1 Yohane 3
1 Taonani kukula kwake kwa chikondi chimene Atate anatikonda nacho, kuti titchedwe ana a Mulungu! Ndipo nʼchimene ife tili! Nʼchifukwa chake dziko lapansi silitidziwa chifukwa silinamudziwe Iye.
[Think about] how much our [heavenly] Father loves us! He allows us to (say that we are/be called) his children! [And it is indeed true that] we are [his children. But people in] the world [MTY] [who are unbelievers] have not understood [who] God [is]. So they do not understand [who we are], that we [belong to God].
2 Abale okondedwa, tsopano ndife ana a Mulungu, ndipo sichinaoneke chimene tidzakhala. Koma tikudziwa kuti Yesu akadzaonekera, tidzafanana naye, pakuti tidzamuona Iyeyo monga momwe alili.
Dear friends, even though (at present/now) we are God’s children, [he] has not yet (made clear/revealed) [to us] what we will be like [in the future]. However, we know that when [Christ] comes back again, we will be like him, because we will see what he is [really] like.
3 Aliyense amene ali ndi chiyembekezo ichi mwa Iye adziyeretse yekha, monga Iye ali woyera.
[So], all those who confidently expect [to see Christ as he actually is/what Christ is like when he returns] must keep themselves pure in every way, just like Christ, who is pure in every way.
4 Aliyense amene amachimwa amaphwanya lamulo; pakuti tchimo ndi kuphwanya lamulo.
But everyone who continues sinning is refusing to obey [God’s] laws, because that is what sin is, refusing to obey [God’s] laws.
5 Koma inu mukudziwa kuti Yesu anabwera kuti adzachotse machimo athu. Ndipo mwa Iye mulibe tchimo.
You know that Christ came in order to completely remove [the guilt of] our sins. You know also that he never sinned.
6 Aliyense wokhala mwa Khristu sachimwa. Aliyense amene amachimwa sanamuone kapena kumudziwa.
Those who continue [doing what] Christ wants them to, do not continue sinning repeatedly. But those who repeatedly sin have not understood [who Christ is], nor have they had a close relationship with him.
7 Ana okondedwa, musalole kuti aliyense akusocheretseni. Munthu amene amachita chilungamo ndi wolungama, monga Khristu ali wolungama.
[So I urge you, ] who are all very dear to me, do not let anyone deceive you [by telling you that it is all right to sin]. If you continue doing what is right, you are righteous, just like Christ is righteous.
8 Iye amene amachimwa ndi wa Satana, chifukwa mdierekezi wakhala akuchimwa kuyambira pa chiyambi. Mwana wa Mulungu anaonekera kuti awononge ntchito za mdierekezi.
[But] if anyone continues sinning, he is like the devil, because the devil has always been sinning. [And] the reason why God’s Son became a human being was to destroy what the devil has done.
9 Aliyense amene ndi mwana wa Mulungu, sachimwirachimwira, popeza mbewu ya Mulungu ili mwa iye, sangathe kuchimwa, chifukwa ndi mwana wa Mulungu.
People do not continue sinning repeatedly if they have become children of God. Instead, [they] continue [to conduct their lives according to the character/nature that God produced in them] [MET]. They cannot continually sin because God has caused them to become his children.
10 Mmenemu ndi mmene timadziwira ana a Mulungu ndi amene ali ana a mdierekezi. Aliyense amene sachita chilungamo si mwana wa Mulungu; ngakhalenso amene sakonda mʼbale wake.
Those who are God’s children are clearly different from those who are (the devil’s/Satan’s) children. [The way that we can know who are Satan’s children is this]: Those who do not do what is right are not God’s children. [Specifically], those who do not love their fellow believers are not [God’s children Instead, they are Satan’s children].
11 Uthenga umene munawumva kuyambira pachiyambi ndi uwu: Tizikondana wina ndi mnzake.
The message that you heard when you first [MTY] [believed in Christ] is that we should love each other.
12 Musakhale ngati Kaini, amene anali wa woyipayo ndipo anapha mʼbale wake. Nanga anamupha chifukwa chiyani? Chifukwa zochita zake zinali zoyipa ndipo zochita za mʼbale wake zinali zolungama.
[We should] not [hate others] as did [Adam’s son], Cain, who belonged to [Satan], the evil one. [Because Cain hated his younger brother], he murdered him. (I will tell you about why he murdered his brother./Do you know why he murdered his brother [RHQ]?) It was because Cain habitually conducted his life in an evil way, and [he hated his younger brother] because his [younger] brother [conducted his life] righteously.
13 Abale anga, musadabwe ngati dziko lapansi lidana nanu.
You should not be amazed/surprised, my fellow believers, when [unbelievers] [MTY] hate you.
14 Ife tikudziwa kuti tinatuluka mu imfa ndi kulowa mʼmoyo, chifukwa timakonda abale athu. Aliyense amene sakonda mʼbale wake akanali mu imfa.
We know that we have been changed from [being spiritually] dead [MET] to [being spiritually] alive. We know this because we love our fellow believers. [Those who] do not love [their fellow believers] are still [spiritually] [MET] dead.
15 Aliyense amene amadana ndi mʼbale wake ndi wakupha, ndipo inu mukudziwa kuti wopha anthu mwa iye mulibe moyo wosatha. (aiōnios g166)
Those who hate [any of] their fellow believers, [God considers] [MET] them [to be] murderers. And you know that no murderer has eternal life. (aiōnios g166)
16 Mmene timadziwira chikondi chenicheni ndi umu: Yesu anapereka moyo wake chifukwa cha ife. Ndipo nafenso tiyenera kupereka miyoyo yathu chifukwa cha abale athu.
The way that we now know [how to truly] love [our fellow believers is by remembering] that Christ (voluntarily died/gave his life) for us. So, [when our fellow believers need something, we should be willing to help them. We should even be willing to] die for them.
17 Ngati wina ali ndi chuma ndipo nʼkuona mʼbale wake akusowa, koma wosamvera chisoni, kodi mwa iyeyo muli chikondi cha Mulungu?
Many [of us] have the things that are necessary for us to live in this world. If we become aware that any of our fellow believers do not have what they need and [if we] refuse to ([provide for them/give to them what they need]), it is clear that we do not love God [as we claim/say that we do].
18 Ana okondedwa, chikondi chathu chisakhale cha pakamwa pokha koma cha ntchito zathu ndi mʼchoonadi.
[I say to] all of you whom I love dearly, let us not merely say [MTY] that [we love our fellow believers!] Let us genuinely/really love them by doing things [to help them]!
19 Pamenepo tidzadziwa kuti tili pa choonadi ndipo tidzakhala okhazikika mtima pamaso pa Mulungu,
When we [truly love our fellow believers], we can be sure that we are [conducting our lives according to] the true message. [As a result], we will not feel guilty/ashamed [when we talk] [MTY] to God.
20 nthawi zonse pamene mtima wathu utitsutsa. Pakuti Mulungu ndi wamkulu kuposa mitima yathu ndipo Iye amadziwa zonse.
[We can pray confidently], because [although] we might feel guilty/ashamed [about our sins], God is (greater/more worthy to be trusted) than what we feel. He knows everything [about us].
21 Anzanga okondedwa, ngati mitima yathu sikutitsutsa, tili nako kulimbika mtima pamaso pa Mulungu.
Dear friends, when we do not feel guilty [because of our sins], we can pray to God confidently.
22 Ndipo timalandira chilichonse chimene tichipempha kwa Iye, chifukwa timamvera malamulo ake ndi kuchita zimene zimamukondweretsa.
And, when we confidently pray to him and request [something from him], we receive it because we do what he commands [us to do], and because we do what pleases him.
23 Ndipo lamulo lake ndi ili: kukhulupirira dzina la Mwana wake, Yesu Khristu, ndi kukondana wina ndi mnzake monga Iye anatilamulira.
[I will tell you] what he commands [us to do]: [We must] believe that Jesus Christ is (his Son/the one who is also God). [We must] also love each other, just like he commanded [us to do].
24 Iwo amene amamvera malamulo ake amakhala mwa Iye, ndipo Iye amakhala mwa iwo. Ndipo mmenemu ndi momwe timadziwira kuti Iye akukhala mwa ife. Timadziwa mwa Mzimu Woyera amene anatipatsa.
Those who do what God commands are ones who have a close relationship with God, and God has a close relationship with them. [I will tell you how] we can be sure that God has a close relationship with us: It is because [we have] his Spirit, whom he gave to us, that we can be sure that God has a close relationship with us.
