1 E taku tama, ki te tango koe i aku kupu, ki te huna i aku whakahau ki roto ki a koe;

My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

2 A ka tahuri tou taringa ki te whakaaro nui, ka anga ano tou ngakau ki te matauranga;

so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

3 A e ra, ki te mea ka karangarangatia e koe te matauranga, a ka puaki tou reo ki te ngakau mohio;

yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

4 K i te rapua hoki ia e koe ano he hiriwa, ki te kimihia ano he taonga huna;

if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

5 K o reira koe matau ai ki te wehi o Ihowa, kite ai i te mohio ki te Atua.

then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

6 M a Ihowa hoki e homai te whakaaro nui; no tona mangai te matauranga me te ngakau mohio.

For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

7 E rongoatia ana e ia te whakaaro nui ma te hunga tika; he whakangungu rakau ia mo te hunga he tapatahi nei te haere;

He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

8 K ia tiakina ai e ia nga ara o te whakawa, kia tohungia ai te ara o tana hunga tapu.

He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

9 K o reira koe mohio ai ki te tika, ki te whakawa, ki te mea ano e rite ana, ae ra, ki nga ara pai katoa.

Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

10 K a uru hoki te whakaaro nui ki roto ki tou ngakau, a ka reka te matauranga ki tou wairua;

When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

11 K a ai te ngarahu pai hei tiaki i a koe, te ngakau mohio hei pupuri i a koe;

discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

12 H ei kukume mai i a koe i te ara o te kino, i te tangata e puta ke ana ana korero;

to deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

13 I te hunga e whakarere nei i nga ara o te tika, e haere ana i nga ara o te pouri;

who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

14 E koa ana, i a ratou e mahi ana i te kino, e hari ana ki nga tikanga parori ke o te kino;

who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

15 H e ara kopikopiko o ratou, he whanoke ratou i o ratou huarahi:

whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

16 H ei whakaora i a koe i te wahine tauhou, i te wahine tauhou e whakapati nei ki ana kupu;

to deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

17 K ua whakarerea nei e ia te hoa o tona tamahinetanga, kua wareware ki te kawenata o tona Atua.

which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

18 E heke atu ana hoki tona whare ki te mate, ona ara ki nga tupapaku.

For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

19 K o te hunga katoa e haere atu ana ki a ia e kore e hoki mai; e kore ano e mau i a ratou nga ara o te ora.

None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

20 A ka haere koe i nga ara o nga tangata pai, ka mau ano ki nga ara o te hunga tika.

That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

21 K a noho hoki te hunga tika ki te whenua; ka mau te hunga ngakau tapatahi ki reira.

For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.

22 K a hatepea atu ia te hunga kino i runga i te whenua; ka hutia atu i reira te hunga he kopeka ta ratou mahi.

But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.