Ntembezelo we sununguko ye itjaba
1 Ndzimu, ini mutilashila tjose kene?
Ini bushongola gwenyu guthungayilila
pkhwizi dze fulo lenyu kene?
2 Kumbulani gubungano lenyu lamakazwishaluligwa ntolo,
ilo lamakadzutunula kube itjaba tje lukata gwenyu.
Kumbulani Dombo le Ziyoni, ipo pamakatongo gala.
3 Shandukilani ku matongo agelile tjose,
tjita tjakakolomola tjimwe ne tjimwe mu bugalo gwakayengemala.
4 Zwita zwenyu zwakabomba mu bugalo gwenyu gwakayengemala
bakabiga zwilakidzo zwabo zwe kukunda.
5 Bakazwitola se balume bakabhata mashathu
bepalama ishaka benotema miti ne mashathu.
6 Bakapkhwanya kose kwakabezhiwa kukanakisiwa ngokwagwa,
nge mashathu ne zwishakhwana zwabo.
7 Bakapisa bugalo gwakayengemala nge moto,
bakatemapadza bugalo gwe zina lenyu,
nge kuguligila pasi.
8 Bakazwidwa beti, “Towobakolomodza tjoselele,”
bakapisa mabazhe wose e bushanganilo e Ndzimu mu shango.
9 Atitjabona zwilakidzo zwedu,
akutjina balebesambeli, ngono akuna ne nng'ompela
upakati kwedu unoziba kuti kowodza kukabe lini.
10 Kowodza kukabe lini Ndzimu, tjita tjimulengudza kene?
Apa tjita tjowotuka zina lenyu nge kusingapele kene?
11 Ini mushungata luboko gwenyu,
hwutini mulambisila luboko gwenyu pa ifuba tjenyu kene?
12 Koga Ndzimu mambo wangu, kwakadwila ntolo,
muzhisa jidzo mu shango.
13 Makathubukanya gungwa nge simba lenyu gulu,
makapkhwanya misholo ye bhophona mu vula.
14 Ndimwi makapkhwanya misholo ye zhithu le gungwa linoyi Livatani,
mukalipa zwitjili zwe tjilambanyika kulija.
15 Makazhula misenya ne hwobana
makapkhwisa njizi dzagala dziwunga dzisingapinde.
16 Masikati nde enyu, busiku na igo nde gwenyu,
makabiga zhuba ne mwedzi mu magalo azo.
17 Ndimwi makathama migathu yose ye shango,
makathama tjilimo ne mbaba.
18 Kumbulani Yahwe sekwa makalengudziwa nge tjita
ne sekwa bathu be zwilengwe bakatuka zina lenyu.
19 Musipe zwibandana meya ye njiba yenyu,
musikangang'wile tjose butjilo gwe bashayi benyu.
20 Kumbulani tjidumano tjenyu,
ngobe magalo akatizwi e shango,
azhele magalo e bupanduki.
21 Musiletjedze banolingigwa pasi bakabhatisiwa shoni,
dzene bashayi ne basheti bakakudza zina lenyu.
22 Milikani imwi Ndzimu, muzwilebelekele,
kumbulani sekwa zwilengwe zwinomulengudza zhuba lose.
23 Musikangang'we zhoba ye banyanyayidzi benyu,
dzonga kwe zwita zwenyu komilika kuyendilambeli.
A Prayer for National Deliverance
1 Why have you abandoned us like this, O God?
Will you be angry with your own people forever?
2 Remember your people, whom you chose for yourself long ago,
whom you brought out of slavery to be your own tribe.
Remember Mount Zion, where once you lived.
3 Walk over these total ruins;
our enemies have destroyed everything in the Temple.
4 Your enemies have shouted in triumph in your Temple;
they have placed their flags there as signs of victory.
5 They looked like woodsmen
cutting down trees with their axes.
6 They smashed all the wooden panels
with their axes and sledge hammers.
7 They wrecked your Temple and set it on fire;
they desecrated the place where you are worshiped.
8 They wanted to crush us completely;
they burned down every holy place in the land.
9 All our sacred symbols are gone;
there are no prophets left,
and no one knows how long this will last.
10 How long, O God, will our enemies laugh at you?
Will they insult your name forever?
11 Why have you refused to help us?
Why do you keep your hands behind you?
12 But you have been our king from the beginning, O God;
you have saved us many times.
13 With your mighty strength you divided the sea
and smashed the heads of the sea monsters;
14 you crushed the heads of the monster Leviathan
and fed his body to desert animals.
15 You made springs and fountains flow;
you dried up large rivers.
16 You created the day and the night;
you set the sun and the moon in their places;
17 you set the limits of the earth;
you made summer and winter.
18 But remember, O Lord, that your enemies laugh at you,
that they are godless and despise you.
19 Don't abandon your helpless people to their cruel enemies;
don't forget your persecuted people!
20 Remember the covenant you made with us.
There is violence in every dark corner of the land.
21 Don't let the oppressed be put to shame;
let those poor and needy people praise you.
22 Rouse yourself, God, and defend your cause!
Remember that godless people laugh at you all day long.
23 Don't forget the angry shouts of your enemies,
the continuous noise made by your foes.