1 K o te poropititanga i kitea e Hapakuku poropiti.

The burden or oracle (the thing to be lifted up) which Habakkuk the prophet saw.

2 K ia pehea te roa, e Ihowa, o taku tangi, a kahore koe e rongo? e karanga atu ana ahau ki a koe mo te tutu, a kahore koe e whakaora.

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help and You will not hear? Or cry out to You of violence and You will not save?

3 H e aha koe i whakakite mai ai i te kino ki ahau? he aha koe i titiro ai ki te pakeketanga? he pahua hoki, he tutu tenei kei toku aroaro, na he totohe tenei, a kei te oho ake he ngangare.

Why do You show me iniquity and wrong, and Yourself look upon or cause me to see perverseness and trouble? For destruction and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention arises.

4 N a reira kahakore noa iho te ture, kore tonu ake e puta te whakawa; e karapotia ana hoki te tika e te kino: na reira, te putanga o te whakawa, he parori ke.

Therefore the law is slackened and justice and a righteous sentence never go forth, for the wicked surrounds the righteous; therefore justice goes forth perverted.

5 T itiro atu ki nga tauiwi, matakitaki, kia nui te miharo; no te mea kei te mahi ahau i tetahi mahi i o koutou ra, he mea e kore e whakaponohia, ki te korerotia atu.

Look around among the nations and see! And be astonished! Astounded! For I am putting into effect a work in your days that you would not believe it if it were told you.

6 N o te mea tenei ka ara i ahau nga Karari, taua iwi nanakia ra, taua iwi hikaka tonu ra, e haerea nei e ratou te whanuitanga o te whenua, kia riro ai i a ratou nga kainga ehara nei i a ratou.

For behold, I am rousing up the Chaldeans, that bitter and impetuous nation who march through the breadth of the earth to take possession of dwelling places that do not belong to them.

7 H e hanga whakamataku ratou, he mea wehi: i ahu tonu ake i a ratou ta ratou na whakawa, me to ratou na rangatiratanga.

are terrible and dreadful; their justice and dignity proceed from themselves.

8 H e tere atu a ratou hoiho i te reparo, he nanakia atu i te wuruhi o te ahiahi: ka tohatoha noa atu o ratou kaieke hoiho: ae ra, ka haere mai ano a ratou kaieke hoiho i tawhiti; ko ta ratou rere rite tonu ki ta te ekara e hohoro ana ki te kai.

Their horses also are swifter than leopards and are fiercer than the evening wolves, and their horsemen spread themselves and press on proudly; yes, their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle that hastens to devour.

9 K o ratou katoa he mahi nanakia i haere mai ai; ko o ratou kanohi whakamau tonu me te mea ko te hau marangai, me te mea he kirikiri nga whakarau e aohia ana e ratou.

They all come for violence; their faces turn eagerly forward, and they gather prisoners together like sand.

10 A e ra, e taunu ana ia ki nga kingi, a hei kata mana nga rangatira: ka kata ia ki nga pa taiepa katoa; ka opehia ake hoki he puehu e ia, a riro tonu i a ia.

They scoff at kings, and rulers are a derision to them; they ridicule every stronghold, for they heap up dust and take it.

11 K atahi ia ka wheoro ake ano he hau, ka whiti atu, a ka nahi i te he: ara a ia, te tangata ko tona kaha nei tona atua.

Then they sweep by like a wind and pass on, and they load themselves with guilt, whose own power is their god.

12 H e tekia ianei nonamata riro koe, e Ihowa, e toku Atua, e toku Mea Tapu? e kore matou e mate. Kua waiho ia e koe, e Ihowa, hei whakawa; kua whakapumautia ia e koe, e te Kamaka, hei whiu.

Are not You from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed to execute judgment, and You, O Rock, have established him for chastisement and correction.

13 H e kanohi ma rawa ou, e kore koe e titiro ki te kino, e kore ano e ahei kia matakitaki koe ki te kino: he aha koe i matakitaki ai ki te hunga tinihanga, i whakarongo puku ai i te mea ka horomia e te tangata kino te tangata e tika rawa ana i a ia?

You are of purer eyes than to behold evil and can not look upon injustice. Why then do You look upon the plunderer? Why are you silent when the wicked one destroys him who is more righteous than is?

14 H e aha nga tangata i meinga ai e koe kia rite ki nga ika o te moana, ki nga mea ngokingoki kahore nei o ratou kaiwhakahaere tikanga?

Why do You make men like the fish of the sea, like reptiles and creeping things that have no ruler ?

15 K o ratou katoa tangohia ake e ia ki te matau, ka mau i a ia ki roto ki tana kupenga, a kokoa ana ki tana rou; na reira koa ana ia, whakamanamana ana.

brings all of them up with his hook; he catches and drags them out with his net, he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is in high spirits.

16 K oia ia i whakahere ai ki tana kupenga, i tahu whakakakara ai ki tana rou; no te mea na aua mea i whai ngako ai tona wahi, i momona ai tana kai.

Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, because from them he lives luxuriously and his food is plentiful and rich.

17 H e mea ano ranei tera e whakawateatia ai e ia tana kupenga, a kore iho e tohungia nga iwi e patua tonutia ana?

Shall he therefore continue to empty his net and mercilessly go on slaying the nations forever?