Hopa 14
1 Ko te tangata i whanau i te wahine, he torutoru ona ra; ki tonu ano i te raruraru.
Life is short and full of trouble,
2 Ano he puawai ia e puta mai ana, e kotia iho ana: rere ana ia, ano he atarangi, kahore hoki he tumautanga.
like a flower that blooms and withers, like a passing shadow that soon disappears.
3 E titiro mai ano ranei ou kanohi ki te penei? E mea ranei koe i ahau kia whakawa taua ki a taua?
Do you even notice me, God, and why do you have to drag me to court?
4 Ko wai hei homai i te mea ma i roto i te mea poke? Hore rawa.
Who can bring something clean of what is unclean? No one.
5 Kua rite na hoki nga ra mona: kei a koe te maha o ona marama; takoto rawa i a koe te tikanga mona, a e kore ia e whiti ki tua.
You have determined how long we shall live—the number of months, a time limit on our lives.
6 Tahuri ke atu te titiro i a ia, kia ai ona pariratanga, kia ata tutuki ai tona ra, kia rite ai ki o te kaimahi.
So leave us alone and give us some peace—so like a laborer we could enjoy a few hours of rest at the end of the day.
7 Ka ai hoki he whakaaronga ki te rakau i tapahia, tera ano e pariri, e kore ano hoki e mutu te wana o tona pihi.
Even a tree that's cut down has the hope of sprouting again, of sending up shoots and continuing to live.
8 Ahakoa kua tawhitotia tona pakiaka a ki te whenua, a kua mate tona tinana i roto i te oneone;
Even though its roots grow old in the earth, and its stump dies in the ground,
9 Heoi ma te haunga o te wai ka pihi, ka kokiri ona peka ano ko ta te mea tupu.
just a trickle of water will make it bud and grow branches like a young plant.
10 Ko te tangata ia, mate iho, marere noa iho; ae, ka hamo te tangata, a kei hea ia?
But human beings die, their strength dwindles away; they perish, and where are they then?
11 Pera i nga wai e he mai nei i te moana, i te awa e mimiti ana, ka maroke;
Like water evaporating from a lake and a river that dries up and disappears,
12 E pera ana ano te tangata, e takoto ana a kahore he whakatikanga ake: kahore he marangatanga ake mo ratou, a kia kore ra ano nga rangi; e kore ano ratou e ara i to ratou moe.
so human beings lie down and don't get up again. Until the heavens cease to exist they will not awake from their sleep.
13 Aue, kia huna noatia oti ahau e koe ki te po, kia waihotia noatia iho ahau e koe kia ngaro ana, kia hoki ra ano tou riri; kia rohea noatia mai e koe tetahi wa moku, a ka mahara mai ai ano ki ahau! (Sheol h7585)
I wish you would hide me in Sheol; conceal me there until your anger is gone. Set a definite time for me there, and remember me! (Sheol h7585)
14 Ki te mate te tangata, e ora ano ranei ia? Ka tatari ahau i nga ra katoa o toku ngananga, kia tae mai ra ano he whakaputanga moku.
Will the dead live again? Then I would have hope through all my time of trouble until my release comes.
15 Mau e karanga, kia whakao atu ai ahau; kahore hoki e kore ka matenui koe ki te mahi a ou ringa.
You would call and I would answer you; you would long for me, the being that you made.
16 Inaianei hoki e taua ana e koe oku hikoinga; he teka ianei e matatau tonu mai ana koe ki toku hara?
Then you would look after me and wouldn't be watching me to see if I sinned.
17 Hiri rawa toku he ki roto ki te putea, tuitui rawa e koe toku kino.
My sins would be sealed up in a bag and you would cover my guilt.
18 He pono ko te maunga e horo ana e memeha noa ake ana, e nekehia ana te toka i tona wahi;
But just as the mountains crumble and fall, and the rocks tumble down;
19 E ngau ana te wai i nga kohatu; ma tona puhaketanga e horoi atu te puehu o te whenua; a whakangaromia iho e koe te tumanako a te tangata.
as water wears away the stones, as floods wash away the soil, so you destroy the hope people have.
20 Taea ana ia e koe ake tonu atu, a pahure ana ia; puta ke ana i a koe tona mata, a tonoa atu ana ia kia haere.
You continually overpower them and they pass away; you distort their faces in death and send them away.
21 Ko te whakahonoretanga o ana tama, kahore e mohiotia e ia; ka hoki iho ratou hei ware, heoi kahore tetahi aha o ratou e maharatia e ia.
Their children may become important or fall from their positions, but they don't know or see any of this.
22 E mamae ano ia te kikokiko o tona tinana, a ka tangi tona wairua i roto i a ia.
As people die they only know their own pain and are sad for themselves.”
