Abakuki 1
1 Tala liloba oyo mosakoli Abakuki azwaki na emoniseli:
This is the message that Habakkuk saw in vision.
2 Oh Yawe, kino tango nini nasengeli kobelela Yo mpo ete osunga, kasi ozali koyoka te? Nazali koganga epai na Yo: « Minyoko eleki! » kasi ozali kaka kobikisa te!
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 Mpo na nini ozali kolakisa ngai makambo mabe ya boye? Mpo na nini ozali kosala eloko moko te? Liboso na ngai, nazali kaka komona libebi mpe makambo mabe, bato bazali kaka koswana mpe kofundana.
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 Yango wana bato bazali kotosa lisusu mibeko te, bazali kokata lisusu makambo na bosembo te. Bato mabe bazali kolonga liboso ya bato ya sembo, makambo ezali lisusu kokatama na bosembo te.
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 Botala nanu malamu bikolo mosusu mpe bokokamwa penza, pamba te nakosala likambo moko na tango na bino, likambo oyo bokondima te soki bayebisi bino yango.
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 Nakotindela bino bato ya Babiloni, bato ya mitema mabe, oyo bayokelaka bato mawa te: batambolaka mokili mobimba mpo na kobotola bato bisika na bango ya losambo na makasi.
Watch! I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and brutal people who will march across the world to seize other lands.
7 Bazali bato ya somo mpe bato oyo babangisaka, basalaka makambo nyonso oyo bazali na yango posa, mpe moto moko te amekaka kotelemela bango.
They are fearsome and terrifying, and so proud of themselves that they set their own rules.
8 Bampunda na bango ekimaka mbangu koleka ata nkoyi, ezalaka na kanda makasi koleka ata mbwa ya zamba oyo ebimaka na pokwa mpo na koluka nyama ya kolia. Basoda na bango oyo batambolaka likolo ya bampunda batambolaka mbangu makasi mpe bawutaka mosika penza, bapumbwaka lokola mpongo soki ezali kokita na elulu mpo na kokanga nyama ya kolia.
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 Bango nyonso bayaka nzela moko mpo na kotia mobulu, bakendaka kaka liboso lokola mopepe ya este, bazwaka bakangami ebele ndenge balokotaka mbuma ya zelo.
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 Batiolaka bakonzi mpe basekaka bakambi, basekaka bingumba batonga makasi, batondisaka mabele pembeni ya bamir mpo ete bamata likolo na yango mpe bakota na engumba mpo na kobotola yango,
They mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh in scorn at fortresses—they pile up earth ramps and capture them.
11 balekaka lokola mopepe mpe bakobaka nzela na bango, basepelaka kosala mabe, mpe makasi na bango nde ezali nzambe na bango.
Then they sweep on by like the wind and are gone. They are guilty because their own strength is their god.
12 Boni, ozali Yawe te wuta na ebandeli? Ozali Nzambe na ngai, Mosantu na ngai, okufaka te. Oh Yawe, oponaki bango mpo na kosambisa biso; mpe Yo Libanga na ngai, olendisaki bango mpo na kopesa biso etumbu.
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 Miso na Yo ezali peto koleka, okoki kotala mabe te. Mpo na nini ozali kotala makambo mabe? Mpo na nini ozali kotala bato mabe na miso? Mpo na nini ovandi kimia wana bato mabe bazali konyokola bato oyo baleki bango na bosembo?
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 Okomisi bato lokola bambisi ya ebale, lokola banyama oyo etambolaka na libumu mpe ezanga mokonzi.
You make people become like fish in the sea, or like crawling insects, that have no ruler.
15 Moto mabe azwaka yango nyonso na ndobo, akangaka yango na monyama mpe atiaka yango na kitunga. Yango wana asepelaka mpe atondaka na esengo.
They drag everyone up with hooks, they pull them out with nets, catching them in dragnets. Then they happily celebrate.
16 Bongo abonzelaka monyama na ye mbeka, atumbelaka kitunga na ye ansa; pamba te na nzela ya monyama mpe ya kitunga na ye, azwaka bambisi ebele mpe bilei ya kitoko.
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 Boni, akosepela solo kotika ete monyama na ye ezanga mbisi na kokoba koboma bato na mawa te?
Will they keep on unsheathing their swords forever, killing nations without mercy?
