1¶ Ko wai hei rite mo te tangata whakaaro nui? Ko wai hoki e mohio ana ki te tikanga o tetahi mea? Ka ai te whakaaro nui o te tangata hei mea kia tiaho tona mata, ka puta ke ano hoki te taikaha o tona mata.
1Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
2Ko taku tenei ki a koe, Puritia te kupu a te kingi, me whakaaro ano hoki ki ta te Atua oati.
2I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God.
3Kei mea wawe koe ki te haere atu i tona aroaro; kaua ano hoki e tohe tonu ki te mea kino; ka oti hoki i a ia nga mea katoa e pai ai ia.
3Don’t be hasty to go out of his presence. Don’t persist in an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him,
4No te mea he mana to te kupu a te kingi; a ko wai hei mea atu ki a ia, E aha ana koe?
4for the king’s word is supreme. Who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5Ko te kaipupuri o te whakahau, e kore rawa e mohio ki te mea he. E mohio ana te ngakau o te whakaaro nui ki te wa, ki te tikanga.
5Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his wise heart will know the time and procedure.
6¶ He wa hoki to nga meatanga katoa, he tikanga ano; he nui hoki no te he o te tangata i runga i a ia.
6For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him.
7Kahore hoki ia e mohio, ko te aha e puta a mua: ma wai hoki e whakaatu ki a ia te peheatanga o te putanga?
7For he doesn’t know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?
8Kahore he tangata e whai mana ana ki te wairua, ki te pupuri i te wairua; kahore hoki he mana ki te ra o te mate: i taua pakanga hoki e kore tetahi e tukua atu; e kore ano te kino e whakaora i te mea e tukua atu ki a ia.
8There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it.
9¶ I kite ahau i tenei katoa, i anga ano toku ngakau ki nga meatanga katoa e meatia ana i raro i te ra; he wa ano ka whai mana tetahi tangata ki tetahi tangata hei he mona.
9All this have I seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt.
10I kite ano ahau i reira i te hunga kino e tanumia ana, a i haere mai ratou ki te wahi o te tanumanga; a ko te hunga i mahi i te tika i haere atu i te wahi o te tapu, a warewaretia ana ratou e te pa: he horihori ano hoki tenei.
10So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is vanity.
11He kore i hohoro te whakaoti i te kupu whiu mo te mahi he, koia i ki tonu ai nga ngakau o nga tama a te tangata i roto i a ratou ki te tohe ki te mahi i te kino.
11Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
12Ahakoa he rau nga mahi he a te tangata hara, a ka roa ona ra; heoi e mohio ana ano ahau, ka pai te tukunga iho ki te hunga e wehi ana i te Atua, e wehi nei i tona aroaro.
12Though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him.
13E kore ia e pai te tukunga iho ki te tangata kino, e kore ano e whakaroaina e ia ona ra, he atarangi nei te rite; mona kihai i wehi i te aroaro o te Atua.
13But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow; because he doesn’t fear God.
14¶ He horihori tenei e mahia nei i runga i te whenua; ara he hunga tika enei, a ko te mea e pa ana ki a ratou pera tonu i te mea e pa ana ki te mahi a te hunga kino: a, he hunga kino enei, a ko te mea e pa ana ki a ratou pera tonu i te mea e pa ana ki te mahi a te hunga tika: i ki ahau he horihori ano hoki tenei.
14There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked. Again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
15Katahi ahau ka whakamoemiti ki te koa; no te mea kahore he mea pai ake ma te tangata i raro i te ra, ko te kai anake, ko te inu, ko te harakoa: ko tera hoki e mau ki a ia i roto i tona mauiui i nga ra o tona oranga, i homai nei e te Atua ki a ia i raro i te ra.
15Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labor all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
16I taku tukunga i toku ngakau kia mohio ki te whakaaro nui, kia kite i te raruraru e mahia nei i runga i te whenua: i te ao nei hoki, i te po kahore ona kanohi e kite i te moe:
16When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on the earth (for also there is that neither day nor night sees sleep with his eyes),
17Katahi ahau ka kite i te mahi a te Atua, ara e kore e kitea e te tangata te mahi e mahia ana i raro i te ra: ahakoa mauiui noa te tangata i te rapunga, e kore e kitea e ia: ae ra, ahakoa mea noa te tangata whakaaro nui kia mohiotia e ia, e kore e taea kia kitea e ia.
17then I saw all the work of God, that man can’t find out the work that is done under the sun, because however much a man labors to seek it out, yet he won’t find it. Yes even though a wise man thinks he can comprehend it, he won’t be able to find it.