Kuthamini Lugha za Biblia — Sehemu ya 9: Maneno Manne Zaidi ya Kigiriki — Msamiati wa WokovuLanguage Appreciation — Unit 9: Four More Greek Words — The Vocabulary of Salvation

Mwaka 1515 mtawa kijana wa shirika la Agustino aitwaye Martin Luther aliketi katika chumba chake cha kujisomea ndani ya mnara wa Nyumba ya Watawa Weusi (Black Cloister) huko Wittenberg, akiandaa mihadhara juu ya Waraka kwa Warumi. Alikuwa ametumia maisha yake yote ya utu uzima akijaribu kujipatia wokovu. Alikuwa amefunga hadi mwili wake ukadhoofika. Alikuwa amepanda Scala Sancta (Ngazi Takatifu) huko Roma kwa magoti yaliyokuwa yakivuja damu. Alikuwa ameungama dhambi zake kwa saa sita mfululizo hadi muungamishi wake akamwambia aende zake na arudi atakapokuwa ametenda dhambi za kweli. Alikuwa nafsi iliyoteswa, na mstari uliomtesa kuliko yote ulikuwa Warumi 1:17: "haki ya Mungu inadhihirishwa."In 1515 a young Augustinian monk named Martin Luther sat in his study in the tower of the Black Cloister at Wittenberg, preparing lectures on the Epistle to the Romans. He had spent his adult life trying to earn salvation. He had fasted until his body broke down. He had crawled up the Scala Sancta in Rome on bleeding knees. He had confessed his sins for six hours at a stretch until his confessor told him to go away and come back when he had committed real sins. He was a tortured soul, and the verse that tortured him most was Romans 1:17: "the righteousness of God is revealed."

Neno la Kilatini katika Biblia yake lilikuwa justitia Dei, "haki (hukumu) ya Mungu." Kwa Luther, haki ya Mungu ilimaanisha kipimo kikamilifu ambacho Mungu angekitumia kumhukumu na kumwona kuwa na hatia. Mstari huo ulisomeka kama hukumu ya kifo. Ungewezaje kuwa habari njema? Aliuchukia mstari huo. Alimchukia Mungu kwa kuuweka katika Biblia. Kisha, alipokuwa bado akipitia Warumi katika mihadhara yake (1515–1516), alifungua maandishi ya Kigiriki ambayo Erasmus aliyachapisha mwanzoni mwa 1516, akasoma mstari ule ule katika lugha ambayo Paulo aliandika kwa kweli: dikaiosynê theou. Aliangalia maumbo ya maneno. Aliona kwamba dikaiosynê kwa Paulo haikumaanisha kipimo ambacho Mungu hutumia kuhukumu. Ilimaanisha haki ambayo Mungu huitoa kama zawadi ya bure kwa wale wanaoamini. Mwenye haki ataishi kwa imani. Si kwa matendo. Si kwa kupanda ngazi kwa magoti yanayovuja damu. Kwa imani.The Latin word in his Bible was justitia Dei, "the justice of God." To Luther, the righteousness of God meant the perfect standard by which God would judge him and find him guilty. The verse read like a death sentence. How could that be good news? He hated the verse. He hated God for putting it in the Bible. And then, while he was still working through Romans in his lectures (1515–1516), he opened the Greek text Erasmus published in early 1516, and he read the same verse in the language Paul actually wrote: dikaiosynê theou. He looked at the verb forms. He saw that dikaiosynê in Paul did not mean the standard by which God judges. It meant the righteousness God gives as a free gift to those who believe. The just shall live by faith. Not by works. Not by climbing stairs on bloody knees. By faith.

Luther alipolielewa neno la Kigiriki dikaiosynê, alisema ilikuwa kana kwamba "malango ya paradiso yalifunguka nami nikaingia." Wakati huo ndani ya mnara wa Wittenberg uliwasha moto wa Matengenezo ya Kanisa.When Luther understood the Greek word dikaiosynê, he said it was as if "the gates of paradise opened and I walked in." That moment in the Wittenberg tower lit the Reformation.

Kwa nini sehemu hii ni muhimuWhy this unit matters

Sehemu ya 8 ilifungua maneno manne ya Kigiriki kutoka Injili ya Yohana: Logos, agapê, charis, pneuma. Sehemu ya 9 inafungua manne mengine, safari hii kutoka Waraka kwa Warumi: pistis (imani), sôzô (kuokoa), dikaiosynê (haki), na kyrios (Bwana). Kwa pamoja, nomino na vitenzi hivi vinane ndivyo kiini cha msamiati wa wokovu wa Agano Jipya. Kufikia mwisho wa sehemu hii utaweza kusoma Warumi 1:16–17 kwa Kigiriki — mstari ulioyawasha Matengenezo ya Kanisa. Utaona kile Luther alichokiona alipofungua Agano Jipya la Kigiriki la Erasmus. Zimebaki sehemu mbili baada ya hii: Sehemu ya 10 inakufundisha kutumia namba za Strong kwa mikono yako mwenyewe, na Sehemu ya 11 inakuachia uanze uchunguzi wako wa kwanza halisi wa neno. Unakaribia kuvuka mstari wa mwisho.Unit 8 opened four Greek words from the Gospel of John: Logos, agapê, charis, pneuma. Unit 9 opens four more, this time from the Epistle to the Romans: pistis (faith), sôzô (save), dikaiosynê (righteousness), and kyrios (Lord). Together these eight nouns and verbs form the heart of the New Testament's salvation vocabulary. By the end of this unit you will be able to read Romans 1:16–17 in Greek — the verse that ignited the Reformation. You will see what Luther saw when he opened Erasmus's Greek Testament. Two more units after this: Unit 10 teaches you Strong's numbers in your hand, and Unit 11 turns you loose on your first real word study. You are about to cross the finish line.

Angalia kwamba andiko la sehemu yetu — Warumi 1:16–17 — lina maneno matatu kati ya yale manne tutakayojifunza leo usiku. Paulo anayabana katika mistari miwili: sôtêria (wokovu, umbo la nomino la sôzô), pisteuonti (aaminiye, umbo la kitenzi la pistis), dikaiosynê, na pistis tena. Neno la nne, kyrios (Bwana), halimo katika mistari hii miwili; tunakutana nalo katika Wafilipi 2:9–11. Matengenezo yote ya Kanisa yamefichwa katika mistari miwili, na ufunguo wa sanduku hilo la hazina ni maneno matatu ya Kigiriki.Notice that our unit scripture — Romans 1:16–17 — contains three of the four words we will study tonight. Paul packs them into two verses: sôtêria (salvation, the noun-form of sôzô), pisteuonti (believing, the verb-form of pistis), dikaiosynê, and pistis again. The fourth word, kyrios (Lord), is not in these two verses; we meet it in Philippians 2:9–11. The whole Reformation is hidden in two verses, and the key to the safe is three Greek words.

Kiingereza cha kisasa kimelifanyia neno "faith" (imani) kile ambacho wakati ulilifanyia neno "charity" (upendo). Kimelipunguza. Leo watu wanaposema "Nina imani," mara nyingi wanamaanisha "Natumaini mambo yataenda vizuri." Imani imekuwa kisawe cha matumaini mema yasiyo na kitu cha kutumainiwa. "Kuwa na imani tu." Imani katika nini? Haijalishi; iwe nayo tu. Amini katika kuamini.Modern English has done to the word "faith" what time did to "charity." It has shrunk it. Today when people say "I have faith," they often mean "I hope it works out." Faith has become a synonym for optimism with no object. "Just have faith." Faith in what? It doesn't matter; just have it. Believe in believing.

Neno la Kigiriki pistis halimaanishi kamwe kitu chochote kinachokaribia hilo. Pistis ni tumaini lililowekwa katika kitu au mtu anayeaminika. Pistis isiyo na kitu cha kutumainiwa si pistis hata kidogo. Ni kutamani tu. Neno la Kigiriki huuliza kila mara: kumtumaini nani? Katika nini? Uaminifu wa kile kinachotumainiwa ndio kiini chote cha imani. Kiti ambacho sijawahi kukiona kitanibeba ikiwa kimetengenezwa vizuri, haijalishi nina pistis kiasi gani ninapoketi. Kiti kilichotengenezwa kwa mbao zilizooza kitavunjika chini yangu haijalishi nitakusanya pistis kiasi gani. Pistis si nguvu inayokifanya kiti kibebe. Pistis ni tendo la kuketi juu ya kiti ambacho tayari kinabeba. Ukristo si imani katika imani. Ukristo ni imani katika Kristo.The Greek word pistis never means anything close to that. Pistis is trust placed in something or someone trustworthy. Pistis without an object is not pistis at all. It is wishing. The Greek word always asks: trust in whom? In what? The trustworthiness of the object is the whole point of the faith. A chair I have never seen will hold me if it is well-built, regardless of how much pistis I bring to the act of sitting. A chair made of rotten wood will collapse under me no matter how much pistis I summon. Pistis is not the power that makes the chair hold. Pistis is the act of sitting on a chair that already holds. Christianity is not faith in faith. Christianity is faith in Christ.

Ukumbi wa mashujaa wa imani wa Waebrania 11The Hebrews 11 hall of fame

Soma Waebrania 11 katika Biblia yoyote nawe utakuta neno "imani" likirudiwa kama mdundo wa ngoma. "Kwa imani Habili alimtolea Mungu … Kwa imani Henoko alihamishwa … Kwa imani Nuhu … Kwa imani Ibrahimu …" Kila mojawapo ni neno lile lile la Kigiriki: pistei, umbo la kitumizi ("kwa njia ya") la pistis. Sura nzima ni sura ya neno moja, lililorudiwa mara ishirini na nne. Na katika kila tukio imani ina kitu dhahiri inachokitumainia. Habili aliyatumaini maagizo ya Mungu kuhusu dhabihu. Nuhu aliyatumaini maonyo ya Mungu kuhusu gharika. Ibrahimu aliitumaini ahadi ya Mungu ya mwana. Imani si kamwe hisia isiyo dhahiri; siku zote ni jibu kwa neno kutoka kwa Mungu. Imani huja kwa kusikia, na kusikia huja kwa neno la Mungu (Warumi 10:17). Kigiriki kinathibitisha hilo: pistis ex akoês. Imani kutoka katika kusikia. Imani inahitaji kitu cha kutumainiwa, na kitu hicho ni kile ambacho Mungu amekisema kwa kweli.Read Hebrews 11 in any English Bible and you find the word "faith" repeated like a drumbeat. "By faith Abel offered … By faith Enoch was translated … By faith Noah … By faith Abraham …" Every one of these is the same Greek word: pistei, the instrumental form of pistis. The entire chapter is a one-word chapter, repeated twenty-four times. And in every single case the faith has a definite object. Abel trusted God's instruction about sacrifice. Noah trusted God's warning about the flood. Abraham trusted God's promise of a son. Faith is never a vague feeling; it is always a response to a word from God. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). The Greek confirms it: pistis ex akoês. Faith out of hearing. Faith needs an object, and the object is what God has actually said.

Wakati mwingine utawasikia watu wakisema, "Ninahitaji tu kuwa na imani zaidi." Hilo ni swali lisilo sahihi. Swali sahihi ni hili: je, ninamtumaini Mtu sahihi kuhusu ahadi sahihi? Pistis haipimwi kwa ukali wake. Pistis hupimwa kwa kile inachokitumainia. Pistis ndogo kabisa katika Kitu sahihi huokoa; pistis kubwa kabisa katika kitu kisicho sahihi huangamiza.You will sometimes hear people say, "I just need to have more faith." That is the wrong question. The right question is: am I trusting the right Person about the right promise? Pistis is not measured by intensity. Pistis is measured by its object. The smallest pistis in the right Object saves; the largest pistis in the wrong object damns.

Imani na kitenzi pisteuôFaith and the verb pisteuô

Nomino pistis ina kitenzi kinacholingana nayo: pisteuô, "kuamini, kutumaini." Yohana 3:16 inaposema "kila mtu amwaminiye," neno la Kigiriki ni pisteuôn. Mzizi ule ule. Kwa hiyo kila unaposoma "imani" au "kuamini" katika Agano Jipya, kwa kawaida unaangalia familia ile ile ya maneno ya Kigiriki. Imani ni kitu ulicho nacho; kuamini ni kile unachokifanya nacho. Katika Kigiriki si mawazo mawili tofauti. Ni nomino na kitenzi cha uhalisia mmoja — tumaini lililowekwa katika Kristo anayeaminika.The noun pistis has a matching verb: pisteuô, "to believe, to trust." When John 3:16 says "whosoever believeth in Him," the Greek word is pisteuôn. Same root. So whenever you read either "faith" or "believe" in the English New Testament, you are usually looking at the same Greek family. Faith is something you have; believing is what you do with it. In Greek they are not two separate ideas. They are the noun and verb of one reality — trust placed in the trustworthy Christ.

Muulize Mkristo wa kawaida "kuokolewa" kunamaanisha nini, na jibu karibu kila mara ni: "kuokolewa kutoka jehanamu, kwenda mbinguni." Hilo ni kweli, lakini ni kweli kwa robo moja tu. Kitenzi cha Kigiriki sôzô ni kikubwa zaidi ya hapo. Ni mojawapo ya vitenzi vinavyobadilika-badilika zaidi katika Agano Jipya, nacho kinajitokeza mahali pa kushangaza.Ask the average Christian what "saved" means, and the answer is almost always: "saved from hell, going to heaven." That is true, but it is one-quarter true. The Greek verb sôzô is much bigger than that. It is one of the most flexible verbs in the New Testament, and it shows up in some surprising places.

Sôzô maana yake ni kunusuru kutoka hatari, kwa namna yoyote. Kinaweza kunusuru kutoka kuzama majini (Mathayo 14:30, Petro anapolia "Bwana, niokoe" huku akizama — kyrie sôson me). Kinaweza kunusuru kutoka ugonjwa (Marko 5:34, Yesu anapomwambia mwanamke aliyetokwa na damu, "imani yako imekuponya" — hê pistis sou sesôken se; kwa neno kwa neno "imani yako imekuokoa"). Kinaweza kunusuru kutoka kifo (Marko 5:23, Yairo anapomsihi Yesu aje kumponya binti yake "apate kuokoka na kuishi"). Kinaweza kunusuru kutoka meli inayozama (Matendo 27:31). Na kinaweza kunusuru kutoka dhambi na hukumu (Matendo 16:31, Paulo anapomwambia mlinzi wa gereza wa Filipi, "Mwamini Bwana Yesu Kristo, nawe utaokoka").Sôzô means to rescue from danger, in any sense. It can rescue from drowning (Matthew 14:30, when Peter cries "Lord, save me" as he sinks — kyrie sôson me). It can rescue from disease (Mark 5:34, when Jesus tells the woman with the issue of blood, "your faith has made you whole" — hê pistis sou sesôken se; literally "your faith has saved you"). It can rescue from death (Mark 5:23, when Jairus begs Jesus to come heal his daughter "that she may be saved and live"). It can rescue from a sinking ship (Acts 27:31). And it can rescue from sin and judgment (Acts 16:31, when Paul tells the Philippian jailer, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved").

Neno la Kigiriki halijigawanyi kuwa "kunusuru kimwili" na "kunusuru kiroho." Linayashika pamoja. Agano Jipya linaposema Kristo alikuja kuokoa, linamaanisha alikuja kumnusuru mtu mzima kutoka kila aina ya maangamizi — kutoka dhambi, kutoka kifo, kutoka ugonjwa, kutoka hofu, kutoka maisha yasiyo na maana, kutoka kaburi lenyewe. Wokovu ni kamili. Nafsi yako imeokolewa sasa. Mwili wako utaokolewa katika ufufuo. Machozi yako yatafutwa milele. Sôzô inayafunika yote hayo.The Greek word does not split into "physical rescue" and "spiritual rescue." It holds them together. When the New Testament says Christ came to save, it means He came to rescue the whole person from every kind of ruin — from sin, from death, from sickness, from fear, from meaninglessness, from the grave itself. Salvation is comprehensive. Your soul is saved now. Your body will be saved at the resurrection. Your tears will be wiped away forever. Sôzô covers all of it.

Maneno ya Kiingereza yanayotokana naloThe English derivatives

Nomino ya Kigiriki ya "wokovu" ni sôtêria. Neno la "mwokozi" ni sôtêr. Maneno haya yanajitokeza katika Kiingereza mahali usipotarajia. Soteriology (soteriolojia) ni istilahi ya kitheolojia ya fundisho la wokovu. Soter ni jina la kawaida katika familia za Wakristo wa Kigiriki hadi leo. Na kila Mkristo anayezungumza Kihispania ambaye amewahi kuimba "Salvador mío" ("Mwokozi wangu") anamwita sôtêr.The Greek noun for "salvation" is sôtêria. The word for "savior" is sôtêr. These show up in English in unexpected places. Soteriology is the theological term for the doctrine of salvation. Soter is a common name in Greek Christian families to this day. And every Spanish-speaking Christian who has ever sung "Salvador mío" is calling on the sôtêr.

Nyakati tatu za wokovu: Nimeokolewa (kuhesabiwa haki, kutoka adhabu ya dhambi). Ninaokolewa (utakaso, kutoka nguvu ya dhambi). Nitaokolewa (kutukuzwa, kutoka kuwepo kwa dhambi). Zote tatu ni sôzô. Kitenzi kimoja cha Kigiriki, nyakati tatu, Wokovu mmoja.Three tenses of salvation: I have been saved (justification, from sin's penalty). I am being saved (sanctification, from sin's power). I will be saved (glorification, from sin's presence). All three are sôzô. One Greek verb, three tenses, one Salvation.

Jinsi jambo hili linavyobadilisha usomaji wa BibliaHow this changes Bible reading

Unaposoma "aweza kuwaokoa kabisa wale wanaomkaribia Mungu kwa yeye" (Waebrania 7:25), Kigiriki ni sôzein eis to panteles — "kuokoa hadi mwisho kabisa," "kuokoa kikamilifu." Hakuna kuokolewa nusu kwa Kristo. Kitenzi katika Kigiriki ni kamili, cha wakati uliopo, kinachoendelea. Yeye huokoa na huendelea kuokoa. Kitenzi kile kile cha Kigiriki kilichomnusuru Petro kutoka mawimbini ndicho kitenzi kinachokunusuru wewe kutoka dhambi yako. Seremala wa Galilaya bado ananyosha mkono ndani ya dhoruba.When you read "He saves to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him" (Hebrews 7:25), the Greek is sôzein eis to panteles — "save unto the uttermost," "save completely." There is no half-saving with Christ. The verb in Greek is comprehensive, present-tense, ongoing. He saves and He keeps saving. The same Greek verb that rescued Peter from the waves is the verb that rescues you from your sin. The Carpenter of Galilee still reaches into storms.

Neno la Kigiriki dikaiosynê ni sehemu ya familia nzima ya maneno yanayohusiana. Kivumishi dikaios maana yake ni "mwenye haki" au "wa haki." Kitenzi dikaioô maana yake ni "kutangaza kuwa mwenye haki, kuhesabia haki." Nomino dikaiosynê maana yake ni "haki" au "kuhesabiwa haki." Msamiati wote wa kisheria wa fundisho la kuhesabiwa haki kwa imani unaning'inia juu ya mzizi huu mmoja wa Kigiriki.Greek dikaiosynê belongs to a whole family of related words. The adjective dikaios means "righteous" or "just." The verb dikaioô means "to declare righteous, to justify." The noun dikaiosynê means "righteousness" or "justification." The whole legal vocabulary of the doctrine of justification by faith hangs on this single Greek root.

Hili ndilo tatizo alilokabili Paulo. Katika fikra za Kigiriki na Kirumi, dikaiosynê ilimaanisha ubora wa kimaadili — sifa ya kuwa mwenye haki, kipimo cha mwenendo sahihi. Mtu mwenye haki alikuwa mtu ambaye maisha yake yalifikia kipimo hicho. Kwa maana hiyo, hakuna mtu ambaye angeweza kuwa mwenye haki mbele za Mungu. Agano la Kale linaeleza jambo hilo waziwazi: "Hakuna mwenye haki hata mmoja" (Warumi 3:10, akinukuu Zaburi 14). Kipimo hicho hakifikiki. Wagiriki wapagani walilijua. Wayahudi wacha Mungu walilijua. Luther alilijua. Kila nafsi aminifu ambayo imewahi kusoma Mahubiri ya Mlimani imelijua.Here is the problem Paul faced. In Greek and Roman thought, dikaiosynê meant moral excellence — the quality of being just, the standard of right conduct. A righteous person was a person whose life met the standard. By that definition, no one could be righteous before God. The Old Testament makes the case plainly: "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10, quoting Psalm 14). The standard is unmeetable. Pagan Greeks knew it. Pious Jews knew it. Luther knew it. Every honest soul who has ever read the Sermon on the Mount has known it.

Paulo analifanyia neno hili niniWhat Paul does with the word

Kisha Paulo analichukua neno hilo na kulifanyia kile kile alichokifanyia charis. Analigeuza. Katika Warumi 3 anatangaza "dikaiosynê ya Mungu imedhihirika pasipo sheria … ndiyo dikaiosynê ya Mungu iliyo kwa njia ya imani katika Yesu Kristo kwa wote waaminio." Dikaiosynê kwa Paulo si tena ubora wa kimaadili unaopaswa kuufikia. Dikaiosynê ni msimamo wa haki ambao Mungu huutoa kama zawadi kwa wale wanaomtumaini Kristo. Kitenzi dikaioô ni kitenzi cha mahakamani: maana yake ni "kutangaza kuwa mwenye haki," kutoa hukumu ya "hana hatia" kutoka kiti cha hakimu. Mungu anapomhesabia haki mwenye dhambi anayemtumaini Kristo, hajifanyi kwamba mwenye dhambi ni mwema. Anahamisha haki kamilifu ya Kristo kwenda kwenye hesabu ya mwenye dhambi na kutangaza hukumu ya kisheria: mwenye haki.And then Paul takes the word and does to it exactly what he did to charis. He flips it. In Romans 3 he announces "the dikaiosynê of God revealed apart from law … even the dikaiosynê of God by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." Dikaiosynê in Paul is no longer the moral excellence you have to achieve. Dikaiosynê is the right standing God gives as a gift to those who trust in Christ. The verb dikaioô is a courtroom verb: it means "to declare righteous," to issue a verdict of "not guilty" from the bench. When God justifies the sinner who trusts Christ, He is not pretending the sinner is good. He is transferring Christ's perfect righteousness to the sinner's account and declaring the legal verdict: righteous.

Kristo alichukua dhambi yetu msalabani; sisi tunapokea dikaiosynê yake kwa imani. Hili linaitwa "mabadilishano makuu," na shughuli hiyo yote inategemea neno moja la Kigiriki.Christ took our sin on the cross; we receive His dikaiosynê by faith. This is called "the great exchange," and the whole transaction depends on one Greek word.

Tukirudi tena kwenye mnara wa WittenbergThe Wittenberg tower revisited

Sasa rudi kwa Luther katika chumba chake cha kujisomea. Biblia ya Kilatini aliyoitumia maisha yake yote ilitafsiri dikaiosynê kuwa justitia, "haki/hukumu." Lakini neno hilo la Kilatini, kufikia mwaka 1515, lilikuwa limehamia kumaanisha haki ya kuadhibu ya hakimu — kipimo ambacho kwacho Mungu huhukumu na kuadhibu. Luther alipofungua Agano Jipya la Kigiriki la Erasmus, lililochapishwa mwaka 1516, na kusoma Warumi 1:17, aliona kitu ambacho Kilatini kilikuwa kimekificha: dikaiosynê theou si kipimo ambacho Mungu anadai. Ni zawadi ambayo Mungu hutoa. "Mwenye haki ataishi kwa imani" — ho dikaios ek pisteôs zêsetai. Baadaye Luther aliandika: "Nilijiona nimezaliwa upya na kuingia kupitia malango yaliyo wazi ndani ya paradiso yenyewe." Sentensi hiyo, katika mnara wa Wittenberg, ilikuwa cheche ya Matengenezo ya Kanisa. Neno moja la Kigiriki. Ufahamu wa mwanamatengenezo mmoja. Nusu ya milenia ya historia ya Kiprotestanti.Now go back to Luther in his study. The Latin Bible he had used all his life translated dikaiosynê as justitia, "justice." But the Latin word, by the year 1515, had drifted to mean the punitive justice of a judge — the standard by which God condemns. When Luther opened Erasmus's Greek New Testament, printed in 1516, and read Romans 1:17, he saw something the Latin had hidden: dikaiosynê theou is not the standard God demands. It is the gift God gives. "The just shall live by faith" — ho dikaios ek pisteôs zêsetai. Luther later wrote: "I felt myself to be born anew and to enter through open gates into paradise itself." That sentence, in the tower at Wittenberg, was the spark of the Reformation. One Greek word. One reformer's understanding. Half a millennium of Protestant history.

Maneno ya Kiingereza yanayotokana naloThe English derivatives

Umbo la Kilatini justitia linatupa maneno ya Kiingereza justice (haki), justify (kuhesabia haki), justification (kuhesabiwa haki). Neno la Kigiriki dikaios linatupa maneno machache kwa njia isiyo ya moja kwa moja — theodicy (theodisia, "kuhesabiwa haki kwa Mungu," kwa neno kwa neno "Mungu-haki"). (Jina Eudokia, la kawaida katika Kanisa la Mashariki, linasikika kama linahusiana lakini halihusiani: maana yake ni "mapenzi mema" na linatoka katika mzizi mwingine.) Kila unapoona "kuhesabia haki" katika Biblia, fikiria dikaioô. Kitenzi cha kisheria. Hukumu ya Mungu, iliyotamkwa kutoka kiti cha hakimu, ikihamisha rekodi kamilifu ya Kristo kwa mwenye dhambi anayemtumaini.The Latin form justitia gives us English justice, justify, justification. The Greek dikaios gives us less directly — theodicy ("the justification of God," literally "God-justice"). (The proper name Eudokia, common in the Eastern Church, sounds related but is not: it means "good pleasure" and comes from a different root.) Whenever you see "justify" in an English Bible, think dikaioô. The legal verb. God's verdict, pronounced from the bench, transferring Christ's perfect record onto the sinner who trusts Him.

Neno la Kigiriki kyrios lilikuwa na matumizi makuu mawili katika karne ya kwanza, na Wakristo walichukua matumizi ya pili wakayafanya kuwa ukiri unaolitambulisha kanisa. Matumizi ya kwanza: bwana au mmiliki yeyote. Mtumwa alimwita mmiliki wake kyrios. Mke wakati mwingine alimwita mumewe kyrios. Mnunuzi mwenye adabu sokoni (agora) alimwita mwanamume yeyote asiyemfahamu kyrios, kama vile mzungumzaji wa Kiingereza asemavyo "sir" (kwa Kiswahili, "bwana"). Hii ndiyo ngazi ya chini kabisa ya neno hilo. Matumizi ya pili: Bwana kamili, Mtawala mwenye enzi wa ulimwengu wote. Watafsiri sabini walipotafsiri Agano la Kale la Kiebrania kwa Kigiriki takriban 250 K.K. (Septuajinti au LXX, tuliyokutana nayo katika Sehemu ya 2), walikabili swali la jinsi ya kutafsiri Jina la Kiungu lisilotamkwa, YHWH. Mapokeo ya Kiebrania yalikataa kulitamka; marabi waliweka Adonai ("Bwana") mahali pake wakati wa kusoma. Watafsiri wa Septuajinti walichagua cheo kinacholingana nacho kwa Kigiriki: Kyrios. Tangu 250 K.K. na kuendelea, kila Myahudi aliyezungumza Kigiriki alisoma Agano lake la Kale akiwa na neno Kyrios likisimama mahali pa Jina la agano la Mungu. Kyrios, katika Biblia, ni jina la Mungu.The Greek word kyrios had two great uses in the first century, and the Christians took the second one and made it the defining confession of the church. Use one: any master or owner. A slave called his owner kyrios. A wife sometimes called her husband kyrios. A polite shopper in the agora called any unfamiliar man kyrios in the same way an English speaker says "sir." This is the lowest register of the word. Use two: the absolute Lord, the Sovereign of the universe. When the seventy translators rendered the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek around 250 BC (the Septuagint or LXX, which we met in Unit 2), they faced the question of how to translate the unspeakable divine Name, YHWH. Hebrew tradition refused to pronounce it; the rabbis substituted Adonai ("Lord") in reading. The Septuagint translators chose the equivalent Greek title: Kyrios. From 250 BC onward, every Greek-speaking Jew read his Old Testament with the word Kyrios standing in the place of God's covenant Name. Kyrios, in the Bible, is the name of God.

Uchokozi wa RomaThe Roman provocation

Sasa ruka mbele karne tatu. Huko Roma chini ya Domitian (mfalme yule yule aliyemhamishia Yohana Patmo katika Sehemu ya 7), ibada ya mfalme ilianza kudai kwamba kila raia wa Roma akiri Kyrios Kaisar — "Kaisari ni Bwana." Ulikuwa mtihani wa uaminifu wa sentensi moja. Weka chembe ya uvumba juu ya madhabahu ya sanamu ya mfalme na useme maneno matatu: Kyrios Kaisar. Ondoka ukiwa huru. Kataa, nawe ulitupwa kwa simba. Kwa Warumi wengi mtihani huo ulikuwa jambo dogo — desturi ya kiraia tu, bila kuhitaji imani ya ndani. Kwa Wakristo haukuwezekana. Walikuwa tayari wamekiri maneno matatu mengine: Kyrios Iêsous. "Yesu ni Bwana."Now jump forward three centuries. In Rome under Domitian (the same emperor who exiled John to Patmos in Unit 7), the imperial cult began demanding that every Roman citizen affirm Kyrios Kaisar — "Caesar is Lord." It was a one-sentence loyalty test. Pinch a pinch of incense on the altar of the emperor's image and say three words: Kyrios Kaisar. Walk away free. Refuse, and you went to the lions. For most Romans the test was trivial — just a civic ritual, no deep belief required. For Christians it was impossible. They had already confessed three other words: Kyrios Iêsous. "Jesus is Lord."

Angalia kinachotokea. Wakristo hawatumii neno la kawaida la "mkubwa wa kazi." Wanachukua neno lile lile la Kigiriki ambalo Septuajinti ilitumia kwa YHWH na kusema: Mtu huyo, Yule ambaye Agano la Kale linamwita Kyrios, ni Yesu wa Nazareti. Kanuni ya imani ya kwanza kabisa ya Kikristo katika Agano Jipya ni maneno matatu ya Kigiriki: Kyrios Iêsous, "Yesu ni Bwana" (1 Wakorintho 12:3, Warumi 10:9, Wafilipi 2:11). Ukiri wa imani mfupi kuliko yote unaowezekana. Neno Kyrios likiunganishwa na jina Yesu linabeba uzito wote wa imani ya Agano la Kale ya Mungu mmoja. Kusema "Yesu ni Bwana" ni kusema "Yesu ni YHWH." Na hivyo ndivyo Warumi walivyosikia. Na ndiyo sababu Warumi waliwaua Wakristo.Notice what is happening. The Christians are not using a generic word for "boss." They are taking the same Greek word the Septuagint used for YHWH and saying: that Person, the One the Old Testament calls Kyrios, is Jesus of Nazareth. The earliest Christian creed in the New Testament is three Greek words: Kyrios Iêsous, "Jesus is Lord" (1 Corinthians 12:3, Romans 10:9, Philippians 2:11). The shortest possible confession of faith. The word Kyrios attached to the name Jesus carries the full weight of Old Testament monotheism. To say "Jesus is Lord" is to say "Jesus is YHWH." And that is what the Romans heard. And that is why the Romans killed Christians.

Kaisari alitaka chembe ya uvumba. Kristo aliomba kila kitu. Neno lile lile, kyrios, lilidai jibu la pekee. Polikarpo, Perpetua, Felisita, Justin, Lorenso, Ignatio — wote walichagua simba kuliko uvumba.Caesar wanted a pinch of incense. Christ asked for everything. The same word, kyrios, demanded an exclusive answer. Polycarp, Perpetua, Felicity, Justin, Lawrence, Ignatius — all chose the lions over the incense.

Wimbo wa Wafilipi 2The Philippians 2 hymn

Wafilipi 2:9–11 ina matumizi ya kilele ya Kikristo ya neno hili. Paulo, akinukuu kile ambacho huenda kilikuwa wimbo wa Wakristo wa kwanza, anaandika: "Kwa hiyo tena Mungu alimwadhimisha mno, akamkirimia jina lile lipitalo kila jina; ili kwa jina la Yesu kila goti lipigwe, la vitu vya mbinguni, na vya duniani, na vya chini ya nchi; na kila ulimi ukiri ya kuwa Yesu Kristo ni Bwana (Kyrios Iêsous Christos), kwa utukufu wa Mungu Baba." Msemo huo — Kyrios Iêsous Christos — ndio kanuni ya imani ya msingi ya imani ya Kikristo. Neno la Kigiriki kyrios ni ukuta unaobeba jengo. Unapomkiri Yesu kuwa Bwana, husemi tu kwamba ni mshauri wako binafsi. Unasema kwamba Yeye ni YHWH, Mtawala mwenye enzi wa ulimwengu wote, Yule ambaye Jina lake li juu ya kila jina.Philippians 2:9–11 contains the climactic Christian use of the word. Paul, quoting what may be an early Christian hymn, writes: "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Kyrios Iêsous Christos), to the glory of God the Father." That phrase — Kyrios Iêsous Christos — is the foundation creed of the Christian faith. The Greek word kyrios is the load-bearing wall. When you confess Jesus as Lord, you are not just saying He is your personal advisor. You are saying He is YHWH, the Sovereign of the universe, the One whose Name is above every name.

Maneno ya Kiingereza na Kihispania yanayotokana naloThe English and Spanish derivatives

Kupitia Kigiriki cha ibada, Kiingereza kimelipata neno kyrie katika sala Kyrie eleison, "Bwana, uturehemu," ambayo bado huimbwa makanisani kila Jumapili duniani kote. Kihispania kina neno señor kwa matumizi ya kila siku na hulitenga (kwa herufi kubwa, Señor) kwa ajili ya Kristo kama vile Kiingereza kinavyotenga "Lord" (na Kiswahili "Bwana"). Kila unapoimba "Kristo ni Bwana" au "Cristo es el Señor," unakiri kile ambacho Polikarpo alikwenda mtini kwa ajili yake. Kyrios Iêsous.Through liturgical Greek, English picks up kyrie in the prayer Kyrie eleison, "Lord, have mercy," still sung in churches every Sunday around the world. Spanish has the word señor for everyday use and reserves it (capitalized as Señor) for Christ in the same way English reserves "Lord." Every time you sing "Christ is Lord" or "Cristo es el Señor," you are confessing what Polycarp went to the stake for. Kyrios Iêsous.

Sasa umekutana na maneno manane ya Kigiriki. Logos, agapê, charis, pneuma kutoka Sehemu ya 8; pistis, sôzô, dikaiosynê, kyrios kutoka Sehemu ya 9. Uko tayari kusoma mstari wa Luther. Hapa kuna Warumi 1:16–17 kwa Kigiriki kilichoandikwa kwa herufi za Kilatini, na tafsiri ya neno kwa neno chini yake:You have now met eight Greek words. Logos, agapê, charis, pneuma from Unit 8; pistis, sôzô, dikaiosynê, kyrios from Unit 9. You are ready to read Luther's verse. Here is Romans 1:16–17 in transliterated Greek with English underneath:

Kuhesabu manenoCounting the words

Soma tena na uhesabu. Sôtêria (wokovu, umbo la nomino la sôzô) linaonekana mara moja. Pisteuô (kuamini, umbo la kitenzi la pistis) linaonekana mara moja. Dikaiosynê (haki) linaonekana mara moja. Pistis (imani) linaonekana mara tatu. Kyrios halimo katika mistari hii miwili, lakini Kristo anatajwa: "Injili ya Kristo" — na "Kristo" katika matumizi ya Paulo karibu kamwe hasafiri bila Ubwana wake kudokezwa. Katika mistari miwili Paulo amebana msamiati wa wokovu wa Agano Jipya la Kigiriki. Ndiyo sababu Luther angeweza kutumia miaka mingi katika Warumi na asifike kamwe chini kabisa. Kila neno ni mlango.Read it again and count. Sôtêria (salvation, the noun-form of sôzô) appears once. Pisteuô (believing, the verb-form of pistis) appears once. Dikaiosynê (righteousness) appears once. Pistis (faith) appears three times. Kyrios is not in these two verses, but Christ is named: "the gospel of Christ" — and "Christ" in Pauline usage almost never travels without His Lordship implied. In two verses Paul has packed the salvation vocabulary of the Greek New Testament. This is why Luther could spend years on Romans and never reach the bottom. Every word is a doorway.

Kile Luther alichokionaWhat Luther saw

Sasa usome kwa macho ya Luther. Dikaiosynê ya Mungu inadhihirishwa — si kipimo ambacho Mungu anadai, bali zawadi ambayo Mungu hutoa. Toka imani hata imani (ek pisteôs eis pistin) — wokovu unaanza katika imani, unaendelea katika imani, unaishia katika imani, imani tangu mwanzo hadi mwisho. Mwenye haki ataishi kwa imani — nukuu ya Habakuki 2:4 inayopita katika Warumi, Wagalatia, na Waebrania kama sauti nzito ya besi ya Agano Jipya zima. Wenye haki huishi kwa pistis. Si kwa matendo. Si kwa kupanda ngazi huko Roma kwa magoti yanayovuja damu. Kwa pistis. Kwa kumtumaini Kyrios.Now read it with Luther's eyes. The dikaiosynê of God is being revealed — not the standard God demands, but the gift God gives. From faith to faith (ek pisteôs eis pistin) — salvation begins in faith, continues in faith, ends in faith, faith from start to finish. The just shall live by faith — the Habakkuk 2:4 quotation that runs through Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews like the bass line of the entire New Testament. The just live by pistis. Not by works. Not by climbing stairs in Rome on bleeding knees. By pistis. By trust in the Kyrios.

Luther alipoielewa mistari hii miwili kwa Kigiriki, baadaye aliandika: "Hapa nilijiona nimezaliwa upya kabisa, na kwamba nimepita katika milango iliyo wazi kuingia paradiso yenyewe." Kigiriki kilifungua milango ambayo Kilatini kilikuwa kimeificha. Milango hiyo hiyo iko wazi kwako leo usiku.When Luther understood these two verses in Greek, he later wrote: "Here I felt myself altogether born again, and to have gone through open doors into paradise itself." The Greek opened doors the Latin had hidden. The same doors are open to you tonight.

Zoezi la daftariNotebook activity

Kabla hujafanya mtihani, fanya hivi. Fungua daftari lile lile ulilotumia katika Sehemu ya 8. Tafuta ukurasa ulipoandika Logos, Agapê, Charis, Pneuma. Chini yake, andika Pistis, Sôzô, Dikaiosynê, Kyrios. Kwa kila moja, andika maana yake kwa Kiswahili, mstari utakaokusaidia kulikumbuka, na sentensi moja inayoeleza jinsi Kigiriki kinavyobadilisha usomaji wako. Sasa angalia ukurasa mzima. Maneno manane ya Kigiriki. Safu mbili. Baba, Mwana, Roho, wokovu, imani, haki, Bwana. Una msamiati wa wokovu wa Agano Jipya katika ukurasa mmoja. Uweke katika fremu. Ubandike ndani ya Biblia yako ya kujifunzia. Maneno haya manane yatasafiri nawe maisha yako yote.Before you take the examination, do this. Open the same notebook you used in Unit 8. Find the page where you wrote Logos, Agapê, Charis, Pneuma. Underneath, write Pistis, Sôzô, Dikaiosynê, Kyrios. For each one, write the English meaning, the verse you will remember it by, and one sentence describing how the Greek changes your reading. Now look at the whole page. Eight Greek words. Two columns. The Father, the Son, the Spirit, salvation, faith, righteousness, the Lord. You have the New Testament's salvation vocabulary on one page. Frame it. Tape it inside your study Bible. These eight words will travel with you the rest of your life.

Sehemu ya 10 inaendelea wapiWhere Unit 10 picks up

Sehemu ya 10 inabadilisha mwendo. Hadi sasa tumekuwa tukifungua maneno moja moja kadiri Wayne anavyokuonyesha. Katika Sehemu ya 10 unajifunza chombo kinachokuwezesha kufanya hivi mwenyewe kwa neno lolote katika Biblia: namba za Strong. Kila neno la Kiebrania na la Kigiriki katika Biblia limepewa namba. G3056 ni logos. G4982 ni sôzô. G2962 ni kyrios. Ukiwa na namba za Strong mkononi mwako, unaweza kufungua kifuniko cha neno lolote katika mstari wowote, wakati wowote. Sehemu ya 10 inafundisha namba za Strong kwa njia tatu: kwenye karatasi (konkodansi ya asili), kwenye simu (programu za kisasa), na kwenye intaneti nzima (tovuti za kujifunza Biblia). Kisha Sehemu ya 11 inakuachia uanze uchunguzi wako wa kwanza halisi wa neno. Zimebaki sehemu mbili. Unaweza kuuona mstari wa mwisho.Unit 10 changes gears. Until now we have been opening words one at a time as Wayne points them out to you. In Unit 10 you learn the tool that lets you do this yourself for any word in the Bible: Strong's numbers. Every Hebrew and Greek word in the Bible is keyed to a number. G3056 is logos. G4982 is sôzô. G2962 is kyrios. With Strong's numbers in your hand, you can open the lid on any word in any verse, any time. Unit 10 teaches Strong's three ways: on paper (the original concordance), on a phone (the modern apps), and on the full internet (Bible study websites). Then Unit 11 turns you loose on your first real word study. Two units left. You can see the finish line.