Lamentations 4
1 How gold has tarnished! Even pure gold has lost its shine! Jewels from the Temple have been scattered on every street corner.
Zaabu ng’ettalazze! Zaabu ennungi ng’efuuse! Amayinja ag’omuwendo gasaasaanye buli luguudo we lutandikira.
2 Look at how the precious people of Zion, worth their weight in gold, are now valued like cheap clay jars made by a potter!
Abaana ba Sayuuni ab’omuwendo abaali beenkana nga zaabu ennungi, kaakano bali ng’ensuwa ez’ebbumba, omulimu gw’emikono gy’omubumbi.
3 Even jackals nurse their young at their breasts, but the women of my people have become cruel, like an ostrich in the desert.
Ebibe biyonsa abaana baabyo, naye abantu bange bafuuse ng’abatalina kisa, bafaanana nga bammaaya mu ddungu.
4 The nursing babies are so thirsty that their tongues stick to the roof of their mouths. Little children beg for food, but nobody gives them anything.
Olw’ennyonta omwana ayonka gy’alina, olulimi lwe lukwatira ku kibuno ky’akamwa ke; abaana basaba emmere naye tewali n’omu agibawa.
5 Those who used to eat gourmet food now die starving in the streets. Those who dressed in fine clothes from their childhood now live in heaps of rubbish.
Abaalyanga ebiwoomerera basabiriza ku nguudo; n’abo abaakuzibwa ng’abambala engoye ezinekaaneka bali ku ntuumu ez’ebisasiro.
6 Jerusalem's punishment is worse than sinful Sodom's, which was destroyed in a brief moment, without the help of human hands.
Ekibonerezo ky’abantu bange kisinga ekya Sodomu, ekyawambibwa mu kaseera akatono, nga tewali n’omu azze kukibeera.
7 Her leaders were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were a healthier red than coral, and they shone like lapis lazuli.
Abalangira baabwe baatukula nnyo okusinga omuzira, nga beeru okusinga amata; n’emibiri gyabwe nga mimyufu okusinga amayinja amatwakaavu, era banyirivu nga safiro.
8 But now they look blacker than soot; no one recognizes them in the street. Their skin has shrunk to their bones and is as dry as wood.
Naye kaakano badduggala okusinga enziro, era tebakyasobola kutegeerekeka mu nguudo. Olususu lwabwe lukalidde ku magumba gaabwe; lukaze ng’ekiti ekikalu.
9 Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who slowly waste away in agony because the fields produce no crops.
Abafa ekitala bafa bulungi okusinga abafa enjala, kubanga abafa enjala bayongobera ne baggwaawo olw’obutaba na mmere mu nnimiro.
10 The hands of loving women have cooked their own children to eat during the destruction of Jerusalem.
Abakazi ab’ekisa abaagala abaana bafumbye abaana baabwe; abaana abaafuuka emmere abantu bange bwe baazikirizibwa.
11 The Lord has given full expression to his anger. He has poured out his fury. He has started a fire in Zion, and it has burned down her very foundations.
Mukama akituukirizza mu busungu bwe obungi, era abayiyeeko obusungu bwe obungi. Yakoleeza omuliro mu Sayuuni ogwayokya emisingi gyakyo.
12 No king on earth—in fact nobody in all the world—thought that an enemy or attacker could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
Bakabaka b’ensi n’abantu ab’ensi endala tebakkiriza, nti abalabe n’ababakyawa baliyingira mu wankaaki wa Yerusaalemi.
13 But this happened because of the sins of her prophets and the wickedness of her priests, who shed the blood of the innocent right there in the city.
Ebyo byabatuukako olw’ebibi bya bannabbi be, n’olw’obutali butuukirivu bwa bakabona be, abaayiwa omusaayi gw’abatuukirivu abaababeerangamu.
14 They wandered like blind men through the streets, made unclean by this blood, so no one would touch their clothes.
Badoobera mu nguudo nga bamuzibe; bajjudde omusaayi so tewali ayaŋŋanga okukwata ku byambalo byabwe.
15 “Go away! You're unclean!” people would shout at them, “Go away, go away! Don't touch us!” So they ran away and wandered from country to country, but the people there told them, “You can't stay here!”
Abantu baabagobaganya nga boogera nti, “Muveewo, mmwe abatali balongoofu! Muviireewo ddala, so temutukwatako!” Bwe baafuuka emmombooze, amawanga gabagobaganya nga boogera nti, “Tebakyasaana kubeera wano.”
16 The Lord himself has scattered them; he doesn't bother with them anymore. Nobody respects the priests, and nobody admires the leaders.
Mukama yennyini abasaasaanyizza, takyabafaako. Bakabona tebakyassibwamu kitiibwa, newaakubadde abakadde okuweebwa ebifo eby’oku mwanjo.
17 We wore out our eyes pointlessly looking for help the whole time; we watched from our towers for a nation to come that couldn't save us.
Amaaso gaffe gakooye olw’okulindirira okubeerwa okutajja; nga tulindirira eggwanga eriyinza okutulokola.
18 The enemy tracked our every movement so we couldn't walk through our streets. Our end approached. Our time was up because our end had come.
Baatucocca ne batulemesa okutambulira mu nguudo zaffe; enkomerero yaffe n’eba kumpi, n’ennaku zaffe ne ziggwaayo.
19 Our pursuers were faster than eagles in the sky. They chased us across the mountains and ambushed us in the desert.
Abaatuyiganyanga baatusinga embiro okusinga n’empungu ez’omu bbanga. Baatugobera mu nsozi ne batuteegera mu ddungu.
20 The king, the Lord's anointed, our country's “life-breath,” was trapped and captured by them. We had said about him, “Under his protection we will live among the nations.”
Oyo Mukama gwe yafukako amafuta yagwa mu mitego gyabwe. Twalowooza nga tulikwekebwa mu kisiikirize kye ne tubeeranga mu mawanga.
21 Celebrate and be happy while you can, people of Edom, you who live in the land of Uz, because this cup will be passed to you too. You will get drunk and strip yourself naked.
Sanyuka ojaguze, ggwe Omuwala wa Edomu, abeera mu nsi ya Uzi; naye lumu olinywa ku kikompe n’otamiira ne weeyambula.
22 People of Zion, your punishment is coming to an end—he won't continue your exile for long. But he is going to punish your sins, people of Edom; he will reveal your sins.
Ggwe Muwala wa Sayuuni, ekibonerezo kyo kikomye awo, talikwongerayo mu busibe. Naye ggwe omuwala wa Edomu, Mukama alikubonereza, n’ayanika ekibi kyo mu lujjudde.
