Hapakuku 1

1 Ko te poropititanga i kitea e Hapakuku poropiti.

The message that Habakkuk the prophet received,

2 Kia pehea te roa, e Ihowa, o taku tangi, a kahore koe e rongo? e karanga atu ana ahau ki a koe mo te tutu, a kahore koe e whakaora.

“Yahweh, how long will I cry for help, and you will not hear? I cry out to you, 'Violence!' but you will not save.

3 He aha koe i whakakite mai ai i te kino ki ahau? he aha koe i titiro ai ki te pakeketanga? he pahua hoki, he tutu tenei kei toku aroaro, na he totohe tenei, a kei te oho ake he ngangare.

Why do you make me see iniquity and look upon wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention rises up.

4 Na reira kahakore noa iho te ture, kore tonu ake e puta te whakawa; e karapotia ana hoki te tika e te kino: na reira, te putanga o te whakawa, he parori ke.

Therefore the law is weakened, and justice does not last for any time. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore false justice goes out.”

5 Titiro atu ki nga tauiwi, matakitaki, kia nui te miharo; no te mea kei te mahi ahau i tetahi mahi i o koutou ra, he mea e kore e whakaponohia, ki te korerotia atu.

“Look at the nations and examine them; be amazed and astonished! For I am surely about to do something in your days that you will not believe when it is reported to you.

6 No te mea tenei ka ara i ahau nga Karari, taua iwi nanakia ra, taua iwi hikaka tonu ra, e haerea nei e ratou te whanuitanga o te whenua, kia riro ai i a ratou nga kainga ehara nei i a ratou.

For look! I am about to raise up the Chaldeans—that fierce and impetuous nation— they are marching throughout the breadth of the land to seize homes that were not their own.

7 He hanga whakamataku ratou, he mea wehi: i ahu tonu ake i a ratou ta ratou na whakawa, me to ratou na rangatiratanga.

They are terrifying and fearsome; their judgment and splendor proceed from themselves.

8 He tere atu a ratou hoiho i te reparo, he nanakia atu i te wuruhi o te ahiahi: ka tohatoha noa atu o ratou kaieke hoiho: ae ra, ka haere mai ano a ratou kaieke hoiho i tawhiti; ko ta ratou rere rite tonu ki ta te ekara e hohoro ana ki te kai.

Their horses also are swifter than leopards, quicker than the evening wolves. So their horses stamp, and their horsemen come from a great distance—they fly like an eagle hurrying to eat.

9 Ko ratou katoa he mahi nanakia i haere mai ai; ko o ratou kanohi whakamau tonu me te mea ko te hau marangai, me te mea he kirikiri nga whakarau e aohia ana e ratou.

They all come for violence; their multitudes go like the desert wind, and they gather captives like sand.

10 Ae ra, e taunu ana ia ki nga kingi, a hei kata mana nga rangatira: ka kata ia ki nga pa taiepa katoa; ka opehia ake hoki he puehu e ia, a riro tonu i a ia.

So they mock kings, and rulers are only a mockery for them. They laugh at every stronghold, for they heap up earth and take them.

11 Katahi ia ka wheoro ake ano he hau, ka whiti atu, a ka nahi i te he: ara a ia, te tangata ko tona kaha nei tona atua.

Then the wind will rush on; it will move past—guilty men, those whose might is their god.”

12 He tekia ianei nonamata riro koe, e Ihowa, e toku Atua, e toku Mea Tapu? e kore matou e mate. Kua waiho ia e koe, e Ihowa, hei whakawa; kua whakapumautia ia e koe, e te Kamaka, hei whiu.

“Are you not from ancient times, Yahweh my God, my Holy One? We will not die. Yahweh has ordained them for judgment, and you, Rock, have established them for correction.

13 He kanohi ma rawa ou, e kore koe e titiro ki te kino, e kore ano e ahei kia matakitaki koe ki te kino: he aha koe i matakitaki ai ki te hunga tinihanga, i whakarongo puku ai i te mea ka horomia e te tangata kino te tangata e tika rawa ana i a ia?

Your eyes are too pure to gaze upon evil, and you are not able to look on wrongdoing with favor; why then have you looked favorably on those who betray? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than they are?

14 He aha nga tangata i meinga ai e koe kia rite ki nga ika o te moana, ki nga mea ngokingoki kahore nei o ratou kaiwhakahaere tikanga?

You make men like fish in the sea, like creeping things without a ruler over them.

15 Ko ratou katoa tangohia ake e ia ki te matau, ka mau i a ia ki roto ki tana kupenga, a kokoa ana ki tana rou; na reira koa ana ia, whakamanamana ana.

He brings all of them up with a fishhook; he drags men away in his fishnet; he gathers them together in his dragnet; so he rejoices and he is glad.

16 Koia ia i whakahere ai ki tana kupenga, i tahu whakakakara ai ki tana rou; no te mea na aua mea i whai ngako ai tona wahi, i momona ai tana kai.

Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury, and his food is the richest kind.

17 He mea ano ranei tera e whakawateatia ai e ia tana kupenga, a kore iho e tohungia nga iwi e patua tonutia ana?

Will he therefore keep emptying his net, and will he continually slaughter the nations without mercy?”