Hopa 8
1 Na ka whakautu a Pirirara Huhi, ka mea,
But Baldad the Suhite, responding, said:
2 Kia pehea ake te roa o tau korero i enei mea? Kia pehea ake te roa o nga kupu a tou mangai e rite ai ki te hau kaha?
How long will you speak this way, so that the words of your mouth are like a changeable wind?
3 E whakaparori ke ranei te Atua i te whakawa? E whakaparori ke ranei te Kaha Rawa i te tika?
Does God supplant judgment, or does the Almighty subvert that which is just?
4 Ki te mea i hara au tamariki ki a ia, a kua maka atu ratou e ia hei utu mo to ratou he;
And if now your children have sinned against him, and he has dismissed them into the power of their iniquity,
5 Ki te rapu wawe koe i to Atua, a ka inoi ki te Kaha Rawa;
even so, you should arise early to God, so as to beseech the Almighty.
6 Ki te mea he ma koe, he tika, ina, ka ara ake ia ki a koe aianei, ka manaakitia ano e ia te nohoanga o tou tika.
If you approach with purity and honesty, he will quickly be attentive to you, and a peaceful life will repay your righteousness,
7 Ahakoa i iti tou timatanga, e nui noa atu tou whakamutunga.
so much so that, if your former things were small, your latter things would be multiplied greatly.
8 Tena ra, ui atu ki to mua whakatupuranga; anga atu hoki ki te mea kua rapua e o ratou matua.
For inquire of the earliest generation, and investigate diligently the history of the fathers,
9 Nonanahi nei hoki tatou, kahore hoki e mohio; he atarangi nei hoki o tatou ra i runga i te whenua;
(of course, we are but of yesterday and are ignorant that our days on earth are like a shadow, )
10 E kore ranei ratou e whakaako i a koe, e korero ki a koe, e puaki mai ranei he kupu i o ratou ngakau?
and they will teach you; they will speak with you and will offer you the eloquence of their hearts.
11 E tupu ranei te wiwi i te mea kahore he repo? E nui ranei te raupo ki te kahore he wai?
Can the marsh plant live without moisture? Or can sedges grow without water?
12 I te mea he kaiota tonu, a kihai i tapahia, kua maroke i mua ake i nga otaota katoa.
When it is still in flower, and has not been pulled up by hand, it withers before all other plants.
13 Ka pera ano nga ara o te hunga katoa e wareware ana ki te Atua, a ka riro ki te kore ta te tangata whakaponokore i tumanako ai.
Just so are the ways of all who forget God, and the hope of the hypocrite will perish.
14 Ka motuhia atu tana i whakamanawa atu ai, ko te whare hoki o te pungawerewere hei tumanakohanga mona.
His frenzy will not please him, and his faith will be like a spider’s web.
15 Ka okioki atu ia ki tona whare; heoi e kore e tu: u tonu tana pupuri atu, otiia e kore e mau.
He will lean on his house, and it will not stand; he will prop it up, but it will not rise.
16 E matomato ana i te mea kahore nei te ra, a e wana ana ona peka i tana kari.
He seems to have moisture before the sun arrives; and at sunrise, his sprout shoots forth.
17 Kapi tonu te puranga i ona pakiaka, e kitea ana e ia te wahi kamaka.
His roots will crowd together over a heap of stones, and among the stones he will remain.
18 Ki te whakamotitia iho ia i tona wahi, ka whakakahore taua wahi ki a ia, ka mea, Kahore ahau i kite i a koe.
If someone is devoured right beside him, he will deny him and will say: “I do not know you.”
19 Nana, ko te hari tenei o tona ara, a ka tupu ake etahi atu i roto i te puehu.
For this is the benefit of his way, that others in turn may spring up from the earth.
20 Nana, e kore te Atua e whakakahore ki te tangata tika, e kore ano e puritia e ia te ringa o nga tangata kino.
God will not discard the simple, nor will he extend his hand to the spiteful,
21 Tera ano tou mangaika whakakiia e ia ki te kata, ou ngutu ki te hamama.
even until your mouth is filled with laughter and your lips with rejoicing.
22 He whakama te kakahu mo te hunga e kino ana ki a koe, a ka kahore noa iho te tapenakara o te hunga kino.
Those who hate you, will be clothed with confusion, and the tabernacle of the impious will not continue.
