God's Judgment
1 Do you, my friend, pass judgment on others? You have no excuse at all, whoever you are. For when you judge others and then do the same things which they do, you condemn yourself. 2 We know that God is right when he judges the people who do such things as these. 3 But you, my friend, do those very things for which you pass judgment on others! Do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4 Or perhaps you despise his great kindness, tolerance, and patience. Surely you know that God is kind, because he is trying to lead you to repent. 5 But you have a hard and stubborn heart, and so you are making your own punishment even greater on the Day when God's anger and righteous judgments will be revealed. 6 For God will reward each of us according to what we have done. 7 Some people keep on doing good, and seek glory, honor, and immortal life; to them God will give eternal life. 8 Other people are selfish and reject what is right, in order to follow what is wrong; on them God will pour out his anger and fury. 9 There will be suffering and pain for all those who do what is evil, for the Jews first and also for the Gentiles. 10 But God will give glory, honor, and peace to all who do what is good, to the Jews first and also to the Gentiles. 11 For God judges everyone by the same standard.
12 The Gentiles do not have the Law of Moses; they sin and are lost apart from the Law. The Jews have the Law; they sin and are judged by the Law. 13 For it is not by hearing the Law that people are put right with God, but by doing what the Law commands. 14 The Gentiles do not have the Law; but whenever they do by instinct what the Law commands, they are their own law, even though they do not have the Law. 15 Their conduct shows that what the Law commands is written in their hearts. Their consciences also show that this is true, since their thoughts sometimes accuse them and sometimes defend them. 16 And so, according to the Good News I preach, this is how it will be on that Day when God through Jesus Christ will judge the secret thoughts of all.
The Jews and the Law
17 What about you? You call yourself a Jew; you depend on the Law and boast about God; 18 you know what God wants you to do, and you have learned from the Law to choose what is right; 19 you are sure that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor for the foolish, and a teacher for the ignorant. You are certain that in the Law you have the full content of knowledge and of truth. 21 You teach others—why don't you teach yourself? You preach, “Do not steal”—but do you yourself steal? 22 You say, “Do not commit adultery”—but do you commit adultery? You detest idols—but do you rob temples? 23 You boast about having God's law—but do you bring shame on God by breaking his law? 24 The scripture says, “Because of you Jews, the Gentiles speak evil of God.”
25 If you obey the Law, your circumcision is of value; but if you disobey the Law, you might as well never have been circumcised. 26 If the Gentile, who is not circumcised, obeys the commands of the Law, will not God regard him as though he were circumcised? 27 And so you Jews will be condemned by the Gentiles because you break the Law, even though you have it written down and are circumcised; but they obey the Law, even though they are not physically circumcised. 28 After all, who is a real Jew, truly circumcised? It is not the man who is a Jew on the outside, whose circumcision is a physical thing. 29 Rather, the real Jew is the person who is a Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God's Spirit, not of the written Law. Such a person receives praise from God, not from human beings.
Sumikilisa kwe Ndzimu kwakalulwama
1 Ndizo iwe unosumikilisa bamwe, auna tjaungabhatila patjili, kene uli ani; ngobe ha usumikilisa bamwe, ngono ube uthama izwezobo zwabanothama unozwisumikilisa. 2 Toziba kuti kusumikilisa kwe Ndzimu kwakalulwamila ibabo banothama zwithu zwakajalo ngobe ku malebeswa. 3 Ngono iwe, nthu koga unosumikilisa bamwe koga uzwithamabo. Apa unokumbula kuti unowodzeta kusumikilisa kwe Ndzimu kene? 4 Kene unolingila pasi nzhazho wawo nkulukulu ne moyo wawo nyolo ne moyo wawo nlefu? Apa autoziba kuti nzhazho we Ndzimu wakathamigwa kukutungamilila mu kushandukila matjinyo awo? 5 Koga ngekwe bukomba gugo nenge moyo uwo nkukutu kushanduka, unozwibiganyidzila shamu mu zhuba linowoti bushongola gwe Ndzimu ne kusumikilisa kwawo kwakalingisana kukazumbunuka. 6 Ngobe Ndzimu unowopa mmwe ne mmwe mbhayilo kuyendidzana ne mishingo iye. 7 Ibabo banodwilila nge moyonlefu beshinga ndulamo ngono beshaka kukudziwa ne kutetiwa ne kusafa, ibo Ndzimu unowobapa butjilo gusingapele. 8 Koga ibabo banozwialakana boga, ngono basingahwe malebeswa, koga betobela bubi, Ndzimu unowobagwadzilamoyo ukabe ne bushongola mu bali. 9 Kowobepo kudziyila ne kuhwazogwadza mu bali bose ibabo banoshinga bubi, kutanga ne Bajuta kukoti kuna Bezwitjaba. 10 Koga kowobe ne kukudziwa ne kutetiwa ne kunyalala ku bali bose banoshinga ndulamo, kutangisa nge Bajuta kukoti Bezwitjaba, 11 ngobe Ndzimu auna shalaulo.
12 Bose bakatjinya kusina nlayo, banowoloba kuzhe kwe nlayo, koga bose banotjinya bali pasi kwe nlayo banowosumikilisiwa nge nlayo. 13 Ngobe ate kuli banohwa nlayo, banobe balulwami mbeli kwe Ndzimu, koga nge banolondolodza nlayo ndibo banolulwamisiwa. 14 Ha Bezwitjaba ibo basina nlayo beshinga nge kwabo zwabo tjinoshakwa nge nlayo, ba nlayo nge kwabo, nenguba basakapiwa nlayo. 15 Banolakidza kuti tjinoshakwa nge nlayo tjakakwagwa mu mimoyo yabo, ha hana dzabo dzipabo butendeki ne njalakang'wa dzabo tjimwe tjibaka dzibatilika nlandu koga tjimwe tjibaka dzibamila, 16 mu zhuba Ndzimu usumikilisa nthu uzumbunula zwakasumbikala ndi Kirisiti Jesu, sekwa kuli iko mu ndebo mbuya yangu.
Nlayo unolebani ngekwe Bajuta?
17 Koga ha uzwidana Njuta wakabiga mu nlayo, uzwikudza ngekwe buzwalani gugo ne Ndzimu 18 kakale uziba Ndzimu tjaunoshaka wakadiyiwa mu nlayo tjakalulwama, 19 ngono ha una malebeswa kuti u nkwebi we mapofu, u tjedza tje bamu zhalima, 20 u nlayi we zwilengwe ne n'diyi we batjetjana, ngobe una nlayo unoziba tjimwe ne tjimwe nge buzhalo kakale tjaunoleba malebeswa. 21 Iwe ngono unodiya bamwe autozwidiya kene? Iwe unodiya bamwe uti basikwibe, apa iwe unokwiba kene? 22 Iwe unoti bathu basithame bupombgwe, apa unothama bupombgwe kene? Unoshima midzimu yakabezhiwa, koga apa unokwiba mu ng'umba dze midzimu yakabezhiwa kene? 23 Iwe unozwikudza ngekwe nlayo, apa unolengudza Ndzimu ngokutjuluka nlayo kene? 24 Ngobe kwakakwagwa kuyi, “Zina le Ndzimu losapugwa nge Bezwitjaba nge kwenyu.”
25 Kuthumbigwa kuna nshingo ha ulondolodza nlayo, koga ha usingalondolodze nlayo kuthumbigwa kuko kowobe kusi kuthumbigwa. 26 Ndizo ha nthu usakathumbigwa elondolodza nlayo, apa kusathumbigwa kukwe akutowotogwa se thumbigwa kene? 27 Ngono ibabo basakathumbigwa koga belondolodza nlayo banowokubona nlandu iwe una nlayo wakakwagwa kakale wakathumba koga usingalondolodze nlayo. 28 Njuta wakwako ate Njuta tjakuzhe koga ne buthumbi gwe malebeswa ate gwakuzhe koga kakale guli gwe mbili. 29 Njuta wakwako Njuta tja mukati ne buthumbi gwe malebeswa ngegwe moyo, gwe Meya ate gwakakwagwa koga mu nlayo. Nthu wakajalo unokudziwa nge Ndzimu, kusi nge bathu.