Kaikauwhau 11
1 Maka tau taro ki te mata o nga wai; kia maha hoki nga ra ka kitea ano e koa.
Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.
2 Hoatu tetahi wahi ma te tokowhitu, ae ma te tokowaru ano hoki; e kore hoki koe e mohio ko tehea kino e puta mai ki te whenua.
Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.
3 Ki te ki nga kapua i te ua, ka ringihia ki te whenua: ki te hinga hoki te rakau ki te tonga, ki te raki ranei, ko te wahi e hinga ai te rakau, ko reira ano ia takoto ai.
If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain upon the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
4 Ko te tangata e whai mahara ana ki te hau, e kore e rui; ko te tangata titiro kapua e kore e kokoti.
He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.
5 Na, ka kore ano koe e mohio ki te huarahi o te hau, ki te tupu ranei o nga wheua i roto i te kopu o te wahine hapu; e kore ano hoki e mohiotia e koe te mahi a te Atua, a te kaimahi o nga mea katoa.
As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.
6 I te ata ruia tau purapura, a i te ahiahi kaua e pepeke tou ringa; kahore hoki koe e mohio ko tenei ranei e tika, ko tera ranei, ko raua ranei e rua ka pai ngatahi.
Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.
7 He pono he ahuareka te marama, a he mea pai ki nga kanohi te titiro ki te ra.
Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.
8 Ae ra, ki te maha nga tau e ora ai te tangata, kia hari ia ki aua tau katoa; engari kia mahara ia ki nga tau o te pouri, tera hoki e maha. Ko nga mea e haere ake ana he horihori katoa.
So if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is futile.
9 Kia koe, e te taitamariki, ki tou taitamarikitanga; kia whakahari ano hoki tou ngakau i a koe i nga ra o tou taitamarikitanga, haere hoki i nga ara o tou ngakau, i te tirohanga ano a ou kanohi: otiia kia mohio ano koe, he mea enei katoa e riro ai koe i te Atua ki te whakawa.
Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
10 No reira whakawateatia atu te riri i tou ngakau, a whakanekehia atu te kino i tou kikokiko: he mea horihori nei hoki te taitamarikitanga, me te houkuratanga.
So banish sorrow from your heart, and cast off pain from your body, for youth and vigor are fleeting.
