Zaburi 144
1 Atukuzwe Yahwe, mwamba wangu, anifundishaye mikono yangu vita na vidole vyangu kupigana.
I praise Yahweh, who is [like an overhanging] rock [under which I] ([get refuge/am protected])! He trains my hands so that I can use them to fight battles; he trains my fingers so that I can [shoot arrows in a war].
2 Wewe ni uaminifu wa agano langu na ngome yangu, mnara wangu mrefu na uniokoaye, ngao yangu na yule ambaye katika yeye napata kimbilio, uyatiishaye mataifa chini yangu.
He is the one who protects me; he is [like] a fortress [DOU] in which I am safe, he protects me [like] [protect soldiers] [MET], and he gives me refuge. He defeats [other] nations and [then] puts them under my power.
3 Ee Yahwe, mtu ni kitu gani hata umtazame au mwana wa mtu hata umfikirie?
Yahweh, [we] people are [very insignificant/unimportant], so why (are you concerned/do you care about us) [RHQ]? [It is amazing to me that] you pay attention to humans.
4 Mtu ni kama pumzi, siku zake ni kama uvuli upitao.
[The time that we live is as short] as [SIM] a puff of wind; our time to live disappears like a shadow does.
5 Ee Yahwe uziinamishe mbingu na ushuke chini, uiguse milima na uifanye kutoa moshi.
Yahweh, (tear open/open up) the sky and come down! Touch the mountains in order that smoke will pour out from them!
6 Utume umeme uwatawanye adui zangu; upige mishale yako na uwavuruge.
Cause lightning to flash with the result that [your enemies] will run away! Shoot your arrows [at them] and cause them to (run away/scatter).
7 Nyosha mkono wako toka juu; uniokoe kutoka katika maji mengi, na kutoka katika mkono wa wageni.
[It is as though my enemies surround me like] a flood; reach your hand down from heaven and rescue me from them [SYN]. They are men from other countries
8 vinywa vyao hunena uongo, na mkono wao wa kuume ni mkono wa uongo.
who [SYN] [always] tell lies. [Even in a courtroom where they swear to tell the truth] they tell lies.
9 Nitakuimbia wimbo mpya, Mungu; kwa kinanda cha nyuzi kumi nitakuimbia sifa wewe,
God, I will sing a new song to you, and I will play my ten-stringed harp [while I sing] to you.
10 uwapaye wafalme wokovu, uliye muokoa Daudi mtumishi wako dhidi ya upanga wa uovu.
You enable kings to defeat [their enemies]; and you rescued me, your servant David, from [being killed by] my enemies’ swords.
11 Uniokoe na unitoe mkononi mwa wageni. Midomo yao huongea uongo, na mkono wao wa kuume ni mkono wa uongo.
[So I ask you to] save me from [being killed by] the swords [that those] evil [people carry]. Rescue me from the power [MTY] of those foreigners who [SYN] [always] tell lies, and [who raise] their right hands [in courtrooms when they solemnly declare that they will tell the truth].
12 Wana wetu na wawe kama mimea ikuayo kwa ukumbwa timilifu katika ujana wao na binti zetu kama nguzo za pembeni, zilizonakishiwa kwa kupamba jumba la kifahari.
I wish/hope that our young sons will grow up to be like strong plants [SIM], and I wish/hope that our daughters will [grow up to] be [straight and tall] like the pillars [SIM] that stand in the corners of palaces.
13 Ghala zetu na zijae akiba ya kila aina ya mazao, na kondoo wetu wazae elfu na makumi elfu mashambani mwetu.
I wish/hope that our barns will be full of many different crops. I wish/hope that the sheep in our fields will give birth to tens of thousands of baby lambs.
14 Kisha ng'ombe wetu watakuwa na nddama wengi. Hakuna atakayevunja kuta zetu; hakutakuwa na uhamisho wala kilio mitaani mwetu.
I wish/hope that our cows will give birth to many calves without having any miscarriages or deaths when they are born (OR, that no enemies will break through our city walls and take us (into exile/to their own countries)). I wish/hope that [there will not be a time when the people in] our streets cry out in distress [because foreign armies are invading].
15 Wamebarikiwa watu wenye baraka hizo; furaha ina watu ambao Mungu wao ni Yahwe.
If good things like that happen to a nation, the people will be very happy. The people whose God is Yahweh are the ones who will be happy!
