Ehekiera 31
1 I te tekau ma tahi o nga tau, i te toru o nga marama, i te tuatahi o nga ra o te marama, ka puta mai te kupu a Ihowa ki ahau; i mea,
Almost eleven years [after we had been taken to Babylonia], on the first day of the third month [of that year], Yahweh gave me another message. He said,
2 E te tama a te tangata, mea atu ki a Parao kingi o Ihipa, ratou ko ana mano tini; I a koe e nui na ko wai tou rite?
“You human, say to the King of Egypt and all of his people, ‘[You think that] there is [RHQ, IRO] no country whose power is as great as the power of your country.
3 Nana, he hita i Repanona te Ahiriana, he pai nga manga, pururu tonu, marumaru tonu, he roa rawa, purero rawa; i roto ano tona kouru i nga manga pururu.
You think that your country is as great as Assyria was: Assyria was previously like [MET] a tall cedar tree in Lebanon; [it was as though] it had big beautiful branches that provided shade for [other trees in] the forest. It was very tall; its top was above the leaves of the other trees.
4 Nui tonu ia, na te wai hoki, roa tonu, he mea na te wai hohonu; i rere hoki ona awa i tetahi taha o ona mahuri, i tetahi taha; i tukua atu ano ona awa ririki ki nga rakau katoa o te parae.
Water came from deep springs, and as a result that cedar tree grew tall and very green. Then water flowed around the base of the tree into channels that took water to other nearby trees.
5 Na reira roa rawa ia, purero rawa ki runga ake i nga rakau katoa o te parae; kua maha ano ona peka, kua roroa ona manga, he maha hoki no nga wai, i a ia e kokiri ake ana.
That huge tree grew very tall, higher than all the other trees around it. Its branches grew very thick and long [DOU] because of the abundant water [at the base of the tree].
6 I hanga o ratou ohanga e nga manu katoa o te rangi ki ona peka, i whanau ano nga kirehe katoa o te parae ki raro i ona manga, i noho ano nga iwi nunui katoa ki raro i tona taumarumarunga iho.
Birds built their nests in the branches, and wild animals gave birth to their babies under those branches. [And it was as though people of] all the great nations lived in the shade of that tree.
7 Heoi ataahua tonu ia, i a ia i nui ra, i te roa hoki o ona manga: i te taha hoki o nga wai nui tona pakiaka.
It was majestic and beautiful; its branches spread out widely because the roots of the tree grew down into the ground where there was a plentiful supply of water.
8 Kihai ia i ngaro i nga hita o ta te Atua kari; kihai nga kauri i rite ki ona peka, kihai ano nga rakau pereni i rite ki ona manga; kahore he rakau o te kari a te Atua hei rite mona; i a ia i ataahua tonu ra.
The cedar trees in my garden [in Eden] were not as great as that tree, and the branches of the pine/cypress trees were not as long and thick as the branches of that cedar tree. And the branches of the plane trees were not as long and thick, either. No tree in my garden was as beautiful as that cedar tree.
9 I meinga ia e ahau kia ataahua tonu i te maha o ona manga: a hae ana nga rakau katoa o Erene, i te kari a te Atua, ki a ia.
Because I caused that tree to become very beautiful with its magnificent green branches, [all the leaders of other countries represented by] [MET] those other trees in Eden envied [the country represented by] that tree.’
10 Na reira ko te kupu tenei a te Ariki, a Ihowa; kua tiketike na koe, kua roa, a kokiri atu ana tona kouru ki roto ki nga manga pururu, a neke ake ana tona ngakau i a ia i tiketike ra;
Therefore, this is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘That tree, which [represents Assyria], grew very tall, and its top was higher than the other trees, and it became very proud because of being very tall.
11 Mo reira ka tukua ia e ahau ki te ringa o te mea kaha o nga tauiwi; ka nui ta tera mahi ki a ia; he kino nona i peia ai ia e ahau.
Therefore, I enabled another mighty nation to conquer it and to destroy it as it deserved to be destroyed. I have already discarded it.
12 Na kua hatepea atu ia e nga tautangata, e nga mea nanakia o nga iwi, a kua whakarerea iho; kua taka ona rara ki runga ki nga maunga, ki nga awaawa katoa; kua whatiwhatiia ona manga ki te taha o nga awa katoa o te whenua; kua heke mai ano nga iwi katoa o te whenua i tona taumarumarutanga iho, whakarerea ake e ratou.
A foreign army, one that has caused people of other nations to be terrified, cut it down and left it. Its branches fell on the mountains and in the valleys. Some of its branches lay broken in all the ravines in the land. All the people of other nations came out from being under its shade and left it.
13 Kei runga i a ia, ina hinga, he kainga mo nga manu katoa o te rangi, a ka noho nga kirehe katoa o te parae ki ona manga;
Birds (settled/went to live) on the fallen tree, and wild animals lived among its branches.
14 He mea kei neke ake, kei purero ki runga tetahi o nga rakau i te taha o nga wai, kei kokiri ake o ratou kouru ki roto ki nga manga pururu, kei tu hoki, kei teitei nga rakau katoa e inu wai ana: kua tukua katoatia hoki ki te mate, ki nga wahi o r aro rawa o te whenua, ki roto ki nga tama a te tangata, ki te hunga e heke ana ki te rua.
The result of what I have done is that no other trees, even if they have plenty of water, will ever grow very high and become proud, and lift their tops above the branches of other trees. I do not want any other tree to grow high like that cedar tree did; trees will all certainly die and decay in the ground, like people die and go down to their graves.’
15 Ko te kupu tenei a te Ariki, a Ihowa; I te ra i heke ai ia ki te rua i meinga ia e ahau kia tangihia, he whakaaro ki a ia i hipokina ai e ahau te rire, i puritia ai ona awa, a ko nga wai nunui mau rawa: a meinga ana e ahau a Repanona kia tangi k i a ia, a ko nga rakau katoa o te parae ngohe kau ki a ia. (Sheol h7585)
This is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘When that great tree was cut down, [it was as though] the springs that watered it mourned for it, because I caused the plentiful water [from the springs] to dry up. I caused [the mountains in] Lebanon to become black, and all the trees there to wither. (Sheol h7585)
16 Meinga ana e ahau kia rurea nga iwi e te haruru o tona hinganga, i taku makanga i a ia ki raro i te reinga, ratou tahi ko te hunga e heke ana ki te rua: ko nga rakau katoa ano hoki o Erene, ko nga mea whiriwhiri, ko nga mea papai o Repanona, ko nga mea katoa e inu ana i te wai, ka whai whakamarietanga i nga wahi o raro rawa o te whenua. (Sheol h7585)
I caused the people of other nations to tremble when they heard that tree fall to the ground. [They realized] that it would decay, like all people who die and are buried decay. And all the [leaders of other countries represented by] other beautiful trees in my garden in Eden and in Lebanon, were like beautiful trees [that were very proud]. They were ones which had roots that grew down deep into the [ground where there was plenty of] water. They were comforted when [the king represented by] [MET] that cedar tree was there with them in the place where the dead people are. (Sheol h7585)
17 I heke tahi ano ratou me ia ki te reinga, ki te hunga kua patua ki te hoari; ae ra, me te hunga ano i waiho nei hei ringa mona, i noho nei i raro i tona taumarumarunga iho i waenganui o nga tauiwi. (Sheol h7585)
The [leaders of other countries represented by] [MET] trees that grew in the shade of the huge tree, [the allies of] the great nation [that the cedar tree represents], had also joined those who had been killed by the sword and gone down to where the dead people are. (Sheol h7585)
18 Ko wai hei rite mou, te kororia, te nui, i roto i nga rakau o Erene? heoi ka tukua ngatahitia iho koutou ko nga rakau o Erene ki nga wahi o raro rawa o te whenua: ka takoto koe i roto i te hunga kokotikore, i roto i te hunga i patua ki te hoari. Ko Parao tenei, ratou ko ana mano tini katoa, e ai ta te Ariki, ta Ihowa.
[This parable is about you] people of Egypt. [You think that] [RHQ, IRO] there is no other nation that is as great and glorious as yours is. But your nation will also be destroyed, [as Assyria was], along with those other nations. Your people will be there among the other people who are not fit to worship me, people who have been killed by their enemies’ swords. That is what will happen to the king of Egypt and all his people. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, [have predicted it].’”
