1 H e teka ianei kei te karanga te whakaaro nui, e puaki ana ano te reo o te matauranga?
Does not wisdom call, And understanding lift up her voice?
2 I runga i nga wahi tiketike tona turanga, i te ara i te tutakitanga o nga huarahi;
On top of the heights beside the way, Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
3 H amama ana ia i te taha o nga kuwaha, i te ngutu o te pa, i te tomokanga atu i nga tatau:
Beside the gates, at the opening to the city, At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:
4 K i a koutou, e nga tangata, taku karanga; ki nga tama ano a te tangata toku reo.
“To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men.
5 E nga kuware, kia matau koutou ki te ngarahu tupato; e nga wairangi, kia mohio te ngakau.
“O naive ones, understand prudence; And, O fools, understand wisdom.
6 W hakarongo mai, ka korerotia hoki e ahau nga mea pai rawa; ko ta oku ngutu e whakapuaki ai ko nga mea e rite ana.
“Listen, for I will speak noble things; And the opening of my lips will reveal right things.
7 H e pono hoki te korero a toku mangai; he mea whakarihariha ano te kino ki oku ngutu.
“For my mouth will utter truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 K ei runga i te tika nga kupu katoa a toku mangai; kahore he whakapeka, he whanoke ranei, i roto.
“All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.
9 K o enei katoa he marama ki te tangata e matau ana, he tika ki te hunga i kitea ai te mohio.
“They are all straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge.
10 M anakohia mai taku ako, kaua te hiriwa; ko te matauranga, nui atu i te koura pai rawa.
“Take my instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choicest gold.
11 P ai atu hoki te whakaaro nui i nga rupi; e kore hoki nga mea katoa e minaminatia nei e tau hei whakarite mona.
“For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her.
12 K ua meinga e ahau, e te whakaaro nui, ko te ngarahu pai hei nohoanga moku, e kitea ana e ahau te mohio me te ata whakaaro.
“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And I find knowledge and discretion.
13 K o te wehi ki a Ihowa koia tena ko te kino ki te he: e kino ana ahau ki te whakapehapeha, ki te whakakake, ki te ara he, ki te mangai whanoke.
“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.
14 K o te whakaaro tika, ko te whakaaro nui, naku; ko ahau te matauranga, kei ahau te kaha.
“ Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine.
15 N aku nga kingi i kingi ai, naku nga rangatira i whakatakoto ai i te tika.
“By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice.
16 N aku i whai rangatiratanga ai nga rangatira, nga tangata nunui, ara nga kaiwhakawa katoa o te whenua.
“By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly.
17 E arohaina ana e ahau te hunga e aroha ana ki ahau; ko te hunga hoki e ata rapu ana i ahau, e kite ratou i ahau.
“I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.
18 H e taonga, he kororia kei ahau; ae ra, he rawa mau tonu, he tika.
“ Riches and honor are with me, Enduring wealth and righteousness.
19 P ai atu oku hua i te koura, ae ra, i te koura parakore; ko nga mea e puta ana i ahau, pai atu i te hiriwa kowhiri.
“My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold, And my yield better than choicest silver.
20 K ei nga ara o te tika ahau e haere ana, kei waenganui i nga huarahi o te whakawa:
“I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice,
21 K ia meinga ai e ahau te hunga e aroha ana ki ahau kia whiwhi ki te rawa, kia whakakiia ai e ahau a ratou takotoranga taonga.
To endow those who love me with wealth, That I may fill their treasuries.
22 I a Ihowa ahau, no te timatanga ra ano o ona ara, no mua atu i ana mahi o nehera.
“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old.
23 N onamata riro ahau i whakaritea ai, no te timatanga, no mua atu i te whenua.
“From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.
24 I te mea kahore ano nga rire, kua whanau ahau; i te mea kiano he puna whai wai.
“When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no springs abounding with water.
25 N o mua atu i te whakaunga o nga maunga, no mua i nga pukepuke toku whanautanga:
“ Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth;
26 I te mea kahore ano i hanga noatia e ia te whenua, me nga parae, me te timatanga o te puehu o te ao.
While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world.
27 I tana whakaturanga i nga rangi, i reira ano ahau: i tana whakaritenga i te awhi mo te mata o te rire;
“When He established the heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
28 I tana whakapumautanga i nga rangi i runga; i te tototanga o nga puna o te rire;
When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed,
29 I tana rohenga mai i te moana, kei takahia tana kupu e nga wai; i tana waitohutanga i nga turanga o te whenua;
When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth;
30 I reira ahau i tona taha, he tohunga ki nga mahi: he ahuarekatanga ahau nona i ia ra, i ia ra, e koa ana i nga wa katoa i tona aroaro;
Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him,
31 E koa ana ki tana ao; a ko taku i ahuareka ai ko nga tama a te tangata.
Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men.
32 N o reira, e aku tamariki, whakarongo mai ki ahau: ka hari hoki te hunga e pupuri ana i oku ara.
“Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessed are they who keep my ways.
33 W hakarongo mai ki te ako, kia whai whakaaro ai koutou; kaua hoki e paopaongia.
“ Heed instruction and be wise, And do not neglect it.
34 K a hari te tangata e whakarongo ana ki ahau, e tatari ana i oku tatau i tenei ra, i tenei ra, e whanga ana i nga pou o oku kuwaha.
“ Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts.
35 K o te tangata hoki e kite ana i ahau, e kite ana i te ora, ka whiwhi ano ia ki ta Ihowa manako mai.
“For he who finds me finds life And obtains favor from the Lord.
36 K o te tangata ia e hara ana ki ahau, he mahi nanakia tana ki tona wairua ake; ko te hunga katoa e kino ana ki ahau, e aroha ana ki te mate.
“But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death.”