Lamentations 4
1 How gold has tarnished! Even pure gold has lost its shine! Jewels from the Temple have been scattered on every street corner.
Taukiri e! tona haumarurutanga o te koura! tona putanga ketanga o te koura parakore, tino pai! Kua ringihia nga kohatu o te wahi tapu ki te ahunga mai o nga ara katoa.
2 Look at how the precious people of Zion, worth their weight in gold, are now valued like cheap clay jars made by a potter!
Ko nga tamariki a Hiona, ko nga mea papai, i rite nei ki te koura parakore, taukiri e! kua kiia ratou he haka oneone, he mea hanga na nga ringa o te kaipokepoke.
3 Even jackals nurse their young at their breasts, but the women of my people have become cruel, like an ostrich in the desert.
Ko nga kirehe mohoao nei hoki, e tukua iho ana te u e ratou, e whakangotea ana e ratou a ratou kuao: kua taikaha te tamahine a toku iwi, kua rite ki nga otereti o te koraha.
4 The nursing babies are so thirsty that their tongues stick to the roof of their mouths. Little children beg for food, but nobody gives them anything.
Piri ana te arero o te tamaiti ngote u ki te ngao o tona mangai i te hiainu: e tono ana nga kohungahunga i te taro ma ratou, heoi kahore he tangata hei whatiwhati atu ma ratou.
5 Those who used to eat gourmet food now die starving in the streets. Those who dressed in fine clothes from their childhood now live in heaps of rubbish.
Ko te hunga i kai i nga mea papai, kei te noho mokemoke i nga ara: ko te hunga i whakatupuria i roto i nga kakahu ngangana, kei te awhi i nga puranga paru.
6 Jerusalem's punishment is worse than sinful Sodom's, which was destroyed in a brief moment, without the help of human hands.
No te mea ko te he o te tamahine a toku iwi nui atu i te hara o Horoma, i hurihia ohoreretia ra i mua, kahore hoki he ringa i u ki a ia.
7 Her leaders were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were a healthier red than coral, and they shone like lapis lazuli.
Ko ona rangatira pai atu i te hukarere te pokekore, ma atu hoki ratou i te waiu, puwhero ake o ratou tinana i nga rupi, orohina ake ratou ki te oro o te hapaira.
8 But now they look blacker than soot; no one recognizes them in the street. Their skin has shrunk to their bones and is as dry as wood.
Mangu iho to ratou mata i tetahi ngarahu; kahore ratou e mohiotia i nga ara: piri tonu o ratou kiri ki o ratou wheua; kua memenge, kua rite ki te rakau.
9 Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who slowly waste away in agony because the fields produce no crops.
Ko te hunga i patua e te hoari, pai ake to ratou i to te hunga i patua e te hemokai; no te mea ka honia noatia enei, ka werohia, he kore hoki no nga hua o te mara.
10 The hands of loving women have cooked their own children to eat during the destruction of Jerusalem.
Ko nga wahine, ko te hunga aroha, kei te kohua i a ratou tamariki ki o ratou ringa: he kai era ma ratou i te wawahanga o te tamahine a toku iwi.
11 The Lord has given full expression to his anger. He has poured out his fury. He has started a fire in Zion, and it has burned down her very foundations.
Kua whakapaua e Ihowa tona riri nui, kua ringihia mai e ia tona riri nui; kua tahuna hoki e ia he ahi ki Hiona, na reira i pau ai ona turanga.
12 No king on earth—in fact nobody in all the world—thought that an enemy or attacker could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
Kihai i whakapono mai nga kingi o te whenua, kihai ano hoki nga tangata o te ao, tera te hoariri raua ko te hoa whawhai e tomo mai ki nga kuwaha o Hiruharama.
13 But this happened because of the sins of her prophets and the wickedness of her priests, who shed the blood of the innocent right there in the city.
I pera ai he hara no ona poropiti, he he no ona tohunga kua whakaheke nei i nga toto o te hunga tika ki waenganui ona;
14 They wandered like blind men through the streets, made unclean by this blood, so no one would touch their clothes.
E kopikopiko ana ratou ano he matapo i nga ara; kua poke ratou i te toto, te pa ai te tangata ki o ratou kakahu.
15 “Go away! You're unclean!” people would shout at them, “Go away, go away! Don't touch us!” So they ran away and wandered from country to country, but the people there told them, “You can't stay here!”
I karanga ratou ki a ratou; Haere atu, e poke ana; haere atu, haere atu, kei pa; i to ratou whatinga, i a ratou e atiutiu noa atu ana, i ki nga tangata i roto i nga tauiwi, Kahore he nohoanga iho mo ratou ki konei.
16 The Lord himself has scattered them; he doesn't bother with them anymore. Nobody respects the priests, and nobody admires the leaders.
Kua wehewehea ratou e te riri o Ihowa: e kore ia e titiro ki a ratou i muri nei: kihai ratou i whakaaro ki nga kanohi o nga tohunga, kihai i manako ki nga kaumatua.
17 We wore out our eyes pointlessly looking for help the whole time; we watched from our towers for a nation to come that couldn't save us.
E matawaia tonu ana o tatou kanohi i tatou e titiro ana ki te awhina tekateka noa mo tatou: i a tatou e tiaki atu ana, i whanga noa tatou ki te iwi e kore e whakaora.
18 The enemy tracked our every movement so we couldn't walk through our streets. Our end approached. Our time was up because our end had come.
E whaia ana e ratou o tatou hikoinga, te haere ai tatou i o tatou waharoa: kua tata to tatou whakamutunga, kua rite o tatou ra; no te mea kua tae mai to tatou whakamutunga.
19 Our pursuers were faster than eagles in the sky. They chased us across the mountains and ambushed us in the desert.
Nui atu te tere o o tatou kaiwhai i to nga ekara o te rangi: i arumia tatou e ratou i runga i nga maunga; i whanga mai ano ratou ki a tatou i te koraha.
20 The king, the Lord's anointed, our country's “life-breath,” was trapped and captured by them. We had said about him, “Under his protection we will live among the nations.”
Ko te manawa o o tatou pongaponga, ko ta Ihowa i whakawahi ai, i mau ki roto ki a ratou rua; i ki ra tatou mona, Ma tona taumarumarunga iho ka ora ai tatou i roto i nga tauiwi.
21 Celebrate and be happy while you can, people of Edom, you who live in the land of Uz, because this cup will be passed to you too. You will get drunk and strip yourself naked.
Kia hari, kia koa, e te tamahine a Eroma e noho na i te whenua o Uhu; ka tae atu ano te kapu ki a koe; ka haurangi koe, ka whakarere ano koe i ou kakahu.
22 People of Zion, your punishment is coming to an end—he won't continue your exile for long. But he is going to punish your sins, people of Edom; he will reveal your sins.
Kua rite te whiu mo tou he, e te tamahine a Hiona; heoi ano tana whakaraunga i a koe: ka whiua e ia tou he, e te tamahine a Eroma, ka hurahia ano e ia ou hara.
