< 1 Yohana 4 >
1 Wapendwa, msiiamini kila roho, lakini zijaribuni roho muone kama zinatokana na Mungu, kwa sababu manabii wengi wa uongo wametokea duniani.
Dear friends, don't trust every spirit, but put the spirits to the test to find out whether they're from God, for there are many false prophets out there in the world.
2 Kwa hili mtamjua Roho wa Mungu - kila roho itakayokiri kuwa Yesu Kristo amekuja katika mwili ni ya Mungu,
How can you recognize God's Spirit? Every spirit that accepts Jesus Christ came with a human body is from God;
3 na kila roho isiyomkiri Yesu si ya Mungu. Hii ni roho ya mpinga kristo, ambayo mliyoisikia kuwa inakuja, na sasa tayari iko duniani.
while every spirit that doesn't accept Jesus, that spirit isn't from God. In fact it is the spirit of the antichrist which you heard was coming, and which is already in the world.
4 Ninyi ni wa Mungu, watoto wapendwa, na mmekwisha washinda kwa sababu yeye aliye ndani yenu ni mkuu kuliko yeye aliye katika ulimwengu.
But you belong to God, my friends, and you have defeated them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
5 Wao ni wa ulimwengu, kwa hiyo wanachokisema ni cha ulimwengu, na ulimwengu unawasikiliza.
They belong to the world, so they speak like people of the world, and the world listens to them.
6 Sisi ni wa Mungu. Yeye amjuaye Mungu hutusikiliza sisi. Yeye asiye wa Mungu hawezi kutusikiliza. Katika hili tunajua roho wa kweli na roho wa uongo.
We belong to God and whoever knows God listens to us, while whoever doesn't belong to God doesn't listen to us. This is how we can distinguish the spirit of truth from the spirit of deception.
7 Wapendwa, tupendane sisi kwa sisi, kwa vile upendo ni wa Mungu, na kila mmoja apendaye amezaliwa na Mungu na kumjua Mungu.
Dear friends, let's go on loving one another, for love comes from God. All those who love are born of God and know God.
8 Yeye asiyependa hamjui Mungu, kwa sababu Mungu ni upendo.
Those who don't love don't know God, for God is love.
9 Katika hili pendo la Mungu lilifunuliwa miongoni mwetu, kwamba Mungu alimtuma Mwanae wa pekee ulimwenguni ili tuishi kupitia yeye.
How was God's love shown to us? God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we could live through him.
10 Katika hili pendo, si kwamba tulimpenda Mungu, lakini yeye alitupenda, na akamtuma Mwanawe awe fidia ya dhambi zetu.
This is love! It's not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and he sent his Son to be the reconciliation for our sins.
11 Wapendwa, ikiwa Mungu alitupenda sisi, vile vile tunapaswa kupendana sisi kwa sisi.
Friends, if this is the way God loves us, we ought to love one another like this too.
12 Hakuna hata mmoja aliyemuona Mungu. Kama tukipendana sisi kwa sisi, Mungu anakaa ndani yetu na pendo lake limekamilika ndani yetu.
No one has ever seen God. However, if we love one another then God lives in us, and his love is fulfilled in us.
13 Katika hili tunajua kuwa tunakaa ndani yake na yeye ndani yetu, kwa sababu ametupa Roho wake.
How can we know that we live in him, and that he lives in us? He's given us the ability to love by his Spirit.
14 Na tumeona na kushuhudia kuwa Baba amemtuma Mwana kuwa mwokozi wa ulimwengu.
For we are witnesses to what we have seen and testify that the Father sent the Son as the Savior of the world.
15 Kila anayekiri kwamba Yesu ni Mwana wa Mungu, Mungu anakaa ndani yake na yeye ndani ya Mungu.
God lives in everyone who declares that Jesus is the Son of God, and they live in God.
16 Na tunajua na kuamini upendo alio nao Mungu ndani yetu. Mungu ni pendo, na yeye anayekaa ndani ya upendo anakaa ndani ya Mungu, na Mungu hukaa ndani yake.
We have experienced and trusted in the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who live in love, live in God, and God lives in them.
17 Katika pendo hili limekwisha kamilishwa kati yetu, ili tuwe na ujasiri siku ya hukumu, kwa sababu kama yeye alivyo, na sisi ndivyo tulivyo katika ulimwenngu huu.
This is how love is made complete in us so that we can be confident on judgment day: by the fact that we live just like him in this world.
18 Hakuna hofu ndani ya pendo. Lakini pendo kamili huitupa hofu nje, kwa sababu hofu huhusiana na hukumu. Lakini yeye aogopaye hajakamilishwa katika pendo.
Where there is love there can be no fear. God loves us completely, and this love drives all our fears away. If we do fear, it's because we fear being punished, and this shows that we have not been fully re-made by the completeness of God's love.
19 Tunapenda kwa sababu Mungu alitupenda kwanza.
We love because he loved us first.
20 Ikiwa mmoja atasema, “Nampenda Mungu” lakini anamchukia ndugu yake, ni mwongo. Kwa sababu asiyempenda ndugu yake, anayemuona, hawezi kumpenda Mungu ambaye hajamuona.
Anyone who says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, is a liar. Anyone who doesn't love a brother whom they can see, can't love God whom they can't see.
21 Na hii ndiyo amri tuliyo nayo kutoka kwake: Yeyote ampendaye Mungu, anapaswa kumpenda ndugu yake pia.
This is the command he gave to us: those who love God love their brothers and sisters too.