Lamentations 5
1 Remember, O YHWH, what has befallen us, Look attentively, and see our reproach.
Oh Thixo, khumbula okusehleleyo khangela ubone ukuyangeka kwethu.
2 Our inheritance has been turned to strangers, Our houses to foreigners.
Ilifa lethu seliphiwe abezizweni, imizi yethu yathathwa ngabemzini.
3 Orphans we have been—without a father, our mothers [are] as widows.
Sesizintandane ezingelaboyise, omama sebenjengabafelokazi.
4 We have drunk our water for money, Our wood comes for a price.
Amanzi okunatha siyawathenga; inkuni zethu zikhutshelwa imali.
5 For our neck we have been pursued, We have labored—there has been no rest for us.
Labo abasixotshayo basihlezi ezithende; sikhathele asilakuphumula.
6 [To] Egypt we have given a hand, [To] Asshur, to be satisfied with bread.
Sazinikela kwabeGibhithe labe-Asiriya ukuze sizuze isinkwa.
7 Our fathers have sinned—they are not, We have borne their iniquities.
Okhokho benza isono kodwa kabasekho, thina yithi esesijeziswa.
8 Servants have ruled over us, There is no deliverer from their hand.
Sibuswa yizigqili, kakho osikhululayo ezandleni zazo.
9 With our lives we bring in our bread, Because of the sword of the wilderness.
Isinkwa sisithola ngendlela eyingozi ngenxa yenkemba ekhona enkangala.
10 Our skin as an oven has been burning, Because of the raging of the famine.
Isikhumba sethu sitshisa njengeziko, silomkhuhlane wendlala.
11 Wives in Zion they have humbled, Virgins—in cities of Judah.
Abesifazane bayahlukuluzwa eZiyoni kanye lezintombi ezigcweleyo emadolobheni akoJuda.
12 Princes have been hanged by their hand, Elderly faces have not been honored.
Amakhosi alengisiwe ngezandla zawo; abadala abasahlonitshwa.
13 They have taken young men to grind, And youths have stumbled with wood.
Izinsizwa ziyahoqiswa ematsheni okuchola; abafana babhensiswa yimithwalo yenkuni.
14 Elderly have ceased from the gate, Young men from their song.
Abadala sebesukile esangweni lomuzi; izinsizwa sezithule ukuhlabelela.
15 The joy of our heart has ceased, Our dancing has been turned to mourning.
Ukuthokoza akusekho ezinhliziyweni zethu; ukugida kwethu sekuphenduke ukukhala.
16 The crown has fallen [from] our head, Woe [is] now to us, for we have sinned.
Umqhele usuwile ekhanda lethu. Maye thina, ngoba sonile!
17 Our heart has been sick for this, Our eyes have been dim for these.
Ngenxa yalokhu inhliziyo zethu zibuthakathaka; ngenxa yalezizinto amehlo ethu ayafiphala,
18 For the Mount of Zion—that is desolate, Foxes have gone up on it.
ngoba intaba iZiyoni silugwadule, sekucathama amakhanka kuyo.
19 You, O YHWH, remain for all time, Your throne to generation and generation.
Wena, Oh Thixo, busa nini lanini; ubukhosi bakho buhlezi kuzozonke izizukulwane.
20 Why do You forget us forever? You forsake us for [the] length of [our] days!
Kungani uhlezi usikhohlwa? Usifulathelelani isikhathi eside kangaka na?
21 Turn us back, O YHWH, to You, And we turn back, renew our days as of old.
Sibuyisele kuwe, Oh Thixo, ukuze siphenduke; buyisa kabutsha insuku zethu njengezakudala,
22 For have You utterly rejected us? You have been angry against us—exceedingly?
ngaphandle kokuba nxa ususilahle kokuphela wasizondela ngokungalinganisekiyo.
