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?
When you mighty men speak, you never say what is right; you never decide things about people justly [RHQ]!
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 inner beings you think only about doing what is wrong, and you commit violent crimes in this land [of Israel].
3 He tangata ke te hunga hara no te kopu mai ano; whanau kau kua kotiti ke, kua korero teka.
Wicked people do wrong things and tell lies from the time that they are born [DOU].
4 Ko to ratou paihana he rite ki to te nakahi, kei te neke turi e puru nei i tona taringa;
God, show in the heavens how great you are! And show your glory to people all over the earth! What wicked people say [injures people like] the venom of a snake [MET]; They refuse to listen to good advice, [as though they were] cobras that were deaf [MET]!
5 E kore nei e whakarongo ki te reo o te kaiwhakawai, ahakoa tino matau ia ki te whakawai.
As a result, [like a snake that does not respond when] a charmer plays a flute or when someone sings magic songs, [they do not pay attention when others rebuke them].
6 Whatiia, e te Atua, o ratou niho i roto i o ratou mangai: kowhakia, e Ihowa, nga niho nunui o nga kuao raiona.
God, as for these enemies who [want to attack me like] young lions, break their teeth!
7 Kia mimiti ratou, ano he wai e heke atu ana: ka whakatikaia ana pere, kia rite ki te mea kua poutoa.
Cause them to disappear like water disappears [in dry ground]! Cause the arrows that they shoot to have no (heads/sharp points)!
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.
Cause them to become like snails that disappear in the slime; cause them to be like babies that are born dead!
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.
Get rid of them [as fast as] thornbushes are blown away [after they are cut] (OR, [as fast as] a fire heats a pot over burning thorns).
10 Ka hari te tangata tika ua kite i te utu: ka horoia e ia ona waewae ki nga toto o te tangata hara.
Righteous people will rejoice when they see wicked people being punished as they deserve; they will wash their feet in the blood of wicked people.
11 A ka mea te tangata, Koia, ka whai utu te tangata tika: ina, he Atua ano tenei e whakawa ana i te whenua.
[Then] people will say, “It is true that there is a reward for righteous people; and there is indeed a God who judges people justly here on the earth!”
