Hopa 12
1 Na ka whakautu a Hopa, ka mea,
Then Job said [to his three friends],
2 He tika rawa ko koutou nga tangata, a ka mate tahi atu te whakaaro nui me koutou.
“You (talk as though/You think) [SAR] that you are the people [whom everyone should listen to], and that when you die, there will be no more wise people.
3 Otira kei ahau ano hoki he ngakau, he pera ano me o koutou, kihai ahau i hoki iho i a koutou: ko wai ra te he ana ki enei mea?
But I have as much good sense as you do; I am (not less wise than/certainly as wise as [LIT]) you. Certainly everyone knows [RHQ] all that you have said.
4 Toku rite kei te tangata e waiho ana hei kata ma tona hoa, he tangata e karanga ana ki te Atua, a whakarongo mai ana tera ki a ia: e waiho ana te mea tika, te mea tapatahi, hei kata.
My friends all laugh at me now. Previously I habitually requested God to help me, and he answered/helped me. I am righteous, a very godly man [DOU], but everyone laughs at me.
5 Kei roto i te whakaaro o te tangata, e tau ana tana noho, te whakahawea ki te aitua; e tauwhanga ana tena ki te hunga e paheke ana te waewae.
Those [like you] who have no troubles make fun of me; they cause those [like me] who are already suffering to have more troubles.
6 Kei te rangatira nga teneti o nga kaipahua, a noho kore wehi ana te hunga e whakapataritari ana ki te Atua; he ope noa mai hoki ta te Atua ki o ratou ringa.
Bandits live peacefully, and no one threatens those who cause God to become angry; their own strength is the god [that they worship].
7 Tena ra, ui atu ki nga kararehe, ma ratou koe e whakaako; ki nga manu o te rangi, ma ratou e korero ki a koe;
“But ask the wild animals [what they know about God], and [if they could speak] they would teach you. [If you could] ask the birds, they would tell you.
8 Korero atu ranei ki te whenua, a mana koe e whakaako; ka whakaaturia mai ano hoki ki a koe e nga ika o te moana.
[If you could] ask the creatures [that crawl] on the ground, or the fish in the sea, they would tell you [about God].
9 Ko wai i kore te mohio ki enei mea katoa, he mea mahi tenei na te ringa o Ihowa?
All of them certainly know [RHQ] that it is Yahweh who has made them with his hands.
10 Kei tona ringa nei te wairua o nga mea ora katoa, te manawa hoki o nga kikokiko tangata katoa.
He directs the lives of all living creatures; he gives breath to all [us] humans [to enable us to remain alive].
11 He teka ianei e whakamatauria ana nga kupu e te taringa, pera hoki i te waha e whakarongo nei ki te reka o tana kai?
And when we [SYN] hear what other people [like you] say, we [RHQ] think carefully about what they say [to determine what is good and what is bad], like we [SYN] taste food [to determine what is good and what is bad].
12 Kei nga kaumatua nga whakaaro nui; kei te roa o nga ra te matau.
Old people are [often] very wise, and because of having lived many years, they understand much,
13 Kei a ia te whakaaro nui me te kaha; kei a ia te tohutohu me te matauranga.
but God is wise and very powerful; he has good sense and understands [everything].
14 Nana, e wawahia ana e ia, kore iho e hanga ano; e kopia ana e ia te tangata, kahore rawa he putanga.
If he tears [something] down, no one can rebuild it; if he puts someone in prison, no one can open [the prison doors to allow that person to escape].
15 Nana, e unuhia atu ana e ia nga wai, a kua maroke; e tukua mai ana ano e ia, a ka hurihia te whenua.
When he prevents rain from falling, everything dries up. When he causes a lot of rain to fall, [the result is that] there are floods.
16 Kei a ia te kaha me te mahi totika; ko te tangata tinihanga me te tangata e tinihangatia ana, nana.
He is the one who is truly strong and wise; he rules over those who deceive others and those whom they deceive.
17 E kahakina atu ana e ia nga kaiwhakatakoto whakaaro, he mea pahua; whakakuwaretia iho e ia nga kaiwhakawa.
He [sometimes] causes [the king’s] officials to no longer be wise, and he causes judges to become foolish.
18 Ko te mana o nga kingi, wetekina ake e ia, herea iho e ia o ratou hope ki te whitiki.
He takes from kings the robes that they wear and puts loincloths around their waists, [causing them to become slaves].
19 E arahina atu ana e ia nga tohunga, he mea pahua, hurihia iho e ia te hunga kaha.
He takes from priests the sacred clothes that they wear, [with the result that they no longer can do their work], and takes power from those who rule others.
20 Whakakorea ake e ia he kupu ma te hunga ngakau pono, riro ana i a ia nga mahara o nga kaumatua.
He [sometimes] causes those whom others trust to be unable to speak, and he causes old men to no longer have good sense.
21 E ringihia ana e ia te whakahawea ki runga ki nga rangatira, e wetekina ana e ia te whitiki o te hunga kaha.
He causes those who have authority to be despised, and he causes those who are powerful to no longer have any power/strength.
22 E hurahia mai ana e ia nga mea hohonu i roto i te pouri, whakaputaina mai ana e ia te atarangi o te mate ki te marama.
He causes things that are hidden in the darkness to be revealed.
23 E whakanuia ana e ia nga iwi, a e huna ana e ia; e tohatohaina atu ana e ia nga iwi, a e whakawhaititia mai ana ano ratou e ia.
He causes some nations to become very great, and [later] he destroys them; he causes the territory of some nations to become much larger, and [later] he causes them to be defeated and their people to be scattered.
24 E tangohia atu ana e ia te ngakau o nga rangatira o te iwi o te whenua, a e meinga ana e ia kia kopikopiko noa i te wahi ururua kahore nei he ara.
He causes [some] rulers to become foolish/stupid, and then he causes them to wander around, lost, in an barren desert.
25 Whawha noa ratou i roto i te pouri, kahore hoki he marama, a meinga ana ratou e ia kia hurori haere ano he tangata haurangi.
They grope around in the darkness, without any light, and he causes them to stagger like [SIM] people who are drunk.”
