Hopa 9
1 Na ka whakahoki a Hopa, ka mea,
Then Job replied,
2 E mohiotia ana ano tenei e ahau; engari ma te aha ka tika ai te tangata ki te Atua?
“Yes, I certainly know that [much of] what you said is true. But (how can anyone say to God, ‘I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong) and prove it?’/no one can say to God ‘I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong) and prove it.’) [RHQ]
3 Ki te pai ia ki te totohe ki a ia, kahore he kupu kotahi o roto i te mano e taea e ia te whakahoki ki a ia.
If someone wanted to argue with God [about that], God could ask him 1,000 questions, and that person would not be able to answer any of them!
4 He ngakau mohio ia, he pakari tona kaha: ko wai e whakauaua ki a ia, a e whiwhi i te pai?
God is very wise [IDM] and very powerful; no one who has tried to challenge God has been able to win.
5 E nekehia ana e ia nga maunga, te mohio ratou; hurihia ake e ia i a ia e riri ana.
He even moves mountains, without them (OR, anyone) knowing about it. When he is angry, he turns them upside down.
6 E whakangaueuetia ana e ia te whenua, e nekehia atu ana i tona wahi, wiri ana ona pou.
He sends earthquakes that shake the ground; he causes the pillars that support the earth to tremble.
7 E korero nei ki te ra, a kore ake e whiti; hiritia putia iho e ia nga whetu.
[Some days] he speaks to the sun, and it does not rise, and [some nights] he prevents the stars from shining.
8 Ko ia nei anake hei hora i nga rangi, hei takahi i runga i nga ngaru o te moana.
He alone (stretched out/put in place) the sky; he alone puts his feet on the waves (OR, on the huge sea monster).
9 Nana nei i hanga a Aketura, a Tautoru, a Matariki, me nga ruma i te tonga.
He put in their places [the clusters/groups of stars that are called] The Dipper/Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the stars in the southern sky.
10 Nana nei i mahi nga mea nunui, e kore nei e taea te rapu atu, ae ra nga mea whakamiharo, e kore nei e taea te tatau.
Only he does great things that we cannot understand; he does more marvelous things than we are able to count.
11 Ina tonu ia e haere atu nei, a kahore ahau i kite; ka pahemo atu hoki ia, a kahore ahau e matau ki a ia.
He passes by where I am, but I do not see him; he moves further on, but I do not see him go.
12 Nana, ka hopu ia i tana i aru ai, ma wai ia e arai? Ko wai hei ki atu ki a ia, E aha ana koe?
If he [wants to] snatch something away, no one [RHQ] can hinder him; no one dares to ask him, ‘Why are you doing that?’ [RHQ]
13 E kore te Atua e whakahoki iho i tona riri; e piko ana ki raro i a ia nga kaiawhina o Rahapa.
God will not very easily stop being angry; he defeated [MTY] those who [tried to] help Rahab, [the great sea monster].
14 A kia whakahoki kupu ano ahau ki a ia, kia whiriwhiri kupu ano maku ki a ia?
“So, [if God took me to court], what could I say [MTY] to answer him?
15 Ahakoa he tika ahau, e kore ahau e whakahoki kupu atu; engari ka inoi ahau ki toku kaiwhakawa.
Even though I (would be innocent/would not have done what is wrong), I would not be able to answer him. All I could do would be to request God, my judge/accuser, to act mercifully toward me.
16 Me i karanga atu ahau, a whakahokia mai ai e ia te kupu ki ahau, kihai ahau i whakaae tera kua whakarongo mai ia ki toku reo.
If I summoned him to [come to the courtroom] and he said that he would come, I would not believe that he would pay attention to what I would say.
17 E aki ana hoki ia ia ahau ki te tupuhi, e whakanui takekore ana hoki i oku mate.
He sends storms to batter me, and he bruises me many times (without any reason to do that/even though I am innocent).
18 Kahore ahau e tukua e ia kia ta toku manawa; otiia whakakiia ana e ia toku wairua ki te kawa.
[It is as though] he will not let me get/catch my breath, because he causes me to suffer all the time.
19 Ki te korero tatou mo te kaha o te hunga pakari, nana, kei reira ia! A ki te mea he whakawa, ko wai ra hei whakatakoto i te taima moku?
If I would try to (wrestle with/fight against) him, [there is no way that I could defeat him, ] [because] he is stronger than I am. If I would request him to appear in court, there is no one who could [RHQ] force him to go there.
20 Ahakoa he tika ahau, ma toku mangai ano ahau e whakahe; ahakoa he tikanga tapatahi taku, ma reira ano e whakaatu toku ngaunga ketanga.
Even though I was innocent, what I would say would cause him to say that I must be punished [MTY]; even though I had not done anything wrong, he would prove that I am guilty.
21 He tapatahi ahau; kahore ahau e whakaaro ki ahau ano; e whakahawea ana ahau ki toku ora.
“I have not done what is wrong, but that is not important. I despise continuing to remain alive.
22 He kotahi tonu ena; koia ahau ka mea, e whakamotitia ana e ia te tapatahi raua ko te kino.
But it doesn’t matter, because God will get rid of [all of us, ] both those who are innocent and those who are wicked.
23 Na ka whakamate tata nei te whiu, he kata tana ki te whakamatautauranga o te hunga harakore.
When people experience disaster and it causes them to suddenly die, God laughs at it, even if they are innocent.
24 Kua hoatu te whenua ki te ringa o te tangata kino; e taupokina ana e ia nga mata o nga kaiwhakawa; ki te mea ehara i a ia, tena ko wai?
God has allowed wicked people to control [what happens in] the world. [It is as though] he has caused judges to be blindfolded, [with the result that they cannot judge fairly]. If it is not God who has put wicked people in control, who has done it?
25 Na, ko te hohoro o oku ra, nui atu i to te kaikawe pukapuka; e rere ana, kahore hoki e kite i te pai.
“My days go by very quickly, like a fast runner; [it is as though] they run away, and nothing good happens to me on those days.
26 Kua pahemo, kua pera me nga kaipuke tere, me te ekara ano e topa iho ana ki tana kai.
My life goes by very rapidly, like a boat made from reeds sailing swiftly, or like an eagle that swoops down to seize a small animal.
27 Ki te mea ahau, ka wareware ahau ki taku tangi, ka unuhia atu e ahau te pouri o toku mata, a ka marama:
If I smile and say [to God], ‘I will forget what I am complaining about; I will stop looking sad and try to be cheerful/happy,’
28 E wehi ana ahau i oku mamae katoa, e mohio ana ahau e kore ahau e meinga e koe he harakore.
then I become afraid because of all that I am suffering, because I know that God does not consider that I am innocent.
29 Tera hoki ahau e whakahengia; he aha ahau i whakangenge kau ai i ahau?
He will (condemn me/declare that I should be punished), so why should I keep trying in vain [to defend myself]?
30 Ki te horoi ahau i ahau ki te hukarere, a ka meinga oku ringa kia ma rawa;
If I washed myself with snow or cleansed my hands with lye/soap [to get rid of my guilt],
31 Katahi ahau ka rumakina e koe ki te poka, a whakarihariha mai ana oku kakahu ki ahau.
he would still throw me into a filthy pit; as a result [it would be as though] even my clothes would detest me.
32 Ehara hoki ia i te tangata, i te penei me ahau nei, e whakahoki kupu ai ahau ki a ia, e haere tahi ai maua ki te whakawa.
“God is not a human, as I am, so there is no way that I could answer him [to prove that I am innocent] if we went together to have a trial [in a courtroom].
33 Kahore he kaiwhakatikatika mo ta maua, kahore he tangata hei whakapa i tona ringa ki a maua tahi.
There is no one to (mediate/hear us and decide who is right), no one who has authority over both of us [IDM].
34 Me tango atu e ia tana patu i ahau, a kaua hoki tana whakamataku e whakawehi i ahau:
I wish/desire that he would stop punishing [MTY] me, and that he would not continue to terrify me.
35 Hei reira ahau ka korero, a kahore e wehi i a ia; kahore hoki ahau e pera i roto i ahau.
If he did that, I would declare [that I am innocent] without being afraid of him, because I know that I really have not [done what is wrong like God thinks that I have].”
