Kuwa kwe Bhabhiloni
1 Deluka ugale mu hwuluba,
iwe mwanadi we Bhabhiloni.
Gala pasi pasina tjigalo tje bumambo,
iwe nkololokadzi we Bakhaladiya.
Nge kuti awungabe utjadang'wa kuyi nnyolo wakatebama.
2 Tola gwiyilo ukwiye bgwisa,
dusa tukwi iyo mu nsholo,
ukanye thako iyo, makumbo awo abe patjena upalame vula utjuluke njizi.
3 Unowobonegwa, ne kubhakhwa nge shoni kuko kowobe patjena.
Ndowobgwilizila, akuna wandinowosiya.
4 Ndzutunuli wedu zina lile ndi Yahwe Masimbawose,
Wakayengemala we Iziraela.
5 Gala unyalale, uyende mu zhalima,
iwe nkololokadzi we Bakhaladiya.
Ngoti awutjowodang'wa
nfumakadzi we bumambo.
6 Ndakabe ndagwadzila moyo bathu bangu,
ndakalengudza thaka yangu,
abalonga mu maboko awo,
ngono ukasibahwile ngoni,
ne bakwegula ukabatilika jokwi linolema.
7 Wakazwidwa ukati, “Ndowobe nfumakadzi nge kusingapele.”
Ndizo wali usakalonga zwithu izwezwi mu moyo
kene kuli kukumbula kuti konopela kwakatini.
8 Ndizo ngwenu wali ihwa woku iwe unoda kuzwishathisa nge mizipo,
ugele uti wakabakililika,
uzwidwa mu moyo uti,
“Imi ndimi, akuna mmwe kuzhe kwangu,
andingatongobe tjilikadzi
kene kuli kulashikigwa nge bana.”
9 Zose izwezwi zwibili zowokuwila pawakakangang'wa mu zhuba ling'ompela,
kulashikigwa nge bana ne butjilikadzi
zowokuwila nge buzhalo pakati kwe bung'anga gugo ne simba gulu le masalamusi awo.
10 Wakazwiwana wakadzikama pakati kwe bubi gugo uti,
“Akuna unondibona.” Butjenjedu gugo ne zibo iyo zwakakulasha,
ngono ukazwidwa mu moyo uwo ukati,
“Imi ndimi, akuna mmwe kuzhe kwangu.”
11 Mbatsha dzowokuwila,
dzausingake ukadusa nge bung'anga gugo,
zwibiibi zowokuwila zwausingake ukadusila kutjena nawe,
golomodzo lausingazibe nge kwalo lowokuzhila tjinyolotjo.
12 Dwilila wakasima mu masalamusi awo ne bung'anga gugo gwakawanda,
igo gwetjinga gwawakashinga nago kudwila mu butjetjana gugo,
pamwe unowowatshika, pamwe unozhisa kutja.
13 Wanyadziwa nge zwikumbuludzo zwaunopiwa.
Ngabazhe ibabo banazibo ngekwe zhuzhugwi bakutjidze,
ibabo banozwidiya ngekwe nyenyedzi,
banoti mwedzi mmwe ne mmwe ugala bakaleba zwinowokuzhila.
14 Nge malebeswa banonga malala e bushwa,
moto unowobapisa ukabapedza.
Ibo nge kwabo abangazwitjidze mu nthuto we moto.
Ipapa akuna masimbe e moto nthu aangazwidziyisa ndiwo,
akuna moto ungadziiwa.
15 Ikoku koga ndiko kwabangakuthamila,
ibo ibaba bawakashinga nabo museenyelana kudwa mu butjetjana gugo.
Bose banowokusiya, mmwe ne mmwe eyenda nge zila iye,
akuna unowosala ungakutjidza.
Judgment on Babylon
1 The Lord says,
“Babylon, come down from your throne,
and sit in the dust on the ground.
You were once like a virgin, a city unconquered,
but you are soft and delicate no longer!
You are now a slave!
2 Turn the millstone! Grind the flour!
Off with your veil! Strip off your fine clothes!
Lift up your skirts to cross the streams!
3 People will see you naked;
they will see you humbled and shamed.
I will take vengeance, and no one will stop me.”
4 The holy God of Israel sets us free—
his name is the Lord Almighty.
5 The Lord says to Babylon,
“Sit in silence and darkness;
no more will they call you the queen of nations!
6 I was angry with my people;
I treated them as no longer mine:
I put them in your power,
and you showed them no mercy;
even the aged you treated harshly.
7 You thought you would always be a queen,
and did not take these things to heart
or think how it all would end.
8 “Listen to this, you lover of pleasure,
you that think you are safe and secure.
You claim you are as great as God—
that there is no one else like you.
You thought that you would never be a widow
or suffer the loss of your children.
9 But in a moment, in a single day,
both of these things will happen.
In spite of all the magic you use,
you will lose your husband and children.
10 “You felt sure of yourself in your evil;
you thought that no one could see you.
Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray,
and you said to yourself, ‘I am God—
there is no one else like me.’
11 Disaster will come upon you,
and none of your magic can stop it.
Ruin will come on you suddenly—
ruin you never dreamed of!
12 Keep all your magic spells and charms;
you have used them since you were young.
Perhaps they will be of some help to you;
perhaps you can frighten your enemies.
13 You are powerless in spite of the advice you get.
Let your astrologers come forward and save you—
those people who study the stars,
who map out the zones of the heavens
and tell you from month to month
what is going to happen to you.
14 “They will be like bits of straw,
and a fire will burn them up!
They will not even be able to save themselves—
the flames will be too hot for them,
not a cozy fire to warm themselves by.
15 That is all the good they will do you—
those astrologers you've consulted all your life.
They all will leave you and go their own way,
and none will be left to save you.”