Kaikauwhau 11
1 Maka tau taro ki te mata o nga wai; kia maha hoki nga ra ka kitea ano e koa.
Send forth thy bread on the face of the waters, For in the multitude of the days thou dost find it.
2 Hoatu 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, and even to eight, For thou knowest not what evil is on the earth.
3 Ki 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 thick clouds are full of rain, On the earth they empty [themselves]; And if a tree doth fall in the south or to the north, The place where the tree falleth, there it is.
4 Ko te tangata e whai mahara ana ki te hau, e kore e rui; ko te tangata titiro kapua e kore e kokoti.
Whoso is observing the wind soweth not, And whoso is looking on the thick clouds reapeth not.
5 Na, 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 thou knowest not what [is] the way of the spirit, How — bones in the womb of the full one, So thou knowest not the work of God who maketh the whole.
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 thy seed, And at even withdraw not thy hand, For thou knowest not which is right, this or that, Or whether both of them alike [are] good.
7 He pono he ahuareka te marama, a he mea pai ki nga kanohi te titiro ki te ra.
Sweet also [is] the light, And good for the eyes to see the sun.
8 Ae 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.
But, if man liveth many years, In all of them let him rejoice, And remember the days of darkness, For they are many! all that is coming [is] vanity.
9 Kia 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 thy childhood, And let thy heart gladden thee in days of thy youth, And walk in the ways of thy heart, And in the sight of thine eyes, And know thou that for all these, Doth God bring thee into judgment.
10 No 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.
And turn aside anger from thy heart, And cause evil to pass from thy flesh, For the childhood and the age [are] vanity!
