1 I muri i tenei ka puaki te mangai o Hopa, a ka kanga e ia tona ra.

Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

2 N a ka oho a Hopa, ka mea,

And Job said,

3 K ia ngaro te ra i whanau ai ahau, te po i korerotia ai, He tamaroa kei roto i te kopu.

“ Let the day perish on which I was to be born, And the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’

4 W aiho taua ra mo te pouri; kaua e tirohia iho e te Atua i runga; kaua hoki e whitingia e te marama.

“May that day be darkness; Let not God above care for it, Nor light shine on it.

5 K ia poke ia i te pouri, i te atarangi hoki o te mate; kia tauria iho e te kapua; kia whakawehia ano hoki e te whakapouritanga o te ra.

“Let darkness and black gloom claim it; Let a cloud settle on it; Let the blackness of the day terrify it.

6 N a ko taua po, kia mau pu i te pouri kerekere: kei honoa ki nga ra o te tau; kei huihuia atu ina taua nga marama.

“ As for that night, let darkness seize it; Let it not rejoice among the days of the year; Let it not come into the number of the months.

7 N ana, kia mokemoke taua po, kaua te reo koa e uru ki roto.

“Behold, let that night be barren; Let no joyful shout enter it.

8 K ia kanga hoki e te hunga kanga i te ra, e te hunga mohio ki te whakaara rewiatana.

“Let those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.

9 K ia pouri nga whetu o tona kakarauritanga; kia tatari ki te marama, a kahore noa iho; kei kite hoki i te takiritanga ata.

“Let the stars of its twilight be darkened; Let it wait for light but have none, And let it not see the breaking dawn;

10 M ona kihai i tutaki i nga tatau o te kopu o toku whaea, kihai i huna i te mauiui kei kitea e ahau.

Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb, Or hide trouble from my eyes.

11 H e aha ahau te mate ai i te kopu? He aha te hemo ai i toku putanga mai i te kopu?

“ Why did I not die at birth, Come forth from the womb and expire?

12 H e aha i rite wawe ai nga turi moku, me nga u hei ngote maku?

“Why did the knees receive me, And why the breasts, that I should suck?

13 M e i pena, kua ata takoto ahau, te ai he whakaohooho, moe ana ahau: katahi ahau ka whai okiokinga,

“For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,

14 I roto i nga kingi, i nga kaiwhakatakoto whakaaro o te whenua i hanga nei i nga wahi mokemoke mo ratou,

With kings and with counselors of the earth, Who rebuilt ruins for themselves;

15 I roto ranei i nga rangatira whai koura, o ratou nei whare ki tonu i te hiriwa:

Or with princes who had gold, Who were filling their houses with silver.

16 K ua kahore noa iho ranei, kua pera me te materoto e ngaro nei, me nga kohungahunga kahore nei e kite i te marama.

“Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be, As infants that never saw light.

17 M utu ake i reira te whakararuraru a te hunga kino; okioki ana i reira te hunga kua mauiui nga uaua.

“There the wicked cease from raging, And there the weary are at rest.

18 A ta noho ana nga herehere i reira, te rongo i te reo o te kaitukino.

“The prisoners are at ease together; They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.

19 K ei reira te iti, te rahi, kahore hoki he rangatira o te pononga.

“The small and the great are there, And the slave is free from his master.

20 H e aha te marama i homai ai ki te tangata kei roto nei i te mate? te ora ki te tangata kua kawa te wairua?

“Why is light given to him who suffers, And life to the bitter of soul,

21 E koingo nei ki te mate, heoi kahore noa iho; e keri ana kia taea ia, nui atu i te keri i nga taonga huna.

Who long for death, but there is none, And dig for it more than for hidden treasures,

22 H ari pu ratou, koa ana, ina kitea te urupa.

Who rejoice greatly, And exult when they find the grave?

23 H e aha ano te marama i homai ai ki te tangata kua huna nei tona ara, kua oti nei te tutakitaki mai e te Atua?

“ Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in?

24 K iano hoki ahau i kai, kua tae mai taku mapu: ano he wai oku hamama e ringihia ana.

“For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, And my cries pour out like water.

25 N o te mea kua tae mai ki ahau te mea whakawehi e wehi nei ahau; ko taku e pawera nei kua pa ki ahau.

“For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread befalls me.

26 K ahore oku humarie, kahore oku ata noho, ehara i te mea e okioki ana; na kua puta te raruraru.

“I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”