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

¹My son! keep my sayings, And my commands lay up with thee.

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

²Keep my commands, and live, And my law as the pupil of thine eye.

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

³Bind them on thy fingers, Write them on the tablet of thy heart.

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

⁴Say to wisdom, `My sister Thou [art].` And cry to understanding, `Kinswoman!`

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

⁵To preserve thee from a strange woman, From a stranger who hath made smooth her sayings.

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

⁶For, at a window of my house, Through my casement I have looked out,

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

⁷And I do see among the simple ones, I discern among the sons, A young man lacking understanding,

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.

⁸Passing on in the street, near her corner, And the way [to] her house he doth step,

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

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

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

¹⁰And, lo, a woman to meet him — (A harlot`s dress, and watchful of heart,

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

¹¹Noisy she [is], and stubborn, In her house her feet rest not.

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

¹²Now in an out-place, now in broad places, And near every corner she lieth in wait) —

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,

¹³And she laid hold on him, and kissed him, She hath hardened her face, and saith to him,

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

¹⁴`Sacrifices of peace-offerings [are] by me, To-day I have completed my vows.

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.

¹⁵Therefore I have come forth to meet thee, To seek earnestly thy face, and I find thee.

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

¹⁶[With] ornamental coverings I decked my couch, Carved works — cotton of Egypt.

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

¹⁷I sprinkled my bed — myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

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

¹⁸Come, we are filled [with] loves till the morning, We delight ourselves in loves.

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

¹⁹For the man is not in his house, He hath gone on a long journey.

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

²⁰A bag of money he hath taken in his hand, At the day of the new moon he cometh to his house.`

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.

²¹She turneth him aside with the abundance of her speech, With the flattery of her lips she forceth him.

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;

²²He is going after her straightway, As an ox unto the slaughter he cometh, And as a fetter unto the chastisement of a fool,

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.

²³Till an arrow doth split his liver, As a bird hath hastened unto a snare, And hath not known that it [is] for its life.

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

²⁴And now, ye sons, hearken to me, And give attention to sayings of my mouth.

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

²⁵Let not thy heart turn unto her ways, Do not wander in her paths,

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

²⁶For many [are] the wounded she caused to fall, And mighty [are] all her slain ones.

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

²⁷The ways of Sheol — her house, Going down unto inner chambers of death!