Hopa 20
1 Katahi ka whakautua e Topara Naamati; i mea ia,
Then Zophar replied,
2 Na kona oku whakaaro i whakahoki kupu ake ai i roto i ahau; na reira ano ahau i hohoro ai.
“I am very perturbed about what you have said, so I want to reply very quickly.
3 Kua rongo ahau i te whakahe moku, e pa ai te whakama ki ahau, a na te wairua o toku ngakau mahara te kupu whakahoki ki ahau.
By saying these things you have insulted me, but I know how (OR, because I understand very much) I can reply to you.
4 Kahore ranei koe i mohio ki tenei i mua noa atu, i te wa ra ano i whakanohoia ai te tangata ki runga ki te whenua;
“Do you not know that from long ago, ever since people were first put on the earth,
5 He poto te wa e whakamanamana ai te tangata kino, a ko te hari o te tangata atuakore he wheriko kau?
wicked people [like you] do not continue to rejoice for a long time, ungodly people are happy only for a (moment/very short time) [HYP]?
6 Ahakoa eke noa tona nui ki nga rangi, a pa atu tona mahunga ki nga kapua;
[Even] though their reputation/pride reaches up to the sky and their fame goes up as high as the clouds,
7 Ka memeha atu ano ia a ake ake, ka pera ano me tona paru: ko te hunga kua kite i a ia, ka mea, Kei hea ia?
they will disappear forever, like their own dung, and those who knew them will ask, ‘(Where did they go/What happened to them)?’
8 Ka rere atu ia ano he moemoea, e kore ano hoki e kitea: ae ka aia atu ia, ano he rekanga kanohi no te po.
They will be forgotten like [SIM] a dream is, and they will exist no more. They will vanish, like visions [that people see] during the night.
9 Ko te kanohi i kite i a ia e kore e kite ano; a heoi ano tirohanga a tona wahi ki a ia.
Those who saw those people previously will never see them again; even their families [MTY] will not see them any more.
10 E whakamanawareka ana tamariki i nga rawakore, ma ona ringa ano e whakahoki ona rawa.
Their children will be forced to return the valuable things that those children stole from poor people [DOU].
11 E ki ana ona wheua i te tamarikitanga; engari ka takoto tahi me ia i roto i te puehu.
Previously their bodies were young and strong, but they will die and [their bodies will] be buried in the ground.
12 Ahakoa reka te kino i roto i tona mangai, ahakoa huna e ia i raro i tona arero;
“Doing wicked things was like having sweet food in their mouths, and they wanted to continue to taste it.
13 Ahakoa manawapatia noatia e ia, a kahore e mahue i a ia, heoi pupuri tonu i roto i tona mangai;
And they did not want to stop doing those things,
14 Otira ka puta ke tana kai i roto i ona whekau, ko te au o nga ahipi i roto i a ia.
[but some day] the evil things that they enjoyed doing will become like food [that they swallow] [and which becomes] as bitter as snake venom.
15 I horomia e ia te taonga, ka ruakina mai ano e ia; ma te Atua e akiri mai i roto i tona kopu.
Wicked people will not continue to keep the money they have accumulated, like people do not keep the food that they vomit. God takes their wealth from them.
16 Ka ngotea e ia te huware whakamate o nga ahipi; ka mate ano ia i te arero o te waipera.
What wicked people do is [like] [MET] swallowing snake venom; it will kill them like [MET] the bite of a poisonous snake kills people.
17 E kore ia e kite i nga awa, i nga wai rere o te honi, o te pata.
They will not remain alive to see abundant blessings [IDM] [from God], milk and olive oil and honey, that are [so abundant they are] like [MET] a stream that flows by.
18 Ko tana i uaua ai ka whakahokia e ia, e kore ano e horomia; ko tana utu ka rite ki ona taonga; e kore ano e koa ki reira.
They will be forced to give back the things that they stole from the poor; they will not be able to continue to enjoy those things. They will not remain happy because of what they got from their businesses,
19 Nana hoki i tukino nga rawakore, whakarerea iho; murua ana e ia he whare, a e kore e hanga ano e ia.
because they oppressed poor people and refused to help them, and they took other people’s houses [by cheating them].
20 I te mea kahore ia i kite i te tatutanga i roto i a ia, e kore ano etahi o nga mea e matea nuitia ana e ia e mau ki a ia.
“They were always greedy and never satisfied. They just keep dreaming about owning more and more things.
21 Kahore tetahi mea i toe i kore te horomia e ia; no reira e kore tetahi mea pai ona e mau tonu.
When they finished eating their food, there was never anything left over [because they had greedily eaten it all]; but now their prosperity will end.
22 I a ia e whiwhi nui nei i te rawa, e rawakore ano ia; ka tae mai ki a ia nga ringa katoa o te hunga kei roto i te mata.
When they are extremely prosperous/wealthy, they will suddenly experience a lot of trouble. (Misery will strike them and crush them [PRS]/They will suffer very greatly).
23 I a ia ka mea ki te whakaki i tona kopu, ka maka mai e te Atua te kaha o tona riri ki runga ki a ia, a ka ringihia iho ki a ia, i a ia ano e kai ana.
When the wicked people are filling their stomachs, God will show that he is very angry with them and punish them; the punishment [that he gives them] will be like [MET] rain falling on them.
24 Ka rere atu ia i te patu rino, ka tu ia i te kopere parahi, puta pu.
They will try to escape from [being killed by] iron weapons, but arrows with bronze points will pierce them.
25 E unuhia ana, kua puta mai i roto i te tinana, ina, puta mai ana te mata wheriko i roto i tona au: kua tau nga wehi ki a ia.
The arrows will [go completely through their bodies and] stick out of their backs; the shiny points of the arrows will have blood dripping from them, and those wicked people will be terrified.
26 Ko te pouri katoa kei te takoto mai mo ana taonga: ka kainga ia e te ahi, kihai i puhia e te tangata; ma reira e pau ai te toenga i roto i tona teneti.
Their valuable possessions will all be destroyed; a fire that is not lit by humans, [but by God, ] will burn them up and also destroy the things that are left in their tents.
27 Ka whakakitea mai tona he e nga rangi ka whakatika mai ano te whenua ki a ia.
The [angels in] heaven [MTY] will reveal the sins that those wicked people have committed, and [people on] earth will stand up and testify against them.
28 Ko nga hua o tona whare ka riro: ka rere, ano he wai, ona mea i te ra e riri ai ia.
When God punishes [MTY] [people], all the possessions in the wicked people’s houses will be carried away by a flood.
29 Ko ta te Atua wahi tenei ma te tangata kino, ko te taonga tupu i kiia e te Atua mona.
That is what will happen to wicked people [like you]; that is what God has decided will happen to them.”
