Remember God while you are young

7 Light makes people happy.

It is good to see the sun rise in the morning.

8 People may live for many years,

and they should happily enjoy every day.

But they should remember that their lives will end in death.

There will be many days of trouble ahead.

We cannot understand everything that will happen to us in the future.

9 Young people, enjoy your life while you are young.

Do the things that you think are good.

Enjoy the things that you see.

But remember that God will judge you

for all the things that you do.

10 Do not worry about things.

Do not let your body cause you to have pain.

You will not be young and strong for very long.

We all become old too quickly.

Ecclesiastes 12

1 Remember to serve God while you are young.

He is the one who made you.

Your life will have many troubles in the future.

During those years, you will say,

‘I do not enjoy my life any more.’

2 When you are old, the light from the sun will not seem to be bright.

You will not see the moon or the stars.

There will always be dark clouds after the rain.

3 Your arms that have kept you safe will shake.

Your legs will become weak.

You will have only a few teeth to eat with.

Your eyes will no longer see very well.

4 Your ears will not hear noises outside in the streets.

You will not hear the sound of people as they work.

You will not hear the sound of people as they sing songs.

But a bird's song will wake you

when you want to sleep.

5 You will be afraid to stand on high places.

You will worry about danger in the streets.

When you are old, your hair will become white,

like the flowers on an almond tree.

You will feel too tired to move yourself,

like an old grasshopper.

You will not want to have sex.

Finally, we will all die and go to our home in the ground.

Many people will weep at our funeral.

6 Remember to serve God while you are young,

because one day your life will finish.

It will be like a silver chain that breaks;

like a gold bowl that breaks;

like a water pot at the well that breaks into pieces;

like a rope at the well that breaks apart.

7 Our bodies go back into the ground as dust.

The breath of our life goes back to God,

who gave it to us.

8 So I, the Teacher, say,

‘All these things have no purpose.

We cannot understand why they happen.’