the Week of Proper 21 / Ordinary 26
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Updated Bible Version
Ecclesiastes 12:1
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Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days happen and the years draw near in which you will say, "I have no delight in them";
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, "I have no delight in them";
Remember thy maker the sooner in thy youth, or euer the dayes of aduersitie come, and or the yeres drawe nye when thou shalt say, I haue not pleasure in them:
And remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, of which thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them":
Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, while the evil days do not come, or the years strike when you shall say, I have no pleasure in them;
Remember your Creator while you are young, before the bad times come—before the years come when you say, "I have wasted my life."
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the evil days come, and the years draw near, When you will say, "I have no pleasure in them;"
Remember now thy Creatour in the dayes of thy youth, while the euil daies come not, nor the yeeres drawe nigh, when thou shalt say, I haue no pleasure in them:
Remember 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;
Remembre thy maker in thy youth, or euer the dayes of aduersite come, and or the yeares drawe nye, when thou shalt saye: I haue no pleasure in them:
Honor and enjoy your Creator while you're still young, Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes, Before your vision dims and the world blurs And the winter years keep you close to the fire.
Remember [thoughtfully] also your Creator in the days of your youth [for you are not your own, but His], before the evil days come or the years draw near when you will say [of physical pleasures], "I have no enjoyment and delight in them";
Remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
Let your mind be turned to your Maker in the days of your strength, while the evil days come not, and the years are far away when you will say, I have no pleasure in them;
Remember 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;
So remember your Creator in the days of your youth— before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you will say, "I have no pleasure in them";
Keep your Creator in mind while you are young! In years to come, you will be burdened down with troubles and say, "I don't enjoy life anymore."
So remember your creator while you are young, before the evil days come, and the years approach when you will say, "They no longer give me pleasure";
Remember nowe thy Creator in the daies of thy youth, whiles the euill daies come not, nor the yeeres approche, wherein thou shalt say, I haue no pleasure in them:
REMEMBER now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw nigh when you shall say, I have no pleasure in them;
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the evil days come, and the years draw near, When you will say, "I have no pleasure in them;"
Remember then thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say: 'I have no pleasure in them';
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."
Remember also your Maker while you are young, before the days of trouble come and the years when you will say, "I have no joy in them,"
And remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the days of evil come, and the years overtake thee in which thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.
Remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youth, or ever the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come, and the years approach of which you will say, "I find no pleasure in them,"
Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, "I have no pleasure in them";
Yet remember thy Creator, in the days of thy vigour, - or ever come in, the days of discomfort, and the years arrive, in which thou shalt say - I have, in them, no pleasure;
Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the time of affliction come, and the years draw nigh of which thou shalt say: They please me not:
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth— before the days of trouble come and the years draw near when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them!"
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them";
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years approach when you will say, "I have no pleasure in them";
Remember your Creator while you are young, before the days of trouble come and the years when you say, "I find no pleasure in them."
So remember your Creator while you are still young, before those dismal days and years come when you will say, "I don't enjoy life."
So 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";
Haue thou mynde on thi creatour in the daies of thi yongthe, bifore that the tyme of thi turment come, and the yeris of thi deth neiye, of whiche thou schalt seie, Tho plesen not me.
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when you will say, "I have no pleasure in them";
Remember also thy Creators in days of thy youth, While that the evil days come not, Nor the years have arrived, that thou sayest, `I have no pleasure in them.'
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Remember: Ecclesiastes 11:10, Genesis 39:2, Genesis 39:8, Genesis 39:9, Genesis 39:23, 1 Samuel 1:28, 1 Samuel 2:18, 1 Samuel 2:26, 1 Samuel 3:19-21, 1 Samuel 16:7, 1 Samuel 16:12, 1 Samuel 16:13, 1 Samuel 17:36, 1 Samuel 17:37, 1 Kings 3:6-12, 1 Kings 14:13, 1 Kings 18:12, 2 Chronicles 34:2, 2 Chronicles 34:3, Psalms 22:9, Psalms 22:10, Psalms 34:11, Psalms 71:17, Psalms 71:18, Proverbs 8:17, Proverbs 22:6, Isaiah 26:8, Lamentations 3:27, Daniel 1:8, Daniel 1:9, Daniel 1:17, Luke 1:15, Luke 2:40-52, Luke 18:16, Ephesians 6:4, 2 Timothy 3:15
while: Ecclesiastes 11:8, Job 30:2, Psalms 90:10, Hosea 7:9
when: 2 Samuel 19:35
Reciprocal: Genesis 1:1 - God Genesis 5:1 - in the likeness Exodus 10:9 - We will go Exodus 16:21 - General Judges 8:34 - remembered 2 Samuel 19:37 - Let thy Job 35:10 - Where Psalms 41:1 - time of trouble Psalms 71:5 - my trust Psalms 71:9 - when Psalms 95:6 - our Psalms 100:3 - it is he Psalms 119:9 - shall Proverbs 1:4 - to the Ecclesiastes 8:6 - therefore Ecclesiastes 11:9 - in thy youth Jeremiah 13:16 - before Matthew 20:2 - he sent Ephesians 5:16 - the days Ephesians 6:13 - in the Titus 2:6 - Young
Cross-References
and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing;
and I will bless those that bless you, and him that curses you I will curse: and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was intense in the land.
And it came to pass, when he came near to enter into Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, Now see, I know that you are a fair woman to look at:
And he said to him, I am Yahweh that brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.
You are Yahweh the God, who chose Abram, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham,
you whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said to you, You are my slave, I have chosen you and not cast you away;
Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah that bore you; for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him, and made him many.
Son of man, those that inhabit those waste places in the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land was given to us for inheritance.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,.... Or "Creators" b; as "Makers", Job 35:10; for more than one were concerned, as in the creation of all things in general, so of man in particular, Genesis 1:26; and these are neither more nor fewer than three; and are Father, Son, Spirit; the one God that has created men, Malachi 2:10; the Father, who is the God of all flesh, and the Father of spirits; the former both of the bodies and souls of men, Jeremiah 31:27; the Son, by whom all things are created; for he that is the Redeemer and husband of his church, which are characters and relations peculiar to the Son, is the Creator, Isaiah 43:1; and the Holy Spirit not only garnished the heavens, and moved upon the face of the waters, but is the Maker of men, and gives them life, Job 33:4. Now this God, Creator, should be "remembered" by young men; they should remember there is a God, which they are apt to be forgetful of; that this God is a God of great and glorious perfections, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, holy, just, and true; who judgeth in the earth, and will judge the world in righteousness, and them also; and that he is in Christ a God gracious, merciful, and pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin: they should remember him under this character, as a "Creator", who has made them, and not they themselves; that they are made by him out of the dust of the earth, and must return to it; that he has brought them into being, and preserved them in it, and favoured them with the blessings of his providence, which are all from him that has made them: and they should remember the end for which they are made, to glorify him; and in what state man was originally made, upright, pure, and holy; but that he now is a fallen creature, and such are they, impure and unrighteous, impotent and weak, abominable in the sight of God, unworthy to live, and unfit to die; being transgressors of the laws of their Creator, which is deserving of death: they should remember what God their Creators, Father, Son, and Spirit, must have done or must do for them, if ever they are saved; the Father must have chosen them in Christ unto salvation; must have given his Son to redeem, and must send his Spirit into their hearts to create them anew; the Son must have been surety for them, assumed their nature, and died in their room and stead; and the Spirit must regenerate and make them new creatures, enlighten their minds, quicken their souls, and sanctify their hearts: they should remember the right their Creator has over them, the obligations they are under to him, and their duty to him; they should remember, with thankfulness, the favours they have received from him, and, with reverence and humility, the distance between him, as Creator, and them as creatures: they should remember to love him cordially and sincerely; to fear him with a godly fear; to worship him in a spiritual manner; to set him always before them, and never forget him. And all this they should do "in the days [their] youth"; which are their best and choicest day in which to serve him is most desirable by him, acceptable to him; who ordered the first of the ripe fruits and creatures of the first year to be offered to him: and then are men best able to serve him, when their bodies are healthful, strong, and vigorous; their senses quick, and the powers and faculties of their souls capable of being improved and enlarged: and to delay the service of him to old age, as it would be very ungrateful and exceeding improper, so no man can be sure of arriving to it; and if he should, yet what follows is enough to determine against such a delay;
while the evil days come not; meaning the days of old age; said to be evil, not with respect to the evil of fault or sin; so all days are evil, or sin is committed in every age, in infancy, in childhood, in youth, in manhood, as well as in old age: but with respect to the evil of affliction and trouble which attend it, as various diseases; yea, that itself is a disease, and an incurable one; much weakness of body, decay of intellects, and many other things, which render life very troublesome and uncomfortable c, as well as unfit for religious services;
nor the years draw nigh, when thou shall say, I have no pleasure in them; that is, corporeal pleasure; no sensual pleasure; sight, taste, and hearing, being lost, or in a great measure gone; which was Barzillai's case, at eighty years of age: though some ancient persons have their senses quick and vigorous, and scarce perceive any difference between youth and age; but such instances are not common: and there are also some things that ancient persons take pleasure in, as in fields and gardens, and the culture of them, as Cicero d observes; and particularly learned men take as much delight in their studies in old age as in youth, and in instructing others; and, as the same writer e says,
"what is more pleasant than to see an old man, attended and encircled with youth, at their studies under him?''
and especially a good man, in old age, has pleasure in reflecting on a life spent in the ways, work, and worship of God; and in having had, through the grace of God, his conversation in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity; as also in present communion with God, and in the hopes and views of the glories of another world: but if not religious persons, they are strangers to spiritual pleasure, which only is to be had in wisdom's ways; such can neither look back with pleasure on a life spent in sin; nor forward with pleasure, at death and eternity, and into another world; see 2 Samuel 19:35.
b בוראיך "Creatorum tuorum", Drusius, Gejerus, Rambachius; so Broughton. c Plautus in Aulular. Act. 1. Sc. 1. v. 4. Menaechm. Act. 5. Sc. 2. v. 6. calls old age, "mala aetas"; and the winter of old age, Trinummus, Act. 2. Sc. 3. v. 7. And Pindar, γηρας ουλομενον, Pyth. Ode 10. so Theognis, v. 272, 776, 1006. And Homer, γηρας
λυτρος, Iliad. 10. v. 79. &. 23. v. 644. "Tristis senectus", Virgil. Aenid. 6. d De Seuectute, c. 14, 15. e Ibid. c. 8.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Remember now - Rather, And remember. The connection between this verse and the preceding one is unfortunately interrupted by our division of chapters.
Creator - Gratitude to God as Creator is here inculcated, as just previously Ecclesiastes 11:9 fear of God as Judge. Godliness, acquired as a habit in youth, is recommended as the proper compensation for that natural cessation of youthful happiness which makes the days of old age more or less evil; more evil in proportion since there is less of godliness in the heart, and less evil where there is more godliness.
While the evil days come not - Rather, before the evil days come.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
CHAPTER XII
Youth should remember their Creator, 1.
A description of old age and its infirmities, with the causes
of death and dissolution, 2-9.
How the Preacher taught the people knowledge, 9-11.
General directions, and conclusion of the work, 12-14.
NOTES ON CHAP. XII
Verse Ecclesiastes 12:1. Remember thy Creator — בוראיך Boreeycha, thy CREATORS. The word is most certainly in the plural number in all our common Hebrew Bibles; but it is in the singular number, בוראך Borecha, in one hundred and seventy-six of Dr. Kennicott's MSS., and ninety-six of De Rossi's; in many ancient editions; and in all the ancient versions. There is no dependence on the plural form in most of the modern editions; though there are some editions of great worth which exhibit the word in this form, and among them the Complutensian, Antwerp, Paris, and London polyglots.
The evidence, therefore, that this text is supposed to give to the doctrine of the ever blessed Trinity, is but precarious, and on it little stress can be laid; and no man who loves truth would wish to support it by dubious witnesses. Injudicious men, by laying stress on texts dubious in themselves, and which may be interpreted a different way, greatly injure the true faith. Though such in their hearts may be friends to the orthodox faith, they are in fact its worst friends, and their assistance is such as helps their adversaries.
But what does the text say? It addresses the youth of both sexes throughout the creation; and says in effect: -
I. You are not your own, you have no right to yourselves. God made you; he is your Creator: he made you that you might be happy; but you can be happy only in him. And as he created you, so he preserves you; he feeds, clothes, upholds you. He has made you capable of knowing, loving, and serving him in this world, and of enjoying him in his own glory for ever. And when you had undone yourselves by sin, he sent his Son to redeem you by his blood; and he sends his Spirit to enlighten, convince, and draw you away from childishness, from vain and trifling, as well as from sinful, pursuits.
II. Remember him; consider that he is your Creator, your loving and affectionate Father. In youth memory is strong and tenacious; but, through the perversion of the heart by sin, young people can remember any thing better than GOD. If you get a kindness from a friend, you can remember that, and feel gratitude for it; and the person is therefore endeared to you. Have any ever given you such benefits as your Creator? Your body and soul came from him; he gave you your eyes, ears, tongue, hands, feet, c. What blessings are these! how excellent! how useful! how necessary and will you forget HIM?
III. Remember him in thy YOUTH, in order that you may have a long and blessed life, that you may be saved from the corruption and misery into which young people in general run and the evils they entail upon themselves by giving way to the sinful propensities of their own hearts. As in youth all the powers are more active and vigorous, so they are capable of superior enjoyments. Faith, hope, and love, will be in their best tenor, their greatest vigour, and in their least encumbered state. And it will be easier for you to believe, hope, pray, love, obey, and bear your cross, than it can be in old age and decrepitude.
IV. Remember him NOW, in this part of your youth-you have no certainty of life; now is yours, to-morrow may not be. You are young; but you may never be old. Now he waits to be gracious; tomorrow may be too late. God now calls; his Spirit now strives; his ministers now exhort. You have now health; sin has not now so much dominion over you as it will have, increasing by every future moment, if you do not give up your hearts to your Maker.
V. There is another consideration which should weigh with you: should you live to old age, it is a very disadvantageous time to begin to serve the Lord in. Infirmities press down both body and mind, and the oppressed nature has enough to do to bear its own infirmities; and as there is little time, so there is generally less inclination, to call upon the Lord. Evil habits are strengthened by long continuance; and every desire and appetite in the soul is a strong hold for Satan. There is little time for repentance, little for faith, none for obedience. The evil days are come, and the years in which you will feelingly be obliged to say, Alas! "we have no pleasure in them;" and, what is worse, the heart is hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
