Hopa 8
1 Na ka whakautu a Pirirara Huhi, ka mea,
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and 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 say these things? How long will the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
3 E whakaparori ke ranei te Atua i te whakawa? E whakaparori ke ranei te Kaha Rawa i te tika?
Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert righteousness?
4 Ki te mea i hara au tamariki ki a ia, a kua maka atu ratou e ia hei utu mo to ratou he;
Your children have sinned against him; we know this, for he gave them into the hand of their sins.
5 Ki te rapu wawe koe i to Atua, a ka inoi ki te Kaha Rawa;
But suppose you diligently sought God and presented your request to 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 are pure and upright, then he would surely stir himself on your behalf and restore you to your rightful place.
7 Ahakoa i iti tou timatanga, e nui noa atu tou whakamutunga.
Even though your beginning was small, still your final condition would be much greater.
8 Tena ra, ui atu ki to mua whakatupuranga; anga atu hoki ki te mea kua rapua e o ratou matua.
Please ask the former generations, and give your attention to what our ancestors learned.
9 Nonanahi nei hoki tatou, kahore hoki e mohio; he atarangi nei hoki o tatou ra i runga i te whenua;
(We were only born yesterday and know nothing because our days on earth are 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?
Will they not teach you and tell you? Will they not speak words from 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 papyrus grow without a marsh? Can reeds grow without water?
12 I te mea he kaiota tonu, a kihai i tapahia, kua maroke i mua ake i nga otaota katoa.
While they are still green and not cut down, they wither before any other plant.
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.
So also are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless will perish.
14 Ka motuhia atu tana i whakamanawa atu ai, ko te whare hoki o te pungawerewere hei tumanakohanga mona.
His confidence will break apart, and his trust is as weak as 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 leans on his house, but it will not support him; he takes hold of it, but it does not stand.
16 E matomato ana i te mea kahore nei te ra, a e wana ana ona peka i tana kari.
Under the sun he is green, and his shoots go out over his entire garden.
17 Kapi tonu te puranga i ona pakiaka, e kitea ana e ia te wahi kamaka.
His roots are wrapped about the heaps of stone; they look for good places among the rocks.
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.
But if this person is destroyed out of his place, then that place will deny him and say, 'I never saw you.'
19 Nana, ko te hari tenei o tona ara, a ka tupu ake etahi atu i roto i te puehu.
See, this is the “joy” of such a person's behavior; other plants will sprout out of the same soil in his place.
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.
See, God will not cast away an innocent man; neither will he take the hand of evildoers.
21 Tera ano tou mangaika whakakiia e ia ki te kata, ou ngutu ki te hamama.
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, your lips with shouting.
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 shame; the tent of the wicked will be no more.”
