< Habakkuk 1 >

1 THE BURDEN which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
Yei ne asɛm a odiyifoɔ Habakuk nya firii Awurade nkyɛn wɔ anisoadehunu mu.
2 How long, O LORD, shall I cry, and Thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save.
Ao, Awurade, memfrɛ mmisa mmoa nkɔsi da bɛn, a nso wontie me? Meteam mefrɛ wo, akakabensɛm enti, nanso womma mmɛgye me.
3 Why dost Thou show me iniquity, and beholdest mischief? And why are spoiling and violence before me? so that there is strife, and contention ariseth.
Adɛn na woma mehwɛ ntɛnkyea? Adɛn enti na wotena bɔne ho? Ɔsɛeɛ ne akakabensɛm da mʼanim, basabasayɛ ne abɛbrɛsɛ atwa me ahyia.
4 Therefore the law is slacked, and right doth never go forth; for the wicked doth beset the righteous; therefore right goeth forth perverted.
Enti, mmara nyɛ adwuma na atɛntenenee nni baabiara, atirimuɔdenfoɔ aka ateneneefoɔ ahyɛ, enti wɔkyea atemmuo.
5 Look ye among the nations, and behold, and wonder marvellously; for, behold, a work shall be wrought in your days, which ye will not believe though it be told you.
“Momma ɛnyɛ mo nwanwa, na mo ho nnwiri mo! Merebɛyɛ biribi wɔ mo berɛ so, na sɛ obi ka kyerɛ mo a, morennye nni.
6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and impetuous nation, that march through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs.
Mema Babiloniafoɔ asɔre, ɔman a wɔyɛ atirimuɔdenfoɔ ne ntɔkwapɛfoɔ; wɔbufa asase nyinaa so, na wɔfa tenabea a ɛnyɛ wɔn dea.
7 They are terrible and dreadful; their law and their majesty proceed from themselves.
Wɔn ho yɛ hu na nnipa suro wɔn; wɔyɛ wɔn bo so adeɛ, de pɛ animuonyam ma wɔn ho.
8 Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the wolves of the desert; and their horsemen spread themselves; yea, their horsemen come from far, they fly as a vulture that hasteth to devour.
Wɔn apɔnkɔ ho yɛ herɛ sene asebɔ, na wɔn ho yɛ hu sene pataku a ɔnam anadwo, wɔn apɔnkɔsotefoɔ kɔ wɔn anim mmarima so, wɔfiri akyirikyiri nsase so, na wɔto hoo sɛ akroma a ɔrekɔkye aboa.
9 They come all of them for violence; their faces are set eagerly as the east wind; and they gather captives as the sand.
Wɔn nyinaa ba sɛ wɔrebɛyɛ basabasayɛ. Wɔn dɔm pem kɔ wɔn anim te sɛ anweatam so mframa, na wɔtase nneduafoɔ sɛ anwea.
10 And they scoff at kings, and princes are a derision unto them; they deride every stronghold, for they heap up earth, and take it.
Wɔmmmu ahene, wɔdi aman sodifoɔ ho fɛw, na wɔtwee nkuropɔn ho banbɔ denden. Wɔsisi dɔteɛ epie nam so kyekyere atamfoɔ.
11 Then their spirit doth pass over and transgress, and they become guilty: even they who impute their might unto their god.
Wɔbɔ hoo te sɛ mframa kɔ wɔn anim. Afɔdifoɔ a wɔn ahoɔden yɛ wɔn nyame.”
12 Art not Thou from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, Thou hast ordained them for judgment, and Thou, O Rock, hast established them for correction.
Ao, Awurade, wonni hɔ firi tete anaa? Me Onyankopɔn, me Kronkronni, wo a wote ase daa. Ao, Awurade, woapa wɔn sɛ wɔmmu atɛn; Ao Ɔbotantim, woahyɛ wɔn sɛ wɔntwe aso.
13 Thou that art of eyes too pure to behold evil, and that canst not look on mischief, wherefore lookest Thou, when they deal treacherously, and holdest Thy peace, when the wicked swalloweth up the man that is more righteous than he;
Wʼaniwa yɛ kronkron, a wontumi nhwɛ nnebɔne; wonnyegye bɔne so. Na ɛdeɛn enti na wogyegye nnipa kɔntɔnkye so, na ɛdeɛn enti na wayɛ komm wɔ ɛberɛ a atirimuɔdenfoɔ remene ateneneefoɔ?
14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
Woama nnipa ayɛ sɛ nsuomnam a ɛwɔ ɛpo mu, te sɛ abɔdeɛ a ɛwɔ ɛpo mu a wonni sodifoɔ.
15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag; therefore they rejoice and exult.
Ɔtamfoɔ tirimuɔdenfoɔ no de darewa yi wɔn, ɔgu nʼasau de buma wɔn, na afei ɔsɛpɛ ne ho ma nʼani gye.
16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and offer unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their food plenteous.
Ne saa enti ɔbɔ afɔdeɛ ma nʼasau na wahye aduhwam ama no, ɛfiri sɛ asau yi so na ɔnam nya ateyie, na ɔdi nʼakɔnnɔ aduane.
17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare to slay the nations continually?
Enti ɔnkɔ so nni nʼasau mu nam, na ɔmfa atirimuɔden nsɛe aman anaa?

< Habakkuk 1 >