Paul and the False Apostles
1 I wish you would tolerate me, even when I am a bit foolish. Please do! 2 I am jealous for you, just as God is; you are like a pure virgin whom I have promised in marriage to one man only, Christ himself. 3 I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ—in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake's clever lies. 4 For you gladly tolerate anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus, not the one we preached; and you accept a spirit and a gospel completely different from the Spirit and the gospel you received from us!
5 I do not think that I am the least bit inferior to those very special so-called “apostles” of yours! 6 Perhaps I am an amateur in speaking, but certainly not in knowledge; we have made this clear to you at all times and in all conditions.
7 I did not charge you a thing when I preached the Good News of God to you; I humbled myself in order to make you important. Was that wrong of me? 8 While I was working among you, I was paid by other churches. I was robbing them, so to speak, in order to help you. 9 And during the time I was with you I did not bother you for help when I needed money; the believers who came from Macedonia brought me everything I needed. As in the past, so in the future: I will never be a burden to you! 10 By Christ's truth in me, I promise that this boast of mine will not be silenced anywhere in all of Achaia. 11 Do I say this because I don't love you? God knows I love you!
12 I will go on doing what I am doing now, in order to keep those other “apostles” from having any reason for boasting and saying that they work in the same way that we do. 13 Those men are not true apostles—they are false apostles, who lie about their work and disguise themselves to look like real apostles of Christ. 14 Well, no wonder! Even Satan can disguise himself to look like an angel of light! 15 So it is no great thing if his servants disguise themselves to look like servants of righteousness. In the end they will get exactly what their actions deserve.
Paul's Sufferings as an Apostle
16 I repeat: no one should think that I am a fool. But if you do, at least accept me as a fool, just so I will have a little to boast of. 17 Of course what I am saying now is not what the Lord would have me say; in this matter of boasting I am really talking like a fool. 18 But since there are so many who boast for merely human reasons, I will do the same. 19 You yourselves are so wise, and so you gladly tolerate fools! 20 You tolerate anyone who orders you around or takes advantage of you or traps you or looks down on you or slaps you in the face. 21 I am ashamed to admit that we were too timid to do those things!
But if anyone dares to boast about something—I am talking like a fool—I will be just as daring. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I. 23 Are they Christ's servants? I sound like a madman—but I am a better servant than they are! I have worked much harder, I have been in prison more times, I have been whipped much more, and I have been near death more often. 24 Five times I was given the thirty-nine lashes by the Jews; 25 three times I was whipped by the Romans; and once I was stoned. I have been in three shipwrecks, and once I spent twenty-four hours in the water. 26 In my many travels I have been in danger from floods and from robbers, in danger from my own people and from Gentiles; there have been dangers in the cities, dangers in the wilds, dangers on the high seas, and dangers from false friends. 27 There has been work and toil; often I have gone without sleep; I have been hungry and thirsty; I have often been without enough food, shelter, or clothing. 28 And not to mention other things, every day I am under the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 When someone is weak, then I feel weak too; when someone is led into sin, I am filled with distress.
30 If I must boast, I will boast about things that show how weak I am. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus—blessed be his name forever!—knows that I am not lying. 32 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas placed guards at the city gates to arrest me. 33 But I was let down in a basket through an opening in the wall and escaped from him.
Paulus naayapostoli aafundja
1 Onda hala, mu idhidhimikile ndje nuuna ndoka wo nda fa nda nika uugoya. Alikana, idhidhimikilii ndje! 2 Ngame onde mu sila efupa, ndele naKalunga osho e li. Oshoka ne omwa fa omukadhona omuyelele, ngoka nda kongela omulumentu gumwe awike, oKristus. 3 Ngame onda tila kutya pamwe oondunge dheni otadhi yonuka e tamu ke etha po okukala aantu yaKristus, ngaashi Eva a pukithwa koondunge dhomakoto geyoka. 4 Oshoka ohamu idhidhimikile nenyanyu shaa ngoka te ya kune tu uvitha Jesus gulwe i ili kee shi ngoka twa uvitha. Omwa taamba wo ombepo nevaangeli lilwe, ndyoka inaali fa ombepo nevaangeli ndyoka mwe li taamba kutse.
5 Ngame itandi dhiladhila ando kutya ondi vulike kaayapostoli yeni mboka aanene. 6 Otashi vulika ndaa shi enyakwa mokupopya, ihe ondi na ngaa oondunge. Shika otwe shi mu tseyithile aluhe pamikalo odhindji.
7 Ngame sho nde mu uvithile elaka etoye lya za kuKalunga, inandi mu pula nando osha. Ngame ondi ifupipike, opo ndi mu nenepeke. Nenge onda puka? 8 Manga nda li tandi longo mokati keni, onda li tandi futwa komagongalo galwe. Nandi tye, onde ga yugu, opo ndi mu kwathe. 9 Ethimbo ndyoka nda kala pune, inandi mu pula iimaliwa, nonando onda li nde yi pumbwa, oshoka aamwameme mboka ya zi kuMakedonia, oye etele ndje ashihe shoka nda li nda pumbwa. Ngashika sha kala methimbo lya piti, osho wo tashi ka kala nokomeho kutya ngame inandi hala oku mu etela uudhigu nando owasha. 10 Omolwoshili yaKristus, ndjoka yi li mungame? Otandi uvaneke kutya eitango ndika lyandje kali na nando mpoka tali ka mwenekwa mevi alihe lyAagreka. 11 Omolwashike tandi popi ngeyi? Omolwaasho ando ndaa mu hole? Kalunga oku shi shi kutya ondi mu hole.
12 Ngashingeyi otandi tsikile owala naashoka tandi shi longo, opo aayapostoli mboka yalwe yaa vule okumona etompelo lyokwiitanga kutya otaa longo pamukalo ngaangoka tatu longo. 13 Aalumentu ya tya ngaaka kaye shi aayapostoli yashili, ihe oyo aafundja. Oyo otaa longitha iifundja miilonga yawo notayi iningi ya kale ya fa aayapostoli yaKristus. 14 Eeno, shika itashi kumitha! Oshoka naSatana ota vulu okwiishitukitha, a kale a fa omuyengeli guuyelele. 15 Onkee ano itashi kumitha, ngele aayakuli yaSatana otayi ishitukitha, ya kale ongaayakuli aawanawa. Ihe hugunina otaa ka pewa shoka yi ilongela.
Omahepeko gomuyapostoli Paulus
16 Otandi shi endulula natango: Inaku kala nando ogumwe ta tala ndje kutya ngame egoya. Ihe ngele otamu shi ningi, nena taambii ndje ano ongegoya. Osho ngeyi otandi vulu ihe okwiitanga. 17 Eeno, shoka tandi popi ngashingeyi, hasho shoka Omuwa a hala, ndi popye. Moshinima shika shokwiitanga ote popi lela ongegoya. 18 Ihe sho pe na aantu oyendji mboka hayi itanga paantu, nangame wo otandi shi ningi. 19 Ne yene omu li po aanandunge, onkee ohamu idhidhimikile omagoya. 20 Ohamu idhidhimikile kehe ngoka te mu ningilile mo nenge te mu yulu moohapu nenge te mu tala nondhino nenge te mu nyekele. 21 Ngame onda sa ohoni oku shi zimina kutya otwa li twa tila okuninga ngaaka. Otandi popi ongegoya kutya, ngele ope na ngoka ta vulu okwiitangela oshinima shontumba, nena nangame wo ote vulu oku shi ninga. 22 Oyo Aahebeli? Ngame wo Omuhebeli. Oyo Aaisraeli? Ngame wo Omwiisraeli. Oyo oluvalo lwaAbraham? Ngame wo ogwomoluvalo lwaAbraham. 23 Oyo aayakuli yaKristus? Ote popi ongomulumentu egoya kutya ondi ya vule ayehe. Onda longo noonkondo ndi ya vule. Onda kala mondholongo omathimbo ogendji, onda dhengwa olwindji, onda kala olwindji popepi neso. 24 Onda dhengwa lutano kAajuda omadhengo omilongo ndatu nomugoyi. 25 Onda dhengwa noongola lutatu kAaroma, nalumwe onda dhengwa nomamanya. Onda kala lutatu moshiponga sheteko lyosikepa. Ethimbo limwe onda kala ootundi omilongo mbali nane momeya. 26 Momalweendo gandje ogendji onda adhika kiiponga yomafundja noyaayugi, iiponga tayi zile ndje mAajuda ooyakwetu nomaapagani. Opwa kala iiponga miilando, iiponga moombuga, iiponga yomomafuta omanene nomiiponga tayi zi mookuume aafundja. 27 Opwa li pwa kala iilonga nuupyakadhi. Olwindji onda lala inee kotha nonda si ondjala nenota. Olwindji onda kala ndaa na iikulya nonda hepekwa unene kuutalala nokonkayi. 28 Kakele kiinima mbika, esiku kehe otandi thiminikwa meni lyandje koshimpwiyu shomagongalo agehe. 29 Olye ngoka omunkundi, ngame ndaa kale ando omunkundi pamwe naye? Olye ngoka ta pundukile muulunde, ndaa lulumikwe kusho?
30 Ngele ondi na okwiitanga, otandi itangele iinima mbyoka tayi ulike, nkene ngame ndi li po omunkundi. 31 Edhina lyaKalunga, He yOmuwa gwetu Jesus, nali simanekwe, oshoka oku shi shi kutya ite fundju. 32 Manga nda li muDamaskus, elenga lyomukwaniilwa Aretas olya tula aalangeli piiyelo yoshilando, li kwate ndje. 33 Ihe ngame onda kulukithwa ndi li montungwa nonda pitithwa mombululu yi li mekuma e tandi hunuka mo miikaha ye.
