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.

For the Chief Musician; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David. Help, Yahweh; for the godly man ceases. For the faithful fail from among the children of men.

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

Everyone lies to his neighbor. They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart.

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

May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts,

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

who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over 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 oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says Yahweh; “I will set him in safety from those who malign 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.

Yahweh’s words are flawless words, as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times.

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

You will keep them, Yahweh. You will preserve them from this generation forever.

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 wicked walk on every side, when what is vile is exalted among the sons of men.