Core Glossary
08 Core Glossary — Mark
English → Vietnamese | Full-Book Term Inventory
A. Terms Reused Exactly from the Romans Baseline Translation Memory
These terms already exist in translation_memory.json (Romans baseline). Per hard rule, the recorded Vietnamese rendering and risk tier MUST be reused exactly in Mark; no re-derivation is permitted.
| Term | Vietnamese Rendering | Baseline Risk | Doctrine (Mark) | Chapters in Mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gospel | Tin Lành | Medium | Kingdom of God Breaking In | 1, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16 |
| son_of_god | Con Đức Chúa Trời | Critical | Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God | 1, 3, 9, 15 |
| holy_spirit | Đức Thánh Linh | Critical | Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God | 1, 3, 12, 13 |
| kingdom_of_god | Nước Đức Chúa Trời | Medium | The Kingdom of God Breaking In | 1, 4, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15 |
| sin | tội lỗi | Medium | Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature | 1, 2, 3, 7 |
| faith | đức tin | Medium | Faith and Discipleship amid Fear | 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11 |
| lord | Chúa | High | Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness / Deity of Christ | 2, 5, 10, 12 |
| messiah / christ | Đấng Mê-si-a / Đấng Christ | High | The Messianic Secret | 1, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| resurrection | sự sống lại | Critical | The Necessity of the Cross | 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16 |
| covenant | giao ước | Medium | The Necessity of the Cross | 10, 14 |
| gentiles | dân ngoại | Medium | The Kingdom of God Breaking In | 7, 10 (generic sense, see note), 11, 13 |
| father | Cha | High | Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God | 8, 9, 11, 13, 14 |
| abba | Áp-ba | Medium | (Source text for baseline’s Adoption doctrine) | 14 |
| prophet / prophecy | tiên tri / lời tiên tri | Low | Fulfillment of Prophecy | 1, 6, 8, 13 |
| glory | sự vinh hiển | High (baseline) | Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness | 8, 9, 10, 13 |
| david | Đa-vít | Medium | Messianic Promise / Davidic Covenant | 10, 11, 12 |
| power_of_god | quyền năng của Đức Chúa Trời | Medium | Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature | (conceptually underlies ch. 1-6; render exousia occurrences distinctly, see Section B) |
| jesus | Đức Chúa Giê-xu | Critical | (proper name, all chapters) | 1–16 |
| god | Đức Chúa Trời | High | (proper name, all chapters) | 1–16 |
| law | luật pháp | Medium | Fulfillment of Prophecy | 2, 7, 10, 12 |
| election | sự lựa chọn | Medium | (touched briefly re: the elect at Christ’s return) | 13 |
| called / calling | được kêu gọi / sự kêu gọi | Medium/High | Divine Calling (disciples’ call) | 1, 2, 3, 6 |
| holy | thánh | Medium | Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God | 1, 6, 8 |
Note on gentiles (ἔθνη) in Mark 10:42: the same Greek lexeme is used in a generic “worldly nations” sense (contrasted with the disciples’ community), not the Jew-Gentile salvation-historical category. The baseline rendering dân ngoại is still reused for lexical consistency, but a translator note is required to prevent doctrinal conflation (see 07_semantic_analysis.md, Mark 10:42 entry).
B. New Terms Introduced by Mark (Not Present in the Romans Baseline)
These terms are proposed for addition to the extended translation memory. Fields mirror the baseline schema (translation, doctrine_risk, doctrine, alternatives_rejected, notes) for direct portability into a future translation_memory.json update.
| # | Term (English) | Original / Transliteration | Proposed Vietnamese | Risk | Doctrine | Chapters | Alternatives Rejected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Son of Man | υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου / huios tou anthrōpou | Con Người | Critical | The Messianic Secret / Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God | 2, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14 | (none; established Vietnamese Bible term) | Danielic authoritative title (Dan 7:13-14) combined with servant self-designation. Risk: readers defaulting to the surface “a human being” sense and missing the exalted-authority dimension, or over-theologizing and losing the Messianic Secret’s deliberate ambiguity. Capitalize consistently as a title across all documents. |
| 2 | ransom | λύτρον / lytron | giá chuộc | Critical | The Ransom for Many | 10 | công đức tích lũy (accumulated merit); “tiền chuộc” (considered, less established) | Commercial/manumission term: the price paid to free a slave or captive. Must never be modeled on Buddhist merit-based “chuộc tội” self-redemption; the price is paid entirely by Christ, once, for others. Same doctrinal direction as the baseline’s rejected alternative for imputed_righteousness. |
| 3 | substitution (ἀντί) | ἀντί / anti | thay cho (paired with “cho”) | Critical | The Ransom for Many / The Necessity of the Cross | 10 | ”cho” alone (ambiguous — can mean mere benefit, not exchange) | Grammatical preposition of exchange/substitution, distinct from and stronger than ὑπέρ (“on behalf of”). Establishes substitutionary atonement. Requires translator note at every occurrence in Mark 10:45 and 14:24. |
| 4 | cup (of suffering) | ποτήριον / potērion | chén | High | The Necessity of the Cross | 10, 14 | (none proposed; contextual note required instead of substitution) | Collision risk: Vietnamese ancestor veneration uses a “chén” of wine/tea as a ritual libation offering at the family altar. Requires a translator note distinguishing Christ’s unique appointed cup of suffering from any libation/offering practice. |
| 5 | baptism (metaphorical, of suffering) | βάπτισμα / baptisma | phép báp-têm (flagged for metaphorical use) | High | The Necessity of the Cross | 10 | (none; established sacramental term reused metaphorically) | In Mark 10:38-39 the term describes being submerged in suffering/death, not the water rite. Every occurrence requires a note disambiguating literal vs. metaphorical sense. |
| 6 | servant (diakonos) | διάκονος / diakonos | đầy tớ | High | Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness | 9, 10 | (none; established Vietnamese Bible term) | The lesser-intensity servant term (paired with δοῦλος, see #7). Everyday active service; must be kept lexically distinct from δοῦλος to preserve the escalating rhetorical pair in Mark 10:43-44. |
| 7 | slave / bondservant (doulos) | δοῦλος / doulos | tôi mọi | Critical | Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness / The Ransom for Many | 10 | ”nô lệ” (too narrowly a legal/social-history term without the willing self-surrender nuance) | The more extreme servant term; must be taught as willing, total self-surrender modeled on Christ (Mark 10:45), not coerced or hereditary servitude, and not merely a social hierarchy marker. |
| 8 | to lord over / dominate | κατακυριεύω / katakyrieuō | cai trị (oppressive sense) | High | Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness | 10 | (none; contextual disambiguation required instead) | Built on the same root as κύριος/Chúa (Lord); must be lexically and contextually distinguished from the positive use of “Chúa” for Christ’s Lordship, despite the shared root, to preserve the deliberate irony of the passage. |
| 9 | to exercise authority over (oppressively) | κατεξουσιάζω / katexousiazō | cầm quyền (oppressive sense) | High | Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness | 10 | (none; contextual disambiguation required instead) | Built on the same root as ἐξουσία (see #10); distinguish from Christ’s legitimate authority over sickness, sin, and nature. |
| 10 | authority (of Christ) | ἐξουσία / exousia | quyền / quyền phép | High | Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature | 1, 2, 4, 6, 11 | (none; established Vietnamese Bible usage) | Positive, legitimate, delegated-or-inherent divine authority. Must remain lexically distinguishable in context from the oppressive “cầm quyền” (#9) despite the shared Greek root. |
| 11 | demon | δαιμόνιον / daimonion | quỷ | Critical | Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature | 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 | bare “thần linh” (folk spirit category, rejected per baseline precedent for Holy Spirit) | A personal, malevolent spiritual being under Satan, decisively subordinate to Christ’s authority. Must not be assimilated into the broad Vietnamese folk-religious spirit category. |
| 12 | unclean spirit | πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον / pneuma akatharton | tà linh ô uế | Critical | Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature | 1, 3, 5, 6, 9 | bare “thần linh” | See #11; distinguished terminology from Đức Thánh Linh (Holy Spirit) is essential and already modeled by the baseline. |
| 13 | Satan | σατανᾶς / satanas | Sa-tan | High | Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature | 1, 3, 4, 8 | (none; transliteration is standard) | A single, personal chief adversary, not an impersonal evil force nor one folk-spirit among many. |
| 14 | Beelzebul | Βεελζεβούλ / Beelzeboul | Bê-ên-xê-bun | Low | The Messianic Secret (accusation narrative) | 3 | (none; proper name) | Low ambiguity; pairs conceptually with #13. |
| 15 | blasphemy (against the Spirit) | βλασφημία / blasphēmia | sự phạm thượng | Critical | Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God | 3 | (none; established term) | The unforgivable sin: deliberate, informed attribution of the Spirit’s manifest work to Satan. Must not be softened to generic insult. |
| 16 | mystery / secret (of the kingdom) | μυστήριον / mystērion | sự mầu nhiệm | Critical | The Messianic Secret | 4 | ”bí truyền,” “huyền bí” (esoteric/occult secret-knowledge concepts) | Truth graciously disclosed by revelation to disciples, not knowledge earned through initiation, as in some folk-esoteric traditions. |
| 17 | parable | παραβολή / parabolē | ví dụ / thí dụ | Medium | The Messianic Secret | 4 | (none) | Deliberately both reveals and conceals kingdom truth depending on hearer’s disposition; not merely an illustrative device. |
| 18 | repentance | μετάνοια / metanoia | sự ăn năn | Medium | The Kingdom of God Breaking In | 1 | ”hối hận” (mere regret, rejected as insufficiently transformative) | Whole-person turning toward God, not superficial remorse or a merit-generating ritual act. |
| 19 | leprosy / leper | λέπρα, λεπρός / lepra, lepros | bệnh phong / người phung | Medium | Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature | 1 | (none; established term) | Stigmatized illness with ritual-purity dimensions under the Law; healing includes social restoration. |
| 20 | tradition | παράδοσις / paradosis | truyền thống | Medium-High | Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature (purity teaching) | 7 | (none; contextual note required) | Culturally sensitive given Confucian veneration of ancestral custom; critique targets tradition overriding God’s commandment, not tradition or family honor generally. |
| 21 | ritually unclean / defiled | κοινός, ἀκάθαρτος / koinos, akathartos | dơ dáy / ô uế | Medium-High | Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature | 7 | (none) | Jesus relocates true defilement from ritual/external categories to the moral condition of the heart. |
| 22 | Corban | κορβάν / korban | Cô-ban | Medium | (Family/vow-obligation teaching) | 7 | (none; transliteration) | A vow exploited to evade the commandment to honor parents; touches Vietnamese filial-duty sensitivities. |
| 23 | cross | σταυρός / stauros | thập tự giá | Critical | The Necessity of the Cross | 8, 15 | (none; established Vietnamese Christian term) | The specific historical Roman execution instrument; discipleship “cross-bearing” must not be reframed as Buddhist merit-earning endurance. |
| 24 | soul / life | ψυχή / psychē | mạng sống (preferred) / linh hồn (context-dependent) | High | Faith and Discipleship amid Fear / The Ransom for Many | 8, 10 | bare “linh hồn” as default (risk of reincarnation-adjacent reading) | Context-sensitive; “linh hồn” carries folk/Buddhist transmigration associations and should be reserved for cases clearly emphasizing the immaterial, eternal dimension, always with a guarding note. |
| 25 | transfiguration | μεταμορφόω / metamorphoō | biến hình | High | Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God | 9 | bare “hóa thân” (rejected per baseline precedent for Incarnation) | Temporary unveiling of Christ’s pre-existing glory, not a shape-shift or one of several possible manifestations. |
| 26 | Gehenna / hell | γέεννα / geenna | hỏa ngục | Critical | The Necessity of the Cross (final judgment backdrop) | 9 | ”địa ngục” used loosely without qualification (risk of collision with Buddhist temporary multi-hell cosmology) | Final, unending divine judgment, not a purgatorial stage preceding rebirth. |
| 27 | unbelief | ἀπιστία / apistia | sự không tin / sự vô tín | Medium | Faith and Discipleship amid Fear | 9 | (none) | Honest, struggling faith (“I believe; help my unbelief”) models discipleship amid fear and doubt. |
| 28 | eternal life | ζωὴν αἰώνιον / zōēn aiōnion | sự sống đời đời | High | The Kingdom of God Breaking In | 10 | sự giải thoát (Buddhist liberation from rebirth, rejected per baseline precedent for salvation) | Permanent life with God, received by grace, not earned through works or ascetic achievement. |
| 29 | Son of David | υἱὸς Δαυίδ / huios Dauid | Con Đa-vít | High | Messianic Promise / Davidic Covenant | 10, 12 | (none; requires OT background teaching) | Jesus is both David’s promised son and, per Mark 12:35-37, David’s Lord — paradox central to full Christological disclosure. |
| 30 | cornerstone | κεφαλὴ γωνίας / kephalē gōnias | đá đầu góc nhà | Medium | Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God | 12 | (none; established Bible metaphor) | The rejected stone becomes the foundation — echoes the passion/vindication pattern. |
| 31 | tribulation | θλῖψις / thlipsis | sự hoạn nạn lớn | Medium | Faith and Discipleship amid Fear (eschatological) | 13 | (none) | Future eschatological distress testing faith amid fear. |
| 32 | abomination of desolation | βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως / bdelygma tēs erēmōseōs | sự tàn nát gớm ghiếc | High | Fulfillment of Prophecy | 13 | (none; requires Daniel background footnote) | Specific Danielic prophetic sign; risk of over-literalizing without OT background. |
| 33 | watch / be alert | γρηγορέω / grēgoreō | hãy tỉnh thức | Medium | Faith and Discipleship amid Fear | 13 | (none) | Urgent eschatological vigilance. |
| 34 | Passover | πάσχα / pascha | Lễ Vượt Qua | Medium-High | The Necessity of the Cross | 14 | (none; requires OT Exodus background) | Frames Christ’s death as fulfillment of Passover’s deliverance-through-substitution pattern. |
| 35 | blood (sacrificial/covenantal) | αἷμα / haima | huyết | Critical | The Necessity of the Cross / The Ransom for Many | 14, 15 | ”máu” alone in atonement contexts (too colloquial for the formal theological register) | Sacrificial, covenant-ratifying blood; echoes “for many” (πολλῶν) from Mark 10:45 — must be kept cross-passage consistent. |
| 36 | to hand over / betray | παραδίδωμι / paradidōmi | phản (human betrayal) / phó, bị nộp (divine-purpose sense) | High | The Necessity of the Cross | 14 | (none; both senses must be retained, not collapsed into one) | Deliberately double-edged: human treachery (Judas) serves, without excusing, God’s sovereign purpose. |
| 37 | to deny | ἀπαρνέομαι / aparneomai | chối | Medium | Faith and Discipleship amid Fear | 14 | (none) | Peter’s failure under fear; doctrinally significant despite narrative simplicity. |
| 38 | King of the Jews | βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων / basileus tōn Ioudaiōn | Vua dân Giu-đa | Critical | The Kingdom of God Breaking In / The Necessity of the Cross | 15 | (none; established Bible phrase) | Mocking title that is, in Mark’s irony, the truest royal title — the King’s throne is the cross. |
| 39 | temple veil / curtain | καταπέτασμα / katapetasma | màn nơi thánh | High | The Necessity of the Cross / The Ransom for Many | 15 | (none; established term) | Torn at Christ’s death, symbolizing opened access to God secured by the ransom. |
| 40 | temple (building) | ἱερόν / hieron | đền thờ | Medium-High | The Kingdom of God Breaking In | 11 | (none; historically specific term) | Names the literal Jerusalem Temple building; must not lend its associations to, or be confused with, the baseline’s Hội Thánh (Church) term. |
| 41 | to send (with commission) | ἀποστέλλω / apostellō | sai đi | Medium | (underlies Apostleship doctrine, baseline term sứ đồ) | 6 | (none) | Root of ἀπόστολος; delegated, commissioned sending. |
| 42 | healing/salvation ambiguity (sōzō) | σῴζω / sōzō | được lành bệnh (healing) / sự cứu rỗi (salvation, per baseline) | High | The Kingdom of God Breaking In / Salvation | 5, 6, 10 | Automatic default to either sense without context evaluation | Same Greek verb covers physical healing and eternal salvation; each occurrence requires individual contextual judgment, not a blanket rendering rule. |
| 43 | bridegroom | νυμφίος / nymphios | chàng rể | Low-Medium | The Kingdom of God Breaking In | 2 | (none) | Wedding imagery for messianic joy and presence. |
| 44 | fasting | νηστεία / nēsteia | kiêng ăn | Low | (discipleship practice) | 2 | (none) | Standard term; low doctrinal risk. |
| 45 | Sabbath | σάββατον / sabbaton | ngày Sa-bát | Medium | Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God (Lordship) | 2 | (none) | “Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” — ties Son of Man/Lord titles together. |
| 46 | true family of God | ἀδελφοί, μήτηρ / adelphoi, mētēr | anh em / mẹ (spiritual sense) | High | (Christian identity, related to baseline’s Adoption doctrine) | 3 | (none; contextual note required) | Redefines kinship around obedience to God’s will; sensitive given Confucian blood-family loyalty norms — frame as inclusion in grace, not rejection of family. |
| 47 | fig tree (sign-act) | συκῆ / sykē | cây vả | Low | Fulfillment of Prophecy | 11 | (none) | Enacted prophetic sign of judgment, paired with the Temple action. |
| 48 | Legion | Λεγιών / Legiōn | Lê-ghi-ôn | Critical (in context) | Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature | 5 | (none; transliteration) | Multiple indwelling demons; requires teaching distinguishing Christ’s authoritative exorcism from folk spirit-mediation practices. |
| 49 | to obey (nature obeying Christ) | ὑπακούω / hypakouō | vâng phục | Medium | Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature | 4 | (none) | Nature’s obedience to Christ’s word — authority extended over creation itself. |
| 50 | widow | χήρα / chēra | người đàn bà góa | Low | (sacrificial devotion example) | 12 | (none) | Model of sacrificial giving contrasted with wealthy ostentation. |
| 51 | signs (confirming) | σημεῖα / sēmeia | dấu lạ | Low-Medium | The Kingdom of God Breaking In | 16 | bare “điềm” (folk omens, avoid unqualified use) | Confirming signs tied explicitly to gospel proclamation, not independent divination. |
C. Chapter Occurrence Index
Quick lookup of which chapters introduce or carry forward each numbered term from Section B (baseline-reused terms from Section A are not repeated here).
| Chapter | New Terms Introduced (Section B #) | Reused Baseline Terms (Section A) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13, 14 (partial, Beelzebul referenced ch.3), 18, 19, 10 (exousia) | gospel, son_of_god, holy_spirit, kingdom_of_god, sin, holy, prophet, called |
| 2 | 1 (Son of Man, first occurrence), 43, 44, 45 | sin, lord, called |
| 3 | 15, 46, 14 | son_of_god, holy_spirit |
| 4 | 16, 17, 49 | kingdom_of_god, faith |
| 5 | 48 | faith |
| 6 | 41 | prophet, resurrection, called |
| 7 | 20, 21, 22 | sin, gentiles, law |
| 8 | 1, 23, 24, 25 (transfiguration is ch.9, listed there) | messiah/christ, glory, resurrection |
| 9 | 25, 26, 27, 1 (continued) | son_of_god, glory, faith, resurrection |
| 10 | Core passage terms: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 24, 42; also 28, 29 | faith, lord, resurrection, covenant, gentiles (generic sense), david, law |
| 11 | 40, 47 | faith |
| 12 | 29, 30, 49 (ἀγαπάω, not separately numbered — see 07 ch.12) | lord, david, law |
| 13 | 31, 32, 33, 1 (continued) | election, holy_spirit, messiah/christ |
| 14 | 34, 35, 36, 37 | covenant, abba, father, resurrection, messiah/christ |
| 15 | 1 (Son of Man title heritage), 23, 38, 39 | son_of_god, messiah/christ |
| 16 | 51 | resurrection, gospel |
End of Core Glossary. Cross-reference 07_semantic_analysis.md for full contextual and doctrinal justification of every entry above. This glossary is the required input for the Phase 1 Step 2+ update to translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json for the Mark curriculum.
Critical Risk Terms
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Con Đức Chúa Trời
Transliteration: Con Duc Chua Troi
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Occurs at Mark’s structural pillars (1:1,11; 5:7; 9:7; 15:39). CRITICAL: must retain eternal, co-equal divine Sonship; Vietnamese readers from an ancestor-veneration or deified-hero background risk hearing ‘Con’ as an honorific claimed by a deified national hero or spirit (e.g., Thánh Trần, venerated at folk temples/đền) rather than co-equal, eternal Sonship within the Godhead.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Đức Thánh Linh
Transliteration: Duc Thanh Linh
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: thần linh
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Descends on Jesus at baptism (1:8,10,12), confirming the Sonship doctrine, and is invoked at the unforgivable-sin teaching (3:29). CRITICAL: never bare thần linh (the broad Vietnamese folk-spirit category including tutelary land spirits and ancestor spirits).
Resurrection
Approved rendering: sự sống lại
Transliteration: su song lai
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: sự đầu thai, luân hồi
Original: ἀνάστασις / ἠγέρθη
Category: Eschatology
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Underlies every Passion prediction (8:31; 9:31; 10:34) and is the climactic vindication of the whole Gospel (16:6). CRITICAL: absolutely never đầu thai/luân hồi (rebirth/reincarnation within the cycle of samsara).
Jesus
Approved rendering: Đức Chúa Giê-xu
Transliteration: Duc Chua Gie-xu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Standard Vietnamese Protestant Bible form (Bản Dịch Truyền Thống, 1926); keep consistent across every Mark document.
Salvation
Approved rendering: sự cứu rỗi
Transliteration: su cuu roi
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: sự giải thoát
Original: σωτηρία / σῴζω
Category: Salvation
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Mark 8:35 (‘whoever loses his life for my sake will save it’), 10:26 (‘who then can be saved?’), and 13:13,20 use unambiguously soteriological language. CRITICAL: never sự giải thoát (Buddhist liberation from the cycle of rebirth). See also the new term ‘healing_salvation’ below for the context-sensitive healing-narrative occurrences of the same Greek verb σῴζω.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: Ngôi Lời trở nên xác thịt
Transliteration: Ngoi Loi tro nen xac thit
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: hóa thân
Original: ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο (cf. Mark 10:45 ἦλθεν)
Category: Christology
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Mark has no birth narrative, but 10:45’s ‘the Son of Man came’ presupposes this doctrine as already true. CRITICAL: never hóa thân alone (a bodhisattva’s or deity’s manifestation, understood as one instance among many possible).
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: Con Người
Transliteration: Con Nguoi
Doctrine: Son of Man Title
Rejected alternatives: con người thường (a mere ordinary human being, insufficiently theologized)
Original: ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Jesus’ preferred self-designation, uniting the Danielic exalted, authoritative heavenly figure (Dan 7:13-14) with a servant who suffers and dies (2:10,28; 8:31,38; 9:9,12,31; 10:33,45; 13:26; 14:21,41,62). CRITICAL: Vietnamese readers may default to the surface sense ‘a human being,’ losing the Danielic authority/glory dimension; conversely, over-theologizing the phrase destroys the deliberate ambiguity that drives the Messianic Secret. Requires consistent capitalization as a title and a recurring footnote anchoring it to Daniel 7 at every recurrence.
Ransom
Approved rendering: giá chuộc
Transliteration: gia chuoc
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: chuộc tội (as ordinarily practiced through merit offerings/ritual acts performed by the sinner), công đức tích lũy (accumulated merit), tiền chuộc (considered, less established)
Original: λύτρον
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM. The single highest-stakes new term Mark introduces (10:45; NT-parallel only at Matt 20:28). The price paid entirely BY Christ, once, to free others from bondage to sin. CRITICAL: must never be modeled on Vietnamese folk-Buddhist chuộc tội achieved through the sinner’s own merit offerings, temple donations, or ritual acts, which moves in the opposite doctrinal direction (self-effort toward one’s own outcome, rather than a gift received from another).
Substitution
Approved rendering: thay cho
Transliteration: thay cho
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: cho (bare, doctrinally ambiguous — reads as mere benefit, not exchange)
Original: ἀντί
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM. Renders ἀντί (‘in place of’), grammatically small but doctrinally decisive in Mark 10:45; stronger and more specific than ὑπέρ (‘on behalf of’). CRITICAL: bare Vietnamese ‘cho’ defaults to the weaker ‘for the benefit of’ sense and silently erases substitutionary atonement. Requires a translator note at every occurrence (10:45; also underlies 14:24’s ‘for many’).
Bondservant
Approved rendering: tôi mọi
Transliteration: toi moi
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Rejected alternatives: nô lệ (too narrowly a legal/social-history term lacking the willing self-surrender nuance)
Original: δοῦλος
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (δοῦλος; 10:44). The more extreme servant term — total, willing self-surrender, modeled on Christ himself (10:45), not coerced or hereditary servitude. CRITICAL: because Vietnamese social history includes both Confucian household-servant status and colonial-era servitude language, this term risks being softened toward a merely social-hierarchy reading, losing the passage’s radical demand.
Demon
Approved rendering: quỷ
Transliteration: quy
Doctrine: Authority over Demons
Rejected alternatives: thần linh (bare folk spirit category, rejected per baseline precedent for Holy Spirit)
Original: δαιμόνιον
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW TERM (δαιμόνιον; 1:23,26,34,39; 3:22; 5:1-20; 6:13; 7:26,29-30; 9:14-29). A personal, malevolent spiritual being under Satan, decisively subordinate to Christ’s authority. CRITICAL: must not be assimilated into the broad Vietnamese folk-religious category thần linh (spirits generally, including tutelary land and ancestor spirits, some venerated rather than opposed).
Unclean Spirit
Approved rendering: tà linh ô uế
Transliteration: ta linh o ue
Doctrine: Authority over Demons
Rejected alternatives: thần linh (bare)
Original: πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW TERM (πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον; 1:23,26,34; 3:11,30; 5:1-20; 6:7; 7:25; 9:25). Synonym for δαιμόνιον. CRITICAL: same distinction from folk thần linh as ‘demon,’ and must remain visibly distinct from Đức Thánh Linh (Holy Spirit) — a distinction the baseline already models for the Holy Spirit entry.
Blasphemy
Approved rendering: sự phạm thượng
Transliteration: su pham thuong
Doctrine: Blasphemy against the Spirit
Original: βλασφημία
Category: Sin
NEW TERM (βλασφημία; 3:28-30; 14:64). Names the unforgivable sin — deliberate, informed attribution of the Spirit’s manifest work to Satan. CRITICAL: must not be softened to a general insult, nor conflated with ordinary, forgivable tội lỗi.
Mystery
Approved rendering: sự mầu nhiệm
Transliteration: su mau nhiem
Doctrine: Mystery of the Kingdom
Rejected alternatives: bí truyền, huyền bí
Original: μυστήριον
Category: Kingdom
NEW TERM (μυστήριον; 4:11, ‘the secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you’). CRITICAL: must be distinguished from esoteric/occult secret-knowledge traditions (bí truyền, huyền bí) present in Vietnamese folk religion and Buddhism; this is truth God graciously discloses, never knowledge earned through initiation, ritual, or hidden practice.
Cross
Approved rendering: thập tự giá
Transliteration: thap tu gia
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Original: σταυρός
Category: Passion
NEW TERM (σταυρός; 8:34; 15:13-27). The specific, historical Roman execution instrument on which Christ died. CRITICAL: ‘taking up one’s cross’ (8:34-38) must be actively fenced away from the Vietnamese Buddhist-adjacent idiom chịu khổ để tích đức (enduring suffering to accumulate merit); costly self-denial flows from union with Christ’s finished, once-for-all death, not from accumulating personal merit through suffering.
Gehenna
Approved rendering: hỏa ngục
Transliteration: hoa nguc
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Rejected alternatives: địa ngục (used loosely/unqualified — risk of collision with Buddhist temporary multi-hell cosmology)
Original: γέεννα
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM (γέεννα; 9:43-47). Final, unending divine judgment. CRITICAL: 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 is final and unending, not a stage preceding a future rebirth.
Blood
Approved rendering: huyết
Transliteration: huyet
Doctrine: Institution of the Lord’s Supper
Rejected alternatives: máu (too colloquial a register for atonement contexts)
Original: αἷμα
Category: Passion
NEW TERM (αἷμα; 14:24), the formal Sino-Vietnamese Bible register term, preferred over colloquial máu in this theological register. ‘My blood of the covenant, poured out for many’ directly echoes the λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν of 10:45; must retain the echo of ‘for many’ across both passages for cross-passage consistency, and must never be assimilated to ancestor-veneration food/drink offerings (cúng cơm, giỗ).
King Of The Jews
Approved rendering: Vua dân Giu-đa
Transliteration: Vua dan Giu-da
Doctrine: Crucifixion and Kingship
Original: βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων
Category: Christology
NEW TERM (βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων; 15:2,9,12,18,26), established Vietnamese Bible phrase. The mocking Roman title is, in Mark’s irony, the truest royal title — Christ reigns precisely through the cross, fulfilling the Servanthood-versus-Greatness paradox of 10:42-45. Must retain full theological weight, not merely dramatic irony.
Legion
Approved rendering: Lê-ghi-ôn
Transliteration: Le-ghi-on
Doctrine: Authority over Demons
Original: Λεγιών
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW TERM (Λεγιών; 5:1-20), transliterated. Multiple indwelling demonic beings self-named for their overwhelming number. 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.
High Risk Terms
Lord
Approved rendering: Chúa
Transliteration: Chua
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Mark 2:28 and 12:35-37 build implicit deity claims on this term. MUST be lexically and contextually distinguished from the deliberately negative κατακυριεύω (‘cai trị,’ Mark 10:42) despite the shared Greek root, so the passage’s irony — that worldly domination is precisely what Christ’s Lordship is not — is preserved, not blurred.
Messiah
Approved rendering: Đấng Mê-si-a
Transliteration: Dang Me-si-a
Doctrine: The Messianic Secret
Original: Χριστός / מָשִׁיחַ
Category: Christology
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Peter’s confession ‘You are the Christ’ (8:29) is Mark’s structural turning point, followed immediately by the first Passion prediction and a command to silence. In Mark, Χριστός also frequently functions as a title alongside this term; established Vietnamese Bible usage renders it interchangeably as Đấng Christ / Đấng Mê-si-a (see also 9:41 and 12:35; 13:21; 14:61; 15:32) — both forms are authorized, consistent with bible_term_registry.json’s ‘Đấng Christ / Đấng Mê-si-a.‘
Father
Approved rendering: Cha
Transliteration: Cha
Doctrine: Gethsemane and the Father’s Will
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Mark 14:36 is the Gospel source of the Abba-Father cry later applied to believers in Romans 8:15. Teaching should emphasize grace-based intimacy over Confucian filial-duty (đạo hiếu) hierarchy, especially given Mark 3:31-35’s redefinition of family.
God
Approved rendering: Đức Chúa Trời
Transliteration: Duc Chua Troi
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Ông Trời
Original: θεός
Category: God
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Every Critical/High-risk occurrence in Mark should carry enough surrounding context that the personal, covenant-making God is understood, not the impersonal, fate-dispensing Ông Trời of everyday folk speech.
Christ Title
Approved rendering: Đấng Christ
Transliteration: Dang Christ
Doctrine: The Messianic Secret
NEW TERM (established alternate rendering of the baseline ‘messiah’ concept, used interchangeably with Đấng Mê-si-a per established Vietnamese Bible tradition). Frequent in Mark as the title revealed and concealed across the narrative (8:29; 9:41; 12:35; 13:21; 14:61; 15:32). Must be kept lexically identical to ‘messiah’ in doctrinal weight; do not treat as a separate, lesser concept.
Cup
Approved rendering: chén
Transliteration: chen
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Original: ποτήριον
Category: Passion
NEW TERM (10:38-39; 14:36). Figurative for Christ’s appointed portion of suffering/divine judgment (echoing Ps 75:8; Isa 51:17; Jer 25:15). Collision risk: in Vietnamese ancestor veneration (thờ cúng tổ tiên), a chén of wine or tea is a standard ritual libation poured out at the family altar for the deceased. Requires a translator note at every occurrence distinguishing Christ’s unique, unrepeatable appointed cup of suffering from any libation/offering practice.
Baptism Of Suffering
Approved rendering: phép báp-têm
Transliteration: phep bap-tem
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Original: βάπτισμα
Category: Passion
NEW metaphorical use of an established sacramental term (10:38-39). Describes being submerged/overwhelmed in suffering and death, not the water rite of initiation. Every occurrence in this passage requires a disambiguating translator note so readers do not assume James and John are being asked about literal water baptism.
Servant
Approved rendering: đầy tớ
Transliteration: day to
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Original: διάκονος
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (διάκονος; 9:35; 10:43). The lesser-intensity member of an escalating rhetorical pair with δοῦλος (‘tôi mọi,’ see below); everyday, active service. Must be kept lexically distinct from tôi mọi in Vietnamese so the intensification from v.43 to v.44 remains visible.
Lord Over
Approved rendering: cai trị
Transliteration: cai tri
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Original: κατακυριεύω
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (κατακυριεύω; 10:42), rendered in its oppressive sense only. Built on the same root as κύριος/Chúa (Lord); must be lexically and contextually reserved for ‘các vua chúa dân ngoại’ (the gentile rulers) and never applied to Christ, or the passage’s deliberate irony collapses.
Worldly Authority
Approved rendering: cầm quyền
Transliteration: cam quyen
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Original: κατεξουσιάζω
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (κατεξουσιάζω; 10:42), rendered in its oppressive sense only. Built on the same root as ἐξουσία, positively used of Christ’s authority elsewhere (see ‘authority’ below); surrounding language must keep the two senses visibly distinguishable.
Authority
Approved rendering: quyền / quyền phép
Transliteration: quyen / quyen phep
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Original: ἐξουσία
Category: Authority
NEW TERM (ἐξουσία; 1:22,27; 2:10; 6:7; 11:28-33). Positive, legitimate, delegated-or-inherent divine authority. Foundational to this curriculum doctrine; must remain lexically distinguishable in surrounding phrasing from the oppressive cầm quyền/cai trị of worldly rulers (Mark 10:42) despite the shared Greek root.
Satan
Approved rendering: Sa-tan
Transliteration: Sa-tan
Doctrine: Satanic Opposition to the Kingdom
Original: σατανᾶς
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW TERM (σατανᾶς; 1:13; 3:23-26; 4:15; 8:33). Transliteration is standard Vietnamese Protestant usage. A single, personal chief adversary already being defeated through Christ, not one folk-spirit among many (ma, quỷ) to be placated.
Tradition
Approved rendering: truyền thống
Transliteration: truyen thong
Doctrine: True Purity versus Ritual Defilement
Original: παράδοσις
Category: Covenant
NEW TERM (παράδοσις; 7:3-13). Jesus condemns tradition that overrides God’s commandment, not tradition as such. Given Confucian veneration of ancestral custom in Vietnamese culture, a blanket-sounding critique of ‘tradition’ risks being heard as an attack on filial and ancestral practice generally; requires a mandatory translator note restricting the critique to tradition that nullifies God’s word.
Defilement
Approved rendering: dơ dáy / ô uế
Transliteration: do day / o ue
Doctrine: True Purity versus Ritual Defilement
Original: κοινός / ἀκάθαρτος
Category: Sin
NEW TERM (κοινός/ἀκάθαρτος; 7:2,15,18-23). Jesus relocates true defilement from ritual/external categories to the moral condition of the heart — a distinction with no exact parallel in folk ritual-purity categories (e.g., purification rites at đền/chùa) and requiring explicit unpacking.
Life Soul
Approved rendering: mạng sống / linh hồn
Transliteration: mang song / linh hon
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: bare linh hồn as a default rendering (reincarnation-adjacent reading risk)
Original: ψυχή
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (ψυχή; 8:35-37; 10:45). Context-sensitive between mạng sống (physical life, preferred default) and linh hồn (soul, carrying folk/Buddhist transmigration associations). Mark 10:45 itself (‘gave his life’) requires mạng sống; reserve linh hồn only where the immaterial, eternal dimension is unmistakably in view, always with a guarding note against a reincarnation-adjacent reading. Also feeds Faith and Discipleship amid Fear (8:35-37).
Transfiguration
Approved rendering: biến hình
Transliteration: bien hinh
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: hóa thân (rejected per baseline precedent for Incarnation)
Original: μεταμορφόω
Category: Christology
NEW TERM (μεταμορφόω; 9:2). A temporary revelatory unveiling of Christ’s pre-existing, one, unique, eternal glory, not a shape-shift into a different being. Risk of collision with (a) the forbidden hóa thân concept (a deity’s/bodhisattva’s manifestation, one instance among many) and (b) Vietnamese folk/Daoist immortal-transformation motifs (thần tiên biến hóa).
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: sự sống đời đời
Transliteration: su song doi doi
Doctrine: Eternal Life and the Cost of Discipleship
Rejected alternatives: sự giải thoát (Buddhist liberation from rebirth, rejected per baseline precedent for salvation)
Original: ζωὴ αἰώνιος
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM (ζωὴ αἰώνιος; 10:17,30). Permanent life with God, received by grace through costly discipleship. Must be kept distinct from the works-merit framework implied by the rich young man’s question, and from Buddhist liberation from rebirth.
Son Of David
Approved rendering: Con Đa-vít
Transliteration: Con Da-vit
Doctrine: Davidic Messianic Promise
Original: υἱὸς Δαυίδ
Category: Christology
NEW TERM (υἱὸς Δαυίδ; 10:47-48; 12:35-37), built on the established proper name Đa-vít. Jesus is acclaimed Son of David, then shows David himself calls the Messiah ‘Lord’ — requires OT covenant background rather than presenting a rival-concept risk in Vietnamese culture.
Abomination Of Desolation
Approved rendering: sự tàn nát gớm ghiếc
Transliteration: su tan nat gom ghiec
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM (βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως; 13:14), echoing Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11. Requires a footnote connecting it to Daniel; misreading risks either over-literalizing the sign or losing its fulfillment-of-prophecy connection.
Betrayal
Approved rendering: phản / phó, bị nộp
Transliteration: phan / pho, bi nop
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Original: παραδίδωμι
Category: Passion
NEW TERM (παραδίδωμι; 14:10,18,21,41-42,44). Deliberately double-edged: phản names Judas’s culpable treachery; phó/bị nộp names the passive, divine-purpose sense (the Father handing over the Son). Both dimensions — human guilt and divine purpose — must be preserved, not collapsed into one.
Veil
Approved rendering: màn nơi thánh
Transliteration: man noi thanh
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Original: καταπέτασμα
Category: Passion
NEW TERM (καταπέτασμα; 15:38), established Vietnamese Bible term. Torn ‘from top to bottom’ at Christ’s death, symbolizing opened access to God secured by the ransom (10:45). Must not be flattened into a merely dramatic detail.
Healing Salvation
Approved rendering: được lành bệnh / sự cứu rỗi
Transliteration: duoc lanh benh / su cuu roi
Doctrine: Healing and Salvation Overlap
Rejected alternatives: automatic default to either sense without contextual evaluation
Original: σῴζω
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM (σῴζω; 5:23,28,34; 6:56; 10:52; 13:13,20). A single Greek verb covers both physical healing/rescue and eternal salvation. Every occurrence requires individual contextual judgment — render được lành bệnh for the physical sense, or reuse the baseline sự cứu rỗi for the eternal-salvation sense; must not default automatically to one sense in every instance.
Spiritual Family
Approved rendering: anh em / mẹ
Transliteration: anh em / me
Doctrine: The True Family of God
Original: ἀδελφοί / μήτηρ
Category: Church
NEW TERM (ἀδελφοί/μήτηρ; 3:31-35). Jesus’ redefinition of kinship around obedience to God’s will. Given the strength of Confucian filial loyalty and blood-family obligation in Vietnamese culture, this redefinition risks being heard as devaluing or replacing family duty; must be framed as gracious inclusion in God’s family, not rejection of blood family or ancestral honor, paralleling the baseline’s Adoption/Father caution.
Medium Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: Tin Lành
Transliteration: tin lanh
Doctrine: Gospel of the Kingdom
Rejected alternatives: tin tức tốt lành
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE (translation, transliteration, and risk tier unchanged). Established Vietnamese Protestant Bible term. In Mark 1:1,14-15 this is the book’s opening thesis word, deliberately tied to the in-breaking kingdom (Nước Đức Chúa Trời) announced in the very next clause; every occurrence (1:1; 8:35; 10:29; 13:10; 14:9; 16:15) must be anchored to that specific proclamation, not left as a detached ‘good news’ phrase.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: Nước Đức Chúa Trời
Transliteration: Nuoc Duc Chua Troi
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Structural to Mark (1:15; 4:11,26-32; 9:1; 10:14-15,23-25; 14:25). ‘Nước’ primarily denotes a territorial/political nation-state in ordinary Vietnamese; requires a contextual gloss at first occurrence per chapter reminding readers this is God’s dynamic, already/not-yet reign breaking in through Jesus, not a future political state.
Sin
Approved rendering: tội lỗi
Transliteration: toi loi
Doctrine: Authority over Sin (Forgiveness)
Rejected alternatives: nghiệp xấu
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Jesus claims unique authority to forgive sin as a debt only God can release (2:5-10). Distinguish from nghiệp xấu (impersonal bad karma dissolved through merit, ritual, or time).
Faith
Approved rendering: đức tin
Transliteration: duc tin
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Recurs through Mark’s healing and discipleship narratives (2:5; 4:40; 5:34; 9:23-24; 10:52; 11:22-24), consistently paired with real fear and even narrated failure. Object of faith must remain recoverable as Christ/God, never generic religious confidence, and must not read as stoic fearlessness or fatalistic số phận acceptance.
Covenant
Approved rendering: giao ước
Transliteration: giao uoc
Doctrine: Institution of the Lord’s Supper
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Mark 14:24 (‘my blood of the covenant, poured out for many’) directly parallels the ransom language of 10:45; the covenant is inaugurated by sacrificial, substitutionary blood, not a merely negotiated agreement.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: dân ngoại
Transliteration: dan ngoai
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Mark 7:26 uses this term in its proper salvation-historical sense (the Syrophoenician woman). Mark 10:42 uses the identical Greek lexeme (ἔθνη) generically for ‘the nations of the world’ ruled by worldly kings, NOT the Jew-Gentile theological category; a mandatory translator note at 10:42 must prevent readers from importing the Romans Jew/Gentile-unity doctrine into that verse.
Abba
Approved rendering: Áp-ba
Transliteration: Ap-ba
Doctrine: Gethsemane and the Father’s Will
Original: אַבָּא
Category: God
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Mark 14:36 is Christ’s own anguished Gethsemane prayer, the direct textual source for Romans 8:15’s believer’s cry. Retain the transliteration alongside Cha to preserve intimacy the formal title alone may not carry.
Glory
Approved rendering: sự vinh hiển
Transliteration: su vinh hien
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Original: δόξα
Category: God
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. In the core passage, Mark 10:37, the disciples envision δόξα as worldly triumph and visible royal status, which Jesus redefines through the cross before it is revealed through resurrection and future coming (8:38; 9:2-8; 13:26). The Vietnamese reader must not be allowed to read this occurrence only as this-worldly honor; the passage itself supplies the correction in vv.38-45.
David
Approved rendering: Đa-vít
Transliteration: Da-vit
Doctrine: Davidic Messianic Promise
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Appears at 10:47-48; 11:10; 12:35-37, where the paradox that the Messiah is both David’s son and David’s Lord is developed.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: quyền năng của Đức Chúa Trời
Transliteration: quyen nang cua Duc Chua Troi
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Original: δύναμις
Category: God
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Underlies Mark’s healing, exorcism, and nature-miracle accounts as the source of Christ’s ἐξουσία (see new term ‘authority’ below); keep visually distinguishable from the oppressive worldly-power vocabulary of Mark 10:42.
Law
Approved rendering: luật pháp
Transliteration: luat phap
Doctrine: Christ’s Lordship over the Sabbath
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Central to the Sabbath controversies (2:23-28; 3:1-6) and the purity debates (7:1-23; 10:1-12; 12:28-31); Christ’s authority over the Law’s institutions must not be read as abolishing the Law or as making Sabbath observance meaningless.
Election
Approved rendering: sự lựa chọn
Transliteration: su lua chon
Doctrine: Eschatological Watchfulness
Rejected alternatives: số mệnh
Original: ἐκλεκτός
Category: Salvation
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Mark 13:20,27 (‘for the sake of the elect’; ‘his elect’). Never số mệnh (impersonal fate/destiny).
Called
Approved rendering: được kêu gọi
Transliteration: duoc keu goi
Doctrine: Discipleship Community and Fellowship
Original: καλέω
Category: Salvation
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. In Mark, primarily the call to discipleship (1:16-20; 2:14; 3:13-19) rather than the salvation-calling sense fully developed later in Romans; check which sense is active per occurrence.
Calling
Approved rendering: sự kêu gọi
Transliteration: su keu goi
Doctrine: Discipleship Community and Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: số phận
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Underlies the pattern of Jesus calling and commissioning the Twelve (3:13-19; 6:7). Never số phận (fixed fate/destiny).
Holy
Approved rendering: thánh
Transliteration: thanh
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Modifies the Spirit throughout (1:8,10,12) and describes the demon’s recognition of Jesus as ‘the Holy One of God’ (1:24), tying the term to Christ’s unique identity in Mark.
Apostle
Approved rendering: sứ đồ
Transliteration: su do
Doctrine: Apostleship
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Mark 3:14 and 6:30 name the Twelve as ἀπόστολοι, directly tied to the new term ἀποστέλλω (‘sai đi,’ see below).
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: dòng dõi Đa-vít
Transliteration: dong doi Da-vit
Doctrine: Davidic Messianic Promise
Original: σπέρμα Δαυίδ / υἱὸς Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Underlies and is extended in Mark by the new title ‘Son of David’ (see ‘son_of_david’ below); requires OT covenant background teaching.
Parable
Approved rendering: ví dụ / thí dụ
Transliteration: vi du / thi du
Doctrine: Parables of the Kingdom
Original: παραβολή
Category: Kingdom
NEW TERM (παραβολή; 4:2,10-13,33-34). Must be taught as more than an illustrative fable — a deliberate literary strategy that both reveals and conceals kingdom truth depending on the hearer’s disposition, tied to the Messianic Secret.
Repentance
Approved rendering: sự ăn năn
Transliteration: su an nan
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Rejected alternatives: hối hận (mere regret, insufficiently transformative)
Original: μετάνοια
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM (μετάνοια; 1:4,15; 6:12). A whole-person turning toward God, not superficial remorse or a merit-generating ritual act.
Leprosy
Approved rendering: bệnh phong / người phung
Transliteration: benh phong / nguoi phung
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Original: λέπρα / λεπρός
Category: Healing
NEW TERM (λέπρα/λεπρός; 1:40-45). Stigmatized illness with ritual-purity dimensions under the Law; Christ’s ‘cleansing’ includes physical healing plus restoration to community, not merit-based ritual purification.
Corban
Approved rendering: Cô-ban
Transliteration: Co-ban
Doctrine: True Purity versus Ritual Defilement
Original: κορβάν
Category: Covenant
NEW TERM (κορβάν; 7:11), transliterated. A vow dedicating property to God’s use, exploited to evade supporting one’s parents. Doctrinally significant given Vietnamese filial-duty sensitivities: Jesus condemns the abuse of a religious loophole, not filial duty or honoring parents as such.
Unbelief
Approved rendering: sự không tin / sự vô tín
Transliteration: su khong tin / su vo tin
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
Original: ἀπιστία
Category: Faith
NEW TERM (ἀπιστία; 9:24, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’). Models honest, struggling faith amid fear and doubt, central to this curriculum doctrine.
Cornerstone
Approved rendering: đá đầu góc nhà
Transliteration: da dau goc nha
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Original: κεφαλὴ γωνίας
Category: Christology
NEW TERM (κεφαλὴ γωνίας; 12:10), established Bible metaphor. The rejected stone becomes the foundation — echoes the passion/vindication pattern.
Tribulation
Approved rendering: sự hoạn nạn lớn
Transliteration: su hoan nan lon
Doctrine: Eschatological Watchfulness
Original: θλῖψις
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM (θλῖψις; 13:19,24). Future eschatological distress preceding the Son of Man’s coming, testing faith amid fear.
Vigilance
Approved rendering: hãy tỉnh thức
Transliteration: hay tinh thuc
Doctrine: Eschatological Watchfulness
Original: γρηγορέω
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM (γρηγορέω; 13:35-37; 14:34,37-38). Urgent readiness for the Son of Man’s unknown return; must not flatten into fatalistic waiting for an impersonal số trời.
Passover
Approved rendering: Lễ Vượt Qua
Transliteration: Le Vuot Qua
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Original: πάσχα
Category: Covenant
NEW TERM (πάσχα; 14:1,12,14,16), established Vietnamese Bible term. The Last Supper is deliberately set within Passover, framing Christ’s death as fulfillment of Passover’s deliverance-through-substitution pattern; requires OT Exodus background teaching.
Denial
Approved rendering: chối
Transliteration: choi
Doctrine: Peter’s Denial and the Hope of Restoration
Original: ἀπαρνέομαι
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (ἀπαρνέομαι; 14:30,66-72). Peter’s threefold denial is the sharpest instance in Mark of Faith and Discipleship amid Fear; doctrinally significant despite narrative simplicity, since failure under fear does not have the final word (implied restoration, 16:7).
Temple
Approved rendering: đền thờ
Transliteration: den tho
Doctrine: Temple Judgment
Original: ἱερόν
Category: Worship
NEW TERM (ἱερόν; 11:11,15-17; 13:1-2). Historically specific to the literal Jerusalem Temple building. Must never be confused with, nor lend its associations to, the baseline’s Hội Thánh (Church) term, which deliberately avoids đền because of its folk-temple connotations; a brief clarifying gloss at first occurrence (11:11) is recommended even though đền thờ is itself a correct, established Bible term.
Sending
Approved rendering: sai đi
Transliteration: sai di
Doctrine: Apostleship
Original: ἀποστέλλω
Category: Church
NEW TERM (ἀποστέλλω; 3:14; 6:7; 11:1-3). Root of ἀπόστολος (apostle); establishes the pattern of commissioned sending that underlies the baseline’s Apostleship doctrine (sứ đồ).
Sabbath
Approved rendering: ngày Sa-bát
Transliteration: ngay Sa-bat
Doctrine: Christ’s Lordship over the Sabbath
Original: σάββατον
Category: Covenant
NEW TERM (σάββατον; 2:23-28; 3:1-6), established transliteration. ‘The Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath’ ties the Son of Man and Lord titles together.
Nature Obedience
Approved rendering: vâng phục
Transliteration: vang phuc
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Original: ὑπακούω
Category: Authority
NEW TERM (ὑπακούω; 4:41; 6:45-52). Nature submitting directly to Christ’s spoken command; keep distinct from folk practices of appeasing nature spirits (thần sông, thần núi) through offering or ritual negotiation — here nature is commanded, not petitioned.
Low Risk Terms
Prophet
Approved rendering: tiên tri
Transliteration: tien tri
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: thầy bói
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Mark 6:4 (‘a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown’) identifies Jesus with, and beyond, the prophetic office. Do not confuse with thầy bói (fortune-teller).
Prophecy
Approved rendering: lời tiên tri
Transliteration: loi tien tri
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE. Underlies Mark 13’s use of Daniel and the Passion narrative’s fulfillment framing.
Beelzebul
Approved rendering: Bê-ên-xê-bun
Transliteration: Be-en-xe-bun
Doctrine: The Messianic Secret
Original: Βεελζεβούλ
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW TERM (Βεελζεβούλ; 3:22), a pejorative proper name for Satan/prince of demons used in the accusation against Jesus. Low ambiguity; pairs conceptually with ‘satan’ above.
Bridegroom
Approved rendering: chàng rể
Transliteration: chang re
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Original: νυμφίος
Category: Kingdom
NEW TERM (νυμφίος; 2:19), established term. Wedding imagery signaling the joyful, unprecedented arrival of the messianic age.
Fasting
Approved rendering: kiêng ăn
Transliteration: kieng an
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
Original: νηστεία / νηστεύω
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (νηστεία/νηστεύω; 2:18-20), established term. Contrasted with the joy of the bridegroom’s presence; fasting has its proper season.
Fig Tree
Approved rendering: cây vả
Transliteration: cay va
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: συκῆ
Category: Covenant
NEW TERM (συκῆ; 11:12-14,20-21), established term. The withered fig tree functions as an enacted prophetic sign of judgment, paired narratively with the Temple action.
Widow
Approved rendering: người đàn bà góa
Transliteration: nguoi dan ba goa
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Original: χήρα
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (χήρα; 12:41-44), established term. Her small offering is commended as a model of sacrificial devotion, resonant with the servant ethic of the core passage.
Signs
Approved rendering: dấu lạ
Transliteration: dau la
Doctrine: Great Commission Proclamation
Rejected alternatives: bare điềm (folk omens, must not be used unqualified)
Original: σημεῖα
Category: Kingdom
NEW TERM (σημεῖα; 16:17-20, longer ending). Confirming signs accompanying gospel proclamation; must be kept tied explicitly to the proclaimed Tin Lành, not left to blend with folk điềm (omens) or independent divination practices.
Referenced passages