Waiata 12

1 Ki te tino kaiwhakatangi. Heminiti. He himene na Rawiri. Whakaorangia, e Ihowa; ka mutu hoki nga tangata tapu; ka taweke atu te hunga pono i roto i nga tama a te tangata.

Unto the end. For the octave. A Psalm of David. Save me, O Lord, because holiness has passed away, because truths have been diminished, before the sons of men.

2 E korero teka ana ratou tetahi ki tetahi; he ngutu patipati, he ngakau rua o ratou ina korero.

They have been speaking emptiness, each one to his neighbor; they have been speaking with deceitful lips and a duplicitous heart.

3 Ka hatepea e Ihowa nga ngutu patipati katoa, me te arero e korero whakapehapeha ana;

May the Lord scatter all deceitful lips, along with the tongue that speaks malice.

4 E mea nei, Ma o tatou arero tatou ka kake ai; no tatou ano o tatou ngutu, ko wai hei ariki mo tatou?

They have said: “We will magnify our tongue; our lips belong to us. What is Lord to us?”

5 Mo te tukinotanga i te hunga iti, mo te aue a te hunga rawakore, ka whakatika ahau aianei, e ai ta Ihowa, Ka whakanohoia ia e ahau ki te wahi e ora ai ia i nga tangata e whakatupereru ana ki a ia.

Because of the misery of the destitute and the groaning of the poor, now I will arise, says the Lord. I will place him in safety. I will act faithfully toward him.

6 He kupu parakore nga kupu a Ihowa: he hiriwa i whakakorea nei te para i roto i te oumu whenua, he mea tuku whitu.

The eloquence of the Lord is pure eloquence, silver tested by fire, purged from the earth, refined seven times.

7 Ka tiakina ratou e koe, e Ihowa, ka whakaorangia ratou i tenei whakatupuranga ake tonu atu.

You, O Lord, will preserve us, and you will guard us from this generation into eternity.

8 E haereere noa ana nga tangata kino i tetahi taha, i tetahi taha, i te mea e whakateiteitia ana te kino i roto i nga tama a te tangata.

The impious wander aimlessly. According to your loftiness, you have multiplied the sons of men.