Nawoun 3
1 Madichon pou lavil ki renmen fè san koule a! Se manti ase l'ap mache bay. Li plen richès li vòlò nan fè mètdam. Li chaje ak byen li piye kay lòt.
Woe to the bloody city! Full of lies and plunder, without end is the spoil.
2 Koute bri fwèt kach yo, bri wou cha yo k'ap woule vini. Koute bri chwal yo k'ap galope, bri cha lagè yo k'ap kouri vini.
Hear the crack of the whip, hear the rattle of wheels. Galloping horses, jolting chariots.
3 Kavalye yo ap zeponnen chwal yo. Nepe yo klere kou fèman nan solèy. Lans yo, ou ta di zèklè. Moun tonbe kou mouch. Kadav yo fè pil sou pil. Ou pa ka konte yo. Moun ap bite sou moun mouri.
Horsemen charging, swords flashing, spears glittering, a multitude of slain, a heap of bodies, no end to the corpses over which people stumble!
4 Y'ap pini lavil Niniv, manman jennès la. Y'ap pini l' pou tout dezòd li fè yo. Li te bèl, li te fò nan pawòl dous! Li fè yo pran plezi kont kò yo ak li. Li fè nasyon yo pèdi tèt yo. Lèfini, li pran yo, li fè trafik ak yo!
‘Because you acted like a whore, bewitching the nations, enticing the peoples,
5 Men sa Seyè ki gen tout pouvwa a di: Se mwen menm k'ap regle ak ou! Mwen pral leve rad ou anlè jouk nan tèt. Mwen pral mete ou toutouni pou tout nasyon yo ka wè ou, pou tout peyi ka wè jan ou san wont.
I am against you, Nineveh’ the Lord of hosts declares. ‘I will strip your clothes and show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame.
6 Mwen pral kouvri ou ak salte. Mwen pral avili ou, pou tout moun ka wè jan ou pa bon.
‘I will fling loathsome filth at you, and make you an object of contempt, a spectacle,
7 Tout moun ki va wè ou va kouri byen lwen. Y'a di: Lavil Niniv fini! Ki moun ki va gen pitye pou li? Pa gen pesonn ka vle vin kenbe rèl la avè l'.
so that everyone who sees you will flee from you and say: “Nineveh is laid waste, who will mourn for her?”
8 Ou menm lavil Niniv, ou pa pi bon pase lavil Tèb. Atout li chita nan mitan gwo larivyè Nil la, ak dlo toupatou tankou yon ranpa, tankou yon glasi pou pwoteje l',
‘Are you any better than Thebes, which stood on the banks of the Nile, with waters around as a rampart, whose wall was the sea of waters?
9 atout li te anvayi peyi Letiopi ak peyi Lejip kifè pa t' gen limit pou pouvwa li ankò, atout moun peyi Pout yo ak moun peyi Libi yo te mache ansanm avè l',
Her strength was Ethiopia and Egypt. The Libyans were her helpers, and Put with its countless people.
10 yo fè moun li yo prizonye, yo depòte yo nan lòt peyi. Nan tout kalfou, yo kraze pitit li yo jouk yo mouri. Yo mare grannèg li yo nan chenn kou esklav. Yo separe yo, yo tire osò pou bay chak moun pa yo.
Yet she was exiled and made captive. On all corners of the streets her infants were dashed to pieces. Lots were cast for her nobles, all her great ones were bound in chains.
11 Ou menm tou, lavil Niniv, ou pral sou. Tèt ou pral vire. Ou menm tou, ou pral chache kote pou ou kache pou lènmi ou yo.
‘You too, Nineveh, will be drunk with fear; you too will seek a place of escape from the foe.
12 Fò ou yo tankou yon pye fig frans chaje fig mi: ou annik souke l', epi fig yo tonbe nan bouch k'ap tann pou manje yo.
All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; if shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater!
13 Sòlda ou yo, ou ta di yon bann fanm! Peyi a ap san defans devan lènmi ou yo, dife boule ba ki fèmen pòtay ou yo. Yo rete gran louvri.
Your troops are weak as women before your foes; the gates of your land are wide open; your defenses burned down.
14 Al pran dlo mete la, paske yo pral sènen ou anndan lakay ou. Repare miray fò ou yo! Al bat tè ak pye ou pou fè brik! Pare fòm pou fè brik.
‘Draw water for the siege, strengthen your forts. Go to the clay pits and tread the clay; take up the brick moulds.
15 Ou te mèt peple tankou chini, ou te mèt peple tankou krikèt, dife pral boule ou nèt ale. Lagè pral fini avè ou.
There the fire will consume you, the sword will cut you down. Multiply like the locust or a swarm of grasshoppers.
16 Ou te gen plis moun k'ap fè kòmès pase gen zetwal nan syèl la. Koulye a, yo pati tankou krikèt ki louvri zèl yo vole ale.
Increase the numbers of your merchants until they are more than the stars of heaven,
17 Sòlda ou yo ak moun k'ap travay pou ou yo pral tankou yon bann krikèt ki poze sou raje lè fredi. Leve solèy la leve, y' ale. Pesonn pa konnen kote yo fè.
until your watchmen are locusts, and your scribes like grasshoppers, which swarm in the hedges on a cold day; but when the sun rises they fly away, no one knows where.
18 Ou menm wa peyi Lasiri a, faksyonnè ou yo ap dòmi. Chèf lame ou yo mouri. Moun ou yo gaye nan tout mòn. Pa gen pesonn pou fè yo tounen lakay yo ankò.
‘King of Assyria: your princes slumber, your nobles sleep! Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them!
19 Pa gen renmèd pou ou pou jan ou donmaje a. Pa gen gerizon pou malenng ou a. Tout moun ki va pran nouvèl la va kontan, y'a bat men. Paske, ak tout mechanste ou yo, pa gen moun ou pa t' fè pase mizè.
There is no healing for your hurt, your wound is incurable. All who hear of your fate clap their hands in joy, for who has escaped your limitless cruelty?’
