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.
Omatwako poo ongamburiro
1 Vagalate ovehinazondunge eṋe, owaṋi ngwe mu purukisa ozondunge? Jesus Kristus wa raisiwa ongahukiro momeho weṋu kutja mu mu mune otja tja paperwa kotjikoroise. 2 Me vanga okumupura embo rimwe ndi uriri: Eṋe mwa pewa Ombepo ya Ndjambi mena rokuyenenisa inga Omatwako wa Moses poo mena rokuzuva Ombuze Ombwa nokukambura mu yo are? 3 Nangwari oweṋe ovehinazondunge pu pe ṱeki mba? Eṋe mwa utira mOmbepo ya Ndjambi, nu nambano mamu vanga okukayandera momasa weṋu oveni are? 4 Omauzeu weṋu aehe ya ri omungandjo are? Tjiri, owo kaya ri omungandjo! 5 Ndjambi u mu pa Ombepo Ondjapuke nu u ungura ovihimise mokati keṋu motjimbe tjokutja mu yenenisa Omatwako poo omotjimbe tjokutja mu zuva Ombuze Ombwa namu kambura mu yo are?
6 Ripureye na Abraham; omatjangwa maye tja: “Eye wa kambura mu Ndjambi, nu mena rongamburiro ye Ndjambi we mu vara otja omusemba.” 7 Notji mu sokutjiwa kutja ozondekurona za Abraham ozo ovandu mba mbe nongamburiro. 8 Omatjangwa ya tjivisa rukuru kutja Ndjambi imba mbe he ri Ovajuda meve vara otja ovasemba mena rongamburiro. Omatjangwa opu ya zokuraera Abraham Ombuze Ombwa ndji: “Move ondaya.” 9 Abraham wa kamburire na serwa ondaya; navehe mbu mave kambura otji mave serwa ondaya otja Abraham.
10 Avehe mbe riyameka kokuyenenisa Omatwako ve ri kehi yosengiro. Orondu omatjangwa maye tja: “Nga sengwe ngamwa auhe ngu hi nokukara nonḓuviro komambo aehe nga tjangwa mEmbo rOmatwako.” 11 Nambano ongahukiro kutja kape nomundu ngu ma varwa otja omusemba komurungu wa Ndjambi motjimbe tjOmatwako, omatjangwa tjinga amaye tja: “Omundu ngwi ngu ma varwa otja omusemba komurungu wa Ndjambi mena rongamburiro, eye ongu ma kara nomuinyo.” 12 Omatwako kaye notjiṋa nongamburiro, nungwari inga omatjangwa maye tja: “Ingwi ngu ma yenenisa avihe mbi ri mOmatwako, eye ongu ma kara nomuinyo.”
13 Kristus we tu randa kutja e tu kuture kosengiro ndja etwa i Omatwako, eye tjinga a karirira eṱe osengiro. Orondu omatjangwa maye tja: “Ngamwa auhe ngwa paperwa kotjikoroise nga sengwe!” 14 Kristus wa tjita nai kokutja ondaya Ndjambi ndja kwizikira Abraham i yandjewe ku imba mbe he ri Ovajuda mu Kristus Jesus, nokutja mena rongamburiro eṱe tu pewe Ombepo Ndjambi ndja kwizika.
Omatwako nomakwizikiro
15 Vakwetu, ami me mu pe omasasanekero otja komuhingo mbu kara po: Ovandu vevari tji va zuvasana otjiṋa nave tjanga omazuvasaneno nga, kape nomundu ngu me ye rundurura poo ngu ma weza ko otjiṋa. 16 Nambano Ndjambi wa tjita omakwizikiro we ku Abraham na kondekurona ye. Omatjangwa kaye nokutja “ozondekurona”, okutja ovandu ovengi, nungwari maye tja “ondekurona”, okutja omundu umwe uriri, neye oKristus. 17 Nai me hee kutja Ndjambi wa tjita omerikutiropamwe na Abraham na kwizike okuyeṱakamisa. NOmatwako, nga yandjerwe kombunda yozombura omasere yane nomirongo vitatu kaye nokuyandeka omerikutiropamwe nga nokuisa po omakwizikiro wa Ndjambi ku Abraham. 18 Orondu ihi Ndjambi tja kwizikirire Abraham tji matji zu mOmatwako wa Moses, otjo kamaatji zire momakwizikiro we: Nungwari Ndjambi wa yandja otjari tje ku Abraham motjimbe tjomakwizikiro we.
19 Nu indji ondando yOmatwako ooiṋe? Owo ya wezirwa okuraisa kutja omasa wouvi ye ṱeki pi. Owo ya tyerwa okukarerera nga ondekurona ya Abraham, ku kwa tjitirwe inga omakwizikiro, tji ye ya. NOmatwako nga ya yandjerwe i ovaengeri kotjiwaṋa ape nomuungure wopokati. 20 Nungwari tji pena umwe uriri ngu ma ungura, kahepero kutja pe kare omuungure wopokati. Nu Ndjambi iumwe.
Ondando yOmatwako wa Moses
21 Nu ihi matji hee kutja Omatwako wa Moses ye pirukira omakwizikiro wa Ndjambi are? Kako ka tjiperi! Orondu andakuzu omundu wa perwe etwako, ndi eta omuinyo, omundu auhe atja varwa otja omusemba komurungu wa Ndjambi mena rokukara nonḓuviro ku ro. 22 Nungwari omatjangwa maye tja ouye auhe u ri kehi yomahonaparero wourunde; omakwizikiro opu ya zokuyandjewa kovakambure mena rongamburiro porwayo mu Jesus Kristus.
23 Nu ongamburiro ngunda ai hiye ya, Omatwako ye tu patera motjovakamburwa nga oruveze rwongamburiro ndji tji rweya. 24 NOmatwako ye tu tjevera tjinene nga Kristus tje ya, kokutja eṱe tu varwe otja ovasemba komurungu wa Ndjambi mena rongamburiro. 25 Nu nambano oruveze rwongamburiro tjinga arwe ya, Omatwako kaye tji nakututjevera rukwao.
26 Nu mena rongamburiro ndji mu Kristus Jesus eṋe amuhe oweṋe ovanatje va Ndjambi, 27 orondu eṋe amuhe mbu mwa wana na Kristus mombapitisimo mwa sokukara nomuinyo otja mbu mu ri ova Kristus. 28 Otji pe ha sokukara ombangu pokati kOmujuda na ingwi ngu he ri Omujuda, pokati komukarere nomundu ngu ri mouyara na pokati komurumendu nomukazendu. Eṋe amuhe oweṋe vemwe mu Kristus Jesus. 29 Nu tji mu ri ova Kristus, okutja oweṋe ozondekurona za Abraham, nu mamu pewa imbi Ndjambi mbya kwizika.
