Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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1 So remember your Creator note
while you are still young, before
those dismal days and years
come when you will say, “I don't enjoy
life.”
2 That is when the light of
the sun, the moon, and the stars will
grow dim for you, and the rain
clouds will never pass away.
3 Then
your arms, that have protected you,
will tremble, and your legs, now
strong, will grow weak. Your teeth
will be too few to chew your food,
and your eyes too dim to see clearly.
4 Your ears will be deaf to the noise
of the street. You will barely be able
to hear the mill as it grinds or music
as it plays, but even the song of a
bird will wake you from sleep.
5 You
will be afraid of high places, and
walking will be dangerous. Your
hair will turn white; you will hardly
be able to drag yourself along, and
all desire will be gone.
5 We are going to our final resting
place, and then there will be mourning
in the streets.
6 The silver chain
will snap, and the golden lamp will
fall and break; the rope at the well
will break, and the water jar will be
shattered.
7 Our bodies will return to
the dust of the earth, and the breath
of life will go back to God, who gave
it to us.
8 Useless, useless, said the Philosopher.
It is all useless.
The Summing Up
9 But because the Philosopher
was wise, he kept on teaching the
people what he knew. He studied
proverbs and honestly tested their
truth.
10 The Philosopher tried to find
comforting words, but the words he
wrote were honest.
11 The sayings of
wise men are like the sharp sticks
that shepherds use to guide sheep,
and collected proverbs are as lasting
as firmly driven nails. They have
been given by God, the one Shepherd
of us all.
12 Son, there is something else to
watch out for. There is no end to the
writing of books, and too much
study will wear you out.
13 After all this, there is only one
thing to say: Have reverence for
God, and obey his commands, because
this is all that man was created
for.
14 God is going to judge
everything we do, whether good or
bad, even things done in secret.
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Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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