Whakatauki 23
1 Ki te noho tahi korua ko te rangatira ki te kai, ata whakaaroa marietia tera i tou aroaro:
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider well 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; for they are deceitful food.
4 Kaua e taruke ki te mea taonga: kati tau mea ki tou matauranga.
Weary not thyself to become rich; cease from thine own intelligence:
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.
wilt thou set thine eyes upon it, it is gone; for indeed it maketh itself wings and it flieth away as an eagle towards the heavens.
6 Kaua e kainga te kai a te tangata kanohi kino, kei minamina hoki koe ki ana mea reka.
Eat thou not the food of him that hath an evil eye, neither 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 thinketh in his soul, so is he. Eat and drink! will he say unto 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.
Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou vomit up, and thou wilt have wasted 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 ears of a foolish [man], 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 mighty; 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 unto 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 beatest him with the rod, he shall not die:
thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt 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 shall rejoice, even mine;
16 Ae ra, ka hari oku whatumanawa, ina korero ou ngutu i nga mea tika.
and my reins shall exult, 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;
18 He pono hoki tera ano he whakautu; e kore ano hoki tau i tumanako ai e hatepea atu.
for surely there is a result, and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
19 Whakarongo ra, e taku tama, kia whai whakaaro hoki koe, a whakatikaia tou ngakau i te ara.
Thou, my son, hear and be wise, and direct thy heart in the way.
20 Kei uru ki te hunga kakai waina; ki te hunga pukukai kikokiko:
Be not among winebibbers, among riotous 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 clotheth with rags.
22 Whakarongo ki tou papa nana koe; kaua hoki e whakahawea ki tou whaea ina ruruhi ia.
Hearken unto thy father that begat 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 sell it not; wisdom, and instruction, and intelligence.
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] shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise [son] shall 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 have joy, and let her that 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 observe my ways.
27 No te mea he rua hohonu te wahine kairau; he poka kuiti te wahine ke.
For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28 Ae ra, ka whanga ia ano he kaipahua, a ka whakatokomahatia e ia nga tangata poka ke.
She also lieth in wait as a robber, and increaseth 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 hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who contentions? Who complaining? Who wounds without cause? Who 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.
— They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to try 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 upon the wine when it is red, when it sparkleth in the cup, and goeth down smoothly:
32 Tona tukunga iho ano he nakahi e ngau ana, koia ano kei te wero a te neke.
at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth 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 women, and thy heart shall speak froward 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.
and thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, and as he that lieth down 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 smitten me, [and] I am not sore; they have beaten me, [and] I knew it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.”
