Whakatauki 25
1 He whakatauki ano enei na Horomona, he mea tuhi e nga tangata a Hetekia kingi o Hura.
Here are more wise sayings/words that Solomon [wrote]. Some men who worked for Hezekiah, the king of Judah, copied them [from a scroll that Solomon had written].
2 Ko to te Atua whakakororia, he hunga mea; ko to nga kingi whakakororia he rapu mea.
[We consider] God to be great because he (acts in mysterious ways/does things that we cannot understand); [we consider] kings to be great because they explain things.
3 Ko te rangi mo te tiketike, ko te whenua mo te hohonu, a ko te ngakau o nga kingi, te taea te rapu.
[It is not possible for anyone to measure] how high the sky is or how deep the earth/ocean is; likewise [SIM], it is not possible for us to know [all] that kings are thinking.
4 Tahia atu te para i te hiriwa, a ka puta mai he oko ma te kaitahi para:
[If workers] burn out the impure bits that are in silver, a man who makes things from silver can make something beautiful from the silver.
5 Tangohia atu te tangata kino i te aroaro o te kingi, a ka u tona torona i runga i te tika.
[Similarly, if] wicked [advisors] are taken away from a king, his government will remain secure, because [the king will be able to] act justly.
6 Kei whakaputa i a koe ki mua i te aroaro o te kingi, kei tu hoki ki te wahi o nga metararahi.
When you stand in front of a king, do not try to (impress him/honor yourself) and do not (act like you are important/ask to sit where important people sit; )
7 He pai he hoki kia kiia mai ki a koe, Haere mai ki runga nei; i te mea kia whakahokia iho koe ki raro i te aroaro o te rangatira i kitea nei e ou kanohi.
it is better if someone tells you to sit closer [to the king] than for [someone to tell you], while the king is listening, to sit further away in order that someone who is more important [may sit closer to the king].
8 Kei hohoro te haere ki te ngangare, kei kore e kitea e koe tau e mea ai i tona mutunga iho, ina meinga koe e tou hoa kia whakama.
Do not quickly go to a court [to tell the judge about] something that you have seen, because another witness may later [say something that proves that you are wrong, and as a result] you will be disgraced/ashamed. If that happens, (what will you do?/you will not know what to do.) [RHQ]
9 Tohea tau tohe ki tou hoa tonu, a kaua e whakina te mea hunga a tetahi:
If you and someone else think differently about some matter, settle it between yourselves, and do not tell others any secret [that he has told you].
10 Kei kohukohutia koe e te tangata i rongo, a kore ake tou ingoa kino e tahuri atu.
If others find out that you have told secrets, you will be ashamed, and from that time on, (you will have a bad reputation/people will think badly about you).
11 He kupu i tika te korero, ko tona rite kei nga a poro koura i roto i nga kete hiriwa.
Something that is said that is [very] appropriate is [as delightful as seeing] [SIM] gold apples/ornaments in a silver bowl.
12 He pera i te whakakai koura, i te whakapaipai koura parakore koia ano te ako a te whakaaro nui ki te taringa rongo.
When a wise person rebukes/warns someone [SYN] who is willing to listen, that is [as valuable as] [SIM] a gold ring or a gold chain.
13 Rite tonu ki te matao o te hukarere i te kotinga witi te karere pono ki ona kaingare; ka ora hoki i a ia te ngakau o ona ariki.
A messenger who (is reliable/tells someone else exactly what he was told to say) refreshes [the spirits of] his bosses who sent him like [SIM] (snow/cold water) refreshes [the ground] at the time that [people] harvest crops.
14 He pera i nga kapua me te hau uakore, koia ano te rite o te tangata e whakamanamana ana ki ana hakari horihori.
When someone promises to give a gift to us but never gives it, [that disappoints us] as much as [SIM] clouds and wind that come but do not bring any rain.
15 Ma te roa e whakamanawanui ana ka whakaae mai ai te kingi, a ma te arero ngawarika mangungu ai te wheua.
If someone keeps requesting a ruler long enough to do something, he will [often] agree to do it; similarly, by speaking [MTY] gently we can [often] convince [others that what we say is right] [IDM].
16 Kua kitea e koe he honi? Kainga ko te wahi e makona ai koe; kei ki rawa koe i taua mea, ka ruakina e koe.
If you find some honey, do not eat a lot of it, because doing that may cause you to vomit.
17 Kia takitahi tou waewae ki te whare o tou hoa; kei hoha ia ki a koe, a ka kino ki a koe.
Do not go to your neighbor’s house very often [to talk with him]; if you go [very] often, he will get tired of listening to you and start to hate you.
18 Ko te tangata e whakaatu teka ana mo tona hoa, he patu ia, he hoari, a he pere koi.
To falsely accuse others [in court] is like [SIM] [attacking them with] a war-club or a sword or a sharp arrow.
19 Ko te whakawhirinaki ki te tangata tinihanga i te wa o te raru, e rite ana ki te niho whati, ki te waewae kua takoki.
Depending on unreliable people when you have troubles is [as bad] as [trying to eat when] you have a bad/hurting tooth or [trying to walk when] your foot is crippled.
20 Ko te tangata e waiata ana ki te ngakau pouri, e rite ana ki te tangata e whakarere ana i te kakahu i te rangi maeke, ki te winika hoki i runga i te houra.
Singing to someone who is depressed [just causes him to feel worse]; it is like [SIM] taking off clothes on a very cold day or like putting vinegar on a wound.
21 Ki te matekai tou hoariri whangaia ki te taro; ki te matewai whakainumia ki te wai;
If your enemies are hungry, give them something to eat; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink;
22 Ka purangatia hoki e koe he waro kapura ki tona mahunga, a ka utua tau e Ihowa.
doing that will cause them to feel ashamed [IDM], and Yahweh will reward you for doing that.
23 E mauria ana mai e te hauraro he ua: e peratia ana hoki e te arero ngautuara, he kanohi pukuriri.
When wind blows from the right direction, it will rain; [similarly] [SIM], if we gossip about others, that causes them to look at us very angrily.
24 He pai ke te noho i te kokonga o te tuanui, i te noho tahi me te wahine ngangare i roto i te whare mahorahora.
It is better to live ([alone/by yourself]) in the corner of an attic/housetop than to live inside the house with a wife who is [always] nagging.
25 He rongo pai no te whenua tawhiti, tona rite kei nga wai matao ki te wairua matewai.
Receiving good news from a country far away refreshes our spirits like [SIM] cold water refreshes us when we are very thirsty.
26 Me te manawa whenua i takatakahia, me te puna i whakaparuparutia, koia ano te tangata tika e hinga ana i te aroaro o te tangata kino.
When a righteous/good person (gives in/yields) to wicked [people], that is [as bad] as [SIM] a spring that becomes muddied or a fountain that becomes polluted.
27 Ehara i te mea pai te kai nui i te honi; waihoki ko a te tangata rapu i to ratou ake kororia ehara i te kororia.
It is not good to eat too much honey, and trying to get people to praise you is also not good.
28 Ko te tangata e kore nei e pehi i tona wairua, e rite ana ki te pa kua pakaru, kahore ona taiepa.
People who (cannot control their tempers/quickly become very angry) [are unable to defend their behavior]; that is like [having] a city without a wall around it, [with the result that no one can defend it].
