Ecclesiastes 12:1

1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”—

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Ecclesiastes 12:1 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)

1 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;

English Standard Version (ESV)

1 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";

New Living Translation (NLT)

1 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.”

The Message Bible (MSG)

1 onor and enjoy your Creator while you're still young, Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes,

American Standard Version (ASV)

1 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;

GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)

1 Remember your Creator when you are young, before the days of trouble come and the years catch up with you. They will make you say, "I have found no pleasure in them."

Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

1 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";

New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

1 Remember the One who created you. Remember him while you are still young. Think about him before your times of trouble come. The years will come when you will say, "I don't find any pleasure in them."

Ecclesiastes 12:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 12:1

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth
Or "Creators" ^F2; as "Makers", ( Job 35:10 ) ( Psalms 149:2 ) ( Isaiah 54:5 ) ; 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 ) ( Hebrews 12:9 ) ; 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 ) ( 54:5 ) ; 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 ^F3, 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 ^F4 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 ^F5 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 ) ( Psalms 90:10 ) .

FOOTNOTES:

F2 (Kyarwb) "Creatorum tuorum", Drusius, Gejerus, Rambachius; so Broughton.
F3 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, (ghrav oulomenon) , Pyth. Ode 10. so Theognis, v. 272, 776, 1006. And Homer, (ghrav) (lutrov) , Iliad. 10. v. 79. &. 23. v. 644. "Tristis senectus", Virgil. Aenid. 6.
F4 De Seuectute, c. 14, 15.
F5 Ibid. c. 8.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Ecclesiastes 12:1 In-Context

1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”—

2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain;

3 when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim;

4 when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint;

5 when people are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags itself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then people go to their eternal home and mourners go about the streets.

Cross References 2

1. Ecclesiastes 11:8
2. S 2 Samuel 19:35