1 M y son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you,

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

2 M ake your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding;

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

3 F or if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding;

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

4 I f you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures;

Ki te rapua hoki ia e koe ano he hiriwa, ki te kimihia ano he taonga huna;

5 T hen you will discern the fear of the Lord And discover the knowledge of God.

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

6 F or the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

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

7 H e stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

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

8 G uarding the paths of justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones.

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

9 T hen you will discern righteousness and justice And equity and every good course.

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

10 F or wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

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

11 D iscretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you,

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

12 T o deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things;

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

13 F rom those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;

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

14 W ho delight in doing evil And rejoice in the perversity of evil;

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

15 W hose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their ways;

He ara kopikopiko o ratou, he whanoke ratou i o ratou huarahi:

16 T o deliver you from the strange woman, From the adulteress who flatters with her words;

Hei whakaora i a koe i te wahine tauhou, i te wahine tauhou e whakapati nei ki ana kupu;

17 T hat leaves the companion of her youth And forgets the covenant of her God;

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

18 F or her house sinks down to death And her tracks lead to the dead;

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

19 N one who go to her return again, Nor do they reach the paths of life.

Ko 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.

20 S o you will walk in the way of good men And keep to the paths of the righteous.

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

21 F or the upright will live in the land And the blameless will remain in it;

Ka noho hoki te hunga tika ki te whenua; ka mau te hunga ngakau tapatahi ki reira.

22 B ut the wicked will be cut off from the land And the treacherous will be uprooted from it.

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