Whakatauki 23
1 Ki te noho tahi korua ko te rangatira ki te kai, ata whakaaroa marietia tera i tou aroaro:
When thou sit to eat with a ruler, consider diligently him who is before thee,
2 Whakapakia he maripi ki tou korokoro, ki te mea he tangata kakai koe.
and put a knife to thy throat if thou be a man given to appetite.
3 Kaua e hiahia ki ana mea reka: he kai tinihanga hoki era.
Be not desirous of his dainties, since they are deceitful food.
4 Kaua e taruke ki te mea taonga: kati tau mea ki tou matauranga.
Weary not thyself to be rich. Out of thine own wisdom, cease.
5 E anga mai ranei ou kanohi ki taua mea korekore nei? He pono hoki ka whai parirau te taonga, koia ano kei te ekara, rere ana whaka te rangi.
Will thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For it certainly makes itself wings, like an eagle that flies toward heaven.
6 Kaua e kainga te kai a te tangata kanohi kino, kei minamina hoki koe ki ana mea reka.
Eat thou not the bread of an evil eye, nor desire thou his dainties.
7 Ko tana hoki e mea ai i roto i a ia, pera tonu ia: E kai, e inu; koia tana kupu ki a koe; kahore ia ona ngakau ki a koe.
For as he thinks within himself, so is he. Eat and drink, he says to thee, but his heart is not with thee.
8 Ko te kongakonga i kainga e koe, ka ruakina e koe, ka maumauria ano hoki au kupu reka.
The morsel which thou have eaten thou shall vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
9 Kaua e korero ki nga taringa o te kuware; ka whakahawea hoki ia ki te whakaaro nui o au kupu.
Speak not in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10 Kei whakanekehia e koe te rohe tawhito; kei haere koe ki nga mara a te pani:
Remove not the ancient landmark. And enter not into the fields of the fatherless,
11 No te mea he kaha to ratou kaiwhakaora; ka tohea e ia ta ratou tohe ki a koe.
for their Redeemer is strong. He will plead their cause against thee.
12 Anga atu tou ngakau ki te ako, me ou taringa ki nga kupu o te matauranga.
Apply thy heart to instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Kaua e tohungia te whiu ki te tamaiti: ki te patua hoki ia e koe ki te rakau, e kore ia e mate.
Withhold not correction from the child, for if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Thou shall beat him with the rod, and shall deliver his soul from Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
15 E taku tama, ki te whakaaro nui tou ngakau, ka koa hoki toku ngakau, ae ra, toku nei ano:
My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart will be glad, even mine.
16 Ae ra, ka hari oku whatumanawa, ina korero ou ngutu i nga mea tika.
Yea, my heart will rejoice when thy lips speak right things.
17 Kei hae tou ngakau ki te hunga hara; engari kia wehi koe ki a Ihowa, a pau noa te ra.
Let not thy heart envy sinners, but be thou in the fear of Jehovah all the day long.
18 He pono hoki tera ano he whakautu; e kore ano hoki tau i tumanako ai e hatepea atu.
For surely there is a reward, and thy hope shall not be cut off.
19 Whakarongo ra, e taku tama, kia whai whakaaro hoki koe, a whakatikaia tou ngakau i te ara.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thy heart in the way.
20 Kei uru ki te hunga kakai waina; ki te hunga pukukai kikokiko:
Be not among winebibbers, among gluttonous eaters of flesh.
21 No te mea ka tutuki tahi te tangata inu raua ko te tangata kakai ki te rawakore; he tawhetawhe hoki te kakahu a te momoe mo te tangata.
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
22 Whakarongo ki tou papa nana koe; kaua hoki e whakahawea ki tou whaea ina ruruhi ia.
Hearken to thy father who begot thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23 Hokona te pono, kaua hoki e whakawhitiwhitia; ae ra, te whakaaro nui, te ako hoki, me te matauranga.
Buy the truth, and do not sell it, yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 Nui atu hoki te koa o te papa o te tangata tika; a, ko te tangata e whanau he tama whakaaro nui mana, ka hari ia ki a ia.
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who begets a wise son will have joy of him.
25 Kia hari tou papa raua ko tou whaea, ina, kia koa te wahine i whanau ai koe.
Let thy father and thy mother be glad, and let her who bore thee rejoice.
26 E taku tama, homai tou ngakau ki ahau, kia manako ano hoki ou kanohi ki aku ara.
My son, give me thy heart, and let thine eyes delight in my ways.
27 No te mea he rua hohonu te wahine kairau; he poka kuiti te wahine ke.
For a harlot is a deep ditch, and an interloping woman is a narrow pit.
28 Ae ra, ka whanga ia ano he kaipahua, a ka whakatokomahatia e ia nga tangata poka ke.
Yea, she lies in wait as a robber, and increases the treacherous among men.
29 Ko wai e aue? Ko wai e tangi? Ko wai e totohe? Ko wai e ngangautia? Ko wai e maru, he mea takekore? Ko wai e whero tonu ona kanohi?
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
30 Ko te hunga e noho roa ana ki te waina; ko te hunga e haere ana ki te rapu i te waina whakaranu.
Those who tarry long at the wine. Those who go to seek out mixed wine.
31 Kaua e titiro ki te waina i te mea e whero ana, ina puta tona kara i roto i te kapu, ina mania tona heke.
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly.
32 Tona tukunga iho ano he nakahi e ngau ana, koia ano kei te wero a te neke.
At the end it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder.
33 E kite hoki ou kanohi i nga mea rereke, a ka puta he kupu rereke i tou ngakau.
Thine eyes shall behold strange things, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Ae ra, ka rite koe ki te tangata e takoto ana i waenga moana, ki te tangata ranei e takoto ana i te tihi o te rewa.
Yea, thou shall be as he who lies down in the midst of the sea, or as he who lies upon the top of a mast.
35 A ka mea koe, Patua ana ahau e ratou, a kihai ahau i mamae; tatatia ana ahau e ratou, a kihai ahau i mohio: a hea ahau ara ake ai? Ka rapua ano e ahau.
They have stricken me, thou shall say, and I was not hurt. They have beaten me, and I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
