Nnwom 137

1 Babilonia nsubɔnten ho, ɛhɔ na yɛtena suu bere a yɛkaee Sion no.

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

2 Ɛhɔ konkɔn so nnua mu na yɛde yɛn asanku sensɛnee,

On the poplars there we hung our harps.

3 ɛhɔ na yɛn nnommumfafo kaa se yɛnto nnwom, yɛn ahohiafo hwehwɛɛ anigye nnwom fii yɛn nkyɛn; wɔkae se, “Monto Sion nnwom baako nkyerɛ yɛn!”

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 Ɛbɛyɛ dɛn na yɛatumi ato Awurade nnwom, bere a yɛwɔ ananafo asase so?

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

5 Yerusalem, sɛ me werɛ fi wo a ma me nsa nifa werɛ mfi sankubɔ.

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

6 Sɛ mankae wo a, ma me tɛkrɛma nka ntare mʼanom sɛ mamfa Yerusalem sɛ mʼanigyede kɛse pa ara a.

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 Kae, Awurade, nea Edomfo yɛɛ da a Yerusalem hwee ase no. Wɔteɛɛ mu se, “Munnwiriw, munnwiriw ngu fam nkɔka ne fapem!”

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 Ɔbabea Babilonia, wɔadome wo akɔ ɔsɛe mu, nea otua wo ka bio ani gye wɔ nea wode ayɛ yɛn no ho.

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

9 Nea ɔkyere wo nkokoaa de wɔn dwiradwira abotan no ani gye.

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