Indonesian · Bahasa Indonesia
Father's Heart Bible™ key-term glossary — anchored to the historic Indonesian Scriptures · Script: Latin
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.
Register
Reverent contemporary Indonesian in the wording family of the Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia Terjemahan Baru (TB, 1974) — the most-trusted and most-loved Indonesian Bible across Protestant and Catholic communities — updated to modern spelling in the manner of TB2 (2023). This is the dignified-yet-warm register of Scripture read aloud in worship and prayer.
Quotation marks
Double curly quotation marks “…” for speech, single ‘…’ for a quote nested inside a quote; direct speech introduced with a comma or colon (… kata-Nya, “…”).
Poetry lines
Poetry is set as line-broken verse with parallel cola (as in the TB Psalms and Proverbs); each poetic line starts a new line and the second colon of a couplet is indented. No rhyme or meter is imposed — Hebrew parallelism is preserved.
| # | English term | Proposed rendering | Literal back-translation | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | our Heavenly Father | Bapa kami yang di sorga | our Heavenly Father | Anchored to Terjemahan Baru (Mt 6:9) — the established rendering this language's church already prays; FHB shifts only the person (our), never the construction. Was: "Bapa Surgawi kita". Sweep 2026-07-22 (Kevin: mine the existing translations, don't invent) |
| 2 | our Father | Bapa kita | our Father (inclusive 'our') | Primary filial divine name. Uses inclusive 'kita' to draw the reader in as a fellow child. NOTE FOR REVIEWER: the community's most-loved rendering in direct address/prayer is the Lord's-Prayer form 'Bapa kami' (exclusive 'kami', as in 'Bapa kami yang di sorga'); reviewer to set the kita/kami policy for narration vs. address. Never revert to Allah/TUHAN. |
| 3 | the Father | Sang Bapa | the Father | Anchored to Terjemahan Baru (Jn 14:9ff) — the established rendering this language's church already prays; FHB shifts only the person (our), never the construction. Was: "Bapa". Sweep 2026-07-22 (Kevin: mine the existing translations, don't invent) |
| 4 | Heavenly Father | Bapa surgawi | Heavenly Father | Anchored to Terjemahan Baru (Mt 6:14) — the established rendering this language's church already prays; FHB shifts only the person (our), never the construction. Was: "Bapa Surgawi". Sweep 2026-07-22 (Kevin: mine the existing translations, don't invent) |
| 5 | Abba, Father | ya Abba, ya Bapa | O Abba, O Father | Retains the Aramaic 'Abba' + vocative 'ya' (O) + 'Bapa'; matches the TB rendering of Rom 8:15 / Gal 4:6 / Mark 14:36 exactly. |
| 6 | God | Allah | God | NON-FILIAL CONTRAST TERM. The standard LAI/TB word for God-as-God. Use ONLY where English keeps 'God' as deity; never as a substitute for 'Bapa kita'. |
| 7 | the LORD | TUHAN | the LORD (the covenant name YHWH) | NON-FILIAL CONTRAST TERM. All-caps 'TUHAN' is the LAI convention for YHWH, distinct from title 'Tuhan' (Lord) used for Jesus. Use ONLY where English retains the covenant name. |
| 8 | the Holy Spirit | Roh Kudus | the Holy Spirit | Standard TB term; confirmed in preview (John 3). |
| 9 | the Spirit of our Father | Roh Bapa kita | the Spirit of our Father | Relational (the Spirit belonging to the Father), not the by-identity title 'Roh Kudus'. Carries the 'Bapa' stem; per preview (Gen 1:2). |
| 10 | the Son of Man | Anak Manusia | the Son of Man | Fixed TB Christological/self-designation title; confirmed in preview (John 3). |
| 11 | the Son | Sang Anak | the Son | Honorific 'Sang' + 'Anak' marks the definite, reverent 'the Son' (Jesus) and distinguishes it from ordinary 'anak' (child); bare 'Anak' as in TB is also acceptable. |
| 12 | the Son of God | Anak Allah | the Son of God | Traditional TB confessional title. REVIEWER TO CONFIRM vs. a filial variant 'Anak Bapa' (Son of the Father), paralleling the Telugu తండ్రి కుమారుడు; kept as 'Anak Allah' where the fixed creedal title is intended. |
| 13 | one and only Son | Anak-Nya yang tunggal | His one and only (single) Son | TB John 3:16 wording; the possessive '-Nya' refers to the Father. Where no possessor is present, 'Anak Tunggal' (the only Son). Confirmed in preview (John 3:16). |
| 14 | the kingdom of our Father | Kerajaan Bapa kita | the kingdom of our Father | FHB renders 'kingdom of God' filially; replaces TB 'Kerajaan Allah'. Carries the 'Bapa' stem; confirmed in preview (John 3:3,5). |
| 15 | Jesus | Yesus | Jesus | Standard TB spelling; confirmed in preview. |
| 16 | Christ | Kristus | Christ | Standard TB term; confirmed in preview (John 3:28). |
| 17 | Messiah | Mesias | Messiah | Standard TB term (John 1:41; 4:25). |
| 18 | covenant | perjanjian | covenant / agreement | Standard TB term for both the old and new covenant (perjanjian lama / baru). |
| 19 | steadfast love | kasih setia | faithful/loyal love | Renders Hebrew hesed. 'kasih setia' is exactly the TB rendering of loyal covenant love — confirmed as the natural match. |
| 20 | compassion | belas kasihan | compassion / tender mercy | Renders racham / splanchnizomai (gut-level tender mercy); standard TB rendering, warmer than 'kasihan' alone. |
| 21 | righteousness | kebenaran | righteousness (also 'truth') | TB renders tsedeq/dikaiosyne as 'kebenaran'. NOTE: the same word also means 'truth' — reviewer to confirm context does not need 'keadilan' (justice) where the forensic/just sense dominates. |
| 22 | eternal life | hidup yang kekal | life that is eternal / everlasting life | TB John 3:16 wording ('beroleh hidup yang kekal'); confirmed in preview. |
| 23 | born again | dilahirkan kembali | born again / born anew | TB John 3:3,7 wording. The Greek anōthen also carries 'born from above' (dilahirkan dari atas); TB and the preview keep 'dilahirkan kembali'. |
Terms we deliberately avoid
These common words carry another religion's meaning, so Scripture in Indonesian has always chosen different vocabulary — and so do we. Please don't recommend them; the established Bible alternative is listed beside each.
- reinkarnasi (reincarnation) → dilahirkan kembali (born again, TB Jn 3:3)
- karma (karma-fate) → perbuatan (deeds)
- nirwana (nirvana) → hidup yang kekal (eternal life)
Machine conformance stems (every filial rendering must contain one): Bapa
Submit your review
Your review goes directly to Kevin White. Corrections can be written in Indonesian or English.