Whakatauki 23
1 Ki te noho tahi korua ko te rangatira ki te kai, ata whakaaroa marietia tera i tou aroaro:
When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,
2 Whakapakia he maripi ki tou korokoro, ki te mea he tangata kakai koe.
and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.
3 Kaua e hiahia ki ana mea reka: he kai tinihanga hoki era.
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
4 Kaua e taruke ki te mea taonga: kati tau mea ki tou matauranga.
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
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.
When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
6 Kaua e kainga te kai a te tangata kanohi kino, kei minamina hoki koe ki ana mea reka.
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;
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 he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8 Ko te kongakonga i kainga e koe, ka ruakina e koe, ka maumauria ano hoki au kupu reka.
You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
9 Kaua e korero ki nga taringa o te kuware; ka whakahawea hoki ia ki te whakaaro nui o au kupu.
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Kei whakanekehia e koe te rohe tawhito; kei haere koe ki nga mara a te pani:
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on 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 take up their case against you.
12 Anga atu tou ngakau ki te ako, me ou taringa ki nga kupu o te matauranga.
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to 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.
Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
Strike him with a rod, and you will 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 your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.
16 Ae ra, ka hari oku whatumanawa, ina korero ou ngutu i nga mea tika.
My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17 Kei hae tou ngakau ki te hunga hara; engari kia wehi koe ki a Ihowa, a pau noa te ra.
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
18 He pono hoki tera ano he whakautu; e kore ano hoki tau i tumanako ai e hatepea atu.
For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Whakarongo ra, e taku tama, kia whai whakaaro hoki koe, a whakatikaia tou ngakau i te ara.
Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
20 Kei uru ki te hunga kakai waina; ki te hunga pukukai kikokiko:
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.
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 will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
22 Whakarongo ki tou papa nana koe; kaua hoki e whakahawea ki tou whaea ina ruruhi ia.
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Hokona te pono, kaua hoki e whakawhitiwhitia; ae ra, te whakaaro nui, te ako hoki, me te matauranga.
Invest in truth and never sell it— in 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 fathers a wise son will delight in him.
25 Kia hari tou papa raua ko tou whaea, ina, kia koa te wahine i whanau ai koe.
May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
26 E taku tama, homai tou ngakau ki ahau, kia manako ano hoki ou kanohi ki aku ara.
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
27 No te mea he rua hohonu te wahine kairau; he poka kuiti te wahine ke.
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.
28 Ae ra, ka whanga ia ano he kaipahua, a ka whakatokomahatia e ia nga tangata poka ke.
Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless 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 complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot 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 linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.
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.
Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
32 Tona tukunga iho ano he nakahi e ngau ana, koia ano kei te wero a te neke.
In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
33 E kite hoki ou kanohi i nga mea rereke, a ka puta he kupu rereke i tou ngakau.
Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities.
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.
You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on 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 struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”
