Ŵaloma 9
1 Nguŵecheta isyene kuti une ndili jwa Kilisito, ngangusala unami. Nningwa wangu ukuumalanjila umboni kwakulongoswa ni Mbumu jwa Akunnungu, isyene ngangulambusya.
[Now I would like to discuss the fact that most of my fellow Israelites have rejected Christ]. Because of my relationship with Christ, I say completely truthfully [what I will now tell you]. I am not lying [DOU]! My conscience confirms what I [say] because the Holy Spirit [controls it].
2 Ngusupuka kwannope ni ndili ni ipwetesi yangamala mu ntima mwangu,
[I tell you that] I grieve very greatly and deeply [DOU] [about my fellow Israelites].
3 pakuŵa ngakombwele kupopelela nweseche ni kulekanganywa ni Kilisito kwa ligongo lya achinjangu Ŵaisilaeli, ŵaali lukosyo lumo ni une kwa chiilu.
I personally would be willing to let [God] curse me [and, as a result, be separated] from Christ, [if that would] help my fellow Israelites, my natural kinsmen, [to believe in Christ].
4 Ŵelewo ali Ŵaisilaeli ŵaŵasagulikwe ni Akunnungu aŵe ŵanache ŵao ŵaŵalosisye ukulu wao. Ŵalangene nawo ni kwapa Malajisyo, ŵaalosisye yakuti pakwapopelela ni kwapa ilanga yakwe.
We [Jews] are [Israelites, God’s chosen] descendants of [Jacob]. [God has always considered] us as his children [MET]. It was to our ancestors [that he used to appear] gloriously [while they were in the desert]. It was with them that [God made] covenants [several times]. It was to them [that God] gave the laws [at Sinai Mountain]. They were the ones [to whom God showed how they should] worship him. They were the ones [to whom God] promised many things, [especially that the Messiah would come from their race].
5 Ŵanyawo ali isukulu ya achambuje ŵetu, ni kutyochela mu uŵelesi wao, Kilisito ŵapagwile kwa chiilu. Ŵelewo ali Akunnungu ŵakutawala yose, alapikwe moŵa gose pangali mbesi. Eloo. (aiōn g165)
It was our ancestors, [Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whom God chose to found our nation]. And, [most importantly], it was from us Israelites that the Messiah received his human nature. [Nevertheless, most of my fellow Israelites have rejected Christ], who is the one who controls all things! He is God, the one who is worthy that we praise him forever! This is true! (OR, Amen!) (aiōn g165)
6 Nganguŵecheta kuti chilanga cha Akunnungu nganichimalila. Pakuŵa nganaŵa Ŵaisilaeli wose ŵaali ŵandu ŵa Akunnungu.
[God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that their descendants would all inherit his blessings]. But [although most of my fellow Israelites have rejected Christ], that does not [prove] that God has failed [to do] the things that he promised, because it is not all who are descended from Jacob and who [call themselves the people of] Israel whom [God considers] to be truly his people.
7 Atamuno nganaŵa uŵelesi wose u che Iblahimu ŵaali ŵanache ŵa Akunnungu, nambo Akunnungu ŵapele chilanga che Iblahimu achitiji, “Uŵelesi wenu chiutyochele ni che Isaka.”
And it is also not all of Abraham’s natural descendants that [God considers] to be his people. Instead, [God considers only some of them to be Abraham’s children]. [This agrees with what God told Abraham]: “It is Isaac, [not any of your(sg) other sons], whom [I] will consider [to be the true father of] your descendants.”
8 Malumbo gakwe gali, ngaŵa ŵanache ŵaŵapagwile kwa chiilu ni ŵaali ŵanache ŵa Akunnungu, nambo aŵala ŵanache ŵaŵapagwile kwa chilanga cha Akunnungu ni ŵachaŵilanjikwe uŵelesi u che Iblahimu.
That means that it is not all the natural-born descendants [of Abraham] whom God [considers as] his children. Instead, it is those who [believed what God] promised whom [he] considers to be his children.
9 Pakuŵa chilanga chiŵachilanjile Akunnungu ni chelechi, “Katema kakasagulikwe chingaiche, ni che Sala chaligopole mwanache jwannume.”
[You know that what God] promised [to Abraham] was this: “About this time [next year] Sarah [your wife] will bear a son [as a result of my enabling] [MTY] [her to do so].” [So Abraham knew that it was not through Ishmael, the son that he already had, that God would fulfill what he had promised him] (OR, [that his true descendants would come]).
10 Ni ngaŵa yeleyo pe, nambo che Lebeka ŵakwete ŵanache ŵaŵili ŵachilume ŵaŵaŵelekwe ni atati ŵamo, ŵaali che Isaka ambuje ŵetu.
And not only then did God show [that he did not determine who would be his true children according to who their ancestors were. He showed it again] when Rebecca conceived [twins] by our ancestor Isaac.
11 Pakuŵa akanapagwe maŵila, namose akanatende indu yambone pane yangalumbana, pakuti nningwa wa Akunnungu wa kusagula uwoneche.
Before [the twins, Jacob and Esau], were born, when neither one had yet done anything good or bad, [God] said to Rebecca [about the twins she was to bear], “The older one shall later serve the younger one, [contrary to normal custom].” [God said this] in order that [we] might [clearly] understand that what he purposed [for people] was according to what he himself determined. That is, people’s [eternal destiny] does not depend on what they do. Instead, their destiny depends on [God], the one who chooses them.
12 Akunnungu ŵansalile che Lebeka, “Jwankulungwa chachintumichila mpwakwe.” Lusagu lwa Akunnungu lukutendekwa malinga ni uŵilanje wakwe ni ngaŵa kwa ipanganyo ya ŵandu.
13 Mpela Malembelo ga Akunnungu yagakuti pakusala, “Naanonyele a Yakobo nambo a Esau naachimile.”
And [this teaching is] ([supported/shown to be true]) [by] what is written [in the Scriptures] {what [a prophet] recorded} [that God said]: “I favored Jacob, [the younger son]. I did not favor [HYP] Esau, [the older son].”
14 Nipele, ana tujileje uli? Ana Akunnungu ngakulamula yaikuti pakusachilwa? Namuno kanandi!
[Someone] might say, “(Is God unjust [by choosing the ones he wants to choose?/I think] that God is unjust [by choosing the ones he wants to choose!])” [RHQ] [I would reply], “[He is] certainly not [unjust]!”
15 Pakuŵa ŵaasalile che Musa, “Chinjintendela wema jungunsaka kuntendela wema, ni chinjimpililila ajula jungunsaka kumpililila.”
God told Moses, “I will pity and help anyone whom I choose [DOU]!”
16 Nipele, yele yose ikukulupilila chanasa cha Akunnungu ni ngaŵa kwa kuchalila kwa mundu atamuno kwa usache wa mundu.
So [God chooses people], not because they want [God to choose them] or because they try hard [to do things so that he] will [accept them]. Instead he chooses people because he himself has mercy [on undeserving ones].
17 Pakuŵa Malembelo ga Akunnungu gakuti yeleyi kwa mwenye jwa ku Misili, “Nanjimiche mme mwenye melepe, kwa litala lya mmwejo nosye machili gangu ni kuti liina lyangu limanyiche pachilambo pose.”
[Moses] recorded [PRS] [that God had told] Pharaoh, “This is why I gave you [(sg)] authority [MTY]: It was in order that I might show [by how I oppose] you [how exceedingly] powerful I am, and in order that people everywhere [HYP] would hear about me [MTY].”
18 Kwayele, Akunnungu akunkolela chanasa ajula jwakunsaka nsyene, nombe jwakusaka aŵe jwa kulimba ntima, akunlimbisya.
So [we conclude that God] kindly helps the ones he wants to act kindly towards. But he makes stubborn the ones [such as Pharaoh] that he wants [to make stubborn].
19 Pane chimuusye, “Iŵaga ili yele, ana ligongo lyachi Akunnungu akuti ŵandu aleŵile? Pakuŵa ŵaani ŵakukombola kukanilana ni aila yakuisaka Akunnungu?”
[One of] you may [object to this by] saying to me, “[Because God determines ahead of time everything that people do, that also implies that he wants us to do everything that we do]. (No one has resisted what God has willed!/Who has resisted what God has willed?) [RHQ] Therefore, (it would not be right that God would still condemn [a person for having sinned]!/why does God still condemn [a person for having sinned]?) [RHQ]”
20 Nambo mmwe mundu, ana mmwe nduni junkwajanga Akunnungu? Ana chiŵiga chikukombola kummusya juŵachigumbile, “Kwachichi mung'umbile yeleyi?”
[I would reply that since] you [(sg)] are [just a] human being, (you do not [have any right at all to] criticize God!/[who are you to] say that what God does is wrong?) [RHQ] [As a potter is the one who creates a clay pot, God is the one who created you]. (A clay pot [MET] certainly would not [have a right to criticize] the potter by asking [PRS], “Why did you [(sg)] make me this way?”/Would a clay pot [have a right to criticize] the potter by asking [PRS], “Why did you [(sg)] make me this way?”) [RHQ]
21 Jwakugumba akukombola kugumba iŵiga iŵili kwa lilongo limo yakuti pakusaka, chiŵiga chimo kwa ligongo lya masengo gakuchimbichikwa ni chine kwa ligongo lya masengo gangachimbichikwa.
Instead, (the potter certainly has the right to [take] some clay and from one lump [of clay] make one pot that people will honor and [make another] one for ordinary purposes [MET]./does not a potter have the right to [take] some clay and from one lump [of clay] make one pot that people will honor and [make another] pot for ordinary purposes?) [MET, RHQ] [Similarly, God has the right to carry out what he purposes for people].
22 Yeleyo ni iyaliji kwa Akunnungu. Ŵasachile kulosya lutumbilo lwao ni kugamanyisya machili gao. Nambo ŵaapililile nnope aŵala ŵandu ŵaŵaŵajilwe kulamulikwa ni lutumbilo lwao, ŵelewo ni ŵaakuŵajilwa konangwa.
Although God desires to show that he is angry [about sin], and [although he desires to] make clear that he can powerfully [punish people who have sinned], he tolerated very patiently the people [MET] who caused him to be angry and who deserved to be destroyed (OR, who were made to be destroyed).
23 Sooni ŵasachile aumanyisye winji wa ukulu wao uŵapele aŵala ŵaŵaŵajilwe kupochela chanasa chao, aŵala ŵaŵaŵichikwe chile kalakala apochele ukulu wakwe.
[God has been patient] in order that he might make clear how very wonderfully [he acts toward those] [MET] whom he intended to act mercifully towards and whom he prepared ahead of time in order that they might [live] gloriously [in heaven].
24 Uweji ni ŵatuŵilanjikwe ni jwelejo, ngaŵa kutyochela kwa Ŵayahudi pe nambo kwa ŵandu ŵangaŵa Ŵayahudi nombe nawo.
That means us whom he chose—not only [us] Jews but also non-Jews.
25 Mpela Malembelo ga Akunnungu yagakuti pakusala mu chitabu chi che Hosea jwakulondola jwa Akunnungu, “Aŵala ŵangaŵa ŵandu ŵangu, chinaŵilanje, ‘Ŵandu ŵangu.’ Ni aŵala ŵangangwanonyela, ‘Chinanonyele.’
[These words that] Hosea wrote [MTY] that [God] said also (show that God has the right/[support God’s right]) [to choose from among both Jews and non-Jews] [MTY]: I will declare that many people who were not my people are now my people. I will declare that many people whom I did not love [HYP] before, I love now.
26 Ni pamalo paŵaŵilanjikwe, ‘Ŵanyamwe nganimma ŵandu ŵangu,’ chaŵilanjikwe ‘Ŵanache ŵa Akunnungu ŵajumi.’”
And [another prophet wrote]: What will happen is that in the places where [God] told them before, “You are not my people,” in those same places [people] will declare truthfully that they are children of God, who is completely powerful.
27 Nombe che Isaya jwakulondola jwa Akunnungu akwakalipila Ŵaisilaeli kuti, “Namose winji wa uŵelesi wa Ŵaisilaeli uli mpela nsanga wa kumbwani, nambo nganatupa ŵachachikulupuswa.
Isaiah also exclaimed concerning the Israelites: Even though the Israelites are [so many that no one can count them, like] sand [particles on the beach beside] the ocean, [only] a small part of them will be saved {[God] will save [only] a small part of them},
28 Pakuŵa, Ambuje ngaakaŵa kwalamula ŵandu ŵa pachilambo pa.”
because the Lord will punish completely and speedily the [people who live on] this earth, as he said that he would do.
29 Mpela che Isaya iŵalongolele kusala, “Ambuje ŵa ukombole ngakatulechele uŵelesi wa Ŵaisilaeli, wose tukaawile mpela ŵandu ŵa ku Sodoma, tukalandene ni ŵandu ŵa ku Gomola.”
[Also, we can understand from what the prophet] Isaiah said [that God would not save] anyone if he did not show mercy: If the Lord, who controls everything in heaven, had not mercifully allowed some of our descendants to survive, we would have become like the people of [the cities of] Sodom and Gomorrah, who were [SIM, DOU] completely destroyed.
30 Nipele, ana tujileje uli? Ŵandu ŵangaŵa Ŵayahudi ŵanganatenda chindu chachili chose kuti aloleche ŵambone paujo pa Akunnungu, ŵaloleche ali ŵambone paujo pa Akunnungu kwa litala lya chikulupi.
We must conclude this: [RHQ] Although non-Jews did not search out [a way by which] God would erase the record of their sins, they actually found that way because they trusted [in what Christ did for them].
31 Nambo Ŵaisilaeli ŵasosile malajisyo gakatesile aloleche ŵambone paujo pa Akunnungu kwa litala lya malajisyo, nganalolecheka ŵambone paujo pa Akunnungu.
But although [the people of] Israel sought a basis [by which God would] erase the record of their sins, they did not succeed in [fulfilling the true purpose of the] laws [that God gave to Moses].
32 Ligongo lyachi nganalolecheka ŵambone paujo pa Akunnungu? Pakuŵa ŵasosile kutendekwa ŵambone kwa ipanganyo yao, ngaŵa kwa litala lya chikulupi. Ŵalikuŵele pa “Liganga lya kulikuŵalila.”
The reason [RHQ] [that they did not succeed] is that they did not trust that [God would provide a way to save them]. Instead, they were trying to do certain things [in order that God would accept them. Because they did not expect the Messiah to die, the Israelites] felt disgusted about [Jesus’ death, which is like] the stone [MET] on which people stumble.
33 Mpela Malembelo ga Akunnungu yagakuti pakusala, “Nnole chimiche liganga ku Sayuni, lichilyatende ŵandu agwanje, misile lwala luchilwagwisye ŵandu. Nambo juchankulupilile jwelejo, jwelejo ngajaluswa kose.”
This is what [a prophet] predicted when he wrote these words that [God said about the Messiah]: Listen! I am placing in Israel [MTY] [one who is like] a stone [MET] on which people will stumble. What he does will offend people [DOU]. Nevertheless, those who believe in him will not be disappointed.
