Core Glossary
08 — Core Glossary: 1 Peter (Persian)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, covering 1 Peter chapters 1–5 in full. Terms already recorded in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked [BASELINE REUSE] and their recorded Persian rendering is enforced exactly, with no alternative permitted, per the hard-rule mandate. Newly introduced terms are proposed here for entry into an updated translation_memory.json in a later Phase 1 step, with provisional risk tiers assigned using the same Critical/High/Medium/Low framework as doctrine_risk_registry.json.
Section 1 — Terms Reused Exactly from the Romans Baseline
| English term | Persian (enforced) | Transliteration | Risk (baseline) | 1 Peter occurrences | Reuse note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | خدا | Khoda | Critical | Throughout (1:2,3,5…) | No change; native pre-Islamic term retained. |
| Jesus | عیسی | Isa | Critical | Throughout | No change. |
| Christ / Messiah | مسیح | Masih | Critical | Throughout (~20 occurrences) | No change; Mahdi-displacement caution applies at every occurrence, especially 1:7,13 (ἀποκάλυψις), 3:15-16, 4:13-16. |
| Lord | خداوند | Khodavand | Critical | 1:3,25; 2:3,13; 3:15 | Reserved exclusively for the divine title. Do not use for 3:6’s κύριος (Sarah calling Abraham “lord”) — see new “lord (domestic/human sense)” entry below. |
| Father | پدر | pedar | Critical | 1:2,3,17 | No change. |
| Holy Spirit | روحالقدس | Ruh-ol-Qods | Critical | 1:2,12; 4:14 | No change. |
| Resurrection | قیامت | qiyamat | Critical | 1:3; 3:21 | No change; affirm bodily/historical sense against 3:18’s “made alive in spirit” ambiguity. |
| Grace | فیض | feyz | High | 1:2,10,13; 3:7; 4:10; 5:5,10,12 | No change except 2:19-20, where χάρις means “commendable/praiseworthy” — do not use فیض there; see new entry below. |
| Faith | ایمان | iman | High | 1:5,7,9,21; 5:9 | No change. |
| Salvation | نجات | nejat | Critical | 1:5,9,10; 2:2 | No change; Karbala/martyrdom-intercession distinction applies. |
| Apostle | رسول | rasul | High | 1:1 | No change. |
| Called / Calling | دعوتشده / دعوت | da’vat-shode / da’vat | High/Medium | 1:15; 2:9,21; 3:9; 5:10 | No change. |
| Holy | مقدس | moqaddas | Medium | 1:15-16; 2:5,9; 3:5 | No change. |
| Sanctification | تقدیس | taqdis | High | 1:2; 3:15 (combined with خداوند) | No change. |
| Peace | سلام | salam | Medium | 1:2; 3:11; 5:14 | No change; never آرامش. |
| Spiritual gifts | عطایای روحانی | ’ataya-ye ruhani | Medium | 4:10 | No change. |
| Glory | جلال | jalal | Medium | 1:7,8,11,21,24; 2:12; 4:11,13,14,16; 5:1,4,10 | No change; note the high recurrence rate makes 1 Peter unusually جلال-dense compared to Romans — consistent rendering across all occurrences is essential. |
| Gentiles | غیریهودیان | gheyr-yahudian | Medium | 2:12 | No change. |
| Prophet / Prophecy | پیامبر / نبوت | payambar / nabovat | High/Low | 1:10-12 | No change. |
| Election (root) | برگزیدگی خدا / برگزیده | bargozidegi-ye khoda / bargozide | High | 1:1-2; 2:9; 5:13 | No change; adjectival “elect” (برگزیده) used at 1:1, 2:9. |
| Power of God | قدرت خدا | qodrat-e khoda | Medium | 1:5 | No change. |
| Exhort | تشویق کردن | tashviq kardan | Low | 5:1 (παρακαλῶ) | No change. |
| Sin | گناه | gonah | High | Throughout (2:22,24; 3:18; 4:1,8,18) | No change; Chinvat Bridge/fitrah cautions apply throughout, intensified at 2:24’s substitutionary bearing. |
Notable absences from 1 Peter (do not insert): کلیسا (church/ἐκκλησία), ملکوت خدا (kingdom of God/βασιλεία), عهد (covenant/διαθήκη), ناموس (law/νόμος), داوود (David), اسرائیل (Israel), “پسر خدا” as a fixed titular phrase (Sonship is present relationally but not as this exact title), شفاعت (intercession — not explicit in 1 Peter’s own vocabulary, though 3:22’s exaltation implies it).
Section 2 — New Terms Introduced by 1 Peter (proposed for translation memory)
Doctrine: The Living Hope of the Resurrection
| English term | Persian | Transliteration | Risk | Passages | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living hope | امید زنده | omid-e zande | High | 1:3 | Anchor term of the curriculum; must be taught as grounded in the accomplished resurrection-fact, not general optimism or Islamic rajā’. |
| Inheritance | میراث | miras | Critical | 1:4; 3:7 | CRITICAL: میراث is the live operative term for Quranic fixed-share inheritance law (4:11-12); must be taught as a non-apportioned, unforfeitable heavenly inheritance, cross-referenced with baseline’s “adoption” Critical entry. |
| Imperishable / undefiled / unfading | نابودنشدنی / بیآلایش / تغییرناپذیر | na-bud-nashodani / bi-aalayesh / taghyir-napazir | Medium | 1:4,18,23; 3:4; 5:4 | Keep one consistent rendering per adjective across all recurrences. |
| Guarded | محفوظ نگاهداشتهشده | mahfuz negah-dashte-shode | Low | 1:5 | Military-garrison metaphor. |
| Trial(s) / testing | آزمایش | azmayesh | Medium | 1:6; 4:12 | Context-disambiguate “hardship-testing” vs. “temptation to sin.” |
| Tested genuineness (of faith) | خلوص آزمودهشده | kholus-e azmude-shode | High | 1:7 | Fire-refining metaphor; Zoroastrian fire-purification resonance — asset and risk. |
| Revelation/appearing (of Christ) | ظهور | zohur | Critical | 1:7,13 | CRITICAL: ظهور is the fixed technical term for the Hidden Twelfth Imam’s awaited reappearance; Christ’s own primary, exclusive return must be repeatedly asserted at every occurrence. |
| Joy / rejoice | شادی | shadi | Medium | 1:6,8 | Prefer شادی over وجد (Sufi ecstatic-state term). |
| Love (agape) | محبت | mohabbat | High | 1:8,22; 4:8 | Never عشق (Sufi mystical/erotic devotional-love term). |
| Soul | جان | jan | Medium | 1:9; 4:19 | Prefer جان over نفس (Sufi/Islamic “lower self” term, e.g. nafs al-ammara). |
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Suffering / Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake
| English term | Persian | Transliteration | Risk | Passages | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suffering (of Christ / of believers) | رنج / رنج کشیدن | ranj / ranj keshidan | Critical | 1:11; 2:19-23; 3:14,17-18; 4:1,13,15,19; 5:1,9-10 | The book’s central, pervasive term; must keep Christ’s substitutionary suffering and believers’ exemplary/participatory suffering doctrinally distinct from each other and both distinct from the Karbala/Ashura martyrdom-suffering-intercession paradigm. |
| Sufferings of Christ | رنجهای مسیح | ranj-ha-ye Masih | Critical | 1:11; 4:13; 5:1 | See above. |
| Ransomed / redeemed | فدا شدید / فدیه | feda shodid / fediyeh | Critical | 1:18 | CRITICAL: direct lexical overlap with Quranic fidyah (37:107; Ramadan fidyah payments) — teach as a once-for-all personal ransom for sin’s guilt, not a repeatable ritual-compensation category. |
| Precious blood (of Christ) | خون گرانبها | khun-e geran-baha | Medium | 1:19 | |
| Lamb without blemish or spot | بره بیعیب و بیلک | barreh-ye bi-eyb-o-bi-lak | Medium-High | 1:19 | Positive bridge (Eid Qorban familiarity with sacrificial lambs) requiring explicit once-for-all/sinless distinction from repeated ritual sacrifice. |
| Bore our sins (substitutionary) | گناهان ما را بر خود گرفت | gonahan-e ma ra bar khod gereft | Critical | 2:24 | Inverse mirror of baseline’s “imputed_righteousness” Critical entry — sin, not righteousness, transferred onto Christ. |
| Healed (spiritual, Isa 53:5) | شفا یافتید | shafa yaftid | Medium | 2:24 | Must retain Isaiah 53 spiritual-healing-from-sin referent; do not detach as a general physical-healing proof-text. |
| Example / pattern (hypogrammos) | سرمشق / نمونه | sarmashq / nemune | Medium-High | 2:21 | Preserve BOTH exemplary and substitutionary senses together; exemplary sense alone risks reinforcing the Hussein-as-exemplar devotional pattern. |
| Suffer for righteousness’ sake | رنج کشیدن برای عدالت | ranj keshidan baraye edalat | Critical | 3:14 | Combines عدالت [BASELINE REUSE, Critical] with the suffering entry. |
| Once for all | یکبار برای همیشه | yek bar baraye hamishe | Critical | 3:18 | Must convey unmistakable finality/non-repeatability, contrasting with annually-repeated Ashura commemoration. |
| Substitution “for/on behalf of” (hyper) | بهجای / برای | be-jaye / baraye | High | 3:18 | Preserve substitutionary (“in place of”), not merely benefactive, force. |
| Put to death in flesh, made alive in spirit | کشته شد در جسم، زنده شد در روح | koshte shod dar jesm, zende shod dar ruh | High | 3:18 | Must not read as a merely non-bodily/“ghostly” survival; affirm bodily resurrection. |
| Fiery trial | آزمایش آتشین | azmayesh-e atashin | High | 4:12 | Reuse 1:7’s fire-testing/Zoroastrian resonance note. |
| Share/participate in Christ’s sufferings | در رنجهای مسیح مشارکت کردن | dar ranj-ha-ye Masih mosharekat kardan | Critical | 4:13 | CRITICAL: combines باseline’s “fellowship” (مشارکت) root with suffering; structurally parallel to Ashura ritual “sharing” in Hussein’s suffering (sineh-zani/qama-zani) — most precise Shia-devotional structural echo in the whole book. |
| Reproached for the name of Christ | به خاطر نام مسیح سرزنش شدن | be khater-e nam-e Masih sarzanesh shodan | Medium-High | 4:14 | Honor/shame dynamics; social cost for converts. |
| Christian (identity term) | مسیحی | masihi | Critical | 4:16 | CRITICAL: unequal legal/social weight — protected term for ethnic-minority Christians vs. serious apostasy-risk for Muslim-background converts. |
Doctrine: The Church as a Holy and Royal Priesthood
| English term | Persian | Transliteration | Risk | Passages | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living stone | سنگ زنده | sang-e zende | Medium | 2:4 | |
| Cornerstone | سنگ زاویه (برگزیده و گرانبها) | sang-e zaviye | Medium | 2:6 | |
| Spiritual house | خانه روحانی | khane-ye ruhani | Medium | 2:5 | Peter’s ecclesiology-word in place of کلیسا. |
| Holy priesthood | كهانت مقدس | kahanat-e moqaddas | Critical | 2:5 | CRITICAL: universal-believer-priesthood doctrine directly confronts Iran’s constitutionally entrenched clerical-authority hierarchy (Velayat-e Faqih; mullahs, mujtahids, ayatollahs). |
| Royal priesthood | كهانت سلطنتی | kahanat-e saltanati | Critical | 2:9 | Same collision as above, intensified by “royal” framing. |
| Spiritual sacrifices | قربانیهای روحانی | qorbani-haye ruhani | Medium | 2:5 | Must be clearly metaphorical against literal Eid-e Qorban animal-sacrifice associations. |
| Chosen race | نسل برگزیده | nasl-e bargozide | Medium | 2:9 | ”Nasl” = spiritually-constituted people, not ethnic bloodline. |
| Holy nation | قوم مقدس | qom-e moqaddas | Medium | 2:9 | Prefer قوم over ملت to avoid nationalist-political overtones. |
| A people for his possession | قوم خاص خدا | qom-e khas-e khoda | Medium | 2:9 | Handle with same care as baseline’s “unity_of_jews_and_gentiles” — not political commentary. |
| Household of God | خانواده خدا | khanevade-ye khoda | Medium | 4:17 | Positive fit with literal house-church reality. |
Doctrine: Submission to Authority and Christlike Endurance
| English term | Persian | Transliteration | Risk | Passages | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Submit / submission | تابع بودن / اطاعت کردن | tabe’ budan / eta’at kardan | High | 2:13,18; 3:1,5,22; 5:5 | Cross-cutting term across civil, domestic, cosmic, and ecclesial relations; must not be conflated with Islam’s foundational submission-as-religious-identity concept (the very name “Islam”), nor become the ground rather than the fruit of standing before God (cf. baseline’s obedience_of_faith caution). |
| King / emperor (human) | پادشاه | padeshah | Medium | 2:13,17 | Keep distinct from Iran’s own present state-office titles (Supreme Leader/Vali-ye Faqih). |
| Servants/slaves; masters | خادمان / غلامان … اربابان | khademan/gholaman … arbaban | Medium | 2:18 | Historically-situated instruction. |
| Grace (commendable sense, NOT soteriological) | پسندیده / قابل ستایش | pasandide / qabel-e setayesh | High | 2:19-20 | Do NOT render as فیض here; distinct sense of χάρις. |
| Lord (domestic/human sense, NOT divine title) | آقا | aqa | Critical | 3:6 | CRITICAL: do not use خداوند (reserved for Christ’s exclusive divine Lordship per baseline) for Sarah’s address to Abraham. |
| Weaker vessel | ظرف ضعیفتر | zarf-e za’if-tar | Medium | 3:7 | Gender-sensitive; balance with “joint heirs” (equal standing). |
| Gentle and quiet spirit | روح ملایم و آرام | ruh-e molayem va aram | Medium | 3:4 | |
| Will of God | خواست خدا / اراده خدا | khast-e khoda | Medium-High | 2:15; 3:17; 4:2,19 | Distinguish from folk qadar-fatalism. |
| Good conscience | وجدان پاک | vejdan-e pak | Low-Medium | 3:16,21 | |
| Defense / apologia | پاسخ / دفاع | pasokh / defa’ | High | 3:15 | Real safety-context weight for underground house-church apologetics. |
Doctrine: Christ’s Proclamation to the Spirits (1 Peter 3:18-22)
| English term | Persian | Transliteration | Risk | Passages | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proclaimed (kēryssō, distinct from euangelizō) | اعلام کرد | e’lam kard | Critical | 3:19 | Do NOT render as بشارت داد (“evangelized/gave good news”) — avoid implying a post-mortem salvation-offer. |
| Spirits in prison | روحهای زندانی / ارواح در بند | ruh-haye zendani | Critical | 3:19 | CRITICAL: direct collision with active Iranian folk-Islamic jinn (اجنه/جن) belief-paradigm; teach as fallen angelic beings from Noah’s era (cf. 2 Pet 2:4, Jude 6), not deceased human souls or jinn. |
| Noah | نوح | Nuh | Medium | 3:20 | Shared Quranic prophet; Quranic account lacks the angelic-imprisonment background presupposed here. |
| Baptism | تعمید | ta’mid | Critical | 3:21 | CRITICAL: preserve Peter’s own explicit disclaimer (“not a removal of dirt from the body”) with full force against Iranian wudu/ghusl ritual-purification associations. |
| Gospel preached to the dead | به مردگان بشارت داده شد | be mordegan besharat dade shod | Critical | 4:6 | Distinct verb/issue from 3:19; must not, together with 3:19, appear to teach a second chance for salvation after death. |
| Right hand of God / angels, authorities, powers subjected | دست راست خدا / فرشتگان، قدرتها و اختیارات مطیع | dast-e rast-e khoda / fereshtegan… moti’ | Medium | 3:22 | Reinforces Christ’s supremacy over the spirit-world — useful counter to jinn-related folk-belief anxiety. |
Doctrine: Holiness in Conduct
| English term | Persian | Transliteration | Risk | Passages | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sprinkling of blood (covenant-ratification) | پاشیدن خون | pashidan-e khun | High | 1:2 | Requires OT covenant-ratification background teaching (Exod 24:8). |
| Born again / new birth | تولد تازه | tavallod-e tazeh | High | 1:3,23 | Established evangelical Persian self-designation (asset); distinguish from Sufi fana (mystical self-annihilation/rebirth). |
| Word of God (imperishable seed) | کلام خدا | kalam-e khoda | High | 1:23; 4:11 | HIGH: Quran 4:171 applies “Kalimat Allah” as a title to Jesus’s own person; here کلام خدا refers to the gospel-message/scripture, not Christ’s person — must be taught distinctly. |
| Fear (reverent, of God) | ترس (خداترسی) | tars (khoda-tarsi) | Medium | 1:17 | Reverent filial fear, not servile terror or uncertain deeds-weighing anxiety (cf. Islamic taqwa partial bridge). |
| Idolatry | بتپرستی | bot-parasti | Low | 4:3 | Shared opposition-concept with Islamic shirk. |
| Love covers sins (interpersonal, non-atoning) | محبت گناهان بسیار را میپوشاند | mohabbat gonahan-e besyar ra mipushanad | High | 4:8 | Must not be read as a rival atonement-mechanism. |
| Hospitality | مهماننوازی | mehman-navazi | Low | 4:9 | Positive Persian cultural-value bridge. |
| Faithful Creator | خالق امین | khaleq-e amin | Medium | 4:19 | Positive bridge (Al-Khaliq, one of the 99 Names) + personal-trust reinforcement. |
| Spirit of Christ | روح مسیح | ruh-e Masih | High | 1:11 | Sharper Trinitarian claim than “Holy Spirit” alone — identifies the Spirit’s OT activity as Christ’s own. |
Doctrine: Elders and Humility
| English term | Persian | Transliteration | Risk | Passages | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elders | کشیشان | keshishan | High | 5:1,5 | Rejected alternative: مشایخ/شیخ — collides with Shia clerical rank AND Sufi spiritual-master title; either undermines the priesthood-of-all-believers doctrine. |
| Shepherd the flock / exercise oversight | شبانی کردن / نظارت کردن | shabani kardan / nezarat kardan | Medium | 5:2; 2:25 | نظارت کردن preferred over سرپرستی (already rejected in baseline as too weak, for “adoption”). |
| Not for shameful gain | نه به خاطر سود ناپاک | na be khater-e sud-e napak | Low-Medium | 5:2 | Relevant to unregulated house-church leadership finances. |
| Chief Shepherd | شبان اعظم | shaban-e a’zam | High | 5:4 | Deliberate contrast with Iran’s Supreme Leader (Vali-ye Faqih) office — Christ alone holds ultimate spiritual headship. |
| Unfading crown of glory | تاج جلالِ تغییرناپذیر | taj-e jalal-e taghyir-napazir | Medium | 5:4 | Combines جلال [BASELINE REUSE] with imperishable-cluster term. |
| Humility | تواضع | tavazo’ | Medium | 3:8; 5:5-6 | Positive bridge with Islamic tawadu’; must be taught as Christ-patterned (Prov 3:34 citation), not mere etiquette. |
| Devil | شیطان | Sheytan | Medium | 5:8 | Shared Quranic name (asset); Quranic Iblis-narrative specifics differ and should not be assumed identical. |
| Kiss of love | بوسه محبت | buse-ye mohabbat | Low | 5:14 | Compatible with existing Persian cheek-greeting customs. |
Summary Risk Counts (1 Peter New Terms Only)
| Risk tier | Count |
|---|---|
| Critical | 14 |
| High | 15 |
| Medium | 26 |
| Low | 12 |
| Total new terms | 67 |
This glossary must be merged into an updated translation_memory.json (version increment) before any Phase 2 segment translation of 1 Peter begins, per the Pre-flight Checklist in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md. All Critical and High tier entries above require human theologian review routing; Medium tier entries require native speaker review; Low tier entries require automated review only, per the risk_definitions in doctrine_risk_registry.json.
Critical Risk Terms
Righteousness
Approved rendering: عدالت
Transliteration: edalat
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: پارسایی
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Never پارسایی (Zoroastrian-inflected virtue/piety). In 1 Peter especially linked to suffering (3:14, ‘suffer for righteousness’ sake’) and to Christ’s sin-bearing goal (2:24, ‘that we might live to righteousness’) — must be read as right standing/conduct before God, not an achievement earning that standing.
Salvation
Approved rendering: نجات
Transliteration: nejat
Doctrine: Salvation
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Karbala/Hussein martyrdom-intercession distinction applies with equal or greater force given 1 Peter’s own extensive suffering-then-glory theme. Occurs 1 Peter 1:5,9,10; 2:2.
God
Approved rendering: خدا
Transliteration: Khoda
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: الله
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Throughout 1 Peter, addressed specifically as ‘God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1:3).
Jesus
Approved rendering: عیسی
Transliteration: Isa
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Throughout 1 Peter, almost always paired with مسیح. The Quranic prophet-only, non-crucified, non-divine narrative must be actively corrected at every occurrence, especially given the letter’s heavy emphasis on Christ’s death and resurrection.
Messiah
Approved rendering: مسیح
Transliteration: Masih
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Mahdi-displacement caution intensifies at 1:7,13 (apokalypsis/ظهور), 3:15-16, and 4:13-16, where Christ’s suffering-then-glory pattern must not be absorbed into Shia martyrdom-intercession or Mahdi-centered eschatological expectation.
Lord
Approved rendering: خداوند
Transliteration: Khodavand
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: سرور
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1 Peter 1:3,25; 2:3,13; 3:15. Reserved EXCLUSIVELY for Christ’s divine title. Must NOT be used for 3:6’s domestic kyrios (Sarah addressing Abraham as ‘lord/master’) — see ‘lord_domestic_sense’ below, which is the one point in this letter where the same Greek word appears in a plainly human, non-titular sense.
Father
Approved rendering: پدر
Transliteration: pedar
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1 Peter 1:2,3 (‘Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’) and 1:17 (the Father believers call on).
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: روحالقدس
Transliteration: Ruh-ol-Qods
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1 Peter 1:2,12; 4:14. Created-being-versus-divine-Person distinction (vs. Jibril identification) must be made explicit at every occurrence.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: قیامت
Transliteration: qiyamat
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1 Peter 1:3 (the ground of the living hope) and 3:21 (baptism’s meaning). Must be affirmed as bodily and historical, especially against 3:18’s ‘made alive in spirit’ language, which could otherwise be misread as a non-bodily survival.
Inheritance
Approved rendering: میراث
Transliteration: miras
Doctrine: The Believer’s Heavenly Inheritance
Rejected alternatives: ارث
Original: κληρονομία
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: میراث/ارث is the live, everyday operative term for Quranic fixed-share inheritance law (Surah 4:11-12) governing real Iranian family estate division today. Must be taught as a non-apportioned, unforfeitable heavenly inheritance secured by union with the risen Christ, not a legally-divided estate. Occurs 1:4 and 3:7 (co-heirs).
Revelation Of Christ
Approved rendering: ظهور
Transliteration: zohur
Doctrine: Christ’s Appearing and Eschatological Hope
Rejected alternatives: رجعت, بازگشت
Original: ἀποκάλυψις Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ
Category: Eschatology
CRITICAL: ظهور is the fixed technical term for the Hidden Twelfth Imam’s awaited reappearance (zohur-e Imam-e Zaman) in Twelver Shia eschatology. Lexically standard for apokalypsis in Persian Bible tradition but MUST be fenced with repeated, explicit assertion of Christ’s own primary, exclusive return at every occurrence (1:7, 1:13) — never a role subordinate to or parallel with the Mahdi’s zohur.
Suffering
Approved rendering: رنج / رنج کشیدن
Transliteration: ranj / ranj keshidan
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Suffering / Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake
Rejected alternatives: عذاب, شهادت
Original: πάθημα / πάσχω
Category: Suffering
CRITICAL: the letter’s central, pervasive term (1:11; 2:19-23; 3:14,17-18; 4:1,13,15,19; 5:1,9-10). Must keep Christ’s substitutionary suffering and believers’ exemplary/participatory suffering doctrinally distinct from each other and both distinct from the Twelver Shia Karbala/Ashura martyrdom-suffering-intercession paradigm. Never عذاب (punitive/hellish Quranic connotation) or شهادت (heavily loaded Shia martyrdom term for the Imams’ deaths).
Ransomed Redeemed
Approved rendering: فدا شدید / فدیه
Transliteration: feda shodid / fediyeh
Doctrine: Ransom and Redemption through Christ’s Blood
Rejected alternatives: کفاره, تاوان
Original: ἐλυτρώθητε (λυτρόω)
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: direct lexical overlap with the Quranic fidyah concept (Ishmael’s ram-substitute, Quran 37:107) and the live, ongoing ritual-legal practice of fidyah payments for missed Ramadan obligations (1:18-19). Must be taught as a personal, once-for-all substitutionary payment for sin’s guilt, not a repeatable ritual-compensation category. کفاره explicitly rejected as an even more ritual-legal-loaded expiatory-payment term.
Bore Our Sins
Approved rendering: گناهان ما را بر خود گرفت
Transliteration: gonahan-e ma ra bar khod gereft
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Suffering
Rejected alternatives: کفاره
Original: ἀνήνεγκεν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: the inverse mirror of the Romans baseline’s imputed_righteousness entry — here sin, not righteousness, is transferred onto Christ (2:24, Isaiah 53:12/Leviticus 16 background). A deliberately narrative compound rather than the ritual-legal term کفاره, to avoid smuggling in a repeatable expiatory-payment category.
Once For All
Approved rendering: یکبار برای همیشه
Transliteration: yek bar baraye hamishe
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Suffering
Original: ἅπαξ
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: hapax’s decisive, non-repeatable finality (3:18). Must convey unmistakable finality-language, directly contrasting with the annually re-enacted Twelver Shia Muharram/Ashura mourning rituals. Christ’s suffering is a completed, unrepeatable historical event, not a pattern ritually re-lived.
Share In Christs Sufferings
Approved rendering: در رنجهای مسیح مشارکت کردن
Transliteration: dar ranj-ha-ye Masih mosharekat kardan
Doctrine: Fellowship in Christ’s Sufferings
Rejected alternatives: شریک شدن در رنج
Original: κοινωνεῖτε τοῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παθήμασιν
Category: Suffering
CRITICAL: the single most precise structural echo of Shia devotional practice in the whole book (4:13) — combines the fellowship (مشارکت) root’s shirk-resonance with the suffering (رنج) root’s Karbala-resonance, paralleling Ashura mourning participation (sineh-zani/qama-zani). Must be taught as non-atoning participation-by-analogous-experience, never ritual re-enactment or a means of accruing merit or intercessory benefit. شریک شدن در رنج rejected as intensifying the co-equal-partnership resonance even further.
Christian Identity
Approved rendering: مسیحی
Transliteration: masihi
Doctrine: Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake
Original: Χριστιανός
Category: Church
CRITICAL: unequal legal/social weight in Iran (4:16) — historically the recognized, limited-protection designation for ethnic-minority Christians (Armenian, Assyrian), but a status exposing Muslim-background converts to serious apostasy-related legal and social risk when adopted. Teaching requires explicit awareness of this two-tier real-world distinction.
Holy Priesthood
Approved rendering: كهانت مقدس
Transliteration: kahanat-e moqaddas
Doctrine: The Church as a Holy and Royal Priesthood
Rejected alternatives: روحانیت
Original: ἱεράτευμα ἅγιον
Category: Church
CRITICAL: all believers, without hierarchy, constituted as priests offering spiritual sacrifices directly to God (2:5). Directly confronts Iran’s constitutionally entrenched clerical-authority system (Velayat-e Faqih; ranked mullahs, mujtahids, ayatollahs). روحانیت rejected — it IS the standing everyday term for Iran’s actual ordained clerical class and would collapse the very hierarchy this doctrine dismantles back into a clerical category.
Royal Priesthood
Approved rendering: كهانت سلطنتی
Transliteration: kahanat-e saltanati
Doctrine: The Church as a Holy and Royal Priesthood
Rejected alternatives: روحانیت
Original: βασίλειον ἱεράτευμα
Category: Church
CRITICAL: same collision as holy_priesthood, intensified by the royal/kingly framing (2:9, citing Exodus 19:6), which could otherwise be misread as endorsing a religious-political ruling class rather than describing every believer’s direct access to God.
Lord Domestic Sense
Approved rendering: آقا
Transliteration: aqa
Doctrine: Marriage: Wives, Husbands, and Joint Heirs
Rejected alternatives: خداوند
Original: κύριον αὐτὸν καλοῦσα
Category: Authority
CRITICAL: Sarah’s domestic address of Abraham as ‘lord/master’ (3:6), an ordinary respect-term, NOT the divine title. Do NOT render with خداوند, reserved exclusively for Christ’s supreme, exclusive divine Lordship — using it here would dilute that reservation at the letter’s one point where the same Greek word appears in a plainly human sense.
Proclaimed Heralded
Approved rendering: اعلام کرد
Transliteration: e’lam kard
Doctrine: Christ’s Proclamation to the Spirits
Rejected alternatives: بشارت داد
Original: κηρύσσω (ἐκήρυξεν)
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: keryssō, a general herald/announce verb distinct from euangelizō (evangelize); Christ’s proclamation to the spirits in prison (3:19). MUST NOT be rendered بشارت داد (‘evangelized/gave good news’), which would imply a salvation-offer and teach an unwarranted post-mortem second-chance doctrine.
Spirits In Prison
Approved rendering: روحهای زندانی / ارواح در بند
Transliteration: ruh-haye zendani / arvah dar band
Doctrine: Christ’s Proclamation to the Spirits
Rejected alternatives: اجنه, جن
Original: τὰ ἐν φυλακῇ πνεύματα
Category: Angelology
CRITICAL: most likely fallen angelic beings under judgment-confinement from Noah’s era (3:19-20; cf. 2 Peter 2:4-5, Jude 6), not deceased human souls. Direct collision with the pervasive, active Iranian folk-Islamic jinn belief-paradigm (possession, exorcism, protective amulets, attested in Quran Surah 72); اجنه/جن are forbidden substitutions.
Baptism
Approved rendering: تعمید
Transliteration: ta’mid
Doctrine: Baptism and Its Meaning
Rejected alternatives: غسل تعمید
Original: βάπτισμα
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: the rite that ‘now saves,’ explicitly defined by Peter as ‘an appeal to God for a good conscience,’ not physical washing (3:21). Peter’s own disclaimer clause must be preserved with full force alongside the positive statement, given Iran’s entrenched daily-practice ritual ablutions of wudu (minor) and ghusl (major). غسل تعمید rejected to reduce ghusl-resonance.
Gospel Preached To Dead
Approved rendering: به مردگان نیز بشارت داده شد
Transliteration: be mordegan niz besharat dade shod
Doctrine: Christ’s Proclamation to the Spirits
Original: εὐηγγελίσθη καὶ νεκροῖς
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: must not, together with 3:19, appear to teach a second chance for salvation after death (4:6), especially given popular Shia intercessory practices for the deceased; requires an accompanying doctrinal note distinguishing this euangelizō event from 3:19’s keryssō event.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: انجیل
Transliteration: Injil
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: مژده
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Injil is shared Quranic vocabulary (the revelation given to ‘Isa); the tahrif (corruption) assumption applies equally here. Occurs 1 Peter 1:12,25; 4:6,17. At 4:6 and 4:17 especially, must not be read as offering salvation after death, nor conceded as a corrupted successor to a lost original revelation.
Grace
Approved rendering: فیض
Transliteration: feyz
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: لطف
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Feyz’s Illuminationist/Mulla Sadra emanationist loading must be corrected toward a freely willed, personal gift. Occurs 1 Peter 1:2,10,13; 3:7; 4:10; 5:5,10,12 in the normal soteriological sense. IMPORTANT: 1 Peter 2:19-20 uses the same Greek word (charis) in a distinct, NON-soteriological ‘commendable/praiseworthy’ sense describing endurance of unjust suffering — do NOT use فیض there; see ‘grace_commendable_sense’ below.
Faith
Approved rendering: ایمان
Transliteration: iman
Doctrine: Faith
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Shia Imamate-belief-as-core-article caution applies equally. Occurs 1 Peter 1:5,7,9,21; 5:9, consistently as trust in and reliance on Christ through trial, not creedal assent to a succession doctrine.
Apostle
Approved rendering: رسول
Transliteration: rasul
Doctrine: Apostleship
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Same Imamate-succession competition risk as Romans. Occurs 1 Peter 1:1, Peter’s own self-identified delegated authority for the letter.
Called
Approved rendering: دعوتشده
Transliteration: da’vat-shode
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλητός / καλέω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Context-sensitive across at least three senses in 1 Peter: to holiness (1:15), to this vocation of suffering well (2:21), and to eternal glory (5:10). Direction of address (God calling the person) must remain explicit.
Saints
Approved rendering: مقدسین
Transliteration: moqaddasin
Doctrine: Sainthood
Original: ἅγιοι (implied in ἱεράτευμα ἅγιον, ἔθνος ἅγιον)
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. In 1 Peter the corporate holy-people sense is carried by ‘holy priesthood’/‘holy nation’ language (2:5,9) rather than a bare noun; still corporate, never an ascetic or shrine-venerated elite.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: تقدیس
Transliteration: taqdis
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἁγιασμός
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1 Peter 1:2 (the Spirit’s initiating work at conversion) and 3:15, where it is combined with خداوند (‘sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts’) — both baseline Critical/High terms must appear together without dilution in that verse.
Prophet
Approved rendering: پیامبر
Transliteration: payambar
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1 Peter 1:10-12, the OT prophets who searched out the grace that was to come; finality-of-prophethood caution applies as in Romans.
Election
Approved rendering: برگزیدگی خدا
Transliteration: bargozidegi-ye khoda
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Original: ἐκλεκτός
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Applied to believers as ‘elect exiles’ (1:1), a ‘chosen race’ (2:9), and Peter’s co-worker ‘she who is chosen’ (5:13). Adjectival form برگزیده used at these points. Shia Imamate lineage-succession content must not be imported onto this corporate, faith-based election.
Sin
Approved rendering: گناه
Transliteration: gonah
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. Chinvat Bridge/fitrah cautions intensify at 2:24’s substitutionary sin-bearing (the inverse of Romans’ imputed-righteousness pattern) and recur at 3:18; 4:1,8,18.
Living Hope
Approved rendering: امید زنده
Transliteration: omid-e zande
Doctrine: The Living Hope of the Resurrection
Rejected alternatives: رجا
Original: ἐλπὶς ζῶσα
Category: Eschatology
Anchor term of the entire curriculum’s core passage (1 Peter 1:3). ‘Zande’ (living) must be taught as grounded in an accomplished, historical resurrection-fact, not general optimism or Islamic raja’ (hope held in tension with uncertain final judgment).
Tested Genuineness Of Faith
Approved rendering: خلوص آزمودهشده ایمان
Transliteration: kholus-e azmude-shode-ye iman
Doctrine: Testing and Refining of Faith
Original: τὸ δοκίμιον τῆς πίστεως
Category: Faith
Metallurgical refining metaphor (1:7). Zoroastrianism’s own fire-as-sacred-purification/truth-testing tradition (fire ordeals, the eternal temple flame) is a real cultural resonance — a genuine bridge but also a risk of importing a status-changing ritual-purification framework onto what is providential proving of already-existing faith.
Love Agape
Approved rendering: محبت
Transliteration: mohabbat
Doctrine: The Living Hope of the Resurrection
Rejected alternatives: عشق
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Faith
Committed, willed love for the unseen but historically real risen Christ (1:8) and for fellow believers (1:22; 4:8). Never عشق, the term of Persian Sufi devotional poetry (Rumi, Hafez) for ecstatic, often erotically-figured mystical union with the Divine Beloved.
Lamb Without Blemish
Approved rendering: بره بیعیب و بیلک
Transliteration: barreh-ye bi-eyb-o-bi-lak
Doctrine: Ransom and Redemption through Christ’s Blood
Original: ἀμνὸς ἄμωμος καὶ ἄσπιλος
Category: Salvation
Passover/Isaiah 53 sacrificial-lamb typology (1:19). Positive bridge with Eid-e Qorban familiarity with sacrificial lambs, but requires explicit teaching that this sacrifice is once-for-all and sinless, not a repeated ritual offering.
Example Pattern
Approved rendering: سرمشق / نمونه
Transliteration: sarmashq / nemune
Doctrine: Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake
Original: ὑπογραμμός
Category: Suffering
Schoolroom model-for-exact-imitation term (2:21). The exemplary sense alone risks reinforcing the popular Shia devotional pattern of Imam Hussein as a moral exemplar of righteous suffering to be emulated and mourned; must always be taught together with the substitutionary sense (2:24), never in isolation.
Substitution Hyper
Approved rendering: عادل بهجای ظالمان
Transliteration: adel be-jaye zaleman
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Suffering
Original: δίκαιος ὑπὲρ ἀδίκων
Category: Salvation
hyper’s substitutionary (‘in place of’) force (3:18) must be preserved, not weakened into a merely benefactive (‘for the sake of’) sense, or the atonement doctrine is diminished.
Put To Death Flesh Alive Spirit
Approved rendering: کشته شد در جسم، زنده شد در روح
Transliteration: koshte shod dar jesm, zende shod dar ruh
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Suffering
Original: θανατωθεὶς σαρκί, ζωοποιηθεὶς πνεύματι
Category: Christology
Must be taught to affirm real, historical, bodily death followed by real, historical, bodily resurrection (3:18) — not a merely ‘spiritual’ (non-bodily) survival, which would undercut 1:3’s and the baseline’s insistence on resurrection as bodily and historical.
Fiery Trial
Approved rendering: آزمایش آتشین
Transliteration: azmayesh-e atashin
Doctrine: Testing and Refining of Faith
Original: ἡ πύρωσις
Category: Suffering
Persecution described with the letter’s refining-fire imagery (4:12); the same Zoroastrian fire-purification cultural-resonance caution as ‘tested_genuineness_of_faith’ applies.
Reproached For Name Of Christ
Approved rendering: به خاطر نام مسیح سرزنش شدن
Transliteration: be khater-e nam-e Masih sarzanesh shodan
Doctrine: Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake
Original: ὀνειδίζεσθε ἐν ὀνόματι Χριστοῦ
Category: Suffering
Public shame/insult tied specifically to bearing Christ’s name (4:14); real honor/shame social cost for Muslim-background converts.
Submission
Approved rendering: تابع بودن / اطاعت کردن
Transliteration: tabe’ budan / eta’at kardan
Doctrine: Submission to Authority and Christlike Endurance
Rejected alternatives: تسلیم شدن
Original: ὑποτάσσω
Category: Authority
Voluntary ordering under authority across civil (2:13), household-servant (2:18), marital (3:1), cosmic (3:22), and eldership (5:5) relations. تسلیم شدن rejected entirely — etymologically and devotionally the closest Persian equivalent to the Arabic root of ‘Islam’ itself (submission/surrender to God); using it would collapse NT ethical submission into the majority religion’s own core identity-marker.
Grace Commendable Sense
Approved rendering: پسندیده / قابل ستایش
Transliteration: pasandide / qabel-e setayesh
Doctrine: Submission to Authority and Christlike Endurance
Rejected alternatives: فیض
Original: χάρις (2:19-20, distinct sense)
Category: Ethics
HIGH translation-choice flag: charis at 2:19-20 means ‘commendable/praiseworthy’ (enduring unjust suffering), NOT the technical soteriological unmerited-gift sense. NEVER render as فیض here — an intra-letter homonym distinct from the ‘grace’ entry’s normal usage.
Defense Apologia
Approved rendering: پاسخ / دفاع
Transliteration: pasokh / defa’
Doctrine: Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake
Original: ἀπολογία
Category: Faith
A reasoned account of one’s hope, given with gentleness and respect (3:15); beyond ordinary apologetics, carries acute real-world weight for the underground house-church context, where ‘giving a defense’ can describe an actual legal-interrogation scenario under Iran’s apostasy-related legal exposure.
Sprinkling Of Blood
Approved rendering: پاشیدن خون
Transliteration: pashidan-e khun
Doctrine: Holiness in Conduct
Original: ῥαντισμὸς αἵματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ
Category: Covenant
OT covenant-ratification sprinkling-rite imagery (Exodus 24:8; Ezekiel 36:25) applied to union with Christ’s blood (1:2); requires explicit OT covenant-ratification background teaching, absent from the Quranic account.
Born Again
Approved rendering: تولد تازه
Transliteration: tavallod-e tazeh
Doctrine: New Birth / Regeneration
Rejected alternatives: تولد دوباره
Original: ἀναγεννάω
Category: Salvation
God’s sovereign act of causing new spiritual birth (1:3, through the resurrection; 1:23, through the imperishable word). Already established self-designation vocabulary among Iranian Protestant/house-church converts (an asset); must be kept distinct from Sufi fana (self-annihilation/mystical rebirth achieved through ascetic stages), an achieved mystical state, not a sovereignly given, once-for-all new birth.
Word Of God
Approved rendering: کلام خدا
Transliteration: kalam-e khoda
Doctrine: The Living Word of God and Inspired Scripture
Rejected alternatives: کلمه خدا
Original: λόγος θεοῦ ζῶν καὶ μένων / λόγια θεοῦ
Category: Scripture
The living, enduring gospel-word that regenerates (1:23) and the standard for speaking-ministry (4:11). In the Quran, ‘Kalimat Allah’/‘Kalimatuhu’ is itself a title applied to Isa (Jesus) as a miraculously-created Word (4:171), not to scripture; کلمه خدا rejected to create lexical distance from that Christological title. کلام خدا here refers to the gospel message/scripture, not Christ’s person — must be taught explicitly.
Love Covers Sins
Approved rendering: محبت گناهان بسیار را میپوشاند
Transliteration: mohabbat gonahan-e besyar ra mipushanad
Doctrine: Mutual Love and Hospitality
Original: ἡ ἀγάπη καλύπτει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν
Category: Ethics
Relational forbearance and patience within the community (4:8, echoing Proverbs 10:12); must be taught as interpersonal forbearance, never a competing means by which sin before God is atoned for or removed, which would directly compete with the letter’s own substitutionary-atonement doctrine (2:24, 3:18).
Spirit Of Christ
Approved rendering: روح مسیح
Transliteration: ruh-e Masih
Doctrine: The Living Word of God and Inspired Scripture
Original: πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ
Category: God
The Spirit active in the OT prophets, identified as the pre-incarnate Christ’s own Spirit (1:11); a sharper Trinitarian claim than ‘Holy Spirit’ alone, intensifying the tawhid collision — must not be diluted to ‘the spirit/inspiration that Christ later also had.‘
Elders
Approved rendering: کشیشان
Transliteration: keshishan
Doctrine: Elders and Humility
Rejected alternatives: مشایخ, شیخ, پیر
Original: πρεσβύτεροι
Category: Church
Office-holders exercising pastoral leadership, addressed by Peter as a ‘fellow elder’ (5:1,5). مشایخ/شیخ rejected — collide doubly with (a) Iran’s Twelver Shia clerical rank/title and (b) the Sufi spiritual-master honorific; پیر rejected for the same mystical-authority loading. Either association risks importing a mediating, authoritative-clerical-caste model directly contrary to 2:5/2:9’s priesthood-of-all-believers doctrine.
Chief Shepherd
Approved rendering: شبان اعظم
Transliteration: shaban-e a’zam
Doctrine: Elders and Humility
Rejected alternatives: رهبر اعظم, ولی امر
Original: ὁ ἀρχιποίμην
Category: Christology
Christ’s supreme, unrivaled headship over all under-shepherds/elders (5:4). Must be taught as a pointed, deliberate contrast with Iran’s constitutional political-religious structure (Supreme Leader, Vali-ye Faqih/Rahbar) — Christ alone holds ultimate spiritual authority. ولی امر (‘guardian of the affairs,’ a live political-religious title) and رهبر اعظم rejected as direct political-namesake collisions.
Medium Risk Terms
Calling
Approved rendering: دعوت
Transliteration: da’vat
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Implicit in 1 Peter’s election language (1:1-2; 2:9); no change from Romans usage.
Holy
Approved rendering: مقدس
Transliteration: moqaddas
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Grounded here by direct Torah citation (1:15-16, citing Lev 11:44/19:2) and the priesthood/nation cluster (2:5,9); relational/moral, not ritual-purity, sense.
Peace
Approved rendering: سلام
Transliteration: salam
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: آرامش
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Never آرامش. Occurs in the greeting (1:2), the ethical exhortation to ‘seek peace’ (3:11, citing Ps 34:14), and the closing benediction (5:14) — opening and closing occurrences should match for letter-frame consistency.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: عطایای روحانی
Transliteration: ‘ataya-ye ruhani
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts
Original: χάρισμα
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1 Peter 4:10; must retain روحانی qualifier so gifts are not read as ordinary talent, especially given the practical weight for unregulated house-church ministry structures.
Glory
Approved rendering: جلال
Transliteration: jalal
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Unusually dense in 1 Peter (1:7,8,11,21,24; 2:12; 4:11,13,14,16; 5:1,4,10) — consistent rendering across all ~13 occurrences is essential. Sufi jamal/jalal devotional-poetic resonance caution applies as in Romans.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: غیریهودیان
Transliteration: gheyr-yahudian
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: امتها
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Never امتها. Occurs 1 Peter 2:12, describing non-believing outsiders observing believers’ conduct.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: قدرت خدا
Transliteration: qodrat-e khoda
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Original: δύναμις θεοῦ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1 Peter 1:5, the power by which believers are guarded through faith unto salvation.
Imperishable Undefiled Unfading
Approved rendering: نابودنشدنی / بیآلایش / تغییرناپذیر
Transliteration: na-bud-nashodani / bi-aalayesh / taghyir-napazir
Doctrine: The Believer’s Heavenly Inheritance
Rejected alternatives: نافانی, باقی
Original: ἄφθαρτος / ἀμίαντος / ἀμάραντος
Category: Eschatology
Three qualifiers of the inheritance (1:4), recurring at 1:18, 1:23, 3:4, and 5:4. Keep one consistent Persian rendering per adjective across all occurrences. نافانی/باقی rejected — both carry Sufi/Islamic divine-attribute overtones (Baqi, ‘the Everlasting,’ one of the 99 Names of God).
Trial Testing
Approved rendering: آزمایش
Transliteration: azmayesh
Doctrine: Testing and Refining of Faith
Original: πειρασμός
Category: Faith
Covers both external hardship-testing (1:6; 4:12) and temptation-to-sin senses in Persian; context must disambiguate at each occurrence so believers do not read persecution as divine temptation to evil.
Joy Rejoice
Approved rendering: شادی
Transliteration: shadi
Doctrine: The Living Hope of the Resurrection
Rejected alternatives: وجد
Original: ἀγαλλιάω
Category: Faith
Intense worship-register joy coexisting with present grief (1:6,8). Prefer شادی over وجد (vajd), which carries strong Sufi ecstatic-mystical-state connotation (dhikr-induced ecstasy).
Soul
Approved rendering: جان
Transliteration: jan
Doctrine: The Living Hope of the Resurrection
Rejected alternatives: نفس
Original: ψυχή
Category: Salvation
The whole living person (not a disembodied Platonic soul), object of salvation (1:9) and entrustment (4:19). Prefer جان over نفس, which in Persian Islamic/Sufi psychology denotes specifically the lower, ego-driven self prone to sin (nafs al-ammara, Quran 12:53).
Precious Blood
Approved rendering: خون گرانبها
Transliteration: khun-e geran-baha
Doctrine: Ransom and Redemption through Christ’s Blood
Original: τίμιον αἷμα
Category: Salvation
The costly means of ransom (1:19); pair consistently with the lamb-imagery of the same verse.
Healed By His Wounds
Approved rendering: شفا یافتید
Transliteration: shafa yaftid
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Suffering
Original: τῷ μώλωπι ἰάθητε (Isa 53:5)
Category: Salvation
Spiritual healing from sin’s effects via Isaiah 53:5 (2:24). Given strong physical-healing expectation in some Iranian charismatic/Pentecostal house-church streams, must retain the Isaiah 53 spiritual-healing-from-sin referent explicitly, not be detached as a general physical-healing proof-text.
Living Stone
Approved rendering: سنگ زنده
Transliteration: sang-e zende
Doctrine: The Church as a Holy and Royal Priesthood
Original: λίθος ζῶν
Category: Church
Christ as the animate, life-giving foundation-stone (2:4), contra the OT’s inanimate temple stones.
Cornerstone
Approved rendering: سنگ زاویه برگزیده و گرانبها
Transliteration: sang-e zaviye-ye bargozide o geran-baha
Doctrine: The Church as a Holy and Royal Priesthood
Original: λίθος ἀκρογωνιαῖος ἐκλεκτὸς ἔντιμος
Category: Church
Christ, rejected by human builders, as God’s chosen foundation (2:6, citing Isaiah 28:16).
Spiritual House
Approved rendering: خانه روحانی
Transliteration: khane-ye ruhani
Doctrine: The Church as a Holy and Royal Priesthood
Rejected alternatives: کلیسا
Original: οἶκος πνευματικός
Category: Church
Peter’s own distinct ecclesial vocabulary (2:5); do not import کلیسا here since the Greek text itself avoids ekklesia.
Spiritual Sacrifices
Approved rendering: قربانیهای روحانی
Transliteration: qorbani-haye ruhani
Doctrine: The Church as a Holy and Royal Priesthood
Original: θυσίαι πνευματικαί
Category: Church
Non-cultic offerings (praise, obedience, generosity) acceptable through Christ (2:5); must be clearly framed as metaphorical, given the salience of Iran’s Eid-e Qorban literal animal-sacrifice festival. Always pair with روحانی qualifier.
Chosen Race
Approved rendering: نسل برگزیده
Transliteration: nasl-e bargozide
Doctrine: The Church as a Holy and Royal Priesthood
Original: γένος ἐκλεκτόν
Category: Church
Corporate identity constituted by God’s choice, not ethnicity (2:9, citing Isaiah 43:20/Deuteronomy 7:6); نسل must be clarified as a spiritually-constituted people, not an ethnic bloodline.
Holy Nation
Approved rendering: قوم مقدس
Transliteration: qom-e moqaddas
Doctrine: The Church as a Holy and Royal Priesthood
Rejected alternatives: ملت مقدس
Original: ἔθνος ἅγιον
Category: Church
The church, not any ethnic-political nation (2:9, citing Exodus 19:6); prefer قوم over ملت to avoid nationalist-political overtones given Iran’s own religious-political state structure.
Peculiar People Possession
Approved rendering: قوم خاص خدا
Transliteration: qom-e khas-e khoda
Doctrine: The Church as a Holy and Royal Priesthood
Original: λαὸς εἰς περιποίησιν
Category: Church
LXX segullah ‘treasured possession’ vocabulary applied to the church (2:9, citing Exodus 19:5/Malachi 3:17); handle with the same pastoral care as the Romans baseline’s unity_of_jews_and_gentiles doctrine — must not read as commentary on the modern state of Israel.
Household Of God
Approved rendering: خانواده خدا
Transliteration: khanevade-ye khoda
Doctrine: The Church as a Holy and Royal Priesthood
Original: ὁ οἶκος τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Church
God’s family/household, where judgment begins (4:17), echoing 2:5’s spiritual house; resonates positively with the literal house-church reality.
King Emperor
Approved rendering: پادشاه
Transliteration: padeshah
Doctrine: Government and Civil Authority
Rejected alternatives: ولی فقیه, رهبر
Original: βασιλεύς
Category: Authority
The Roman emperor, to whom civil submission (not worship) is due (2:13,17); keep distinct from any term evoking Iran’s own present state-office titles, particularly the Supreme Leader’s constitutional title.
Servants Masters
Approved rendering: خادمان/غلامان … اربابان
Transliteration: khademan/gholaman … arbaban
Doctrine: Submission to Authority and Christlike Endurance
Original: οἰκέται / δεσπόται
Category: Authority
Household servants and masters (2:18), a historically situated Greco-Roman domestic instruction, not a timeless endorsement of slavery.
Weaker Vessel
Approved rendering: ظرف ضعیفتر
Transliteration: zarf-e za’if-tar
Doctrine: Marriage: Wives, Husbands, and Joint Heirs
Rejected alternatives: جنس ضعیف
Original: ἀσθενέστερον σκεῦος
Category: Authority
The wife as the physically (not morally/spiritually) weaker party (3:7), immediately balanced by ‘joint heirs.’ Gender-sensitive; requires native-speaker/theologian review to ensure equal spiritual standing is never lost. جنس ضعیف rejected as risking an essentialist reading beyond Peter’s narrower physical-strength point.
Gentle Quiet Spirit
Approved rendering: روح ملایم و آرام
Transliteration: ruh-e molayem va aram
Doctrine: Marriage: Wives, Husbands, and Joint Heirs
Original: πραΰ καὶ ἡσύχιον πνεῦμα
Category: Sanctification
Inner disposition commended for godly women, located in ‘the hidden person of the heart’ (3:4); not personality-silencing.
Will Of God
Approved rendering: خواست خدا / اراده خدا
Transliteration: khast-e khoda / erade-ye khoda
Doctrine: Submission to Authority and Christlike Endurance
Original: τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: God
God’s personal, morally-directive will for present conduct, including possibly suffering (2:15; 3:17; 4:2,19); distinguish from folk qadar-fatalism, which removes moral responsibility.
Good Conscience
Approved rendering: وجدان پاک
Transliteration: vejdan-e pak
Doctrine: Submission to Authority and Christlike Endurance
Original: συνείδησις ἀγαθή
Category: Ethics
Inner moral integrity before God, grounding courageous witness (3:16) and the true meaning of baptism (3:21).
Noah
Approved rendering: نوح
Transliteration: Nuh
Doctrine: Christ’s Proclamation to the Spirits
Original: Νῶε
Category: Covenant
Shared, positively-regarded Quranic prophet (Nuh, Surah 71), background figure for the spirits-in-prison passage (3:20); the Quranic account omits the Genesis 6 angelic-imprisonment background 1 Peter presupposes — this gap must be taught, not assumed known.
Angels Authorities Powers Subjected
Approved rendering: فرشتگان و قدرتها و اختیارات مطیع او شدهاند
Transliteration: fereshtegan va qodrat-ha va ekhtiyarat moti’-e u shode-and
Doctrine: Christ’s Proclamation to the Spirits
Original: ἀγγέλων καὶ ἐξουσιῶν καὶ δυνάμεων ὑποταγέντων αὐτῷ
Category: Christology
Christ’s cosmic supremacy over every rank of spiritual power at his exaltation (3:22); a useful direct counter to any jinn-related folk-belief anxiety raised by 3:19.
Reverent Fear
Approved rendering: ترس (خداترسی)
Transliteration: tars (khoda-tarsi)
Doctrine: Holiness in Conduct
Rejected alternatives: تقوا
Original: φόβος
Category: Sanctification
Reverent awe before a Father who impartially judges, not servile terror (1:17). تقوا rejected as a substitute — it is embedded in a deeds-weighing framework of uncertain final judgment; this fear flows from an already-secured filial relationship.
Faithful Creator
Approved rendering: خالق امین
Transliteration: khaleq-e amin
Doctrine: Holiness in Conduct
Original: πιστὸς κτίστης
Category: God
God as trustworthy Creator, the ground for entrusting one’s soul amid suffering (4:19). Positive bridge — Al-Khaliq is one of the 99 Names of God in Islamic tradition; reinforced with امین (faithful/trustworthy) to add the personal, covenantal-trust dimension the bare creedal title alone would not carry.
Shepherd Oversight
Approved rendering: شبانی کردن / نظارت کردن
Transliteration: shabani kardan / nezarat kardan
Doctrine: Elders and Humility
Rejected alternatives: سرپرستی
Original: ποιμαίνω / ἐπισκοπέω
Category: Church
Elders’ function as under-shepherds exercising oversight of Christ’s flock (5:2), echoing Christ’s own shepherd-title (2:25). سرپرستی rejected — already established in the Romans baseline as too weak/legalistic (used for the ‘adoption’ custodianship problem).
Unfading Crown Of Glory
Approved rendering: تاج جلالِ تغییرناپذیر
Transliteration: taj-e jalal-e taghyir-napazir
Doctrine: Elders and Humility
Original: ὁ ἀμαράντινος τῆς δόξης στέφανος
Category: Eschatology
The athletic/honorific victor’s-crown reward for faithful, humble eldership (5:4); combines the جلال (glory) baseline term with the imperishable-cluster term from 1:4.
Humility
Approved rendering: تواضع
Transliteration: tavazo’
Doctrine: Elders and Humility
Rejected alternatives: فروتنی
Original: ταπεινοφροσύνη
Category: Ethics
Low-mindedness in the positive sense, commended for all believers (3:8) and specifically elders/the young (5:5-6, citing Proverbs 3:34). Broadly compatible with Islamic tawadu’ (same Arabic root) — a genuine positive bridge — but must be taught as Christ-patterned self-giving, not merely social etiquette.
Devil
Approved rendering: شیطان
Transliteration: Sheytan
Doctrine: Elders and Humility
Original: ὁ διάβολος
Category: Angelology
Believers’ real, personal spiritual adversary, described as a roaring lion (5:8); شیطان (Sheytan/Iblis) is shared Quranic vocabulary, a genuine lexical bridge, but the Quranic Iblis-narrative (refusal to bow before Adam, Quran 7:11-18) differs in specifics and should not be assumed identical.
Low Risk Terms
Prophecy
Approved rendering: نبوت
Transliteration: nabovat
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1 Peter 1:10-12.
Exhort
Approved rendering: تشویق کردن
Transliteration: tashviq kardan
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Peter’s own characterization of his letter (5:1,12).
Fellowship
Approved rendering: مشارکت
Transliteration: mosharekat
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Original: κοινωνία / κοινωνέω
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package (root risk Low on its own). In 1 Peter surfaces as the verb form at 4:13, ‘you share/participate in the sufferings of Christ.’ Its COMBINATION with suffering there is CRITICAL, not Low — see the dedicated ‘share_in_christs_sufferings’ entry below, which supersedes this base entry’s risk tier for that specific verse.
Guarded
Approved rendering: محفوظ نگاهداشتهشده
Transliteration: mahfuz negah-dashte-shode
Doctrine: Assurance and Guarding of Salvation
Original: φρουρούμενος
Category: Salvation
Military-garrison protective-custody image (1:5). Low collision risk.
Idolatry
Approved rendering: بتپرستی
Transliteration: bot-parasti
Doctrine: Holiness in Conduct
Original: εἰδωλολατρία
Category: Sin
Cultic idol-worship, one item in a vice-list of the believers’ former way of life (4:3); shared opposition-concept with Islam’s shirk, a genuine positive bridge.
Hospitality
Approved rendering: مهماننوازی
Transliteration: mehman-navazi
Doctrine: Mutual Love and Hospitality
Original: φιλόξενος
Category: Ethics
Active welcome of guests/strangers, a concrete expression of love (4:9); genuinely positive cultural bridge — Persian hospitality is a celebrated cultural value.
Not For Shameful Gain
Approved rendering: نه به خاطر سود ناپاک
Transliteration: na be khater-e sud-e napak
Doctrine: Elders and Humility
Original: μὴ αἰσχροκερδῶς
Category: Church
A warning against exploiting spiritual leadership for money (5:2); highly relevant where house-church leaders operate with no institutional financial oversight.
Kiss Of Love
Approved rendering: بوسه محبت
Transliteration: buse-ye mohabbat
Doctrine: Mutual Love and Hospitality
Original: φίλημα ἀγάπης
Category: Church
The early church’s standard greeting custom, closing the letter (5:14); compatible with existing Persian cheek-greeting customs (ru-busi), minimal cultural friction.
Referenced passages