< Plenn 5 >
1 Sonje, O SENYÈ, sa ki te rive nou an. Gade pou wè repwòch nou.
Remember, O Jehovah, what hath befallen us, Look attentively, and see our reproach.
2 Eritaj nou te bay kon don a etranje yo, kay nou yo a moun nou pa konnen.
Our inheritance hath been turned to strangers, Our houses to foreigners.
3 Nou te devni òfelen san papa. Manman nou yo tankou vèv.
Orphans we have been — without a father, our mothers [are] as widows.
4 Nou oblije achte dlo pou nou bwè. Bwa nou se pou vann, yo vann nou li.
Our water for money we have drunk, Our wood for a price doth come.
5 Sila k ap kouri dèyè nou yo rive sou kou nou. Nou vin bouke nèt. Nanpwen repo pou nou.
For our neck we have been pursued, We have laboured — there hath been no rest for us.
6 Nou te vin soumèt devan Egypte ak Assyrie pou nou jwenn ase pen.
[To] Egypt we have given a hand, [To] Asshur, to be satisfied with bread.
7 Papa zansèt nou yo te peche, men yo pa la ankò; se nou menm ki te pote inikite pa yo.
Our fathers have sinned — they are not, We their iniquities have borne.
8 Se esklav yo k ap domine sou nou; nanpwen moun ki pou delivre nou nan men yo.
Servants have ruled over us, A deliverer there is none from their hand.
9 Nou riske lavi nou pou jwenn pen akoz nepe nan dezè a.
With our lives we bring in our bread, Because of the sword of the wilderness.
10 Po nou vin kwit tankou yon fou, akoz gwo chalè grangou a.
Our skin as an oven hath been burning, Because of the raging of the famine.
11 Yo te ravaje tout fanm Sion yo; vyèj lavil a Juda yo.
Wives in Zion they have humbled, Virgins — in cities of Judah.
12 Prens yo te pann pa men yo; ansyen yo te vin pa respekte.
Princes by their hand have been hanged, The faces of elders have not been honoured.
13 Jennonm yo te fòse travay devan moulen an e timoun yo te kilbite anba gwo chaj bwa yo.
Young men to grind they have taken, And youths with wood have stumbled.
14 Ansyen yo ale kite pòtay la; jennonm yo ale kite mizik yo.
The aged from the gate have ceased, Young men from their song.
15 Jwa nan kè nou vin sispann; danse vin ranplase pa fè dèy.
Ceased hath the joy of our heart, Turned to mourning hath been our dancing.
16 Kouwòn nan soti sou tèt nou; malè a nou menm, paske nou te peche!
Fallen hath the crown [from] our head, Woe [is] now to us, for we have sinned.
17 Akoz sa, kè nou febli; akoz bagay sa yo, zye nou pa wè klè.
For this hath our heart been sick, For these have our eyes been dim.
18 Akoz Mòn Sion ki kouche dezole nèt, rena yo fè patwouj ladann.
For the mount of Zion — that is desolate, Foxes have gone up on it.
19 Ou menm, O SENYÈ, Ou renye jis pou tout tan; twòn Ou se de jenerasyon an jenerasyon.
Thou, O Jehovah, to the age remainest, Thy throne to generation and generation.
20 Poukisa Ou bliye nou jis pou tout tan? Poukisa Ou abandone nou jis rive tout tan sa a?
Why for ever dost Thou forget us? Thou forsakest us for length of days!
21 Restore nou a Ou menm O SENYÈ, pou nou ka vin restore. Fè jou nou yo vin jan yo te ye nan tan pase yo.
Turn us back, O Jehovah, unto Thee, And we turn back, renew our days as of old.
22 Men Ou deja fin rejte nou nèt. Ou rete byen fache nèt ak nou.
For hast Thou utterly rejected us? Thou hast been wroth against us — exceedingly?