Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Acts 1–28 (English → Persian)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, drawn from every chapter of Acts. Terms marked [BASELINE REUSE] are already fixed in the Romans translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json and MUST be rendered exactly as recorded there; they are listed here for completeness and cross-reference only, not renegotiated. Terms without that marker are new to this curriculum and require entry into an updated translation memory before Phase 2 begins.
Risk tiers match doctrine_risk_registry.json conventions: Critical (human theologian review, every occurrence), High (human theologian review), Medium (native speaker review), Low (automated review).
A. Baseline Terms Reused Exactly (Romans → Acts)
| English term | Persian (baseline) | Risk | Key Acts occurrences | Doctrine link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gospel | انجیل | High | throughout | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles |
| grace | فیض | High | 4:33; 11:23; 13:43; 14:26; 15:11,40; 18:27; 20:24,32; 20:28 | Justification apart from the Law |
| faith | ایمان | High | 3:16; 6:5,7; 11:24; 13:8; 14:9,22,27; 15:9; 16:5; 20:21; 26:18 | Repentance and Baptism; Gospel to Jews and Gentiles |
| righteousness | عدالت | Critical | 3:14 (“the Righteous One”); 13:39-context; 17:31; 24:25 | Justification apart from the Law |
| justification | عادل شمرده شدن | Critical | 13:39 | Justification apart from the Law |
| salvation | نجات | Critical | 2:21,40,47; 4:9,12; 11:14; 13:26,47; 15:1,11; 16:17,30-31; 28:28 | Repentance and Baptism; Gospel to Jews and Gentiles |
| apostle | رسول | High | 1:2,25-26; 2:37,42-43; 4:33,35-37; 5:2,12,18,29,34,40; 6:6; 8:1,14,18; 9:27; 11:1; 14:4,14; 15:2,4,6,22-23,33; 16:4 | Apostolic Authority and Miracles |
| called / calling | دعوتشده / دعوت | High/Medium | 2:39 | Repentance and Baptism |
| holy | مقدس | High | throughout (temple, Spirit, apostles) | Sanctification threads |
| saints | مقدسین | High | 9:13,32,41; 26:10 | Church as Community |
| sanctification | تقدیس | High | 20:32; 26:18 | Church as Community |
| adoption | فرزندخواندگی | High | 26:18 (inheritance context) | (background doctrine) |
| resurrection | قیامت | Critical | 1:22; 2:24,31-32; 4:2,33; 17:18,32; 23:6,8; 24:15,21; 26:23 | Conversion of Paul; Great Commission Fulfilled |
| lord | خداوند | Critical | 2:21,34,36,39,47; 4:29,33; 5:9,14,19; 7:59-60; 9:1,5,10-11,15,17,27; 10:36; 11:8,17,20-21; 13:2,10-12,44,47-49; 15:11,26,35-36; 16:14-15,31-32; 20:19,21,24,28,35; 21:13-14; 26:15 | Lordship threads throughout |
| son of God | پسر خدا | Critical | 9:20; 13:33 (in some MSS via Ps 2 citation) | Conversion of Paul |
| incarnation | تجسد | Critical | (background, informs 20:28 “blood of God” discussion) | — |
| peace | سلام | Medium | 7:26; 9:31; 10:36; 12:20; 15:33; 16:36; 24:2 | Church as Community |
| spiritual gifts | عطایای روحانی | Medium | 2:38-related (gift of Spirit), 8:20, 10:45, 11:17 | Holy Spirit and Pentecost |
| thanksgiving | شکرگزاری | Low | 27:35; 28:15 | — |
| fellowship | مشارکت | Medium | 2:42,44-46 | Church as Community |
| church | کلیسا | High | 2:47 (implied); 5:11; 8:1,3; 9:31; 11:22,26; 12:1,5; 13:1; 14:23,27; 15:3-4,22,41; 16:5; 18:22; 20:17,28 | Church as Community |
| kingdom of God | ملکوت خدا | Medium | 1:3,6; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23,31 | Great Commission Fulfilled |
| law | ناموس | Critical | 6:13; 7:53; 13:39; 15:5,24; 18:13,15; 21:20,24,28; 22:3,12; 23:3,29; 24:14; 25:8; 28:23 | Justification apart from the Law |
| sin | گناه | High | 2:38; 3:19; 5:4 (against Spirit); 7:60; 10:43; 13:38; 22:16; 26:18 | Repentance and Baptism |
| gentiles | غیریهودیان | Medium | 9:15; 10:45; 11:1,18; 13:46-48; 14:27; 15:3,7,12,14,19,23; 18:6; 21:11,19,21,25; 22:21; 26:17,20,23; 28:28 | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles |
| glory | جلال | Medium | 7:2,55; 12:23; 22:11 | Conversion of Paul |
| obedience of faith | اطاعت ایمانی | High | 6:7 (implied); 5:29,32 | Persecution and Bold Witness |
| power of God | قدرت خدا | Medium | 1:8; 2:22; 3:12; 4:7,33; 6:8; 8:10,13,19; 10:38; 19:11 | Apostolic Authority and Miracles |
| messiah | مسیح | Critical | 2:31,36,38; 3:6,18,20; 4:10,26; 5:42; 8:5,12,37; 9:20,22,34; 10:36,48; 11:17; 15:26; 16:18,31; 17:3; 18:5,28; 19:4-5,17; 20:21; 24:24; 26:23; 28:31 | Conversion of Paul; Justification apart from the Law |
| prophet | پیامبر | High | 2:16,30; 3:18,21-25; 7:37,42,48,52; 10:43; 11:27; 13:1,6,15,20,27,40; 15:15,32; 21:9-10; 24:14; 26:22,27; 28:23,25 | Fulfillment of prophecy threads |
| prophecy | نبوت | Low | 2:17-18; 19:6; 21:9 | — |
| covenant | عهد | Medium | 2:39 (promise); 3:25; 7:8 | Fulfillment of prophecy threads |
| election | برگزیدگی خدا | High | 9:15; 13:48; 22:14 | Conversion of Paul |
| intercession | شفاعت | Critical | 7:59-60; 12:5,12 (church praying) | Prayer threads |
| providence | تدبیر الهی | Medium | 2:23; 4:28; 5:38-39; 27:23-24 | Conversion of Paul; providence threads |
| mission | ماموریت | Medium | 1:8; 9:15; 13:2-4,47; 22:21; 26:16-18 | Great Commission Fulfilled |
| david | داوود | Low | 1:16; 2:25,29,34; 4:25; 13:22,34,36; 15:16 | Fulfillment of prophecy |
| israel | اسرائیل | High | 1:6; 2:36; 4:10,27; 5:21,31; 9:15; 10:36; 13:16-17,23-24; 21:28; 28:20 | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles |
| jesus | عیسی | Critical | throughout | Conversion of Paul; all Christology threads |
| god | خدا | Critical | throughout | all doctrine threads |
| holy spirit | روحالقدس | Critical | 1:2,5,8,16; 2:4,33,38; 4:8,25,31; 5:3,9,32; 6:5; 7:51,55; 8:15,17-19,29,39; 9:17,31; 10:38,44-45,47; 11:12,15-16,24,28; 13:2,4,9,52; 15:8,28; 16:6-7; 19:2,6; 20:23,28; 21:11; 28:25 | The Holy Spirit and Pentecost (thesis doctrine) |
| father | پدر | Critical | 1:4,7; 2:33; 3:13,25; 5:30; 7:2,11-12,15,19,32,38-39,44-45,51-52; 13:17,32,36; 15:10; 22:1,3,14; 24:14; 26:6; 28:17,25 | Church as Community |
| abba | ابا | High | (not directly occurring in Acts; retained for cross-curriculum consistency) | — |
| exhort | تشویق کردن | Low | 2:40; 11:23; 14:22; 15:32; 16:40; 20:1-2 | Church as Community |
| seed of David | نسل داوود | High | 2:30; 13:23 (implied Davidic descent) | Conversion of Paul |
| imputed righteousness | عدالت محسوبشده | Critical | 13:39 (conceptual parallel) | Justification apart from the Law |
B. New Terms Introduced in Acts
| # | English term | Persian rendering | Transliteration | Risk | Doctrine | Key passages | Collision / rationale summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pentecost | پنطیکاست | Pantikost | Medium | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 2:1 | Unfamiliar Jewish-feast background must be taught, not assumed |
| 2 | other tongues (xenoglossy) | زبانهای دیگر | zaban-haye digar | High | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 2:4,6,8,11 | Must denote real known languages, not private ecstatic utterance |
| 3 | tongues of fire | زبانههای آتش | zabane-haye atash | High | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 2:3 | Zoroastrian sacred-fire veneration collision |
| 4 | filled (with the Spirit) | پر شدن (از روح) | por shodan (az ruh) | Medium | Holy Spirit and Pentecost | 2:4; 4:8,31; 9:17; 13:9 | Must not read as fleeting trance |
| 5 | signs and wonders | نشانهها و عجایب | neshane-ha va ajayeb | High | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 2:19,22,43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 8:13; 14:3; 15:12 | آیات avoided — collides with “verses of the Quran” |
| 6 | miracle | معجزه | mo’jeze | High | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | throughout | Shared Islamic miracle/i’jaz vocabulary; must tie to gospel authentication, not generic marvel |
| 7 | boldness | دلیری / جسارت روحانی | deliri / jesarat-e ruhani | High | Persecution and Bold Witness | 4:13,29,31; 9:27-29; 13:46; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; 26:26; 28:31 | Must be Spirit-given confidence in proclamation, not reckless defiance; house-church safety sensitivity |
| 8 | witness / testify | شاهد / شهادت دادن | shahed / shahadat dadan | Critical | Persecution and Bold Witness | 1:8,22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39,41; 13:31; 22:15,20; 23:11; 26:16 | Direct collision with Islamic shahada (creedal confession) and Shia shahid (martyr/Karbala) categories; must be explicitly distinguished at every occurrence |
| 9 | repentance | توبه | towbeh | Critical | Repentance and Baptism | 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 11:18; 13:24; 17:30; 19:4; 20:21; 26:20 | Exact Quranic root (ت-و-ب); must be anchored to faith in Christ’s atoning work, not a self-standing deeds-and-mercy cycle |
| 10 | baptism / baptize | تعمید | ta’mid | Critical | Repentance and Baptism | 1:5; 2:38,41; 8:12-13,36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15,33; 18:8 (implied); 19:3-5; 22:16 | Must be distinguished from Islamic ritual washing (ghusl/wudu); once-for-all union with Christ, not repeated purification |
| 11 | the Way | راه | rah | High | Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Persecution and Bold Witness | 9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22 | Neighbor-term to Sufi طریقت (tariqat); must be marked as this movement’s proper designation |
| 12 | Christian | مسیحی | masihi | Medium-High | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 11:26; 26:28 | Contemporary Iran: legally-recognized ethnic-minority category vs. convert identity — asymmetry must be taught |
| 13 | council / Sanhedrin | مجمع / سنهدرین | majma’ / Sanhedrin | Medium | Persecution and Bold Witness | 4:15; 5:21,27,34,41; 6:12,15; 22:30; 23:1,6,15,20,28; 24:20 | Avoid conflation with Iran’s own clerical governing councils |
| 14 | elders (church office) | مشایخ | mashayekh | Medium | Church as Community | 11:30; 14:23; 15:2,4,6,22-23; 16:4; 20:17; 21:18 | Shares root with Islamic shaykh title; established Christian usage retained with gloss |
| 15 | overseer | ناظر | nazer | Medium | Church as Community | 20:28 | Paired with مشایخ for the same office |
| 16 | deacon / service | خادم / خدمت | khadem / khedmat | Low-Medium | Church as Community | 6:1-6 | Practical ministry integral to church life |
| 17 | laying on of hands | گذاردن دستها | gozardan-e dast-ha | Medium | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 6:6; 8:17-19; 9:17; 13:3; 19:6 | Distinguish from folk-Sufi baraka-transfer and mullah’s ritual gestures |
| 18 | vision / dream | رؤیا / خواب | ro’ya / khab | Medium | Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Conversion of Paul | 2:17; 9:10,12; 10:3,17,19; 11:5; 12:9; 16:9-10; 18:9; 26:19 | Shared category with Islamic istikhara/dream-vision piety; content/authority must remain Christ-centered |
| 19 | unclean / common | ناپاک | napak | Critical | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 10:14-15,28; 11:8-9 | Precise collision with Shia fiqh najasat (نجس) purity system; God’s declaration directly confronts purity-code categories |
| 20 | circumcision | ختنه | khatne | High | Justification apart from the Law | 7:8; 10:45; 11:2-3; 15:1,5,24; 16:3; 21:21 | Directly frames “is an external rite required for full membership/salvation?” — parallels live questions for Muslim-background believers |
| 21 | idols / idolatry | بت / بتپرستی | bot / bot-parasti | Medium-High | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 7:41; 14:15; 15:20,29; 17:16,23,29; 19:26,35; 21:25 | Shared strong disapproval with Islam, but watch for polemical redirection at Christian icon/cross veneration |
| 22 | unknown god | خدای ناشناخته | khoda-ye nashenakhte | Medium | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 17:23 | Effective culturally-adapted missionary bridge illustration |
| 23 | inheritance | میراث | miras | High | Church as Community | 20:32; 26:18 | Shared Islamic fiqh miras vocabulary; must retain spiritual/eschatological sense |
| 24 | forgiveness of sins | بخشش گناهان / آمرزش گناهان | bakhshesh-e gonahan | High | Repentance and Baptism | 2:38; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18 | Must be tied to Christ’s atoning work, not divine mercy considered apart from the cross |
| 25 | unclean/evil spirit | روح پلید | ruh-e palid | Critical | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 8:7; 16:16-18; 19:12-16 | Preferred over جن (jinn) to avoid collision with Iranian folk jinn-possession/exorcism framework |
| 26 | magic / sorcery | جادو | jado | Medium | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 8:9-11; 13:6,8; 19:19 | Shared condemnation category; watch conflation with living Iranian folk-magic practices |
| 27 | shepherd / flock | شبان / گله | shoban / gale | Low-Medium | Church as Community | 20:28-29 | Safe pastoral metaphor, resonant Persian poetic tradition |
| 28 | church purchased with [God’s/the Lord’s] own blood | کلیسا را با خون خود خرید | kelisa ra ba khun-e khod kharid | Critical | Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Conversion of Paul (deity of Christ) | 20:28 | Startling deity-of-Christ/atonement statement; manuscript variant (Θεοῦ/Κυρίου) requires translator note; never soften |
| 29 | God-fearer / devout | خداترس | khoda-tars | Medium | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 10:2,22,35; 13:16,26 | Shared pious category; starting point, not yet saving faith |
| 30 | fasting | روزه | rowze | High | Church as Community; Apostolic Authority | 13:2-3; 14:23; 27:9 (implied) | Literal word for the Ramadan pillar; must be voluntary church practice, not obligatory merit-earning duty |
| 31 | prayer | دعا | do’a | Medium | Church as Community | throughout | Shared everyday Islamic term; retain relational, Christ-mediated sense |
| 32 | angel | فرشته | fereshte | Medium | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 5:19; 8:26; 10:3,22; 12:7-11,23; 27:23 | Shared Islamic/Zoroastrian angelology; keep as created messenger, not emanationist intermediary |
| 33 | set apart / separated (aphorizo) | جدا کردن / وقف کردن | joda kardan / vaqf kardan | High | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 13:2 | Direct echo of Romans 1:1 “separated for the gospel” — cross-curriculum consistency required |
| 34 | ordained/appointed to eternal life | مقرر شده برای حیات جاودان | moqarrar shode barāye hayat-e javedan | High | Conversion of Paul; Justification apart from the Law | 13:48 | Election-to-salvation statement; same Imamate-succession caution as baseline “election” |
| 35 | light for the Gentiles | نوری برای غیریهودیان | nur-i barāye gheyr-yahudian | High | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 13:47; 26:23 | Isaianic mission-fulfillment language |
| 36 | door of faith | در ایمان | dar-e iman | Low-Medium | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 14:27 | Opportunity/access metaphor |
| 37 | yoke (of the law) | یوغ | yugh | Medium | Justification apart from the Law | 15:10 | Burden of full law-observance rejected as salvation-requirement |
| 38 | it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us | بر روحالقدس و بر ما نیکو آمد | bar Ruh-ol-Qods va bar mā niku āmad | Critical | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 15:28 | Authority formula asserting the Spirit’s ongoing personal guidance of church decisions |
| 39 | spirit of divination | روح غیبگویی | ruh-e gheybgu’i | High | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 16:16 | Confronts living Iranian fortune-telling/fal-giri and rammal folk practices |
| 40 | vow (Nazirite-type) | نذر | nazr | Critical | Justification apart from the Law (background) | 18:18; 21:23-26 | Direct collision with major, currently-practiced Shia votive-vow devotion (shrine nazr) |
| 41 | Son of Man | پسر انسان | pesar-e ensan | Critical | Conversion of Paul (Christology) | 7:56 | Danielic divine-authority title; no ready Islamic equivalent category, requires full explanatory teaching |
| 42 | Prince/Author of life | سرچشمهٔ حیات | sarcheshme-ye hayat | Critical | Apostolic Authority and Miracles (Christology) | 3:15 | Deity-adjacent Christological title |
| 43 | the Righteous One (title) | عادل (لقب) | ‘adel (as title) | Critical | Justification apart from the Law; Christology | 3:14; 7:52; 22:14 | Deliberate reuse of baseline عدالت-root as a Christological title |
| 44 | riot / uproar | شورش / آشوب | shuresh / ashub | Low-Medium | Persecution and Bold Witness | 19:23-40; 21:30-31; 24:5 | Recurring civic-unrest pattern accompanying gospel proclamation |
| 45 | self-control (enkrateia) | خودداری | khoddari | High | Justification apart from the Law (adjacent) | 24:25 | Deliberately avoids پرهیزگاری to prevent reintroducing the Zoroastrian-virtue register rejected for “righteousness” |
| 46 | appeal to Caesar | استیناف به قیصر | estinaf be qeysar | Low | Great Commission Fulfilled (background) | 25:11-12 | Legal-procedural term, minimal doctrinal risk |
| 47 | unhindered | بدون مانع / آزادانه | bedun-e mane’ / azadane | High | Great Commission Fulfilled | 28:31 | Closing thesis word of Acts; acute pastoral resonance given real restriction on Iranian house-church gospel proclamation |
| 48 | breaking of bread | پاره کردن نان | pare kardan-e nan | Medium | Church as Community | 2:42,46; 20:7,11; 27:35 | Regular communal remembrance meal; not yet a fixed liturgical rite |
| 49 | all things in common | همهچیز را با هم شریک بودند | hame-chiz ra ba ham sharik budand | Medium | Church as Community | 2:44-45; 4:32,34-37 | Voluntary, situational economic mutuality — not a universal economic mandate |
| 50 | resuscitation (Tabitha/Eutychus) | زنده شدن دوباره | zende shodan-e dobare | High | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | 9:36-42; 20:9-12 | Distinct from Christ’s unique, permanent resurrection (قیامت); translator note recommended |
C. Risk Summary for Acts New Terms
| Risk | Count | Review routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 8 | Human theologian, every occurrence |
| High | 17 | Human theologian |
| Medium-High | 3 | Human theologian (borderline; treat as High) |
| Medium | 17 | Native speaker review |
| Low / Low-Medium | 5 | Native speaker / automated review |
Note on integration with translation_memory.json: All 50 new terms in Section B must be added to an updated translation_memory.json (version increment required) before Phase 2 segment translation begins, per the AI Translation Requirements’ “Translation Memory Load and Enforcement Instructions.” All Section A terms are enforced exactly as already recorded in the Romans baseline with no modification.
Critical Risk Terms
Righteousness
Approved rendering: عدالت
Transliteration: edalat
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: پارسایی
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package] CRITICAL: پارسایی carries a Zoroastrian-inflected ethical-purity connotation tied to Zoroastrianism’s own good-thoughts/good-words/good-deeds triad. عدالت keeps the forensic, credited sense. Acts usage: also functions as a Christological title root - ‘the Righteous One’ (ho dikaios) in 3:14, 7:52, 22:14 - must never drift to پارسایی even as a title.
Justification
Approved rendering: عادل شمرده شدن
Transliteration: adel shomorde shodan
Doctrine: Salvation
Original: δικαίωσις / δικαιοῦται
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package] CRITICAL: compound phrase required to convey the forensic declaration - ‘to be counted/reckoned as righteous’ - rather than a process of becoming righteous through deeds. Acts 13:39 uses the identical verb-family as Romans and requires mandatory verbatim consistency.
Salvation
Approved rendering: نجات
Transliteration: nejat
Doctrine: Salvation
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package] CRITICAL: Persian/Shia popular piety’s developed doctrine of intercession through Imam Hussein’s martyrdom at Karbala risks being read alongside, rather than as categorically distinct from, Christ’s atoning death. Acts usage: 2:21,40,47; 4:9,12; 11:14; 13:26,47; 15:1,11; 16:17,30-31; 28:28.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: قیامت
Transliteration: qiyamat
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
[Inherited from Romans package] CRITICAL: shares the Quran’s crucifixion-denial problem (4:157). Shia eschatology’s Mahdi-centered expectation subordinates Jesus’s own resurrection/return. Acts usage is the heaviest outside the Gospels: 1:22; 2:24,31-32; 4:2,33; 17:18,32; 23:6,8; 24:15,21; 26:23. Acts 2:23-24 is the single most direct textual collision with Q 4:157 in the book.
Lord
Approved rendering: خداوند
Transliteration: Khodavand
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: سرور
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
[Inherited from Romans package] Native pre-Islamic Persian word; the collision is the tawhid objection to ascribing supreme, exclusive Lordship to a human-born man, not borrowed Quranic vocabulary. Acts usage throughout, climactically in 2:36 ‘Lord and Christ’ and 20:28’s ‘church of God … with his own blood.‘
Son Of God
Approved rendering: پسر خدا
Transliteration: pesar-e khoda
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: برگزیده خدا
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
[Inherited from Romans package] برگزیده خدا is the documented, backlash-provoking Hezare No softened rendering; rejected. This Language Package follows the unsoftened Tarjome Ghadeem/Mojdeh precedent. Acts usage: 9:20; 13:33.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: تجسد
Transliteration: tajassod
Doctrine: Incarnation
Original: ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο (concept)
Category: Christology
[Inherited from Romans package] Shares Arabic’s tawhid-denial problem; Zoroastrian emanationist cosmology (Amesha Spentas) is a secondary risk of intermediary-being confusion. Background doctrine informing the deity-of-Christ claims underlying Acts 20:28.
Law
Approved rendering: ناموس
Transliteration: namus
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: شریعت
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package] This Language Package departs from some Persian precedent that uses شریعت, preferring ناموس because Iran’s shari’a-based legal system sharpens the collision risk. Acts 13:39 and the Jerusalem Council (15:1-29) directly stage the law-versus-grace debate, making this especially sensitive: 6:13; 7:53; 15:5,24; 18:13,15; 21:20,24,28; 22:3,12; 23:3,29; 24:14; 25:8; 28:23.
Messiah
Approved rendering: مسیح
Transliteration: Masih
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός / מָשִׁיחַ
Category: Christology
[Inherited from Romans package] Carries pre-loaded Quranic content plus the Shia displacement risk of the Hidden Twelfth Imam. Every occurrence must actively assert Christ’s own primary, sufficient redemptive role. Acts usage: 2:31,36,38; 3:6,18,20; 4:10,26; 5:42; 8:5,12,37; 9:20,22,34; 10:36,48; 11:17; 15:26; 16:18,31; 17:3; 18:5,28; 19:4-5,17; 20:21; 24:24; 26:23; 28:31.
Intercession
Approved rendering: شفاعت
Transliteration: shafa’at
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Original: concept (ἐντυγχάνω-family; Acts 7:59-60, 12:5,12)
Category: Faith
[Inherited from Romans package] shafa’at is unusually central and popularly practiced in Twelver Shia piety (Muharram mourning rituals, shrine pilgrimage). Risk elevated to Critical in Acts because Stephen’s prayer for his killers (7:59-60) and the church’s prayer for Peter (12:5,12) model, but never replace, Christ’s own unique and complete intercession, sitting directly adjacent to the Karbala/Hussein martyrdom-intercession framework.
Jesus
Approved rendering: عیسی
Transliteration: Isa
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
[Inherited from Romans package] No naming controversy in Persian; the risk is entirely in content, which must be actively corrected at every occurrence. Occurs throughout Acts, including as ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ (Isa-ye Naseri, 2:22) and in Christ’s own direct speech to Saul (9:5).
God
Approved rendering: خدا
Transliteration: Khoda
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: الله
Original: θεός
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package] Khoda is a native pre-Islamic Persian word used across Zoroastrian, Christian, and Muslim Persian traditions alike; preferred over الله for Persian Christian usage. Occurs throughout Acts, including the ‘living God’ contrast with idols in 14:15.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: روحالقدس
Transliteration: Ruh-ol-Qods
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package] Identical Quranic phrase and identical mainstream tafsir identification with the angel Jibril; the created-being-versus-divine-Person distinction must be made explicit at every occurrence. This is the thesis-doctrine term of the entire Acts curriculum: 1:2,5,8,16; 2:4,33,38; 4:8,25,31; 5:3,9,32; 6:5; 7:51,55; 8:15,17-19,29,39; 9:17,31; 10:38,44-45,47; 11:12,15-16,24,28; 13:2,4,9,52; 15:8,28; 16:6-7; 19:2,6; 20:23,28; 21:11; 28:25.
Father
Approved rendering: پدر
Transliteration: pedar
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package] Shares Arabic’s tawhid-anthropomorphism objection to Father-language for God. Acts usage: 1:4,7; 2:33; 3:13,25; 5:30; 7:2,11-12,15,19,32,38-39,44-45,51-52; 13:17,32,36; 15:10; 22:1,3,14; 24:14; 26:6; 28:17,25.
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: عدالت محسوبشده
Transliteration: edalat-e mahsub-shode
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: عدالت کسبشده
Original: concept (Acts 13:39’s δικαιοῦται)
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package] عدالت کسبشده (‘earned/acquired righteousness’) is the exact opposite of the doctrine and is explicitly rejected. Acts 13:39 is a direct conceptual parallel requiring the same framing when the doctrine is unpacked pastorally.
Witness Testify
Approved rendering: شاهد / شهادت دادن
Transliteration: shahed / shahadat dadan
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: μάρτυς / μαρτυρέω
Category: Persecution
CRITICAL: an eyewitness testifier to the historical facts of Christ’s death, resurrection, and lordship. Direct collision with the Islamic creedal shahada (confession of faith) and the Shia devotional shahid (martyr, especially Karbala’s Hussein) category; must be explicitly taught as truthful eyewitness testimony to a historical event, never a creedal recitation nor a merit/intercession-generating act. Structurally central to Acts: 1:8,22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39,41; 13:31; 22:15,20; 23:11; 26:16. This is the single highest-priority lexical fence in the entire Acts glossary.
Repentance
Approved rendering: توبه
Transliteration: towbeh
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Original: μετάνοια / μετανοέω
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: exact Quranic root (ت-و-ب); embedded in a deeds-and-mercy framework and, in Shia piety, associated with recurring devotional turning via Karbala/Muharram mourning rather than a once-for-all, faith-uniting turn. Must be explicitly, syntactically bound to faith in Jesus’s name in the same clause or immediately adjacent teaching, every occurrence, never presented as a self-standing devotional act. Occurrences: 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 11:18; 13:24; 17:30; 19:4; 20:21; 26:20.
Baptism
Approved rendering: تعمید
Transliteration: ta’mid
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Original: βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: the water rite of Christian initiation performed in Christ’s name/authority. Must be distinguished from Islamic ritual purification (ghusl/wudu) and taught as a once-for-all identification with Christ’s death and resurrection, not a repeated ritual washing. Acts 19:1-5 explicitly distinguishes John’s preparatory baptism from Christian baptism. Occurrences: 1:5; 2:38,41; 8:12-13,36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15,33; 18:8 (implied); 19:3-5; 22:16.
Unclean Common
Approved rendering: ناپاک
Transliteration: napak
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles / Table Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: نجس
Original: κοινός
Category: Gentile Inclusion
CRITICAL: ritually impure/unclean by covenant food-and-purity law (κοινός). Maps with unusual precision onto the elaborate, actively-taught Twelver Shia fiqh najasat (نجس) ritual-purity system; نجس is deliberately rejected in favor of the softer ناپاک to avoid triggering the full fiqh apparatus by name while still allowing the text’s confrontation with purity-code thinking to register with full force. Occurrences: 10:14-15,28; 11:8-9.
Unclean Evil Spirit
Approved rendering: روح پلید
Transliteration: ruh-e palid
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and Occult Power
Rejected alternatives: جن
Original: πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον / πονηρόν
Category: Miracles
CRITICAL: a demonic spirit expelled through apostolic authority in Jesus’s name. روح پلید is deliberately preferred over جن (jinn) to avoid collision with the still-living Iranian folk framework of jinn-possession and exorcism (rammal, do’a-nevisi); جن is explicitly rejected. Must be taught as demonstrating Christ’s unique, superior authority, never entry into a shared exorcism marketplace. Occurrences: 8:7; 16:16-18; 19:12-16.
Church Purchased With Blood
Approved rendering: کلیسا را با خون خود خرید
Transliteration: kelisa ra ba khun-e khod kharid
Doctrine: Deity and Lordship of Christ
Original: περιεποιήσατο διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: the startling assertion (Acts 20:28) that a divine Person’s own blood purchased the church. Must not be softened. Manuscript tradition varies between ‘church of God’ and ‘church of the Lord’; both readings affirm that the blood shed for the church’s purchase is the blood of a divine Person. [TRANSLATOR NOTE required at every occurrence: manuscript tradition varies between the Θεοῦ/Κυρίου reading; both readings reinforce, not undermine, the deity of Christ.]
Spirit Guided Decision
Approved rendering: بر روحالقدس و بر ما نیکو آمد
Transliteration: bar Ruh-ol-Qods va bar mā niku āmad
Doctrine: Law, Grace, and the Jerusalem Council
Original: ἔδοξεν τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ Ἁγίῳ καὶ ἡμῖν
Category: Miracles
CRITICAL: the apostolic decree’s authority formula (15:28) asserting joint divine-and-apostolic authority. Must not be read through Sunni ijma (consensus) or Shia Imamate-authority categories as merely a human deliberative outcome; asserts the Spirit’s ongoing personal guidance of the church’s binding decisions.
Vow
Approved rendering: نذر
Transliteration: nazr
Doctrine: Vows, Fasting, and Religious Practice
Original: εὐχή
Category: Law
CRITICAL: a voluntary religious pledge (Nazirite-type vow, 18:18; 21:23-26). نذر is a currently-practiced, major Shia devotional category (votive vows to Imams/Imamzadeh shrines); Paul’s vow-keeping must be taught as a culturally-Jewish practice appropriate to that transitional era, not an endorsement of shrine-vow piety, while not disparaging the OT institution (Numbers 6) itself.
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: پسر انسان
Transliteration: pesar-e ensan
Doctrine: Sonship and Messiahship of Christ
Original: υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: Danielic apocalyptic title of exalted divine-human authority (Daniel 7:13-14), used by Stephen of the exalted Christ (7:56). No ready Islamic equivalent category exists, so full explanatory teaching is required rather than assumed background; must never default-read as merely ‘a human being.‘
Author Of Life
Approved rendering: سرچشمهٔ حیات
Transliteration: sarcheshme-ye hayat
Doctrine: Sonship and Messiahship of Christ
Original: ἀρχηγὸς τῆς ζωῆς
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: a Christological title asserting Christ as the very source/originator of life itself (3:15). Deity/lordship-adjacent title requiring the same care as ‘Lord’; must not be softened to a mere honorific such as ‘great leader.‘
The Righteous One
Approved rendering: عادل (لقب)
Transliteration: ‘adel (as title)
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: پارسایی
Original: ὁ δίκαιος
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: a Christological title (ho dikaios) sharing the exact root as δικαιοσύνη (righteousness), applied to Christ himself (3:14; 7:52; 22:14). Deliberate reuse of the baseline عدالت-root as a Christological title; must never drift to پارسایی, the Zoroastrian-inflected virtue term explicitly forbidden in the baseline for ‘righteousness.‘
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 same tahrif (corruption) assumption found across the Islamicate world applies in Iran. Must be taught as the NT record itself, not a lost predecessor text. Acts usage: throughout, e.g. 8:25,35,40; 14:7,21; 15:7; 16:10; 20:24 — Acts additionally shows the gospel being proclaimed live, sharpening the tahrif-vs-eyewitness-record contrast.
Grace
Approved rendering: فیض
Transliteration: feyz
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: لطف
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package] Feyz carries a distinct Persian philosophical loading: in Illuminationist and Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Theosophy, ‘feyz’ denotes divine emanation - being automatically overflowing from God into creation, a metaphysical process rather than a freely willed, unmerited gift. لطف is too weak and rejected. Acts usage: 4:33; 11:23; 13:43; 14:26; 15:11,40; 18:27; 20:24,32; note especially 15:11’s climactic pairing with خداوند and نجات.
Faith
Approved rendering: ایمان
Transliteration: iman
Doctrine: Faith
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
[Inherited from Romans package] Shares the same six-pillars creedal-assent structure as Arabic iman, with a further Shia-specific layer: belief in the Imamate is itself a core article of Shia iman. Must be anchored as personal trust in Christ. Acts usage: 3:16; 6:5,7; 11:24; 13:8; 14:9,22,27; 15:9; 16:5; 20:21; 26:18.
Apostle
Approved rendering: رسول
Transliteration: rasul
Doctrine: Apostleship
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package] Same collision with Muhammad’s title as in Arabic, with an added Shia layer: the Imamate’s claim to unique ongoing authoritative succession. Acts is the book where the office is actually exercised and defined: 1:2,25-26; 2:37,42-43; 4:33,35-37; 5:2,12,18,29,34,40; 6:6; 8:1,14,18; 9:27; 11:1; 14:4,14; 15:2,4,6,22-23,33; 16:4.
Called
Approved rendering: دعوتشده
Transliteration: da’vat-shode
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλητός (concept)
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package] Context-sensitive across apostleship, sainthood, and effectual-calling senses. Acts usage: 2:39, ‘everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.‘
Calling
Approved rendering: دعوت
Transliteration: da’vat
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλῆσις (concept)
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package] Unlike Arabic da’wah, Persian da’vat is everyday invitation-vocabulary; still needs the direction of address (God calling a person) made explicit. Acts 2:39.
Holy
Approved rendering: مقدس
Transliteration: moqaddas
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
[Inherited from Romans package] Shared root with Arabic; generally safe vocabulary, needs the relational, Spirit-wrought sense reinforced over ritual-observance holiness. Acts uses this root heavily for the Spirit, the temple, and believers throughout.
Saints
Approved rendering: مقدسین
Transliteration: moqaddasin
Doctrine: Sainthood
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package] Corporate sense for all believers, not an elevated ascetic or shrine-venerated class. Acts usage: 9:13,32,41; 26:10.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: تقدیس
Transliteration: taqdis
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἁγιασμός (concept: ἡγιασμένοις)
Category: Sanctification
[Inherited from Romans package] The Spirit’s ongoing work of making believers holy, not ritual purification. Acts usage: 20:32; 26:18.
Adoption
Approved rendering: فرزندخواندگی
Transliteration: farzand-khandegi
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: سرپرستی
Original: υἱοθεσία (concept)
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package] Iranian civil law uses سرپرستی (weaker custodianship) rather than full adoption terminology, per Quranic principle 33:4-5 shared across Sunni and Shia fiqh; explicitly rejected. Background doctrine informing Acts 26:18’s inheritance language.
Church
Approved rendering: کلیسا
Transliteration: kelisa
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: امت
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package] امت is the loaded pan-Islamic community term and must never substitute. Risk remains elevated in Acts because the book narrates the church’s actual founding, and the lived reality for most Persian-speaking believers today is the underground house-church network: 5:11; 8:1,3; 9:31; 11:22,26; 12:1,5; 13:1; 14:23,27; 15:3-4,22,41; 16:5; 18:22; 20:17,28.
Sin
Approved rendering: گناه
Transliteration: gonah
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
[Inherited from Romans package] Native pre-Islamic word. Islamic fitrah doctrine and Zoroastrianism’s Chinvat Bridge deeds-weighing both reinforce a deeds-weighing default over inherited guilt. Acts usage: 2:38; 3:19; 5:4 (against the Spirit); 7:60; 10:43; 13:38; 22:16; 26:18.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: اطاعت ایمانی
Transliteration: eta’at-e imani
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Original: ὑπακοή / ὑπακούω (concept)
Category: Faith
[Inherited from Romans package] Submission/obedience is the defining category of the surrounding Islamic religious culture; must be taught as faith’s fruit, never its ground. Acts usage: 5:29,32; 6:7.
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] Use a term for capability/might, not one associated with a goddess-figure or occult force. Acts usage: 1:8; 2:22; 3:12; 4:7,33; 6:8; 8:10,13,19; 10:38; 19:11.
Prophet
Approved rendering: پیامبر
Transliteration: payambar
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package] Native Persian compound; same finality-of-prophethood risk as Arabic nabi. Acts usage: 2:16,30; 3:18,21-25; 7:37,42,48,52; 10:43; 11:27; 13:1,6,15,20,27,40; 15:15,32; 21:9-10; 24:14; 26:22,27; 28:23,25.
Election
Approved rendering: برگزیدگی خدا
Transliteration: bargozidegi-ye khoda
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Original: ἐκλογή (concept: τεταγμένοι, σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς)
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package] Shia Islam’s own robust election doctrine (Ali and the Imamate’s line) can bridge the concept but risks importing lineage-based, ongoing-office content. Acts usage: 9:15 (‘a chosen instrument’); 13:48; 22:14.
Israel
Approved rendering: اسرائیل
Transliteration: Esra’il
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package] Iran’s officially propagandized anti-Israel stance is more totalizing than the general Arab-world association. Acts 1:6’s disciples’ own political-restoration question makes the collision structurally built into the book itself: 1:6; 2:36; 4:10,27; 5:21,31; 9:15; 10:36; 13:16-17,23-24; 21:28; 28:20.
Abba
Approved rendering: ابا
Transliteration: Abba
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: Ἀββά
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package] Aramaic intimacy-term preserved as in Romans 8:15; does not directly occur in Acts but is retained for cross-curriculum consistency.
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: نسل داوود
Transliteration: nasl-e Davud
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: σπέρμα Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package] Conveys physical lineage and OT covenant fulfillment; requires the audience to have the OT covenant background supplied explicitly. Acts usage: 2:30; 13:23.
Other Tongues
Approved rendering: زبانهای دیگر
Transliteration: zaban-haye digar
Doctrine: Tongues and Spirit-Empowered Speech
Original: ἑτέραι γλῶσσαι
Category: Holy Spirit
Real, known human languages supernaturally given, confirmed by διάλεκτος in Acts 2:6,8,11. Must be rendered so as to clearly denote real human languages, not a generically ‘spiritual’/ecstatic utterance; loss of this distinction risks importing unrelated charismatic-cessationist debate into the text. Occurrences: 2:4,6,8,11; 10:46; 19:6.
Tongues Of Fire
Approved rendering: زبانههای آتش
Transliteration: zabane-haye atash
Doctrine: Tongues and Spirit-Empowered Speech
Original: γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός
Category: Holy Spirit
Flame-like visual manifestations resting on each believer at Pentecost (Acts 2:3). Persian religious memory of sacred fire (Zoroastrian fire temples, Nowruz/Chaharshanbe Suri) is strong enough that unqualified fire-language risks being absorbed into that framework rather than read as a unique, one-time sign of the Spirit’s arrival; requires a mandatory translator note at every occurrence.
Signs And Wonders
Approved rendering: نشانهها و عجایب
Transliteration: neshane-ha va ajayeb
Doctrine: Signs and Wonders Confirming the Word
Rejected alternatives: آیات
Original: τέρατα καὶ σημεῖα
Category: Miracles
Visible acts confirming a divine message. نشانهها must be kept distinct from آیات, the standard word for the verses of the Quran, so readers do not unconsciously import a scripture-verse category into a historical, observable miracle-event category. Occurrences: 2:19,22,43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 8:13; 14:3; 15:12.
Miracle
Approved rendering: معجزه
Transliteration: mo’jeze
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: δυνάμεις (works of power)
Category: Miracles
A visible act of divine power authenticating the gospel message. معجزه draws on the same semantic field as the Islamic doctrine of i’jaz (prophetic miraculous signs); must be taught as authenticating the specific apostolic message about the risen Christ, not an interchangeable marvel-category.
Boldness
Approved rendering: دلیری / جسارت روحانی
Transliteration: deliri / jesarat-e ruhani
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: παρρησία
Category: Persecution
Fearless, unrestrained public speech in proclaiming the gospel (parrēsia). Must be taught as Spirit-given confidence in proclamation, not reckless political defiance; acute pastoral sensitivity required given real underground house-church safety risk in Iran. Occurrences: 4:13,29,31; 9:27-29; 13:46; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; 26:26; 28:31.
The Way
Approved rendering: راه
Transliteration: rah
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: طریقت
Original: ἡ ὁδός
Category: Church
A recurring proper-name-like designation for the early Christian movement itself. Direct terminological neighbor to Sufi طریقت (tariqat, a mystic order/path) and to generic شریعت/شرع (‘the way/law’); طریقت is explicitly rejected as a substitute or gloss. Must be clearly marked (typographically or by explanatory framing) as this specific movement’s proper name, not a generic spiritual path. Occurrences: 9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22.
Christian
Approved rendering: مسیحی
Transliteration: masihi
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: Χριστιανός
Category: Church
A follower of Christ, as a distinct social/religious identity. In contemporary Iran مسیحی functions primarily as a legally-recognized ethnic-minority religious category (Armenian, Assyrian communities); Muslim-background converts adopting this label face distinct, often severe, social/legal consequences not shared by those born into recognized Christian communities. Teach 11:26 and 26:28 with this present-day asymmetry explicitly in view; treat as High risk (borderline Medium-High) requiring theologian review.
Circumcision
Approved rendering: ختنه
Transliteration: khatne
Doctrine: Circumcision and Gentile Inclusion
Original: περιτομή / περιτέμνω
Category: Law
The Mosaic covenant-marking rite, debated as a salvation-requirement for Gentile believers. Frames the question ‘is an external identity-marker/rite required for full membership in God’s people?’ which closely parallels live pastoral questions for Muslim-background believers about visible Islamic identity markers; ختنه itself is near-universal cultural practice in Iran and must not be presented as though the text opposes the physical practice, only its role as a salvation-requirement. Occurrences: 7:8; 10:45; 11:2-3; 15:1,5,24; 16:3; 21:21.
Idols Idolatry
Approved rendering: بت / بتپرستی
Transliteration: bot / bot-parasti
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: εἴδωλον / εἰδωλολατρία
Category: Gentile Inclusion
Worship of images/false gods. Shared strong disapproval with Islam, but watch for polemical redirection at Christian veneration of icons/cross/Mary, which Muslim apologetics sometimes charges with the same category. Occurrences: 7:41; 14:15; 15:20,29; 17:16,23,29; 19:26,35; 21:25.
Inheritance
Approved rendering: میراث
Transliteration: miras
Doctrine: Inheritance and Eternal Life
Original: κληρονομία
Category: Church
The spiritual, eschatological inheritance given to sanctified believers. میراث draws on the same vocabulary as Islamic inheritance-law (fiqh al-mawarith); must retain the spiritual/eschatological sense, not a legal-partition framework, echoing the baseline’s caution on ‘adoption.’ Occurrences: 20:32; 26:18.
Forgiveness Of Sins
Approved rendering: بخشش گناهان
Transliteration: bakhshesh-e gonahan
Doctrine: Forgiveness of Sins through Christ
Original: ἄφεσις ἁμαρτιῶν
Category: Salvation
Forgiveness tied concretely to repentance-plus-baptism-in-Christ’s-name. Shared Islamic vocabulary of divine forgiveness (Allah al-Ghafur) must not eclipse the specifically Christ-secured, atonement-grounded forgiveness in view; always retain the explicit through-Christ anchor. Occurrences: 2:38; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18.
Fasting
Approved rendering: روزه
Transliteration: rowze
Doctrine: Vows, Fasting, and Religious Practice
Original: νηστεία
Category: Church
Voluntary abstinence from food accompanying prayer. روزه is the precise term for the obligatory Ramadan fast, one of Islam’s Five Pillars; Acts’ fasting is voluntary, occasional, and accompanies prayer for guidance/commissioning — must be taught as this church’s free practice, not a religious-duty quota that earns merit. Occurrences: 13:2-3; 14:23; 27:9 (implied).
Set Apart
Approved rendering: جدا کردن / وقف کردن
Transliteration: joda kardan / vaqf kardan
Doctrine: Divine Election and Calling of Paul
Original: ἀφορίζω
Category: Church
Deliberate separation of a person for a specific divine purpose/mission (13:2). Direct echo of Romans 1:1’s ‘Paul, … set apart for the gospel of God’; cross-curriculum verbatim-pattern consistency required with the Romans rendering.
Ordained To Eternal Life
Approved rendering: مقرر شده برای حیات جاودان
Transliteration: moqarrar shode barāye hayat-e javedan
Doctrine: Divine Election and Calling of Paul
Original: τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον
Category: Salvation
Divine appointment unto salvation (13:48). Election-to-salvation statement; the same Shia Imamate-succession-content caution attached to baseline ‘election’ applies here.
Light For The Gentiles
Approved rendering: نوری برای غیریهودیان
Transliteration: nur-i barāye gheyr-yahudian
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: φῶς ἐθνῶν
Category: Gentile Inclusion
Isaianic mission-fulfillment language applied to the apostolic mission (13:47; 26:23). Reuse baseline غیریهودیان and ماموریت for consistency; must read as prophetic fulfillment, not a generic humanitarian metaphor.
Spirit Of Divination
Approved rendering: روح غیبگویی
Transliteration: ruh-e gheybgu’i
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and Occult Power
Original: πνεῦμα πύθωνα
Category: Miracles
A specific demonic spirit associated with oracular/fortune-telling power, expelled by apostolic authority (16:16). Directly confronts living Iranian fortune-telling/fal-giri and rammal folk practices with Christ’s superior authority.
Self Control
Approved rendering: خودداری
Transliteration: khoddari
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: پرهیزگاری
Original: ἐγκράτεια
Category: Law
Self-mastery, part of Paul’s message before Felix alongside righteousness and coming judgment (24:25). Deliberately rendered خودداری rather than پرهیزگاری to avoid reintroducing the Zoroastrian-inflected virtue-piety register explicitly rejected for baseline ‘righteousness’; maintain this avoidance consistently, do not ‘correct’ back toward پرهیزگاری.
Unhindered
Approved rendering: بدون مانع / آزادانه
Transliteration: bedun-e mane’ / azadane
Doctrine: The Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: ἀκωλύτως
Category: Mission
The book’s closing word (akōlytōs, 28:31): the gospel proclaimed ‘without hindrance’ even under house arrest. Carries acute pastoral weight for underground house-church readers, for whom proclamation is anything but unhindered in the present; teach eschatologically/missiologically (the word of God cannot ultimately be bound) while remaining pastorally honest about present restriction, avoiding a false expectation of immediate earthly freedom.
Resuscitation
Approved rendering: زنده شدن دوباره
Transliteration: zende shodan-e dobare
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: ἀνέστη / ἀνίστημι
Category: Miracles
A restoration to mortal life (Tabitha, 9:36-42; Eutychus, 20:9-12), later to die again. Categorically distinct from Christ’s unique, permanent, glorified resurrection (baseline قیامت); a translator note distinguishing the two is required wherever this occurs.
Medium Risk Terms
Peace
Approved rendering: سلام
Transliteration: salam
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: آرامش
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package] آرامش is secular wellness/self-help ‘inner calm’ vocabulary and is rejected. Acts usage: 7:26; 9:31; 10:36; 12:20; 15:33; 16:36; 24:2.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: عطایای روحانی
Transliteration: ‘ataya-ye ruhani
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts
Original: χαρίσματα (concept: δωρεά)
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package] Always pair with روحانی so the phrase is not read as ordinary talent. Related to the ‘gift of the Spirit’ language in Acts 2:38-39; 8:20; 10:45; 11:17.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: مشارکت
Transliteration: mosharekat
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package] Shares the same ش-ر-ک root as shirk; the resonance is uncomfortable but the term is established and context disambiguates. Acts usage: 2:42,44-46.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: ملکوت خدا
Transliteration: malakut-e khoda
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
[Inherited from Romans package] Distinguish God’s present spiritual reign from any political state, given Iran’s Velayat-e Faqih system. Acts 1:3,6 directly narrates and corrects the disciples’ own political-restoration misreading; also 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23,31.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: غیریهودیان
Transliteration: gheyr-yahudian
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: امتها
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package] امتها shares the loaded Ummah root and is rejected. Acts usage: 9:15; 10:45; 11:1,18; 13:46-48; 14:27; 15:3,7,12,14,19,23; 18:6; 21:11,19,21,25; 22:21; 26:17,20,23; 28:28.
Glory
Approved rendering: جلال
Transliteration: jalal
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package] Carries deep devotional-poetic resonance in Persian Sufi literature; must not be conflated with generalized mystical-aesthetic categories. Acts usage: 7:2,55; 12:23; 22:11.
Covenant
Approved rendering: عهد
Transliteration: ‘ahd
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package] Also covers generic pledges and treaties in everyday Persian; retain the relational, unilaterally-initiated biblical covenant sense. Acts usage: 2:39 (the promise), 3:25, 7:8.
Providence
Approved rendering: تدبیر الهی
Transliteration: tadbir-e elahi
Doctrine: Providence
Original: concept (βουλή, πρόγνωσις; Acts 2:23, 4:28)
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package] Leans toward wise divine governance rather than raw fatalistic decree. Acts usage: 2:23; 4:28; 5:38-39; 27:23-24.
Mission
Approved rendering: ماموریت
Transliteration: ma’muriyat
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Rejected alternatives: رسالت
Original: ἀποστολή / πέμπω / ἀποστέλλω
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package] رسالت echoes Muhammad’s own prophetic-commission vocabulary and is rejected. Acts usage: 1:8; 9:15; 13:2-4,47; 22:21; 26:16-18.
Pentecost
Approved rendering: پنطیکاست
Transliteration: Pantikost
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Original: πεντηκοστή
Category: Holy Spirit
The Jewish Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), fifty days after Passover, on which the Spirit was poured out (Acts 2:1). No direct Islamic-tradition collision, but the Jewish feast-day background is unfamiliar to Muslim-background readers and must be taught, not assumed, via an explanatory gloss at first use.
Filled With The Spirit
Approved rendering: پر شدن (از روح)
Transliteration: por shodan (az ruh)
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Original: πίμπλημι (ἐπλήσθησαν)
Category: Holy Spirit
Full possession and empowering of believers by the Holy Spirit (2:4; 4:8,31; 9:17; 13:9). Must be distinguished from a fleeting ecstatic trance state; recurs at moments of bold proclamation, showing it is tied to consistent character and mission.
Council Sanhedrin
Approved rendering: مجمع / سنهدرین
Transliteration: majma’ / Sanhedrin
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: συνέδριον
Category: Persecution
The Jewish ruling council opposing the apostles. Avoid conflation with Iran’s own clerical governing councils despite the structurally similar dynamic of religious-legal authority opposing a minority movement. Occurrences: 4:15; 5:21,27,34,41; 6:12,15; 22:30; 23:1,6,15,20,28; 24:20.
Elders
Approved rendering: مشایخ
Transliteration: mashayekh
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Office
Original: πρεσβύτεροι
Category: Church
Church office of local oversight. مشایخ shares its root with the Islamic honorific ‘shaykh,’ which in Iran carries clerical-jurist connotations; established Christian usage with contextual gloss is required at first occurrence (11:30) so the office is not read as a clerical-jurist role. Occurrences: 11:30; 14:23; 15:2,4,6,22-23; 16:4; 20:17; 21:18.
Overseer
Approved rendering: ناظر
Transliteration: nazer
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Office
Original: ἐπίσκοπος
Category: Church
Church office of oversight/supervision, used interchangeably with ‘elder’ at 20:17,28. Explicit note required that ناظر and مشایخ denote the same office from two angles, matching the Greek’s own interchangeable usage — Persian requires two distinct words for what Greek treats as one office.
Deacon Service
Approved rendering: خادم / خدمت
Transliteration: khadem / khedmat
Doctrine: Church as Community
Original: διάκονος / διακονία
Category: Church
Practical service, and the formal office arising from it (Acts 6:1-6). Practical care must be taught as integral to church life, not secondary to ‘spiritual’ ministry.
Laying On Of Hands
Approved rendering: گذاردن دستها
Transliteration: gozardan-e dast-ha
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν
Category: Miracles
Physical gesture accompanying commissioning, blessing, or impartation of the Spirit. Must be distinguished from folk-Sufi baraka-transfer through a pir’s touch/breath and from mullah’s ritual dua-writing gestures. Occurrences: 6:6; 8:17-19; 9:17; 13:3; 19:6.
Vision Dream
Approved rendering: رؤیا / خواب
Transliteration: ro’ya / khab
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: ὅραμα / ἐνύπνιον
Category: Miracles
Divinely-given sight of realities beyond ordinary perception, waking vision or sleep-dream. Shares vocabulary with Islamic/Shia dream-vision piety (istikhara, visions of the Imams); content and authority must remain explicitly Christ-centered, not a generic spiritual-guidance category. Occurrences: 2:17; 9:10,12; 10:3,17,19; 11:5; 12:9; 16:9-10; 18:9; 26:19.
Unknown God
Approved rendering: خدای ناشناخته
Transliteration: khoda-ye nashenakhte
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: ἄγνωστος θεός
Category: Gentile Inclusion
An altar inscription Paul uses as a rhetorical missionary bridge in Athens (17:23). An effective culturally-adapted missionary illustration; must not be read as affirming the validity of the underlying pagan worship itself.
Magic Sorcery
Approved rendering: جادو
Transliteration: jado
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and Occult Power
Original: μαγεία
Category: Miracles
Occult power-manipulation, contrasted with the Spirit’s freely-given power. Bridge-and-contrast concept given Iran’s living folk-magic/talisman practices (do’a-nevisi). Occurrences: 8:9-11; 13:6,8; 19:19.
God Fearer
Approved rendering: خداترس
Transliteration: khoda-tars
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: φοβούμενος τὸν θεόν / εὐλαβής
Category: Gentile Inclusion
A Gentile sympathetic to and worshiping the God of Israel without full conversion (Cornelius, 10:2,22,35; 13:16,26). A useful bridge to the shared Persian/Islamic خداترس piety category, but must be taught as a starting point, not yet equivalent to saving faith.
Prayer
Approved rendering: دعا
Transliteration: do’a
Doctrine: Church as Community
Original: προσευχή
Category: Church
Communication with God, individual and corporate. Shared everyday Islamic term (do’a); retain the relational, Christ-mediated sense throughout Acts’ many prayer scenes.
Angel
Approved rendering: فرشته
Transliteration: fereshte
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: ἄγγελος
Category: Miracles
A divine messenger acting with God’s authority. Shared Islamic/Zoroastrian angelology; keep as created messenger, not an emanationist intermediary, per the baseline’s incarnation-related caution. Occurrences: 5:19; 8:26; 10:3,22; 12:7-11,23; 27:23.
Door Of Faith
Approved rendering: در ایمان
Transliteration: dar-e iman
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: θύρα πίστεως
Category: Gentile Inclusion
God opening opportunity/access for faith-response among Gentiles (14:27). Opportunity/access metaphor; low independent collision risk beyond standard care for baseline ایمان.
Yoke
Approved rendering: یوغ
Transliteration: yugh
Doctrine: Law, Grace, and the Jerusalem Council
Original: ζυγός
Category: Law
The burden of full law-observance rejected as a salvation-requirement for Gentile believers (15:10). Reuse baseline ناموس framing; ‘why put a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither we nor our fathers could bear?’ is a direct grace-versus-law statement.
Breaking Of Bread
Approved rendering: پاره کردن نان
Transliteration: pare kardan-e nan
Doctrine: Church as Community
Original: κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου
Category: Church
The church’s regular communal meal, likely anticipating the Lord’s Supper. Clarify as a regular shared-meal-with-remembrance practice, not yet a fixed liturgical rite; a structurally similar but distinct bridge concept to Islamic communal iftar meals. Occurrences: 2:42,46; 20:7,11; 27:35.
All Things In Common
Approved rendering: همهچیز را با هم شریک بودند
Transliteration: hame-chiz ra ba ham sharik budand
Doctrine: Church as Community
Original: ἅπαντα κοινά
Category: Church
Voluntary economic sharing among believers in the Jerusalem church (2:44-45; 4:32-37). Must be taught as voluntary and situational (Jerusalem-specific), not a universal economic mandate nor an endorsement of a particular political-economic ideology.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: شکرگزاری
Transliteration: shokr-gozari
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία / εὐχαριστέω
Category: Faith
[Inherited from Romans package] Shukr is also a major Islamic virtue category; broadly compatible, low risk. Acts usage: 27:35; 28:15.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: نبوت
Transliteration: nabovat
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package] Low independent risk beyond the prophet entry’s own note. Acts usage: 2:17-18; 19:6; 21:9.
David
Approved rendering: داوود
Transliteration: Davud
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package] Shared, positively-regarded Quranic prophet-king figure; supply the covenant-king typology explicitly. Acts usage: 1:16; 2:25,29,34; 4:25; 13:22,34,36; 15:16.
Exhort
Approved rendering: تشویق کردن
Transliteration: tashviq kardan
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
[Inherited from Romans package] Context-sensitive: نصیحت کردن for beseeching; تشویق کردن for building up. Acts usage: 2:40; 11:23; 14:22; 15:32; 16:40; 20:1-2.
Shepherd Flock
Approved rendering: شبان / گله
Transliteration: shoban / gale
Doctrine: Church as Community
Original: ποιμήν / ποίμνιον
Category: Church
Pastoral care metaphor for elders overseeing the church (20:28-29). Safe, resonant pastoral metaphor in Persian poetic tradition; low collision risk.
Riot Uproar
Approved rendering: شورش / آشوب
Transliteration: shuresh / ashub
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: στάσις / θόρυβος
Category: Persecution
Civil disturbance triggered by gospel proclamation. Recurring pattern of civic unrest accompanying gospel proclamation; low independent doctrinal risk. Occurrences: 19:23-40; 21:30-31; 24:5.
Appeal To Caesar
Approved rendering: استیناف به قیصر
Transliteration: estinaf be qeysar
Doctrine: The Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: Καίσαρα ἐπικαλοῦμαι
Category: Mission
Paul’s formal legal appeal to the highest Roman court (25:11-12). Legal-procedural term with minimal doctrinal risk; thematically supports the Rome-ward trajectory of Acts 1:8/28:31.
Referenced passages