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

¹My son, keep my words. Lay up my commandments within you.

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

²Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye.

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

³Bind them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart.

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

⁴Tell wisdom, “You are my sister.” Call understanding your relative,

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

⁵that they may keep you from the strange woman, from the foreigner who flatters with her words.

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

⁶For at the window of my house, I looked out through my lattice.

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

⁷I saw among the simple ones. I discerned among the youths a young man void of 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 through the street near her corner, he went the way to her house,

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 the day, in the middle of the night and in the darkness.

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

¹⁰Behold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute, and with crafty intent.

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

¹¹She is loud and defiant. Her feet don’t stay in her house.

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

¹²Now she is in the streets, now in the squares, and lurking at every corner.

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,

¹³So she caught him, and kissed him. With an impudent face she said 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 with me. This day I have paid 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 came out to meet you, to diligently seek your face, and I have found you.

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

¹⁶I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.

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

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

¹⁸Come, let’s take our fill of loving until the morning. Let’s solace ourselves with loving.

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

¹⁹For my husband isn’t at home. He has 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.

²⁰He has taken a bag of money with him. He will come home at the full moon.”

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.

²¹With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced 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 followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose.

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.

²³Until an arrow strikes through his liver, as a bird hurries to the snare, and doesn’t know that it will cost his life.

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

²⁴Now therefore, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to the words of my mouth.

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

²⁵Don’t let your heart turn to her ways. Don’t go astray 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 she has thrown down many wounded. Yes, all her slain are a mighty army.

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

²⁷Her house is the way to Sheol Sheol is the place of the dead. , going down to the rooms of death.