Klagesangene 4
1 Hvor gullet blir mørkt, det edleste gull forandret, de hellige stener strødd omkring ved alle gatehjørner!
How gold has tarnished! Even pure gold has lost its shine! Jewels from the Temple have been scattered on every street corner.
2 Sions barn, de dyrebare, like i verd med det fineste gull, hvor de er blitt aktet som lerkrukker, et verk av en pottemakers hender!
Look at how the precious people of Zion, worth their weight in gold, are now valued like cheap clay jars made by a potter!
3 Endog sjakaler rekker bryst, gir sine unger die; mitt folks datter er blitt grusom som strutsen i ørkenen.
Even jackals nurse their young at their breasts, but the women of my people have become cruel, like an ostrich in the desert.
4 Diebarnets tunge henger fast ved ganen av tørst; små barn ber om brød, det er ingen som deler ut til dem,
The nursing babies are so thirsty that their tongues stick to the roof of their mouths. Little children beg for food, but nobody gives them anything.
5 De som åt fine retter, ligger elendige på gatene; de som blev båret på skarlagen, favner møkkdynger.
Those who used to eat gourmet food now die starving in the streets. Those who dressed in fine clothes from their childhood now live in heaps of rubbish.
6 Så blev straffen over mitt folks datter større enn straffen over Sodoma, som blev lagt i grus i et øieblikk, uten at hender blev løftet imot det.
Jerusalem's punishment is worse than sinful Sodom's, which was destroyed in a brief moment, without the help of human hands.
7 Hennes fyrster var renere enn sne, hvitere enn melk; de var rødere på legemet enn koraller; som safir var deres utseende.
Her leaders were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were a healthier red than coral, and they shone like lapis lazuli.
8 Mørkere enn sort er nu deres utseende, de blir ikke kjent på gatene; deres hud henger ved deres ben, den er blitt tørr som tre.
But now they look blacker than soot; no one recognizes them in the street. Their skin has shrunk to their bones and is as dry as wood.
9 Lykkeligere var de som blev drept ved sverd, enn de som blev drept ved hunger, de som tærtes bort og gikk til grunne av mangel på brød.
Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who slowly waste away in agony because the fields produce no crops.
10 Ømhjertede kvinner kokte selv sine egne barn, de tjente dem til føde da mitt folks datter gikk under.
The hands of loving women have cooked their own children to eat during the destruction of Jerusalem.
11 Herren uttømte sin harme, han utøste sin brennende vrede og tendte en ild i Sion, og den fortærte dets grunnvoller.
The Lord has given full expression to his anger. He has poured out his fury. He has started a fire in Zion, and it has burned down her very foundations.
12 Jordens konger og alle som bodde på jorderike, trodde ikke at nogen motstander og fiende skulde komme inn gjennem Jerusalems porter.
No king on earth—in fact nobody in all the world—thought that an enemy or attacker could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 For dets profeters synder, dets presters misgjerninger, de som utøste rettferdiges blod i byen, er det skjedd.
But this happened because of the sins of her prophets and the wickedness of her priests, who shed the blood of the innocent right there in the city.
14 De vanket omkring på gatene som blinde, tilsølt med blod, så ingen kunde røre ved deres klær.
They wandered like blind men through the streets, made unclean by this blood, so no one would touch their clothes.
15 Vik bort! Uren! ropte folk til dem - vik bort, vik bort, rør ikke ved oss! For de har flyktet og vanker omkring; det sies blandt folkene: De skal ikke bli her lenger!
“Go away! You're unclean!” people would shout at them, “Go away, go away! Don't touch us!” So they ran away and wandered from country to country, but the people there told them, “You can't stay here!”
16 Herrens åsyn har spredt dem, han ser ikke mere til dem; prester akter de ikke, over de gamle forbarmer de sig ikke.
The Lord himself has scattered them; he doesn't bother with them anymore. Nobody respects the priests, and nobody admires the leaders.
17 Da det ennu stod, stirret våre matte øine forgjeves efter hjelp; på vårt vakttårn speidet vi efter et folk som ikke kunde frelse oss.
We wore out our eyes pointlessly looking for help the whole time; we watched from our towers for a nation to come that couldn't save us.
18 De lurte på våre skritt, så vi ikke kunde gå på våre gater; vår ende var kommet nær, vår tid var omme, ja, vår ende var kommet.
The enemy tracked our every movement so we couldn't walk through our streets. Our end approached. Our time was up because our end had come.
19 Våre forfølgere var raskere enn himmelens ørner; på fjellene forfulgte de oss, i ørkenen lurte de på oss.
Our pursuers were faster than eagles in the sky. They chased us across the mountains and ambushed us in the desert.
20 Vår livsånde, Herrens salvede, blev fanget i deres graver, han om hvem vi sa: I hans skygge vil vi leve blandt folkene.
The king, the Lord's anointed, our country's “life-breath,” was trapped and captured by them. We had said about him, “Under his protection we will live among the nations.”
21 Fryd dig og gled dig bare, Edoms datter, du som bor i landet Us! Også til dig skal begeret komme; du skal bli drukken og klæ dig naken.
Celebrate and be happy while you can, people of Edom, you who live in the land of Uz, because this cup will be passed to you too. You will get drunk and strip yourself naked.
22 Din straff er til ende, Sions datter! Han vil ikke mere bortføre dig. Han vil hjemsøke dig for din misgjerning, Edoms datter, åpenbare dine synder.
People of Zion, your punishment is coming to an end—he won't continue your exile for long. But he is going to punish your sins, people of Edom; he will reveal your sins.
