Maraki 3

1 Tenei te unga atu nei e ahau taku karere, mana e whakapai te ara i mua i ahau, a kitea rawatia ake, kua tae te Ariki, e rapua nei e koutou, ki tona temepara; na ko te anahera o te kawenata, ko ta koutou e ngakau nui na, nana, tera ia ka tae atu, e ai ta Ihowa o nga mano.

“I am about to send my messenger and he will clear a path before me: And the Lord, who you are seeking, will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant who you long for is already coming, says the Lord of hosts.

2 A ko wai e u i te ra e tae mai ai ia? ko wai hoki e tu, ina puta mai ia? e rite ana hoki ia ki te ahi a te kaitahi para, ki te mea horoi a te kaihoroi:

But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand firm when he appears? He is like a refiner’s fire, and like a launderer’s soap,

3 Ka noho ano ia, ka rite ki te kaitahi para, ki te kaiwhakapai hiriwa, a ka whakapaia e ia nga tama a Riwai, ka whakahemokia to ratou para, ano he koura, he hiriwa: kia tapaea ai e ratou he whakahere ki a Ihowa i runga i te tika.

and he will sit as a refiner and purifier. He will purify the descendants of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, until they are fit to bring offerings to the Lord.

4 Ko reira te whakahere a Hura raua ko Hiruharama rekaina ai e Ihowa, ka rite ki nga ra o mua, ki nga tau onamata.

Then will the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

5 Ka whakatata atu ano ahau ki a koutou ki te whakawa; ka hohoro ano ahau hei kaiwhakaatu i te he o nga kaimakutu, o te hunga puremu, o nga kaioati teka, o te hunga e tahae ana i nga utu o te kaimahi, i ta te pouaru, i ta te pani, e whakapeau ke an a i ta te manene, a kahore e wehi i ahau, e ai ta Ihowa o nga mano.

“I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against the sorcerers, adulterers, perjurers, those who cheat workers, or widows, or orphans, deny justice to immigrants, and do not fear me,” says the Lord of hosts.

6 Ko ahau hoki, ko Ihowa, kahore ahau e puta ke; na reira koutou, e nga tama a Hakopa, i kore ai e pau.

“For I, the Lord, do not change; and you have not ceased to be descendants of Jacob.”

7 No nga ra o o koutou matua i whakarerea ai e koutou aku tikanga, kihai ano i puritia e koutou. Hoki mai ki ahau, a ka hoki atu ahau ki a koutou, e ai ta Ihowa o nga mano. Heoi kei te mea na koutou, Kia pehea ta matou hoki atu?

“From the days of your ancestors, you have turned aside from my statutes, and you have not kept them. Turn to me and I will turn to you,” says the Lord. “You say, ‘How should we turn?’

8 E tahae ranei te tangata i ta te Atua? Heoi e tahae na koutou i taku. A e mea na koutou, He pehea ta matou tahae i tau? Ki nga whakatekau ra, me nga whakahere.

Can a human rob God? Yet you robbed me. You ask, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and gifts!

9 Kua kanga, kua kanga koutou: ko koutou hoki kei te tahae i taku, ara ko tenei iwi katoa.

You – your entire nation – are all cursed, because you rob me.

10 Maua katoatia mai te whakatekau ki roto ki te toa, kia whai kai ai toku whare, waiho hoki tenei hei whakamatautau moku, e ai ta Ihowa o nga mano, me kahore e tuwhera i ahau nga matapihi o te rangi ki a koutou, a ka ringihia he manaaki ki a kouto u, a kia kore ra ano he takotoranga.

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there is food in my house. Test me in this way. See if I will not open to you the windows of the sky, and pour you out a blessing, until there is more than enough.

11 A ka riria e ahau te kaiwhakapareho, he mea mo koutou, a e kore e huna e ia nga hua o to koutou oneone; e kore ano e marere noa nga hua o ta koutou waina i te mara, e ai ta Ihowa o nga mano.

I will rebuke for your sakes the devouring locust and he will not destroy your crops, nor will the vine fail to ripen its fruit in the field, says the Lord of hosts,

12 A ki ta nga iwi katoa, he manaakitanga koutou: no te mea he whenua ahuareka koutou, e ai ta Ihowa o nga mano.

and all nations will call you happy, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.

13 He kaha a koutou kupu ki ahau, e ai ta Ihowa. Heoi e ki na koutou, He aha ta matou korero mou?

“You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord. “You ask, ‘What have we said about you?’

14 Kua ki na koutou, Kahore he hua o te mahi ki te Atua: he aha hoki te rawa o ta matou pupuri i ana mea, o ta matou haere taua i te aroaro o Ihowa o nga mano?

You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God, and what do we gain from the Lord of hosts by keeping his commands, and walking mournfully in funeral garb before him?

15 Na inaianei ki ta matou, ko te hunga whakakake nga mea koa; ae ra, ko nga kaimahi i te kino te hunga e hanga ake; ae ra, e whakamatautau ana ratou i te Atua, a kua mawhiti.

So now we call the proud happy, evildoers thrive: they dare God and escape unharmed.’”

16 Na, ko te hunga i wehi i a Ihowa, kei te korerorero ratou ki tona hoa, ki tona hoa; a ka tahuri a Ihowa, ka whakarongo, na ka tuhituhia he pukapuka whakamahara ki tona aroaro mo te hunga i wehi ki a Ihowa, i whakaaro hoki ki tona ingoa.

Such things those who revered the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice, and a record was written before him of those who revered the Lord and those who keep in mind his name.

17 Maku hoki ratou, e ai ta Ihowa o nga mano, i te ra e mahia ai e ahau he taonga motuhake; ka manawapa ano ahau ki a ratou, ka pera me te tangata e manawapa ana ki tana tama e mahi ana ki a ia.

“They will be mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “my special possession on that day that I am preparing. I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

18 Ko reira ano koutou hoki ai, kite ai i te rereketanga o ta te tika, o ta te kino, o ta tera e mahi ana ki te Atua, o ta tera kahore e mahi ki a ia.

Once again my people will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between the person who serves God and the person who does not.”