Hapakuku 1

1 Ko te poropititanga i kitea e Hapakuku poropiti.

This is the message that Habakkuk saw in vision.

2 Kia pehea te roa, e Ihowa, o taku tangi, a kahore koe e rongo? e karanga atu ana ahau ki a koe mo te tutu, a kahore koe e whakaora.

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 He aha koe i whakakite mai ai i te kino ki ahau? he aha koe i titiro ai ki te pakeketanga? he pahua hoki, he tutu tenei kei toku aroaro, na he totohe tenei, a kei te oho ake he ngangare.

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 Na reira kahakore noa iho te ture, kore tonu ake e puta te whakawa; e karapotia ana hoki te tika e te kino: na reira, te putanga o te whakawa, he parori ke.

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 Titiro atu ki nga tauiwi, matakitaki, kia nui te miharo; no te mea kei te mahi ahau i tetahi mahi i o koutou ra, he mea e kore e whakaponohia, ki te korerotia atu.

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 No te mea tenei ka ara i ahau nga Karari, taua iwi nanakia ra, taua iwi hikaka tonu ra, e haerea nei e ratou te whanuitanga o te whenua, kia riro ai i a ratou nga kainga ehara nei i a ratou.

Watch! I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and brutal people who will march across the world to seize other lands.

7 He hanga whakamataku ratou, he mea wehi: i ahu tonu ake i a ratou ta ratou na whakawa, me to ratou na rangatiratanga.

They are fearsome and terrifying, and so proud of themselves that they set their own rules.

8 He tere atu a ratou hoiho i te reparo, he nanakia atu i te wuruhi o te ahiahi: ka tohatoha noa atu o ratou kaieke hoiho: ae ra, ka haere mai ano a ratou kaieke hoiho i tawhiti; ko ta ratou rere rite tonu ki ta te ekara e hohoro ana ki te kai.

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 Ko ratou katoa he mahi nanakia i haere mai ai; ko o ratou kanohi whakamau tonu me te mea ko te hau marangai, me te mea he kirikiri nga whakarau e aohia ana e ratou.

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 Ae ra, e taunu ana ia ki nga kingi, a hei kata mana nga rangatira: ka kata ia ki nga pa taiepa katoa; ka opehia ake hoki he puehu e ia, a riro tonu i a ia.

They mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh in scorn at fortresses—they pile up earth ramps and capture them.

11 Katahi ia ka wheoro ake ano he hau, ka whiti atu, a ka nahi i te he: ara a ia, te tangata ko tona kaha nei tona atua.

Then they sweep on by like the wind and are gone. They are guilty because their own strength is their god.

12 He tekia ianei nonamata riro koe, e Ihowa, e toku Atua, e toku Mea Tapu? e kore matou e mate. Kua waiho ia e koe, e Ihowa, hei whakawa; kua whakapumautia ia e koe, e te Kamaka, hei whiu.

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 He kanohi ma rawa ou, e kore koe e titiro ki te kino, e kore ano e ahei kia matakitaki koe ki te kino: he aha koe i matakitaki ai ki te hunga tinihanga, i whakarongo puku ai i te mea ka horomia e te tangata kino te tangata e tika rawa ana i a ia?

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 He aha nga tangata i meinga ai e koe kia rite ki nga ika o te moana, ki nga mea ngokingoki kahore nei o ratou kaiwhakahaere tikanga?

You make people become like fish in the sea, or like crawling insects, that have no ruler.

15 Ko ratou katoa tangohia ake e ia ki te matau, ka mau i a ia ki roto ki tana kupenga, a kokoa ana ki tana rou; na reira koa ana ia, whakamanamana ana.

They drag everyone up with hooks, they pull them out with nets, catching them in dragnets. Then they happily celebrate.

16 Koia ia i whakahere ai ki tana kupenga, i tahu whakakakara ai ki tana rou; no te mea na aua mea i whai ngako ai tona wahi, i momona ai tana kai.

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 He mea ano ranei tera e whakawateatia ai e ia tana kupenga, a kore iho e tohungia nga iwi e patua tonutia ana?

Will they keep on unsheathing their swords forever, killing nations without mercy?