Truly the light is sweet,
And it is pleasant for the eyes (A)to behold the sun;
But if a man lives many years
And (B)rejoices in them all,
Yet let him (C)remember the days of darkness,
For they will be many.
All that is coming is vanity.

Seek God in Early Life

Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,
And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth;
(D)Walk in the [a]ways of your heart,
And [b]in the sight of your eyes;
But know that for all these
(E)God will bring you into judgment.
10 Therefore remove [c]sorrow from your heart,
And (F)put away evil from your flesh,
(G)For childhood and [d]youth are vanity.

Seek God in Early Life

12 Remember(H) now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the [e]difficult days come,
And the years draw near (I)when you say,
“I have no pleasure in them”:
While the sun and the light,
The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened,
And the clouds do not return after the rain;
In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
And the strong men bow down;
When the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look through the windows grow dim;
When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird,
And all (J)the daughters of music are brought low.
Also they are afraid of height,
And of terrors in the way;
When the almond tree blossoms,
The grasshopper is a burden,
And desire fails.
For man goes to (K)his eternal home,
And (L)the mourners go about the streets.

Remember your Creator before the silver cord is [f]loosed,
Or the golden bowl is broken,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.
(M)Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
(N)And the spirit will return to God (O)who gave it.

“Vanity(P) of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“All is vanity.”

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 11:9 Impulses
  2. Ecclesiastes 11:9 As you see to be best
  3. Ecclesiastes 11:10 vexation
  4. Ecclesiastes 11:10 Prime of life
  5. Ecclesiastes 12:1 Lit. evil
  6. Ecclesiastes 12:6 So with Qr., Tg.; Kt. removed; LXX, Vg. broken

Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun. [a]Yea, if a man live many years, let him rejoice in them all; [b]but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. 10 Therefore remove [c]sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

12 Remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain; in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the [d]grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows shall be darkened, and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; yea, they shall be afraid [e]of that which is high, and terrors shall be in the way; and the almond-tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper [f]shall be a burden, and [g]desire shall [h]fail; because man goeth to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets: before the silver cord is [i]loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity.

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 11:8 Or, For
  2. Ecclesiastes 11:8 Or, and remember
  3. Ecclesiastes 11:10 Or, vexation. Or, provocation
  4. Ecclesiastes 12:3 Or, grinding women
  5. Ecclesiastes 12:5 Or, of danger from on high
  6. Ecclesiastes 12:5 Or, shall drag itself along
  7. Ecclesiastes 12:5 Or, the caperberry
  8. Ecclesiastes 12:5 Or, burst
  9. Ecclesiastes 12:6 Or, snapped asunder