A Prayer for Protection
1 With our own ears we have heard it, O God—
our ancestors have told us about it,
about the great things you did in their time,
in the days of long ago:
2 how you yourself drove out the heathen
and established your people in their land;
how you punished the other nations
and caused your own to prosper.
3 Your people did not conquer the land with their swords;
they did not win it by their own power;
it was by your power and your strength,
by the assurance of your presence,
which showed that you loved them.
4 You are my king and my God;
you give victory to your people,
5 and by your power we defeat our enemies.
6 I do not trust in my bow
or in my sword to save me;
7 but you have saved us from our enemies
and defeated those who hate us.
8 We will always praise you
and give thanks to you forever.
9 But now you have rejected us and let us be defeated;
you no longer march out with our armies.
10 You made us run from our enemies,
and they took for themselves what was ours.
11 You allowed us to be slaughtered like sheep;
you scattered us in foreign countries.
12 You sold your own people for a small price
as though they had little value.
13 Our neighbors see what you did to us,
and they mock us and laugh at us.
14 You have made us a joke among the nations;
they shake their heads at us in scorn.
15 I am always in disgrace;
I am covered with shame
16 from hearing the sneers and insults
of my enemies and those who hate me.
17 All this has happened to us,
even though we have not forgotten you
or broken the covenant you made with us.
18 We have not been disloyal to you;
we have not disobeyed your commands.
19 Yet you left us helpless among wild animals;
you abandoned us in deepest darkness.
20 If we had stopped worshiping our God
and prayed to a foreign god,
21 you would surely have discovered it,
because you know our secret thoughts.
22 But it is on your account that we are being killed all the time,
that we are treated like sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Wake up, Lord! Why are you asleep?
Rouse yourself! Don't reject us forever!
24 Why are you hiding from us?
Don't forget our suffering and trouble!
25 We fall crushed to the ground;
we lie defeated in the dust.
26 Come to our aid!
Because of your constant love save us!
Ongumbiro yondjamo
Komuimburise. Epsalme rovazandu va Kora.
1 Ndjambi, eṱe twa zuva nomatwi wetu oveni,
ootate mukururume ve tu
serekarera oviungura ovihimise,
mbi wa tjitire moruveze rwawo,
momayuva warukuru;
2 Ove wa ramba ovanavisenginina,
narire tji wa turisa otjiwaṋa tjoye mehi rawo.
Ove wa teya omasa woviwaṋa vyarwe,
nu o ṋingaparisa otjiwaṋa tjoye.
3 Otjiwaṋa tjoye katji kamburire
ehi nomangaruvyo watjo;
nomasa watjo kaye tji vaterere;
nungwari yari kehi yomasa nomasorero woye,
mokukambura moukarepo woye,
ove tjinga awe tji suverere.
4 Oove ombara yandje na Ndjambi wandje;
yandja outoṋi kotjiwaṋa tjoye.
5 Momasa woye matu havere ovanavita na eṱe,
nu mena roye matu tombo ovetupirukire.
6 Ami hi nokuriyameka kouta wandje,
poo kengaruvyo randje okundjiyama;
7 nungwari ove we tu yama kovetupirukire,
nu wa ṱisa ovetutonde ohoṋi.
8 Eṱe aruhe matu hivirike Ndjambi,
nu matu tanga ena re aruhe nga aruhe.
9 Nungwari nambano ove we tu nakaura
nu we tu esa kutja tu haverwe;
ko nokuuhara amo kayenda puna
ovimbumba vyetu vyovita.
10 Ove we tu taurisa komurungu wovanavita na eṱe,
novetutonde opu va za okutuhuura.
11 We tu yandja ku wo kutja tu ṱe tjimuna ozonḓu,
nu we tu rimba mokati kovanavisenginina.
12 Ove wa randisa otjiwaṋa tjoye kotjisuta otjiṱiṱi,
nu ko mwine mo ovitjoziwa mokutjirandisa.
13 Ove we tu twa mohoṋi kovararanganda na eṱe,
nu we tu nyekererisa
nokutuhembisa kovopopezu na eṱe.
14 We tu tjita ovanyengurwa
mokati kovanavisenginina,
noviwaṋa vi tu takera oviuru mokutunyekerera.
15 Ami aruhe mbi kara mondjambu,
nu mbi ṱisiwa ohoṋi,
16 mo ku zuva ovanavita nami na imba
mbe ndji tonda tji mave ndji
nyekerere nokundjiyamburura.
17 Oviṋa avihe mbi vya tjitwa ku eṱe,
nandarire kutja eṱe katu ku zembire,
nu katu teyere omerikutiropamwe
ngu wa tjita ku na eṱe.
18 Omitima vyetu kavi pokere kove,
nu katu yepere mondjira yoye.
19 Nungwari ove we tu esa
mokati kovipuka ovinyondorore
nokuhinombatero no tu
vandeke nomuzororema.
20 Andakuzu eṱe twa isire
okurikotamena ku Ndjambi wetu
natu kumbu komukuru wotjisenginina,
21 ove, tjiri, otjiṋa hi otjo tjimuna,
tjinga au tjiwa oviundikwa vyo momitima vyetu.
22 Nungwari omena roye eṱe tji tu ṱa eyuva arihe,
nu tu varwa otja ozonḓu nḓu maze kaṱa.
23 Penduka, Muhona! Mo rarere tjike?
Yanḓimuka! Nu o tu nakaura nga aruhe.
24 Omurungu woye mo u horekere tjike ku eṱe?
O zembi ondjenda nombameno yetu!
25 Eṱe twa ṋiṋikizirwa moruuma,
nu twa saravara mehi atwa ṱukuṱurwa.
26 Sekama u tu vatere! Nu tu yama
mena rorusuvero rwoye orukarerere!
