| King James Bible | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; | 1So remember your Creator in the days of your youth: Before the days of adversity come, and the years approach when you will say, "I have no delight in them"; |
| 2While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: | 2before the sun and the light are darkened, and the moon and the stars, and the clouds return after the rain; |
| 3In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, | 3on the day when the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, the women who grind grain cease because they are few, and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly, |
| 4And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low; | 4the doors at the street are shut while the sound of the mill fades; when one rises at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song grow faint. |
| 5Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: | 5Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry has no effect; for the mere mortal is headed to his eternal home, and mourners will walk around in the street; |
| 6Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. | 6before the silver cord is snapped, and the gold bowl is broken, and the jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is broken into the well; |
| 7Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. | 7and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. |
| 8Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. | 8"Absolute futility," says the Teacher. "Everything is futile." |
| 9And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. | 9In addition to the Teacher being a wise man, he constantly taught the people knowledge; he weighed, explored, and arranged many proverbs. |
| 10The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. | 10The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and write words of truth accurately. |
| 11The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. | 11The sayings of the wise are like cattle prods, and those from masters of collections are like firmly embedded nails. The sayings are given by one Shepherd. |
| 12And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. | 12But beyond these, my son, be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body. |
| 13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. | 13When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity. |
| 14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. | 14For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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