Konyifahawo 4
1 Aleke sika bu eƒe keklẽ eye sika nyui nyɔ vĩ ale! Wokaka kpe kɔkɔeawo ɖe kpɔdome ƒe dzogoewo katã dzi.
How gold has tarnished! Even pure gold has lost its shine! Jewels from the Temple have been scattered on every street corner.
2 Aleke Zion viŋutsu vevi siwo ŋu kpekpeme nɔ tsã abe sika ene la, le azɔ abe anyize si nye zemela ƒe asinudɔwɔwɔ ene!
Look at how the precious people of Zion, worth their weight in gold, are now valued like cheap clay jars made by a potter!
3 Amegaxiwo kekeake gɔ̃ hã naa no wo viwo wonona gake nye amewo va zu ŋlɔmitɔwo abe tsatsaboli le dzogbe ene.
Even jackals nurse their young at their breasts, but the women of my people have become cruel, like an ostrich in the desert.
4 Tsikɔ na be vidzĩwo ƒe aɖe lé ɖe nu me na wo; ɖevi suewo bia abolo kple kukuɖeɖe gake ame aɖeke meli ana wo o.
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.
5 Ame siwo ɖu nu vivi kpeɖiwo tsã la, zu ame ɖigbɔ̃wo le kpɔdomewo. Ame siwo ta ago veviwo tsã la, mlɔ gbeɖuɖɔ me fifia.
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.
6 Nye amewo ƒe tohehe lolo wu Sodom tɔ, du si wogbã ƒu anyi le aɖabaƒoƒo ɖeka me eye asi aɖeke meli akpe ɖe eŋu o.
Jerusalem's punishment is worse than sinful Sodom's, which was destroyed in a brief moment, without the help of human hands.
7 Woƒe dumegãwo da dzo wu sno, wofu wu nyinotsi, woƒe ŋutilã biã wu soe eye woƒe dzedzeme le abe gbloti ene.
Her leaders were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were a healthier red than coral, and they shone like lapis lazuli.
8 Ke azɔ la, wonyɔ wu zemabi eye ame aɖeke gɔ̃ hã medzea si wo le kpɔdomewo o. Woƒe ŋutigbalẽ lé ɖe woƒe ƒu ŋuti kpaɖii, eye woƒu abe nake ene.
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.
9 Ame siwo tsi yi nu la tɔ nyo wu ame siwo ku ɖe dɔwuame ta. Elabena dɔwuame na wogbɔdzɔ, heɖiku glãŋui, le agblemenuku ƒe anyimanɔmanɔ ta.
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.
10 Nyɔnu siwo ame ƒe nu wɔa nublanui na la tsɔ woawo ŋutɔ ƒe asiwo lé wo viwo ɖa, eye wozu nuɖuɖu na wo esi wonɔ nye amewo tsrɔ̃m.
The hands of loving women have cooked their own children to eat during the destruction of Jerusalem.
11 Yehowa nyɔ eƒe dziku ƒe aɖi katã eye wòtrɔ eƒe dɔmedzoe helĩhelĩ kɔ ɖi. Edo dzo ɖe Zion eye wòfia eƒe gɔmeɖokpewo.
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.
12 Anyigbadzifiawo mexɔe se kaka, amewo nayi exɔ ge ase be, futɔwo kple ketɔwo ate ŋu age ɖe Yerusalem ƒe agbowo me o.
No king on earth—in fact nobody in all the world—thought that an enemy or attacker could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Gake edzɔ, le eƒe Nyagblɔɖilawo ƒe nu vɔ̃ kple eƒe nunɔlawo ƒe nu tovowo ta, ame siwo kɔ ame dzɔdzɔewo ƒe ʋu ɖe dua me.
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.
14 Azɔ wole asi tsam le kpɔdomewo abe ŋkuagbãtɔwo ene. Woƒo ʋu ale gbegbe be, ame aɖeke medo dzi ka asi woƒe awuwo ŋuti o.
They wandered like blind men through the streets, made unclean by this blood, so no one would touch their clothes.
15 Amewo doa ɣli ɖe wo ta be, “Midzo le afi sia! Mi ame makɔmakɔwo! Mite yi! Mite yi! Migaka asi mía ŋuti o!” Ke esi wosi dzo le tsaglãla tsam la, amewo le dukɔwo me gblɔna na wo be, “Womate ŋu aganɔ teƒe sia o.”
“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!”
16 Yehowa ŋutɔe kaka wo, megale wo ta kpɔm o. Womegadea bubu nunɔlawo ŋu alo vea dumegãwo nu o.
The Lord himself has scattered them; he doesn't bother with them anymore. Nobody respects the priests, and nobody admires the leaders.
17 Gawu la, ɖeɖi te míaƒe ŋkuwo ŋu esi wole mɔ kpɔm na kpekpeɖeŋu si meli o; tso míaƒe gbetakpɔxɔwo me, míekpɔ mɔ na dukɔ si mate ŋu aɖe mí o la be wòava.
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.
18 Amewo le ŋku lém ɖe míaƒe afɔɖeɖe ɖe sia ɖe ŋu ale gbegbe be, míagate ŋu ado go azɔ le míaƒe ablɔwo dzi o. Míaƒe nuwuwu tu aƒe, woxlẽ míaƒe ŋkekewo elabena míaƒe nuwuwu va ɖo.
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.
19 Ame siwo le mía yome tim la ɖia du wu hɔ̃ le yame; woti mía yome le towo dzi eye wode xa ɖi na mí le gbegbe.
Our pursuers were faster than eagles in the sky. They chased us across the mountains and ambushed us in the desert.
20 Yehowa ƒe amesiamina la, si nye míaƒe agbegbɔgbɔ gɔ̃ hã ge ɖe woƒe mɔ me. Míebu xaa be le eƒe vɔvɔli te la, míanɔ dedie le dukɔwo dome.
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.”
21 O, Edom vinyɔnu, tso aseye, wò ame si le Uznyigba dzi. Gake wòe woatsɔ kplu la ade asi na, amu wò eye woaɖe ama wò.
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.
22 O, Zion vinyɔnu, wò tohehe awu enu, wò aboyomenɔnɔ magadzi ɖe edzi o. Gake O, Edom vinyɔnu ahe to na wò nu vɔ̃wo eye wòaɖe wò vɔ̃ɖinyenye ɖe go.
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.
