Law or Faith
1 You foolish Galatians! Who put a spell on you? Before your very eyes you had a clear description of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross! 2 Tell me this one thing: did you receive God's Spirit by doing what the Law requires or by hearing the gospel and believing it? 3 How can you be so foolish! You began by God's Spirit; do you now want to finish by your own power? 4 Did all your experience mean nothing at all? Surely it meant something! 5 Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you because you do what the Law requires or because you hear the gospel and believe it?
6 Consider the experience of Abraham; as the scripture says, “He believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous.” 7 You should realize, then, that the real descendants of Abraham are the people who have faith. 8 The scripture predicted that God would put the Gentiles right with himself through faith. And so the scripture announced the Good News to Abraham: “Through you God will bless all people.” 9 Abraham believed and was blessed; so all who believe are blessed as he was.
10 Those who depend on obeying the Law live under a curse. For the scripture says, “Whoever does not always obey everything that is written in the book of the Law is under God's curse!” 11 Now, it is clear that no one is put right with God by means of the Law, because the scripture says, “Only the person who is put right with God through faith shall live.” 12 But the Law has nothing to do with faith. Instead, as the scripture says, “Whoever does everything the Law requires will live.”
13 But by becoming a curse for us Christ has redeemed us from the curse that the Law brings; for the scripture says, “Anyone who is hanged on a tree is under God's curse.” 14 Christ did this in order that the blessing which God promised to Abraham might be given to the Gentiles by means of Christ Jesus, so that through faith we might receive the Spirit promised by God.
The Law and the Promise
15 My friends, I am going to use an everyday example: when two people agree on a matter and sign an agreement, no one can break it or add anything to it. 16 Now, God made his promises to Abraham and to his descendant. The scripture does not use the plural “descendants,” meaning many people, but the singular “descendant,” meaning one person only, namely, Christ. 17 What I mean is that God made a covenant with Abraham and promised to keep it. The Law, which was given four hundred and thirty years later, cannot break that covenant and cancel God's promise. 18 For if God's gift depends on the Law, then it no longer depends on his promise. However, it was because of his promise that God gave that gift to Abraham.
19 What, then, was the purpose of the Law? It was added in order to show what wrongdoing is, and it was meant to last until the coming of Abraham's descendant, to whom the promise was made. The Law was handed down by angels, with a man acting as a go-between. 20 But a go-between is not needed when only one person is involved; and God is one.
The Purpose of the Law
21 Does this mean that the Law is against God's promises? No, not at all! For if human beings had received a law that could bring life, then everyone could be put right with God by obeying it. 22 But the scripture says that the whole world is under the power of sin; and so the gift which is promised on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ is given to those who believe.
23 But before the time for faith came, the Law kept us all locked up as prisoners until this coming faith should be revealed. 24 And so the Law was in charge of us until Christ came, in order that we might then be put right with God through faith. 25 Now that the time for faith is here, the Law is no longer in charge of us.
26 It is through faith that all of you are God's children in union with Christ Jesus. 27 You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself. 28 So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised.
Kulondolodza nlayo kene bugalimoyo
1 Zwilengwe ndimwi zwe Bagalatiya! Ndiani wakamulowa kene? Pa mesho enyu makabona ndakidzo mbuyanana yekubambugwa kwa Jesu Kirisiti! 2 Ndoshakaziba tjithu tjing'ompela koga nge kwenyu: Apa makaamutjila Meya ngolondolodza nlayo kene nge kugalamoyo muna tjamakahwa? 3 Mungabe zwilengwe kungapa kene! Makatangisa nge Meya, ngono ngwenu apa moshaka kupeleledza nge matatabuko e tjinyama kene? 4 Apa makazwidziyidza kungapa ngapa muzwidziyidzila suli kene? Ndodwa ha ili kuti dumbu i suli. 5 Apa Ndzimu unomupa Meya, ukathama makaabadzo pakati kwenyu ngobe mulondolodza nlayo, kene ngobe mugalamoyo tjamakahwa?
6 Kumbulani Abhurahama; “Wakagalamoyo mu Ndzimu, ngono Ndzimu wakantola ali nlulwami.” 7 Ndizo mobona kuti bathu be kugalamoyo ndibo bana ba Abhurahama. 8 Hwalo* dze Ndzimu dzakabonela mbeli kuti, Ndzimu unowolulwamisa Bezwitjaba nge kugalamoyo. Ndizo hwalo dzikasumikila ndebo mbuya kuna Abhurahama dziti, “Zwitjaba zose zowokombolegwa nge kuko.” 9 Ndizo ibabo bana kugalamoyo banokombolegwa na Abhurahama n'galimoyo.
10 Ibabo banogalabgwe mu kulondolodza nlayo banotjilila pasi kwe bhiso. Ngobe kwakakwagwa kuyi, “Una bhiso mmwe ne mmwe usingadwilile ngothama tjimwe ne tjimwe tjimu lukwalo gwe nlayo!” 11 Ngwenu kupatjena kuti akuna unolulwamisiwa mbeli kwe Ndzimu nge kulondolodza nlayo, ngobe “Nlulwami unowotjila nge kugalamoyo.” 12 Koga nlayo auzoteyegwa pezhugwi kwe kugalamoyo, ngobe “Iye unoshinga mishingo iyeyo unowotjila ndiyo.”
13 Kirisiti wakatidzutunula mu bhiso le nlayo nge kube pasi kwe bhiso mubumo gwedu, ngobe kwakakwagwa kuyi, “Una bhiso mmwe ne mmwe unobambugwa mu nti,” 14 kuti muna Kirisiti Jesu kukombolegwa kwa Abhurahama kube muna Bezwitjaba, kuti nge kugalamoyo tiamutjile Meya yakagadziwabgwe nge Ndzimu.
15 Zwikamu zwangu, imani ndimupe tjilakidzilo nge ndebeleko yakawolobeleka: Ha tjidumano tjathamiwa tjikadumaniwa, akuna ungatjitjuluka kene ungatjipaphidza. 16 Ngwenu, Ndzimu wakagadzabgwe Abhurahama ne mwana uwe. Nkwalo wakayengemala autoti “Ne bana,” udwa bali banjinji, koga ukati “Mwana” udwa nthu nng'ompela koga, iye Kirisiti. 17 Tjandinodwa hwuti, Ndzimu wakathama tjidumano na Abhurahama, kakale wakagadzabgwe kutjilondolodza. Nlayo wakazha shule kwe makole ali mazana manna ana makumi matatu (430), aungakolomodze tjidumano itjetjo kene kuli kukolomodza tjagadziwabgwe. 18 Ha tjipo tje Ndzimu tjizha nge nlayo, atjitji tje kugadzabgwe. Koga Ndzimu wakapa Abhurahama tjipo nge kun'gadzabgwe.
Nshingo we nlayo ne we kugadzabgwe
19 Ngono ngwenu nlayo iwo kee, nshingo wawo wakabe ulini? Wakapapha ngekwe jinyo, kudzina mwana wa Abhurahama, iye wakapiwa kugadzabgwe ezha. Nlayo wakashinga nge batumwa be kudzimu nge tjibanga. 20 Koga tjibanga ate tjili milile nthu nng'ompela koga, ngono Ndzimu nng'ompela.
21 Apa ikoku kodwa kuti nlayo unonyanyayidzana ne kugadzabgwe kwe Ndzimu kene? Akutodwa kujalo! Ha bathu bakabe babigigwa nlayo ungabapa butjilo, ipapo tingabe takathamwa balulwami nge kulondolodza nlayo. 22 Koga Hwalo dze Ndzimu dzoleba kuti shango yose ipasi kwe simba le jinyo, kuti ndizo tjakagadziwabgwe muna Jesu Kirisiti tjipiwe ibabo banogalamoyo.
23 Koga kugalamoyo kwakati kusathu kukazha, takabe takasungwa nge nlayo kudzina kugalamoyo kuzumbunugwa. 24 Ndizo nlayo wakabe ntjengeti wedu kudzina Kirisiti ezha, kuti ndizo tilulwamisiwe nge kugalamoyo. 25 Ngwenu se kugalamoyo kwatjizha, atitji pasi kwe simba le nlayo, 26 nge kuti mose mu bana be Ndzimu nge kugalamoyo muna Kirisiti Jesu. 27 Ngobe bose benyu bakadubikiwa muna Kirisiti, bakaambala Kirisiti. 28 Akuna kuthubukana pakati kwe Njuta ne N'giriki, nlanda kene nsununguki, nthu we tjilume kene we tjikadzi, ngobe mu bang'ompela koga muna Kirisiti Jesu. 29 Ha muli ba Kirisiti, kodwa kuti mu bana ba Abhurahama, ndizo mowoamutjila tjamakagadziwabgwe nge Ndzimu.