Core Glossary
08 Core Glossary — English → Vietnamese
1 Corinthians 1–16 | Language Package Extension
Status column: REUSE = term and rendering carried over verbatim from the Romans baseline translation_memory.json (do not alter). NEW = term newly load-bearing in 1 Corinthians, proposed for addition to translation memory pending Phase 1 Step-8-equivalent review and theologian sign-off for Critical/High items.
All risk tiers follow the baseline’s risk_definitions (Critical/High/Medium/Low) and drive the same Phase 2 review routing (Human theologian / Native speaker / Automated).
1. Resurrection of Christ and Believers (Core Passage Doctrine)
| English Term | Vietnamese Rendering | Transliteration | Greek Original | Risk | Status | Primary Passages | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| resurrection | sự sống lại | su song lai | ἀνάστασις | Critical | REUSE | 15:4, 12-58 | Never đầu thai/luân hồi; bodily, historical, once-for-all, now explicitly extended to believers’ future resurrection. |
| fallen asleep (death) | đã ngủ | da ngu | κοιμάομαι | Medium | NEW | 15:6, 18, 20, 51 | Established euphemism; must be taught with explicit resurrection-hope payload to prevent default rebirth framing. |
| delivered/received (tradition) | đã truyền lại / đã nhận lấy | da truyen lai / da nhan lay | παραδίδωμι / παραλαμβάνω | High | NEW | 15:1, 3 | Distinguish fixed, unchanging apostolic deposit from evolving ancestral/family tradition transmission (truyền thống gia đình). |
| appeared | đã hiện ra | da hien ra | ὤφθη (ὁράω) | High | NEW | 15:5-8 | Objective, bodily eyewitness encounter; must be distinguished from folk spirit-visitation phenomena. |
| firstfruits | trái đầu mùa | trai dau mua | ἀπαρχή | Medium-High | NEW | 15:20, 23 | Guarantee of a future certain resurrection, not a votive first-harvest offering to secure spirit favor. |
| last Adam | A-đam sau hết | A-dam sau het | ἔσχατος Ἀδάμ | Medium-High | NEW | 15:45 | Federal headship concept requires explicit OT teaching; no Vietnamese cultural parallel. |
| natural body / spiritual body | thân thể huyết khí / thân thể thiêng liêng | than the huyet khi / than the thieng lieng | σῶμα ψυχικόν / σῶμα πνευματικόν | Critical | NEW | 15:44 | Guards against Buddhist rebirth-into-a-new-body framing; same person, one transformed body, not successive incarnations. |
| perishable / imperishable | hư nát / không hay hư nát | hu nat / khong hay hu nat | φθαρτός / ἄφθαρτος | Medium | NEW | 15:42, 50, 53-54 | Standard contrast term; low syncretism risk beyond consistency. |
| immortality | sự không hề chết (preferred over sự bất tử) | su khong he chet | ἀθανασία | High | NEW | 15:53-54 | ”Bất tử” evokes Daoist/folk self-cultivated immortal beings (tiên); preferred rendering keeps this a divinely bestowed gift. |
| changed / transformed | biến đổi (avoid biến hóa) | bien doi | ἀλλάσσω | Medium-High | NEW | 15:51-52 | ”Biến hóa” evokes deity/spirit shape-shifting; “biến đổi” keeps this a single, final, once-for-all change of the same body. |
| victory | sự thắng | su thang | νίκος | Low | NEW | 15:54-55, 57 | Standard term; minimal risk. |
| sting | nọc | noc | κέντρον | Low | NEW | 15:55-56 | Standard term; minimal risk. |
| trumpet | kèn | ken | σάλπιγξ | Low | NEW | 15:52 | Standard term; minimal risk. |
2. Christian Unity versus Factionalism
| English Term | Vietnamese Rendering | Transliteration | Greek Original | Risk | Status | Primary Passages | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| division/schism | sự chia rẽ | su chia re | σχίσμα | Medium-High | NEW | 1:10-13; 3:3-4; 11:18 | Must retain full weight as a wound in Christ’s one body, not softened to ordinary disagreement; church-factionalism risk parallel to Corinth. |
| strife/quarreling | sự tranh cạnh | su tranh canh | ἔρις | Low-Medium | NEW | 1:11; 3:3 | Standard term. |
| carnal/fleshly | tánh xác thịt / thuộc về xác thịt | tanh xac thit | σαρκικός | Medium | NEW | 3:1, 3 | Overlaps in Vietnamese with ψυχικός rendering (see below); context must disambiguate sinful conduct (sarkikos) from mere natural incapacity (psychikos). |
| election/chosen | sự lựa chọn / đã lựa chọn | su lua chon | ἐκλογή / ἐκλέγομαι | Medium | REUSE | 1:27-28 | Never số mệnh (fixed fate); God’s sovereign, personal choice, per baseline. |
| stewards of mysteries | người quản gia | nguoi quan gia | οἰκονόμος | Low-Medium | NEW | 4:1-2 | Standard household-management metaphor. |
| servant | đầy tớ | day to | ὑπηρέτης | Low | NEW | 4:1 | Standard term. |
3. The Cross as Wisdom and Power
| English Term | Vietnamese Rendering | Transliteration | Greek Original | Risk | Status | Primary Passages | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cross | thập tự giá | thap tu gia | σταυρός | High | NEW | 1:17-18; also implicit throughout | Guard against reduction to a decorative religious symbol/amulet; retain historical, shameful execution-instrument framing and its paradoxical status as God’s power/wisdom. |
| wisdom | sự khôn ngoan | su khon ngoan | σοφία | High | NEW | 1:17-24, 30; 2:1-13 | Distinguish God’s revealed wisdom centered in the crucified/risen Christ from Buddhist trí tuệ (insight self-attained through practice/enlightenment). |
| foolishness | sự dại dột / sự rồ dại | su dai dot | μωρία | Medium | NEW | 1:18, 21, 23 | Preserve Paul’s deliberate paradox; do not smooth over. |
| power of God | quyền năng của Đức Chúa Trời | quyen nang cua Duc Chua Troi | δύναμις θεοῦ | Medium | REUSE | 1:18, 24 | Standard baseline term. |
| mystery | sự mầu nhiệm | su mau nhiem | μυστήριον | Medium | NEW | 2:1, 7 | Distinguish from esoteric/occult “secret knowledge” traditions; openly proclaimed, not restricted to initiates. |
| spiritual (person) | thuộc linh | thuoc linh | πνευματικός | Medium | NEW (extends baseline spiritual_gifts root) | 2:13, 15 | Consistent with ân tứ thuộc linh baseline compound. |
| natural person | người có tánh xác thịt (person) / thân thể huyết khí (body, see §1) | nguoi co tanh xac thit | ψυχικός | High | NEW | 2:14; 15:44 | No single Vietnamese lexeme isolates ψυχικός from σαρκικός; context-sensitive rendering required (person-sense vs. body-sense; see also §2 carnal). |
| redemption | sự chuộc lại / sự cứu chuộc | su chuoc lai / su cuu chuoc | ἀπολύτρωσις | High | NEW | 1:30 | Liberation purchased at a price and freely given; must not imply an ongoing debt owed by the redeemed (guard against ơn nghĩa framing). |
4. Church Discipline and Holiness
| English Term | Vietnamese Rendering | Transliteration | Greek Original | Risk | Status | Primary Passages | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| temple of God / of the Holy Spirit | đền thờ của Đức Chúa Trời / đền thờ của Đức Thánh Linh | den tho cua Duc Chua Troi | ναός (θεοῦ / τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος) | High | NEW | 3:16-17; 6:19 | Full phrase avoids bare đền (folk-hero/spirit shrine per baseline church note); teach as God’s indwelling presence, not an ancestor/spirit shrine. |
| sexual immorality | sự gian dâm | su gian dam | πορνεία | High | NEW | 5:1; 6:13, 18; 7:2 | Retain full moral gravity before a holy God; do not soften toward lifestyle-choice framing or reduce to social shame/loss-of-face alone. |
| leaven | men | men | ζύμη | Medium | NEW | 5:6-8 | Passover typology; requires OT background teaching. |
| unleavened | không men | khong men | ἄζυμος | Low | NEW | 5:7-8 | Standard term. |
| hand over to Satan (discipline) | giao (kẻ đó) cho Sa-tan | giao cho Sa-tan | παραδίδωμι (disciplinary sense) | Medium-High | NEW | 5:5 | Redemptive, restorative church discipline under Christ’s authority, not vindictive cursing or occult invocation; note polysemy with tradition-sense of same verb (15:3). |
| Satan | Sa-tan | Sa-tan | Σατανᾶς | Medium | NEW | 5:5; 7:5 | Singular personal chief adversary; distinguish from the broader Vietnamese folk category of ma/thần (ghosts/local spirits). |
| bought/purchased | được mua chuộc bằng giá cao | duoc mua chuoc bang gia cao | ἀγοράζω | High | NEW | 6:20; 7:23 | Costly grace establishing belonging; must not imply an ongoing repayment debt (guard against ơn nghĩa framing). |
| justified | được xưng công bình | duoc xung cong binh | δικαιόω (verb of justification) | High | REUSE | 6:11 | Standard baseline term, verb form. |
| sanctified | được nên thánh | duoc nen thanh | ἁγιάζω (verb of sanctification) | Medium | REUSE | 6:11; 7:14 | Standard baseline term, verb form. |
5. Marriage and Singleness
| English Term | Vietnamese Rendering | Transliteration | Greek Original | Risk | Status | Primary Passages | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| marriage | sự cưới gả / hôn nhân | su cuoi ga / hon nhan | γάμος | Medium | NEW | 7:2, 9, 38-39 | Teach as a matter of gifting/calling before God, not primarily Confucian family-lineage obligation. |
| virgin | kẻ đồng trinh | ke dong trinh | παρθένος | Medium-High | NEW | 7:25, 28, 34, 36-38 | Dignifies singleness against strong Vietnamese social stigma toward unmarried adults. |
| unmarried | người chưa cưới gả | nguoi chua cuoi ga | ἄγαμος | Medium-High | NEW | 7:8, 11, 32-34 | See virgin, above. |
| separate/divorce | phân rẽ | phan re | χωρίζω | Medium | NEW | 7:10-11, 15 | Standard term. |
| calling (state in life) | được kêu gọi (extended sense) | duoc keu goi | κλῆσις / κλητός | High | REUSE (extended sense) | 7:17-24 | Baseline’s three senses (apostleship, sainthood, effectual calling) extended to one’s social/marital state; must not dilute soteriological sense. |
6. Christian Liberty and Idol Meat
| English Term | Vietnamese Rendering | Transliteration | Greek Original | Risk | Status | Primary Passages | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| idol meat | của cúng các hình tượng | cua cung cac hinh tuong | εἰδωλόθυτον | Critical | NEW | 8:1, 4, 7, 10 | Direct collision with Vietnamese ancestor/spirit food-offering practice (cúng); every occurrence needs explicit teaching. |
| idol | hình tượng | hinh tuong | εἴδωλον | High | NEW | 8:4, 7; 10:19; 12:2 | Overlaps with venerated religious images across Vietnamese traditions; anchor to Paul’s claim of no competing divine power. |
| knowledge | sự hiểu biết | su hieu biet | γνῶσις | Medium | NEW | 8:1, 7, 10-11 | Distinguish from Buddhist liberating insight (trí huệ); here, correct doctrinal understanding, insufficient without love. |
| conscience | lương tâm | luong tam | συνείδησις | Medium | NEW | 8:7, 10, 12; 10:25, 27-29 | Standard term. |
| weak (brother) | yếu đuối | yeu duoi | ἀσθενής | Low | NEW | 8:7, 9-12 | Standard term. |
| stumbling block | sự vấp phạm / dịp vấp phạm | su vap pham | πρόσκομμα / σκάνδαλον | Medium | NEW | 8:9, 13 | Standard term. |
| freedom/liberty | sự tự do | su tu do | ἐλευθερία | Medium | NEW | 8:9; 9:19; 10:29 | Freedom exercised in love, not unlimited personal license. |
| right/authority | quyền | quyen | ἐξουσία | Medium | NEW | 9:4-6, 12, 18 | Distinct from ἐλευθερία; a specific entitlement voluntarily foregone. |
| reward | phần thưởng | phan thuong | μισθός | Medium | NEW | 9:17-18 | Distinguish from karmic merit-accumulation (công đức); gracious reward for freely rendered service, not salvation-earning. |
| prize | giải thưởng | giai thuong | βραβεῖον | Low | NEW | 9:24 | Standard athletic-contest metaphor. |
| self-control | tiết độ | tiet do | ἐγκράτεια | Low | NEW | 9:25 | Standard term. |
| demons | quỷ / các quỷ | quy / cac quy | δαιμόνιον | High | NEW | 10:20-21 | Vietnamese folk cosmology has multiple spirit-categories (ma, thần); teaching must mark all spirits behind idol worship, however locally categorized, as opposed to God. |
| cup/table of the Lord | chén của Chúa / bàn của Chúa | chen cua Chua / ban cua Chua | ποτήριον κυρίου / τράπεζα κυρίου | High | NEW | 10:21 | Sharp exclusivity contrast with cups/food offered at ancestor and spirit altars. |
| communion/participation (sacramental sense) | thông với | thong voi | κοινωνία (sacramental sense) | High | REUSE (elevated risk in this context) | 10:16 | Baseline records κοινωνία as fellowship (Low); in this sacramental sense elevated to High — real participation in Christ’s atoning benefits, distinguished from ancestor-communion meals. |
7. The Lord’s Supper
| English Term | Vietnamese Rendering | Transliteration | Greek Original | Risk | Status | Primary Passages | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lord’s Supper | Tiệc Thánh | Tiec Thanh | κυριακὸν δεῖπνον | High | NEW | 11:20 | Sharply distinguish from Vietnamese ancestral memorial meals (giỗ, cúng cơm); commemorates Christ’s finished atoning death, received by faith, not food sustaining/honoring the dead. |
| new covenant | giao ước mới | giao uoc moi | καινή διαθήκη | Medium-High | NEW (extends baseline covenant) | 11:25 | Fulfills and replaces the Mosaic covenant framework. |
| remembrance | sự nhớ đến | su nho den | ἀνάμνησις | Medium | NEW | 11:24-25 | Active, proclaiming remembrance, not passive nostalgia or a rite performed for the benefit of the one remembered. |
| discern the body | phân biệt thân thể (của Chúa) | phan biet than the | διακρίνω | Medium | NEW | 11:29 | Rightly recognizing the Supper’s theological significance; distinguish from folk spiritual-discernment practices. |
| unworthily | một cách không xứng đáng | mot cach khong xung dang | ἀναξίως | Medium | NEW | 11:27, 29 | Standard term. |
| head | đầu | dau | κεφαλή | High | NEW | 11:3-5, 7-10 | Guard against collapsing into Confucian patriarchal authority alone or evacuating all theological meaning; requires careful doctrinal framing. |
| head covering | trùm đầu | trum dau | κατακαλύπτω / ἀκατακάλυπτος | Medium | NEW | 11:5-7, 13 | Culturally coded practice; teach by function (honor/propriety signal), not as a disconnected universal rule. |
8. Spiritual Gifts and the Body of Christ
| English Term | Vietnamese Rendering | Transliteration | Greek Original | Risk | Status | Primary Passages | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| spiritual gifts | ân tứ thuộc linh | an tu thuoc linh | χαρίσματα | Medium | REUSE | 12:4, 9, 28, 30-31 | Standard baseline term. |
| Jesus is Lord | Đức Chúa Giê-xu là Chúa | Duc Chua Gie-xu la Chua | Ἰησοῦς Κύριος | Critical | REUSE (verbatim cross-document consistency required) | 12:3 | Must match Romans 10:9 rendering exactly, per baseline consistency rule. |
| manifestation of the Spirit | sự tỏ ra của Đức Thánh Linh | su to ra cua Duc Thanh Linh | φανέρωσις τοῦ Πνεύματος | Low-Medium | NEW | 12:7 | Standard term. |
| baptism (Spirit-baptism sense) | phép báp-têm | phep bap-tem | βαπτίζω / βάπτισμα | Medium | NEW | 12:13 | Distinguish Spirit-baptism (incorporation into Christ’s body) from the water-baptism rite. |
| body of Christ | thân thể của Đấng Christ | than the cua Dang Christ | σῶμα Χριστοῦ | High | NEW | 12:12-27 | Organic, Spirit-constituted identity transcending blood-lineage/clan solidarity (đại gia đình) that also strongly shapes Vietnamese identity. |
| member | chi thể | chi the | μέλος | Low-Medium | NEW | 12:12, 14, 18-20, 25-27 | Standard Vietnamese Bible term. |
| teacher | thầy giáo | thay giao | διδάσκαλος | Low | NEW | 12:28-29 | Standard ministry-office term. |
| discernment of spirits | sự phân biệt các thần | su phan biet cac than | διάκρισις πνευμάτων | High | NEW | 12:10 | Overlaps with folk spirit-medium/diviner roles (thầy cúng, đồng cốt); must operate under scriptural authority, testing against “Jesus is Lord,” not paralleling folk spirit-consultation. |
| tongues | tiếng lạ | tieng la | γλῶσσα | High | NEW | 12:10, 28, 30; 13:1, 8; 14:2-40 | Collision risk with hầu đồng (spirit-possession trance speech); must be taught as a self-controlled, Spirit-given, church-edifying gift, not an involuntary trance state. |
9. Love as the Greater Way
| English Term | Vietnamese Rendering | Transliteration | Greek Original | Risk | Status | Primary Passages | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| love | tình yêu thương / sự yêu thương | tinh yeu thuong | ἀγάπη | High | NEW | 13:1-13 | Distinguish from Vietnamese romantic love (tình yêu), Confucian filial-duty love (hiếu), and Buddhist detached compassion (từ bi); a willed, self-giving, covenantal love per 13:4-7. |
| hope | sự trông cậy | su trong cay | ἐλπίς | Medium | NEW | 13:13 | Distinguish from fatalistic hope in impersonal fortune (số phận/số trời); confident expectation grounded in God’s character. |
| faith | đức tin | duc tin | πίστις | Medium | REUSE | 13:13 | Standard baseline term. |
10. Order in Worship
| English Term | Vietnamese Rendering | Transliteration | Greek Original | Risk | Status | Primary Passages | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| interpretation (of tongues) | sự thông giải | su thong giai | ἑρμηνεία | Medium | NEW | 14:5, 13, 26-28 | Standard term; required companion to public use of tongues. |
| edification/build up | sự gây dựng | su gay dung | οἰκοδομή | Low | NEW (consistent with baseline mutual_edification doctrine) | 14:3, 5, 12, 26 | Governing purpose of all public gift-exercise. |
| order | thứ tự | thu tu | τάξις | Low | NEW | 14:40 | Standard term. |
| prophecy/prophet | lời tiên tri / tiên tri | loi tien tri / tien tri | προφητεία / προφήτης | Low | REUSE | 14:1, 3-5, 22-25, 29-32, 37 | Standard baseline terms. |
| law | luật pháp | luat phap | νόμος | Medium | REUSE | 14:21, 34 | Standard baseline term. |
11. Cross-Cutting Baseline Reuse Terms Confirmed in 1 Corinthians
The following baseline terms recur across multiple 1 Corinthians chapters with no change to rendering, risk tier, or doctrinal note; listed here to confirm full-book coverage per the FULL-BOOK COVERAGE mandate.
| English Term | Vietnamese Rendering | Risk | Key 1 Corinthians Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|
| gospel | Tin Lành | High | 1:17; 4:15; 9:12-23; 15:1 |
| grace | ân điển | High | 1:3-4; 15:10; 16:23 |
| faith | đức tin | Medium | 2:5; 13:2, 13; 15:14, 17; 16:13 |
| righteousness | sự công bình | High | 1:30 |
| justification | sự xưng công bình | High | 6:11 |
| salvation/saved | sự cứu rỗi / được cứu | Critical | 1:18, 21; 3:15; 5:5; 10:33; 15:2 |
| apostle | sứ đồ | Medium | 1:1; 4:9; 9:1-2, 5; 12:28-29; 15:7, 9 |
| called/calling | được kêu gọi / sự kêu gọi | Medium-High | 1:1-2, 9, 24, 26; 7:15-24 |
| holy | thánh | Medium | 3:17; 7:14, 34 |
| saints | các thánh đồ | High | 1:2; 6:1-2; 14:33; 16:1, 15 |
| sanctification | sự nên thánh | Medium | 1:2, 30; 6:11 |
| resurrection | sự sống lại | Critical | 15:4, 12-58 |
| lord | Chúa | High | 1:2-3, 7-9; 10:21-22; 12:3; 15:47 |
| son of God | Con Đức Chúa Trời | Critical | 1:9 (“his Son”); 15:28 |
| peace | sự bình an | Medium | 14:33; 16:11 |
| spiritual gifts | ân tứ thuộc linh | Medium | 1:7; 12:1-31; 14:1-40 |
| thanksgiving | sự cảm tạ | Low | 1:4; 14:16-18; 15:57 |
| fellowship | sự thông công | Low | 1:9; 10:16 (extended sense, see §6) |
| church | Hội Thánh | Medium | 1:2; 6:4; 11:18, 22; 12:28; 14:4-5, 12, 19, 23, 28, 33-35; 15:9 |
| kingdom of God | Nước Đức Chúa Trời | Medium | 4:20; 6:9-10; 15:24, 50 |
| law | luật pháp | Medium | 9:8-9, 20; 14:21, 34 |
| sin | tội lỗi | Medium | 6:18; 15:3, 17, 56 |
| gentiles | dân ngoại | Medium | 1:23; 5:1; 10:20, 32; 12:2 |
| glory | sự vinh hiển | Medium | 2:7-8; 10:31; 11:7, 15; 15:40-43 |
| power of God | quyền năng của Đức Chúa Trời | Medium | 1:18, 24; 2:5; 6:14 |
| covenant | giao ước | Medium | 11:25 (see §7 new covenant) |
| election/chosen | sự lựa chọn | Medium | 1:27-28 |
| israel | Y-sơ-ra-ên | Medium | 10:18 |
| jesus | Đức Chúa Giê-xu | Critical | throughout |
| god | Đức Chúa Trời | Critical | throughout |
| holy_spirit | Đức Thánh Linh | Critical | 2:10-14; 3:16; 6:19; 12:3-13 |
| father | Cha | High | 1:3; 8:6; 15:24 |
| exhort | khích lệ / khuyên nài | Low | 1:10 (entreaty sense: khuyên nài) |
Coverage Confirmation
All sixteen chapters of 1 Corinthians are represented above, either through newly proposed terms (§1–§10) or confirmed baseline reuse (§11). No chapter was found to introduce zero load-bearing vocabulary; every chapter contributed at least one term requiring Phase 2 glossary enforcement.
Critical Risk Terms
Salvation
Approved rendering: sự cứu rỗi
Transliteration: su cuu roi
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: sự giải thoát
Original: σωτηρία / σώζω
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: NEVER use sự giải thoát (Buddhist liberation from rebirth). 1 Corinthians 15:2 presents salvation as a present, ongoing experience grounded in the resurrection gospel. Inherited from Romans package.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: sự sống lại
Transliteration: su song lai
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: sự đầu thai, luân hồi
Original: ἀνάστασις / ἐγείρω
Category: Eschatology
CRITICAL: NEVER use sự đầu thai or luân hồi. This is the central doctrinal term of 1 Corinthians 15 as a whole, extended in this curriculum to believers’ future resurrection via the compound ‘sự sống lại của kẻ chết’ (see Section B). Inherited from Romans package.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Con Đức Chúa Trời
Transliteration: Con Duc Chua Troi
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Full phrase required. Occurs in 1:9 and 15:28 (the Son’s final subjection to the Father — teach that this does not compromise co-equal deity). Inherited from Romans package.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Đức Chúa Giê-xu
Transliteration: Duc Chua Gie-xu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: Standard Vietnamese Protestant Bible form. Keep consistent throughout. Inherited from Romans package.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Đức Thánh Linh
Transliteration: Duc Thanh Linh
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: thần linh
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
CRITICAL: Never use bare thần linh. The divine Person indwelling both the corporate church (3:16) and the individual believer’s body (6:19), and the source of every spiritual gift (ch. 12). Inherited from Romans package.
Resurrection Of The Dead
Approved rendering: sự sống lại của kẻ chết
Transliteration: su song lai cua ke chet
Doctrine: The Resurrection of Believers
Rejected alternatives: đầu thai, luân hồi
Original: ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν
Category: Eschatology
Extends the baseline’s Christ-specific resurrection term to the whole church’s future hope, the central argument of ch. 15. Never conflate with rebirth into a new cycle of existence; this is the same body raised imperishable, once.
Resurrection Body
Approved rendering: thân thể huyết khí / thân thể thiêng liêng
Transliteration: than the huyet khi / than the thieng lieng
Doctrine: The Resurrection of Believers
Rejected alternatives: đầu thai, luân hồi, kiếp
Original: σῶμα ψυχικόν / σῶμα πνευματικόν
Category: Eschatology
CRITICAL: the mortal/natural body contrasted with the future transformed, imperishable body of the SAME person (15:44). Vietnamese Buddhist cosmology’s rich vocabulary for the soul’s passage between successive bodies across rebirths must never supply the reader’s framework here.
Idol Meat
Approved rendering: của cúng các hình tượng
Transliteration: cua cung cac hinh tuong
Doctrine: Idolatry and Idol Food
Rejected alternatives: đồ cúng (used alone, without the hình tượng qualifier)
Original: εἰδωλόθυτον
Category: Idolatry
CRITICAL: εἰδωλόθυτον (8:1, 4, 7, 10). ‘Cúng’ is the precise verb Vietnamese uses for ritually offering food to ancestors and tutelary spirits — a near-universal practice. Every occurrence requires explicit teaching distinguishing the idol’s lack of real power (8:4) from the real spiritual danger of participation or causing a weaker believer to stumble.
Jesus Is Lord
Approved rendering: Đức Chúa Giê-xu là Chúa
Transliteration: Duc Chua Gie-xu la Chua
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς Κύριος
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: 12:3. Must match the Romans 10:9 rendering exactly, per the baseline’s cross-document consistency rule, with no qualification of exclusive Lordship.
High Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: ân điển
Transliteration: an dien
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: phước đức, công đức, ơn nghĩa
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Never use phước đức or công đức (merit accumulated through good deeds in Buddhist practice) or ơn nghĩa (a favor that creates a Confucian-style reciprocal obligation to repay). 1 Corinthians 15:10 is a key model passage: Paul denies his own hard labor is the source of his standing (‘not I, but the grace of God’) — labor is grace’s result, never its cause. Inherited from Romans package.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: sự công bình
Transliteration: su cong binh
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: đức hạnh
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Right standing before God received by faith, not moral virtue cultivated through practice. 1 Corinthians 1:30 names Christ himself as ‘our righteousness’ — a status given in union with Christ. Inherited from Romans package.
Justification
Approved rendering: sự xưng công bình
Transliteration: su xung cong binh
Doctrine: Salvation
Original: δικαίωσις / δικαιόω
Category: Salvation
The forensic declaration of right standing; compound phrase required. Verb form ‘được xưng công bình’ used in 6:11. Inherited from Romans package.
Saints
Approved rendering: các thánh đồ
Transliteration: cac thanh do
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: các thánh
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Never shorten to bare các thánh (deified folk heroes worshipped at temples, e.g. Thánh Trần). Confirmed across 1:2; 6:1-2; 14:33; 16:1, 15. Inherited from Romans package.
Lord
Approved rendering: Chúa
Transliteration: Chua
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Exclusive, supreme Lordship. Used throughout 1 Corinthians, including the exclusivity contrast in 10:21 (‘table of the Lord’ vs. ‘table of demons’) and the confession formula in 12:3. Inherited from Romans package.
God
Approved rendering: Đức Chúa Trời
Transliteration: Duc Chua Troi
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Ông Trời
Original: θεός
Category: God
Established 1926-tradition rendering. Every Critical/High occurrence should carry context establishing a personal, covenant-making God, not impersonal Ông Trời. Inherited from Romans package.
Father
Approved rendering: Cha
Transliteration: Cha
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
God as personal, relational Father. Used in 1:3, 8:6, and 15:24 (the Son delivering the kingdom to the Father). Inherited from Romans package.
Gospel Tradition
Approved rendering: đã truyền lại / đã nhận lấy
Transliteration: da truyen lai / da nhan lay
Doctrine: Apostolic Gospel Tradition
Rejected alternatives: truyền thống gia đình, truyền thống dòng họ
Original: παραδίδωμι / παραλαμβάνω
Category: Tradition
The fixed rabbinic tradition-transmission word-pair (παραδίδωμι/παραλαμβάνω, 15:1, 3) presenting the gospel as an unchanging apostolic deposit. Overlaps with Vietnamese ancestral/sage-tradition transmission vocabulary, which is expected to evolve across generations; teaching must clarify this is a fixed set of historical facts, never an adaptable cultural inheritance.
Appeared
Approved rendering: đã hiện ra
Transliteration: da hien ra
Doctrine: The Resurrection of Christ
Original: ὤφθη (ὁράω)
Category: Christology
Objective, bodily, eyewitness-verifiable appearances of the risen Christ (15:5-8). Must be distinguished catechetically, not lexically, from Vietnamese folk spirit-visitation phenomena (a deceased relative’s spirit ‘hiện về’ in a dream or at a family altar).
Firstfruits
Approved rendering: trái đầu mùa
Transliteration: trai dau mua
Doctrine: The Resurrection of Believers
Original: ἀπαρχή
Category: Eschatology
Christ’s resurrection as guarantee of believers’ future resurrection-harvest (15:20, 23). Vietnamese ancestral ritual practice offers the first harvest portion at family altars to secure ongoing spirit/ancestor favor; teaching must clarify this is a guarantee of a certain future event, not a votive offering.
Last Adam
Approved rendering: A-đam sau hết
Transliteration: A-dam sau het
Doctrine: The Resurrection of Believers
Original: ἔσχατος Ἀδάμ
Category: Christology
Christ as the federal head of a new humanity (15:45). The corporate/federal headship concept has no ready Vietnamese cultural parallel and requires explicit Genesis background teaching.
Immortality
Approved rendering: sự không hề chết
Transliteration: su khong he chet
Doctrine: The Resurrection of Believers
Rejected alternatives: sự bất tử
Original: ἀθανασία
Category: Eschatology
Deathlessness bestowed by God at the resurrection (15:53-54), not self-cultivated. ‘Sự bất tử’ evokes tiên (Daoist/folk immortals achieving deathlessness through cultivation/alchemy) — the opposite causal direction. Where sự bất tử appears in an existing Bible edition, supply a clarifying note.
Changed Transformed
Approved rendering: biến đổi
Transliteration: bien doi
Doctrine: The Resurrection of Believers
Rejected alternatives: biến hóa
Original: ἀλλάσσω
Category: Eschatology
The final, once-for-all change of believers’ bodies (15:51-52). Never biến hóa, which denotes a deity’s/spirit’s supernatural shape-shifting (biến hóa thần thông) into a different, repeatable form of existence.
Division Schism
Approved rendering: sự chia rẽ
Transliteration: su chia re
Doctrine: Christian Unity versus Factionalism
Rejected alternatives: bất đồng ý kiến
Original: σχίσμα
Category: Church
A factional tear in the church body arising from allegiance to human leaders (1:10-13; 3:3-4; 11:18). Vietnamese church life is vulnerable to factional loyalty around individual pastors or denominational lineage; must never be softened to ordinary disagreement.
Natural Person
Approved rendering: người có tánh xác thịt
Transliteration: nguoi co tanh xac thit
Doctrine: Spiritual versus Natural Discernment
Original: ψυχικός
Category: Sanctification
ψυχικός (2:14): a person operating only by ordinary human capacities, without the Spirit, unable to evaluate spiritual truth. Vietnamese lacks a lexeme isolating this from σαρκικός; both default to xác-thịt-family vocabulary. Body-sense at 15:44 uses ‘thân thể huyết khí’ instead (see resurrection_body).
Cross
Approved rendering: thập tự giá
Transliteration: thap tu gia
Doctrine: The Cross as Wisdom and Power
Rejected alternatives: biểu tượng trang trí, bùa hộ mệnh
Original: σταυρός
Category: Christology
The historical, shameful Roman execution instrument (1:17-18), now the locus of God’s power and wisdom. Guard against reduction to a decorative religious symbol or amulet, paralleling amulets/talismans in Vietnamese folk practice; preserve Paul’s paradox that a shameful death, not a triumphant symbol, is the gospel’s content.
Wisdom
Approved rendering: sự khôn ngoan
Transliteration: su khon ngoan
Doctrine: The Cross as Wisdom and Power
Rejected alternatives: trí tuệ
Original: σοφία
Category: Wisdom
God’s revealed wisdom embodied in the crucified/risen Christ (1:17-24, 30; 2:1-13), contrasted with human philosophical wisdom. Must be distinguished from Buddhist trí tuệ (transcendent insight self-attained through meditative/ascetic practice).
Redemption
Approved rendering: sự chuộc lại
Transliteration: su chuoc lai
Doctrine: Redemption and Belonging to God
Rejected alternatives: công đức tích lũy, ơn nghĩa
Original: ἀπολύτρωσις
Category: Salvation
Liberation purchased at a price (Christ’s death) and given freely (1:30). Must not imply merit accumulated or a reciprocal debt owed to the one who paid it.
Temple Of God
Approved rendering: đền thờ của Đức Chúa Trời
Transliteration: den tho cua Duc Chua Troi
Doctrine: The Church as the Temple of God
Rejected alternatives: đền
Original: ναός θεοῦ / ναὸς τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος
Category: Church
The corporate church (3:16-17) and, in 6:19 (‘đền thờ của Đức Thánh Linh’), the individual believer’s body, as God’s Spirit-indwelt sanctuary. Never shorten to bare đền, which names a folk-hero or local-spirit shrine.
Sexual Immorality
Approved rendering: sự gian dâm
Transliteration: su gian dam
Doctrine: Sexual Holiness and the Body
Original: πορνεία
Category: Sin
πορνεία (5:1; 6:13, 18; 7:2): sin against a holy God and against the believer’s Spirit-indwelt body. Must retain full moral gravity; not softened toward lifestyle-choice framing or reduced to mere social shame/loss-of-face.
Hand Over To Satan
Approved rendering: giao (kẻ đó) cho Sa-tan
Transliteration: giao ke do cho Sa-tan
Doctrine: Church Discipline and Holiness
Rejected alternatives: trù ẻo, bùa, ngải
Original: παραδίδωμι (disciplinary sense)
Category: Discipline
Formal church discipline (5:5), redemptive and restorative under Christ’s authority. Must never be taught as functioning like a folk curse-formula. Note the polysemy: the same Greek verb (παραδίδωμι) also serves the tradition-transmission sense in 15:3 (‘delivered’) — do not force one Vietnamese word to cover both senses.
Bought Purchased
Approved rendering: được mua chuộc bằng giá cao
Transliteration: duoc mua chuoc bang gia cao
Doctrine: Redemption and Belonging to God
Rejected alternatives: ơn nghĩa
Original: ἀγοράζω
Category: Salvation
ἀγοράζω (6:20; 7:23): believers belong to God because Christ paid the price. Must be taught as costly grace establishing belonging, never an ongoing repayment debt (guard against ơn nghĩa framing).
Virgin
Approved rendering: kẻ đồng trinh
Transliteration: ke dong trinh
Doctrine: Marriage and Singleness
Original: παρθένος
Category: Marriage
παρθένος (7:25, 28, 34, 36-38): an unmarried person free for undivided devotion to the Lord. Must be taught pastorally against the strong Vietnamese expectation that an unmarried adult’s life is incomplete or dishonorable to the family.
Unmarried
Approved rendering: người chưa cưới gả
Transliteration: nguoi chua cuoi ga
Doctrine: Marriage and Singleness
Original: ἄγαμος
Category: Marriage
ἄγαμος (7:8, 11, 32-34); same pastoral concern as ‘virgin’ regarding Vietnamese social stigma toward unmarried adults.
Idol
Approved rendering: hình tượng
Transliteration: hinh tuong
Doctrine: Idolatry and Idol Food
Original: εἴδωλον
Category: Idolatry
εἴδωλον (8:4, 7; 10:19; 12:2). Overlaps with the broad Vietnamese category of venerated religious images; anchor to Paul’s claim of no real competing divine power (‘there is no God but one,’ 8:4).
Demons
Approved rendering: quỷ
Transliteration: quy
Doctrine: Demons and Spiritual Realities
Rejected alternatives: ma, thần (as a sufficient equivalent framing)
Original: δαιμόνιον
Category: Idolatry
δαιμόνιον (10:20-21): evil spiritual beings behind pagan sacrifices. Vietnamese folk cosmology’s ma (ghosts) and thần (tutelary spirits) may seem benign or protective; Scripture treats all spirits invoked through idol worship as opposed to God, however locally categorized.
Cup Table Of The Lord
Approved rendering: chén của Chúa / bàn của Chúa
Transliteration: chen cua Chua / ban cua Chua
Doctrine: Demons and Spiritual Realities
Original: ποτήριον κυρίου / τράπεζα κυρίου
Category: Worship
ποτήριον κυρίου / τράπεζα κυρίου (10:21): exclusive covenant loyalty incompatible with ‘the table of demons.’ Directly parallels — and must be sharply distinguished from — ritual cups/food at ancestor and spirit altars.
Communion Participation
Approved rendering: thông với
Transliteration: thong voi
Doctrine: The Lord’s Supper
Rejected alternatives: sự thông công (too weak for this sacramental sense)
Original: κοινωνία (sacramental sense)
Category: Worship
κοινωνία in its elevated sacramental sense (10:16): real, Spirit-given participation in Christ’s atoning benefits, distinguished from ancestor-communion meals that create or maintain communion with departed family spirits.
Lords Supper
Approved rendering: Tiệc Thánh
Transliteration: Tiec Thanh
Doctrine: The Lord’s Supper
Original: κυριακὸν δεῖπνον
Category: Worship
κυριακὸν δεῖπνον (11:20). Must be sharply distinguished from Vietnamese ancestral memorial meals (giỗ, cúng cơm), which feed/honor a departed spirit; Tiệc Thánh commemorates Christ’s finished atoning death, received by faith, not owed as ritual obligation to the dead.
New Covenant
Approved rendering: giao ước mới
Transliteration: giao uoc moi
Doctrine: The Lord’s Supper
Original: καινή διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
καινή διαθήκη (11:25); extends the baseline covenant term; fulfills and replaces the Mosaic covenant framework.
Head
Approved rendering: đầu
Transliteration: dau
Doctrine: Headship and Order in Worship
Original: κεφαλή
Category: Worship
κεφαλή (11:3-5, 7-10). Must guard against collapsing into bare Confucian patriarchal household-authority (obscuring Paul’s own mutual-honor qualifications, 11:11-12) and against evacuating all theological meaning. Requires doctrinal framing, not lexical substitution.
Body Of Christ
Approved rendering: thân thể của Đấng Christ
Transliteration: than the cua Dang Christ
Doctrine: The Body of Christ: Unity in Diversity
Original: σῶμα Χριστοῦ
Category: Church
σῶμα Χριστοῦ (12:12-27): the church as one organic, interdependent whole. Distinguish from clan/lineage solidarity (đại gia đình, dòng họ) that also strongly and competingly shapes Vietnamese social identity.
Discernment Of Spirits
Approved rendering: sự phân biệt các thần
Transliteration: su phan biet cac than
Doctrine: Discernment of Spirits
Original: διάκρισις πνευμάτων
Category: Spiritual Gifts
διάκρισις πνευμάτων (12:10). Overlaps conceptually with thầy cúng/đồng cốt (spirit-mediums/diviners). Must be taught as operating under scriptural authority, testing manifestations against ‘Đức Chúa Giê-xu là Chúa’ (12:3) — not paralleling folk spirit-consultation.
Tongues
Approved rendering: tiếng lạ
Transliteration: tieng la
Doctrine: Tongues and Prophecy
Original: γλῶσσα
Category: Spiritual Gifts
γλῶσσα (12:10, 28, 30; 13:1, 8; 14:2-40). Significant collision risk with hầu đồng (spirit-possession trance speech). Must be taught as a self-controlled (14:32), Spirit-given, church-edifying gift subject to order and interpretation — never involuntary trance or possession evidence.
Love
Approved rendering: tình yêu thương
Transliteration: tinh yeu thuong
Doctrine: Love as the Greater Way
Rejected alternatives: tình yêu (alone, romantic), hiếu / đạo nghĩa, từ bi
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Love
ἀγάπη (ch. 13): a willed, self-giving, covenantal love modeled on God’s character. Distinguish from Vietnamese romantic love (tình yêu), Confucian hierarchical filial-duty love (hiếu/đạo nghĩa), and Buddhist detached compassion (từ bi). Anchor to the behavioral definition of 13:4-7.
Anathema
Approved rendering: A-na-them
Transliteration: A-na-them
Doctrine: Closing Exhortations: Maranatha and Anathema
Rejected alternatives: lời nguyền, trù ẻo
Original: ἀνάθεμα
Category: Discipline
ἀνάθεμα (16:22): a solemn apostolic declaration of exclusion from God’s covenant blessing. Must be distinguished from folk curse/hex practices (bùa, ngải, lời nguyền/trù ẻo) invoked through occult ritual means.
Medium Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: Tin Lành
Transliteration: tin lanh
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: tin tức tốt lành
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Established Vietnamese Protestant Bible term (‘good news’); so established that ‘Tin Lành’ is itself the common Vietnamese name for Protestantism generally. Must still be anchored to the specific proclamation of salvation through Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 this is specifically the fixed apostolic tradition of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection (15:3-5), not a general religious message. Inherited from Romans package.
Faith
Approved rendering: đức tin
Transliteration: duc tin
Doctrine: Faith
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Object of faith must always be specified as Christ; standard, well-established term. In 15:2, 14, 17 faith is explicitly tied to the historical fact of the resurrection — trust anchored in verifiable events, not generic piety. Inherited from Romans package.
Apostle
Approved rendering: sứ đồ
Transliteration: su do
Doctrine: Apostleship
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Established Vietnamese Bible term. 15:7-9 grounds Paul’s apostleship in an objective encounter with the risen Christ, ‘last of all’ after the Twelve and James. Inherited from Romans package.
Called
Approved rendering: được kêu gọi
Transliteration: duoc keu goi
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλητός
Category: Salvation
Context-sensitive. 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 adds a further nuance: one’s social/marital state at conversion is also called a ‘calling,’ which must not dilute or compete with the soteriological sense used elsewhere (1:1-2, 9, 24, 26). Inherited from Romans package.
Calling
Approved rendering: sự kêu gọi
Transliteration: su keu goi
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: số phận
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Never conflate with số phận (fixed fate/destiny). Inherited from Romans package.
Holy
Approved rendering: thánh
Transliteration: thanh
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Set apart for God and morally pure. Applied to the church’s identity as God’s temple (3:17) and to marriage/family (7:14, 34). Inherited from Romans package.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: sự nên thánh
Transliteration: su nen thanh
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἁγιασμός / ἁγιάζω
Category: Sanctification
The Spirit’s ongoing work of making believers holy. Verb form ‘được nên thánh’ used in 6:11 and applied to the unbelieving spouse in 7:14. Inherited from Romans package.
Peace
Approved rendering: sự bình an
Transliteration: su binh an
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Relational peace with God, not Buddhist meditative calm. In 14:33 applied to God’s own character as the ground for ordered worship. Inherited from Romans package.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: ân tứ thuộc linh
Transliteration: an tu thuoc linh
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts
Original: χαρίσματα
Category: Spiritual Gifts
Spirit-given enablements for service; the central organizing term of chapters 12 and 14. Inherited from Romans package.
Church
Approved rendering: Hội Thánh
Transliteration: Hoi Thanh
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: đền, chùa
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Never use đền or chùa. Occurs throughout, including ‘the church of God’ which Paul once persecuted (15:9). Inherited from Romans package.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: Nước Đức Chúa Trời
Transliteration: Nuoc Duc Chua Troi
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
God’s sovereign reign. 15:24, 50 tie the kingdom directly to the resurrection’s consummation. Inherited from Romans package.
Law
Approved rendering: luật pháp
Transliteration: luat phap
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Mosaic Law. Used in 9:8-9, 20; 14:21, 34. Inherited from Romans package.
Sin
Approved rendering: tội lỗi
Transliteration: toi loi
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: nghiệp xấu
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Moral transgression against a personal God, not karma. 15:3, 17, 56 tie sin directly to Christ’s atoning death and death’s sting. Inherited from Romans package.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: dân ngoại
Transliteration: dan ngoai
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Used in 1:23; 5:1; 10:20, 32; 12:2. Inherited from Romans package.
Glory
Approved rendering: sự vinh hiển
Transliteration: su vinh hien
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
God’s radiant honor and majesty. Used of God’s hidden wisdom (2:7-8), head-covering practice (11:7, 15), and the resurrection body’s radiance (15:40-43). Inherited from Romans package.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: quyền năng của Đức Chúa Trời
Transliteration: quyen nang cua Duc Chua Troi
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Original: δύναμις θεοῦ
Category: God
God’s own power to save; paired with ‘wisdom’ as the twin content of the cross message (1:18, 24). Inherited from Romans package.
Covenant
Approved rendering: giao ước
Transliteration: giao uoc
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
A relational, binding bond initiated by God. See Section B ‘new_covenant’ for the compound form in 11:25. Inherited from Romans package.
Election
Approved rendering: sự lựa chọn
Transliteration: su lua chon
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: số mệnh
Original: ἐκλογή / ἐκλέγομαι
Category: Salvation
God’s sovereign personal choice, not số mệnh. In 1:27-28, God’s choice of the lowly and despised shames the wise and strong. Inherited from Romans package.
Israel
Approved rendering: Y-sơ-ra-ên
Transliteration: Y-so-ra-en
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: יִשְׂרָאֵל
Category: Covenant
Used in 10:18 as a warning example from Israel’s wilderness history. Inherited from Romans package.
Fallen Asleep
Approved rendering: đã ngủ
Transliteration: da ngu
Doctrine: The Resurrection of Believers
Original: κοιμάομαι
Category: Eschatology
Established NT euphemism for a believer’s death (15:6, 18, 20, 51), implying a temporary state pending bodily resurrection. Vietnamese hearers may otherwise supply a ‘resting before rebirth’ framework by cultural default; surrounding teaching must make explicit that the sleeper will be bodily raised, not reborn.
Perishable Imperishable
Approved rendering: hư nát / không hay hư nát
Transliteration: hu nat / khong hay hu nat
Doctrine: The Resurrection of Believers
Original: φθαρτός / ἄφθαρτος
Category: Eschatology
Standard descriptive contrast term (15:42, 50, 53-54); low syncretism risk beyond consistency with the resurrection-body doctrine.
Carnal Fleshly
Approved rendering: tánh xác thịt
Transliteration: tanh xac thit
Doctrine: Spiritual versus Natural Discernment
Original: σαρκικός
Category: Sanctification
Believers behaving according to sinful human nature (3:1, 3), evidenced by factionalism. Overlaps in Vietnamese with the rendering for ψυχικός (natural_person); context must disambiguate sinful conduct in believers (σαρκικός) from mere natural incapacity apart from the Spirit (ψυχικός, 2:14).
Spiritual Person
Approved rendering: thuộc linh
Transliteration: thuoc linh
Doctrine: Spiritual versus Natural Discernment
Original: πνευματικός
Category: Sanctification
The Spirit-taught believer able to rightly evaluate spiritual truth (2:13, 15). Consistent with the baseline’s ân tứ thuộc linh compound.
Foolishness
Approved rendering: sự dại dột
Transliteration: su dai dot
Doctrine: The Cross as Wisdom and Power
Original: μωρία
Category: Wisdom
What the world calls the cross message (1:18, 21, 23). Paul’s paradox (worldly folly = God’s wisdom) must be preserved, not smoothed over.
Mystery
Approved rendering: sự mầu nhiệm
Transliteration: su mau nhiem
Doctrine: The Mystery of God Revealed
Original: μυστήριον
Category: Revelation
God’s redemptive plan, once hidden, now openly disclosed (2:1, 7-10). Must be distinguished from Mật tông (esoteric Buddhist) transmission progressively revealed only to advanced initiates; in Paul, the mystery is proclaimed openly to all who believe.
Leaven
Approved rendering: men
Transliteration: men
Doctrine: Church Discipline and Holiness
Original: ζύμη
Category: Sanctification
ζύμη (5:6-8): a corrupting influence spreading through a community, drawing on Passover typology unfamiliar to most Vietnamese readers without OT background teaching.
Satan
Approved rendering: Sa-tan
Transliteration: Sa-tan
Doctrine: Church Discipline and Holiness
Rejected alternatives: ma, thần
Original: Σατανᾶς
Category: Spiritual Warfare
Σατανᾶς (5:5; 7:5): the singular, personal chief adversary of God. Vietnamese hearers should not default to treating him as merely one spirit among the many classes of ma/thần in folk cosmology.
Marriage
Approved rendering: sự cưới gả
Transliteration: su cuoi ga
Doctrine: Marriage and Singleness
Original: γάμος / γαμέω
Category: Marriage
γάμος (7:2, 9, 38-39): the God-given, though not obligatory, union of husband and wife. Teach as a matter of gifting/calling before God, not primarily Confucian family-lineage obligation.
Separate Divorce
Approved rendering: phân rẽ
Transliteration: phan re
Doctrine: Marriage and Singleness
Original: χωρίζω
Category: Marriage
χωρίζω (7:10-11, 15); standard term, pastoral sensitivity required.
Knowledge
Approved rendering: sự hiểu biết
Transliteration: su hieu biet
Doctrine: Christian Liberty and Conscience
Rejected alternatives: trí huệ
Original: γνῶσις
Category: Wisdom
γνῶσις (8:1, 7, 10-11): correct doctrinal understanding, insufficient without love. Distinguish from Buddhist liberating insight (trí huệ).
Conscience
Approved rendering: lương tâm
Transliteration: luong tam
Doctrine: Christian Liberty and Conscience
Original: συνείδησις
Category: Ethics
συνείδησις (8:7, 10, 12; 10:25, 27-29); standard term with comparatively low direct syncretism risk.
Stumbling Block
Approved rendering: sự vấp phạm
Transliteration: su vap pham
Doctrine: Christian Liberty and Conscience
Original: πρόσκομμα / σκάνδαλον
Category: Ethics
πρόσκομμα/σκάνδαλον (8:9, 13); governs the ethical limitation of Christian liberty in chs. 8, 10.
Freedom Liberty
Approved rendering: sự tự do
Transliteration: su tu do
Doctrine: Christian Liberty and Conscience
Original: ἐλευθερία
Category: Ethics
ἐλευθερία (8:9; 9:19; 10:29); must be taught as freedom exercised in love, not unlimited personal license.
Right Authority
Approved rendering: quyền
Transliteration: quyen
Doctrine: Apostolic Ministry and Reward
Original: ἐξουσία
Category: Ministry
ἐξουσία (9:4-6, 12, 18); a specific entitlement (Paul’s apostolic right to support) voluntarily foregone, distinct from ἐλευθερία.
Reward
Approved rendering: phần thưởng
Transliteration: phan thuong
Doctrine: Apostolic Ministry and Reward
Rejected alternatives: công đức tích lũy
Original: μισθός
Category: Ministry
μισθός (9:17-18); a gracious reward for freely rendered gospel service after salvation is already secured by grace, not karmic merit-accumulation or salvation-earning payment.
Remembrance
Approved rendering: sự nhớ đến
Transliteration: su nho den
Doctrine: The Lord’s Supper
Original: ἀνάμνησις
Category: Worship
ἀνάμνησις (11:24-25): active, proclaiming remembrance (11:26), not passive nostalgia and not a ritual act performed for the benefit of the one remembered.
Discern The Body
Approved rendering: phân biệt thân thể (của Chúa)
Transliteration: phan biet than the (cua Chua)
Doctrine: The Lord’s Supper
Original: διακρίνω
Category: Worship
διακρίνω (11:29): rightly recognizing the Supper’s theological significance; distinguish from folk spiritual-discernment practices (e.g., a spirit-medium ‘discerning’ a spirit’s identity).
Unworthily
Approved rendering: một cách không xứng đáng
Transliteration: mot cach khong xung dang
Doctrine: The Lord’s Supper
Original: ἀναξίως
Category: Worship
ἀναξίως (11:27, 29); standard term governing the warning of self-examination.
Head Covering
Approved rendering: trùm đầu
Transliteration: trum dau
Doctrine: Headship and Order in Worship
Original: κατακαλύπτω / ἀκατακάλυπτος
Category: Worship
κατακαλύπτω/ἀκατακάλυπτος (11:5-7, 13); teach by function (honor/propriety signal in original setting), not as a disconnected universal rule.
Manifestation Of The Spirit
Approved rendering: sự tỏ ra của Đức Thánh Linh
Transliteration: su to ra cua Duc Thanh Linh
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts and Unity of the Body
Original: φανέρωσις τοῦ Πνεύματος
Category: Spiritual Gifts
φανέρωσις τοῦ Πνεύματος (12:7); standard term, low collision risk.
Baptism Spirit
Approved rendering: phép báp-têm
Transliteration: phep bap-tem
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts and Unity of the Body
Original: βαπτίζω / βάπτισμα
Category: Church
βαπτίζω/βάπτισμα (12:13): incorporation into Christ’s body by the Spirit, distinct from the water-baptism rite; keep these two senses distinguished.
Interpretation
Approved rendering: sự thông giải
Transliteration: su thong giai
Doctrine: Tongues and Prophecy
Original: ἑρμηνεία
Category: Spiritual Gifts
ἑρμηνεία (14:5, 13, 26-28); required companion to public use of tongues.
Hope
Approved rendering: sự trông cậy
Transliteration: su trong cay
Doctrine: Love as the Greater Way
Rejected alternatives: số phận, số trời
Original: ἐλπίς
Category: Faith
ἐλπίς (13:13): confident expectation grounded in God’s character and promises, not fatalistic hope in impersonal fortune.
Maranatha
Approved rendering: Ma-ra-na-tha
Transliteration: Ma-ra-na-tha
Doctrine: Closing Exhortations: Maranatha and Anathema
Original: מרנא תא (Aramaic, transliterated in Greek)
Category: Worship
מרנא תא, ‘Our Lord, come!’ (16:22). Preserved untranslated, following the baseline’s Abba precedent.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: sự cảm tạ
Transliteration: su cam ta
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία
Category: Faith
Standard term; no significant doctrinal risk. Inherited from Romans package.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: sự thông công
Transliteration: su thong cong
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
Shared participation in Christ, general sense (1:9). See Section B ‘communion_participation’ for the elevated-risk sacramental sense in 10:16, which is NOT covered by this Low-risk general term. Inherited from Romans package.
Prophet
Approved rendering: tiên tri
Transliteration: tien tri
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: thầy bói
Do not confuse with thầy bói (fortune-teller). Used in 14:29, 32, 37. Inherited from Romans package.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: lời tiên tri
Transliteration: loi tien tri
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
God-inspired declaration. Used in 12:10; 13:2, 8-9; 14:1, 3-6, 22-25, 39. Inherited from Romans package.
Exhort
Approved rendering: khích lệ
Transliteration: khich le
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Context-sensitive: use khuyên nài for entreaty (as in 1:10) and khích lệ for building up in encouragement. Inherited from Romans package.
Strife Quarreling
Approved rendering: sự tranh cạnh
Transliteration: su tranh canh
Doctrine: Christian Unity versus Factionalism
Original: ἔρις
Category: Church
Contention/rivalry among believers (1:11; 3:3); standard term.
Unleavened
Approved rendering: không men
Transliteration: khong men
Doctrine: Church Discipline and Holiness
Original: ἄζυμος
Category: Sanctification
ἄζυμος (5:7-8); standard companion term to ‘leaven.‘
Weak Brother
Approved rendering: yếu đuối
Transliteration: yeu duoi
Doctrine: Christian Liberty and Conscience
Original: ἀσθενής
Category: Ethics
ἀσθενής (8:7, 9-12); standard term.
Prize
Approved rendering: giải thưởng
Transliteration: giai thuong
Doctrine: Apostolic Ministry and Reward
Original: βραβεῖον
Category: Ministry
βραβεῖον (9:24); standard athletic-contest metaphor.
Self Control
Approved rendering: tiết độ
Transliteration: tiet do
Doctrine: Apostolic Ministry and Reward
Original: ἐγκράτεια
Category: Ethics
ἐγκράτεια (9:25); standard term.
Member Body
Approved rendering: chi thể
Transliteration: chi the
Doctrine: The Body of Christ: Unity in Diversity
Original: μέλος
Category: Church
μέλος (12:12, 14, 18-20, 25-27); standard established Vietnamese Bible term.
Teacher Office
Approved rendering: thầy giáo
Transliteration: thay giao
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts and Unity of the Body
Original: διδάσκαλος
Category: Ministry
διδάσκαλος (12:28-29); standard ministry-office term.
Edification
Approved rendering: sự gây dựng
Transliteration: su gay dung
Doctrine: Order in Public Worship
Original: οἰκοδομή
Category: Church
οἰκοδομή (14:3, 5, 12, 26); the governing purpose of all exercise of spiritual gifts in public worship, consistent with the baseline’s mutual_edification doctrine.
Order
Approved rendering: thứ tự
Transliteration: thu tu
Doctrine: Order in Public Worship
Original: τάξις
Category: Worship
τάξις (14:40); standard term.
Holy Kiss
Approved rendering: cái hôn thánh
Transliteration: cai hon thanh
Doctrine: Closing Exhortations: Maranatha and Anathema
Original: φίλημα ἅγιον
Category: Church
φίλημα ἅγιον (16:20); a first-century greeting custom. Teach by function (warm, holy greeting among believers), since a kiss is not a customary Vietnamese greeting gesture.
Collection
Approved rendering: sự góp tiền
Transliteration: su gop tien
Doctrine: Giving and Fellowship among Churches
Original: λογία
Category: Church
λογία (16:1-2); the practical outworking of Christian fellowship and generosity across congregations.
Referenced passages