1 Corinthians 1
1 I, Paul, [am writing this letter]. Sosthenes, our fellow believer, is with [me as I write it]. [God] appointed me to be an apostle of Christ Jesus because that is what God desired.
Polo oyo abengama mpo na kozala ntoma ya Yesu-Klisto, kolanda mokano ya Nzambe, mpe ndeko mobali Sositeni;
2 [I am sending this letter] to all you who are God’s believers in Corinth [city]. You have been set apart [by God] {[God] has set you apart} for himself because (of your close relationship with/you belong to) Christ Jesus. God has appointed you to be his people and to live in a morally pure way, just like he has appointed all the people everywhere who belong to him to live in a morally pure way. You and they have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ [MTY]. He is their sovereign Lord as well as the sovereign Lord of all of us [(inc)] who have trusted in him.
Epai ya Lingomba ya Nzambe, oyo ezali kati na Kolinto; mpe epai ya bato oyo Nzambe abulisa kati na Yesu-Klisto mpe abenga mpo ete bazala basantu, elongo na bato nyonso oyo, na bisika nyonso, babelelaka Kombo ya Nkolo na biso, Yesu-Klisto, Nkolo na bango mpe Nkolo na biso:
3 We [(exc)] desire that God, who is our [heavenly] Father, and Jesus Christ, who is our sovereign Lord, will continue to act kindly toward you and cause you to experience [inner] peace.
Tika ete ngolu mpe kimia epesamela bino kowuta na Nzambe, Tata na biso, mpe na Nkolo Yesu-Klisto!
4 I very often [HYP] thank God for you because he has acted toward you kindly, acting in ways that you do not deserve. He has done this because of your (having a close relationship with/being united to) Christ Jesus.
Nazongisaka tango nyonso matondi epai ya Nzambe na tina na bino, mpo na ngolu na Ye, oyo epesamela bino kati na Yesu-Klisto;
5 That is, [God] has [HYP] helped you spiritually very much because of your (having a close relationship with/being united to) Christ. Specifically, God has very much [HYP] enabled you to speak messages [that his Spirit revealed to you], and he has very much enabled you to know many things [HYP] that his Spirit revealed to you.
pamba te, kati na makambo nyonso, botondisamaki na bomengo kati na Klisto, na oyo nyonso etali maloba mpe na oyo etali boyebi,
6 In that way, [he] confirmed to you that what we [(exc)] proclaimed about Christ is true.
kolanda ndenge Nzambe azali kokokisa kati na bino litatoli na biso na tina na Klisto.
7 As a result, while you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to return, within your group you truly have [LIT] every ability that [God’s] Spirit gives [to believers].
Boye, bozangi ata likabo moko te ya ngolu ya Nzambe, wana bozali kozela na posa makasi komonisama ya Nkolo na biso, Yesu-Klisto.
8 God will also cause you to steadfastly [trust Christ to the very end of your lives] [EUP]. The result will be that God will not consider you guilty [of any sin] when our Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth [MTY].
Ezali Ye nde akolendisa mpe bino kino na suka, mpo ete bozala bato bazangi pamela na mokolo ya Nkolo na biso, Yesu-Klisto.
9 You can depend on God to do that. He is the one who chose you to become intimately associated with his Son, Jesus Christ, who is our Lord.
Pamba te Nzambe oyo abengaki bino mpo ete bozala moko na Mwana na Ye, Yesu-Klisto, Nkolo na biso, azali Moyengebene.
10 My fellow believers, by the authority of [MTY] our Lord Jesus Christ, I urgently appeal to all of you to agree with one another. What I mean is, stop dividing into groups. Instead, be united [MET] concerning what you understand [about spiritual matters], and be united in what you decide.
Bandeko, na Kombo ya Nkolo na biso, Yesu-Klisto, nazali kosenga na bino ete bozala na boyokani kati na bino, kasi na bokabwani te; bozala motema moko mpe makanisi moko.
11 My fellow believers, [I urge this] because some members of Chloe’s household have told me that you are quarreling among yourselves.
Pamba te, bandeko na ngai, bavandi ya ndako ya Kloe bayebisi ngai ete koswana ezali kati na bino.
12 That is, some of you say, “Paul is the one to whom we [are loyal],” and others say, “Peter is the one to whom we [are loyal],” and still others say, “Christ is the one to whom we [are loyal].”
Tala makambo oyo nalingi koloba: Moko kati na bino azali koloba: « Ngai nazali moto ya Polo; » mpe mosusu azali koloba: « Ngai nazali moto ya Apolosi; » mosusu azali koloba: « Ngai nazali moto ya Petelo; » mpe mosusu azali koloba: « Ngai nazali moto ya Klisto. »
13 [It is ridiculous that] [RHQ] [you are quarreling and] dividing up [into groups instead of being loyal to] Christ alone. Christ certainly has not divided himself into parts and distributed those parts out [to groups of people who oppose each other]! [MET, RHQ] I, Paul, certainly did not die on the cross for you! [RHQ] When you were baptized {When someone baptized you}, you certainly did not promise that you were submitting to me! [RHQ]
Boni, Klisto azali ya kokabwana? Ezali Polo nde babakaki na ekulusu mpo na bino? Ezali na kombo ya Polo nde bozwaki libatisi?
14 I thank [God] that Crispus and Gaius were the only ones from among you whom I baptized.
Nazongisaka matondi epai ya Nzambe ete nabatisa moto ata moko te kati na bino, longola kaka Krispisi mpe Gayusi,
15 As a result, no one [there in Corinth except those two] can say, “Paul baptized me so that I would become (his disciple/submissive to him).”
mpo ete moko te aloba ete bobatisamaki na kombo na ngai.
16 [Now I remember that] I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I do not remember baptizing anyone else [there].
Solo, nabatisaki mpe libota ya Stefanasi. Longola bato oyo nawuti kotanga, nayebi te soki nabatisa moto mosusu.
17 Christ sent me not [primarily] to baptize people but to preach the good message about him. When I do that, he does not want me to use words that human philosophers [consider] wise [IRO]. I do not want the message about [what] he [accomplished when he was nailed to] the cross [MTY] to lose its power.
Pamba te Klisto atindaki ngai te kobatisa bato, kasi atindaki ngai kosakola Sango Malamu. Mpo na yango, nasengeli te kosalela bwanya mpe elobeli malamu ya bomoto, noki te ekulusu ya Klisto ezanga nguya na yango.
18 Those who are perishing spiritually [because they do not believe that message consider] that the message [about what Christ accomplished when he was nailed to the] cross [MTY] [is] foolish. But to us who are being saved {whom [God] is saving} [spiritually because we believe that message], it [demonstrates that] God acts powerfully [in order to save us].
Pamba te mateya ya ekulusu ezali liboma mpo na bato oyo bazali kobunga, kasi ezali nguya ya Nzambe mpo na biso oyo tobiki;
19 [It is like what God said that] a prophet wrote long ago, [By the things that I will do], I will show that the ideas of those who [think] [IRO] they are wise are completely useless. I will ignore the ideas that they think are [IRO] so smart.
kolanda ndenge ekomama: « Nakobebisa bwanya ya bato ya bwanya, mpe nakokomisa mayele ya bato ya mayele bozoba. »
20 So, do you know [what God thinks] about what [RHQ] people who [IRO] consider themselves to be wise and scholars and philosophers say? [He does not pay attention to what they say, because] [RHQ] he has shown clearly that what unbelievers [think is] [IRO] wise is [not wise at all], but is really foolish. (aiōn g165)
Wapi moto ya bwanya? Wapi molakisi ya Mobeko? Wapi moto ya mayele ya tango oyo? Boni, Nzambe akomisa te bwanya ya mokili liboma? (aiōn g165)
21 God, acting very wisely, made it impossible for unbelievers to know God by doing what they thought was [IRO] wise. Instead, he was happy to save those who trust [in Christ] as the result of their hearing [the message that] was proclaimed to them, a message that others consider to be foolish.
Pamba te lokola, kati na bwanya ya Nzambe, mokili etikalaki te koyeba Nzambe na nzela ya bwanya na yango, yango wana Nzambe asepeli kobikisa bandimi na nzela ya mateya oyo emonani lokola liboma.
22 The Jews want [people to prove, by performing] miracles, [that their message is true]. The non-Jews want to hear only messages consisting of talk that they consider to be very wise.
Lokola mpe Bayuda bazali koluka bikamwa, mpe Bagreki, bwanya,
23 As for us, we proclaim [the message about what] Christ [accomplished for us when] he was nailed {[when they] nailed him} to the cross. That message offends Jews [because they do not think that the Messiah will die, and] non-Jews think it is [IRO] a foolish message.
biso, tozali koteya Klisto oyo babakaki na ekulusu: ezali penza libaku mpo na Bayuda, mpe liboma mpo na Bapagano.
24 But to us whom God has chosen to belong to himself, both Jews and non-Jews, that message shows that God acted powerfully and wisely [by sending] Christ [to die] for us.
Nzokande, mpo na bato oyo Nzambe abenga, ezala Bayuda to Bagreki, Klisto azali nguya mpe bwanya ya Nzambe.
25 [Unbelievers may think] [IRO] [that] God was [acting] foolishly [by doing that], but [the truth is that] he was acting more wisely than unbelievers who [just think that] [IRO] they are wise. And unbelievers may think that God was [acting] weakly [by sending his son to die], but he was acting more powerfully than unbelievers who [just think] [IRO] [that they] act powerfully.
Pamba te liboma ya Nzambe ezali na bwanya koleka bwanya ya bato, mpe bolembu ya Nzambe ezali makasi koleka makasi ya bato.
26 My fellow believers, remember what [kind of people you] were when God chose you. [Not many of you] whom he chose are people whom [unbelievers considered to be] wise. Very few of you were considered to be important. Very few of you came from families with a high social standing.
Bandeko, bokanisa nanu oyo bozalaki tango Nzambe abengaki bino: kati na bino, moke bazalaki bato ya bwanya kolanda emoneli ya bomoto, moke bazalaki bato minene, mpe moke bawutaki na mabota ya lokumu!
27 Instead, it was [usually] those whom [unbelievers considered to be] foolish whom God chose. He did that in order to shame/discredit those whom [unbelievers consider] [IRO] wise. It was [usually] those [whom unbelievers] considered [IRO] unimportant whom God chose, in order to shame/discredit those whom unbelievers consider important.
Kasi, kati na mokili, Nzambe aponaki biloko pamba mpo na koyokisa bato ya bwanya soni, aponaki biloko elemba mpo na koyokisa biloko ya makasi soni.
28 It was usually those who are despised and considered {whom [unbelievers] despise and consider} worthless whom God chose, in order to make completely ineffective [what unbelievers consider to be important].
Nzambe aponaki biloko ezanga tina, biloko ya kotiola, biloko oyo ezalaka te, mpo na kokomisa pamba biloko oyo mokili epesaka tina,
29 [He did that] in order that no one could boast to God about being wise or important.
mpo ete moto ata moko te amikumisa liboso ya Nzambe.
30 It is because of what God [has done] that you (have a close relationship with/belong to) Christ Jesus. God [put into effect] his wise [plan to save us] by what Christ did for us. As a result of what Christ did, God erases the record of our sins, sets us apart for himself, and frees us from our being guilty [for our sins].
Ezali mpo na Nzambe nde bozali kati na Yesu-Klisto oyo akomaki, mpo na biso, bwanya kowuta na Nzambe, bosembo, libulisi mpe kokangolama,
31 So, it is the Lord whom we should boast about, [not about one spiritual leader being better than another]. We should do as ([a prophet/Jeremiah]) wrote [in the Scriptures that we should do]: Those who boast should boast [only] about what the Lord [has done].
mpo ete, kolanda ndenge ekomama, « Tika ete moto oyo alingi komikumisa amikumisa kati na Nkolo! »
