New Living Translation NLT
Common English Bible CEB
1 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.”
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Remember your creator in your prime, before the days of trouble arrive, and those years, about which you'll say, "I take no pleasure in these"—
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.
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before the sun and the light grow dark, the moon and the stars too, before the clouds return after the rain;
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.
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on the day when the housekeepers tremble and the strong men stoop; when the women who grind stop working because they're so few, and those who look through the windows grow dim;
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.
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when the doors to the street are shut, when the sound of the mill fades, the sound of the bird rises, and all the singers come down low;
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.
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when people are afraid of things above and of terrors along the way; when the almond tree blanches, the locust droops, and the caper-berry comes to nothing; when the human goes to the eternal abode, with mourners all around in the street;
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 pulley is broken at the well.
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before the silver cord snaps and the gold bowl shatters; the jar is broken at the spring and the wheel is crushed at the pit;
7 For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
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before dust returns to the earth as it was before and the life-breath returns to God who gave it.
8 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”
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Perfectly pointless, says the Teacher, everything is pointless.
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.
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Additionally: Because the Teacher was wise, he constantly taught the people knowledge. He listened and investigated. He composed many proverbs.
10 The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.
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The Teacher searched for pleasing words, and he wrote truthful words honestly.
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.
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The words of the wise are like iron-tipped prods; the collected sayings of the masters are like nails fixed firmly by a shepherd.
12 But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.
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Be careful, my child, of anything beyond them! There's no end to the excessive production of scrolls. Studying too much wearies the body.
13 That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.
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So this is the end of the matter; all has been heard. Worship God and keep God's commandments because this is what everyone must do.
14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.
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God will definitely bring every deed to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or bad.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible