Core Glossary | tri-bible.ai Library

Core Glossary

translation_memory.json is the enforced glossary for every Phase 2 translation in this curriculum. This document summarizes its shape and governing principles; see the Glossary Risk Groups for the full per-term entries.

Composition

The glossary holds 47 terms spanning all four risk tiers, covering Romans’ core theological vocabulary. Every term entry records the approved Shona translation, doctrine risk tier, rejected alternatives with reasons, and notes explaining any non-obvious translation choice.

Governing principles

Follow the Shona Union Version’s established vocabulary wherever it exists, rather than introducing new renderings for already-settled terms like Mwari, Ishe, and nyasha.
Flag conceptual-framework risk, not just word accuracy: many High and Critical risk terms in this glossary are lexically the correct, standard word, but carry an underlying traditional-religious framework (mediated access to Mwari through vadzimu) that differs from the biblical sense. The glossary notes exist specifically to catch this kind of mismatch, which accuracy checking alone would miss.
Explain rather than avoid theologically loaded concepts: terms like incarnation and providence have no single fixed Shona Bible word; rather than paraphrasing them away, the glossary keeps a clear rendering and requires explanatory framing on first use.

Relationship to the Doctrine Risk Registry

Every glossary term’s doctrine field links back to an entry in doctrine_risk_registry.json, so a term’s risk tier is always traceable to the specific doctrine it protects.

Critical Risk Terms

God

Approved rendering: Mwari
Transliteration: Mwari
Doctrine: Sovereignty of God

CRITICAL: the established Shona term for the Supreme Being, adopted from traditional religion. The doctrinal risk is not the word itself but its traditional theological framing: Mwari is often understood as remote and approached only through ancestral mediators, whereas the biblical God is personally near and directly accessible through Christ. This distance-vs-nearness contrast must be actively taught, not assumed.

Holy Spirit

Approved rendering: Mweya Mutsvene
Transliteration: Mweya Mutsvene
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifting

The third Person of the Trinity, personal and divine; must not be conflated with vadzimu (ancestral spirits) or the mudzimu/spirit associated with a medium, which are created spirits, not God himself.

Imputed Righteousness

Approved rendering: kuverengerwa kururama
Transliteration: kuverengerwa kururama
Doctrine: Justification by Faith

Righteousness credited by faith (Romans 4:3), not earned; must not be rendered as moral achievement or ritual merit accumulated toward Mwari or the ancestors.

Incarnation

Approved rendering: kuva munhu
Transliteration: kuva munhu
Doctrine: Incarnation

Not a single fixed biblical term but the theological name for God the Son becoming permanently human; must not be rendered with a term suggesting temporary spirit-possession, a live and prominent phenomenon in Shona traditional religion (masvikiro, spirit mediums).

Intercession

Approved rendering: kunyengeterera
Transliteration: kunyengeterera
Doctrine: Prayer

CRITICAL: prayer on behalf of others, including Christ’s and the Spirit’s intercession (Romans 8:26-27, 34). This is the single highest-risk term in this glossary: in Shona traditional religion, intercession with Mwari is normally understood to require a vadzimu (ancestral spirit) as mediator, since the living do not approach Mwari directly. Teaching must make explicit and repeated that Christ alone is the mediator (1 Timothy 2:5 principle), with no need for ancestral intermediaries.

Jesus

Approved rendering: Jesu
Transliteration: Jesu
Doctrine: Lordship of Jesus Christ

Standard, well-established Shona Bible transliteration.

Justification

Approved rendering: kunzi wakarurama
Transliteration: kunzi wakarurama
Doctrine: Justification by Faith

Literally ‘to be declared righteous.’ Must be kept distinct from a general sense of moral improvement; this is a forensic, declared status.

Lord

Approved rendering: Ishe
Transliteration: Ishe
Doctrine: Lordship of Jesus Christ

Must convey exclusive, supreme lordship. ‘Ishe’ is also a traditional title of respect for a chief; the confession of Jesus as Ishe must exceed and relativize any human chieftaincy claim.

Messiah

Approved rendering: Mesiasi
Transliteration: Mesiasi
Doctrine: Lordship of Jesus Christ

The Anointed One promised in the Old Testament, fulfilled exclusively in Jesus; ‘Kristu’ (Christ) is used interchangeably in Shona Bibles but ‘Mesiasi’ preserves the Jewish messianic expectation background.

Resurrection

Approved rendering: kumuka kubva kuvakafa
Transliteration: kumuka kubva kuvakafa
Doctrine: Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Bodily, historical, once-for-all rising; must not be conflated with becoming an ancestral spirit (vadzimu) after death, a central concept in traditional Shona belief about the afterlife.

Righteousness

Approved rendering: kururama
Transliteration: kururama
Doctrine: Righteousness of God

Must convey right standing before Mwari through Christ, not merely correct ritual or moral conduct toward ancestors and community, which ‘kururama’ can also connote in traditional usage.

Salvation

Approved rendering: ruponeso
Transliteration: ruponeso
Doctrine: Salvation

Must not be reduced to physical protection or deliverance from misfortune, which traditional religion seeks through ancestral mediation; this is reconciliation with Mwari through Christ.

Son Of God

Approved rendering: Mwanakomana waMwari
Transliteration: Mwanakomana waMwari
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ

Christ’s unique, eternal, co-equal divine sonship, not an honored ancestor or intermediary spirit-being.

High Risk Terms

Adoption

Approved rendering: kugamuchirwa semwana
Transliteration: kugamuchirwa semwana
Doctrine: Christian Identity in Christ

Literally ‘being received as a child’; must convey full inheritance rights, not a lesser or provisional status within the family of God.

Called

Approved rendering: akadanwa
Transliteration: akadanwa
Doctrine: Calling of God

Must convey God’s own sovereign summons, not a spirit medium’s call to ancestral service, a distinct and culturally prominent concept in Shona religious life.

Calling

Approved rendering: kudanwa
Transliteration: kudanwa
Doctrine: Calling of God

Noun form of ‘called’; same distinction from ancestral-service calling applies.

Covenant

Approved rendering: sungano
Transliteration: sungano
Doctrine: God’s Calling and Election

A binding, relational agreement; standard term, reasonably well understood given Shona custom also recognizes formal binding agreements between parties (e.g. marriage negotiations).

Election

Approved rendering: kusarudzwa
Transliteration: kusarudzwa
Doctrine: God’s Calling and Election

God’s sovereign, personal choice; must not be rendered with a term implying fate or destiny assigned impersonally by ancestral forces.

Faith

Approved rendering: kutenda
Transliteration: kutenda
Doctrine: Faith

Standard term for belief/trust. Context must make clear the object of kutenda is the person of Christ, not generic religious belief or trust placed in ancestral protection.

Father

Approved rendering: Baba
Transliteration: Baba
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ

God as personal Father; Shona kinship structures give ‘Baba’ strong relational resonance, which is a genuine asset here, but must remain anchored to the specific Father-Son relationship within the Trinity, not a generic ancestral-elder figure.

Glory

Approved rendering: kubwinya
Transliteration: kubwinya
Doctrine: Sovereignty of God
Rejected alternatives: mbiri

God’s radiant weight and majesty; ‘mbiri’ (fame/renown, more associated with a chief’s reputation) was considered but risks reducing God’s glory to social prestige.

Grace

Approved rendering: nyasha
Transliteration: nyasha
Doctrine: Grace

Well-established Shona Bible term for unmerited favor. Must not be softened into ‘ngoni’ (mercy/compassion, a related but distinct concept) or made to sound like a reward for ritual correctness owed to ancestors.

Holy

Approved rendering: -tsvene
Transliteration: tsvene
Doctrine: Sanctification

Standard adjective root for set-apart purity before Mwari; distinguish from ritual purity required before approaching ancestral spirits.

Law

Approved rendering: mutemo
Transliteration: mutemo
Doctrine: Righteousness of God

The Mosaic Law; must not be rendered with a term for generic customary law (tsika) or ancestral taboo (zviera), which carry their own distinct enforcement logic in Shona culture.

Obedience Of Faith

Approved rendering: kuteerera kwokutenda
Transliteration: kuteerera kwokutenda
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith

Obedience flowing from faith, not works-based compliance or the deference owed to a chief or ancestral spirit to secure favor.

Power Of God

Approved rendering: simba raMwari
Transliteration: simba raMwari
Doctrine: God’s Saving Power

God’s power specifically for salvation (Romans 1:16); keep distinct from the specific ritual/spiritual power (simba) traditionally associated with mediums and healers (n’anga).

Prophet

Approved rendering: muporofita
Transliteration: muporofita
Doctrine: Authority of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: n’anga

Must be sharply distinguished from ‘n’anga’ (traditional healer/diviner) or ‘svikiro’ (spirit medium), both prominent and respected roles in Shona religious life that operate on a fundamentally different basis than biblical prophecy.

Providence

Approved rendering: kutungamirira kwaMwari
Transliteration: kutungamirira kwaMwari
Doctrine: Sovereignty of God

God’s personal, purposive governance of all things (Romans 8:28); not a single fixed biblical term. Keep distinct from fatalistic acceptance of circumstance as simply ‘how things are.‘

Saints

Approved rendering: vatsvene
Transliteration: vatsvene
Doctrine: The Church as Believers in Christ

All believers, not a small class of especially holy or ancestor-like figures.

Sanctification

Approved rendering: kuchenurwa
Transliteration: kuchenurwa
Doctrine: Sanctification

The Spirit’s ongoing work of making believers holy; distinguish from ritual cleansing rites performed to satisfy ancestral spirits.

Sin

Approved rendering: chivi
Transliteration: chivi
Doctrine: Humanity’s Sinfulness

Moral transgression before a personal God; distinguish from ritual impurity or an offense against ancestral spirits requiring appeasement rites.

Medium Risk Terms

Abba

Approved rendering: Aba
Transliteration: Aba
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ

Aramaic term of filial intimacy, preserved untranslated in Romans 8:15, as in most Bible translation traditions.

Apostle

Approved rendering: mupostori
Transliteration: mupostori
Doctrine: Apostleship

Standard loanword term. Note: ‘mapostori’ also names a well-known family of Zimbabwean African Initiated Churches (Apostolic sects); context should keep the New Testament office distinct from that later movement.

Church

Approved rendering: kereke
Transliteration: kereke
Doctrine: The Church as Believers in Christ

The assembly of believers; distinguish from a specific denomination’s building or organization.

Gentiles

Approved rendering: vahedheni
Transliteration: vahedheni
Doctrine: Mission to the Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: marudzi

‘Vahedheni’ (heathen/gentile) is the established Shona Bible term; ‘marudzi’ (nations/tribes) was considered but is more neutral and less precise for this specific Pauline usage.

Gospel

Approved rendering: Evhangeri
Transliteration: Evhangeri
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: mashoko akanaka

Standard Shona Bible term (a loanword), used consistently across Shona Gospel book titles (e.g. Evhangeri yaMateu). ‘Mashoko akanaka’ (good news) is understandable but less established as the specific technical term.

Israel

Approved rendering: Israeri
Transliteration: Israeri
Doctrine: Universal Need for Salvation

Proper name; the covenant people, central to Romans 9-11’s argument.

Kingdom Of God

Approved rendering: umambo hwaMwari
Transliteration: umambo hwaMwari
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God

God’s sovereign reign; distinguish from a territorial or ethnic kingdom (Zimbabwe’s own history of chiefdoms and kingship gives ‘umambo’ strong political connotations that need reframing).

Mission

Approved rendering: basa rokuparidza
Transliteration: basa rokuparidza
Doctrine: Proclamation of the Gospel

Literally ‘the work of preaching’; being sent to proclaim the gospel.

Peace

Approved rendering: rugare
Transliteration: rugare
Doctrine: Grace and Peace

Relational peace with God through justification, not merely a settled household or the absence of ancestral displeasure.

Prophecy

Approved rendering: uporofita
Transliteration: uporofita
Doctrine: Authority of Scripture

God-given declaration of his word; distinct from divination practiced through ancestral consultation.

Seed Of David

Approved rendering: mbeu yaDhavhidhi
Transliteration: mbeu yaDhavhidhi
Doctrine: Messianic Promise

Physical descent from David (Romans 1:3), fulfilling the Davidic covenant promise.

Spiritual Gifts

Approved rendering: zvipo zvoMweya
Transliteration: zvipo zvoMweya
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifting

Standard term; keep distinct from inherited spiritual powers or mediumship gifts passed down within a family line.

Low Risk Terms

David

Approved rendering: Dhavhidhi
Transliteration: Dhavhidhi
Doctrine: God’s Calling and Election

Proper name; standard Shona Bible transliteration.

Exhort

Approved rendering: kurudzira
Transliteration: kurudzira
Doctrine: Christian Encouragement

To encourage or urge; standard term.

Fellowship

Approved rendering: ukama
Transliteration: ukama
Doctrine: Fellowship of Believers
Rejected alternatives: kuwadzana

‘Ukama’ (kinship/relatedness) conveys the family-like bond of shared life in Christ; ‘kuwadzana’ (mutual friendliness) is more generic and was considered but not preferred.

Thanksgiving

Approved rendering: kuvonga
Transliteration: kuvonga
Doctrine: Christian Encouragement

Standard, low-ambiguity term.