< Nahum 2 >

1 [You people of] [APO] Nineveh, your enemies are coming to attack you. [So] place guards on the tops of the walls around the city! Guard the roads [into the city]! Get ready to fight! Gather your troops/soldiers [MTY] together!
Kua tae ake te kaiwawahi ki tou aroaro: tiakina te pa, tuteia te ara, kia kaha tou hope, kia u rawa tou kaha.
2 Even though enemy soldiers have destroyed the descendants of [MTY] Jacob, Yahweh will cause them to be honored again. Israel is like a grapevine that has been ruined, but Israel will prosper again.
No te mea ka whakahokia mai e Ihowa te kororia o Hakopa, me te kororia o Iharaira: kua takoto kau hoki ratou i nga kaiwhakatakoto kau, kua he ano a ratou manga waina i a ratou.
3 The shields of the enemy soldiers [who are coming to attack you] will shine red [as the sun shines on them], and they will wear bright red uniforms. The metal of their chariot [wheels] will flash when they line up [before the battle], and their soldiers will lift up their cypress/pine spears and wave them.
Kua oti te whakangungu rakau a ana marohirohi te whakawhero, he ngangana te kakahu o nga maia: kei te rino e kanapa ana te rite o nga hariata i te ra e takatu ai ia, a ko nga tao wiri rawa.
4 Their chariots will dash through the streets [of Nineveh] and rush furiously through the plazas. Going as quick as lightning, they will resemble flaming torches.
Ngana tonu nga hariata i nga ara, taututetute ana ki a ratou ano i nga waharoa: ko to ratou ahua ano he roherohe, e rere ana me he uira.
5 [Meanwhile], your king will summon his officers who will stumble as they [try to] come [quickly]. They will dash to the [city] wall, holding their shields to protect themselves.
Ka mahara ia ki ana metararahi: ka tapatu ratou i a ratou e haere ana; ka hohoro ratou ki to reira taiepa, a ka rite te arai.
6 But, the gates [of the dams] on the rivers will be thrown open [by enemy soldiers], and [the flood will cause] the palace to collapse.
Ka whakatuwheratia nga kuwaha o nga awa, ka papahoro te whare kingi.
7 The queen will have her clothes stripped off her [by enemy soldiers], and her slave girls will moan like doves and beat their breasts [to show that they are very sad].
Na kua tu tahanga a Huhapa, kua maua atu ia, a ka tangi ana pononga wahine, ko te reo koia ano kei to te kukupa, ko o ratou uma hei timipera ma ratou.
8 [The people will rush from] Nineveh like [SIM] water rushes from a broken dam. [The officials] will shout, “Stop! Stop!” but the people will not even look back [as they run away].
Ko Ninewe ia, ko tona rite mai onamata, kei te puna wai: heoi ka tahuti ratou; ka karanga, E tu, e tu; heoi e kore tetahi e titiro whakamuri.
9 [The enemy attackers say to each other, ] “Seize the silver! Grab the gold! There is a huge amount of very valuable things in this city, more valuable things than anyone can count!”
Pahuatia te hiriwa, pahuatia te koura: kahore hoki he mutunga o nga rawa, o te kororia i roto i nga taonga ahuareka katoa.
10 [Soon everything valuable in the city] will be seized or ruined. People will be trembling, with the result that they will not be able to fight. Their faces will all become pale.
Kua takoto kau ia, kahore ana mea, moti rawa; harotu kau te ngakau, kei te aki ano nga turi ki a raua, he nui te mamae kei nga hope katoa, kua koma nga mata o ratou katoa.
11 [After that happens, people will say, ] “What happened to [RHQ] that [great city of Nineveh]? [It was like] [MET] a den [full] of young lions, where the male and female lions lived and fed the young ones.
Kei hea te nohoanga o nga raiona? te wahi kai a nga kuao raiona? te wahi i haereere ai te raiona, me te raiona katua, me te kuao raiona, te ai he kaiwhakawehi?
12 [The soldiers in Nineveh were like] [MET] lions that killed or strangled [other animals] [and brought the meat] to their dens.”
I haehaea mai e te raiona he mea e makona ai ana kuao, notia ana e ia te kaki hei mea ma ana raiona uha, whakakiia ana e ia ona rua ki te kai, ona nohoanga hoki ki te mea i haehaea.
13 The Commander of the armies of angels says [to the people of Nineveh], “I am opposed to you; I will cause your chariots to [be burned in fires and] go up in smoke. Your young men will be killed with swords. [Your soldiers] will never again conquer [other nations] and seize their valuable possessions. Your messengers will never again take messages [to other nations, demanding that their armies surrender to them].”
Nana, hei hoariri tenei ahau mou, e ai ta Ihowa o nga Mano, ka tahuna ano e ahau ana hariata i roto i te paowa, ka pau au kuao raiona i te hoari: ka kore i ahau he haehaenga mau i runga i te whenua, e kore ano te reo o au karere e rangona a muri ake nei.

< Nahum 2 >