Habakkuk 1
1 He olrhuh he tonghma Habakkuk loh a dang.
[I am] Habakkuk, a prophet. This is the [message that Yahweh] gave to me in a vision.
2 BOEIPA aw me hil nim bomnah kam bih lahve? Na hnatun pawt dongah kuthlahnah te namah taengla ka pang dae nan khang pawh.
[I said, ] “Yahweh, how long must I continue to call [to you] for help before you respond? I cry out to you [for help], saying that [people are acting] violently [everywhere], but you do not rescue us!
3 Balae tih kai he boethae he nan hmuh sak tih ka hmai ah thakthaenah, rhoelrhanah neh kuthlahnah he nan paelki sak. Te dongah tuituknah om tih olpungkacan khaw puek coeng.
(Must I/I do not want to) continue seeing people doing what is unjust [RHQ]. Why do you not punish people who are doing what is wrong [RHQ]? I see people destroying things and [acting] violently. There is fighting and quarreling [everywhere].
4 Te dongah olkhueng he dap tih tiktamnah he a yoeyah la cet pawh. Halang loh a dueng te a dum dongah laitloeknah he a haeh la cet.
No one obeys laws [PRS], and judges [PRS] never do what is fair/just. Wicked people always defeat righteous people [in the courts], with the result that matters are never decided fairly/justly.”
5 Namtom rhoek te hmu lamtah paelki laeh. Ngaihmang sak laeh, ngaihmang sak laeh. Namah tue kah aka thoeng khoboe he a daek vaengah na tangnah uh mahpawh.
[Yahweh replied to me, ] “[I know that what you say is true, but] look around at [what is happening in] the other nations; [if you look, ] you will be amazed, because I am doing something during this time that you would not believe [would happen], even if someone told you about it.
6 Namtom ah aka khahing Khalden te ka thoh ngawn coeng ne. Te dongah amah kah pawt khaw dungtlungim pang ham tah khohmuen hoengpoeknah ah cet paitok lah ko.
The soldiers of Babylonia are fierce/cruel and swift. And now I am causing them [to become very powerful]; they will march across the world and conquer [many] other countries.
7 Anih tah a rhimom tih a rhih khaw om. Amah lamloh a laitloeknah neh a boeimangnah khaw a khuen.
They are people whom [others] fear very much [DOU], and they do whatever they want to, paying no attention to the laws of other countries.
8 A marhang te kaihlaeng lakah loe tih hlaemhmah uithang lakah a lai haat. A marhang caem rhoek a pet uh vaengah a marhang caem loh a hla lamkah khaw a pha uh tih caak hamla aka paco atha bangla ding uh.
The horses [that pull their chariots] go faster than leopards, and they are fiercer than wolves are in the evening. The horses on which the soldiers ride gallop swiftly; the soldiers riding them come from distant places. They are like [SIM] eagles that swoop down to [snatch and] kill small animals.
9 Kuthlahnah ham a pum la lambong neh cet uh. A maelhmai te khothoeng la a khueh uh tih laivin bangla tamna a kuk uh.
As they ride along, [they are] determined to act violently. They advance like [SIM] a wind from the desert, gathering prisoners that are as [numerous as grains of] sand.
10 Anih loh manghai rhoek te a soehsal tih boeica rhoek khaw anih taengah nueihbu la poeh. Anih tah hmuencak takuem ah a luem dongah laipi a hmoek tih hmuencak te a loh.
They make fun of kings and princes [of other countries], and they ridicule all the cities that have high walls around them. They pile dirt [outside those walls] [in order to climb up] and capture those cities.
11 Mueihla loh a hil tih a pah vaengah amah thadueng te a pathen la aka ngai te tah boe coeng.
They rush past like the wind, and then they go [to attack other cities]. But they are very guilty, because [they think that] their own power is their god.”
12 Ka Pathen BOEIPA, ka hlangcim namah he hlamat lamkah moenih a? BOEIPA te ka duek sak uh thai mahpawh. Laitloeknah ham amah na khueh tih aka toel ham khaw amah te lungpang la na khueng.
[Then I said, ] “Yahweh, you have certainly [RHQ] always/forever been God. You are my Holy One; you will not die. So [why] have you appointed those men [from Babylonia] to judge and get rid of [us]? You are like [MET] a huge rock [under which we are protected/safe], so why have you sent them to punish us?
13 Mik he cil lamloh boethae te a hmuh tih na noeng mueh thakthaenah te a paelki. Balae tih hnukpoh rhoek te na paelki, halang loh amah lakah aka dueng a dolh vaengah na ngam?
You [SYN] are pure, and you cannot endure looking at what is evil, [so why] are you ignoring men who are treacherous? Why do you do nothing [to punish] those wicked men [from Babylonia] who destroy people who are more righteous than they [are]?
14 Te dongah hlang he tuitunli kah nga bangla na saii tih rhulcai bangla anih soah aka taem khaw tal.
[Do you consider that] we are like fish in the sea, or like other creatures in the sea, that have no ruler?
15 A pum la vaih neh a doek tih a soh neh a hoi, a lawk neh a kol. Te dongah a kohoe tih omngaih van.
[The soldiers of Babylonia think that we are fish] [RHQ] for them to pull out of the sea with hooks or to catch in their nets, while they rejoice and celebrate.
16 Te dongah a soh taengah te a nawn tih a lawk taengah te a phum. Te long te a khoyo a ul pah tih a buh a tham a kom pah.
If they catch us, they will [worship] their weapons [MET] with which they captured us, and offer sacrifices to them and burn incense in front of them! [They will say] ‘Those weapons have enabled us to become rich and be able to eat expensive food.’
17 He dongah nim a lawk te a soh a duen vetih sainoek bangla namtom ngawn ham te lungma a ti pawt eh?
[Will you allow] them to continue [to conquer people] [MET] forever? [Will you allow] them to destroy people of other nations without their being merciful [to anyone]?”
