¹When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Consider diligently him that is before thee;

¹¶ Ki te noho tahi korua ko te rangatira ki te kai, ata whakaaroa marietia tera i tou aroaro:

²And put a knife to thy throat, If thou be a man given to appetite.

²Whakapakia he maripi ki tou korokoro, ki te mea he tangata kakai koe.

³Be not desirous of his dainties; Seeing they are deceitful food.

³Kaua e hiahia ki ana mea reka: he kai tinihanga hoki era.

⁴Weary not thyself to be rich; Cease from thine own wisdom.

⁴¶ Kaua e taruke ki te mea taonga: kati tau mea ki tou matauranga.

⁵Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For [riches] certainly make themselves wings, Like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.

⁵E anga mai ranei ou kanohi ki taua mea korekore nei? He pono hoki ka whai parirau te taonga, koia ano kei te ekara, rere ana whaka te rangi.

⁶Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, Neither desire thou his dainties:

⁶¶ Kaua e kainga te kai a te tangata kanohi kino, kei minamina hoki koe ki ana mea reka.

⁷For as he thinketh within himself, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; But his heart is not with thee.

⁷Ko tana hoki e mea ai i roto i a ia, pera tonu ia: E kai, e inu; koia tana kupu ki a koe; kahore ia ona ngakau ki a koe.

⁸The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, And lose thy sweet words.

⁸Ko te kongakonga i kainga e koe, ka ruakina e koe, ka maumauria ano hoki au kupu reka.

⁹Speak not in the hearing of a fool; For he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

⁹¶ Kaua e korero ki nga taringa o te kuware; ka whakahawea hoki ia ki te whakaaro nui o au kupu.

¹⁰Remove not the ancient landmark; And enter not into the fields of the fatherless:

¹⁰¶ Kei whakanekehia e koe te rohe tawhito; kei haere koe ki nga mara a te pani:

¹¹For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their cause against thee.

¹¹No te mea he kaha to ratou kaiwhakaora; ka tohea e ia ta ratou tohe ki a koe.

¹²Apply thy heart unto instruction, And thine ears to the words of knowledge.

¹²¶ Anga atu tou ngakau ki te ako, me ou taringa ki nga kupu o te matauranga.

¹³Withhold not correction from the child; [For] if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.

¹³Kaua e tohungia te whiu ki te tamaiti: ki te patua hoki ia e koe ki te rakau, e kore ia e mate.

¹⁴Thou shalt beat him with the rod, And shalt deliver his soul from Sheol.

¹⁴Tatatia ia e koe ki te rakau, a ka whakaorangia e koe tona wairua i te reinga.

¹⁵My son, if thy heart be wise, My heart will be glad, even mine:

¹⁵E taku tama, ki te whakaaro nui tou ngakau, ka koa hoki toku ngakau, ae ra, toku nei ano:

¹⁶Yea, my heart will rejoice, When thy lips speak right things.

¹⁶Ae ra, ka hari oku whatumanawa, ina korero ou ngutu i nga mea tika.

¹⁷Let not thy heart envy sinners; But [be thou] in the fear of Jehovah all the day long:

¹⁷¶ Kei hae tou ngakau ki te hunga hara; engari kia wehi koe ki a Ihowa, a pau noa te ra.

¹⁸For surely there is a reward; And thy hope shall not be cut off.

¹⁸He pono hoki tera ano he whakautu; e kore ano hoki tau i tumanako ai e hatepea atu.

¹⁹Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And guide thy heart in the way.

¹⁹¶ Whakarongo ra, e taku tama, kia whai whakaaro hoki koe, a whakatikaia tou ngakau i te ara.

²⁰Be not among winebibbers, Among gluttonous eaters of flesh:

²⁰Kei uru ki te hunga kakai waina; ki te hunga pukukai kikokiko:

²¹For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; And drowsiness will clothe [a man] with rags.

²¹No te mea ka tutuki tahi te tangata inu raua ko te tangata kakai ki te rawakore; he tawhetawhe hoki te kakahu a te momoe mo te tangata.

²²Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she is old.

²²Whakarongo ki tou papa nana koe; kaua hoki e whakahawea ki tou whaea ina ruruhi ia.

²³Buy the truth, and sell it not; [Yea], wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

²³Hokona te pono, kaua hoki e whakawhitiwhitia; ae ra, te whakaaro nui, te ako hoki, me te matauranga.

²⁴The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; And he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him.

²⁴Nui atu hoki te koa o te papa o te tangata tika; a, ko te tangata e whanau he tama whakaaro nui mana, ka hari ia ki a ia.

²⁵Let thy father and thy mother be glad, And let her that bare thee rejoice.

²⁵Kia hari tou papa raua ko tou whaea, ina, kia koa te wahine i whanau ai koe.

²⁶My son, give me thy heart; And let thine eyes delight in my ways.

²⁶E taku tama, homai tou ngakau ki ahau, kia manako ano hoki ou kanohi ki aku ara.

²⁷For a harlot is a deep ditch; And a foreign woman is a narrow pit.

²⁷No te mea he rua hohonu te wahine kairau; he poka kuiti te wahine ke.

²⁸Yea, she lieth in wait as a robber, And increaseth the treacherous among men.

²⁸Ae ra, ka whanga ia ano he kaipahua, a ka whakatokomahatia e ia nga tangata poka ke.

²⁹Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? Who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?

²⁹¶ Ko wai e aue? Ko wai e tangi? Ko wai e totohe? Ko wai e ngangautia? Ko wai e maru, he mea takekore? Ko wai e whero tonu ona kanohi?

³⁰They that tarry long at the wine; They that go to seek out mixed wine.

³⁰Ko te hunga e noho roa ana ki te waina; ko te hunga e haere ana ki te rapu i te waina whakaranu.

³¹Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, When it sparkleth in the cup, When it goeth down smoothly:

³¹Kaua e titiro ki te waina i te mea e whero ana, ina puta tona kara i roto i te kapu, ina mania tona heke.

³²At the last it biteth like a serpent, And stingeth like an adder.

³²Tona tukunga iho ano he nakahi e ngau ana, koia ano kei te wero a te neke.

³³Thine eyes shall behold strange things, And thy heart shall utter perverse things.

³³E kite hoki ou kanohi i nga mea rereke, a ka puta he kupu rereke i tou ngakau.

³⁴Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, Or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.

³⁴Ae ra, ka rite koe ki te tangata e takoto ana i waenga moana, ki te tangata ranei e takoto ana i te tihi o te rewa.

³⁵They have stricken me, [shalt thou say], and I was not hurt; They have beaten me, and I felt it not: When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

³⁵A ka mea koe, Patua ana ahau e ratou, a kihai ahau i mamae; tatatia ana ahau e ratou, a kihai ahau i mohio: a hea ahau ara ake ai? Ka rapua ano e ahau.