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, thou shalt consider well, what is before thee;
2 Whakapakia he maripi ki tou korokoro, ki te mea he tangata kakai koe.
And shalt put a knife to thy throat, if, of great appetite, thou art:
3 Kaua e hiahia ki ana mea reka: he kai tinihanga hoki era.
Do not crave his dainties, for, the same, are deceitful food.
4 Kaua e taruke ki te mea taonga: kati tau mea ki tou matauranga.
Do not toil to get wealth, of thine own 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.
Wilt thou let thine eye fly thereupon, when it is nothing? for it will, surely make, itself wings, Like an eagle, will it wing its way across the heavens.
6 Kaua e kainga te kai a te tangata kanohi kino, kei minamina hoki koe ki ana mea reka.
Do not eat the food of him that hath a begrudging eye, neither crave 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, just as he hath thought in his own mind, so, he is: Eat and drink! he may say 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.
As for thy morsel thou hast eaten, thou shalt vomit it, so shalt thou waste thy things so sweet.
9 Kaua e korero ki nga taringa o te kuware; ka whakahawea hoki ia ki te whakaaro nui o au kupu.
In the ears of a dullard, do not speak, for he will despise the good sense of thy words.
10 Kei whakanekehia e koe te rohe tawhito; kei haere koe ki nga mara a te pani:
Do not move back the ancient boundary, and, into the fields of the fatherless, do not enter;
11 No te mea he kaha to ratou kaiwhakaora; ka tohea e ia ta ratou tohe ki a koe.
For, their near of kin, is strong, he, will plead their cause with thee.
12 Anga atu tou ngakau ki te ako, me ou taringa ki nga kupu o te matauranga.
Bring, to correction, thy heart, and thine 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.
Do not withhold, from a child, correction, When thou smitest him with the rod, he shall not die:
Thou, with the rod, shalt smite him, and, his soul from hades, shalt thou deliver. (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.
So shall my reins exult, when thy lips speak the things that are right.
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 of sinners, only of the reverence of Yahweh, all 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 future, 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.
Hear, thou, my son, and be wise, and lead forward, in duty, thy heart.
20 Kei uru ki te hunga kakai waina; ki te hunga pukukai kikokiko:
Do not be among them who tipple with wine, —among them who are gluttons;
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 tippler and the glutton, shall come to poverty, and, rags, shall Slumber put on!
22 Whakarongo ki tou papa nana koe; kaua hoki e whakahawea ki tou whaea ina ruruhi ia.
Hearken to thy father here, who begat thee, and despise not, when she is old, thy mother.
23 Hokona te pono, kaua hoki e whakawhitiwhitia; ae ra, te whakaaro nui, te ako hoki, me te matauranga.
Truth, buy thou, but do not sell, wisdom, and correction, 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.
Greatly shall exult, the father of a righteous man, and, he that begetteth a wise son, shall rejoice in him:
25 Kia hari tou papa raua ko tou whaea, ina, kia koa te wahine i whanau ai koe.
Rejoice shall thy father and thy mother, yea she, shall exult, who bare thee.
26 E taku tama, homai tou ngakau ki ahau, kia manako ano hoki ou kanohi ki aku ara.
Oh give, my son, thy mind unto me, 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 deep chasm, is the unchaste woman, and, a narrow pit, the female unknown;
28 Ae ra, ka whanga ia ano he kaipahua, a ka whakatokomahatia e ia nga tangata poka ke.
Yea, she, as for prey, lieth in wait, and, the treacherous among mankind, she causeth to abound.
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 outcry of pain? Who hath contentions? Who hath complaining? Who hath needless wounds? Who hath dullness 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 who tarry over wine, they who go in to search for 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.
Do not look on wine when it becometh red, when it giveth in the cup its sparkle, glideth down smoothly.
32 Tona tukunga iho ano he nakahi e ngau ana, koia ano kei te wero a te neke.
Its after effect, is that, like a serpent, it biteth, and, like a viper, it doth sting.
33 E kite hoki ou kanohi i nga mea rereke, a ka puta he kupu rereke i tou ngakau.
Thine eyes, will see strange women, 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.
So shalt thou become, as one lying down in the heart of the sea, —or as one lying down on the top of the mastgear:
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—I felt no pain, They struck me down—I noticed it not, —When shall I wake up? I will go on, I will seek it, again!
