Remember Your Creator in Your Youth
1Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 2While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: 3In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, 4And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low; 5Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: 6Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. 7Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. 8Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
The Fear of God is Utmost
9And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. 10The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
11The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. 12And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Remember Your Creator
1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw near, when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them;” 2 Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain; 3 in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look out of the windows are darkened, 4 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; 5 yes, they shall be afraid of heights, and terrors will be in the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goes to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets: 6 before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “All is vanity!”
The Whole Duty of Man
9 Further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Yes, he pondered, sought out, and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written blamelessly, words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are like goads; and like nails well fastened are words from the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. 12 Furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.
Remember Your Creator
1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,
before the days of adversity come
and the years approach of which you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them,”
2 before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened,
and the clouds return after the rain,
3 on the day the keepers of the house tremble
and the strong men stoop,
when those grinding cease because they are few
and those watching through windows see dimly,
4 when the doors to the street are shut
and the sound of the mill fades away,
when one rises at the sound of a bird
and all the daughters of song grow faint,
5 when men fear the heights and dangers of the road,
when the almond tree blossoms,
the grasshopper loses its spring,
and the caper berry shrivels—
for then man goes to his eternal home
and mourners walk the streets.
6 Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped
and the golden bowl is crushed,
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring
and the wheel is broken at the well,
7 before the dust returns to the ground from which it came
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8 “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher.
“Everything is futile!”
The Whole Duty of Man
9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs. 10 The Teacher searched to find delightful sayings and to record accurate words of truth. a
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the anthologies of the masters are like firmly embedded nails driven by a single Shepherd. b 12 And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.
13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
Footnotes:
10 a Or and sought to write what was upright and true
11 b Or shepherd
Remember Your Creator in Your Youth
1Remember also thy Creators in days of thy youth, While that the evil days come not, Nor the years have arrived, that thou sayest, 'I have no pleasure in them.' 2While that the sun is not darkened, and the light, And the moon, and the stars, And the thick clouds returned after the rain. 3In the day that keepers of the house tremble, And men of strength have bowed themselves, And grinders have ceased, because they have become few. And those looking out at the windows have become dim, 4And doors have been shut in the street. When the noise of the grinding is low, And one riseth at the voice of the bird, And all daughters of song are bowed down. 5Also of that which is high they are afraid, And of the low places in the way, And the almond-tree is despised, And the grasshopper is become a burden, And want is increased, For man is going unto his home age-during, And the mourners have gone round through the street. 6While that the silver cord is not removed, And the golden bowl broken, And the pitcher broken by the fountain, And the wheel broken at the well. 7And the dust returneth to the earth as it was, And the spirit returneth to God who gave it. 8Vanity of vanities, said the preacher, the whole is vanity.
The Fear of God is Utmost
9And further, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge, and gave ear, and sought out -- he made right many similes. 10The preacher sought to find out pleasing words, and, written by the upright, words of truth.
11Words of the wise are as goads, and as fences planted by the masters of collections, they have been given by one shepherd. 12And further, from these, my son, be warned; the making of many books hath no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13The end of the whole matter let us hear: -- 'Fear God, and keep His commands, for this is the whole of man. 14For every work doth God bring into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether good or bad.'
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