Kaikauwhau 1
1 Ko nga kupu a te Kaikauwhau, ara a te tama a Rawiri, i kingi nei ki Hiruharama.
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 He tino horihori rawa, e ai ta te Kaikauwhau, he tino horihori rawa; he horihori katoa.
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3 He aha te pai ki te tangata o tona mauiui katoa e mauiui ai ia i raro i te ra?
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4 Ko tenei whakatupuranga e haere atu ana, ko tera whakatupuranga e haere mai ana: ko te whenua ia, mau tonu.
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains 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 rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
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 southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
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.
All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
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.
All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
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.
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
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.
Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
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.
There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
12 Ko ahau, ko te Kaikauwhau, te kingi o Iharaira i Hiruharama.
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in 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.
And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
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 have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
15 Ko te mea piko e kore e taea te whakahangai: ko te mea koha e kore e taea te tatau.
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
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 said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth 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 set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit 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 much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
