Hopa 24
1 He aha nga wa te whakapurangatia ai e te Kaha Rawa? A he aha hoki te hunga e mohio ana ki a ia te kite ai i ona ra?
Why doesn't the Almighty set a definite time to punish the wicked? Why don't those who follow him never see him act in judgment?
2 Tera etahi e whakaneke atu ana i nga rohe; e kahakina ana e ratou nga kahui, whangaia iho e ratou.
The wicked move boundary stones; they seize other people's flocks and move them to their own pastures.
3 E aia atu ana e ratou te kaihe a nga pani, e tangohia ana hei taunaha te kau a te pouaru.
They steal the orphan's donkey; they take the widow's ox as security for a debt.
4 Whakapekaia ketia ana e ratou nga rawakore i te ara: huihui ana nga ware o te whenua, piri ana.
They push the poor out of their way; the destitute are forced to hide from them.
5 Nana, rite tonu ratou ki te kaihe mahoao i te koraha, haere atu ana ki ta ratou mahi, e whai ana ki te kai; hei kai te koraha ma ratou, ma a ratou tamariki.
Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor have to scavenge for their food, looking for anything to feed their children in the wasteland.
6 E kotia ana e ratou ta ratou witi i te mara; e kohia ana e ratou nga waina a te hunga tutu.
They are forced to find what they can in other people's fields, to glean among the vineyards of the wicked.
7 E takoto tahanga ana ratou i te po roa, kahore he kakahu, kahore hoki he hipoki i te maeke.
They spend the night naked because they have no clothes; they have nothing to cover themselves against the cold.
8 Maku iho ratou i te awha o nga maunga, a, ka kore he rerenga, ka awhi i te kamaka.
They are soaked by the cold mountain storms, and huddle beside the rocks for shelter.
9 Tera te hunga, e tangohia mai ana e ratou te pani i te u, e tango ana i ta te rawakore taunaha:
Fatherless children are snatched from their mother's breasts, taking the babies of the poor as security for a debt.
10 Koia ka haere tahanga ratou, kahore he kakahu, a, i te matekai ka hari i nga paihere witi;
Because they have no clothes to wear they have to go naked, harvesting sheaves of grain while they themselves are hungry.
11 E mahi nei i te hinu i roto i nga taiepa a aua tangata; e takahi nei i a ratou poka waina, me te mate i te wai.
In the olive groves they work to produce oil, but do not taste it; they tread the winepress, but are thirsty.
12 E aue ana nga tangata i roto i te pa, e karanga ana hoki te wairua o te hunga i patua: kahore ano ia a te Atua whakakuware ki a ratou.
In the city the dying groan, and the wounded cry for help, but God ignores their prayers.
13 No te hunga ratou e whakakeke ana ki te marama; kahore o ratou mohio ki ona ara, e kore ano ratou e noho ki ona huarahi.
These are people who rebel against the light. They do not want to know its ways, or to stay on its paths.
14 E maranga ana te kaikohuru i te mea ka marama, patua iho e ia te ware me te rawakore; a i te po ka pena ia i te tahae.
The murderer gets up at dawn to kill the poor and needy, and when night falls he becomes a thief.
15 E tatari ana te kanohi o te tangata puremu kia nehunehu iho, e mea ana, E kore te kanohi e kite i ahau: e huna ana ia i tona mata.
The adulterer waits for dusk, saying to himself, ‘No one will see me now,’ and he covers his face.
16 E keri ana ratou i nga whare i te pouri: i te awatea e pa ana ratou i a ratou: kahore ratou e mohio ki te marama.
Thieves break into houses during the night and they sleep during the day. They don't even know what the light is like!
17 Ki a ratou katoa hoki e rite ana te ata ki te atarangi o te mate; e matau ana hoki ratou ki nga whakamataku o te atarangi o te mate.
Total darkness is like light to them, for they are familiar with the night.
18 Tere tonu ia ki runga ki te mata o nga wai; he mea kanga to ratou wahi i runga i te whenua: e kore ia e anga mai ki te ara ki nga mara waina.
Like bubbles on the surface of a river they are quickly carried away. The land they own is cursed by God. They don't enter their own vineyards.
19 Ka riro nga wai o te hukarere i te tauraki, i te wera: te hunga hara ano hoki i te reinga. (Sheol h7585)
Just as heat and drought dry up snowmelt, so Sheol takes away those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
20 Ka wareware te kopu ki a ia; he kai reka ia ma te iro; e kore ia e maharatia i muri iho; ka whati hoki te kino ano he rakau.
Even their mothers forget them, maggots feast on them, they are no longer remembered, and their wickedness becomes like a tree that is broken into pieces.
21 E tukinotia ana e ia te pakoko kihai nei i whanau; kahore hoki ana mahi pai ki te pouaru.
They mistreat childless women and are mean to widows.
22 E kumea atu ana hoki e ia nga marohirohi ki tona kaha: ka whakatika ake ia, kahore he tangata e u ki te ora.
God prolongs the life of the wicked by his power; but when they arise, they have no assurance of life.
23 I homai ano e te Atua ki a ratou kia au te noho, a ka whakawhirinaki ratou ki reira; kei runga hoki i o ratou huarahi ona kanohi.
He supports them and gives them security, but he is always watching what they're doing.
24 E whakanekehia ake ana ratou; otiia wahi iti nei, kua kahore noa iho ratou; ae ra, ka whakaitia ratou, ka whakawateatia atu pera i era atu katoa, a ka tapahia atu ano ko nga kauru o nga puku witi.
Though they may be illustrious for a while, soon they are gone. They are brought down like all others, cut off like the heads of grain.
25 Ki te mea he teka tenei ko wai hei whakateka ki ahau, hei whakakahore i taku korero?
If this isn't so, who can prove I'm a liar and there's nothing to what I say?”
