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, Thou considerest diligently that which [is] before thee,
2Whakapakia he maripi ki tou korokoro, ki te mea he tangata kakai koe.
2And thou hast put a knife to thy throat, If thou [art] a man of appetite.
3Kaua e hiahia ki ana mea reka: he kai tinihanga hoki era.
3Have no desire to his dainties, seeing it [is] lying food.
4¶ Kaua e taruke ki te mea taonga: kati tau mea ki tou matauranga.
4Labour not to make wealth, From thine own understanding cease, Dost thou cause thine eyes to fly upon it? Then it is not.
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.
5For wealth maketh to itself wings, As an eagle it flieth to the heavens.
6¶ Kaua e kainga te kai a te tangata kanohi kino, kei minamina hoki koe ki ana mea reka.
6Eat not the bread of an evil eye, And have no desire to his dainties,
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 hath thought in his soul, so [is] he, `Eat and drink,` saith he to thee, And his heart [is] not with thee.
8Ko te kongakonga i kainga e koe, ka ruakina e koe, ka maumauria ano hoki au kupu reka.
8Thy morsel thou hast eaten thou dost vomit up, And hast marred thy words that [are] sweet.
9¶ Kaua e korero ki nga taringa o te kuware; ka whakahawea hoki ia ki te whakaaro nui o au kupu.
9In the ears of a fool speak not, For he treadeth on the wisdom of thy words.
10¶ Kei whakanekehia e koe te rohe tawhito; kei haere koe ki nga mara a te pani:
10Remove not a border of olden times, And into fields of the fatherless enter not,
11No te mea he kaha to ratou kaiwhakaora; ka tohea e ia ta ratou tohe ki a koe.
11For their Redeemer [is] strong, He doth plead their cause with thee.
12¶ Anga atu tou ngakau ki te ako, me ou taringa ki nga kupu o te matauranga.
12Bring in to instruction thy heart, And thine ear to sayings 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 from a youth chastisement, When thou smitest him with a rod he dieth not.
14Tatatia ia e koe ki te rakau, a ka whakaorangia e koe tona wairua i te reinga.
14Thou with a rod smitest him, And his soul from Sheol thou deliverest.
15E taku tama, ki te whakaaro nui tou ngakau, ka koa hoki toku ngakau, ae ra, toku nei ano:
15My son, if thy heart hath been wise, My heart rejoiceth, even mine,
16Ae ra, ka hari oku whatumanawa, ina korero ou ngutu i nga mea tika.
16And my reins exult when thy lips speak uprightly.
17¶ Kei hae tou ngakau ki te hunga hara; engari kia wehi koe ki a Ihowa, a pau noa te ra.
17Let not thy heart be envious at sinners, But — in the fear of Jehovah all the day.
18He pono hoki tera ano he whakautu; e kore ano hoki tau i tumanako ai e hatepea atu.
18For, is there a posterity? Then thy hope is not 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 make happy in the way thy heart,
20Kei uru ki te hunga kakai waina; ki te hunga pukukai kikokiko:
20Be not thou among quaffers of wine, Among gluttonous ones 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 quaffer and glutton become poor, And drowsiness clotheth with rags.
22Whakarongo ki tou papa nana koe; kaua hoki e whakahawea ki tou whaea ina ruruhi ia.
22Hearken to thy father, who begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she hath become old.
23Hokona te pono, kaua hoki e whakawhitiwhitia; ae ra, te whakaaro nui, te ako hoki, me te matauranga.
23Truth buy, and sell not, 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 rejoiceth greatly, The begetter of the wise rejoiceth in him.
25Kia hari tou papa raua ko tou whaea, ina, kia koa te wahine i whanau ai koe.
25Rejoice doth thy father and thy mother, Yea, she that bare thee is joyful.
26E taku tama, homai tou ngakau ki ahau, kia manako ano hoki ou kanohi ki aku ara.
26Give, my son, thy heart to me, And let thine eyes watch my ways.
27No te mea he rua hohonu te wahine kairau; he poka kuiti te wahine ke.
27For a harlot [is] a deep ditch, And a strange woman [is] a strait pit.
28Ae ra, ka whanga ia ano he kaipahua, a ka whakatokomahatia e ia nga tangata poka ke.
28She also, as catching prey, lieth in wait, And the treacherous among men she increaseth.
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 wo? who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? who hath plaint? 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.
30Those tarrying by the wine, Those going in to search out 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.
31See not wine when it showeth itself red, When it giveth in the cup its colour, It goeth up and down through the upright.
32Tona tukunga iho ano he nakahi e ngau ana, koia ano kei te wero a te neke.
32Its latter end — as a serpent it biteth, And as a basilisk it stingeth.
33E kite hoki ou kanohi i nga mea rereke, a ka puta he kupu rereke i tou ngakau.
33Thine eyes see strange women, And thy heart speaketh 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.
34And thou hast been as one lying down in the heart of the sea, And as one lying down on 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.
35`They smote me, I have not been sick, They beat me, I have not known. When I awake — I seek it yet again!`