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 diligently what is before thee:
2 Whakapakia he maripi ki tou korokoro, ki te mea he tangata kakai koe.
For thou puttest a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man of a craving desire.
3 Kaua e hiahia ki ana mea reka: he kai tinihanga hoki era.
Do not long for his savory meats; they are deceitful food.
4 Kaua e taruke ki te mea taonga: kati tau mea ki tou matauranga.
Fatigue thyself not to become rich; because thou hast understanding, forbear.
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 thou lettest merely thy eyes fly over it, it is no more: for it will ever make itself wings: like an eagle will it fly toward heaven.
6 Kaua e kainga te kai a te tangata kanohi kino, kei minamina hoki koe ki ana mea reka.
Eat not the bread of a man with an evil eye, and do not long for his savory meats;
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 though there were a division in his soul, so doth he act: Eat and drink, saith he 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.
Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou spit out, and thou hast wasted thy pleasant words.
9 Kaua e korero ki nga taringa o te kuware; ka whakahawea hoki ia ki te whakaaro nui o au kupu.
Speak not before the ears of a fool; for he will despise the intelligence 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 into the fields of the fatherless must thou not enter;
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 indeed plead their cause with thee.
12 Anga atu tou ngakau ki te ako, me ou taringa ki nga kupu o te matauranga.
Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thy ears to the sayings 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 from a lad correction; for if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Thou wilt indeed beat him with the rod; but thou wilt deliver his soul from perdition. (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 what is equitable.
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 be envious against sinners; but [remain] in the fear of the lord all the time.
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 thy hope will 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 become wise, and guide thy heart on the right way.
20 Kei uru ki te hunga kakai waina; ki te hunga pukukai kikokiko:
Be not among those that drink wine immoderately, among those that over-indulge in eating 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 will come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth a man in rags.
22 Whakarongo ki tou papa nana koe; kaua hoki e whakahawea ki tou whaea ina ruruhi ia.
Hearken unto thy father that hath begotten thee, and despise not thy mother although she be 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; [also] 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 the righteous will be greatly glad, and he that begetteth a wise child will have joy through him.
25 Kia hari tou papa raua ko tou whaea, ina, kia koa te wahine i whanau ai koe.
Let [then] thy father and thy mother rejoice, and let her that hath born thee be glad.
26 E taku tama, homai tou ngakau ki ahau, kia manako ano hoki ou kanohi ki aku ara.
Give, my son, thy heart unto me, and let thy eyes watch 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 a strange woman is a narrow well.
28 Ae ra, ka whanga ia ano he kaipahua, a ka whakatokomahatia e ia nga tangata poka ke.
She also lieth in wait like a robber, and she 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 hath quarrels? who hath complaints? who hath wounds without cause? who hath 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 late over the wine: they that come to seek for mixed drink.
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 look on the wine when it looketh red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it glideth down so readily.
32 Tona tukunga iho ano he nakahi e ngau ana, koia ano kei te wero a te neke.
At the last it will bite like a serpent, and like a basilisk will it sting.
33 E kite hoki ou kanohi i nga mea rereke, a ka puta he kupu rereke i tou ngakau.
Thy eyes will see strange forms, and thy heart will speak 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.
And thou wilt be like one that lieth down in the heart of the sea, or as he that lieth 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 smote me, [but] I suffered no pain; they struck me hard, [but] I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will continue to seek it again.”
