07 Semantic Analysis — Acts 1–28 (English → Vietnamese)
Methodology
This document analyzes the entire book of Acts in Koine Greek for the vietnamese destination-language translation package. The core passage, Acts 2:1-41 (Pentecost and Peter’s sermon), receives verse-by-verse treatment: every load-bearing term is given with its original Greek form, transliteration, literal meaning, semantic range, English variants, contextual theological meaning in Acts, and the Vietnamese rendering with risk assessment. Every other chapter (1, 3–28) receives chapter-level treatment of its load-bearing theological vocabulary using the same fields. Where a chapter introduces no new theological vocabulary, this is stated explicitly.
Governing rule: Any term already recorded in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json is reused here with its exact recorded Vietnamese rendering. This document does not re-derive those terms’ risk fields from scratch; it cites the baseline rendering and flags only Acts-specific contextual nuances. New terms are proposed following the same doctrinal-risk discipline the baseline established (Critical/High/Medium/Low), paying special attention to Vietnamese folk-religious, Buddhist, Confucian, and ancestor-veneration collision points — a class of risk this curriculum surfaces even more than Romans, because Acts narrates spirit-phenomena (tongues, visions, exorcism, divination, sorcery) that sit close to living Vietnamese folk-religious practice (đồng bóng spirit-mediumship, thầy bói fortune-telling, bùa/chú charms and incantations, cúng ancestor-offerings).
PART 1 — Core Passage: Acts 2:1-41 (Verse-by-Verse)
Acts 2:1
Setting: the disciples gathered at Pentecost.
| Term (Greek/Translit.) | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| Πεντηκοστή / Pentēkostē | ”fiftieth [day]“ | Jewish Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), 50 days after Passover | Pentecost | The Spirit’s outpouring is timed to a Jewish pilgrim feast, fulfilling harvest/covenant typology; anchors the church’s birth in the OT calendar, not a new unrelated festival. | Lễ Ngũ Tuần | Medium — established term; audience needs OT feast-calendar background to see the fulfillment logic, not syncretism risk. |
| ὁμοῦ / homou | ”together, in one place” | unity of location and purpose | together, in one place | Anticipates ὁμοθυμαδόν (“one accord,” Acts 1:14) — corporate unity precedes corporate empowerment. | ở một nơi / cùng nhau | Low |
Acts 2:2
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| πνοή / pnoē | ”breath, blast, wind” | natural wind; breath of life (cf. Gen 2:7 LXX) | sound, rushing wind, blast | Echoes the Spirit-as-breath/wind motif (Heb. ruach, Gk. pneuma); wind is a sign, not the Spirit itself. | tiếng động dữ dội như gió thổi | Low — narrative sensory detail; note wordplay with πνεῦμα for teaching value only. |
| βίαιος / biaios | ”violent, forceful” | intensity, power | violent, strong, rushing | Signals divine, uncontrollable initiative — not a gentle self-generated feeling. | mạnh mẽ / dữ dội | Low |
Acts 2:3
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός / glōssai hōsei pyros | ”tongues as of fire” | visible flame-shapes; symbolic of divine presence/judgment purification | tongues of fire, flames | Visible manifestation of the Spirit’s presence resting on each person individually — not a possession-trance phenomenon controlling the person. | hình lưỡi như lửa | Medium — must not be illustrated in a way that resembles Vietnamese folk depictions of spirit-fire or ritual candle-flame omens; keep the image tied to divine presence/empowerment, not omen-reading. |
Acts 2:4
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἐπλήσθησαν Πνεύματος Ἁγίου / eplēsthēsan Pneumatos Hagiou | ”were filled with [the] Holy Spirit” | complete Spirit-empowerment, not partial | filled, filled with the Holy Spirit | The definitive inaugurating filling of the church; distinct from the ongoing “keep being filled” (Eph 5:18) but same divine Person. | được đầy dẫy Đức Thánh Linh | Critical — reuse baseline Đức Thánh Linh (full form required, never bare thần linh). Must be taught as the believer’s Spirit-empowered agency retained intact, explicitly distinguished from Vietnamese folk spirit-possession/mediumship (bị thần/tà linh nhập, đồng bóng trance), in which the medium’s own will is displaced. |
| ἀποφθέγγεσθαι / apophthengesthai | ”to declare, utter forth” | authoritative, Spirit-prompted speech | speak forth, declare, utter | Elevated verb (also used of oracular utterance) marking this as inspired proclamation, not glossolalic babble. | nói ra / cao rao | Medium |
| ἑτέραις γλώσσαις / heterais glōssais | ”in other tongues/languages” | real, intelligible human languages (confirmed by v.6, 8, 11) | other tongues, other languages | Miraculous ability to proclaim God’s works in the hearers’ own native languages — a sign of the gospel’s reach to every nation, reversing Babel. | nói các thứ tiếng khác | Critical — must be rendered as intelligible foreign languages, not generic “tiếng lạ” (ecstatic/unintelligible utterance) in this narrative, since the text explicitly confirms comprehension by multiple nationalities. Must also be clearly distinguished in surrounding teaching notes from trance-speech at Vietnamese spirit-medium ceremonies (hầu đồng), where a possessing spirit speaks through an entranced medium. |
Acts 2:5-8
Amazed multinational crowd hears their own languages.
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| διάλεκτος / dialektos | ”dialect, native language” | mother-tongue, regional speech | language, tongue, dialect | Emphasizes each hearer’s own heart-language — foreshadows Gentile mission’s linguistic particularity. | thổ ngữ / tiếng riêng | Low |
| ἐξίσταντο / existanto | ”were amazed, astonished” | wonder bordering on confusion | amazed, astounded, perplexed | Appropriate awe at a genuine divine sign, distinguished from entertainment or spectacle. | kinh ngạc | Low |
Acts 2:9-11
List of nations (Parthians, Medes, Elamites, etc.) — proper nouns, low risk, but doctrinally significant: previews the “Gospel to Jews and Gentiles” and “Great Commission” scope. No new lexical theological term; the list functions rhetorically as a foretaste of Acts 1:8’s “end of the earth.”
Acts 2:12-13
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| διηπόρουν / diēporoun | ”were greatly perplexed” | deep bewilderment | perplexed, bewildered | Honest confusion contrasted with mockers in v.13 — two responses to the same sign. | băn khoăn / bối rối | Low |
| διαγελῶντες / diagelōntes | ”mocking, jeering” | derision | mocking, making fun | Unbelieving dismissal of a genuine Spirit-sign as drunkenness — sets up Peter’s corrective sermon. | chế nhạo | Low |
| γλεῦκος / gleukos | ”sweet new wine” | unfermented or young wine | new wine | The mockers’ naturalistic explanation Peter must refute. | rượu mới | Low |
Acts 2:14-15
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἀπεφθέγξατο / apephthegxato | ”declared, proclaimed” | see v.4 above | declared | Peter’s own Spirit-filled proclamation now begins; same verb links tongues-event to sermon. | lên tiếng nói / công bố | Medium |
Acts 2:16-17
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| Ἰωήλ ὁ προφήτης / Iōēl ho prophētēs | ”Joel the prophet” | reuse baseline “prophet” | the prophet Joel | Establishes fulfillment-of-prophecy doctrine: Pentecost is the promised eschatological Spirit-outpouring, not a novel event. | tiên tri Giô-ên | Medium — reuse baseline “prophet” (tiên tri); book name “Giô-ên” per Bản Truyền Thống convention (cf. baseline cross-reference rules listing Giô-ên). |
| ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις / en tais eschatais hēmerais | ”in the last days” | inaugurated eschatology | last days, latter days | Frames Pentecost as the beginning of the end-times age, not a cyclical era. | trong những ngày sau rốt | High — must retain linear, one-directional eschatology; avoid any phrasing suggesting a repeating cosmic cycle (cf. baseline “fulfillment_of_prophecy” doctrine note on Buddhist cyclical cosmology). |
| ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματός μου / ekcheō apo tou Pneumatos mou | ”I will pour out of my Spirit” | generous, abundant outpouring | pour out, pour forth | God himself is the active agent; the Spirit is given, not attained through practice. | Ta sẽ đổ Thần Ta ra | Critical — reuse Đức Thánh Linh doctrine; “pour out” must not read as an impersonal force being released, but as the personal Spirit being sovereignly given by God. |
| προφητεύσουσιν / prophēteusousin | ”they will prophesy” | reuse baseline “prophecy” | will prophesy | Universalizes the prophetic gift across social categories (sons/daughters, young/old) — not restricted to a priestly/prophetic caste. | sẽ nói tiên tri | Medium |
Acts 2:18
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| δούλους καὶ δούλας / doulous kai doulas | ”male and female servants/slaves” | social status inclusion | menservants, maidservants | The Spirit crosses social/status lines — servants receive the same Spirit as free persons. | đầy tôi trai và đầy tôi gái | Low |
Acts 2:19-20
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| τέρατα καὶ σημεῖα / terata kai sēmeia | ”wonders and signs” | miraculous, attesting acts | wonders and signs, signs and wonders | Cosmic and miraculous phenomena accompanying the last days; formally defined further at Acts 2:22 and Ch. 4. | phép lạ và dấu lạ | High — see full definition at 2:22 below. |
| ἡμέρα Κυρίου / hēmera Kyriou | ”the day of the Lord” | OT eschatological judgment/salvation day | the day of the Lord | The Lord here is YHWH in the OT quotation, now applied to Jesus by v.21/36 — a Christological claim embedded in the citation. | ngày của Chúa | Medium — reuse baseline “Chúa” (High risk term); ensure the OT-to-Christ identification is not lost. |
Acts 2:21
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου / epikalesētai to onoma Kyriou | ”shall call upon the name of the Lord” | invoking, appealing to, trusting the name/person | call on the name of the Lord | Joel 2:32 quotation, identical OT text quoted again in Romans 10:13. Salvation-defining confession-invocation. | kêu cầu danh Chúa | Critical — must render identically to any future Acts/Romans cross-reference to preserve curriculum-wide consistency (per baseline’s cross-document consistency rule for salvation-confession texts). Must be taught as trusting reliance on Christ’s person and finished work, never as a ritual invocation-formula comparable to folk incantations (khấn, đọc chú) that summon spirit-power by naming it. |
| σωθήσεται / sōthēsetai | ”will be saved” | reuse baseline “salvation” | will be saved | Reuse sự cứu rỗi — deliverance BY God, not self-attained liberation. | sẽ được cứu | Critical — reuse baseline term exactly; never sự giải thoát. |
Acts 2:22
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| δυνάμεσι καὶ τέρασι καὶ σημείοις / dynamesi kai terasi kai sēmeiois | ”mighty works, wonders, and signs” | attesting miracles worked through Jesus by God | miracles, mighty works, signs and wonders | God’s own attestation of Jesus through observable acts — grounds the sermon’s historical claim, not legendary embellishment. | các việc quyền năng, phép lạ và dấu lạ | High — this triad (“dấu lạ và phép lạ”) recurs across the whole book (Ch. 4, 5, 14, 15) as the marker of apostolic authority. Must be distinguished throughout from tà thuật (sorcery, Ch. 8, 13, 19) — true signs from God vs. counterfeit wonder-working by folk sorcerers/mediums (thầy pháp, đồng bóng). |
Acts 2:23
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| τῇ ὡρισμένῃ βουλῇ καὶ προγνώσει τοῦ Θεοῦ / tē hōrismenē boulē kai prognōsei tou Theou | ”by the determined plan and foreknowledge of God” | sovereign decree + foreknowing | predetermined plan, foreknowledge | Christ’s death was God’s sovereign plan, not a tragic accident — foundation for providence doctrine. | theo mưu định trước và sự biết trước của Đức Chúa Trời | High — reuse baseline “providence” (sự quan phòng); must not be rendered so as to sound like impersonal fate (số trời) determining events apart from personal divine will. |
| ἀνείλατε / aneilate | ”you put to death, killed” | judicial killing | killed, put to death | Direct accusation grounding the call to repentance in v.38. | đã giết | Medium |
Acts 2:24
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἀνέστησεν / anestēsen | ”raised up” | causative resurrection verb | raised, raised up | God’s own act of raising Christ bodily — the Father as agent. | đã khiến sống lại | Critical — reuse baseline “resurrection” (sự sống lại); never đầu thai/luân hồi. |
| λύσας τὰς ὠδῖνας τοῦ θανάτου / lysas tas ōdinas tou thanatou | ”having loosed the pains/cords of death” | death’s grip broken, birth-pang imagery | loosing the pains of death, freeing from death’s grip | Death could not hold him — a unique, historical, one-time victory, not liberation from a cycle. | tháo mở những đau đớn của sự chết | Critical — must not be phrased so as to echo a “release from the cycle of death and rebirth” (giải thoát khỏi vòng sinh tử), the core Buddhist soteriological image. |
Acts 2:25-26
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| Δαυίδ / Dauid | proper name | reuse baseline | David | OT prophetic witness to the resurrection, per Davidic Covenant doctrine. | Đa-vít | Medium — reuse baseline exactly. |
| προορώμην / proorōmēn | ”I foresaw” | anticipatory perception | foresaw, saw beforehand | David’s prophetic foresight of the Messiah’s resurrection. | thấy trước | Medium |
Acts 2:27
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἅδης / hadēs | ”Hades,” the realm of the dead | OT Sheol-equivalent, not a moral hell-image per se here | Hades, the grave, the realm of the dead | Christ’s soul was not abandoned in death’s realm — resurrection hope grounded in this specific historical body/soul reunion. | âm phủ / cõi người chết | Medium — avoid identification with Vietnamese folk/Buddhist cosmological realms (địa ngục of karmic rebirth-judgment, or the ancestral spirit-world of thờ cúng); keep as the OT/NT category “realm of the dead,” awaiting the resurrection. |
| ὅσιος / hosios | ”holy, godly, devout one” | consecrated moral purity + covenant loyalty | Holy One, godly one | Applied to Christ; foundational for the fuller title “the Holy and Righteous One” in Acts 3:14. | Đấng Thánh | High — reuse thánh (baseline); title applied uniquely to Christ, not to be leveled with folk-deified “các thánh” figures (per baseline “saints” warning). |
| διαφθοράν / diaphthoran | ”corruption, decay” | bodily decomposition | corruption, decay | Christ’s body did not decay — bodily, historical resurrection, not a spiritual-only survival. | sự hư nát | Medium |
Acts 2:28
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ὁδοὺς ζωῆς / hodous zōēs | ”ways/paths of life” | life-giving guidance | paths of life, ways of life | Anticipates the “Way” terminology used later of the Christian movement (Ch. 9, 19, 24). | những đường sự sống | Medium |
Acts 2:29-30
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| πατριάρχης / patriarchēs | ”patriarch” | forefather of covenant lineage | patriarch | David honored as covenant forefather; roots the sermon in Israel’s history. | tổ phụ / trưởng tộc | Low |
| ὅρκῳ ὤμοσεν / horkō ōmosen | ”swore with an oath” | binding divine promise | swore an oath | Reuse baseline “covenant” (giao ước) framework — God’s promise to David is binding, relational, not a negotiable contract. | thề với một lời thề | Medium |
| καρπὸν τῆς ὀσφύος αὐτοῦ / karpon tēs osphyos autou | ”fruit of his loins” | physical descendant | fruit of his body, descendant | Reuse baseline seed_of_david (dòng dõi Đa-vít). | dòng dõi (con cháu) của người | Medium — reuse baseline term. |
Acts 2:31
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| τὴν ἀνάστασιν τοῦ Χριστοῦ / tēn anastasin tou Christou | ”the resurrection of the Christ” | reuse baseline resurrection + Christ | the resurrection of the Christ | Peter explicitly names this David’s prophetic subject — direct fulfillment claim. | sự sống lại của Đấng Christ | Critical — reuse baseline exactly; note “Christ” title here = Đấng Christ per established transliteration standard (distinct from “Đấng Mê-si-a” used for the OT concept). |
Acts 2:32
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| μάρτυρες / martyres | ”witnesses” | legal/eyewitness testimony | witnesses | The apostles’ authority rests on eyewitness testimony to a historical, bodily event — not received tradition alone. | chứng nhân | High — formally defined further at Acts 1:8; central to “Persecution and Bold Witness” doctrine across the book. |
Acts 2:33
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| τῇ δεξιᾷ τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑψωθείς / tē dexia tou Theou hypsōtheis | ”having been exalted to the right hand of God” | position of supreme honor/authority | exalted to God’s right hand | Christ’s exaltation grounds his authority to give the Spirit — Christology + Pneumatology fused. | được tôn cao bên tay phải Đức Chúa Trời | High — reuse baseline “glory”/“lord” register; ties Lordship of Christ doctrine directly to the Spirit’s outpouring. |
| τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος / tēn epangelian tou Hagiou Pneumatos | ”the promise of the Holy Spirit” | covenant promise fulfilled | the promise of the Holy Spirit | Pentecost is the fulfillment of a specific prior promise (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5), not a spontaneous new phenomenon. | lời hứa về Đức Thánh Linh | Critical — reuse Đức Thánh Linh in full. |
Acts 2:34-35
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἀνέβη / anebē | ”went up, ascended” | bodily ascension | ascended | Reuse baseline resurrection framework; anticipates Acts 1:9-11’s ascension narrative. | đã lên (trời) | High — must be distinguished from a temporary heavenly visit or shamanic soul-journey motif found in some folk traditions; this is a final, historical bodily ascension. |
| ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου / hypopodion tōn podōn sou | ”a footstool for your feet” | total subjugation of enemies | footstool | Psalm 110 citation affirming Christ’s total, cosmic authority. | bệ dưới chân Ngài | Low |
Acts 2:36
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἀσφαλῶς / asphalōs | ”assuredly, certainly” | confident certainty | assuredly, certainly know | Removes ambiguity — this is the sermon’s climactic, non-negotiable conclusion. | chắc chắn | Low |
| Κύριον καὶ Χριστόν / Kyrion kai Christon | ”Lord and Christ” | dual title: supreme authority + anointed Messiah | Lord and Christ | The sermon’s thesis statement; directly parallels Romans 10:9’s confession requirement — cross-document consistency required. | Chúa và Đấng Christ | Critical — reuse baseline “lord” (Chúa) exactly; “Christ” = Đấng Christ per transliteration standard. This clause must render with the same rigor as Romans 10:9 “Đức Chúa Giê-xu là Chúa.” |
Acts 2:37
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| κατενύγησαν τὴν καρδίαν / katenygēsan tēn kardian | ”were pierced/stabbed in the heart” | deep conviction, compunction | cut to the heart, deeply convicted | Genuine Spirit-produced conviction of sin, not mere emotional response or social shame. | bị đâm trong lòng | Medium — must be distinguished from culturally common “shame before others” (mất mặt) dynamics; this is conviction before God, not social honor-loss. |
| τί ποιήσωμεν; / ti poiēsōmen? | “what shall we do?“ | urgent existential question | what shall we do? | Sets up the sermon’s practical, doctrinal answer in v.38 — the pattern for gospel response throughout Acts (16:30; 22:10). | Chúng tôi phải làm chi? | Low |
Acts 2:38 — the doctrinal hinge verse
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| μετανοήσατε / metanoēsate | ”repent!” (imperative) | change of mind/heart and direction, turning from sin toward God | repent, turn from sin | Not ritual confession for merit-clearing but a Spirit-enabled reorientation of the whole person toward God, prerequisite for baptism. | Hãy ăn năn | High — must be clearly distinguished from Buddhist sám hối (a confessional/merit-purification practice aimed at clearing negative karma through one’s own ritual effort). Ăn năn here is repentance toward a personal God who forgives by grace, not karma-clearing. |
| βαπτισθήτω / baptisthētō | ”let him be baptized” (imperative) | ritual water immersion marking public identification with Christ | be baptized | The public, once-for-all sign of repentance and incorporation into Christ and his people — not a repeatable purification rite. | Hãy chịu báp-têm | High — established Vietnamese Protestant term (báp-têm); must not be assimilated to ritual washing/purification rites in folk or Buddhist practice, nor treated as itself the cause of salvation apart from repentance/faith. |
| ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ / epi tō onomati Iēsou Christou | ”in/on the name of Jesus Christ” | acting under, by the authority of, in identification with | in the name of Jesus Christ | Baptism’s meaning and authority derive entirely from Christ’s person and work. | trong danh Đức Chúa Giê-xu Christ | Critical — reuse baseline Jesus (Đức Chúa Giê-xu); “in the name of” recurs constantly in Acts (3:6; 4:12; 16:18; 19:13) and must consistently be taught as trusting reliance on Christ’s authority and person, never as an incantation-formula invoking power the way folk charms (bùa, chú) or spirit-invocations (khấn vái) are used to summon supernatural aid. |
| εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν / eis aphesin tōn hamartiōn hymōn | ”for/unto the forgiveness of your sins” | judicial pardon, release from guilt | for the forgiveness of your sins | Reuse baseline sin (tội lỗi); forgiveness is a legal release granted by God, not merit accumulated or karma balanced. | để được tha tội | High — must connect clearly to baseline sin/grace doctrine; never implies debt repaid or karma offset. |
| τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος / tēn dōrean tou Hagiou Pneumatos | ”the gift of the Holy Spirit” | the Spirit himself given as gift, not merely his gifts (charismata) | the gift of the Holy Spirit | Distinguished from ân tứ thuộc linh (spiritual gifts, plural enablements, baseline term); here it is the Person of the Spirit given to indwell every believer. | sự ban tặng Đức Thánh Linh | Critical — reuse Đức Thánh Linh in full; distinguish carefully in teaching notes from “ân tứ thuộc linh” (baseline term for charismata) so learners do not conflate receiving the Spirit-Person with receiving spiritual abilities. |
Acts 2:39
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἡ ἐπαγγελία / hē epangelia | ”the promise” | see v.33 | the promise | The Spirit-gift promise extends beyond the immediate hearers. | lời hứa | Medium |
| τοῖς τέκνοις ὑμῶν / tois teknois hymōn | ”to your children” | covenant-generational continuity | your children | Continuity with OT covenant-family pattern; sets up later household-baptism narratives (Ch. 16). | cho con cháu anh em | Medium |
| πᾶσι τοῖς εἰς μακράν / pasi tois eis makran | ”to all who are far off” | geographic and/or ethnic distance | those far off, those who are far away | Anticipates Gentile inclusion — the universal reach fulfilled narratively across Acts 10–28. | cho mọi người ở xa | High — ties directly to “Gospel to Jews and Gentiles” and “Great Commission Fulfilled” doctrines; must retain the unqualified universal scope (cf. baseline “universal_scope_of_gospel”). |
| ὅσους ἂν προσκαλέσηται Κύριος / hosous an proskalesētai Kyrios | ”as many as the Lord calls” | sovereign, effectual summons | as many as the Lord shall call | Reuse baseline “called/calling” — the call is God’s sovereign initiative, not a fixed fate. | hết thảy những người mà Chúa kêu gọi | High — reuse baseline “được kêu gọi”/“sự kêu gọi”; must not be rendered as số phận (fixed fate). |
Acts 2:40
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| διεμαρτύρετο / diemartyreto | ”solemnly testified” | intensified witness-verb | testified, solemnly urged | Reinforces the witness/testimony motif (cf. μάρτυς, v.32). | làm chứng cách long trọng | Medium |
| παρεκάλει / parekalei | ”exhorted, urged” | reuse baseline exhort | exhorted, urged, appealed | Reuse baseline khích lệ/khuyên nài per baseline’s context-sensitive note (entreaty sense here). | khuyên nài | Low — reuse baseline term; entreaty sense applies. |
| τῆς γενεᾶς τῆς σκολιᾶς ταύτης / tēs geneas tēs skolias tautēs | ”this crooked generation” | morally twisted, deviant | this crooked generation | A call to separate from a morally corrupt cultural direction — echoes Deut 32:5. | thế hệ gian tà này | Medium |
Acts 2:41
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἀσμένως ἀποδεξάμενοι / asmenōs apodexamenoi | ”having gladly received” | joyful, willing acceptance | gladly received, gladly welcomed | Genuine, joyful reception of the word, not compulsion. | vui mừng tiếp nhận | Low |
| ἐβαπτίσθησαν / ebaptisthēsan | ”were baptized” | see v.38 | were baptized | Immediate obedience pattern — repentance and baptism inseparably linked in Acts. | đã chịu báp-têm | High — reuse baptism term above. |
| προσετέθησαν / prosetethēsan | ”were added” | incorporation into an existing body | were added | The church is a Spirit-formed community one joins by grace, not a lineage one is born into. | được thêm vào (Hội Thánh) | Medium — reuse baseline “church” (Hội Thánh). |
| ψυχαὶ τρισχίλιαι / psychai trischiliai | ”three thousand souls” | whole persons, not merely a headcount | three thousand souls/people | Emphasizes the value of each whole person converted, not a mere statistic. | linh hồn — khoảng ba ngàn người | Low |
Acts 2:42-47 (remainder of chapter 2, beyond the core passage — included for full-chapter coverage)
The core passage proper ends at v.41; vv.42-47 describe the resulting community and introduce terms load-bearing for the “Church as Community” doctrine.
| Term | Literal | Semantic Range | Eng. Variants | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| κοινωνία / koinōnia | ”fellowship, sharing” | reuse baseline fellowship | fellowship | Reuse baseline sự thông công — shared participation in Christ, expressed materially. | sự thông công | Low — reuse baseline exactly. |
| τῇ κλάσει τοῦ ἄρτου / tē klasei tou artou | ”the breaking of bread” | shared meal, likely including the Lord’s Supper | breaking of bread | Corporate, regular table-fellowship marking covenant community, distinct from ancestral-offering meals (cúng) shared with the deceased. | sự bẻ bánh | Medium — note contrast with Vietnamese ancestor-veneration meal offerings (cúng giỗ), which include ritual food-sharing with the dead; the Lord’s Supper commemorates a living, risen Lord present by his Spirit, not a departed ancestor. |
| εἶχον ἅπαντα κοινά / eichon hapanta koina | ”had all things in common” | voluntary material sharing | held everything in common | Voluntary, grace-motivated generosity, not a forced communal ownership system or Confucian clan-obligation. | có mọi sự làm của chung | Medium |
| προσκαρτεροῦντες / proskarterountes | ”continuing steadfastly, devoting themselves” | persistent, disciplined commitment | continued steadfastly, devoted themselves | Regular, disciplined community practice (teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, prayers) — the pattern of ordinary church life. | chuyên tâm giữ | Low |
PART 2 — Chapter-by-Chapter Study of the Whole Book
Chapter 1
Load-bearing terms new to the curriculum, introduced before the core passage.
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἀνελήμφθη / anelēmphthē | ”he was taken up” | Christ’s bodily, visible, historical ascension into heaven (1:9-11) | ascension — completes the resurrection narrative; Christ is bodily present in heaven, to return the same way (1:11) | sự thăng thiên / được đem lên trời | High — must not be pictured as a shamanic soul-journey or a temporary heavenly visit; this is Christ’s permanent bodily exaltation. |
| δύναμις / dynamis | ”power” | promised empowerment for witness (1:8), distinct from baseline “power_of_god” (salvation-power, Rom 1:16) though from the same divine source | quyền năng (để làm chứng) | Medium — reuse baseline “quyền năng của Đức Chúa Trời” register; here applied specifically to empowerment for bold witness. | |
| μάρτυρες / martyres | ”witnesses” | Formal commissioning term: the apostles as authorized eyewitness-proclaimers of the resurrection, the backbone of “Persecution and Bold Witness” and “Apostolic Authority” doctrines | chứng nhân | High — central term recurring through the whole book (2:32; 3:15; 4:33; 5:32; 10:39-41; 13:31; 22:15; 26:16). | |
| ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς / heōs eschatou tēs gēs | ”to the end/uttermost part of the earth” | The Great Commission’s geographic scope, structurally organizing the whole book (Jerusalem → Judea/Samaria → the nations) | cho đến cùng đất | High — ties directly to “Great Commission Fulfilled” doctrine; must retain unqualified universal geographic scope. | |
| ὁμοθυμαδόν / homothymadon | ”with one accord, unanimously” | Corporate unity in prayer preceding Pentecost; recurring marker of healthy church community (2:46; 4:24; 15:25) | đồng một lòng / hiệp một lòng | Low | |
| προσευχή / proseuchē | ”prayer” | Sustained, corporate, expectant prayer as the church’s posture awaiting the Spirit | sự cầu nguyện | Low — distinct from “intercession” (baseline sự cầu thay); this is general corporate prayer. | |
| κλῆρος / klēros | ”lot” (casting lots) | Matthias chosen by lot for apostolic office (1:26) — God’s sovereign selection through a providential means, not divination for personal fortune | rút thăm / bắt thăm | Medium — must be distinguished from folk fortune-telling practices (xin xăm, bói toán) that seek personal fortune; here it discerns God’s specific will for a unique apostolic office, not a repeatable practice for ordinary decision-making. | |
Chapter 3
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ὅσιος καὶ δίκαιος / hosios kai dikaios | ”the Holy and Righteous One” | Christological title (3:14) combining reuse-baseline thánh + sự công bình applied uniquely to Christ | Đấng Thánh và Công Bình | High — reuse both baseline terms; title is unique to Christ, not a category shared with deified folk figures. | |
| ἀρχηγὸς τῆς ζωῆς / archēgos tēs zōēs | ”Author/Prince of life” | Christ as the originating source and ruler of life itself, the one who grants resurrection life | Đấng Khởi Nguyên của Sự Sống / Chúa Sự Sống | High — Christological title tied to Lordship of Christ doctrine; must not read as merely “a life-giver” among several possible sources of vitality (as in folk views of multiple life-giving spirits). | |
| παῖς (Θεοῦ) / pais (Theou) | “servant, child (of God)“ | Christ as God’s Servant (Isaiah’s Suffering Servant), used of Jesus at 3:13, 3:26, 4:27, 4:30 | Đầy Tôi (của) Đức Chúa Trời | Medium-High — connects to Isaiah’s Servant Songs; must not flatten to ordinary “child” (sonship risk) nor ordinary “servant/slave” without messianic weight. | |
| ἀνάψυξις / anapsyxis | ”refreshing, relief" | "times of refreshing” (3:20) accompanying repentance — an eschatological relief tied to Christ’s return | kỳ yên nghỉ / mùa tươi tỉnh | Medium | |
| ἀποκατάστασις πάντων / apokatastasis pantōn | ”restoration of all things” | Final cosmic restoration at Christ’s return, an eschatological hope, not a cyclical renewal | sự phục hồi mọi sự | Medium — must be framed as a once-for-all future consummation, not a recurring cosmic cycle (cf. cyclical cosmology risk noted in baseline). | |
Chapter 4
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| παρρησία / parrēsia | ”boldness, freedom of speech” | Spirit-given fearless, open proclamation under threat — core to “Persecution and Bold Witness” doctrine | sự dạn dĩ | Medium — recurs 4:13, 4:29, 4:31, 9:27-29, 28:31; consistent rendering required across the book. | |
| Συνέδριον / Synedrion | ”council” | The Jewish Sanhedrin, the ruling religious-judicial council | Tòa Công Luận | Medium — established institutional term; recurs Ch. 4-7, 22-23. Not equivalent to a modern secular court nor to any Vietnamese folk-religious tribunal. | |
| οὐδὲ ἐν ἄλλῳ οὐδενί … ὄνομα / oude en allō oudeni … onoma | ”in no other name” | Exclusivity of salvation in the name of Jesus alone (4:12) | không có sự cứu rỗi trong danh nào khác | Critical — reuse baseline salvation (sự cứu rỗi); must retain absolute exclusivity, resisting any softening toward religious pluralism. | |
| ἅπαντα κοινά / hapanta koina | ”all things common” | see 2:44-45 above; formally repeated 4:32-35 | có mọi sự làm của chung | Medium | |
Chapter 5
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ψεύσασθαι τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον / pseusasthai to Pneuma to Hagion | ”to lie to the Holy Spirit” | Ananias and Sapphira’s sin (5:3) — deceiving the church is deceiving the personal Holy Spirit himself, not merely breaking a community rule | nói dối cùng Đức Thánh Linh | Critical — reuse Đức Thánh Linh (full form); reinforces the Spirit’s full personhood and deity — lying to him is a direct offense against God (5:4), not a social infraction. | |
| φόβος μέγας / phobos megas | ”great fear” | Holy, appropriate fear of God following his judgment within the community | sự kính sợ lớn | Medium — distinguish from generic superstitious fear of angry spirits (sợ ma, sợ thần linh nổi giận) common in folk religion; this is reverent fear before the holy, personal God who disciplines his own people. | |
| σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα / sēmeia kai terata | ”signs and wonders” | see 2:22, 4:30; apostolic authenticating miracles continue through the apostles (5:12) | dấu lạ và phép lạ | High — reuse defined term. | |
Chapter 6
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| διακονία / diakonia | ”service, ministry” | The daily distribution ministry (6:1), giving rise to the office later called “deacon” (chấp sự) | sự phục vụ / chức vụ phục vụ | Medium — do not confuse with generic social charity detached from the church’s spiritual mission. | |
| ἐπίθεσις (τῶν) χειρῶν / epithesis (tōn) cheirōn | ”laying on of hands” | Commissioning rite for the Seven (6:6), recurring for ordination and Spirit-reception throughout Acts (8:17; 9:17; 13:3; 19:6) | sự đặt tay | Medium-High — must be distinguished from folk healers’ or spirit-mediums’ ritual touch (thầy pháp truyền năng lượng) that claims to transmit impersonal power; here it is a prayerful act of commissioning/blessing under the sovereign Spirit’s own initiative, not a technique that transfers power mechanically. | |
| πλήρης πνεύματος καὶ σοφίας / plērēs pneumatos kai sophias | ”full of the Spirit and of wisdom” | Qualification for church service — spiritual character, not merely skill | đầy dẫy Đức Thánh Linh và sự khôn ngoan | High — reuse Đức Thánh Linh. | |
Chapter 7
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| μάρτυς (extended) / martys | ”witness” (here approaching “martyr” sense) | Stephen’s death as the paradigmatic cost of bold witness — the semantic bridge from “witness” to “martyr” | chứng nhân (người chịu chết vì đạo) | High — reuse baseline chứng nhân; note the semantic shift toward martyrdom beginning here, formative for “Persecution and Bold Witness” doctrine. | |
| ἐλιθοβόλουν / elithoboloun | ”were stoning” | Judicial mob execution by stoning | ném đá | Low — historical/narrative detail. | |
| υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου / huion tou anthrōpou | ”Son of Man” | Stephen’s vision of Christ (7:56), a divine self-designation echoing Daniel 7 | Con Người | High — reuse general Christological title conventions; ties to Deity/Sonship of Christ doctrines already Critical in baseline. | |
Chapter 8
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| μαγεία / mageia | ”sorcery, magic” | Simon the sorcerer’s practice (8:9-11), contrasted sharply with genuine apostolic power | tà thuật | Critical — direct collision with living Vietnamese folk practice (thầy pháp, bùa chú, cầu cơ). Acts explicitly condemns this as a counterfeit, false spiritual power opposed to God’s true power; teaching must not present sorcery and apostolic miracle as two equally valid “spiritual technologies.” | |
| ἀργύριον τοῦτο (κτᾶσθαι τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ Θεοῦ) / to argyrion touto | ”this silver/money [to obtain the gift of God]“ | Simon’s attempt to buy spiritual power with money (8:18-20) — the root of “simony” | mua ân tứ Đức Chúa Trời bằng tiền | High — reuse baseline “grace”(ân điển)/“spiritual_gifts” logic: God’s gift cannot be purchased or earned, directly reinforcing the grace-vs-merit distinction central to the baseline’s grace doctrine. | |
| εὐνοῦχος / eunouchos | ”eunuch” | The Ethiopian court official (8:27-39) — a socially marginalized Gentile-adjacent figure welcomed fully into the gospel | hoạn quan | Low — historical/social term; theologically significant for “Gospel to Jews and Gentiles” doctrine (breaking social/ethnic/bodily-purity boundaries), low linguistic risk. | |
Chapter 9
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἡ ὁδός / hē hodos | ”the Way” | The self-designation of the earliest Christian movement (9:2; also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22) | Đạo (của Chúa) | Critical — bare “Đạo” in Vietnamese is the generic word for any religion or philosophical path (Đạo Phật, Đạo Khổng, Đạo Cao Đài, đạo ông bà/ancestor religion). Rendering it bare risks framing Christianity as merely one path among equally valid others, directly undermining Lordship of Christ and salvation exclusivity doctrines. Must always be qualified — e.g. “Đạo của Chúa,” “con đường theo Đấng Christ” — with an explicit teaching note distinguishing this “Way” as the one true way in Christ (cf. John 14:6), not a generic spiritual path. | |
| σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς / skeuos eklogēs | ”a chosen vessel/instrument” | God’s description of Saul’s calling (9:15) | khí cụ được chọn | Medium — reuse baseline “election” (sự lựa chọn); ties Conversion of Paul doctrine to sovereign divine choice, not human merit or achievement. | |
| ἐπιστρέφω / epistrephō | ”to turn, to convert” | First narrative use of conversion-language for Saul’s transformation (formally developed at 26:18) | trở lại / quay về (với Đức Chúa Trời) | High — must be distinguished from a change of religious affiliation as a social/institutional switch; this is a Spirit-wrought reorientation of the whole person toward God through Christ. | |
Chapter 10
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| κοινὸν ἢ ἀκάθαρτον / koinon ē akatharton | ”common or unclean” | Peter’s vision of the sheet with animals (10:14-15) — abolishing OT dietary ritual-purity distinctions as a sign that the gospel is now open to Gentiles | chung hay không sạch | Medium-High — must be carefully distinguished from Vietnamese food-offering purity concerns tied to ancestor rites (cúng); the point here is the removal of a specific Mosaic ceremonial-purity barrier to table-fellowship, directly serving “Gospel to Jews and Gentiles” doctrine — not a general statement about ritual cleanliness. | |
| φοβούμενος τὸν Θεόν / phoboumenos ton Theon | ”one who fears God” | Cornelius, a God-fearing Gentile (10:2, 22) not yet a full convert — bridge figure for Gentile inclusion | kính sợ Đức Chúa Trời | Medium — reuse baseline “god” (Đức Chúa Trời) rendering; devout reverence, not the impersonal Ông Trời of folk speech. | |
| οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήπτης ὁ Θεός / ouk estin prosōpolēptēs ho Theos | ”God is not a respecter of persons/shows no partiality” | Foundational statement (10:34) for the full doctrinal legitimacy of Gentile inclusion in the gospel | Đức Chúa Trời chẳng tây vị ai | High — central verse for “Gospel to Jews and Gentiles” and “Unity of Jews and Gentiles” (reuse baseline doctrine); must retain unqualified impartiality. | |
Chapter 11
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| Χριστιανός / Christianos | ”Christian” | First application of this name to believers, at Antioch (11:26) | Cơ Đốc nhân / tín đồ Đấng Christ | Medium — established modern Vietnamese term; note historical origin as an outsider label later embraced by the church, tied to “Đấng Christ” (not “Đấng Mê-si-a”) per transliteration standard. | |
Chapter 12
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἄγγελος / angelos | ”angel, messenger” | God’s angelic deliverance of Peter from prison (12:7-11) — divine intervention through a personal, obedient heavenly messenger | thiên sứ | Medium — reuse general established Christian term; must be distinguished from the broad Vietnamese folk category of thần linh (spirits/local deities) or ancestor-spirits; an angel is a created, personal servant of the one true God, not a free-floating spirit-being of the folk pantheon. | |
Chapter 13
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἀφορίζω / aphorizō | ”to set apart, separate” | The Antioch church setting apart Barnabas and Saul for mission (13:2-3) | biệt riêng ra | High — reuse baseline doctrine “separation unto God’s service”; must not be modeled on entering Buddhist monastic life (xuất gia) as the paradigm — this is a commissioning for active gospel mission within ordinary life and travel, not withdrawal from the world. | |
| νηστεία / nēsteia | ”fasting” | Accompanies prayer in commissioning (13:2-3) and elsewhere (14:23) | sự kiêng ăn | Low — standard spiritual discipline term. | |
| τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον / tetagmenoi eis zōēn aiōnion | ”as many as were appointed/ordained to eternal life” | Election language describing the Gentile believers at Pisidian Antioch (13:48) | được định cho sự sống đời đời | High — reuse baseline “election” (sự lựa chọn) framework; must not be rendered as số mệnh (fixed impersonal fate) or nghiệp (karma); this is God’s sovereign, personal appointment unto life. | |
| δικαιωθῆναι / dikaiōthēnai | ”to be justified” | Paul’s sermon explicitly states justification comes through Christ, not the law of Moses (13:38-39) | được xưng công bình | Critical — reuse baseline “justification” (sự xưng công bình) exactly; this is the book’s clearest single statement of the “Justification apart from the Law” doctrine and must match the Romans rendering precisely for curriculum-wide consistency. | |
Chapter 14
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| πρεσβύτεροι / presbyteroi | ”elders” | Formal church office first appointed by the apostles in each town (14:23) | các trưởng lão | Medium — established ecclesiological term; must be distinguished from a Confucian village-elder council (hội đồng kỳ mục) whose authority rests on clan/age hierarchy rather than spiritual gifting and calling. | |
| θεοὶ … ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῃ μορφῇ / theoi en anthrōpinē morphē | ”gods in human form” | Lystra crowd’s pagan misidentification of Paul and Barnabas as Hermes/Zeus (14:11-12) | các thần lấy hình người | Medium — a cautionary narrative example of pagan polytheistic categories the gospel corrects (14:15’s rebuke); useful teaching bridge to Vietnamese polytheistic folk-deity assumptions, handled explicitly as the apostles’ own emphatic rejection of the identification. | |
Chapter 15
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| περιτομή / peritomē | ”circumcision” | The Jerusalem Council’s central controversy: must Gentiles be circumcised to be saved? (15:1, 5) | phép cắt bì | Medium — historical/ritual term; central to “Justification apart from the Law” doctrine — the Council’s answer (no) must be preserved without softening. | |
| ζυγός / zygos | ”yoke” | Peter’s description of the law as “a yoke… our fathers were not able to bear” (15:10) | gánh nặng | Medium — reuse baseline “law” (luật pháp); must not read as a light or manageable burden — the text’s point is that law-keeping cannot save. | |
| εἰδωλόθυτα / eidōlothyta | ”things sacrificed to idols” | Part of the Council’s minimal requirement list for Gentile believers (15:20, 29) | của cúng hình tượng | Medium-High — direct cultural resonance with Vietnamese ancestor/spirit-offering practices (cúng); must be taught with pastoral sensitivity as addressing a specific first-century food-market situation, not necessarily a blanket modern prohibition, while preserving the underlying principle against participation in idol-worship. | |
| αἷμα / haima | ”blood” (dietary prohibition) | Council requirement to abstain from blood (15:20, 29) | huyết | Medium — notable cultural tension point: Vietnamese cuisine commonly includes dishes made with blood (huyết, tiết canh); this requires explicit pastoral/cultural teaching notes rather than silent translation. | |
Chapter 16
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| πολίτης Ῥωμαῖος / politēs Rhōmaios | ”Roman citizen” | Paul and Silas’s legal status, invoked for protection (16:37-38; recurs 22:25-29) | công dân Rô-ma | Low — historical/legal term. | |
| πνεῦμα Πύθωνος / pneuma Pythōnos | ”a spirit of Python/divination” | The slave girl’s divining spirit that Paul casts out (16:16-18) | tà linh bói toán | Critical — direct collision with living Vietnamese fortune-telling practice (thầy bói, xin xăm, gọi hồn). Must be taught as a real, personal, evil/deceptive spirit whose false power Christ’s authority overthrows — neither dismissed as mere superstition nor treated as morally neutral entertainment; the text affirms both the spirit’s reality and its defeat by the name of Jesus Christ (16:18). | |
Chapter 17
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἀγνώστῳ Θεῷ / agnōstō Theō | ”to an unknown god” | The Athenian altar inscription Paul uses as a rhetorical bridge to proclaim the true God (17:23) | Thần Không Biết / vị Thần các ông không biết | High — must be used strictly as Paul used it: a missiological bridge pointing toward the one, true, personal God revealed fully in Christ — never as validation that the Vietnamese folk pantheon’s vague supreme-heaven figure (Ông Trời, Ngọc Hoàng) is already an adequate knowledge of the true God apart from Christ’s revelation. | |
| ἀνακρίνοντες τὰς γραφάς / anakrinontes tas graphas | ”examining the Scriptures” | The Berean commendation for testing apostolic preaching against Scripture (17:11) | tra xem Kinh Thánh | Medium — reuse baseline “Inspiration of Scripture” doctrine; models healthy Scripture-testing over blind acceptance of any teacher’s authority. | |
| τῶν Ἐπικουρείων καὶ Στωϊκῶν φιλοσόφων / Epikoureiōn kai Stōikōn philosophōn | ”Epicurean and Stoic philosophers” | Athenian intellectual audience (17:18) | các triết gia Ê-pi-cua và Khắc Kỷ | Low — historical/cultural proper terms. | |
Chapter 18
No new load-bearing theological vocabulary; reuses “the Way” (Ch. 9), “Lord” (baseline Chúa), “synagogue” (formally defined below, Ch. 9/13 usage continued), tent-making/ordinary labor narrative details carry no distinct doctrinal-risk term. Gallio’s ruling that the dispute is a “question about words and names and your own law” (18:15) reuses baseline “law” (luật pháp) without new nuance.
Note on συναγωγή / synagōgē (“synagogue”): first appears Ch. 9 (9:20) and recurs through Ch. 18-19; established rendering nhà hội, Low risk, standard historical-institutional term, distinct from Hội Thánh (church) and from đền/chùa (folk temple/Buddhist temple) per baseline “church” entry.
Chapter 19
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| βάπτισμα Ἰωάννου / baptisma Iōannou vs. βάπτισμα εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ | ”John’s baptism” vs. “baptism into the name of the Lord Jesus” | Ephesian disciples’ incomplete baptism corrected (19:1-5) — clarifies Christian baptism’s Christ-centered content over John’s preparatory rite | báp-têm của Giăng / báp-têm trong danh Chúa Giê-xu | High — reuse baseline “báp-têm”; important distinction for teaching precision on baptism’s full Christian meaning. | |
| τὰ βιβλία (τῆς μαγείας) κατέκαιον / ta biblia tēs mageias katekaion | ”they burned the books [of magic]“ | Public renunciation of occult practice at Ephesus (19:19) | đốt sách tà thuật | High — reuse tà thuật (Ch. 8); a decisive narrative model for renouncing folk-magical practice upon conversion, directly relevant to Vietnamese converts renouncing bùa chú/cầu cơ practices. | |
| Ἄρτεμις / Artemis (Diana) | proper name | The riot defending the goddess Artemis of Ephesus (19:23-41), an idol-cult economically entangled with the city | (nữ thần) Ạc-tê-mi / Đi-anh | Low — proper name; reuse baseline “idol” concept (εἴδωλον, defined Ch. 15/17) for the underlying doctrinal point that idols “made with hands are not gods” (19:26). | |
Chapter 20
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἐπίσκοπος / episkopos | ”overseer, bishop” | Synonym for elder describing the oversight function of church leadership (20:28) | người coi sóc (Hội Thánh) | Medium — must not be equated with a hierarchical clan-elder or civil-official role; function is spiritual shepherding under Christ, the Chief Shepherd. | |
| ποιμήν / ποιμνίον / poimēn / poimnion | ”shepherd” / “flock” | Paul’s pastoral charge to the Ephesian elders to shepherd God’s flock (20:28) | người chăn / bầy (đàn chiên) | Low-Medium — standard pastoral metaphor. | |
| λύκοι / lykoi | ”wolves” | Warning of false teachers who will arise from within (20:29) | muông sói | Low | |
| πᾶσαν τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ / pasan tēn boulēn tou Theou | ”the whole counsel/purpose of God” | Paul’s claim to have withheld nothing of God’s full revealed plan (20:27) | trọn ý muốn (kế hoạch) của Đức Chúa Trời | Medium — reuse baseline “providence” register; emphasizes full, undiminished doctrinal proclamation. | |
Chapter 21
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| εὐχή (Ναζιραίου) / euchē (Nazairaiou) | “a vow (Nazirite)“ | Paul’s participation in a Jewish purification vow (21:23-26) to demonstrate respect for Jewish custom without compromising the gospel of grace | lời thề Na-xi-rê | Low-Medium — historical/cultural term; teaching note should clarify this was a cultural accommodation, not a return to law-keeping as a basis for righteousness (cf. Ch. 15’s settled doctrine). | |
Chapter 22
Reuses “the Way” (Ch. 9), Roman citizenship (Ch. 16), and the Damascus-road conversion narrative (Ch. 9) in Paul’s own retelling; no significant new theological term. Minor phrase: Θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν / “the God of our fathers” (22:14) reuses baseline covenant/God terms, reinforcing continuity between Israel’s God and the God who called Paul — Medium risk, no new rendering required.
Chapter 23
No new lexical term, but a doctrinally significant clarification: the Pharisee/Sadducee dispute over ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν (“resurrection of the dead,” 23:6-8) shows the general bodily-resurrection doctrine (reuse baseline sự sống lại) was a live, contested Jewish theological question distinct from — yet the necessary premise for — the specific resurrection of Christ (Ch. 2, 13). Flag Medium: teaching should distinguish “the resurrection of the dead” (general future hope) from “the resurrection of Christ” (past, historical, foundational event), both rendered with sự sống lại.
Chapter 24
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἐγκράτεια / egkrateia | ”self-control” | Part of Paul’s message to Felix (24:25), alongside righteousness and judgment to come | tiết độ | Low-Medium — standard virtue term; note it is presented as a fruit of the gospel message, not self-generated Confucian/Buddhist moral cultivation, though the surface vocabulary may overlap. | |
| τὸ κρίμα τὸ μέλλον / to krima to mellon | ”the judgment to come” | Future divine judgment (24:25), distinct from an impersonal karmic reckoning | sự phán xét hầu đến | High — must be taught as judgment before a personal God who holds all accountable (reuse baseline “universal_human_accountability” doctrine), not an impersonal karmic ledger. | |
Chapter 25
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| Καίσαρα ἐπικαλοῦμαι / Kaisara epikaloumai | ”I appeal to Caesar” | Paul’s legal appeal to the highest Roman court (25:11), advancing the plot toward Rome and the book’s geographic/missional climax | Tôi chống án lên Sê-sa | Low — legal/proper-noun term; “Sê-sa” (Caesar) established transliteration. | |
Chapter 26
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| οὐρανίου ὀπτασίας / ouraniou optasias | ”heavenly vision” | Paul’s own description of the Damascus-road appearance (26:19) | sự hiện thấy từ trời | Medium-High — must be distinguished from folk visionary/trance experiences attributed to ancestor or spirit contact; this vision’s content and authority are Christ’s own self-revelation, verified by radical life-change and apostolic commissioning. | |
| ἐπιστρέφειν ἀπὸ τοῦ σκότους εἰς φῶς / epistrephein apo tou skotous eis phōs | ”to turn from darkness to light” | Formal statement of the conversion commission Christ gives Paul (26:18) — full doctrinal statement of “Conversion of Paul” and conversion generally | trở lại (quay) từ sự tối tăm qua sự sáng láng | High — reuse ἐπιστρέφω term formally introduced Ch. 9; darkness/light here is moral-spiritual, not a reference to any folk yin-yang duality framework — must be taught as a decisive, God-initiated moral transfer of allegiance “from the power of Satan to God.” | |
| ἡγιασμένοις πίστει / hēgiasmenois pistei | ”sanctified by faith” | The result of conversion: forgiveness of sins and a place among the sanctified (26:18) | được thánh hóa bởi đức tin (trong vòng các thánh đồ) | High — reuse baseline “sanctification” (sự nên thánh) and “saints” (các thánh đồ, full form only); must not be shortened to bare các thánh (deified folk-hero risk per baseline). | |
| κλῆρος / klēros | ”inheritance, portion, lot” | The share/inheritance among God’s sanctified people (26:18) | cơ nghiệp / phần cơ nghiệp | Medium — reuse baseline “adoption” doctrine’s inheritance-rights framing (sự làm con nuôi); this is a grace-given inheritance, not an ancestral inheritance secured through filial merit or ritual duty. | |
Chapter 27
No new load-bearing theological term; the storm/shipwreck narrative reuses baseline providence (sự quan phòng của Đức Chúa Trời) — God’s personal governance over the voyage (27:22-25, an angel’s assurance) — and boldness/exhortation motifs already defined (Ch. 1, 4, 27:33-36 “take some food” exhortation echoes παρακαλέω). Explicitly noted as reviewed with no new vocabulary.
Chapter 28
| Term | Original/Translit. | Literal | Theological Meaning | VN Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἔχιδνα / echidna | ”viper” | The snake bite at Malta (28:3-6), survived without harm — a minor providential sign narrative | rắn độc | Low — narrative detail; reuse baseline providence for the theological point (God’s protective care over Paul’s mission to Rome). | |
| ἀκωλύτως / akōlytōs | ”without hindrance, unhindered” | The book’s final word (28:31): the kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed “with all boldness, without hindrance” | không ai ngăn cấm / chẳng bị ngăn trở | High — the triumphant closing note of “Great Commission Fulfilled” doctrine; reuse baseline Nước Đức Chúa Trời (kingdom_of_god) and sự dạn dĩ (boldness, Ch. 4); must preserve the note of unstoppable gospel advance despite ongoing persecution and imprisonment. | |
Coverage Confirmation
All 28 chapters of Acts have been reviewed. Chapters 18, 22, 23, and 27 introduced no major new theological vocabulary beyond terms already defined elsewhere in the book or in the baseline Romans package, and are explicitly noted as reviewed above. The core passage (Acts 2:1-41) received full verse-by-verse treatment; Acts 2:42-47 was additionally treated to complete chapter 2’s coverage.