Banzembo 120

1 Nzembo ya mobembo tango bazalaki kokende na Tempelo ya Yawe. Kati na pasi na ngai, nabelelaki Yawe, mpe ayanolaki ngai.

A Song of Degrees. In mine affliction I cried to the Lord, and he hearkened to me.

2 Oh Yawe, kangola ngai wuta na maboko ya bakosi mpe wuta na lolemo ya lokuta!

Deliver my soul, O Lord, from unjust lips, and from a deceitful tongue.

3 Yo, lolemo ya lokuta, Yawe akopesa yo nini, akofuta yo nini?

What should be given to thee, and what should be added to thee, for [thy] crafty tongue?

4 Akobeta yo na makonga ya elombe ya bitumba, oyo ezali ya songe, elongo na makala ya moto ya nzete ya nzube.

Sharpened weapons of the mighty, with coals of the desert.

5 Mawa na ngai, mpo ete navandi lokola mopaya kati na Mesheki, kati na bandako ya kapo ya Kedari.

Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged; I have tabernacled among the tents of Kedar.

6 Navandaki tango molayi kati na bato oyo balingaka kimia te.

My soul has long been a sojourner;

7 Ngai, nazali moto ya kimia; kasi soki kaka nameki koloba na tina na kimia, bango baponaka mbala moko bitumba.

I was peaceable among them that hated peace; when I spoke to them, they warred against me without a cause.