Ecclesiastes 11:7-10·~1 min
Enjoy Your Years
Light is declared sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun, so if a person lives many years he should rejoice in them all. Yet he must also remember that many dark days are coming, and whatever lies ahead in this fleeting life remains vaporous and cannot be held fast.
L7ight is sweet, 8So if a man lives many years,
The young are invited to rejoice in youth, follow the stirrings of their heart, and walk in the sight of their eyes, but never forget that God will bring all such things into judgment. Therefore sorrow is to be removed from the heart and evil from the body, because youth and vigor are fleeting and cannot last.
9Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, 10So banish sorrow from your heart,
Section summaryThe Teacher celebrates light, long life, and the gladness proper to youth, while warning that many dark days also lie ahead and that all of life's fleeting vigor is vapor. Young people are urged to walk gladly in the ways set before them, yet always with the sober knowledge that God will judge, so sorrow and harmful passions should be put away while strength remains.
Role in the chapterThis closing section joins joy to accountability, teaching the reader to receive life's brightness without forgetting transience or divine judgment.