Ecclesiastes 7
1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.
Ko te ingoa pai, pai atu i te hinu utu nui; ko te ra o te matenga, pai atu i te ra o to te tangata whanautanga.
2 It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.
Ko te haere ki te whare tangihanga, pai atu i te haere ki te whare hakari; ko te mutunga hoki ia o nga tangata katoa; a ka rongoatia e te tangata ora ki roto ki tona ngakau.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.
Ko te ngakau mamae, pai atu i te kata; ma te pouri hoki o te mata ka pai ai te ngakau.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
Kei te whare tangihanga te ngakau o te hunga whakaaro nui; kei te whare ia o te kata te ngakau o nga wairangi.
5 It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
Ko te whakarongo, ina riria te he e te tangata whakaaro nui, pai atu i ta te tangata whakarongo ki te waiata a nga wairangi.
6 For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.
Rite tonu hoki ki te papatanga o nga tataramoa i raro i te kohua te kata a te wairangi. He horihori ano tenei.
7 Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
He pono ma te pahua ka wairangi ai te tangata whakaaro nui, ma te mea homai noa hoki ka kore ai te ngakau mahara.
8 The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.
Ko te mutunga o te mea, pai atu i tona timatanga: pai atu te wairua manawanui i te wairua whakakake.
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
Kei hohoro tou wairua ki te riri: kei te uma hoki o nga wairangi te riri e noho ana.
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
Kaua e mea, He aha nga rangi o mua i pai ake ai i enei? Kahore hoki he whakaaro nui ou i ui ai koe ki tena.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.
He pai tonu te whakaaro nui, ano he taonga tuku iho: ae ra, he pai rawa ake ki te hunga e kite ana i te ra.
12 For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
Hei whakamarumaru iho te whakaaro nui, hei pera hoki i te moni te whakamarumaru: ko te pai ia o te matauranga koia tenei, ka ora i te whakaaro nui nga tangata nana.
13 Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent?
Whakaaroa ta te Atua mahi: ko wai hoki hei mea kia tika tana i mea ai kia hape?
14 In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider this: God has made one of these along with the other, so that a man cannot discover anything that will come after him.
I te ra pai kia koa, a i te ra kino whakaaro: kua mahia nei hoki e te Atua tetahi kia takoto tahi me tetahi, he mea kia kaua ai e kitea e te tangata tetahi mea i muri i a ia.
15 In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
Kua kite ahau i tenei katoa i nga ra oku i te horihori; he tangata tika tetahi, ngaro iho ia i runga i tona tika; he tangata kino tetahi, roa noa iho ia i te ao i runga i tona kino.
16 Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
Kaua e whakanuia rawatia tou tika; kaua hoki e whakanuia rawatia ou whakaaro: he aha koe i whakangaro ai i a koe?
17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
Kaua e whakanuia rawatia tou kino, kaua ano hoki e wairangi: kia mate koe hei aha, i te mea kahore ano tou wa kia rite noa?
18 It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.
He pai ki te puritia tenei kupu e koe; kaua hoki tou ringa e unuhia mai i tera; ko te tangata hoki e wehi ana i te Atua ka puta mai i roto i era katoa.
19 Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
Ko te whakaaro nui rahi ake tona kaha mo te tangata whakaaro i to nga rangatira kotahi tekau i roto i te pa.
20 Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
Kahore hoki he tangata tika i te whenua e mahi ana i te pai, a kahore ona hara.
21 Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.
Kaua ano e whakarongo ki nga mea katoa e korerotia ana; kei rongo koe ki tau pononga e kanga ana i a koe;
22 For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
He maha hoki nga wa, e mohio ana tou ngakau, i kanga ai koe ano i etahi.
23 All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.
I whakamatauria e ahau tenei katoa, he mea whakaaro marie; i mea ahau, ka whakaaro nui ahau; otiia i matara noa atu tenei i ahau.
24 What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
Ko te mea onaianei he tawhiti rawa, he hohonu rawa hoki; ko wai hei kite?
25 I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.
I anga toku ngakau, i mea kia mohio, kia kimihia, kia rapua nga whakaaro nui me nga tikanga, kia mohio ano hoki he wairangi te kino, he porangi te wairangi:
26 And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.
A ka kite ahau i te mea kawa atu i te mate, ara i te wahine, he rore nei, he kupenga tona ngakau, he rahiri hoki ona ringa: ko te tangata e paingia ana e te Atua ka mawhiti i a ia; ko te tangata hara ia ka mau i a ia.
27 “Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.
Nana, kua kitea tenei e ahau, e ai ta te Kaikauwhau, he mea whakarite tetahi mea ki tetahi, kia kitea ai te tikanga:
28 While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman.
He mea e rapua nei ano e toku wairua, a kahore ano i kitea: kotahi te tangata i kitea e ahau i roto i te mano; na i roto i enei katoa kahore ahau i kite i tetahi wahine.
29 Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
Nana, ko tenei anake i kitea e ahau, ara i tika te tangata i ta te Atua hanganga; engari he maha nga tikanga i rapua e ratou.
