Core Glossary
Core Glossary: Matthew 1–28 (Persian Destination Language)
This glossary supplements, and never contradicts, the baseline Romans translation_memory.json. Section 1 lists Matthew-relevant terms already fixed by the baseline (reused exactly, no changes permitted). Section 2 lists new terms surfaced by the full-book Matthew analysis (07_semantic_analysis.md), each with risk tier, doctrine linkage, chapter citations, rejected alternatives, and rationale. These new entries are proposed for addition to translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json in Step 2.
Section 1 — Reused Baseline Terms (No Change, Cited by Matthew Chapter)
| Term | Persian | Risk (baseline) | Matthew chapters where load-bearing |
|---|---|---|---|
| God | خدا | Critical | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 19, 22, 26, 27 (throughout) |
| Jesus | عیسی | Critical | throughout |
| Christ/Messiah | مسیح | Critical | 1, 2, 11, 16, 22, 24, 26, 27 |
| Lord | خداوند | Critical | 3, 7, 8, 12, 22, 28 |
| Son of God | پسر خدا | Critical | 3, 14, 16, 17, 26, 27 (never softened) |
| Holy Spirit | روحالقدس | Critical | 1, 3, 12, 28 |
| Father | پدر | Critical | 5, 6, 7, 23, 28 |
| Church | کلیسا | High | 16, 18 |
| Kingdom of God | ملکوت خدا | Medium | 6, 12, 19, 21 (synonymous with ملکوت آسمان, see Section 2) |
| Apostle | رسول | Medium | 10 (with حواری permissible for “the Twelve” specifically) |
| Called / Calling | دعوتشده / دعوت | High | 22 |
| Election | برگزیدگی خدا | High | 22 |
| Faith | ایمان | High | 8, 9, 14, 15, 17 |
| Righteousness | عدالت | Critical | 5, 6, 23 |
| Law | ناموس | Critical | 5, 22 |
| Sin | گناه | High | 1, 9, 26 |
| Gentiles | غیریهودیان | Medium | 8, 15, 18 (contrastive Jew/Gentile sense; see ملتها for the inclusive Great Commission sense) |
| Glory | جلال | Medium | 17, 25 |
| Prophet | پیامبر | High | 5, 7, 11, 21 |
| Prophecy / Fulfillment | نبوت / تحقق یافت | Low/High | 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 13, 21, 27 |
| Covenant | عهد | Medium | 26 |
| Resurrection | قیامت | Critical | 12, 16, 17, 22, 26, 27, 28 |
| Israel | اسرائیل | High | 2, 8, 27 |
| David | داوود | Medium | 1, 12, 22 |
| Seed of David | نسل داوود | High | (background for the new پسر داوود title, Section 2) |
| Salvation | نجات | Critical | (background for ransom/atonement cluster, Section 2) |
| Grace | فیض | High | (background for reward/wage tension in ch. 20; see پاداش, Section 2) |
| Mission | ماموریت | Medium | 10, 28 |
| Peace (with God) | سلام | Medium | 10 (contrasted with شمشیر, “sword”) |
| Exhort | تشویق کردن | Low | (distinguish from تسلی, “comfort,” Section 2) |
Section 2 — New Terms Introduced by Matthew
| # | Term (EN) | Original (Greek) | Transliteration | Persian rendering | Risk | Doctrine | Chapters | Rejected alternatives | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kingdom of Heaven | βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν | basileia tōn ouranōn | ملکوت آسمان | Critical | The Kingdom of Heaven | 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25 | (collapsing into ملکوت خدا without teaching synonymy) | Matthew’s dominant, distinctive idiom (~32x); must be taught as fully synonymous with baseline’s ملکوت خدا (heaven = reverential circumlocution for God), and explicitly distinguished from Iran’s Velayat-e Faqih religious-political state model |
| 2 | Son of Man | υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου | huios tou anthrōpou | پسر انسان | Critical | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching; Judgment and the End of the Age | 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26 | (rendering that implies mere humanity without the Daniel 7 authority background) | Jesus’ preferred self-designation; draws on Daniel 7:13-14’s exalted, enthroned, universally-ruling figure — a claim to supreme authority, not a diminished Christological title |
| 3 | Son of David (title) | υἱὸς Δαυίδ | huios Dauid | پسر داوود | Critical | Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David | 1, 9, 12, 15, 20, 21, 22 | (conflating with baseline’s descriptive نسل داوود) | Functions as a vocative messianic confession/acclamation (crowds, blind men, triumphal entry), distinct in force from baseline’s lineage-descriptive “seed of David” |
| 4 | Immanuel | Ἐμμανουήλ | Emmanouēl | عمانوئیل (gloss: خدا با ما) | Critical | Incarnation | 1, 28 (inclusio) | برگزیده خدا-style softened paraphrase | Direct Isaiah 7:14 fulfillment quotation asserting God’s personal presence in Jesus; bookends the Gospel (1:23; 28:20) |
| 5 | Blessed (Beatitude) | μακάριος | makarios | خوشا به حال | Medium | Kingdom of Heaven | 5, 11, 13, 16, 24 | متبرک (mobarak) | مبارک is heavily loaded with Islamic ritual-blessing/greeting usage (Eid mobarak); خوشا به حال preserves the declarative, favor-not-merit sense |
| 6 | Poor in spirit | πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι | ptōchoi tō pneumati | فقیران در روح | High | Kingdom of Heaven; Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5 | درویشان (darvishan) | Risks conflation with Sufi faqr as a cultivated ascetic virtue-stage rather than confessed spiritual bankruptcy |
| 7 | Repentance | μετάνοια | metanoia | توبه | Critical | Kingdom of Heaven; Salvation | 3, 4, 11, 12 | (no viable low-collision alternative in established Persian Bible tradition) | Exact Islamic term for a human-initiated, self-sufficient act of turning that independently secures forgiveness; must be taught as Spirit-enabled and Christ-oriented |
| 8 | Baptism / baptize | βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω | baptisma / baptizō | تعمید | High | The Great Commission | 3, 28 | (ritual-washing/ghusl-style paraphrase) | Native Persian Christian term; teach as identification with Christ’s death/resurrection and public confession, not ritual purification |
| 9 | Worship (proskyneō) | προσκυνέω | proskyneō | پرستش کردن | High | Jesus as the Promised Messiah; Deity of Christ (baseline) | 2, 14, 28 | سجده کردن | سجده is the exact Islamic prostration term reserved for Allah; every occurrence toward Jesus must be flagged for deity-of-Christ review |
| 10 | Authority (exousia) | ἐξουσία | exousia | اختیار | High | The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 7, 8, 9, 21, 28 | (conflating with baseline’s قدرت خدا) | Distinct sense: the right/standing to teach, forgive, and judge, inherent rather than derivative — contrast with Velayat-e Faqih’s derivative clerical-authority claim |
| 11 | Disciple | μαθητής | mathētēs | شاگرد | Medium | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus | throughout | (no change) | Distinguish from Sufi pir-o-morid hierarchical human-master discipleship |
| 12 | Scribes | γραμματεῖς | grammateis | کاتبان | Medium | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 16, 20, 21, 23, 26, 27 | علما (olama) | علما is the precise living term for Iran’s clerical establishment; using it risks unintended contemporary political reading |
| 13 | Hypocrite | ὑποκριτής | hypokritēs | ریاکار | Medium | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 6, 7, 15, 22, 23, 24 | (no change) | Bridge concept with Islamic riya/nifaq vice-categories; must not become a generalized polemic against Islamic clergy as a class |
| 14 | Mercy | ἔλεος | eleos | رحمت | Medium | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees; Kingdom of Heaven | 5, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 23 | (no change) | Shares root with Divine Names Al-Rahman/Al-Rahim; must move from devotional formula to concretely embodied ethic |
| 15 | Compassion (splanchnizomai) | ἐσπλαγχνίσθη | esplanchnisthē | دلش سوخت / ترحم | Medium | Kingdom of Heaven | 9, 14, 15, 18, 20 | (abstract-only rendering) | Prefer vivid embodied phrasing over an abstract theological noun to preserve Matthew’s narrative vividness |
| 16 | Love (agape) | ἀγάπη | agapē | محبت | High | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees; The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 5, 22 | عشق (eshq) | عشق is Sufi mystical, often erotically-inflected divine-love vocabulary (Rumi/Hafez); agape is willed, commanded, neighbor-inclusive covenant love |
| 17 | Pure in heart | καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ | katharoi tē kardia | پاکدلان | High | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5, 15 | (ritual-purity-only rendering) | Distinguish from Islamic ritual-purity (tahara/wudu) framework; internal moral singleness of devotion |
| 18 | Clean / unclean | καθαρός / κοινός | katharos / koinos | پاک / ناپاک | High | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 15 | (no change) | Directly engages halal/haram and najis/tahir Islamic purity-law categories |
| 19 | See God | τὸν θεὸν ὄψονται | ton theon opsontai | خدا را خواهند دید | High | Kingdom of Heaven | 5 | (softened metaphorical-only rendering) | Contrasts with mainstream Islamic denial of direct visual encounter with Allah; ground in the Incarnation |
| 20 | Peacemakers | εἰρηνοποιοί | eirēnopoioi | صلحکنندگان | Medium | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5 | (conflating with baseline’s سلام) | Distinct sense (interpersonal reconciliation) from baseline’s سلام (relational/legal peace with God) |
| 21 | Sons of God (believers, plural) | υἱοὶ θεοῦ | huioi theou | فرزندان خدا | Critical | Adoption (baseline); Kingdom of Heaven | 5 | پسران خدا | Must never use پسران خدا, which would visually/lexically dilute baseline’s Critical, unique پسر خدا reserved for Christ alone |
| 22 | Reward | μισθός | misthos | پاداش | High | Grace (baseline) | 5, 6, 10, 20 | (unmarked rendering without grace-framing) | Close structural parallel to Islamic ajr/thawab deeds-weighing reward; must be taught as grace-overflow, not earned wages |
| 23 | Persecuted for righteousness | δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης | dediōgmenoi heneken dikaiosynēs | آزار دیدن بهخاطر عدالت | High | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus | 5, 10 | (softened/abstracted rendering) | Direct, unsoftened pastoral relevance to real house-church persecution; retain full force |
| 24 | Fulfill (the Law) | πληρῶσαι (τὸν νόμον) | plērōsai (ton nomon) | به کمال رساندن (ناموس) | Critical | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching; Fulfillment of OT Prophecy | 5 | (rendering implying abolition or supersession) | Must not read as Jesus claiming authority to amend Iran’s shari’a-based legal system; fulfillment, not abrogation (contrast with Islamic naskh) |
| 25 | ”You have heard…but I say” | ἠκούσατε… ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν | — | شنیدهاید… اما من به شما میگویم | High | The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 5 | (framing as one ijtihad-opinion among many) | Assertion of inherent divine authority, not one juristic opinion among others |
| 26 | Retaliation / eye for eye | ἀνθ᾿ ὀφθαλμοῦ | — | چشم به چشم | High | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5 | (omitting the قصاص collision note) | Precise parallel to live Iranian penal-code قصاص (retributive justice) category |
| 27 | Divorce | ἀπολύσαι / ἀποστάσιον | apolysai / apostasion | طلاق | High | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5, 19 | (euphemistic paraphrase) | Exact Islamic legal term; directly engages the largely male-unilateral classical fiqh framework |
| 28 | Oath | ὅρκος | horkos | قسم | Medium | The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 5 | (no change) | Common everyday/legal Persian speech practice; teach as call to consistent truthful character |
| 29 | Almsgiving | ἐλεημοσύνη | eleēmosynē | صدقه | High | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 6 | (secular-charity-only rendering) | Exact Islamic voluntary-charity category; must be private/relational, not merit-accruing public performance |
| 30 | Fasting | νηστεία | nēsteia | روزه | High | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 6 | (no change) | Term for Ramadan fasting, a Pillar of Islam; must be private/voluntary discipline, not public communal obligation |
| 31 | Perfect | τέλειος | teleios | کامل | High | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5 | انسان کامل framing without correction | Distinguish from the Sufi/Shia “Perfect Human” mystical-attainment station |
| 32 | Rest | ἀνάπαυσις | anapausis | آرامش / راحتی (heavily qualified) | High | Kingdom of Heaven | 11 | bare آرامش | Baseline already rejects bare آرامش for “peace” (secular wellness-culture sense); same caution applies here |
| 33 | Yoke | ζυγός | zygos | یوغ | Medium | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus | 11 | (no change) | Requires explanatory agricultural-metaphor framing for urban readers |
| 34 | Sabbath | σάββατον | sabbaton | سبت | Medium | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 12 | روز شنبه (colloquial) | Established Biblical-Persian technical term; no direct Islamic ritual equivalent |
| 35 | Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit | βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα | blasphēmia eis to Pneuma | کفر (به روحالقدس) | Critical | Judgment and the End of the Age | 12 | (softened “sin against the Spirit” paraphrase) | كفر imports the entire Islamic apostasy/kafir legal-social framework; mandatory theologian review at every occurrence |
| 36 | Parable | παραβολή | parabolē | مثل | Medium | Kingdom of Heaven | 13 | تمثیل | مثل is a genuine Quranic-cognate bridge term (amthal); risk of reduction to generic proverbial wisdom |
| 37 | Mysteries of the kingdom | τὰ μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας | ta mystēria tēs basileias | رازهای ملکوت | High | Kingdom of Heaven | 13 | (unqualified “secret” rendering) | Risk of absorption into Shia esoteric ilm-e batin / Hidden Imam concealment framework; teach as now-revealed, not perpetually hidden |
| 38 | Church discipline (bind/loose) | δέω / λύω | deō / lyō | بستن و گشودن | High | The Church and Church Discipline | 16, 18 | (unqualified “authority to legislate” rendering) | Risk of collision with Imamate/velayat-e faqih infallible-clerical-authority model; teach as Spirit-guided recognition of gospel truth |
| 39 | Keys of the kingdom | τὰς κλεῖς τῆς βασιλείας | tas kleis tēs basileias | کلیدهای ملکوت | High | The Church and Church Discipline | 16 | (no change) | Same Imamate/velayat collision caution as bind/loose |
| 40 | Ransom | λύτρον | lytron | فدیه | Critical | Judgment and the End of the Age; Salvation (baseline) | 20 | (financial-transaction-only rendering) | Islamic fidya/ransom legal category is a bridge but risks reducing the atonement to a mere payment; distinguish from Karbala/Hussein martyrdom-intercession framework per baseline |
| 41 | Cornerstone / rejected stone | κεφαλὴ γωνίας | kephalē gōnias | سنگ زاویه / سر زاویه | High | Fulfillment of OT Prophecy; Jesus as the Promised Messiah | 21 | (no change) | Named OT (Psalm 118) fulfillment applied by Jesus to his own rejection/vindication |
| 42 | End of the age | συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος | synteleia tou aiōnos | پایان این دوران | Critical | Judgment and the End of the Age | 13, 24, 28 | آخرالزمان | آخرالزمان is the precise Islamic/Shia apocalyptic term tied to Mahdist expectation; must not pre-load Matthew’s own eschatology with that framework |
| 43 | Coming (parousia) | παρουσία | parousia | آمدن دوباره / بازگشت | Critical | Judgment and the End of the Age | 24 | ظهور | ظهور is THE Twelver Shia technical term for the Hidden Imam’s reappearance; using it for Christ’s return is the single highest-priority forbidden substitution in this glossary |
| 44 | Tribulation | θλῖψις | thlipsis | مصیبت عظیم / رنج عظیم | Medium | Judgment and the End of the Age | 24 | (unmarked مصیبت) | مصیبت carries Muharram-mourning resonance; disambiguate from existing Karbala-commemoration categories |
| 45 | Eternal life / eternal punishment | ζωὴ αἰώνιος / κόλασις αἰώνιος | zōē aiōnios / kolasis aiōnios | حیات ابدی / عذاب ابدی | Critical | Judgment and the End of the Age | 25 | (deeds-weighing-only framing) | Compatible surface vocabulary with Islamic Paradise/Hell categories; criterion must be taught within Matthew’s grace-then-fruit structure |
| 46 | Hell / Gehenna | γέεννα / πῦρ αἰώνιον | geenna | جهنم | Critical | Judgment and the End of the Age | 5, 10, 18, 23, 25 | (novel coinage departing from Bible-tradition precedent) | Identical shared Quranic term; retained per established Persian Bible precedent but requires mandatory theologian review at every occurrence |
| 47 | Body / blood (of the covenant) | σῶμα / αἷμα (τῆς διαθήκης) | sōma / haima | بدن / خون (عهد) | High | The Church and Church Discipline (Lord’s Supper); Salvation | 26 | (literal-only rendering without symbolic framing) | Blood is najis/haram to consume in Islamic law; must be taught with clear sacramental-symbolic framing tied to forgiveness of sins |
| 48 | Crucify / crucifixion | σταυρόω / σταυρός | stauroō / stauros | مصلوب کردن / صلیب | Critical | Fulfillment of OT Prophecy; Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus | 10, 16, 20, 26, 27 | (softened “suffered greatly” paraphrase) | Direct, extensive confrontation with Quran 4:157’s crucifixion denial (shubbiha lahum), shared across Sunni and Shia Islam |
| 49 | All nations (Great Commission sense) | πάντα τὰ ἔθνη | panta ta ethnē | همه ملتها / اقوام | Medium | The Great Commission | 24, 28 | امتها; غیریهودیان (in this inclusive sense) | Inclusive sense (all peoples, no Jew/Gentile contrast) distinct from baseline’s contrastive غیریهودیان; retain baseline’s rejection of the Ummah-root امتها |
| 50 | Trinitarian baptismal formula | εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος | — | به نام پدر و پسر و روحالقدس | Critical | The Great Commission | 28 | (formula implying three separate names/deities) | Single “name” (singular) for three Persons; direct tawhid-tension requiring mandatory theologian review; teach as consistent with, not contradictory to, God’s own triune unity |
Cross-Reference Notes for Step 2 (Translation Memory / Doctrine Risk Registry Update)
- Terms #42 and #43 (پایان این دوران / آمدن دوباره / بازگشت, rejecting آخرالزمان and ظهور respectively) should be added to the curriculum’s forbidden-substitution list with the same non-negotiable priority as baseline’s existing Son of God / Law / Righteousness / Adoption / Grace / Peace / Imputed Righteousness / Gentiles entries.
- Term #35 (کفر, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) requires a dedicated escalation rule in the AI translation requirements document: every occurrence must route to mandatory human theologian review, and translators should consider the descriptive-phrase variant کفرگویی به روحالقدس to reduce identity-category (kafir) contamination.
- Term #21 (فرزندان خدا, believers’ sonship) must be documented as a required lexical divergence from پسر خدا, protecting rather than contradicting baseline’s Critical Sonship-of-Christ entry.
- Terms #1 (kingdom of heaven) and baseline’s kingdom of God must be documented in translation memory as synonymous doctrinal referents rendered with two distinct, consistent Persian phrases (ملکوت آسمان / ملکوت خدا), with an explicit synonymy-teaching note attached to both entries.
- All Critical-tier new terms (#2, #3, #4, #7, #35, #40, #42, #43, #45, #46, #48, #50) require the same “Human theologian, no exceptions” review routing baseline established for its own Critical-tier entries.
Critical Risk Terms
Righteousness
Approved rendering: عدالت
Transliteration: edalat
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: پارسایی
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: پارسایی remains rejected for its Zoroastrian-inflected ethical-purity connotation. In Matthew, central to the Beatitudes (5:6, 5:10), the ‘righteousness exceeding the Pharisees’ argument (5:20; 6:33), and 21:32; must carry both forensic standing and right conduct flowing from it without collapsing into achievement.
Salvation
Approved rendering: نجات
Transliteration: nejat
Doctrine: Salvation
Original: σῴζω / σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: Karbala/Hussein martyrdom-intercession framework must be actively distinguished from Christ’s atonement, not merely contrasted with deeds-weighing. In Matthew, underlies Jesus’ own name-etymology (‘he will save his people from their sins,’ 1:21) and the ransom saying (20:28).
Law
Approved rendering: ناموس
Transliteration: namus
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: شریعت
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL, deliberate departure from some older Persian Bible precedent to avoid provoking a direct legal challenge to Iran’s shari’a-based state. Matthew 5:17-19 (‘I have not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it’) is the single most important Matthean verse for this term; see new term ‘fulfill_the_law’ below.
Jesus
Approved rendering: عیسی
Transliteration: Isa
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Matthew’s narrative content (virgin birth, crucifixion, bodily resurrection, worship by disciples) must actively correct the Quranic prophet-only, non-crucified narrative at every relevant passage (chs. 1-2, 27-28).
God
Approved rendering: خدا
Transliteration: Khoda
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: الله
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. In Matthew, repeatedly addressed as ‘Father’ by Jesus (chs. 5-7, 26) and is the subject of the Trinitarian baptismal formula (28:19); tawhid-sensitivity notes from baseline apply throughout.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: روحالقدس
Transliteration: Ruh-ol-Qods
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Active in Christ’s conception (1:18,20), descending at the baptism (3:16), and named in the Trinitarian baptismal formula (28:19); the created-being-vs-divine-Person (Jibril) distinction must be reinforced at each occurrence.
Father
Approved rendering: پدر
Transliteration: pedar
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. The Lord’s Prayer (6:9) models corporate filial address; 23:9 (‘call no man father’) must be taught as a caution against exalted religious honorifics, not a blanket ban on respectful address.
Lord
Approved rendering: خداوند
Transliteration: Khodavand
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: سرور
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. In Matthew, Jesus applies this title to himself over the Sabbath (12:8); recurs in the ‘Lord, Lord’ warning (7:21-23) and the David’s-Lord argument (22:41-45); must always convey exclusive supreme lordship.
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. NEVER softened. Occurs at the baptism (3:17), temptation (4:3,6), Peter’s confession (16:16), the trial (26:63), and the centurion’s confession (27:54). Must remain lexically distinct from believers’ plural, derivative sonship (see new term ‘sons_of_god_believers’ below, فرزندان خدا, never پسران خدا).
Messiah
Approved rendering: مسیح
Transliteration: Masih
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Matthew opens (1:1) and structures its whole genealogy/fulfillment argument around this title; every occurrence must actively assert Christ’s own primary, sufficient identity against Shia Mahdi-centered displacement.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: قیامت
Transliteration: qiyamat
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. Predicted repeatedly (12:40; 16:21; 17:23; 20:19) and narrated as historical fact witnessed by named women and the Twelve (28:1-20); directly confronts Quran 4:157’s crucifixion-denial and Shia Mahdi-centered eschatological reframing.
Kingdom Of Heaven
Approved rendering: ملکوت آسمان
Transliteration: malakut-e aseman
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Original: βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν
Category: Kingdom
NEW. Matthew’s dominant idiom (~32x); ‘heaven’ is a reverential circumlocution for God, functionally identical to ملکوت خدا. CRITICAL because Iran’s Velayat-e Faqih system is an explicitly religious-political state structure claiming divinely-derived sovereignty, giving this phrase sharper live political resonance than baseline’s kingdom_of_god entry anticipated. Every occurrence must be taught as synonymous with ملکوت خدا and never a territorial-political state or afterlife-only location.
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: پسر انسان
Transliteration: pesar-e ensan
Doctrine: Son of Man Authority
Original: ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Category: Christology
NEW. Jesus’ characteristic self-designation (~30 occurrences; first at 8:20), drawing on Daniel 7:13-14’s exalted, enthroned, universally-ruling figure. CRITICAL because its surface can sound like a claim to mere humanity - a LOWER Christological claim than پسر خدا - when it is in fact Jesus’ vehicle for asserting the highest possible authority (forgiving sins 9:6; judging the nations 25:31; universal authority 28:18). Must be taught with its full Danielic background at every Critical-tier use.
Son Of David
Approved rendering: پسر داوود
Transliteration: pesar-e Davud
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
Original: υἱὸς Δαυίδ
Category: Christology
NEW, distinct from baseline’s نسل داوود (descriptive lineage phrase). A direct messianic confessional/vocative title used as public acclamation (9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30-31; 21:9,15) and in Jesus’ own Psalm 110 argument (22:41-45). CRITICAL: carries full Shia Mahdi-displacement risk; Christ’s own primary redemptive sufficiency must be actively asserted at each occurrence, not merely his honored Davidic status.
Immanuel
Approved rendering: عمانوئیل
Transliteration: Amanu’il
Doctrine: Incarnation (Immanuel)
Rejected alternatives: برگزیده خدا-style softened paraphrase
Original: Ἐμμανουήλ
Category: Christology
NEW. ‘God with us’ (Isaiah 7:14 fulfillment-name), bookending the Gospel (1:23; echoed 28:20). Transliterate with mandatory gloss خدا با ما. CRITICAL: among the most direct Incarnation-affirming statements in Matthew; teach against both the Quran’s denial of divine sonship and the Zoroastrian emanationist softening baseline flags for تجسد.
Sons Of God Believers
Approved rendering: فرزندان خدا
Transliteration: farzandan-e khoda
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: پسران خدا
Original: υἱοὶ θεοῦ
Category: Salvation
NEW, deliberate lexical divergence from پسر خدا. Believers’ derivative, adoptive sonship (5:9; 5:45), categorically distinct from Christ’s unique, co-equal divine Sonship. Uses گender-neutral فرزندان rather than پسران to protect پسر خدا’s Christological uniqueness from dilution. NEVER render with پسران خدا.
Repentance
Approved rendering: توبه
Transliteration: towbeh
Doctrine: Repentance
Original: μετάνοια
Category: Salvation
NEW. CRITICAL: توبه is the exact, load-bearing Islamic term for a human-initiated act of turning back to Allah that, properly performed, independently erases the sin’s record. Retained as the established Persian Bible term (3:2; 4:17; 11:20-21; 12:41) but must be taught as Spirit-enabled reorientation flowing toward the kingdom already breaking in through Christ, never a self-generated act securing forgiveness apart from his atoning work.
Fulfill The Law
Approved rendering: به کمال رساندن (ناموس)
Transliteration: be kamal resandan (namus)
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: rendering implying abolition or supersession
Original: πληρῶσαι (τὸν νόμον)
Category: Covenant
NEW. Bringing the Law to its intended completion, not abolishing or amending it (5:17-19). CRITICAL: because baseline’s ناموس was chosen specifically to avoid provoking a direct legal challenge to Iran’s shari’a-based state, this verse requires especially careful framing so Jesus is not misheard as claiming authority to amend a legal-political system, and must be contrasted with Islamic naskh (abrogation), which supersedes rather than fulfills.
Blasphemy Against Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: کفر (به روحالقدس)
Transliteration: kofr (be Ruh-ol-Qods)
Doctrine: Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
Rejected alternatives: softened ‘sin against the Spirit’ paraphrase
Original: βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα
Category: Sin
NEW. A persistent, willful rejection of the Spirit’s testimony about Christ - the unforgivable sin (12:22-32). CRITICAL: کفر is the exact, foundational Islamic category for disbelief/blasphemy; a person committing kofr is a kafir, carrying severe theological, social, and apostasy-linked legal consequences. Mandatory theologian review at every occurrence; prefer the descriptive phrase کفرگویی به روحالقدس to reduce identity-category contamination.
Ransom
Approved rendering: فدیه
Transliteration: fadiyeh
Doctrine: Atonement and Ransom
Rejected alternatives: financial-transaction-only rendering
Original: λύτρον
Category: Salvation
NEW. The price paid to free a slave or captive, applied to the Son of Man’s life given for many (20:28). CRITICAL: فدیه is a live Islamic legal/ritual category (e.g., fidya for a missed fast) - a genuine bridge, but risks reducing the atonement to a mere financial/legal transaction. Must be tied explicitly to baseline’s Salvation doctrine distinguishing Christ’s atonement from the Karbala/Hussein martyrdom-intercession framework.
End Of The Age
Approved rendering: پایان این دوران
Transliteration: payan-e in dowran
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
Rejected alternatives: آخرالزمان
Original: συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος
Category: Eschatology
NEW. The completion/consummation of the present age, preceding Christ’s return and final judgment (13:39-40,49; 24:3,14; 28:20). CRITICAL, FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION: explicitly reject آخرالزمان - the standard Islamic and especially Twelver Shia apocalyptic term for the chaos-and-collapse period preceding the Hidden Imam’s zohur. Using it risks the entire Olivet Discourse being pre-read through Mahdist expectation.
Second Coming Parousia
Approved rendering: آمدن دوباره / بازگشت
Transliteration: amadan-e dobare / bazgasht
Doctrine: The Second Coming
Rejected alternatives: ظهور
Original: παρουσία
Category: Eschatology
NEW. The formal, promised arrival/presence of the Son of Man (ch. 24-25). CRITICAL, HIGHEST-PRIORITY FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION IN THIS CURRICULUM: explicitly reject ظهور - THE specific, load-bearing Twelver Shia technical term for the Hidden Twelfth Imam’s awaited reappearance after concealment (ghaybat). Using it for Christ’s return would directly graft Matthew’s teaching onto the Mahdist framework rather than presenting Christ’s own distinct, sufficient, already-promised return.
Eternal Life And Punishment
Approved rendering: حیات ابدی / عذاب ابدی
Transliteration: hayat-e abadi / azab-e abadi
Doctrine: Eternal Judgment and Hell
Rejected alternatives: deeds-weighing-only framing
Original: ζωὴ αἰώνιος / κόλασις αἰώνιος
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Life or punishment belonging to the age to come, without end, determined by relationship to Christ demonstrated in fruit (25:46, Sheep and Goats). CRITICAL: Islamic eschatology has compatible surface Paradise/Hell vocabulary, but the criterion must be taught within Matthew’s grace-then-fruit structure, not as confirming an independent mizan deeds-weighing framework.
Hell Gehenna
Approved rendering: جهنم
Transliteration: jahannam
Doctrine: Eternal Judgment and Hell
Rejected alternatives: novel Greek/Hebrew transliteration departing from Bible-tradition precedent
Original: γέεννα
Category: Eschatology
NEW (retained loanword). Final judgment and eternal punishment, imaged as fire (5:22,29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; 25:41). CRITICAL: جهنم is the precise, identical shared Quranic term for Hell. Retained per established Persian Bible tradition, but every occurrence must be flagged for theologian review to ensure judgment is taught within the gospel’s own framework, not silently reinforcing an unexamined mizan deeds-weighing framework.
Crucifixion
Approved rendering: مصلوب کردن / صلیب
Transliteration: masloub kardan / salib
Doctrine: Crucifixion of Christ
Rejected alternatives: softened ‘suffered greatly’ paraphrase
Original: σταυρόω / σταυρός
Category: Christology
NEW. Execution by crucifixion; the historical death of Jesus, foundational to the atonement and resurrection (first metaphorically at 10:38, 16:24; fully narrated 26:1-27:66). CRITICAL: directly and repeatedly confronts Quran 4:157’s crucifixion-denial (shubbiha lahum), shared across Sunni and Shia Islam. The single highest-density doctrinal collision in the curriculum; requires deliberate, historically-grounded teaching, never a glancing mention.
Trinitarian Baptismal Formula
Approved rendering: به نام پدر و پسر و روحالقدس
Transliteration: be nam-e Pedar o Pesar o Ruh-ol-Qods
Doctrine: Trinitarian Baptismal Formula
Rejected alternatives: formula implying three separate names/deities
Original: εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος
Category: God
NEW. The explicit Trinitarian baptismal formula naming Father, Son, and Holy Spirit under one shared singular ‘name’ (28:19). CRITICAL: the most concentrated, explicit Trinitarian formula in Matthew, standing in the most direct possible tension with tawhid theology. Mandatory theologian review; teach ‘one name, three Persons’ as consistent with, not contradictory to, God’s own triune nature.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: انجیل
Transliteration: Injil
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: مژده
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. In Matthew, load-bearing at 4:23, 9:35, 24:14 (‘gospel of the kingdom’), and 26:13.
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 (Illuminationist/Mulla Sadra emanation) that must be corrected toward a freely willed, personal gift. In Matthew, the underlying grace-versus-merit logic surfaces sharply in the Workers in the Vineyard parable (20:1-16) even though the Greek noun itself is rare in Matthew; see the new term ‘reward’ (پاداش) for the surface term requiring this framing.
Faith
Approved rendering: ایمان
Transliteration: iman
Doctrine: Faith
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Must be anchored as personal trust in Christ, not creedal assent to a list of propositions or successors (Shia Imamate risk). In Matthew: the centurion’s faith (8:10) and the Canaanite woman’s faith (15:28) are Gentile-faith examples exceeding Israel’s own, directly relevant to Unity of Jews and Gentiles; also 14:31, 17:20 (‘little faith’).
Apostle
Approved rendering: رسول
Transliteration: rasul
Doctrine: Apostleship
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Older Persian Christian usage (حواری, havari) is permissible specifically for ‘the Twelve’ as a named group (Matthew 10:2, ‘the twelve apostles’); رسول remains the general office term.
Called
Approved rendering: دعوتشده
Transliteration: da’vat-shode
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλητός
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. In Matthew, underlies the ‘many are called, few are chosen’ saying (22:14), paired in the same verse with election language; requires care to preserve the distinct senses in close proximity.
Church
Approved rendering: کلیسا
Transliteration: kelisa
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: امت
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. First occurs in Matthew at 16:18 (‘on this rock I will build my church’) and is developed procedurally at 18:15-17; teach with the underground Persian house-church reality in view, not a physical-institution default.
Sin
Approved rendering: گناه
Transliteration: gonah
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. In Matthew, Jesus’ authority to forgive sins (9:2-6) and the Lord’s Supper’s ‘forgiveness of sins’ (26:28) are the primary load-bearing occurrences, directly tied to the new ‘authority_exousia’ and ‘body_and_blood’ terms below.
Prophet
Approved rendering: پیامبر
Transliteration: payambar
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Matthew warns of ‘false prophets’ (7:15-24) and links John the Baptist and Jesus’ own disciples to the OT prophetic pattern of persecution (5:12; 11:9; 23:29-37); finality-of-prophethood caution applies throughout.
Election
Approved rendering: برگزیدگی خدا
Transliteration: bargozidegi-ye khoda
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Original: ἐκλογή / ἐκλεκτός
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at 22:14 (‘few are chosen’) and 24:22,24,31 (the elect gathered at the end of the age); Shia Imamate election-bridge caution from baseline applies.
Israel
Approved rendering: اسرائیل
Transliteration: Esra’il
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs in the centurion’s-faith comparison (8:10) and the Herod/Bethlehem narrative (2:6, 2:20-21); keep strictly redemptive-historical, distinct from Iran’s state-level anti-Israel political messaging.
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: نسل داوود
Transliteration: nasl-e Davud
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: σπέρμα Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. A descriptive lineage phrase, distinct from the confessional/vocative title ‘Son of David’ (پسر داوود, see new term below), which Matthew uses far more prominently as public acclamation.
Poor In Spirit
Approved rendering: فقیران در روح
Transliteration: faqiran dar ruh
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: درویشان (darvishan)
Original: πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι
Category: Kingdom
NEW. Total spiritual bankruptcy and dependence on God, with nothing to offer (5:3). HIGH: Persian Sufi tradition’s own developed doctrine of faqr (spiritual poverty) as a deliberately cultivated ascetic virtue-stage risks inverting Jesus’ meaning into an accomplished attainment that earns standing. Must be taught in explicit contrast to Sufi faqr/darvish.
Mourning Beatitude
Approved rendering: اندوهگینان
Transliteration: anduhginan
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: ماتم, عزاداری
Original: πενθοῦντες
Category: Kingdom
NEW. Godly sorrow over sin and the brokenness of the age (5:4). HIGH: ماتم is the precise technical term for ritualized Muharram public mourning (self-flagellation, sineh-zani) for Imam Hussein; using it risks the Beatitude being heard as commending ritualized lamentation as spiritually meritorious. اندوهگینان (the sorrowful) is the safer primary rendering; reserve ماتم/عزاداری only for explanatory contrast notes.
See God
Approved rendering: خدا را خواهند دید
Transliteration: khoda ra khahand did
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: softened metaphorical-only rendering
Original: τὸν θεὸν ὄψονται
Category: Kingdom
NEW. Direct, unmediated encounter with God himself (5:8). HIGH: mainstream Islamic theology (Sunni and Shia) holds God cannot be seen directly with physical eyes in this life (Quran 7:143) and debates even the beatific vision in Paradise. Requires deliberate framing grounded in the Incarnation (God already seen in the Son, cf. John 1:18) so it is received as a genuinely distinct Christian hope.
Reward
Approved rendering: پاداش
Transliteration: padash
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: unmarked rendering without grace-framing
Original: μισθός
Category: Salvation
NEW. A gracious reward from a generous Father, not wages earned by merit (5:12; 6:1-6,16; 10:41-42; 20:1-16). HIGH: Islamic ajr/thawab (deeds-weighing reward at the mizan) is a structurally similar, well-developed category; must be explicitly taught as grace’s gracious overflow, culminating in the Workers in the Vineyard parable.
Persecuted For Righteousness
Approved rendering: آزار دیدن بهخاطر عدالت
Transliteration: azar didan be-khater-e edalat
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Rejected alternatives: softened/abstracted rendering
Original: δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης
Category: Discipleship
NEW. Hostile action taken specifically because of righteous/gospel commitment (5:10; ch. 10). HIGH as a pastoral-significance flag, not primarily lexical: speaks with direct, immediate force to the real experience of Iranian and Afghan house-church believers under active legal and social persecution; must retain full, unsoftened force.
Baptism
Approved rendering: تعمید
Transliteration: ta’mid
Doctrine: Baptism
Rejected alternatives: ritual-washing/ghusl-style paraphrase
Original: βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω
Category: Church
NEW. Settled native Persian Christian term (no live Islamic ritual equivalent, though ghusl/wudu is a partial structural analogue). Occurs at John’s baptism and Jesus’ own baptism (3:1-17) and climactically the Great Commission formula (28:19). Teach as public identification with Christ’s death/burial/resurrection and entry into the church, not ritual purification.
Worship Proskyneo
Approved rendering: پرستش کردن
Transliteration: parastesh kardan
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: سجده کردن
Original: προσκυνέω
Category: Christology
NEW. To fall down before, prostrate, or do homage - offered to Jesus by the Magi (2:11), the disciples (14:33), and the risen Christ’s followers (28:9,17). Reject سجده کردن: the exact technical term for Islamic ritual prostration reserved exclusively for Allah. Every occurrence toward Jesus must be flagged for theologian review to confirm Christ’s deity is affirmed, not merely his honored status.
Authority Exousia
Approved rendering: اختیار
Transliteration: ekhtiyar
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Rejected alternatives: conflating with baseline’s قدرت خدا
Original: ἐξουσία
Category: Christology
NEW, distinct from baseline’s قدرت خدا (raw power/might for salvation). The inherent right and standing to teach, forgive sin, and judge - not derivative permission (7:29; 9:6; 21:23-27; 28:18). Risk: Iran’s Velayat-e Faqih grounds the Supreme Leader’s authority in a claimed derivative religious mandate; Jesus’ authority must be taught as inherent and self-attesting, not one more juristic (ijtihad-style) opinion.
Love Agape
Approved rendering: محبت
Transliteration: mohabbat
Doctrine: The Love Command (Agape)
Rejected alternatives: عشق (eshq)
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Discipleship
NEW. Self-giving, willed love, commanded rather than merely felt, directed toward both God and neighbor (5:43-48; 22:37-39). Reject عشق: the central term of Persian Sufi mystical devotional poetry (Rumi, Hafez), often erotically-inflected and self-dissolving. محبت is the established, safer NT term; agape’s ethical, neighbor-inclusive character must not collapse into eshq’s mystical self-dissolution motif.
Pure In Heart
Approved rendering: پاکدلان
Transliteration: pak-delan
Doctrine: Purity and Defilement (Heart vs. Ritual)
Rejected alternatives: ritual-purity-only rendering
Original: καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ
Category: Discipleship
NEW. Moral and spiritual integrity/singleness of devotion, as opposed to ritual cleanness (5:8). HIGH: Persian religious purity-vocabulary (پاکی، طهارت) is dominated by tahara (ritual purity via wudu/ghusl). Must be actively distinguished from this ritual framework and connected forward to Jesus’ explicit heart-vs-ritual distinction in ch. 15.
Clean Unclean
Approved rendering: پاک / ناپاک
Transliteration: pak / napak
Doctrine: Purity and Defilement (Heart vs. Ritual)
Original: καθαρός / κοινός
Category: Sin
NEW. Moral defilement relocated entirely from external substance/ritual to internal moral condition (15:11,17-20). HIGH: directly parallels and corrects Islamic dietary/ritual purity law (halal/haram; najis/tahir), a live, comprehensive system governing daily Persian Muslim life. Must be taught as direct engagement with, not evasion of, this familiar purity framework.
Retaliation
Approved rendering: چشم به چشم
Transliteration: cheshm be cheshm
Doctrine: Sermon on the Mount Ethical Cluster
Rejected alternatives: omitting the qisas collision note
Original: ἀνθ᾿ ὀφθαλμοῦ ἀντὶ ὀφθαλμοῦ
Category: Covenant
NEW. The lex talionis retributive-justice formula, overturned by Jesus’ call to non-retaliation (5:38-42). HIGH: this precise principle survives today as qisas, a live legal category in Iran’s own penal code for certain violent crimes. Teach with pastoral care given its real weight in the Iranian legal imagination.
Divorce
Approved rendering: طلاق
Transliteration: talaq
Doctrine: Sermon on the Mount Ethical Cluster
Rejected alternatives: euphemistic paraphrase
Original: ἀπολύσαι
Category: Covenant
NEW. The dissolution of marriage; Jesus teaches its permanence and a narrow exception (5:31-32; developed fully 19:3-9). HIGH: طلاق is the precise, technical Islamic legal term for divorce, historically a largely unilateral male prerogative in classical fiqh. Directly engages and challenges this legal-cultural framework with real, present relevance.
Almsgiving
Approved rendering: صدقه
Transliteration: sadaqeh
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Rejected alternatives: secular-charity-only rendering
Original: ἐλεημοσύνη
Category: Discipleship
NEW. Private, God-directed charitable giving (6:1-4). HIGH: صدقه is the exact, load-bearing Islamic voluntary-charity category (distinct from obligatory zakat), highly visible and merit-accruing. Jesus’ teaching that almsgiving be done in secret directly confronts this public, socially-visible character; must be taught as flowing from relationship with God, not a merit-earning transaction.
Fasting
Approved rendering: روزه
Transliteration: ruzeh
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: νηστεία
Category: Discipleship
NEW. Private, voluntary abstention from food as a God-directed discipline (6:16-18). HIGH: روزه is THE term for Ramadan fasting, a Pillar of Islam, highly public, communal, obligatory, and central to Iranian Islamic identity. Jesus assumes and commends fasting but as private and voluntary; handle with particular pastoral sensitivity.
Perfect
Approved rendering: کامل
Transliteration: kamel
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Rejected alternatives: انسان کامل framing without correction
Original: τέλειος
Category: Discipleship
NEW. A Spirit-empowered call to reflect the Father’s holy character in ordinary ethical life (5:48). HIGH: Persian Sufi/Shia mystical tradition’s insan-e kamil (‘the Perfect/Complete Human’) is a station of spiritual attainment associated with great saints, mystics, and the Imams. Must be distinguished from this mystical-attainment category; it is not a claim to an elevated station reserved for spiritual elites.
Rest Anapausis
Approved rendering: آرامش / راحتی (قیدشده)
Transliteration: aramesh / rahati (qeyd-shode)
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: bare آرامش
Original: ἀνάπαυσις
Category: Kingdom
NEW. Relational, covenantal rest found only in submission to Christ (11:28-30). HIGH: baseline already rejects bare آرامش for ‘peace’ as Iran’s secular wellness/self-help term for therapeutic inner calm; the same collision applies directly here. Prefer explicit qualification (e.g., آرامش روح در مسیح) rather than bare آرامش.
Mysteries Of The Kingdom
Approved rendering: رازهای ملکوت
Transliteration: raz-ha-ye malakut
Doctrine: Mysteries of the Kingdom
Rejected alternatives: unqualified ‘secret’ rendering
Original: τὰ μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας
Category: Kingdom
NEW. Kingdom truth now openly revealed and offered to all who receive it by faith (13:11). HIGH: Twelver Shia theology’s ilm-e batin (hidden knowledge transmitted through the Imams) and the Hidden Imam’s own concealment doctrine risk this being read as perpetually hidden esoteric gnosis. Must be taught as gospel truth now openly proclaimed, not perpetually concealed.
Binding And Loosing
Approved rendering: بستن و گشودن
Transliteration: basten o goshudan
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
Rejected alternatives: unqualified ‘authority to legislate’ rendering
Original: δέω / λύω
Category: Church
NEW. The church’s Spirit-guided declarative recognition of gospel truth already established by Christ (16:19; 18:18). HIGH: risk of collision with the Shia Imamate/velayat framework (ongoing, infallible, appointed clerical authority). Must be taught as recognizing, not independently creating, spiritual realities.
Keys Of The Kingdom
Approved rendering: کلیدهای ملکوت
Transliteration: kelid-ha-ye malakut
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
Original: τὰς κλεῖς τῆς βασιλείας
Category: Church
NEW. Authority to open/declare entrance into the kingdom (16:19). Same Imamate/velayat collision caution as binding_and_loosing above.
Cornerstone
Approved rendering: سنگ زاویه / سر زاویه
Transliteration: sang-e zaviye / sar-e zaviye
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
Original: κεφαλὴ γωνίας
Category: Covenant
NEW. The rejected stone that becomes the head of the corner (Psalm 118:22), applied by Jesus to his own coming rejection and vindication (21:42-44). Connects Fulfillment of OT Prophecy and Messianic Promise doctrines and anticipates the Passion narrative.
Body And Blood
Approved rendering: بدن من / خون من
Transliteration: badan-e man / khun-e man
Doctrine: The Lord’s Supper (Body and Blood)
Rejected alternatives: literal-only rendering without symbolic framing
Original: τὸ σῶμά μου / τὸ αἷμά μου
Category: Church
NEW. The Lord’s Supper elements instituted at the Last Supper, symbolizing Christ’s atoning death ‘for the forgiveness of sins’ (26:26-28). HIGH: blood is najis and haram to consume in Islamic law (Quran 2:173; 5:3; 6:145; 16:115); must be taught with clear symbolic/sacramental framing tied explicitly to forgiveness of sins and the ransom/atonement logic.
Devil Satan
Approved rendering: شیطان / ابلیس
Transliteration: Shaytan / Eblis
Doctrine: Temptation and Spiritual Warfare
Original: διάβολος / Σατανᾶς
Category: Sin
NEW. The personal tempter and adversary confronted and defeated by Jesus (ch. 4 temptation narrative; 16:23). HIGH: shares the identical Quranic figure (Iblis, who refused to bow to Adam, Quran 7:11-18) - a different fall narrative from Genesis 3. Affirm the same real, personal, defeated adversary while flagging that the biblical fall narrative differs materially from the Quranic Iblis narrative.
Follow Discipleship Call
Approved rendering: پیروی کردن
Transliteration: peyravi kardan
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: ἀκολουθέω
Category: Discipleship
NEW. Personal, relational allegiance to a living, present, divine Lord who calls and empowers (4:19; 8:22; 9:9; 16:24; 19:21,27). HIGH: structurally parallel to, but theologically distinct from, the Islamic call to follow the Prophet’s sunnah (example) - a pattern of external imitation. Must be taught as allegiance to a living Lord, not imitation of a moral exemplar’s recorded example.
Medium Risk Terms
Calling
Approved rendering: دعوت
Transliteration: da’vat
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Low independent Matthew usage beyond the ‘called’ entry above; direction of address (God calling a person) must remain explicit.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: ملکوت خدا
Transliteration: malakut-e khoda
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. Matthew uses this shorter phrase occasionally (12:28; 19:24; 21:31,43) alongside its dominant Matthean synonym ‘kingdom of heaven’ (ملکوت آسمان, see new term below); both must be taught as explicitly synonymous, never two different kingdoms, given Iran’s Velayat-e Faqih collision risk.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: غیریهودیان
Transliteration: gheyr-yahudian
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: امتها
Original: ἔθνη (contrastive sense)
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Retain for the CONTRASTIVE Jew/Gentile sense only (8:10-11; 15:21-28; 18:17). For Matthew’s inclusive Great Commission sense (‘all nations,’ 28:19), use the distinct new term ‘all_nations’ (ملتها) below, never this contrastive term.
Glory
Approved rendering: جلال
Transliteration: jalal
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. At the Transfiguration (17:1-8) this describes an actual, historical, visible event witnessed by three named disciples, not a mystical vision; also describes the enthroned Son of Man’s future glory (25:31). Sufi jalal/jamal devotional-poetic resonance caution still applies.
Covenant
Approved rendering: عهد
Transliteration: ‘ahd
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at the Last Supper: ‘this is my blood of the covenant’ (26:28), directly tying the new covenant to the atoning death; see new term ‘body_and_blood’ below.
Mission
Approved rendering: ماموریت
Transliteration: ma’muriyat
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Rejected alternatives: رسالت
Original: ἀποστέλλω / πέμπω
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Governs the sending of the Twelve (10:5-42) and, climactically, the Great Commission (28:19-20); real safety-risk sensitivity for underground house-church evangelism applies throughout.
David
Approved rendering: داوود
Transliteration: Davud
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Anchors Matthew’s opening genealogy (1:1,6,17) and the David’s-Son/David’s-Lord argument (22:41-45); supply covenant-king typology explicitly since the Quranic Davud figure lacks it.
Peace
Approved rendering: سلام
Transliteration: salam
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: آرامش
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Matthew 10:34 (‘I have not come to bring peace, but a sword’) contrasts this term with familial/social rupture, not military violence; must not be softened into the baseline-rejected آرامش sense, nor confused with the new term ‘rest_anapausis’ below.
Beatitude Blessed
Approved rendering: خوشا به حال
Transliteration: khosha be haal
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: متبرک (mobarak)
Original: μακάριος
Category: Kingdom
NEW. A declarative pronouncement of God’s favor, not a subjective feeling. Reject متبرک: heavily used in Islamic ritual/greeting contexts (Eid mobarak) tied to merit/baraka. خوشا به حال preserves the declarative, favor-not-merit sense across all nine Beatitudes (5:3-11) and later occurrences (11:6; 13:16; 16:17; 24:46).
Meekness
Approved rendering: فروتن
Transliteration: forootan
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: حلیم (halim)
Original: πραεῖς
Category: Kingdom
NEW. Gentle strength held under control, trusting God’s future vindication (5:5). Reject حلیم: al-Halim is literally one of the Ninety-Nine Names of Allah (theological-attribution collision), and halim is also an unrelated popular Persian dish name. فروتن is safer; must be tied to trust in God’s vindication, not merely good temperament.
Peacemakers
Approved rendering: صلحکنندگان
Transliteration: solh-konandegan
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: εἰρηνοποιοί
Category: Discipleship
NEW. Active interpersonal/social reconciliation (5:9), distinct sense from baseline’s سلام (relational/legal peace with God). Risk: صلح carries live regional political-diplomatic connotations (treaties, ceasefires); teach as relational reconciliation, not political dealmaking.
Disciple
Approved rendering: شاگرد
Transliteration: shagerd
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: μαθητής
Category: Discipleship
NEW. A committed follower who lives with and imitates the Master (introduced 5:1; culminating in ‘make disciples,’ 28:19). Positive bridge but risk: Persian readers may default to the Sufi pir-o-morid hierarchical human-master model; must clarify discipleship to Christ is to a living, divine, resurrected Lord, not a human spiritual director with mediated authority.
Scribes
Approved rendering: کاتبان
Transliteration: katiban
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Rejected alternatives: علما (olama)
Original: γραμματεῖς
Category: Church
NEW. First-century professional legal-scriptural scholars, contrasted with Jesus’ inherent teaching authority (2:4; 5:20; 7:29; 9:3; 12:38; 15:1; 16:21; 20:18; 21:15; 23:1-34; 26:3,57; 27:41). Reject علما: the precise living term for Iran’s clerical establishment, risking an unintended contemporary political reading.
Hypocrite
Approved rendering: ریاکار
Transliteration: riakar
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: ὑποκριτής
Category: Discipleship
NEW. One who performs righteousness for an audience without inward reality (ch. 6 piety-critique; the sevenfold ‘Woe’ refrain, 23:13-29). A genuine bridge with Islamic ethics’ riya/nifaq vice-categories; must land specifically on the historically located Pharisees/scribes (and by extension any religious leader), not a wholesale polemic against Islamic clergy as a class.
Mercy
Approved rendering: رحمت
Transliteration: rahmat
Doctrine: Mercy and Compassion
Original: ἔλεος
Category: Discipleship
NEW. Active compassion shown toward the suffering or the guilty (5:7; 9:13; 12:7; 18:33; 23:23; 25:31-46). رحمت shares its root with the two most prominent Divine Names in Islam (Al-Rahman, Al-Rahim); genuine bridge, but risks remaining an abstract, formulaically-recited divine attribute rather than a mercy concretely practiced by disciples. Move from formula to embodied ethic.
Compassion
Approved rendering: دلش سوخت / ترحم
Transliteration: delash sukht / tarahhom
Doctrine: Mercy and Compassion
Rejected alternatives: abstract-only rendering
Original: ἐσπλαγχνίσθη
Category: Discipleship
NEW. A visceral, embodied compassion (from Greek splanchna, ‘inward parts’), distinct from mercy’s more formulaic devotional register (9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34). Prefer vivid, embodied phrasing over the abstract theological noun to preserve Matthew’s own vividness.
Oath
Approved rendering: قسم
Transliteration: qasm
Doctrine: Sermon on the Mount Ethical Cluster
Original: ὅρκος
Category: Discipleship
NEW. A sworn statement invoking divine witness (5:33-37). قسم is common everyday and legal Persian speech practice (commonly ‘by Allah,’ vallah/beh khoda); Jesus’ call to plain truthfulness should be taught as a call to transformed character, not merely a prohibition on a speech-form.
Yoke
Approved rendering: یوغ
Transliteration: yugh
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: ζυγός
Category: Discipleship
NEW. Submission to a teacher’s discipline, contrasted with the burdensome Pharisaic legal tradition (11:29-30). Requires explanatory agricultural-metaphor framing for urban Persian readers; theologically contrasts Jesus’ yoke with the Pharisees’ burdensome tradition (developed fully in ch. 23).
Sabbath
Approved rendering: سبت
Transliteration: sabt
Doctrine: Sabbath and the Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: روز شنبه (colloquial)
Original: σάββατον
Category: Covenant
NEW. The seventh-day rest instituted in the Law; Jesus claims lordship over it (12:1-14). Established technical Biblical-Persian term with no direct Islamic ritual equivalent; risk is primarily unfamiliarity. Jesus’ claim to be ‘lord of the Sabbath’ is a striking divine-authority claim over a God-given institution and should be taught with that weight.
Parable
Approved rendering: مثل
Transliteration: masal
Doctrine: Parables as a Teaching Method
Rejected alternatives: تمثیل
Original: παραβολή
Category: Kingdom
NEW. A short illustrative story disclosing kingdom-truth to some and concealing it from others (13:1-52; 18:23-35; 20:1-16; 21:28-22:14; 25:1-30). مثل is a genuine Quranic-cognate bridge term (amthal); risk of reduction to generic proverbial wisdom-teaching common in Persian/Islamic literature.
Tribulation
Approved rendering: مصیبت عظیم / رنج عظیم
Transliteration: masibat-e azim / ranj-e azim
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
Rejected alternatives: unmarked مصیبت
Original: θλῖψις
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Future eschatological distress preceding Christ’s return (24:21). مصیبت carries some resonance with Shia mourning vocabulary (Muharram commemorations of the masa’ib, sufferings, of the Imams); ensure this is taught as future eschatological distress, not conflated with existing Karbala-commemoration categories.
All Nations
Approved rendering: همه ملتها / اقوام
Transliteration: hameh-ye mellat-ha / aqvam
Doctrine: The Great Commission
Rejected alternatives: امتها, غیریهودیان (in this inclusive sense)
Original: πάντα τὰ ἔθνη
Category: Church
NEW, distinct from baseline’s contrastive غیریهودیان (Jew/Gentile sense). Used inclusively of all peoples without a Jew/Gentile contrast in view (24:14; 28:19). Continue to avoid the Ummah-root امتها per baseline’s established rationale.
Temptation
Approved rendering: وسوسه
Transliteration: vasvaseh
Doctrine: Temptation and Spiritual Warfare
Original: πειρασμός / πειράζω
Category: Christology
NEW. The devil’s threefold testing of Jesus in the wilderness, resisted perfectly and without prior corruption of nature (4:1-11). وسوسه is a genuine bridge concept (Quran’s al-Falaq/al-Nas use the identical waswas ‘whispering’ category); must specify Jesus resists perfectly and sinlessly, reinforcing his sinlessness, not merely his piety.
Low Risk Terms
Prophecy
Approved rendering: نبوت
Transliteration: nabovat
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. See Matthew’s ten explicit fulfillment-quotation formulas cross-referenced under ‘Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy’ in the doctrine risk registry.
Exhort
Approved rendering: تشویق کردن
Transliteration: tashviq kardan
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Distinguish from تسلی (comfort-in-grief, used for παρακληθήσονται in Matthew 5:4), a related but contextually distinct sense not covered by this entry.
Referenced passages