1¶ Ki te noho tahi korua ko te rangatira ki te kai, ata whakaaroa marietia tera i tou aroaro:
1When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
2Whakapakia he maripi ki tou korokoro, ki te mea he tangata kakai koe.
2And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
3Kaua e hiahia ki ana mea reka: he kai tinihanga hoki era.
3Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.
4¶ Kaua e taruke ki te mea taonga: kati tau mea ki tou matauranga.
4Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
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.
5Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
6¶ Kaua e kainga te kai a te tangata kanohi kino, kei minamina hoki koe ki ana mea reka.
6Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
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.
7For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
8Ko te kongakonga i kainga e koe, ka ruakina e koe, ka maumauria ano hoki au kupu reka.
8The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
9¶ Kaua e korero ki nga taringa o te kuware; ka whakahawea hoki ia ki te whakaaro nui o au kupu.
9Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10¶ Kei whakanekehia e koe te rohe tawhito; kei haere koe ki nga mara a te pani:
10Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11No te mea he kaha to ratou kaiwhakaora; ka tohea e ia ta ratou tohe ki a koe.
11For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.
12¶ Anga atu tou ngakau ki te ako, me ou taringa ki nga kupu o te matauranga.
12Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13Kaua e tohungia te whiu ki te tamaiti: ki te patua hoki ia e koe ki te rakau, e kore ia e mate.
13Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
14Tatatia ia e koe ki te rakau, a ka whakaorangia e koe tona wairua i te reinga.
14Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
15E taku tama, ki te whakaaro nui tou ngakau, ka koa hoki toku ngakau, ae ra, toku nei ano:
15My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
16Ae ra, ka hari oku whatumanawa, ina korero ou ngutu i nga mea tika.
16Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
17¶ Kei hae tou ngakau ki te hunga hara; engari kia wehi koe ki a Ihowa, a pau noa te ra.
17Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
18He pono hoki tera ano he whakautu; e kore ano hoki tau i tumanako ai e hatepea atu.
18For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
19¶ Whakarongo ra, e taku tama, kia whai whakaaro hoki koe, a whakatikaia tou ngakau i te ara.
19Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
20Kei uru ki te hunga kakai waina; ki te hunga pukukai kikokiko:
20Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
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.
21For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
22Whakarongo ki tou papa nana koe; kaua hoki e whakahawea ki tou whaea ina ruruhi ia.
22Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23Hokona te pono, kaua hoki e whakawhitiwhitia; ae ra, te whakaaro nui, te ako hoki, me te matauranga.
23Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
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.
24The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
25Kia hari tou papa raua ko tou whaea, ina, kia koa te wahine i whanau ai koe.
25Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
26E taku tama, homai tou ngakau ki ahau, kia manako ano hoki ou kanohi ki aku ara.
26My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
27No te mea he rua hohonu te wahine kairau; he poka kuiti te wahine ke.
27For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28Ae ra, ka whanga ia ano he kaipahua, a ka whakatokomahatia e ia nga tangata poka ke.
28She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.
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?
29Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30Ko te hunga e noho roa ana ki te waina; ko te hunga e haere ana ki te rapu i te waina whakaranu.
30They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
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.
31Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
32Tona tukunga iho ano he nakahi e ngau ana, koia ano kei te wero a te neke.
32At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33E kite hoki ou kanohi i nga mea rereke, a ka puta he kupu rereke i tou ngakau.
33Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
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.
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.
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.
35They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.