Ndu Manzaniba 7
1 Ninko Prist a tre ndi, “ikpi biyi ba janji?”
Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are the things that [these people are saying about you(sg)] true?”
2 Istifanus a tre ndi “mir ya ni bati, wo me'. Irjhi wu shulu a tsro kpama ni timbu Ibrahim, niwa ana he ni Mesopotamia, ri nda ka son ni Haran;
Stephen replied, “Fellow Jews and respected leaders, [please] listen to me! The glorious God [whom we(inc) worship] appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was still [living] in Mesopotamia [region], before he moved to Haran [town].
3 A lha wu ndi “Don ngbran meme me baba mir vayime, ni rhu hini ngbran meme wandi mi tsro wu.
God said to him, ‘Leave this land where you [(sg)] and your relatives [are living], and go into the land to which I will lead you.’
4 Mle, a lu don ngran meme Chaldeans nda ka kru ni Haran, rhi niki, ni wa tima a qu'a, Irjh i a njiwu ye ni ngbran meme yi, wa bi ki nituma'a.
So Abraham left that land, [which was also called] Chaldea, and he arrived in Haran and lived there. After his father died, God told him to move to this land in which you [and I] are now living.”
5 Ana fon nklan bubu nu du kpa zi ni h'pu mana, a'an, ko wa ani kaza satuma me. Ama, a shirhi, ko da shike Ibrahim ana he ni vivren rhina-andi ani nu bubu ti uma du mba h'puma du k'ma tiwumba kasai-kasai.
“[At that time] God did not give Abraham any [land here], not even a small plot of [this] land that would belong to him. God promised that he would [later] give this land to him and his descendants, and that it would [always] belong [to them. However], at that time Abraham did not have any children [who would] ([inherit it/receive it after he died]).”
6 Irjhi a si a tre niwu tyi, andi h'puma ba son ki ni gbu ndi bari u ndhi bi bgukima ba vu ba ti grand nda du ba tiya wu se derinzia.
“[Later] God told Abraham, ‘Your descendants will go and live in a foreign country. They [will live there] for 400 years, and [during that time their leaders] will mistreat your descendants and force them to work as slaves.’
7 Ama mi sharanta ni dhi bi wa ba tindu gran nibawua, kpe wa irji tre'a hu gon kima, ba rhu don bubuki nda ye kuqungba rhu nda gbresan ni mu ni bubu yi.
But God [also] said, ‘I will punish the people who make them work as slaves. Then, after that, your descendants will leave [that land] and they will [come and] worship me in this land.’”
8 Niki Irji a nu Ibrahim shirhi wu hanbru ni duta tika, rhini kima, Ibrahim a ngrjhi Ishaku nda hanbru ma ni riwu tandra baya ngrjhi. Ishaku ngame a ngrjhi Yakubu, u Yakubu a ye ngrjhi bacimbu Wlondoha ba.
“Then God commanded Abraham that [every male in his household and all of his male descendants] should be circumcised [to show that they all belonged to God] and that they would obey what he had told Abraham to do. Later Abraham’s son, Isaac, was born, and when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. [Later] Isaac’s son, Jacob, was born, and Isaac [similarly circumcised] him. And Jacob [similarly circumcised] his twelve sons. They are the twelve men [from whom we(inc) Jews have all descended].”
9 Bacimbu ba ti ngu ni Yusufu, ba banwu le hi ni masar ama Irjhi a he ni wu.
“[You know that] Jacob’s [older] sons became jealous [because their father favored their younger brother] Joseph. So they sold him [to merchants/traders who took him] [MTY] to Egypt. There he became a slave [of an official who lived there]. But God [helped] Joseph.
10 nda kpa' chuwo ni ya wa a hon tuma'a. A kpayem ni Yusufu mba mren wu tondindi ni shishi kikle Ichu Firona wu Masar wa a ban wu sa ni ruron gomna wu Masar mba nitu koma wawu.
He protected him whenever people caused him to suffer. He enabled Joseph to be wise; and he caused Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to think well of Joseph. So Pharaoh appointed him to rule [over] Egypt and to look after all of Pharaoh’s property [MTY].”
11 Ni ntukima, meme iyon a ri kagon Masar mba Canaan, ni meme ya wa a du ba timbu ba wa biri hamma.
“[While Joseph was doing that work], there was a time (when there was very little food/of famine) throughout Egypt and also throughout Canaan. People did not have enough food to eat. People were suffering. [At that time] Jacob and his sons [in Canaan] also could not find [enough] food.
12 Niwa Yakubu a wo ndi wlo biri he ni Masar a ton ba timbu hi ni zrenmba wu mumla.
When Jacob heard [people report that] there was grain/food [that people could buy] in Egypt, he sent Joseph’s older brothers [to go there to buy grain. They went and bought grain from Joseph, but they did not recognize him. Then they returned home].
13 Ni zren wu ha, Yusufu a tsro tuma ni ba mirvayima, u firona a mla to mmla Yusufu nikima.
When Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt the second time, [they again bought grain from Joseph]. But this time [he] told them who he was. [And] people told Pharaoh that Joseph’s people were Hebrews [and that those men who had come from Canaan were his brothers].
14 Yusufu a ton mir vayima du ba k'ma hi hla ni timba du vu mmla wawu, ndhi saba'in don ton mba, nda ye ni Masar.
Then after Joseph sent [his brothers back home, they] told their father Jacob [that Joseph wanted] him and his entire family to come [to Egypt. At that time] ([Jacob’s family consisted of] 75 people/there were 75 people in Jacob’s family) [SYN].
15 Nituki, Yakubu a grjhi hi ni Masar nda ka que niki, ni wawu ba timbu ngame.
[So when] Jacob [heard that, he and all his family] went to [live in] Egypt.” Acts 7:15b-16 “[Later on], Jacob died [there], and our [other] ancestors, [his sons, also died there].
16 Ba vu ba hi ni Shekem, nda ka rhu'ba ni ibe wa titi Ibrahim a le nitu nkle silva ni wo mir Hamor wu Shekem.
[But] the bodies [of Jacob and Joseph] were brought {[they] brought the bodies [of Jacob and Joseph]} [back to our land], and [Jacob’s body] was buried {they buried [Jacob’s body]} [in the tomb that Abraham had bought, and they buried Joseph’s body] in Shechem in the ground that [Jacob] had bought from Hamor’s sons.”
17 Niwa nton wa shirhi a ye weiweire, shirhi wa Irjhi a ti ni Ibrahim. Indhi ba ba ki bran gbugbuwu ni masar.
“Our ancestors had become very numerous when it was almost time for [God to rescue them] from Egypt, [as] he had promised Abraham that he would do.
18 Da a tsra wa kikle chu ri a hon ni ruron wu masar wa ana to njo nitu Yusufu na.
Another king had begun to rule in Egypt. He did not know that Joseph, [long before that time, had greatly helped the people of Egypt] [MTY].
19 A kyurh ndhimbu nda yo ba ni gbengble du ba rhuni mir nhanha lilon mbu ni duba que.
That king cruelly tried to get rid of our ancestors. He oppressed them and caused them to suffer greatly. He [even commanded] them to leave their baby [boys] outside [their homes] so that they would die.”
20 Ni nton kima ba ngrhi Musa, wa ka bi kpokpome ni Rji ba lura ti wua tra ni ko tima.
“During that time Moses was born, and he was a very beautiful [LIT] [child]. So his parents [secretly] cared for him in their house for three months.
21 Niwa ba banwu ka zi ni ra, vrenwa Firona a ban'u ti wuma nda njiwu ti vren ma.
Then they had to put him outside [the house, but] Pharaoh’s daughter [found him and] adopted him and cared for him as [though he were] her own son.
22 Ba yo Musa ni bubu tsro mba, niki a mla to tsro ndindi nitu kpi kankan wu bi U bi masarawa ba, ndu ni he ma ba bi hikima.
Moses was taught {[The Egyptian teachers] taught Moses} many kinds of wise things [HYP] that the people in Egypt knew, and [when he grew up], he spoke powerfully and did things powerfully.”
23 Niwa isema wu ngrjhi ba ti weiweire ni tso-tra-don nza (arbain), a kpre suron du zren hi ni mir vayi ma, ih'pu Isra'ila.
“[One day] when Moses was about 40 years old, he decided that he would [go and] see his fellow Israelis. [So he went to the place where they worked].
24 A krito basi ndhi Israila ri ya'. Musa alu kpa nyu ni ndhi wa basia tiwu ya'a nda wru gu masar wuh.
He saw an Egyptian beating one of the Israelis. So he went over to help [MTY] the Israeli man who was being hurt/beat {whom [the Egyptian] was hurting/beating}, and he (got revenge on/paid back) the Israeli man by killing the Egyptian [who was hurting/beating him].
25 A yotrendi vayima ba mla to ndhi a hi Irjhimba ni tindu ni wu du ba bguc'bu ni womba, ama ba ka'a na mla to na.
Moses was thinking that his fellow Israelis would understand that God had sent him to free them [from being slaves]. But they did not understand that.
26 Nivi wuhama, a to ndhi harhi ba si tsi, wa ay'e gaba nda tre ndhi, 'Lilon, be mir vayi; a hi ngye du yi ni tsi kpambi?
The next day, Moses saw two Israeli men fighting [each other]. He tried to make them stop fighting by saying to them, ‘Men, you two are fellow [Israelis! So] (stop hurting each other!/why are you hurting each other?) [RHQ]’
27 Irimba wandi wa wuhi a kpa la ni kpanma'a, a tru yo kosan nda tre ndi “A nha banwu sa nitumbu ichu, wu ga tre nitawu?
But the man who was injuring the other man pushed Moses away and said to him, ‘(No one appointed you [(sg)] to rule and judge us [(exc)]!/Do you [(sg)] think someone appointed you [(sg)] to rule and judge us [(exc)]?) [RHQ]
28 Wu son wu U me to wandi wu wuu gu masra laren'a?
Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’
29 Niwa Musa a tre yi'a, a vu tsu wru nda ka son tindi u tsir ni kasa Midian, niki a ka ngrjhi mri lon ha.
When Moses heard that, [he thought to himself, ‘Obviously, people know what I have done, and someone will kill me.’ He was afraid, so] he fled [from Egypt] to Midian land. He lived there [for some years]. He [got married, and he and his wife] had two sons.”
30 Niwa ise tso-tsra-don-nzang ati ka hi, U malaika a tsro tuma niwu ni ngbranmiji ni kikle ngblu Sinai, ni lu ni miji.
“[One day] 40 years later, [the Lord God appeared as] an angel to Moses. He appeared in a bush that was burning in the desert near Sinai Mountain.
31 Niwa Musa a to ilu'a, a ti sisir kpe wa a to ni shishima, nda lu si zren hi weiweire du ni mla ya, a kri wo ilan Baci ni tre ndi,
When Moses saw that, he was greatly surprised, [because the bush was not burning up]. As he went over to look more closely, he heard the Lord [God] say [to him],
32 Mmyi mi Irjhi wu ba timbi, Irjhi wu Ibrahim, mba Ishaku, mba wu Yakubu” Musa kri si tsenzankpa nda na la vu suron nda ya ngana.
‘I [am] the God [whom] your ancestors [worshipped]. I [am] the God that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob [worship].’ Moses [was so afraid that he] began to shake. He was afraid to look [at the bush any longer].
33 Baci a lhawu ndi, jhu lagban wa ahe ni za me rhu domin bubu wa wu kri mba ahi tsatra bubu.
Then the Lord [God] said to him, ‘Take your sandals off [to show that you(sg) revere me]. Because I [am here], the place where you are standing is holy/sacred.
34 Mi to iyawa basi nu ndhimu ni masra mi wo gran yimba, m'ba mi grjhiye ye chubachuwo. ye zizan, mi ton hi ni masra.
I have surely seen how the people of Egypt are continually causing my people to suffer. I have heard my people when they groan [because those people continually oppress them]. So I have come down to rescue them [from Egypt]. Now get ready, because I am going to send you [back] to Egypt [to do that].’”
35 Musa yi, wa bana kamba niwu, niwa bana tre ndi, “a nha yo tituchu mba wu ga'atre nitawu'a?” a hi wawuyi wa Irjhi a ton du hi ti chu mba wu chubachuwo. Irjhi a ton wu hi zuni wo malaika wa a tsro tuma ni Musa ni miji'a.
“This Moses [is the one who had tried to help our Israeli people, but] whom they rejected [by saying], ‘No one [RHQ] appointed you to rule and judge [us!’] Moses [is the one whom] God [himself] sent to rule them and to free them [from being slaves. He is the one whom] an angel in the bush [commanded to do that].
36 Musa njiba rhuni masra, kima a hu gon ti kpi bi wa ndhi ba kaahon to tuma, baba bi tron yani masra mba kikle ma wu Reeds, mba ni tsutsu miji niwa ba ti se tsro-tra-don-nza (arbain).
Moses [is the one who] led our ancestors out [from Egypt]. He did many kinds of miracles in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and during the 40 years [that the Israelite people lived] in the desert.
37 Ahi Musa kima wa a lhani ndhi bi Israila ndi, “Irjhi ni nzu anabi ri hon yiwu rhinimi vahimbi, anabi ton me”.
This Moses is the one who said to the Israelite people, ‘God will appoint a prophet for you from among your own people. [He will speak words from God], just like I [speak his words to you].’
38 Ndhi yi yi a he niba ni tsutsu miji mba malaika wa atre niwu nitu kikle ngblu Sinai, wa ahe niba timbu, mba wa a kpa lantre wu sisren ye nota.
This man [Moses] was [our people’s leader] when they gathered together in the desert. It is Moses to whom [God sent] the angel on Sinai Mountain to [give him our laws], and [he was the one who told] our [other] ancestors [what the angel had said]. He was the one who received [from God] words that tell us how to live [eternally, and Moses] passed [them] on to us.”
39 Ama ba timbu ba kamba ni hutrema, ba tru lhega wru ni kpamba, du ni misuron mba k'ma hi ni masra.
“[However], our ancestors did not want to obey [Moses]. Instead, [while he was still on the mountain], they rejected him [as their leader] and decided that they wanted to return to Egypt.
40 Ni nton kima ba lha ni Hasuna, “La' mir rjhi ni tawu wa a ni njita zren hi. Musa yi, a njita wru rhini meme masra, kina toh ikpe wa a ka tiwu a na
So they told [his older brother] Aaron, ‘Make idols for us who will be our gods to lead us [back to Egypt]! As for that fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt we [(exc)] do not know what has happened to him!’
41 Niki ba la' vrenlando ni ri baki nda nji ba hadaya (ton?) ni gunki waba la'a, nda ngiri nitu ndu wu womba.
So, they made [out of gold] an image [that looked like] a calf. Then they sacrificed [animals and offered other things] to [honor] that idol, and they sang and danced to honor the idol that they themselves had made.
42 Irjhi a kaba chuwo du ba boata ni tsitse ni shulu, tohwa bana nha ni mi vunvu wu ba anabawaba. “Bi gon nimu nma miji mba haday ni ise tso-tsra-don-nza wa bi na he ni tsutsu miji'a ko mri Isra'ila?
So God rejected them. He abandoned them to worship the sun, moon and stars in the sky. This agrees with the words that one of the prophets wrote that God said, You Israelite [people] [MTY], when you [repeatedly] killed animals and offered them as sacrifices during those 40 years [that you were] in the desert, (you [most certainly] were not offering them to me!/what makes you think that you were offering them to me?) [RHQ]
43 Bi kpa ka'che' molech mba ntse wu vi irjhi Rephan, mba whi ki ba biti ni du yi kugungbarhu ni nzub hon. Nikima, mi vu yi vra zan gbran Babylon.
[On the contrary], you carried [with you from place to place] the tent [that contained the idol] representing [the god] Molech [that you worshipped]. You also [carried with you] the image of the star [called] Rephan. [Those] were idols that you had made, [and you] worshipped [them instead of me]. So I will [cause you to] be taken away {[people to] take you} [from your own country. You will be taken] {[They will take you]} [far from your homes to regions] even farther than Babylon [Country].”
44 Ba timbu bana he ni ka'che' wu kpewa ba to ni shishimba ni tsutsumiji, me wa Irjhi a noba niwa a tre ni Musa'a, andi du ti tsra ni wa a toa.
“While our ancestors were in the desert, they worshipped God at the tent that showed [that he was there with them]. They had made the tent exactly like God had commanded Moses [to make it. It was] exactly like the model that Moses had seen [when he was up on the mountain].
45 Hu kima, ba timbu ni wo Joshua ana njiba to ninkomba, ba kpa ka'achea nda njiwu hu kpamba niwa ba vu meme a kpa. Irjhi a kpa meme ni wo gbungblu bi bubuki nda zu ba wru ni shishi ba timbu. kaachea a son ni meme'a ye ni nton Dawuda.
[Later on], other ancestors of ours carried that tent with them when Joshua led them [into this land]. That was during the time that they took this land for themselves, when God forced the people [who previously lived here] to leave. So the Israelis were able to possess this land. [The tent remained in this land and was still here] when [King] David ruled.
46 Wa Irjhi a kpanyme ni wu nda lhawu ni du wa bubu son ni ko Yakubu.
David pleased God, and he asked God to let him build a house where [he and] all of our Israeli people could worship God.
47 Ana Suleimanu mba amme ko ni Irjhi.
But [instead, God let David’s son] Solomon build a house [where people could worship] God.”
48 Ama kitoh ndi kikle wushu na son ni ko wa wondhi mme na, toh wa anabawaba ba tre.
“However, [we(inc) know that] God is greater than everything, and he does not live in [houses that] people [SYN] have made. It is like the prophet [Isaiah] wrote. He wrote [these words that God had spoken: ]
49 “Shulu mbahi bubu son tu chu mu, u meme mba hi kpran roro saza mu. A bibi ko rime wa bi mme ni mu inj Baci, ka a ngye bubu u kusi mu?
Heaven is (my throne/the place from which I rule the entire universe), and the earth is (my footstool/[merely like] a stool on which I may rest my feet). I myself [SYN] have made everything [both in heaven and on the earth]. So you [human beings], ([you] really cannot build a house that would be [adequate] for me!/do you think you can build a house that would be [appropriate] for me?) [RHQ] You cannot [RHQ] make a place good enough for me [to live in]!”
50 Ana womu mba ti kpi biyi wawu na?
51 Biyi bi sen tu, biwa bana he kacia surona mba iton mba na, chachu bi kan bi ruhu tsatsra, bi ti to ba tumbi bana ti.
“You people are extremely stubborn [MET], not wanting to obey God or listen [MTY] [to him!] You are exactly like your ancestors! You always resist the Holy Spirit [as they did]!
52 Ahi anabi rime wa ba timbu bana tibayana. Ba wuh anabawa wa ba wru guci ni ye ndi wa ba yo wu di 'Analatre na', u zizan biyiyi bibi le ni wu dini wu'u ngame.
Your ancestors caused [RHQ] every prophet to suffer, [including Moses]. They even killed those who long ago announced [that the Messiah] would come, the one who always did what pleased God. [And the Messiah has come! He is the one whom] you [recently] turned over [to his enemies] and [insisted that] they kill him!
53 Biyi wa bi kpa doka wa malaika mba ba mla yowozi, ama bina kpa ti dun na.
You [are the people] who have received God’s laws. [Those were laws] that God caused angels to give [to our ancestors]. However, [incredibly], you have not obeyed them!”
54 Niwa bi niko bawo kpi biyi wa ka ri ba ni suron baka tan nyren ni Istifanus.
When the Jewish Council members [and others there] heard all that [Stephen said], they became very angry. They were grinding their teeth [together because they were so angry] at him!
55 Don a shu ni Ruhu tsatsra, a nzu ya shulu nda toh dokaka Rji, nda to Yesu kri ni wo korhi wu Irjhi.
But the Holy Spirit completely controlled Stephen. He looked up into heaven and saw a dazzling light from God, and [he saw] Jesus standing at God’s right side.
56 Istifanus a tre ndi. “Toh, mi si to ni shishimu, shulu bwu, U vren Ndhi a kri ni worhi wu Irjhi
“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open, and I [see] the one who came from heaven standing at God’s right side!”
57 Nitu ki, biwaba son ni tra son bi ninkoa ba ka tonmba, nda yo gro ni kikle lan, nda lu honwu nitu kpe riri.
[When the Jewish Council members and others heard that], they shouted loudly. They put their hands over their ears [so that they could not hear Stephen, and immediately] they all rushed at him.
58 Ba gbi'e wru ni mi gbu'a, nda ni ta ni tita. Bi wa ba toh zren kpeyi ba ju nklonba wu kora nda kazi ni za vrenze ri wa ndema a hi shawulu.
They dragged him outside the city [of Jerusalem] and started to throw stones at him. The people who were accusing him [took off] their outer garments [in order to throw stones more easily, and] they put their clothes [on the ground] next to a young man whose name was Saul, [so that he could guard them].
59 Niwa basia ta Istifanus ni tita, a sia yo baci nda ni tre ndi “Baci Yesu, kpa viri mu.
While they continued to throw stones at Stephen, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
60 A kuqungbarhu nda yo ni kikle lan Baci, na vule nitu latre wa ba ti yi na” Niwa a tre kle, a ku rhoku kruna
Then Stephen fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not punish them (OR, forgive them) [LIT] for this sin!” After he had said that, he died.
