< Habakkuk 1 >

1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
Eyi ne asɛm a odiyifo Habakuk nya fii Awurade nkyɛn wɔ anisoadehu mu.
2 Jehovah, how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee, Violence! and thou dost not save.
Awurade, enkosi da bɛn na memfrɛ nsrɛ mmoa, nanso wuntie me? Meteɛ mu frɛ, “Akakabensɛm!” nanso womma mmegye me.
3 Why dost thou cause me to see iniquity, and lookest thou upon grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up.
Adɛn na woma mehwɛ ntɛnkyew? Adɛn nti na wotena bɔne ho? Ɔsɛe ne akakabensɛm da mʼanim, basabasayɛ ne abɛbrɛsɛ atwa me ho ahyia.
4 Therefore the law is powerless, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked encompasseth the righteous; therefore judgment goeth forth perverted.
Enti mmara nyɛ adwuma na atɛntrenee nni baabiara, atirimɔdenfo aka atreneefo ahyɛ, enti wɔkyea atemmu.
5 See ye among the nations, and behold, and wonder marvellously; for [I] work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be declared [to you].
“Hwɛ aman no, na wo ho bedwiriw wo! Merebɛyɛ biribi wɔ wo bere so, na sɛ wɔka kyerɛ wo a, worennye nni.
6 For behold, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and impetuous nation, which marcheth through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs.
Merema Babiloniafo asɔre, ɔman a wɔyɛ atirimɔdenfo ne ntɔkwapɛfo; wobu fa asase nyinaa so, na wɔfa tenabea a ɛnyɛ wɔn de.
7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
Wɔn ho yɛ hu na nnipa suro wɔn; wɔyɛ wɔn koko so ade, de pɛ anuonyam ma wɔn ho.
8 And their horses are swifter than the leopards, and are more agile than the evening wolves; and their horsemen prance proudly, and their horsemen come from afar: they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour.
Wɔn apɔnkɔ ho yɛ hare sen asebɔ, na wɔn ho yɛ hu sen pataku a ɔnam anadwo, wɔn apɔnkɔsotefo kɔ wɔn anim mmarima so, wofi akyirikyiri nsase so, na wɔbɔ hoo sɛ akorɔma a ɔrekɔkyere aboa.
9 They come all of them for violence: the crowd of their faces is forwards, and they gather captives as the sand.
Wɔn nyinaa ba sɛ wɔrebɛyɛ basabasayɛ. Wɔn dɔm pem kɔ wɔn anim te sɛ nweatam so mframa, na wɔtase nneduafo sɛ nwea.
10 Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a scorn unto him; he derideth every stronghold: for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it.
Wodi ahene ho fɛw, wɔka aman sodifo anim, na wɔtwee nkuropɔn a ɛwɔ bammɔ dennen. Wosisi dɔte mpie nam so kyekyere atamfo.
11 Then will his mind change, and he will pass on, and become guilty: this his power is become his god.
Wɔbɔ hoo te sɛ mframa kɔ wɔn anim. Afɔdifo a wɔn ahoɔden yɛ wɔn nyame.”
12 — Art thou not from everlasting, Jehovah my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. Jehovah, thou hast ordained him for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast appointed him for correction.
Awurade, wunni hɔ fi tete ana? Me Nyankopɔn, me Kronkronni, wo a wote ase daa. Wo, Awurade, woapaw wɔn sɛ wommu atɛn; wo, me Botantim, woahyɛ wɔn sɛ wɔntwe aso.
13 [Thou art] of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on mischief: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, [and] keepest silence when the wicked swalloweth up a [man] more righteous than he?
Wʼaniwa yɛ kronkron a wuntumi nhwɛ nnebɔne; wunnyigye nnebɔne so. Na adɛn nti na wugyigye nnipa akɔntɔnkye so, na dɛn nti na wayɛ komm wɔ bere a atirimɔdenfo rememene atreneefo?
14 And thou makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them.
Woama nnipa ayɛ sɛ nsumnam a ɛwɔ po mu, te sɛ abɔde a ɛwɔ po mu a wonni sodifo.
15 He taketh up all of them with the hook, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them into his drag; therefore he rejoiceth and is glad:
Ɔtamfo tirimɔdenfo no de darewa yi wɔn, ogu nʼasau de buma wɔn, na afei ɔsɛpɛw ne ho ma nʼani gye.
16 therefore he sacrificeth unto his net, and burneth incense unto his drag; for by them his portion is become fat, and his meat dainty.
Ne saa nti ɔbɔ afɔre ma nʼasau na wahyew aduhuam ama no, efisɛ asau yi so na ɔnam nya yiyedi, na odi nʼakɔnnɔ aduan.
17 Shall he therefore empty his net, and not spare to slay the nations continually?
Enti ɔnkɔ so nni nʼasau mu nam, na ɔmfa atirimɔden nsɛe aman ana?

< Habakkuk 1 >