Mapisarema 137

1 Panzizi dzeBhabhironi takagarapo tikachema, patakarangarira Zioni.

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

2 Pamikonachando apo ndipo patakaturika mbira dzedu,

On the poplars there we hung our harps.

3 nokuti ipapo avo vakatitapa vakatikumbira nziyo, vatambudzi vedu vakatigombedzera kuti tiimbe nziyo dzomufaro, vakati, “Tiimbirei rumwe rwiyo rweZioni!”

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 Tingaimba seiko nziyo dzaJehovha tiri munyika yokumwe?

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

5 Kana ndikakukanganwa, iwe Jerusarema, ruoko rwangu rworudyi ngarukanganwe umhizha hwarwo.

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

6 Rurimi rwangu ngarunamatire kumusoro kwomuromo wangu, kana ndikasakurangarira iwe, kana ndisingafungi Jerusarema, iwo mufaro wangu wapamusoro-soro.

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 Haiwa Jehovha, rangarirai henyu zvakaitwa navaEdhomu, pazuva rakawa Jerusarema. Vakati, “Rikoromorei! Rikoromorei kusvikira panheyo dzaro!”

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 Haiwa Mwanasikana weBhabhironi, watongerwa kuparadzwa, achafara munhu uyo achatsiva kwauri zvawakaita kwatiri,

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

9 iye achatora pwere dzako agodzirovera pamatombo.

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