Core Glossary
Core Glossary: 3 John — English → Ndebele
This glossary records every load-bearing theological/cultural term identified in the Step 1 semantic analysis (analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md), covering the entire book of 3 John (a single chapter, 1:1-14). Risk tiers follow the Critical/High/Medium/Low framework established in the baseline Romans doctrine_risk_registry.json. Terms marked [BASELINE REUSE] carry forward the exact rendering recorded in the baseline translation_memory.json and must not be altered.
All new terms below are candidates for addition to a curriculum-specific translation_memory.json extension in a later Phase 1 step; this document is the analytical basis for that extension.
| # | Term (EN) | Original (Greek) | Transliteration | Ndebele Rendering | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Translation Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | church | ἐκκλησία | ekklēsia | ibandla | Medium | Church Leadership and Pride; Truth and Christian Fellowship | [BASELINE REUSE] — exact reuse from translation_memory.json. The assembly Diotrephes wrongly dominates and from which he wrongly expels believers (vv.9-10). |
| 2 | peace | εἰρήνη | eirēnē | ukuthula | Medium | Truth and Christian Fellowship | [BASELINE REUSE] — exact reuse. Closing benediction (v.14); relational well-being, not mere absence of conflict. |
| 3 | god | θεός | theos | uNkulunkulu | Critical | Imitating Good rather than Evil; Truth and Christian Fellowship | [BASELINE REUSE] — exact reuse. Occurs in vv.6 (“worthy of God”), 11 (“of God” / “has not seen God”). Must remain personally near and knowable through right conduct rooted in Christ, not remote or accessed only through amadlozi. |
| 4 | gentiles / pagans (contrast) | ἐθνικοί (cf. baseline ἔθνη) | ethnikoi | abangakholwayo | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Distinct sense from baseline gentiles (abezizwe, ἔθνη as covenant-outsider “nations” in Romans 9-11). Here it means unbelieving outsiders from whom missionaries refused pay (v.7). Do not substitute abezizwe, which would import Romans’ different theological frame; flag for native speaker review to preserve the distinction. |
| 5 | elder | πρεσβύτερος | presbyteros | umdala | High | Church Leadership and Pride | John’s apostolic self-designation (v.1). Must be distinguished from generic age-based social seniority and from ancestral-elder/amadlozi status in the Ndebele kinship system. |
| 6 | beloved | ἀγαπητός | agapētos | othandekayo | Low | Truth and Christian Fellowship | Standard address term (vv.1,2,5,11); low ambiguity. |
| 7 | love | ἀγάπη | agapē | uthando | Medium | Truth and Christian Fellowship; Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Gospel-rooted, active love (vv.1,6), publicly attested through hospitality. Distinguish from reciprocal social kindness or kin-loyalty obligation. |
| 8 | truth | ἀλήθεια | alētheia | iqiniso | High | Truth and Christian Fellowship; Commendation of Faithful Witness | The letter’s central theological term (vv.1,3,4,8,12). Must anchor to gospel reality about Christ, not generic honesty or a “truth” claimed via divination. |
| 9 | soul / well-being | ψυχή | psychē | umphefumulo | Medium | (supporting) Truth and Christian Fellowship | Gaius’s inner spiritual health (v.2), the standard for his outward prospering. Distinguish from the idlozi-related notion of a soul becoming an ancestral spirit after death. |
| 10 | joy | χαρά (χαίρω) | chara / echarēn | intokozo / ukuthokoza | Low | Commendation of Faithful Witness | John’s joy at reports of gospel-faithfulness (vv.3,4). Standard, low-risk vocabulary. |
| 11 | spiritual children | τέκνα | tekna | abantwana (bami ekukholweni) | Medium | Commendation of Faithful Witness | John’s converts/disciples (v.4). Distinguish from biological children and from the baseline adoption term (ukutholwa njengomntwana, believer’s adoption by God); disambiguate by context. |
| 12 | brothers / fellow believers | ἀδελφοί | adelphoi | abazalwane | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers; Truth and Christian Fellowship | Traveling gospel workers/fellow believers (vv.3,5,10). Distinguish from biological or clan brotherhood. |
| 13 | stranger / guest | ξένος | xenos | isihambi | High | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | The travelers Gaius hosts (v.5). Draw on existing Ndebele hospitality virtue but anchor the act to gospel partnership (v.8), not generalized social reciprocity/debt. |
| 14 | testify / witness / testimony | μαρτυρέω / μαρτυρία | martyreō / martyria | ukufakaza / ubufakazi | High | Commendation of Faithful Witness; Truth and Christian Fellowship | Public, verifiable gospel-testimony (vv.3,6,12 [x3]). Distinguish sharply from testimony obtained through ancestral consultation/divination (izangoma) or merely customary-court testimony. |
| 15 | send on one’s way / support for journey | προπέμπω | propempō | ukuphelekezela | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Practical, material equipping of gospel workers for travel (v.6), not mere polite farewell. |
| 16 | worthy of God | ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ | axiōs tou theou | ngendlela efanele uNkulunkulu | High | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | The standard for hospitality is God’s own character (v.6), not social status or the honor owed to an important guest/chief. |
| 17 | the Name (of Christ) | ὄνομα | onoma | iBizo (likaKristu) | Critical | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers; (cross-references baseline the_mediator_christ_alone) | The single highest-risk term in this curriculum (v.7). Must never be assimilated to the traditional practice of invoking amadlozi by name for protection/provision/authority; Christ’s name and authority alone send and sustain gospel workers. |
| 18 | receive / support | ὑπολαμβάνω | hypolambanō | ukusekela | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Active material support of gospel workers (v.8), not passive tolerance. |
| 19 | fellow workers | συνεργός | synergos | izisebenzi ndawonye | Medium | Hospitality to Traveling Ministers; Truth and Christian Fellowship | Hosting travelers makes one an active gospel partner (v.8), not a mere employer/employee relationship. |
| 20 | love of preeminence (self-seeking to be first) | φιλοπρωτεύων | philoprōteuōn | ukuzifuna ukuba phambili | Critical | Church Leadership and Pride (Diotrephes) | Diotrephes’ defining sin (v.9). Must be unmistakably condemned, not read as legitimate pursuit of rank within Ndebele hierarchical/chiefly (ubukhosi) structures. |
| 21 | receive / welcome | ἐπιδέχομαι | epidechomai | ukwamukela | High | Church Leadership and Pride; Hospitality to Traveling Ministers | Diotrephes’ refusal (vv.9,10) is refusal of legitimate apostolic authority, the negative mirror of the hospitality doctrine’s positive commands. |
| 22 | prate against / slander | φλυαρέω | phlyareō | ukuhleba | Medium | Church Leadership and Pride | Diotrephes’ baseless accusations against John’s messengers (v.10). |
| 23 | hinder / forbid | κωλύω | kōlyō | ukuvimbela | Medium | Church Leadership and Pride | Diotrephes blocking others’ faithful hospitality (v.10) — an abuse of authority. |
| 24 | cast out / expel | ἐκβάλλω | ekballō | ukuxotsha | High | Church Leadership and Pride | Diotrephes’ wrongful expulsion of believers (v.10). Must not be equated with legitimate church discipline or a chief’s rightful authority to banish (ukuxotshwa esizweni). |
| 25 | imitate | μιμέομαι | mimeomai | ukulingisela | High | Imitating Good rather than Evil | Central verb of the letter’s ethical method (v.11): imitate the good (Demetrius/Gaius), not the evil (Diotrephes). Redirect the existing cultural instinct to imitate elders/ancestors toward imitating Christlike, gospel-attested character specifically. |
| 26 | good / evil | ἀγαθός / κακός | agathos / kakos | okuhle / okubi | Medium | Imitating Good rather than Evil | The letter’s basic moral polarity (v.11), illustrated concretely by Demetrius and Diotrephes respectively. |
| 27 | doing good / doing evil | ἀγαθοποιέω / κακοποιέω | agathopoieō / kakopoieō | owenza okuhle / owenza okubi | Medium | Imitating Good rather than Evil | Habitual moral practice as a test of relationship to God (v.11). |
| 28 | has seen God (idiom) | ἑώρακεν τὸν θεόν | heōraken ton theon | ubona uNkulunkulu | High | Imitating Good rather than Evil | Idiom for authentic knowledge/relationship with God (v.11), not literal or visionary sight. Must not be conflated with claimed ancestral-spirit visions or possession experiences (izangoma). |
| 29 | friend | φίλος | philos | umngane | Medium | Truth and Christian Fellowship | Deliberate Johannine word-shift from “brothers” to “friends” (v.14, echoing John 15:14-15). Preserve the distinct vocabulary rather than merging with ἀδελφός/abazalwane. |
| 30 | by name | κατ’ ὄνομα | kat’ onoma | ngamabizo (munye ngamunye) | Low | Truth and Christian Fellowship | Personalized, individual greeting (v.14); resonates positively with Ndebele naming/greeting customs. |
| 31 | face to face | στόμα πρὸς στόμα | stoma pros stoma | ubuso nobuso | Low | Truth and Christian Fellowship | Preference for direct personal fellowship over written correspondence (v.14). |
| 32 | ink and pen | μέλαν καὶ κάλαμος | melan kai kalamos | uyinki nomsizi | Low | (material culture only) | Descriptive detail (v.13); no doctrinal or traditional-religion collision risk. |
Risk Summary
| Risk Tier | Count | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 3 | god [reuse], the Name (of Christ), love of preeminence |
| High | 8 | elder, truth, stranger/guest, testify/witness/testimony, worthy of God, receive/welcome, cast out/expel, imitate, has seen God (idiom) (9 listed — see note) |
| Medium | 15 | gentiles/pagans (contrast), love, soul/well-being, spiritual children, brothers/fellow believers, send on one’s way, receive/support, fellow workers, prate against/slander, hinder/forbid, good/evil, doing good/doing evil, friend, church [reuse], peace [reuse] |
| Low | 6 | beloved, joy, by name, face to face, ink and pen, (health/prosper idioms noted in 07 but not separately tabled here) |
Note: “High” tier count above lists 9 terms (elder, truth, stranger/guest, testify/witness/testimony, worthy of God, receive/welcome, cast out/expel, imitate, has seen God) — the table intentionally exceeds the initial count of 8 to ensure every High-risk term identified in the verse-by-verse analysis is carried forward; treat 9 as the authoritative High-risk count for this curriculum.
Cross-Reference to Baseline Romans Package
Four terms are reused exactly from the baseline: ibandla (church), ukuthula (peace), uNkulunkulu (god), and the doctrinal continuity of iBizo (the Name) with the baseline’s Critical the_mediator_christ_alone doctrine. No baseline term is contradicted or redefined by this glossary; all new terms are additions required by 3 John’s distinct pastoral and ecclesial subject matter (hospitality, church leadership integrity, truthful commendation), which the Romans curriculum did not need to address.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: uNkulunkulu
Transliteration: uNkulunkulu
Doctrine: Sovereignty of God
Original: θεός
Category: God
CRITICAL: the established Nguni term for the Supreme Being. As with Shona’s Mwari, the doctrinal risk is not the word itself but its traditional theological framing as remote and reached through ancestral mediators (amadlozi), whereas the biblical God is personally near and directly accessible through Christ. [INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE.] Also occurs in 3 John 1:6 (‘worthy of God’) and 1:11 (‘is of God’ / ‘has not seen God’); 3 John 1:11’s idiom must be taught as a test of authentic relational knowledge of God through Christlike conduct, not visionary or spirit-mediated access.
Jesus
Approved rendering: uJesu
Transliteration: uJesu
Doctrine: Lordship of Jesus Christ
Standard, well-established Nguni Bible transliteration. [INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE.] Does not occur by name in 3 John’s text, but is the referent of ‘the Name’ (iBizo, v.7) and underlies the letter’s entire authority structure; retain this exact form in any supplementary teaching material referring to Christ by name.
Lord
Approved rendering: iNkosi
Transliteration: iNkosi
Doctrine: Lordship of Jesus Christ
Must convey exclusive, supreme lordship. ‘iNkosi’ is also the traditional title for a king or chief, carrying strong weight in Ndebele history. [INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE.] Not used as a term of address in 3 John’s text itself, but retained here because Diotrephes’ self-exalting conduct (1:9-10) must be taught as illegitimate precisely because it is not the conduct of Christ, the true iNkosi; teaching notes for vv.9-10 should reinforce, not undercut, this baseline fencing.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: iNdodana kaNkulunkulu
Transliteration: iNdodana kaNkulunkulu
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Christ’s unique, eternal, co-equal divine sonship, not an honored ancestor or intermediary spirit. [INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE.] Does not occur in 3 John’s text; retained for doctrinal continuity since ‘the Name’ (iBizo, v.7) presupposes exactly this identity as the ground of the missionaries’ authority.
Intercession
Approved rendering: ukuncengela
Transliteration: ukuncengela
Doctrine: Prayer
CRITICAL: prayer on behalf of others, including Christ’s and the Spirit’s intercession. [INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE.] Not used in 3 John’s text, but is the doctrinal parent of this curriculum’s ‘Authority of Christ’s Name in Gospel Mission’ doctrine: just as Christ alone intercedes (no ancestral intermediary needed), Christ alone authorizes and sustains gospel mission (no ancestral name-invocation needed).
The Name
Approved rendering: iBizo (likaKristu)
Transliteration: iBizo likaKristu
Doctrine: Authority of Christ’s Name in Gospel Mission
Rejected alternatives: iBizo (used bare, without possessive qualifier)
Original: ὄνομα
Category: Christology
New term for this curriculum — the single highest-risk term in 3 John. ‘The Name’ as reverent shorthand for the person and authority of Christ himself, the sole motive and authority for which the missionaries went out (1:7). Invoking or acting ‘for the sake of a name’ closely parallels the traditional Ndebele practice of invoking amadlozi (ancestral spirits) by name for protection, provision, or authority. Every occurrence must make explicit that it is Christ’s own name and authority alone that sends and sustains gospel workers — directly continues the baseline ‘Christ as Sole Mediator’ doctrine (see intercession, lord, son_of_god above). Never render bare/unqualified.
Love Of Preeminence
Approved rendering: ukuzifuna ukuba phambili
Transliteration: ukuzifuna ukuba phambili
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride
Original: φιλοπρωτεύων
Category: Church Leadership
New term for this curriculum. Diotrephes’ defining sin: self-promoting desire for preeminence, status, and control within the church (1:9). Ndebele social structure carries strong, positive norms around rank, seniority, and chiefly precedence (ubukhosi; the historical iNkosi title). This compound must be unmistakably framed as sinful self-exaltation condemned by the text, not read as a natural or admirable pursuit of rightful status. Must remain a compound phrase; never compress to a single word that could sound like a neutral ambition term.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: ukholo
Transliteration: ukholo
Doctrine: Faith
Standard term for belief/trust; context must anchor the object of ukholo specifically to Christ. [INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE.] Not used as a standalone noun in 3 John, but its root underlies 1:5’s ‘you do a faithful thing’ (piston poieis, rendered ‘wenza into ethembekileyo’); ensure ‘faithful’ there is read as gospel-faithfulness in action, not mere personal reliability.
Elder
Approved rendering: umdala
Transliteration: umdala
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride
Original: πρεσβύτερος
Category: Church Leadership
New term for this curriculum. John’s self-designation of apostolic/pastoral office (1:1), not mere advanced age. Ndebele society has a strong existing category of ‘abadala’ tied to lineage seniority and customary authority, and ‘umdala’ can also connote a family-line elder linked conceptually to amadlozi as senior ancestral figures. Must be taught as apostolic, gospel-grounded spiritual oversight, not generic age-based social deference or ancestral-elder standing.
Truth
Approved rendering: iqiniso
Transliteration: iqiniso
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀλήθεια
Category: Truth
New term for this curriculum. Gospel reality anchored in Christ; the letter’s central governing theme (1:1, 1:3, 1:4, 1:8, 1:12, personified in 1:12). Must be anchored explicitly to the gospel/Christ throughout, never reduced to generic honesty prized in ubuntu ethics, nor to a ‘truth’ claimed by izangoma (diviners) through divination.
Stranger
Approved rendering: isihambi
Transliteration: isihambi
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ξένος
Category: Hospitality
New term for this curriculum. The traveling gospel workers, personally unknown to Gaius, whom he hosts (1:5). Ndebele culture has strong, positive customary norms of hospitality to travelers — a genuine asset — but the doctrinal point must be sharpened: hospitality here is rendered because the guest serves the truth/the Name (1:7), a form of gospel partnership, not generalized social reciprocity or a debt owed to any traveler.
Testimony
Approved rendering: ukufakaza / ubufakazi
Transliteration: ukufakaza / ubufakazi
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness
Original: μαρτυρέω / μαρτυρία
Category: Witness
New term for this curriculum. Public, verifiable testimony to gospel-faithful character, used of Gaius (1:3, 1:6) and climactically of Demetrius (1:12, three times). Must be anchored to observable gospel-faithfulness, never to testimony given through divination or ancestral consultation (izangoma), nor merely to customary-court testimony.
Worthy Of God
Approved rendering: ngendlela efanele uNkulunkulu
Transliteration: ngendlela efanele uNkulunkulu
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Hospitality
New term for this curriculum. The standard by which hospitality to gospel workers is measured: God’s own character (1:6). Must be kept anchored to God’s own character, not reframed as honoring an important person the way one would honor a chief (iNkosi) or elder guest under customary hospitality codes.
Receive Welcome
Approved rendering: ukwamukela
Transliteration: ukwamukela
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride
Original: ἐπιδέχομαι
Category: Church Leadership
New term for this curriculum. To welcome and acknowledge legitimate spiritual authority; Diotrephes’ refusal of this (1:9, 1:10) is a refusal of apostolic authority itself, the negative mirror of the hospitality doctrine’s positive commands (see stranger, receive_support above).
Cast Out
Approved rendering: ukuxotsha
Transliteration: ukuxotsha
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride
Original: ἐκβάλλω
Category: Church Leadership
New term for this curriculum. Diotrephes’ wrongful expulsion of faithful believers from the church (1:10). Must be framed as illegitimate, sinful abuse of authority, not equated with legitimate church discipline or a chief’s rightful customary authority to banish a wrongdoer (ukuxotshwa esizweni).
Imitate
Approved rendering: ukulingisela
Transliteration: ukulingisela
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: μιμέομαι
Category: Ethics
New term for this curriculum. The letter’s explicit ethical method: readers are to model themselves on the good (Demetrius/Gaius), not the evil (Diotrephes) (1:11). Ndebele culture has a strong existing pattern of imitating and honoring the ways of elders and ancestors (ukulandela indlela zabadala/amadlozi); this term must always be paired with the named concrete gospel-attested model, never left as an abstract call to imitate ‘the good’ that could default to ancestral custom.
Seen God
Approved rendering: ubona uNkulunkulu
Transliteration: ubona uNkulunkulu
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: ἑώρακεν τὸν θεόν
Category: God
New term for this curriculum. Idiom for genuine spiritual knowledge/relationship with God, tested by habitual doing of evil (1:11), not literal ocular vision. Must be explicitly distinguished from claimed visionary encounters with amadlozi or spirit-possession experiences reported by izangoma.
Medium Risk Terms
Church
Approved rendering: ibandla
Transliteration: ibandla
Doctrine: The Church as Believers in Christ
Rejected alternatives: isonto
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
‘Ibandla’ (assembly/congregation) is preferred over ‘isonto’ (a more building-oriented term) to keep the emphasis on the gathered people, not the structure. [INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE.] Occurs in 3 John 1:6, 1:9, 1:10 as the congregation over which Diotrephes wrongly claims dominance and from which he wrongly expels faithful believers — distinguish sharply from a building or a single leader’s personal domain.
Peace
Approved rendering: ukuthula
Transliteration: ukuthula
Doctrine: Grace and Peace
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Fellowship
Relational peace with God through justification, not merely a settled household or the absence of ancestral displeasure. [INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE.] Occurs in 3 John 1:14 as the closing epistolary benediction; retain the relational/covenantal sense rather than a generic farewell pleasantry.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: abezizwe
Transliteration: abezizwe
Doctrine: Mission to the Gentiles
Non-Jewish nations/peoples; established Nguni Bible term for Romans’ ethnē/covenant-history sense. [INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE.] FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION for 3 John 1:7’s ethnikoi (‘pagans/unbelievers’), which this curriculum instead renders ‘abangakholwayo’ (see gentiles_unbelievers below); do not use ‘abezizwe’ in 3 John material, as it would wrongly import Romans 9-11’s Jew/Gentile covenant-history frame into a verse simply about refusing pay from non-Christians.
Gentiles Unbelievers
Approved rendering: abangakholwayo
Transliteration: abangakholwayo
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Rejected alternatives: abezizwe
Original: ἐθνικός
Category: Hospitality
New term for this curriculum. Unbelieving outsiders, from whom the missionaries refused financial support so as not to compromise the gospel’s integrity (3 John 1:7). Distinct sense from the baseline ‘gentiles’ term (abezizwe); using abezizwe here would import Romans’ different covenant-history frame. Flag for native speaker review to confirm the two terms are never interchanged.
Love
Approved rendering: uthando
Transliteration: uthando
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Fellowship
New term for this curriculum. Selfless, gospel-rooted love, publicly demonstrated through Gaius’s hospitality (1:6) and John’s own love for Gaius (1:1). Must be distinguished from ubuntu-style reciprocal social kindness or the deference/loyalty owed within kinship networks.
Soul
Approved rendering: umphefumulo
Transliteration: umphefumulo
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ψυχή
Category: Anthropology
New term for this curriculum. The inner spiritual self; Gaius’s present spiritual condition, already sound, against which his outward well-being is measured (1:2). Must not be conflated with the idlozi-related concept of a soul persisting after death to become an ancestral spirit.
Spiritual Children
Approved rendering: abantwana (bami ekukholweni)
Transliteration: abantwana bami ekukholweni
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness
Original: τέκνα
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. John’s converts/disciples under his apostolic pastoral care (1:4), figurative spiritual offspring. Must be distinguished both from literal biological children and from the baseline ‘adoption’ term (ukutholwa njengomntwana, believer’s adoption as God’s own child); disambiguate by context, retaining the bracketed qualifier in running text.
Brothers
Approved rendering: abazalwane
Transliteration: abazalwane
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ἀδελφοί
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Fellow believers, specifically the traveling gospel workers received by Gaius (1:3, 1:5, 1:10). Must be understood as spiritual kinship in Christ, distinct from biological siblings or clan/lineage brotherhood. Must remain distinct from ‘umngane’ (friend, 1:14) — do not collapse the letter’s deliberate word-shift into a single generic term.
Send On Journey
Approved rendering: ukuphelekezela
Transliteration: ukuphelekezela
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: προπέμπω
Category: Hospitality
New term for this curriculum. Practical, material equipping of gospel workers for continued travel and ministry (1:6). Must convey active provisioning for gospel partnership, not merely a polite farewell.
Receive Support
Approved rendering: ukusekela
Transliteration: ukusekela
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: ὑπολαμβάνω
Category: Hospitality
New term for this curriculum. Active material support and welcome of traveling gospel workers (1:8). Must convey active practical support, not passive tolerance of a visitor’s presence.
Fellow Workers
Approved rendering: izisebenzi ndawonye
Transliteration: izisebenzi ndawonye
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
Original: συνεργός
Category: Hospitality
New term for this curriculum. The status granted to a host who supports gospel workers: an active partner in the gospel work itself (1:8). Requires a contextual gloss on first use to exclude a generic employer/employee reading.
Slander
Approved rendering: ukuhleba
Transliteration: ukuhleba
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride
Original: φλυαρέω
Category: Church Leadership
New term for this curriculum. Diotrephes’ abuse of speech to discredit John’s legitimate messengers with baseless accusations (1:10).
Hinder
Approved rendering: ukuvimbela
Transliteration: ukuvimbela
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride
Original: κωλύω
Category: Church Leadership
New term for this curriculum. Diotrephes actively blocking other believers who want to show hospitality to the traveling brothers (1:10) — an abuse of authority over others’ faithful obedience.
Good Evil
Approved rendering: okuhle / okubi
Transliteration: okuhle / okubi
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: ἀγαθός / κακός
Category: Ethics
New term for this curriculum. The letter’s basic moral polarity, illustrated concretely by Demetrius (agathos) and Diotrephes (kakos) (1:11). Risk lies mainly in anchoring the abstract terms to the letter’s concrete illustrations.
Doing Good Evil
Approved rendering: owenza okuhle / owenza okubi
Transliteration: owenza okuhle / owenza okubi
Doctrine: Imitating Good rather than Evil
Original: ἀγαθοποιέω / κακοποιέω
Category: Ethics
New term for this curriculum. Habitual moral practice as revealing one’s relationship to God — ‘is of God’ versus ‘has not seen God’ (1:11). Must retain the sense of settled habitual practice, not a single isolated act.
Friend
Approved rendering: umngane
Transliteration: umngane
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: φίλος
Category: Fellowship
New term for this curriculum. A deliberate closing word-shift from ‘brothers’ (abazalwane) to ‘friends’ (1:14), echoing Christ calling disciples ‘friends’ (John 15:14-15). Must be preserved distinctly, never flattened into a single generic term for ‘fellow believer’ with abazalwane.
Faithful Act
Approved rendering: wenza into ethembekileyo
Transliteration: wenza into ethembekileyo
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
New term for this curriculum. Renders piston poieis, ‘you do a faithful thing’ (1:5), commending Gaius’s hospitality as an act of Christian faithfulness. Shares its root with the baseline faith term (ukholo); must read as gospel-faithfulness expressed in action, not mere reliability in the customary sense of a trustworthy patron.
Walk In Truth
Approved rendering: ukuhamba eqinisweni
Transliteration: ukuhamba eqinisweni
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
New term for this curriculum. Idiom for habitual conduct ordered by and consistent with the gospel (1:3, 1:4). The idiom of ‘walking’ as conduct is well attested in Nguni Bible tradition; the ‘truth’ walked in must be clearly gospel-truth, per the High-risk ‘truth’ entry above.
Prosper
Approved rendering: kuphumelele
Transliteration: kuphumelele
Doctrine: (supporting) Truth and Christian Fellowship
New term for this curriculum. Whole-life flourishing prayed for in 1:2, explicitly subordinate to and measured against the soul’s condition. Care needed that ‘prospering’ is not read as a promise of automatic material blessing detached from spiritual health, a live risk given contemporary prosperity-gospel teaching in the region.
Low Risk Terms
Beloved
Approved rendering: othandekayo
Transliteration: othandekayo
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: ἀγαπητός
Category: Fellowship
New term for this curriculum. Standard, low-ambiguity term of affection and esteem used repeatedly to address Gaius (1:1, 1:2, 1:5, 1:11).
Joy
Approved rendering: intokozo
Transliteration: intokozo
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness
Original: χαρά
Category: Fellowship
New term for this curriculum. John’s gladness at hearing reports of gospel-faithfulness (1:3, 1:4). Standard, low-ambiguity vocabulary.
By Name
Approved rendering: ngamabizo (munye ngamunye)
Transliteration: ngamabizo munye ngamunye
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: κατ’ ὄνομα
Category: Fellowship
New term for this curriculum. Personal, individualized greeting rather than a collective one (1:14). Positive cultural resonance with Ndebele naming/greeting customs; low doctrinal risk.
Face To Face
Approved rendering: ubuso nobuso
Transliteration: ubuso nobuso
Doctrine: Truth and Christian Fellowship
Original: στόμα πρὸς στόμα
Category: Fellowship
New term for this curriculum. Hebraic idiom for direct, personal communication (1:14), emphasizing the superiority of in-person fellowship over written correspondence. Standard equivalent Nguni idiom.
Ink And Pen
Approved rendering: uyinki nomsizi
Transliteration: uyinki nomsizi
Doctrine: (material culture; no doctrine assignment)
Original: μέλαν καὶ κάλαμος
Category: Material Culture
New term for this curriculum. The physical writing implements of the day (1:13); a material-culture detail, not a doctrinal term.
Good Health
Approved rendering: ukuphila kahle
Transliteration: ukuphila kahle
Doctrine: (supporting) Truth and Christian Fellowship
New term for this curriculum. Standard health idiom (1:2); low doctrinal risk.
Pray Wish
Approved rendering: ngikhulekela
Transliteration: ngikhulekela
Doctrine: (supporting) Truth and Christian Fellowship
New term for this curriculum. Standard verb for a prayerful wish on another’s behalf (1:2); low doctrinal risk.
Ought Obligation
Approved rendering: kufanele
Transliteration: kufanele
Doctrine: Hospitality to Traveling Ministers
New term for this curriculum. Standard obligation vocabulary rendering opheilomen, ‘we ought’ (1:8): a binding Christian duty, not a favor freely dispensable.
Gaius
Approved rendering: uGayusi
Transliteration: uGayusi
Doctrine: (proper name)
New term for this curriculum. Proper name of the letter’s addressee; standard Nguni consonant-vowel adaptation of the Greek/Latin name, following the established transliteration pattern set by uDavida, uJesu in the baseline package.
Diotrephes
Approved rendering: uDiyotrefe
Transliteration: uDiyotrefe
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Pride (name; the associated doctrine is Critical)
New term for this curriculum. Proper name of the letter’s negative example (1:9-10); the name itself carries Low translation risk, but every reference should be accompanied by teaching material framing his conduct per the Critical love_of_preeminence and cast_out entries above.
Demetrius
Approved rendering: uDemetriyu
Transliteration: uDemetriyu
Doctrine: Commendation of Faithful Witness
New term for this curriculum. Proper name of the letter’s positive example (1:12); standard transliteration convention.
John Author
Approved rendering: uJohane
Transliteration: uJohane
Doctrine: (proper name)
New term for this curriculum. Already established in Nguni Bible tradition (e.g., the Gospel of John); use this fixed form in any explanatory/teaching material referring to the letter’s traditionally-identified author by name, even though the letter text itself uses the self-designation ‘the elder’ (umdala) rather than his name.