Nawoun 3
1 Malè a vil sanglan an! Li plen nèt ak manti ak piyaj. Viktim li yo san fen.
Woe to the bloody city! Full of lies and plunder, without end is the spoil.
2 Bri a fwèt la, bri a wou k ap sone sou wòch yo, cheval k ap galope yo ak cha k ap vòltije yo!
Hear the crack of the whip, hear the rattle of wheels. Galloping horses, jolting chariots.
3 Chevalye k ap kouri desann yo; nepe k ap klere yo, lans k ap briye tankou solèy yo. Anpil mò, yon gwo ma kadav, ak kò mouri san kontwòl— yo manke tonbe sou kadav mò yo!
Horsemen charging, swords flashing, spears glittering, a multitude of slain, a heap of bodies, no end to the corpses over which people stumble!
4 Tout sa akoz anpil aktivite a pwostitiye yo, sila ki vrèman byen pòtan yo, mètrès a gwo maji yo, ki vann nasyon yo nan pwostitisyon li yo, ak fanmi yo nan gwo wanga li konn fè yo.
‘Because you acted like a whore, bewitching the nations, enticing the peoples,
5 “Gade byen, Mwen vin kont ou”, deklare SENYÈ dèzame yo. Mwen va Leve jip ou jis rive nan figi ou pou montre a nasyon yo toutouni ou, pou wayòm yo wè wont ou.
I am against you, Nineveh’ the Lord of hosts declares. ‘I will strip your clothes and show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame.
6 Mwen va jete bagay ki sal nèt sou ou, fè ou vin avili e fè ou vin espektak.
‘I will fling loathsome filth at you, and make you an object of contempt, a spectacle,
7 Konsa, li va vin rive ke tout moun ki wè ou, yo va fè bak, e yo va di: “Men Ninive fin devaste nèt! Se kilès k ap fè dèy pou li? Se kibò pou m ta jwenn moun ki pou rekonfòte ou?”
so that everyone who sees you will flee from you and say: “Nineveh is laid waste, who will mourn for her?”
8 Èske ou pi bon pase Nò Amon ki te pozisyone pami rivyè yo, ki te antoure ak dlo, ki te gen lanmè kon pwotèj li, e se lanmè ki te sèvi kon miray li?
‘Are you any better than Thebes, which stood on the banks of the Nile, with waters around as a rampart, whose wall was the sea of waters?
9 Se Éthiopie ki te pwisans li, ansanm ak Égypte ki te san limit. Puth ak Libie te pami soutyen ou yo.
Her strength was Ethiopia and Egypt. The Libyans were her helpers, and Put with its countless people.
10 Men li te pote ale; li te antre an kaptivite. Tout ti pitit li yo te vin kraze an mòso nan tèt tout ri yo. Yo te fè tiraj osò pou onorab li yo, e mesye pwisan li yo te mare nan chèn.
Yet she was exiled and made captive. On all corners of the streets her infants were dashed to pieces. Lots were cast for her nobles, all her great ones were bound in chains.
11 Ou menm tou va vin sou nèt. Ou va kache. Ou menm tou va chache yon kote pou ou kache akoz de ènmi an.
‘You too, Nineveh, will be drunk with fear; you too will seek a place of escape from the foe.
12 Tout gwo fò nou yo va tankou pye fig etranje ak fwi ki mi— lè yo sekwe yo, yo tonbe nan bouch a sila k ap manje yo a.
All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; if shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater!
13 Gade byen, pèp ou a se fanm yo ye pami nou! Pòtay peyi ou yo vin ouvri byen laj bay lènmi ou yo. Dife fin devore baryè pòtay ou yo.
Your troops are weak as women before your foes; the gates of your land are wide open; your defenses burned down.
14 Rale dlo ou pou kont ou pou fè syèj la! Ranfòse fò ou yo! Antre nan ajil la, e foule mòtye a anba pye ou. Byen bati kay fou k ap fè brik yo fò!
‘Draw water for the siege, strengthen your forts. Go to the clay pits and tread the clay; take up the brick moulds.
15 La, dife sa menm va vin devore ou nèt. Nepe va koupe retire ou nèt. Li va devore ou tankou krikèt volan. Li va fè ou vin anpil tankou yon krikèt volan. Li va fè ou vin anpil tankou krikèt.
There the fire will consume you, the sword will cut you down. Multiply like the locust or a swarm of grasshoppers.
16 Ou fin ogmante machann ou yo plis pase zetwal syèl yo— krikèt volan ravaje, epi, konsa, li vole ale.
Increase the numbers of your merchants until they are more than the stars of heaven,
17 Gad nou yo tankou krikèt. Jandam nou yo tankou gwo lame krikèt volan k ap poze sou wòch nan jou fredi. Lè solèy la leve yo sove ale. Kote yo rive a, pèsòn pa konnen.
until your watchmen are locusts, and your scribes like grasshoppers, which swarm in the hedges on a cold day; but when the sun rises they fly away, no one knows where.
18 Bèje ou yo ap dòmi, O wa Assyrie. Prens ou yo kouche nèt. Pèp ou an vin gaye sou mòn yo, e nanpwen moun ki pou rasanble yo.
‘King of Assyria: your princes slumber, your nobles sleep! Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them!
19 Nanpwen ti pansman pou sa k ap fè ou mal la. Blesi ou a p ap ka geri. Tout moun ki tande koze ou va bat men yo sou ou, paske kilès moun san rete, ki pa t resevwa nan mechanste ou?
There is no healing for your hurt, your wound is incurable. All who hear of your fate clap their hands in joy, for who has escaped your limitless cruelty?’
