UHabakhukhi 1
1 Umthwalo uHabhakhukhi umprofethi awubonayo.
The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
2 Nkosi, ngizakhala kuze kube nini, wena ungezwa! Ngimemeza kuwe ngodlakela, wena ungasindisi!
Jehovah, how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee, Violence! and thou dost not save.
3 Ungitshengiselani isiphambeko, ukhangele inkathazo? Ngoba incithakalo lodlakela kuphambi kwami, njalo kulenkani, kuphakame ingxabano.
Why dost thou cause me to see iniquity, and lookest thou upon grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up.
4 Ngakho-ke umlayo ubuthakathaka, lesahlulelo kasiphumi lakanye; ngoba omubi uhanqa olungileyo; ngakho-ke isahlulelo esigobileyo siyaphuma.
Therefore the law is powerless, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked encompasseth the righteous; therefore judgment goeth forth perverted.
5 Bonani phakathi kwabezizwe, likhangele, mangalani limangale, ngoba ngizakwenza umsebenzi ezinsukwini zenu, elingayikuwukholwa, lanxa ulandiswa.
See ye among the nations, and behold, and wonder marvellously; for [I] work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be declared [to you].
6 Ngoba, khangelani, ngivusa amaKhaladiya, isizwe esilesihluku lesiphangisayo, esizahamba ebubanzini bomhlaba, ukudla ilifa lendawo zokuhlala ezingeyisizo ezaso.
For behold, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and impetuous nation, which marcheth through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs.
7 Siyesabeka, siyethusa; isahlulelo saso lokuphakama kwaso kuzaphuma kuso.
They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8 Amabhiza aso lawo alejubane kulezingwe, njalo abukhali kulezimpisi zakusihlwa; labagadi bamabhiza baso bazasabalala, labagadi bamabhiza baso bazavela khatshana; bazandiza njengokhozi oluphangisela ukudla.
And their horses are swifter than the leopards, and are more agile than the evening wolves; and their horsemen prance proudly, and their horsemen come from afar: they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour.
9 Bonke bazafikela udlakela; ukubuthana kobuso babo kungasempumalanga; babuthe abathunjiweyo njengetshebetshebe.
They come all of them for violence: the crowd of their faces is forwards, and they gather captives as the sand.
10 Bona-ke bazaklolodela amakhosi, lababusi bazakuba yinhlekisa kubo; bona bazahleka usulu ngayo yonke inqaba, ngoba bazabuthelela inhlabathi, bayithumbe.
Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a scorn unto him; he derideth every stronghold: for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it.
11 Besesikhukhula njengomoya, sedlule, siphambeke, sibalela la amandla aso kunkulunkulu waso.
Then will his mind change, and he will pass on, and become guilty: this his power is become his god.
12 Kawusukeli ephakadeni yini, Nkosi Nkulunkulu wami, oNgcwele wami? Kasiyikufa. Wena, Nkosi, ubamisele isahlulelo; lawe Dwala, ubamisele isijeziso.
— Art thou not from everlasting, Jehovah my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. Jehovah, thou hast ordained him for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast appointed him for correction.
13 Wena uhlambuluke kakhulu emehlweni kulokuthi ubone okubi, ongelakukhangela inkathazo. Ubakhangelelani abakhohlisayo, uthula lapho omubi eginya olungileyo kulaye?
[Thou art] of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on mischief: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, [and] keepest silence when the wicked swalloweth up a [man] more righteous than he?
14 Usenza abantu babe njengenhlanzi zolwandle, njengezinto ezihahabayo, ezingelambusi phezu kwazo?
And thou makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them.
15 Bayabakhupha bonke ngengwegwe, bababambe embuleni labo, bababuthe embuleni labo; ngakho-ke bayathokoza bajabule.
He taketh up all of them with the hook, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them into his drag; therefore he rejoiceth and is glad:
16 Ngakho-ke bayalihlabela imbule labo, batshisele imbule labo lokugola impepha; ngoba ngakho isabelo sabo sinonile, lokudla kwabo kulamafutha.
therefore he sacrificeth unto his net, and burneth incense unto his drag; for by them his portion is become fat, and his meat dainty.
17 Ngakho-ke bayathulula imbule labo yini, bangayekeli yini ukubulala izizwe njalonjalo?
Shall he therefore empty his net, and not spare to slay the nations continually?
