¹¶ Na ka whakautu a Pirirara Huhi, ka mea,

¹And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

²Kia pehea ake te roa o tau korero i enei mea? Kia pehea ake te roa o nga kupu a tou mangai e rite ai ki te hau kaha?

²How long wilt thou speak these things? and the words of thy mouth be a strong wind?

³E whakaparori ke ranei te Atua i te whakawa? E whakaparori ke ranei te Kaha Rawa i te tika?

³Doth ùGod pervert judgment, and the Almighty pervert justice?

⁴Ki te mea i hara au tamariki ki a ia, a kua maka atu ratou e ia hei utu mo to ratou he;

⁴If thy children have sinned against him, he hath also given them over into the hand of their transgression.

⁵Ki te rapu wawe koe i to Atua, a ka inoi ki te Kaha Rawa;

⁵If thou seek earnestly unto ùGod, and make thy supplication to the Almighty,

⁶Ki te mea he ma koe, he tika, ina, ka ara ake ia ki a koe aianei, ka manaakitia ano e ia te nohoanga o tou tika.

⁶If thou be pure and upright, surely now he will awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous;

⁷Ahakoa i iti tou timatanga, e nui noa atu tou whakamutunga.

⁷And though thy beginning was small, yet thine end shall be very great.

⁸¶ Tena ra, ui atu ki to mua whakatupuranga; anga atu hoki ki te mea kua rapua e o ratou matua.

⁸For inquire, I pray thee, of the former generation, and attend to the researches of their fathers;

⁹Nonanahi nei hoki tatou, kahore hoki e mohio; he atarangi nei hoki o tatou ra i runga i te whenua;

⁹For we are [but] of yesterday, and know nothing, for our days upon earth are a shadow.

¹⁰E kore ranei ratou e whakaako i a koe, e korero ki a koe, e puaki mai ranei he kupu i o ratou ngakau?

¹⁰Shall not they teach thee, [and] tell thee, and utter words out of their heart?

¹¹E tupu ranei te wiwi i te mea kahore he repo? E nui ranei te raupo ki te kahore he wai?

¹¹Doth the papyrus shoot up without mire? doth the reed-grass grow without water?

¹²I te mea he kaiota tonu, a kihai i tapahia, kua maroke i mua ake i nga otaota katoa.

¹²Whilst it is yet in its greenness [and] not cut down, it withereth before any [other] grass.

¹³Ka pera ano nga ara o te hunga katoa e wareware ana ki te Atua, a ka riro ki te kore ta te tangata whakaponokore i tumanako ai.

¹³So are the paths of all that forget ùGod; and the profane man's hope shall perish,

¹⁴Ka motuhia atu tana i whakamanawa atu ai, ko te whare hoki o te pungawerewere hei tumanakohanga mona.

¹⁴Whose confidence shall be cut off, and his reliance is a spider's web.

¹⁵Ka okioki atu ia ki tona whare; heoi e kore e tu: u tonu tana pupuri atu, otiia e kore e mau.

¹⁵He shall lean upon his house, and it shall not stand; he shall lay hold on it, but it shall not endure.

¹⁶E matomato ana i te mea kahore nei te ra, a e wana ana ona peka i tana kari.

¹⁶He is full of sap before the sun, and his sprout shooteth forth over his garden;

¹⁷Kapi tonu te puranga i ona pakiaka, e kitea ana e ia te wahi kamaka.

¹⁷His roots are entwined about the stoneheap; he seeth the place of stones.

¹⁸Ki te whakamotitia iho ia i tona wahi, ka whakakahore taua wahi ki a ia, ka mea, Kahore ahau i kite i a koe.

¹⁸If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him: I have not seen thee!

¹⁹Nana, ko te hari tenei o tona ara, a ka tupu ake etahi atu i roto i te puehu.

¹⁹Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the dust shall others grow.

²⁰¶ Nana, e kore te Atua e whakakahore ki te tangata tika, e kore ano e puritia e ia te ringa o nga tangata kino.

²⁰Behold, ùGod will not cast off a perfect man, neither will he take evil-doers by the hand.

²¹Tera ano tou mangaika whakakiia e ia ki te kata, ou ngutu ki te hamama.

²¹Whilst he would fill thy mouth with laughing and thy lips with shouting,

²²He whakama te kakahu mo te hunga e kino ana ki a koe, a ka kahore noa iho te tapenakara o te hunga kino.

²²They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked be no more.