Kaikauwhau 1
1 Ko nga kupu a te Kaikauwhau, ara a te tama a Rawiri, i kingi nei ki Hiruharama.
Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
2 He tino horihori rawa, e ai ta te Kaikauwhau, he tino horihori rawa; he horihori katoa.
“Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
3 He aha te pai ki te tangata o tona mauiui katoa e mauiui ai ia i raro i te ra?
What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
4 Ko tenei whakatupuranga e haere atu ana, ko tera whakatupuranga e haere mai ana: ko te whenua ia, mau tonu.
People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
5 E whiti ana hoki te ra, e heke atu ana te ra, hohoro tonu atu ki tona wahi whiti mai ai.
The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
6 E anga ana te hau ki te tonga, na ka taka ki te raki; he hanga takataka tonu tana i tona ara, a ka hoki mai ano te hau ki ona takatakanga.
The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
7 E rere ana nga awa katoa ki te moana, heoi kahore e ki te moana: ko te wahi i rere mai ai nga awa, ka hoki atu ano ratou ki reira.
Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
8 Mauiui rawa nga mea katoa, e kore e taea e te tangata te korero: e kore te kanohi e ngata i te matakaitaki, e kore te taringa e ki i te whakarongo.
Everything just keeps on going. You can't say all there is to say. You can't see all there is to see. You can't hear all there is to hear.
9 Ko to mua mea koia ano hei mea aianei; a ko te mea i mahia i mua ka mahia ano aianei; kahore hoki he mea hou i raro i te ra.
Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
10 Tera ano ranei he mea e ki ai tetahi, Titiro, he mea hou tenei? He mea ia no nga wa o mua, no era i mua atu i a tatou.
There's nothing anyone can point to and say, “Look! Here's something new.” In fact it's been around for ages, long before our time.
11 Kahore he mahara ki nga whakatupuranga o mua; kahore hoki e maharatia nga whakatupuranga e haere mai a muri nei e te hunga o muri atu.
The problem is we don't remember people from the past, and people in the future won't remember those who came before them.
12 Ko ahau, ko te Kaikauwhau, te kingi o Iharaira i Hiruharama.
I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
13 Na ka whakaangahia e ahau toku ngakau ki te whakaaro nui hei rapu, hei kimi i nga mea katoa e mahia ana i raro i te rangi: na te Atua tenei whakararuraru kino i homai ki nga tama a te tangata hei whakararu i a ratou.
I decided to focus my mind to explore, using wisdom, everything that happens here on earth. This is a tough assignment that God has given people to keep them busy!
14 Kua kite ahau i nga mea katoa e mahia ana i raro i te ra. Nana, he horihori katoa, he whai hoki i te hau.
I examined everything people do here on earth, and discovered that it's all so temporary—trying to understand it is like trying to pin down the wind!
15 Ko te mea piko e kore e taea te whakahangai: ko te mea koha e kore e taea te tatau.
You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
16 I korerorero ahau ki toku ngakau, i mea, Nana, kua whiwhi rawa ahau i te whakaaro nui ki runga ake i o te hunga katoa i mua atu i ahau i Hiruharama: ae ra, he maha nga mea kua kitea e toku ngakau o te whakaaro nui, o te matauranga.
I thought to myself, “I've become very wise, wiser than all the kings of Jerusalem before me. My mind has gained a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.”
17 Na ka whakaangahia e ahau toku ngakau kia mohio ki te whakaaro nui, kia mohio ki te haurangi, ki te wairangi: a kua kite ahau he whai ano hoki tenei i te hau.
So I decided to use my mind to learn everything about wisdom, and madness and foolishness as well. But I found out that this is as hard as trying to catch hold of the wind.
18 Ma te nui hoki o te whakaaro ka nui ai te pouri: a ko te tangata e whakaneke ake ana i te matauranga e whakaneke ake ana i te mamae.
For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
