Kaikauwhau 6
1 Tera tetahi he i kitea e ahau i raro i te ra, he mea taimaha ano ki runga ki nga tangata:
Here was an evil, I had seen under the sun, —and it is, common, among men:
2 He tangata i homai nei e te Atua ki a ia he taonga, he rawa, he kororia, a kihai tona wairua i hapa ki tetahi mea i hiahia ai ia, otiia kihai i tukua e te Atua ki a ia te tikanga mo te kai i tetahi wahi o aua mea, engari kainga ana e te tangata k e. He horihori tenei, he mate kino.
A man to whom God giveth riches and gains and honour, so that nothing doth he lack for his soul—of all that he craveth, and yet God doth not give him power to eat thereof, but, a man unknown, eateth it, —this, was vanity, and, an incurable evil, it was.
3 Ki te kotahi rau nga tamariki a tetahi tangata, a he maha nga tau e ora ai ia, maha atu nga ra o ona tau, a kahore tona wairua i ngata i te pai, kahore hoki ia e whai tanumanga; e mea ana ahau tera noa atu te pai o te materoto i a ia.
Though a man should beget a hundred children, and live, many years, so that many should be the days of his years but, his own soul, should not be satisfied with the good, and he should not even have, a burial, I said, Better than he, is an untimely birth!
4 I haere mai hoki tera i runga i te horihori, a haere atu ana i runga i te pouri, a ka taupokina tona ingoa e te pouri.
For, in vain, it came in, and, in darkness, it departeth, —and, with darkness, its name, is covered:
5 Kihai hoki ia i kite i te ra, kihai ano i mohio ki a ia; nui atu to tenei okioki i to tera;
even the sun, it never saw, nor aught did it know, —more quietness, hath this than the other.
6 Ae, ahakoa kotahi mano topu nga tau i ora ai ia, heoi kahore he pai i kitea e ia. He teka ianei e haere ana te katoa ki te wahi kotahi?
Even though one hath lived a thousand years twice told, yet, good, hath he not seen, —is it not, unto one place, that, all, are going?
7 Ko nga mea katoa i mauiui ai te tangata hei mea ano mo tona mangai, otiia e kore tona wairua e makona.
All the toil of man, is for his mouth, —though, even the desire, is not satisfied!
8 He aha oti ta te tangata whakaaro nui e hira ake ana i ta te wairangi? He aha hoki ta te ware, e mohio nei ki te haere i te aroaro o te hunga ora?
For what profit hath the wise man, over the dullard? What can, the poor man, know—so as to walk before the living?
9 He pai ke te kite o nga kanohi i te kaipaowe o te hiahia: he horihori ano tenei, a he whai i te hau.
Better what the eyes behold, than the wandering of desire, —even this, was vanity, and a feeding on wind.
10 Ko nga mea katoa o mua kua oti noa ake te hua ki te ingoa, a e mohiotia ana ko te tangata: e kore hoki ia e tau hei totohe ki te mea e kaha atu ana i a ia.
Whatsoever one may be, long ago, was he called by his name, and it is known that it is—Son of Earth, —he cannot, therefore, contend with one stronger than he.
11 Ka maha nei nga mea hei whakanui i te horihori, he aha te painga ki te tangata?
Seeing there are things in abundance which make vanity abound, what profit hath man?
12 Ko wai hoki e mohio ana he aha te mea pai ki te tangata i a ia nei i te ora, i nga ra katoa o tona oranga horihori, e rite nei ki te atarangi i a ia e mahi nei? Ko wai hoki hei whakaatu ki te tangata ko te aha e puta mai i muri i a ia i raro i t e ra?
For who knoweth what is good for a man throughout his life, for the number of the days of his life of vanity, seeing he will make them, like a shadow, —for who can tell a man, what shall be after him, under the sun?
