1 Hapo Ovajuda tji ve na tjo okukapita imba mbe he ri Ovajuda otjikwatjike? Nomasukarekero hapo ye nonḓengu yatjike? 2 Ii, owo ye nonḓengu onene tjinene momuhingo auhe. Rutenga Ndjambi wa yandja embo re kOvajuda. 3 Nungwari tjiva vawo kava ri ovaṱakame. Okuhinouṱakame kwawo indu nai maku yandisa ouṱakame wa Ndjambi are? 4 Kako ka tjiperi nao! Ndjambi omunauatjiri, nomundu auhe omunavizeze otja punga amwa tjangwa momatjangwa:
“Oove omusemba momambo woye,
nu u kara noutoṋi tji mo pangurwa.”
5 Nu hapo ourunde wetu tji mau raisa poruhaera ousemba wa Ndjambi, ngatu tje vi? Ngatu tje, Ndjambi ma tjiti ouhasemba tji me tu vere are? Indi ondi ri epuriro ovandu ndi ve pura. 6 Kako! Ndjambi atja pangura vi ouye ndovazu eye kamusemba?
7 Nungwari ovizeze vyandje tji mavi raisa ongahukiro imbwi ouṱakame wa Ndjambi nokuneneparisa ondjozikiro ye, nu me pangurirwa tjike otja omunauvi? 8 Okutjavi tji tu hi nakutja: “Ngatu tjite ouvi kokutja ouwa a rire tji weya?” Tjiri, pe novandu mbe ndji yamburura mokundjikuminina kutja ami mbi hungira omambo tjingewo nga! Owo mave pangurwa i Ndjambi punga apa pwira wo.
Kape nomundu omusemba
9 Nu pe ri vi? Eṱe Ovajuda oweṱe ovasemba pu imba mbe he ri Ovajuda? Kako ka tjiperi! Ami mba raisa rukuru kutja Ovajuda na imba mbe he ri Ovajuda, avehe pamwe ve ri kehi youvara wourunde. 10 Orondu omatjangwa maye tja:
“Kape nomundu nangarire umwe ngu ri omusemba,
11 kape nomundu omunazondunge
nu ngu paha ombango ya Ndjambi.
12 Avehe va poka ku Ndjambi;
avehe va zunḓaka;
kape na umwe ngu tjita ouwa,
nangarire umwe ke po.
13 Omiriu vyawo vi ri ohamukwao
neyendo ndi ri kamwaha,
nu ve hungira ovineya nomaraka wawo.
Omambo womiṋa vyawo ye
ri otja ouzuwo wozonyoka,
14 ovinyo vyawo vye ura nomasengiro omazeu.
15 Ozombaze zawo ze hakahana
okukahihamisa nokuzepa,
16 akuhe ku mave i, ve isa
omanyoneno nomahahauriro.
17 Nondjira yohange kave na pu ve i tjivirwe.
18 Nu kave na indu va karere nondira ku Ndjambi.”
19 Neṱe matu tjiwa kutja avihe, mbi ri mOmatwako wa Ndjambi vi hungirirwa imba mbe ri kehi yOmatwako nga. Kape nomundu ngu ma sora okutja eye ke nondjo, nouye auhe wa pwa okuverwa i Ndjambi. 20 Punao, kape nomundu ngu ma varwa otja omusemba komurungu wa Ndjambi mokuyenenisa inga omaheero wOmatwako. Nu otjiṋa Omatwako tji ye tjita, ye raisa ourunde wovandu.
Okuvarwa omusemba komurungu wa Ndjambi mena rOngamburiro
21 Nungwari nambano imbwi omuhingo Ndjambi ovandu meve vara kutja ovasemba wa raisiwa. Owo kau notjiṋa nomatwako, nandarire kutja owo wa hongononwa i Omatwako wa Moses novaprofete. 22 Ndjambi ovandu u ve vara otja ovasemba mena rongamburiro yawo mu Jesus Kristus. Ndjambi u tjita nai ku avehe mbe kambura mu Kristus, tjinga ape hi nombangu oparukaze pokati kawo. 23 Avehe ovarunde nu va humburuka kokure na Ndjambi. 24 Nungwari owo avehe ve varwa kutja ovasemba komurungu wa Ndjambi motjimbe tjonguturiro, ndji ri otjiyandjewa tjotjari tje mu Kristus Jesus. 25-26 Ndjambi we mu yandja okurira ombunguhiro, ndji mai eta ohanganisiro mokutirahi ombinḓu ye ku imba mbe kambura mu ye. Ndjambi wa tjita nai a raise kutja eye omusemba. Oruveze orukuru eye wa ri nomuretima kourunde wovandu ne ve isire. Nungwari momayuva wa nambano u raisa kutja omusemba: Eye u pangura osemba, nu auhe ngu kambura mu Kristus u mu vara kutja omusemba.
27 Nu hapo otjiṋa eṱe oveni tji tu rihivira tji pi? Katji po! Nu omena ratjike? Omena rokutja tu nonḓuviro komatwako poo? Kako! Omena rongamburiro. 28 Nu, tjiri, matu tjiwa nawa kutja omundu u varwa otja omusemba komurungu wa Ndjambi mena rongamburiro porwayo, nu kamena rokuṱakamisa inga Omatwako. 29 Poo Ndjambi eye oNdjambi wOvajuda porwe are? Eye ka Ndjambi wa imba mbe he ri Ovajuda wina are? Ii, eye owoviwaṋa vyarwe wina. 30 Ndjambi iumwe uriri, neye, imba Ovajuda naimba mbe he ri Ovajuda meve vara otja ovasemba komurungu we motjimbe tjongamburiro. 31 Nu nambano indu matu isa po Omatwako mena rongamburiro are? Kako! Inga Omatwako matu ye zikamisa.
1 What good is it to be a Jew? What good is it to be circumcised? 2 It is good in a lot of ways! First of all, God's messages were spoken to the Jews. 3 It is true that some of them did not believe the message. But does this mean that God cannot be trusted, just because they did not have faith? 4 No, indeed! God tells the truth, even if everyone else is a liar. The Scriptures say about God,
“Your words
will be proven true,
and in court
you will win your case.”
5 If our evil deeds show how right God is, then what can we say? Is it wrong for God to become angry and punish us? What a foolish thing to ask. 6 But the answer is, “No.” Otherwise, how could God judge the world? 7 Since your lies bring great honor to God by showing how truthful he is, you may ask why God still says you are a sinner. 8 You might as well say, “Let's do something evil, so that something good will come of it!” Some people even claim that we are saying this. But God is fair and will judge them as well.
No One Is Good
9 What does all this mean? Does it mean that we Jews are better off than the Gentiles? No, it doesn't! Jews, as well as Gentiles, are ruled by sin, just as I have said. 10 The Scriptures tell us,
“No one is acceptable to God!
11 Not one of them understands
or even searches for God.
12 They have all turned away
and are worthless.
There isn't one person
who does right.
13 Their words are like
an open pit,
and their tongues are good
only for telling lies.
Each word is as deadly
as the fangs of a snake,
14 and they say nothing
but bitter curses.
15 These people quickly
become violent.
16 Wherever they go,
they leave ruin
and destruction.
17 They don't know how
to live in peace.
18 They don't even fear God.”
19 We know that everything in the Law was written for those who are under its power. The Law says these things to stop anyone from making excuses and to let God show that the whole world is guilty. 20 God doesn't accept people simply because they obey the Law. No, indeed! All the Law does is to point out our sin.
God's Way of Accepting People
21 Now we see how God does make us acceptable to him. The Law and the Prophets tell how we become acceptable, and it isn't by obeying the Law of Moses. 22 God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. 23 All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. 24 But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins. 25-26 God sent Christ to be our sacrifice. Christ offered his life's blood, so by faith in him we could come to God. And God did this to show that in the past he was right to be patient and forgive sinners. This also shows that God is right when he accepts people who have faith in Jesus.
27 What is left for us to brag about? Not a thing! Is it because we obeyed some law? No! It is because of faith. 28 We see that people are acceptable to God because they have faith, and not because they obey the Law. 29 Does God belong only to the Jews? Isn't he also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, he is! 30 There is only one God, and he accepts Gentiles as well as Jews, simply because of their faith. 31 Do we destroy the Law by our faith? Not at all! We make it even more powerful.
