Ousemba watjiri
1 Nambano ami me mana orutuu ndwi nomambo nga: Vakwetu, yorokeye mu Muhona! Ami hi nokuurwa okumutjangera omambo tjingewo, nowo maye mu tjevere. 2 Ṱakamiseye imba mbe tjita ouvi; ṱakamiseye imba mbe hohiza ouvi; ṱakamiseye omasukarero nge hi notjiṋa ye heya! 3 Eṱe tu nomasukarekero watjiri, eṱe mbu tu karera Ndjambi mOmbepo ye, eṱe mbu tu rihiva mu Kristus Jesus nu mbu tu he riyameke komasukarero worutu. 4 Ami wina etje twa onḓakameno yandje moviṋa vyopendje. Nu tji pe nomundu ngu ma tjangovasi ma sora okutwa onḓakameno ye moviṋa vyopendje, ami wina etje sora tjinene komeho. 5 Ami tji mba sukarekwa tjandje mbi notjivike tjimwe. Owami Omuisrael mokukwatwa momuhoko wa Benjamin, nu owami Omuheberi okuza kombazu. Nu mokuṱakamisa Etwako rOvajuda mba ri Omufarisei. 6 Nu mba ri nonḓero tjinene nai nga tji mba tatumisa ombongo ya Kristus. Nu mokuṱakamisa imbi mbya ri komuhingo wEtwako ami mba ri omuhinatjipo komurungu wa Ndjambi. 7 Nungwari oviṋa avihe mbi ye vara otja ovinanḓengu, nambano mbi vi varera Kristus otja ovihinanḓengu. 8 Nu kaviṋa mbi porwavyo: Novikwao avihe mbi vi vara ovihinanḓengu, orondu ingwi okutjiwa Kristus Jesus oMuhona wandje kwa kapita avihe tjinene komeho. Nu avihe mbe vi imbirahira ye; avihe mbi vi vara otja oviyaya porwavyo kokutja mbi mune Kristus, 9 nu mbi kare noruwano na ye. Ami hi tji nokuvanga okuvarwa otja omusemba komurungu wa Ndjambi motjimbe tjokuṱakamisa Omatwako, nungwari me varwa otja omusemba mena rongamburiro mu Kristus. Nu tji mbe riyameke ku Kristus, me varwa otja omusemba komurungu wa Ndjambi. 10 Ihi porwatjo tji me zeri okongwi okutjiwa Kristus nomasa wombendukiro ye, nokukara norupa momahihamisiro we, nokusana na ye monḓiro ye, 11 momaundjiro wokutja ami omuini mbi pendurwe movakoke.
Rarakaneye okuvaza indji onduri!
12 Ami hi nakutja avihe mbe vi muna poo kutja ami mba pwisiwa, nungwari me kondjo kutja avihe vi rire ovyandje, Kristus Jesus tjinga e ndji isa po owe rukuru. 13 Nu, vakwetu, ami hi nakutjangovasi avihe mbe vi muna. Nungwari otjiṋa tjimwe tji me tjiti okongwi okuzemba imbi vyokombunda nokunanukira imbi vyokomeho. 14 Ami me rarakanene okuvaza indji onduri kokutja mbi katoṋe ihi otjihuze tjeyuru. Otjihuze hi otjo omuinyo omupe Ndjambi mbwe ndji isanena mu Kristus Jesus.
15 Neṱe atuhe mbu twe kura mombepo tu sokukara nouripura tjingewo. Nungwari tjiva veṋu tji ve nouripura warwe, Ndjambi mee mu pe ondjiviro osemba. 16 Nungwari ngatu ṱakamise uri imbwi omuhunga mbu twa toora nga mba.
17 Horereye ku ami, vakwetu, nu mu tare ku imba mbe horera kotjikaro otjisemba eṱe tji matu mu pe. 18 Otjiṋa hi mbe mu raerere rukuru potuingi, nu nambano me tji yarukire rukwao noruhoze: Pe novandu ovengi mbe hupa otja ovanavita notjikoroise tja Kristus. 19 Owo mave kayanda motjovasengwa; ozonḓuma zawo zonyama onḓe ri omukuru wawo; owo ve rihivira imbi mbi ve ṱisa ohoṋi; owo ve ripura na imbi vyouye mbwi porwavyo. 20 Nungwari eha retu ri ri meyuru, nu matu undju omukuture wetu Jesus Kristus oMuhona, a rauke keyuru. 21 Eye ma tanaura otutu twetu otungundi notukoke kutja tu sane nomuhapo worutu rwe orunandjozikiro, tjinga e nomasa okuwisa oviṋa avihe kehi youhonapare we.
The True Righteousness
1 In conclusion, my friends, be joyful in your union with the Lord. I don't mind repeating what I have written before, and you will be safer if I do so. 2 Watch out for those who do evil things, those dogs, those who insist on cutting the body. 3 It is we, not they, who have received the true circumcision, for we worship God by means of his Spirit and rejoice in our life in union with Christ Jesus. We do not put any trust in external ceremonies. 4 I could, of course, put my trust in such things. If any of you think you can trust in external ceremonies, I have even more reason to feel that way. 5 I was circumcised when I was a week old. I am an Israelite by birth, of the tribe of Benjamin, a pure-blooded Hebrew. As far as keeping the Jewish Law is concerned, I was a Pharisee, 6 and I was so zealous that I persecuted the church. As far as a person can be righteous by obeying the commands of the Law, I was without fault. 7 But all those things that I might count as profit I now reckon as loss for Christ's sake. 8 Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be completely united with him. I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith. 10 All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death, 11 in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life.
Running toward the Goal
12 I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself. 13 Of course, my friends, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead. 14 So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God's call through Christ Jesus to the life above.
15 All of us who are spiritually mature should have this same attitude. But if some of you have a different attitude, God will make this clear to you. 16 However that may be, let us go forward according to the same rules we have followed until now.
17 Keep on imitating me, my friends. Pay attention to those who follow the right example that we have set for you. 18 I have told you this many times before, and now I repeat it with tears: there are many whose lives make them enemies of Christ's death on the cross. 19 They are going to end up in hell, because their god is their bodily desires. They are proud of what they should be ashamed of, and they think only of things that belong to this world. 20 We, however, are citizens of heaven, and we eagerly wait for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. 21 He will change our weak mortal bodies and make them like his own glorious body, using that power by which he is able to bring all things under his rule.
