Niikuyaa suukuwo
1 Babiloni baa jenjeŋolu la,
ǹ siita duuma jee le ka kumboo,
biriŋ ǹ hakiloo taata Siyoni* kaŋ.
2 Yirisuŋ biireeriŋolu mennu tarata jee,
ǹ ka ǹ na kontiŋolu deŋ wolu le santo.
3 M̀ mutalaalu ko ntolu ye suukuwo laa ì ye jee,
n toorandilaalu ko ŋà maadiyaa ke ì ye.
Ì ko, “Ali Siyoni suukuwo laa ǹ ye.”
4 Muna, ntolu si suukuwo laa noo Yaawe* ye
wandi banku kaŋ baŋ?
5 Hee Yerusalaamu, niŋ n ñinata i la,
Allamaa m bulubaa buloo ye faa.
6 Allamaa n neŋo ye kara n naaliŋo bala,
niŋ n hakiloo buka bula i la,
niŋ ite Yerusalaamu la kuwo seewoo le maŋ tambi n ye
seewoo bee la.
7 Hee Yaawe, i miira Edomunkoolu ye meŋ ke,
luŋo meŋ na ǹ jawoolu ye Yerusalaamu saatewo muta.
Ì tarata a fo kaŋ ne ko, “Ali a tumbuŋ de!
Ali a tumbuŋ de, fo a fondamaŋolu to!”
8 Ite Babiloni kasaaratoo diŋ,
seewoo be moo le ye
meŋ be i joo la kuwo la i ye meŋ ke ntolu la.
9 Seewoo be moo le ye
meŋ be i la dindiŋ mereŋolu taa la
a ye ì busa beroo bala.
A Lament of Israelites in Exile
1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat down;
there we wept when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows near by
we hung up our harps.
3 Those who captured us told us to sing;
they told us to entertain them:
“Sing us a song about Zion.”
4 How can we sing a song to the Lord
in a foreign land?
5 May I never be able to play the harp again
if I forget you, Jerusalem!
6 May I never be able to sing again
if I do not remember you,
if I do not think of you as my greatest joy!
7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did
the day Jerusalem was captured.
Remember how they kept saying,
“Tear it down to the ground!”
8 Babylon, you will be destroyed.
Happy are those who pay you back
for what you have done to us—
9 who take your babies
and smash them against a rock.
