HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 965
page 595
6 Plant your seed in the morning and keep
busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit
will come from one activity or another—or
maybe both.
Advice for Young and Old
7 Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day
dawning.
8 When people live to be very old, let them
rejoice in every day of life. But let them also
remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless.
9 Young people,* it’s wonderful to be young!
Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you
want to do; take it all in. But remember that
you must give an account to God for everything
you do. 10 So refuse to worry, and keep your body
healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole
life before you, is meaningless.
12
Don’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.” 2 Remember him
before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is
dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky. 3 Remember 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.
4 Remember 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.
5 Remember 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.
6 Yes, 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
11:9 Hebrew Young man. 12:10 Or sought to write what was
upright and true. 12:11 Or one shepherd. 12:12 Hebrew
my son.
ECCL ESIASTES 12
pulley is broken at the well. 7 For then the dust
will return to the earth, and the spirit will return
to God who gave it.
Concluding Thoughts about the Teacher
8 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher,
“completely meaningless.”
9 Keep 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. 10 The
Teacher sought to find just the right words to
express truths clearly.*
11 The 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.
12 But, my child,* let me give you some further
advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless,
and much study wears you out.
13 That’s the whole story. Here now is my final
conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands,
for this is everyone’s duty. 14 God will judge us
for everything we do, including every secret
thing, whether good or bad.
• Purpose
E C C LE S I A S TES 12:13
When it comes to planning our daily life,
most of us fall into the trap of “missing
the forest for the trees”—getting so
caught up in the details at hand that we
miss the main point. What is our purpose
here on earth? To honor and obey God,
working diligently to follow the principles
set forth in his Word. But what do we
do instead? We focus on the details at
hand—climbing the corporate ladder,
accumulating material things, running
children to every conceivable sporting
event, documenting our activities on
social media. We’ve lost the big picture.
Take a hard look at your to-do list. Is
there anything on it that is going to
develop your relationship with God? Is
there something on it that might not be
pleasing to him? What can you cross off
and exchange for something of real and
lasting significance?