1There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is heavy upon men:
1¶ Tera tetahi he i kitea e ahau i raro i te ra, he mea taimaha ano ki runga ki nga tangata:
2a man to whom God giveth riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacketh nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but an alien eateth it; this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
2He tangata i homai nei e te Atua ki a ia he taonga, he rawa, he kororia, a kihai tona wairua i hapa ki tetahi mea i hiahia ai ia, otiia kihai i tukua e te Atua ki a ia te tikanga mo te kai i tetahi wahi o aua mea, engari kainga ana e te tangata k e. He horihori tenei, he mate kino.
3If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul be not filled with good, and moreover he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he:
3Ki te kotahi rau nga tamariki a tetahi tangata, a he maha nga tau e ora ai ia, maha atu nga ra o ona tau, a kahore tona wairua i ngata i te pai, kahore hoki ia e whai tanumanga; e mea ana ahau tera noa atu te pai o te materoto i a ia.
4for it cometh in vanity, and departeth in darkness, and the name thereof is covered with darkness;
4I haere mai hoki tera i runga i te horihori, a haere atu ana i runga i te pouri, a ka taupokina tona ingoa e te pouri.
5moreover it hath not seen the sun nor known it; this hath rest rather than the other:
5Kihai hoki ia i kite i te ra, kihai ano i mohio ki a ia; nui atu to tenei okioki i to tera;
6yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet enjoy no good, do not all go to one place?
6Ae, ahakoa kotahi mano topu nga tau i ora ai ia, heoi kahore he pai i kitea e ia. He teka ianei e haere ana te katoa ki te wahi kotahi?
7All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
7¶ Ko nga mea katoa i mauiui ai te tangata hei mea ano mo tona mangai, otiia e kore tona wairua e makona.
8For what advantage hath the wise more than the fool? [or] what hath the poor man, that knoweth how to walk before the living?
8He aha oti ta te tangata whakaaro nui e hira ake ana i ta te wairangi? He aha hoki ta te ware, e mohio nei ki te haere i te aroaro o te hunga ora?
9Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
9He pai ke te kite o nga kanohi i te kaipaowe o te hiahia: he horihori ano tenei, a he whai i te hau.
10Whatsoever hath been, the name thereof was given long ago; and it is know what man is; neither can he contend with him that is mightier than he.
10Ko nga mea katoa o mua kua oti noa ake te hua ki te ingoa, a e mohiotia ana ko te tangata: e kore hoki ia e tau hei totohe ki te mea e kaha atu ana i a ia.
11Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?
11¶ Ka maha nei nga mea hei whakanui i te horihori, he aha te painga ki te tangata?
12For who knoweth what is good for man in [his] life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
12Ko wai hoki e mohio ana he aha te mea pai ki te tangata i a ia nei i te ora, i nga ra katoa o tona oranga horihori, e rite nei ki te atarangi i a ia e mahi nei? Ko wai hoki hei whakaatu ki te tangata ko te aha e puta mai i muri i a ia i raro i t e ra?