Whakatauki 20
1 Ko ta te waina he whakahi, ko ta te wai kaha he ngangau: a, ko te hunga katoa e whakapohehetia ana e tera, kahore o ratou whakaaro nui.
Drinking a lot of wine or [other] strong drinks causes people to start fighting; it is foolish to become drunk/intoxicated.
2 Ano he raiona e hamama ana te wehi o te kingi: ko te tangata e whakaoho ana i a ia kia riri, e hara ana ki tona wairua ake.
Being afraid of a king when he is angry is like [SIM] being afraid of a lion when it growls/roars; if you cause the king to become angry, he may execute you.
3 He whakahonore mo te tangata te noho watea mai i te ngangare: engari ko nga wairangi he kowhetewhete tonu.
[People] respect those who stay away from disputes/arguments; foolish people [love to] quarrel.
4 Kahore te mangere e parau, he mea ki te hotoke; no reira ka pakiki kai mana i te kotinga witi, a kahore e whiwhi.
[If] a lazy man does not plow [his fields at the right/proper time], he will look for [crops] at harvest [time], but there will be nothing there.
5 He wai hohonu te whakaaro i roto i te ngakau o te tangata; e utuhia ano ia e te tangata matau.
[Just] as it is difficult to bring up water from a deep well, it is difficult to know what people are thinking, but someone who has good sense/insight will be able to find out what people are thinking.
6 Ko ta te tini o te tangata he kauwhau i tona atawhai ake; ko wai ia e kite i te tangata pono?
Many people proclaim that they can be trusted [to do what they say that they will do], but it is very difficult to find [RHQ] someone who can really be trusted.
7 Ko te tangata tika, e haere ana i runga i tona tapatahi, ka manaakitia ana tamariki i muri i a ia.
If parents conduct their lives as they should, [God] blesses their children (OR, their children are very happy/fortunate).
8 Ko te kingi e noho ana i runga i te torona whakawa, titaritaria ana e ona kanohi nga he katoa.
A king who sits on his throne to judge people can [easily] [MTY] find out what things that people have done are good and what things are evil.
9 Ko wai e mea, Kua ma i ahau toku ngakau, kua tahia atu oku hara?
There is no one [RHQ] who can truthfully say, “I do not know of any wrong things that I have done; I have (gotten rid of all my sinful behavior/quit doing what is sinful).”
10 Ko nga pauna huhua, ko nga mehua huhua, he rite tahi taua rua, he mea whakarihariha anake ki a Ihowa.
Yahweh detests people who use weights that are not right and measures that are not correct.
11 He tamariki nei ano ka mohiotia ki ana hanga, he ma ranei, he tika ranei tana mahi.
Even children show by what they do whether they are good or not; they show whether (what they do/their behavior) is honest and right [or not].
12 Ko te taringa rongo, ko te kanohi titiro, na Ihowa raua ngatahi i hanga.
Two of the things that Yahweh has created [for us] are ears to hear things and eyes to see things.
13 Kaua e matenuitia te moe, kei rawakoretia koe; titiro ou kanohi, a ka makona koe i te taro.
If you want to sleep [all the time], you will become poor; if you stay awake [and work], you will have plenty of food.
14 Ehara ehara, e ai ta te kaihoko: tona haerenga atu ia, kei te whakamanamana.
People [look at things that they are about] to buy, [and in order to get it for a lower price sometimes they] say, “(It is no good/It is poor quality),” but [after they buy it], they go and boast [about having bought it for a cheap price].
15 He koura tena me te tini o te rupi; engari he taonga utu nui nga ngutu o te matauranga.
Gold and precious stones are [valuable], but wise words [MTY] are more valuable.
16 Tangohia te kakahu o te kaiwhakakapi mo te tangata ke; puritia hoki te tangata i taunahatia hei whakakapi mo nga tangata ke.
If you foolishly promise to a stranger that you will pay what he owes if he is unable to pay it [DOU], [you deserve to] have someone take your coat from you.
17 He reka ki te tangata te taro o te teka; muri iho ka ki tona mangai i te kirikiri.
People [may] think that food that they acquire by doing what is dishonest will taste very good, but later [they will not enjoy what they have done any more than they would enjoy] eating gravel/sand.
18 Ma te runanga ka u ai nga whakaaro; kia pai hoki te ngarahu ina anga ki te whawhai.
When people give you good advice, [if you do what they suggest], your plans will succeed; so be sure to get good advice from wise people before you start fighting a war.
19 Ko te tangata e kopikopiko ana ki te kawekawe korero, ka whakina e ia nga korero ngaro: na reira kaua e raweke atu ki te tangata ngutu hamama.
Those who go around telling gossip are [always] telling secrets to [others]; so stay away from people who foolishly talk [too much].
20 Ko te tangata e kanga ana i tona papa, i tona whaea, ka tineia tona rama i roto i te pouri kerekere.
If someone curses his father or his mother, his life will be ended, [just] like a lamp is extinguished.
21 I te timatanga e hohoro mai pea te taonga; e kore ia tona mutunga e whakapaingia.
If you very quickly take the property that your parents promise will be yours after they die, you will not receive any good/blessing from it.
22 Kaua e mea, Ka utua e ahau te kino: taria ta Ihowa, a kei a ia he oranga mou.
Do not say, “I will do evil to those who do evil to me;” wait for Yahweh [to do something about it], and he will (help you/[do what is right]).
23 He mea whakarihariha ki a Ihowa nga taimaha rere ke; a e kore hoki te pauna tinihanga e pai.
Yahweh detests [those who use] dishonest scales and weights that are not accurate/correct.
24 Na Ihowa nga haereerenga o te tangata: na ma te aha te tangata ka matau ai ki tona ara?
Yahweh is the one who has decided what will happen to us, so (how can we (understand/know) what will happen before it happens?/we humans certainly cannot (understand/know) what will happen before it happens.) [RHQ]
25 Hei rore ki te tangata te oho noa ake ki te mea, He tapu! a, i muri i nga ki taurangi, kia uiui.
You should think carefully before you solemnly promise to dedicate something to God, because later you might be sorry you have promised to do it.
26 Ka titaritaria e te kingi whakaaro nui te hunga kino, a ka hurihia hoki e ia te wira patu witi ki runga ki a ratou.
Wise kings find out [MET] which people have done what is wrong, and they punish them very severely [IDM].
27 He rama na Ihowa te manawa o te tangata, e rapu ana i nga mea katoa i roto rawa i te kopu.
Our consciences are [like] lamps that Yahweh [has given to us to enable us to know what we are thinking] [MET]; they reveal what is hidden deep in our (minds/inner beings).
28 Hei kaitiaki mo te kingi te atawhai me te pono; e tautokona ake ana hoki tona torona e te atawhai.
Kings will continue to rule as long as they faithfully love their people and are loyal to them and as long as they rule righteously/fairly.
29 Ko te kororia o nga taitama ko to ratou kaha: a, ko te ataahua o nga kaumatua ko te upoko hina.
We honor/admire young people because they are strong, but we respect [MTY] old people more because they are wise.
30 E tahia atu ana te kino e nga karawarawa o te patunga; a e tae rawa ana nga whiu ki nga wahi o roto rawa o te kopu.
When we are beaten or whipped, it [can] cause us to quit doing what is evil in our lives; when someone wounds us [by punishing us], it [can] cause our behavior to become good.
