Translation Glossary - Lost Words Quick Chart

1.1.9 Translation Glossary — Lost Words Quick Chart

Many words in our modern Bibles have drifted far from their original meaning — either due to poor translation, religious bias, or the shaping influence of tradition and fear-based theology.

This quick chart is designed to help you recognize and reframe these “lost words” as you read through the restored translation.

Each word here has been explored in greater depth in the Appendices, but this page offers a fast reference to what the original Hebrew/Greek actually meant.

Lost Words Quick Reference Chart

Traditional Word

Original Term

Restored Meaning

Hell

Sheol / Hades / Gehenna / Tartarus

The grave / realm of the dead / place of judgment or destruction — not eternal conscious torment.

Devil / Devils

Diabolos / Daimonia

Accuser / spiritual deceivers — not a red monster or a rival god.

Wrath

Orge (Gk) / Chemah (Heb)

Grief-filled passion to heal what’s broken — not unrestrained rage or revenge.

Judgment

Krino / Mishpat

Divine setting-things-right — restorative, not merely punitive.

Baptism

Baptizo

Full immersion — into death, rebirth, and life in God — not just water ritual.

Faith

Pistis

Relational trust and loyalty — not mental belief or reciting doctrine.

Repent

Metanoia

A change of heart/mind/direction — not punishment or groveling.

Righteousness

Dikaiosyne / Tzedek

Right relationship — justice and wholeness, not moral superiority.

Salvation

Sozo

Healing, rescue, restoration — not escape from hell.

Gospel

Euangelion

World-altering good news — not just a ticket to heaven.

Kingdom

Basileia

God’s active rule on earth as in heaven — not a distant realm.

Fear of the Lord

Yirah

Awe-filled reverence — not terror.

Spirit

Ruach / Pneuma

Breath, life-force, wind — not a vague ghost-like being.

Eternal

Aionios

Age-abiding, enduring — not infinite time as we understand it.

Obey

Shema

Listen deeply and respond — rooted in relational attentiveness.

Holy Spirit

Hagion Pneuma / Ruach HaKodesh

Set-Apart Spirit — God’s sacred breath, power, or animating presence — not a third person of a trinity. Use contextually: Set-Apart Spirit (default), Sacred Breath (intimate/creative), Wind of the Most High (symbolic), Spirit of the Holy One (prophetic/reverent).

Soul

Nephesh / Psyche

Living being — not an immortal, disembodied ghost. Soul = the whole, unified person: body + breath. Use 'life,' 'self,' or 'person' based on context.

How to Use This Chart:

Use it as a mental filter while reading restored Scriptures.

Let it retrain your instincts — not to fear the text, but to hear it rightly.

If a verse sounds out of character with Jesus, check the original meaning.

Don’t be afraid to question what a word meant before it was used to control what people believe.