Kutoka 23
1 “Usieneze habari za uongo. Usimsaidie mtu mwovu kwa kuwa shahidi mwenye nia ya kudhuru wengine.
“You shall not accept a lying voice. Neither shall you join your hand so as to give false testimony on behalf of the impious.
2 “Usifuate umati wa watu katika kutenda mabaya. Unapotoa ushahidi kwenye mashtaka, usipotoshe haki ukijumuika na umati wa watu,
You shall not follow the crowd in doing evil. Neither shall you go astray in judgment, by agreeing with the majority opinion, apart from the truth.
3 nawe usimpendelee mtu maskini katika mashtaka yake.
Likewise, you shall not show pity in judgment of the poor.
4 “Kama ukikutana na maksai au punda wa adui yako anapotea, hakikisha umemrudisha kwake.
If you come across an ox or a donkey of your enemy, which has gone astray, lead it back to him.
5 Ukiona punda wa mtu anayekuchukia ameanguka na mzigo wake, usimwache hapo alipoangukia; hakikisha kuwa umemsaidia.
If you see the donkey of one who hates you, fallen under its burden, you shall not pass by without lifting it up with him.
6 “Usiwanyime haki watu wako walio maskini katika mashtaka yao.
You shall not deviate in judgment of the poor.
7 Ujiepushe na mashtaka ya uongo, wala usimuue mtu asiye na hatia au mtu mwaminifu, kwa maana sitamhesabia hana hatia yeye aliye na hatia.
You shall flee from lies. The innocent and the just you shall not kill. For I shun the impious.
8 “Usipokee rushwa, kwa kuwa rushwa hupofusha wale waonao, na kupinda maneno ya wenye haki.
Neither shall you accept bribes, which blind even the prudent and subvert the words of the just.
9 “Usimwonee mgeni; ninyi wenyewe mnajua jinsi mgeni anavyojisikia, kwa sababu mlikuwa wageni Misri.
You shall not harass a sojourner, for you know the life of a newcomer. For you yourselves also were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
10 “Kwa muda wa miaka sita mtapanda mashamba yenu na kuvuna mazao,
For six years, you shall sow your land and gather its produce.
11 lakini katika mwaka wa saba usiilime ardhi wala kuitumia, ili watu walio maskini miongoni mwenu waweze kupata chakula kutoka kwenye hayo mashamba, nao wanyama pori wapate chakula kwa yale mabaki watakayobakiza. Utafanya hivyo katika shamba lako la mizabibu na la mizeituni.
But in the seventh year, you shall release it and cause it to rest, so that the poor of your people may eat. And whatever remains, let the beasts of the field eat it. So shall you do with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12 “Kwa siku sita fanya kazi zako, lakini siku ya saba usifanye kazi, ili maksai wako na punda wako wapate kupumzika, naye mtumwa aliyezaliwa nyumbani mwako, pamoja na mgeni, wapate kustarehe.
For six days, you shall work. On the seventh day, you shall cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the newcomer and the son of your handmaid may be refreshed.
13 “Uzingatie kutenda kila kitu nilichokuambia. Usiombe kwa majina ya miungu mingine, wala usiyaruhusu kusikika kinywani mwako.
Preserve all that I have said to you. And by the names of foreign gods you shall not swear; neither shall these be heard from your mouth.
14 “Mara tatu kwa mwaka utanifanyia sikukuu.
Three times in each year, you shall celebrate feasts to me.
15 “Utaadhimisha Sikukuu ya Mikate Isiyotiwa Chachu; kwa siku saba utakula mikate isiyotiwa chachu kama nilivyokuagiza. Fanya jambo hili kwa wakati uliopangwa katika mwezi wa Abibu, ndio mwezi wa nne, kwa sababu katika mwezi huo ulitoka Misri. “Mtu yeyote asije mbele yangu mikono mitupu.
You shall keep the solemnity of unleavened bread. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, just as I instructed you, at the time of the month of new grain, when you departed from Egypt. You shall not appear empty-handed in my sight,
16 “Utaadhimisha Sikukuu ya Mavuno kwa malimbuko ya mazao yako uliyopanda katika shamba lako. “Utaadhimisha Sikukuu ya Kukusanya mavuno mwishoni mwa mwaka, unapokusanya mavuno yako toka shambani.
for it is the solemnity of the harvest of the first-fruits of your work, of whatever you have sown in the field. Likewise, it is a solemnity at the end of the season, when you will have gathered in all your crops from the field.
17 “Mara tatu kwa mwaka wanaume wote watakuja mbele za Bwana Mwenyezi.
Three times a year, all your males shall appear before the Lord your God.
18 “Msitoe damu ya dhabihu kwangu pamoja na kitu chochote kilicho na chachu. “Mafuta ya mnyama wa sadaka ya sikukuu yangu yasibakizwe mpaka asubuhi.
You shall not immolate the blood of my victim over leaven, nor shall the fat of my solemnity remain until morning.
19 “Utaleta malimbuko bora ya ardhi yako katika nyumba ya Bwana Mungu wako. “Usimchemshe mwana-mbuzi katika maziwa ya mama yake.
You shall carry the first grain of the land to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not cook a young goat in the milk of its mother.
20 “Tazama, ninamtuma malaika akutangulie mbele yako akulinde njiani na kukuleta mpaka mahali nilipoandaa.
Behold, I will send my Angel, who will go before you, and preserve you on your journey, and lead you into the place that I have prepared.
21 Mtamtii na kusikiliza kile anachokisema. Usiasi dhidi yake; hatakusamehe uasi wako, kwa maana Jina langu limo ndani yake.
Heed him, and hear his voice, and do not hold him in disregard. For he will not release you when you have sinned, and my name is in him.
22 Kama ukitii kweli kweli kile asemacho na kufanya yote nisemayo, nitakuwa adui wa adui zako, na nitawapinga wale wakupingao.
But if you listen to his voice and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will afflict those who afflict you.
23 Malaika wangu atatangulia mbele yako na kukuleta katika nchi ya Waamori, Wahiti, Waperizi, Wakanaani, Wahivi na Wayebusi, nami nitawafutilia mbali.
And my Angel will go before you, and he will bring you to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, whom I will crush.
24 Usiisujudie miungu yao, au kuiabudu, wala kufuata desturi yao. Utayabomoa kabisa na kuvunjavunja mawe yao ya ibada vipande vipande.
You shall not adore their gods, nor worship them. You shall not do their works, but you shall destroy them and break apart their statues.
25 Utamwabudu Bwana Mungu wako, na baraka zake zitakuwa juu ya vyakula vyako na maji yako. Nami nitaondoa maradhi miongoni mwako,
And you shall serve the Lord your God, so that I may bless your bread and your waters, and so that I may take away sickness from your midst.
26 na hakuna atakayeharibu mimba wala atakayekuwa tasa katika nchi yako. Nami nitakupa maisha makamilifu.
There will not be fruitless or barren ones in your land. I will fill up the number of your days.
27 “Nitapeleka utisho wangu mbele yako na kufadhaisha kila taifa utakalolifikia. Nitafanya adui zako wote wakupe kisogo na kukimbia.
I will send my terror to run ahead of you, and I will kill all the people to whom you will enter. And I will turn the backs of all your enemies before you,
28 Nitatanguliza manyigu mbele yako kuwafukuza Wahivi, Wakanaani na Wahiti waondoke njiani mwako.
sending wasps ahead, so that they will put to flight the Hivite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, before you enter.
29 Lakini sitawafukuza kwa mara moja, kwa sababu nchi itabaki ukiwa na wanyama pori watakuwa wengi mno kwako.
I will not cast them out from your face in one year, lest the land be reduced to a wilderness and the wild beasts increase against you.
30 Nitawafukuza kidogo kidogo mbele yako, mpaka uwe umeongezeka kiasi cha kutosha kuimiliki nchi.
I will expel them little by little from your sight, until you have expanded and may possess the land.
31 “Nitaweka mipaka ya nchi yako kuanzia Bahari ya Shamu hadi Bahari ya Wafilisti, na kuanzia jangwani hadi Mto Frati. Nitawatia watu wanaoishi katika nchi hizo mikononi mwako, nawe utawafukuza watoke mbele yako.
Then I will set your limits to be from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Palestinians, and from the desert all the way to the river. I will deliver into your hands the inhabitants of the land, and I will cast them out from your sight.
32 Usifanye agano lolote nao wala na miungu yao.
You shall not enter into a pact with them, nor with their gods.
33 Usiwaache waishi katika nchi yako, la sivyo watakusababisha utende dhambi dhidi yangu, kwa sababu ibada ya miungu yao hakika itakuwa mtego kwako.”
They may not live on your land, lest perhaps they may cause you to sin against me, if you serve their gods, which certainly would be a temptation for you.”
