¹My son, keep my words, And lay up my commandments with thee.

¹¶ E taku tama, puritia aku kupu, huna aku whakahau ki roto ki a koe.

²Keep my commandments and live; And my law as the apple of thine eye.

²Puritia aku whakahau, a ka ora; taku ture, ano ko te whatupango o tou kanohi.

³Bind them upon thy fingers; Write them upon the tablet of thy heart.

³Herea ki ou maihao; tuhituhia, ko tou ngakau ano hei papa.

⁴Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; And call understanding [thy] kinswoman:

⁴Ki atu ki te whakaaro nui, He tuahine koe noku; kiia hoki te matauranga ko tou whanaunga wahine:

⁵That they may keep thee from the strange woman, From the foreigner that flattereth with her words.

⁵Kia ai enei hei tiaki i a koe kei he i te wahine ke, i te wahine ke, he korero whakapati nei ana.

⁶For at the window of my house I looked forth through my lattice;

⁶¶ I titiro atu hoki ahau i te matapihi o toku whare i roto i toku whakakahokaho;

⁷And I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, A young man void of understanding,

⁷A i matakitaki ahau i roto i nga kuware, i kite i roto i nga taitama, i tetahi tamaiti kahore rawa he whakaaro,

⁸Passing through the street near her corner; And he went the way to her house,

⁸E haere ana i te ara i te wahi tata e piko atu ai ki a ia, a haere ana ia i te ara ki tona whare.

⁹In the twilight, in the evening of the day, In the middle of the night and in the darkness.

⁹I te kakarauritanga, i te ahiahi o te ra, i te titiwhatanga o te po, i te pouri kerekere.

¹⁰And, behold, there met him a woman With the attire of a harlot, and wily of heart.

¹⁰Na, kua tutaki tetahi wahine ki a ia, he kakahu puremu tona, he ngakau hianga.

¹¹She is clamorous and wilful; Her feet abide not in her house:

¹¹He mangai koroki tona, he tohetohe; ko ona waewae, kahore e tau ki tona whare:

¹²Now she is in the streets, now in the broad places, And lieth in wait at every corner.

¹²Inaianei kei nga ara ia, inamata kei nga waharoa, e tauwhanga ana i nga kokinga katoa.

¹³So she caught him, and kissed him, [And] with an impudent face she said unto him:

¹³Koia i hopukia ai ia e ia, kei te kihi i a ia, a ka mea atu ki a ia, me te whakatoi ano i tona mata,

¹⁴Sacrifices of peace-offerings are with me; This day have I paid my vows.

¹⁴He patunga mo te pai kei ahau; no tenei ra nei ahau i whakamana ai i aku kupu taurangi;

¹⁵Therefore came I forth to meet thee, Diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.

¹⁵Koia ahau i haere mai ai ki te whakatau i a koe, ki te ata rapu i tou mata, a ka kitea nei koe e ahau.

¹⁶I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, With striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.

¹⁶Ko toku moenga kua horahia e ahau, whakapaipai rawa ki te kaitaka, ki nga kakahu purepure no te rinena o Ihipa.

¹⁷I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁷Kua ruia e ahau toku moenga ki nga mea whakakakara, ki te maira, ki te aroe, ki te hinamona.

¹⁸Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning; Let us solace ourselves with loves.

¹⁸Haere mai, kia whaowhina taua ki te aroha, a ao noa; kia ora o taua ngakau i te aroha.

¹⁹For the man is not at home; He is gone a long journey:

¹⁹Kahore hoki taku tane i te whare: kua riro ia, he haere tawhiti:

²⁰He hath taken a bag of money with him; He will come home at the full moon.

²⁰I maua atu e ia he putea moni i tona ringa; ka hoki mai ano ia i te kowhititanga o te marama.

²¹With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield; With the flattering of her lips she forceth him along.

²¹He maha no ana korero whakawai, riro ana ia i a ia ki tana; na te whakapati a ona ngutu ka kumea atu ia e ia.

²²He goeth after her straightway, As an ox goeth to the slaughter, Or as [one in] fetters to the correction of the fool;

²²Haere tonu ia i muri i a ia, ano he kau e haere ana kia patua, he kuware ranei e haere ana ki nga rakau here waewae e whiua ai te he;

²³Till an arrow strike through his liver; As a bird hasteth to the snare, And knoweth not that it is for his life.

²³A tu noa te tao ki tona ate puta rawa; rite tonu ia ki te manu e hohoro ana ki te mahanga, te mohio he matenga tera mona.

²⁴Now therefore, [my] sons, hearken unto me, And attend to the words of my mouth.

²⁴¶ No reira, e aku tamariki, whakarongo ki ahau, maharatia nga kupu a toku mangai.

²⁵Let not thy heart decline to her ways; Go not astray in her paths.

²⁵Kei peau ke tou ngakau ki ona ara, kei kotiti ke ki ona huarahi.

²⁶For she hath cast down many wounded: Yea, all her slain are a mighty host.

²⁶He tokomaha hoki nga tangata i tu, i hinga i a ia, ae ra, he ope nui rawa tana i patu ai.

²⁷Her house is the way to Sheol, Going down to the chambers of death.

²⁷He huarahi tona whare ki te reinga, e anga ana ki raro ki nga ruma o te mate.