1 M y son, be attentive to my Wisdom, and incline your ear to my understanding,

E taku tama, tahuri ki oki whakaaro nui, kia anga tou taringa ki toku matauranga:

2 T hat you may exercise proper discrimination and discretion and your lips may guard and keep knowledge and the wise answer.

Kia u ai koe ki te ngarahu pai, kia mau ai te matauranga i ou ngutu.

3 F or the lips of a loose woman drip honey as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil;

Ko nga ngutu hoki o te wahine ke, kei te maturuturunga iho o te honikoma, ngawari iho tona mangai i te hinu.

4 B ut in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged and devouring sword.

He kawa rawa hoki tona mutunga i te taru kawa; he koi, ano he hoari matarua.

5 H er feet go down to death; her steps take hold of Sheol (Hades, the place of the dead).

Ko ona waewae e heke ana ki te mate, mau pu te reinga i ona takahanga;

6 S he loses sight of and walks not in the path of life; her ways wind about aimlessly, and you cannot know them.

Heoi kahore i kitea e ia te ara totika ki te ora: he kotiti ke ona ara, a kahore ia i te matau.

7 N ow therefore, my sons, listen to me, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

Na reira, e aku tamariki, whakarongo mai ki ahau, kei mahue hoki nga kupu a toku mangai.

8 L et your way in life be far from her, and come not near the door of her house,

Kia matara tou ara i a ia, kaua hoki e tata ki te tatau o tona whare;

9 L est you give your honor to others and your years to those without mercy,

Kei hoatu tou honore ki nga tangata ke, ou tau ki te hunga nanakia:

10 L est strangers take their fill of your strength and wealth and your labors go to the house of an alien —

Kei makona nga tangata ke i tou kaha, kei riro ou mauiui ki te whare o te tangata ke;

11 A nd you groan and mourn when your end comes, when your flesh and body are consumed,

A ka tangi koe i tou whakamutunga, ina poto ou kikokiko me tou tinana.

12 A nd you say, How I hated instruction and discipline, and my heart despised reproof!

A ka mea, Katae toku kino ki te ako; katae te mauiui o toku ngakau ki te tohutohu!

13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers nor submitted and consented to those who instructed me.

Kihai hoki ahau i whakarongo ki te reo o oku kaiwhakaako, kihai toku taringa i anga ki te hunga e tohutohu ana i ahau.

14 m y sin involved almost all evil of the congregation and the community.

Wahi iti kei nga kino katoa ahau i waenganui o te whakaminenga, o te huihui.

15 D rink waters out of your own cistern, and fresh running waters out of your own well.

Inumia he wai i roto i tau ake rua, me nga wai rere ano i roto i tau ake poka.

16 S hould your offspring be dispersed abroad as water brooks in the streets?

Kia tohatoha noa atu koia au puna wai, nga awa wai i nga huarahi?

17 l et your children be for you alone, and not the children of strangers with you.

Waiho ena mau anake, kauaka ma koutou tahi ko nga tangata ke.

18 L et your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth.

Kia manaakitia tau puna wai: kia koa ano koe ki te wahine o tou taitamarikitanga.

19 L et her be as the loving hind and pleasant doe —let her bosom satisfy you at all times, and always be transported with delight in her love.

Kia rite ia ki taua mea ahuareka, ki te hata, ki te mea ataahua ki te anaterope; kia makona koe i ona u i nga wa katoa, kia matenuitia tonutia e koe tona aroha.

20 W hy should you, my son, be infatuated with a loose woman, embrace the bosom of an outsider, and go astray?

He aha oti koe, e taku tama, ka matenui ai ki te wahine ke, i awhi ai i te uma o te wahine ke?

21 F or the ways of man are directly before the eyes of the Lord, and He carefully weighs all man’s goings.

Kei mua hoki i nga kanohi o Ihowa nga ara o te tangata, a e meinga ana e ia kia papatairite ona ara katoa.

22 H is own iniquities shall ensnare the wicked man, and he shall be held with the cords of his sin.

Ko ona kino ano hei hopu i te tangata kino, hei taura ona hara e mau ai ia.

23 H e will die for lack of discipline and instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray and be lost.

Ka mate ia, he mea kihai i whakaakona, ka pohehe i te nui o tona wairangi.