Torati 18
1 Makuhani, ambao ni Walawi, na makabila yote ya Lawi, hayatakuwa na mgao wala urithi pamoja na Israel; wanapaswa kula dhabihu ya Yahwe iliyotengenezwa kwa moto kama urithi wao.
“The priests, who are all from the tribe of Levi, will not receive any land in Israel. Instead, they will receive some of the food that other people offer to be burned [on the altar to be sacrificed] to Yahweh and some of the other sacrifices that will be offered to Yahweh.
2 Hawatakuwa na urithi miongoni mwa ndugu zao; Yahwe ni urithi wao, kama alivyosema nao.
They will not be allotted any land like the other tribes will be. What they will receive is the work/privilege of being Yahweh’s [priests], which is what he said that they should have.
3 Hii ni sababu ya makuhani kutoka kwa watu, kutoka kwa wale wanaotoa dhabihu, kama itakuwa ng'ombe au kondoo: wanapaswa kutoa kwa kuhani bega, mashavu mawili, na sehemu za ndani.
“When the people bring an ox or a sheep to be sacrificed, they must give to the priests the shoulder, the cheeks/jaws, and the stomach of those animals.
4 Mazao ya kwanza ya nafaka zako, mvinyo wako mpya, na mafuta yako, na manyoya ya kwanza ya kondoo zako, unapaswa umpe.
You must also give to them the first part of the grain that you [harvest], and the first part of the wine [that you make], and the first part of the [olive] oil [that you make], and the first part of the wool that you shear from your sheep.
5 Kwa kuwa Yahwe Mungu wako amemchagua kutoka kwenye makabila yote yako kusimama kutumika kwa jina la Yahwe, yeye na wana wake milele.
You must do this because Yahweh our God has chosen the tribe of Levi from all of your tribes, in order that men [from that tribe] would always be the priests who would serve him.
6 Kama Mlawi anatoka kati ya miji yenu nje ya Israel yote kutoka ambapo anaishi, na utamani kwa moyo wake wote kuja katika eneo Yahwe atachagua,
“If any man from the tribe of Levi [who has been living] in one of the towns in Israel wants to come from there to the place of worship that Yahweh has chosen, [and start living there],
7 basi anapaswa kutumika kwa jina la Yahwe Mungu wake kama ndugu zake wote Walawi wanafanya, wanaosimama mbele ya Yahwe.
he is permitted to serve Yahweh there as a priest, just like the other men from the tribe of Levi who have been serving there.
8 Wanapaswa kuwa na mgao wa kufanana wa kula, badala ya kile kinachokuja kutokana na mauzo ya urithi wa familia yake.
He must be given the same amount of food [that the other priests receive]. He is permitted to keep the money [that his relatives give him] for selling some of their possessions.
9 Wakati mmekuja katika nchi ambayo Yahwe Mungu wenu anawapa, mnapaswa kujifunza kuangalia machukizo ya mataifa.
When you enter the land that Yahweh our God is giving you, you must not imitate the disgusting things that the people-groups who are there now do.
10 Pasipatikana miongoni mwenu mmoja anayemweka kijana wake au binti yake kwenye moto, yeyote anatumia uganga, yeyote anatabiri, au mchawi, mchawi yeyote,
You must not sacrifice any of your children by burning them [on your altars]. Do not practice (divination/using supernatural power to reveal [what will happen in] the future). Do not do/practice (soothsaying/magic to find out what will happen in the future). Do not (interpret omens/say that because of something that you have seen you know what will happen). Do not practice sorcery/witchcraft. Do not practice (putting spells on people/saying things to cause bad things to happen to others).
11 yeyote aongeae na wafu, au yeyote aongeae na roho.
Do not try to talk with spirits of dead people. Do not do/practice magic.
12 Kwa yeyote afanyae mambo haya ni chukizo kwa Yahwe; ni kwa sababu ya machukizo haya ambayo Yahwe Mungu wenu anawaondosha mbele zenu.
Yahweh hates people who do any of those disgusting things. And as you advance through that land, he is going to expel the people-groups because they do/practice those disgusting things.
13 Mnapaswa kuwa wakamilifu mbele ya Yahwe Mungu wenu.
But you must always avoid doing any of those things.
14 Kwa mataifa haya ambayo mtayafukuza kusikiliza wale wafanyao uchawi na uganga; lakini kwenu, Yahwe Mungu wenu amewakataza ninyi kufanya hivyo.
The people-groups that you are about to expel [from the land that you will occupy] (consult/seek advice from) soothsayers and those who practice divination. But as for you, Yahweh our God does not allow you to do that.
15 Yahwe Mungu wenu atainua kwa ajili yenu nabii kutoka miongoni mwenu, mmoja wa ndugu zenu, kama mimi. Mnapaswa kumsikiliza.
[Some day] he will send from among you a prophet like me. [He is the one who will tell you what will happen in the future], and he is the one whom you must heed.
16 Hiki ndicho mlichouliza kutoka kwa Yahwe Mungu wenu huko Horebu katika siku ya kusanyiko, kusema, “Acha tusisikie tena sauti ya Yahwe Mungu wetu, wala kuona moto mkuu tena, wala tutakufa.”
On the day that your ancestors were gathered at the bottom of Sinai Mountain, they pleaded with me saying, ‘We do not want Yahweh to speak [MTY] to us again, and we do not want to see this huge fire [that is burning on the mountain]!’ [Your ancestors said that because they were afraid] that they would die [if Yahweh spoke to them again].
17 Yahwe alisema nami, “Kile walichosema ni kizuri.
Then Yahweh said to me, ‘What they have said is true/wise.
18 Nitamwinua nabii kwa ajili yao kutoka miongoni mwa ndugu zao, kama wewe. Nitaweka maneno yangu katika kinywa chake, na ataongea nao yote niliyowakuamuru.
So I will send from among them a prophet who will be like you. I will tell him what to say, and then he will tell people everything that I tell him to say.
19 Itakuwa kama yeyote hatasikia maneno yangu ambayo anazungumza kwa jina langu, nitalitaka kwake.
He will speak for me. And I will punish anyone who does not heed what he says.
20 Lakini nabii ambaye anazungumza neno kwa kiburi kwa jina langu, neno ambalo sijamuamuru kusema, au ambaye anayezungumza kwa jina la miungu mingine, huyo nabii atakufa.
But if any other [person says that he is a] prophet [and] dares to speak a message which he falsely says comes from me but which I did not tell him to speak, or if anyone who speaks a message that he says other gods [MTY] have revealed to him, he must be executed [for doing that].’
21 Hivyo ndivyo unapaswa kusema katika mioyo yenu: “Tutagunduaje kuwa ujumbe ambao Yahwe hajazungumza?
But if you say to yourself, ‘How can we know if a message [that someone tells us] does not come from Yahweh?’
22 Mtagundua ujumbe ambao Yahwe amezungumza pindi nabii azungumzapo kwa jina la Yahwe. Kama hiyo haitokei wala kufanyika, basi hicho ni kile ambacho Yahwe hajazungumza na nabii amezungumza kwa kiburi, na hampaswi kumuogopa.
[The answer is that] when someone speaks a message [about what will happen in the future], a message that he says was revealed by Yahweh, if what he says does not happen, [you will know that] the message did not come from Yahweh. That person has wrongly claimed that it was revealed to him by Yahweh. So you do not need to be afraid of [anything that] he [says].”
