1 I naianei ia e kataina mai ana ahau e te hunga tamariki rawa i ahau, e te hunga kihai nei ahau i whakaae kia uru o ratou matua ki roto ki nga kuri o taku kahui.

But now they who are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.

2 A e ra, hei aha maku te kaha o o ratou ringa? He hanga pirau nei hoki to ratou koroheketanga.

Yes, how could the strength of their hands profit me? They were men whose ripe age and vigor had perished.

3 T upuhi ana ratou i te rawakore, i te hemokai; e ngau ana ratou i te oneone pakapaka, i roto i te pouritanga o te tuhea, o te ururua.

They are gaunt with want and famine; they gnaw the dry and barren ground or flee into the wilderness, into the gloom of wasteness and desolation.

4 E whawhaki ana ratou i nga marou i roto o nga rakau ririki; a ko nga pakiaka hunipa hei kai ma ratou.

They pluck saltwort or mallows among the bushes, and roots of the broom for their food or to warm them.

5 H e mea pei atu ratou i roto i nga tangata; e karangarangatia ana ratou ano he tahae.

They are driven from among men, who shout after them as after a thief.

6 M e noho rawa atu ratou i nga kapiti o nga awaawa, i nga waro o te whenua, i nga kamaka.

They must dwell in the clefts of frightful valleys (gullies made by torrents) and in holes of the earth and of the rocks.

7 T angi a kaihe ana ratou i roto i nga rakau ririki; huihuia ana ratou ki raro i nga ongaonga.

Among the bushes they bray and howl; beneath the prickly scrub they fling themselves and huddle together.

8 H e tamariki ratou na nga kuware, ae ra, he tamariki na te hunga ingoakore; he hunga i patua atu i runga i te whenua.

Sons of the worthless and nameless, they have been scourged and crushed out of the land.

9 I naianei ia kua waiho ahau hei waiata ma ratou, ae, hei whakatauki ma ratou.

And now I have become their song; yes, I am a byword to them.

10 E whakarihariha mai ana ratou ki ahau, e neke rawa atu ana i ahau, a kahore e kaiponuhia e ratou te huware ki toku mata.

They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, and do not refrain from spitting in my face or at the sight of me.

11 K ua oti hoki tana aho te wewete e ia, a e whakatupuria kinotia ana ahau e ia, a kua tukua e ratou te paraire i toku aroaro.

For God has loosed my bowstring and afflicted and humbled me; they have cast off the bridle before me.

12 I te taha ki matau ka ara te marea; taia ana e ratou oku waewae, a akina ana nga ara o a ratou whakangaromanga ki ahau.

On my right hand rises the rabble brood; they jostle me and push away my feet, and they cast up against me their ways of destruction.

13 E taka kino ana ratou i toku ara, e whakatupu ana i te he moku, a kahore he hoa mahi mo ratou.

They break up and clutter my path; they urge on my calamity, even though they have no helper.

14 R ite tonu ki te wai nui e pakaru mai ana to ratou haerenga mai: i taua whakangaromanga nei, huri mai ana ratou ki runga ki ahau:

As through a wide breach they come in; amid the crash they roll themselves upon me.

15 K ua tahuri mai nga whakawehi ki ahau, e aru ana ratou i toku whakaaro rangatira ano he hau; ko te whakahauora moku, pahemo ke ana ano he kapua.

Terrors are turned upon me; my honor and reputation they chase away like the wind, and my welfare has passed away as a cloud.

16 N a inaianei kua maringi toku wairua i roto i ahau: mau pu ahau i nga ra o te tangi.

And now my life is poured out within me; the days of affliction have gripped me.

17 I te po e werohia ana oku wheua i roto i ahau; kahore hoki he okiokinga o nga mamae e ngau nei i ahau.

My bones are pierced in the night season, and the pains that gnaw me take no rest.

18 H e kaha nui no toku mate i ahua ke ai toku kakahu; e awhi nei i ahau, e penei ana me te whiri o toku koti.

By the great force my garment is disguised and disfigured; it binds me about like the collar of my coat.

19 K ua maka ahau e ia ki te paru, kua rite ahau ki te puehu, ki te pungarehu.

has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes.

20 E tangi ana ahau ki a koe, heoi kahore koe e whakao mai ki ahau; e tu ana, heoi ka titiro kau mai koe ki ahau.

I cry to You, and You do not answer me; I stand up, but You gaze at me.

21 K ua huri ke, kua kino tau mahi ki ahau: ko te kaha o tou ringa kei te tukino i ahau.

You have become harsh and cruel to me; with the might of Your hand You persecute me.

22 K ua hapainga ake ahau e koe ki te hau, a meinga ana tera e koe hei hoiho moku; a whakamotitia iho ahau e koe i roto i te tupuhi.

You lift me up on the wind; You cause me to ride upon it, and You toss me about in the tempest.

23 E mohio ana hoki ahau tera ahau e kawea e koe ki te mate, ki te whare hoki i whakaritea mo te hunga ora katoa.

For I know that You will bring me to death and to the house appointed for all the living.

24 E kore ano ia tona ringa e totoro iho ki te urupa; ahakoa hei mate mona ka mea ia ki te karanga, he whakaaro ki enei mea.

However, does not one falling in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand? Or in his calamity will he not therefore cry for help?

25 K ihai ianei ahau i tangi ki te tangata he mate nei tona? kihai ranei toku wairua i pouri ki te rawakore?

Did not I weep for him who was in trouble? Was not my heart grieved for the poor and needy?

26 I ahau i tatari ai ki te pai, heoi kua tae mai te kino; tumanako atu ana ahau ki te marama, heoi kua tae mai te pouri.

But when I looked for good, then evil came to me; and when I waited for light, there came darkness.

27 K o oku whekau, me te mea e koropupu ana, te ata takoto; haukotia mai ana ahau e nga ra o te tangi.

My heart is troubled and does not rest; days of affliction come to meet me.

28 E haereere pouri ana ahau, kahore he ra; ko taku whakatikanga ake i roto i te whakaminenga, ka karanga awhina.

I go about blackened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the congregation and cry for help.

29 H ei teina ahau ki nga tarakona, hei hoa mo nga ruru.

I am a brother to jackals, and a companion to ostriches.

30 K o toku kiri mangu tonu, e ngahoro ana i ahau, kaia ana oku wheua i te wera.

My skin falls from me in blackened flakes, and my bones are burned with heat.

31 N o reira i tahuri ke ai taku hapa ki te tangi, me taku okana ki te reo o te hunga e uhunga ana.

Therefore my lyre is turned to mourning, and my pipe into the voice of those who weep.