśūcyā nāvāne
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: येशूचा मंत्र म्हणून (as if a mantra formula)
Original: ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ (Χριστοῦ)
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term. CRITICAL: personal authority and belonging invoked in genuine faith, under which apostolic healing, baptism, and exorcism are performed. Must never be rendered so as to suggest a repeatable magical incantation or mantra-repetition formula (cf. Warkari नामस्मरण). Acts 19:13-17 (the sons of Sceva) is the text’s own explicit warning against exactly this misunderstanding; occurs at 2:38; 3:6,16; 4:7-12; 16:18.
Repentance
Approved rendering: पश्चात्ताप
Transliteration: paśchāttāp
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Rejected alternatives: प्रायश्चित्त (Hindu ritual/ascetic karmic expiation), मनःपरिवर्तन (mere change of mind, too weak)
Original: μετάνοια / μετανοέω
Category: Repentance and Baptism
New term. CRITICAL: Spirit-enabled turning of the whole person from sin to a personal, forgiving God. Must be distinguished from Hindu प्रायश्चित्त (ritual/ascetic expiation cancelling karmic sin-debt through austerity or pilgrimage) and from Buddhist self-correcting acknowledgment of unwholesome karma without reference to a personal God. Acts 11:18 explicitly calls repentance itself a divine gift (‘granted repentance unto life’). Central at 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 8:22; 11:18; 17:30; 19:4; 20:21; 26:20.
Common Unclean
Approved rendering: अशुद्ध
Transliteration: aśuddha
Doctrine: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: सामान्य (too weak, loses the ceremonial-impurity force needed for the vision’s rhetorical power)
Original: κοινός
Category: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
New term. CRITICAL: direct collision with Maharashtra’s Brahminical शुद्ध/अशुद्ध caste-purity framework historically used to stigmatize and exclude Dalit communities — the very framework the 1956 Ambedkarite Buddhist conversion explicitly rejected. Peter’s vision (10:9-16,28; 11:1-18) must be translated so its liberating, boundary-breaking thrust is unmistakable: God himself declares ceremonial-purity categories no longer bar anyone from fellowship. Mandatory theologian review and translator note at every occurrence.
God No Respecter Of Persons
Approved rendering: देव पक्षपात करत नाही
Transliteration: dev pakṣapāt karat nāhī
Doctrine: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήμπτης ὁ θεός
Category: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
New term. Divine impartiality regardless of ethnicity, status, or social rank — the doctrinal climax of the Gentile-inclusion narrative (10:34-35). Must be rendered with full, unqualified force, directly opposing any hierarchy of spiritual worth by birth or caste status.
Idols Idolatry
Approved rendering: मूर्तिपूजा
Transliteration: mūrtipūjā
Doctrine: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: εἴδωλον / κατείδωλος
Category: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
New term. CRITICAL: direct collision with Warkari murti-devotion (Vitthal’s image at Pandharpur) central to regional bhakti practice. Must be framed doctrinally — the contrast between the living, personal God and manufactured images — never as a blanket cultural insult; the Lystra episode (14:11-18), Athens (17:16,29), and Ephesus (19:23-41) are the book’s own biblical warrant, structurally parallel to the baseline’s अवतार caution.
No Other Name
Approved rendering: दुसऱ्या कोणत्याहि नावाने तारण नाही
Transliteration: dusaṛyā koṇtyāhi nāvāne tāraṇ nāhī
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Original: οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἄλλῳ οὐδενὶ ἡ σωτηρία
Category: Justification apart from the Law
New term. The absolute exclusivity of salvation through Christ alone (4:12) — the single most explicit exclusivity statement in Acts. Must be translated with full, unqualified exclusivity, paired without contradiction against the equally unqualified universal invitation of 2:21/10:34-35.
Call On The Name Of The Lord
Approved rendering: प्रभूच्या नावाने हाक मारील
Transliteration: prabhūcyā nāvāne hāk mārīl
Doctrine: The Great Commission Fulfilled
Rejected alternatives: नामस्मरण करील (would collapse into Warkari repetitive devotional name-chanting for merit)
Original: ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου
Category: The Great Commission Fulfilled
New term. A decisive, personal appeal of faith to the one true, exclusive Lord for deliverance, made once — not a repeated meditative practice (2:21). Great care needed: Warkari bhakti centers on नामस्मरण (repetitive chanting/remembrance of Vitthal’s or Rama’s name as a devotional-meritorious practice); this is NOT that. Mandatory translator note.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: शुभवर्तमान
Transliteration: śubhavartamān
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: बातमी, खबर
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. In Acts this is the content proclaimed by Peter (ch.2), Philip (ch.8), and Paul across his journeys (chs.13-20); Acts narrates the spread of one historical proclamation, not a new one.
Faith
Approved rendering: विश्वास
Transliteration: viśvāsa
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: श्रद्धा, भक्ति
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Acts also uses ‘the faith’ as a body of belief in later chapters (6:7; 13:8; 14:22; 16:5); both senses must be distinguished from Warkari bhakti/śraddhā.
Called
Approved rendering: बोलावलेले
Transliteration: bolāvlele
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: आमंत्रित
Original: κλητός / καλέω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. In Acts 2:39 and 16:14 (‘the Lord opened her heart’), God’s initiative must be clear, never devotee-initiated seeking (contrast the Warkari wari pilgrimage).
Calling
Approved rendering: पाचारण
Transliteration: pācāraṇ
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: आवाहन
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Applied to Paul’s apostolic commissioning (9:15; 13:2) as sovereign divine appointment, not human-initiated career choice.
Holy
Approved rendering: पवित्र
Transliteration: pavitra
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: शुद्ध
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Applies throughout, especially in the ‘Holy Spirit’ compound and ‘saints/holy ones’ language (9:13,32,41; 26:10).
Saints
Approved rendering: पवित्र जन
Transliteration: pavitra jan
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: संत, मुनी
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Used at 9:13,32,41; 26:10 for ordinary Damascus/Joppa/Lydda believers, reinforcing the corporate, non-elite sense against the Warkari poet-saint category. Never संत.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: पवित्रीकरण
Transliteration: pavitrīkaraṇ
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: शुद्धीकरण
Original: ἁγιασμός / ἁγιάζω
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 20:32 and 26:18 (‘sanctified by faith’) tie sanctification explicitly to faith, not ritual purification or self-directed ethical cultivation.
Law
Approved rendering: नियमशास्त्र
Transliteration: niyamśāstra
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: धर्म, धम्म
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Central to the Jerusalem Council debate (ch.15), Paul’s synagogue preaching (13:38-39), and his trials (chs.18, 21, 24-25). Never धर्म/धम्म.
Sin
Approved rendering: पाप
Transliteration: pāp
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: अधर्म
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. Used in the forgiveness formulas of 2:38, 3:19, 5:31, 10:43, 13:38, 26:18; must never echo the caste-Hindu birth-karma sin framework Ambedkarite Buddhist communities rejected.
Glory
Approved rendering: गौरव
Transliteration: gaurav
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: तेज, प्रकाश
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Applied to Christ’s exaltation (2:33-36) and Stephen’s dying vision (7:55); avoid light-only metaphor that could merge with bodhi/enlightenment associations.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: विश्वासाचे आज्ञापालन
Transliteration: viśvāsāce āgnāpālan
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Rejected alternatives: धार्मिक कर्तव्य
Original: ὑπακοὴ πίστεως (conceptual; cf. Acts 5:29, 6:7)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Related but distinct from ‘we ought to obey God rather than men’ (5:29, registered separately below), which addresses authority-priority rather than the faith-obedience relationship.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: देवाचे सामर्थ्य
Transliteration: devāce sāmarthya
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: शक्ती
Original: δύναμις θεοῦ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Repeatedly and deliberately contrasted with जादूटोणा (sorcery) in chs. 8, 13, and 19 — Simon Magus, Elymas, and the sons of Sceva each demonstrate that God’s सामर्थ्य cannot be purchased, manipulated, or imitated. Never शक्ती.
Covenant
Approved rendering: करार
Transliteration: karār
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: वचन
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Davidic covenant background undergirds Peter’s sermon (2:30) and Stephen’s speech (7:8).
Election
Approved rendering: देवाची निवड
Transliteration: devācī nivaḍ
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: नशीब, दैव, कर्मफळ
Original: ἐκλογή / ἐκλέγομαι
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies ‘chosen vessel’ (9:15) and ‘ordained to eternal life’ (13:48), both registered separately below; must never echo karma-birth determinism.
Providence
Approved rendering: देवाचे विधान
Transliteration: devāce vidhān
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: नशीब, कर्माचा नियम
Original: πρόνοια (cf. Acts 2:23, 27; 4:27-28; 17:26)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Acts 2:23 (‘determinate counsel and foreknowledge’) and 4:27-28 hold God’s sovereign plan together with genuine human wickedness/guilt; must not echo karma-based fatalism.
Tongues Languages
Approved rendering: इतर भाषा
Transliteration: itar bhāṣā
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: अनोळखी भाषा (implies unintelligibility), गूढ भाषा (mystic/ecstatic speech)
Original: ἑτέραις γλώσσαις / γλώσσαις
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term. Real, identifiable human languages spoken miraculously by the Spirit’s enablement (xenolalia), confirmed by the nations list (2:9-11). Must be distinguished from ecstatic/unintelligible utterance and from local spirit-possession trance idiom (‘अंगात येणे’) or tantric/yogic altered-state speech. Recurs at 10:46; 19:6. Mandatory translator note at first occurrence.
Outpouring Of The Spirit
Approved rendering: ओतणे
Transliteration: otaṇe
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: आवाहन करणे (implies devotee-initiated invocation)
Original: ἐκχεῶ / ἐξέχεεν
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term. God’s/Christ’s sovereign, lavish, one-directional giving of the Spirit (2:17-18,33; 10:45). Must never be rendered as a devotionally-drawn-down blessing obtained by chanting or ritual technique; always used with God/Christ as the grammatical subject.
Gift Of The Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: पवित्र आत्म्याचे दान
Transliteration: pavitra ātmyāce dān
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: आत्मिक कृपादान (already reserved for ministry charismata), सिद्धी (yogic attainment)
Original: δωρεὰ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term. The Spirit’s own indwelling presence given to every believer at conversion (2:38; 8:20; 10:45; 11:17), distinct from particular ministry enablements. Must be clearly differentiated from आत्मिक कृपादान so translators do not conflate ‘receiving the Spirit himself’ with ‘receiving a spiritual gift.‘
Witness
Approved rendering: साक्षीदार
Transliteration: sākṣīdār
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Rejected alternatives: गवाह (Urdu-associated loanword), प्रचारक (preacher, loses eyewitness-testimony sense)
Original: μάρτυς / μάρτυρες / μαρτυρέω
Category: Persecution and Bold Witness
New term. Eyewitness testifier to the historical resurrection and saving work of Christ. Consistent rendering required throughout (1:8,22; 2:32; 3:15; 4:33; 5:32; 10:39,41; 13:31; 22:15,20; 26:16); the semantic bridge toward ‘one who testifies even at cost of life’ becomes explicit at Stephen’s death (7:58-60) — flag with translator note there.
Boldness
Approved rendering: धैर्य
Transliteration: dhairya
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Rejected alternatives: धाडस (generic risk-taking bravery), समभाव (Buddhist-style self-cultivated equanimity)
Original: παρρησία / παρρησιάζομαι
Category: Persecution and Bold Witness
New term. Confident, unashamed public speech under threat. Must be tied explicitly to the Holy Spirit’s empowerment (4:8,31), not to natural courage, Stoic composure, or self-cultivated equanimity. Recurs at 9:27-29; 13:46; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; 26:26; 28:31 as a deliberate structural bookend of the whole book.
Persecution
Approved rendering: छळ
Transliteration: chaḷ
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Rejected alternatives: दुर्दैव (misfortune, risks karmic framing)
Original: διωγμός / διώκω
Category: Persecution and Bold Witness
New term. Suffering specifically for gospel testimony, not generic hardship. Must never be phrased so as to echo a karmic-misfortune framework. Recurs across chs. 4-9, 11-14, 16, 21-26.
Signs And Wonders
Approved rendering: सामर्थ्यशाली कृत्ये, अद्भुते व चिन्हे
Transliteration: sāmarthyaśālī kṛtye, adbhute va cinhe
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: चमत्कार alone (generic ‘miracle’, loses the threefold formula)
Original: δυνάμεις καὶ τέρατα καὶ σημεῖα
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term. The threefold standard formula for divine confirming acts performed through the apostles. REUSE सामर्थ्य (never शक्ती) as the root for δύναμις; the whole formula must be sharply distinguished from जादूटोणा (sorcery), especially in direct narrative contrast at chs. 8, 13, and 19.
Sorcery
Approved rendering: जादूटोणा
Transliteration: jādūṭoṇā
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: चेटूक (narrower folk witchcraft), तंत्र-मंत्र (risks legitimizing occult categories as a real competing power source)
Original: μαγεία / μαγεύω
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term. Occult manipulation of spiritual power for personal gain or status, contrasted with the Spirit’s freely-given power. Highly relevant given living tantra/occult practice in parts of India; used only in explicit narrative-contrast contexts (Simon Magus, ch.8; Elymas, ch.13; the itinerant exorcists, ch.19).
Obey God Rather Than Men
Approved rendering: माणसांपेक्षा देवाची आज्ञा पाळली पाहिजे
Transliteration: māṇasāṃpekṣā devācī āgnā pāḷalī pāhije
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: πειθαρχεῖν θεῷ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀνθρώποις
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term. Core ‘Apostolic Authority’ text (5:29): apostolic authority derives from and submits to God, superseding human/religious-council authority when the two conflict. Distinct from but related to विश्वासाचे आज्ञापालन (baseline obedience_of_faith), which addresses the faith-obedience relationship generally rather than authority-priority.
Baptism
Approved rendering: बाप्तिस्मा
Transliteration: bāptismā
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Rejected alternatives: स्नान (ritual bath, implies merit-earning purification)
Original: βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω
Category: Repentance and Baptism
New term. Established Marathi Christian transliteration retained; must not be conflated with Hindu तीर्थस्नान/गंगास्नान ritual purificatory bathing for merit. Recurs across 1:5; 2:38,41; 8:12-13,36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15,33; 18:8; 19:1-5; 22:16.
Remission Of Sins
Approved rendering: पापांची क्षमा
Transliteration: pāpāṃcī kṣamā
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Rejected alternatives: पापक्षालन (implies ritual ‘washing away’, purification-rite overtones)
Original: ἄφεσις τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν
Category: Repentance and Baptism
New term. Full forgiveness of sins, graciously granted by God through Christ, not karmic debt gradually ‘worked off’ through merit or penance. Recurs at 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18.
Circumcision
Approved rendering: सुंता
Transliteration: suntā
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Original: περιτομή
Category: Justification apart from the Law
New term. Ritual removal of foreskin, the covenant sign of Jewish identity under the Mosaic law. Must be presented as a specific Jewish ceremonial-covenant sign; the Jerusalem Council’s ruling (ch.15) that Gentiles need not undergo it is the narrative center of ‘Justification apart from the Law.’ Recurs at 7:8; 10:45; 11:2-3; 15:1,5,24; 16:3; 21:21.
The Way
Approved rendering: मार्ग
Transliteration: mārg
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul
Rejected alternatives: पंथ (sect/denomination, loses the personal-following sense)
Original: ἡ ὁδός
Category: Conversion of Paul
New term. HIGH RISK: मार्ग (‘path/way’) is already deeply loaded — भक्तिमार्ग/ज्ञानमार्ग/कर्ममार्ग in Hindu thought and अष्टांगिक मार्ग (the Noble Eightfold Path) in Navayana Buddhism both name self-directed disciplines toward an impersonal goal. ‘The Way’ in Acts must be built up explicitly as trusting, following union with a specific person — the risen, exclusive Lord Jesus — never a self-directed technique or one path among several. Mandatory translator note at every occurrence (9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22).
Light From Heaven
Approved rendering: स्वर्गातून प्रकाश
Transliteration: svargātūn prakāś
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul
Original: φῶς ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ
Category: Conversion of Paul
New term. Sudden divine visitation/theophany interrupting Saul on the Damascus road (9:3; 22:6; 26:13). Must be presented as sovereign divine interruption, not the result of Paul’s own religious seeking, paralleling the baseline’s divine_calling emphasis on God’s initiative.
Chosen Vessel
Approved rendering: निवडलेले पात्र
Transliteration: nivaḍlele pātra
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul
Original: σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς
Category: Conversion of Paul
New term. An instrument set apart by God’s sovereign choice for a specific mission (9:15). Reuses baseline देवाची निवड (election) framework applied specifically to Paul’s calling; care that it does not read as karma/destiny-determined status.
Ordained To Eternal Life
Approved rendering: अनंतकाळच्या जीवनासाठी नेमलेले
Transliteration: anantakāḷcyā jīvanāsāṭhī nemlele
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Original: τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον
Category: Justification apart from the Law
New term. Divine sovereign appointment of believers to eternal life (13:48). Reuses baseline देवाची निवड (election) framework; must not echo karma-birth determinism.
Word Of God Grew And Multiplied
Approved rendering: देवाचे वचन वाढत गेले व पसरत गेले
Transliteration: devāce vacan vāḍhat gele va pasrat gele
Doctrine: The Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ηὔξανεν καὶ ἐπληθύνετο
Category: The Great Commission Fulfilled
New term. Recurring narrative refrain marking the gospel’s unstoppable advance despite persecution (6:7; 12:24; 19:20); consistent rendering required at each occurrence.
Medium Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: प्रेषित
Transliteration: preṣit
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: गुरू, संदेशवाहक
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Load-bearing in chs. 1, 4-6, 8-9, 11, 14-16; keep distinct from गुरू and from generic social-reform-leader imagery.
Peace
Approved rendering: शांती
Transliteration: śāntī
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: मनःशांती
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Used of the church’s outward condition (9:31) and gospel content (10:36); distinguish from meditative calm sought in bhakti or mindfulness practice.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: आत्मिक कृपादान
Transliteration: ātmik kṛpādān
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts
Rejected alternatives: वरदान, सिद्धी
Original: χαρίσματα
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Distinct from the new term ‘gift of the Holy Spirit’ (indwelling presence given at conversion, see below); this covers particular ministry enablements as in ch.6’s diaconal appointment.
Church
Approved rendering: मंडळी
Transliteration: maṇḍaḷī
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: देऊळ, मंदिर
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Central to chs. 2, 5, 8-9, 11-16, 20 — the gathered, growing, persecuted, and sent community. Never देऊळ/मंदिर.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: देवाचे राज्य
Transliteration: devāce rājya
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Rejected alternatives: ईश्वरी राष्ट्र
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. Bookends the entire narrative (1:3 and 28:31); not a political, nationalist, or social-reform-movement kingdom.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: अन्यजातीय
Transliteration: anyajātīya
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: विदेशी
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Central to chs. 9-11, 13-15, 18, 21-22, 26, 28; the whole book’s Jew-Gentile trajectory depends on consistent use.
Intercession
Approved rendering: मध्यस्थी
Transliteration: madhyasthī
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Original: ἔντευξις (conceptual background)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Present in the church’s corporate prayer for Peter (12:5) and Paul’s intercessory requests (20:36; 21:5).
Mission
Approved rendering: मिशन / सुवार्ता प्रसार
Transliteration: miśan / suvārtā prasār
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Original: ἀποστολή / πέμπω / ἀποστέλλω
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. This is the structural theme of the entire book (1:8 through 28:30-31).
David
Approved rendering: दावीद
Transliteration: Dāvīd
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Referenced in Peter’s sermon (2:25-31,34), Paul’s synagogue sermon (13:22,34-36), and James’s citation at the Jerusalem Council (15:16).
Israel
Approved rendering: इस्राएल
Transliteration: Isrāel
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Addressed directly in Peter’s sermon (2:36; 4:10; 5:31) and central to Stephen’s speech (ch.7) and Paul’s synagogue preaching (13:16-24).
Pentecost
Approved rendering: पेन्तेकोस्त
Transliteration: Pentekost
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: सण (generic festival), आत्म्याचा उत्सव (descriptive ‘Spirit-festival’ paraphrase)
Original: πεντηκοστή
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term. The Jewish Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), fifty days after Passover, on which the Spirit was poured out (2:1; 20:16). Retained as a transliterated proper festival name; must not be softened into a generic festival label or absorbed into a Hindu harvest-festival equivalent.
Tongues Of Fire
Approved rendering: अग्नीसारख्या विभागलेल्या जिभा
Transliteration: agnīsārkhyā vibhāglelyā jibhā
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: ज्वाळा (loses the ‘tongue’-shape imagery)
Original: γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
New term. The flame-shaped visual sign resting individually on each believer at Pentecost (2:3). Distinct from the ‘tongues/languages’ sense of the identical Greek word two verses later; mandatory translator note flagging that this Greek wordplay is invisible in Marathi, where जीभ and भाषा are unrelated words.
Defense
Approved rendering: बचाव
Transliteration: bacāv
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Rejected alternatives: समर्थन (too abstract, loses the legal-speech setting)
Original: ἀπολογία
Category: Persecution and Bold Witness
New term. Formal legal/rhetorical speech defending the gospel testimony before hostile authorities (22:1; 24:10; 25:8,16; 26:1-2), reinforcing sustained public testimony rather than private conviction.
Council Sanhedrin
Approved rendering: न्यायसभा
Transliteration: nyāyasabhā
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: पंचायत (caste/village-council connotation in Maharashtra), सन्हेड्रिन (unnecessarily opaque transliteration)
Original: συνέδριον
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term. The Jewish supreme judicial-religious council in Jerusalem, recurring at chs. 4-7 and 22-23. न्यायसभा keeps this a specific historical Jewish judicial body.
Laying On Of Hands
Approved rendering: हात ठेवणे
Transliteration: hāt ṭhevaṇe
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: आशीर्वाद देणे (generic blessing, too weak)
Original: ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν / ἐπιτίθημι τὰς χεῖρας
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
New term. Commissioning gesture confirming office or imparting/confirming the Spirit’s presence and power (6:6; 8:17-19; 9:17; 13:3; 19:6). Must not be conflated with folk-healing touch rituals or guru-śiṣya blessing-lineage transmission.
Baptism Of Holy Spirit Distinct
Approved rendering: योहानाच्या बाप्तिस्म्यापेक्षा वेगळा ख्रिस्ती बाप्तिस्मा
Transliteration: Yohānācyā bāptismyāpekṣā vegḷā khristī bāptismā
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Original: βαπτισθήσεσθε ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ (contrasted with τὸ βάπτισμα Ἰωάννου)
Category: Repentance and Baptism
New term. Distinguishes John’s preparatory water-baptism of repentance from full Christian baptism, united with receiving the Spirit and identifying with the risen Lord Jesus by name. Clarified at Acts 1:5; 11:16, and enacted at 19:1-6.
Breaking Of Bread
Approved rendering: भाकर मोडणे
Transliteration: bhākar moḍaṇe
Doctrine: Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: जेवण (generic meal, loses Lord’s-Supper continuity)
Original: κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου
Category: Church as Community
New term. Shared communal meal, likely including the Lord’s Supper (2:42,46; 20:7,11). Retain literal ‘breaking of bread’ rather than a generic meal word.
Had All Things Common
Approved rendering: सर्व वस्तू एकत्र ठेवल्या
Transliteration: sarv vastū ekatra ṭhevlyā
Doctrine: Church as Community
Original: εἶχον ἅπαντα κοινά
Category: Church as Community
New term. Voluntary, Spirit-motivated radical generosity within the believing community (2:44-45; 4:32-35). Must be presented as free, grace-shaped generosity, not compulsory economic redistribution or a caste-based mutual-aid network.
Elders
Approved rendering: वडील
Transliteration: vaḍīl
Doctrine: Church as Community
Original: πρεσβύτεροι
Category: Church as Community
New term. Recognized church leadership office, distinct from apostles; occurs at 11:30; 14:23; 15:2-6,22-23; 16:4; 20:17; 21:18.
Overseers
Approved rendering: अध्यक्ष
Transliteration: adhyakṣa
Doctrine: Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: बिशप (later ecclesiastical-office anachronism)
Original: ἐπίσκοποι
Category: Church as Community
New term. Pastoral oversight office, used interchangeably with ‘elders’ at Acts 20:28 referring to the same Ephesian leadership group by function.
Serve Tables
Approved rendering: मेजांची सेवा करणे
Transliteration: mejāṃcī sevā karaṇe
Doctrine: Church as Community
Original: διακονεῖν τραπέζαις
Category: Church as Community
New term. Practical, service-oriented ministry establishing a second recognized church office alongside apostolic word-ministry (6:2); root of the later deacon office.
Unknown God
Approved rendering: अज्ञात देव
Transliteration: ajñāt dev
Doctrine: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: ἀγνώστῳ θεῷ
Category: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
New term. An Athenian altar dedicated to an unidentified deity, used by Paul as a rhetorical bridge (17:23). Must not be rendered/read as endorsing religious pluralism (‘all paths lead to the same unknown god’); Paul’s move is corrective and fulfilling, not affirming equivalence.
Power Of Satan
Approved rendering: सैतानाचा अधिकार
Transliteration: saitānācā adhikār
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul
Rejected alternatives: वाईट शक्ती (impersonal ‘evil force’)
Original: ἡ ἐξουσία τοῦ Σατανᾶ
Category: Conversion of Paul
New term. A personal, defeated spiritual authority opposed to God’s reign, from which converts are turned to God (26:18). Must denote a personal spiritual authority, not an impersonal generalized evil-force concept.
Unhindered
Approved rendering: निर्विघ्नपणे
Transliteration: nirvighnapaṇe
Doctrine: The Great Commission Fulfilled
Rejected alternatives: अडथळ्याशिवाय (passive ‘without obstacle’, loses triumphant tone)
Original: ἀκωλύτως
Category: The Great Commission Fulfilled
New term. Without hindrance or obstacle — the single closing word of Acts (28:31), the climactic bookend to 1:8 and 4:31’s boldness vocabulary. Should convey triumphant, unstoppable completion, not mere passive absence of obstacle.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: उपकारस्तुती
Transliteration: upakārastutī
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Standard usage in the voyage narrative (27:35; 28:15).
Fellowship
Approved rendering: सहभागिता
Transliteration: sahabhāgitā
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: मैत्री
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Named explicitly among the four founding marks of the first church (2:42).
Prophet
Approved rendering: संदेष्टा
Transliteration: sandeṣṭā
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: ज्योतिषी
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Applied to OT prophets, to Agabus (11:28; 21:10), and typologically to Jesus (3:22-23; 7:37).
Prophecy
Approved rendering: भविष्यवाणी
Transliteration: bhaviṣyavāṇī
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: भविष्यफल
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Fulfilled at Pentecost (2:16-18) and given by Agabus (11:28; 21:10-11).
Exhort
Approved rendering: उत्तेजन देणे
Transliteration: uttejan deṇe
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Context-sensitive; used at 2:40, 11:23, 14:22, 15:32, 16:40, 20:1-2.
Christian Name
Approved rendering: ख्रिस्ती
Transliteration: khristī
Doctrine: Church as Community
Original: Χριστιανός
Category: Church as Community
New term. The name for believers, first coined at Antioch (11:26) as an outsider label, later embraced; Agrippa’s ambivalent near-use of it (26:28). Established Marathi Christian usage.
Referenced passages