Oihaih Laa 4
1 Kawbangmaw sui amphahaih to duek ving moe, kaciim suitui loe amkhraih ving! Hmuenciim ih thlungnawk loe lamkrung kruekah anghaeh o phang boeh.
[Previously our people were like] [MET] pure gold, but now they are worthless. [Like] [MET] the sacred stones in the temple have been scattered, [our young men have been scattered].
2 Kaciim suitui hoi patah o ih, atho kana Zion capanawk loe kawbangmaw laom sahkung mah sak ih amlai long baktiah oh o sut halat!
The young men of Jerusalem were as valuable as [MET] large amounts of gold, but now people consider that they are as worthless as [ordinary] clay pots.
3 Tasuinawk mataeng doeh a caanawk tahnu panaek o moe, pacah o bae; kai kaminawk ih canu loe hmawhsaeng praezaek ih tahnongsawk tavaa baktiah hmawhsaeng o.
Even the [female] jackals/wolves feed their pups, but my people act cruelly [toward their children]; they are like [SIM] ostriches in the desert [that abandon their eggs].
4 Tahnu anghaeh loiah nawktanawk ih palai loe pakha ranui ah akap caeng boeh; nawktanawk mah takaw hnik o naah, mi mah doeh paek o ai.
[My people’s] infants’ tongues cling to the roofs/tops of their mouths because they are [extremely] thirsty; the children plead for some food, but no one gives them [any].
5 Buh aan kahoih caa kaminawk loe abuephaih tawn o ai; kamling kahni nuiah qoeng tahang kaminawk doeh, vaihi loe maiphu thungah ni angsong o boeh.
People who [previously] ate fine food are [now] starving in the streets; those who previously lived luxuriously [MTY] [now] paw/dig through rubbish heaps [to find some food].
6 Zaehaih pongah kai ih kaminawk thuitaekhaih loe Sodom zae thuitaekhaih pongah doeh nat kue, mi mah doeh abomh ai ah, nawnetta thungah amro boih boeh.
[The people of] Sodom were struck with a disaster very suddenly, and there was no one to rescue them; but my people have been punished more severely than [the people of] Sodom were punished.
7 Anih ih Nazaret kaminawk loe dantui pongah ciim o kue moe, tahnutui pongah doeh anglung o kue; a taksa loe thlung kamling pongah thim kue moe, krang doeh sapphire thlung pongah hoih o kue.
Our leaders’ [behavior] was [previously] very pure, whiter [and brighter] than snow and milk; their bodies were redder than [red] coral/stones; they were very strong and healthy [MET].
8 Vaihi nihcae krang amtuenghaih loe khoving pongah amnum o kue moe, loklam ah a caeh o naah doeh angmaat thai ai boeh; nihcae ih nganhin loe ahuh hoi angbet kang moe, cunghet baktiah, zaek o kaeng boeh.
But now their faces are blacker than soot, and no one recognizes them in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones, and it has become as dry as [SIM] a wooden [stick].
9 Sumsen hoi dueh kaminawk loe khokhahaih hoi dueh kaminawk pongah hoih o kue; khokha hoi dueh kami loe lawk ih thingthai qumpo to caa ai pongah, zaek o kaeng.
It is better to die in a battle [MTY] than to die of hunger. There was no food to harvest in the fields, so the people slowly starved until they died.
10 Vangpui thung ih nongpatanawk loe tahmen thoh parai; angmacae ih caanawk to thongh moe, a caak o; kai kaminawk ih canu amrohaih niah loe angmacae ih caa mataeng doeh buh ah a caak o.
Women who [usually/previously] were very kind have [killed and] cooked their own children; they ate them [when there was no other food], when Jerusalem was surrounded [by enemy soldiers].
11 Angraeng mah palung a phuihaih to koepsak boeh; kanung parai palungphuihaih to a kraih thuih; Zion to hmai hoiah a thlaek pongah, thlung hoi raemh ih hmuennawk to kangh boih boeh.
Yahweh has shown that he was extremely angry; [it is as though] he started/ignited a fire in Jerusalem that burned everything to ashes.
12 Misa hoi misatuh kaminawk loe Jerusalem khongkha thungah akun o boeh, tiah long siangpahrangnawk hoi long kaminawk mah tang o ai.
None of the kings on the earth or anyone else believed that any of our enemies could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Tahmaanawk zaehaih, qaimanawk sakpazaehaih pongah, vangpui thungah katoeng kaminawk ih athii to palong o.
[But that is what happened]; it happened because the prophets sinned; and the priests [also] sinned by causing innocent people to be executed [MTY].
14 Nihcae loe vaihi mikmaeng baktiah loklam ah amhet o; kami ih athii angnok o pongah, mi mah doeh nihcae ih khukbuen to sui mak ai.
The prophets and priests wandered through the streets [as though they were] blind. No one would touch them because their clothes were stained with the blood [of people who had been killed].
15 Toe nihcae mah, Kalah bangah caeh oh, ciimcai ai kaminawk, caeh oh, caeh oh, sui o hmah, tiah ang hang o thuih lat; toe nihcae loe ahmuen kangthla ah cawnh o moe, ahmuen kruekah amhet o naah loe, Sithaw panoek ai kaminawk mah nihcae khaeah, Nangcae loe haeah na om o thai mak ai, tiah a naa o.
The people [who were alive] shouted, “Stay away [from us] [DOU]! You are defiled/untouchable! Do not touch us!” So the prophets and priests fled [from Israel], and they wandered around from one country to another, because people [in each country] kept saying to them, “You cannot stay here!”
16 Angraeng palungphuihaih mah vah phaeng boeh pongah, nihcae to dawncang ai boeh; kaminawk mah qaimanawk to khingza o ai boeh; kacoehtanawk doeh azathaih paek o ai boeh.
It is Yahweh himself who has scattered them; he no longer is concerned about them. People do not respect [our] priests or leaders.
17 Bomkung to ka pakrong o e, ka hnu o ai; kaicae pahlong thai ai acaeng kaminawk to ka zing o lat.
We [SYN] continued to look for someone to help [us], but it was useless. We continued to watch to see if one of our allies would save us, but none of the nations that we were waiting for could help [us].
18 Ka misanawk mah kaicae ih khokkong to parui, to pongah loklam ah ka caeh o thai ai; kaicae boenghaih loe zoi boeh; kaicae ih aninawk loe akoep boeh; kaicae boenghaih to phak boeh.
[Our] enemies were hunting for us, so we could not [even] walk in our streets [lest they seize us]. We were about to be captured; it was time for us to be killed.
19 Kaicae patom kaminawk loe van ih tahmunawk pongah doeh rang o kue; nihcae mah mae nui khoek to ang patom o, praezaek ah doeh ang maah o.
Those who pursued us were faster than eagles [flying] in the sky. Even if we fled to the mountains or hid in the desert, they [went there ahead of us and] waited [to attack] us.
20 Kaicae anghahhaih takhi ah kaom Angraeng mah situi nok ih zaehoikung mah, Sithaw panoek ai kaminawk salakah kamongah na omsak tih, tiah ka poek o, toe anih to misanawk ih qumqaihaih thungah naeh o ving boeh.
[Our king, ] whom Yahweh appointed, was the one who enabled us to remain alive [MTY]; he was the one whom we trusted to protect us [IDM] from [the armies of] other nations. But he was [captured] [like animals are] [MET] caught in a pit.
21 Uz prae ah kaom, Aw Edom canu, anghoe oh loe, oep oh; boengloeng loe nangcae khaeah doeh pha tih; to naah loe na paquih o ueloe, bangkrai ah na om o tih.
You people of [IDM] Edom and Uz, [you may] be happy [about what is happening to us now], but [Yahweh] will be punishing [MTY] you [also]. You will become drunk and will be ashamed [because your enemies] will have stripped off your clothes.
22 Aw Zion canu, na zaehaih pongah thuitaekhaih loe boeng boeh; anih mah misong ah na hoi let mak ai boeh; Aw Edom canu, anih loe na zaehaih thuitaek hanah angzo tih, to naah na zaehaih to amtuengsak tih.
You [people of] [APO] Jerusalem, the time of your being punished will end; Yahweh will not allow you to continue to live in (exile/foreign countries). But [you people of] [APO] Edom, Yahweh will punish [you]; he will reveal the wicked things that you have done.
