1 M aka tau taro ki te mata o nga wai; kia maha hoki nga ra ka kitea ano e koa.

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.

2 H oatu tetahi wahi ma te tokowhitu, ae ma te tokowaru ano hoki; e kore hoki koe e mohio ko tehea kino e puta mai ki te whenua.

Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight, for you know not what evil may come upon the earth.

3 K i te ki nga kapua i te ua, ka ringihia ki te whenua: ki te hinga hoki te rakau ki te tonga, ki te raki ranei, ko te wahi e hinga ai te rakau, ko reira ano ia takoto ai.

If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.

4 K o te tangata e whai mahara ana ki te hau, e kore e rui; ko te tangata titiro kapua e kore e kokoti.

He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

5 N a, ka kore ano koe e mohio ki te huarahi o te hau, ki te tupu ranei o nga wheua i roto i te kopu o te wahine hapu; e kore ano hoki e mohiotia e koe te mahi a te Atua, a te kaimahi o nga mea katoa.

As you know not what is the way of the wind, or how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a pregnant woman, even so you know not the work of God, Who does all.

6 I te ata ruia tau purapura, a i te ahiahi kaua e pepeke tou ringa; kahore hoki koe e mohio ko tenei ranei e tika, ko tera ranei, ko raua ranei e rua ka pai ngatahi.

In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening withhold not your hands, for you know not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

7 H e pono he ahuareka te marama, a he mea pai ki nga kanohi te titiro ki te ra.

Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.

8 A e ra, ki te maha nga tau e ora ai te tangata, kia hari ia ki aua tau katoa; engari kia mahara ia ki nga tau o te pouri, tera hoki e maha. Ko nga mea e haere ake ana he horihori katoa.

Yes, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is vanity (emptiness, falsity, vainglory, and futility)!

9 K ia koe, e te taitamariki, ki tou taitamarikitanga; kia whakahari ano hoki tou ngakau i a koe i nga ra o tou taitamarikitanga, haere hoki i nga ara o tou ngakau, i te tirohanga ano a ou kanohi: otiia kia mohio ano koe, he mea enei katoa e riro ai koe i te Atua ki te whakawa.

Rejoice, O young man, in your adolescence, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

10 N o reira whakawateatia atu te riri i tou ngakau, a whakanekehia atu te kino i tou kikokiko: he mea horihori nei hoki te taitamarikitanga, me te houkuratanga.

Therefore remove sorrow and vexation from your heart and mind and put away evil from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.