Ba-Ebre 11
1 Nzokande kondima ezali ndanga ya kozwa biloko oyo tozali kolikya epai ya Nzambe, mpe kobika lokola nde tosili kozwa biloko yango atako tozali komona yango te.
Faith is the realisation of things hoped for — the proof of things not seen.
2 Ezali mpo na kondima nde Nzambe asepelaki na bato ya kala.
And it was for faith that the men of old were renowned.
3 Ezali na kondima nde tososolaka ete mokili esalemaki na nzela ya Liloba na Nzambe, mpe ete biloko oyo emonanaka esalemaki na nzela ya biloko oyo emonanaka te. (aiōn g165)
Faith enables us to perceive that the universe was created at the bidding of God — so that we know that what we see was not made out of visible things. (aiōn g165)
4 Mpo na kondima, Abele abonzelaki Nzambe mbeka ya malamu koleka oyo ya Kayina. Mpo na kondima, Nzambe atatolaki na tina na ye ete azali moto ya sembo, pamba te Nzambe andimaki makabo na ye. Mpo na kondima, Abele alobaka kino lelo atako asila kokufa.
Faith made the sacrifice which Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain’s, and won him renown as a righteous man, God himself establishing his renown by accepting his gifts; and it is by the example of his faith that Abel, though dead, still speaks.
5 Mpo na kondima, Enoki amemamaki kino epai ya Nzambe. Boye, atikalaki komona kufa te. Bamonaki ye lisusu te, pamba te Nzambe azwaki ye. Liboso na Enoki konetolama, Makomi etatolaki na tina na ye ete asepelisaki Nzambe.
Faith led to Enoch’s removal from earth, that he might not experience death. ‘He could not be found because God had removed him.’ For, before his removal, he was renowned as having pleased God;
6 Nzokande, moto moko te akoki kosepelisa Nzambe soki azangi kondima, pamba te moto oyo azali kopusana pene ya Nzambe asengeli kondima ete Nzambe azali mpe afutaka bato oyo balukaka Ye.
but without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that God exists, and that he rewards those who seek for him.
7 Mpo na kondima, Noa atosaki Nzambe mpe atongaki masuwa mpo na lobiko ya libota na ye, sima na ye koyoka makebisi ya Nzambe na tina na makambo oyo ezalaki nanu komonana te. Mpo na kondima, Noa amonisaki mabe ya mokili mpe akomaki mokitani ya bosembo oyo ezwamaka na nzela ya kondima.
It was faith that enabled Noah, after he had received the divine warning about what could not then be foreseen, to build, in reverent obedience, an ark in which to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world, and became possessed of that righteousness which follows upon faith.
8 Mpo na kondima, Abrayami atosaki Nzambe oyo abengaki ye mpe atindaki ye kokende na mokili oyo asengelaki kozwa na sima lokola libula. Atosaki mpe akendeki atako ayebaki te epai azalaki kokende.
It was faith that enabled Abraham to obey the Call that he received, and to set out for the place which he was afterwards to obtain as his own; and he set out not knowing where he was going.
9 Mpo na kondima, avandaki lokola mopaya kati na mokili oyo Nzambe alakaki ye; azalaki kovanda na bandako ya kapo lokola Izaki mpe Jakobi oyo mpe bazwaki elaka ya ndenge moko na ye.
It was faith that made him go to live as an emigrant in the Promised Land — as in a strange country — living there in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who shared the promise with him.
10 Pamba te Abrayami azalaki kozela engumba oyo ezali na miboko oyo ebukanaka te, engumba oyo Ye moko Nzambe azali Mobongisi mpe Motongi na yango.
For he was looking for the City with the sure foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 Mpo na kondima, Sara mpe azwaki makoki ya komema zemi atako mibu na ye ya kobota esilaki koleka wuta kala, pamba te andimaki ete Ye oyo apesaki ye elaka akosaka te.
Again, it was faith that enabled Sarah to conceive (though she was past the age for child-bearing), because she felt sure that he who had given her the promise would not fail her.
12 Yango wana, wuta na moto oyo akomaki mpaka mpe pene ya kokufa, bato babotamaki ebele penza lokola minzoto ya likolo mpe lokola zelo ya libongo ya ebale, oyo bakoki kutu kotanga te.
And so from one man — and that when his powers were dead — there sprang a people as numerous ‘as the stars in the heavens or the countless grains of sand upon the shore.’
13 Bato nyonso wana bakufaki kati na kondima mpe batikalaki kozwa te biloko oyo Nzambe alakaki bango, kasi bamonaki yango kaka na mosika mpe bapesaki yango mbote. Bandimaki ete bazali solo bapaya mpe baleki nzela kati na mokili.
All these died sustained by faith. They did not obtain the promised blessings, but they saw them from a distance and welcomed the sight, and they acknowledged themselves to be only aliens and strangers on the earth.
14 Bato oyo balobaka ete bazali bapaya mpe baleki nzela kati na mokili batalisaka polele ete bazali koluka mokili na bango.
Those who speak thus show plainly that they are seeking their fatherland.
15 Mpe soki bakanisaki mokili oyo batikaki, mbele balingaki kozonga lisusu kuna.
If they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they could have found opportunities to return.
16 Kasi sik’oyo bazali koluka mokili ya kitoko penza, elingi koloba mokili ya Likolo. Yango wana Nzambe azalaka na soni te tango babengaka Ye « Nzambe na bango, » pamba te abongisela bango engumba moko ya kitoko.
But no, they were longing for a better, a heavenly, land! And therefore God was not ashamed to be called their God; indeed he had already prepared them a city.
17 Mpo na kondima, Abrayami akabaki Izaki lokola mbeka tango Nzambe amekaki ye motema; amilengelaki mpo na kokaba mwana na ye wana kaka moko, atako azalaki na elaka.
It was faith that enabled Abraham, when put to the test, to offer Isaac as a sacrifice — he who had received the promises offering up his only son,
18 Nzambe alobaki na ye: « Ezali na nzela ya Izaki nde okozwa bakitani. »
of whom it had been said — ‘It is through Isaac that there shall be descendants to bear thy name.’
19 Abrayami azalaki na elikya ete Nzambe azali na makoki ya kosekwisa Izaki longwa na bakufi, yango wana Nzambe azongiselaki ye mwana na ye: yango ezalaki kaka elilingi.
For he argued that God was able even to raise a man from the dead — and indeed, figuratively speaking, Abraham did receive Isaac back from the dead.
20 Mpo na kondima, Izaki apambolaki Jakobi mpe Ezawu mpo na lolenge ya bomoi oyo basengelaki kobika na mikolo oyo esengelaki koya.
It was faith that enabled Isaac to bless Jacob and Esau, even with regard to the future.
21 Mpo na kondima, wana Jakobi akomaki pene ya kokufa, apambolaki mwana moko na moko ya Jozefi mpe agumbamaki na koyekamela songe ya lingenda.
Faith enabled Jacob, when dying, to give his blessing to each of the sons of Joseph, and ‘to bow himself in worship as he leant upon the top of his staff.’
22 Mpo na kondima, wana Jozefi akomaki na suka ya bomoi na ye, asakolaki kobima ya bana ya Isalaele longwa na Ejipito mpe apesaki mitindo na tina na mikuwa na ye.
Faith caused Joseph, when his end was near, to speak of the future migration of the Israelites, and to give instructions with regard to his bones.
23 Mpo na kondima, baboti ya Moyize babombaki mwana na bango, Moyize, sanza misato sima na mbotama na ye, pamba te bamonaki ete azali kitoko mingi mpe babangaki te mobeko ya mokonzi.
Faith caused the parents of Moses to hide the child for three months after his birth, for they saw that he was a beautiful child; and they would not respect the King’s order.
24 Mpo na kondima, wana Moyize akomaki mokolo, aboyaki ete babenga ye « mwana mobali ya mwana mwasi ya Faraon. »
It was faith that caused Moses, when he was grown up, to refuse the title of ‘Son of a Daughter of Pharaoh.’
25 Aponaki komona pasi elongo na bato ya Nzambe, na esika ya kosepela mwa tango moke na bomoi ya masumu;
He preferred sharing the hardships of God’s People to enjoying the short-lived pleasures of sin.
26 pamba te amonaki ete kotiolama lokola Klisto ezali malamu koleka bomengo ya Ejipito, mpo ete azalaki kotalela lifuti oyo ezali koya.
For he counted ‘the reproaches that are heaped upon the Christ’ of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, looking forward, as he did, to the reward awaiting him.
27 Mpo na kondima, Moyize abangaki te kanda ya mokonzi mpo na kobima longwa na Ejipito, mpe atikalaki ngwi na mokano na ye lokola nde azali komona Nzambe oyo amonanaka te.
Faith caused him to leave Egypt, though undaunted by the King’s anger, for he was strengthened in his endurance by the vision of the invisible God.
28 Mpo na kondima, asepelaki feti ya Pasika mpe apesaki mitindo ete bapakola makila na bikuke mpo ete anjelu mobomi aboma te bana mibali ya liboso ya bana ya Isalaele.
Faith led him to institute the Passover and the Sprinkling of the Blood, so that the Destroyer might not touch the eldest children of the Israelites.
29 Mpo na kondima, bato ya Isalaele bakatisaki ebale monene ya Barozo lokola nde bazali kotambola na mabele ya kokawuka; kasi tango bato ya Ejipito bamekaki kosala lokola bango, bazindaki.
Faith enabled the people to cross the Red Sea, as if it had been dry land, while the Egyptians, when they attempted to do so, were drowned.
30 Mpo na kondima, bamir ya Jeriko ekweyaki tango bana Isalaele batambolaki zingazinga na yango mikolo sambo.
Faith caused the walls of Jericho to fall after being encircled for seven days.
31 Mpo na kondima, Raabi, mwasi ya ndumba, akufaki te elongo na bato oyo bazalaki kotosa Nzambe te, pamba te ayambaki banongi na boboto.
Faith saved Rahab, the prostitute, from perishing with the unbelievers, after she had entertained the spies with friendliness.
32 Bongo naloba lisusu nini? Pamba te nakozanga tango soki nabandi koloba na tina na Jedeon, Baraki, Samison, Jefite, Davidi, Samuele mpe basakoli.
Need I add anything more? Time would fail me if I attempted to relate the stories of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, and those of David, Samuel, and the Prophets.
33 Mpo na kondima, balongaki bokonzi ebele, batambolisaki makambo na bosembo mpe bamonaki bilaka ya Nzambe kokokisama mpo na bango; bakangaki ata minoko ya bankosi,
By their faith they subdued kingdoms, ruled righteously, gained the fulfilment of God’s promises, ‘shut the mouths of lions,’
34 balongaki nguya ya moto oyo ezalaki kopela makasi mpe babikaki na kufa ya mopanga. Atako bazalaki bato ya bolembu, bakomaki makasi na bitumba mpe bakimisaki mampinga ya basoda ya bapaya.
quelled the fury of the flames, escaped the edge of the sword, found strength in the hour of weakness, displayed their prowess in war, and routed hostile armies.
35 Mpo na kondima, basi bamonaki bato na bango, oyo bakufaki kozonga lisusu na bomoi. Bato mosusu bandimaki ata konyokwama mpe baboyaki ete basikola bango, mpo bayebaki ete bakosekwa mpe bakozala na bomoi oyo ezali kitoko koleka.
Women received back their dead raised to life. Some were tortured on the wheel, and refused release in order that they might rise to a better life.
36 Bamosusu batiolamaki, babetamaki fimbu, batiamaki minyololo mpe babwakamaki na boloko;
Others had to face taunts and blows, and even chains and imprisonment.
37 bamosusu babomaki bango na mabanga, bakataki bango na biteni mibale na si, babomaki bango na mopanga, bakomaki na bomoi ya koyengayenga mpe bakomaki kolata baposo ya bameme mpe ya bantaba; bakelelaki na nyonso, banyokolaki bango mpe bayokisaki bango pasi:
They were stoned to death, they were tortured, they were swan asunder, they were put to the sword; they wandered about clothed in the skins of sheep or goats, destitute, persecuted, ill-used —
38 ya solo, mokili etikalaki lisusu malamu te mpo na bango, bakomaki koyengayenga kati na bisobe, na bangomba, kati na bibombamelo ya mabanga mpe na mabulu oyo ezalaka na se ya mabele.
men of whom the world was not worthy — roaming in lonely places, and on the mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39 Kati na bango nyonso wana, atako Nzambe asepelaki na bango mpo na kondima na bango, moko te azwaki biloko oyo Nzambe alakaki bango.
Yet, though they all won renown by their faith, they did not obtain the final fulfilment of God’s promise;
40 Nzambe asalaki mabongisi ya kitoko penza mpo na biso, pamba te alingaki ete bakoma bato ya kokoka nzela moko na biso.
since God had in view some better thing for us, that they, apart from us, should not attain perfection.
