Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Luke 1–24
Purpose
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, across the entire Gospel of Luke, into a single reference table for Phase 2 translation memory construction. Terms already established in the Romans baseline (translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json) are marked Baseline Reuse and must be rendered exactly as recorded there. Terms newly required for Luke are marked New and are proposed here for addition to translation memory, pending theologian review per the risk-tier routing defined in the baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json.
Risk tiers follow the baseline definitions exactly:
- Critical — Human theologian review required for every occurrence.
- High — Human theologian review required.
- Medium — Native speaker review recommended.
- Low — Automated review sufficient.
Section A — Baseline Terms Reused Without Change
These terms recur throughout Luke and must use the exact Nepali rendering already recorded in the Romans translation memory. No new analysis is required; they are listed here only to confirm full-book coverage.
| English Term | Nepali Rendering | Risk | Representative Luke Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|
| God | परमेश्वर | Critical | 1–24 (throughout) |
| Jesus | येशू | Critical | 1–24 (throughout) |
| Lord | प्रभु | Critical | 1, 2, 5, 6, 10, 19, 20, 24 |
| Holy Spirit | पवित्र आत्मा | Critical | 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 24 |
| Son of God | परमेश्वरका पुत्र | Critical | 1, 3, 4, 8, 22 |
| Incarnation (doctrine) | देहधारण | Critical | 1, 2 |
| Resurrection | पुनरुत्थान | Critical | 9, 20, 24 |
| Messiah/Christ | मसीह | Critical | 2, 3, 4, 9, 20, 22, 24 |
| Justification | धर्मी ठहराइने कार्य | Critical | 18 |
| Salvation | उद्धार | Critical | 1, 2, 3, 7, 19 |
| Faith | विश्वास | High | 5, 7, 8, 17, 18 |
| Grace | अनुग्रह | High | 1, 2, 4 |
| Righteousness | धार्मिकता | Critical | 1, 23 |
| Law | व्यवस्था | High | 2, 10, 16 |
| Sin | पाप | High | 1, 3, 5, 11, 15 |
| Covenant | करार | High | 1, 22 |
| Davidic Covenant / Seed of David | दाऊदको वंश / दाऊदी करार | High | 1, 2, 18, 20 |
| Kingdom of God | परमेश्वरको राज्य | Medium | 4, 6, 8–13, 17, 19, 21, 22 |
| Church (ekklesia) | मण्डली | Medium | (institutional continuation post-Pentecost; anticipated from Luke 22, fulfilled in Acts) |
| Gentiles | अन्यजाति | Medium | 2, 4, 21, 24 |
| Glory | महिमा | High | 2, 9, 24 |
| Prophet / Prophecy | अगमवक्ता / अगमवाणी | Low | 1, 3, 4, 7, 16, 24 |
| Father (God as) | पिता | Critical | 1, 2, 10, 11, 15, 22, 23 |
| Called / Calling | बोलाइएका / बोलावट | High | 1, 5, 14 |
| Saints / Holy | पवित्र जन / पवित्र | High | 1 |
| Power of God | परमेश्वरको सामर्थ्य | High | 1, 4, 24 |
| Fellowship | सहभागिता | Low | 5, 15, 22, 24 |
| Peace | शान्ति | Medium | 1, 2, 7, 12, 19, 24 |
| David / Israel | दाऊद / इस्राएल | Medium | 1, 2, 18, 20 |
Section B — New Luke-Specific Terms (Proposed for Translation Memory)
| # | English Term | Original Greek | Transliteration | Nepali Rendering | Nepali Transliteration | Category / Doctrine | Risk | Alternatives Rejected | Risk Notes | Key Passages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Savior | σωτήρ | sōtēr | उद्धारकर्ता | uddharkarta | Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People | Critical | मुक्तिदाता, त्राता | Must be built transparently on baseline उद्धार (salvation) root; NEVER a term implying liberation-from-rebirth or a generic protector-deity title | 1:47, 2:11 |
| 2 | Virgin | παρθένος | parthenos | कुमारी | kumari | Incarnation / Sonship of Christ | Critical | (no viable non-collision alternative in standard Nepali; risk must be managed via context, not lexical substitution) | कुमारी is also the title of the Kathmandu Valley’s living virgin goddess (Kumari Devi), a visible, historically state-linked religious institution; context must exclude any parallel between Mary and a living incarnate-goddess tradition | 1:27, 1:34 |
| 3 | Overshadow | ἐπισκιάζω | episkiazō | छाया पर्नु | chhaya parnu | Incarnation | High | (none; guard via explanatory note) | Must not imply a divine-mortal sexual union myth pattern found in regional mythological narratives | 1:35 |
| 4 | Most High | Ὕψιστος | Hypsistos | सर्वोच्च (परमेश्वर) | sarvochcha (Parameshwar) | Deity of Christ / God | Medium | — | A title for the one true God, not “supreme” within a ranked pantheon | 1:32, 1:35, 1:76 |
| 5 | Angel | ἄγγελος | angelos | स्वर्गदूत | swargadut | Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History | Medium | देवता | देवता (a Hindu deity/demigod) must be avoided; angels are created, sent messengers, never independent divine beings | 1, 2, 24 |
| 6 | Repentance | μετάνοια | metanoia | पश्चाताप | pashchatap | Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins | High | प्रायश्चित्त | प्रायश्चित्त implies self-achieved ritual expiation/penance; biblical repentance is a Spirit-enabled turning received by grace | 3:3, 3:8, 5:32, 13:3, 15:7, 24:47 |
| 7 | Forgiveness of Sins | ἄφεσις ἁμαρτιῶν | aphesis hamartiōn | पापको क्षमा | papko kshama | Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins | High | माफी (alone) | Baseline पाप retained; क्षमा conveys pardon with more theological weight than the weaker, everyday माफी | 1:77, 3:3, 24:47 |
| 8 | Baptism | βάπτισμα | baptisma | बप्तिस्मा | baptisma | Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins | Medium | डुबाइ | डुबाइ is a generic term for immersion and loses the ordinance’s covenantal meaning | 3:3, 3:16, 3:21 |
| 9 | Liberty / Release | ἄφεσις | aphesis | छुटकारा | chhutkara | Good News to the Poor and Marginalized | High | मुक्ति, मुक्त पार्नु | मुक्ति is the baseline-forbidden term for salvation (Hindu rebirth-liberation); छुटकारा preserves a personal-deliverance sense without the cyclical-liberation association | 4:18 |
| 10 | Poor | πτωχός | ptōchos | गरीब | garib | Good News to the Poor and Marginalized | High | दरिद्र, भिखारी | Must retain both economic and social-marginalization force without over-spiritualizing away the material concern | 4:18, 6:20, 7:22, 14:13, 16:20 |
| 11 | Anointed / Anoint | χρίω | chriō | अभिषेक गर्नु / अभिषिक्त | abhishek garnu / abhishikt | Messianic Promise / Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History | High | (established term retained with strong contextual caution) | अभिषेक is also the standard Hindu term for ritual/royal consecration, historically including Shah-king coronation anointing; context must specify unique Spirit-commissioning of Jesus, not repeatable royal/ritual consecration | 4:18 |
| 12 | Acceptable/Favorable Year of the Lord | ἐνιαυτὸν Κυρίου δεκτόν | eniauton Kyriou dekton | परमप्रभुको अनुग्रहको वर्ष | Parameshwarko anugrahako barsha | Kingdom of God Present and Future | High | पुण्य वर्ष | पुण्य वर्ष implies an astrologically/religiously auspicious, merit-linked calendar year; the biblical Jubilee-year proclamation is God’s unmerited initiative (अनुग्रह) | 4:19 |
| 13 | Today (theological marker) | σήμερον | sēmeron | आज | aaj | Kingdom of God Present and Future | Medium | — | Recurs as Luke’s signature marker of the present, decisive arrival of salvation (4:21, 2:11, 19:9, 23:43); must be flagged wherever functioning theologically, not merely as a calendar reference | 2:11, 4:21, 19:9, 23:43 |
| 14 | Fulfilled | πληρόω (πεπλήρωται) | plēroō (peplērōtai) | पूरा भएको छ / पूर्ति | pura bhayeko chha / purti | Fulfillment of Prophecy | High | — | Perfect tense denotes a completed, once-for-all accomplishment; must retain linear-historical sense against cyclical cosmological frameworks | 4:21, 24:44 |
| 15 | Synagogue | συναγωγή | synagōgē | सभाघर | sabhaghar | (contextual/low doctrinal weight) | Low | — | Distinct from मन्दिर (temple) and मण्डली (church) | 4:16, 4:33, 6:6 |
| 16 | Unclean Spirit / Demon | πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον / δαιμόνιον | pneuma akatharton / daimonion | अशुद्ध आत्मा / भूत | ashuddha atma / bhut | Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History | High | — | Must be distinguished from Nepal’s shamanic (jhankri) folk-spirit frameworks (bhut-pret, masan) and jhar-phuk exorcism ritual, which involve negotiation/appeasement rather than sovereign, word-based expulsion | 4:33, 8:27–33, 9:42, 11:14–24 |
| 17 | Sinners | ἁμαρτωλός | hamartōlos | पापी | papi | Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners | Medium | — | Derived from baseline पाप | 5:8, 5:30, 7:37, 15:1–2, 18:13 |
| 18 | Disciple | μαθητής | mathētēs | चेला | chela | Cost and Joy of Discipleship | Medium–High | अनुयायी | चेला is established but shares vocabulary with Hindu/Buddhist guru-chela apprenticeship tradition; discipleship to Jesus is covenantal allegiance to the divine Lord, not one option among equally valid spiritual teachers | 5:1–11, 6:13, 6:17, 9:1–6, 14:26–33 |
| 19 | Eating with Sinners / Table Fellowship | συνανάκειμαι | synanakeimai | सँगै खाना खाने / सहभोजन | sangai khana khane / sahabhojan | Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners | High | — | Directly subverts caste-based commensality restrictions historically codified in Nepal’s Muluki Ain | 5:29–30, 7:36–50, 15:1–2, 19:1–10 |
| 20 | Fasting | νηστεύω | nēsteuō | उपवास | upavas | (Discipleship / Spiritual Discipline) | Medium | तप | उपवास overlaps with Hindu merit-earning ascetic vocabulary; biblical fasting is voluntary, Spirit-led discipline, not merit-accruing austerity | 5:33–35, 18:12 |
| 21 | Blessed (Beatitudes) | μακάριος | makarios | धन्य | dhanya | Good News to the Poor and Marginalized | Medium | भाग्यशाली | भाग्यशाली implies fate/luck; biblical blessedness is God’s sovereign favor toward the poor, hungry, and persecuted | 1:45, 6:20–22, 7:23, 11:28, 14:14–15 |
| 22 | Woe | οὐαί | ouai | धिक्कार | dhikkar | Good News to the Poor and Marginalized | Medium | — | Reversal-of-status judgment pronouncement, paired with the Beatitudes | 6:24–26, 11:42–52 |
| 23 | Mercy | ἔλεος | eleos | दया | daya | Jesus’ Compassion / Repentance and Forgiveness | Medium | — | Distinct from अनुग्रह (unmerited saving favor); दया is compassionate kindness shown toward those in need or distress | 1:50, 1:54, 1:58, 1:72, 1:78, 6:36 |
| 24 | Compassion | σπλαγχνίζομαι | splanchnizomai | दयाभाव राख्नु | dayabhav rakhnu | Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners | High | करुणा | करुणा is the central Buddhist virtue (associated with the bodhisattva ideal, e.g. Karunamaya/Avalokiteśvara, prominent in Kathmandu Valley Newar Buddhism), typically denoting detached universal benevolence rather than Jesus’ personal, visceral, particular pity | 7:13, 10:33, 15:20 |
| 25 | Neighbor | πλησίον | plēsion | छिमेकी | chhimeki | Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People | Medium | — | Redefined by Jesus as an active, boundary-crossing category, not a fixed ethnic/religious in-group | 10:27–37 |
| 26 | Samaritan | Σαμαρίτης | Samaritēs | सामरी | Samari | Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People | Medium–High | — | Ethnic-religious outsider figure; draws a direct, teachable parallel to caste-outsider (Dalit) status in the Nepali context | 9:52–56, 10:33, 17:16 |
| 27 | Eternal Life | ζωὴ αἰώνιος | zōē aiōnios | अनन्त जीवन | anant jiwan | Kingdom of God Present and Future | High | — | Distinguished from both मोक्ष (liberation from rebirth) and निर्वाण (cessation of self); this is unending personal, relational life with a personal God | 10:25, 18:18, 18:30 |
| 28 | Prayer | προσευχή | proseuchē | प्रार्थना | prarthana | Prayer and Dependence on God | Medium | — | Direct, personal, dependent address to a personal Father, distinct from ritual puja invocation or priestly-mediated petitionary offering | 11:1–4, 18:1, 22:41–46 |
| 29 | Hypocrisy | ὑπόκρισις | hypokrisis | पाखण्ड | pakhand | Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins | Medium | — | Targets outward religious performance divorced from inward reality, in Jesus’ own first-century Jewish context; not a polemic against any present-day Nepali religious community | 11:37–52, 12:1 |
| 30 | Rich Fool / Treasure | θησαυρός | thēsauros | धन-सम्पत्ति (खजाना) | dhan-sampatti (khajana) | Good News to the Poor and Marginalized | Medium | — | Wealth stored for false security, contrasted with treasure secured with God | 12:16–21, 12:33–34 |
| 31 | Division (contrasted with Peace) | διαμερισμός | diamerismos | विभाजन | vibhajan | Cost and Joy of Discipleship | Medium | — | Deliberately contrasted with baseline शान्ति; discipleship can provoke real temporal/familial division even while securing ultimate peace with God | 12:51–53 |
| 32 | Humble / Exalted | ταπεινόω / ὑψόω | tapeinoō / hypsoō | नम्र हुनु / उच्च पारिनु | namra hunu / uchcha parinu | Good News to the Poor and Marginalized | Medium | — | God-determined status reversal, not self-promotion or socially conferred honor | 14:11, 18:14 |
| 33 | Count the Cost | ψηφίζω τὴν δαπάνην | psēphizō tēn dapanēn | लगानी (मूल्य) गन्नु | laganī (mulya) gannu | Cost and Joy of Discipleship | Medium | — | Deliberate calculation before costly commitment; direct textual anchor for the discipleship-cost doctrine | 14:28–33 |
| 34 | Lost | ἀπόλλυμι (ἀπολωλός) | apollymi (apolōlos) | हराएको | haraeko | Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners | Medium | — | Organizing image of Luke 15’s three parables: sought and joyfully restored, not abandoned to fate | 15:4, 15:6, 15:24, 15:32, 19:10 |
| 35 | Joy (heaven’s joy over repentance) | χαρά | chara | आनन्द | anand | Cost and Joy of Discipleship | Medium | — | Links repentance to divine, celebratory joy | 15:7, 15:10, 15:32, 24:41, 24:52 |
| 36 | Mammon / Wealth | μαμωνᾶς | mamōnas | धन | dhan | Good News to the Poor and Marginalized | Medium | — | Wealth personified as a rival power/master competing for ultimate allegiance | 16:9, 16:11, 16:13 |
| 37 | Hades | ᾍδης | Hadēs | पातालपुरी | patalpuri | Kingdom of God Present and Future | High | नरक | नरक risks assimilation to the Hindu/Buddhist temporary hell-realm endured before rebirth; Hades is an intermediate state awaiting a final, one-time judgment | 16:23 |
| 38 | Kingdom of God “in your midst” | ἐντὸς ὑμῶν | entos hymōn | तिमीहरूको माझमा | timiharuko majhma | Kingdom of God Present and Future | High | भित्र (individually “within”) | भित्र risks assimilation to Buddhist inner-enlightenment attainment or Hindu antaryāmin (inner-divine-spark) concepts; the corporate, Christ-centered “in your midst” sense must control | 17:20–21 |
| 39 | Vindication / Justice | ἐκδίκησις | ekdikēsis | न्याय | nyaya | Prayer and Dependence on God | Medium | — | God’s righteous act of setting right a wrong on behalf of the wronged, in response to persistent prayer | 18:3, 18:7–8 |
| 40 | Justified (justification, direct occurrence) | δικαιόω (δεδικαιωμένος) | dikaioō (dedikaiōmenos) | धर्मी ठहराइने कार्य (धर्मी ठहरियो) | dharmi thahraine karya (dharmi thahriyo) | Justification (Baseline extension) | Critical | माफी पाउने कार्य | Direct extension of baseline term; the tax collector’s justification is a load-bearing occurrence and must use the full baseline compound phrase | 18:14 |
| 41 | Today Salvation Has Come | σήμερον σωτηρία…ἐγένετο | sēmeron sōtēria egeneto | आज यस घरमा उद्धार आएको छ | aaj yas gharma uddhar aayeko chha | Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People | Critical | — | Combines the “today” marker with baseline उद्धार; salvation reaching a socially marginalized but wealthy tax collector’s household | 19:9 |
| 42 | Son of Man Came to Seek and Save the Lost | ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἦλθεν ζητῆσαι καὶ σῶσαι τὸ ἀπολωλός | ho huios tou anthrōpou ēlthen zētēsai kai sōsai to apolōlos | मानिसका पुत्र हराएकालाई खोज्न र बचाउन आउनुभयो | manisaka putra haraekalai khojna ra bachauna aaunubhayo | Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People | Critical | — | Luke’s mission-defining thesis statement (19:10); parallel in curricular weight to Romans 1:16–17 | 19:10 |
| 43 | Son of Man | ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου | ho huios tou anthrōpou | मानिसका पुत्र | manisaka putra | Christology (Luke-specific title) | Critical | मानव पुत्र, नरपुत्र | Combines suffering and eschatological authority; distinct from, and not to be collapsed into, परमेश्वरका पुत्र (Son of God) | 5:24, 6:5, 9:22, 9:26, 9:44, 9:58, 12:8, 12:40, 17:22–30, 18:8, 19:10, 21:27, 21:36, 22:22, 22:48, 22:69, 24:7 |
| 44 | Cross | σταυρός | stauros | क्रुस | kurus | Cost and Joy of Discipleship / Atonement | Critical | — | Both a metaphor for costly discipleship (9:23, 14:27) and the literal instrument of Jesus’ execution (ch.23) | 9:23, 14:27, 23:26, 23:33 |
| 45 | Authority | ἐξουσία | exousia | अधिकार | adhikar | (Government/Authority, native-speaker flagged per baseline convention) | Medium | — | Touches the government/authority sensitivity already flagged in the baseline for Romans 13 | 20:1–8 |
| 46 | Cornerstone | κεφαλὴ γωνίας | kephalē gōnias | कुनाको मुख्य ढुङ्गा | kunako mukhya dhunga | Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People | Medium | — | Messianic image (Psalm 118) of the rejected-yet-foundational stone | 20:17 |
| 47 | Signs (eschatological) | σημεῖον | sēmeion | चिन्ह | chinha | Kingdom of God Present and Future | Medium | — | Must be distinguished from ज्योतिषीय शकुन/संकेत (astrological omens), widespread in Nepali folk practice | 21:11, 21:25 |
| 48 | Passover | πάσχα | pascha | निस्तार चाड | Nistar Chad | Fulfillment of Prophecy / Salvation History | Medium | — | Ties Jesus’ death to Israel’s foundational Exodus-deliverance narrative | 22:1, 22:7–15 |
| 49 | New Covenant | καινὴ διαθήκη | kainē diathēkē | नयाँ करार | naya karar | Davidic Covenant / Salvation | Critical | — | Direct extension of baseline करार; the institution of the Lord’s Supper | 22:20 |
| 50 | Body / Blood (Eucharistic) | σῶμα / αἷμα | sōma / haima | शरीर / रगत | sharir / ragat | Salvation / Atonement | High | — | Must be framed as a completed, once-for-all sacrifice, not a repeated ritual blood-offering (bali) as practiced at temples such as Dakshinkali | 22:19–20 |
| 51 | Paradise | παράδεισος | paradeisos | स्वर्ग | swarga | Kingdom of God Present and Future | High | — | Must be distinguished from a temporary heavenly way-station within an ongoing rebirth cycle; this is permanent, personal presence with the risen Christ | 23:43 |
| 52 | Temple Curtain Torn | τὸ καταπέτασμα ἐσχίσθη | to katapetasma eschisthē | मन्दिरको पर्दा च्यातियो | mandirko parda chyatiyo | Unity of Jews and Gentiles (extended) | Medium | — | Symbolizes removal of the ritual-purity access barrier | 23:45 |
| 53 | Temple (literal, Jerusalem) | ἱερόν | hieron | मन्दिर | mandir | (Contextual — literal building only) | Medium | (never substitute for मण्डली) | Used only for the literal historical Jerusalem Temple; never a synonym for the church | 2:27, 2:46, 19:45–47, 21:5, 24:53 |
| 54 | Witnesses | μάρτυς | martys | साक्षी | sakshi | Evangelism / Mission to the Nations | High | — | Eyewitness testimony, distinguished from active recruitment-style proselytizing given Nepal’s legal restrictions on conversion | 24:48 |
| 55 | Power from on High | δύναμις ἐξ ὕψους | dynamis ex hypsous | सामर्थ्य (उच्चबाटको सामर्थ्य) | samarthya (uchchabatoko samarthya) | Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History | Critical | शक्ति | Direct extension of baseline power_of_god rule: सामर्थ्य required, never शक्ति, given the Newar Tantric Shakta tradition | 24:49 |
| 56 | Ascension | ἀναλαμβάνω (ἀνελήμφθη) | analambanō (anelēmphthē) | स्वर्गारोहण | swargarohan | Kingdom of God Present and Future | High | — | Unique, historical, bodily event; not a generic mystical/yogic ascent or apotheosis motif | 24:51 |
| 58 | Redemption | λύτρωσις | lytrōsis | छुटकारा | chhutkara | Salvation History | High | — | Same term family as ἄφεσις (4:18); costly, covenantal deliverance, not mere generic release | 1:68, 2:38 |
| 59 | Divine Visitation | ἐπισκέπτομαι | episkeptomai | भेट/याद गर्नु | bhet/yaad garnu | Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History | Medium | — | God’s decisive historical intervention in salvation history | 1:68, 1:78, 7:16, 19:44 |
| 60 | Wrath | ὀργή | orgē | क्रोध | krodh | Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins | Medium | — | God’s righteous judgment against sin, retaining real judicial seriousness | 3:7 |
| 61 | Devil | διάβολος | diabolos | दियाबल / शैतान | diyabal / shaitan | (Spiritual Conflict) | Medium | — | A real, personal spiritual adversary, not a mythological trickster or impersonal evil force | 4:2–13, 8:12, 22:3 |
| 62 | Tax Collectors | τελώνης | telōnēs | महसुल असुल गर्ने | mahsul asul garne | Good News to the Poor and Marginalized / Table Fellowship | Medium | — | Socially despised occupation repeatedly named among recipients of Jesus’ good news | 3:12, 5:27–30, 7:29, 15:1, 18:10–14, 19:2 |
| 63 | Cleansed (leprosy/ritual healing) | καθαρίζω | katharizō | शुद्ध पारियो | shuddha pariyo | (Healing / Social Restoration) | Medium | — | Literal ritual/physical-purity healing context; not to be confused with पवित्र (holy/moral sanctification) | 5:12–14, 17:14–17 |
| 64 | Sabbath | σάββατον | sabbaton | शबाथ | shabath | (Law and Grace) | Medium | — | Jesus’ Sabbath practice and controversies test mercy against rigid rule-keeping | 4:16, 6:1–11, 13:10–17, 14:1–6 |
Section C — Glossary Coverage Confirmation by Chapter
| Chapter | New Terms Contributed (see Section B #) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 23, 58, 59 | Birth announcements |
| 2 | 1, 15(temple #53), 48(consolation not numbered—see ch.2 analysis), 53, 58 | Nativity, Simeon/Anna |
| 3 | 6, 7, 8, 60, 62 | John the Baptist |
| 4 | 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 61 | Core passage + temptation |
| 5 | 17, 18, 19, 20, 63 | Call of disciples |
| 6 | 21, 22, 23, 64 | Beatitudes / Sabbath |
| 7 | 24, (faith-saved phrase — see analysis) | Widow of Nain, sinful woman |
| 8 | (parable, word of God — see analysis), 16 (reuse) | Kingdom parables |
| 9 | 43, 44 | Transfiguration |
| 10 | 25, 26, 27 | Good Samaritan |
| 11 | 28, 29 | Lord’s Prayer |
| 12 | 30, 31, 43 (reuse) | Anxiety/wealth warnings |
| 13 | — | No new terms; reviewed, reuses Ch. 3, 6, 8–9 vocabulary |
| 14 | 32, 33, 44 (reuse) | Banquet / cost of discipleship |
| 15 | 34, 35, 24 (reuse) | Lost sheep/coin/son |
| 16 | 36, 37 | Unjust steward, Lazarus |
| 17 | 38, (faith-saved reuse) | Kingdom “in your midst” |
| 18 | 39, 40 | Persistent widow, Pharisee/tax collector |
| 19 | 41, 42, 53 (reuse) | Zacchaeus, temple cleansing |
| 20 | 45, 46 | Authority questions |
| 21 | 47 | Signs of the end |
| 22 | 48, 49, 50 | Last Supper |
| 23 | 51, 52 | Crucifixion |
| 24 | 54, 55, 56 | Resurrection/Ascension |
All 24 chapters of Luke are confirmed reviewed for load-bearing theological vocabulary. This glossary, together with 07_semantic_analysis.md, is ready for extension of translation_memory.json, bible_term_registry.json, and doctrine_risk_registry.json in the next Phase 1 step.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: परमेश्वर
Transliteration: Parameshwar
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: भगवान
Original: θεός
Category: God
CRITICAL: never भगवान, given its Hindu-Kingdom state-identity weight in Nepal. परमेश्वर is the settled, neutral Nepali Christian standard. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum (throughout Luke 1-24).
Jesus
Approved rendering: येशू
Transliteration: Yeshu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: established Nepali Christian standard form. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum (the central figure of the Gospel, 1-24).
Lord
Approved rendering: प्रभु
Transliteration: prabhu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: मालिक, ईश्वर
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Exclusive, supreme Lordship of Christ. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum (Luke 1:43; 2:11; 10:1; 20:41-44; 24:34).
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: पवित्र आत्मा
Transliteration: Pavitra Atma
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: ब्रह्म, परमात्मा
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
CRITICAL: never ब्रह्म or परमात्मा. Must read as a personal, active divine Agent, never an impersonal life-force or the Newar Tantric shakti concept. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum (Luke 1:15,35,41,67; 3:16,22; 4:1,14,18; 10:21; 11:13; 24:49).
Son Of God
Approved rendering: परमेश्वरका पुत्र
Transliteration: Parameshwarka Putra
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: देवपुत्र
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: full phrase required; never देवपुत्र. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum (Luke 1:32,35; 3:22; 4:3,9,41; 9:35; 22:70).
Incarnation
Approved rendering: देहधारण
Transliteration: dehadharan
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: अवतार
Original: (cf. ἐπισκιάζω, γεννηθέν, σὰρξ)
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: never अवतार, given Shah-dynasty royal avatar theology. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum (Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-20).
Resurrection
Approved rendering: पुनरुत्थान
Transliteration: punarutthan
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: पुनर्जन्म
Original: ἀνάστασις / ἀνίστημι
Category: Eschatology
CRITICAL: never पुनर्जन्म. Must be distinguished from Hindu/Buddhist rebirth and the Himalayan Buddhist tulku reincarnation tradition. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum (Luke 9:22; 18:33; 24:1-49).
Messiah
Approved rendering: मसीह
Transliteration: Masih
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
The Anointed One fulfilling Old Testament promise exclusively in Jesus. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum (Luke 2:11,26; 4:18-21; 9:20; 24:26-27).
Justification
Approved rendering: धर्मी ठहराइने कार्य
Transliteration: dharmi thahraine karya
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: माफी पाउने कार्य
Original: δικαιόω (δεδικαιωμένος)
Category: Salvation
Compound phrase required for the forensic, declared-righteous sense; never abbreviate to माफी. The tax collector’s justification (Luke 18:14) is Luke’s clearest load-bearing occurrence. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Salvation
Approved rendering: उद्धार
Transliteration: uddhar
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: मुक्ति, मोक्ष, निर्वाण
Original: σωτηρία / σῴζω
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL AND DUAL-FRONT: never मुक्ति or मोक्ष (Hindu rebirth-liberation), never निर्वाण (Buddhist cessation of self). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum (Luke 1:47,69,77; 2:11,30; 3:6; 19:9).
Righteousness
Approved rendering: धार्मिकता
Transliteration: dharmikata
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: धर्म, पुण्य
Original: δικαιοσύνη / δίκαιος
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: NEVER धर्म, given its caste-code and Hindu-Kingdom state-identity associations. Also describes Zechariah/Elizabeth’s covenant faithfulness (1:6) and the centurion’s confession (23:47). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Father
Approved rendering: पिता
Transliteration: Pita
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
God as personal Father, addressed intimately by Jesus (10:21-22; 11:2; 22:42; 23:34,46). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Savior
Approved rendering: उद्धारकर्ता
Transliteration: uddharkarta
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Rejected alternatives: मुक्तिदाता, त्राता
Original: σωτήρ
Category: Salvation
New coinage built transparently on baseline उद्धार root. NEVER मुक्तिदाता (echoes moksha-liberator) or त्राता (a broad Hindu devotional protector-deity title applied to many rescuer-figures, e.g. Krishna). Used of God in the Magnificat (1:47) and of Jesus at his birth (2:11).
Virgin
Approved rendering: कुमारी
Transliteration: kumari
Doctrine: Incarnation and the Virgin Birth
Original: παρθένος
Category: Christology
कुमारी is also the title of the Kathmandu Valley’s living virgin goddess (Kumari Devi), a historically state-linked institution honored at national festivals. No viable non-collision lexical substitute exists; risk must be managed via surrounding context, never by silent substitution. Luke 1:27, 1:34.
Today Salvation Has Come
Approved rendering: आज यस घरमा उद्धार आएको छ
Transliteration: aaj yas gharma uddhar aayeko chha
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Original: σήμερον σωτηρία…ἐγένετο
Category: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Combines Luke’s ‘today’ marker with baseline salvation vocabulary; salvation reaching a socially marginalized but wealthy tax collector’s household, a paradigm case of the gospel’s reach across social lines. Luke 19:9.
Son Of Man Mission Statement
Approved rendering: मानिसका पुत्र हराएकालाई खोज्न र बचाउन आउनुभयो
Transliteration: manisaka putra haraekalai khojna ra bachauna aaunubhayo
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Original: ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἦλθεν ζητῆσαι καὶ σῶσαι τὸ ἀπολωλός
Category: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Luke’s mission-defining thesis statement, comparable in curricular weight to Romans 1:16-17. Luke 19:10.
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: मानिसका पुत्र
Transliteration: manisaka putra
Doctrine: Son of Man Christology
Rejected alternatives: मानव पुत्र, नरपुत्र
Original: ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Category: Christology
A distinct Lukan title combining suffering and eschatological authority; must not be collapsed into परमेश्वरका पुत्र (Son of God) nor flattened into a generic ‘human being’ reading. Luke 5:24; 6:5; 9:22,26,44,58; 12:8,40; 17:22-30; 18:8; 19:10; 21:27,36; 22:22,48,69; 24:7.
Cross
Approved rendering: क्रुस
Transliteration: kurus
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Original: σταυρός
Category: Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Both a metaphor for costly, self-denying discipleship (9:23; 14:27) and the literal instrument of Jesus’ execution (23:26,33).
New Covenant
Approved rendering: नयाँ करार
Transliteration: naya karar
Doctrine: New Covenant and Atonement
Original: καινὴ διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Direct extension of baseline करार; must be rendered exactly as नयाँ करार, consistent with established New Testament usage. The institution of the Lord’s Supper. Luke 22:20.
Power From On High
Approved rendering: सामर्थ्य (उच्चबाटको सामर्थ्य)
Transliteration: samarthya (uchchabatoko samarthya)
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Rejected alternatives: शक्ति
Original: δύναμις ἐξ ὕψους
Category: Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Direct extension of the baseline power_of_god rule: सामर्थ्य required, never शक्ति, given the still-practiced Newar Tantric Shakta tradition. Luke 24:49.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: विश्वास
Transliteration: vishwas
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: श्रद्धा, भक्ति
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Personal trust in Jesus, repeatedly the ground of both healing and salvation in Luke (7:50; 8:48; 17:19; 18:42). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Grace
Approved rendering: अनुग्रह
Transliteration: anugraha
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: कृपा, पुण्य, भाग्य
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Unmerited favor apart from human merit; never पुण्य. Grounds Mary’s favored status (1:28,30) and the acceptable year of the Lord (4:19). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Law
Approved rendering: व्यवस्था
Transliteration: vyavastha
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: धर्म, नियम
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
The Mosaic law; NEVER धर्म. Includes Jesus’ family’s Torah observance (2:22-24,39) and Sabbath disputes (6:1-11). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Sin
Approved rendering: पाप
Transliteration: paap
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: अकुशल कर्म
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Moral transgression before a personal God, distinct from impersonal karmic cause-and-effect. Object of Jesus’ forgiving authority (5:20-24; 7:47-49). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Covenant
Approved rendering: करार
Transliteration: karar
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: सम्झौता
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Relational covenant bond. Recalls the covenant with Abraham in Zechariah’s prophecy (1:72-73). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Davidic Covenant
Approved rendering: दाऊदको वंश / दाऊदका पुत्र
Transliteration: Daudko vansha / Daudka Putra
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: υἱὸς Δαυίδ / σπέρμα Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package’s seed_of_david entry (दाऊदको वंश, conveying physical lineage and covenant fulfillment) and extended for Luke with the messianic title ‘Son of David’ (दाऊदका पुत्र, Luke 18:38-39; 20:41-44). Requires Old Testament covenant background explanation; no analogous concept in Hindu or Buddhist tradition.
Glory
Approved rendering: महिमा
Transliteration: mahima
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: तेज
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Avoid light-metaphor terms conflating with Kathmandu Valley divine-radiance traditions. Surrounds the shepherds (2:9) and is revealed at the Transfiguration (9:32). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Called
Approved rendering: बोलाइएका
Transliteration: bolaieka
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: निमन्त्रित
Original: κλητός / καλέω
Category: Salvation
Used of John the Baptist’s naming (1:59-63) and the disciples’ summons (5:10; 14:24). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Calling
Approved rendering: बोलावट
Transliteration: bolawat
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
The act or state of being summoned by God to discipleship or mission. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Holy
Approved rendering: पवित्र
Transliteration: pavitra
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: शुद्ध
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Applied to God’s name (1:49), the Holy Spirit, and Jesus (1:35; 4:34). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Saints
Approved rendering: पवित्र जन
Transliteration: pavitra jan
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: सन्त, साधु
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Never सन्त/साधु, given the visible sadhu/renunciate ideal at Nepal’s national shrines. Applies to all believers corporately. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: परमेश्वरको सामर्थ्य
Transliteration: Parameshwarko samarthya
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: शक्ति
Original: δύναμις
Category: God
NEVER शक्ति, given the Newar Tantric Shakta tradition. Active in Jesus’ conception (1:35), ministry (4:14,36; 5:17; 6:19; 8:46), and the promised power from on high (24:49). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Gospel
Approved rendering: सुसमाचार
Transliteration: susamachar
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: खुशखबरी
Original: εὐαγγέλιον / εὐαγγελίζω
Category: Salvation
The authoritative proclamation of salvation through Christ, specifically directed to the poor (4:18) and to all nations (24:47). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Providence
Approved rendering: परमेश्वरको व्यवस्थापन
Transliteration: Parameshwarko vyavasthapan
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: भाग्य, कर्मको नियम
God’s personal, purposive governance; never भाग्य or कर्मको नियम. Implicit behind Luke’s providence-adjacent ‘divine visitation’ passages (1:68,78; 7:16; 19:44). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Overshadow
Approved rendering: छाया पर्नु
Transliteration: chhaya parnu
Doctrine: Incarnation and the Virgin Birth
Original: ἐπισκιάζω
Category: Christology
Must not imply a divine-mortal sexual union myth pattern present in regional mythological narratives. The Holy Spirit’s non-sexual, creative act producing Jesus’ conception (1:35).
Repentance
Approved rendering: पश्चाताप
Transliteration: pashchatap
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: प्रायश्चित्त
Original: μετάνοια
Category: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
NEVER प्रायश्चित्त, the Hindu concept of self-achieved ritual expiation/penance through austerity or pilgrimage; biblical repentance is a Spirit-enabled turning received by grace. Luke 3:3,8; 5:32; 13:3,5; 15:7,10; 24:47.
Forgiveness Of Sins
Approved rendering: पापको क्षमा
Transliteration: papko kshama
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: माफी (alone)
Original: ἄφεσις ἁμαρτιῶν
Category: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
क्षमा paired with baseline पाप conveys pardon with theological weight beyond the weaker everyday माफी. Luke 1:77; 3:3; 24:47.
Liberty
Approved rendering: छुटकारा
Transliteration: chhutkara
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Rejected alternatives: मुक्ति, मुक्त पार्नु
Original: ἄφεσις
Category: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
NEVER मुक्ति or मुक्त पार्नु, which risk being heard through the Hindu मुक्ति/मोक्ष liberation-from-rebirth lens. Proclaimed to captives and the oppressed in the core passage, Luke 4:18.
Poor
Approved rendering: गरीब
Transliteration: garib
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Rejected alternatives: दरिद्र, भिखारी
Original: πτωχός
Category: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Must retain both economic and social-marginalization force, given caste-linked economic hierarchy historically embedded in Nepali society. Luke 4:18; 6:20; 7:22; 14:13; 16:20.
Anointed
Approved rendering: अभिषेक गर्नु
Transliteration: abhishek garnu
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Original: χρίω
Category: Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
अभिषेक is also the standard Hindu term for ritual/royal consecration, historically including Shah-king coronation anointing. Context must specify a unique, non-repeatable Spirit-commissioning of Jesus, never a repeatable royal or priestly ritual. Luke 4:18.
Acceptable Year Of The Lord
Approved rendering: परमप्रभुको अनुग्रहको वर्ष
Transliteration: Parameshwarko anugrahako barsha
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Rejected alternatives: पुण्य वर्ष
Original: ἐνιαυτὸν Κυρίου δεκτόν
Category: Kingdom of God Present and Future
पुण्य वर्ष implies an astrologically/religiously auspicious, merit-linked calendar year in Hindu almanac tradition. Must be tied to अनुग्रह (unmerited favor). Luke 4:19.
Fulfilled
Approved rendering: पूरा भएको छ
Transliteration: pura bhayeko chha
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy and Inspiration of Scripture
Original: πληρόω (πεπλήρωται)
Category: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Perfect-tense claim of a completed, once-for-all accomplishment of prophetic Scripture; must retain the linear-historical sense against cyclical yuga/rebirth cosmological frameworks. Luke 4:21; 24:44.
Unclean Spirit Demon
Approved rendering: अशुद्ध आत्मा / भूत
Transliteration: ashuddha atma / bhut
Doctrine: Spiritual Conflict and Deliverance
Original: πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον / δαιμόνιον
Category: Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Must be distinguished from Nepal’s shamanic (jhankri) folk-spirit frameworks (bhut-pret, masan) and jhar-phuk exorcism ritual, which negotiate with or appease spirits rather than commanding sovereign, word-based expulsion. Luke 4:33; 8:27-33; 9:42; 11:14-24.
Disciple
Approved rendering: चेला
Transliteration: chela
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Rejected alternatives: अनुयायी
Original: μαθητής
Category: Cost and Joy of Discipleship
चेला shares vocabulary with the Hindu/Buddhist guru-chela apprenticeship tradition; discipleship to Jesus must be framed as covenantal allegiance to the divine Lord, not apprenticeship to one teacher among many equally valid gurus or lamas. Luke 5:1-11; 6:13,17; 9:1-6; 14:26-33.
Table Fellowship
Approved rendering: सँगै खाना खाने / सहभोजन
Transliteration: sangai khana khane / sahabhojan
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
Original: συνανάκειμαι
Category: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
Directly and concretely subverts caste-based commensality restrictions historically codified in Nepal’s Muluki Ain (in force until 1963). Luke 5:29-30; 7:36-50; 15:1-2; 19:1-10.
Compassion
Approved rendering: दयाभाव राख्नु
Transliteration: dayabhav rakhnu
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
Rejected alternatives: करुणा
Original: σπλαγχνίζομαι
Category: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
करुणा must be avoided; it is the central Buddhist virtue associated with the bodhisattva ideal (Karunamaya/Avalokiteśvara, prominent in Kathmandu Valley Newar Buddhism), denoting detached universal benevolence rather than Jesus’ personal, visceral, particular pity. Luke 7:13; 10:33; 15:20.
Samaritan
Approved rendering: सामरी
Transliteration: Samari
Doctrine: Unity of Jews, Gentiles, and Social Outsiders
Original: Σαμαρίτης
Category: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
An ethnic-religious outsider group deliberately shown acting rightly; draws a direct, teachable parallel to caste-outsider (Dalit) status in the Nepali context. Luke 9:52-56; 10:33; 17:16.
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: अनन्त जीवन
Transliteration: anant jiwan
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Original: ζωὴ αἰώνιος
Category: Kingdom of God Present and Future
Must be distinguished from both मोक्ष (liberation from rebirth) and निर्वाण (cessation of self); unending personal, relational life with a personal God. Luke 10:25; 18:18,30.
Prayer
Approved rendering: प्रार्थना
Transliteration: prarthana
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
Rejected alternatives: पूजा
Original: προσευχή
Category: Prayer and Dependence on God
Never पूजा (ritual, mediated, offering-based invocation of a deity, often through a priest/pujari). Direct, personal, dependent address to a personal Father. Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:28-29; 11:1-4; 18:1; 22:41-46.
Hades
Approved rendering: पातालपुरी
Transliteration: patalpuri
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Rejected alternatives: नरक
Original: ᾍδης
Category: Kingdom of God Present and Future
Never नरक in a way assimilating it to the Hindu/Buddhist temporary hell-realm endured before rebirth. पातालपुरी is itself an existing Puranic term for a nāga-underworld and carries residual mythological-geography risk requiring mandatory contextual disambiguation; Hades is part of a linear, one-time judgment narrative, not a station within samsara. Luke 16:23.
Kingdom In Your Midst
Approved rendering: तिमीहरूको माझमा
Transliteration: timiharuko majhma
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Rejected alternatives: भित्र
Original: ἐντὸς ὑμῶν
Category: Kingdom of God Present and Future
Must NOT be rendered भित्र (individually ‘within’), which would assimilate the kingdom to Buddhist inner-enlightenment attainment or the Hindu antaryāmin inner-divine-spark concept. The corporate, Christ-centered ‘in your midst’ sense must control. Luke 17:20-21.
Body Blood
Approved rendering: शरीर / रगत
Transliteration: sharir / ragat
Doctrine: New Covenant and Atonement
Original: σῶμα / αἷμα
Category: Covenant
Must be framed as a completed, once-for-all sacrifice, not a repeated ritual blood-offering (bali) as practiced at temples such as Dakshinkali. Luke 22:19-20.
Paradise
Approved rendering: स्वर्ग
Transliteration: swarga
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Original: παράδεισος
Category: Kingdom of God Present and Future
स्वर्ग is also the standard Nepali word for the impermanent Hindu svarga-loka, a temporary heavenly reward preceding further rebirth; this carries residual collision risk requiring mandatory contextual disambiguation. Paradise here is permanent, personal presence with the risen Christ. Luke 23:43.
Witnesses
Approved rendering: साक्षी
Transliteration: sakshi
Doctrine: Evangelism and Witness
Original: μάρτυς
Category: Evangelism and Witness
Must be framed as truthful eyewitness testimony, distinguished from active recruitment-style proselytizing, given Nepal’s 2017 Muluki Criminal Code provisions restricting religious conversion. Luke 24:48.
Ascension
Approved rendering: स्वर्गारोहण
Transliteration: swargarohan
Doctrine: Ascension of Christ
Original: ἀναλαμβάνω (ἀνελήμφθη)
Category: Kingdom of God Present and Future
A unique, historical, bodily event, not a generic mystical/yogic ascent or an apotheosis narrative (a mortal elevated to join the ranks of the gods) found in regional mythological tradition. Luke 24:50-53.
Redemption
Approved rendering: छुटकारा
Transliteration: chhutkara
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Original: λύτρωσις
Category: Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Same term family as liberty/ἄφεσις (4:18); must not be rendered with a word implying mere generic release without the covenantal, costly-deliverance sense. Announced by Zechariah and Anna. Luke 1:68; 2:38.
Medium Risk Terms
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: परमेश्वरको राज्य
Transliteration: Parameshwarko Rajya
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
God’s sovereign reign, not a territorial or dynastic kingdom, given Nepal’s own recent monarchic history. Luke’s central organizing theme (4:43; 8:1; 17:20-21; 19:11; 21:31). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Church
Approved rendering: मण्डली
Transliteration: mandali
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: मन्दिर, गुम्बा
Original: ἐκκλησία (anticipated)
Category: Church
Never मन्दिर (temple) or गुम्बा (gompa). Anticipated in the sending of the Seventy and the disciples’ commissioning (10:1-12; 24:47-49), fulfilled in Acts. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: अन्यजाति
Transliteration: anyajati
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: विदेशी
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Non-Jewish peoples, explicitly included in Jesus’ mission scope (2:32; 24:47) and Simeon’s prophecy. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Peace
Approved rendering: शान्ति
Transliteration: shanti
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: सुख
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Announced by angels (2:14), pronounced over the sinful woman (7:50), contrasted with discipleship’s temporal division (12:51-53). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Israel
Approved rendering: इस्राएल
Transliteration: Israel
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
The covenant people, object of Simeon’s and Zechariah’s hope of redemption (1:68; 2:32,34). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Apostle
Approved rendering: प्रेरित
Transliteration: prerit
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: दूत
Distinguish from a generic guru or lama-style spiritual teacher role. Applied to the Twelve (6:13; 9:10; 11:49; 17:5; 22:14; 24:10). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Abba
Approved rendering: अब्बा
Transliteration: Abba
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Preserve the Aramaic transliteration. Note: Abba does not occur directly in Luke’s Greek text (Luke 22:42 uses simple ‘Father’); retained here only for cross-referential consistency in supplementary study materials that draw the Gethsemane/Romans 8 parallel. Inherited from Romans package.
Mission
Approved rendering: सुसमाचार प्रचार
Transliteration: susamachar prachar
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Open evangelism carries concrete, current legal risk under Nepal’s 2017 Muluki Criminal Code. Relevant to the sending of the Seventy (10:1-12) and the Great Commission charge (24:47-49). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Most High
Approved rendering: सर्वोच्च (परमेश्वर)
Transliteration: sarvochcha (Parameshwar)
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: Ὕψιστος
Category: God
A title for the one true God, not ‘supreme’ within a ranked pantheon as in Hindu ishta-devata frameworks. Luke 1:32,35,76; 6:35; 8:28.
Angel
Approved rendering: स्वर्गदूत
Transliteration: swargadut
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Rejected alternatives: देवता
Original: ἄγγελος
Category: Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
Never देवता (a Hindu deity/demigod); angels are created, sent messengers, never independent divine beings. Gabriel (1:11,26) and the angels at the birth and resurrection (2:9-15; 24:4,23).
Baptism
Approved rendering: बप्तिस्मा
Transliteration: baptisma
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: डुबाइ
Original: βάπτισμα
Category: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
डुबाइ (generic immersion) loses the ordinance’s covenantal meaning. John’s baptism of repentance in preparation for the Messiah. Luke 3:3,16,21.
Today
Approved rendering: आज
Transliteration: aaj
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Present and Future
Original: σήμερον
Category: Kingdom of God Present and Future
Luke’s signature marker of the present, decisive arrival of God’s saving action; must be flagged wherever functioning theologically, not merely as a calendar reference. Luke 2:11; 4:21; 19:9; 23:43.
Sinners
Approved rendering: पापी
Transliteration: papi
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
Original: ἁμαρτωλός
Category: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
Derived from baseline पाप. Levi’s tax-collector associates and others Jesus deliberately seeks out. Luke 5:8,30; 7:37; 15:1-2; 18:13.
Fasting
Approved rendering: उपवास
Transliteration: upavas
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Rejected alternatives: तप
Original: νηστεύω
Category: Cost and Joy of Discipleship
उपवास overlaps with Hindu merit-earning ascetic vocabulary (तप); biblical fasting is voluntary, Spirit-led discipline, not merit-accruing austerity. Luke 5:33-35; 18:12.
Blessed
Approved rendering: धन्य
Transliteration: dhanya
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Rejected alternatives: भाग्यशाली
Original: μακάριος
Category: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
भाग्यशाली implies fate/luck; biblical blessedness is God’s sovereign favor, not chance fortune or accumulated merit. Luke 1:45; 6:20-22; 7:23; 11:28; 14:14-15.
Woe
Approved rendering: धिक्कार
Transliteration: dhikkar
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Original: οὐαί
Category: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Reversal-of-status judgment pronouncement paired with the Beatitudes. Luke 6:24-26; 11:42-52.
Mercy
Approved rendering: दया
Transliteration: daya
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
Original: ἔλεος
Category: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
Distinct from अनुग्रह (unmerited saving favor); दया is compassionate kindness shown toward those in need. Luke 1:50,54,58,72,78; 6:36.
Neighbor
Approved rendering: छिमेकी
Transliteration: chhimeki
Doctrine: Unity of Jews, Gentiles, and Social Outsiders
Original: πλησίον
Category: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
An active, boundary-crossing category, not a fixed ethnic/religious in-group. Luke 10:27-37.
Hypocrisy
Approved rendering: पाखण्ड
Transliteration: pakhand
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Original: ὑπόκρισις
Category: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Targets Jesus’ own first-century Jewish religious context; not a polemic against any present-day Nepali religious community. Luke 11:37-52; 12:1.
Treasure
Approved rendering: धन-सम्पत्ति (खजाना)
Transliteration: dhan-sampatti (khajana)
Doctrine: Wealth, Possessions, and the Poor
Original: θησαυρός
Category: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Wealth stored for false security, contrasted with treasure secured with God. Luke 12:16-21,33-34.
Division
Approved rendering: विभाजन
Transliteration: vibhajan
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Original: διαμερισμός
Category: Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Deliberately contrasted with baseline शान्ति; discipleship secures ultimate peace with God even while provoking temporal familial division. Luke 12:51-53.
Humble Exalted
Approved rendering: नम्र हुनु / उच्च पारिनु
Transliteration: namra hunu / uchcha parinu
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Original: ταπεινόω / ὑψόω
Category: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
God-determined status reversal, not self-promotion or socially conferred honor. Luke 14:11; 18:14.
Count The Cost
Approved rendering: लगानी (मूल्य) गन्नु
Transliteration: lagani (mulya) gannu
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Original: ψηφίζω τὴν δαπάνην
Category: Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Deliberate calculation before costly commitment; direct textual anchor for the discipleship-cost doctrine. Luke 14:28-33.
Lost
Approved rendering: हराएको
Transliteration: haraeko
Doctrine: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
Original: ἀπόλλυμι (ἀπολωλός)
Category: Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners
Sought and joyfully restored, not abandoned to impersonal fate or karmic consequence. Luke 15:4,6,24,32; 19:10.
Joy
Approved rendering: आनन्द
Transliteration: anand
Doctrine: The Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Original: χαρά
Category: Cost and Joy of Discipleship
Shares its lexical form with Vedantic sat-chit-ānanda and Buddhist meditative bliss; must remain event-anchored to a specific act of God (a sinner’s repentance, the resurrection), never an abstract achieved inner state. Luke 15:7,10,32; 24:41,52.
Mammon
Approved rendering: धन
Transliteration: dhan
Doctrine: Wealth, Possessions, and the Poor
Original: μαμωνᾶς
Category: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Wealth personified as a rival power/master competing for ultimate allegiance. Luke 16:9,11,13.
Vindication Justice
Approved rendering: न्याय
Transliteration: nyaya
Doctrine: Prayer and Dependence on God
Original: ἐκδίκησις
Category: Prayer and Dependence on God
God’s certain, if seemingly delayed, response to persistent prayer, not a fatalistic ‘things balance out’ reading. Luke 18:3,7-8.
Authority
Approved rendering: अधिकार
Transliteration: adhikar
Doctrine: Authority and Government
Original: ἐξουσία
Category: Contextual (Government/Authority)
Distinguishes legitimate civil obedience from ultimate allegiance owed to God alone; sensitive given Nepal’s historical entanglement of monarchy and state religion. Luke 20:1-8,20-26; 23:1-25.
Cornerstone
Approved rendering: कुनाको मुख्य ढुङ्गा
Transliteration: kunako mukhya dhunga
Doctrine: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Original: κεφαλὴ γωνίας
Category: Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People
Messianic image (Psalm 118): Jesus, rejected by the religious establishment, becomes the foundation of God’s true building. Luke 20:17.
Signs
Approved rendering: चिन्ह
Transliteration: chinha
Doctrine: Eschatological Judgment and Signs
Original: σημεῖον
Category: Kingdom of God Present and Future
Must be distinguished from ज्योतिषीय शकुन/संकेत (astrological omens), widespread in Nepali folk practice; biblical signs are historically anchored, Christ-centered markers. Luke 21:11,25.
Passover
Approved rendering: निस्तार चाड
Transliteration: Nistar Chad
Doctrine: New Covenant and Atonement
Original: πάσχα
Category: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Ties Jesus’ death directly to Israel’s foundational Exodus-deliverance narrative; the setting of the Last Supper. Luke 22:1,7-15.
Temple Curtain Torn
Approved rendering: मन्दिरको पर्दा च्यातियो
Transliteration: mandirko parda chyatiyo
Doctrine: Unity of Jews, Gentiles, and Social Outsiders
Original: τὸ καταπέτασμα ἐσχίσθη
Category: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Symbolizes removal of the ritual-purity access barrier between people and God’s presence. Luke 23:45.
Temple
Approved rendering: मन्दिर
Transliteration: mandir
Doctrine: Contextual
Original: ἱερόν
Category: Contextual
Used only for the literal historical Jerusalem Temple; never a synonym for मण्डली (church). Luke 2:27,46; 19:45-47; 21:5; 24:53.
Divine Visitation
Approved rendering: भेट/याद गर्नु
Transliteration: bhet/yaad garnu
Doctrine: Divine Providence and Visitation
Rejected alternatives: भाग्य
Original: ἐπισκέπτομαι
Category: Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History
God’s personal, purposive intervention in history, never भाग्य (fate) or the impersonal law of karma. Luke 1:68,78; 7:16; 19:44.
Wrath
Approved rendering: क्रोध
Transliteration: krodh
Doctrine: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
Original: ὀργή
Category: Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins
God’s righteous judgment against sin; must retain real judicial seriousness, the judgment repentance turns a person away from. Luke 3:7.
Devil
Approved rendering: दियाबल / शैतान
Transliteration: diyabal / shaitan
Doctrine: Spiritual Conflict and Deliverance
Original: διάβολος
Category: Spiritual Conflict and Deliverance
A real, personal spiritual adversary, not a mythological trickster-figure or impersonal evil force. Luke 4:2-13; 8:12; 22:3.
Tax Collectors
Approved rendering: महसुल असुल गर्ने
Transliteration: mahsul asul garne
Doctrine: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
Original: τελώνης
Category: Good News to the Poor and Marginalized
A despised, socially marginal occupation repeatedly named among recipients of Jesus’ good news. Luke 3:12; 5:27-30; 7:29; 15:1; 18:10-14; 19:2.
Cleansed
Approved rendering: शुद्ध पारियो
Transliteration: shuddha pariyo
Doctrine: Contextual (Healing/Social Restoration)
Original: καθαρίζω
Category: Contextual (Healing/Social Restoration)
Literal ritual/physical-purity healing context; not to be confused with पवित्र (holy/moral sanctification) in this specific medical-ritual sense. Luke 5:12-14; 17:14-17.
Sabbath
Approved rendering: शबाथ
Transliteration: shabath
Doctrine: Sabbath, Law, and Mercy
Original: σάββατον
Category: Law and Grace
Establishes Jesus as a faithful, Torah-observant Jew, not a religious innovator detached from Scripture; tests whether mercy or rigid rule-keeping defines true Sabbath observance. Luke 4:16,31; 6:1-11; 13:10-17; 14:1-6; 23:56.
Low Risk Terms
Prophet
Approved rendering: अगमवक्ता
Transliteration: agamavakta
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: ज्योतिषी
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Isaiah, John the Baptist, and Jesus himself are named prophets (1:76; 4:24; 7:16; 24:19). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: अगमवाणी
Transliteration: agamavani
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
God-inspired declaration, fulfilled especially in the birth songs and the Nazareth sermon (4:16-21). Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: सहभागिता
Transliteration: sahabhagita
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: मित्रता
Original: κοινωνία (implicit in shared table/community life)
Category: Church
Shared participation among disciples and with Christ, reflected in shared meals and community life. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
David
Approved rendering: दाऊद
Transliteration: Daud
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
King David, ancestor of Jesus and referent of covenant promise. Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly for Luke curriculum.
Synagogue
Approved rendering: सभाघर
Transliteration: sabhaghar
Doctrine: Contextual
Original: συναγωγή
Category: Contextual
Distinct from मन्दिर (temple) and मण्डली (church). Luke 4:16,33; 6:6.
Referenced passages