Hapakuku 1
1 Ko te poropititanga i kitea e Hapakuku poropiti.
The oracle of which Habakkuk the prophet, had 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.
How long, O Yahweh, have I called out, and thou wouldst not hear me? Have I kept crying unto thee of violence, and thou wouldst not save?
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.
Wherefore shouldst thou let me see iniquity, and, wrong, shouldst let me behold, and, force and violence, be straight before me, —and there should have ever been someone who, contention and strife, would uphold?
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.
For which cause, benumbed is the law, and there is never any going forth of justice, —for, the lawless, doth circumvent the righteous, for which cause, justice doth go forth 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.
Behold ye, among the nations, and look around, Yea stand stock still—stare, —for, a work, is being wrought in your days, ye will not believe, when it is recounted.
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.
For, behold me! raising up the Chaldeans, the bitter and headlong nation, —that marcheth to the breadths of the earth, to take possession of habitations, not his.
7 He hanga whakamataku ratou, he mea wehi: i ahu tonu ake i a ratou ta ratou na whakawa, me to ratou na rangatiratanga.
Awful and fearful, is he, —from himself, his decision and his uprising, proceed.
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.
Then, swifter than leopards, are his horses, and, more sharply they attack, than evening wolves, and forward have leapt his chargers, —Yea, his chargers, from afar, will come in, they will fly as an eagle hath hastened to devour.
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.
Solely for violence, will he come, the intent of their faces, is—To the east! And he hath gathered, as the sand, a captive host;
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.
And, he, over kings, will make merry, and, nobles, will be a scorn to him: he, at any fortress, will laugh, once he hath heaped up dust, he hath captured it!
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, hath he become arrogant in spirit, and hath committed excess, and so is guilty, —this his violence, is due to his 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.
Art not, thou, from of old, O Yahweh, my God, my Holy One? Thou diest not! O Yahweh, to judgment, hast thou appointed him, and, O Rock, to correction, hast thou devoted him:
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?
[Thou] whose eyes are too pure to look with approval on wrong, to respect oppression, canst not endure, —Wherefore, shouldst thou respect the treacherous? Be silent, when the lawless, swalloweth up, one more righteous than he?
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?
So wouldst thou have made Men, like the fishes of the sea, —like the creeping thing that hath no ruler over it:
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.
All of which, with a hook, one bringeth up, raketh together with his drag, and hath gathered with his net, —
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.
On which account, he is glad and exulteth: on which account, he sacrificeth to his Net, and burneth incense to his Drag; because, thereby, rich, is his portion, and his food—fatness!
17 He mea ano ranei tera e whakawateatia ai e ia tana kupenga, a kore iho e tohungia nga iwi e patua tonutia ana?
Shall he, on this account, empty his net? And, the continual slaying of nations, deem to be no pity?
