Jerusalem after Its Fall
1 Our glittering gold has grown dull;
the stones of the Temple lie scattered in the streets.
2 Zion's young people were as precious to us as gold,
but now they are treated like common clay pots.
3 Even a mother wolf will nurse her cubs,
but my people are like ostriches, cruel to their young.
4 They let their babies die of hunger and thirst;
children are begging for food that no one will give them.
5 People who once ate the finest foods die starving in the streets;
those raised in luxury are pawing through garbage for food.
6 My people have been punished even more than the inhabitants of Sodom,
which met a sudden downfall at the hands of God.
7 Our princes were undefiled and pure as snow,
vigorous and strong, glowing with health.
8 Now they lie unknown in the streets, their faces blackened in death;
their skin, dry as wood, has shriveled on their bones.
9 Those who died in the war were better off than those who died later,
who starved slowly to death, with no food to keep them alive.
10 The disaster that came to my people brought horror;
loving mothers boiled their own children for food.
11 The Lord turned loose the full force of his fury;
he lit a fire in Zion that burned it to the ground.
12 No one anywhere, not even rulers of foreign nations,
believed that any invader could enter Jerusalem's gates.
13 But it happened, because her prophets sinned and her priests were guilty
of causing the death of innocent people.
14 Her leaders wandered through the streets as though blind,
so stained with blood that no one would touch them.
15 “Get away!” people shouted. “You're defiled! Don't touch me!”
So they wandered from nation to nation, welcomed by no one.
16 The Lord had no more concern for them; he scattered them himself.
He showed no regard for our priests and leaders.
17 For help that never came, we looked until we could look no longer.
We kept waiting for help from a nation that had none to give.
18 The enemy was watching for us; we could not even walk in the streets.
Our days were over; the end had come.
19 Swifter than eagles swooping from the sky, they chased us down.
They tracked us down in the hills; they took us by surprise in the desert.
20 They captured the source of our life, the king the Lord had chosen,
the one we had trusted to protect us from every invader.
21 Laugh on, people of Edom and Uz; be glad while you can.
Your disaster is coming too; you too will stagger naked in shame.
22 Zion has paid for her sin; the Lord will not keep us in exile any longer.
But Edom, the Lord will punish you; he will expose your guilty acts.
Shule kwe kuwa kwe Jerusalema
1 Golide yatundubala seni,
golide mbuyanana yashanduka kwakatini!
Mabgwe akayengemala atjipalala ku phelelo dze zijana.
2 Bakololo babuya be Ziyoni bakabe
betolegwa pezhugwi se golide,
botjitogwa se hali dzakabumbiwa nge ntapkhwi,
dzithamiwa nge maboko e mbumbi.
3 Ne phungubgwe dumbu dzomwisa bana badzo mazhamu,
koga bathu bangu bana mimoyo mikukutu,
banonga phowu mu tjilambanyika.
4 Nge nyota malimi e ngawana
akanamatila bgwasha,
bana banokumbila tjiwunga,
koga akuna unobapa itjo.
5 Ibabo bakabe beja zojiwa zwakatini,
bo bulawa nge zhala mu dzizila.
Ibabo bakakula beambala zwiambalo
zwe mbala we bushaba gwakabondelela,
babe gele mu zwizhalanlota.
6 Lobgwa shamu kwe bathu bangu kukulu
kupinda kwe Sodoma,
iyo yakakolomogwa tjinyolotjo,
kusina ne ng'ompela ungabhatsha.
7 Bakololo be bushe bakabe bepenya kupinda kapuku
bali batjena kupinda nkaka,
mibili yabo ili mishaba kupinda thakwala,
mavudzi abo enga safire.
8 Koga ngwenu babe batematema se masitu,
akuna unoziba kuti ndiboani mu dzizila.
Ganda labo lakanamatila mafupa abo,
lakawomelela se lukuni.
9 Bakabulawa nge thumo banoyita,
muna ibabo banobulawa nge zhala,
ibabo banothukudzika ngoshaya zojiwa mu minda.
10 Maboko e bakadzi bana mahwilo ngoni,
akabhika bana babo,
bakabathama zojiwa zwabo,
ha bakanyi kwangu belobesiwa.
11 Yahwe bakazhulila bushongola gwabo,
bakatebula gwadzamoyo kwabo kunopisa,
bakabhatidza moto mu Ziyoni
ukaja thiwa dzayo.
12 Bomambo be shango bakasidume,
nanga ibo bathu be shango,
kuti zwita kene babulayi bangangina ne mikoba ye Jerusalema.
13 Koga kwakashingikala ngekwe zwibi zwe balebesambeli bayo,
ne ngekwe milandu ye bapirisiti bayo,
ibo bakatebula malopa e balulwami
pakati kwayo.
14 Bolungayila se mapofu mu dzizila,
bakatemapadziwa nge malopa,
kusina iye ungakutha zwiambalo zwabo.
15 Bathu banobamimilila beti, “Kutjena naswi! Makatemapala!
Kutjena naswi! Kutjena naswi! Musitongotikutha!”
Abetizha bebe bebe zwitendeleki ne balungaili,
bathu pakati kwe zwitjaba banoti,
“Abangatja gale naswi kakale!”
16 Yahwe ndibo bakabapaladza,
abatjina hanya.
Abatokudza bapirisiti,
abatoteta sholotjena.
17 Mesho edu anonyala,
akalingilila suli kubhatshiwa,
mu thungamakole takalingilila
itjaba tjisingake tjikatitjidza.
18 Zwita zwedu zwakativima
pamwe ne pamwe patinotshamba,
kuti ndizo tisiyendayende mu dzizila dzedu.
Bhelelo ledu lasendela,
mazhuba edu mashomanana,
ngoti bhelelo ledu latjiswika.
19 Batatamili bedu banovirima kupinda madzu ku zhuzhugwi,
bakatitatamila pezhugwi kwe matombo,
bakatilalila mu tjilambanyika.
20 Meya ye bupenyu gwedu iye Nzhodziwa wa Yahwe
iye wakabe ali iye kugalabgwe kwedu,
bakambata nge mapuzhu abo,
takabe tikumbula titi, “Kusi kwe ntutshi uwe
towotjila pakati kwe zwitjaba.”
21 Shatha upembele iwe nkololokadzi we Edomu,
iwe n'gali mu shango ye Uzi,
koga nawebo bhepe lowopinda pakuli,
unowong'wa ukalaladza ukazwiambula zwiambalo.
22 Iwe nkololokadzi we Ziyoni,
lobgwa shamu kuko kowopela,
abatjokugadza mu butapiwa,
koga ngekwe nlandu uwo iwe nkololokadzi we Edomu,
banowokuloba shamu,
banowodusila jinyo lilo pa tjena!