Punjabi · ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
Father's Heart Bible™ key-term glossary — anchored to the historic Punjabi Scriptures · Script: Gurmukhi
For the reviewer
These are the proposed renderings of FHB's key terms. The heart of the review: wherever English says our Father, the rendering must feel like a beloved child addressing their own father — warm, reverent, natural to your language's Bible — and never the distant generic word for "God." Mark anything that reads wrong, stiff, or irreverent. Tip: your browser's translate feature can back-translate this page as a second witness. Approvals or corrections go to Kevin White.
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Reverent contemporary Punjabi in the wording family of the Pavittar Bibal / Punjabi Bible (Indian Bible Society) tradition — the version Punjabi Christian congregations read aloud and pray from — using the affectionate-respectful honorific address (ਜੀ) that a Punjabi child uses for their own parent. Warm and devotional, not colloquial slang, not stiff liturgical Sanskritized diction.
Quotation marks
Double quotation marks “ ” for speech; single ‘ ’ for a quote nested inside a quote (following modern Punjabi Bible typesetting).
Poetry lines
Poetry set as line-broken verse with each poetic line on its own line and second-half parallel (colon) lines indented one step; Hebrew/Greek parallelism preserved rather than flattened into prose.
| # | English term | Proposed rendering | Literal back-translation | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | our Heavenly Father | ਸਾਡਾ ਸੁਰਗੀ ਪਿਤਾ | our heavenly Father (revered) | Anchored to ਪੰਜਾਬੀ BSI (Mt 6:9) — the established rendering this language's church already prays; FHB shifts only the person (our), never the construction. Was: "ਸਾਡੇ ਸੁਰਗੀ ਪਿਤਾ ਜੀ". Sweep 2026-07-22 (Kevin: mine the existing translations, don't invent) |
| 2 | our Father | ਸਾਡਾ ਪਿਤਾ | our Father (revered) | Anchored to ਪੰਜਾਬੀ BSI (Mt 6:9 / Rom 1:7) — the established rendering this language's church already prays; FHB shifts only the person (our), never the construction. Was: "ਸਾਡੇ ਪਿਤਾ ਜੀ". Sweep 2026-07-22 (Kevin: mine the existing translations, don't invent) |
| 3 | the Father | ਪਿਤਾ | the Father (revered) | Anchored to ਪੰਜਾਬੀ BSI (Jn 14:9ff) — the established rendering this language's church already prays; FHB shifts only the person (our), never the construction. Was: "ਪਿਤਾ ਜੀ". Sweep 2026-07-22 (Kevin: mine the existing translations, don't invent) |
| 4 | Heavenly Father | ਸੁਰਗੀ ਪਿਤਾ | heavenly Father (revered) | Anchored to ਪੰਜਾਬੀ BSI (Mt 6:14) — the established rendering this language's church already prays; FHB shifts only the person (our), never the construction. Was: "ਸੁਰਗੀ ਪਿਤਾ ਜੀ". Sweep 2026-07-22 (Kevin: mine the existing translations, don't invent) |
| 5 | Abba, Father | ਅੱਬਾ, ਹੇ ਪਿਤਾ | Abba (Aramaic intimate 'papa'), Father (revered) | Anchored to ਪੰਜਾਬੀ BSI (Rom 8:15 / Mk 14:36) — the established rendering this language's church already prays; FHB shifts only the person (our), never the construction. Was: "ਅੱਬਾ, ਪਿਤਾ ਜੀ". Sweep 2026-07-22 (Kevin: mine the existing translations, don't invent) |
| 6 | God | ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ | God (the Supreme Lord / deity) | NON-FILIAL contrast term. Traditional Punjabi Bible word for God-as-God (ਖ਼ੁਦਾ / ਰੱਬ are the everyday alternatives). Use only where English keeps 'God'; never as a substitute for ਸਾਡੇ ਪਿਤਾ ਜੀ. |
| 7 | the LORD | ਯਹੋਵਾਹ | Yahweh (the covenant name) | NON-FILIAL contrast term — the covenant name as spelled in the Punjabi Bible. Use only where English keeps 'the LORD'. Generic 'Lord' for Jesus is the distinct ਪ੍ਰਭੂ (Prabhu). |
| 8 | the Holy Spirit | ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਆਤਮਾ | the Holy Spirit | Standard Punjabi Bible term; ਪਵਿੱਤਰ 'holy' + ਆਤਮਾ 'spirit'. |
| 9 | the Spirit of our Father | ਸਾਡੇ ਪਿਤਾ ਦਾ ਆਤਮਾ | the Spirit of our Father (revered) | Anchored to ਪੰਜਾਬੀ BSI (Mt 10:20) — the established rendering this language's church already prays; FHB shifts only the person (our), never the construction. Was: "ਸਾਡੇ ਪਿਤਾ ਜੀ ਦਾ ਆਤਮਾ". Sweep 2026-07-22 (Kevin: mine the existing translations, don't invent) |
| 10 | the Son of Man | ਮਨੁੱਖ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ | the Son of Man (of the human being) | Standard Punjabi Bible title; ਪੁੱਤਰ is the warm/native word for son (vs. Sanskritic ਸੁਤ). |
| 11 | the Son | ਪੁੱਤਰ | the Son | The Son (Jesus). ਪੁੱਤਰ is the affectionate Punjabi word a parent uses for their child — the filial warmth mirrors ਪਿਤਾ. |
| 12 | the Son of God | ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ | the Son of God | Christological title kept with ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ per confessional usage. Native reviewer to confirm vs. a filial ਪਿਤਾ ਜੀ ਦਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ ('the Father's Son'). |
| 13 | one and only Son | ਇਕਲੌਤਾ ਪੁੱਤਰ | the only-begotten / only Son | John 3:16 wording family; ਇਕਲੌਤਾ = 'one and only / only-born'. |
| 14 | the kingdom of our Father | ਸਾਡੇ ਪਿਤਾ ਦਾ ਰਾਜ | the kingdom / reign of our Father (revered) | Anchored to ਪੰਜਾਬੀ BSI (Mt 26:29) — the established rendering this language's church already prays; FHB shifts only the person (our), never the construction. Was: "ਸਾਡੇ ਪਿਤਾ ਜੀ ਦਾ ਰਾਜ". Sweep 2026-07-22 (Kevin: mine the existing translations, don't invent) |
| 15 | Jesus | ਯਿਸੂ | Jesus | Standard Punjabi Bible spelling of the name. |
| 16 | Christ | ਮਸੀਹ | Christ (the Anointed) | The title as used in the Punjabi Bible; ਯਿਸੂ ਮਸੀਹ = 'Jesus Christ'. |
| 17 | Messiah | ਮਸੀਹਾ | Messiah (the awaited Anointed One) | ਮਸੀਹਾ marks the awaited-deliverer sense, distinguished from the compounded title ਮਸੀਹ; reviewer to confirm both read naturally. |
| 18 | covenant | ਨੇਮ | covenant / solemn pact | Standard Punjabi Bible term for covenant (ਨੇਮ). |
| 19 | steadfast love | ਅਟੱਲ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ | unshakeable / steadfast love | Renders Hebrew hesed (loyal covenant love). ਅਟੱਲ 'immovable, steadfast' + ਪ੍ਰੇਮ 'love'. Reviewer to weigh vs. ਪੱਕਾ ਪਿਆਰ or ਸਦਾ ਰਹਿਣ ਵਾਲਾ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ. |
| 20 | compassion | ਤਰਸ | compassion / heartfelt pity | Renders racham / splanchnizomai (gut-level tender mercy). ਤਰਸ carries the felt, moved-with-pity sense; ਦਯਾ is the more formal alternative. |
| 21 | righteousness | ਧਾਰਮਿਕਤਾ | righteousness / uprightness | Punjabi Bible term; the abstract noun from ਧਰਮ (right/just conduct). |
| 22 | eternal life | ਸਦੀਪਕ ਜੀਵਨ | eternal / everlasting life | John 3:16 wording family; ਸਦੀਪਕ 'everlasting' + ਜੀਵਨ 'life' (vs. ਅਨੰਤ ਜੀਵਨ). |
| 23 | born again | ਨਵੇਂ ਸਿਰਿਓਂ ਜੰਮਣਾ | to be born anew / from the beginning | John 3:3,7 sense; ਨਵੇਂ ਸਿਰਿਓਂ 'afresh, from the start' + ਜੰਮਣਾ 'to be born' — holds the double meaning 'again / from above'. |
Terms we deliberately avoid
These common words carry another religion's meaning, so Scripture in Punjabi has always chosen different vocabulary — and so do we. Please don't recommend them; the established Bible alternative is listed beside each.
- ਪੁਨਰ ਜਨਮ (reincarnation) → ਨਵਾਂ ਜਨਮ
- ਅਵਤਾਰ (avatar) → ਦੇਹਧਾਰਣ
- ਮੋਕਸ਼ (Hindu liberation) → ਮੁਕਤੀ (as the Punjabi Bible uses it for salvation)
Machine conformance stems (every filial rendering must contain one): ਪਿਤਾ
Submit your review
Your review goes directly to Kevin White. Corrections can be written in Punjabi or English.