1
Je! Tunaanza tena kujisifu wenyewe? Au tunahitaji, kama wengine, barua zenye sifa kuja kwenu, au kutoka kwenu?
Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?
2
Ninyi ndinyi barua yetu, iliyoandikwa mioyoni mwetu, inajulikana na kusomwa na watu wote;
You yourselves are our letter, inscribed on our hearts, known and read by everyone.
3
mnadhihirishwa kwamba mmekuwa barua ya Kristo tuliyoikatibu, iliyoandikwa si kwa wino, bali kwa Roho wa Mungu aliye hai; si katika vibao vya mawe, ila katika vibao ambavyo ni mioyo ya nyama.
It is clear that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4
Na tumaini hilo tunalo mbele za Mungu kwa njia ya Kristo.
Such confidence before God is ours through Christ.
5
Si kwamba twatosha sisi wenyewe kufikiri neno lo lote kwamba ni letu wenyewe, bali utoshelevu wetu watoka kwa Mungu.
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
6
Naye ndiye aliyetutosheleza kuwa wahudumu wa agano jipya; si wa andiko, bali wa roho; kwa maana andiko huua, bali roho huhuisha.
And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7
Basi, ikiwa huduma ya mauti, iliyoandikwa na kuchorwa katika mawe, ilikuja katika utukufu, hata Waisraeli hawakuweza kuukazia macho uso wa Musa, kwa sababu ya utukufu wa uso wake; nao ni utukufu uliokuwa ukibatilika;
Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory,
8
je! Huduma ya roho haitazidi kuwa katika utukufu?
will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?
9
Kwa maana ikiwa huduma ya adhabu ina utukufu, siuze huduma ya haki ina utukufu unaozidi.
For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of righteousness!
10
Maana hata ile iliyotukuzwa haikuwa na utukufu hivi, kwa sababu ya utukufu uzidio sana.
Indeed, what was once glorious has no glory now in comparison to the glory that surpasses it.
11
Kwa maana, ikiwa ile inayobatilika ilikuwa na utukufu, zaidi sana ile ikaayo ina utukufu.
For if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which endures!
12
Basi, kwa kuwa mna taraja la namna hii, twatumia ujasiri mwingi;
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
13
nasi si kama Musa alivyotia utaji juu ya uso wake, ili kwamba Waisraeli wasitazame sana mwisho wa ile iliyokuwa ikibatilika;
We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was fading away.
14
ila fikira zao zilitiwa uzito. Kwa maana hata leo hivi, wakati lisomwapo Agano la Kale, utaji uo huo wakaa; yaani, haikufunuliwa kwamba huondolewa katika Kristo;
But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed.
15
ila hata leo, torati ya Musa isomwapo, utaji huikalia mioyo yao.
And even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.
16
Lakini wakati wo wote watakapomgeukia Bwana, ule utaji huondolewa.
But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17
Basi <Bwana> ndiye Roho; walakini alipo Roho wa Bwana, hapo ndipo penye uhuru.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18
Lakini sisi sote, kwa uso usiotiwa utaji, tukiurudisha utukufu wa Bwana, kama vile katika kioo, tunabadilishwa tufanane na mfano uo huo, toka utukufu hata utukufu, kama vile kwa utukufu utokao kwa Bwana, aliye Roho.
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.