Kolosetɔwo 4

1 Mi aƒetɔwo la, ele be miawɔ nu si nyo, eye wòdze la ɖe miaƒe kluviwo ŋu. Miɖo ŋku edzi ɣe sia ɣi be miawo hã la, Aƒetɔ le mia si le dziƒo.

You masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, because you know that you have a master who is in heaven [who will say whether he approves of what you have done].

2 Mido vevi gbedodoɖa, minɔ ŋudzɔ, eye mida akpe na Mawu.

Pray to God persistently, and as you pray, be alert and be thanking God.

3 Mido gbe ɖa ɖe míawo hã ta be Mawu naʋu agbo na míaƒe mawunyagbɔgblɔ be míaɖe gbeƒã Kristo ƒe nu ɣaɣlawo, esi ta mele ga me le afi sia ɖo.

Since I am in prison [MTY] because [I declared the message about Christ] that God has now revealed, pray also for me that God will give me opportunities [MTY] to speak, in order that I might declare it.

4 Mido gbe ɖa be magblɔe eme nakɔ abe ale si mate ŋui ene.

That is, pray for me that [God will enable me to] make his message known publicly. I need to do this because I know that I should declare it.

5 Miwɔ mɔnukpɔkpɔ suetɔ kekeake ŋu dɔ ne miatsɔ aɖe gbeƒã nyanyui lae na ame bubuwo. Mizɔ le nunya me le miaƒe nuwɔnawo me.

Act wisely towards those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus [MTY]; use every opportunity to do that.

6 Mina amenuveve kple dze nanɔ miaƒe nuƒoƒo me, elabena to esia me ko miate ŋu akpɔ ŋuɖoɖo nyuitɔ na ame sia ame.

In particular, always speak graciously and in a pleasant way [to those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus]. As a result, you will come to know in what manner you should answer each one of them.

7 Tikiko, mía nɔvi lɔlɔ̃ la agblɔ ale si mele edzii la na mi. Enye nuteƒewɔla si subɔa Aƒetɔ la kplim.

Tychicus will tell you all that has been happening to me. He is a fellow believer whom I/we [(exc)] love and who helps me faithfully and who serves the Lord [Jesus] together with me.

8 Medɔ dɔ tɔxɛ siae be wòava kpɔ ale si miele ɖa, eye be wòafa akɔ na mi, ade dzi ƒo hã na mi.

The reason that I am sending Tychicus to you [with this letter] is that he might know how you are and in order that he might strengthen you [spiritually]. (OR, in order that you might know about us [(exc)] and in order that he might comfort you.)

9 Mele Onesimo, nɔvi lɔlɔ̃a kple nuteƒewɔla si nye mia detɔ la hã ɖom ɖe mi. Eya kple Tikiko woagblɔ nu siwo le dzɔdzɔm le afi sia fifia la na mi.

I am sending him to you with Onesimus, who is a faithful fellow believer whom I/we [(inc)] love and who is your fellow townsman. They will tell you all about what has been happening here.

10 Aristako, ame si le ga me kplim la do gbe na mi kple lɔlɔ̃; nenema kee nye Marko, Barnabas nɔvi. (Abe ale si megblɔ na mi kpɔ ene la, ne Marko va mia gbɔ la, mixɔe dzidzɔtɔe.)

Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, and Mark, who is Barnabas’ cousin, (say that they are thinking fondly about you/send you their greetings). I have instructed you about Mark, so if he comes to you, welcome him.

11 Yesu, si wogayɔna hã be Yusto la hã do gbe na mi nyuie. Ame siawo nye Yudatɔwo le nye dɔwɔhatiwo dome hele dɔ wɔm na mawufiaɖuƒe la, eye wònye akɔfafa gã aɖe nam.

Jesus, who is also called Justus, also (says that he is thinking fondly about you/greets you/sends you his greetings). These three men are the only Jewish [believers] who are working with me in order that people would submit to God as their king, and they have all comforted me.

12 Epafra, mia dometɔ ɖeka, ame si nye Yesu Kristo ƒe dɔla hã do gbe na mi nyuie. Ele ʋiʋlim ɖe mia ta le gbedodoɖa me ɣe sia ɣi be mianɔ te sesĩe le Mawu ƒe lɔlɔ̃nu blibo la me, atsi, eye miakpɔ kakaɖedzi blibo.

Epaphras, who is your fellow townsman and who serves Christ Jesus, (says that he is thinking fondly about you/greets you/sends you his greetings). Epaphras prays earnestly for you very often, that you might be spiritually mature and that you might know fully all that God wills for you.

13 Mate ŋu aka ɖe edzi na mi be ewɔ dɔ sesĩe ɖe mi kple kristotɔ bubu siwo le Laodikea kple Hierapoli la nu.

I can assure you that he prays this because he is deeply concerned for you, for those who live in Laodicea [city], and for those who live in Hierapolis [city].

14 Luka, Atikewɔla lɔlɔ̃ la kple Dema hã do gbe na mi nyuie.

Luke, the doctor, whom I/we [(exc)] love, and Demas (say that they are thinking fondly about you/send you their greetings).

15 Mido gbe na nɔvi kristotɔ siwo le Laodikea nam. Mido gbe na Nimfa kple hame si kpea ta le eƒe aƒe me la nam.

Tell the fellow believers who live in Laodicea [city] and Nympha and the congregation that [meets] in her house that we (are thinking fondly about them/send them our greetings).

16 Nenye be miexlẽ agbalẽ sia vɔ la, mitsɔe ɖo ɖe Laodikea hame la hã woaxlẽ, eye miawo hã mixɔ agbalẽ si meŋlɔ ɖo ɖe wo la hã miaxlẽ.

After [someone] reads this letter [publicly] to you, cause [someone] to also read it to the congregation that is in Laodicea [city]. And as for the [letter that I wrote to the congregation that is in] Laodicea [city], make sure that it is also read among you {you should also read that letter} publicly.

17 Migblɔ na Arkipo be, “Kpɔ egbɔ be nèwɔ subɔsubɔdɔ siwo katã Aƒetɔ la be nàwɔ.”

Say to Archippus, “Make sure that you complete the task that God appointed you to do, because you have a close relationship with the Lord Jesus.”

18 Esia nye nye Paulo ŋutɔ ƒe gbedoname si meŋlɔ kple nye ŋutɔ nye asi. Miɖo ŋku dzinye le nye gaxɔmenɔnɔ me le afi sia. Mawu ƒe amenuveve nanɔ anyi kpli mi.

I, Paul, (am thinking fondly about you/send you my greetings). Having taken the pen from my scribe, I am now writing this myself in order that you may know that I have truly sent this letter. Remember to pray about the fact that I am in prison [MTY]. I pray that our Lord Jesus Christ would continue to act graciously towards you all.