Plenn 4
1 Gade jan bon lò pa klere ankò! Li chanje, li pèdi kalite li! Gade jan wòch Tanp yo gaye nan tout lari!
[Previously our people were like] [MET] pure gold, but now they are worthless. [Like] [MET] the sacred stones in the temple have been scattered, [our young men have been scattered].
2 Nan tan lontan nou pa ta bay moun peyi Siyon yo pou pi bon lò ki genyen. Gade! Koulye a, yo pa vo pase krich tè moun fè ak men.
The young men of Jerusalem were as valuable as [MET] large amounts of gold, but now people consider that they are as worthless as [ordinary] clay pots.
3 Ata manman chat mawon bay pitit yo tete. Men, pèp mwen an mechan tankou otrich k'ap viv nan dezè. Yo pa pran swen pitit yo.
Even the [female] jackals/wolves feed their pups, but my people act cruelly [toward their children]; they are like [SIM] ostriches in the desert [that abandon their eggs].
4 Lang ti bebe yo kole nan fon bouch yo sitèlman yo swaf dlo. Timoun yo ap rele mande manje. Pa gen pesonn pou ba yo anyen!
[My people’s] infants’ tongues cling to the roofs/tops of their mouths because they are [extremely] thirsty; the children plead for some food, but no one gives them [any].
5 Moun ki te konn manje bon manje gou ap tonbe faya nan lari. Moun ki te elve nan gran kay ap chache manje nan fatra.
People who [previously] ate fine food are [now] starving in the streets; those who previously lived luxuriously [MTY] [now] paw/dig through rubbish heaps [to find some food].
6 Peche lavil Jerizalèm pi gwo pase peche lavil Sodòm, ki te rete konsa Bondye disparèt li.
[The people of] Sodom were struck with a disaster very suddenly, and there was no one to rescue them; but my people have been punished more severely than [the people of] Sodom were punished.
7 Nazirit nou yo te san repwòch. Pi bon pase yo pa t' genyen. Yo te anfòm, yo te gwonèg. Yon bèl san wouj t'ap koule nan venn yo!
Our leaders’ [behavior] was [previously] very pure, whiter [and brighter] than snow and milk; their bodies were redder than [red] coral/stones; they were very strong and healthy [MET].
8 Koulye a, se lonbraj yo ase ki la. Yo fini. Pesonn pa rekonèt yo nan lari. Po yo chèch tankou kòs bwa, yo tounen zo ak po.
But now their faces are blacker than soot, and no one recognizes them in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones, and it has become as dry as [SIM] a wooden [stick].
9 Moun ki mouri nan lagè pi bon pase moun ki mouri grangou. Y'ap depafini jouk yo mouri. Yo pa jwenn anyen pou yo manje.
It is better to die in a battle [MTY] than to die of hunger. There was no food to harvest in the fields, so the people slowly starved until they died.
10 Manman ki te renmen pitit yo anpil, koulye a, yo kwit yo pou yo manje. Lè malè a tonbe sou pèp mwen an, se sa yo fè pou yo pa mouri grangou.
Women who [usually/previously] were very kind have [killed and] cooked their own children; they ate them [when there was no other food], when Jerusalem was surrounded [by enemy soldiers].
11 Seyè a fache nèt. Li limen yon sèl kalite dife nan lavil Siyon. Li boule l' ratè.
Yahweh has shown that he was extremely angry; [it is as though] he started/ignited a fire in Jerusalem that burned everything to ashes.
12 Pesonn sou latè, pa menm wa peyi sou latè yo, pa t' vle kwè yon jou, moun ki pa vle wè pèp Bondye a ta antre nan pòtay lavil Jerizalèm!
None of the kings on the earth or anyone else believed that any of our enemies could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Men, tou sa rive paske pwofèt li yo ak prèt li yo te peche. Yo te lakòz anpil moun ki mache dwat pèdi lavi yo mal.
[But that is what happened]; it happened because the prophets sinned; and the priests [also] sinned by causing innocent people to be executed [MTY].
14 Y'ap mache nan lari tankou moun avèg. Yo bade ak san. Pesonn pa gen dwa manyen rad yo.
The prophets and priests wandered through the streets [as though they were] blind. No one would touch them because their clothes were stained with the blood [of people who had been killed].
15 Kote yo pase moun ap rele: Wete kò nou la! Nou pa pwòp! Pa pwoche! Pa manyen m'! Se konsa y'ap plede kouri sot nan yon peyi al nan yon lòt. Pesonn pa vle resevwa yo.
The people [who were alive] shouted, “Stay away [from us] [DOU]! You are defiled/untouchable! Do not touch us!” So the prophets and priests fled [from Israel], and they wandered around from one country to another, because people [in each country] kept saying to them, “You cannot stay here!”
16 Seyè a pa vle wè yo ankò, se li menm ki gaye yo konsa. Li pa gen konsiderasyon ni pou pè yo ni pou chèf yo.
It is Yahweh himself who has scattered them; he no longer is concerned about them. People do not respect [our] priests or leaders.
17 Je nou wouj afòs nou kriye. N'ap tann yon sekou ki pa janm vini. M'ap veye tann yon nasyon ki pa ka fè anyen pou delivre nou.
We [SYN] continued to look for someone to help [us], but it was useless. We continued to watch to see if one of our allies would save us, but none of the nations that we were waiting for could help [us].
18 Lènmi ap veye kote nou prale. Nou pa menm gen dwa soti nan lari. Jou lanmò nou rive. Sa ki rete pou nou mouri a pa anyen.
[Our] enemies were hunting for us, so we could not [even] walk in our streets [lest they seize us]. We were about to be captured; it was time for us to be killed.
19 Moun ki t'ap kouri dèyè nou yo te pi rapid pase malfini k'ap plonje dèyè poul. Y'ap kouri dèyè nou nan tout mòn yo. Yo tann pèlen pou nou nan tout dezè a.
Those who pursued us were faster than eagles [flying] in the sky. Even if we fled to the mountains or hid in the desert, they [went there ahead of us and] waited [to attack] us.
20 Moun Seyè a te chwazi a, li menm ki tout souf lavi nou, li menm nou te konprann ki ta ka toujou pwoteje nou pou lòt nasyon pa anvayi nou, yo pran l', yo mete l' nan prizon!
[Our king, ] whom Yahweh appointed, was the one who enabled us to remain alive [MTY]; he was the one whom we trusted to protect us [IDM] from [the armies of] other nations. But he was [captured] [like animals are] [MET] caught in a pit.
21 Nou menm, moun peyi Edon ki rete lavil Ouz, nou mèt fè kè nou kontan, nou mèt fè fèt! Tou pa nou dèyè, tande! Jou sa a, nou pral titibe toutouni nan tout lari.
You people of [IDM] Edom and Uz, [you may] be happy [about what is happening to us now], but [Yahweh] will be punishing [MTY] you [also]. You will become drunk and will be ashamed [because your enemies] will have stripped off your clothes.
22 Nou menm, moun lavil Siyon, nou fin peye pou peche nou yo. Bondye ap sispann pini nou! Men, nou menm moun Edon, Seyè a pral pini nou pou peche nou yo. L'ap denonse tou sa nou fè ki mal.
You [people of] [APO] Jerusalem, the time of your being punished will end; Yahweh will not allow you to continue to live in (exile/foreign countries). But [you people of] [APO] Edom, Yahweh will punish [you]; he will reveal the wicked things that you have done.
