Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:8

Holman Christian Standard Bible

⁷Light is sweet,
and it is pleasing for the eyes to see the sun.^(A)
⁸Indeed, if a man lives many years,
let him rejoice in them all,
and let him remember the days of darkness,^(B) since they will be many.
All that comes is futile.
⁹Rejoice, young man, while you are young,
and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
And walk in the ways of your heart
and in the sight of your eyes;^(C)
but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment.
¹⁰Remove sorrow from your heart,
and put away pain from your flesh,^(D)
because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.

The Twilight of Life

12 So remember your Creator in the days of your youth:

Before the days of adversity come,
and the years approach when you will say,^(E)
“I have no delight in them”;
²before the sun and the light are darkened,^(F)
and the moon and the stars,
and the clouds return after^[a] the rain;
³on the day when the guardians of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
the women who grind cease because they are few,
and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly,^(G)
⁴the doors at the street are shut
while the sound of the mill fades;^(H)
when one rises at the sound of a bird,
and all the daughters of song grow faint.
⁵Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road;
the almond tree blossoms,
the grasshopper loses its spring,^[b]
and the caper berry has no effect;
for man is headed to his eternal home,^(I)
and mourners will walk around in the street;^(J)
⁶before the silver cord is snapped,^[c]
and the gold bowl is broken,^(K)
and the jar is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel is broken into the well;
⁷and the dust returns to the earth as it once was,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.^(L)

⁸“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile.”^(M)

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 12:2 Or with
Ecclesiastes 12:5 Or grasshopper is weighed down, or grasshopper drags itself along
Ecclesiastes 12:6 Alt Hb tradition reads removed