Lamentations 1
1 How desolate sits the city of Jerusalem, once filled with people! She has become like a widow, she who was once great among the nations. The queen of all the world has become a slave-laborer.
“Aleke du si yɔ fũu kple amewo tsã la ɖi gbɔlo ale! Du si nye du gã le duwo dome la le azɔ abe ahosi ene! Duwo ƒe Fianyɔnu zu kluvi egbe.
2 She cries bitterly through the night, tears rolling down her cheeks. Despite all her many lovers, no one comes to comfort her. Betrayed by all her friends, they are now her enemies.
“Ele avi fam hehehe le zã me eye aɖatsi tsi alɔgo dzi nɛ. Eƒe ahiãvi gbogboawo dometɔ aɖeke meli afa akɔ nɛ o. Xɔlɔ̃ lɔlɔ̃wo katã trɔ le eyome hezu eƒe futɔwo.
3 Judah has been dragged off into captivity, suffering miserably under brutal slavery; she lives among the nations but has no place of her own where she can rest. Those chasing her have brought her down and she cannot escape.
“Le teteɖeanyi kple dzizizidɔ sesẽwo megbe la, Yuda yi ɖe aboyo me. Ele dukɔwo dome gake mekpɔ gbɔɖemeƒe o. Ame siwo katã le eyome tim la ke ɖe eŋu le xaxa me.
4 Even the roads to Zion are in mourning because no one travels on them to go to the religious festivals. All her gates are empty. Her priests groan in sadness. Her girls are suffering. She herself is in bitter distress.
“Zion mɔwo le konyi fam elabena ame aɖeke megazɔa wo dzi yina ɖe eƒe azãwo ɖuƒe o. Eƒe agbowo gbã, eye eƒe nunɔlawo le hũu ɖem. Eƒe ɖetugbiwo le konyi fam eye eya ŋutɔ le veve helĩhelĩ me.
5 Those who hated her now control her; her enemies enjoy life, because the Lord has made her suffer due to all her sins of rebellion. Her children have been taken away as prisoners of the enemy.
“Eƒe futɔwo zu edziɖulawo eye eƒe ketɔwo ɖe dzi ɖi. Yehowa do hiã nɛ le eƒe nu vɔ̃ gbogboawo ta. Viawo yi ɖe aboyo me, eye wozu aʋaléleawo le futɔwo ŋgɔ.
6 All the glory has left the Daughter of Zion. Her leaders are like deer that can't find any grass to eat. They don't even have the strength to run away when the hunter comes after them!
“Zion vinyɔnu ƒe atsyɔ̃wo katã dzo le eŋu. Eƒe dumegãwo le abe zi siwo mekpɔ gbeɖuƒe aɖeke o, eye le gbɔdzɔgbɔdzɔ me wosi le wo yometilawo ŋgɔ ene.
7 As she wanders around in her misery, Jerusalem thinks back to all the wonderful things she once had in the old days. When her enemies conquered her people, she didn't receive any help. Her enemies gloated over her, and laughed at her downfall.
“Yerusalem ɖo ŋku eƒe kesinɔnu siwo nɔ esi le blemaŋkekewo me la dzi, le eƒe xaxa kple tsaglalãtsatsa ƒe ŋkekewo me. Esi eƒe amewo dze futɔwo ƒe asi me la, ame aɖeke meli akpe ɖe eŋu o. Eƒe futɔwo nye kɔ kpɔe eye wokoe le eƒe aƒedozuzu ta.
8 Jerusalem sinned terribly which is why she is now treated as someone unclean. Everyone who used to honor her now despise her, because they've seen her naked and ashamed. She herself groans as she turns away.
“Yerusalem ƒe nu vɔ̃wo lolo eya ta wòzu ame makɔmakɔ. Ame siwo dea bubu eŋu tsã la le vlo domi, elabena wokpɔ eƒe amame, eya ŋutɔ ɖe hũu hetrɔ dzo.
9 Her uncleanness contaminates her skirts. She didn't think about what would happen. Her fall was a shock, and no one was there to comfort her. “Please, Lord, see how much I'm suffering, because the enemy has won!” she says.
“Eƒe ɖiƒoƒo lé ɖe eƒe avɔto, elabena mebu etsɔ me kpɔ o. Eƒe anyidzedze wɔ nuku eye ame aɖeke meli si afa akɔ nɛ o. “O, Yehowa, nye kɔ, kpɔ nye vevesese ɖa elabena ketɔ la ɖu dzi.”
10 The invader has stolen all her treasures. She even had to watch as heathen nations went into her sanctuary, people you had forbidden to enter.
Futɔ la do asi ɖe eƒe kesinɔnuwo katã gbɔ; ekpɔ trɔ̃subɔdukɔwo, ame siwo mèɖe mɔ be woage ɖe wò asaɖa me o la ge ɖe wò kɔkɔeƒe la.
11 All her people groan, looking for bread. They have spent what they value the most to buy food so they can stay alive. “Please, Lord, look and see what's happening to me,” she says. “It's as if I'm worthless!
Eƒe amewo katã le tsatsam le abolo dim kple ŋeŋe, wotsɔa woƒe kesinɔnu veviwo ɖɔa li nuɖuɖu be woanɔ agbe. “O, Yehowa, kpɔ ale si wodo vlom la ɖa.”
12 Don't you care anything about it, all you people passing by? Take a look and see! Is there any suffering as bad as mine, punished by the Lord when he became angry?
“Mi ame siwo katã to afi ma yi, ɖe mewɔ naneke na mi oa? Mitsa ŋku miakpɔe ɖa! Ɖe fukpekpe aɖe le abe esi wohe va dzinye, esi Yehowa he va dzinye le eƒe dziku helĩhelĩ ƒe ŋkekewo me la enea?
13 He sent down fire from heaven that destroyed my bones. He spread out a net to catch my feet, tripping me over. He abandoned me, leaving me sick all day long.
“Eɖo dzo ɖa tso dziƒo, ena wòɖiɖi ɖe nye ƒuwo me. Eɖo ɖɔ na nye afɔwo eye wògbugbɔm ɖe megbe. Ewɔm mezu gbegbe heku ƒenyi ŋkeke blibo la katã.
14 He took my rebellious sins and twisted them together into a yoke that he tied to my neck. He took away all my strength, and handed me over defenseless to my enemies.
“Ebla nye nu vɔ̃wo abe kɔkuti ene, etsɔ eƒe asiwo lɔ̃e wode nu wo nɔewo me. Woɖiɖi ɖe nye kɔʋume eye Aƒetɔ la ɖe nye ŋusẽ ɖa. Etsɔm de asi na ame siwo nu nyemate ŋu anɔ te ɖo o.
15 The Lord brushed aside all my strong soldiers defending me. He called up an army to attack me, to crush my young men. The Lord has trampled down the virgin Daughter of Judah like grapes in a winepress.
“Aƒetɔ la gbe nu le kalẽtɔ siwo katã le donyeme la gbɔ, eɖo aʋakɔ ɖa be woato nye ɖekakpuiwo nyanyanya. Le eƒe wainfiaƒe, Aƒetɔ la fanya Yuda Vinyɔnuwo.
16 This is why I'm weeping, tears flowing from my eyes, because there's is no one here to comfort me, no one to make me feel better. There's nothing left for my children because the enemy has conquered us.”
“Esia ta mefa avi eye nye ŋkuwo fa aɖatsi blobloblo. Ame aɖeke metsɔ ɖe gbɔnye afa akɔ nam o eye ame aɖeke meli si agbɔ agbe nye luʋɔ o. Vinyewo zu hiãtɔwo elabena futɔ ƒe alɔ yi dzi.”
17 Zion holds out her hands in distress, but there's no one to comfort her. The Lord issued orders against Jacob, and his neighbors became his enemies. Jerusalem is to them something disgusting.
Zion ke eƒe abɔwo me gake ame aɖeke meli si afa akɔ nɛ o. Yehowa gblɔ nya ɖi ɖe Yakob ŋu be eƒe aƒelikawo nanye eƒe futɔwo eye Yerusalem va zu ŋunyɔnu le wo dome.
18 “The Lord has done what's right, because I rebelled against his instructions. Listen, everyone everywhere; look at what I'm suffering. My young women and young men have been taken off into captivity.
“Yehowa le dzɔdzɔe, gake metsi tsitre ɖe eƒe se la ŋu. Miɖo to, mi amewo katã, mikpɔ nye fukpekpewo ɖa. Nye ɖekakpuiwo kple ɖetugbiwo katã yi aboyo me.
19 I called out for help to my lovers, but they betrayed me. My priests and elders starved to death in the city as they tried to find food to keep themselves alive.
“Meyɔ xɔ̃nyewo gake woflum. Nye nunɔlawo kple dumegãwo siaa tsrɔ̃ le dua me esime wonɔ tsatsam le nuɖuɖu dim be woaɖu atsi agbe.
20 Can't you see, Lord, how upset I am? inside I am in turmoil; my heart is breaking because I've been so rebellious. Outside, the sword kills those I love; inside, it's like I'm living in the house of death.
“O Yehowa, kpɔ ale si metsi dzodzodzoe ɖa! Nye ameti blibo la metɔtɔ eye nye dzi hã le fu ɖem nam elabena medze aglã vevie. Yi le nu gblẽm le gota; eye le eme la, ku koe li.
21 People hear me groaning, but no one comes to comfort me. All my enemies have heard about the bad things that have happened to me, and they're delighted that it was you who did it. Please bring about the day of judgment that you promised so they can end up like me.
“Amewo se nye ŋeŋe gake ame aɖeke meli afa akɔ nam o. Nye futɔwo katã se nye dzɔgbevɔ̃eŋkɔ eye wodzɔ dzi le nu si nèwɔ ta. Na be ŋkeke si ƒe gbeƒã nèɖe la nava be woawo hã nanɔ abe nye ene.
22 May you see all the evil things they've done! Treat them the same way as you've treated me as a result of all my rebellious sins, for I'm groaning all the time, and I'm sick at heart.”
“Na be woƒe nu vɔ̃ɖi wɔwɔwo katã nava ŋkuwò me; wɔ na wo abe ale si nèwɔm le nye nu vɔ̃wo katã ta la ene. Nye hũuɖeɖe sɔ gbɔ eye nu te nye dzi ŋuti.”
