Kubhatana mu mbili wa Kirisiti
1 Ndizo ngwenu, imi ndili nsungwa ngekwa She, ndomukumbila, nditi tjilani nge zila yamakadang'wa kuti mutjile ndiyo. 2 Muzwiyise pasi, kakale mube banyolo, ibeni ne moyonlefu. Mulakidzane ludo nge kusanyalamoyo. 3 Gwisani nge matatabuko wose kusimisa bhatana kwamakapiwa nge Meya, musimisa nge kunyalala. 4 Kuna mbili nng'ompela ne Meya ing'ompela, koga sekwa makadanigwa kugalabgwe kung'ompela se kwa makadang'wa, 5 She nng'ompela, kugalamoyo kung'ompela, kudubika kung'ompela, 6 ne Ndzimu nng'ompela, kakale uli Tate bedu tose, ibo bapezhugwi kwedu tose kakale ba pezhugwi kwezwithu zose, kakale ba mutili tose.
7 Koga mmwe ne mmwe wakahwigwa ngoni nge tjilizanyo tje tjipo tja Kirisiti. 8 Ndizo kukayi,
“Wakati etathila pezhugwi,
kayenda ne basungwa banjinji,
kapa bathu zwipo.”
9 Ha kuyi “Etathila pezhugwi” kodwani? Kodwa kuti, kutanga wakadelukila pasi kwe shango? 10 Iye wakadeluka ndiyezwe wakatathila pezhugwi, kupinda kudzimu kose, kuti ndizo azhale lubumbo gose. 11 Ndiye wakapa zwipo zwakathama bamwe kube batumwa, bamwe balebesambeli, bamwe kube basumikili, bamwe kube balisi be gubungano ne badiyi, 12 kululwamisila bayengemali nshingo we kushingila gubungano, kuti ndizo mbili wa Kirisiti ubumbike, 13 kudzina tose tingina mu kubhatana kwe bugalimoyo nenge kwe luzibo ngekwe Nkololo we Ndzimu ne kukula ne njalakang'wa nenge kulizana na Kirisiti nge buzhalo. 14 Atizofanila kudwilila nge butjetjana titutudzigwa yeno na yeno nge phepo imwe ne imwe ye zwidiyo zwe bathu nge butjakwani nenge bukwelekwele nenge butjengedzi. 15 Koga ngoleba malebeswa mu ludo, muna zose, towokulila munli iye Nsholo, iye Kirisiti. 16 Ndiye unobhatshanya ndungululo dzose dze mbili, edzithumanya nge tshinga, se ndungululo imwe ne imwe inoshinga zubuyanana, ithama kuti mbili ukule zubuyanana mu kuzwibumba kwawo mu ludo.
Butjilo butshwa muna Kirisiti
17 Ngwenu ndoleba ndakasimisila muna She, musitjadwilile mutjila se basingagale moyo, be mikumbulo isina nshingo. 18 Mikumbulo yabo imu zhalima, kakale bakathubukana ne butjilo gwe Ndzimu nge kusheta zibo ku mubali, ngobe mimoyo yabo yakakukutala. 19 Abana shoni, banozwitjilila mu mizipo, belibilidzila kuzwilonga shambgwa, kakale basingazwidzibe.
20 Imwi ate itjo tja makazwidiya ngekwa Kirisiti. 21 Ndoduma kuti, makahwa nge kukwe mukadiyiwa munli, se malebeswa ali muna Jesu. 22 Thubukanani ne mbumbiko yenyu hwulukugwi ye matjilo enyu e kutanga asakalulwama nge njemulo dze bupitipiti, 23 meya yenyu ne njalakang'wa dzenyu ngadzibe tshwa. 24 Ibeni batshwa, nge mbumbiko inonga ye Ndzimu mu ndulamo ye malebeswa ne buyengemali. 25 Ndizo mmwe ne mmwe, alebe malebeswa ne wakabakidzana naye aletje manyepkhwa, ngobe tose ti ndungululo dze mbili nng'ompela. 26 Muti magwadzamoyo, musiletjedzele kugwadzamoyo kwenyu kukamuthamisa tjibi, kakale musigwadzemoyo kuswikila kumila kwe zhuba. 27 Musipe Satani tjibaka. 28 Mbava ngaisitjakwibe, koga ngaishinge nshingo wakalulwama nge maboko ayo, kuti ndizo ipebo basina. 29 Musiletje ndebo mbiimbi dzikabhuda mu milomo yenyu, koga kubhude ndebo dzakalulwama kusimisa bamwe koga, sekwa kunowobe kushakika, kuti banodzihwa dzibabumbe. 30 Musihwise zogwadza Meya yakayengemala ye Ndzimu yamakatjwayiwa ndiyo guli lutjwayo gwe zhuba le kudzutunugwa. 31 Shungu yose ne bushongola ne kugwadzamoyo ne kulongelana zhoba ne kutjinyana mazina ne kubengana kose, kose kubhude mu muli. 32 Muthamilane buthu, mube ne mimoyo minyolo, muzwiibhatilana milandu, Ndzimu sekwa wakamuzwiibhatigwa muna Kirisiti.
Unity with Christ
1 As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other. 3 Try your best to let God's Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace. 4 All of you are part of the same body. There is only one Spirit of God, just as you were given one hope when you were chosen to be God's people. 5 We have only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. 6 There is one God who is the Father of all people. Not only is God above all others, but he works by using all of us, and he lives in all of us.
7 Christ has generously divided out his gifts to us. 8 As the Scriptures say,
“When he went up
to the highest place,
he led away many prisoners
and gave gifts to people.”
9 When it says, “he went up,” it means that Christ had been deep in the earth. 10 This also means that the one who went deep into the earth is the same one who went into the highest heaven, so he would fill the whole universe.
11 Christ chose some of us to be apostles, prophets, missionaries, pastors, and teachers, 12 so his people would learn to serve and his body would grow strong. 13 This will continue until we are united by our faith and by our understanding of the Son of God. Then we will be mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him.
14 We must stop acting like children. We must not let deceitful people trick us by their false teachings, which are like winds that toss us around from place to place. 15 Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head 16 of the body. Christ holds it together and makes all of its parts work perfectly, as it grows and becomes strong because of love.
The Old Life and the New Life
17 As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. 18 Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, 19 and they are so greedy they do all kinds of indecent things.
20-21 But this isn't what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about him and learned about him. 22 You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. 23 Let the Spirit change your way of thinking 24 and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy.
Rules for the New Life
25 We are part of the same body. Stop lying and start telling each other the truth. 26 Don't get so angry that you sin. Don't go to bed angry 27 and don't give the devil a chance.
28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need.
29 Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say.
30 Don't make God's Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins.
31 Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. 32 Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.