Semantic Analysis

Semantic Analysis: Acts (Koine Greek → Urdu)

Methodology Note

This analysis covers the entire book of Acts, chapters 1–28. The core passage, Acts 2:1–41 (Pentecost and Peter’s sermon), receives full verse-by-verse treatment. Every other chapter receives a chapter-level section identifying its load-bearing theological terms with the same fields: original Greek word, transliteration, literal meaning, semantic range, English variants, contextual theological meaning, and destination-language (Urdu) rendering risk. Where a chapter introduces no new theological vocabulary beyond terms already treated (in this document or in the baseline Romans/Galatians Language Package), that is stated explicitly rather than omitted.

Governing rule: any term already recorded in the baseline translation_memory.json (Romans/Galatians) is reused exactly as recorded there. This document does not re-derive those renderings; it cites them and notes any Acts-specific contextual nuance. New terms unique to Acts are analyzed in full and proposed for addition to translation memory (see 08_core_glossary.md).

Categorical continuity with the baseline: Acts intensifies several risk patterns already identified in Romans/Galatians (shared vocabulary with two different theological mechanisms — توبہ/repentance joins گناہ, ایمان, نجات in this category) and introduces one genuinely new pattern not present in Romans/Galatians: real-world legal risk vocabulary (بلاسفیمی/گستاخی, blasphemy, ch. 6–7) that intersects with contemporary Pakistani and Indian legal frameworks, not merely historical Qur’anic doctrine. This is flagged distinctly below.

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

Acts 2:1

πεντηκοστή (pentēkostē) — lit. “fiftieth”; the Jewish Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), fifty days after Passover, a harvest festival with no direct Islamic counterpart. EN variants: “Pentecost,” “Feast of Weeks.” Contextual meaning: the specific calendrical moment God chose to pour out the Spirit, fulfilling Israel’s own festal calendar. Urdu: پن‌تِکُست کا تہوار (pantikust kā tehwār) — risk: Medium. Avoid rendering as عید (Eid), which would trigger an unwanted association with the two major Islamic festivals (Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha); تہوار (“festival,” a religiously neutral Urdu/Hindi-origin word) is preferred. Transliterate the proper name rather than translate it generically.
ὁμοῦ (homou) — “together, in one place.” Community-unity term; low risk, descriptive.

Acts 2:2–4

πνοή βιαία (pnoē biaia) — “violent breath/wind”; theophanic wind imagery (cf. Genesis 1:2, Ezekiel 37). Low risk, descriptive.
γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός (glōssai hōsei pyros) — “tongues as of fire.” Theophanic fire imagery. Low-Medium risk; note that “tongues” here is visual (flame-shapes), distinct from the same Greek word’s use for “tongues” as languages two words later.
ἐπλήσθησαν πνεύματος ἁγίου (eplēsthēsan pneumatos hagiou) — “were filled with the Holy Spirit.” Builds directly on the baseline’s روح القدس (Critical risk, per baseline: must never be identified with the angel Jibreel of Islamic tafsir). New verb phrase for Acts: روح القدس سے بھر گئے — risk: Critical (inherits باسلाइन risk). This is the paradigmatic Acts formula, recurring at least 8 times (2:4; 4:8, 31; 6:3, 5; 7:55; 9:17; 13:9, 52) and must render identically every occurrence for learner consistency.
ἐλάλουν ἑτέραις γλώσσαις (elaloun heterais glōssais) — “spoke in other tongues/languages.” EN variants: “other tongues,” “other languages.” Contextual meaning: miraculous speech in real human languages unknown to the speaker (confirmed by v. 6–11, hearers recognize their own languages), not private ecstatic utterance. Urdu: دیگر زبانوں میں بولنے لگے — risk: Medium. Must be distinguished at first occurrence from generic ecstatic speech traditions in South Asian devotional practice (e.g., some Sufi dhikr phenomena); the text’s own explanation (intelligible known languages) should be preserved, not obscured.
ἀποφθέγγομαι (apophthengomai) — “to declare, utter” (solemn, Spirit-prompted speech; recurs v. 14). Low-Medium risk.

Acts 2:5

Ἰουδαῖοι…κατοικοῦντες (Ioudaioi…katoikountes) — “Jews…dwelling [in Jerusalem].” Diaspora-Jewish audience; sets up the “Jews first” pattern relevant to the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles doctrine. Low risk.
εὐλαβεῖς (eulabeis) — “devout, God-fearing (in the reverent sense).” Related to but distinct from the technical God-fearer term below (φοβούμενος τὸν θεόν, used of Gentile sympathizers elsewhere in Acts); here it describes devout diaspora Jews. Low-Medium risk; do not conflate the two categories in teaching notes.

Acts 2:6–8

συγχέω (syncheō) — “confounded, bewildered.” Reaction term, low risk.
διάλεκτος (dialektos) — “language, dialect” (mother tongue specifically). Reinforces that the miracle is linguistic, not glossolalic-ecstatic. Low-Medium risk, same caution as γλῶσσαι above.

Acts 2:9–11

No new load-bearing theological terms; this is a list of place-names and peoples (Parthians, Medes, Elamites, etc.) establishing the universal scope of the sign. Reuses διάλεκτος from v. 8.
τὰ μεγαλεῖα τοῦ θεοῦ (ta megaleia tou theou) — “the mighty/great works of God.” New term for Acts; anticipates the σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα (signs and wonders) vocabulary developed later in the book. Urdu: خدا کے عظیم کام — risk: Low.

Acts 2:12–13

διαπορέω (diaporeō) — “to be thoroughly perplexed.” Low risk.
γλεῦκος (gleukos) — “new/sweet wine.” The mocking accusation of drunkenness; sets up Peter’s rebuttal in v. 15. Low risk, but the accusation itself (that Spirit-filled speech looks like intoxication) is a useful teaching point about how the Spirit’s work can be misread — worth a translator’s note but not a doctrinal risk.

Acts 2:14–15

ἵστημι (histēmi) — Peter “stood up” — formal posture for authoritative public address; reused pattern (cf. 3:12, 5:20). Low risk.
μεθύω (methyō) — “to be drunk.” Reuses γλεῦκος context; Peter’s rebuttal establishes the Spirit’s work as sober, purposeful, and Scripture-fulfilling rather than ecstatic intoxication. Low risk.

Acts 2:16–21

τοῦτο ἐστιν τὸ εἰρημένον διὰ τοῦ προφήτου Ἰωήλ (touto estin to eirēmenon dia tou prophētou Iōēl) — “this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel.” Direct invocation of the baseline fulfillment_of_prophecy doctrine (High risk per baseline registry). Urdu: reuse پیشن گوئی کی تکمیل framework; note per baseline: fulfillment in Christ/the Spirit specifically, not read as pointing toward a later, final prophet the way Islamic prophetology reads earlier revelation as anticipating Muhammad.
ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις (en tais eschatais hēmerais) — “in the last days.” Eschatological marker; low-medium risk, straightforward.
ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου (ekcheō apo tou pneumatos mou) — “I will pour out from my Spirit.” Reuses روح القدس (Critical); new verb ڈالنا/نازل کرنا (pour out/send down) — Urdu: اپنا روح ڈالوں گا — risk: Critical, inherited from the baseline Holy Spirit entry; this is the theological anchor verse for the whole Pentecost doctrine and must render with maximal care, since it is the verse most directly invoked to teach the personhood and universality of the Spirit’s outpouring.
προφητεύσουσιν, ὁράσεις, ἐνύπνια (prophēteusousin, horaseis, enypnia) — “will prophesy,” “visions,” “dreams.” Reuses baseline پیشن گوئی (prophecy, Low risk). New: رویا (vision) and خواب (dream) — risk: Medium. These are genuinely shared vocabulary with Islamic dream-vision tradition (ru’ya, istikhara); a bridge point, but the text’s claim that ordinary believers — “sons and daughters,” “menservants and maidservants” — will prophesy is a democratizing claim about the Spirit’s distribution that should be taught explicitly, since it contrasts with any hierarchical or elite-only revelatory-office model.
δοῦλοι/δοῦλαι (douloi/doulai) — “male/female slaves/servants.” Note the social inclusiveness (Spirit given without regard to social rank). Low-Medium risk, cultural sensitivity around slavery/servant terminology recommended.
τέρατα καὶ σημεῖα (terata kai sēmeia) — “wonders and signs.” First occurrence of a major Acts term-pair; see full treatment at v. 22 and ch. 4 below.
ἡ ἡμέρα κυρίου (hē hēmera kyriou) — “the day of the Lord.” Reuses baseline خداوند (Critical, Lord). Eschatological judgment-day term; low-medium additional risk beyond the baseline Lord entry.
ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου σωθήσεται (hos an epikalesētai to onoma kyriou sōthēsetai) — “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Urdu: جو کوئی خداوند کے نام کا پکارے گا نجات پائے گا — risk: Critical. Combines two Critical baseline terms (خداوند/Lord, نجات/salvation) in a single universal-access formula; this is the verse Peter’s whole sermon builds toward (v. 21 anticipates v. 38–39) and must be rendered identically wherever it recurs in the curriculum, per the baseline’s cross-document consistency rule for Romans 10:9–13 (this is the Acts source of that same formula Paul later cites in Romans).

Acts 2:22–24

δυνάμεσι καὶ τέρασι καὶ σημείοις (dynamesi kai terasi kai sēmeiois) — “mighty works, wonders, and signs.” Urdu: قدرت کے کام، عجائبات اور نشان — risk: High. Reuses baseline خدا کی قدرت (power of God, High risk, safe shared vocabulary) but combines it with σημεῖα/τέρατα, terms whose singular form (معجزہ, “miracle”) is the standard Islamic technical term for a prophet’s authenticating miracle (used specifically of Muhammad’s and earlier prophets’ miracles as proof of prophetic office). Must be taught as authenticating Jesus’s unique divine identity and resurrection, not merely adding him to a shared category of miracle-working prophets.
ἀποδεδειγμένον (apodedeigmenon) — “attested, demonstrated, proven.” Legal/evidentiary term; low risk.
τῇ ὡρισμένῃ βουλῇ καὶ προγνώσει τοῦ θεοῦ (tē hōrismenē boulē kai prognōsei tou theou) — “by the determined plan and foreknowledge of God.” Direct invocation of the baseline providence doctrine (خدا کی تدبیر, High risk). Urdu: خدا کی مقررہ تدبیر اور پیشگی علم کے مطابق — risk: High, inherited. Important because it frames the crucifixion (next clause) as sovereignly planned, not merely a tragic accident of history — directly relevant to teaching the crucifixion’s theological necessity to an audience for whom the event’s historicity is itself contested.
προσπήξαντες ἀνείλατε (prospēxantes aneilate) — “having nailed [him to the cross], you killed [him].” Urdu: صلیب پر کیلوں سے جڑ کر قتل کر دیا — risk: Critical. This is the single most theologically load-bearing clause in the sermon for the Urdu context: it asserts the historical fact of crucifixion that Qur’an 4:157 explicitly denies (“they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them”). Per the baseline’s highest-priority escalation rule (crucifixion/atonement language), this clause requires mandatory human theologian review and must never be softened, allegorized, or reworded to avoid the collision. Reuses baseline صلیب (cross, Critical, from the Galatians extension).
ἀνέστησεν (anestēsen) — “raised up.” Direct link to baseline قیامت (resurrection, Critical) with its mandatory qualifying note distinguishing Christ’s unique, already-accomplished resurrection from the general end-times qiyamat. Urdu: خدا نے اسے مُردوں میں سے جی اٹھایا — risk: Critical.
λύσας τὰς ὠδῖνας τοῦ θανάτου (lysas tas ōdinas tou thanatou) — “loosing the pangs/birth-pains of death.” Vivid death-as-labor-pains metaphor; the point is death’s grip proving unable to hold him. Medium risk — idiom requiring natural (not literal-labor-pain) Urdu rendering, e.g. موت کی جکڑ کو توڑ دیا (broke death’s grip).

Acts 2:25–28

Quotation of Psalm 16 (LXX). προϊδὼν (proidōn) — “having foreseen.” David’s prophetic foresight of the resurrection; reuses baseline David (داؤد, Low risk) and prophecy. Low-Medium risk; requires OT background note per baseline’s давidic_covenant caution (Islamic tradition recognizes Dawud as prophet-king but has no comparable typological resurrection-prophecy reading of the Psalms).

Acts 2:29–31

πατριάρχης (patriarchēs) — “patriarch.” Low risk, historical-descriptive.
τελευτάω, τάφος (teleutaō, taphos) — “died,” “tomb.” Sets up the contrast: David’s tomb is known and occupied (he did not rise); Jesus’s is not (v. 32). This contrast is the crux of the whole sermon’s logical structure and should not be flattened in translation. Urdu: قبر (tomb) — risk: Low, but note the argument built on it is Critical (see v. 32 below).
προφήτης, ὅρκος (prophētēs, horkos) — “prophet,” “oath.” Reuses baseline نبی (prophet, Low risk) and covenant-oath language (عہد, High risk, per baseline covenant entry).
καθίσαι ἐπὶ τὸν θρόνον (kathisai epi ton thronon) — “to sit on the throne.” Davidic-messianic enthronement language; reuses seed_of_david and davidic_covenant baseline categories (High risk). Urdu: تخت پر بیٹھنا — risk: High.

Acts 2:31

προϊδὼν ἐλάλησεν περὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ (proidōn elalēsen peri tēs anastaseōs tou Christou) — “foreseeing, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ/Messiah.” Combines baseline مسیح (Messiah, Critical) with قیامت (resurrection, Critical). Urdu: مسیح کے جی اٹھنے کے بارے میں — risk: Critical. Must be explicit that this is the Messiah’s own personal resurrection foretold, going beyond what the Qur’an’s own use of “al-Masih” for Isa affirms (per baseline messiah entry).
ᾅδης (Hadēs) — “Hades,” the realm/state of the dead. New term for this Language Package. Urdu: عالمِ ارواح / موت کی حالت — risk: Medium. Avoid a rendering that suggests a place of punishment (which would conflate with جہنم/hell); Hades here is simply “the realm of the dead,” not a punitive afterlife category.

Acts 2:32

τοῦτον τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἀνέστησεν ὁ θεός (touton ton Iēsoun anestēsen ho theos) — “this Jesus, God raised up.” Urdu: اِس یسوع کو خدا نے جی اٹھایا — risk: Critical. The demonstrative “this Jesus” (τοῦτον…τοῦτον, repeated at v. 23, 32, 36) is Peter’s rhetorical anchor tying the crucified man directly to the exalted Lord; this repetition should be preserved in Urdu for rhetorical and doctrinal force, not smoothed into varied pronouns.
μάρτυρες (martyres) — “witnesses.” Urdu: گواہ — risk: Medium. First technical occurrence of the book’s central self-designation for the apostles (cf. 1:8, 22; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39, 41; 13:31). Distinct from the later-developing sense “martyr” (one who dies for testimony, ch. 7, 22:20); at this stage it means simply “eyewitness-testifier” and should render as گواہ, reserving any discussion of شہید (martyr) for ch. 7 below.

Acts 2:33

τῇ δεξιᾷ τοῦ θεοῦ ὑψωθείς (tē dexia tou theou hypsōtheis) — “exalted to/by the right hand of God.” Urdu: خدا کے دائیں ہاتھ کی طرف سے بلند کیا گیا — risk: Critical. Exaltation language directly supporting the baseline lordship_of_christ and deity_of_christ doctrines; must not be softened to a merely honorary or spatial image.
ἐπαγγελία τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (epangelia tou hagiou pneumatos) — “the promise of the Holy Spirit.” Combines baseline وعدہ (promise, High risk, per Galatians extension) with روح القدس (Critical). Urdu: روح القدس کا وعدہ — risk: Critical.
ἐξέχεεν (execheen) — “poured out.” Same verb family as v. 17–18; consistency required.

Acts 2:34–35

Quotation of Psalm 110:1: κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου…ὑποπόδιον (kathou ek dexiōn mou…hypopodion) — “Sit at my right hand…footstool.” Urdu: میرے دائیں ہاتھ بیٹھ…پاؤں کی چوکی — risk: High. This is the OT text Jesus himself cites (Mark 12:35–37) to press his own deity; Peter’s use here continues that argument. Reuses lordship/deity Critical terms by extension.

Acts 2:36

ἀσφαλῶς γινωσκέτω πᾶς οἶκος Ἰσραήλ (asphalōs ginōsketō pas oikos Israēl) — “let all the house of Israel know for certain.” Urdu: پورا اسرائیل کا گھرانا یقین کے ساتھ جان لے — risk: Medium, rhetorical emphasis marker.
κύριον καὶ Χριστόν…ἐποίησεν, ὃν ὑμεῖς ἐσταυρώσατε (kyrion kai Christon…epoiēsen, hon hymeis estaurōsate) — “[God] has made [him] Lord and Christ…whom you crucified.” Urdu: خدا نے اُسے خداوند اور مسیح بنایا ہے…جسے تم نے مصلوب کیا — risk: Critical, the single densest verse in the sermon: it stacks خداوند (Critical), مسیح (Critical), and مصلوب/صلیب (Critical) in one clause, and directly accuses the hearers (“you crucified him”) of complicity in the very event Qur’an 4:157 denies took place. Mandatory human theologian review; the accusatory “you” must be preserved (not softened to a passive “he was crucified”) since it is what produces the hearers’ conviction in v. 37.

Acts 2:37

κατενύγησαν τὴν καρδίαν (katenygēsan tēn kardian) — “were pierced/cut to the heart.” Vivid idiom for deep conviction. Urdu: دل چھلنی ہو گیا / دل میں چرک اٹھی — risk: Low-Medium; find a natural Urdu idiom for sudden deep conviction rather than a literal “pierced” image that could read as physical violence.
τί ποιήσωμεν (ti poiēsōmen) — “what shall we do?” The convicted crowd’s question; sets up v. 38’s answer, the doctrinal center of the Repentance and Baptism doctrine. Low risk.

Acts 2:38–39

μετανοήσατε (metanoēsate) — “repent!” Urdu: توبہ کرو — risk: CRITICAL. توبہ (tawbah) is the established Urdu Christian Bible rendering and is simultaneously the central Islamic theological term for repentance — sincere turning from sin, seeking Allah’s forgiveness, resolving not to repeat the sin, sometimes including restitution — operating within Islam’s mercy-weighed-against-deeds framework at judgment (mizan), with no doctrine of a mediating atonement. This is the same category of shared-term risk documented for نجات in the baseline: not a wrong word calling for substitution, but a right, established word carrying a different underlying mechanism that must be taught explicitly every time it carries doctrinal weight in this curriculum — namely, that biblical repentance here is directly and immediately joined to baptism in Jesus’s name and to receiving the gift of the Spirit, not a standalone act weighed later at a final reckoning.
βαπτισθήτω (baptisthētō) — “let him be baptized.” Urdu: بپتسمہ لے — risk: High. established Urdu Christian term (transliterated from Greek βάπτισμα via Syriac/Greek Christian usage, distinct from generic Urdu washing vocabulary). Must be distinguished from Islamic ritual ablution (wudu/ghusl, tahara) — baptism here is a one-time, once-for-all identification with Christ’s death and resurrection tied to forgiveness and the Spirit’s gift, not a repeatable purification rite.
ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (epi tō onomati Iēsou Christou) — “in/on the name of Jesus Christ.” Reuses baseline یسوع مسیح (Critical). Urdu: یسوع مسیح کے نام میں — risk: Critical, reinforcing that baptism’s authority and meaning derive specifically from Christ’s name, not a generic religious rite.
εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν (eis aphesin tōn hamartiōn) — “for/unto the forgiveness of sins.” Reuses baseline گناہ (sin, High risk). Urdu: گناہوں کی معافی کے لیے — risk: High. Note the baseline’s caution (under “justification”) that معافی پانا (obtaining forgiveness) alone, without the accompanying baptism-in-Christ’s-name and Spirit-gift framing, risks assimilation to the Islamic maghfirah model; in this verse the fuller triad (repent + baptize in Jesus’s name + forgiveness/Spirit-gift) must be kept together, not atomized.
λήμψεσθε τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (lēmpsesthe tēn dōrean tou hagiou pneumatos) — “you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” δωρεά (dōrea) — “gift, free bestowal” (distinct Greek root from χάρισμα/χαρίσματα, already rendered روحانی نعمتیں in the baseline for ongoing ministry-gifts). New term: بخشش (free gift/bestowal). Urdu: روح القدس کی بخشش پاؤ گے — risk: High. This is the foundational, once-for-all Spirit-endowment at conversion, distinct from the ongoing ministry-empowerment sense of the baseline’s spiritual_gifts entry; the distinction should be maintained in glossary and teaching notes so learners do not conflate the two.
ἡ ἐπαγγελία…τοῖς τέκνοις…τοῖς εἰς μακράν…ὅσους ἂν προσκαλέσηται κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν (hē epangelia…tois teknois…tois eis makran…hosous an proskalesētai kyrios ho theos hēmōn) — “the promise…to your children…to those far off…as many as the Lord our God calls.” Urdu: وعدہ…تمہاری اولاد کے لیے…دور والوں کے لیے…جتنوں کو خداوند ہمارا خدا بلائے — risk: High. Combines baseline وعدہ (promise), بلایا گیا/بلاہٹ (called/calling, High risk), and anticipates the universal Jew-Gentile scope doctrine; “those far off” (τοῖς εἰς μακράν) is the seed of the Gentile-inclusion theme that dominates the rest of Acts (ch. 10–15) and must not be muted here.

Acts 2:40–41

διαμαρτύρομαι, παρεκάλει (diamartyromai, parekalei) — “solemnly testified,” “exhorted/urged.” Reuses baseline نصیحت کرنا (exhort, Low risk) and the μάρτυρες root already discussed. Low-Medium risk.
σώθητε ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς τῆς σκολιᾶς ταύτης (sōthēte apo tēs geneas tēs skolias tautēs) — “be saved from this crooked generation.” Reuses baseline نجات (Critical). Urdu: اس ٹیڑھی نسل سے نجات پاؤ — risk: Critical, inherited.
οἱ ἀποδεξάμενοι τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ ἐβαπτίσθησαν (hoi apodexamenoi ton logon autou ebaptisthēsan) — “those who received his word were baptized.” Reuses بپتسمہ (High risk).
προσετέθησαν, ψυχαί, τρισχίλιαι (prosetethēsan, psychai, trischiliai) — “were added,” “souls,” “three thousand.” Urdu: تین ہزار جانیں شامل ہو گئیں — risk: Low. Establishes the church-growth pattern picked up again at 2:47, 4:4, 5:14, 6:7, etc.; ψυχαί (“souls”) here means simply “people/persons,” not a technical soul/body dualism claim — should render as جانیں or لوگ, not a philosophically loaded term.

PART B — Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis, Whole Book

Acts 1 — Ascension, the Promise, and Preparation

μάρτυρες (martyres) — “witnesses.” First occurrence (1:8, “you will be my witnesses…to the end of the earth”), foreshadowing the term’s full development at 2:32 above. Urdu: گواہ — risk: Medium.
ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς (heōs eschatou tēs gēs) — “to the end/uttermost part of the earth.” Urdu: زمین کی انتہا تک — risk: Low-Medium. Anchor phrase for the Great Commission Fulfilled doctrine; must render consistently every recurrence through ch. 28 to preserve the book’s own narrative bracket (1:8 opens it, 28:31 closes it).
βαπτίζω ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ (baptizō en pneumati hagiō) — “baptize with/in the Holy Spirit” (1:5), contrasted with John’s water baptism. New Spirit-baptism sense distinct from the water-rite sense developed at 2:38 and throughout. Urdu: روح القدس سے بپتسمہ — risk: High. Must be taught as the once-for-all, Pentecost-inaugurating empowerment, not a repeatable ritual, and distinguished from but connected to water baptism (see ch. 19 below, where the two are explicitly discussed together).
κλῆρος (klēros), verb βάλλω κλῆρον — “casting lots” (1:26, choosing Matthias). Urdu: قرعہ ڈالنا — risk: Low-Medium. A genuine cultural bridge point (qur’ah, lot-casting, is a recognized practice in Islamic tradition too), but note it functions here as a Spirit-guided discernment method in a unique, non-repeated apostolic-succession context, not a general divination technique.
Reuses baseline: بادشاہی/خدا کی بادشاہی (kingdom of God, 1:3, 6), رسول (apostle, throughout), باپ (Father, 1:4, 7, “the promise of the Father”), وعدہ (promise, 1:4), روح القدس (throughout).

Acts 2 (remainder: 2:42–47) — The Early Church Community

Continuing beyond the core passage’s 2:1–41 boundary, the chapter’s remaining verses introduce:

ἡ διδαχὴ τῶν ἀποστόλων (hē didachē tōn apostolōn) — “the apostles’ teaching.” Reuses baseline رسول (apostle, Medium risk); new noun phrase for the authoritative content taught. Urdu: رسولوں کی تعلیم — risk: Medium, relevant to the Apostolic Authority doctrine.
κοινωνία (koinōnia) — “fellowship.” Reuses baseline رفاقت (Low risk) exactly.
ἡ κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου (hē klasis tou artou) — “the breaking of bread.” New term. Urdu: روٹی توڑنا — risk: Medium. At this early narrative stage this likely denotes shared communal meals with a Christ-centered remembrance dimension (developing toward the Lord’s Supper); avoid over-defining it as the later formal Eucharistic rite not yet doctrinally developed in the text itself.
αἱ προσευχαί (hai proseuchai) — “the prayers.” Low risk; note distinction from Islamic formal salat (see baseline prayer_and_intercession entry) — this describes shared, spontaneous, communal prayer practice.
ἅπαντα κοινά (hapanta koina) — “all things common” (2:44–45, sharing possessions). Urdu: سب کچھ مل کر بانٹنا — risk: Low-Medium. Voluntary, love-motivated sharing among believers, not an enforced communal-property system or a substitute for the Islamic zakat obligation; a respectful point of comparison (both traditions value structured generosity) but the mechanisms and obligations differ and should not be conflated.
χάρις πρὸς ὅλον τὸν λαόν (charis pros holon ton laon) — “favor with all the people” (2:47). Urdu: تمام لوگوں کی نظر میں پسندیدگی/فضل — risk: Medium. Important disambiguation: this is χάρις in its general “favor/goodwill” sense, not the soteriological فضل (grace, Critical) of the baseline; translators must not let the shared Urdu word blur the two senses for learners moving between this passage and Romans.
προσετίθει (prosetithei) — “kept adding” (2:47), same growth-vocabulary as 2:41.

Acts 3 — Healing of the Lame Man; Peter’s Second Sermon

παῖς (pais), “servant” (of God, referring to Jesus, 3:13, 26) — Christological title echoing Isaiah’s Servant. Urdu: خدا کا خادم/بندہ — risk: High. Must be distinguished from the honorific “‘Abduhu” (His servant) applied to Muhammad in Islamic devotional formula (as in the shahada’s “Muhammad ‘abduhu wa rasuluhu”); this title identifies Jesus with Isaiah’s unique Suffering Servant fulfilled uniquely in him, not a generic prophet-servant category shared with other messengers.
ὁ ἅγιος καὶ δίκαιος (ho hagios kai dikaios) — “the Holy and Righteous One” (3:14). Combines baseline پاک (holy, High) and راستباز (righteous, Critical) as a Christological title. Urdu: پاک اور راستباز — risk: High, inherits both baseline risks.
ἀρχηγὸς τῆς ζωῆς (archēgos tēs zōēs) — “the Author/Prince/Pioneer of life” (3:15). New Christological title. Urdu: زندگی کا بانی/سردار — risk: Medium-High. Emphasizes Christ as source and originator of life itself, directly following the “you killed” accusation of 3:15 — the same crucifixion-denial collision flagged at 2:23, 36 recurs here and should be flagged accordingly.
ἐπιστρέφω (epistrephō) — “turn again, repent” (3:19), a synonym-pair with μετάνοια (2:38). Reuses the توبہ risk category (Critical); note the verb here emphasizes the relational “turning to God” aspect.
ἀνάψυξις (anapsyxis) — “refreshing, relief” (3:20, “times of refreshing”). Urdu: تازگی کے دن — risk: Low-Medium, eschatological hope term.
ἀποκατάστασις (apokatastasis) — “restoration” (3:21, “restoration of all things”). Urdu: سب چیزوں کی بحالی — risk: Medium. Eschatological; note without over-elaborating any parallel to Islamic end-times restoration figures (e.g., the Mahdi) — this is Christ’s own promised return and restoration, not a comparable figure or event.
Reuses baseline نبی (prophet, 3:22–25, “prophet like Moses”), عہد (covenant, 3:25), نسل (offspring/seed, 3:25).

Acts 4 — Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin

συνέδριον (synedrion) — “Sanhedrin, council.” Urdu: یہودی صدر عدالت / یہودی مجلس — risk: Low, institutional-historical term; never render with a term suggesting an ongoing or contemporary Islamic legal-court body.
παρρησία (parrēsia) — “boldness, freedom of speech” (4:13, 29, 31). Urdu: دلیری / بےخوفی — risk: High. Central term for the Persecution and Bold Witness doctrine across the whole book (recurs 9:27–28; 13:46; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; 26:26; 28:31). Must be taught, per the baseline’s pastoral-safety framework (see the Galatians apostasy_and_persecution_risk entry), as confident, unashamed proclamation flowing from conviction — never as encouragement toward public confrontation, defiance, or unnecessary disclosure that would increase a real-world reader’s risk.
οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἄλλῳ οὐδενὶ ἡ σωτηρία (ouk estin en allō oudeni hē sōtēria) — “there is salvation in no one else” (4:12). Reuses baseline نجات (Critical) in its most exclusivist form; directly supports the true_gospel_versus_false_gospels / universal_scope_of_gospel doctrines already flagged Critical in the baseline. No softening permitted.
μία καρδία καὶ [μία] ψυχή (mia kardia kai [mia] psychē) — “one heart and soul” (4:32). Urdu: ایک دل اور جان — risk: Low-Medium, community-unity term, reinforcing ch. 2:44–47 material.
Reuses baseline فضل (“great grace was upon them all,” 4:33) and روح القدس (4:8, 31).

Acts 5 — Ananias and Sapphira; Apostolic Miracles; Gamaliel

ψεύδομαι τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον (pseudomai to pneuma to hagion) — “to lie to the Holy Spirit” (5:3). Reuses baseline روح القدس (Critical) and گناہ (sin, High); the personal, directly-offendable nature of the Spirit here strongly reinforces the baseline’s insistence on the Spirit’s personhood against any impersonal-force reading.
φόβος (phobos) — “fear” (5:5, 11, “great fear came upon…”). Urdu: خوف / دہشت — risk: Low-Medium. Reverential awe at God’s holiness and judgment, distinct from φοβούμενοι τὸν θεόν (“God-fearers,” a technical social category for Gentile sympathizers introduced later, ch. 10, 13); keep the two senses distinguishable in translator notes.
ἀρχηγὸν καὶ σωτῆρα (archēgon kai sōtēra) — “Prince/Author and Savior” (5:31). New term: σωτήρ (sōtēr), “Savior.” Urdu: نجات دہندہ — risk: Critical, directly derivative of the baseline’s نجات (Critical); this is the first personal-title use (“Savior” as a name for Jesus, not just “salvation” as an abstract noun) and should be flagged for the same theologian-review rigor as the noun.
χαίροντες ὅτι κατηξιώθησαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος ἀτιμασθῆναι (chairontes hoti katēxiōthēsan hyper tou onomatos atimasthēnai) — “rejoicing that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name” (5:41). Urdu: خوش ہوئے کہ اُس نام کی خاطر بےعزتی برداشت کرنے کے لائق ٹھہرے — risk: High. Foundational text for the Persecution and Bold Witness doctrine: suffering-as-honor paradox. Given real honor/shame social dynamics in South Asian Muslim (and broader South Asian) contexts, per the baseline’s flagged sensitivity around honor/shame, this needs careful, warm framing — joy in suffering is not masochism or provocation-seeking, but confidence that identification with Christ’s name outweighs social dishonor.

Acts 6 — The Seven Chosen; Rise of Stephen

διακονία, διακονεῖν τραπέζαις (diakonia, diakonein trapezais) — “service/ministry,” “serving tables.” Urdu: خدمت / میزوں کی خدمت کرنا — risk: Low-Medium. Foundational for a later-developed “deacon” office; the term itself is generic service vocabulary, not yet a fixed title in this text.
Ἑλληνισταί / Ἑβραῖοι (Hellēnistai / Hebraioi) — “Hellenists” (Greek-speaking Jews) / “Hebrews” (Aramaic-speaking Jews) — internal ethnic-linguistic tension within the early Jewish-Christian community. Low-Medium risk, historical-descriptive; relevant background for the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles doctrine as an internal precursor to the larger Jew-Gentile question.
πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου καὶ σοφίας (plērēs pneumatos hagiou kai sophias) — “full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom” (Stephen, 6:3, 5). Reuses baseline روح القدس.
βλασφημία (blasphēmia) — “blasphemy” (6:11, 13, false accusation against Stephen). Urdu: کفر / گستاخی — risk: CRITICAL — distinct risk category, flagged for special legal-pastoral note. Unlike most collision terms in this Language Package (which collide with historical Qur’anic doctrine), this term collides with contemporary Pakistani and Indian criminal law: Pakistan’s Penal Code Section 295-C and related blasphemy statutes carry severe, real-world legal consequences (including capital punishment provisions) for perceived گستاخی against Islam or its Prophet, and false blasphemy accusations have a documented history of triggering mob violence. Teaching Stephen’s accusation-and-martyrdom narrative in Urdu requires explicit pastoral framing distinguishing the first-century Jewish legal-religious charge described in the text from the specific, present-day legal exposure the same vocabulary carries for a contemporary reader; this is not merely a translation-word choice but a mandatory contextual safety note for any teaching material built on ch. 6–7. Recommend theologian AND native-speaker legal-context review together, not either alone.

Acts 7 — Stephen’s Speech and Martyrdom

Retells OT covenant history: reuses baseline عہد (covenant), نسل (offspring), نبی (prophet), شریعت/توریت (law/Torah — see baseline’s law entry’s own recommendation to prefer توریت for Mosaic-specific contexts, highly relevant here since Stephen’s speech is a sustained Mosaic-history recitation).
σκηνή (skēnē) — “tabernacle, tent” (7:44). Urdu: خیمہ — risk: Low, historical-descriptive term.
σκληροτράχηλοι (sklērotrachēloi) — “stiff-necked” (7:51), idiom for stubborn resistance to God. Urdu: سخت گردن / ہٹ دھرم — risk: Low-Medium; find a natural Urdu idiom for obstinacy rather than a literal anatomical calque.
βλασφημία — the same charge from ch. 6 is formally tried here; same Critical/legal-pastoral flag applies.
μάρτυς (martys) in its fullest developing sense — Stephen becomes, in later church tradition, the “first martyr” (πρωτομάρτυς, a title not itself in the Greek text of Acts but universally applied to this narrative). Urdu for “martyr”: شہید — risk: High (shared-term category, like گناہ/ایمان/نجات, not forbidden). شہید is genuinely established Urdu Christian vocabulary (used broadly in Christian hymnody and martyrology, e.g. “شہیدوں کا خون کلیسیا کا بیج ہے” — “the blood of the martyrs is the church’s seed”) and is not a forbidden substitution; however, it is simultaneously the central Islamic term for a person who dies in defense of the faith, frequently in the specific context of jihad and carrying connotations (in much popular usage) of automatic paradise-entry and, in some modern contexts, of armed struggle. Every use in teaching material must make explicit that Stephen’s martyrdom is non-violent, forgiving (“Lord, do not hold this sin against them,” 7:60, itself echoing Christ’s own words on the cross), and suffered rather than inflicted — the opposite posture from the jihad-martyrdom paradigm with which the shared word might otherwise be associated.
παρέδωκα τὸ πνεῦμά μου (paredōka to pneuma mou) echo / κύριε Ἰησοῦ, δέξαι τὸ πνεῦμά μου (kyrie Iēsou, dexai to pneuma mou) — “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (7:59). Reuses baseline خداوند (Lord, Critical); notable as prayer directly addressed to Jesus, reinforcing his deity.

Acts 8 — Philip, Simon Magus, the Ethiopian Eunuch

μαγεία (mageia) — “sorcery, magic” (Simon Magus). Reuses baseline جادوگری exactly (Medium risk, per Galatians works_of_the_flesh_sorcery entry).
ἡ δωρεὰ τοῦ θεοῦ (hē dōrea tou theou) — “the gift of God” (8:20, Simon’s attempt to buy spiritual power). Reuses the new δωρεά/بخشش term from 2:38 above. Urdu: خدا کی بخشش — risk: Medium. Key teaching point: the Spirit’s gift cannot be bought or transacted, directly contradicting any merit-transaction or payment-for-blessing framework — a useful point of contrast worth developing pastorally given popular devotional-economy practices (offerings-for-blessing) found across South Asian religious cultures generally, not only Islam.
εὐνοῦχος (eunouchos) — “eunuch” (the Ethiopian official, 8:27ff). Urdu: خصی — risk: Low, historical-social status term; optional teaching note on fulfillment of Isaiah 56:3–5’s promise of eunuch-inclusion, relevant to the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles / universal-scope doctrine, but not itself a high-collision translation term.
Baptism of the eunuch reuses بپتسمہ (High risk).

Acts 9 — Saul’s Conversion; Peter’s Ministry

ἡ ὁδός (hē hodos) — “the Way” (9:2, first occurrence as a name for the Christian movement; recurs 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). Urdu: یہ راہ / راستہ — risk: High. This is a genuinely notable bridge-and-collision term: the early church’s self-designation as “the Way” closely parallels the Qur’an’s central devotional metaphor of “the straight path” (الصراط المستقیم, invoked in every recitation of Surah al-Fatiha) and the broader Islamic concept of shari’ah (etymologically, “the way/path”). This parallel can be used pastorally as a genuine point of contact (both traditions speak of a God-given path for life), but the curriculum must be explicit that “the Way” in Acts means specifically following the crucified and risen Jesus as Lord, not a generic path-metaphor interchangeable with the Islamic sense of the term.
σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς (skeuos eklogēs) — “a chosen instrument/vessel” (9:15, of Saul). Reuses baseline election term (خدا کا انتخاب, High risk). Urdu: چنا ہوا برتن/آلہ — risk: Medium-High, ties Paul’s specific apostolic calling to God’s sovereign choice, distinct from تقدیر per the baseline’s existing caution.
Damascus-road narrative: φωνή (voice), light “brighter than the sun,” temporary blindness, λέπιδες (lepides) — “scales” falling from his eyes (9:18, idiom for restored sight/spiritual perception). Low-Medium risk; find a natural Urdu equivalent for the healing-of-blindness idiom rather than a clinical medical calque. This narrative is the anchor text for the Conversion of Paul doctrine (see ch. 22, 26 below for its two retellings).
Reuses baseline بلایا گیا/بلاہٹ (called/calling, High risk) for the “Lord, what will you have me do?” exchange.

Acts 10 — Cornelius and the Gentile Pentecost

καθαρός / κοινός / ἀκάθαρτος (katharos / koinos / akathartos) — “clean / common (i.e., ritually unclean by association) / unclean.” Urdu: پاک / ناپاک — risk: CRITICAL. Peter’s vision (10:14–15, 28: “what God has made clean, do not call common”) directly abolishes the OT dietary-purity distinctions. This carries a structural collision risk closely analogous to (though not identical with) the Islamic حلال/حرام (halal/haram) dietary-law categories, which remain a currently, widely practiced legal-devotional system for Urdu-speaking Muslim readers, much as ختنہ (circumcision) does in the Galatians extension. Recommend rendering with پاک/ناپاک rather than حلال/حرام, to avoid directly naming the live Islamic legal category, while still teaching explicitly (per the baseline’s works_of_the_law and the_laws_purpose doctrine patterns) that God himself declared former ritual-food restrictions abolished under the new covenant — a claim that must be taught on its own terms, without either mocking or being read as a verdict on any contemporary dietary practice. Mandatory human theologian review, parity with the ختنہ escalation rule in the Galatians extension.
φοβούμενος τὸν θεόν / σεβόμενος τὸν θεόν (phoboumenos ton theon / sebomenos ton theon) — “God-fearer” (Cornelius, also Lydia at 16:14). Urdu: خدا ترس — risk: Low-Medium, established compound; denotes a Gentile sympathetic to Jewish monotheism and ethics without full proselyte conversion — a distinct social category worth explaining, since it is structurally similar to (but not identical with) categories of sympathetic non-Muslim observers in some contemporary Islamic contexts.
οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήπτης ὁ θεός (ouk estin prosōpolēptēs ho theos) — “God is not one who shows partiality/favoritism” (10:34). Urdu: خدا کسی کا طرفدار نہیں / خدا انسان کا چہرہ دیکھ کر فرق نہیں کرتا — risk: High. Central doctrinal statement for the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles doctrine; must be preserved with full force, and can be taught as a point of genuine resonance with the Qur’an’s own repeated affirmations of Allah’s impartial justice, while making clear the specific application here (Gentiles included in salvation on identical terms to Jews, through faith in Christ) goes beyond a generic impartiality claim.
Reuses baseline روح القدس (Spirit falling on Gentiles, 10:44–47) and بپتسمہ.

Acts 11 — Report to Jerusalem; Antioch; the Name “Christian”

Χριστιανός (Christianos) — “Christian” (11:26, first occurrence of the name, at Antioch). Urdu: مسیحی — risk: Low. Established, standard Urdu term for the faith-community’s own self-designation; note it is preferable in formal contexts to the sometimes informally pejorative colloquial “عیسائی” (Isai), though both are in wide use — established Christian literary Urdu prefers مسیحی for doctrinal material.
διακονία εἰς…“famine relief” collection (11:29) — reuses διακονία (service) from ch. 6; low risk, concrete charitable-giving application, a natural point of comparison with zakat/sadaqah generosity without needing to be equated to it.

Acts 12 — Herod’s Persecution; Peter’s Deliverance

ἄγγελος κυρίου (angelos kyriou) — “angel of the Lord.” Urdu: خداوند کا فرشتہ — risk: Low-Medium. Angels are broadly shared, safe vocabulary between the traditions (Islamic angelology recognizes Gabriel/Jibreel, Michael/Mika’il, etc.); the only caution already on record in the baseline is specifically about identifying the Holy Spirit with the angel Jibreel (per the baseline’s روح القدس entry) — ordinary angelic-messenger narrative, as here, carries no comparable risk and needs no special flag beyond standard care.
Herod’s death as divine judgment; reuses baseline glory/judgment themes without introducing a new Critical term.

Acts 13 — Paul’s First Missionary Sermon; Bar-Jesus

ἀφορίζω, ἐκπέμπω (aphorizō, ekpempō) — “set apart,” “sent out” (13:2–3, the church commissioning Paul and Barnabas). Reuses baseline separation_unto_gods_service doctrine and mission term (بشارت کی خدمت, Medium risk).
δικαιοῦται (dikaioutai) — “is justified” (13:39, “by him everyone who believes is justified”). Direct reuse of baseline راستباز ٹھہرایا جانا (justification, Critical) — an important cross-reference point tying Acts explicitly to the justification_by_faith doctrine central to Romans and Galatians.
φῶς ἐθνῶν (phōs ethnōn) — “a light for/to the Gentiles” (13:47, citing Isaiah). Reuses baseline غیر قوموں (Gentiles, Medium risk) — never رendered with کافر, per the baseline’s forbidden-substitution rule.
Bar-Jesus/Elymas struck blind (13:8–11) — sorcery/false-prophet judgment motif; reuses جادوگری.

Acts 14 — Iconium and Lystra; Mistaken for Gods

Ζεύς, Ἑρμῆς (Zeus, Hermēs) — proper names of pagan deities the crowd mistakes Paul and Barnabas for. Urdu: زیوس، ہرمیس (transliterated) — risk: Low, historical-cultural fact, handled descriptively; occasion for Paul’s own rejection of the worship offered to him (14:15, “we also are men…turn from these vain things to the living God”) — a useful, low-risk anti-idolatry teaching moment, reusing baseline بت پرستی.
θλῖψις (thlipsis) — “tribulation, affliction” (14:22, “through many tribulations”). Urdu: مصیبت / مشکلات — risk: Medium. Important term for the Persecution and Bold Witness doctrine; frames suffering as the normal, expected path of discipleship rather than an anomaly, useful pastoral-realism note for readers facing real social cost.
Stoning of Paul (14:19) — persecution narrative, reuses παρρησία-adjacent themes without introducing new terms.

Acts 15 — The Jerusalem Council

Reuses (from the Galatians extension of the baseline) ختنہ (circumcision, Critical), شریعت کے اعمال (works of the law, Critical), justification_by_faith, and freedom (آزادی, Critical) — this chapter is Acts’ own narrative account of the very controversy Galatians addresses doctrinally, and every risk flag attached to those terms in the baseline applies here with full force.
ζυγός (zygos) — “yoke” (15:10, “why put a yoke on the neck of the disciples…”). Reuses baseline yoke_of_slavery (غلامی کا جوا, Medium risk).
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). Urdu: روح القدس اور ہمیں یہ اچھا معلوم ہوا — risk: High. Landmark statement for the Apostolic Authority and Miracles doctrine: the Spirit’s guidance is joined with (not opposed to) the apostles’ and elders’ collective discernment — a model of Spirit-led, communal (not solitary-charismatic or singularly hierarchical) decision-making that should be taught explicitly, given its relevance to how the church makes authoritative doctrinal decisions.
The decree/decision itself — Urdu: فیصلہ / خط کے ذریعے حکم — risk: High (forbidden-substitution flag). NEVER render the council’s decision as فتویٰ (fatwa), the specific Islamic legal-juridical ruling term issued by a qualified religious authority (mufti); this would import a direct, misleading parallel to Islamic jurisprudential authority structures that the text’s own collegial, Spirit-and-elders model does not match.

Acts 16 — Lydia; the Philippian Jailer; Spirit of Divination

πνεῦμα πύθωνος (pneuma pythōnos) — “a spirit of divination” (literally “a python-spirit,” 16:16). Urdu: غیب گوئی کی روح / بد روح جو پیشین گوئی کراتی تھی — risk: High. Must never share vocabulary with روح القدس (Holy Spirit); this is an unclean/occult spirit, and the distinction between it and the Holy Spirit must be unmistakably clear in Urdu — recommend avoiding the bare word روح for this entity in isolation and always qualifying it (بد روح, “evil/unclean spirit”).
Lydia’s and the jailer’s household baptisms reuse بپتسمہ; the jailer’s question “what must I do to be saved?” (16:30) reuses the core-passage’s central formula from 2:37–38, and should render with the same consistency rule.
πολίτης Ῥωμαῖος / Ῥωμαῖος (politēs Rhōmaios / Rhōmaios) — “Roman citizen.” Urdu: رومی شہری — risk: Low, civil-legal status term, historically descriptive.

Acts 17 — Athens; the Areopagus Speech

ἄγνωστος θεός (agnōstos theos) — “unknown god” (the altar inscription Paul references, 17:23). Urdu: نامعلوم خدا — risk: High. This is Paul’s own rhetorical strategy — using a point of pagan religious groping toward truth as a bridge to proclaim the true God — and it requires careful pastoral framing in the Urdu context: it must not be taught or heard as implying that all religions (including Islam) already worship the same God under a different name, which would collapse the very distinctions the whole Language Package works to preserve (see baseline’s caution on خدا vs. اللہ). Paul’s point is that pagan religious instinct testifies to a real but unknown Creator whom he now identifies specifically and exclusively as the God of Scripture, revealed fully in the risen Christ (17:31) — not a generalized theological pluralism.
ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ ζῶμεν καὶ κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμέν (en autō gar zōmen kai kinoumetha kai esmen) — “for in him we live and move and have our being” (17:28, quoting Greek poets). Low-Medium risk; a genuine natural-theology/general-revelation bridge point, useful for engaging South Asian devotional intuitions about divine immanence broadly, but should be followed (as the text itself does) by the specific, exclusive call to repentance and the resurrection in 17:30–31, not left as an undifferentiated affirmation of shared religious experience.
Reuses baseline بت پرستی (idolatry, High risk) for the description of Athens “full of idols,” and توبہ (repentance, Critical) at 17:30, “God commands all people everywhere to repent.”
Resurrection-debate reaction (17:32, mockery) reuses baseline قیامت (Critical) with its established distinguishing note.

Acts 18 — Corinth; Priscilla and Aquila; Apollos; Gallio

Apollos “knew only the baptism of John” (18:25) — reuses بپتسمہ in its developing sense, distinguishing John’s preparatory water-baptism from full Christian baptism (developed fully in ch. 19 below); no new term, but an important cross-reference note.
Gallio’s judicial dismissal (“a matter of your own law,” 18:14–15) — low risk, historical-legal narrative color; useful, low-friction illustration of a Roman official refusing to adjudicate an internal religious dispute, relevant background for the Persecution doctrine’s legal-context material.

Acts 19 — Ephesus; Disciples of John; Sons of Sceva; the Riot

βάπτισμα Ἰωάννου vs. βαπτίζω εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ (baptisma Iōannou vs. baptizō eis to onoma tou kyriou Iēsou) — “the baptism of John” vs. “baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus” (19:1–5). Direct doctrinal payoff of the ch. 18 note: full treatment of the distinction between preparatory repentance-baptism and Christian Spirit-and-name baptism. Reuses بپتسمہ, توبہ, خداوند, یسوع مسیح — risk: High, given how many Critical baseline terms converge here; recommend this passage for combined theologian review given its doctrinal density.
γλῶσσαι, προφητεύω (glōssai, prophēteuō) — “tongues,” “prophesy” (19:6, the Spirit falling on the Ephesian disciples). Reuses core-passage terms exactly.
Sons of Sceva; μαγικά βιβλία (magika biblia), “books of magic,” burned (19:19) — reuses جادوگری (Medium risk).
Ἄρτεμις (Artemis/Diana) temple riot (19:23–41) — proper noun deity, transliterate; the riot is driven by economic threat to the idol-trade, a useful, historically grounded, low-risk illustration of how gospel proclamation can threaten entrenched religious-commercial interests — relevant background material for the Persecution doctrine without introducing new Critical vocabulary.

Acts 20 — Eutychus; Paul’s Farewell at Miletus

ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos) — “overseer” (20:28), and πρεσβύτεροι (presbyteroi) — “elders” (20:17), used here of the same office described two ways. Urdu: نگہران (overseer) and بزرگ (elder) — risk: Medium. Note بزرگ is a term of deep respect in South Asian culture generally, and is also associated in some Muslim popular devotional contexts with Sufi elder/pir figures who may receive quasi-veneration; church “elders” here are a functional teaching-and-shepherding office among equals, not a devotional-veneration category, echoing the baseline’s caution against ولی for “saints.”
ποιμαίνειν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ (poimainein tēn ekklēsian tou theou) — “to shepherd the church of God” (20:28). Reuses baseline کلیسیا (church, Medium risk); new pastoral-metaphor verb, low-medium risk, biblical shepherd imagery widely intelligible.
λύκοι (lykoi) — “wolves” (20:29, false teachers). Low risk, metaphor.
τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ θεοῦ (tēn boulēn tou theou) — “the whole counsel/will of God” (20:27). Reuses baseline providence doctrine (خدا کی تدبیر, High risk).
Reuses فضل (grace, 20:24, 32) and the “innocent of blood” idiom (20:26) — low-medium, natural-idiom handling required, not literal.

Acts 21 — Paul’s Journey to Jerusalem; the Nazirite Vow; Arrest

εὐχή (euchē) — “vow” (the Nazirite-type vow, 21:23–26). Urdu: نذر — risk: Low-Medium. Genuine bridge term: نذر (nadhr) is itself a recognized and currently practiced Islamic devotional-vow concept; this is a point of real linguistic and conceptual overlap worth noting positively, while clarifying that Paul’s participation here is a culturally sensitive accommodation to Jewish custom, not a doctrinal requirement of the gospel he proclaims (directly connecting back to the Jerusalem Council’s resolution in ch. 15).
Reuses پیشن گوئی (prophecy) for Agabus’s prophetic warning (21:10–11), and the Temple-riot accusation reuses no new Critical term but connects to the persecution doctrine.

Acts 22 — Paul’s Defense Before the Mob

Retells the Damascus-road conversion (see ch. 9 above) in Paul’s own first-person speech; reuses رجوع/توبہ, بپتسمہ — note 22:16, “be baptized and wash away your sins,” combines بپتسمہ and گناہ in a single tight clause paralleling 2:38, and should be flagged with the same rigor.
ὁ δίκαιος (ho dikaios) — “the Righteous One” (22:14, another occurrence of the ch. 3 Christological title). Reuses راستباز (Critical).
Reuses رومی شہری (Roman citizenship, ch. 16) and ہی راہ (the Way) (22:4).

Acts 23 — Trial Before the Sanhedrin; Pharisees and Sadducees

Reuses قیامت (resurrection, Critical) in the specific context of the Pharisee-Sadducee doctrinal dispute over whether there is a resurrection at all (23:6–8) — a useful teaching point distinguishing this internal Jewish debate from the distinct, already-flagged Christ-specific resurrection claim; the two must not be merged in teaching notes.
συνείδησις (syneidēsis) — “conscience” (23:1, “I have lived with a clear conscience before God”). Urdu: ضمیر — risk: Medium. Established, broadly shared Urdu ethical-vocabulary term; genuinely low-friction, though note it operates somewhat differently from the Islamic ethical-interior categories of qalb (heart) or nafs (self/soul) — a minor conceptual difference worth a brief clarifying note but not a major collision.

Acts 24 — Trial Before Felix

Reuses ہی راہ (the Way, 24:14, 22), امید (hope, new term, see below), راستباز (righteousness) and judgment-to-come language (24:25, “righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come”) — Felix’s fear at this preaching is a useful, low-risk illustration of the gospel’s convicting power without introducing new Critical vocabulary.
ἐλπίς (elpis) — “hope” (24:15, “having a hope in God…that there will be a resurrection”). Urdu: امید — risk: Medium. New term for the Language Package; must be tied specifically to the Christian hope of Christ’s resurrection and the believer’s own future resurrection, not left as a generic optimism word — a genuine, positive point of comparison with the Islamic concept of hope in Allah’s mercy (rajā’), while the specific ground of hope (resurrection secured through Christ) is distinctively Christian and should be made explicit.

Acts 25 — Festus; Appeal to Caesar

ἐπικαλοῦμαι Καίσαρα (epikaloumai Kaisara) — “I appeal to Caesar” (25:11). Urdu: قیصر سے اپیل کرنا — risk: Low, civil-legal proper-noun/procedural term, no significant doctrinal risk.
King Agrippa introduced; no new theological term.

Acts 26 — Paul Before Agrippa: Full Conversion Account

Third and fullest retelling of Paul’s conversion (see ch. 9, 22); reuses all associated terms.
ἐπιστρέψαι ἀπὸ τοῦ σκότους εἰς φῶς καὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ Σατανᾶ ἐπὶ τὸν θεόν (epistrepsai apo tou skotous eis phōs kai tēs exousias tou Satana epi ton theon) — “to turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God” (26:18). Σατανᾶς (Satanas) — “Satan.” Urdu: شیطان — risk: Medium. Genuinely shared vocabulary with the Islamic Shaitan/Iblis concept; broadly safe common ground (both traditions affirm a real personal adversary opposed to God), though translators should be aware of a minor terminological nuance (Islamic tradition sometimes distinguishes Iblis as a proper name from shaytan as a broader category of tempting jinn) that need not be resolved in this curriculum but is worth a brief awareness note.
πρῶτος ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν (prōtos ex anastaseōs nekrōn) — “the first to rise from the dead” (26:23). Reuses baseline قیامت (Critical) with its mandatory distinguishing note (Christ’s own resurrection ahead of and guaranteeing the general resurrection).
Agrippa’s near-persuasion (26:28, “almost you persuade me to become a Christian”) — reuses مسیحی and connects to the Great Commission Fulfilled doctrine’s theme of gospel proclamation reaching the highest levels of Roman-provincial authority.

Acts 27 — The Voyage and Shipwreck

No new theological vocabulary; the chapter’s storm-and-deliverance narrative reuses the baseline providence doctrine (خدا کی تدبیر) implicitly through the angel’s reassurance to Paul (27:23–24, “do not be afraid, Paul”) without introducing new terms. Reviewed in full; no new entries required.

Acts 28 — Malta; the Viper; Arrival in Rome; the Ending

The Malta islanders’ assumption that Paul “was a god” after surviving the viper bite (28:6) — reuses baseline خدا (Critical) only by contrast/illustration (a pagan-superstition misattribution Paul does not accept or encourage), useful low-risk teaching moment about the difference between pagan power-attribution and the true, singular God of Scripture.
ἀκωλύτως (akōlytōs) — “unhindered, without hindrance” (28:31, the book’s final word: “proclaiming the kingdom of God…quite openly and unhindered”). Urdu: بلا روک ٹوک — risk: Low-Medium. The book’s deliberate closing note; reuses baseline خدا کی بادشاہی (kingdom of God) and connects directly back to Acts 1:8’s “end of the earth” commission, forming the narrative bracket for the Great Commission Fulfilled doctrine — the gospel has reached Rome, the empire’s center, and continues unhindered even from custody. Recommend preserving this open, hopeful, non-triumphalist tone in translation, consistent with the baseline’s overall pastoral-sensitivity requirements.

This document, together with 08_core_glossary.md, extends the baseline Romans/Galatians Language Package for the Acts curriculum. All Critical and High risk items identified above inherit the baseline’s review-routing requirements (see doctrine_risk_registry.json) and require, at minimum, the same tier of human theologian or native-speaker review specified there, pending formal addition to a corresponding Acts doctrine risk registry.

Library content is free and openly licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — share and adapt it for non-commercial use, with attribution to tri-bible.ai.