REMEMBER BEFORE THE SILVER
CORD OF LIFE SNAPS AND THE GOLDEN BOWL IS BROKEN
12 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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 7 For then the dust will return to the earth, and
the spirit will return to God who gave it.
-Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 New
Living Translation (NLT)
