2 Wakorintho 3
1 Je, tunaanza tena kujipendekeza? Je, tunahitaji barua ya utambulisho kwenu, au kutoka kwenu, kama watu wengine?
Do you say that this is self-recommendation once more? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you?
2 Ninyi wenyewe ni barua yetu; barua iliyoandikwa mioyoni mwetu kila mtu aione na kuisoma.
Our letter of recommendation is yourselves--a letter written on our hearts and everywhere known and read.
3 Ni dhahiri kwamba ninyi ni barua ya Kristo aliyoipeleka kwa mikono yetu. Barua yenyewe imeandikwa si kwa wino, bali kwa Roho wa Mungu hai; imeandikwa si juu ya kipande cha jiwe, bali juu ya mioyo ya watu.
For all can see that you are a letter of Christ entrusted to our care, and written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the ever-living God--and not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts as tablets.
4 Tunaweza kusema hayo kwa sababu ya tumaini letu tulilo nalo kwa Mungu kwa njia ya Kristo.
Such is the confidence which we have through Christ in the presence of God;
5 Si kwamba sisi tunaweza kufanya chochote kwa nguvu zetu wenyewe, ila uwezo wetu wote hutoka kwa Mungu:
not that of ourselves we are competent to decide anything by our own reasonings, but our competency comes from God.
6 maana yeye ndiye aliyetuwezesha kulihudumia Agano Jipya ambalo si agano la sheria iliyoandikwa, bali Agano la Roho. Maana sheria iliyoandikwa huleta kifo, lakini Roho huleta uzima.
It is He also who has made us competent to serve Him in connexion with a new Covenant, which is not a written code but a Spirit; for the written code inflicts death, but the Spirit gives Life.
7 Sheria iliwekwa kwa kuandikwa juu ya vipande vya mawe. Ingawaje mwisho wake umekuwa kifo, utukufu wake ulikuwa mkuu mno hata wana wa Israeli wasiweze kuutazama uso wa Mose kwa sababu ya mng'ao wake. Tena mng'ao huo ulikuwa wa muda tu. Basi, ikiwa huduma ya kile ambacho kimesababisha kifo imefanyika kwa utukufu mwingi kiasi hicho,
If, however, the service that proclaims death--its code being engraved in writing upon stones--came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily on the face of Moses because of the brightness of his face--a vanishing brightness;
8 basi, huduma ya Roho ina utukufu mkuu zaidi.
will not the service of the Spirit be far more glorious?
9 Ikiwa basi, kulikuwa na utukufu katika huduma ile iliyoleta hukumu, ni wazi kwamba huduma ile iletayo kukubaliwa kuwa waadilifu itakuwa na utukufu mkuu zaidi.
For if the service which pronounces doom had glory, far more glorious still is the service which tells of righteousness.
10 Sasa utukufu mkuu zaidi umechukua nafasi ya ule utukufu uliokuja hapo awali, ambao fahari yake imekwisha toweka.
For, in fact, that which was once resplendent in glory has no glory at all in this respect, that it pales before the glory which surpasses it.
11 Maana ikiwa kile kilichokuwa cha muda tu kilikuwa na utukufu wake, bila shaka kile chenye kudumu milele kitakuwa na utukufu mkuu zaidi.
For if that which was to be abolished came with glory, much more is that which is permanent arrayed in glory.
12 Kwa vile hili ndilo tumaini letu, sisi twasema kwa uhodari mkuu.
Therefore, cherishing a hope like this, we speak without reserve, and we do not imitate Moses,
13 Sisi hatufanyi kama Mose ambaye alilazimika kuufunika uso wake kwa kitambaa ili watu wa Israeli wasiuone ule mwisho wa mng'ao uliokuwa unafifia.
who used to throw a veil over his face to hide from the gaze of the children of Israel the passing away of what was but transitory.
14 Lakini akili zao zilipumbazwa. Mpaka leo hii lisomwapo Agano la Kale, kifuniko hicho bado kipo. Kifuniko hicho kitaondolewa tu mtu anapoungana na Kristo.
Nay, their minds were made dull; for to this very day during the reading of the book of the ancient Covenant, the same veil remains unlifted, because it is only in Christ that it is to be abolished.
15 Naam, mpaka hivi leo kila isomwapo Sheria ya Mose akili zao huwa zimefunikwa.
Yes, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies upon their hearts.
16 Lakini, wakati mtu amgeukiapo Bwana, kifuniko hicho huondolewa.
But whenever the heart of the nation shall have returned to the Lord, the veil will be withdrawn.
17 Hapa “Bwana” ni Roho; na pale alipo Roho wa Bwana ndipo ulipo uhuru.
Now by "the Lord" is meant the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, freedom is enjoyed.
18 Basi, sisi sote ambao nyuso zetu hazikufunikwa, twaonyesha kama katika kioo, utukufu wa Bwana; tunabadilishwa tufanane zaidi na huo mfano wake kwa utukufu mwingi zaidi. Hiyo ni kazi yake Roho wa Bwana.
And all of us, with unveiled faces, reflecting like bright mirrors the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same likeness, from one degree of radiant holiness to another, even as derived from the Lord the Spirit.
