Semantic Analysis
07 Semantic Analysis — Mark 1–16
English → Vietnamese | Koine Greek Source Analysis
Part 1 — Core Passage Verse-by-Verse Analysis: Mark 10:35-45
This is the theological anchor of the curriculum (Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness; The Ransom for Many; The Necessity of the Cross). Every load-bearing term is analyzed below, verse by verse, in canonical order.
Mark 10:35
Greek: “Καὶ προσπορεύονται αὐτῷ Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἰωάννης οἱ υἱοὶ Ζεβεδαίου λέγοντες αὐτῷ· Διδάσκαλε, θέλομεν ἵνα ὃ ἐὰν αἰτήσωμέν σε ποιήσῃς ἡμῖν.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Διδάσκαλε | Didaskale | ”Teacher” (vocative address) | Rabbi, teacher, instructor of religious law | Teacher, Master, Rabbi | James and John address Jesus with a title of respect for his teaching authority, yet their following request shows they have not grasped the nature of his kingdom. | Low. Render “Thầy,” the established Vietnamese address for a respected teacher. No syncretism risk, but note the irony: honorific address followed by a self-serving request. |
| θέλομεν (θέλω) | thelomen (thelō) | “we wish / we want” | desire, will, intend | want, wish, desire, will | Human θέλω (self-directed desire for status) is set up to contrast with the will of God and the self-giving ἦλθεν of v.45. | Medium. “Muốn.” Translators should preserve the contrast in v.43-45 between disciples’ “muốn làm lớn” (wanting to be great) and Christ’s redefinition of greatness. |
| αἰτήσωμέν (αἰτέω) | aitēsōmen (aiteō) | “we might ask/request” | to ask, request, demand | ask, request, petition | An open-ended, presumptuous request made before its content is disclosed — contrasts with the pattern of prayer taught elsewhere in the Gospel. | Low. “Xin.” Standard verb of petition. |
Mark 10:36
Greek: “ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Τί θέλετέ με ποιήσω ὑμῖν;”
Jesus’ counter-question again uses θέλω (“Τί θέλετε,” “what do you want”) — same term as v.35, no new risk. This verse functions to expose the content of the brothers’ request before granting or denying it, modeling how Jesus draws out hidden motives (cf. Messianic Secret pattern of indirect disclosure).
Mark 10:37
Greek: “οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· Δὸς ἡμῖν ἵνα εἷς σου ἐκ δεξιῶν καὶ εἷς ἐξ ἀριστερῶν καθίσωμεν ἐν τῇ δόξῃ σου.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐκ δεξιῶν / ἐξ ἀριστερῶν | ek dexiōn / ex aristerōn | ”from [his] right / from [his] left” | positions of highest honor and second honor in a royal court | at your right hand / at your left hand | Seats of co-regency and honor in the messianic kingdom the brothers assume will be a political-military enthronement. | Medium. “Bên hữu” / “bên tả” — the established Vietnamese Bible idiom for the honor-seats. No folk-religion collision, but the political misunderstanding of the kingdom must not be smoothed over in translation. |
| καθίσωμεν (καθίζω) | kathisōmen (kathizō) | “we might sit” | to sit, to be enthroned | sit, be seated, take a seat | Enthronement language; the brothers request shared rule, not shared suffering. | Low. “Ngồi.” |
| δόξῃ (δόξα) | doxē (doxa) | “glory” | honor, splendor, radiant majesty, reputation | glory, splendor, honor | Here the disciples envision δόξα as worldly triumph and visible royal status, which Jesus will redefine through the cross before it is revealed through resurrection. | Medium. REUSE baseline: sự vinh hiển (Romans baseline term for δόξα, risk High in baseline — retain High here as well). The Vietnamese reader must not be allowed to read δόξα only as this-worldly honor; the passage itself supplies the correction in vv.38-45. |
Mark 10:38-39 (treated together — repeated vocabulary)
Greek: “ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Οὐκ οἴδατε τί αἰτεῖσθε. δύνασθε πιεῖν τὸ ποτήριον ὃ ἐγὼ πίνω, ἢ τὸ βάπτισμα ὃ ἐγὼ βαπτίζομαι βαπτισθῆναι; οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· Δυνάμεθα. ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Τὸ ποτήριον ὃ ἐγὼ πίνω πίεσθε, καὶ τὸ βάπτισμα ὃ ἐγὼ βαπτίζομαι βαπτισθήσεσθε·“
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ποτήριον | potērion | ”cup” | a drinking vessel; figuratively, an appointed portion (of joy, or of suffering/wrath) | cup, portion, lot | The “cup” is a standing OT image (Ps 75:8; Isa 51:17; Jer 25:15) for the appointed portion of divine judgment/suffering Jesus alone can fully drink; the disciples claim ability to share it without understanding its cost. | High. Render “chén.” This is a NEW term not in the Romans baseline. Risk: in Vietnamese ancestor veneration (thờ cúng tổ tiên), a “chén” of wine or tea is a standard ritual offering poured out at the family altar for the deceased. A translator note is required distinguishing the “cup” of Mark 10:38-39 (Christ’s unique appointed suffering, drunk once, unrepeatable) from any libation or votive-cup practice. |
| βάπτισμα / βαπτίζομαι | baptisma / baptizomai | ”baptism” / “I am baptized” | ritual immersion; figuratively, being overwhelmed/submerged by an experience (here, suffering and death) | baptism, immersion, ordeal | A second image, parallel to “cup,” for Christ’s passion — being submerged in suffering and death, not the water rite of initiation. | High. NEW term — propose “phép báp-têm” (established Vietnamese Protestant transliterated term for the sacrament) for the noun, but flag every occurrence in this passage for translator note: here the word is used metaphorically for the passion, not the literal water rite. Risk of readers assuming James and John are being asked about water baptism rather than about willingness to suffer and die with Christ. |
| δύνασθε / Δυνάμεθα (δύναμαι) | dynasthe / Dynametha (dynamai) | “are you able” / “we are able” | to have the power/capacity to do something | to be able, to have power to | The brothers’ confident but naive claim to ability foreshadows their actual failure at Gethsemane and flight at the arrest — dramatic irony central to the Faith and Discipleship amid Fear doctrine. | Low. “Có thể” / “chúng tôi có thể.” |
Mark 10:40
Greek: “τὸ δὲ καθίσαι ἐκ δεξιῶν μου ἢ ἐξ εὐωνύμων οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸν δοῦναι, ἀλλ᾽ οἷς ἡτοίμασται.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἡτοίμασται (ἑτοιμάζω) | hētoimastai (hetoimazō) | “it has been prepared” | to make ready, to appoint beforehand | prepared, appointed, reserved | Passive voice implies divine agency (the Father) — the assignment of honor belongs to the Father’s sovereign plan, not to Jesus’ arbitrary favoritism nor to human petition. | Medium. “Đã dành sẵn.” Connects to the Providence doctrine family (cf. baseline “sự quan phòng của Đức Chúa Trời”); must not be rendered so as to suggest impersonal fate (số trời) but sovereign, personal divine appointment. |
Mark 10:41
Greek: “Καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ δέκα ἤρξαντο ἀγανακτεῖν περὶ Ἰακώβου καὶ Ἰωάννου.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀγανακτεῖν (ἀγανακτέω) | aganaktein (aganakteō) | “to be indignant” | strong displeasure, anger, resentment | to be indignant, angry, upset | The other ten disciples’ anger is not righteous but rivalrous — every disciple shares the same status-seeking impulse the brothers displayed; sets up Jesus’ universal correction in v.42-45 (“whoever” / “all”). | Low. “Giận” / “tức giận.” |
Mark 10:42
Greek: “καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος αὐτοὺς ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς· Οἴδατε ὅτι οἱ δοκοῦντες ἄρχειν τῶν ἐθνῶν κατακυριεύουσιν αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ μεγάλοι αὐτῶν κατεξουσιάζουσιν αὐτῶν.”
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἔθνη | ethnē | ”nations” | Gentile nations; here, generic political nations/peoples under worldly rule | nations, Gentiles, peoples | Note: same lexical item as the salvation-historical “Gentiles” (Romans baseline: dân ngoại), but here used generically for “the nations of the world” ruled by worldly kings, not as the Jew/Gentile theological category. | Medium. REUSE the baseline term dân ngoại for lexical consistency, but flag: this occurrence carries the generic “worldly nations” sense, not the Jew-Gentile salvation-historical category. Translator note recommended to prevent readers from importing Romans’ Jew/Gentile unity doctrine into this verse. |
| κατακυριεύουσιν (κατακυριεύω) | katakyrieuousin (katakyrieuō) | “they lord over / dominate” | to exercise harsh, self-serving dominance over; intensified compound of κύριος (“lord”) | lord over, dominate, tyrannize | Describes oppressive worldly rulership — the negative pattern Jesus explicitly forbids among his disciples. Deliberately built on the same root as κύριος (Lord), used positively of Christ elsewhere (cf. Rom 10:9 baseline). | High. Established Vietnamese Bible rendering: “cai trị” (with a dominating/oppressive nuance in context). MUST be lexically distinguished in Vietnamese from the positive “Chúa” (baseline term for κύριος/Lord) despite the shared Greek root — using a cognate Vietnamese term for both would blur the deliberate irony that worldly “lording” is precisely what Christ’s Lordship is not. |
| κατεξουσιάζουσιν (κατεξουσιάζω) | katexousiazousin (katexousiazō) | “they exercise power/authority over” | intensified compound of ἐξουσία (“authority”); to wield authority coercively | exercise authority over, tyrannize, hold power over | Parallel to κατακυριεύουσιν; ἐξουσία is elsewhere used positively of Christ’s authority over sickness, sin, and nature (Mark 1:22,27; 2:10) — here the same root is used of illegitimate, self-serving power. | High. Established rendering: “cầm quyền” (in this oppressive sense). Distinguish from the positive ἐξουσία occurrences of Christ’s authority (see Chapter 1 and 2 below), which must use different surrounding language even if “quyền” is the shared root, so readers do not conflate Christ’s authority with worldly domination. |
Mark 10:43
Greek: “οὐχ οὕτως δέ ἐστιν ἐν ὑμῖν· ἀλλ᾽ ὃς ἂν θέλῃ μέγας γενέσθαι ἐν ὑμῖν, ἔσται ὑμῶν διάκονος,“
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| οὐχ οὕτως | ouch houtōs | ”not so” / “it is not this way” | strong contrastive negation | not so, but it shall not be so | Marks the sharpest structural pivot of the passage: the kingdom community operates by an inverted value system compared to the world. | Low. “Nhưng giữa các con thì không như vậy.” |
| μέγας | megas | ”great” | great, important, high in rank | great, important, first in rank | Worldly greatness (rank, visible authority) is not condemned as a category but is redefined by its means: greatness in the kingdom is achieved through serving, not ruling. | Medium. “Lớn.” Must retain the paradox (wanting to be great is not itself forbidden — Jesus redefines, not abolishes, the aspiration). |
| διάκονος | diakonos | ”servant, attendant, one who serves” | one who waits on tables, ministers, or attends to another’s needs; root of English “deacon” | servant, minister, deacon, helper | The lesser of the two servant-terms in this passage (see δοῦλος in v.44) — everyday, active service, not necessarily servile status. This is the FIRST rung of Christ’s redefinition of greatness. | High. Established Vietnamese Bible rendering: “đầy tớ.” Central to the Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness doctrine. Distinguish clearly from δοῦλος in v.44 (see below) — the two terms mark an escalating pair, and Vietnamese must preserve two distinct words to keep the intensification visible. |
Mark 10:44
Greek: “καὶ ὃς ἂν θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος, ἔσται πάντων δοῦλος·“
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| πρῶτος | prōtos | ”first” | first in rank, order, or importance | first, chief, foremost | Parallel to μέγας in v.43, intensifying the paradox: to be “first” (highest conceivable rank) requires becoming δοῦλος (lowest conceivable status). | Medium. “Đứng đầu” / “làm đầu.” |
| δοῦλος | doulos | ”slave, bondservant” | one who is owned by another, with no legal autonomy; the most servile social status in the Greco-Roman world | slave, bondservant, servant | The second, more extreme servant-term — total self-surrender, not mere helpful service. Deliberately more severe than διάκονος (v.43), forming a rhetorical escalation that climaxes in Christ’s own self-description in v.45. | Critical. Established Vietnamese Bible rendering: “tôi mọi” (archaic/formal term for bondservant, distinct from “đầy tớ”). Because Vietnamese social history includes both Confucian household-servant status and the language of colonial-era servitude, this term risks being softened toward a merely social-hierarchy reading. It must be taught as total, willing self-surrender in service to others, modeled on Christ himself (v.45), not a coerced or degrading condition, and not a matter of hereditary or caste status. |
Mark 10:45
Greek: “καὶ γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἦλθεν διακονηθῆναι ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι καὶ δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν.”
This is the doctrinal and christological climax of the passage — the fullest statement in Mark of The Ransom for Many and The Necessity of the Cross.
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου | ho huios tou anthrōpou | ”the Son of Man” | Jesus’ preferred self-designation; echoes both a generic human being (Ezek) and the exalted, authoritative heavenly figure who receives an everlasting kingdom (Dan 7:13-14) | Son of Man, the Son of Man | Central to the Messianic Secret: an ambiguous, veiled title Jesus uses of himself throughout Mark, revealing his identity gradually and paradoxically — here uniting the exalted Danielic figure with a servant who suffers and dies. | Critical. NEW term for this curriculum — propose established Vietnamese Bible rendering “Con Người” (capitalized as a title). Risk: Vietnamese readers may default to the surface sense “a human being” and miss the Danielic authority/glory dimension; conversely, if over-capitalized/theologized, may lose the deliberate ambiguity that is core to the Messianic Secret doctrine. Requires consistent capitalization and a teaching note anchoring it to Daniel 7 every time it recurs (see Chapter 2, 8, 9, 13, 14 below). |
| ἦλθεν (ἔρχομαι) | ēlthen (erchomai) | “he came” | to come, arrive, appear | came, arrived | Presupposes and depends on the Incarnation doctrine (cf. Romans baseline: Ngôi Lời trở nên xác thịt) — the Son of Man’s “coming” is not an appearance or manifestation among several possible forms but a real, historical, purposeful entry into human life for this specific mission. | High. “Đã đến.” Translator note: this verb presupposes the full weight of the Incarnation doctrine already anchored in the baseline; must not be flattened to a generic “showed up” sense. |
| διακονηθῆναι / διακονῆσαι (διακονέω) | diakonēthēnai / diakonēsai (diakoneō) | “to be served” / “to serve” | to wait on, minister to, attend to the needs of another | to be served / to serve, to be ministered to / to minister | The verb root behind διάκονος (v.43); Christ’s mission is defined by the infinitive of self-giving service, establishing himself — not merely instructing others — as the pattern of Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness. | High. “Được người ta hầu việc” / “hầu việc người ta.” NOTE: “hầu việc” is already established in the baseline doctrine registry’s phrase for “sự biệt riêng để hầu việc Đức Chúa Trời” (Separation unto God’s Service) — reuse this verb for lexical consistency across the whole Language Package. |
| δοῦναι (δίδωμι) | dounai (didōmi) | “to give” | to give, grant, hand over | to give, to give up, to lay down | Paired with ψυχή, this is a voluntary, self-initiated act — Christ actively gives his life; he is not merely a passive victim. Essential for the doctrine of the Necessity of the Cross as chosen, not merely endured. | High. “Phó” (to hand over/give up, in the sense of a costly, voluntary surrender) — established Vietnamese Passion-narrative verb (cf. Chapter 14 below, παραδίδωμι family). |
| τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ | tēn psychēn autou | ”his life/soul” | the whole self; one’s physical life; in some contexts, the inner “soul” as distinct from body | his life, his soul, himself | Here ψυχή = the whole of Christ’s embodied life, given up in death — not primarily the immaterial “soul” of Greek philosophical dualism. | High. “Sự sống mình” (his life) preferred over “linh hồn” (soul) in this verse, to avoid suggesting only Christ’s disembodied soul, and not his actual bodily death, is in view. See also Chapter 8 (ψυχή as life/soul) below for the broader semantic range across Mark. |
| λύτρον | lytron | ”ransom, price of release” | the price paid to free a slave, captive, or prisoner of war; a commercial/manumission term, occurring nowhere else in Mark and only here and Matt 20:28 in the whole NT | ransom, ransom price, price of redemption | The theological center of the verse: Christ’s death is a payment that purchases the freedom of others from bondage to sin — echoing the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 who bears the guilt of “many” (Isa 53:11-12). | Critical. Established Vietnamese Bible rendering: “giá chuộc.” This is the single highest-stakes new term introduced by Mark for this curriculum. Distinguish clearly from any Vietnamese folk-Buddhist notion of “chuộc tội” through merit offerings or ritual acts performed BY the sinner; here the price is paid entirely BY Christ, once, on behalf of others. Requires the same forbidden-substitution-style safeguard already used for “salvation” and “imputed righteousness” in the baseline. |
| ἀντὶ | anti | ”instead of, in place of” | a preposition of exchange/substitution — one thing given in place of another, of equivalent or replacing value | for, instead of, in place of, in exchange for | Grammatically small but doctrinally decisive: ἀντί (substitution) is stronger and more specific than ὑπέρ (“on behalf of/for the benefit of,” used elsewhere in the NT of Christ’s death). Here it establishes substitutionary atonement — Christ’s life given in the place of others’ forfeited lives. | Critical. Vietnamese “cho” (for) is the natural rendering but is doctrinally ambiguous — “cho” can mean merely “for the benefit of” without necessarily conveying substitution/exchange. A translator note is required in every occurrence to preserve the substitutionary force (“thay cho,” “in place of,” is the safer phrase to pair with “cho” so as not to lose the exchange sense). |
| πολλῶν (πολύς) | pollōn (polys) | “of many” | a large but not necessarily universal number; echoes Isaiah 53:11-12 (“bear the sin of many,” “make many to be accounted righteous”) | many, the many, a great number | Establishes the scope of the ransom: sufficient for “many,” deliberately echoing the Servant of Isaiah 53 rather than claiming automatic universal application (a question addressed elsewhere in Scripture, not resolved by this verse alone). | High. “Nhiều người.” Must not be expanded into “tất cả mọi người” (all people, universalist overreach) nor narrowed into an exclusive small group; render literally as “many” and let the doctrine of the extent of the atonement be taught separately, not smuggled into the translation. |
Part 2 — Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis of the Whole Book of Mark
Chapter 1
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| εὐαγγέλιον (1:1,14-15) | euangelion | ”good news” | an authoritative proclamation of victory or good tidings | gospel, good news | The opening word of the whole book; the proclamation of the kingdom breaking in through Jesus. | Medium. REUSE baseline exactly: Tin Lành. |
| υἱὸς θεοῦ (1:1,11) | huios theou | ”Son of God” | Christ’s unique, eternal divine sonship | Son of God | Foundational Christological claim placed in Mark’s very first verse and confirmed at the baptism (v.11, “my beloved Son”). | Critical. REUSE baseline exactly: Con Đức Chúa Trời. |
| μετάνοια / βάπτισμα μετανοίας (1:4) | metanoia / baptisma metanoias | ”repentance” / “baptism of repentance” | a turning of the whole person from sin toward God, not mere remorse | repentance, turning, conversion | John’s baptism prepares the way by calling for genuine reorientation toward God, distinct from ritual purification alone. | Medium. NEW term: “sự ăn năn” (established Vietnamese Bible term). Must be taught as transformative reorientation, not superficial regret (hối hận) or a merit-generating ritual act. |
| πνεῦμα ἅγιον (1:8,10,12) | pneuma hagion | ”Holy Spirit” | the divine, personal third Person of the Trinity | Holy Spirit | Descends on Jesus at baptism, confirming his identity and empowering his mission. | Critical. REUSE baseline exactly: Đức Thánh Linh. |
| σατανᾶς (1:13) | satanas | ”Satan” | the personal chief adversary of God and his people | Satan, the devil, the tempter | A single, personal malevolent being who tempts Jesus in the wilderness — not an impersonal evil force. | High. NEW term: transliterate “Sa-tan.” Must be taught as a personal fallen being opposing God, distinguished from generic Vietnamese folk categories of evil spirits (ma, quỷ) as one singular chief adversary, not merely one spirit among many. |
| βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ (1:15) | basileia tou theou | ”kingdom of God” | God’s sovereign reign, now breaking into history | kingdom of God | ”The kingdom of God is at hand” — the thesis announcement of Mark’s central Kingdom of God Breaking In doctrine. | Medium. REUSE baseline exactly: Nước Đức Chúa Trời. |
| ἐξουσία (1:22,27) | exousia | ”authority” | delegated or inherent right/power to act | authority, power | Jesus teaches and casts out unclean spirits “with authority,” astonishing hearers by contrast with the scribes. Positive, legitimate divine authority — contrast carefully with the negative κατεξουσιάζω of Mark 10:42. | High. NEW term: propose “quyền” / “quyền phép” (established Vietnamese Bible usage). This is the foundational occurrence of the Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature doctrine; keep lexically distinct in surrounding phrasing from the oppressive “cầm quyền” of worldly rulers (Mark 10:42). |
| δαιμόνιον / πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον (1:23,26,34,39) | daimonion / pneuma akatharton | ”demon” / “unclean spirit” | a personal malevolent spiritual being under Satan’s authority | demon, evil spirit, unclean spirit | Jesus exercises direct, authoritative power over demonic beings — establishing the Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature doctrine from the outset. | Critical. NEW terms: propose “quỷ” (demon) and “tà linh ô uế” (unclean spirit). Must be sharply distinguished from the broad Vietnamese folk-religious category of “thần linh” (spirits, including tutelary land spirits and ancestor spirits) already flagged in the baseline for the Holy Spirit entry. These are personal, malevolent beings decisively subordinate to Christ’s authority, not part of a general spirit-world continuum to be venerated, placated, or petitioned. |
| λέπρα / λεπρός (1:40-45) | lepra / lepros | ”leprosy” / “a leper” | a stigmatizing skin disease requiring ritual and social separation under Mosaic law | leprosy, leper | Jesus touches and cleanses a socially and ritually excluded person, demonstrating authority over sickness and covenant-community boundary-breaking compassion. | Medium. NEW term: “bệnh phong” / “người phung” (established Vietnamese Bible term). Low syncretism risk; primary need is cultural sensitivity regarding stigmatized illness, and clarity that “cleansing” here is physical healing plus restoration to community, not merit-based purification. |
Chapter 2
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἁμαρτία / ἀφίημι (2:5,7,9-10) | hamartia / aphiēmi | ”sin” / “to forgive, release” | moral transgression before God / to release a debt or wrong | sin / forgive | Jesus forgives sins and defends his authority to do so — sin is a debt only God can release. | Medium/High. REUSE baseline exactly for sin: tội lỗi. NEW verb: “tha (tội)” (established Vietnamese Bible term for divine forgiveness). |
| ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (2:10,28) | ho huios tou anthrōpou | ”the Son of Man” | see Mark 10:45 entry above | Son of Man | FIRST occurrence in Mark; Jesus claims Son of Man authority to forgive sins (2:10) and lordship over the Sabbath (2:28) — inaugurates the title’s development across the whole book. | Critical. Same rendering and risk profile as established in the Core Passage analysis above: Con Người. |
| νυμφίος (2:19) | nymphios | ”bridegroom” | a wedding-imagery term for messianic joy and presence | bridegroom | Jesus as bridegroom signals the joyful, unprecedented arrival of the messianic age, requiring new patterns (not old fasting customs). | Low-Medium. “Chàng rể” (established term). |
| νηστεία / νηστεύω (2:18-20) | nēsteia / nēsteuō | ”fasting” / “to fast” | religious abstention from food as an act of devotion or mourning | fasting, to fast | Contrasted with the joy of the bridegroom’s presence; fasting has its proper season, tied to Christ’s presence or absence. | Low. “Kiêng ăn” (established term). |
| σάββατον (2:23-28) | sabbaton | ”Sabbath” | the seventh-day rest commanded in the Law | Sabbath | ”The Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath” — ties Son of Man authority (see above) to κύριος/Lord (baseline: Chúa). | Medium. “Ngày Sa-bát” (established transliteration). |
Chapter 3
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Βεελζεβούλ (3:22) | Beelzeboul | proper name, “lord of the flies/dung” (pejorative) | a name for Satan/the prince of demons | Beelzebul, Beelzebub | Accusation that Jesus casts out demons by demonic power — Jesus refutes this as logically incoherent (a kingdom cannot cast out itself). | Low. Transliterate: “Bê-ên-xê-bun.” Proper name; low ambiguity risk, but pairs with the Critical δαιμόνιον/πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον entries above. |
| βλασφημία / βλασφημέω (3:28-29) | blasphēmia / blasphēmeō | ”blasphemy” / “to blaspheme” | speech that dishonors or slanders God, attributing his work to evil | blasphemy, to blaspheme | The unforgivable sin — attributing the Spirit’s clearly divine work to Satan. Doctrinally weighty; requires careful, non-casual rendering. | Critical. NEW term: “sự phạm thượng” (established Vietnamese Bible term). Must not be softened to a general insult; this is deliberate, informed rejection of the Spirit’s self-evident work. |
| ἀδελφοί / μήτηρ (3:31-35) | adelphoi / mētēr | ”brothers” / “mother” | Jesus redefines spiritual kinship: “whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother” | brothers/mother, spiritual family | Redefines the true family of God around obedience to God’s will rather than blood kinship — touches the same doctrinal territory as the baseline’s Adoption doctrine. | High. “Anh em” / “mẹ.” Given the strength of Confucian filial loyalty and blood-family obligation in Vietnamese culture, this redefinition of family risks being heard as devaluing or replacing family duty; requires the same careful framing the baseline recommends for Adoption/Father (grace and inclusion in God’s family, not rejection of blood family). |
Chapter 4
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| παραβολή (4:2,10-13,33-34) | parabolē | ”parable” | a short illustrative saying or story with a hidden meaning requiring reflection | parable, illustration | Jesus’ primary teaching form; both reveals and conceals kingdom truth depending on the hearer’s disposition — directly serves the Messianic Secret doctrine. | Medium. NEW term: “ví dụ” / “thí dụ” (established Vietnamese Bible term). Must be taught as more than an illustrative fable — it both discloses and veils, a deliberate literary strategy tied to the Messianic Secret. |
| μυστήριον (4:11) | mystērion | ”mystery, secret” | a hidden truth now disclosed by revelation, but only to those given insight | secret, mystery | ”The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you” — central textual anchor of the Messianic Secret doctrine. | Critical. NEW term: “sự mầu nhiệm” (established Vietnamese Bible term). Must be distinguished from esoteric/occult secret-knowledge traditions (bí truyền, huyền bí) in Vietnamese folk religion; this is truth God graciously discloses to disciples, not knowledge earned through initiation or hidden practice. |
| βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ (4:11,26,30) | basileia tou theou | ”kingdom of God” | see Chapter 1 entry | kingdom of God | The parables of the sower, growing seed, and mustard seed all describe the paradoxical, hidden-yet-certain growth of the in-breaking kingdom. | Medium. REUSE baseline exactly: Nước Đức Chúa Trời. |
| ὑπακούω (4:41) | hypakouō | ”to obey” | to submit to, heed, obey | obey, submit to | ”Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” — climactic demonstration of Christ’s authority extending over nature itself. | Medium. “Vâng phục” / “nghe theo.” Ties directly to the Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature doctrine; must retain wonder/awe register of the disciples’ question, not flatten it into a simple narrative detail. |
Chapter 5
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| δαιμόνιον / Λεγιών (5:1-20) | daimonion / Legiōn | ”demon” / “Legion” (a Roman military unit, ~6,000 soldiers) | multiple indwelling demonic beings, self-named for their overwhelming number | demon(s) / Legion | The most extended and graphic demonic possession narrative in Mark; Christ’s authority extends decisively even over a multitude of demonic beings. | Critical. REUSE quỷ/tà linh renderings established in Chapter 1. “Legion” transliterated as “Lê-ghi-ôn.” Requires explicit teaching distinguishing Christ’s authoritative, one-time exorcism from Vietnamese folk exorcism/spirit-mediation practices (e.g., cầu cơ, trừ tà rituals performed by a medium or shaman), where the practitioner — not a divine authority — negotiates with or manipulates spirits. |
| πίστις (5:34) | pistis | ”faith” | trust in and reliance on Christ | faith | The woman’s faith is commended as the channel through which healing power was received. | Medium. REUSE baseline exactly: đức tin. |
| σέσωκέν σε (σῴζω) (5:23,28,34) | sesōken se (sōzō) | “has saved/healed you” | the single verb σῴζω covers both physical healing/rescue and eternal salvation | has healed you, has saved you, has made you well | Deliberate lexical overlap: physical healing functions as a sign pointing toward the fuller salvation Christ brings, but the two senses must not be automatically equated in every instance. | High. Context-sensitive rendering required: “được lành bệnh” (physical healing sense) vs. REUSE baseline sự cứu rỗi family (eternal salvation sense). Every occurrence of σῴζω across Mark (5:23,28,34; 6:56; 10:52; and elsewhere) must be evaluated individually — translators must not default automatically to “cứu rỗi” for every healing account, nor strip all soteriological resonance from the healing accounts. |
Chapter 6
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐξουσία (6:7) | exousia | ”authority” | see Chapter 1 entry | authority | Jesus delegates his own authority over unclean spirits to the Twelve as he sends them out — extending, not replacing, his authority. | High. REUSE Chapter 1 rendering: “quyền” / “quyền phép.” |
| ἀποστέλλω (6:7) | apostellō | ”to send” | to send out with a commission and delegated authority | send, send out, dispatch | Root of ἀπόστολος (apostle); establishes the pattern of commissioned sending that underlies the baseline’s Apostleship doctrine (reused Romans term: sứ đồ). | Medium. “Sai đi” (established verb). |
| προφήτης (6:4) | prophētēs | ”prophet” | God’s spokesperson | prophet | ”A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown” — Jesus identifies with the prophetic office and its typical rejection. | Low. REUSE baseline exactly: tiên tri. |
| ἄρτος (6:38-44) | artos | ”bread, loaf” | staple food; in the feeding narratives, a sign pointing to Christ’s provision and, typologically, the Eucharist | bread, loaf | The feeding of the five thousand demonstrates Christ’s authority over material scarcity and prefigures the bread of the Last Supper (Chapter 14). | Medium. “Bánh” (established term). |
Chapter 7
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| παράδοσις (7:3-13) | paradosis | ”tradition” | that which is handed down; here, human religious tradition contrasted with God’s actual commandment | tradition, human tradition | Jesus condemns tradition that nullifies God’s word, not tradition as such. | Medium-High. NEW term: “truyền thống” / “lời truyền khẩu.” Culturally sensitive: Vietnamese culture, shaped by Confucian veneration of ancestral custom, may hear a blanket critique of “tradition” as an attack on filial and ancestral practice generally. Translator note required: the critique targets tradition that overrides God’s commandment, not tradition or family honor in general. |
| κοινός / ἀκάθαρτος (7:2,15,18-23) | koinos / akathartos | ”common, defiled” / “unclean” | ritual impurity vs. moral defilement | unclean, defiled, common | ”What comes out of a man, that defiles him” — relocates true defilement from ritual/external categories to the moral condition of the heart. | Medium-High. “Dơ dáy” / “ô uế” (established biblical purity terms). Must preserve the distinction Jesus draws between ceremonial uncleanness and true moral sin (tội lỗi), a distinction that has no exact parallel in folk ritual-purity categories and needs explicit unpacking. |
| κορβάν (7:11) | korban | transliterated Hebrew/Aramaic: “a gift [devoted to God]“ | a vow dedicating property to God’s use, exploited here to avoid supporting one’s parents | Corban | Exposes a legal technicality used to circumvent the commandment to honor father and mother — directly engages filial-duty themes highly resonant in Vietnamese culture. | Medium. Transliterate: “Cô-ban.” Low lexical risk but doctrinally significant; pairs with the Chapter 3 note on family redefinition — here Jesus is not devaluing filial duty but condemning its abuse as a loophole. |
| ἔθνη (7:26 – the Syrophoenician woman) | ethnē | ”Gentiles, nations” | see Mark 10:42 entry | Gentiles | An early, narratively embodied instance of Gentile inclusion in Jesus’ healing ministry, prior to the fuller theological development of Jew-Gentile unity found in Romans. | Medium. REUSE baseline exactly: dân ngoại, in its proper salvation-historical sense here (unlike the generic sense flagged at Mark 10:42). |
Chapter 8
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Χριστός (8:29) | Christos | ”Christ, Anointed One” | the Messiah | Christ, Messiah | Peter’s confession, “You are the Christ” — the structural and theological turning point of Mark, immediately followed by Jesus’ first Passion prediction and command to silence (Messianic Secret). | Critical. REUSE baseline exactly: Đấng Christ / Đấng Mê-si-a. |
| ἐπιτιμάω (8:30,32-33) | epitimaō | ”to rebuke, warn sternly” | to command with authority, often to silence or correct | rebuke, warn, charge | Jesus rebukes the disciples to silence (Messianic Secret) and then Peter rebukes Jesus for predicting suffering — Jesus in turn rebukes Peter as speaking for Satan. | Medium. “Quở trách” / “cấm” (established terms). |
| σταυρός (8:34) | stauros | ”cross” | the Roman execution instrument; figuratively, self-denying discipleship modeled on Christ’s death | cross, take up one’s cross | FIRST occurrence of cross-bearing language in Mark: “If anyone would come after me, let him… take up his cross.” Establishes both the literal historical necessity of Christ’s cross and the pattern of costly discipleship. | Critical. NEW term: “thập tự giá” (established Vietnamese Christian term). Must be taught as the specific, historical Roman execution instrument on which Christ died, not a generic symbol of hardship; and “taking up one’s cross” must be distinguished from a Buddhist-inflected endurance-for-merit framing (chịu khổ để tích đức) — costly self-denial here flows from union with Christ’s finished, once-for-all death, not from accumulating personal merit through suffering. |
| ἀκολουθέω (8:34) | akoloutheō | ”to follow” | to follow as a disciple, to accompany and imitate | follow | The basic verb of discipleship throughout Mark. | Low. “Theo” (established term). |
| ψυχή (8:35-37) | psychē | ”soul, life” | the whole self; one’s physical life; in some contexts, the inner life distinct from the body | soul, life, self | ”For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul/life?” — the whole-person stakes of discipleship. | High. NEW term: context-sensitive between “mạng sống” (physical life) and “linh hồn” (soul). Because “linh hồn” carries strong folk/Buddhist associations with a spirit capable of transmigration (a further echo of the resurrection/reincarnation risk already flagged in the baseline), translators should favor “mạng sống” or “chính mình” (one’s whole self/life) unless the immaterial, eternal dimension is specifically in view, and should always add a note guarding against a reincarnation-adjacent reading. |
| αἰσχύνομαι (8:38) | aischynomai | ”to be ashamed” | to feel shame, to be embarrassed by association | be ashamed | Being ashamed of Jesus and his words now results in Jesus being ashamed of that person at his future glorious coming — an eschatological honor/shame reversal. | Medium. “Hổ thẹn” (established term); connects to honor/shame sensitivities already flagged in the baseline’s system prompt guidance. |
Chapter 9
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| μεταμορφόω (9:2) | metamorphoō | ”to transfigure, transform in appearance” | a visible change in form/appearance revealing an underlying reality | transfigure, transform | Christ’s pre-existing divine glory is momentarily unveiled to Peter, James, and John — not a shape-shift into a different being, but a disclosure of who he already is. | High. NEW term: “biến hình” (established Vietnamese Bible term). Risk of collision with (a) the forbidden “hóa thân” concept already flagged in the baseline for Incarnation (a deity’s manifestation as one instance among many) and (b) Vietnamese folk/Daoist immortal-transformation motifs (thần tiên biến hóa). Must be taught as a temporary revelatory unveiling of Christ’s one, unique, eternal glory, not a transformation into another form or being. |
| υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός (9:7) | huios mou ho agapētos | ”my beloved Son” | see Chapter 1 son_of_god entry | my beloved Son | The Father’s voice again confirms the Son of God doctrine, reinforcing 1:11 at the narrative midpoint. | Critical. REUSE baseline term for the underlying doctrine: Con Đức Chúa Trời; render the fuller phrase as “Con yêu dấu của Ta.” |
| ἀπιστία (9:24) | apistia | ”unbelief” | lack of trust; the negative counterpart to πίστις | unbelief, lack of faith | ”I believe; help my unbelief!” — models honest, struggling faith amid fear, directly serving the Faith and Discipleship amid Fear doctrine. | Medium. NEW term: “sự không tin” / “sự vô tín.” |
| γέεννα (9:43-47) | geenna | ”Gehenna” | the valley of Hinnom, used figuratively for final, unending divine judgment | hell, Gehenna | Warns of eternal judgment as the consequence of persistent, unrepented sin. | Critical. NEW term: “hỏa ngục” (established Vietnamese Protestant term). Must be sharply distinguished from the Vietnamese Buddhist cosmology of multiple hells (địa ngục) understood as temporary sites of purgation within the cycle of rebirth; Gehenna in Mark is final and unending, not a stage preceding a future rebirth. |
| πρῶτος / ἔσχατος (9:35) | prōtos / eschatos | ”first” / “last” | rank-order terms | first / last | ”If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” — an early statement of the same paradox fully developed in Mark 10:43-45 (Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness). | Medium. REUSE renderings established at Mark 10:43-44: “đứng đầu” / “rốt hết,” “đầy tớ.” |
Chapter 10 (Full Chapter Context)
Note: Mark 10:35-45 (the core passage) receives full verse-by-verse treatment in Part 1 above. This section covers the remainder of the chapter’s load-bearing vocabulary.
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀπολύω / μοιχεία (10:2-12) | apolyō / moicheia | ”to divorce/release” / “adultery” | dissolution of the marriage covenant / covenant-breaking sexual sin | divorce / adultery | Jesus grounds marriage in God’s original creation design, treating it as covenantal, not merely contractual. | Medium-High. “Sự ly dị” / “tội ngoại tình” (established terms). Connects to the baseline’s covenant doctrine family (giao ước); marriage here is a creation-covenant, requiring the same “more than a legal contract” framing the baseline gives to covenant generally. |
| παιδίον (10:13-16) | paidion | ”little child” | a young child, used as a model of humble, dependent reception of the kingdom | little child, child | ”Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” — humble dependence, not achievement, is the posture of kingdom entry. | Low-Medium. “Trẻ nhỏ” (established term). |
| ζωὴν αἰώνιον (10:17,30) | zōēn aiōnion | ”eternal life” | life in the age to come; permanent, unending life with God | eternal life | The rich young man’s question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” and Jesus’ answer redirect from works-based inheritance to costly discipleship and grace. | High. NEW term: “sự sống đời đời” (established Vietnamese Bible term). Must be kept distinct from any works-merit framework (the rich young man’s assumption) and, per the baseline’s salvation entries, distinct from Buddhist liberation (giải thoát) from a cycle of rebirth. |
| ἐλέησόν με (10:47-48) | eleēson me | ”have mercy on me” | a cry for compassionate mercy from one in need | have mercy on me | Blind Bartimaeus’ persistent cry, addressed to “Son of David” (see Chapter 12 below) — a model of bold, persistent faith. | Medium. “Xin thương xót tôi” (established prayer term). |
| σέσωκέν σε (σῴζω) (10:52) | sesōken se (sōzō) | “has saved/healed you” | see Chapter 5 entry | has healed you, has made you well, has saved you | Same lexical ambiguity as Chapter 5 — physical healing (Bartimaeus receives sight) intertwined with, but not automatically identical to, spiritual salvation. | High. Apply the same context-sensitive rule established in Chapter 5. |
Chapter 11
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὡσαννά (11:9-10) | hōsanna | transliterated Hebrew, “save, please!” (an acclamation) | a shout of praise/petition to a coming deliverer | Hosanna | The crowd’s acclamation at the Triumphal Entry, invoking messianic-kingdom expectation — an example of enthusiastic but incomplete public recognition (Messianic Secret theme continuing into the Passion Week). | Low. Transliterate: “Ô-sa-na” (established term). |
| ἱερόν / οἶκος προσευχῆς (11:11,15-17) | hieron / oikos proseuchēs | ”temple” / “house of prayer” | the Jerusalem Temple building / its intended purpose | temple / house of prayer | The Temple-clearing action enacts prophetic judgment on corrupted worship and anticipates the Temple’s coming destruction (Chapter 13) and replacement by Christ’s own body/community. | Medium-High. “Đền thờ” (established, historically specific Vietnamese Bible term for the Jerusalem Temple building) / “nhà cầu nguyện.” Translator note required: “đền thờ” here names a specific historical building, and must not be confused with (nor lend its associations to) the baseline’s Hội Thánh (Church) term, which deliberately avoids “đền” precisely because of its folk-temple associations. |
| συκῆ (11:12-14,20-21) | sykē | ”fig tree” | a fruit tree, used here as an acted prophetic sign of Israel’s/the Temple’s coming judgment | fig tree | The withered fig tree functions as an enacted parable of judgment, paired narratively with the Temple action. | Low. “Cây vả” (established term). |
| πίστις (11:22-24) | pistis | ”faith” | see Chapter 5 entry | faith | ”Have faith in God” — introduces a teaching on prayer offered in confident faith. | Medium. REUSE baseline exactly: đức tin. |
Chapter 12
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| κύριος (12:29-30,36-37) | kyrios | ”Lord” | see Romans baseline entry | Lord | The Shema (“Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one”) and the Psalm 110 debate (“the LORD said to my Lord”) both hinge on κύριος, climaxing in an implicit claim to Christ’s divine identity. | Critical. REUSE baseline exactly: Chúa. |
| υἱὸς Δαυίδ (10:47-48; 12:35-37) | huios Dauid | ”Son of David” | the promised Davidic Messiah | Son of David | Jesus is acclaimed as Son of David, then complicates the title by showing David himself calls the Messiah “Lord” — the Messiah is David’s son AND David’s Lord. | High. NEW phrase: “Con Đa-vít,” built on the baseline’s established proper name Đa-vít. Requires OT covenant background (Davidic Covenant doctrine) to be meaningful; not a rival-concept risk in Vietnamese culture, but an unfamiliarity risk. |
| κεφαλὴ γωνίας (12:10) | kephalē gōnias | ”the head of the corner” | the cornerstone, the foundational and unifying stone of a building | cornerstone, the stone that became the head of the corner | Applied to Christ, rejected by the builders (religious leaders) yet made the foundation of God’s true building. | Medium. “Đá đầu góc nhà” (established Bible metaphor). |
| ἀγαπάω (12:29-31) | agapaō | ”to love” | selfless, willing love, directed toward God and neighbor | love | The Great Commandment (love God, love neighbor) is affirmed by Jesus as the summary of the whole Law. | Medium. “Yêu” / “kính yêu.” |
| χήρα (12:41-44) | chēra | ”widow” | a woman without a husband, socially and economically vulnerable | widow | The widow’s small offering is commended as greater, in God’s eyes, than the wealthy’s large gifts — a model of sacrificial devotion. | Low. “Người đàn bà góa” (established term). |
Chapter 13
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| θλῖψις (13:19,24) | thlipsis | ”tribulation, affliction” | severe distress, suffering, especially eschatological | tribulation, affliction, distress | The “great tribulation” preceding the Son of Man’s coming — future suffering that tests faith amid fear. | Medium. “Sự hoạn nạn lớn” (established term). |
| βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως (13:14) | bdelygma tēs erēmōseōs | ”abomination of desolation” | a defiling, desolating sacrilege (echoing Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) set up in the Temple | abomination of desolation, desolating sacrilege | A specific prophetic sign requiring OT (Daniel) background; misreading risks either over-literalizing or losing the fulfillment-of-prophecy connection. | High. “Sự tàn nát gớm ghiếc” (established Bible phrase). Requires a footnote connecting it to Daniel, tying into the Fulfillment of Prophecy doctrine family already present in the baseline. |
| ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενος (13:26) | ho huios tou anthrōpou erchomenos | ”the Son of Man coming” | the exalted, Danielic Son of Man returning in glory | the Son of Man coming | The Messianic Secret’s veiled title is here, at last, unveiled in future glory and universal visibility — the destination toward which the whole Gospel’s Son of Man sayings move. | Critical. REUSE rendering established at Mark 10:45: Con Người. |
| γρηγορεῖτε (γρηγορέω) (13:35-37) | grēgoreite (grēgoreō) | “watch! stay alert!“ | to remain vigilant, awake, spiritually attentive | watch, be alert, stay awake | The chapter’s closing imperative — urgent readiness for the Son of Man’s unknown return. | Medium. “Hãy tỉnh thức” / “hãy coi chừng” (established terms). |
Chapter 14
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| πάσχα (14:1,12,14,16) | pascha | ”Passover” | the Jewish feast commemorating the Exodus deliverance | Passover | The Last Supper is deliberately set within the Passover, framing Christ’s death as the fulfillment of Passover’s deliverance-through-substitution pattern. | Medium-High. “Lễ Vượt Qua” (established term). Requires OT background teaching connecting Passover typology directly to the Necessity of the Cross doctrine. |
| αἷμα τῆς διαθήκης (14:24) | haima tēs diathēkēs | ”blood of the covenant” | the sacrificial blood that ratifies and inaugurates a covenant | blood of the covenant | ”This is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many” — directly parallels the λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν of 10:45; the covenant is inaugurated by sacrificial, substitutionary blood. | Critical. REUSE baseline exactly for covenant: giao ước. NEW term for blood in this sacrificial/theological register: “huyết” (the formal Sino-Vietnamese Bible term, preferred here over the more colloquial “máu,” consistent with established Vietnamese Bible register for atonement contexts). Must retain the direct echo of “for many” (πολλῶν) from 10:45 for cross-passage consistency. |
| Ἀββά ὁ πατήρ (14:36) | Abba ho patēr | ”Abba, Father” | Aramaic term of filial intimacy paired with the Greek translation | Abba, Father | Jesus’ own anguished prayer in Gethsemane — the same phrase later given to believers in Romans 8:15 as the cry of adopted sons. Direct lexical link to the baseline. | Medium. REUSE baseline exactly: Áp-ba and Cha. Note for translators: this is the Gospel source of the phrase the baseline’s Adoption doctrine (Romans 8:15) later applies to believers — Christ’s own filial cry becomes, by grace, the believer’s cry as well. |
| παραδίδωμι (14:10,18,21,41-42,44) | paradidōmi | ”to hand over, betray, deliver up” | human treachery (Judas’s betrayal) and, simultaneously, the outworking of divine purpose (the Father handing over the Son) | betray, hand over, deliver up | A deliberately double-edged verb: Judas’s culpable treachery does not cancel, but rather serves, God’s sovereign purpose in the Necessity of the Cross. | High. “Phản” (betray, for Judas’s action) / “bị nộp,” “phó” (handed over, for the passive/divine-purpose sense). Requires care to preserve both dimensions — human guilt and divine purpose — without collapsing one into the other. |
| ἀρχιερεύς / συνέδριον (14:53-65) | archiereus / synedrion | ”high priest” / “Sanhedrin” | the chief Jewish priestly office / the Jewish ruling council | high priest / Sanhedrin, council | The formal Jewish trial proceedings against Jesus, on the charge of blasphemy (see Chapter 3 entry above). | Low-Medium. “Thầy tế lễ cả” / “Tòa Công Luận” (established terms). |
| ψευδομαρτυρία / μαρτυρέω (14:56-59) | pseudomartyria / martyreō | ”false testimony” / “to testify” | witness statements, true or fabricated, given at trial | false witness, testify | The trial proceeds on the basis of false testimony, contrasted with Jesus’ truthful, though largely silent, self-testimony. | Low. “Làm chứng dối” (established term). |
| ἀπαρνέομαι (14:30,66-72) | aparneomai | ”to deny” | to disown, repudiate, deny association with | deny, disown | Peter’s threefold denial — the sharpest instance in Mark of Faith and Discipleship amid Fear, later reversed by restoration (implied beyond Mark’s ending, cf. Mark 16:7). | Medium. “Chối” (established term). Doctrinally significant despite its narrative simplicity: failure under fear does not have the final word in the disciple’s story. |
Chapter 15
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| σταυρόω / σταυρός (15:13-15,20-27) | stauroō / stauros | ”to crucify” / “cross” | see Chapter 8 entry | to crucify, crucifixion, cross | The Necessity of the Cross reaches its historical fulfillment; the σταυρός of 8:34 (a call to discipleship) is now the literal instrument of Christ’s own death. | Critical. REUSE Chapter 8 rendering: thập tự giá; verb “đóng đinh trên cây thập tự” (established Vietnamese Bible phrase). |
| βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων (15:2,9,12,18,26) | basileus tōn Ioudaiōn | ”King of the Jews” | a title used mockingly by Roman soldiers and inscribed on the cross, yet ironically true | King of the Jews | The mocking title is, in Mark’s irony, the truest royal title in the narrative — Christ reigns precisely through the cross, redefining kingship as the passage in 10:42-45 already anticipated. | Critical. “Vua dân Giu-đa” (established Vietnamese Bible phrase). Directly connects the Kingdom of God Breaking In doctrine to the Necessity of the Cross and Servanthood doctrines — the King’s throne is the cross. |
| καταπέτασμα (15:38) | katapetasma | ”curtain, veil” | the veil separating the Temple’s Holy Place from the Holy of Holies | curtain, veil | Torn “from top to bottom” at the moment of Christ’s death — symbolizing opened access to God through Christ’s atoning death. | High. “Màn nơi thánh” (established Vietnamese Bible term). Must not be flattened into a merely dramatic detail; ties directly to the Necessity of the Cross and the Ransom for Many doctrines as the visible sign that the ransom has accomplished access to God. |
| ἑκατοντάρχης (15:39) | hekatontarchēs | ”centurion” | a Roman military officer commanding roughly 100 soldiers | centurion | The Gentile centurion’s confession, “Truly this man was the Son of God,” is the first unambiguous human confession of Christ’s divine sonship in Mark, spoken paradoxically at the cross. | Critical (for the confession it introduces). “Thầy đội” (established term for the office); confession reuses baseline: Con Đức Chúa Trời. |
| μνημεῖον / τάφος (15:46) | mnēmeion / taphos | ”tomb, grave” | a burial place, here a rock-hewn tomb | tomb, grave | Sets the stage for the empty tomb of Chapter 16 — the reality of Christ’s death (and thus the reality of his subsequent resurrection) is emphasized by careful burial detail. | Low. “Mộ” (established term). |
Chapter 16
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Theological Meaning | Vietnamese Rendering Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἠγέρθη / ἀνάστασις (16:6) | ēgerthē / anastasis | ”he has been raised” / “resurrection” | bodily, historical, once-for-all rising from death | he is risen, resurrection | ”He is not here; he has risen” — the climactic vindication of everything the Gospel has anticipated: the Son of Man’s suffering (10:45), the cross’s necessity, and the Father’s approval of the Son. | Critical. REUSE baseline exactly: sự sống lại. Absolutely never rendered with đầu thai/luân hồi (rebirth/reincarnation), per the baseline’s forbidden-substitution rule — this rule applies with full force to Mark’s resurrection narrative. |
| κηρύσσω / εὐαγγέλιον (16:15, longer ending) | kēryssō / euangelion | ”to proclaim” / “gospel” | see Chapter 1 and baseline entries | proclaim / gospel | The Great Commission-parallel command to proclaim the gospel to the whole creation, closing the loop opened at 1:1,14-15. | Medium. REUSE baseline exactly: Tin Lành; “giảng” / “rao truyền” for κηρύσσω. |
| σημεῖα (16:17-20, longer ending) | sēmeia | ”signs” | miraculous confirming signs accompanying the proclaimed gospel | signs, miraculous signs | Confirming signs accompany gospel proclamation, continuing the pattern of Christ’s authority (Chapter 1) now extended through his followers. | Low-Medium. “Dấu lạ” (established term). Minor risk of blending with folk “điềm” (omens) if unqualified; keep tied explicitly to gospel proclamation, not independent divination. |
End of Semantic Analysis. See 08_core_glossary.md for the consolidated glossary table drawing on every chapter above, cross-referenced against the Romans baseline translation memory.