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New International Version (NIV) |
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1 onor and enjoy your Creator while you're still young, Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes,
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1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"--
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2 Before your vision dims and the world blurs And the winter years keep you close to the fire.
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2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain;
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3 In old age, your body no longer serves you so well. Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen. The shades are pulled down on the world.
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3 when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim;
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4 You can't come and go at will. Things grind to a halt. The hum of the household fades away. You are wakened now by bird-song.
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4 when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint;
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5 Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past. Even a stroll down the road has its terrors. Your hair turns apple-blossom white, Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body. Yes, you're well on your way to eternal rest, While your friends make plans for your funeral.
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5 when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets.
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6 Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over. Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends.
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6 Remember him--before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well,
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7 The body is put back in the same ground it came from. The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it.
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7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
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8 It's all smoke, nothing but smoke. The Quester says that everything's smoke.
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8 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Everything is meaningless!"
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9 Besides being wise himself, the Quester also taught others knowledge. He weighed, examined, and arranged many proverbs.
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9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.
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10 The Quester did his best to find the right words and write the plain truth.
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10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.
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11 The words of the wise prod us to live well. They're like nails hammered home, holding life together. They are given by God, the one Shepherd.
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11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails--given by one Shepherd.
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12 But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There's no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you're no good for anything else.
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12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
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13 The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what he tells you.
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13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.
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14 And that's it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it's good or evil.
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14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
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| Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved. (The Message Bible Online) |
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |
