2 Petro 3
1 Wapenzi, huu ndio waraka wangu wa pili ninaowaandikia. Katika nyaraka hizi mbili ninajaribu kuziamsha nia zenu safi kwa mawazo makamilifu.
This is now my second letter to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your pure minds by putting you in remembrance.
2 Nataka ninyi mkumbuke maneno yaliyosemwa zamani na manabii watakatifu na ile amri ya Bwana na Mwokozi mliyopewa kupitia kwa mitume wenu.
I want you to recollect the words that were foretold by the holy prophets, and the command of your Lord and Saviour, given you through your apostles.
3 Kwanza kabisa, ni lazima mfahamu ya kwamba siku za mwisho watakuja watu wenye dhihaka, wakidhihaki na kuzifuata tamaa zao mbaya.
Know this first, that mockers will come in the last days, in their mockery, men who walk the way of their own lusts
4 Watasema, “Iko wapi ile ahadi ya kuja kwake? Tangu baba zetu walipofariki, kila kitu kinaendelea kama kilivyokuwa tangu mwanzo wa kuumbwa.”
and say, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the day that our fathers fell asleep everything continues as it was from the beginning of the creation."
5 Lakini wao kwa makusudi hupuuza ukweli huu, ya kwamba kwa neno la Mungu mbingu zilikuwepo tangu zamani, nayo dunia ilifanyizwa kutoka ndani ya maji na kwa maji.
For they willingly ignore the fact that there were heaven, from of old, and an earth formed out of water and through water, by the word of God;
6 Ulimwengu wa wakati ule uligharikishwa kwa hayo maji na kuangamizwa.
and that by the same means the world which then existed was destroyed by a deluge of water.
7 Lakini kwa neno lilo hilo, mbingu za sasa na dunia zimewekwa akiba kwa ajili ya moto, zikihifadhiwa hadi siku ile ya hukumu na ya kuangamizwa kwa watu wasiomcha Mungu.
But the heavens and earth that now are, by the same word of God, have been reserved for fire, and are being kept for the Day of Judgment, and for the destruction of ungodly men.
8 Lakini wapenzi, msisahau neno hili: kwamba kwa Bwana, siku moja ni kama miaka elfu, na miaka elfu ni kama siku moja.
Do not forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 Bwana hakawii kuitimiza ahadi yake, kama watu wengine wanavyokudhani kukawia. Badala yake, yeye anawavumilia ninyi, maana hataki mtu yeyote aangamie, bali kila mtu afikilie toba.
The Lord does not loiter over his promise, as some men esteem loitering; but he is longsuffering toward you, not purposing that any should perish, but that all should pass on to repentance.
10 Lakini siku ya Bwana itakuja kama mwizi. Ndipo mbingu zitatoweka kwa kishindo kikuu; navyo vitu vya asili vitateketezwa kwa moto, nayo dunia na kila kitu kilichomo ndani yake kitaunguzwa.
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; and on that Day the heavens will vanish with a crash, the heavenly bodies will melt with fervent heat, and the earth and all its works will be burned up.
11 Kwa kuwa vitu vyote vitaharibiwa namna hii, je, ninyi imewapasa kuwa watu wa namna gani? Inawapasa kuishi maisha matakatifu na ya kumcha Mungu,
Now since all things are in the process of dissolution, what kind of men ought you to be, in all holy living and piety;
12 mkingojea na kuhimiza kuja kwa hiyo siku ya Mungu. Siku hiyo italeta mbingu kuchomwa moto na kutoweka, na vitu vya asili vitayeyuka kwa moto.
while you look for and hasten the coming of the Day of God. At its coming the heavens, being on fire, will be dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt with fervent heat.
13 Lakini kufuatana na ahadi yake, sisi tunatazamia mbingu mpya na dunia mpya, ambayo haki hukaa ndani yake.
But according to his promise, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness makes her dwelling.
14 Kwa sababu hii, wapenzi, kwa kuwa mnatazamia mambo haya, fanyeni bidii ili awakute katika amani, bila mawaa wala dosari.
And so, beloved, since you are looking for these things, continually give diligence that you may be found in peace, unspotted and blameless in his sight.
15 Hesabuni uvumilivu wa Bwana kuwa ni wokovu, kama vile ndugu yetu mpenzi Paulo alivyowaandikia kwa hekima ile aliyopewa na Mungu.
Regard our Lord’s longsuffering as salvation; even as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him.
16 Huandika vivyo hivyo katika nyaraka zake zote, akizungumzia ndani yake mambo haya. Katika nyaraka zake kuna mambo mengine ambayo ni vigumu kuyaelewa, ambayo watu wajinga na wasio thabiti huyapotosha kwa maangamizi yao wenyewe, kama wapotoshavyo pia Maandiko mengine.
It is the same in all his letters when he speaks of these things. There are indeed some things in his letters hard to understand, which the ignorant and the shifty wrest, as also they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
17 Basi, ninyi wapenzi, kwa kuwa mmekwisha kujua mambo haya, jilindeni msije mkachukuliwa na kosa la watu hao waasi na kuanguka kutoka kwenye uthabiti wenu.
Do you therefore, beloved, because you know these things beforehand, be on your guard lest you be led astray by the error of the wicked, and so fall from your own stedfastness.
The Great Flood
