Advice to the Young: Life is Short and Then You Die

• before the days of trouble come
• and the years draw near when you will say,
  • “I find no pleasure in them!”
  • 2 Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars darken and the clouds return after the rain.
  • 3 When the guards of the house tremble, and the men of strength are bent;
• the grinders cease because they are few,
  • and those looking through the windows see dimly.
  • 4 When the doors on the street are shut, when the sound of the grinding mill is low;
• one rises up to the sound of the bird,
  • and all the daughters of song are brought low.
  • 5 They are afraid of heights, and terrors are on the road.
• The almond tree blossoms,
  • and the grasshopper draws itself along, and desire fails
• because man goes to his eternal home,
  • and the mourners go about in the streets.
  • 6 Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken;
• and the jar at the foundation is broken,
  • and the wheel at the cistern is broken.
  • 7 And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it.