Linguistic Gap Analysis
Linguistic Gap Analysis — Gospel of Mark | English → Punjabi
Purpose and Scope
This analysis executes PRD Phase 1 Step 8 for the Mark curriculum. It builds on, and never contradicts, the baseline Romans translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json, and on the Mark-specific 08_core_glossary.md. Its purpose is to identify (1) where Punjabi’s existing religious vocabulary is genuinely missing a needed concept, (2) where Punjabi’s vocabulary is crowded — several near-synonyms compete for the same semantic space, requiring deliberate fencing off of the wrong ones — and (3) where a term should be transliterated rather than translated. It closes with a ranked list of the highest-risk ambiguities for this curriculum, weighted toward the core passage, Mark 10:35–45, while confirming full-book coverage across all 16 chapters.
Coverage confirmation: every chapter of Mark (1–16) was reviewed for gap-analysis purposes. Chapters that surface no new lexical gap beyond terms already fenced in the core glossary are marked “reviewed, no new gap” below rather than omitted.
Part 1 — Doctrine Vocabulary Matrix
For each of the eight curriculum doctrines: the available Punjabi terms, their weaknesses (semantic collision or gap risk), and the recommended handling strategy.
| Doctrine | Available Punjabi Term(s) | Weaknesses | Recommended Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God | ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ (Son of God, baseline Critical); ਮਨੁੱਖ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ (Son of Man, new); ਸੇਵਕ/ਦਾਸ (Servant/Slave) | No single Punjabi phrase naturally fuses “genuinely human, suffering figure” with “divinely authoritative judge” the way Daniel 7’s “Son of Man” does; Punjabi readers will default to a plain literal reading (“a human being’s son”) unless framed. Separately, “Son of God” risks softening toward Sikh/Hindu categories (avatar, enlightened soul, guru’s spiritual heir) if left unglossed. | Keep ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ and ਮਨੁੱਖ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ rigidly distinct (never interchange); require an explanatory bridge note at first occurrence of each (1:1/1:11 for Son of God; 2:10 for Son of Man) rather than relying on vocabulary alone. |
| The Kingdom of God Breaking In | ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦਾ ਰਾਜ (baseline Medium) | ਰਾਜ carries strong Sikh Empire / Khalsa Raj political-sovereignty resonance (as already flagged in the Romans baseline); Mark’s “already/not yet,” organically-growing kingdom (4:26-32, the mustard seed and growing seed parables) is a temporal-process nuance the baseline term does not itself convey. | Retain ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦਾ ਰਾਜ; pair with explicit “growing/breaking in, not seized by force” framing in every Mark 4 and Mark 10:14-15 occurrence, since Mark uses this doctrine narratively (parable, then paradox: kingdom belongs to children, is hard for the rich to enter) rather than propositionally as in Romans. |
| Faith and Discipleship amid Fear | ਨਿਹਚਾ (baseline High); ਡਰ (fear, common word, no special risk) | No gap in the term itself; the risk is structural — Mark repeatedly juxtaposes ਨਿਹਚਾ against ਡਰ as opposites (4:40; 5:34-36; 9:24; 10:32), a rhetorical pattern that must survive translation, not just the individual words. | No vocabulary substitution needed. Flag the faith/fear antithesis structurally in translator notes at 4:40, 5:36, 6:50, so Phase 2 preserves the paired contrast rather than translating each verse in isolation. |
| The Necessity of the Cross | ਜ਼ਰੂਰੀ ਹੈ (dei, new); ਸਲੀਬ/ਸਲੀਬ ਦੇਣਾ (cross/crucify, Critical); ਨੇਮ ਦਾ ਲਹੂ (blood of the covenant, Critical) | Punjabi has no native concept of a single, unrepeatable, divinely necessitated atoning death; ਜ਼ਰੂਰੀ ਹੈ alone reads as mere logical/practical necessity, not divine redemptive plan. ਸਲੀਬ risks being flattened to a generic “burden to bear” metaphor if 8:34’s call to self-denial is read apart from 15:21-27’s literal execution. | Always pair ਜ਼ਰੂਰੀ ਹੈ with a short Isaiah 53 background gloss at first occurrence (8:31); keep literal crucifixion (15:21-27) and metaphorical cross-bearing (8:34) textually anchored to each other rather than treated as unrelated senses. |
| Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness | ਸੇਵਕ (diakonos); ਦਾਸ (doulos); ਹਕੂਮਤ ਕਰਨਾ/ਦਬਾਉਣਾ (lord it over) | This is Punjabi’s most crowded doctrinal neighborhood (see Part 2): ਸੇਵਾ is a deeply positive, high-frequency Sikh devotional-communal term (Guru ka Langar, seva at the Gurdwara) that could either help or flatten Mark 10:43-45’s specifically Christ-patterned, cross-shaped servanthood into a generic virtue anyone of any tradition already practices. | Use ਸੇਵਕ/ਦਾਸ but require every occurrence in the core passage (10:43-45) to explicitly anchor back to “ਜਿਵੇਂ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ ਵੀ…” (10:45) so the doctrine is never presented as free-standing ethical instruction. |
| The Messianic Secret | ਵਰਜਣਾ (rebuke/silence, new); ਮਸੀਹ (Messiah, Critical) | No gap in vocabulary; the risk is that ਵਰਜਣਾ read casually could sound like ordinary correction rather than the deliberate, theologically loaded pattern of concealment-then-revelation running through Mark (1:25, 34; 3:12; 8:30; 9:9). | Flag every occurrence of ਵਰਜਣਾ tied to Jesus’ identity (as opposed to demons) for a translator note explaining the narrative device of progressive, deliberate disclosure culminating at 14:61-62 and 15:39. |
| Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature | ਅਧਿਕਾਰ (authority, High); ਅਸ਼ੁੱਧ ਆਤਮਾ (unclean spirit, High); ਚੰਗਾ ਕਰਨਾ/ਬਚਾਉਣਾ (heal/save, sōzō, High) | ਅਧਿਕਾਰ shares its root’s cognate with the negative ਹਕੂਮਤ ਕਰਨਾ (10:42) — see Part 2 fencing note. ਚੰਗਾ ਕਰਨਾ/ਬਚਾਉਣਾ is a single Greek verb (σῴζω) doing double duty across Mark for physical healing and eschatological salvation; Punjabi’s two distinct verbs risk either collapsing healing into salvation-language or stripping salvation-language from healing narratives. | Keep ਅਧਿਕਾਰ and ਹਕੂਮਤ ਕਰਨਾ lexically unrelated in Punjabi (already achieved in the glossary; maintain rigorously). For σῴζω, default to ਚੰਗਾ ਕਰਨਾ/ਬਚਾਉਣਾ for physical contexts (5:23-34; 6:56; 10:52) and reserve ਮੁਕਤੀ only where the eschatological sense is unmistakably in view, with a translator note explaining the double sense at first occurrence (5:34). |
| The Ransom for Many | ਛੁਟਕਾਰੇ ਦਾ ਮੁੱਲ (ransom, Critical); ਦੇ ਥਾਂ/ਦੇ ਬਦਲੇ (anti pollōn, High); ਨੇਮ ਦਾ ਲਹੂ (blood of the covenant, Critical) | This is Punjabi’s single greatest genuine lexical gap (see Part 2): there is no existing Punjabi religious term for a substitutionary price paid by a mediator on another’s behalf that is not either (a) a Hindu self-performed penance concept (ਪ੍ਰਾਸਚਿਤ, explicitly rejected) or (b) a purely commercial “price” word stripped of atoning weight. | Retain the compound ਛੁਟਕਾਰੇ ਦਾ ਮੁੱਲ; mandate the clarifying gloss at every load-bearing occurrence (10:45; conceptually 14:24), modeled directly on the baseline’s ਮੁਕਤੀ-gloss precedent: Christ pays, the sinner receives, no ritual self-payment is possible or required. |
Part 2 — Missing Vocabulary vs. Crowded Semantic Neighborhoods
2.1 Genuine Lexical Gaps (no adequate existing Punjabi term)
These concepts have no pre-existing Punjabi word or phrase that carries the needed sense; a compound or newly-coined phrase (already proposed in the core glossary) is required, and must be introduced with explanatory framing rather than assumed to be self-evident.
| Concept | Gap | Chosen Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Ransom (λύτρον) | No Punjabi term for a mediator-paid substitutionary price distinct from self-performed penance | ਛੁਟਕਾਰੇ ਦਾ ਮੁੱਲ + mandatory gloss (10:45) |
| Son of Man (fused humanity + Danielic authority) | No Sikh/Hindu category names both suffering humanity and divine judicial authority in one figure | ਮਨੁੱਖ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ + explanatory bridge at first occurrence (2:10) |
| Blood of the covenant, once-for-all | No native concept of a single unrepeatable sacrificial-covenantal act (Punjab’s sacrificial vocabulary, where it exists, is either Vedic-ritual or absent) | ਨੇਮ ਦਾ ਲਹੂ, built on baseline ਨੇਮ, with Exodus 24/Passover background note |
| Transfiguration as unveiling (not descent) | No Punjabi term distinguishes a temporary unveiling of pre-existing divine glory from either avatar-descent or a violation of divine formlessness | ਰੂਪਾਂਤਰਣ + double theological bridge (parallel to baseline Incarnation caution) |
| “I am” as a divine self-declaration echoing Exodus 3:14 | Ordinary ਮੈਂ ਹਾਂ is grammatically unremarkable in Punjabi and carries none of the OT theophanic weight | ਮੈਂ ਹਾਂ + theologian’s note at 14:62 (and 6:50) tying it explicitly to the Exodus background |
| Gehenna as final, unending judgment | ਨਰਕ exists but denotes a temporary stage within Hindu/Sikh cosmology’s rebirth cycle | ਨਰਕ + mandatory distinguishing note: final and unending, following the one bodily resurrection |
2.2 Crowded Semantic Neighborhoods (too many competing near-synonyms; require active fencing)
These are areas where Punjabi actually has several plausible words, and the risk is not absence but collision — the wrong choice imports an entire competing theological framework.
(a) Teacher/Master address cluster — ਗੁਰੂ / ਉਸਤਾਦ / ਮਾਲਕ Mark uses “Teacher/Rabbi” address to Jesus far more densely than Romans (13 occurrences). ਗੁਰੂ is the single most natural-sounding option to a Sikh ear and must be permanently fenced out (reserved exclusively for the Ten Gurus/Guru Granth Sahib per the baseline’s Apostle entry). ਉਸਤਾਦ is retained as the fence; ਰੱਬੀ (a literal transliteration of “Rabbi”) must also be fenced out because of its unfortunate phonetic proximity to ਰੱਬ (“God” in colloquial speech), which could cause readers to hear “they called him God” where the text says only “they called him Teacher.”
(b) Servanthood cluster — ਸੇਵਾ / ਸੇਵਕ / ਦਾਸ / ਗੁਲਾਮ Four terms compete: ਸੇਵਾ (the broad devotional-communal noun, extremely positive but theologically generic), ਸੇਵਕ (diakonos, chosen), ਦਾਸ (doulos, chosen, with positive Punjabi devotional-poetic precedent as in “Nanak das”), and ਗੁਲਾਮ (chattel slavery, explicitly rejected — its connotation of human trafficking/ownership is inappropriate and was already fenced in the core glossary). The fence: ਸੇਵਾ as a bare noun must never be substituted for ਸੇਵਕ/ਦਾਸ as if service-in-general satisfies Mark 10:43-45’s specific Christ-patterned demand; ਗੁਲਾਮ is never permitted regardless of register.
(c) Lordship/authority/domination cluster — ਪ੍ਰਭੂ / ਅਧਿਕਾਰ / ਹਕੂਮਤ ਕਰਨਾ / ਦਬਾਉਣਾ Greek keeps κύριος, ἐξουσία, and κατακυριεύω/κατεξουσιάζω etymologically related while Mark 10:42-45 depends on the reader distinguishing Christ’s true, legitimate ਪ੍ਰਭੂ/ਅਧਿਕਾਰ from the Gentile rulers’ illegitimate ਹਕੂਮਤ ਕਰਨਾ. Punjabi has no single root that spans all three senses, which is fortunate — the fence is to actively keep them unrelated (never derive ਹਕੂਮਤ ਕਰਨਾ from the ਪ੍ਰਭੂ or ਅਧਿਕਾਰ root, even for stylistic variety), preserving in Punjabi the very same contrast the Greek text draws through shared vocabulary and irony.
(d) Salvation/healing cluster — ਮੁਕਤੀ / ਚੰਗਾ ਕਰਨਾ / ਬਚਾਉਣਾ σῴζω’s double sense (physical healing and eschatological salvation) meets the Romans baseline’s already-crowded ਮੁਕਤੀ (which carries its own mandatory Sikh-mukti distinguishing gloss). The fence: reserve ਮੁਕਤੀ for passages with unmistakable eschatological weight; use ਚੰਗਾ ਕਰਨਾ/ਬਚਾਉਣਾ for the numerous physical-healing occurrences (5:23-34; 6:56; 10:52) so as not to multiply the already-heavy ਮੁਕਤੀ-gloss burden unnecessarily, while still flagging 10:52 (“your faith has healed/saved you,” spoken to blind Bartimaeus immediately before the triumphal entry) as a probable double-sense passage requiring translator judgment.
(e) Fasting/vow cluster — ਵਰਤ / (no clean alternative) ਵਰਤ is the only viable Punjabi word but is heavily loaded with Hindu ritual-merit vow practice (Karva Chauth, Navratri, vows made for this-worldly boons). There is no unloaded synonym available, so this is a “crowded” rather than a “missing” case even though only one lexical option exists — the crowding is with an entire practice-tradition, not a competing word. Fence by consistent doctrinal framing (2:18-22): fasting as voluntary discipline in light of Christ’s presence/absence, never as merit-earning.
(f) Hell/afterlife-judgment cluster — ਨਰਕ (shared with 2.1 above) Listed under gaps because the available word’s meaning is subtly but decisively different (temporary vs. final); also listed here because it is not that Punjabi lacks a word — it has one everyone will recognize — but that the recognized word’s connotation must be actively overridden by a gloss every time.
(g) Blasphemy cluster — ਨਿੰਦਿਆ / ਕੁਫ਼ਰ ਕੁਫ਼ਰ is fluent, common in Punjabi Islamic-idiom religious speech, and would be readily understood, but imports specifically Islamic theological categories (denial of core tenets, apostasy) foreign to Mark’s own use. Fence: use ਨਿੰਦਿਆ consistently, qualified where needed (“ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਆਤਮਾ ਦੀ ਨਿੂੰਦਿਆ”).
Part 3 — Transliteration vs. Paraphrase Decisions
| Term | Decision | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Talitha koum (5:41) | Transliterate + immediate translation | Preserve Jesus’ actual Aramaic speech-act; parallel treatment to baseline’s Abba. Immediately glossed “ਬੱਚੀ, ਉੱਠ” in-text. |
| Eloi Eloi, lema sabachthani (15:34) | Transliterate + immediate translation + Psalm 22 note | The cry’s Aramaic form is itself theologically significant (Jesus praying Scripture in extremity); a paraphrase-only rendering would erase that. |
| Abba (14:36) | Transliterate + brief gloss | Reused from baseline; unlike Bengali precedent, still requires a gloss in Punjabi since ਅੱਬਾ is not native Gurmukhi religious vocabulary. |
| Legion (5:9) | Transliterate + historical footnote | A Roman military-unit proper name; paraphrasing (“a large number”) loses the demoniac’s ironic self-naming after an occupying army. Low doctrinal risk. |
| Beelzebul (3:22) | Transliterate + brief note | Proper name for a demonic prince; no Punjabi equivalent needed or desirable. |
| Hosanna (11:9-10) | Transliterate + brief gloss on Hebrew meaning | Established convention for liturgical acclamations across Bible translation traditions; paraphrasing (“Save now!”) in the main text would flatten its recognizability as a quoted acclamation from Psalm 118. |
| Sanhedrin (14:55; 15:1) | Transliterate + footnote | NEVER ਮਹਾਸਭਾ (evokes the modern Hindu Mahasabha organization — a live political-religious body, not a historical curiosity). Paraphrase (“Jewish council”) is acceptable as a supplementary gloss but the proper noun should still be transliterated for later cross-reference consistency. |
| Passover (14:1, 12-16) | Paraphrase-anchored established term (ਪਸਾਹ) | Already lexicalized in Punjabi OT translation tradition; not a fresh transliteration decision, but requires background explanation for low-OT-literacy readers. |
| Rabbi/Teacher (multiple) | Paraphrase (ਉਸਤਾਦ), explicitly NOT transliterated as ਰੱਬੀ | Transliteration here would create a false phonetic echo with ਰੱਬ (“God”); this is a rare case where transliteration is the riskier option and paraphrase is required. |
| Son of Man | Paraphrase (ਮਨੁੱਖ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ), not transliterated | A title requiring conceptual, not phonetic, fidelity; transliterating the Greek/Aramaic underlying idiom would be meaningless to a Punjabi reader. |
| Ransom (λύτρον) | Paraphrase (compound: ਛੁਟਕਾਰੇ ਦਾ ਮੁੱਲ) | No single Punjabi word carries the full sense; a transliteration of the Greek would communicate nothing without extensive teaching, whereas the compound phrase is transparent in its parts even before the mandatory gloss is added. |
| Gehenna (9:43-48) | Paraphrase using existing word (ਨਰਕ) + mandatory distinguishing gloss | Transliterating “Gehenna” would be unrecognizable to readers with no Second Temple geographic background; the existing word is retained but actively corrected via gloss rather than replaced. |
| ”I am” (ἐγώ εἰμι) | Paraphrase, plain grammatical form (ਮੈਂ ਹਾਂ) + theologian’s note | No special transliterated form exists or would be intelligible; the theological weight must ride entirely on the accompanying note, not on the wording itself. |
Part 4 — Chapter Coverage Confirmation (Mark 1–16)
| Chapter | Gap-analysis status |
|---|---|
| 1 | New-gap terms surfaced: baptism (literal), unclean spirit, leprosy, Sabbath, holy (address by demon). Fully addressed in Parts 1–2. |
| 2 | New-gap terms surfaced: sin/forgiveness authority collision, fasting, Sabbath lordship, Son of Man (first occurrence, 2:10). Addressed. |
| 3 | New-gap terms surfaced: apostle, blasphemy (Spirit), Beelzebul, authority to cast out. Addressed. |
| 4 | New-gap terms surfaced: kingdom-of-God parable structure, parable (drishtant) concealment/revelation dynamic. Addressed. |
| 5 | New-gap terms surfaced: Legion, save/heal (sōzō) double sense, Talitha koum (resuscitation vs. resurrection distinction). Addressed. |
| 6 | New-gap terms surfaced: mission/sending, prophet without honor, Herod’s guilt narrative (no new doctrinal-vocabulary gap; reviewed, no new gap beyond above). |
| 7 | New-gap terms surfaced: law/tradition, clean/unclean ritual-purity reinterpretation. Addressed. |
| 8 | New-gap terms surfaced: Messiah confession (Peter), necessity (dei), cross/crucify (metaphorical first use), Messianic Secret rebuke pattern, glory. Addressed. |
| 9 | New-gap terms surfaced: Transfiguration, “I am” foreshadowed structurally, Gehenna, blasphemy pattern continues, faith amid fear (9:24). Addressed. |
| 10 | Core passage chapter. New/reinforced terms: eternal life, Son of David, divorce, cup, baptism (metaphorical), authority vs. lord-it-over, servant/slave, ransom, substitution (anti pollōn), Son of Man (climactic, 10:45). All addressed with highest priority in Parts 1–3. |
| 11 | New-gap terms surfaced: Hosanna, Lord (triumphal entry acclamation), authority questioned by council. Addressed. |
| 12 | New-gap terms surfaced: cornerstone, love (agapē), Son of David/Lord (12:35-37), resurrection debate with Sadducees. Addressed. |
| 13 | New-gap terms surfaced: abomination of desolation, elect/chosen, watch/be alert, power of God, glory (eschatological). Addressed. |
| 14 | New-gap terms surfaced: Passover, blood of the covenant, betray/hand over, will (divine vs. human, Gethsemane), Abba, “I am” (climactic, 14:62), blasphemy (trial), Sanhedrin. Addressed. |
| 15 | New-gap terms surfaced: cross/crucify (literal), Aramaic cry of dereliction, temple veil, Son of God (centurion’s confession, 15:39), Israel. Addressed. |
| 16 | New-gap terms surfaced: resurrection (climactic confirmation, 16:6), gospel/mission (16:15). Reviewed; no additional gap beyond terms already fenced under Resurrection and Gospel/Mission entries. |
No chapter was found to introduce a lexical gap or collision risk not already captured in Parts 1–3 above.
Part 5 — Ranked List of Highest-Risk Ambiguities
Ranked by combined weight of (a) doctrinal centrality, (b) severity of potential syncretistic collision, and (c) proximity to the core passage, Mark 10:35–45.
- Ransom (λύτρον, 10:45) — Critical. The single highest-stakes term in the entire curriculum: without the mandatory gloss, ਛੁਟਕਾਰੇ ਦਾ ਮੁੱਲ risks silent reinterpretation through the Hindu ਪ੍ਰਾਸਚਿਤ (self-performed penance) frame, relocating the atoning act from Christ to the sinner — precisely inverting the doctrine.
- “Lord it over” vs. “authority” vs. “Lord” (10:42-45) — Critical for the core passage’s rhetorical logic. If Punjabi renderings of κατακυριεύω/κατεξουσιάζω drift toward sharing a root with ਪ੍ਰਭੂ or ਅਧਿਕਾਰ, the entire force of Jesus’ contrast between worldly domination and his own true, self-giving lordship/authority collapses.
- Son of Man vs. Son of God (10:45 and throughout) — Critical. Collapsing either title into the other, or into a Sikh/Hindu near-category (avatar, enlightened soul, guru’s chosen successor), destroys either the co-equal divine Sonship or the humble-suffering-humanity emphasis Mark’s Christology depends on holding together.
- Cup, metaphorical (10:38-39) — High. ਪਿਆਲਾ is transparent only as a literal drinking vessel in Punjabi; without contextual framing, readers will miss that James and John (and Jesus in Gethsemane, 14:36) are speaking of appointed divine judgment/suffering, not literal drink.
- Baptism, metaphorical (10:38-39) — Critical. The same word (ਬਪਤਿਸਮਾ) must carry both the ritual sense (1:4-11) and the suffering-immersion metaphor (10:38-39) while remaining visibly distinct from Sikh Amrit Sanskar throughout — a double burden on a single term at the exact location of the core passage.
- Servant/Slave (διάκονος/δοῦλος, 10:43-44) — High. The genuine warmth of Sikh ਸੇਵਾ could either productively bridge or dangerously flatten Mark’s specifically cross-shaped, Christ-patterned servanthood into a generic virtue detached from 10:45’s ransom logic.
- Substitution, ἀντὶ πολλῶν (10:45) — High. A weak preposition choice (ਲਈ instead of ਦੇ ਥਾਂ/ਦੇ ਬਦਲੇ) silently converts substitutionary atonement into mere general benefit-for-others language, losing the Isaiah 53 echo entirely.
- Blood of the covenant (14:24, conceptually inseparable from 10:45) — Critical. Must be read as the once-for-all fulfillment anticipated by the ransom saying, not a free-standing or repeatable ritual sacrifice.
- Glory, δόξα (10:37) — High. James and John’s request for glory is the core passage’s foil; if ਮਹਿਮਾ drifts toward ਜੋਤ even by stylistic accident, it imports the Sikh Guru-lineage light-transmission doctrine into a passage explicitly correcting a worldly misunderstanding of glory.
- Providence, implicit at 10:40 (“for whom it has been prepared”) — High. The divine-passive construction is easy to flatten into either impersonal fate (ਕਿਸਮਤ, forbidden) or the Sikh ਹੁਕਮ frame; neither substitution is permitted, but the passive Greek construction gives translators no explicit Punjabi subject to anchor to, raising real risk of drift.
- Gehenna (9:43-48) — High. The single most likely point at which a Punjabi reader’s existing cosmology (temporary narak within a rebirth cycle) will silently overwrite the doctrine of final, unending judgment unless the gloss is actively enforced every time.
- “I am” self-declaration (14:62, echoed 6:50) — Critical. Entirely dependent on an accompanying theologian’s note; the bare Punjabi phrase ਮੈਂ ਹਾਂ carries none of the Exodus 3:14 theophanic resonance on its own, and losing the note loses the doctrine.
- Fasting (2:18-22) — High. The only available Punjabi word (ਵਰਤ) is saturated with this-worldly, merit-vow connotations from Hindu practice; there is no clean alternative, making this a persistent low-visibility risk across every occurrence.
- Sabbath/Lord of the Sabbath (2:28) — Medium-High. Requires the ਪ੍ਰਭੂ root to visibly recur here to make Jesus’ authority claim legible; a paraphrase that avoids repeating ਪ੍ਰਭੂ for stylistic variety would silently weaken the Christological claim.
- Save/heal, σῴζω double sense (culminating at 10:52, immediately before the core passage) — High. Bartimaeus’s healing/salvation (“your faith has ਬਚਾਇਆ/ਚੰਗਾ ਕੀਤਾ you”) sits directly before Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the ransom teaching; translators must not force a premature either/or choice that forecloses the passage’s probable double meaning.
This document extends, and does not contradict, 08_core_glossary.md and the Romans-baseline translation_memory.json/bible_term_registry.json. All Punjabi renderings cited above are as recorded in those files; no new alternative renderings are proposed here. See 07_semantic_analysis.md for full verse-by-verse justification underlying each entry.