Torati 15
1 Kila mwisho wa miaka saba ni lazima mfute madeni.
“In the seventh year, you shall perform a remission,
2 Hivi ndivyo itakavyofanyika: Kila mkopeshaji atafuta mkopo aliomkopesha Mwisraeli mwenzake. Hatamtaka Mwisraeli mwenzake au ndugu yake amlipe hilo deni, kwa sababu wakati wa Bwana wa kufuta madeni umetangazwa.
which shall be celebrated according to this order. Anyone to whom anything is owed, by his friend or neighbor or brother, will not be able to request its return, because it is the year of remission of the Lord.
3 Unaweza kudai malipo kwa mgeni, lakini lazima ufute kila deni ambalo unamdai ndugu yako.
From the sojourner and the new arrival, you may require its return. From your fellow countryman and neighbor, you will not have the power to request its return.
4 Hata hivyo, hapatakuwepo maskini miongoni mwenu, kwa kuwa katika nchi Bwana Mungu wenu anayowapa kuimiliki kama urithi wenu, atawabariki sana,
And there shall not be anyone indigent or begging among you, so that the Lord your God may bless you in the land which he will deliver to you as a possession.
5 ikiwa tutamtii Bwana Mungu wenu kikamilifu na kuwa waangalifu kuyafuata maagizo haya yote ninayowapa leo.
But only if you heed the voice of the Lord your God, and keep to all that he has ordered, that which I am entrusting to you this day, will he bless you, just as he has promised.
6 Kwa kuwa Bwana Mungu wenu atawabariki kama alivyoahidi, nanyi mtawakopesha mataifa mengi lakini hamtakopa kwa yeyote. Mtatawala mataifa mengi lakini hakuna taifa litakalowatawala ninyi.
You shall lend money to many nations, and you yourselves shall borrow in return from no one. You shall rule over very many nations, and no one shall rule over you.
7 Ikiwa kuna mtu maskini miongoni mwa ndugu zenu, katika mji wowote wa hiyo nchi ambayo Bwana Mungu wenu anawapa, msiwe na moyo mgumu wala usimfumbie mkono ndugu yako aliye maskini.
If one of your brothers, who dwells within the gates of your city, in the land which the Lord your God will give to you, falls into poverty, you shall not harden your heart, nor tighten your hand.
8 Afadhali fungua mikono yako na umkopeshe kwa hiari chochote anachohitaji.
Instead, you shall open your hand to the poor, and you shall lend to him whatever you perceive him to need.
9 Jihadhari usijiwekee wazo hili ovu: “Mwaka wa saba, mwaka wa kufuta madeni umekaribia,” usije ukaonyesha nia mbaya kwa ndugu yako mhitaji na ukaacha kumpa chochote. Anaweza kumlalamikia Bwana dhidi yako nawe utakuwa umepatikana na hatia ya dhambi.
Take care, lest perhaps an impious thought might creep within you, and you might say in your heart: ‘The seventh year of remission approaches.’ And so you might turn your eyes away from your poor brother, unwilling to lend to him what he has asked. If so, then he may cry out against you to the Lord, and it will be a sin for you.
10 Mpe kwa ukarimu na ufanye hivyo bila kinyongo moyoni, ndipo kwa sababu ya hili Bwana Mungu wenu atakubariki katika kazi zako zote na kwa kila kitu utakachokiwekea mkono wako.
Instead, you shall give to him. Neither shall you do anything craftily while assisting him in his needs, so that the Lord your God may bless you, at all times and in all things to which you will put your hand.
11 Siku zote watakuwepo watu maskini katika nchi. Kwa hiyo ninawaamuru mwe na mikono iliyokunjuliwa kuwaelekea ndugu zenu, kuwaelekea maskini na wahitaji katika nchi yenu.
The poor will not be absent from the land of your habitation. For this reason, I instruct you to open your hand to your indigent and poor brother, who lives among you in the land.
12 Kama Mwebrania mwenzako, mwanaume au mwanamke, akijiuza kwako na kukutumikia miaka sita, katika mwaka wa saba ni lazima umwache aende zake akiwa huru.
When your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, has been sold to you, and has served you for six years, in the seventh year you shall set him free.
13 Nawe wakati utakapomwachia usimwache aende mikono mitupu.
And when you grant his freedom, you shall by no means permit him to go away empty.
14 Mpe kwa uhuru kutoka zizi lako la kondoo na mbuzi, kutoka sakafu yako ya kupuria nafaka na kutoka mashinikizo yako ya kukamulia divai. Mpe kama vile ambavyo Bwana Mungu wako alivyokubariki.
Instead, you shall give to him, for his journey, from your flocks and threshing floor and winepress, with which the Lord your God has blessed you.
15 Kumbukeni kuwa ninyi mlikuwa watumwa huko Misri naye Bwana Mungu wenu aliwakomboa. Ndiyo sababu nimewapa agizo hili leo.
Remember that you yourself also served in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God set you free. And therefore, I now command this of you.
16 Lakini mtumishi wako akikuambia, “Sitaki kukuacha,” kwa sababu anakupenda wewe na jamaa yako naye anaridhika nawe,
But if he will say, ‘I am not willing to depart,’ because he loves you and your household, and because he feels that it would be good for him to stay with you,
17 ndipo utachukua chuma kidogo utoboe sikio lake mpaka hicho chuma kiingie kwenye ubao wa mlango, naye atakuwa mtumishi wako wa maisha. Ufanye vivyo hivyo kwa mtumishi wa kike.
then you shall take an awl and pierce his ear, at the door of your house. And he shall serve you even forever. You shall also act similarly toward your woman servant.
18 Usifikiri kuwa kuna ugumu kumwacha mtumishi wako huru, kwa sababu utumishi wake kwako kwa miaka hii sita umekuwa wa thamani mara mbili ya ujira wa mtumishi wa kuajiriwa. Naye Bwana Mungu wenu atakubarikia kwa kila kitu utakachofanya.
You should not avert your eyes from them when you set them free, because he has served you for six years, in a manner deserving of the pay of a hired hand. So may the Lord your God bless you in all the works that you do.
19 Wekeni wakfu kwa Bwana Mungu wenu kila mzaliwa wa kwanza wa kiume wa makundi yenu ya ngʼombe na ya mbuzi na kondoo. Maksai walio wazaliwa wa kwanza msiwafanyize kazi, wala msinyoe manyoya ya wazaliwa wa kwanza wa kondoo.
Of the firstborn, those born from your herds and sheep, you shall sanctify to the Lord your God whatever is of the male sex. You shall not put the firstborn of the oxen to work, nor shall you shear the firstborn of the sheep.
20 Kila mwaka ninyi na jamaa zenu mtapaswa kuwala mbele za Bwana Mungu wenu pale mahali atakapopachagua.
In the sight of the Lord your God, you shall eat these, each year, in the place which the Lord will choose, you and your household.
21 Kama mnyama ana dosari, akiwa ni kilema au kipofu au kama ana kilema kibaya, kamwe usimtoe dhabihu kwa Bwana Mungu wenu.
But if it has a blemish, or is lame, or is blind, or if it is in any part deformed or debilitated, it shall not be immolated to the Lord your God.
22 Itawapasa kumla ninyi wenyewe katika miji yenu. Wote wasio safi na walio safi kwa desturi za kiibada mwaweza kula kama vile mnavyokula paa au kulungu.
Instead, you shall eat it within the gates of your city. The clean as well as the unclean alike shall feed on these, such as the roe deer and the stag.
23 Lakini kamwe msinywe damu; imwageni ardhini kama maji.
This alone shall you observe: that you do not eat their blood, but pour it upon the ground like water.”
