Wakolosai 1
1 Paulo, mtume wa Kristo Yesu, kwa mapenzi ya Mungu, na Timotheo ndugu yetu:
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 Kwa ndugu watakatifu na waaminifu katika Kristo, waishio Kolosai: Neema na amani zitokazo kwa Mungu Baba yetu ziwe nanyi.
to the believers and faithful brothers in Christ who are at Colossae. May grace be to you, and peace from God our Father.
3 Siku zote tunamshukuru Mungu, Baba wa Bwana wetu Yesu Kristo, tunapowaombea ninyi,
We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we always pray for you.
4 kwa sababu tumesikia kuhusu imani yenu katika Kristo Yesu, na upendo wenu mlio nao kwa watakatifu wote:
We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all those set apart for God.
5 imani na upendo ule utokao katika tumaini mlilowekewa akiba mbinguni, na ambalo mmesikia habari zake katika neno la kweli, yaani, ile Injili
You have this love because of the certain hope reserved for you in heaven. You heard about this confident expectation before in the word of truth, the gospel,
6 iliyowafikia ninyi. Duniani kote Injili hii inazaa matunda na kuenea kama ilivyokuwa kwenu tangu siku ile mlipoisikia na kuielewa neema ya Mungu katika kweli yote.
which has come to you. This gospel is bearing fruit and is growing in all the world. It has been doing this in you also from the day you heard it and learned about the grace of God in truth.
7 Mlijifunza habari zake kutoka kwa Epafra, mtumishi mwenzetu mpendwa, yeye aliye mhudumu mwaminifu wa Kristo kwa ajili yenu,
This is the gospel as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf.
8 ambaye pia ametuambia kuhusu upendo wenu katika Roho.
Epaphras has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
9 Kwa sababu hii, tangu siku ile tuliposikia habari zenu, hatujakoma kuomba kwa ajili yenu na kumsihi Mungu awajaze ninyi maarifa ya mapenzi yake katika hekima yote ya kiroho na ufahamu.
Because of this love, from the day we heard this we have not stopped praying for you. We have been asking that you will be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
10 Nasi tunaomba haya ili mpate kuishi maisha yanayostahili mbele za Bwana, na mpate kumpendeza kwa kila namna: mkizaa matunda kwa kila kazi njema, mkikua katika kumjua Mungu,
We have been praying that you will walk worthily of the Lord in pleasing ways. We have been praying that you will bear fruit in every good deed and that you will grow in the knowledge of God.
11 mkiwa mmetiwa nguvu kwa uwezo wote kwa kadiri ya nguvu yake yenye utukufu, ili mpate kuwa na wingi wa saburi na uvumilivu. Nanyi kwa furaha
We pray you may be strengthened in every ability according to the power of his glory into all perseverance and patience.
12 mkimshukuru Baba, ambaye amewastahilisha kushiriki katika urithi wa watakatifu katika ufalme wa nuru.
We pray that you will joyfully give thanks to the Father, who has made you able to have a share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
13 Kwa maana ametuokoa kutoka ufalme wa giza na kutuingiza katika ufalme wa Mwana wake mpendwa,
He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.
14 ambaye katika yeye tunao ukombozi, yaani msamaha wa dhambi.
In his Son we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 Yeye ni mfano wa Mungu asiyeonekana, mzaliwa wa kwanza wa viumbe vyote.
The Son is the image of the invisible God. He is the firstborn of all creation.
16 Kwake yeye vitu vyote vilivyoko mbinguni na juu ya nchi viliumbwa: vitu vinavyoonekana na visivyoonekana, viwe ni viti vya enzi au falme, au wenye mamlaka au watawala; vitu vyote viliumbwa na yeye na kwa ajili yake.
For by him all things were created, those in the heavens and those on the earth, the visible and the invisible things. Whether thrones or dominions or governments or authorities, all things were created by him and for him.
17 Yeye alikuwepo kabla ya vitu vyote, na katika yeye vitu vyote vinashikamana pamoja.
He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18 Yeye ndiye kichwa cha mwili, yaani kanisa, naye ndiye mwanzo na mzaliwa wa kwanza kutoka kwa wafu, ili yeye awe mkuu katika vitu vyote.
He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so he has first place among all things.
19 Kwa kuwa ilimpendeza Mungu kwamba utimilifu wake wote ukae ndani yake,
For God was pleased that all his fullness should live in him,
20 na kwa njia yake aweze kuvipatanisha vitu vyote na yeye mwenyewe, viwe ni vitu vilivyo duniani au vilivyo mbinguni, kwa kufanya amani kwa damu yake, iliyomwagika msalabani.
and to reconcile through the Son all things to himself. God made peace through the blood of his cross. God reconciled all things to himself, whether the things on the earth or the things in heaven.
21 Hapo kwanza mlikuwa mmetengana na Mungu, na mlikuwa adui zake katika nia zenu kwa sababu ya mienendo yenu mibaya.
At one time, you also were strangers to God and were his enemies in mind and in evil deeds.
22 Lakini sasa Mungu amewapatanisha ninyi kwa njia ya mwili wa Kristo kupitia mauti, ili awalete mbele zake mkiwa watakatifu, bila dosari wala lawama,
But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death. He did this in order to present you holy, blameless, and above reproach before him,
23 ikiwa mnaendelea katika imani yenu mkiwa imara na thabiti, pasipo kuliacha tumaini lililoahidiwa katika Injili. Hii ndiyo ile Injili mliyoisikia, ambayo imehubiriwa kwa kila kiumbe chini ya mbingu, na ambayo mimi Paulo nimekuwa mtumwa wake.
if you continue in the faith, established and firm, not moved away from the certain hope of the gospel that you heard. This is the gospel that was proclaimed to every person created under heaven. This is the gospel of which I, Paul, became a servant.
24 Sasa nafurahia kule kuteseka kwangu kwa ajili yenu, na katika mwili wangu ninatimiliza yale yaliyopungua katika mateso ya Kristo kwa ajili ya mwili wake, ambao ni kanisa.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking of the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church.
25 Mimi nimekuwa mtumishi wa kanisa kwa wajibu alionipa Mungu ili kuwaletea ninyi Neno la Mungu kwa ukamilifu:
It is of this church that I am a servant, according to the responsibility from God that was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God.
26 Hii ni siri iliyokuwa imefichika tangu zamani na kwa vizazi vingi, lakini sasa imefunuliwa kwa watakatifu. (aiōn g165)
This is the secret truth that was hidden for ages and for generations. But now it has been revealed to those who believe in him. (aiōn g165)
27 Kwao, Mungu amechagua kujulisha miongoni mwa watu wa Mataifa utukufu wa utajiri wa siri hii, ambayo ni Kristo ndani yenu, tumaini la utukufu.
It is to them that God wanted to make known the riches of the glory of this secret truth among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 Yeye ndiye tunayemtangaza, tukimwonya kila mtu na kumfundisha kila mtu kwa hekima yote ili tuweze kumleta kila mmoja akiwa amekamilika katika Kristo.
This is he whom we proclaim. We admonish every person, and we teach every person with all wisdom, so that we may present every person complete in Christ.
29 Kwa ajili ya jambo hili, ninajitaabisha, nikijitahidi kwa kadiri ya nguvu zake ambazo hutenda kazi ndani yangu kwa uweza mwingi.
For this I labor and strive according to his energy that is at work in me in power.
