Semantic Analysis

Semantic Analysis — Gospel of John (Koine Greek)

English → Nepali | Full Book Coverage, John 1–21

Scope note: This analysis follows the PRD Phase 1 Step 1 mandate for full-book coverage. The core passage (John 3:1–21) receives verse-by-verse treatment. Every other chapter receives a chapter section covering its load-bearing theological vocabulary. Chapters that introduce no new theological vocabulary beyond terms already treated state this explicitly. All terms already recorded in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json must reuse the recorded Nepali rendering exactly; this document marks such terms “REUSED FROM ROMANS TM.” New terms proposed here are candidates for promotion into the shared translation memory in Phase 1 Step ahead of Phase 2.

PART 1 — CORE PASSAGE: JOHN 3:1–21 (Verse-by-Verse)

John 3:1

Φαρισαῖος (Pharisaios) — “Pharisee.” Literal: a member of the separatist observant sect. Semantic range: strict Torah-observant Jewish party, often in tension with Jesus in John. English variants: Pharisee. Theological meaning: identifies Nicodemus’s religious status — a leader of institutional Jewish piety, not a marginal figure. Nepali: फरिसी. Risk: Low. Notes: established transliterated proper term in Nepali Bible tradition.
ἄρχων (archōn) — “ruler.” Literal: one who rules/leads. Semantic range: civic or religious official, member of the Sanhedrin. English variants: ruler, leader, official. Theological meaning: Nicodemus holds real institutional authority — his later confusion (v.4, v.9) is deliberately ironic; Israel’s teacher does not understand Israel’s hope. Nepali: अगुवा / शासक. Risk: Low.

John 3:2

ῥαββί (rabbi) — “my great one / my teacher.” Semantic range: honorific address to a recognized teacher of the Law. Theological meaning: Nicodemus’s polite address reveals a category error — he sees Jesus as an impressive rabbi, not yet as the divine Son. Nepali: रब्बी. Risk: Low. Established transliteration.
διδάσκαλος (didaskalos) — “teacher.” Semantic range: instructor, master. Theological meaning: paired with “come from God,” it recognizes divine backing but not full identity. Nepali: गुरू / शिक्षक. Risk: Low.
σημεῖον (sēmeion) — “sign.” Literal: a mark, token. Semantic range: a miraculous act that points beyond itself to meaning/identity — John’s distinctive term (used of the 7 signs structuring the book), distinct from mere wonder-working. English variants: sign, miracle. Theological meaning: signs authenticate Jesus’ divine origin; Nicodemus reasons correctly from signs to “from God,” but not yet to Son of God. Nepali: चिन्ह. Risk: Medium. Notes: must not be rendered with vocabulary suggesting an astrological omen or a tantric siddhi (supernatural attainment) — चिन्ह must retain the sense of a revelatory pointer authenticated by God, not a magical demonstration of personal spiritual power.

John 3:3

ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι (amēn amēn legō soi) — “truly, truly, I say to you.” A solemn double-affirmation formula unique to Jesus’ speech in John, marking an authoritative, weighty pronouncement. Nepali: साँच्चै साँच्चै म तिमीलाई भन्दछु. Risk: Low, but consistency-critical: must be rendered identically at every occurrence (used 25 times in John) to preserve its function as a literary/theological marker of divine authority.
γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν (gennēthē anōthen) — “be born again / be born from above.” Literal: γεννάω = to beget/give birth to; ἄνωθεν = “from above” (spatial/source sense) or “again” (temporal/repetition sense) — the Greek word is deliberately double-meaning, and Nicodemus’s response in v.4 shows he hears only the “again” sense while missing “from above.” Semantic range: spans both repetition and heavenly origin simultaneously. English variants: born again, born anew, born from above. Theological meaning: CRITICAL — this is the doctrinal center of the New Birth / Regeneration doctrine. The new birth is not a repeatable natural process nor self-generated; it originates from above, from God, by the Spirit (v.5–8). Nepali: नयाँ जन्म (माथिबाटको जन्म). Risk: CRITICAL. Notes: The forbidden-substitution rule already established in the baseline for “resurrection” (never पुनर्जन्म, which denotes karma-driven rebirth/reincarnation held by both Nepali Hindu and Buddhist frameworks) extends directly to this term. Nepali translators must never render “born again” with पुनर्जन्म. The established rendering is नयाँ जन्म (“new birth”), with ऄनोथेन’s dual sense (“again”/“from above”) best captured contextually by adding माथिबाटको (“from above”) where the passage emphasizes divine source (v.3, v.7) rather than mere repetition. This must be flagged for human theologian review at every occurrence in John 3 and cross-referenced in translator notes to prevent silent drift toward पुनर्जन्म in later chapters or study materials.
βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ (basileia tou theou) — “kingdom of God.” REUSED FROM ROMANS TM: परमेश्वरको राज्य. Risk: Medium (per baseline). Theological meaning here: entrance into God’s reign is conditioned on the new birth, not birth status, lineage, or accumulated merit — directly relevant to the baseline’s caste-hierarchy concern (universal_scope_of_gospel).

John 3:4

γεννηθῆναι (gennēthēnai) — “to be born.” Nicodemus’s literal, physical misunderstanding of v.3’s spiritual statement — a womb-birth reading. Nepali: जन्मनु. Risk: Low standing alone, but the misunderstanding itself is theologically load-bearing: it demonstrates the categorical gap between physical and spiritual birth that the passage exists to close.

John 3:5

ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος (hydatos kai pneumatos) — “of water and the Spirit.” Semantic range debated (John’s baptism / cleansing symbolism / the Spirit’s regenerating work, or a single hendiadys for Spirit-wrought cleansing). Theological meaning: the necessary divine means of entering the kingdom — water suggesting cleansing/inauguration, Spirit supplying the actual life-giving agency. Nepali: पानी र आत्माद्वारा. Risk: High. Notes: must not be rendered in a way that suggests ritual purification bathing — a live cultural risk in Nepal, where ritual bathing in sacred rivers (e.g., the Bagmati) and pilgrimage bathing (tīrtha-snān) carry strong purificatory religious meaning. The passage’s water-and-Spirit birth is a once-for-all act of God’s sovereign grace, not a repeatable ritual cleansing earning religious merit.
πνεῦμα (pneuma) — REUSED FROM ROMANS TM concept, “Spirit” = आत्मा, joined with पवित्र when referring to the Holy Spirit specifically (पवित्र आत्मा). Risk: Critical per baseline. Note the wordplay carried forward into v.8.

John 3:6

σάρξ (sarx) — “flesh.” Literal: physical body/tissue. Semantic range in John: (a) genuine human nature (1:14, incarnation), (b) fallen human nature/origin as here, (c) symbolic sacrificial participation (6:51–56). Here: human generative origin, contrasted with Spirit-origin. Nepali: शरीर. Risk: Medium. Notes: context-sensitive term; flag which sense is active at each occurrence across the book (see Ch. 1 and Ch. 6 below).
πνεῦμα (pneuma, second occurrence) — here “spirit” as the nature produced by Spirit-birth. Nepali: आत्मा. Risk: Critical (Holy Spirit-adjacent usage requires care not to collapse into “spirit” as an impersonal life-force, e.g., the Hindu prāṇa or ātman concept).

John 3:7

γεννηθῆναι ἄνωθεν — repeat of v.3’s key term. Nepali: नयाँ जन्म हुनु / माथिबाट जन्मनु. Risk: Critical (same forbidden-substitution rule as v.3 applies).

John 3:8

πνεῦμα (pneuma) — “wind” and “Spirit,” the same Greek word deployed in a deliberate pun: the wind (πνεῦμα) blows unseen and untraceable, just as the Spirit’s (πνεῦμα) regenerating work is sovereign and beyond human control or prediction. Nepali: this pun cannot be preserved literally — Nepali uses separate words: हावा (wind) and आत्मा (Spirit). Risk: High. Notes: a translator note is required flagging the lost wordplay; the theological point (the Spirit’s regenerating work is sovereign, invisible in mechanism, undeniable in effect) must be preserved even though the lexical pun cannot be. This connects to the baseline’s “effectual calling” doctrine (प्रभावकारी बोलावट) — regeneration is God-initiated, not humanly produced or predictable, in direct contrast to Hindu/Buddhist frameworks of self-directed spiritual advancement through disciplined practice.

John 3:9–10

πῶς (pōs) — “how.” Nicodemus’s repeated question marks persistent unbelief-through-incomprehension. Nepali: कसरी. Risk: Low.
διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραήλ (didaskalos tou Israēl) — “the teacher of Israel.” Ironic: Israel’s recognized teacher fails to grasp what Israel’s own Scriptures anticipated (cf. Ezekiel 36:25–27, the water-and-Spirit new-heart promise). Nepali: इस्राएलका गुरू. Risk: Low, but theologically loaded as dramatic irony — worth a translator/teacher’s note tying John 3:5 back to Ezekiel’s new covenant promise.

John 3:11

μαρτυρία (martyria) — “testimony/witness.” Semantic range: legal/forensic term for reliable eyewitness testimony — a structuring motif of John’s Gospel (the book as a “trial” establishing Jesus’ identity). Nepali: गवाही. Risk: Medium. Notes: must retain the forensic, first-hand-witness sense, not a vague personal opinion or hearsay.

John 3:12

ἐπίγεια / ἐπουράνια (epigeia / epourania) — “earthly things / heavenly things.” Contrast between accessible, this-world truths (the new-birth teaching, illustrated by ordinary wind) and higher, heaven-originating revelation (Christ’s own heavenly origin and mission, vv.13ff). Nepali: पृथ्वीका कुराहरू / स्वर्गीय कुराहरू. Risk: Low-Medium.

John 3:13

ἀναβέβηκεν… καταβὰς (anabebēken… katabas) — “has ascended… descended.” Establishes Christ’s unique heavenly-earthly movement — pre-existence and incarnation combined. Nepali: उक्लिनुभएको… ओर्लनुभएको. Risk: Critical. Notes: directly load-bearing for the Deity and Pre-existence of Christ doctrine; must not be softened into a metaphor for spiritual insight or mystical ascent, both of which have close analogues in Hindu yogic/tantric ascent literature and Buddhist meditative attainment — this is a unique historical claim about one person’s origin and mission, not an achievable spiritual state.
υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (huios tou anthrōpou) — “Son of Man.” Literal: “son of a human,” but as a title (from Daniel 7:13–14) it denotes a heavenly figure given universal, everlasting authority and dominion — combining humility/humanity with exalted divine authority. English variants: Son of Man. Theological meaning: CRITICAL. Jesus’ preferred self-designation across John, uniting his true humanity with divine authority to judge, save, and be “lifted up.” Nepali: मानिसका पुत्र. Risk: Critical. Notes: must not be flattened to mean merely “a human being” (losing the Daniel 7 authority sense) nor confused with the separate title “Son of God” (परमेश्वरका पुत्र, which emphasizes eternal divine sonship). The two titles are complementary but distinct and must never be interchanged in translation.

John 3:14

ὕψωσεν… ὄφις (hypsōsen… ophis) — “lifted up… serpent.” Refers to Numbers 21:8–9 (Moses’ bronze serpent on a pole, giving life to those who looked upon it). Nepali: उचाल्नुभयो… सर्प. Risk: Medium. Notes: requires an Old Testament background note for readers without prior biblical literacy (explicitly anticipated by the AI Translation Requirements’ reading-level guidance for a first-generation Christian audience).
ὑψωθῆναι (hypsōthēnai) — “to be lifted up.” Deliberate double meaning across John (3:14; 8:28; 12:32–34): physically lifted up on the cross, AND exalted/glorified. Nepali: उचालिनु / उठाइनु. Risk: High. Notes: this pun is theologically central — Christ’s crucifixion IS his exaltation/glorification in John’s theology, a striking inversion of every honor/shame framework, including the honor-based social structures still operative in Nepali culture. A translator note explaining the double sense is required at each of the three occurrences.

John 3:15

πιστεύω (pisteuō) — “believe.” REUSED FROM ROMANS TM concept: विश्वास (verb form: विश्वास गर्नु). Risk: Critical per baseline. Notes: John’s characteristic construction πιστεύω εἰς (believe INTO him) — not mere assent but personal entrustment and union — should consistently render as “उहाँमा विश्वास गर्नु” (“believe into/onto him”) throughout John, not a bare “believe him.”
ζωὴν αἰώνιον (zōēn aiōnion) — “eternal life.” Literal: ζωή = life; αἰώνιος = age-lasting, without end. Semantic range: not mere unending duration but a qualitatively new, relational life originating in and continuing with God (defined explicitly at 17:3: knowing the Father and the Son). English variants: eternal life, everlasting life. Theological meaning: CRITICAL — the central soteriological promise of John’s Gospel (used ~17 times). Nepali: अनन्त जीवन. Risk: Critical. Notes: must be clearly distinguished both from the Hindu doctrine of मोक्ष/मुक्ति (liberation from the rebirth cycle) and from the Buddhist निर्वाण (extinguishing of craving/self) — the very same dual-front distinction the baseline establishes for “salvation.” Eternal life in John is personal, relational, and received now by faith (present tense in 3:36, 5:24), not an eventual escape achieved through discipline or enlightenment across time.

John 3:16

ἠγάπησεν (ēgapēsen, from ἀγαπάω, agapaō) — “loved.” Semantic range: purposive, self-giving, sacrificial love, as distinct from erotic desire (ἔρως) or mere fondness (φιλέω, though φιλέω and ἀγαπάω overlap significantly in John — see Ch.21 below). English variants: loved. Theological meaning: CRITICAL — God’s Love for the World doctrine’s foundational verse. God’s love is the active cause of the incarnation and atonement, not a response to human merit. Nepali: प्रेम गर्नुभयो. Risk: High. Notes: प्रेम is the standard Nepali word for love and is appropriate, but translators must guard against readings that assimilate this love to Hindu bhakti-devotional love (a creature’s ardent love directed upward toward a deity) rather than God’s initiating, sacrificial love directed downward toward sinful humanity. This is the reverse direction of love from most devotional frameworks familiar to a Nepali audience and should be highlighted in teaching notes.
κόσμον (kosmon, from κόσμος, kosmos) — “world.” Literal: the ordered universe/created realm; by extension, the whole of humanity, and (in John’s negative usage elsewhere) humanity organized in rebellion against God. English variants: world, universe, humanity, worldly system. Theological meaning: CRITICAL and DUAL-VALENCE — the single most theologically loaded recurring term in John (used ~78 times), swinging between a positive sense (the object of God’s saving love, as here) and a negative sense (the system in opposition to God, e.g., 15:18–19). Nepali: संसार. Risk: CRITICAL. Notes: संसार in Nepali carries strong pre-existing doctrinal weight from both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, where it denotes the phenomenal cycle of worldly existence (transmigration) that the devout seek liberation FROM through disciplined practice or divine grace understood very differently. Translators must ensure that in positive-valence passages (3:16, 3:17 “that the world might be saved”) संसार clearly denotes the personally-addressed object of God’s redemptive love — not a metaphysical cycle to escape through enlightenment — and in negative-valence passages (15:18–19, 16:33), संसार denotes humanity organized in willful rebellion against God, not an impersonal cosmic order. Every occurrence of संसार in a doctrinally significant verse should be flagged for human theologian review per the escalation rules; this document recommends promoting “world/kosmos” to Critical risk in the shared translation memory for the John curriculum specifically.
μονογενῆ (monogenē, from μονογενής, monogenēs) — “only [begotten/unique] Son.” Literal: μόνος (only) + γένος (kind/offspring) — “one of a kind,” “unique.” Semantic range: not primarily about biological generation but about singular, unrepeatable uniqueness of relationship. English variants: only begotten Son, one and only Son, unique Son. Theological meaning: CRITICAL — extends the baseline’s “Son of God” doctrine (परमेश्वरका पुत्र) with the crucial qualifier that Christ’s Sonship is utterly unique, not one instance among many. Nepali: एकमात्र पुत्र. Risk: CRITICAL. Notes: must NEVER be rendered in a way suggesting Christ is one of several divine sons or one avatar among many — a live risk in a culture where Hindu tradition recognizes multiple divine incarnations/avatars (Rama, Krishna, etc., each considered a genuine descent of Vishnu) and where royal avatar-theology was Nepal’s own state ideology until 2008 (per the baseline’s incarnation entry). एकमात्र (“only/sole”) must be retained without exception; terms implying “a kind of son” or “a special son among others” are forbidden substitutions for this term.
ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) — “perish.” Literal: to be destroyed, lost, ruined. Semantic range: not annihilation into nothingness but ruinous, ongoing separation from God’s life. English variants: perish, be lost, be destroyed. Theological meaning: the negative alternative to eternal life — a real and terrible fate, not a neutral natural cessation. Nepali: नष्ट हुनु. Risk: Medium. Notes: must not be softened into a term suggesting a peaceful dissolution or a merely natural process; it is a personal loss under God’s judgment.

John 3:17

ἀπέστειλεν (apesteilen, from ἀποστέλλω) — “sent.” Relates to the baseline’s “apostle” root (ἀπόστολος) but here of the Father sending the Son — the sending is the incarnation itself. Nepali: पठाउनुभयो. Risk: Medium, doctrinally significant as it grounds the Father-Son sending relationship foundational to John’s Christology.
κρίνῃ / κρίσις (krinē / krisis) — “condemn / judgment.” Literal: to judge, discern, decide; in privative contexts, to condemn. Semantic range: forensic decision, ranging from neutral evaluation to final adverse verdict. English variants: judge, condemn, judgment. Theological meaning: High — establishes that Christ’s primary first mission is salvific, not immediately punitive; judgment (v.18–19) follows unbelief rather than being the purpose of the incarnation. Nepali: न्याय गर्नु (to judge) / दोषी ठहराउनु (to condemn/declare guilty). Risk: High. Notes: keep judge/condemn terminology consistent with the parallel forensic vocabulary already established for justification in the baseline (धर्मी ठहराइने कार्य, “the act of being declared righteous”) — condemnation is the structural opposite: being declared guilty, not merely disfavored.
σωθῇ (sōthē, from σώζω, sōzō) — “might be saved.” REUSED FROM ROMANS TM root concept: उद्धार (उद्धार पाउनु — “to receive/obtain salvation”). Risk: Critical per baseline. Notes: must retain the same dual-front forbidden-substitution rule (never मुक्ति/मोक्ष/निर्वाण).

John 3:18

κέκριται (kekritai) — “has been condemned already.” Perfect tense stressing a settled present state, not merely a future verdict. Nepali: पहिल्यै दोषी ठहराइएको छ. Risk: High. Notes: the tense matters theologically — unbelief’s condemnation is a present reality, not only a future one; this nuance should be preserved rather than flattened to a simple future tense in Nepali.
ὄνομα (onoma) — “name,” here “the name of the only Son of God.” In Hebraic/Johannine usage, “name” denotes the full revealed identity and authority of a person, not merely a label. Nepali: नाम. Risk: Medium. Notes: “believing in the name” (10:9, 20:31) should be understood by translators/teachers as believing in the full revealed identity of Christ as Son of God, not a magical invocation of a verbal formula (a risk given the prevalence of mantra-recitation traditions in both Hindu and Buddhist practice in Nepal, where a name/sound itself can be treated as possessing independent ritual power).

John 3:19

κρίσις (krisis) — “judgment,” here specifically identified with the coming of light into darkness and humanity’s response to it. Nepali: न्याय. Risk: High.
φῶς (phōs) — “light.” Semantic range: literal illumination; metaphorically, truth, revelation, moral purity, and — distinctively in John — Christ’s own self-revealing presence (cf. 1:4–9, 8:12, 9:5). English variants: light. Theological meaning: High — Christ himself is “the light” that has entered the world, and response to that light (not abstract moral knowledge) determines judgment. Nepali: ज्योति. Risk: High. Notes: must be carefully distinguished from generic “enlightenment” language associated with Buddhist attainment (bodhi, “awakening” as light-imagery) or the Hindu concept of the ātman as an inner divine spark of light; Johannine light is a specific, historical, personal self-disclosure of Christ entering the world from outside it, not a potential inner light to be discovered or unveiled through one’s own practice.
σκότος (skotos) — “darkness.” Semantic range: moral and spiritual opposition to God, not merely absence of information. Nepali: अन्धकार. Risk: Medium. Notes: parallel term to φῶς; must retain moral/relational sense (loving darkness = loving evil, a willed preference) rather than being read as intellectual ignorance alone.
ἔργα… πονηρά (erga… ponēra) — “works… evil.” Nepali: कामहरू… खराब. Risk: High. Notes: the Nepali word कर्म (“karma/deed”) must be avoided here. Although कर्म is common Nepali vocabulary for “deed” generally, in a passage contrasting evil deeds exposed by light against a doctrinal backdrop of grace received apart from merit, कर्म risks activating the karma-merit accounting framework the baseline explicitly guards against (cf. baseline “grace” and “providence” entries rejecting भाग्य and कर्मको नियम). Use the more neutral काम (“work/deed”) instead of कर्म throughout John wherever “erga” appears in a doctrinally sensitive judgment or grace-contrast context (see also 6:28–29, 9:3–4).

John 3:20–21

φαῦλος (phaulos) — “wicked, worthless.” Nepali: खराब / दुष्ट. Risk: Low-Medium.
μισεῖ (misei, from μισέω, miseō) — “hates.” Nepali: घृणा गर्नु. Risk: Low.
ἐλεγχθῇ (elegchthē, from ἐλέγχω, elegchō) — “be exposed / be convicted / be reproved.” Semantic range: to bring to light, to convict of wrongdoing (this same verb reappears with the Holy Spirit’s convicting work in 16:8). Nepali: पोल खुलोस् / प्रकट होस्. Risk: Medium. Notes: link forward to Chapter 16’s use of the same verb for the Spirit’s convicting ministry — for terminological consistency, consider a shared rendering root across both passages.
ἀλήθειαν (alētheian, from ἀλήθεια, alētheia) — “truth,” here “does the truth” (a distinctively Hebraic idiom for living/acting truthfully, not merely holding correct propositions). Semantic range spans factual accuracy, moral integrity, and — climactically in John 14:6 — Christ’s own personal identity (“I am… the truth”). Nepali: सत्य. Risk: High. Notes: सत्य carries independent philosophical weight in Nepali religious culture (cf. सत्युग, “the Age of Truth” in Hindu yuga cosmology; सत्याग्रह in the Gandhian moral-political tradition) as an impersonal cosmic or ethical absolute. Johannine truth is ultimately personal and Christ-centered (14:6), not an abstract cosmic principle to be discovered through ascetic or contemplative practice; this distinction should be made explicit in any accompanying teaching material, especially by Chapter 14.
πεποιημένα ἐν θεῷ (pepoiēmena en theō) — “having been done in God” / “wrought in God” — i.e., done in dependence on and in the sight of God, not through independent human effort. Nepali: परमेश्वरमा गरिएको. Risk: Medium. Notes: reinforces the grace-not-merit theme; the one who “does the truth” comes to the light because the work is God’s, not a self-generated moral accomplishment that could function as merit before God.

PART 2 — CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER STUDY OF THE WHOLE BOOK (John 1–21)

Chapter 1 — The Word, the Witness, and the Incarnate Son

λόγος (logos) — “word, discourse, reason.” Semantic range: in Greek philosophy, the rational ordering principle of the universe; in John’s Prologue (1:1–18), the eternal, personal, divine Word who was with God, was God, and became flesh. English variants: Word, Logos. Theological meaning: CRITICAL — foundational to the Deity and Pre-existence of Christ doctrine. Nepali: वचन. Risk: CRITICAL. Notes: this is already the established Nepali Bible rendering (जुहन्ना १:१ — “सुरुमा वचन हुनुहुन्थ्यो”). Translators must avoid वाणी or वाक् — both carry direct association with Vāc/Sarasvatī, the Hindu goddess of speech and cosmic sound, risking a syncretistic reading of the Logos as a deified attribute or emanation rather than a fully personal, co-eternal divine Person who Himself is God (1:1c, “the Word was God” — καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος).
ἐν ἀρχῇ (en archē) — “in the beginning.” Echoes Genesis 1:1, establishing the Word’s pre-temporal, pre-creation existence. Nepali: सुरुमा / आदिमा. Risk: High. Notes: must clearly denote existence before creation began, not merely at its first moment — the pre-existence claim is essential and must not be flattened into “at the start of the world” in a way that implies the Word’s existence began there.
πρὸς τὸν θεόν (pros ton theon) — “with God,” denoting eternal, personal, face-to-face relational distinction between the Word and God the Father while affirming shared deity (v.1c). Nepali: परमेश्वरसँग. Risk: Critical. Notes: essential for the Unity of the Father and Son doctrine — distinct Persons, one God, not modal collapse into a single undifferentiated identity nor a subordinate secondary deity.
θεός (theos) — REUSED FROM ROMANS TM: परमेश्वर. Risk: Critical per baseline. Notes: applied to the Word himself in 1:1c and to Christ again at 1:18 and 20:28 — every such occurrence is a Deity of Christ assertion and must be flagged for theologian review.
σὰρξ ἐγένετο (sarx egeneto) — “became flesh.” REUSED FROM ROMANS TM concept: देहधारण (baseline’s established rendering for the incarnation doctrine). Nepali for this specific clause: वचन देहधारी हुनुभयो / वचन शरीरधारी हुनुभयो. Risk: Critical per baseline. Notes: baseline’s forbidden substitution (never अवतार) applies with full force — this is the single most important incarnation verse in the New Testament for establishing the doctrine, and Nepal’s recent royal-avatar political history makes this the highest-stakes verse in the Johannine corpus for that specific risk.
μονογενής (monogenēs) — first occurrence at 1:14 and 1:18 (“the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known” / “glory as of the only Son from the Father”). See full treatment under John 3:16 above. Nepali: एकमात्र पुत्र. Risk: Critical.
χάρις (charis) — “grace.” REUSED FROM ROMANS TM: अनुग्रह. Risk: High per baseline. Notes: 1:14, 1:16–17 (“grace upon grace,” “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”) — establishes grace as characteristic of Christ’s incarnate revelation from his very first appearance in the narrative, not only a later Pauline theological category.
ἀλήθεια (alētheia) — “truth.” See treatment above (John 3:21) and further at 1:14, 1:17 (“full of grace and truth,” paired with χάρις in a fixed covenantal idiom echoing Exodus 34:6). Nepali: सत्य. Risk: High.
φῶς (phōs) / σκοτία (skotia) — “light” / “darkness.” First introduced 1:4–9; see fuller treatment at John 3:19 and Chapter 8/9 below. Risk: High.
μαρτυρέω / μαρτυρία (martyreō / martyria) — “testify / testimony.” Structural motif introduced via John the Baptist (1:7–8, 15, 19–34). Nepali: गवाही दिनु / गवाही. Risk: Medium.
ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (ho amnos tou theou) — “the Lamb of God” (1:29, 1:36). Literal: sacrificial lamb belonging to/provided by God. Semantic range: draws on Passover lamb typology (Exodus 12) and Isaiah 53’s suffering servant “like a lamb.” Theological meaning: CRITICAL — foundational to Christ’s Substitutionary Death doctrine, identifying Jesus at his very first public appearance as the one whose sacrificial death removes sin. Nepali: परमेश्वरका थुमा. Risk: CRITICAL. Notes: must be carefully taught (not merely translated) to avoid conflation with Nepal’s ongoing tradition of animal sacrifice to Hindu deities (pashu-bali), most visibly the Gadhimai festival and Dashain sacrificial offerings. The Lamb of God is a once-for-all, sufficient substitutionary sacrifice that ends the need for further sacrifice (cf. Hebrews 10:1–14 background), not a repeatable ritual offering that must be renewed to maintain divine favor — this contrast should be made explicit in teaching materials accompanying the translation.
βαπτίζω (baptizō) — “baptize.” Nepali: बप्तिस्मा दिनु (established Nepali Christian transliterated term). Risk: Medium-High. Notes: must be distinguished from ritual purificatory bathing (स्नान) in sacred rivers, a live and visible practice in Nepal (e.g., pilgrimage bathing in the Bagmati River at Pashupatinath). Christian baptism symbolizes union with Christ’s death and resurrection and the reception of the Spirit, not repeatable ritual purification for merit.
Μεσσίας / Χριστός (Messias / Christos) — REUSED FROM ROMANS TM: मसीह (Messiah, transliterated). “Christ” as a title follows the AI Translation Requirements’ established transliteration: ख्रीष्ट. Risk: Critical per baseline. Notes: 1:41 explicitly glosses Μεσσίας as Χριστός for the reader — both terms must be used consistently as equivalent titles for the one promised, exclusive Messianic figure, never as generic honorifics.
βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ (basileus tou Israēl) — “King of Israel” (1:49, Nathanael’s confession). Nepali: इस्राएलका राजा. Risk: Medium. Notes: an early messianic confession anticipating the fuller “King of the Jews” title in the Passion narrative (ch. 18–19).

Chapter 2 — Signs, the Temple, and the Appointed Hour

σημεῖον (sēmeion) — “sign” (2:11, first of John’s seven signs). See full treatment under John 3:2 above. Risk: Medium.
οἴνος (oinos) — “wine.” Low doctrinal risk; note as a symbol of messianic abundance/joy (echoing OT wedding-banquet imagery), not independently theologically loaded. Nepali: मद्य / दाखरस. Risk: Low.
ναός (naos) — “temple” (2:14–21). Literal reference is to the physical Jerusalem Temple building. Nepali: मन्दिर. Risk: Medium. Notes: this is a literal referent and, importantly, is a different theological use than the baseline’s “church” prohibition on मन्दिर (which forbids मन्दिर only as a rendering for ἐκκλησία, the New Testament church community). Here मन्दिर correctly denotes the literal Herodian Temple building — no conflict with the baseline rule. However, 2:19–21 uses ναός a second, metaphorical way: “the temple of his body” (τοῦ ναοῦ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ) — Christ’s own body as the true locus of God’s presence, superseding the physical Temple. This metaphorical extension is Christologically significant (High risk) and should be flagged with a translator note distinguishing it clearly from both the literal building sense and from the separate “church” doctrine.
ὥρα (hōra) — “hour” (2:4, “my hour has not yet come”). A recurring Johannine literary-theological motif denoting the divinely appointed time of Christ’s death/glorification (returns at 7:30, 8:20, 12:23, 12:27, 13:1, 17:1). Nepali: घडी / समय. Risk: Medium. Notes: track this motif’s escalating urgency across the book; by chapter 12 “the hour has come” (arrival) replaces “has not yet come” (anticipation) — this progression should be preserved in consistent vocabulary.

Chapter 3 (verses 22–36) — John the Baptist’s Testimony

(Verses 1–21 receive full verse-by-verse treatment in Part 1 above.)

νυμφίος (nymphios) — “bridegroom” (3:29). Messianic imagery in which Christ is the bridegroom and John the Baptist merely “the friend of the bridegroom” (ὁ φίλος τοῦ νυμφίου). Nepali: दुलहा / दुलहाको मित्र. Risk: Low-Medium. Notes: establishes John the Baptist’s self-subordinating role, theologically relevant to right ordering of ministry and glory (cf. 3:30, “he must increase, but I must decrease”).
ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ (orgē tou theou) — “the wrath of God” (3:36). Semantic range: God’s settled, righteous, personal opposition to unbelief and sin — not impulsive rage. Theological meaning: High — the negative counterpart to “eternal life” in this chapter’s closing verse, showing that belief/unbelief is a matter of ultimate, personal consequence before a personal God. Nepali: परमेश्वरको क्रोध. Risk: High. Notes: must be clearly distinguished from an impersonal law of automatic karmic retribution (कर्मको नियम, already flagged and rejected in the baseline’s “providence” entry) — God’s wrath here is the personal, moral response of a relational God to willful unbelief, not a mechanical cosmic balancing process.

Chapter 4 — Living Water and Worship in Spirit and Truth

ὕδωρ ζῶν (hydōr zōn) — “living water” (4:10–14). Semantic range: flowing/spring water (as opposed to stagnant cistern water) used metaphorically for the Spirit-given, self-renewing eternal life Christ gives. Nepali: जीवित पानी. Risk: High. Notes: must be distinguished from the ritual sanctity attributed to specific holy waters in Nepali Hindu practice (river water from the Bagmati or Ganges, considered purifying and merit-conferring by virtue of its sacred geographic source). Christ’s “living water” is not tied to any geographic site; it is Christ himself, given personally and internally (“a spring of water welling up to eternal life,” v.14), received by faith, not obtained by ritual bathing at a sacred location.
προσκυνέω ἐν πνεύματι κα�ὶ ἀληθεί�ᾳ (proskyneō en pneumati kai alētheia) — “worship in spirit and truth” (4:23–24). Nepali: आत्मा र सत्यताले आराधना गर्नु. Risk: High. Notes: must be taught as worship enabled by the (Holy) Spirit and grounded in revealed truth (i.e., Christ himself, cf. 14:6) — not “spirit” as an inward subjective feeling-state or “truth” as a philosophical abstraction achievable through meditation, both readings that would resonate uncritically with existing Nepali religious frameworks.
θερισμός (therismos) — “harvest” (4:35–38). Low doctrinal risk missional metaphor. Nepali: कटनी / फसल. Risk: Low. Notes: connects to the “mission_to_nations” doctrine already flagged High in the baseline — evangelistic harvest imagery in John should be handled with the same care the baseline gives to Romans’ mission language, given Nepal’s live legal restrictions on proselytizing.

Chapter 5 — The Son’s Authority and Two Resurrections

υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (huios tou anthrōpou) reused; see John 3:13 above.
ἐξουσία (exousia) — “authority” (5:27, “he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man”). Nepali: अधिकार. Risk: Medium-High. Notes: this authority is delegated by the Father to the Son specifically as Son of Man — it establishes both the Son’s genuine humanity (qualifying him to judge humanity) and his divine authority (qualifying him to judge with finality).
τιμάω (timaō) — “honor” (5:23, “that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father”). Nepali: आदर/सम्मान गर्नु. Risk: High. Notes: equal honor due to Father and Son is a direct assertion of the Son’s co-equal deity (Unity of Father and Son doctrine) — must not be softened to imply a lesser, derivative honor for the Son.
ζωὴν αἰώνιον reused; see John 3:15–16 above.
ἀνάστασις ζωῆς / ἀνάστασις κρίσεως (anastasis zōēs / anastasis kriseōs) — “resurrection of life / resurrection of judgment” (5:29). REUSED FROM ROMANS TM root: पुनरुत्थान. Nepali: जीवनको पुनरुत्थान / दण्डको पुनरुत्थान. Risk: Critical per baseline. Notes: establishes a final, bodily, twofold resurrection at the end of the age — never to be rendered with पुनर्जन्म; both resurrections are historical, once-for-all events, not stages within an ongoing rebirth cycle.

Chapter 6 — Bread of Life (I AM Statement 1 of 7)

ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς (egō eimi ho artos tēs zōēs) — “I am the bread of life” (6:35, 6:48, 6:51). See treatment of ἐγώ εἰμι at Chapter 8 below. Nepali: म जीवनको रोटी हुँ. Risk: Critical. Notes: first of the seven “I AM” statements load-bearing for the curriculum’s “Seven ‘I Am’ Statements” doctrine. Must not be rendered in a way suggesting a consumable holy substance conferring merit or blessing (as with प्रसाद, blessed food distributed at Hindu temple worship, or ritual food offerings in Buddhist practice) — the “bread” is Christ himself, received by faith (belief, not ingestion, is the operative verb throughout the discourse, cf. 6:35, 6:47).
μάννα (manna) — “manna” (6:31–33, 6:49–51). Old Testament background term (Exodus 16). Nepali: मन्न. Risk: Low, but requires an explanatory background note for readers without Old Testament literacy.
σάρξ καὶ αἷμα (sarx kai haima) — “flesh and blood” (6:53–56, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood”). Semantic range: a shocking, deliberately provocative metaphor for total, personal appropriation of Christ’s sacrificial death by faith — not literal cannibalism nor (in this Gospel context) primarily a sacramental Eucharistic instruction, though later church tradition draws on this language. Nepali: शरीर र रगत. Risk: High. Notes: flag for careful teaching to avoid a literalistic or ritualistic misreading; the passage itself clarifies (6:63) “the flesh is no help at all; it is the Spirit who gives life” — the eating/drinking is a vivid metaphor for believing reception of Christ’s substitutionary death.
ἕλκω (helkō) — “draw” (6:44, “no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him”). Nepali: तान्नु / खिच्नु. Risk: Medium-High. Notes: connects directly to the baseline’s “effectual calling” doctrine (प्रभावकारी बोलावट) — salvation’s initiative lies with God, not human seeking or merit, again standing against both Hindu and Buddhist frameworks of self-directed spiritual advancement.

Chapter 7 — Living Water and Contested Messianic Identity

σκηνοπηγία (skēnopēgia) — “Feast of Tabernacles/Booths” (7:2). Nepali: छाप्रो-चाड or transliterated background note. Risk: Low, requires OT festival-calendar background note.
ποταμοὶ ὕδατος ζῶντος (potamoi hydatos zōntos) — “rivers of living water” (7:38), explicitly identified in 7:39 as the (Holy) Spirit to be given after Christ’s glorification. Connects Chapter 4’s living-water metaphor directly to the Holy Spirit. Risk: High (as per Chapter 4 above).
Χριστός debate (7:26–27, 7:41–42) — reused Messiah/Christ terminology; note the crowd’s confused debate over Davidic lineage and Bethlehem birthplace, connecting to the baseline’s “seed_of_david” and “davidic_covenant” doctrines (दाऊदको वंश, दाऊदी करार) — reuse those exact renderings.

Chapter 8 — “I Am” the Light of the World (I AM Statement 2 of 7); the Divine Name

ἐγώ εἰμι (egō eimi) — “I am” (8:12, 8:24, 8:28, 8:58, and structurally throughout John — cf. 6:35, 10:7, 10:11, 11:25, 13:19, 14:6, 15:1, 18:5–8). Literal: simple present-tense self-identification. Semantic range: in most contexts, ordinary self-identification (“I am [he/the one you’re looking for]”); but at climactic points (especially 8:58, “before Abraham was, I am,” and the unqualified absolute usage at 8:24, 8:28, 13:19, 18:5–6) it deliberately echoes the divine self-revelation formula of Exodus 3:14 (LXX ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν, “I AM WHO I AM”) and Isaiah 43:10, 25 (LXX). Theological meaning: CRITICAL — the single most direct claim to full deity Jesus makes in this Gospel, foundational both to the Deity of Christ doctrine and to the “Seven I Am Statements” curriculum doctrine (the seven being: bread of life 6:35; light of the world 8:12; the door/gate 10:7; the good shepherd 10:11; the resurrection and the life 11:25; the way, the truth, and the life 14:6; the true vine 15:1 — in addition to these seven predicated statements, the unqualified absolute ἐγώ εἰμι at 8:58 and elsewhere is itself a distinct, even more direct divine self-identification). Nepali: म हुँ. Risk: CRITICAL. Notes: Nepali म हुँ is grammatically ordinary and does not, by itself, carry the same emphatic theological weight as the Greek absolute construction. Every absolute (unqualified) occurrence — 8:24, 8:28, 8:58, 13:19, 18:5–6, 18:8 — requires a translator/teacher’s note explaining the Exodus 3:14 echo so the reader recognizes this as a direct, deliberate divine self-identification, not merely a grammatical statement of presence.
φῶς τοῦ κόσμου (phōs tou kosmou) — “light of the world” (8:12, cf. 9:5). See φῶς treatment at John 1 and 3:19 above; see κόσμος at John 3:16 above. Nepali: संसारको ज्योति. Risk: Critical (compounding both High-risk terms).
ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐλευθερώσει ὑμᾶς (hē alētheia eleutherōsei hymas) — “the truth will set you free” (8:32). Nepali: सत्यताले तिमीहरूलाई स्वतन्त्र पार्नेछ. Risk: High. Notes: freedom here is freedom from slavery to sin (8:34), granted by the Son (8:36) — not freedom achieved through philosophical enlightenment, meditative liberation, or the shedding of accumulated karma. This should be taught explicitly against the backdrop of both Hindu मोक्ष and Buddhist निर्वाण frameworks already flagged Critical in the baseline “salvation” entry.
τέκνα Ἀβραάμ (tekna Abraam) — “children of Abraham” (8:33, 8:37, 8:39). Nepali: अब्राहामका सन्तान. Risk: Medium. Notes: the passage distinguishes physical descent from true spiritual sonship (8:39–44), connecting to the baseline’s “unity_of_jews_and_gentiles” and “universal_scope_of_gospel” doctrines — spiritual identity is not conferred by ethnic lineage, a point with direct relevance to caste-based identity structures in Nepali society.
διάβολος… πατὴρ τοῦ ψεύδους (diabolos… patēr tou pseudous) — “the devil… the father of lies” (8:44). Nepali: दियाबल… झूटको बाबु. Risk: High. Notes: must be rendered as a specific, personal, powerful spiritual adversary opposed to God and truth — not conflated with the broad, largely impersonal category of malevolent local spirits found in Nepali folk religious belief (bhut, pret, masan, and similar categories of restless or harmful spirits), which occupy a different conceptual space (localized, often placatable through ritual) than the biblical devil (a singular, cosmic, personal enemy of God engaged in ongoing spiritual conflict, cf. also Romans-adjacent NT teaching).

Chapter 9 — Sin, Blindness, and Worship of the Son of Man

τυφλός (typhlos) — “blind” (used both literally and, by chapter’s end, spiritually — 9:39–41). Nepali: अन्धो. Risk: Low-Medium. Notes: spiritual blindness as culpable unbelief (not merely unfortunate ignorance) is the key theological point (9:41, “if you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now you say, ‘We see,’ so your guilt remains”).
προσκυνέω (proskyneō) — “worship” (9:38, the healed man worships Jesus). REUSED concept from Chapter 4 above. Risk: Critical here specifically, since worship directed to Jesus by a human without correction or rebuke is an implicit deity claim — flag for theologian review.

Chapter 10 — The Door and the Good Shepherd (I AM Statements 3 & 4 of 7); Unity of Father and Son

ἡ θύρα (hē thyra) — “the door / the gate” (10:7, 10:9 — “I am the door of the sheep”). Nepali: ढोका. Risk: Critical. Notes: third of the seven “I Am” statements; must be taught as the exclusive, singular means of access to salvation and the sheepfold (community of God’s people) — not one of several available spiritual paths, a point of genuine tension with religious pluralism assumptions common in Nepal’s multi-religious social context.
ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός (ho poimēn ho kalos) — “the good shepherd” (10:11, 10:14). Fourth I AM statement. Nepali: असल गोठालो. Risk: Critical. Notes: directly ties to the Substitutionary Death doctrine — “the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (10:11, 10:15, 10:17–18) is an explicit statement of voluntary, purposeful, substitutionary self-sacrifice.
πρόβατα (probata) — “sheep.” Nepali: भेडाहरू. Risk: Low.
μία ποίμνη (mia poimnē) — “one flock” (10:16, “so there will be one flock, one shepherd”). Nepali: एउटै भेडाको गोठ. Risk: Medium-High. Notes: connects to the baseline’s “unity_of_jews_and_gentiles” doctrine — Gentile and Jewish believers united under one shepherd, prefiguring the church’s later unity.
ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν (egō kai ho Patēr hen esmen) — “I and the Father are one” (10:30). Theological meaning: CRITICAL — the clearest single-verse statement of the Unity of the Father and the Son doctrine. Nepali: म र पिता एक हौं. Risk: CRITICAL. Notes: ἕν (hen, “one”) is neuter — denoting unity of essence/purpose/power, not identity of person (the Father and Son remain personally distinct, as established throughout John 1 and 17). This must be carefully taught alongside John 17’s unity language (see below) to avoid a monistic misreading (see Chapter 17 notes on Advaita risk).

Chapter 11 — Resurrection and the Life (I AM Statement 5 of 7)

ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή (egō eimi hē anastasis kai hē zōē) — “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25). Fifth I AM statement, directly combining the baseline’s Critical resurrection term (पुनरुत्थान) with “life” (जीवन). Nepali: म पुनरुत्थान र जीवन हुँ. Risk: CRITICAL. Notes: Christ does not merely perform or promise a resurrection — he IS the resurrection, the personal source and guarantee of it (11:25–26, “everyone who believes in me… shall never die”). This must never employ पुनर्जन्म; the Lazarus sign that follows (11:38–44) is presented as a preview of this same bodily, historical, once-for-all resurrection reality, not a temporary reanimation within an ongoing cycle.
δόξα τοῦ θεοῦ (doxa tou theou) — “the glory of God.” REUSED FROM ROMANS TM: महिमा. Risk: High per baseline (11:4, 11:40).

Chapter 12 — The Hour Arrives; Judgment of the World

δοξάζω (doxazō) — “glorify.” REUSED concept, महिमा root (12:23, 12:28, “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified”). Risk: High. Notes: John’s distinctive theological point — Christ’s glorification is accomplished precisely through his suffering and death (see also 13:31–32, 17:1), a striking inversion of any triumphalist framework of divine glory (including royal avatar-glory ideology historically attached to the Nepali monarchy per the baseline’s incarnation entry) — glory manifest through voluntary humiliation and death, not worldly conquest or splendor.
κόκκος τοῦ σίτου… ἀποθάνῃ (kokkos tou sitou… apothanē) — “a grain of wheat… dies” (12:24). Metaphor for Christ’s death producing life for many (substitutionary and generative). Nepali: गहुँको दानो… मर्नु. Risk: Medium.
κρίσις τοῦ κόσμου (krisis tou kosmou) — “judgment of the world” (12:31, “now is the judgment of this world”). Reuses κρίσις and κόσμος terms above; risk: Critical compounded.

Chapter 13 — The New Commandment and Foot-Washing

ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους… ἐντολὴ καινή (agapate allēlous… entolē kainē) — “love one another… a new commandment” (13:34–35). Nepali: एक अर्कालाई प्रेम गर, नयाँ आज्ञा. Risk: Medium. Notes: standard for John’s love-command; low doctrinal ambiguity, but ties into curriculum-relevant mutual-love themes shared with Romans 12.
νίπτω τοὺς πόδας (niptō tous podas) — “wash the feet” (13:1–17). Nepali: खुट्टा धुनु. Risk: Low-Medium. Notes: a servant-humility symbolic act, foreshadowing the self-giving of the cross; no significant cross-cultural collision risk, though it is worth noting foot-washing has no equivalent purificatory ritual meaning it must be disentangled from in Nepali practice — it functions cleanly as a humility metaphor.
παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi) — “betray / hand over” (13:2, 13:21, of Judas). Nepali: धोका दिनु / सुम्पनु. Risk: Low-Medium.

Chapter 14 — The Way, Truth, Life (I AM Statement 6 of 7); the Paraclete

ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή (hē hodos kai hē alētheia kai hē zōē) — “the way, and the truth, and the life” (14:6). Sixth I AM statement. Nepali: मार्ग, सत्य र जीवन. Risk: CRITICAL. Notes: 14:6b makes the exclusivity explicit — “no one comes to the Father except through me” — an unqualified exclusivity claim that must not be softened in translation despite the real social pressure toward religious pluralism in Nepal’s multi-religious context; this is the same category of universality-preservation concern the baseline raises for Romans 3:23 and 10:12–13, now in its Johannine Christological form.
παράκλητος (paraklētos) — “Counselor / Helper / Advocate / Comforter” (14:16, 14:26; 15:26; 16:7). Literal: one called alongside (para + kaleō) — a legal-advocate/helper term. Semantic range: advocate in a legal sense, comforter, counselor, helper, intercessor. English variants: Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Comforter. Theological meaning: CRITICAL — the primary term for the Holy Spirit as Counselor doctrine. Nepali: सहायक. Risk: CRITICAL. Notes: no single existing Nepali term perfectly captures the full legal-advocate-plus-comforter-plus-teacher range; सहायक (“helper”) is recommended as the primary rendering, supplemented by teaching notes drawing out the legal-advocate and comforting senses as needed per context (14:16 stresses ongoing presence “another Helper,” 14:26 stresses teaching, 15:26/16:8–11 stress testifying/convicting). Must be firmly established as a distinct, personal, fully divine Person (the Holy Spirit, पवित्र आत्मा per baseline) — not an impersonal helping-force, and not assimilated to the category of intercessory or guardian spirits/deities that a Nepali audience might invoke for aid or protection (a category distinct from, and lesser than, the Paraclete’s full and unique divine personhood and indwelling presence, cf. 14:17).
μοναί (monai) — “dwelling places / rooms” (14:2, “in my Father’s house are many rooms”). Nepali: वासस्थानहरू / डेराहरू. Risk: Low-Medium. Notes: avoid a rendering implying separate, hierarchically graded abodes (which could resonate with tiered cosmological realms in Hindu/Buddhist afterlife frameworks, e.g., the various lokas or heavenly/hellish realms of rebirth); the point is abundant provision and welcome in the Father’s house, not a graded hierarchy of spiritual attainment.
εἰρήνη (eirēnē) — “peace.” REUSED FROM ROMANS TM: शान्ति (14:27). Risk: Medium per baseline.
τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας (to Pneuma tēs alētheias) — “the Spirit of truth” (14:17). Nepali: सत्यताको आत्मा. Risk: High. Notes: combines the Critical “Holy Spirit” term with the High-risk “truth” term (see John 1 and 3:21 notes on सत्य’s independent philosophical weight in Nepali religious culture).

Chapter 15 — The True Vine (I AM Statement 7 of 7); Abiding

ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή (hē ampelos hē alēthinē) — “the true vine” (15:1, 15:5). Seventh and final I AM statement. Nepali: साँचो दाखको बोट. Risk: CRITICAL. Notes: establishes Christ as the sole life-source for all fruitfulness; branches (κλῆμα, klēma — Nepali: हाँगा) bear fruit only through organic, dependent union with the vine, not through independent effort or accumulated merit (15:4–5, “apart from me you can do nothing”).
μένω (menō) — “abide / remain” (15:4–10, repeated 11 times in this chapter alone). Semantic range: to stay, dwell, continue in relationship. Theological meaning: High — denotes ongoing, personal, relational union sustained by mutual love and obedience, not a one-time event. Nepali: रहनु. Risk: High. Notes: must be clearly distinguished from the very different Hindu Advaita/Buddhist non-attachment frameworks in which the spiritual goal is either merging into an undifferentiated absolute (losing distinct personal identity, cf. moksha as absorption into Brahman) or releasing attachment altogether (Buddhist non-clinging). Johannine “abiding” preserves full personal, relational, distinct identity between Christ and the believer while producing deep, continuous, dependent intimacy — neither dissolution of self nor detachment, but committed relational continuance.
ὁ κόσμος μισεῖ (ho kosmos misei) — “the world hates” (15:18–19). Reuses κόσμος in its negative valence. Risk: Critical (per John 3:16 notes).

Chapter 16 — The Spirit’s Ministry; Sorrow Turned to Joy

τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας reused (16:13); see Chapter 14 above.
ἐλέγξει (elegxei, from ἐλέγχω, elegchō) — “will convict” (16:8, “he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment”). Same root verb as John 3:20’s ἐλεγχθῇ. Nepali: दोषी देखाउनुहुनेछ / निष्कर्षमा ल्याउनुहुनेछ. Risk: High. Notes: this is a distinct and important ministry of the Paraclete/Holy Spirit — internal, personal conviction leading to recognition of sin, not merely external accusation; render consistently with John 3:20’s usage where possible.
λύπη / χαρά (lypē / chara) — “sorrow / joy” (16:20–22, 16:33). Nepali: शोक / आनन्द. Risk: Low-Medium.
νενίκηκα τὸν κόσμον (nenikēka ton kosmon) — “I have overcome the world” (16:33). Nepali: मैले संसारलाई जितेको छु. Risk: Critical (via κόσμος). New verb: νικάω (nikaō, “to conquer/overcome”) — Nepali: जित्नु. Risk: Medium standing alone.

Chapter 17 — The High Priestly Prayer: Eternal Life Defined, Sanctification, and Unity

ζωὴ αἰώνιος definition (17:3) — “this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” This verse is the Gospel’s own explicit definition of the term treated at John 3:15–16 above: eternal life is fundamentally relational, personal knowledge of God through Christ, not an indefinite extension of temporal existence. Risk: Critical. Notes: this verse should be treated as the anchor cross-reference for every other occurrence of “eternal life” in the book — Phase 2 translators should render it with special care and flag it for theologian review given its definitional, load-bearing role.
ἁγιάζω (hagiazō) — “sanctify” (17:17, 17:19). REUSED FROM ROMANS TM concept: पवित्रीकरण / पवित्र पार्नु. Risk: High per baseline.
ἵνα ἓν ὦσιν (hina hen ōsin) — “that they may be one” (17:11, 17:21–23). Theological meaning: CRITICAL — prays for the unity of believers, patterned on and grounded in the Father-Son unity (17:21, “just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you”). Nepali: तिनीहरू एक होऊन्. Risk: CRITICAL. Notes: this is one of the highest-risk terms in the entire Johannine corpus for the Nepali destination language specifically. Nepal’s dominant Hindu philosophical tradition includes Advaita Vedanta, whose central teaching is that ultimate reality is a single undifferentiated Absolute (Brahman) and that the perception of multiple distinct selves is illusion (māyā) to be overcome through enlightenment, resulting in the dissolution of individual identity into the One. A careless rendering of “that they may be one” risks being heard through this powerful existing philosophical lens as teaching the same metaphysical absorption. The Johannine unity prayed for here is explicitly relational and volitional (unity of love, purpose, and mutual indwelling modeled on — but not identical to — the Father-Son relationship), and it explicitly preserves the distinct personhood of every believer (they remain “they,” distinct from “you” and “I,” throughout the prayer). This distinction must be made unmistakably clear in accompanying teaching material and must be flagged for mandatory human theologian review at every occurrence.
κόσμος reused extensively throughout ch.17 (17:6, 9, 11, 13–16, 18, 21, 23–25) in its full range of senses. Risk: Critical, per John 3:16 notes.

Chapter 18 — Arrest and Trial: A Kingdom Not of This World

ἡ βασιλεία ἡ ἐμὴ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου (hē basileia hē emē ouk estin ek tou kosmou toutou) — “my kingdom is not of this world” (18:36). Combines REUSED FROM ROMANS TM परमेश्वरको राज्य concept (kingdom_of_god) with κόσμος. Nepali: मेरो राज्य यो संसारको होइन. Risk: High. Notes: directly relevant to the baseline’s kingdom_of_god notes about Nepal’s own recent history of a divinely-legitimated monarchy — Christ’s kingdom is explicitly and emphatically not a political or territorial kingdom competing with earthly rule, a point of considerable relevance and some political sensitivity in Nepali context.
πάσχα (pascha) — “Passover” (18:28, 18:39). Nepali: निस्तार-चाड (established Nepali Bible term). Risk: Low, background note recommended.
ἀρχιερεύς (archiereus) — “high priest.” Nepali: प्रधान पूजाहारी. Risk: Low.

Chapter 19 — Crucifixion: “It Is Finished”

βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων (basileus tōn Ioudaiōn) — “King of the Jews” (19:19, etc.). Reuses Chapter 1’s kingship title. Risk: Medium.
σταυρόω (stauroō) — “crucify.” Nepali: क्रूसमा टाँग्नु (established Nepali Christian term; क्रूस = cross, per the AI Translation Requirements’ transliteration standards). Risk: CRITICAL. Notes: foundational to the Substitutionary Death and Resurrection doctrine — must retain the full historical, physical, and voluntary character of Christ’s death; never abstracted into a symbolic or purely spiritual “dying to self” metaphor divorced from the historical crucifixion event.
τετέλεσται (tetelestai) — “it is finished” (19:30). Perfect tense: a completed action with ongoing effect — “it has been, and remains, completed/accomplished.” Nepali: पूरा भयो. Risk: High. Notes: denotes the completed, sufficient, once-for-all accomplishment of Christ’s atoning work — must be rendered in a way that conveys finished sufficiency, not merely “my task/duty is now discharged” (a rendering that would risk sounding like a dharma/duty-completion statement, subtly reframing the cross as Christ fulfilling a personal religious obligation rather than accomplishing a unique, all-sufficient, substitutionary redemptive work on behalf of others).
αἷμα καὶ ὕδωρ (haima kai hydōr) — “blood and water” (19:34). Nepali: रगत र पानी. Risk: Low-Medium, symbolic/physiological detail confirming the reality of Christ’s physical death (countering docetic denial of a genuine incarnation and death — relevant given the baseline’s incarnation/humanity_of_christ doctrine notes on avoiding readings of Christ’s human nature as illusory or temporary).

Chapter 20 — Resurrection: “My Lord and My God”

ἀνάστασις reused; the resurrection appearances themselves (20:1–29). REUSED FROM ROMANS TM: पुनरुत्थान. Risk: CRITICAL per baseline — never पुनर्जन्म.
εἰρήνη ὑμῖν (eirēnē hymin) — “peace be with you” (20:19, 20:21, 20:26). Reuses शान्ति. Risk: Medium.
λάβετε Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον (labete Pneuma Hagion) — “receive the Holy Spirit” (20:22). REUSED FROM ROMANS TM: पवित्र आत्मा. Risk: Critical per baseline.
ὁ Κύριός μου καὶ ὁ Θεός μου (ho Kyrios mou kai ho Theos mou) — “my Lord and my God” (20:28, Thomas’s confession). Combines two REUSED, CRITICAL Romans-TM terms — प्रभु (Lord) and परमेश्वर (God) — applied directly and personally to the risen Jesus by name. Nepali: मेरा प्रभु र मेरा परमेश्वर. Risk: CRITICAL. Notes: this is among the most direct and unqualified confessions of the full deity of Christ in the entire New Testament, deliberately placed by the author at the Gospel’s narrative climax; it must be rendered with the full, unambiguous force of both terms, exactly as recorded in the baseline, with no softening, and flagged for mandatory human theologian review.
πιστεύω χωρὶς ἰδεῖν (pisteuō chōris idein) — “believe without seeing” (20:29, “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”). Reuses विश्वास; connects to 20:30–31, the Gospel’s own stated purpose (“these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name”) — this purpose statement should be treated as a key cross-reference anchor verse alongside 3:16 and 17:3.

Chapter 21 — Shepherd, Follow, and the Two Words for Love

ποίμαινε τὰ πρόβατά μου (poimaine ta probata mou) — “shepherd/feed my sheep” (21:15–17). Reuses Chapter 10’s shepherd imagery, now transferred as a commission to Peter. Risk: High (via Chapter 10 terms).
ἀκολούθει μοι (akolouthei moi) — “follow me” (21:19, 21:22). Nepali: मलाई पछ्याऊ. Risk: Low-Medium, standard discipleship term.
ἀγαπάω / φιλέω (agapaō / phileō) — In the dialogue between Jesus and Peter (21:15–17), Jesus twice asks using ἀγαπάω and Peter answers using φιλέω, with the final exchange both using φιλέω — a debated but widely-noted lexical variation in the Greek text. Both verbs are rendered by the single Nepali word प्रेम गर्नु, as Nepali (like English) lacks two lexically distinct common verbs corresponding to this Greek distinction. Risk: Medium. Notes: this is a translation-flattening risk rather than a doctrinal-collision risk — the nuance (if theologically significant here, a matter of ongoing scholarly debate) cannot be preserved lexically in Nepali any more than in English; a translator/teacher’s note describing the Greek variation is recommended rather than attempting an artificial two-word Nepali distinction that would not reflect natural usage.

Coverage Confirmation

All 21 chapters of the Gospel of John have been reviewed. Chapters 1, 3 (vv.1–21 and vv.22–36), 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 19, and 20 contain the highest concentration of Critical-risk new theological vocabulary (Logos/pre-existence, new birth, eternal life, kosmos, monogenēs, the seven I Am statements, the Paraclete, unity language, crucifixion/resurrection, and the deity confession of 20:28). Chapters 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 16, 18, and 21 substantially reuse vocabulary already introduced, with the specific new terms noted in each section above. No chapter of John was found to introduce zero new theological vocabulary; every chapter is represented above with either new terms or explicit notes on which prior terms it reuses.

See 08_core_glossary.md for the consolidated per-term glossary table covering every term cited above. All Romans-TM-reused terms must load translation_memory.json v1 and apply its renderings without deviation, per the Pre-flight Checklist in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md.

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