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.
Jinsi dhahabu ilivyopoteza mngʼao wake, dhahabu iliyo safi haingʼai! Vito vya thamani vimetawanywa kwenye mwanzo wa kila barabara.
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!
Wana wa Sayuni wenye thamani, ambao mwanzo uzito wa thamani yao ulikuwa wa dhahabu, sasa wanaangaliwa kama vyungu vya udongo, kazi ya mikono ya mfinyanzi!
3 Even jackals nurse their young at their breasts, but the women of my people have become cruel, like an ostrich in the desert.
Hata mbweha hutoa matiti yao kunyonyesha watoto wao, lakini watu wangu wamekuwa wasio na huruma kama mbuni jangwani.
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.
Kwa sababu ya kiu ulimi wa mtoto mchanga umegandamana na kaakaa la kinywa chake, watoto huomba mkate, lakini hakuna yeyote awapaye.
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.
Wale waliokula vyakula vya kifahari ni maskini barabarani. Wale waliokuzwa wakivaa nguo za zambarau sasa wanalalia majivu.
6 Jerusalem's punishment is worse than sinful Sodom's, which was destroyed in a brief moment, without the help of human hands.
Adhabu ya watu wangu ni kubwa kuliko ile ya Sodoma, ambayo ilipinduliwa ghafula bila kuwepo mkono wa msaada.
7 Her leaders were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were a healthier red than coral, and they shone like lapis lazuli.
Wakuu wao walikuwa wamengʼaa kuliko theluji na weupe kuliko maziwa, miili yao ilikuwa myekundu kuliko marijani, kuonekana kwao kama yakuti samawi.
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.
Lakini sasa ni weusi kuliko masizi; hawatambulikani barabarani. Ngozi yao imeshikamana juu ya mifupa yao, imekuwa mikavu kama fimbo.
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.
Wale waliouawa kwa upanga ni bora kuliko wale wanaokufa njaa; wanateseka kwa njaa, wanatokomea kwa kukosa chakula kutoka shambani.
10 The hands of loving women have cooked their own children to eat during the destruction of Jerusalem.
Kwa mikono yao wenyewe wanawake wenye huruma wanapika watoto wao wenyewe, waliokuwa chakula chao watu wangu walipoangamizwa.
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.
Bwana ametoa nafasi kamilifu ya ghadhabu yake; ameimwaga hasira yake kali. Amewasha moto katika Sayuni ambao umeteketeza misingi yake.
12 No king on earth—in fact nobody in all the world—thought that an enemy or attacker could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
Wafalme wa dunia hawakuamini, wala mtu yeyote wa duniani, kwamba adui na watesi wangeweza kuingia kwenye malango ya Yerusalemu.
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.
Lakini hili lilitokea kwa sababu ya dhambi za manabii wake, na maovu ya makuhani wake, waliomwaga ndani yake damu ya wenye haki.
14 They wandered like blind men through the streets, made unclean by this blood, so no one would touch their clothes.
Sasa wanapapasa papasa barabarani kama watu ambao ni vipofu. Wamenajisiwa kabisa kwa damu, hata hakuna anayethubutu kugusa mavazi yao.
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!”
Watu wanawapigia kelele, “Ondokeni! Ninyi ni najisi! Ondokeni! Ondokeni! Msituguse!” Wanapokimbia na kutangatanga huku na huko, watu miongoni mwa mataifa wanasema, “Hawawezi kukaa hapa zaidi.”
16 The Lord himself has scattered them; he doesn't bother with them anymore. Nobody respects the priests, and nobody admires the leaders.
Bwana mwenyewe amewatawanya; hawaangalii tena. Makuhani hawaonyeshwi heshima, wazee hawakubaliki.
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.
Zaidi ya hayo, macho yetu yalichoka, kwa kutazamia bure msaada; tuliangalia kutoka minara yetu kwa taifa lisiloweza kutuokoa.
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.
Watu walituvizia katika kila hatua hata hatukuweza kutembea katika barabara zetu. Mwisho wetu ulikuwa karibu, siku zetu zilikuwa zimetimia, kwa maana mwisho wetu ulikuwa umefika.
19 Our pursuers were faster than eagles in the sky. They chased us across the mountains and ambushed us in the desert.
Waliotufuatia walikuwa wepesi kuliko tai angani; walitusaka juu milimani na kutuvizia jangwani.
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.”
Mpakwa mafuta wa Bwana, pumzi ya uhai wetu hasa, alinaswa katika mitego yao. Tulifikiri kwamba chini ya kivuli chake tungeliweza kuishi miongoni mwa mataifa.
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.
Shangilia na ufurahi, ee Binti Edomu, wewe unayeishi nchi ya Usi. Lakini kwako pia kikombe kitapitishwa, Utalewa na kuvuliwa nguo ubaki uchi.
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.
Ee Binti Sayuni, adhabu yako itaisha, hatarefusha muda wako wa kukaa uhamishoni. Lakini, ee Binti Edomu, ataadhibu dhambi yako, na atafunua uovu wako.
