Ecclesiastes 12

12Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.”H2142H1254H3117H979H7451H3117H935H8141H5060H559H2656 2Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky.H8121H216H3394H3556H2821H5645H7725H310H1653 3Remember him before your legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble; and before your shoulders—the strong men—stoop. Remember him before your teeth—your few remaining servants—stop grinding; and before your eyes—the women looking through the windows—see dimly.H3117H8104H1004H2111H2428H582H5791H2912H988H4591H7200H699H2821 4Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint.H1817H5462H7784H6963H2913H8217H6965H6963H6833H1323H7892H7817 5Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.H3372H1364H2849H1870H8247H5006H2284H5445H35H6565H120H1980H5769H1004H5594H5437H7784 6Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well.H3808H3701H2256H7576H7368H2091H1543H7533H3537H7665H4002H1534H7533H953 7For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.H6083H7725H776H7307H7725H430H5414

Concluding Thoughts about the Teacher

8“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”H1892H1892H559H6953H1892 9Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them.H3148H6953H2450H3925H5971H1847H239H2713H8626H7235H4912 10The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly

.H6953H1245H4672H2656H1697H3789H3476H1697H571 11The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd

drives the sheep.H1697H2450H1861H4930H5193H1167H627H5414H259H7462 12But, my child

, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.H3148H1992H1121H2094H6213H7235H5612H7093H7235H3854H3024H1320 13That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.H8085H5490H1697H3372H430H8104H4687H120 14God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.H430H935H4639H4941H5956H2896H7451