Korean · 한국어

Father's Heart Bible™ key-term glossary — anchored to the historic Korean Scriptures · Script: Hangul

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.

Reverent contemporary Korean Bible register keyed to 개역개정 (the Korean Revised Version / Gaeyeok Gaejeong) — the most-trusted and most-read Protestant text in Korean churches — warmed toward the readability of 새번역 (New Korean Revised Standard). God is always addressed with subject-honorific verb morphology (~시-, 계시다, 하시다) and the literary vocative 아버지여 / warm 아버지, so the reader hears a beloved child speaking to their own father in the cadence of family prayer and the Lord's Prayer.

Quotation marks

Horizontal double quotation marks " " (큰따옴표) for direct speech, single ' ' (작은따옴표) for quotation-within-quotation; traditional corner brackets 「」 / 『』 acceptable in editions following the older typographic tradition.

Poetry lines

Poetry (Psalms, Prophets, canticles) set as broken poetic lines rather than running prose; Hebrew parallel couplets placed one line each, the second (parallel) line indented under the first, following the 새번역 poetic layout.

#	English term	Proposed rendering	Literal back-translation	Why
1	our Heavenly Father	하늘에 계신 우리 아버지	our Father who is in heaven	Divine name. Exact wording of the Lord's Prayer opening in 개역개정 (하늘에 계신 우리 아버지여) — instantly recognized as address to the Father, never to 하나님.
2	our Father	우리 아버지	our Father	Primary filial divine name. Plain 아버지 (respectful 'father', not the generic deity word); the possessive 우리 makes it belonging, warm. NEVER 하나님 / 여호와.
3	the Father	아버지	the Father / Father	Definite filial name; Korean has no article, so bare 아버지 in divine context reads as 'the Father'. Carries honorific verb agreement to mark deity.
4	Heavenly Father	하늘 아버지	Heaven('s) Father / Heavenly Father	The standing form of address in Korean hymns and congregational prayer; keeps the filial 아버지 stem while marking transcendence with 하늘.
5	Abba, Father	아빠 아버지	Daddy, Father	Exactly the 개역개정 rendering (Mark 14:36; Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6). 아빠 is the intimate child's 'daddy' (Aramaic Abba retained in sense), paired with reverent 아버지 — the tenderness the vision requires.
6	God	하나님	God	REVERSION TOKEN — traditional Protestant 개역개정 word for God-as-God (Catholic tradition uses 하느님). Non-filial contrast term; never a substitute for 아버지.
7	the LORD	여호와	Jehovah / the LORD (YHWH)	REVERSION TOKEN — the covenant name as vocalized in 개역개정. Non-filial contrast term. Generic 'Lord' for Jesus = 주 / 주님, distinct from 여호와.
8	the Holy Spirit	성령	the Holy Spirit	Universal Korean Bible term (聖靈); fixed and unambiguous.
9	the Spirit of our Father	우리 아버지의 영	the Spirit of our Father	Relational genitive with 영 ('spirit'), NOT the by-identity title 성령 — marks the Spirit as belonging to the Father, per the preview's relational rendering.
10	the Son of Man	인자	the Son of Man (人子)	Standard 개역개정 Christological title 인자(人子). NB machine-check: homograph of 인자(仁慈) 'loving-kindness' below — disambiguate by hanja/context, not Hangul.
11	the Son	아들	the Son	Bare 아들 ('son') for Jesus as the Son; pairs naturally with the filial 아버지 to render the Father–Son relation.
12	the Son of God	하나님의 아들	the Son of God	Traditional 개역개정 title (retains reversion-token 하나님 because English keeps 'God'). Proposed — native reviewer to confirm vs the filial 아버지의 아들 ('the Father's Son').
13	one and only Son	독생자	only-begotten Son	The beloved 개역개정 word at John 3:16 (獨生子); deeply familiar to Korean believers. Alt for readability register: 외아들 ('only son').
14	the kingdom of our Father	우리 아버지의 나라	our Father's kingdom	'Kingdom of God' rendered filially: traditional 하나님의 나라 → 아버지의 나라, keeping 나라 ('kingdom/realm').
15	Jesus	예수	Jesus	Text form 예수 (예수님 with honorific 님 in address/reference); universal Korean Bible spelling.
16	Christ	그리스도	Christ	Standard transliteration in all Korean Bibles.
17	Messiah	메시아	Messiah	Transliterated title (older 개역: 메시야). Used where the text names the awaited Anointed One.
18	covenant	언약	covenant	Traditional 개역개정 term 언약 (over legal-flavored 계약); the biblical word for God's binding promise.
19	steadfast love	한결같은 사랑	constant / unchanging love	Renders Hebrew hesed as loyal, unwavering love. Proposed — reviewer to confirm vs the traditional 인자(하심) 'loving-kindness' (仁慈; note homograph with 인자 'Son of Man').
20	compassion	긍휼	compassion / tender mercy	Traditional 개역개정 word 긍휼 for racham / splanchnizomai — gut-level tender mercy; God 'being moved with 긍휼.' Alt narrative verb: 불쌍히 여기시다.
21	righteousness	의	righteousness	Standard 개역개정 term 의 (義), e.g. 하나님의 의 'the righteousness of God.'
22	eternal life	영생	eternal life	The 개역개정 word at John 3:16 (永生); fixed and beloved. Alt: 영원한 생명.
23	born again	거듭나다	to be born again / born anew	The 개역개정 wording at John 3 (거듭나지 아니하면… 'unless one is born again'). Greek anōthen also 'from above' (위로부터 나다), but 거듭나다 is the established, recognizable form.

Terms we deliberately avoid

These common words carry another religion's meaning, so Scripture in Korean has always chosen different vocabulary — and so do we. Please don't recommend them; the established Bible alternative is listed beside each.

윤회 (samsara / reincarnation) → 거듭나다 (born again — established 개역 term)
환생 (reincarnation) → 거듭남
열반 (Buddhist nirvana) → 영생 (eternal life)

Machine conformance stems (every filial rendering must contain one): 아버지

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