Wakolosai 2
1 Napenda mjue jinsi ninavyofanya kazi kwa bidii kwa ajili yenu, kwa ajili ya watu wa Laodikea na kwa ajili ya wote ambao hawajapata kuniona kwa macho.
For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face.
2 Nafanya hivi kusudi mioyo yao ifarijiwe na kuvutwa pamoja katika upendo, ili wajazwe uthabiti mwingi uletwao na elimu ya kweli. Hapo wataijua siri ya Mungu ambayo ni Kristo mwenyewe.
I want their hearts to be comforted and knit together in love, so that they may have all the riches of being fully assured in their understanding, and so that they may know the mystery of our God and Father and of Christ,
3 Ndani yake zimefichika hazina zote za hekima na elimu.
in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.
4 Basi, nawaambieni, msikubali kudanganywa na mtu yeyote kwa maneno ya uongo hata kama ni ya kuvutia sana.
I say this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive speech.
5 Maana, ingawa mimi niko mbali nanyi kwa mwili, lakini niko pamoja nanyi kwa roho, na ninafurahi kuona uthabiti kamili mnaosimama nao pamoja katika imani yenu kwa Kristo.
For though I am absent in body, I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
6 Maadamu ninyi mmemkubali Kristo Yesu kuwa Bwana, basi, ishini katika muungano naye.
Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to walk in him,
7 Mnapaswa kuwa na mizizi ndani yake, kujijenga juu yake na kuwa imara katika imani yenu kama mlivyofundishwa. Muwe na shukrani tele.
being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
8 Angalieni basi, mtu asiwapotoshe kwa udanganyifu mtupu wa hekima ya kibinadamu, ambayo chanzo chake ni mafundisho ya mapokeo ya watu na ya pepo watawala, na wala si Kristo mwenyewe!
Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men and the elements of the world, and not according to Christ.
9 Maana, ndani yake Kristo katika ubinadamu wake, umo ukamilifu wote wa Mungu,
For all the fullness of God's nature dwells bodily in Christ,
10 nanyi mmepewa uzima kamili katika kuungana naye. Yeye yuko juu ya pepo watawala wote na wakuu wote.
and you have been filled by him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
11 Katika kuungana na Kristo ninyi mlitahiriwa, lakini si kwa tohara ifanywayo na watu, bali inayofanywa na Kristo mwenyewe, na ambayo inahusikana na kukombolewa kutoka katika utu wa dhambi.
In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not done by hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ.
12 Maana, mlipobatizwa mlizikwa pamoja na Kristo, na katika ubatizo, mlifufuliwa pia pamoja naye kwa imani yenu katika nguvu ya Mungu ambaye alimfufua Kristo kutoka wafu.
Having been buried with him in baptism, you have also been raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
13 Wakati mmoja nanyi mlikuwa mmekufa kwa sababu ya makosa yenu na kwa sababu ninyi mlikuwa watu wa mataifa mengine. Lakini Mungu amewapa ninyi uzima pamoja na Kristo. Mungu ametusamehe dhambi zetu zote;
And although you were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses
14 alifutilia mbali ile hati ya deni iliyokuwa inatukabili na masharti yake, na kuifuta kabisa kwa kuipigilia msalabani.
by blotting out the certificate of debt that stood against us with its legal demands; he took it away by nailing it to the cross.
15 Juu ya msalaba Kristo aliwapokonya nguvu zao hao pepo watawala na wakuu; aliwafanya kuwa kitu cha fedheha hadharani kwa kuwaburuta kama mateka katika msafara wa ushindi wake.
He stripped the rulers and authorities of their power and made a public display of them, leading a triumphal procession over them by the cross.
16 Kwa hiyo, basi, msikubali kupewa masharti na mtu yeyote kuhusu vyakula au vinywaji, siku za sherehe, sikukuu ya Mwezi mpya au Sabato.
Therefore let no one judge you in regard to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, a New Moon celebration, or a Sabbath day.
17 Mambo ya aina hiyo ni kivuli tu cha yale yatakayokuja; ukweli wenyewe ndiye Kristo.
These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance is Christ.
18 Msikubali kuhukumiwa na mtu yeyote anayejitakia kuwa wa maana kwa sababu ya maono ya pekee na ambaye anasisitiza juu ya unyenyekevu wa uongo na ibada kwa malaika. Mtu wa namna hiyo amepumbazika kwa fikira danganifu za kidunia
Let no one who delights in false humility and angelic religion disqualify you. Such a person takes his stand on things he has not seen, being puffed up without reason by the mind of his flesh,
19 na amejitenga na Kristo aliye kichwa cha huo mwili. Chini ya uongozi wa Kristo, mwili wote unalishwa na kuunganishwa pamoja kwa viungo na mishipa yake, nao hukua kama atakavyo Mungu.
while not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supported and knit together by its joints and tendons, grows with a growth that is from God.
20 Ninyi mmekufa pamoja na Kristo na kukombolewa kutoka nguvu za pepo watawala wa ulimwengu. Kwa nini, basi, kuishi tena kama vile mngekuwa wa ulimwengu huu? Ya nini kuwekewa masharti:
If you have died with Christ to the elements of the world, why, as though you were living in the world, do you submit to regulations such as,
21 “Msishike hiki,” “Msionje kile,” “Msiguse kile!”
“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch”?
22 Mambo hayo yote yanahusika na vitu vyenye kuharibika mara tu vinapotumiwa; hayo ni maagizo na mafundisho ya kibinadamu tu.
Such regulations are based on the commandments and doctrines of men, and apply to things that will all decay with use.
23 Kweli, masharti hayo yaonekana kuwa ya hekima katika namna ya ibada ya kujitakia wenyewe, unyenyekevu wa uongo na kuutendea mwili kwa ukali; lakini kwa kweli, haifai chochote kuzuia tamaa za mwili.
Although these regulations have a semblance of wisdom in self-imposed piety, false humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are of no value in restraining fleshly indulgence.
