Maika 3

1 Pea ne u pehē, “ʻOku ou kole, fanongo ʻakimoutolu ʻae kau mātuʻa ʻa Sēkope, pea mo kimoutolu ʻae houʻeiki ʻoe fale ʻo ʻIsileli; ʻikai ʻoku ngali mo kimoutolu ke ʻilo ʻae fakamaau?

And I said, Give ear, now, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the people of Israel: is it not for you to have knowledge of what is right?

2 ‌ʻAkimoutolu ʻoku fehiʻa ki he lelei, kae manako ki he kovi; ʻaia ʻoku fohi honau kili meiate kinautolu, pea mo honau kakano mei honau ngaahi hui.

You who are haters of good and lovers of evil, pulling off their skin from them and their flesh from their bones;

3 ‌ʻAkimoutolu ʻoku kai ʻae kakano ʻo hoku kakai foki, pea fohi ʻa honau kili meiate kinautolu; pea ʻoku nau fesiʻi honau ngaahi hui, mo tuʻutuʻu fakaikiiki ʻakinautolu, ʻo hangē ka teu ki he kulo, pea hangē ko e kakano ʻi he loto kulo.

Like meat they take the flesh of my people for their food, skinning them and crushing their bones, yes, cutting them up as if for the pot, like flesh inside the cooking-pot.

4 Pea te nau toki tangi kia Sihova, ka ʻe ʻikai te ne tokangaʻi kinautolu: ko e moʻoni ʻe fakafufū ʻe ia ʻa hono fofonga meiate kinautolu ʻi he kuonga ko ia, ʻo hangē ko ʻenau ngāue kovi ʻi heʻenau ngaahi faianga.”

Then they will be crying to the Lord for help, but he will not give them an answer: yes, he will keep his face veiled from them at that time, because their acts have been evil.

5 ʻOku pehē ʻe Sihova ki he kau palōfita, ʻaia ʻoku fakahēʻi ʻa hoku kakai; ʻakinautolu ʻoku uʻu ʻaki honau nifo, pea kalanga, “Fiemālie;” pea ko ia ʻoku ʻikai ke ai ki honau ngutu, ʻio, ʻoku nau te u tau kiate ia:

This is what the Lord has said about the prophets by whom my people have been turned from the right way; who, biting with their teeth, say, Peace; and if anyone puts nothing in their mouths they make ready for war against him.

6 “Ko ia ʻe ʻiate kimoutolu ʻae pō, ke ʻoua naʻa mou maʻu ha meʻa hā mai; pea ʻe poʻuli kiate kimoutolu ke ʻoua naʻa mou kikite; pea ʻe tō ʻae laʻā ki he kau palōfita, pea ʻe poʻuli ʻae ʻaho kiate kinautolu.

For this cause it will be night for you, without a vision; and it will be dark for you, without knowledge of the future; the sun will go down over the prophets, and the day will be black over them.

7 Pea ʻe toki mā ʻae kau kikite, pea puputuʻu ʻae kau fakaʻilo meʻa: ʻio, ko e moʻoni, te nau ʻufiʻufi kotoa pē honau loungutu; he ʻoku ʻikai ha tali mei he ʻOtua.

And the seers will be shamed, and the readers of the future will be at a loss, all of them covering their lips; for there is no answer from God.

8 Ka ko e moʻoni ʻoku ou pito ʻi he mālohi mei he Laumālie ʻo Sihova, pea mo e fakamaau, mo e faʻa fai, ke fakahā kia Sēkope ʻene hia, pea ki ʻIsileli ʻa ʻene angahala.

But I truly am full of the spirit of the Lord, with power of judging and with strength to make clear to Jacob his wrongdoing and to Israel his sin.

9 ‌ʻOku ou kole, fanongo ki ai, ʻakimoutolu ʻae kau mātuʻa ʻi he fale ʻo Sēkope, mo e houʻeiki ʻoe fale ʻo ʻIsileli, ʻaia ʻoku fehiʻa ki he fakamaau, mo liliu ʻae meʻa totonu kotoa pē.

Then give ear to this, you heads of the children of Jacob, you rulers of the children of Israel, hating what is right, twisting what is straight.

10 ‌ʻOku nau langa ʻa Saione ʻaki ʻae toto, mo Selūsalema ʻi he angahala.

They are building up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with evil-doing.

11 Ko e kau mātuʻa ʻi ai ʻoku fakamaau ke maʻu ʻae foaki, pea ko e kau taulaʻeiki ʻo ia ʻoku ako ke maʻu totongi, pea ʻoku kikite ʻae kau palōfita ke maʻu paʻanga; ka ʻoku nau falala kia Sihova, mo pehē, “ʻIkai ʻoku ʻiate kitautolu ʻa Sihova? ʻE ʻikai ha kovi ʻe hoko kiate kitautolu.”

Its heads take rewards for judging, and the priests take payment for teaching, and the prophets get silver for reading the future: but still, supporting themselves on the Lord, they say, Is not the Lord among us? no evil will overtake us.

12 Ko ia, koeʻuhi ko kimoutolu, ʻe keli ʻa Saione ʻo hangē ko e ngoue, pea ʻe hoko ʻa Selūsalema ko e ngaahi tuʻunga, pea mo e moʻunga ʻoe fale, ke hangē ko e ngaahi potu māʻolunga ʻoe vao ʻakau.

For this reason, Zion will be ploughed like a field because of you, and Jerusalem will become a mass of broken walls, and the mountain of the house like a high place in the woods.