Zabbuli 137

1 Twatuula ku mabbali g’emigga gy’e Babulooni, ne tukaaba amaziga bwe twajjukira Sayuuni.

By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we thought about Zion.

2 Ne tuwanika ennanga zaffe ku miti egyali awo.

On the poplars there we hung our harps.

3 Abaatunyaga ne batulagira okuyimba, abaatubonyaabonya ne batulagira okusanyuka; nga bagamba nti, “Mutuyimbireyo lumu ku nnyimba za Sayuuni.”

There our captors required songs from us, and those who mocked us required us to be happy, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

4 Tunaayimba tutya oluyimba lwa Mukama mu nsi eteri yaffe?

How could we sing a song about Yahweh in a foreign land?

5 Bwe nnaakwerabiranga, ggwe Yerusaalemi, omukono gwange ogwa ddyo gukale!

If I ignore the memory of you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her skill.

6 Olulimi lwange lwesibire waggulu w’ekibuno kyange singa nkwerabira, ggwe Yerusaalemi, ne sikulowoozaako okusinga ebintu ebirala byonna.

Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I think about you no more, if I do not prefer Jerusalem more than my greatest delights.

7 Jjukira, Ayi Mukama, batabani ba Edomu kye baakola, ku lunaku Yerusaalemi lwe kyawambibwa; ne baleekaana nti, “Kisuule, kimalirewo ddala n’emisingi gyakyo.”

Call to mind, Yahweh, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said, “Tear it down, tear it down to its foundations.”

8 Ggwe omuwala wa Babulooni, agenda okuzikirizibwa, yeesiimye oyo alikusasula ebyo nga naawe bye watukola.

Daughter of Babylon, soon to be destroyed— may the person be blessed, whoever pays you back for what you have done to us.

9 Yeesiimye oyo aliddira abaana bo n’ababetentera ku lwazi.

May the person be blessed, whoever takes and dashes your little ones against a rock.