Core Glossary
08 Core Glossary — 1 Timothy (Full Book)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, drawn from the core passage (1 Timothy 3:1-13) and every chapter of the book (1 Timothy 1-6). Terms already present in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked “Baseline reuse — Y” and MUST use the exact recorded Vietnamese rendering; no deviation is permitted. New terms proposed for this curriculum are marked “Baseline reuse — N” and are candidate entries for addition to translation_memory.json in Phase 1 Step 2 / Phase 2 processing.
Risk tiers follow the baseline’s four-tier framework: Critical (human theologian review, every occurrence) / High (human theologian review) / Medium (native speaker review) / Low (automated review).
Doctrine Key
- SD = Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
- QL = Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
- CM = Christ as the One Mediator
- PW = Public Worship and Prayer
- PT = The Church as Pillar of Truth
- GC = Godliness and Contentment
- CW = Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
- GD = Guarding the Deposit of Faith
- (baseline categories: Salvation, Christology, God, Church, Sanctification, etc. per baseline registry)
| # | English Term | Doctrine | Risk | Greek (Transliteration) | Vietnamese Rendering | Baseline Reuse | Passages | Collision / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | God | God | Critical | θεός (theos) | Đức Chúa Trời | Y | throughout | Baseline entry; reinforced at 3:5, 3:15 (“church of the living God” counters impersonal Ông Trời folk risk). |
| 2 | Jesus | Christology | Critical | Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous) | Đức Chúa Giê-xu | Y | throughout | Baseline entry. |
| 3 | Christ | Christology | Critical | Χριστός (Christos) | Đấng Christ | Y | throughout | Baseline entry (transliterated title form). |
| 4 | Lord | Lordship of Christ | Critical | κύριος (kyrios) | Chúa | Y | 1:2, 1:12, 1:14, 6:3, 6:14-15 | Baseline entry; reinforced by 6:15’s “Lord of lords.” |
| 5 | Holy Spirit | God/Sanctification | Critical | πνεῦμα (used contextually of the Spirit) | Đức Thánh Linh | Y | 3:16, 4:1 | Baseline entry. |
| 6 | Grace | Grace | High | χάρις (charis) | ân điển | Y | 1:2, 1:14, 6:21 | Baseline entry; never phước đức/công đức/ơn nghĩa. |
| 7 | Mercy | Grace | Medium | ἔλεος (eleos) | sự thương xót | N | 1:2, 1:13, 1:16 | New. Distinguish from Buddhist từ bi (karma-relieving compassion) and transactional ancestor/deity petition for favor. |
| 8 | Faith | Faith | Medium | πίστις (pistis) | đức tin | Y | throughout | Baseline entry. |
| 9 | Righteousness | Salvation | High | δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē) | sự công bình | Y | 6:11 | Baseline entry. |
| 10 | Justification/Vindication (of Christ) | Deity of Christ / Salvation | High | ἐδικαιώθη (edikaiōthē) | được xưng công bình (Christological sense) | Y (root) | 3:16 | Baseline root reused; must be taught as distinct sense (Christ’s Spirit-vindication) from believer’s imputed justification. |
| 11 | Salvation | Salvation | Critical | σωτηρία (sōtēria) / σωθήσεται (sōthēsetai) | sự cứu rỗi | Y | 2:15, 4:16 | Baseline entry; never sự giải thoát. 2:15 “saved through childbearing” requires Critical-level theologian note against works-salvation reading. |
| 12 | Savior | Salvation | Critical | σωτήρ (sōtēr) | Cứu Chúa / Đấng Cứu Rỗi | N (baseline-adjacent) | 1:1, 2:3, 4:10 | New title form built on baseline salvation root; must retain personal-rescue-by-God framing, not universalist guarantee apart from faith. |
| 13 | Apostle | Apostleship | Medium | ἀπόστολος (apostolos) | sứ đồ | Y | 1:1, 2:7 | Baseline entry. |
| 14 | Called/Calling | Divine Calling | Medium | (implied, cf. commission language) | được kêu gọi / sự kêu gọi | Y | 1:1 | Baseline entry. |
| 15 | Holy | Sanctification | Medium | ἅγιος (hagios) / ἁγιάζω (hagiazō) | thánh / được nên thánh | Y | 2:8, 4:5 | Baseline entry. |
| 16 | Sanctification | Sanctification | Medium | ἁγιασμός-family | sự nên thánh | Y | 4:5 | Baseline entry. |
| 17 | Church | Church as God’s People / Pillar of Truth | Medium | ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) | Hội Thánh | Y | 3:5, 3:15 | Baseline entry; never đền/chùa. |
| 18 | Law | Fulfillment of Prophecy | Medium | νόμος (nomos) | luật pháp | Y | 1:8-9 | Baseline entry. |
| 19 | Sin | Universal Human Accountability | Medium | ἁμαρτωλός/ἁμαρτία (hamartōlos/hamartia) | tội lỗi | Y | 1:9, 1:15 | Baseline entry. |
| 20 | Gentiles/Nations | Mission to Nations | Medium | ἔθνη (ethnē) | dân ngoại | Y | 2:7, 3:16 | Baseline entry. |
| 21 | Glory | Deity of Christ | Medium | δόξα (doxa) | sự vinh hiển | Y | 1:11, 1:17, 3:16 | Baseline entry. |
| 22 | Peace | Peace with God | Medium | εἰρήνη (eirēnē) | sự bình an | Y | 1:2 | Baseline entry. |
| 23 | Thanksgiving | Thanksgiving | Low | εὐχαριστία (eucharistia) | sự cảm tạ | Y | 2:1, 4:3-4 | Baseline entry. |
| 24 | Exhort | Mutual Edification | Low | παρακαλέω (parakaleō) | khích lệ / khuyên nài | Y | 5:1-2, 6:2 | Baseline entry; context-sensitive per baseline note. |
| 25 | Spiritual Gift | Spiritual Gifts | Medium | χάρισμα (charisma) | ân tứ (thuộc linh) | Y | 4:14 | Baseline entry. |
| 26 | Intercession(s) | Prayer and Intercession | Critical | ἔντευξις (enteuxis) | sự cầu thay | Y | 2:1, 4:5 | Baseline Critical entry; never modeled on cầu xin tổ tiên. Directly applicable here — this doctrine’s key term appears explicitly in 1 Timothy. |
| 27 | Good confession | Christ-Centered Ministry / Public Worship | Medium | ὁμολογία (homologia) | lời tuyên xưng / lời xưng nhận | N | 6:12-13 | New. Distinguish from Buddhist ritual vow-taking (thọ giới/phát nguyện) as merit-generating commitment; this is public testimony to accomplished truth. |
| 28 | Sound doctrine | Sound Doctrine vs. False Teaching | Medium | ὑγιαίνουσα διδασκαλία (hygiainousa didaskalia) | giáo lý lành mạnh / sự dạy dỗ lành mạnh | N | 1:10, 6:3 | New. “Giáo lý” must be anchored to fixed apostolic revelation, not one option among Vietnam’s pluralistic religious teachings. |
| 29 | Teach a different doctrine | Sound Doctrine vs. False Teaching | Medium | ἑτεροδιδασκαλέω (heterodidaskaleō) | dạy đạo khác / dạy giáo lý khác | N | 1:3, 6:3 | New. Low direct folk collision; key risk is loss of “fixed standard” framing. |
| 30 | Myths | Sound Doctrine vs. False Teaching | Medium | μῦθος (mythos) | truyện hoang đường | N | 1:4, 4:7 | New. Must not blanket-condemn Vietnamese traditional legendary narrative (thần thoại) as a genre. |
| 31 | Genealogies | Sound Doctrine vs. False Teaching | High | γενεαλογία (genealogia) | gia phả / chuyện gia hệ dài dòng | N | 1:4 | New. Direct collision risk with gia phả, a centrally valued ancestor-lineage record in Vietnamese culture; mandatory teaching note distinguishing speculative mythical genealogies from honoring one’s family lineage record. |
| 32 | Overseer/Bishop | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Critical | ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos) | giám mục | N | 3:1-2 | New. Established Vietnamese Protestant rendering (1926 tradition) but collides with the Vietnamese Catholic diocesan bishop office (multi-parish hierarchy); must be taught as a single-congregation shepherd, synonymous with elder (5:17), not a diocesan administrator. |
| 33 | Office of overseer | Qualifications for Church Leadership | High | ἐπισκοπή (episkopē) | chức vụ giám mục / chức coi sóc Hội Thánh | N | 3:1 | New. Same collision family as #32. |
| 34 | Elder | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Medium | πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros) | trưởng lão | N | 5:1, 5:17, 5:19 | New. Collision with Buddhist monastic “trưởng lão” (senior monk, translating Pali thera) and with generic village-elder councils; must be taught as a spiritual-shepherding office, not seniority-honor or monastic rank. |
| 35 | Council of elders | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Medium | πρεσβυτέριον (presbyterion) | hội đồng trưởng lão | N | 4:14 | New. |
| 36 | Deacon | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Medium | διάκονος (diakonos, office sense) | chấp sự | N | 3:8-13 | New. Established Vietnamese Protestant institutional term (Ban Chấp sự); risk of losing the root “table-service” humility sense to institutional/administrative connotation. |
| 37 | Minister/servant (general sense) | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Medium | διάκονος (diakonos, general sense) | người đầy tớ (tốt) | N | 4:6 | New. Must be kept distinct in usage from #36 (the formal office title) to avoid conflating general ministry service with the ordained office. |
| 38 | Husband of one wife | Qualifications for Church Leadership | High | μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα/ἄνδρες (mias gynaikos andra/andres) | chồng chỉ một vợ | N | 3:2, 3:12 | New. Culturally pointed given historical Vietnamese concubinage practice (thê thiếp); teach as positive covenant-fidelity standard. |
| 39 | Above reproach / Blameless | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Medium | ἀνεπίλημπτος / ἀνέγκλητος (anepilēmptos / anenklētos) | không chỗ trách được | N | 3:2, 3:10 | New. Distinguish from Confucian face-preservation (giữ thể diện), which can be maintained by concealment. |
| 40 | Able to teach | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Medium | διδακτικός (didaktikos) | có tài dạy dỗ | N | 3:2 | New. Distinguish from generic rhetorical skill or Confucian scholarly erudition; competence specifically in sound apostolic doctrine. |
| 41 | Not a lover of money | Qualifications for Church Leadership / Godliness | Medium | ἀφιλάργυρος (aphilargyros) | không tham tiền bạc | N | 3:3 | New. |
| 42 | Managing his household well | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Medium | τοῦ ἰδίου οἴκου καλῶς προϊστάμενον | quản trị nhà riêng mình cho tốt | N | 3:4, 3:12 | New. Teach as Christlike servant-headship, not Confucian gia trưởng authoritarianism as an end in itself. |
| 43 | Children in submission | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Medium | τέκνα ἐν ὑποταγῇ (tekna en hypotagē) | con cái biết vâng phục | N | 3:4 | New. Distinguish from đạo hiếu as a self-standing religious/moral system. |
| 44 | The devil | Sound Doctrine / Spiritual Warfare | High | διάβολος (diabolos) | ma quỷ / Kẻ Ác | N | 3:6-7, 3:11 (adj.) | New. Distinguish from folk “ma” (wandering/hungry ghosts of improperly-honored dead); a specific, personal, malevolent spiritual adversary. |
| 45 | Mystery (of the faith / of godliness) | Guarding the Deposit / Godliness | High | μυστήριον (mystērion) | lẽ mầu nhiệm | N | 3:9, 3:16 | New. Collision with Catholic sacramental “Mysteries” vocabulary and Buddhist/folk esoteric-truth notions; must be taught as a truth once hidden, now fully revealed, not an ongoing mystical riddle. |
| 46 | Conscience | Guarding the Deposit / Sound Doctrine | Medium | συνείδησις (syneidēsis) | lương tâm | N | 1:5, 1:19, 3:9, 4:2 | New. Distinguish God-answerable inner faculty from Confucian social-honor/face conscience. |
| 47 | Tested/Proved | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Low | δοκιμάζω (dokimazō) | được thử nghiệm / được xem xét | N | 3:10 | New. |
| 48 | Women (deacons’ wives / deaconesses) | Qualifications for Church Leadership | High | γυναῖκας (gynaikas) | các bà | N | 3:11 | New. Genuinely ambiguous term; requires documented translator decision and mandatory theologian flag — live denominational debate. |
| 49 | Good standing | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Medium | βαθμὸν καλόν (bathmon kalon) | địa vị tốt / sự tin nhiệm cao hơn | N | 3:13 | New. Must not be read as merit banked toward salvation (parallel to baseline’s rejected công đức tích lũy). |
| 50 | One Mediator | Christ as the One Mediator | Critical | μεσίτης (mesitēs) | Đấng Trung Gian | N | 2:5 | New. Must be distinguished from folk spirit-mediums (đồng/hầu đồng), Catholic saintly intercession, and ancestor-intermediaries; the sole, unique mediator between God and humanity. Extends baseline’s Critical intercession doctrine. |
| 51 | Ransom | Christ as the One Mediator | Medium | ἀντίλυτρον (antilytron) | giá chuộc | N | 2:6 | New. Not a payment appeasing karmic or ancestral debt; Christ’s substitutionary, once-for-all payment. |
| 52 | Godliness | Godliness and Contentment | High | εὐσέβεια (eusebeia) | sự tin kính | N | 2:2, 2:10, 3:16, 4:7-8, 6:3, 6:5-6, 6:11 | New. Central doctrine term of this curriculum; distinguish from Confucian ritual piety (đạo hiếu, thờ cúng) and generic folk-religious “sùng đạo” (religiosity applicable to any religion); devoted reverence for the true God flowing from faith in Christ. |
| 53 | Contentment | Godliness and Contentment | Critical | αὐτάρκεια (autarkeia) | sự thỏa lòng | N | 6:6 | New. FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION CANDIDATE: never “tri túc” (知足), the loaded Buddhist virtue of contentment-through-detachment from desire; this is trust-based satisfaction with God’s provision, not self-achieved non-attachment. |
| 54 | Love of money | Godliness and Contentment | Medium | φιλαργυρία (philargyria) | sự tham tiền bạc | N | 6:10 | New. |
| 55 | Widow | Care for Widows | Medium | χήρα (chēra) | người goá bụa / quả phụ | N | 5:3-16 | New. The structured, examined “order of widows” (age 60+, tested character) must be distinguished from generic Confucian filial obligation. |
| 56 | Honor (widows) | Care for Widows | Medium | τιμάω (timaō) | tôn kính / trọng đãi | N | 5:3 | New. Deliberately avoid “hiếu kính” to prevent conflating gospel-motivated congregational care with a Confucian filial-piety merit framework. |
| 57 | Repay parents/forebears | Care for Widows and the Household of Faith | Critical | πρόγονοι (progonoi) | cha mẹ và ông bà (living parents/grandparents) | N | 5:4 | New. FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION CANDIDATE: never render with a term evoking tổ tiên (ancestors as objects of thờ cúng tổ tiên/ancestor veneration); this instructs practical support of living parents/grandparents by living descendants, entirely distinct from ancestor-veneration ritual. |
| 58 | Widow indeed | Care for Widows | Medium | ὄντως χήρα (ontōs chēra) | người quả phụ thật sự | N | 5:3, 5:5 | New. Technical, examined category, not general widowhood. |
| 59 | Enrolled | Care for Widows | Low | καταλέγεσθαι (katalegesthai) | được ghi vào danh sách | N | 5:9 | New. |
| 60 | Deny the faith | Care for Widows / Faith | Medium | τὴν πίστιν ἠρνήσατο (tēn pistin ērnēsato) | chối bỏ đức tin | Y (root) | 5:8 | Baseline đức tin root reused. |
| 61 | Double honor | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Medium | διπλῆς τιμῆς (diplēs timēs) | sự tôn trọng gấp đôi | N | 5:17 | New. |
| 62 | Pillar and foundation of the truth | The Church as Pillar of Truth | Medium | στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας (stylos kai hedraiōma tēs alētheias) | cột trụ và nền của lẽ thật | N | 3:15 | New. Church upholds/guards revealed truth; does not generate or evolve it, unlike Confucian sage-transmission models. |
| 63 | Manifested in the flesh | The Church as Pillar of Truth / Incarnation | Critical | ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί (ephanerōthē en sarki) | được tỏ ra trong xác thịt | Y (concept) | 3:16 | Baseline Incarnation doctrine concept (“Ngôi Lời trở nên xác thịt”) directly applicable; never hóa thân. |
| 64 | Deceitful spirits / teachings of demons | Sound Doctrine vs. False Teaching | High | πνεύματα πλάνα / διδασκαλίαι δαιμονίων (pneumata plana / didaskaliai daimoniōn) | tà linh lừa dối / sự dạy dỗ của quỷ | N | 4:1 | New. δαιμόνιον must be distinguished from folk “ma” (restless dead) and “thần” (tutelary spirits); a specific, personal, malevolent source of doctrinal deception. |
| 65 | Forbidding marriage / requiring abstinence from foods | Sound Doctrine vs. False Teaching / Godliness | Critical | κωλυόντων γαμεῖν, ἀπέχεσθαι βρωμάτων | ngăn cấm hôn nhân, buộc kiêng ăn một số thức ăn | N | 4:3 | New. Direct collision with Buddhist monastic celibacy (xuất gia) and vegetarian-fasting merit practice (ăn chay); targets the false doctrine that abstinence confers spiritual merit/superiority, not the cultural practices themselves. |
| 66 | Sanctified by the word of God and prayer | Sound Doctrine / Sanctification | Medium | ἁγιάζεται διὰ λόγου θεοῦ καὶ ἐντεύξεως | được nên thánh bởi lời Đức Chúa Trời và sự cầu thay/cầu nguyện | Y (roots) | 4:5 | Baseline roots (nên thánh, Đức Chúa Trời, sự cầu thay) reused; distinguish from ritual food-offerings to ancestors (cúng). |
| 67 | Laying on of hands | Qualifications for Church Leadership | Medium | ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν (epithesis tōn cheirōn) | sự đặt tay | N | 4:14, 5:22 | New. Distinguish from folk healing-touch or spirit-medium ritual touch; a commissioning act accompanying prayer. |
| 68 | Savior of all, especially believers | Salvation | Critical | σωτὴρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων, μάλιστα πιστῶν | Cứu Chúa của mọi người, đặc biệt là những người tin | N (baseline-adjacent) | 4:10 | New. Must not be read as universalist guarantee apart from faith; preserves baseline sola fide framing. |
| 69 | Slaves/bondservants; masters | Household of Faith (social ethics) | Medium | δοῦλοι, δεσπόται (douloi, despotai) | đầy tớ/nô lệ, chủ | N | 6:1-2 | New. Requires historical-context teaching note; not a modern political endorsement of the institution. |
| 70 | Supposing godliness is a means of gain | Godliness and Contentment | High | νομίζοντας πορισμὸν εἶναι τὴν εὐσέβειαν | tưởng rằng sự tin kính là một phương tiện kiếm lợi | N | 6:5 | New. Directly relevant to Vietnamese temple/shrine transactional devotion practice (cầu tài, cầu lộc); confronts treating devotion to God as a means to material gain. |
| 71 | Good confession before Pilate / good confession | Christ-Centered Ministry | Medium | καλὴ ὁμολογία (kalē homologia) | lời tuyên xưng tốt lành | N | 6:12-13 | New. See #27. |
| 72 | Blessed and only Sovereign; King of kings and Lord of lords | Deity of Christ / God | High | μόνος δυνάστης, βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων καὶ κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων | Đấng Chủ Quyền duy nhất, Vua của các vua, Chúa của các chúa | N (Lord=Y) | 6:15 | New (δυνάστης); Lord = baseline reuse. Must not be assimilated to Ngọc Hoàng (Jade Emperor) presiding over a folk-Taoist pantheon; God’s sovereignty is sole and absolute. |
| 73 | Immortality | God | High | ἀθανασία (athanasia) | sự bất tử | N | 6:16 | New. Distinguish from Taoist “trường sinh bất tử” (immortality achieved via cultivation/alchemy, e.g. the Eight Immortals); God’s immortality is inherent and uncreated, not attained. |
| 74 | Guard the deposit | Guarding the Deposit of Faith | High | παραθήκη / φύλαξον τὴν παραθήκην (parathēkē / phylaxon tēn parathēkēn) | điều đã giao thác / hãy giữ điều đã giao thác | N | 6:20 | New. Central term of the Guarding the Deposit doctrine; a sacred trust to preserve unaltered and transmit faithfully, not a private possession or closed financial transaction. |
| 75 | Falsely called knowledge | Sound Doctrine vs. False Teaching | High | ψευδώνυμος γνῶσις (pseudōnymos gnōsis) | tri thức mạo xưng / sự hiểu biết giả danh | N | 6:20 | New. Distinguish from Buddhist trí tuệ (meditative wisdom) and ordinary secular tri thức (knowledge); targets specifically counterfeit doctrinal speculation. |
| 76 | Adoption / spiritual son in the faith | (Adjacent to baseline Adoption doctrine) | Medium | γνήσιον τέκνον ἐν πίστει (gnēsion teknon en pistei) | con thật trong đức tin | Y (root: đức tin) | 1:2 | New phrase built on baseline faith root; distinguish mentor-disciple relationship from Confucian/Buddhist lineage-transmission credentialing and from the baseline’s legal Adoption doctrine (this is discipleship, not adoption). |
Summary Risk Counts (New Terms Introduced by This Curriculum)
| Risk Tier | Count of New (Baseline Reuse = N) Terms | Requires |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 8 (#11-adjacent Savior title dynamics noted under Salvation baseline; #50 Mediator; #53 Contentment/autarkeia; #57 progonoi/repay parents; #63 baseline-concept reuse; #65 forbid marriage/foods; #68 Savior of all; #74 Guard the deposit) | Human theologian review, every occurrence |
| High | 17 (#31 Genealogies, #32 Overseer, #33 Office of overseer, #38 Husband of one wife, #44 The devil, #45 Mystery, #48 Women/deaconesses, #52 Godliness, #64 Deceitful spirits/demons, #70 Godliness-as-gain, #72 Sovereign/King of kings, #73 Immortality, #75 Falsely called knowledge, plus core-passage-only High flags for βαθμὸν/standing overlap and αὐθεντέω from 2:12, ἐδικαιώθη Christological vindication, and σωθήσεται διὰ τεκνογονίας) | Human theologian review |
| Medium | ~30 | Native speaker review |
| Low | ~10 | Automated review |
Notes for Phase 1 Step 2 (Doctrine Risk Registry Extension)
The following new doctrine entries should be added to an extended doctrine_risk_registry.json for 1 Timothy, mirroring the baseline’s structure:
- Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching (High) — key terms: sound doctrine, different doctrine, myths, genealogies, deceitful spirits/demons, falsely called knowledge.
- Qualifications for Church Leadership (Critical) — key terms: overseer/bishop, elder, deacon, husband of one wife, able to teach, women (3:11 ambiguity).
- Christ as the One Mediator (Critical) — key terms: mediator, ransom, one God.
- Public Worship and Prayer (Critical, inheriting baseline Prayer and Intercession tier) — key terms: intercessions, lifting holy hands, teach/exercise authority (2:12).
- The Church as Pillar of Truth (High) — key terms: pillar and foundation of truth, mystery of godliness, manifested in the flesh.
- Godliness and Contentment (Critical) — key terms: godliness, contentment, love of money, godliness as gain.
- Care for Widows and the Household of Faith (Critical) — key terms: widow, honor widows, repay parents/forebears (progonoi), widow indeed, slaves/masters.
- Guarding the Deposit of Faith (High) — key terms: guard the deposit, falsely called knowledge, sound words.
This glossary is the authoritative Phase 1 term inventory for 1 Timothy and must be loaded alongside the baseline translation_memory.json before any Phase 2 segment translation begins.
Critical Risk Terms
Salvation
Approved rendering: sự cứu rỗi
Transliteration: su cuu roi
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: sự giải thoát
Original: σωτηρία / σωθήσεται
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. CRITICAL: never sự giải thoát. Occurs at 1:15, 2:3-4, 2:15, 4:10, 4:16. The 2:15 occurrence (‘saved through childbearing’) is uniquely sensitive within this book — see saved_through_childbearing entry.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: Ngôi Lời trở nên xác thịt
Transliteration: Ngoi Loi tro nen xac thit
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: hóa thân
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. CRITICAL: never hóa thân. Directly relevant to 1 Timothy 2:5 (‘the man Christ Jesus’) and 3:16’s creedal hymn line ‘manifested in the flesh’ — see manifested_in_the_flesh entry.
Intercession
Approved rendering: sự cầu thay
Transliteration: su cau thay
Doctrine: Public Worship and Prayer
Rejected alternatives: cầu xin tổ tiên
Original: ἔντευξις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged (baseline doctrine name: Prayer and Intercession; escalated to Critical-tier ‘Public Worship and Prayer’ for this curriculum). Occurs explicitly at 1 Timothy 2:1 and 4:5; every occurrence requires the mandatory teaching note distinguishing this from cầu xin tổ tiên (petitioning deceased ancestors at the family altar).
Jesus
Approved rendering: Đức Chúa Giê-xu
Transliteration: Duc Chua Gie-xu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Standard Vietnamese Protestant Bible form; used throughout 1 Timothy, frequently in the compound ‘Christ Jesus.‘
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Đức Thánh Linh
Transliteration: Duc Thanh Linh
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: thần linh
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. CRITICAL: never bare thần linh. Occurs at 3:16 and is explicitly contrasted with deceiving spirits (πνεύματα πλάνα) at 4:1.
Christ
Approved rendering: Đấng Christ
Transliteration: Dang Christ
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Established transliterated title form per the baseline AI instruction set’s transliteration standards (12_ai_translation_requirements.md); inherited for consistency across the compound title ‘Christ Jesus’ (used throughout) and 2:5’s ‘the man Christ Jesus.’ Never conflated with a title claimed by a deified folk hero.
Savior
Approved rendering: Cứu Chúa
Transliteration: Cuu Chua
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: đấng phù hộ
Original: σωτήρ
Category: Salvation
New title form built on the baseline sự cứu rỗi root. Used of God/Christ at 1:1, 2:3, 4:10. Must retain the sense of a personal Rescuer, not a general wish-granting benefactor (as in folk cầu tài/cầu an petition).
Savior Of All
Approved rendering: Cứu Chúa của mọi người, đặc biệt là những người tin
Transliteration: Cuu Chua cua moi nguoi, dac biet la nhung nguoi tin
Doctrine: Salvation
Original: σωτὴρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων, μάλιστα πιστῶν
Category: Salvation
1 Timothy 4:10. God’s saving provision extended universally, effectually realized ‘especially’ (μάλιστα) in believers. Must never be taught as a universalist guarantee of salvation apart from faith.
Saved Through Childbearing
Approved rendering: được cứu qua việc sinh con
Transliteration: duoc cuu qua viec sinh con
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: đắc công đức qua việc sinh con
Original: σωθήσεται διὰ τῆς τεκνογονίας
Category: Salvation
1 Timothy 2:15, a genuinely disputed phrase. Must never be rendered or taught as salvation earned through the act/role of childbearing, which would contradict sola gratia/sola fide and risk a merit-based (công đức) reading of women’s spiritual standing. Requires a mandatory theologian’s teaching note presenting the range of interpretation.
Overseer Bishop
Approved rendering: giám mục
Transliteration: giam muc
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: mục sư, người quản nhiệm
Original: ἐπίσκοπος
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 3:1-2, the core-passage anchor term. Established 1926 Vietnamese Protestant rendering, but collides with the standard Vietnamese Catholic term for a diocesan bishop over multiple parishes. Mandatory teaching note every occurrence: this office shepherds ONE local congregation and is synonymous with elder (5:17).
One Mediator
Approved rendering: Đấng Trung Gian
Transliteration: Dang Trung Gian
Doctrine: Christ as the One Mediator
Rejected alternatives: người hoà giải, đồng
Original: μεσίτης
Category: Christ as the One Mediator
1 Timothy 2:5, the core Christological claim of this doctrine. Must exclude Vietnamese folk spirit-mediums (đồng/hầu đồng), Catholic saintly/Marian intercession, and ancestor-intermediaries at the family altar. The text’s ‘one’ (εἷς) is exclusive, not comparative — Christ alone, fully God and fully man.
Contentment
Approved rendering: sự thỏa lòng
Transliteration: su thoa long
Doctrine: Godliness and Contentment
Rejected alternatives: tri túc
Original: αὐτάρκεια
Category: Godliness and Contentment
1 Timothy 6:6. FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION: never ‘tri túc’ (知足), the loaded Buddhist virtue of contentment achieved through detachment from desire toward liberation from craving. Paul’s contentment is trust-based satisfaction with God’s provision accompanying godliness.
Repay Parents Forebears
Approved rendering: cha mẹ và ông bà
Transliteration: cha me va ong ba
Doctrine: Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
Rejected alternatives: tổ tiên
Original: ἀμοιβὰς ἀποδιδόναι τοῖς προγόνοις
Category: Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
1 Timothy 5:4 (πρόγονοι). FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION: never render with any term evoking tổ tiên (ancestors as objects of thờ cúng tổ tiên), which would suggest a biblical mandate for ancestor-veneration ritual. This instructs living children/grandchildren to materially support living parents/grandparents; mandatory theologian teaching note required on every occurrence.
Manifested In The Flesh
Approved rendering: được tỏ ra trong xác thịt
Transliteration: duoc to ra trong xac thit
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: hóa thân
Original: ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί
Category: The Church as Pillar of Truth
1 Timothy 3:16 creedal hymn line. Directly invokes the baseline Incarnation doctrine; never hóa thân (a deity’s repeatable/temporary manifestation) — affirms one, historical, permanent assumption of human flesh.
Forbidding Marriage And Foods
Approved rendering: ngăn cấm hôn nhân, buộc kiêng ăn một số thức ăn
Transliteration: ngan cam hon nhan, buoc kieng an mot so thuc an
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Original: κωλυόντων γαμεῖν, ἀπέχεσθαι βρωμάτων
Category: Sound Doctrine
1 Timothy 4:3. Direct collision with Vietnamese Buddhist monastic celibacy (xuất gia) and vegetarian fasting merit-practice (ăn chay). Target is the false doctrine that abstinence confers spiritual superiority/merit (per 4:4), not the practices themselves nor believers who abstain for other reasons. Mandatory theologian review.
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
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Opens (1:2), narrates Paul’s own conversion (1:14), and closes (6:21) the letter; never phước đức/công đức (Buddhist merit) or ơn nghĩa (Confucian reciprocal-debt favor).
Righteousness
Approved rendering: sự công bình
Transliteration: su cong binh
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: đức hạnh
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Appears in the virtue list of 6:11 (‘pursue righteousness, godliness, faith…’).
Justification
Approved rendering: sự xưng công bình
Transliteration: su xung cong binh
Doctrine: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. The root vocabulary also underlies 3:16’s distinct Christological sense ‘edikaiōthē en pneumati’ (vindicated/declared righteous in the Spirit); see vindicated_in_the_spirit entry — this Christological application must be taught as distinct from believers’ imputed justification.
God
Approved rendering: Đức Chúa Trời
Transliteration: Duc Chua Troi
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Ông Trời
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Reinforced at 3:5, 3:15 (‘church of the living God’) and 6:15-16’s doxology; must never collapse into impersonal Ông Trời or read as merely the highest deity in the Vietnamese folk-Taoist pantheon (Ngọc Hoàng).
Father
Approved rendering: Cha
Transliteration: Cha
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Occurs in the greeting ‘God the Father’ (1:2, implied in the grace-mercy-peace triad); distinguish God’s Fatherhood from 5:1’s general familial address (‘exhort him as a father’), which uses the ordinary human-relational sense.
Office Of Overseer
Approved rendering: chức vụ giám mục
Transliteration: chuc vu giam muc
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: chức coi sóc Hội Thánh
Original: ἐπισκοπή
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 3:1. Abstract office-noun form of overseer_bishop; carries the identical Catholic-diocesan collision risk and requires the same teaching note.
Husband Of One Wife
Approved rendering: chồng chỉ một vợ
Transliteration: chong chi mot vo
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: một vợ một chồng
Original: μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα / ἄνδρες
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 3:2, 3:12. Culturally pointed given historical and some ongoing Vietnamese concubinage practice (thê thiếp, nhiều vợ); teach as a positive covenant-fidelity standard, applied without ambiguity toward past or present polygamous unions.
The Devil
Approved rendering: ma quỷ
Transliteration: ma quy
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Rejected alternatives: Kẻ Ác, ma
Original: διάβολος
Category: Sound Doctrine
1 Timothy 3:6-7, and adjectivally ‘slanderous’ at 3:11. Distinguish from the broad Vietnamese folk category of bare ‘ma’ (wandering spirits of the improperly-honored dead, cf. cúng cô hồn); names a specific, personal, malevolent spiritual adversary.
Mystery
Approved rendering: lẽ mầu nhiệm
Transliteration: le mau nhiem
Doctrine: Guarding the Deposit of Faith
Rejected alternatives: bí ẩn
Original: μυστήριον
Category: Guarding the Deposit of Faith
1 Timothy 3:9 (‘mystery of the faith’), 3:16 (‘mystery of godliness’). Collides with Vietnamese Catholic sacramental ‘the Mysteries’ vocabulary and Buddhist/folk esoteric-truth notions accessible via meditative insight (ngộ). Must be taught as a truth once hidden, now fully and clearly revealed.
Women Deacons Wives
Approved rendering: các bà
Transliteration: cac ba
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: vợ của các chấp sự, những người đàn bà làm chấp sự
Original: γυναῖκας
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 3:11 (γυναῖκας). Genuinely ambiguous: deacons’ wives, or women serving in a parallel diaconal role. Recommend the literal, non-committal rendering with a mandatory footnote presenting both readings; a live, unresolved denominational debate in Vietnamese Protestantism. Flag for human theologian review; do not silently foreclose either reading.
Exercise Authority Authenteo
Approved rendering: cầm quyền trên
Transliteration: cam quyen tren
Doctrine: Public Worship and Prayer
Rejected alternatives: lấn quyền trên
Original: αὐθεντέω
Category: Public Worship and Prayer
1 Timothy 2:12 (αὐθεντέω). Rare verb with genuine, unresolved lexical ambiguity (‘exercise authority’ vs. ‘domineer/usurp authority’), compounded by heightened sensitivity within Vietnamese Confucian-patriarchal household culture. Mandatory human theologian review; no default rendering without a footnoted alternative (‘lấn quyền trên’).
Godliness
Approved rendering: sự tin kính
Transliteration: su tin kinh
Doctrine: Godliness and Contentment
Rejected alternatives: đạo hiếu, sùng đạo
Original: εὐσέβεια
Category: Godliness and Contentment
The letter’s central positive virtue-term (2:2, 2:10, 3:16, 4:7-8, 6:3, 6:5-6, 6:11). Distinguish from Confucian ritual piety (đạo hiếu, thờ cúng) and generic religion-neutral ‘sùng đạo’; devoted reverence for the true, personal God flowing from faith in Christ.
Godliness As Means Of Gain
Approved rendering: tưởng sự tin kính là phương tiện kiếm lợi
Transliteration: tuong su tin kinh la phuong tien kiem loi
Doctrine: Godliness and Contentment
Original: νομίζοντας πορισμὸν εἶναι τὴν εὐσέβειαν
Category: Godliness and Contentment
1 Timothy 6:5. Directly confronts the widespread Vietnamese practice of transactional temple/shrine devotion for wealth and fortune (cầu tài, cầu lộc); Paul confronts the identical underlying error of treating devotion to God as a means to material gain.
Vindicated In The Spirit
Approved rendering: được xưng công bình trong Thánh Linh
Transliteration: duoc xung cong binh trong Thanh Linh
Doctrine: Deity of Christ (Vindicated in the Spirit)
Original: ἐδικαιώθη ἐν πνεύματι
Category: Deity of Christ
1 Timothy 3:16 (ἐδικαιώθη ἐν πνεύματι). Applies the baseline ‘xưng công bình’ vocabulary to Christ himself, not the believer; must be taught as God’s vindicating declaration of Christ’s own righteousness, distinct from believers’ imputed righteousness.
Deceitful Spirits And Demons
Approved rendering: tà linh lừa dối và sự dạy dỗ của quỷ
Transliteration: ta linh lua doi va su day do cua quy
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Rejected alternatives: ma, thần
Original: πνεύματα πλάνα καὶ διδασκαλίαι δαιμονίων
Category: Sound Doctrine
1 Timothy 4:1. δαιμόνιον must be distinguished from folk ‘ma’ (restless/hungry ghosts) and ‘thần’ (tutelary/local deities); biblical demons are specifically fallen, personal, malevolent beings in active rebellion against God.
Sovereign King Of Kings
Approved rendering: Đấng Chủ Quyền duy nhất, Vua của các vua
Transliteration: Dang Chu Quyen duy nhat, Vua cua cac vua
Doctrine: Sovereignty and Eternal Nature of God
Rejected alternatives: Ngọc Hoàng (forbidden association)
Original: μόνος δυνάστης, βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων καὶ κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων
Category: God
1 Timothy 6:15. Must not be assimilated to Ngọc Hoàng, the supreme Jade Emperor presiding over a bureaucratic folk-Taoist pantheon; God’s sovereignty here is sole and absolute, not chief-among-many.
Immortality
Approved rendering: sự bất tử
Transliteration: su bat tu
Doctrine: Sovereignty and Eternal Nature of God
Rejected alternatives: trường sinh bất tử
Original: ἀθανασία
Category: God
1 Timothy 6:16. Distinguish from Taoist/folk ‘trường sinh bất tử’ (immortality achieved via cultivation/alchemy, e.g. Bát Tiên, the Eight Immortals); God’s immortality is inherent and uncreated, not attained.
Guard The Deposit
Approved rendering: điều đã giao thác
Transliteration: dieu da giao thac
Doctrine: Guarding the Deposit of Faith
Rejected alternatives: gia bảo, di sản
Original: παραθήκη / φύλαξον τὴν παραθήκην
Category: Guarding the Deposit of Faith
1 Timothy 6:20 (παραθήκη), the letter’s climactic charge. Must convey a sacred trust to be preserved unaltered and transmitted faithfully, not a private, freely modifiable possession nor a closed financial transaction.
Falsely Called Knowledge
Approved rendering: tri thức mạo xưng
Transliteration: tri thuc mao xung
Doctrine: Guarding the Deposit of Faith
Rejected alternatives: trí tuệ
Original: ψευδώνυμος γνῶσις
Category: Sound Doctrine
1 Timothy 6:20 (ψευδώνυμος γνῶσις). Distinguish from Buddhist ‘trí tuệ’ (meditative wisdom) and ordinary secular ‘tri thức’ (learning); targets specifically counterfeit doctrinal speculation opposing revealed apostolic truth.
Genealogies
Approved rendering: gia phả
Transliteration: gia pha
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Original: γενεαλογία
Category: Sound Doctrine
1 Timothy 1:4 (γενεαλογία). No viable alternative rendering exists; ‘gia phả’ is the only natural Vietnamese equivalent and is unavoidable. Mandatory teaching note: Paul condemns speculative, endless mythical genealogies fueling false doctrine, NOT the cherished cultural practice of keeping/honoring one’s family lineage record central to ancestor veneration and family honor.
King Eternal Immortal Invisible
Approved rendering: Vua muôn đời, không hư nát, không thấy được
Transliteration: Vua muon doi, khong hu nat, khong thay duoc
Doctrine: Sovereignty and Eternal Nature of God
1 Timothy 1:17 doxology. Foreshadows 6:15-16; incorruptibility/immortality language must not evoke Taoist ‘trường sinh bất tử’ (immortality achieved through cultivation).
Medium Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: Tin Lành
Transliteration: tin lanh
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: tin tức tốt lành
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Applies to 1 Timothy 1:11’s ‘glorious gospel’ (Tin Lành về sự vinh hiển) and the gospel-commission language of 1:1.
Faith
Approved rendering: đức tin
Transliteration: duc tin
Doctrine: Faith
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. 1 Timothy distinctively uses ‘the faith’ as a body of apostolic content (1:19, 3:9, 4:1, 5:8, 6:10, 6:21), not only personal trust; both senses must be clear from context.
Apostle
Approved rendering: sứ đồ
Transliteration: su do
Doctrine: Divine Calling and Apostleship
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Paul’s self-designation at 1:1 and 2:7.
Called
Approved rendering: được kêu gọi
Transliteration: duoc keu goi
Doctrine: Divine Calling and Apostleship
Original: κλητός
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Used of Paul’s apostolic commission (1:1).
Calling
Approved rendering: sự kêu gọi
Transliteration: su keu goi
Doctrine: Divine Calling and Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: số phận
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Never số phận (fixed fate/destiny).
Holy
Approved rendering: thánh
Transliteration: thanh
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Used of hands raised in prayer (2:8).
Sanctification
Approved rendering: sự nên thánh
Transliteration: su nen thanh
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἁγιάζω / ἁγιασμός-family
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. 4:5’s sanctification of food through God’s word and prayer must be distinguished from ritual food-offerings placed before ancestral altars (cúng).
Peace
Approved rendering: sự bình an
Transliteration: su binh an
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Part of the greeting formula (1:2).
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: ân tứ thuộc linh
Transliteration: an tu thuoc linh
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts
Original: χάρισμα
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Timothy’s gift conferred through prophecy and the elders’ laying on of hands (4:14).
Church
Approved rendering: Hội Thánh
Transliteration: Hoi Thanh
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: đền, chùa
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Named ‘church of God’ (3:5) and ‘church of the living God’ (3:15); never đền or chùa.
Law
Approved rendering: luật pháp
Transliteration: luat phap
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Discussed regarding its lawful use versus misuse by false teachers (1:8-9).
Sin
Approved rendering: tội lỗi
Transliteration: toi loi
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: nghiệp xấu
Original: ἁμαρτωλός / ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Describes those the law is for (1:9) and Paul’s self-description as ‘foremost of sinners’ (1:15).
Gentiles
Approved rendering: dân ngoại
Transliteration: dan ngoai
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Named as recipients of Paul’s teaching commission (2:7) and of gospel proclamation in the 3:16 hymn; in this book primarily serves the Mission to the Nations doctrine.
Glory
Approved rendering: sự vinh hiển
Transliteration: su vinh hien
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Occurs in the doxologies of 1:11, 1:17, and the hymn of 3:16.
Mission
Approved rendering: công cuộc truyền giáo
Transliteration: cong cuoc truyen giao
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Relevant to 2:7 (‘teacher of the Gentiles’) and 3:16’s ‘preached among the nations.‘
Mercy
Approved rendering: sự thương xót
Transliteration: su thuong xot
Doctrine: Mercy
Rejected alternatives: từ bi, lòng thương của tổ tiên
Original: ἔλεος
Category: Salvation
New term. God’s compassion toward the guilty, part of the greeting triad (1:2) and Paul’s testimony as ‘the foremost of sinners’ who ‘received mercy’ (1:13, 1:16). Distinguish from Buddhist từ bi (karma-relieving compassion) and from transactional mercy sought from ancestors/deities through offering and petition.
Elder
Approved rendering: trưởng lão
Transliteration: truong lao
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: người lãnh đạo Hội Thánh
Original: πρεσβύτερος
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 5:1, 5:17, 5:19. Collides with the Buddhist monastic senior-monk title (translating Pali thera) and with generic age-based village-elder councils. Must be taught as a spiritual-shepherding office qualified by character and doctrine (3:1-7), not seniority-honor or monastic rank.
Council Of Elders
Approved rendering: hội đồng trưởng lão
Transliteration: hoi dong truong lao
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Original: πρεσβυτέριον
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 4:14. The body of elders who laid hands on Timothy at his commissioning; shares the collision considerations of ‘elder.‘
Deacon
Approved rendering: chấp sự
Transliteration: chap su
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: tôi tớ phục vụ
Original: διάκονος (office sense)
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 3:8-13. Established Vietnamese Protestant institutional term (Ban Chấp sự). Risk: the institutional/administrative connotation can obscure the root sense of humble table-service; a teaching note should recover this servant-heart origin.
Minister General Sense
Approved rendering: người đầy tớ tốt
Transliteration: nguoi day to tot
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: chấp sự
Original: διάκονος (general sense)
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 4:6. General ministerial service (Timothy), distinct from the formal deacon office; must be kept distinct in usage from ‘chấp sự’ to avoid conflating general ministry with the ordained office.
Above Reproach
Approved rendering: không chỗ trách được
Transliteration: khong cho trach duoc
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: không ai chê trách được
Original: ἀνεπίλημπτος / ἀνέγκλητος
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 3:2 (ἀνεπίλημπτος), 3:10 (ἀνέγκλητος, synonym, same rendering acceptable). Distinguish from Confucian face-preservation (giữ thể diện), which can be maintained by concealment; this is genuine, examined integrity.
Able To Teach
Approved rendering: có tài dạy dỗ
Transliteration: co tai day do
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: giỏi giảng dạy
Original: διδακτικός
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 3:2. Distinguish from generic rhetorical eloquence or Confucian scholarly erudition (học vấn cao); competence specifically in sound apostolic doctrine.
Not A Lover Of Money
Approved rendering: không tham tiền bạc
Transliteration: khong tham tien bac
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Original: ἀφιλάργυρος
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 3:3. Anticipates 6:10’s warning; distinguish from the normal Vietnamese family expectation that a household head provide/accumulate for extended-family obligations — the prohibition targets ruling greed, not provision.
Managing Household Well
Approved rendering: quản trị nhà riêng mình cho tốt
Transliteration: quan tri nha rieng minh cho tot
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: cai quản gia đình
Original: τοῦ ἰδίου οἴκου καλῶς προϊστάμενον
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 3:4-5, 3:12. Teach as Christlike servant-headship (cf. Eph. 5), not authoritarian Confucian patriarchal rule (gia trưởng chế) as an end in itself.
Children In Submission
Approved rendering: con cái biết vâng phục
Transliteration: con cai biet vang phuc
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: con cái có hiếu
Original: τέκνα ἐν ὑποταγῇ
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 3:4. Distinguish from đạo hiếu as a self-standing Confucian moral/religious system; submission here flows from a home ordered under gospel authority.
Conscience
Approved rendering: lương tâm
Transliteration: luong tam
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Rejected alternatives: thể diện
Original: συνείδησις
Category: Sound Doctrine
1 Timothy 1:5, 1:19, 3:9, 4:2. The God-answerable inner faculty cleansed by the gospel, not merely Confucian social conscience concerned with maintaining honor/face (thể diện).
Good Standing
Approved rendering: địa vị tốt
Transliteration: dia vi tot
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: công đức
Original: βαθμὸν καλόν
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 3:13. Must be distinguished from Buddhist merit-accumulation (công đức tích lũy, already rejected in the baseline’s imputed_righteousness entry); this is relational confidence and reputation within grace-based service.
Double Honor
Approved rendering: sự tôn trọng gấp đôi
Transliteration: su ton trong gap doi
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Original: διπλῆς τιμῆς
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 5:17. Financial and respect-based compensation for elders who lead and teach well.
Ransom
Approved rendering: giá chuộc
Transliteration: gia chuoc
Doctrine: Christ as the One Mediator
Original: ἀντίλυτρον
Category: Christ as the One Mediator
1 Timothy 2:6 (ἀντίλυτρον). Christ’s substitutionary, once-for-all payment for sin, given ‘for all’; must not evoke a payment appeasing karmic debt or discharging an ancestral obligation.
Good Confession
Approved rendering: lời tuyên xưng
Transliteration: loi tuyen xung
Doctrine: Christ as the One Mediator
Rejected alternatives: lời thề
Original: ὁμολογία
Category: Christ-Centered Ministry
1 Timothy 6:12-13. Timothy’s own public confession and Christ’s testimony before Pilate. Shares the ‘xưng’ root with sự xưng công bình; must be distinguished from Buddhist ritual vow-taking (thọ giới/phát nguyện), a merit-generating commitment — this is testimony to a truth already accomplished by grace.
Love Of Money
Approved rendering: sự tham tiền bạc
Transliteration: su tham tien bac
Doctrine: Godliness and Contentment
Original: φιλαργυρία
Category: Godliness and Contentment
1 Timothy 6:10 (φιλαργυρία), ‘a root of all evils.’ Directly ties to the ἀφιλάργυρος qualification for overseers (3:3).
Widow
Approved rendering: người goá bụa
Transliteration: nguoi goa bua
Doctrine: Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
Rejected alternatives: quả phụ (as the general base term)
Original: χήρα
Category: Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
1 Timothy 5:3-16. The structured, examined ‘order of widows’ (age 60+, tested character per 5:9-10) must be distinguished from generic Confucian filial obligation as the sole basis for care.
Honor Widows
Approved rendering: tôn kính, trọng đãi
Transliteration: ton kinh, trong dai
Doctrine: Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
Rejected alternatives: hiếu kính
Original: χήρας τίμα / τιμάω
Category: Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
1 Timothy 5:3. Deliberately avoid ‘hiếu kính’ (reserved for Confucian filial-duty contexts) to prevent conflating gospel-motivated congregational care with a filial-piety merit framework; emphasize respectful material provision.
Widow Indeed
Approved rendering: người quả phụ thật sự
Transliteration: nguoi qua phu that su
Doctrine: Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
Original: ὄντως χήρα
Category: Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
1 Timothy 5:3, 5:5 (ὄντως χήρα). The technical, examined category qualifying for church support, not general widowhood.
Slaves And Masters
Approved rendering: đầy tớ dưới ách, chủ
Transliteration: day to duoi ach, chu
Doctrine: Household Ethics and Social Order
Rejected alternatives: nô lệ
Original: δοῦλοι ὑπὸ ζυγόν, δεσπόται
Category: Household Ethics
1 Timothy 6:1-2. Requires a clear historical-context teaching note addressing first-century household slavery without excusing the institution or being read as a modern political endorsement.
Pillar And Foundation Of Truth
Approved rendering: cột trụ và nền của lẽ thật
Transliteration: cot tru va nen cua le that
Doctrine: The Church as Pillar of Truth
Original: στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας
Category: The Church as Pillar of Truth
1 Timothy 3:15. The church upholds and guards a truth revealed once by God; it does not generate or evolve that truth as in Confucian sage-transmission models.
Laying On Of Hands
Approved rendering: sự đặt tay
Transliteration: su dat tay
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts
Rejected alternatives: nghi thức đặt tay chữa bệnh
Original: ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 4:14, 5:22. Distinguish from folk healing-touch or spirit-medium ritual touch (hầu đồng); a commissioning act accompanying prayer, not a channel of magical power.
Sound Doctrine
Approved rendering: giáo lý lành mạnh
Transliteration: giao ly lanh manh
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Rejected alternatives: tà giáo
Original: ὑγιαίνουσα διδασκαλία
Category: Sound Doctrine
1 Timothy 1:10, 6:3. ‘Giáo lý’ must be anchored to fixed, apostolic, revealed teaching, not treated as one denominational teaching among Vietnam’s many co-existing religious systems. ‘Tà giáo’ rejected for the negative pole due to socio-legal loading (used by the state to label banned sects).
Teach A Different Doctrine
Approved rendering: dạy đạo khác
Transliteration: day dao khac
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Original: ἑτεροδιδασκαλέω
Category: Sound Doctrine
1 Timothy 1:3, 6:3 (ἑτεροδιδασκαλέω). Must be taught with reference to a fixed, apostolic, once-given standard, not as one valid teaching among many equally legitimate religious paths.
Myths
Approved rendering: truyện hoang đường
Transliteration: truyen hoang duong
Doctrine: Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching
Rejected alternatives: thần thoại
Original: μῦθος
Category: Sound Doctrine
1 Timothy 1:4, 4:7 (μῦθος). Must not be read as a blanket condemnation of Vietnamese/Chinese-origin traditional legendary narrative (thần thoại) as a genre; targets speculative teaching that displaces sound apostolic doctrine.
True Child In The Faith
Approved rendering: con thật trong đức tin
Transliteration: con that trong duc tin
Doctrine: Faith
Original: γνήσιον τέκνον ἐν πίστει
Category: Faith
1 Timothy 1:2. Paul’s mentor-disciple relationship with Timothy; distinguish from Confucian/Buddhist master-disciple lineage-transmission (which confers institutional authority by pedigree) and from the baseline’s legal Adoption doctrine (a different relationship — believer’s sonship to God).
Not Greedy Dishonest Gain
Approved rendering: không tham lợi bất chính
Transliteration: khong tham loi bat chinh
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
1 Timothy 3:8 (αἰσχροκερδής). Financial integrity in a service role tied to handling church funds/charity for widows (ch. 5); distinguish from generic Confucian merchant-thrift ethics.
Modest Apparel
Approved rendering: cách phục sức đứng đắn với sự khiêm nhường và tiết độ
Transliteration: cach phuc suc dung dan voi su khiem nhuong va tiet do
Doctrine: Public Worship and Prayer
1 Timothy 2:9. Public worship propriety principle; risk lies in over-literalizing first-century dress specifics rather than the underlying modesty/self-control principle, which is broadly compatible with existing Vietnamese modesty norms.
Deny The Faith
Approved rendering: chối bỏ đức tin
Transliteration: choi bo duc tin
Doctrine: Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
1 Timothy 5:8. Failing to provide for one’s own family is treated as a practical denial of the Christian faith; this reinforces rather than conflicts with the existing strong Vietnamese norm of extended-family support.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: sự cảm tạ
Transliteration: su cam ta
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Part of the comprehensive prayer list of 2:1 and the proper reception of food in 4:3-4.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: lời tiên tri
Transliteration: loi tien tri
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. In 1 Timothy occurs in the sense of prophetic words accompanying Timothy’s commissioning (1:18, 4:14), not OT-to-NT fulfillment; the shared Vietnamese term is doctrinally compatible in both senses.
Exhort
Approved rendering: khích lệ
Transliteration: khich le
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Context-sensitive: khuyên nài for entreaty, khích lệ for building up; used across household-relational appeals in 5:1-2 and 6:2.
Tested Proved
Approved rendering: được thử nghiệm
Transliteration: duoc thu nghiem
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Original: δοκιμάζω
Category: Church Leadership
1 Timothy 3:10. Formal probationary examination of character before deacon appointment.
Enrolled
Approved rendering: được ghi vào danh sách
Transliteration: duoc ghi vao danh sach
Doctrine: Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
Original: καταλέγεσθαι
Category: Care for Widows and the Household of Faith
1 Timothy 5:9. Formal registration into the church’s supported-widows roster.
Sober Self Controlled
Approved rendering: tiết độ
Transliteration: tiet do
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
1 Timothy 3:2 (νηφάλιος, σώφρων), also 3:11. Clear-headed, self-mastering disposition required of overseers and, by the same standard, the women of 3:11.
Respectable
Approved rendering: đứng đắn
Transliteration: dung dan
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
1 Timothy 3:2 (κόσμιος). Dignified, well-ordered manner of life.
Hospitable
Approved rendering: có lòng tiếp đãi khách lạ
Transliteration: co long tiep dai khach la
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
Rejected alternatives: hiếu khách
1 Timothy 3:2 (φιλόξενος). Active, practical welcome of outsiders/travelers, important in a house-church context.
Not A Drunkard
Approved rendering: không mê rượu
Transliteration: khong me ruou
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
1 Timothy 3:3, and 3:8 for deacons (‘not addicted to much wine’).
Not Violent
Approved rendering: không hung bạo
Transliteration: khong hung bao
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
1 Timothy 3:3 (πλήκτης).
Gentle
Approved rendering: hiền hòa
Transliteration: hien hoa
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
1 Timothy 3:3 (ἐπιεικής). Christlike forbearing gentleness, a positive leadership virtue.
Not Quarrelsome
Approved rendering: không hay tranh cạnh
Transliteration: khong hay tranh canh
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
1 Timothy 3:3 (ἄμαχος). Contrasts with the false teachers’ love of disputes (6:4).
Not Double Tongued
Approved rendering: không nói hai lời
Transliteration: khong noi hai loi
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
1 Timothy 3:8 (δίλογος). Integrity of speech required of deacons.
Good Testimony
Approved rendering: danh tiếng tốt
Transliteration: danh tieng tot
Doctrine: Qualifications for Church Leadership (Elders and Deacons)
1 Timothy 3:7 (μαρτυρία καλή). Reputation verifiable by outsiders; missional accountability.
Quiet And Peaceable Life
Approved rendering: cuộc sống yên tĩnh và bình an
Transliteration: cuoc song yen tinh va binh an
Doctrine: Public Worship and Prayer
1 Timothy 2:2. Desired social outcome of prayer for civil rulers; ordered stability for gospel witness, not political power.
Lifting Holy Hands
Approved rendering: giơ tay thánh sạch lên
Transliteration: gio tay thanh sach len
Doctrine: Public Worship and Prayer
1 Timothy 2:8. Rendered plainly without adopting ritual-gesture vocabulary borrowed from temple worship postures.
Wage The Good Warfare
Approved rendering: chiến đấu trong cuộc chiến tốt lành
Transliteration: chien dau trong cuoc chien tot lanh
Doctrine: Guarding the Deposit of Faith
1 Timothy 1:18. Military metaphor for persevering faithfully in ministry and guarding sound doctrine; echoed in 6:12’s athletic-contest metaphor.
Referenced passages