Habakkuk 1
1 He olrhuh he tonghma Habakkuk loh a dang.
This is the message that Habakkuk saw in 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.
Lord, how long do I have to cry out for help and you don't listen? I cry out, “Violence!” but you don't save us from it.
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.
Why do you force me to see this wickedness and suffering? Why do you just observe such destruction and violence? Arguments and fighting happen right in front of me!
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.
As a result the law is paralyzed, and justice never wins. The wicked crowd out those who do right so that the course of justice is perverted.
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.
Look around at the nations, watch and be surprised and amazed. Something is going to happen in your time that you wouldn't believe even if you were told.
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.
Watch! I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and brutal people who will march across the world to seize other lands.
7 Anih tah a rhimom tih a rhih khaw om. Amah lamloh a laitloeknah neh a boeimangnah khaw a khuen.
They are fearsome and terrifying, and so proud of themselves that they set their own rules.
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.
Their horses are faster than leopards and fiercer than hungry wolves. Their cavalry charges, racing in from far away. Like eagles, they swoop down to eat their prey.
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.
Here they come, all intent on violence. Their armies advance in frontal assault as rapidly as the desert wind, capturing so many prisoners they are like 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 mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh in scorn at fortresses—they pile up earth ramps and capture them.
11 Mueihla loh a hil tih a pah vaengah amah thadueng te a pathen la aka ngai te tah boe coeng.
Then they sweep on by like the wind and are gone. They are guilty because their own strength 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.
Haven't you existed from eternity past? You are Lord my God, my Holy One, you do not die. Lord, you appointed them to execute judgment; God our Rock, 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?
Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil; you cannot stand the sight of wrong. So why do you put up with untrustworthy people? Why are you silent when the wicked destroy those who do less evil than they do?
14 Te dongah hlang he tuitunli kah nga bangla na saii tih rhulcai bangla anih soah aka taem khaw tal.
You make people become like fish in the sea, or like crawling insects, 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.
They drag everyone up with hooks, they pull them out with nets, catching them in dragnets. Then they happily 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.
They worship their nets as if they were gods, making sacrifices and burning incense to them, because by their nets they live in luxury, eating rich 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 they keep on unsheathing their swords forever, killing nations without mercy?
