1 Wakorintho 7
1 Basi kuhusu mambo yale mliyoyaandika: Ni vyema mwanaume asimguse mwanamke.
Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2 Lakini ili kuepuka zinaa, kila mwanaume na awe na mke wake mwenyewe na kila mwanamke awe na mume wake mwenyewe.
But, because of fornication, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.
3 Mume atimize wajibu wake wa ndoa kwa mkewe, naye vivyo hivyo mke kwa mumewe.
A husband should fulfill his obligation to his wife, and a wife should also act similarly toward her husband.
4 Mwanamke hana mamlaka juu ya mwili wake bali mumewe, wala mume hana mamlaka juu ya mwili wake bali mkewe.
It is not the wife, but the husband, who has power over her body. But, similarly also, it is not the husband, but the wife, who has power over his body.
5 Msinyimane, isipokuwa mmekubaliana kufanya hivyo kwa muda fulani ili mweze kujitoa kwa maombi, kisha mrudiane tena ili Shetani asije akapata nafasi ya kuwajaribu kwa sababu ya kutokuwa na kiasi.
So, do not fail in your obligations to one another, except perhaps by consent, for a limited time, so that you may empty yourselves for prayer. And then, return together again, lest Satan tempt you by means of your abstinence.
6 Nasema haya kama ushauri na si amri.
But I am saying this, neither as an indulgence, nor as a commandment.
7 Laiti watu wangekuwa kama mimi nilivyo. Lakini kila mtu amepewa kipawa chake kutoka kwa Mungu, mmoja ana kipawa cha namna hii na mwingine ana cha namna ile.
For I would prefer it if you were all like myself. But each person has his proper gift from God: one in this way, yet another in that way.
8 Kwa wale wasiooa na kwa wajane, nasema hivi, ingekuwa vizuri wasioe.
But I say to the unmarried and to widows: It is good for them, if they would remain as they are, just as I also am.
9 Lakini kama hawawezi kujizuia, basi waoe na kuolewa, kwa maana ni afadhali kuoa au kuolewa kuliko kuwaka tamaa.
But if they cannot restrain themselves, they should marry. For it is better to marry, than to be burned.
10 Kwa wale waliooana nawapa amri (si mimi ila ni Bwana): Mke asitengane na mumewe.
But to those who have been joined in matrimony, it is not I who commands you, but the Lord: a wife is not to separate from her husband.
11 Lakini akitengana, ni lazima akae bila kuolewa, ama sivyo apatane tena na mumewe. Wala mume asimpe mkewe talaka.
But if she has separated from him, she must remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband should not divorce his wife.
12 Lakini kwa wengine nasema (si Bwana ila ni mimi): Kama ndugu ana mke asiyeamini, naye huyo mke anakubali kuishi pamoja naye, basi asimwache.
Concerning the rest, I am speaking, not the Lord. If any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.
13 Naye mwanamke aaminiye kama ameolewa na mwanaume asiyeamini na huyo mume anakubali kuishi naye, basi huyo mwanamke asimwache.
And if any woman has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce her husband.
14 Kwa maana huyo mume asiyeamini anatakaswa kupitia mkewe, naye mke asiyeamini anatakaswa kupitia mumewe anayeamini. Kama isingalikuwa hivyo watoto wenu wangalikuwa si safi, lakini ilivyo sasa wao ni watakatifu.
For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through the believing wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through the believing husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, whereas instead they are holy.
15 Lakini kama yule asiyeamini akijitenga, basi afanye hivyo. Katika hali kama hiyo mwanamke au mwanaume aaminiye hafungwi, kwa sababu Mungu ametuita tuishi kwa amani.
But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart. For a brother or sister cannot be made subject to servitude in this way. For God has called us to peace.
16 Wewe mke, unajuaje kama utamwokoa mumeo? Au wewe mume unajuaje kama utamwokoa mkeo?
And how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
17 Lakini kila mtu na aishi maisha aliyopangiwa na Bwana, yale Mungu aliyomwitia. Hii ni sheria ninayoiweka kwa makanisa yote.
However, let each one walk just as the Lord has distributed to him, each one just as God has called him. And thus do I teach in all the churches.
18 Je, mtu alikuwa tayari ametahiriwa alipoitwa? Asijifanye asiyetahiriwa. Je, mtu alikuwa hajatahiriwa alipoitwa? Asitahiriwe.
Has any circumcised man been called? Let him not cover his circumcision. Has any uncircumcised man been called? Let him not be circumcised.
19 Kutahiriwa si kitu, na kutokutahiriwa si kitu. Lakini kuzitii amri za Mungu ndilo jambo muhimu.
Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; there is only the observance of the commandments of God.
20 Basi kila mmoja wenu na abaki katika hali aliyoitwa nayo.
Let each and every one remain in the same calling to which he was called.
21 Je, wewe ulipoitwa ulikuwa mtumwa? Jambo hilo lisikusumbue. Ingawaje unaweza kupata uhuru, tumia nafasi uliyo nayo sasa kuliko wakati mwingine wowote.
Are you a servant who has been called? Do not be concerned about it. But if you ever have the ability to be free, make use of it.
22 Kwa maana yeyote aliyeitwa katika Bwana akiwa mtumwa yeye ni mtu huru kwa Bwana, kama vile yeyote aliyekuwa huru alipoitwa yeye ni mtumwa wa Kristo.
For any servant who has been called in the Lord is free in the Lord. Similarly, any free person who has been called is a servant in Christ.
23 Mlinunuliwa kwa gharama; msiwe watumwa wa wanadamu.
You have been bought with a price. Do not be willing to become the servants of men.
24 Ndugu zangu, kama kila mtu alivyoitwa, akae katika wito wake alioitiwa na Mungu.
Brothers, let each one, in whatever state he was called, remain in that state with God.
25 Basi, kuhusu wale walio bikira, mimi sina amri kutoka kwa Bwana, lakini mimi natoa shauri kama mtu ambaye ni mwaminifu kwa rehema za Bwana.
Now, concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord. But I give counsel, as one who has obtained the mercy of the Lord, so as to be faithful.
26 Kwa sababu ya shida iliyoko kwa sasa, naona ni vyema mkibaki kama mlivyo.
Therefore, I consider this to be good, because of the present necessity: that it is good for a man to be such as I am.
27 Je, umeolewa? Basi usitake talaka. Je, hujaoa? Usitafute mke.
Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be freed. Are you free of a wife? Do not seek a wife.
28 Lakini kama ukioa, hujatenda dhambi; na kama bikira akiolewa, hajatenda dhambi. Lakini wale wanaooa watakabiliana na matatizo mengi katika maisha haya, nami nataka kuwazuilia hayo.
But if you take a wife, you have not sinned. And if a virgin has married, she has not sinned. Even so, such as these will have the tribulation of the flesh. But I would spare you from this.
29 Lakini ndugu zangu, nina maana kwamba muda uliobaki ni mfupi. Tangu sasa wale waliooa waishi kama wasio na wake;
And so, this is what I say, brothers: The time is short. What remains of it is such that: those who have wives should be as if they had none;
30 nao wanaoomboleza, kama ambao hawaombolezi; wenye furaha kama wasiokuwa nayo; wale wanaonunua, kama vile vitu walivyonunua si mali yao;
and those who weep, as though they were not weeping; and those who rejoice, as if they were not rejoicing; and those who buy, as if they possessed nothing;
31 nao wale wanaoshughulika na vitu vya dunia hii, kama ambao hawahusiki navyo. Kwa maana dunia hii kama tunavyoiona sasa inapita.
and those who use the things of this world, as if they were not using them. For the figure of this world is passing away.
32 Ningetaka msiwe na masumbufu. Mwanaume ambaye hajaoa anajishughulisha na mambo ya Bwana, jinsi ya kumpendeza Bwana.
But I would prefer you to be without worry. Whoever is without a wife is worried about the things of the Lord, as to how he may please God.
33 Lakini mwanaume aliyeoa anajishughulisha na mambo ya dunia, jinsi ya kumfurahisha mkewe,
But whoever is with a wife is worried about the things of the world, as to how he may please his wife. And so, he is divided.
34 na mawazo yake yamegawanyika. Mwanamke asiyeolewa hujishughulisha na mambo ya Bwana: lengo lake ni awe mtakatifu kimwili na kiroho. Lakini yule aliyeolewa hujishughulisha na mambo ya dunia, jinsi atakavyoweza kumfurahisha mumewe.
And the unmarried woman and the virgin think about the things that are of the Lord, so that she may be holy in body and in spirit. But she who is married thinks about the things that are of the world, as to how she may please her husband.
35 Ninasema haya kwa faida yenu wenyewe, sio ili kuwawekea vizuizi bali mpate kuishi kwa jinsi ilivyo vyema bila kuvutwa pengine katika kujitoa kwenu kwa Bwana.
Furthermore, I am saying this for your own benefit, not in order to cast a snare over you, but toward whatever is honest and whatever may provide you with the ability to be without hindrance, so as to worship the Lord.
36 Kama mtu yeyote anadhani kwamba hamtendei ilivyo sawa mwanamwali ambaye amemposa, naye akiwa umri wake unazidi kuendelea na mtu huyo anajisikia kwamba inampasa kuoa, afanye kama atakavyo. Yeye hatendi dhambi. Yawapasa waoane.
But if any man considers himself to seem dishonorable, concerning a virgin who is of adult age, and so it ought to be, he may do as he wills. If he marries her, he does not sin.
37 Lakini mwanaume ambaye ameamua moyoni mwake kutooa bila kulazimishwa na mtu yeyote, bali anaweza kuzitawala tamaa zake kutomwoa huyo mwanamwali, basi anafanya ipasavyo.
But if he has decided firmly in his heart, and he does not have any obligation, but only the power of his free will, and if he has judged this in his heart, to let her remain a virgin, he does well.
38 Hivyo basi, mwanaume amwoaye mwanamwali afanya vyema, lakini yeye asiyemwoa afanya vyema zaidi.
And so, he who joins with his virgin in matrimony does well, and he who does not join with her does better.
39 Mwanamke aliyeolewa amefungwa na sheria maadamu mumewe yu hai. Lakini mumewe akifa, basi mwanamke huyo yuko huru kuolewa na mume mwingine ampendaye, lakini lazima awe katika Bwana.
A woman is bound under the law for as long as her husband lives. But if her husband has died, she is free. She may marry whomever she wishes, but only in the Lord.
40 Lakini kwa maoni yangu, angekuwa na furaha zaidi akibaki alivyo. Nami nadhani pia nina Roho wa Mungu.
But she will be more blessed, if she remains in this state, in accord with my counsel. And I think that I, too, have the Spirit of God.
