< Wakolosai 2 >

1 Kwa kuwa nataka mfahamu jinsi ambavyo nimekuwa na taabu nyingi kwa ajili yenu, kwa wote walioko Laodikia na kwa wote ambao hawajaona uso wangu katika mwili.
For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me face to face,
2 Nafanya kazi ili kwamba mioyo yao iweze kufarijiwa kwa kuletwa pamoja katika upendo na katika utajiri wote wa wingi wa uhakika kamili wa maarifa, katika kuijua siri ya kweli ya Mungu, ambaye ni Kristo.
that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ,
3 Katika Yeye hazina zote za hekima na maarifa zimefichwa.
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 Nasema hivi ili kwamba mtu yeyote asije akawafanyia hila kwa hotuba yenye ushawishi.
I say this so that no one will deceive you by smooth rhetoric.
5 Na ingawa sipo pamoja nanyi katika mwili, lakini nipo nanyi katika roho. Ninafurahi kuona utaratibu wenu mzuri na nguvu ya imani yenu katika Kristo.
For although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I delight to see your orderly condition and firm faith in Christ.
6 Kama mlivyompokea Kristo Bwana, tembeeni katika yeye.
Therefore, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in Him,
7 Mwimarishwe katika yeye, mjengwe katika yeye, mwimarishwe katika imani kama tu mlivyofundishwa, na kufungwa katika shukrani nyingi.
rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
8 Angalieni ya kwamba mtu yeyote asiwanase kwa falsafa na maneno matupu ya udanganyifu kulingana na mapokeo ya wanadamu, kulingana na kanuni za kidunia, na sio kulingana na Kristo.
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
9 Kwa kuwa katika yeye ukamilifu wote wa Mungu unaishi katika mwili.
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.
10 Nanyi mmejazwa katika yeye. Yeye ni kichwa cha kila uweza na mamlaka.
And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
11 Katika yeye pia mlitahiriwa kwa tohara isiyofanywa na wanadamu katika kuondolewa mwili wa nyama, lakini ni katika tohara ya Kristo.
In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands.
12 Mlizikwa pamoja naye katika ubatizo. Na kwa njia ya imani katika yeye mlifufuliwa kwa uweza wa Mungu, aliyemfufua kutoka kwa wafu.
And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.
13 Na mlipokuwa mmekufa katika makosa yenu na kutokutahiriwa kwa miili yenu, aliwafanya hai pamoja naye na kutusamehe makosa yetu yote.
When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses,
14 Alifuta kumbukumbu ya madeni iliyoandikwa, na taratibu zilizokuwa kinyume nasi. Aliiondoa yote na kuigongomea msalabani.
having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!
15 Aliziondoa nguvu na mamlaka. Aliyaweka wazi na kuyafanya kuwa sherehe ya ushidi kwa njia ya msalaba wake.
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
16 Kwa hiyo, mtu yeyote asiwahukumu ninyi katika kula au katika kunywa, au kuhusu siku ya sikukuu au mwezi mpya, au siku za Sabato.
Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath.
17 Hivi ni vivuli vya mambo yajayo, lakini kiini ni Kristo.
These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.
18 Mtu awaye yote asinyang'anywe tuzo yake kwa kutamani unyenyekevu na kwa kuabudu malaika. Mtu wa jinsi hiyo huingia katika mambo aliyoyaona na kushawishiwa na mawazo yake ya kimwili.
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you with speculation about what he has seen. Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual mind.
19 Yeye hakishikilii kichwa. Ni kutoka katika kichwa kwamba mwili wote kupitia viungo vyake na mifupa huungwa na kushikamanishwa kwa pamoja; na hukua kwa ukuaji utolewao na Mungu.
He has lost connection to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows as God causes it to grow.
20 Ikiwa mlikufa pamoja na Kristo kwa tabia za dunia, mbona mnaishi kama mnawajibika kwa dunia:
If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations:
21 “Msishike, wala kuonja, wala kugusa”?
“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”?
22 Haya yote yameamuriwa kwa ajili ya uharibifu ujao na matumizi, kutokana na maelekezo na mafundisho ya wanadamu.
These will all perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.
23 Sheria hizi zina hekima ya dini zilizotengenezwa kwa ubinafsi na unyenyekevu na mateso ya mwili. Lakini hazina thamani dhidi ya tamaa za mwili.
Such restrictions indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-prescribed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body; but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

< Wakolosai 2 >