Preserve Your Freedom
1 Freedom is what we have—Christ has set us free! Stand, then, as free people, and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again.
2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, it means that Christ is of no use to you at all. 3 Once more I warn any man who allows himself to be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the whole Law. 4 Those of you who try to be put right with God by obeying the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ. You are outside God's grace. 5 As for us, our hope is that God will put us right with him; and this is what we wait for by the power of God's Spirit working through our faith. 6 For when we are in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of it makes any difference at all; what matters is faith that works through love.
7 You were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth? How did he persuade you? 8 It was not done by God, who calls you. 9 “It takes only a little yeast to make the whole batch of dough rise,” as they say. 10 But I still feel confident about you. Our life in union with the Lord makes me confident that you will not take a different view and that whoever is upsetting you will be punished by God.
11 But as for me, my friends, if I continue to preach that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? If that were true, then my preaching about the cross of Christ would cause no trouble. 12 I wish that the people who are upsetting you would go all the way; let them go on and castrate themselves!
13 As for you, my friends, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another. 14 For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” 15 But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another.
The Spirit and Human Nature
16 What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature. 17 For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do. 18 If the Spirit leads you, then you are not subject to the Law.
19 What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions; 20 in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups; 21 they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like these. I warn you now as I have before: those who do these things will not possess the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires. 25 The Spirit has given us life; he must also control our lives. 26 We must not be proud or irritate one another or be jealous of one another.
Tu kaleni memanguluko twe li longekidilwa kuKristus
1 Otwa mangululwa kuKristus tu kale memanguluko. Kaleni mwa pama, muha tulwe vali meti loupika.
2 Taleni, aame Paulus, handi mu lombwele, ngeenge tamu lipitififa etanda, Kristus ke na eshi te mu kwafa. 3 Ndele keshe tuu omunhu te lipitififa etanda, ohandi mu lombwele, oye oku nokuwanifa omhango aishe. 4 Onye amushe ava mwa hala okuyukipalifwa komhango, onye omwe likufa mo muKristus nomwa wa mo mefilonghenda. 5 Osheshi mOmhepo ohatu teelele etimaumbwile louyuki, omolweitavelo. 6 Osheshi muKristus Jesus nande epitotanda ile okuhapita etanda kaku nekwafo, ndelenee eitavelo hali longo mohole.
7 Onye mwa li hamu tondoka nawa. Olyelye e mu kelela okudulika koshili? 8 Ehongaulo olo inali dja mwaau te mu ifana. 9 Okanhafi kanini taka pifa olumbololo alishe lomungome. 10 Ame onde mu lineekela mOmwene kutya, kamu na nande ediladilo limwe. Ndelenee ou te mu limbilike, oye ta handukilwa, nande na kale olyelye. 11 Ndele ovamwatate, ame ngee handi udifa natango epitotanda, ohandi hepekelwa vali shike? Ngeno eshindo lomushiyakano kali po vali. 12 Ovapiyaaneki veni ngeno ove lilutule, ngeno xwepo!
Omumangululwa oha endifwa kOmhepo Iyapuki
13 Ovamwatate, omwa ifanenwa emanguluko, ndelenee inamu efa ombelela yeni i pwidukifwe kemanguluko, ndele yakulafaneni mohole. 14 Osheshi omhango aishe oya wanifilwa mondjovo ei imwe: “Hola mukweni ngaashi u lihole mwene.” 15 Ndelenee ngeenge nye hamu lumatafana nohamu lyana, litaleni, muha manafane po filu.
16 Ndelenee ohandi mu lombwele: kaleni nokweenda mOmhepo, onye noitamu wanifa vali ouhalu wombelela. 17 Osheshi ombelela oi nondubo nOmhepo, nOmhepo i nondubo nombelela; ohai kalafana i nondubo, opo muha ninge osho mwe shi hala. 18 Ndelenee nye ngeenge ohamu endifwa kOmhepo, opo nee kamu li koshi yomhango. 19 Ndele oilonga yombelela i li poluhaela, oyo ei: oluhaelo, oihole, onyata, okukalela olwisho loipala, 20 oukalele woikalunga, oundudu, etondafano, eemhata, oukodi, ehandu, omashilafano, omaliyalafano, oimhanga; 21 efupa, omadipao, oukolwe, eenhingo naikwao ya fa ei, nda tetekela oku i mu lombwela, ngaashi nde mu lombwelele, kutya ava tava longo oilonga ya tya ngaha, itava ka fyuulula ouhamba waKalunga. 22 Ndelenee oiimati yOmhepo oyo ei: ohole, ehafo, ombili, onheni, oukaume, ouwa, oudiinini, engungumano, elididimiko. 23 Kape nomhango i nondubo noilonga ya tya ngaha. 24 Naava vaKristus Jesus ova valela ombelela yavo nouhalu wavo nolwisho lavo komushiyakano.
25 Hano ngeenge otu nomwenyo womOmhepo, tu kaleni yo nokweenda mOmhepo. 26 Inatu kaleni ovakongi vefimano longaho nokushindafana nokufilafana efupandubo.
