Kaikauwhau 7
1 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.
A good name is better than precious ointments, and a day of death is better than a day of birth.
2 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.
It is better to go to a house of mourning, than to a house of feasting. For in the former, we are admonished about the end of all things, so that the living consider what may be in the future.
3 Ko te ngakau mamae, pai atu i te kata; ma te pouri hoki o te mata ka pai ai te ngakau.
Anger is better than laughter. For through the sadness of the countenance, the soul of one who offends may be corrected.
4 Kei te whare tangihanga te ngakau o te hunga whakaaro nui; kei te whare ia o te kata te ngakau o nga wairangi.
The heart of the wise is a place of mourning, and the heart of the foolish is a place of rejoicing.
5 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.
It is better to be corrected by a wise man, than to be deceived by the false praise of the foolish.
6 Rite tonu hoki ki te papatanga o nga tataramoa i raro i te kohua te kata a te wairangi. He horihori ano tenei.
For, like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot, so is the laughter of the foolish. But this, too, is emptiness.
7 He pono ma te pahua ka wairangi ai te tangata whakaaro nui, ma te mea homai noa hoki ka kore ai te ngakau mahara.
A false accusation troubles the wise man and saps the strength of his heart.
8 Ko te mutunga o te mea, pai atu i tona timatanga: pai atu te wairua manawanui i te wairua whakakake.
The end of a speech is better than the beginning. Patience is better than arrogance.
9 Kei hohoro tou wairua ki te riri: kei te uma hoki o nga wairangi te riri e noho ana.
Do not be quickly moved to anger. For anger resides in the sinews of the foolish.
10 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.
You should not say: “What do you think is the reason that the former times were better than they are now?” For this type of question is foolish.
11 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.
Wisdom with riches is more useful and more advantageous, for those who see the sun.
12 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.
For as wisdom protects, so also does money protect. But learning and wisdom have this much more: that they grant life to one who possesses them.
13 Whakaaroa ta te Atua mahi: ko wai hoki hei mea kia tika tana i mea ai kia hape?
Consider the works of God, that no one is able to correct whomever he has despised.
14 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.
In good times, enjoy good things, but beware of an evil time. For just as God has established the one, so also the other, in order that man may not find any just complaint against him.
15 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.
I also saw this, in the days of my vanity: a just man perishing in his justice, and an impious man living a long time in his malice.
16 Kaua e whakanuia rawatia tou tika; kaua hoki e whakanuia rawatia ou whakaaro: he aha koe i whakangaro ai i a koe?
Do not try to be overly just, and do not try to be more wise than is necessary, lest you become stupid.
17 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?
Do not act with great impiety, and do not choose to be foolish, lest you die before your time.
18 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.
It is good for you to support a just man. Furthermore, you should not withdraw your hand from him, for whoever fears God, neglects nothing.
19 Ko te whakaaro nui rahi ake tona kaha mo te tangata whakaaro i to nga rangatira kotahi tekau i roto i te pa.
Wisdom has strengthened the wise more than ten princes of a city.
20 Kahore hoki he tangata tika i te whenua e mahi ana i te pai, a kahore ona hara.
But there is no just man on earth, who does good and does not sin.
21 Kaua ano e whakarongo ki nga mea katoa e korerotia ana; kei rongo koe ki tau pononga e kanga ana i a koe;
So then, do not attach your heart to every word that is spoken, lest perhaps you may hear your servant speaking ill of you.
22 He maha hoki nga wa, e mohio ana tou ngakau, i kanga ai koe ano i etahi.
For your conscience knows that you, too, have repeatedly spoken evil of others.
23 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.
I have tested everything in wisdom. I have said: “I will be wise.” And wisdom withdrew farther from me,
24 Ko te mea onaianei he tawhiti rawa, he hohonu rawa hoki; ko wai hei kite?
so much more than it was before. Wisdom is very profound, so who shall reveal her?
25 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:
I have examined all things in my soul, so that I may know, and consider, and seek out wisdom and reason, and so that I may recognize the impiety of the foolish, and the error of the imprudent.
26 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.
And I have discovered a woman more bitter than death: she who is like the snare of a hunter, and whose heart is like a net, and whose hands are like chains. Whoever pleases God shall flee from her. But whoever is a sinner shall be seized by her.
27 Nana, kua kitea tenei e ahau, e ai ta te Kaikauwhau, he mea whakarite tetahi mea ki tetahi, kia kitea ai te tikanga:
Behold, Ecclesiastes said, I have discovered these things, one after another, in order that I might discover the explanation
28 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.
which my soul still seeks and has not found. One man among a thousand, I have found; a woman among them all, I have not found.
29 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.
This alone have I discovered: that God made man righteous, and yet he has adulterated himself with innumerable questions. Who is so great as the wise? And who has understood the meaning of the word?
