1 Ndoshaka kuti muzibe kuti ndomushingila kuli kungapani, kose neba ku Laodikeya na bose basathu bakabona tjiso tjangu, 2 kuti mimoyo yabo ikulumbidzike se bakabhatana mu ludo, kuti ndizo babe ne fumwa ye kuhwisisa nge buzhalo kakale babe ne luzibo gwe masazibgwe e Ndzimu, Kirisiti nge kukwe, 3 munli kwakasumbikwa matula e butjenjedu ne luzibo.
4 Ndomubudza ikoku kuti ndizo kushaye wamutjengela nge ndebeleko ye bupitipiti. 5 Ngobe nenguba ndisipo pamuli nge kwangu, ndi namwi mu meya, ngono ndoshatha kubona sekwa muli gedzikane kakale ne nge kugalamoyo kwenyu kwakasima muna Kirisiti.
Butjilo guzhele muna Kirisiti
6 Ndizoke, sekwa makaamutjila Kirisiti Jesu ali She, tjililani munli, 7 makadzikigwa munli kakale makabakwa munli, mukasimisiwa mu kugalamoyo sekwa makadiyiwa, muboka nge buzhalo.
8 Muyele njele kuti kushete wamutapa nge ndebeleko dze butjenjedu gwe bathu guzhele butjengedzi, gunodwa mu zwilenje zwe bathu, zwinodwa mu meya inolaula lubumbo igogu, ngono zwisingadwe muna Kirisiti. 9 Mbumbiko yose ye Ndzimu nge buzhalo igele mu mbili wa Kirisiti. 10 Ndizo mu kubhatana na Kirisiti makapiwa butjilo nge buzhalo, iye nsholo we ndaulo yose ne simba lose.
11 Munli makathumbigwa kusi nge buthumbi gunothamiwa nge bathu, koga nge buthumbi gunothamiwa ndi Kirisiti, gunodwa kusunungugwa kwenyu mu mbumbiko ye nyama. 12 Mu kudubikiwa makabiganyiwa na Kirisiti kakale mukamusiwa naye nge kugalamoyo kwamunako mu simba le Ndzimu, iwo wakammusa mu bafi. 13 Ngono imwi makatongobe makafa nge matjinyo enyu ne mukusathumbigwa kwe mibili yenyu. Ndzimu wakamuthama batjili mose na Kirisiti, shule kwe kutizwiibhatigwa zwibi zwedu zose.
14 Wakabukusha nkwalo we milandu yedu ne milayo inosunga kaidusa tjose nge kuikothomela mu tjileyanyo. 15 Ndzimu wakakunda babusi ne balauli, wakabadusila patjena nge kubakunda muna Kirisiti.
16 Ndizo musidumile ani kene ani kuti amutilike nlandu ngekwe zojiwa ne zwing'o ne misi ye mizano kose ne Nzano we Mwedzi ntshwa kene zhuba le Sabata. 17 Ezwi mitutshi ye zwithu zwinozha, ngono koga lebeswa lowang'wa muna Kirisiti. 18 Musitongo letjedzela ani kene ani kamuthama kuti mudume zwidiyo zwe manyepkhwa zwe kunamata batumwa be kudzimu ngoti kungathama kuti musiwane mbhayilo wenyu. Nthu unodiya saikoku wakabiga masimba awe kudiya nge zwaanobona zwe manyepkhwa, unozwikudza nge mikumbulo iyeyo yaanozwibumbila, koga nge lebeswa aana tjaangazwikudza natjo, 19 asakabhatilila muna Kirisiti, iye nsholo iwo unobhatshanya mbili nge tshinga kakale mbili unotjidziwa nge nsholo, ndizo mbili unokula nge kukula kunodwa ku Ndzimu.
Kufa ne kutjila na Kirisiti
20 Ha makafa na Kirisiti, ku meya ye lubumbo, ini mutjila se ungati mutji bathu be shango kene? Ini mulondolodza milayo yayo inoti, 21 “Usibhate etji! Usilabile woku! Usikuthe hwokuje?” 22 Milayo yose iyeyi yakalingisana nge zwithu zwinotjimbidza kupela ha zwishingisiwa; milayo inothamiwa nge bathu kakale ikadiyiwa nge bathu. 23 Milayo iyeyi inolingika se butjenjedu nge kuzwibigila milawana ye bululwami kuzwiyisa pasi kunozwithamigwa ne nge kuhwisa mbili zogwadza kwakapindilila ili zila ye kunamata Ndzimu; ngono azwitobhatsha nthu mu njemulo mbi dzakapindilila dze mbili.
1 I want you to know what a struggle I am going through for you, for God's people at Laodicea, and for all of those followers who have never met me. 2 I do it to encourage them. Then as their hearts are joined together in love, they will be wonderfully blessed with complete understanding. And they will truly know Christ. Not only is he the key to God's mystery, 3 but all wisdom and knowledge are hidden away in him. 4 I tell you these things to keep you from being fooled by fancy talk. 5 Even though I am not with you, I keep thinking about you. I am glad to know that you are living as you should and your faith in Christ is strong.
Christ Brings Real Life
6 You have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord. Now keep on following him. 7 Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful.
8 Don't let anyone fool you by using senseless arguments. These arguments may sound wise, but they are only human teachings. They come from the powers of this world and not from Christ.
9 God lives fully in Christ. 10 And you are fully grown because you belong to Christ, who is over every power and authority. 11 Christ has also taken away your selfish desires, just as circumcision removes flesh from the body. 12 And when you were baptized, it was the same as being buried with Christ. Then you were raised to life because you had faith in the power of God, who raised Christ from death. 13 You were dead, because you were sinful and were not God's people. But God let Christ make you alive, when he forgave all our sins.
14 God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross. 15 There Christ defeated all powers and forces. He let the whole world see them being led away as prisoners when he celebrated his victory.
16 Don't let anyone tell you what you must eat or drink. Don't let them say you must celebrate the New Moon festival, the Sabbath, or any other festival. 17 These things are only a shadow of what was to come. But Christ is real!
18 Don't be cheated by people who make a show of acting humble and who worship angels. They brag about seeing visions. But it is all nonsense, because their minds are filled with selfish desires. 19 They are no longer part of Christ, who is the head of the whole body. Christ gives the body its strength, and he uses its joints and muscles to hold it together, as it grows by the power of God.
Christ Brings New Life
20 You died with Christ. Now the forces of the universe don't have any power over you. Why do you live as if you had to obey such rules as, 21 “Don't handle this. Don't taste that. Don't touch this.”? 22 After these things are used, they are no longer good for anything. So why be bothered with the rules that humans have made up? 23 Obeying these rules may seem to be the smart thing to do. They appear to make you love God more and to be very humble and to have control over your body. But they don't really have any power over our desires.