Semantic Analysis

Semantic Analysis — Acts 1–28 (Koine Greek)

English → Spanish | Acts Curriculum | Language Package Extension

Source language: English (translated from Koine Greek original) Destination language: Spanish Curriculum: Acts 1–28 Core passage: Acts 2:1–41 (Pentecost and Peter’s sermon) Baseline dependency: This document extends the Romans Language Package (translation_memory.json, bible_term_registry.json, doctrine_risk_registry.json). Every term already recorded in that package (e.g., Espíritu Santo, apóstol, fe, gracia, salvación, arrepentirse-adjacent roots, iglesia, Señor, Mesías, pacto, llamado, santos, testigo-adjacent terms) is reused exactly as established there. This document analyzes only the terms and senses Acts introduces or intensifies beyond Romans.

PART A — Core Passage Verse-by-Verse: Acts 2:1–41

Acts 2:1

Load-bearing term: πεντηκοστή (Pentēkostē)

Literal meaning: “fiftieth [day]” — the feast fifty days after Passover (Feast of Weeks / Shavuot).
Semantic range: A named Jewish pilgrimage festival; by NT usage also becomes the proper name of the specific salvation-historical event of Acts 2.
English variants: “Pentecost,” “the day of Pentecost.”
Contextual theological meaning: Marks the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise (Acts 1:5, 8) — the inaugurating moment of the church age and the outpouring of the Spirit foretold by Joel.
Destination rendering: Pentecostés (established transliteration in all Spanish Bible traditions).
Risk: Medium. Lexically unambiguous, but the modern global Pentecostal/Charismatic movement (massively present in Latin America) is named after this event. Teaching must distinguish the one-time historical event of Acts 2 from the ongoing denominational movement and its distinctive doctrines (e.g., a “second blessing” baptism in the Spirit subsequent to conversion), which Acts 2 itself does not teach as a repeatable normative pattern separate from conversion.
Secondary term: ὁμοῦ (homou, “together”) — minor, no independent risk; reinforces the gathered-community theme already covered under fellowship/church.

Acts 2:2

Load-bearing term: πνοή (pnoē)

Literal meaning: “breath,” “blowing,” here of wind.
Semantic range: Breath, wind, blast; cognate with πνεῦμα (pneuma, “spirit/wind/breath”), reinforcing the Hebrew/Greek wordplay between “wind” and “Spirit” (cf. John 3:8, Ezekiel 37).
English variants: “sound like a mighty rushing wind,” “noise of wind.”
Contextual theological meaning: The wind is a theophanic sign accompanying the Spirit’s arrival, not the Spirit himself; it signals divine, not natural, causation.
Destination rendering: estruendo como de un viento fuerte / recio.
Risk: Low. Standard imagery; no rival Spanish concept competes with “viento” here, though the wind/Spirit wordplay (viento/Espíritu do not share a root in Spanish as they do in Greek/Hebrew) should be flagged so teaching material can supply the connection explicitly rather than assume the reader perceives it.

Acts 2:3

Load-bearing term: γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός (glōssai hōsei pyros)

Literal meaning: “tongues as of fire” — flame-shapes resembling tongues.
Semantic range: γλῶσσα = tongue (organ) or language; here a visual simile for fire’s shape, distinct from v.4’s “speaking in tongues” (same noun, different referent).
English variants: “tongues of fire,” “divided tongues as of fire.”
Contextual theological meaning: A visible theophany (echoing fire at Sinai, Exodus 19) confirming that what is happening is a divine self-manifestation, not mere psychological experience.
Destination rendering: lenguas como de fuego.
Risk: Medium. The reuse of “lenguas” for both the visual flame-image (v.3) and the miracle of speech (v.4) must be taught explicitly as two linked but distinct referents of the same Greek word, or Spanish learners may collapse the fire-imagery into a metaphor for eloquent speech rather than a distinct theophanic sign.

Acts 2:4

Load-bearing terms: ἐπλήσθησαν πάντες Πνεύματος Ἁγίου (eplēsthēsan pantes Pneumatos Hagiou); ἐλάλουν ἑτέραις γλώσσαις (elaloun heterais glōssais)

Literal meaning: “they were all filled with Holy Spirit”; “they began to speak with other/different tongues [languages].”
Semantic range: πίμπλημι = to fill completely, often used of a sudden, decisive divine filling (distinct from the ongoing πληρόω “be full of” used elsewhere of character, e.g. 6:3); γλῶσσα here = actual human languages (confirmed by v.6, 8, 11 “each in his own language/dialect”), not ecstatic unintelligible speech.
English variants: “filled with the Holy Spirit,” “spoke in other tongues,” “spoke in different languages.”
Contextual theological meaning: The foundational, unrepeated sign inaugurating the church’s Spirit-empowered, multi-ethnic mission; real known human languages, miraculously enabled, not private ecstatic utterance.
Destination rendering: fueron todos llenos del Espíritu Santo… y comenzaron a hablar en otras lenguas.
Risk: High. Two distinct risks converge: (1) In Latin American Pentecostal/Charismatic churches, “hablar en lenguas” is a common contemporary devotional practice (frequently private, non-linguistic ecstatic speech, cf. 1 Corinthians 14); Acts 2’s miracle of known human languages must be taught as historically and functionally distinct from later glossolalia debates, without either affirming or dismissing continuationist practice as a matter for this curriculum. (2) “Lleno del Espíritu Santo” must reuse the baseline holy_spirit = Espíritu Santo exactly and must not be taught as a “second-blessing” experience separable from and subsequent to conversion; Acts itself narrates the same phrase applied to various empowering moments (4:8, 4:31, 9:17, 13:9) without establishing a fixed subsequent-to-salvation doctrine.

Acts 2:5–8

Load-bearing term: διάλεκτος (dialektos)

Literal meaning: “language,” “dialect,” one’s native tongue.
Semantic range: A person’s native/regional language, confirming that the miracle of v.4 is intelligible human speech, heard by each hearer in their own mother tongue.
English variants: “own language,” “native language,” “dialect.”
Contextual theological meaning: The miracle immediately serves cross-cultural, cross-linguistic proclamation — foreshadowing the Jew-and-Gentile, “to the ends of the earth” trajectory of the whole book.
Destination rendering: lengua propia / dialecto.
Risk: Low. Straightforward; ensure “lengua” (language) here is kept distinct in context from “lengua” as tongue/speech-organ in vv.3–4, since Spanish uses the same word for both senses that Greek also shares (γλῶσσα/διάλεκτος), so context markers (“cada uno en su propia lengua”) should be preserved from the source syntax.

Acts 2:9–11

Load-bearing term: προσήλυτος (prosēlytos)

Literal meaning: “one who has come over,” a Gentile convert to Judaism.
Semantic range: A technical term for Gentiles who adopted Jewish faith and (for men) circumcision, distinct from a “God-fearer” (φοβούμενος τὸν θεόν) who attended synagogue without full conversion.
English variants: “proselytes,” “converts to Judaism.”
Contextual theological meaning: The nations-list plus “proselytes” establishes from the very first sermon that the gospel’s audience already includes Jew, diaspora Jew, and Gentile-convert-to-Judaism — planting the seed of the Jew/Gentile doctrine developed through the whole book (esp. Acts 10, 15).
Destination rendering: prosélitos.
Risk: Medium. A transliterated technical term unfamiliar to most modern Spanish readers without OT/Second Temple Judaism background; requires an explanatory gloss rather than assuming comprehension, but carries no doctrinal rival meaning in Spanish culture.

Acts 2:12–13

Load-bearing term: γλεῦκος μεμεστωμένοι (“filled with new wine”)

Literal meaning: “sated/full of sweet new wine” — a mocking accusation of drunkenness.
Semantic range: γλεῦκος specifically means unfermented or newly fermented sweet wine, an odd accusation since new wine is less intoxicating than aged wine — likely intensifying the absurdity of the mockery rather than a technically precise charge.
English variants: “they are filled with new wine,” “they have had too much wine.”
Contextual theological meaning: Sets up Peter’s rebuttal (v.15) distinguishing Spirit-filling from intoxication — establishing that Spirit-empowered speech is sober, intelligible testimony, not induced ecstatic frenzy.
Destination rendering: están llenos de vino dulce / mosto.
Risk: Low. No rival meaning; useful teaching point for distinguishing biblical Spirit-fullness from any altered-state framework (relevant given regional folk-spiritist trance practices, per the baseline’s Espiritismo/Santería flag on holy_spirit).

Acts 2:14

Load-bearing term: ἀποφθέγγομαι (apophthengomai)

Literal meaning: “to declare/utter forth,” a weighty, authoritative pronouncement.
Semantic range: Used of solemn, Spirit-inspired proclamation (also 2:4, 26:25); distinct from ordinary speech verbs (λέγω, λαλέω).
English variants: “addressed them,” “declared,” “raised his voice and said.”
Contextual theological meaning: Marks Peter’s sermon as an authoritative, apostolic act — the first exercise of apostolic proclamation, foundational for the doctrine of Apostolic Authority developed across the book.
Destination rendering: se dirigió a ellos / proclamó en alta voz.
Risk: Low. Standard narrative verb; no rival meaning, though translators should preserve the register of authoritative public address rather than casual speech.

Acts 2:15

Minor: ὥρα τρίτη (“the third hour,” ~9 a.m.) — time reference confirming Peter’s sobriety argument. No independent doctrinal risk; render as la hora tercera (las nueve de la mañana).

Acts 2:16–17a

Load-bearing term: τοῦτο ἐστιν τὸ εἰρημένον διὰ τοῦ προφήτου Ἰωήλ (“this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel”); ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις (“in the last days”)

Literal meaning: A fulfillment-citation formula introducing an OT prophecy, followed by the eschatological marker “last days.”
Semantic range: ἔσχατος = last, final; here marking the entire church age (not only the end of history) as the inaugurated “last days” of God’s redemptive timetable.
English variants: “in the last days,” “in the latter days.”
Contextual theological meaning: Frames Pentecost as prophecy fulfillment (reusing baseline prophecy/prophet = profecía/profeta) and locates the church age within an already-inaugurated eschatology.
Destination rendering: en los últimos días.
Risk: Medium. Popular Hispanic apocalyptic culture (heavily influenced by sensationalist “end times” media) often reads “los últimos días” as referring exclusively to a near-future final countdown; teaching must clarify Peter’s use as inaugurated eschatology beginning at Pentecost, not a exclusively future countdown phrase.

Acts 2:17b–18

Load-bearing terms: ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματός μου (ekcheō, “I will pour out”); προφητεύσουσιν (prophēteusousin, “they will prophesy”); δοῦλοι/δοῦλαι (“menservants/maidservants”)

Literal meaning: “I will pour out from my Spirit… and they will prophesy… even on my male and female slaves I will pour out my Spirit.”
Semantic range: ἐκχέω is a vivid image of abundant, unrestrained outpouring, contrasted with prior limited/localized reception of the Spirit; προφητεύω = to speak Spirit-inspired utterance, reusing baseline prophecy root; the δοῦλος/δούλη pairing intentionally includes the lowest social class and both sexes.
English variants: “pour out my Spirit,” “they shall prophesy,” “menservants and maidservants.”
Contextual theological meaning: Announces a decisive shift from the Spirit’s Old Testament pattern (given selectively to prophets, priests, kings) to a universal outpouring on all flesh regardless of sex, age, or class — the theological foundation of the doctrine “The Holy Spirit and Pentecost.”
Destination rendering: derramaré de mi Espíritu… y profetizarán… siervos y siervas.
Risk: High. “Derramar” carries no rival meaning, but the universal-inclusion claim (“hijos e hijas,” “siervos y siervas,” “jóvenes y ancianos”) must be preserved without softening; this is the doctrinal seed of the Jew/Gentile and social-inclusion themes of the whole book, paralleling the baseline’s universal_scope_of_gospel risk in Romans.

Acts 2:19–20

Load-bearing terms: τέρατα (terata, “wonders”); σημεῖα (sēmeia, “signs”); ἡμέρα Κυρίου (hēmera Kyriou, “the day of the Lord”)

Literal meaning: Cosmic portents (blood, fire, smoke, darkened sun, blood-red moon) preceding “the great and glorious day of the Lord.”
Semantic range: τέρας emphasizes the awe/dread-inducing character of a sign; σημεῖον emphasizes its evidential, pointing function; “day of the Lord” is a fixed OT eschatological technical term for God’s decisive intervening judgment/salvation.
English variants: “wonders,” “signs,” “the day of the Lord.”
Contextual theological meaning: Frames Pentecost as the beginning of the eschatological “day of the Lord” complex, with final judgment/salvation still to come; reused later in the “signs and wonders” formula describing apostolic miracles (v.22, v.43).
Destination rendering: prodigios… señales… el día del Señor.
Risk: Medium. “Día del Señor” risks being conflated with the Catholic liturgical “Día del Señor” (Sunday, dies Domini) in some catechetical usage; teaching should clarify Joel/Peter’s usage is the OT eschatological Day of the Lord’s judgment-and-salvation, not the weekly Lord’s Day observance.

Acts 2:21

Load-bearing terms: ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου (epikalesētai to onoma Kyriou, “calls on the name of the Lord”); σωθήσεται (sōthēsetai, “will be saved”)

Literal meaning: “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Semantic range: ἐπικαλέομαι = to call upon, invoke, appeal to; here a covenantal act of trust and confession directed at YHWH/the Lord (Joel 2:32), reapplied by Peter to the risen, exalted Jesus (cf. v.36, 38; Romans 10:13, which quotes this same clause and is already in the baseline glossary as lord).
English variants: “call on the name of the Lord,” “everyone who calls.”
Contextual theological meaning: The salvation-invitation formula of the whole sermon; ties directly to baseline salvation = salvación (Critical risk, already documented) and lord = Señor (Critical risk).
Destination rendering: todo aquel que invoque el nombre del Señor será salvo.
Risk: Critical (inherited from baseline salvation and lord entries). Must retain the universal “todo aquel” without qualification (parallel to the baseline’s universal_scope_of_gospel rule for Romans 10:12–13) and must not let “invocar el nombre” drift toward a devotional invocation of a saint or the Virgin as a functional substitute — this is direct address to the Lord himself, received by faith, not mediated intercession.

Acts 2:22

Load-bearing term: δυνάμεσι καὶ τέρασι καὶ σημείοις (dynamesi kai terasi kai sēmeiois — “mighty works, wonders, and signs”)

Literal meaning: The triad of terms describing Jesus’ attested miracles.
Semantic range: δύναμις = an act of power/might (reuses baseline power_of_god root); paired with the terata/sēmeia already introduced in v.19.
English variants: “miracles, wonders, and signs,” “mighty works and wonders and signs.”
Contextual theological meaning: God’s own attestation of Jesus through miracle, foundational for the doctrine of “Apostolic Authority and Miracles” that recurs throughout Acts as apostles perform the same triad of works in Jesus’ name.
Destination rendering: milagros, prodigios y señales.
Risk: High. In much of Latin American folk Catholic and Pentecostal piety, “milagros” is heavily associated with miracles obtained through the intercession of particular saints, the Virgin, or a shrine (ex-votos, milagritos). This curriculum must teach that the “milagros, prodigios y señales” of Acts authenticate the message about Jesus and the apostles’ Spirit-given authority specifically, not a general folk-miracle economy of patron intercessors.

Acts 2:23

Load-bearing terms: ὡρισμένῃ βουλῇ καὶ προγνώσει τοῦ Θεοῦ (hōrismenē boulē kai prognōsei tou Theou — “the determined plan and foreknowledge of God”); ἀναιρέω (anaireō, “put to death”)

Literal meaning: “This one, delivered up by the determined plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed.”
Semantic range: βουλή = deliberate counsel/plan/purpose; πρόγνωσις = foreknowledge; both denote God’s sovereign, purposive governance over even the crucifixion, without removing human moral responsibility (“you killed”).
English variants: “God’s set purpose and foreknowledge,” “predetermined plan.”
Contextual theological meaning: Holds together divine sovereignty and human culpability at the cross — the same providence category already flagged in the baseline (providence).
Destination rendering: el plan (o propósito) determinado y el previo conocimiento de Dios.
Risk: High. As with the baseline’s providence entry, avoid any rendering that drifts toward fatalistic “destino/suerte” language; God’s plan is personal and purposive, and human responsibility for the crucifixion (“vosotros… matasteis”) must not be diluted into “it was simply fated to happen.”

Acts 2:24

Load-bearing term: ἀνέστησεν (anestēsen, “raised up”); λύσας τὰς ὀδῖνας τοῦ θανάτου (“having loosed the pangs of death”)

Semantic range: ἀνίστημι, root of resurrection/ἀνάστασις already in the baseline (Critical risk); ὀδίν = birth-pang/agony, a vivid image of death’s grip being broken.
English variants: “God raised him up,” “freed him from the agony of death.”
Contextual theological meaning: Direct continuation of the baseline’s Critical resurrection doctrine — bodily, historical, once-for-all, now applied specifically to Jesus at the center of apostolic preaching.
Destination rendering: Dios lo resucitó, soltando los dolores de la muerte (reuse resurrección/resucitar exactly per baseline).
Risk: Critical (inherited). Same Caribbean/Afro-Caribbean spiritist reincarnation-confusion flag as the baseline resurrection entry applies with equal force here, since this is the first full narrative demonstration (rather than doctrinal statement) of the resurrection in the curriculum.

Acts 2:25–28

David/Psalm 16 quotation. Minor load-bearing note: ᾍδης (Hadēs) — “Hades,” the realm of the dead.

Semantic range: The NT’s standard term for the abode of the dead (distinct from γέεννα/Gehenna, final punishment).
Destination rendering: Hades (transliterated) or contextually “el lugar de los muertos.”
Risk: Medium. Popular Hispanic Catholic culture has a rich, distinct afterlife vocabulary (purgatorio, el más allá, limbo) not identical to the biblical Hades/Sheol concept; a brief clarifying note avoids readers importing a purgatorial framework into this text, echoing the baseline’s caution about folk-Catholic afterlife assumptions.

Acts 2:29–30

Minor: πατριάρχης (patriarch, of David), ὅρκος (oath, God’s oath to David) — reuses baseline david/covenant terms; no new independent risk beyond what baseline already documents for covenant (High) and seed_of_david (Medium).

Acts 2:31

Reuses resurrection/ἀνάστασις and messiah/Χριστός exactly per baseline (both Critical). No new risk beyond what is already documented.

Acts 2:32

Load-bearing term: μάρτυς (martys)

Literal meaning: “witness” — one who testifies to what has been seen/experienced, originally a legal-forensic term for a courtroom witness.
Semantic range: Ranges from a legal eyewitness, to a general testifier to truth, to (later, by extension) one who dies for that testimony — the root of the English “martyr.” All three senses recur across Acts (1:8; 5:32; 7:58–60 [Stephen dies as witness]; 22:20; 26:16).
English variants: “witness,” “witnesses.”
Contextual theological meaning: Establishes eyewitness testimony to the resurrection as the apostolic office’s core content and qualification (cf. 1:8, 1:22); becomes the theological anchor for “Persecution and Bold Witness” as the book unfolds and testimony increasingly costs the witnesses their freedom and lives.
Destination rendering: testigos.
Risk: High. Two care points: (1) Spanish “testigo” must not be softened into a merely devotional or sentimental sense (“dar testimonio” as generic personal-story sharing) — in Acts it denotes specific, verifiable eyewitness testimony to a historical, bodily resurrection. (2) The Jehovah’s Witnesses movement (Testigos de Jehová) has a strong, widely recognized presence and name across the Spanish-speaking world; teaching materials using “testigos”/“dar testimonio” language should include a brief clarifying note that this is unrelated terminology, to avoid unintended audience confusion, without implying any doctrinal relationship.

Acts 2:33

Load-bearing term: ὑψόω (hypsoō, “exalted”); τῇ δεξιᾷ τοῦ Θεοῦ (“at/by the right hand of God”)

Semantic range: ὑψόω = to lift up/exalt to a position of honor and authority; “the right hand of God” is a Hebraic idiom for the position of supreme authority and honor, not literal spatial location.
English variants: “exalted to the right hand of God,” “having been exalted by the right hand of God.”
Contextual theological meaning: Christ’s post-resurrection exaltation to supreme heavenly authority, the basis for his outpouring of the Spirit and for the Lordship confession of v.36 — continuous with baseline lordship_of_christ (Critical).
Destination rendering: exaltado a la diestra de Dios.
Risk: High. Standard idiom in Spanish Bible tradition; low lexical risk, but should be taught with the idiom’s meaning (supreme authority) made explicit rather than assumed, since “la diestra de Dios” as a fixed phrase can become rote without content for readers with limited OT background.

Acts 2:34–35

Psalm 110 quotation; reuses lord/Κύριος (Critical, per baseline) applied now unambiguously to the risen Jesus as distinct from “the Lord” (YHWH) who speaks to him — the clearest binitarian reading in the sermon. No new lexical risk beyond the baseline lord entry, but flag for theologian review as reinforcing Christ’s deity together with v.36.

Acts 2:36

Load-bearing terms: ἀσφαλῶς γινωσκέτω πᾶς οἶκος Ἰσραήλ (“let all the house of Israel know for certain”); Κύριον καὶ Χριστόν (“Lord and Christ”); σταυρόω (stauroō, “crucify”)

Semantic range: ἀσφαλῶς = with certainty, securely; “made him both Lord and Christ” does not mean Jesus became Lord/Messiah only at this moment (an adoptionist misreading) but that God publicly vindicated and enthroned the one who was always the eternal Son (cf. baseline sonship_of_christ, deity_of_christ, both Critical) — the resurrection/exaltation is a public declaration, not an ontological beginning; σταυρόω = to crucify, the specific Roman execution method.
English variants: “God has made him both Lord and Messiah,” “this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Contextual theological meaning: The climactic Christological confession of the sermon, combining baseline lord (Critical) and messiah (Critical) into a single verse, directly confronting the hearers with responsibility for the crucifixion.
Destination rendering: sepa a ciencia cierta toda la casa de Israel, que a este Jesús a quien vosotros crucificasteis, Dios le ha hecho Señor y Mesías/Cristo (reuse Señor and Mesías exactly per baseline).
Risk: Critical (inherited and intensified). This verse must be flagged for human theologian review in every occurrence per the baseline’s escalation rule for Lordship/Messianic content. Care must be taken that “le ha hecho Señor y Cristo” is taught as public exaltation/vindication of an eternally divine person, not as the moment Jesus “became” divine or Lord for the first time — an adoptionist misreading that a surface reading of “hizo” (“made”) could invite without a clarifying teaching note.

Acts 2:37

Load-bearing term: κατενύγησαν τὴν καρδίαν (katenygēsan tēn kardian, “were pierced/stabbed in the heart”)

Literal meaning: A vivid, almost violent image of being struck or pricked to the heart.
Semantic range: κατανύσσομαι = to be sharply pierced, deeply distressed; conveys sudden, acute conviction of guilt, not mild emotional discomfort.
English variants: “cut to the heart,” “pierced to the heart,” “deeply troubled.”
Contextual theological meaning: The Spirit-produced conviction that precedes and prompts repentance in v.38 — the psychological/spiritual hinge of the whole sermon’s response.
Destination rendering: se sintieron profundamente conmovidos / traspasados en el corazón.
Risk: Medium. Ensure the rendering conveys conviction of sin and guilt (a moral-spiritual crisis), not mere emotional moving (as by a sentimental story), since Spanish “conmovidos” alone can lean toward the latter without a clarifying modifier (“de dolor,” “de culpa”).

Acts 2:38 — the doctrinal center of the passage

Load-bearing terms: μετανοήσατε (metanoēsate, “repent”); βαπτισθήτω (baptisthētō, “let… be baptized”); εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν (“for the forgiveness of your sins”); δωρεὰν τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος (“the gift of the Holy Spirit”)

μετάνοια/μετανοέω (metanoia/metanoeō)
- Literal meaning: “a change of mind,” from μετά (change) + νοέω (to think/perceive).
- Semantic range: A decisive reorientation of mind and will regarding sin and God — not mere regret or emotional remorse, and (per this curriculum’s doctrine list) distinct from a sacramental act performed by a priest.
- English variants: “repent,” “turn,” “change your mind and turn.”
- Contextual theological meaning: The first half of the twofold response (repentance + baptism) to the gospel, foundational to the doctrine “Repentance and Baptism.”
- Destination rendering: arrepentíos (imperative, from arrepentirse).
- Risk: High. In Catholic-majority Spanish-speaking contexts, “arrepentimiento” is closely associated with the sacrament of penance/confession (confesión, penitencia, actos de contrición directed to a priest as part of an ongoing sacramental cycle). This curriculum must teach μετάνοια as a decisive, Spirit-produced turning from sin to God in response to the gospel — not primarily a repeatable sacramental transaction — while not needing to polemicize against confession as a devotional practice per se; the doctrinal distinction should be carried by explicit teaching notes, exactly as the baseline handles justification versus the Tridentine framework.
βαπτίζω/βάπτισμα (baptizō/baptisma)
- Literal meaning: “to dip, immerse, plunge.”
- Semantic range: Ritual washing with water as a sign of repentance, cleansing, and incorporation into the believing community; in Acts always follows a profession of faith/repentance by the person baptized (never a standalone act).
- English variants: “baptize,” “baptism.”
- Contextual theological meaning: The public, embodied sign of repentance and incorporation into Christ and his people, tied here explicitly to forgiveness and the Spirit’s gift, foundational to the doctrine “Repentance and Baptism.”
- Destination rendering: bautícese / bautismo (established, uncontested Spanish transliteration across all traditions).
- Risk: High. The lexical rendering is uncontested, but the sequence “repent → be baptized → receive forgiveness and the Spirit” in a single verse, applied to responsive adult hearers, sits in a different pastoral register than the near-universal Latin American Catholic practice of infant baptism (bautismo de infantes) administered prior to any personal repentance or profession of faith, as well as differing among Protestant traditions on baptism’s relationship to regeneration. This curriculum should preserve Acts’ own sequence and content (repentance and faith preceding baptism in every Acts narrative) as the text’s clear pattern, while flagging that broader ecclesial debates about infant baptism are a distinct pastoral topic outside this verse’s own scope, to be addressed by local teaching leadership rather than resolved by translation choice.
ἄφεσις (aphesis)
- Literal meaning: “release, letting go, dismissal” (of a debt, captive, or, here, of sins).
- Semantic range: Full release/cancellation, not partial reduction; used elsewhere of release from captivity (Luke 4:18) and of the Jubilee cancellation of debts.
- English variants: “forgiveness,” “remission of sins.”
- Contextual theological meaning: Complete release from the guilt and penalty of sin, granted at conversion — not a gradual, cumulative process.
- Destination rendering: perdón de pecados (also attested: remisión de pecados, the more formal/liturgical variant).
- Risk: High. Latin American Catholic catechesis commonly frames the “remisión/perdón de pecados” as mediated through the sacrament of confession/absolution and, for sins after baptism, potentially requiring purgatorial satisfaction; this verse’s “perdón de pecados” is granted directly through repentance and baptism at conversion, a decisive and complete release, paralleling the baseline’s Critical concern about salvation and justification not being read as a gradual, sacramentally-mediated, uncertain process.
δωρεά τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος (dōrea tou Hagiou Pneumatos)
- Literal meaning: “the gift of the Holy Spirit” — δωρεά specifically denotes a free, gratuitous gift (a different word from χάρισμα/charisma, the “gift” used for individual spiritual enablements in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12).
- Semantic range: The gift is the Spirit himself, given to the believer at conversion — distinct from baseline spiritual_gifts = dones espirituales (individual enablements distributed variously among believers).
- English variants: “the gift of the Holy Spirit,” “the Holy Spirit as a gift.”
- Contextual theological meaning: Every person who repents and is baptized receives the Spirit himself as an unearned gift — not a special elite experience reserved for advanced or especially devout believers.
- Destination rendering: el don del Espíritu Santo (reuse Espíritu Santo exactly per baseline; render δωρεά as don, kept lexically distinct from dones espirituales).
- Risk: High. Must be clearly distinguished in teaching notes from spiritual_gifts (dones espirituales) already in the baseline glossary, since both use the word “don(es)” in Spanish; this verse concerns receiving the Spirit’s own personal presence at conversion, not a distributed ministry-enablement. Also connects to the Pentecost/Charismatic “baptism in the Spirit” caution already flagged at v.4 — this verse presents receiving the Spirit as the normal accompaniment of every conversion, not a second, subsequent, or optional experience.

Overall risk for v.38: Critical. This is the single most theologically dense verse in the core passage, requiring human theologian review for every occurrence, per the baseline’s escalation pattern for salvation-sequence verses (cf. Romans 10:9–10 treatment).

Acts 2:39

Load-bearing terms: ἐπαγγελία (epangelia, “promise”); προσκαλέομαι (proskaleomai, “to call to oneself”)

Semantic range: ἐπαγγελία = a formal, binding pledge or promise (cognate to but distinct from the baseline’s covenant/πacto vocabulary; the promise here is the Spirit-gift/salvation promise, extended in continuity with the Abrahamic and Davidic promises already covered under baseline covenant); προσκαλέομαι here = God’s own sovereign summons, echoing baseline called/calling (High risk in baseline).
English variants: “the promise is for you… and for all who are far off,” “everyone whom the Lord our God calls.”
Contextual theological meaning: Extends the Pentecost promise beyond the immediate Jerusalem audience to “all who are far off” — the first explicit textual opening toward the Gentile mission developed fully in Acts 10–15.
Destination rendering: la promesa… y para todos los que están lejos, para cuantos el Señor nuestro Dios llame (reuse llamado/llamar exactly per baseline called/calling).
Risk: High. “Todos los que están lejos” must be preserved as genuinely open-ended (geographically and, by the book’s unfolding logic, ethnically) rather than narrowed to “lejos” in a merely geographic-diaspora-Jewish sense, since Acts’ narrative arc will reveal it also means Gentiles; flag for consistency with the baseline’s universal_scope_of_gospel rule.

Acts 2:40

Load-bearing term: διαμαρτύρομαι (diamartyromai, “to testify solemnly, earnestly”)

Semantic range: An intensified form of μαρτυρέω, “to witness/testify” (root shared with v.32’s μάρτυς), used for urgent, solemn exhortation.
English variants: “he testified with many other words and urged them,” “solemnly exhorted.”
Contextual theological meaning: Peter’s sermon concludes not merely with information but with urgent personal appeal, reusing baseline exhort = exhortar.
Destination rendering: con muchas otras palabras testificaba y los exhortaba (reuse exhortar exactly per baseline).
Risk: Low. Straightforward reuse of established baseline term; no new risk.

Acts 2:41

Load-bearing terms: ἀποδεξάμενοι τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ (“having received his word”); ἐβαπτίσθησαν (“were baptized”); προσετέθησαν (“were added”); ψυχαί (“souls”)

Semantic range: προστίθημι = to add to, join to a group/number, used here of incorporation into the believing community through baptism; ψυχή = “soul,” here simply meaning “persons/people,” not a technical body/soul dualism.
English variants: “those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day,” “three thousand souls.”
Contextual theological meaning: The narrative demonstration of the doctrine “The Church as Community” beginning at its very first moment — repentant, baptized believers are visibly incorporated into a numbered, accountable community, not left as isolated individual converts.
Destination rendering: los que recibieron su palabra fueron bautizados, y se añadieron aquel día como tres mil personas (almas).
Risk: Medium. “Almas” (souls) is a standard, safe rendering, but should be taught as meaning “people,” not smuggling in a soul/body dualism absent from the Greek’s simple headcount usage. “Se añadieron” is the seed of the doctrine of the church as a countable, joinable community — this should be preserved rather than rendered with a vaguer verb implying only private, invisible spiritual affiliation.

PART B — Chapter-by-Chapter Study of the Whole Book of Acts

Chapter 1 — The Ascension and the Waiting Church

ἀναλαμβάνω / ἀνάλημψις (analambanō / analēmpsis) — “taken up,” “ascension.”
- Semantic range: bodily, visible removal upward into heaven; not a spiritual or metaphorical departure.
- Contextual meaning: Christ’s bodily ascension, distinct from resurrection (already accomplished) and preparatory to Pentecost; grounds his heavenly session/exaltation (cf. Acts 2:33).
- Destination rendering: ascensión / fue llevado arriba (elevado).
- Risk: High. Must be taught as a literal, bodily, historical event (paralleling the resurrection’s Critical risk profile in the baseline), not a symbolic “spiritual return to God” that could blend with Espiritismo-adjacent notions of a spirit ascending or a spirit’s ongoing presence detached from the body.
μάρτυς (martys) — “witness” (1:8, “you will be my witnesses”). First appearance of the term developed fully at 2:32; see that entry. Risk: High (as above).
βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ — “kingdom of God” (1:3, 1:6). Reuse baseline kingdom_of_god = reino de Dios exactly (Medium risk, per baseline); note the disciples’ mistaken nationalistic-political expectation (1:6) that Jesus corrects — useful for reinforcing the baseline’s caution against a political/territorial misreading.
κλῆρος (klēros) — “lot” (1:26, casting lots for Judas’ replacement). Minor: echar suertes. Risk: Low, but flag the cultural proximity of “echar suertes” to fortune-telling/divination practices in popular culture; a brief note that this is a Spirit-guided discernment method within the apostolic community, not divination, is useful (echoing the baseline’s caution on prophecy versus astrology/esoteric prediction).

Chapter 2 (continued) — Acts 2:42–47

The core passage above covers 2:1–41. Verses 42–47 introduce:

κοινωνία (koinōnia) — “fellowship.” Reuse baseline fellowship = compañerismo exactly (Low risk per baseline); here concretely expressed as κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου (“the breaking of bread”) and shared meals/possessions.
ὁμοθυμαδόν (homothymadon) — “with one accord, of one mind.” Not yet in baseline. Destination rendering: de común acuerdo / unánimes. Risk: Low-Medium. Describes the church’s felt unity; note this describes voluntary, Spirit-produced harmony, not institutional uniformity — relevant groundwork for the doctrine “The Church as Community,” continued at 4:32.
ἅπαντα κοινά (hapanta koina) — “all things in common” (2:44–45). Destination rendering: tenían todo en común. Risk: Medium. Should be taught as a voluntary, Spirit-motivated generosity specific to this early Jerusalem community’s circumstances, not a universally binding communal-property mandate for all churches in all times — avoiding both a dismissive “merely historical/irrelevant” reading and an over-literal binding-rule reading.

Chapter 3 — Healing at the Temple Gate

ἀρχηγός (archēgos) — “author, originator, pioneer” (3:15, “the Author of life”; also 5:31, “Prince/Author”). Destination rendering: Autor (de la vida) / Príncipe. Risk: High. A high, exalted Christological title; must not be flattened to a generic “líder” (leader), which would lose the sense of Christ as the source and originator of life itself, closely tied to baseline deity_of_christ (Critical).
παῖς (pais, “servant/child”) — of Jesus as God’s “servant” (3:13, 3:26, echoing Isaiah’s Servant). Destination rendering: siervo. Risk: Medium. Should be connected explicitly to the Isaianic Suffering Servant background; risk is primarily catechetical (missed OT connection) rather than lexical collision.
ἀποκατάστασις (apokatastasis) — “restoration” (3:21, “the time for restoring all things”). Destination rendering: restauración. Risk: Medium. Eschatological, cosmic restoration at Christ’s return; avoid conflating with a this-worldly political or national restoration project.
ὄνομα (onoma, “name”) — “in the name of Jesus Christ” as the operative agent of healing (3:6, 3:16). Reuse baseline jesus/lord framework; note the theological weight of “the name” as shorthand for Christ’s own authority and person, foundational for the doctrine “Apostolic Authority and Miracles.”

Chapter 4 — Boldness Before the Council

παρρησία (parrēsia) — “boldness, confidence, freedom of speech.” Destination rendering: denuedo / valentía / libertad para hablar. Risk: High. This is the central term of the doctrine “Persecution and Bold Witness” (also 4:29, 4:31, 28:31). Must be taught as Spirit-given confidence to proclaim Christ publicly despite threat, not mere natural courage or social assertiveness; culturally, avoid a rendering that suggests brashness or disrespect toward authority, since the term describes confident, respectful, Spirit-empowered speech before hostile power, not defiance for its own sake.
ὁμοθυμαδόν — reused from 2:46 (4:24, praying “with one accord”). See above.
ἅπαντα κοινά — reused (4:32, 4:34–35). See ch.2 note above.

Chapter 5 — Ananias, Sapphira, and the Sanhedrin

συνέδριον (synedrion) — “Sanhedrin,” the Jewish high council. Destination rendering: Sanedrín (established transliteration in all Spanish Bible traditions). Risk: Low. Institutional proper term; a brief historical gloss (composition, authority under Rome) aids comprehension but no doctrinal collision risk.
ψεύδομαι/πειράζω τὸ Πνεῦμα — “to lie to / test the Spirit” (5:3, 5:9). Destination rendering: mentir al Espíritu Santo / tentar (poner a prueba) al Espíritu del Señor. Risk: High. A crucial text for the personhood and deity of the Holy Spirit (lying to the Spirit = lying to God, 5:4) — reinforces baseline holy_spirit (Critical) as a divine Person who can be personally wronged, not an impersonal force, directly useful against any impersonal-force or ancestral-spirit misreading the baseline already flags for holy_spirit.

Chapter 6 — The Appointment of the Seven

διακονία (diakonia) — “ministry, service” (6:1, “the daily distribution”; 6:4, “the ministry of the word”). Destination rendering: servicio / ministerio. Risk: Medium. Establishes a functional distinction between practical service ministries and the ministry of preaching/teaching, both called διακονία — useful groundwork before later, more institutionally loaded terms (πρεσβύτερος/ἐπίσκοπος, ch.20) which carry heavier collision risk with Catholic clerical categories; διακονία itself, and its related noun διάκονος (“deacon,” not used of the Seven by that title in ch.6 but historically associated with it), should be flagged Medium here because the modern Spanish “diácono” now denotes a fixed clerical office (including the Catholic permanent diaconate) that did not yet exist as such in Acts 6 — teach the function (practical service ministry recognized and commissioned by the community) without over-reading later institutional/sacramental categories back into the text.
Ἑλληνισταί / Ἑβραῖοι (Hellēnistai / Hebraioi) — “Hellenists” (Greek-speaking Jews) / “Hebrews” (Aramaic-speaking Jews) (6:1). Destination rendering: helenistas / hebreos. Risk: Low. Sociolinguistic distinction internal to Judaism, not Jew/Gentile; a brief explanatory note prevents confusion with the Gentile-inclusion terminology developed later.

Chapter 7 — Stephen’s Speech and Martyrdom

ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (ho huios tou anthrōpou) — “the Son of Man” (7:56, Stephen’s vision). Destination rendering: el Hijo del Hombre (established Spanish Bible rendering). Risk: Critical. A key self-designation of Christ combining humanity and divine authority (Daniel 7:13–14 background); must not be flattened to a merely generic “a human being” reading — it is a specific, exalted title of the risen, glorified Christ standing at God’s right hand, directly reinforcing baseline deity_of_christ/lordship_of_christ (both Critical).
λιθοβολέω (lithoboleō) — “to stone.” Destination rendering: apedrear. Risk: Low. Narrative-descriptive term; establishes the pattern of the doctrine “Persecution and Bold Witness” reaching its first martyrdom.
Reuses: holy_spirit, covenant, israel, david, law, prophet — all per baseline, no new risk; Stephen’s speech is largely an OT historical recap using already-established vocabulary.

Chapter 8 — Philip, Simon the Sorcerer, and the Ethiopian Eunuch

εὐαγγελίζω (euangelizō) — “to evangelize, preach the gospel” (verb form; 8:4, 8:12, 8:25, 8:35, 8:40). Destination rendering: anunciar el evangelio / evangelizar. Risk: High. Related to but lexically distinct from baseline gospel = evangelio (High risk, noun); the verb form’s action (active proclamation to specific hearers) should reuse evangelio as its root and must carry the same specificity the baseline requires — a specific proclamation about the crucified, risen Christ, not generic outreach or humanitarian activity. Also connects to the doctrine “The Great Commission Fulfilled.”
μαγεία / μάγος (mageia / magos) — “sorcery / sorcerer” (8:9–11, Simon “the sorcerer/magician”). Destination rendering: hechicería / mago. Risk: Critical. This is one of the highest syncretism-collision risks in the entire Acts curriculum for the Spanish-speaking world: regions with active curanderismo, Santería, Espiritismo, and other folk-religious/occult practices have a living cultural category of “magos,” “hechiceros,” and “brujos” who claim spiritual power through means other than the Holy Spirit. Acts 8 explicitly contrasts Simon’s magic-derived, purchasable “power” with the freely-given gift of the Spirit (8:18–23) — this contrast must be preserved and taught explicitly, not softened into an incidental biographical detail about a minor character.
δωρεά (dōrea) — “gift” (8:20, Simon tries to buy “the gift of God”). Reuse the same term established at 2:38; risk carries over: High, reinforcing that the Spirit’s gift cannot be purchased or manipulated — directly opposing any transactional, merit- or payment-based framing of spiritual power (paralleling baseline’s grace caution against a merit-cooperation reading).
εὐνοῦχος (eunouchos) — “eunuch” (8:27ff). Destination rendering: eunuco. Risk: Low. Historical/social term; note its significance for the doctrine “The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles” — a ritually excluded figure (cf. Deuteronomy 23:1) is the first individual convert-and-baptism narrative after Stephen’s death, foreshadowing the gospel’s reach beyond Israel’s boundary markers.

Chapter 9 — The Conversion of Saul

διώκω (diōkō) — “to persecute” (9:4–5, “why do you persecute me?”). Destination rendering: perseguir. Risk: Medium. Establishes Paul’s own persecuting activity as the immediate backdrop to his conversion — central to the doctrine “Conversion of Paul”; no rival meaning in Spanish, but the theological point (Christ personally identifies with his persecuted church — “you persecute ME”) should be made explicit in teaching notes.
ἐπίθεσις χειρῶν / ἐπιτίθημι τὰς χεῖρας — “the laying on of hands” (9:12, 9:17, Ananias laying hands on Saul). Destination rendering: imposición de manos / imponer las manos. Risk: High. In Catholic tradition, “la imposición de manos” is closely tied to the sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Orders (ordination), carrying specific sacramental-grace connotations; in Acts the act variously accompanies healing, receiving the Spirit, and commissioning for ministry (also 6:6, 8:17, 13:3, 19:6) without a fixed sacramental theology attached. Teach the gesture’s varied functional uses across Acts explicitly rather than assuming a single, fixed sacramental meaning.
μαθητής (mathētēs) — “disciple” (9:1, 9:10, 9:19, 9:25, and pervasively throughout Acts as the standard term for a follower of Jesus/Christian). Destination rendering: discípulo. Risk: Low. Standard, unambiguous term across all Spanish Christian traditions; note it functions in Acts as essentially synonymous with “believer” before the term “Christian” (11:26) is coined.

Chapter 10 — Peter and Cornelius

καθαρός / κοινός / ἀκάθαρτος (katharos / koinos / akathartos) — “clean / common (i.e., unclean, ritually impure) / unclean” (10:14–15, 10:28, the vision of the sheet with animals). Destination rendering: limpio / impuro / común. Risk: High. Central to the doctrine “The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles”: the vision’s point (“what God has made clean, do not call common”) dismantles the Mosaic dietary/purity boundary that had separated Jew from Gentile table-fellowship. Requires explicit OT background teaching (Leviticus 11) for readers without that catechesis; no live modern Spanish-cultural rival concept, but the sheer unfamiliarity of purity-law categories to a modern Hispanic reader is itself a comprehension risk requiring explanatory scaffolding.
προσωπολημψία (prosōpolēmpsia) — “partiality, favoritism” (10:34, “God shows no partiality”). Destination rendering: imparcialidad / no hace acepción de personas. Risk: High. A direct doctrinal statement grounding the Jew/Gentile inclusion doctrine; must retain full force — no ethnic, social, or class exception — echoing the baseline’s unity_of_jews_and_gentiles caution about Latin America’s own regional and racial hierarchies (particularly regarding indigenous and Afro-descendant communities) making this “no distinction” claim socially, not merely doctrinally, significant.
ὅραμα (horama) — “vision” (10:3, 10:17, 10:19). Destination rendering: visión. Risk: Low-Medium. Standard term; note that Spanish-speaking popular culture has its own folk category of “visiones” (including in spiritist/curanderismo contexts) — a brief clarifying note that this is a Spirit-given, doctrinally purposeful, historically singular vision (not a repeatable mystical technique) is useful.
ἐπιπίπτω τὸ Πνεῦμα (epipiptō to Pneuma) — “the Spirit fell upon” (10:44). Reuse holy_spirit = Espíritu Santo; note this “Gentile Pentecost” (cf. 11:15–17) directly parallels Acts 2, textually establishing that Gentiles receive the identical gift as Jewish believers — foundational for “The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles.”

Chapter 11 — Antioch and the Name “Christian”

Χριστιανός (Christianos) — “Christian” (11:26, first occurrence in the NT). Destination rendering: cristiano. Risk: Low. Universally standard, uncontested term across all Spanish Christian traditions and the broader culture; note only the historical origin (outsiders’ label in Antioch, later embraced by believers) as a teaching point, not a translation risk.
ἐπιστρέφω / ἐπιστροφή (epistrephō / epistrophē) — “to turn / turning, conversion” (11:21, “turned to the Lord”). Destination rendering: convertirse / volverse al Señor. Risk: Medium. Distinguish from the Spanish cultural default sense of “conversión” as switching religious affiliation/denomination (e.g., “se convirtió al catolicismo/evangelismo”); in Acts it denotes a decisive turning from unbelief/idolatry to genuine faith in the Lord Jesus, closely tied to baseline faith (High risk) — not merely institutional switching.
Reuses grace = gracia (11:23, “the grace of God”) and repentance-adjacent language exactly per established renderings; no new risk beyond what is already documented.

Chapter 12 — Herod’s Persecution and Peter’s Deliverance

No new load-bearing theological terms beyond what earlier chapters establish; ἄγγελος (angel) appears (12:7, 12:23) as a standard, low-risk term (ángel, uncontested across Spanish tradition). This chapter reuses and narratively illustrates the doctrine “Persecution and Bold Witness” (James’s martyrdom, Peter’s imprisonment and deliverance) established via διώκω/παρρησία vocabulary already introduced. Noted explicitly as reviewed: no new terms requiring glossary entries.

Chapter 13 — Commissioning at Antioch; First Missionary Journey

ἀφορίζω (aphorizō) — “to set apart, mark off” (13:2, “set apart Barnabas and Saul”). Destination rendering: apartar. Risk: Medium. The Spirit’s sovereign act of setting apart individuals for specific ministry; must be distinguished from the general call/sainthood “set apart” language already flagged in the baseline (separation_unto_gods_service, Medium risk) as this is a specific, individual ministry commissioning, not the general sanctification of every believer — avoid collapsing the two senses.
νηστεύω (nēsteuō) — “to fast” (13:2–3). Destination rendering: ayunar. Risk: Low. Standard term shared across Catholic and Protestant Spanish tradition; note only that it accompanies prayer and commissioning here, not penitential merit-earning.
δικαιόω (dikaioō) — “to justify” (13:39, “everyone who believes is justified”). Reuse baseline justification/righteousness = justificación/justicia exactly (Critical, per baseline); this is the first explicit statement in Acts of the doctrine “Justification apart from the Law,” directly anticipating Paul’s fuller argument in Romans and Galatians — flag for theologian review with the same Critical-tier forbidden-substitution rule (never “justicia infundida”).
τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον (tetagmenoi eis zōēn aiōnion) — “as many as were appointed/disposed to eternal life” (13:48). Destination rendering: cuantos estaban dispuestos/ordenados para vida eterna. Risk: High. Election/predestination language (τάσσω, “to appoint, order, arrange”) paralleling baseline election (High risk); must avoid both a fatalistic “destino” framing (per baseline caution) and an overcorrection that erases the text’s sovereign-grace emphasis by rendering it as a merely human decision (“los que decidieron creer”). Preserve the passive, divinely-oriented sense of the Greek without resolving the wider Calvinist/Arminian debate through translation choice alone — flag for theologian review per the baseline’s rule on election/predestination language.

Chapter 14 — Lystra, Iconium, Derbe; Pagan Deity Confusion

Pagan deity misidentification (Zeus/Hermes, 14:11–13) — no single fixed Greek term but a significant cultural-collision episode. Destination rendering of the proper names: Zeus / Hermes (transliterated, per established convention for pagan deity names in Spanish Bibles). Risk: High. Directly relevant to the doctrine “The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles” and to the wider Latin American context of syncretism with folk-Catholic saint veneration and Afro-diasporic deity systems (Santería’s orishas, etc., already flagged in the baseline under several entries); Paul and Barnabas’s emphatic refusal of divine honors (“we also are men, of like nature with you,” 14:15) should be preserved with its full rhetorical force as a model for how this curriculum’s Spanish-speaking learners might think about any parallel modern veneration confusion.
ἐπιστρέφω — reused (“turn from these vain things to the living God,” 14:15); see ch.11 note.

Chapter 15 — The Jerusalem Council

περιτομή (peritomē) — “circumcision” (15:1, 15:5). Destination rendering: circuncisión. Risk: High. The chapter’s central doctrinal flashpoint for “Justification apart from the Law”: some taught that Gentile believers must be circumcised and keep the Mosaic law to be saved. Must be preserved as the concrete historical occasion for the doctrine, not abstracted away; ties directly to baseline law (High) and justification/grace (Critical/High).
ζυγός (zygos) — “yoke” (15:10, “a yoke… which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear”). Destination rendering: yugo. Risk: Medium. Standard agricultural metaphor for burdensome obligation; no rival meaning, but should be taught with its full doctrinal weight (law-keeping as a means of standing before God) rather than as a generic metaphor for “difficulty.”
ἔδοξεν τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ Ἁγίῳ καὶ ἡμῖν (edoxen tō Pneumati tō Hagiō kai hēmin) — “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (15:28, the council’s decree formula). Destination rendering: pareció bien al Espíritu Santo y a nosotros. Risk: High. A crucial model of the Spirit’s ongoing guidance of the church’s corporate discernment; must not be read as reducing the Spirit’s authority to a merely human consensus-building process, nor inflated into an unrepeatable one-time apostolic-only event that has no bearing on later church decision-making — teach with balance appropriate to this curriculum’s doctrine “The Church as Community.”

Chapter 16 — Philippi: Lydia, the Jailer, the Spirit of Divination

πνεῦμα πύθωνα (pneuma pythōna) — “a spirit of divination” (literally “a Python spirit,” 16:16). Destination rendering: espíritu de adivinación / espíritu pitón (adivinatorio). Risk: Critical. A direct and explicit textual confrontation between the Holy Spirit’s power and an occult divinatory spirit — of paramount relevance given the baseline’s already-flagged concern about Espiritismo, Santería, and related divinatory/mediumistic practices active across the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and Latin America. This must be taught with full clarity that the girl’s “spirit of divination” is a hostile, deceptive spiritual power that Paul expels in Jesus’ name (16:18), not a morally neutral or culturally respectable “gift.”
σωτηρία / σῴζω — reused (“what must I do to be saved,” 16:30–31); reuse baseline salvation exactly (Critical). Note the household-baptism narrative (16:33) as a pastoral-application point rather than a resolved doctrinal position on infant baptism, paralleling the caution already flagged at 2:38.

Chapter 17 — Athens and the Areopagus

ἄγνωστος θεός (agnōstos theos) — “unknown god” (17:23, the Athenian altar inscription). Destination rendering: dios desconocido / Dios no conocido. Risk: High. Paul’s rhetorical bridge from pagan religious groping toward the true God; must be taught carefully so that it is not misread as affirming that the Athenians’ altar already, in some sense, worshiped the true God under another name — Paul’s point is diagnostic (exposing ignorance) and evangelistic (announcing the God who can now be known), not syncretistic affirmation. Directly relevant to how this curriculum should frame any parallel discussion of folk-Catholic or Afro-diasporic religious practice as a point of contact for evangelism without implying doctrinal equivalence.
εἴδωλον (eidōlon) — “idol” (17:16, “the city full of idols”). Destination rendering: ídolo. Risk: High. Given the baseline’s extensive documentation of syncretism risk around santos, saints, and Marian devotion, “ídolo” must be handled with pastoral care in teaching materials — Acts uses the term for pagan Greco-Roman religious images specifically, and this curriculum should avoid extending Paul’s Areopagus rhetoric into a blanket editorial verdict on any particular Spanish-speaking community’s devotional practices; teach the text’s own target (Athenian polytheistic idol-worship) without overreach.
δεισιδαιμονία (deisidaimonia) — “religiosity, being religious” (17:22, ambiguously “very religious” or “extremely superstitious”). Destination rendering: muy religiosos. Risk: Medium. A deliberately double-edged term in Paul’s mouth (diplomatic ambiguity); the Spanish rendering should preserve this same rhetorical tact rather than resolving it toward either “piadosos” (too warmly complimentary) or “supersticiosos” (too bluntly insulting), matching Paul’s own careful diplomatic opening.

Chapter 18 — Corinth

No significant new theological vocabulary; reuses synagogue (συναγωγή — standard term, sinagoga, Low risk, uncontested across Spanish tradition), disciple, and the Lord’s word grew language already established. Noted explicitly as reviewed: this chapter contributes narrative development (Paul’s Corinthian ministry, Gallio’s ruling) rather than new load-bearing terms.

Chapter 19 — Ephesus: John’s Baptism, Artemis, and the Word’s Growth

Distinction between John’s baptism and Christian baptism (19:1–5) — reuses baseline baptism vocabulary established at 2:38; risk: High (inherited), since it requires explicit teaching that John’s baptism of repentance is preparatory and incomplete compared to baptism “in the name of the Lord Jesus” accompanied by the Spirit’s coming — a distinction with no automatic cultural parallel and needing explicit catechesis.
Ἄρτεμις (Artemis) — the goddess Artemis/Diana of the Ephesians (19:24–28, 19:34–35). Destination rendering: Artemisa (Diana). Risk: High. Another explicit pagan-deity confrontation narrative, economically and civically entrenched (the silversmiths’ trade); directly useful, alongside ch.14 and ch.17, for teaching the doctrine “The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles” in a context where the gospel disrupts entrenched religious-economic systems — a live parallel for any Spanish-speaking context where folk-religious devotional economies (pilgrimage sites, votive object trade) intersect with gospel proclamation.
ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) — used here (19:32, 19:39, 19:41) for the disorderly civic assembly of Ephesian citizens, not the church. Risk: Medium. A useful teaching moment distinguishing the ordinary Greek civic sense of ἐκκλησία (a lawful public assembly) from its theological repurposing for the Christian congregation (baseline church = iglesia, Medium risk); the civic instance here should be rendered asamblea, not iglesia, to avoid confusing the two senses in translation.

Chapter 20 — Paul’s Farewell at Miletus

πρεσβύτεροι / ἐπίσκοποι (presbyteroi / episkopoi) — “elders / overseers” (20:17, 20:28, used interchangeably of the same office). Destination rendering: ancianos / obispos (the same officeholders described by two functional titles). Risk: Critical. This is one of the highest institutional-collision risks in the entire Acts curriculum for Spanish: modern Spanish “obispo” denotes the Catholic (and Orthodox/Anglican) monarchical bishop — a single office holding regional/diocesan authority within an apostolic-succession hierarchy, categorically different from Acts 20’s plural, local, congregation-level ἐπίσκοποι who are explicitly identified as the same men called πρεσβύτεροι (“ancianos,” elders) two verses earlier. Rendering ἐπίσκοπος as “obispo” without a clarifying teaching note risks the learner reading modern diocesan-episcopal church structure back into this text. This curriculum must carry an explicit translator/teaching note wherever ἐπίσκοπος occurs (here and in the Pastoral Epistles’ background) clarifying that in the New Testament this term denotes a plural, local congregational overseer functionally identical to “elder,” not the later, historically-developed monarchical-episcopal office.
ποιμαίνω / ποιμήν (poimainō / poimēn) — “to shepherd / shepherd” (20:28, “shepherd the church of God”). Destination rendering: pastorear / pastor. Risk: Medium. Standard, uncontested pastoral metaphor across Spanish Christian tradition (both Catholic and Protestant use “pastor” imagery, though Protestant traditions also use “pastor” as a specific clergy title); note the metaphor’s content (sacrificial, protective care, warning against wolves) should be taught explicitly alongside the term rather than assumed from the title alone.
ὑποστέλλω (hypostellō) — “to shrink back, hold back” (20:20, 20:27, “I did not shrink from declaring… the whole counsel of God”). Destination rendering: no rehuir / no eludir. Risk: Low-Medium. Reinforces the doctrine “Persecution and Bold Witness” (parallel to παρρησία) in the specific sense of not withholding hard or unpopular truth out of fear.
βουλή (boulē) — “counsel, purpose” (“the whole counsel of God,” 20:27). Reuse the term already introduced at 2:23 (providence-adjacent, High risk); here applied to the full scope of apostolic teaching rather than God’s secret plan specifically — note the semantic shift for teaching clarity.
Reuses gospel, grace — “the gospel of the grace of God” (20:24) — exact baseline reuse, no new risk.

Chapter 21 — Jerusalem: Vows and Warnings

ἁγνισμός (hagnismos) — “purification, purification rites” (21:24, 21:26, the Nazirite-related vow and temple purification). Destination rendering: ritos de purificación. Risk: Medium. Requires OT/Second Temple Jewish ritual background (Numbers 6) unfamiliar to most Spanish-speaking readers; no live rival meaning, but a comprehension gap requiring explanatory scaffolding, distinct in kind from the more doctrinally loaded καθαρός/κοινός purity language of ch.10.
Reuses prophesy/prophecy (21:9–11, Agabus) exactly per baseline; no new risk.

Chapter 22 — Paul’s Defense Before the Crowd

πολιτεία / πολίτης (politeia / politēs) — “citizenship / citizen,” of Paul’s Roman citizenship (22:25–28). Destination rendering: ciudadanía romana / ciudadano romano. Risk: Low. A legal-social status term with clear, uncontested Spanish equivalents; useful narrative detail for the doctrine “Persecution and Bold Witness” (Paul’s legal rights shape how persecution unfolds) but not itself doctrinally loaded.
The chapter otherwise retells Paul’s conversion (reusing 9’s vocabulary) and the Gentile-mission commissioning language (reusing baseline mission = misión, Medium risk); no new terms requiring separate entries.

Chapter 23 — Before the Sanhedrin; Pharisees and Sadducees Dispute

Reuses Sanedrín (ch.5) and resurrección (baseline, Critical) in the specific context of the Pharisee/Sadducee doctrinal dispute over the resurrection of the dead (23:6–8) — a useful teaching point that resurrection was already a contested doctrine within Second Temple Judaism, not a uniquely Christian innovation, but no new lexical entry is required beyond the baseline resurrection term.
No new load-bearing theological vocabulary beyond established terms; noted explicitly as reviewed.

Chapter 24 — Paul Before Felix; “The Way”

ἡ ὁδός (hē hodos) — “the Way,” used as a self-designation for the early Christian movement (24:14, 24:22; also 9:2, 19:9, 19:23, 22:4). Destination rendering: el Camino (capitalized, as a proper self-designation). Risk: High. An important early identity-term for the movement before “Christian” became standard (11:26); should be preserved as a proper title rather than diluted into a generic “way of life/manner,” and should be distinguished from any New Age or generic spiritual “camino” language current in contemporary Spanish-speaking wellness/spirituality culture, which uses “el camino” loosely for any personal spiritual journey without reference to Christ specifically.
ἐγκράτεια (egkrateia) — “self-control” (24:25, part of Paul’s message to Felix: “righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment”). Destination rendering: dominio propio. Risk: Low. Standard ethical term, no rival meaning; reuses baseline righteousness = justicia in the same verse, no new risk for that term.

Chapter 25 — Paul Before Festus and Agrippa; Appeal to Caesar

ἐπικαλοῦμαι Καίσαρα (epikaloumai Kaisara) — “I appeal to Caesar” (25:11). Destination rendering: apelo a César. Risk: Low. A specific Roman legal procedure term; note only as a narrative/legal detail advancing the plot toward Rome (relevant to “The Great Commission Fulfilled” — Paul’s legal appeal becomes the means by which he reaches Rome), not independently doctrinal.

Chapter 26 — Paul Before Agrippa

Retells the conversion narrative (reusing ch.9’s vocabulary) and Paul’s Gentile-mission commissioning (26:16–18, “to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light” — reusing ἐπιστρέφω/conversion vocabulary from ch.11, and mission/misión from the baseline). No new load-bearing terms requiring separate glossary entries; noted explicitly as reviewed.

Chapter 27 — The Voyage and Shipwreck

No new theological vocabulary; the chapter is a detailed nautical-narrative account illustrating God’s providential care (reuse baseline providence = providencia, Medium risk, via the narrative pattern of Acts 27:22–25’s angelic assurance) rather than introducing new load-bearing terms. Noted explicitly as reviewed: reuses providence-adjacent narrative themes from Acts 2:23 and Romans without new lexical items.

Chapter 28 — Malta and Rome; the Book’s Closing Word

ἀκωλύτως (akōlytōs) — “unhindered, without obstruction” — the Greek text’s final word (28:31), describing Paul preaching the kingdom of God “quite openly and without hindrance.” Destination rendering: sin impedimento / abiertamente y sin obstáculo. Risk: Medium. A thematically climactic term for the doctrine “The Great Commission Fulfilled”: the gospel’s unstoppable advance to Rome, the empire’s center, despite chains, shipwreck, and trial. Should be preserved with its full rhetorical weight as Acts’ deliberate closing note (the gospel’s advance continues beyond the narrative’s own ending), not flattened into a merely neutral procedural detail.
Reuses kingdom of God (reino de Dios, baseline Medium risk) and boldness/παρρησία (denuedo, High risk per ch.4) in the closing summary; no new independent risk beyond what is already documented.

This document extends, and must be read alongside, the baseline Romans Language Package. See analysis/08_core_glossary.md for the consolidated per-term glossary table covering every term introduced above.

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