¹My son, attend unto my wisdom; Incline thine ear to my understanding:

¹¶ E taku tama, tahuri ki oki whakaaro nui, kia anga tou taringa ki toku matauranga:

²That thou mayest preserve discretion, And that thy lips may keep knowledge.

²Kia u ai koe ki te ngarahu pai, kia mau ai te matauranga i ou ngutu.

³For the lips of a strange woman drop honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil:

³Ko nga ngutu hoki o te wahine ke, kei te maturuturunga iho o te honikoma, ngawari iho tona mangai i te hinu.

⁴But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁴He kawa rawa hoki tona mutunga i te taru kawa; he koi, ano he hoari matarua.

⁵Her feet go down to death; Her steps take hold on Sheol;

⁵Ko ona waewae e heke ana ki te mate, mau pu te reinga i ona takahanga;

⁶So that she findeth not the level path of life: Her ways are unstable, [and] she knoweth [it] not.

⁶Heoi kahore i kitea e ia te ara totika ki te ora: he kotiti ke ona ara, a kahore ia i te matau.

⁷Now therefore, [my] sons, hearken unto me, And depart not from the words of my mouth.

⁷Na reira, e aku tamariki, whakarongo mai ki ahau, kei mahue hoki nga kupu a toku mangai.

⁸Remove thy way far from her, And come not nigh the door of her house;

⁸Kia matara tou ara i a ia, kaua hoki e tata ki te tatau o tona whare;

⁹Lest thou give thine honor unto others, And thy years unto the cruel;

⁹Kei hoatu tou honore ki nga tangata ke, ou tau ki te hunga nanakia:

¹⁰Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, And thy labors [be] in the house of an alien,

¹⁰Kei makona nga tangata ke i tou kaha, kei riro ou mauiui ki te whare o te tangata ke;

¹¹And thou mourn at thy latter end, When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

¹¹A ka tangi koe i tou whakamutunga, ina poto ou kikokiko me tou tinana.

¹²And say, How have I hated instruction, And my heart despised reproof;

¹²A ka mea, Katae toku kino ki te ako; katae te mauiui o toku ngakau ki te tohutohu!

¹³Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

¹³Kihai hoki ahau i whakarongo ki te reo o oku kaiwhakaako, kihai toku taringa i anga ki te hunga e tohutohu ana i ahau.

¹⁴I was well-nigh in all evil In the midst of the assembly and congregation.

¹⁴Wahi iti kei nga kino katoa ahau i waenganui o te whakaminenga, o te huihui.

¹⁵Drink waters out of thine own cistern, And running waters out of thine own well.

¹⁵¶ Inumia he wai i roto i tau ake rua, me nga wai rere ano i roto i tau ake poka.

¹⁶Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, And streams of water in the streets?

¹⁶Kia tohatoha noa atu koia au puna wai, nga awa wai i nga huarahi?

¹⁷Let them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee.

¹⁷Waiho ena mau anake, kauaka ma koutou tahi ko nga tangata ke.

¹⁸Let thy fountain be blessed; And rejoice in the wife of thy youth.

¹⁸Kia manaakitia tau puna wai: kia koa ano koe ki te wahine o tou taitamarikitanga.

¹⁹[As] a loving hind and a pleasant doe, Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love.

¹⁹Kia rite ia ki taua mea ahuareka, ki te hata, ki te mea ataahua ki te anaterope; kia makona koe i ona u i nga wa katoa, kia matenuitia tonutia e koe tona aroha.

²⁰For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?

²⁰He aha oti koe, e taku tama, ka matenui ai ki te wahine ke, i awhi ai i te uma o te wahine ke?

²¹For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah; And he maketh level all his paths.

²¹Kei mua hoki i nga kanohi o Ihowa nga ara o te tangata, a e meinga ana e ia kia papatairite ona ara katoa.

²²His own iniquities shall take the wicked, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.

²²Ko ona kino ano hei hopu i te tangata kino, hei taura ona hara e mau ai ia.

²³He shall die for lack of instruction; And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

²³Ka mate ia, he mea kihai i whakaakona, ka pohehe i te nui o tona wairangi.