¹Basi, Kuhani Mkuu akamwuliza, "Je, mambo haya ni kweli?"

¹The high priest said, “Are these things so?”

²Naye Stefano akasema, "Ndugu zangu na akina baba, nisikilizeni! Mungu alimtokea baba yetu Abrahamu alipokuwa kule Mesopotamia kabla hajaenda kukaa kule Harani.

²He said, “Brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

³Mungu alimwambia: Ondoka katika nchi yako; waache watu wa ukoo wako; nenda katika nchi nitakayokuonyesha!

³and said to him, ‘Get out of your land, and from your relatives, and come into a land which I will show you.’ Genesis 12:1

⁴Kwa hivyo, Abrahamu alihama nchi ya Kaldayo, akaenda kukaa Harani. Baada ya kifo cha baba yake, Mungu alimtoa tena Harani akaja kukaa katika nchi hii mnayokaa sasa.

⁴Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and lived in Haran. From there, when his father was dead, God moved him into this land, where you are now living.

⁵Mungu hakumpa hata sehemu moja ya nchi hii iwe mali yake; hata hivyo, alimwahidia kumpa nchi hii iwe yake na ya wazawa wake, ingawaje wakati huu hakuwa na mtoto.

⁵He gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on. He promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when he still had no child.

⁶Mungu alimwambia hivi: Wazao wako watapelekwa katika nchi inayotawaliwa na watu wengine, na huko watafanywa watumwa na kutendewa vibaya kwa muda wa miaka mia nne.

⁶God spoke in this way: that his seed would live as aliens in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years.

⁷Lakini mimi nitalihukumu taifa hilo litakalowafanya watumwa. Kisha nitawatoa katika nchi hiyo ili waje kuniabudu mahali hapa.

⁷‘I will judge the nation to which they will be in bondage,’ said God, ‘and after that will they come out, and serve me in this place.’ Genesis 15:13-14

⁸Halafu Mungu aliifanya tohara iwe ishara ya agano. Hivyo, Abrahamu alimtahiri mtoto wake Isaka, siku ya nane baada ya kuzaliwa. Na Isaka, vivyo hivyo, alimtahiri Yakobo. Naye Yakobo aliwatendea wale mababu kumi na wawili vivyo hivyo.

⁸He gave him the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

⁹"Wale mababu walimwonea wivu Yosefu, wakamuuza utumwani Misri. Lakini Mungu alikuwa pamoja naye,

⁹“The patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Joseph, sold him into Egypt. God was with him,

¹⁰akamwokoa katika taabu zake zote. Mungu alimjalia fadhili na hekima mbele ya Farao, mfalme wa Misri, hata Farao akamweka awe mkuu wa ile nchi na nyumba ya kifalme.

¹⁰and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

¹¹Kisha, kulizuka njaa kubwa katika nchi yote ya Misri na Kanaani, ikasababisha dhiki kubwa. Babu zetu hawakuweza kupata chakula chochote.

¹¹Now a famine came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction. Our fathers found no food.

¹²Basi, Yakobo alipopata habari kwamba huko Misri kulikuwa na nafaka, aliwatuma watoto wake, yaani babu zetu, waende huko Misri mara ya kwanza.

¹²But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers the first time.

¹³Katika safari yao ya pili, Yosefu alijitambulisha kwa ndugu zake, na Farao akaifahamu jamaa ya Yosefu.

¹³On the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s race was revealed to Pharaoh.

¹⁴Yosefu alituma ujumbe kwa baba yake na jamaa yote, jumla watu sabini na tano, waje Misri.

¹⁴Joseph sent, and summoned Jacob, his father, and all his relatives, seventy-five souls.

¹⁵Hivyo, Yakobo alikwenda Misri ambako yeye na babu zetu wengine walikufa.

¹⁵Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, himself and our fathers,

¹⁶Miili yao ililetwa mpaka Shekemu, ikazikwa katika kaburi Abrahamu alilonunua kutoka kwa kabila la Hamori kwa kiasi fulani cha fedha.

¹⁶and they were brought back to Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in silver from the children of Hamor of Shechem.

¹⁷"Wakati ulipotimia Mungu aitimize ahadi aliyompa Abrahamu, idadi ya wale watu kule Misri ilikwisha ongezeka na kuwa kubwa zaidi.

¹⁷“But as the time of the promise came close which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

¹⁸Mwishowe, mfalme mmoja ambaye hakumtambua Yosefu alianza kutawala huko Misri.

¹⁸until there arose a different king, who didn’t know Joseph.

¹⁹Alilifanyia taifa letu ukatili, akawatendea vibaya babu zetu kwa kuwalazimisha waweke nje watoto wao wachanga ili wafe.

¹⁹The same took advantage of our race, and mistreated our fathers, and forced them to throw out their babies, so that they wouldn’t stay alive.

²⁰Mose alizaliwa wakati huo. Alikuwa mtoto mzuri sana. Alilelewa nyumbani kwa muda wa miezi mitatu,

²⁰At that time Moses was born, and was exceedingly handsome. He was nourished three months in his father’s house.

²¹na alipotolewa nje, binti wa Farao alimchukua, akamlea kama mtoto wake.

²¹When he was thrown out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and reared him as her own son.

²²Mose alifundishwa mambo yote ya hekima ya Wamisri akawa mashuhuri kwa maneno na matendo.

²²Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He was mighty in his words and works.

²³"Alipokuwa na umri wa miaka arobaini aliamua kwenda kuwaona ndugu zake Waisraeli.

²³But when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers The word for “brothers” here and where the context allows may be also correctly translated “brothers and sisters” or “siblings.” , the children of Israel.

²⁴Huko alimwona mmoja wao akitendewa vibaya, akaenda kumwokoa, na kulipiza kisasi, akamuua yule Mmisri.

²⁴Seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him who was oppressed, striking the Egyptian.

²⁵(Alidhani kwamba Waisraeli wenzake wangeelewa kwamba Mungu angemtumia yeye kuwakomboa, lakini hawakuelewa hivyo.)

²⁵He supposed that his brothers understood that God, by his hand, was giving them deliverance; but they didn’t understand.

²⁶Kesho yake, aliwaona Waisraeli wawili wakipigana, akajaribu kuwapatanisha, akisema: Ninyi ni ndugu; kwa nini basi, kutendeana vibaya ninyi kwa ninyi?

²⁶“The day following, he appeared to them as they fought, and urged them to be at peace again, saying, ‘Sirs, you are brothers. Why do you wrong one another?’

²⁷Yule aliyekuwa anampiga mwenzake alimsukuma Mose kando akisema: Ni nani aliyekuweka wewe kuwa kiongozi na mwamuzi wa watu?

²⁷But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?

²⁸Je, unataka kuniua kama ulivyomuua yule Mmisri jana?

²⁸Do you want to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ Exodus 2:14

²⁹Baada ya kusikia hayo Mose alikimbia, akaenda kukaa katika nchi ya Midiani na huko akapata watoto wawili.

²⁹Moses fled at this saying, and became a stranger in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

³⁰"Miaka arobaini ilipotimia, malaika wa Bwana alimtokea Mose katika kichaka kilichokuwa kinawaka moto kule jangwani karibu na mlima Sinai.

³⁰“When forty years were fulfilled, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.

³¹Mose alistaajabu sana kuona jambo hilo hata akasogea karibu ili achungulie; lakini alisikia sauti ya Bwana:

³¹When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight. As he came close to see, a voice of the Lord came to him,

³²Mimi ni Mungu wa baba zako, Mungu wa Abrahamu, Isaka na Yakobo! Mose akatetemeka kwa hofu na wala hakuthubutu kutazama zaidi.

³²‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Exodus 3:6 Moses trembled, and dared not look.

³³Bwana akamwambia: Vua viatu vyako maana hapa unaposimama ni mahali patakatifu.

³³The Lord said to him, ‘Take your sandals off of your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.

³⁴Nimeyaona mabaya wanayotendewa watu wangu kule Misri. Nimesikia kilio chao, nami nimekuja kuwaokoa. Basi sasa, nitakutuma Misri.

³⁴I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and have heard their groaning. I have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you into Egypt.’ Exodus 3:5,7-8,10

³⁵"Huyu Mose ndiye yule watu wa Israeli waliyemkataa waliposema: Ni nani aliyekuweka wewe kuwa kiongozi na mwamuzi wetu? Kwa njia ya yule malaika aliyemtokea katika kichaka kilichokuwa kinawaka moto, Mungu alimtuma Mose huyo awe kiongozi na mkombozi.

³⁵“This Moses, whom they refused, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—God has sent him as both a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

³⁶Ndiye aliyewaongoza wale watu watoke Misri kwa kufanya miujiza na maajabu katika nchi ya Misri, katika bahari ya Shamu na jangwani kwa muda wa miaka arobaini.

³⁶This man led them out, having worked wonders and signs in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.

³⁷Mose ndiye aliyewaambia watu wa Israeli: Mungu atawateulieni nabii kama mimi kutoka katika ndugu zenu ninyi wenyewe.

³⁷This is that Moses, who said to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord our God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me. TR adds “You shall listen to him.” ’ Deuteronomy 18:15

³⁸Wakati watu wa Israeli walipokutana pamoja kule jangwani, Mose ndiye aliyekuwako huko pamoja nao. Alikuwa huko pamoja na babu zetu na yule malaika aliyeongea naye mlimani Sinai; ndiye aliyekabidhiwa yale maneno yaletayo uzima atupe sisi.

³⁸This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel that spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received living oracles to give to us,

³⁹"Lakini yeye ndiye babu zetu waliyemkataa kumsikiliza; walimsukuma kando, wakatamani kurudi Misri.

³⁹to whom our fathers wouldn’t be obedient, but rejected him, and turned back in their hearts to Egypt,

⁴⁰Walimwambia Aroni: Tutengenezee miungu itakayotuongoza njiani, maana hatujui yaliyompata Mose huyu aliyetuongoza kutoka Misri!

⁴⁰saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods that will go before us, for as for this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.’ Exodus 32:1

⁴¹Hapo ndipo walipojitengenezea sanamu ya ndama, wakaitambikia na kukifanyia sherehe kitu ambacho ni kazi ya mikono yao wenyewe.

⁴¹They made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands.

⁴²Lakini Mungu aliondoka kati yao, akawaacha waabudu nyota za anga, kama ilivyoandikwa katika kitabu cha manabii: Enyi watu wa Israeli! Si mimi mliyenitolea dhabihu na sadaka kwa muda wa miaka arobaini kule jangwani!

⁴²But God turned, and gave them up to serve the army of the sky, This idiom could also be translated “host of heaven,” or “angelic beings,” or “heavenly bodies.” as it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘Did you offer to me slain animals and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

⁴³Ninyi mlikibeba kibanda cha mungu Moloki, na sanamu ya nyota ya mungu wenu Refani. Sanamu mlizozifanya ndizo mlizoabudu. Kwa sababu hiyo nitakupeleka mateka mbali kupita Babuloni!

⁴³You took up the tabernacle of Moloch, the star of your god Rephan, the figures which you made to worship. I will carry you away Amos 5:25-27 beyond Babylon.’

⁴⁴Kule jangwani babu zetu walikuwa na lile hema lililoshuhudia kuweko kwa Mungu. Lilitengenezwa kama Mungu alivyomwambia Mose alifanye; nakala kamili ya kile alichoonyeshwa.

⁴⁴“Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, even as he who spoke to Moses commanded him to make it according to the pattern that he had seen;

⁴⁵Kisha babu zetu walilipokezana wao kwa wao mpaka wakati wa Yoshua, walipoinyakua ile nchi kutoka kwa mataifa ambayo Mungu aliyafukuza mbele yao. Hapo lilikaa mpaka nyakati za Daudi.

⁴⁵which also our fathers, in their turn, brought in with Joshua when they entered into the possession of the nations, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers, to the days of David,

⁴⁶Daudi alipata upendeleo kwa Mungu, akamwomba Mungu ruhusa ya kumjengea makao yeye aliye Mungu wa Yakobo.

⁴⁶who found favor in the sight of God, and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob.

⁴⁷Lakini Solomoni ndiye aliyemjengea Mungu nyumba.

⁴⁷But Solomon built him a house.

⁴⁸"Hata hivyo, Mungu Mkuu haishi katika nyumba zilizojengwa na binadamu; kama nabii asemavyo:

⁴⁸However, the Most High doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says,

⁴⁹Bwana asema: Mbingu ni kiti changu cha enzi na dunia ni kiti changu cha kuwekea miguu.

⁴⁹‘heaven is my throne, and the earth a footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build me?’ says the Lord; ‘or what is the place of my rest?

⁵⁰Ni nyumba ya namna gani basi mnayoweza kunijengea, na ni mahali gani nitakapopumzika? Vitu hivi vyote ni mimi nimevifanya, au sivyo?

⁵⁰Didn’t my hand make all these things?’ Isaiah 66:1-2

⁵¹"Enyi wakaidi wakuu! Mioyo na masikio yenu ni kama ya watu wa mataifa. Ninyi ni kama baba zenu. Siku zote mnampinga Roho Mtakatifu.

⁵¹“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so you do.

⁵²Je, yuko nabii yeyote ambaye baba zenu hawakumtesa? Waliwaua hao Mungu aliowatuma watangaze kuja kwake yule Mwenye Haki. Na sasa, ninyi mmemsaliti, mkamuua.

⁵²Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers.

⁵³Ninyi mliipokea ile Sheria iliyoletwa kwenu na Malaika, lakini hamkuitii."

⁵³You received the law as it was ordained by angels, and didn’t keep it!”

⁵⁴Wale wazee wa Baraza waliposikia hayo, walighadhibika sana, wakamsagia meno kwa hasira.

⁵⁴Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.

⁵⁵Lakini Stefano akiwa amejawa na Roho Mtakatifu, akatazama juu mbinguni, akauona utukufu wa Mungu na Yesu amekaa upande wa kulia wa Mungu.

⁵⁵But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

⁵⁶Akasema, "Tazameni! Ninaona mbingu zimefunuliwa na Mwana wa Mtu amesimama upande wa kulia wa Mungu."

⁵⁶and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

⁵⁷Hapo, watu wote katika kile kikao cha Baraza, wakapiga kelele na kuziba masikio yao kwa mikono yao. Kisha wakamrukia wote kwa pamoja,

⁵⁷But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed at him with one accord.

⁵⁸wakamtoa nje ya mji, wakampiga mawe. Wale mashahidi wakayaweka makoti yao chini ya ulinzi wa kijana mmoja jina lake Saulo.

⁵⁸They threw him out of the city, and stoned him. The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹Waliendelea kumpiga mawe Stefano, huku akiwa anasali: "Bwana Yesu, ipokee roho yangu!"

⁵⁹They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”

⁶⁰Akapiga magoti, akalia kwa sauti kubwa: "Bwana, usiwalaumu kwa sababu ya dhambi hii." Baada ya kusema hivyo, akafa.

⁶⁰He kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he fell asleep.