¹Tuseme nini basi, juu ya Abrahamu baba yetu?

¹What, then, shall we say Abraham our father, to have found, according to flesh?

²Kama Abrahamu alikubaliwa kuwa mwadilifu kutokana na matendo yake, basi, anacho kitu cha kujivunia mbele ya Mungu.

²for if Abraham by works was declared righteous, he hath to boast — but not before god;

³Kwa maana, Maandiko Matakatifu yasema: "Abrahamu alimwamini Mungu, naye Mungu akamkubali kuwa mwadilifu."

³for what doth the writing say? `And Abraham did believe God, and it was reckoned to him — to righteousness;`

⁴Mfanyakazi hulipwa mshahara; mshahara wake si zawadi bali ni haki yake.

⁴and to him who is working, the reward is not reckoned of grace, but of debt;

⁵Lakini mtu asiyetegemea matendo yake mwenyewe, bali anamwamini Mungu ambaye huwasamehe waovu, basi, Mungu huijali imani ya mtu huyo, na hivi humkubali kuwa mwadilifu.

⁵and to him who is not working, and is believing upon Him who is declaring righteous the impious, his faith is reckoned — to righteousness:

⁶Naye Daudi asema hivi juu ya furaha ya mtu ambaye Mungu amemkubali kuwa mwadilifu bila kuyajali matendo yake:

⁶even as David also doth speak of the happiness of the man to whom God doth reckon righteousness apart from works:

⁷"Heri wale waliosamehewa makosa yao ambao makosa yao yamefutwa.

⁷`Happy they whose lawless acts were forgiven, and whose sins were covered;

⁸Heri mtu yule ambaye Bwana hataziweka dhambi zake katika kumbukumbu."

⁸happy the man to whom the Lord may not reckon sin.`

⁹Je, hiyo ni kwa wale waliotahiriwa tu, ama pia kwa wale wasiotahiriwa? Ni kwa wale wasiotahiriwa pia. Kwa maana tumekwisha sema: "Abrahamu aliamini, naye Mungu akamkubali kuwa mwadilifu."

⁹[Is] this happiness, then, upon the circumcision, or also upon the uncircumcision — for we say that the faith was reckoned to Abraham — to righteousness?

¹⁰Je, Abrahamu alikubaliwa kabla ya kutahiriwa ama baada ya kutahiriwa? Kabla ya kutahiriwa, na si baada ya kutahiriwa.

¹⁰how then was it reckoned? he being in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision;

¹¹Abrahamu alitahiriwa baadaye, na kutahiriwa huko kulikuwa alama iliyothibitisha kwamba Mungu alimkubali kuwa mwadilifu kwa sababu ya imani yake aliyokuwa nayo kabla ya kutahiriwa. Kwa hiyo, Abrahamu amekuwa baba wa wale wote ambao, ingawa hawakutahiriwa, wamemwamini Mungu, wakafanywa waadilifu.

¹¹and a sign he did receive of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith in the uncircumcision, for his being father of all those believing through uncircumcision, for the righteousness also being reckoned to them,

¹²Vilevile yeye ni baba wa wale waliotahiriwa; lakini si kwa kuwa wametahiriwa, bali kwa sababu wanafuata njia ileile ya imani baba yetu Abrahamu aliyofuata kabla ya kutahiriwa.

¹²and father of circumcision to those not of circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of the faith, that [is] in the uncircumcision of our father Abraham.

¹³Mungu alimwahidi Abrahamu na wazawa wake kwamba ulimwengu ungekuwa mali yao. Ahadi hiyo haikufanywa kwa sababu Abrahamu aliitii Sheria, bali kwa kuwa aliamini, akakubaliwa kuwa mwadilifu.

¹³For not through law [is] the promise to Abraham, or to his seed, of his being heir of the world, but through the righteousness of faith;

¹⁴Maana kama watakaopewa hayo aliyoahidi Mungu ni wale tu wanaoitii Sheria, basi, imani haina maana yoyote, nayo ahadi ya Mungu si kitu.

¹⁴for if they who are of law [are] heirs, the faith hath been made void, and the promise hath been made useless;

¹⁵Sheria husababisha ghadhabu; lakini kama hakuna Sheria, haiwezekani kuivunja.

¹⁵for the law doth work wrath; for where law is not, neither [is] transgression.

¹⁶Kwa sababu hiyo, jambo hili lategemea imani, hivyo kwamba ahadi hiyo yatokana na neema ya Mungu, na kwamba ni hakika kuwa ahadi hiyo ni kwa ajili ya wote: si kwa wale tu wanaoishika Sheria, bali pia kwa wale waishio kwa imani kama Abrahamu. Yeye ni baba yetu sisi sote.

¹⁶Because of this [it is] of faith, that [it may be] according to grace, for the promise being sure to all the seed, not to that which [is] of the law only, but also to that which [is] of the faith of Abraham,

¹⁷Kama Maandiko Matakatifu yasemavyo: "Nimekuweka uwe baba wa mataifa mengi." Ahadi hiyo ni kweli mbele ya Mungu ambaye Abrahamu alimwamini--Mungu ambaye huwapa wafu uzima, na kwa amri yake, vitu ambavyo havikuwapo huwa.

¹⁷who is father of us all (according as it hath been written — `A father of many nations I have set thee,`) before Him whom he did believe — God, who is quickening the dead, and is calling the things that be not as being.

¹⁸Abrahamu aliamini na kutumaini ingawa hali yenyewe ilikuwa bila matumaini, na hivyo amekuwa baba wa mataifa mengi kama Maandiko Matakatifu yasemavyo: "Wazao wako watakuwa wengi kama nyota!"

¹⁸Who, against hope in hope did believe, for his becoming father of many nations according to that spoken: `So shall thy seed be;`

¹⁹Alikuwa mzee wa karibu miaka mia moja, lakini imani yake haikufifia ingawa alijua kwamba mwili wake ulikuwa kama umekufa, na pia mkewe, Sara, alikuwa tasa.

¹⁹and not having been weak in the faith, he did not consider his own body, already become dead, (being about a hundred years old,) and the deadness of Sarah`s womb,

²⁰Abrahamu hakuionea mashaka ile ahadi ya Mungu; alipata nguvu kutokana na imani, akamtukuza Mungu.

²⁰and at the promise of God did not stagger in unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, having given glory to God,

²¹Alijua kwamba Mungu anaweza kuyatekeleza yale aliyoahidi.

²¹and having been fully persuaded that what He hath promised He is able also to do:

²²Ndiyo maana Mungu alimkubali kuwa mwadilifu.

²²wherefore also it was reckoned to him to righteousness.

²³Inaposemwa, "Alimkubali," haisemwi kwa ajili yake mwenyewe tu.

²³And it was not written on his account alone, that it was reckoned to him,

²⁴Jambo hili linatuhusu sisi pia ambao tunamwamini Mungu aliyemfufua Yesu, Bwana wetu, kutoka wafu.

²⁴but also on ours, to whom it is about to be reckoned — to us believing on Him who did raise up Jesus our Lord out of the dead,

²⁵Yeye alitolewa auawe kwa ajili ya dhambi zetu, akafufuka ili tupate kukubaliwa kuwa waadilifu na Mungu.

²⁵who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous.