| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 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; | 1Don’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.” |
| 2While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: | 2Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky. |
| 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, | 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. |
| 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; | 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. |
| 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: | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 7Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. | 7For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. Concluding Thoughts about the Teacher |
| 8Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. | 8“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.” |
| 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. | 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. |
| 10The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. | 10The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly. |
| 11The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. | 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. |
| 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, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out. |
| 13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. | 13That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. |
| 14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. | 14God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
|
