Core Glossary
Core Glossary: 1 John — English → Punjabi
This glossary covers every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, citing terms from all five chapters of 1 John and the full verse-by-verse treatment of the core passage (4:7–21). Risk tiers follow the Critical/High/Medium/Low framework established in the baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json.
A. Terms Reused Exactly from the Romans Baseline (translation_memory.json)
| English Term | Greek | Punjabi (Transliteration) | Risk | Curriculum Doctrine(s) | 1 John References | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | θεός | ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ (Parmeshar) | Critical | God is Light and God is Love; all doctrines | 1:5; 4:8,16; throughout | No change from baseline. NEVER ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ or ਭਗਵਾਨ. |
| Jesus | Ἰησοῦς | ਯਿਸੂ (Yisu) | Critical | Incarnation and Antichrist; Assurance | 1:3; 4:2-3,15; 5:1 | No change from baseline. NEVER ਈਸਾ. |
| Christ / Messiah | Χριστός | ਮਸੀਹ (Masih) | Critical | Incarnation and Antichrist | 2:22; 4:2-3; 5:1 | No change from baseline; root for new term ਮਸੀਹ-ਵਿਰੋਧੀ (antichrist). |
| Son of God | υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ | ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ | Critical | Incarnation and Antichrist; Assurance | 3:8; 4:9,15; 5:5,10-13,20 | No change from baseline. Combine with new term ਇਕਲੌਤਾ (only) for μονογενής occurrences. |
| Holy Spirit | πνεῦμα ἅγιον / πνεῦμα | ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਆਤਮਾ | Critical | Testing the Spirits; Fellowship | 3:24; 4:2,6,13 | No change from baseline. NEVER ਬ੍ਰਹਮ or ਜੋਤ. |
| Father | πατήρ | ਪਿਤਾ | Critical | Fellowship with God; Love for Brethren | 1:2-3; 2:1,15-16,22-24; 3:1; 4:14 | No change from baseline. |
| Incarnation | (ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα, “come in the flesh”) | ਦੇਹਧਾਰਨ | Critical | The Incarnation and Antichrist | 4:2-3 | No change from baseline. NEVER ਅਵਤਾਰ. This is the doctrinal center of 1 John’s antichrist test. |
| Faith / Believe | πίστις / πιστεύω | ਨਿਹਚਾ | High | Assurance of Salvation; Love for Brethren | 3:23; 4:16; 5:1,4-5,10,13 | No change from baseline. |
| Righteousness / Righteous | δικαιοσύνη / δίκαιος | ਧਾਰਮਿਕਤਾ | Critical | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | 1:9; 2:1,29; 3:7,10 | No change from baseline. NEVER ਧਰਮ. |
| Sin | ἁμαρτία | ਪਾਪ | High | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | 1:7-10; 2:2,12; 3:4-9; 4:10; 5:16-17 | No change from baseline. |
| Law | νόμος (implied in ἀνομία) | ਬਿਵਸਥਾ | High | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | 3:4 (as ਬਿਵਸਥਾ ਦੀ ਉਲੰਘਣਾ, lawlessness) | No change from baseline. NEVER ਧਰਮ or ਸ਼ਰੀਅਤ. |
| Prophet (false) | προφήτης (in ψευδοπροφήτης) | ਨਬੀ | Low (base term) | Testing the Spirits | 4:1 | Compound with ਝੂਠੇ (false) for “false prophets”; base term unchanged from baseline. |
| Salvation / Savior | σωτηρία / σωτήρ | ਮੁਕਤੀ / ਮੁਕਤੀਦਾਤਾ | Critical | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | 4:14 | ਮੁਕਤੀ retained per baseline’s mandatory-gloss policy; ਮੁਕਤੀਦਾਤਾ (“Savior,” giver of ਮੁਕਤੀ) is a new compound built on it and inherits the same mandatory Sikh/Christian distinction requirement. |
| Adoption (contrast term) | υἱοθεσία | ਦੱਤਕ ਪੁੱਤਰਤਾ | High | Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth | (referenced contrastively; not in 1 John’s own vocabulary) | Cited to explicitly distinguish from the new term “children of God” (τέκνα θεοῦ) below — the two must not be conflated. |
B. New Terms Required for 1 John (Proposed Additions to translation_memory.json)
| English Term | Greek (Transliteration) | Punjabi (Transliteration) | Risk | Curriculum Doctrine(s) | 1 John References | Alternatives Rejected | Rationale / Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Love | ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω (agapē / agapaō) | ਪਿਆਰ (piar) | Critical | God is Light and God is Love; Love for the Brethren | 2:5,15; 3:1,10-11,14-18,23; 4:7-21 (throughout core passage); 5:1-3 | ਪ੍ਰੇਮ | ਪ੍ਰੇਮ carries strong Hindu/Sikh bhakti-devotional connotations of the devotee’s ardent longing toward the divine, often understood as originating in the worshiper. 1 John insists God’s love is prior and self-originating (4:10,19); ਪਿਆਰ better preserves this without importing bhakti’s reciprocal-initiation framework. |
| Light | φῶς (phōs) | ਚਾਨਣ (chaanan) | Critical | God is Light and God is Love | 1:5,7; 2:8-10 | ਜੋਤ, ਰੌਸ਼ਨੀ (secondary option) | ਜੋਤ already forbidden in baseline for Holy Spirit — names the Sikh doctrine of divine light transmitted through the Ten Gurus into the Guru Granth Sahib. Using it for “God is Light” would suggest Christ’s revelation shares that transmission structure. |
| Word (of life) | λόγος (logos) | ਬਚਨ (bachan) | Critical | The Incarnation and Antichrist | 1:1 | ਸ਼ਬਦ | ਸ਼ਬਦ is the central Sikh Shabad-Guru term for the divine Word believed to be permanently embodied in the Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal, living Guru. Applying it to Christ, the eternal incarnate Word, would be a category collision as severe as ਗੁਰੂ for “apostle.” |
| Born of God | γεννάω ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ (gennaō ek tou theou) | ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਤੋਂ ਜਨਮਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ | Critical | Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth | 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1,4,18 | ਪੁਨਰ-ਜਨਮ, ਆਵਾਗਵਣ, ਨਵਾਂ ਜਨਮ (used cautiously if at all) | ਪੁਨਰ-ਜਨਮ and ਆਵਾਗਵਣ already forbidden in baseline for resurrection due to reincarnation associations; equally forbidden here. This is a once-for-all spiritual regeneration by a personal God, not a cyclical rebirth. Requires a mandatory clarifying gloss on every load-bearing occurrence, parallel to the baseline’s treatment of ਮੁਕਤੀ. |
| Children of God | τέκνα θεοῦ (tekna theou) | ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦੇ ਬੱਚੇ | High | Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth | 3:1-2,10; 5:2 | ਦੱਤਕ ਪੁੱਤਰਤਾ (must not substitute) | Distinct from, and complementary to, the baseline’s “adoption” (legal placement with inheritance rights). τέκνα emphasizes begetting/birth and family resemblance. Keep terminologically separate to avoid suggesting 1 John merely repeats Romans’ adoption doctrine. |
| Only Son / Only-begotten | μονογενής (monogenēs) | ਇਕਲੌਤਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ | Critical | The Incarnation and Antichrist; God is Light and God is Love | 4:9 | (none; used with baseline’s ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ) | Emphasizes exclusivity, not mere priority. Must not be softened to “a son” or “one of several divine sons/avatars.” |
| Advocate | παράκλητος (paraklētos) | ਵਕੀਲ (vakeel) | High | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | 2:1 | ਵਿਚੋਲਾ, ਸਹਾਇਕ | ਵਕੀਲ (legal-advocate loanword) best captures the forensic sense of Christ’s intercession before the Father for a sinning believer. Must be distinguished from the Holy Spirit’s distinct paraclete role (John’s Gospel) and from the baseline’s “intercession” (ਵਿਚੋਲਗੀ), which names prayer generally rather than this specific forensic-defense image. |
| Propitiation / Atoning Sacrifice | ἱλασμός (hilasmos) | ਪ੍ਰਾਸਚਿਤ (praashchit) | Critical | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | 2:2; 4:10 | ਕਮਾਈ ਹੋਈ ਮੁਆਫ਼ੀ (earned pardon, rejected) | ਪ੍ਰਾਸਚਿਤ in Hindu usage can carry the sense of self-performed penance earning removal of guilt. Every occurrence requires an explanatory note that Christ’s ਪ੍ਰਾਸਚਿਤ is God’s own finished, once-for-all provision, never a penance the sinner performs. |
| Commandment(s) | ἐντολή (entolē) | ਹੁਕਮ (hukam) | High | Love for the Brethren; Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | 2:3-8; 3:22-24; 4:21; 5:2-3 | ਆਗਿਆ (considered, not adopted) | Retained as the established Punjabi Bible term (cf. “ਦਸ ਹੁਕਮ,” Ten Commandments) per the baseline’s retain-with-mandatory-gloss precedent (as used for ਮੁਕਤੀ). Every doctrinally load-bearing occurrence requires a clarifying note distinguishing God’s specific, relational commands to a person from the Sikh doctrine of ਹੁਕਮ as Waheguru’s impersonal cosmic Order requiring submission (already flagged as a comparison point, not a substitute, under baseline’s “providence” entry). |
| World | κόσμος (kosmos) | ਸੰਸਾਰ (sansaar) | High | Overcoming the World; God is Light and God is Love | 2:15-17; 3:1,13; 4:1,3-5,9,14,17; 5:4-5,19 | ਦੁਨੀਆਂ (considered, not adopted) | ਸੰਸਾਰ is cognate with Sanskrit “samsara,” the Hindu doctrine of the cyclical, illusory (maya) phenomenal world from which one seeks liberation. 1 John’s κόσμος is real, not illusory, and is morally (not metaphysically) opposed to God. Retained as the established Bible term but requires a mandatory clarifying gloss, parallel to the baseline’s treatment of ਮੁਕਤੀ. |
| Antichrist | ἀντίχριστος (antichristos) | ਮਸੀਹ-ਵਿਰੋਧੀ (Masih-virodhi) | Critical | The Incarnation and Antichrist | 2:18,22; 4:3 | (none; compound of established ਮਸੀਹ) | A doctrinal category (denial of the incarnate, unique Christ), not merely a generic opponent of Christianity or a rival religious teacher. Must not be softened into a term for ordinary religious rivalry or persecution. |
| Anointing | χρῖσμα (chrisma) | ਮਸਹ (mash) | High | Testing the Spirits; Assurance of Salvation | 2:20,27 | (none) | Shares a root with ਮਸੀਹ (“the Anointed One”). Refers to the Holy Spirit’s personal teaching presence given to every believer, not a physical ritual anointing with oil nor a mark of an initiated spiritual elite (counters the false teachers’ claim to esoteric knowledge). |
| Abide | μένω (menō) | ਬਣੇ ਰਹਿਣਾ / ਟਿਕਿਆ ਰਹਿਣਾ (bane rehna / tikya rehna) | High | Fellowship with God and One Another | 2:6,10,17,19,24,27-28; 3:6,9,14-15,17,24; 4:12-13,15-16 | (none) | Must convey ongoing relational union with the personal, distinct God revealed in Christ — not a mystical dissolving of the self into an impersonal divine Absolute, nor the meditative equipoise (cf. baseline’s ਸਹਿਜ caution under “peace”) attained through spiritual practice. |
| Fellowship | κοινωνία (koinōnia) | ਸੰਗਤ (sangat) | Medium (elevated from baseline’s Low) | Fellowship with God and One Another | 1:3,6-7 | ਦੋਸਤੀ | Reused from baseline, which rates ਸੰਗਤ as an unusually positive bridge term (cf. Sikh ਸਾਧ ਸੰਗਤ). Elevated to Medium here because 1 John extends fellowship beyond the gathered community of believers to shared participation in the life of the Father and the Son themselves — a broader claim than the congregational sense that makes ਸੰਗਤ fit so naturally. |
| Blood | αἷμα (haima) | ਲਹੂ (lahu) | High | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | 1:7; 5:6,8 | (none) | Atoning, sacrificial blood accomplishing cleansing from sin — not a ritual substance with independent purifying power apart from Christ’s person and finished work. |
| Cleanse | καθαρίζω (katharizō) | ਸ਼ੁੱਧ ਕਰਨਾ (shudh karna) | Medium | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | 1:7,9 | (none) | Moral/relational cleansing grounded in Christ’s atoning blood, not ritual purity practice. |
| Confess | ὁμολογέω (homologeō) | ਇਕਬਾਲ ਕਰਨਾ / ਮੰਨ ਲੈਣਾ | Medium | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin; Incarnation and Antichrist | 1:9; 4:2-3,15 | (none) | Direct, verbal, public acknowledgment before God through Christ — not confession mediated through a Guru, priest, or intermediary, nor performed for social/religious standing. |
| Forgive | ἀφίημι (aphiēmi) | ਮਾਫ਼ ਕਰਨਾ (maaf karna) | Medium | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | 1:9; 2:12 | (none) | Correct, sufficient term for ἀφίημι specifically; not a substitute for the distinct forensic doctrine of justification (ਧਰਮੀ ਠਹਿਰਾਇਆ ਜਾਣਾ), which is a broader claim. |
| Lawlessness | ἀνομία (anomia) | ਬਿਵਸਥਾ ਦੀ ਉਲੰਘਣਾ | Medium | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | 3:4 | ਅਧਰਮ (secondary option) | Sin defined structurally in relation to God’s ਬਿਵਸਥਾ (reused from baseline), avoiding any drift toward ਧਰਮ (forbidden). |
| Seed of God | σπέρμα αὐτοῦ (sperma autou) | ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦਾ ਬੀਜ | High | Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth | 3:9 | (none) | Must be read relationally/analogically (a God-given new nature), not as literal infusion of divine substance, which risks a monistic/pantheistic reading. |
| Devil / Evil One | διάβολος / ὁ πονηρός (diabolos / ho ponēros) | ਸ਼ੈਤਾਨ / ਦੁਸ਼ਟ | Medium | Love for the Brethren; Overcoming the World | 3:8,10,12; 5:18-19 | (none) | A personal, malevolent being with real agency — not a metaphor for impersonal moral failure or bad karma. |
| Brother / Brethren | ἀδελφός (adelphos) | ਭਰਾ (bhra) | High | Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth | 2:9-11; 3:10-17; 4:20-21 | (none) | Spiritual family in Christ, cutting across caste, biradari kinship-networks, and religious-community lines — a significant claim in Punjab, where “brotherhood” language otherwise carries strong caste/qaum associations. |
| Lay Down (One’s) Life | τίθημι τὴν ψυχήν (tithēmi tēn psychēn) | ਜਾਨ ਦੇਣਾ (jaan dena) | Medium | Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth | 3:16 | (none) | Idiom for voluntary self-sacrifice modeled on Christ; translate for sense, not literally. |
| Compassion | τὰ σπλάγχνα (ta splanchna) | ਦਿਲੋਂ ਤਰਸ / ਦਯਾ | Medium | Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth | 3:17 | (none) | Anatomical idiom (bowels of compassion) — translate for sense. |
| Test the Spirits | δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα (dokimazete ta pneumata) | ਆਤਮਾਵਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਪਰਖਣਾ | High | Testing the Spirits | 4:1 | (none) | Strictly Christological testing (4:2-3) — not generic paranormal discernment, and not equivalent to South Asian frameworks for testing a guru or sant’s authenticity via miracles or lineage. |
| Spirit of Truth / Spirit of Error | πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας / πλάνης (pneuma tēs alētheias / planēs) | ਸੱਚ ਦਾ ਆਤਮਾ / ਭਰਮ ਦਾ ਆਤਮਾ | Medium | Testing the Spirits | 4:6 | (none) | Theological criterion grounded in confession of Christ, not subjective spiritual experience. |
| Overcome (the World) | νικάω (τὸν κόσμον) (nikaō ton kosmon) | ਸੰਸਾਰ ਉੱਤੇ ਜਿੱਤ / ਜਿੱਤਣਾ | High | Overcoming the World | 4:4; 5:4-5 | (none) | Genuine comparison point with the Sikh Khalsa ideal of conquering the “five thieves” and broader ascetic self-mastery ideals — worth teaching comparatively, but the mechanism (victory through faith-union with the risen Christ) must not be collapsed into self-achieved conquest through discipline or detachment. |
| Water, Blood, and (the) Spirit (three witnesses) | τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ τὸ αἷμα καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα | ਪਾਣੀ, ਲਹੂ ਅਤੇ ਆਤਮਾ | High | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | 5:6-8 | (none) | Uniquely Johannine triad of testimony to Christ’s identity and saving work — requires careful exposition, not veneration as an independent ritual triad. |
| Eternal Life | ζωὴ αἰώνιος (zōē aiōnios) | ਸਦੀਪਕ ਜੀਵਨ (sadeepak jeevan) | Critical | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | 1:2; 2:25; 3:14-15; 5:11-13,20 | ਅਨੰਤ ਜੀਵਨ (secondary option) | Must be distinguished from moksha/mukti-as-liberation-from-samsara and from meditative attainment states (e.g., samadhi). A present, relational possession — knowing the true God and his Son — not a future attainment through merit or practice, nor release from a rebirth cycle. Requires a mandatory clarifying gloss parallel to the baseline’s ਮੁਕਤੀ treatment. |
| Sin unto Death | ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον (hamartia pros thanaton) | ਮੌਤ ਵੱਲ ਲੈ ਜਾਣ ਵਾਲਾ ਪਾਪ | High | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin; Assurance of Salvation | 5:16-17 | ਮਾਰੂ ਪਾਪ (mortal sin — considered and rejected) | Do not import the Catholic mortal/venial distinction or any karma-style fatal-sin scale; this is a distinct, debated exegetical category requiring theologian review, not a settled doctrinal system. |
| Idols | εἴδωλα (eidōla) | ਮੂਰਤੀਆਂ (murtiaan) | High | Overcoming the World; God is Light and God is Love | 5:21 | (none) | Carries a live double resonance in Punjab: names literal Hindu murti-worship while also resonating with Sikhism’s own anti-idolatry stance. Retain the literal sense but also teach the broader sense of any rival object of ultimate devotion competing with the true, personal God. |
| Confidence / Boldness | παρρησία (parrēsia) | ਭਰੋਸਾ / ਦਲੇਰੀ | Medium | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | 3:21; 4:17; 5:14 | (none) | Assurance grounded in God’s own unchanging character and finished work, not gradual merit accumulation. |
| Perfected / Made Complete | τελειόω / τέλειος (teleioō / teleios) | ਸੰਪੂਰਨ ਹੋਣਾ / ਪੂਰਾ ਕਰਨਾ | Medium | God is Light and God is Love; Love for the Brethren | 2:5; 4:12,17-18 | (none) | God’s love reaching its intended goal through believers — not personal spiritual attainment (avoid resonance with South Asian “siddhi”/perfection-through-practice frameworks). |
| Fear | φόβος (phobos) | ਡਰ (dar) | Medium | God is Light and God is Love; Assurance of Salvation | 4:18 | (none) | Dread of condemnation removed by mature, secure love — a pastoral assurance point, not a call to eliminate all reverent awe of God. |
| Liar | ψεύστης (pseustēs) | ਝੂਠਾ (jhoota) | Low | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin; Love for the Brethren | 1:10; 2:4,22; 4:20 | (none) | Standard term; minor doctrinal risk. |
| Truth | ἀλήθεια (alētheia) | ਸੱਚ / ਸਚਾਈ | Medium | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin; Testing the Spirits | 1:6,8; 2:4,21; 3:18-19; 4:6; 5:6 | (none) | Personal, Christ-anchored truth, not abstract philosophical truth-concept. |
| Know | γινώσκω / εἴδω (ginōskō / eidō) | ਜਾਣਨਾ (jaanna) | Medium | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life; Fellowship with God | throughout (2:3-5,13-14,29; 3:1,6,16,19-20,24; 4:2,6-8,13,16; 5:2,13,15,18-20) | (none) | Relational, experiential knowledge of God through Christ — a deliberate counter to the false teachers’ claim of superior esoteric γνῶσις. |
| Sent | ἀποστέλλω (apostellō) | ਭੇਜਿਆ (bheji-a) | Medium | The Incarnation and Antichrist | 4:9-10,14 | (none) | God the Father’s purposive initiative in the incarnation and atonement. |
| Manifested | φανερόω (phaneroō) | ਪ੍ਰਗਟ ਹੋਇਆ (pragat hoya) | High | The Incarnation and Antichrist; God is Light and God is Love | 1:2; 3:5,8; 4:9 | (none) | Once-for-all historical disclosure of the eternal Son; ties to ਦੇਹਧਾਰਨ — must not suggest a repeatable avatar-descent. |
| Testify / Testimony | μαρτυρέω / μαρτυρία (martyreō / martyria) | ਗਵਾਹੀ ਦੇਣਾ / ਗਵਾਹੀ | Medium | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | 1:2; 4:14; 5:6-11 | (none) | Legal/evidentiary eyewitness attestation underlying the letter’s assurance claims. |
Risk Summary (1 John New Terms Only)
| Risk Tier | Count | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 8 | Human theologian |
| High | 14 | Human theologian |
| Medium | 13 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 1 | Automated review |
Combined with the terms reused exactly from the Romans baseline (Section A), this glossary must be merged into translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json before Phase 2 segment translation begins for 1 John. New Critical/High entries — especially the “God is Light” (ਜੋਤ prohibition) and “Word of life” (ਸ਼ਬਦ prohibition) findings — must also be added to the forbidden-substitution list in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ
Transliteration: Parmeshar
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Rejected alternatives: ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ, ਭਗਵਾਨ
Original: θεός
Category: God
CRITICAL: NEVER use ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ or ਭਗਵਾਨ. ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ is the settled Punjabi Christian standard. Inherited from Romans package. In 1 John this term underlies both ontological predicate statements ‘God is Light’ (1:5) and ‘God is Love’ (4:8,16), which must be rendered with zero softening.
Jesus
Approved rendering: ਯਿਸੂ
Transliteration: Yisu
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Rejected alternatives: ਈਸਾ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: use ਯਿਸੂ, never ਈਸਾ (the Punjabi Muslim/Shahmukhi Christological form). Inherited from Romans package. Central to 1 John’s antichrist test: confessing ‘Jesus Christ come in the flesh’ (4:2-3) is the letter’s decisive criterion for true versus false spirits.
Messiah
Approved rendering: ਮਸੀਹ
Transliteration: Masih
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Root of the new compound ਮਸੀਹ-ਵਿਰੋਧੀ (antichrist, 2:18,22; 4:3). Denial that Jesus is the ਮਸੀਹ is 1 John’s own definition of antichrist (2:22).
Son Of God
Approved rendering: ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ
Transliteration: Parmeshar da Puttar
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Rejected alternatives: ਦੇਵ-ਪੁਰਸ਼
Original: υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: full phrase required, never abbreviated. Inherited from Romans package. In 1 John, combine with the new term ਇਕਲੌਤਾ (only/unique) for μονογενής occurrences (4:9); confessing this Sonship is the boundary marker of fellowship with God (4:15).
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਆਤਮਾ
Transliteration: Pavittar Atma
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Rejected alternatives: ਬ੍ਰਹਮ, ਜੋਤ
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
CRITICAL: never ਬ੍ਰਹਮ or ਜੋਤ. Inherited from Romans package. In 1 John the same ਜੋਤ prohibition now ALSO extends to ‘God is Light’ (φῶς, 1:5) — see new entry ‘light’ below — because both concepts risk collision with the Sikh doctrine of divine light transmitted through the Ten Gurus.
Father
Approved rendering: ਪਿਤਾ
Transliteration: Pita
Doctrine: Fellowship with God and One Another
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. God as personal Father is the source of the love and fellowship grounding the whole letter (1:2-3; 2:1; 3:1; 4:14).
Incarnation
Approved rendering: ਦੇਹਧਾਰਨ
Transliteration: dehdharan
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Rejected alternatives: ਅਵਤਾਰ
Original: ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: NEVER use ਅਵਤਾਰ. Inherited from Romans package. In 1 John this is the single highest-stakes doctrinal term in the book: denial of Christ’s coming ‘in the flesh’ (4:2-3) is the letter’s own definition of the spirit of antichrist (2:22; 4:3), not a minor theological variant. Requires the mandatory theological bridge (unique, once-for-all divine self-disclosure, not avatar-descent, and not a violation of Waheguru’s formlessness/ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ) on every occurrence.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: ਧਾਰਮਿਕਤਾ
Transliteration: dharmikta
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: ਧਰਮ, ਨਿਆਂ
Original: δικαιοσύνη / δίκαιος
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: NEVER use ਧਰਮ. Inherited from Romans package. In 1 John, ground of God’s own reliable, righteous character in forgiving confessed sin (1:9) and of Christ’s own righteous nature (2:1,29; 3:7).
Salvation
Approved rendering: ਮੁਕਤੀ
Transliteration: mukti
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Rejected alternatives: ਨਿਰਵਾਣ, ਮੋਖ, ਛੁਟਕਾਰਾ
CRITICAL, retained per established Punjabi Bible precedent with MANDATORY clarifying gloss on every doctrinally load-bearing occurrence, distinguishing Christian ਮੁਕਤੀ from Sikh ਮੁਕਤੀ (release from ਆਵਾਗਵਣ through Guru-mediated grace). Inherited from Romans package. In 1 John this term is the root of the new compound ਮੁਕਤੀਦਾਤਾ (‘Savior’, 4:14); see new entry ‘salvation_savior’ below.
Love
Approved rendering: ਪਿਆਰ
Transliteration: piar
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Rejected alternatives: ਪ੍ਰੇਮ
Original: ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω
Category: Love
NEW TERM for this curriculum. CRITICAL: NEVER use ਪ੍ਰੇਮ, which carries strong Hindu/Sikh bhakti-devotional connotations of the devotee’s ardent, often reciprocal longing toward the divine, typically understood as originating in the worshiper. 1 John insists God’s love is prior and self-originating (4:10, 4:19: ‘we love because he first loved us’); ਪਿਆਰ avoids importing bhakti’s devotee-initiated framework. This is the highest-density term in the core passage (4:7-21, over 25 occurrences) and requires vigilance against stylistic drift toward ਪ੍ਰੇਮ under lyrical/devotional register pressure.
Light
Approved rendering: ਚਾਨਣ
Transliteration: chaanan
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Rejected alternatives: ਜੋਤ, ਰੌਸ਼ਨੀ
Original: φῶς
Category: Light
NEW TERM for this curriculum. CRITICAL: NEVER use ਜੋਤ — already forbidden in the baseline for Holy Spirit because it names the specific Sikh doctrine of the single divine light transmitted through the Ten Gurus into the Guru Granth Sahib. Using ਜੋਤ here would suggest Christ’s revelation shares that transmission structure — a collision at least as severe as ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ/ਗੁਰੂ. ਰੌਸ਼ਨੀ is a secondary/literary option only, lacking register weight for an ontological divine-nature claim (‘God is Light,’ 1:5). ਚਾਨਣ must render this predicate with zero softening, paired grammatically with ‘God is Love’ (4:8,16).
Word Of Life
Approved rendering: ਬਚਨ
Transliteration: bachan
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Rejected alternatives: ਸ਼ਬਦ
Original: λόγος
Category: Christology
NEW TERM for this curriculum. CRITICAL: NEVER use ਸ਼ਬਦ under any circumstance, including poetic or homiletic paraphrase. ਸ਼ਬਦ is the central term of Sikh Shabad-Guru theology — the divine Word believed to be permanently embodied in the Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal, living Guru. Applying it to Christ, the eternal incarnate Word (1:1, ‘the Word of life… which we have heard, seen, looked upon, handled’), would be a category collision on the scale of ਗੁਰੂ for ‘apostle.’ ਬਚਨ must be reinforced by explicit teaching identifying this Word with the person of Christ, not a textual/scriptural embodiment.
Born Of God
Approved rendering: ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਤੋਂ ਜਨਮਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ
Transliteration: Parmeshar ton janmiya hoya
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Rejected alternatives: ਪੁਨਰ-ਜਨਮ, ਆਵਾਗਵਣ, ਨਵਾਂ ਜਨਮ
Original: γεννάω ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM for this curriculum. CRITICAL: NEVER use ਪੁਨਰ-ਜਨਮ or ਆਵਾਗਵਣ — already forbidden in the baseline for resurrection due to reincarnation associations; equally forbidden here to prevent a cyclical-rebirth reading of once-for-all spiritual regeneration (2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1,4,18). Do not abbreviate to a bare ‘ਜਨਮ’ or ‘ਨਵਾਂ ਜਨਮ’ form standing alone — always use the full compound naming God as the source (ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਤੋਂ). Requires a MANDATORY clarifying gloss on every doctrinally load-bearing occurrence, parallel to the baseline’s treatment of ਮੁਕਤੀ: a decisive, once-for-all begetting by a personal God, not a repeatable cycle.
Only Son
Approved rendering: ਇਕਲੌਤਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ
Transliteration: iklauta puttar
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Original: μονογενής
Category: Christology
NEW TERM for this curriculum, used together with the baseline’s ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ, never standing alone. Emphasizes exclusivity (μονογενής, 4:9), not merely priority. Must not be softened toward ‘a son’ or ‘one chosen son among others’ — a risk given the Sikh Guru-lineage model of successive chosen leaders and the Hindu avatar model of multiple divine descents.
Propitiation
Approved rendering: ਪ੍ਰਾਸਚਿਤ
Transliteration: praashchit
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: ਕਮਾਈ ਹੋਈ ਮੁਆਫ਼ੀ
Original: ἱλασμός
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM for this curriculum. CRITICAL: ਪ੍ਰਾਸਚਿਤ is widely used in Indian Christian theology for atonement, but in general Hindu-influenced usage it can carry the sense of self-performed penance or ritual expiation earning removal of guilt — the CAUSAL DIRECTION IS INVERTED relative to the biblical doctrine. Every occurrence (2:2; 4:10) requires an explanatory note that Christ’s ਪ੍ਰਾਸਚਿਤ is God’s own finished, once-for-all provision, never a penance the sinner performs.
Antichrist
Approved rendering: ਮਸੀਹ-ਵਿਰੋਧੀ
Transliteration: Masih-virodhi
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Original: ἀντίχριστος
Category: Christology
NEW compound built on the baseline’s ਮਸੀਹ. Must be taught as a specific doctrinal category — denial of the incarnate, unique Christ (2:18,22; 4:3) — not merely ‘an opponent of Christianity’ in a generic sociological sense, nor confused with generic religious rivalry or interreligious tension in Punjab’s pluralistic context.
Salvation Savior
Approved rendering: ਮੁਕਤੀ / ਮੁਕਤੀਦਾਤਾ
Transliteration: mukti / muktidata
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Original: σωτηρία / σωτήρ
Category: Salvation
NEW compound built on the baseline’s ਮੁਕਤੀ. ਮੁਕਤੀਦਾਤਾ (‘giver of ਮੁਕਤੀ,’ 4:14, ‘Savior of the world’) inherits the same mandatory Sikh/Christian mukti-distinction gloss requirement as the baseline entry: Christian ਮੁਕਤੀ is decisive, once-for-all reconciliation through Christ, not gradual liberation from ਆਵਾਗਵਣ through Guru-mediated grace and Naam-simran.
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: ਸਦੀਪਕ ਜੀਵਨ
Transliteration: sadeepak jeevan
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Rejected alternatives: ਅਨੰਤ ਜੀਵਨ
Original: ζωὴ αἰώνιος
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM for this curriculum. CRITICAL. Must be distinguished from moksha/mukti-as-liberation-from-samsara and from meditative attainment states such as samadhi. A present, relational possession — knowing the true God and his Son now (1:2; 2:25; 3:14-15; 5:11-13,20) — not a future attainment through merit, meditative practice, or release from a rebirth cycle. Requires a MANDATORY clarifying gloss parallel to the baseline’s ਮੁਕਤੀ treatment; this is the letter’s own stated purpose (5:13). ਅਨੰਤ ਜੀਵਨ (‘life without end,’ temporal-infinity emphasis) may be used only as a secondary explanatory gloss, never as the primary fixed term.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: ਨਿਹਚਾ
Transliteration: nihcha
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Rejected alternatives: ਸ਼ਰਧਾ, ਸਿਦਕ
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. In 1 John, faith’s specific confessional content is ‘that Jesus is the Christ’/‘the Son of God’ (5:1,5), the birth-producing, world-overcoming faith of 5:4-5.
Sin
Approved rendering: ਪਾਪ
Transliteration: pap
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: ਅਧਰਮ
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Universal condition requiring confession and atonement throughout 1 John (1:7-10; 2:2,12; 3:4-9; 4:10; 5:16-17).
Law
Approved rendering: ਬਿਵਸਥਾ
Transliteration: bivastha
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: ਧਰਮ, ਸ਼ਰੀਅਤ
Original: νόμος (implied in ἀνομία)
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. In 1 John, underlies ἀνομία/lawlessness (3:4), correctly tying sin’s definition to God’s revealed standard rather than to ਧਰਮ (forbidden) or abstract cosmic duty.
Adoption
Approved rendering: ਦੱਤਕ ਪੁੱਤਰਤਾ
Transliteration: dattak putrata
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Rejected alternatives: ਗੋਦ ਲੈਣਾ
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Cited in the 1 John curriculum ONLY as a contrast term: Paul’s υἱοθεσία (legal placement with inheritance rights) must be kept terminologically distinct from 1 John’s own τέκνα θεοῦ vocabulary (begetting/family resemblance) — see new entry ‘children_of_god’ below. Never substitute one for the other.
Children Of God
Approved rendering: ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦੇ ਬੱਚੇ
Transliteration: Parmeshar de bache
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Rejected alternatives: ਦੱਤਕ ਪੁੱਤਰਤਾ
Original: τέκνα θεοῦ
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Must NOT be conflated with, or substitute for, the baseline’s ਦੱਤਕ ਪੁੱਤਰਤਾ (adoption). Paul’s υἱοθεσία emphasizes legal placement with full inheritance rights; John’s τέκνα (3:1-2,10; 5:2) emphasizes begetting/family resemblance (‘born of God’). Keep terminologically distinct so learners do not think 1 John merely repeats Romans.
Advocate
Approved rendering: ਵਕੀਲ
Transliteration: vakeel
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: ਵਿਚੋਲਾ, ਸਹਾਇਕ
Original: παράκλητος
Category: Christology
NEW TERM for this curriculum. ਵਕੀਲ (Perso-Arabic legal-advocate loanword, common and unambiguous in Punjabi for a legal defender) captures the forensic sense of Christ’s ongoing intercession before the Father for a sinning believer (2:1). Must be distinguished from the Holy Spirit’s distinct paraclete role in John’s Gospel and from the baseline’s ਵਿਚੋਲਗੀ (intercession/prayer generally), which lacks this specific courtroom-defense image.
Commandment
Approved rendering: ਹੁਕਮ
Transliteration: hukam
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Rejected alternatives: ਆਗਿਆ
Original: ἐντολή
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Retained as the established Punjabi Bible term for ‘commandment’ (cf. ‘ਦਸ ਹੁਕਮ,’ the Ten Commandments), per the baseline’s retain-with-mandatory-gloss precedent used for ਮੁਕਤੀ. Every doctrinally load-bearing occurrence (2:3-8; 3:22-24; 4:21; 5:2-3) requires a clarifying note distinguishing God’s specific, relational command to love from the Sikh doctrine of ਹੁਕਮ as Waheguru’s impersonal cosmic Order requiring submission — already flagged as a comparison point, not a substitute, under the baseline’s ‘providence’ entry.
World
Approved rendering: ਸੰਸਾਰ
Transliteration: sansaar
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Rejected alternatives: ਦੁਨੀਆਂ
Original: κόσμος
Category: World
NEW TERM for this curriculum. ਸੰਸਾਰ is cognate with Sanskrit ‘samsara,’ the Hindu doctrine of the cyclical, illusory (maya) phenomenal world from which one seeks liberation. 1 John’s κόσμος is real, not illusory, and morally (not metaphysically) opposed to God (2:15-17; 3:1,13; 4:1,3-5,9,14,17; 5:4-5,19). Retained as the established Bible term but requires a MANDATORY clarifying gloss parallel to the baseline’s treatment of ਮੁਕਤੀ on every doctrinally load-bearing occurrence, especially in the negative ‘do not love the world’ sense (2:15).
Anointing
Approved rendering: ਮਸਹ
Transliteration: mash
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Original: χρῖσμα
Category: Pneumatology
NEW TERM for this curriculum, sharing a root with ਮਸੀਹ (‘the Anointed One’). Refers to the Holy Spirit’s personal teaching presence given to every believer (2:20,27), not a physical ritual anointing with oil nor a mark of an initiated spiritual elite comparable to an inner circle around a guru or sant — a direct counter to the false teachers’ claim of superior esoteric knowledge.
Abide
Approved rendering: ਬਣੇ ਰਹਿਣਾ / ਟਿਕਿਆ ਰਹਿਣਾ
Transliteration: bane rehna / tikya rehna
Doctrine: Fellowship with God and One Another
Original: μένω
Category: Fellowship
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Must convey ongoing relational union with the personal, distinct God revealed in Christ (2:6,10,17,19,24,27-28; 3:6,9,14-15,17,24; 4:12-16) — not a mystical dissolving of the self into an impersonal divine Absolute (a possible Hindu Advaitic reading) nor a meditative equipoise (cf. baseline’s caution on ਸਹਿਜ for ‘peace’) attained through spiritual practice.
Blood
Approved rendering: ਲਹੂ
Transliteration: lahu
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Original: αἷμα
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Christ’s atoning, sacrificial blood cleanses from sin (1:7) and testifies to his saving work (5:6,8). Must be understood as accomplishing cleansing through Christ’s person and finished work, not a ritual substance with independent purifying power apart from him.
Seed Of God
Approved rendering: ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦਾ ਬੀਜ
Transliteration: Parmeshar da beej
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Original: σπέρμα αὐτοῦ
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM for this curriculum. The implanted, abiding God-given nature that produces righteous living and an inability to persist in sin (3:9). Must be read relationally/analogically — a God-given new nature — not as literal infusion of divine substance, which risks a pantheistic or monistic reading uncomfortably close to some Hindu Advaitic or Sikh concepts of shared divine essence within all beings.
Brother
Approved rendering: ਭਰਾ
Transliteration: bhra
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Original: ἀδελφός
Category: Church
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Must be understood as spiritual family defined by shared new birth in Christ, cutting across caste, biradari kinship-networks, and Khalsa panth/qaum identity (2:9-11; 3:10-17; 4:20-21) — a significant, countercultural claim in Punjab, where ‘brotherhood’ language otherwise carries strong caste- or community-bound associations. Teach as deliberately provocative, not softened.
Test The Spirits
Approved rendering: ਆਤਮਾਵਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਪਰਖਣਾ
Transliteration: aatmavaan nu parakhna
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Original: δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα
Category: Pneumatology
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Must be taught as strictly Christological testing — does the spirit confess Jesus Christ come in the flesh (4:1-3) — not generic paranormal discernment, and not equivalent to South Asian frameworks for testing a guru’s or sant’s authenticity by miracles, asceticism, or lineage credentials.
Overcome The World
Approved rendering: ਸੰਸਾਰ ਉੱਤੇ ਜਿੱਤ / ਜਿੱਤਣਾ
Transliteration: sansaar utte jeet / jeetna
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Original: νικάω τὸν κόσμον
Category: World
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Victory over the morally opposed system of the world, secured through faith-union with the risen Christ (4:4; 5:4-5). Genuine comparison point with the Sikh Khalsa ideal of conquering the ‘five thieves’ (kam, krodh, lobh, moh, hankar) and broader South Asian ascetic self-mastery ideals — worth teaching comparatively, but the mechanism must not be collapsed into self-achieved conquest through discipline or detachment.
Threefold Witness
Approved rendering: ਪਾਣੀ, ਲਹੂ ਅਤੇ ਆਤਮਾ
Transliteration: paani, lahu ate aatma
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Original: τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ τὸ αἷμα καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM for this curriculum. A uniquely Johannine triad of testimony to Christ’s identity — likely his baptism, his atoning death, and the Spirit’s ongoing witness (5:6-9). Requires careful exposition as converging historical/spiritual testimony, not veneration as an independent ritual triad alongside other South Asian purification triads.
Sin Unto Death
Approved rendering: ਮੌਤ ਵੱਲ ਲੈ ਜਾਣ ਵਾਲਾ ਪਾਪ
Transliteration: maut vall lai jaan vala paap
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: ਮਾਰੂ ਪਾਪ
Original: ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον
Category: Sin
NEW TERM for this curriculum. A debated category distinguishing a sin resulting in a specific act of divine discipline unto physical death from ordinary sin for which intercession is appropriate (5:16-17). Do NOT render with a phrase implying the Catholic mortal/venial sin distinction, nor any phrase suggesting a karma-style scale of fatal versus survivable sin. Flag for theologian review; the ambiguity is exegetical, not merely translational.
Idols
Approved rendering: ਮੂਰਤੀਆਂ
Transliteration: murtiaan
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Original: εἴδωλα
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Carries a live double resonance in Punjab: directly names literal Hindu murti-puja while resonating positively with Sikhism’s own strong aniconic, anti-idolatry tradition. Retain the literal sense for cultural relevance and rhetorical force (5:21), but also teach the broader sense — any rival object of ultimate trust or devotion competing with the true, personal God — so the command is not heard as addressed only to a different religious community’s practice.
Manifested
Approved rendering: ਪ੍ਰਗਟ ਹੋਇਆ
Transliteration: pragat hoya
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Original: φανερόω
Category: Christology
NEW TERM for this curriculum. The once-for-all historical disclosure of the eternal Son and of God’s love in him (1:2; 3:5,8; 4:9). Ties directly to ਦੇਹਧਾਰਨ (incarnation) and its NEVER-ਅਵਤਾਰ rule; must not suggest a repeatable avatar-descent.
Medium Risk Terms
Fellowship
Approved rendering: ਸੰਗਤ
Transliteration: sangat
Doctrine: Fellowship with God and One Another
Rejected alternatives: ਦੋਸਤੀ
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Fellowship
Inherited from Romans package (there rated Low) but ELEVATED to Medium risk for this curriculum: 1 John’s κοινωνία (1:3, 1:6-7) extends fellowship beyond the gathered congregational sense that makes ਸੰਗਤ (cf. Sikh ਸਾਧ ਸੰਗਤ) such a natural bridge, to shared participation in the very life of the Father and Son themselves. Teach this expanded dimension explicitly; do not let the term’s positive Sikh resonance stop at the congregational meaning alone.
Darkness
Approved rendering: ਹਨੇਰਾ
Transliteration: hanera
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Original: σκοτία
Category: Light
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Moral/spiritual darkness opposed to ਚਾਨਣ (1:5-7; 2:8-10); walking in darkness while claiming fellowship is self-contradictory (1:6).
Cleanse
Approved rendering: ਸ਼ੁੱਧ ਕਰਨਾ
Transliteration: shudh karna
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Original: καθαρίζω
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Must be read as moral/relational cleansing grounded in Christ’s ਲਹੂ (blood) and finished atoning work (1:7,9), not ritual purity practice; anchor explicitly to ਲਹੂ in every occurrence.
Confess
Approved rendering: ਇਕਬਾਲ ਕਰਨਾ / ਮੰਨ ਲੈਣਾ
Transliteration: ikbaal karna / mann laina
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Original: ὁμολογέω
Category: Faith
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Direct, verbal, public acknowledgment before God through Christ — of sin (1:9) or of Christ’s identity (4:2-3,15) — never confession mediated through a Guru, priest, or intermediary figure, nor a public act performed to gain social/religious standing.
Forgive
Approved rendering: ਮਾਫ਼ ਕਰਨਾ
Transliteration: maaf karna
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Original: ἀφίημι
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Correct, sufficient term for ἀφίημι specifically (1:9; 2:12); not a substitute for the distinct, broader forensic doctrine of justification (ਧਰਮੀ ਠਹਿਰਾਇਆ ਜਾਣਾ, baseline).
Lawlessness
Approved rendering: ਬਿਵਸਥਾ ਦੀ ਉਲੰਘਣਾ
Transliteration: bivastha di ulanghana
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Rejected alternatives: ਅਧਰਮ
Original: ἀνομία
Category: Sin
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Sin defined structurally as violation of God’s ਬਿਵਸਥਾ (reused from baseline, 3:4), avoiding any drift toward ਧਰਮ (forbidden as a righteousness substitute).
Unrighteousness
Approved rendering: ਅਧਰਮ / ਬੇਇਨਸਾਫ਼ੀ
Transliteration: adharam / be-insaafi
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Original: ἀδικία
Category: Sin
NEW TERM for this curriculum. The broader condition of wrongdoing from which confession cleanses believers (1:9); distinct from ਪਾਪ’s specific transgression sense — not a substitute for ‘sin’ itself.
Devil Evil One
Approved rendering: ਸ਼ੈਤਾਨ / ਦੁਸ਼ਟ
Transliteration: Shaitan / dusht
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Original: διάβολος / ὁ πονηρός
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM for this curriculum. A personal, malevolent spiritual being, the spiritual father of murderous hatred, opposed to God (3:8,10,12; 5:18-19). Must be taught as a personal being with real agency, not a metaphor for impersonal moral failure or bad karma.
Lay Down Life
Approved rendering: ਜਾਨ ਦੇਣਾ
Transliteration: jaan dena
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Original: τίθημι τὴν ψυχήν
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Idiom for voluntary self-sacrifice modeled on Christ’s death, the standard for love among believers (3:16). Translate for sense, not literally.
Compassion
Approved rendering: ਦਿਲੋਂ ਤਰਸ / ਦਯਾ
Transliteration: dilon taras / daya
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Original: τὰ σπλάγχνα
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Anatomical idiom (σπλάγχνα, ‘bowels of compassion’) for deep, gut-level compassion toward a brother in need (3:17); do not translate literally as bodily organs.
False Prophets
Approved rendering: ਝੂਠੇ ਨਬੀ
Transliteration: jhoothe nabi
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Original: ψευδοπροφῆται
Category: Pneumatology
NEW compound; base term ਨਬੀ reused exactly from the Romans baseline (Low risk on its own). ਝੂਠੇ (false) must be defined by the Christological test of 4:2-3, not by general moral untrustworthiness.
Spirit Of Truth Error
Approved rendering: ਸੱਚ ਦਾ ਆਤਮਾ / ਭਰਮ ਦਾ ਆਤਮਾ
Transliteration: sach da aatma / bharam da aatma
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Original: πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας / πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης
Category: Pneumatology
NEW TERM for this curriculum. The two opposed spiritual sources distinguished by the Christological test (4:6); a rare case of positive lexical resonance since ਭਰਮ (illusion/delusion) is already a live term in Hindu/Sikh thought and genuinely fits ‘spirit of error’ as a kind of doctrinal delusion.
Victory
Approved rendering: ਜਿੱਤ
Transliteration: jeet
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Original: ἡ νίκη
Category: World
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Companion noun to ‘overcome the world’; faith itself is identified as this victory (5:4) — carries the same faith-not-effort emphasis in miniature.
Confidence Boldness
Approved rendering: ਭਰੋਸਾ / ਦਲੇਰੀ
Transliteration: bharosa / daleri
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Original: παρρησία
Category: Faith
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Boldness before God grounded in a clear conscience and God’s perfected love (3:21; 4:17; 5:14). Direct, unmediated access to God in prayer through Christ, distinct from petitioning through a Guru’s mediation or at a Sant’s dera; always anchor as ‘confidence before God’ explicitly.
Perfected
Approved rendering: ਸੰਪੂਰਨ ਹੋਣਾ / ਪੂਰਾ ਕਰਨਾ
Transliteration: sampooran hona / poora karna
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Original: τελειόω / τέλειος
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM for this curriculum. God’s love reaching its intended goal/maturity through believers’ mutual love (2:5; 4:12,17-18), not flawless personal achievement. Must not be read as personal spiritual attainment — avoid resonance with South Asian ‘siddhi’/perfection-through-practice frameworks.
Fear
Approved rendering: ਡਰ
Transliteration: dar
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Original: φόβος
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Dread of punishment/condemnation, which mature, secure love removes (4:18) — a pastoral assurance point, not a call to eliminate all reverent awe of God.
Truth
Approved rendering: ਸੱਚ / ਸਚਾਈ
Transliteration: sach / sachai
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Original: ἀλήθεια
Category: Faith
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Personal, Christ-anchored reality and integrity, contrasted with falsehood and self-deception (1:6,8; 2:4,21; 3:18-19; 4:6; 5:6); not an abstract philosophical truth-concept.
Know
Approved rendering: ਜਾਣਨਾ
Transliteration: jaanna
Doctrine: Fellowship with God and One Another
Original: γινώσκω / εἴδω
Category: Faith
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Relational, experiential knowledge of God through Christ, used throughout the letter as the test of genuine faith (2:3-5,13-14,29; 3:1,6,16,19-20,24; 4:2,6-8,13,16; 5:2,13,15,18-20); a deliberate counter to the false teachers’ claim of superior esoteric γνῶσις.
Sent
Approved rendering: ਭੇਜਿਆ
Transliteration: bheji-a
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Original: ἀποστέλλω
Category: Christology
NEW TERM for this curriculum. God the Father’s purposive initiative in sending his Son into the world (4:9-10,14); standard verb of authoritative, purposeful dispatch.
Testify Testimony
Approved rendering: ਗਵਾਹੀ ਦੇਣਾ / ਗਵਾਹੀ
Transliteration: gawahi dena / gawahi
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Original: μαρτυρέω / μαρτυρία
Category: Faith
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Legal/evidentiary eyewitness attestation underlying the letter’s assurance claims about Christ (1:2; 4:14; 5:6-11); reliable, evidentiary attestation, not subjective religious feeling.
Desire Lust
Approved rendering: ਲਾਲਸਾ
Transliteration: laalsa
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Original: ἐπιθυμία
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Sinful craving, part of the threefold description of worldly desire opposed to doing God’s will (2:16).
Pride Of Life
Approved rendering: ਜੀਵਨ ਦਾ ਹੰਕਾਰ
Transliteration: jeevan da hankaar
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Original: ἡ ἀλαζονεία τοῦ βίου
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Boastful arrogance rooted in possessions/status, the third element of worldly desire (2:16); arrogant self-sufficiency apart from God, distinct from healthy self-respect.
Last Hour
Approved rendering: ਆਖਰੀ ਸਮਾਂ / ਆਖਰੀ ਘੜੀ
Transliteration: aakhri samaan / aakhri ghadi
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Original: ἐσχάτη ὥρα
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Eschatological time marker signaling the present age as the final period before Christ’s return, marked by antichrist’s activity (2:18); a linear, historical marker, not a cyclical cosmic-age (yuga) frame.
Day Of Judgment
Approved rendering: ਨਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਦਿਨ
Transliteration: nyaan da din
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Original: ἡμέρα τῆς κρίσεως
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM for this curriculum. The eschatological day of final divine verdict, for which perfected love grants confidence (4:17). ਨਿਆਂ names final, personal accountability before a personal God, not impersonal cosmic reckoning (karma); ਨਿਆਂ was only rejected in the baseline as a substitute for ‘righteousness,’ not as a general judgment term, so its use here is correct.
Low Risk Terms
Prophet
Approved rendering: ਨਬੀ
Transliteration: nabi
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. In 1 John, base term for the compound ਝੂਠੇ ਨਬੀ (false prophets, 4:1); see new entry ‘false_prophets’ below.
Punishment
Approved rendering: ਸਜ਼ਾ
Transliteration: saza
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Original: κόλασις
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Penal consequence, the object of the fear that perfect love casts out (4:18). Standard term; minor doctrinal risk.
Liar
Approved rendering: ਝੂਠਾ
Transliteration: jhoota
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Original: ψεύστης
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Standard term for one characterized by falsehood, used of false claims to love God or know him while disobeying or hating a brother (1:10; 2:4,22; 4:20).
Hate
Approved rendering: ਨਫ਼ਰਤ ਕਰਨਾ
Transliteration: nafrat karna
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Original: μισέω
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Strong aversion, the direct opposite of ਪਿਆਰ, falsifying any claim to love God (2:9-11; 4:20). Standard term; minor doctrinal risk.
Beloved
Approved rendering: ਪਿਆਰਿਓ
Transliteration: piario
Doctrine: Fellowship with God and One Another
Original: ἀγαπητοί
Category: Church
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Pastoral vocative address naming believers as objects of God’s own love before commanding them to love (4:7,11; 3:2,21). Standard warm vocative, consistent with the baseline’s note that warmth is appropriate in relational passages.
Walk Conduct
Approved rendering: ਚਾਲ ਚੱਲਣਾ
Transliteration: chaal chalna
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Original: περιπατέω
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM for this curriculum. Idiom for one’s manner of life or conduct (1:6-7; 2:6,11). Standard idiom; translate for meaning, not literalism.
Understanding
Approved rendering: ਸਮਝ
Transliteration: samajh
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Original: διάνοια
Category: Faith
NEW TERM for this curriculum. God-given capacity to truly know him, contrasted with false gods/idols (5:20). Standard cognitive-faculty term; low doctrinal risk.
Referenced passages