Lyrics
Chorus
Ee Yesu we, uinuliwe
(Oh Jesus, You're lifted high)
Ee Yesu we, uinuliwe
(Oh Jesus, You're lifted high)
Ee Yesu we, usifiwe
(Oh Jesus, You are praised)
Ee Yesu we, usifiwe
(Oh Jesus, You are praised)
Verse 1
Maana nina kila sababu ya kukuabudu
(For I've every reason to worship You)
Maana nina kila sababu ya kukuinua
(For I've every reason to lift You up)
Maana nina kila sababu ya kukusifu
(For I've every reason to praise You)
Maana nina kila sababu ya kukuabudu
(For I've every reason to worship You)
Chorus (Repeat)
Verse 2
Wewe waandaa mwisho wangu kabla sijafika
(You prepare my destination before I arrive)
Wewe waandaa njia zangu kabla sijapita
(You make straight my paths before I walk them)
Wewe waandaa mwisho wangu kabla sijafika
Wewe waandaa njia zangu kabla sijapita
Pre-Chorus
Usifiwe ewe Mweza
(Be praised, You Almighty)
Wenyewe ninakutukuza
(I glorify You)
Maana kwako ninapata vyote
(For in You I find all things)
Usifiwe Mweza wa yote
(Be praised, Almighty)
Chorus (Repeat)
Uinuliwe jina lako
Verse 1 (Repeat)
Bridge
Tunakusifu kwa kinanda na vinubi
(We praise You with strings and harps)
Wastahili kusifiwa, Mungu wetu
(You are worthy of praise, our God)
Tunasifu kwa wema wako
(We praise You for You're good)
Wewe ni mwema, Mungu wetu
(You're good, our faithful God)
Praise and Celebration ("Tunashangilia")
Tunashangilia
(We shout for joy, we praise You)
Tunasifu twainua sauti zetu
(We lift our voices to You)
Hakuna mwingine, hakuna mwingine wa kusifiwa
(There is no other more worthy of praise than You, Oh God)
Ila ni wewe
(None other than You)
Tunashangilia
Tunalitukuza jina lako
Sauti zetu
Hakuna mwingine, hakuna mwingine wa kusifiwa
Ila ni wewe
Tunashangilia
Maana hakuna kama Wewe
Mwenye uweza kama wako
Hakuna mwingine wa kusifiwa
Ila ni wewe
Tunalishangilia jina lako
Tunashangilia matendo yako
Tunashangilia ukuu wako
Kwa fadhili na wema wako
Hakuna mwingine wa kusifiwa
Zaidi yako, Ee Mungu wetu
Ila ni wewe!
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
"Usifiwe" ("Be Praised") opens by naming two actions directed at Jesus, being lifted high and being praised, repeating both before offering any explanation for them. That early repetition, exaltation declared before justified, frames the entire song around worship as an immediate response rather than a reasoned conclusion.
Its verse supplies that reasoning afterward, naming every reason to worship, lift up, and praise, before a second verse crediting God with preparing a destination and straightening a path before either is ever walked. That image, provision arranged in advance, ties the song's praise to anticipated care rather than only past help already received.
Sung in Swahili within East African worship tradition, the song functions as an extended declaration that no one else deserves the praise directed at God, its closing celebration naming harps and strings as instruments of that praise, repeating the phrase none other than You as the song's final, settled conclusion.
Related Scripture
- Psalm 139:5 Describes God going before and preparing the way, echoed in the song's description of a destination and path prepared in advance.
- Psalm 150:3 Describes praising God with strings and harps, directly echoed in the song's bridge.