Lyrics
Verse 1
Bwana akubariki na akulinde (The Lord bless you and keep you)
Akuangazie uso Wake (Make His face shine upon you)
Na kukufadhili (And be gracious to you)
Akuinulie uso Wake (The Lord turn His face toward you)
Na kukupa amani (And give you peace)
Verse 2
Neema yake iwe kwako (May His favor be upon you)
Na hadi vizazi elfu (And a thousand generations)
Familia na watoto wako (Your family and your children)
Na wao na wao (And their children, and their children)
Verse 3
Uwepo Wake uende mbele yako (May His presence go before you)
Nyuma yako, kando yako (And behind you, and beside you)
Ikuzingire, iwe ndani yako (All around you, and within you)
Yuko nawe, Yuko nawe (He is with you, He is with you)
Verse 4
Asubuhi na jioni (In the morning, in the evening)
Ukujapo, uendapo (In your coming, and your going)
Kwa majonzi na furaha (In your weeping, and rejoicing)
Yuko nawe, Yuko nawe (He is for you, He is for you)
Outro
Akujali (He cares for you)
Akulinda (He watches over you)
Akuona (He sees you)
Akuwaza (He thinks of you)
Akupenda (He loves you)
Akuponya (He heals you)
Yuko nawe, Yuko nawe (He is for you, He is for you)
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
"The Blessing (Swahili Cover)" translates a well-known priestly blessing into Swahili, opening with the request that the Lord bless, keep, and make his face shine, language drawn directly from a specific Old Testament benediction. That direct translation ties the song closely to its ancient scriptural source rather than an independent composition.
Its middle section extends that blessing across generations, describing favor reaching a thousand generations of family and children, before picturing God's presence surrounding a person from every direction, before, behind, beside, and within. That comprehensive spatial imagery pictures divine presence as complete rather than partial or occasional.
Sung in Swahili within East African worship tradition, the song functions as a sung benediction, its closing list of verbs, cares, watches, sees, thinks of, loves, heals, translating an ancient blessing's formal language into intimate, personal description of ongoing divine attention.
Related Scripture
- Numbers 6:24-26 Records the priestly blessing asking the Lord to bless, keep, and make his face shine, directly translated throughout the song.
- Psalm 139:5 Describes God hemming a person in behind and before, echoed in the song's description of God's presence surrounding on every side.