Waiata 58
1 Ki te tino kaiwhakatangi. Aratakiti. He Mikitama. Na Rawiri. He korero puku ranei ta koutou i te pono? he tika ranei ta koutou whakarite, e nga tama a te tangata?
[For the Chief Musician. To the tune of "Do Not Destroy." A poem by David.] Do you rulers indeed speak righteousness? Do you judge blamelessly, you descendants of Adam?
2 He pono, e mahia ana e koutou te he i roto i te ngakau, e paunatia ana e koutou te tutu a o koutou ringa i runga i te whenua.
No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands in the earth.
3 He tangata ke te hunga hara no te kopu mai ano; whanau kau kua kotiti ke, kua korero teka.
The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 Ko to ratou paihana he rite ki to te nakahi, kei te neke turi e puru nei i tona taringa;
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; like a deaf viper that stops its ear,
5 E kore nei e whakarongo ki te reo o te kaiwhakawai, ahakoa tino matau ia ki te whakawai.
which doesn't listen to the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful the charmer may be.
6 Whatiia, e te Atua, o ratou niho i roto i o ratou mangai: kowhakia, e Ihowa, nga niho nunui o nga kuao raiona.
Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, YHWH.
7 Kia mimiti ratou, ano he wai e heke atu ana: ka whakatikaia ana pere, kia rite ki te mea kua poutoa.
Let them vanish as water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.
8 Kia memeha haere, a kia pahure, ano he ngata: kia rite ki te mea mate roto a te wahine, kahore nei i kite i te ra.
Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun.
9 E kore e tukua kia rongo a koutou kohua i nga tataramoa, ka kahakina ratou e ia i roto i te awhiowhio, te mea kaiota, te mea e wera ana.
Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.
10 Ka hari te tangata tika ua kite i te utu: ka horoia e ia ona waewae ki nga toto o te tangata hara.
The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;
11 A ka mea te tangata, Koia, ka whai utu te tangata tika: ina, he Atua ano tenei e whakawa ana i te whenua.
so that men shall say, "Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth."
