Ecclesiastes 12:1

Bible in Basic English (1941)

Let your mind be turned to your Maker in the days of your strength, while the evil days come not, and the years are far away when you will say, I have no pleasure in them;

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Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 11:8 : 8 But even if a man's life is long and he has joy in all his years, let him keep in mind the dark days, because they will be great in number. Whatever may come is to no purpose.
  • Lam 3:27 : 27 It is good for a man to undergo the yoke when he is young.
  • Luke 18:16 : 16 But Jesus sent for them, saying, Let the children come to me, and do not keep them away, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
  • Prov 22:6 : 6 If a child is trained up in the right way, even when he is old he will not be turned away from it.
  • Ps 34:11 : 11 Come, children, give attention to me; I will be your teacher in the fear of the Lord.
  • Ps 71:17-18 : 17 O God, you have been my teacher from the time when I was young; and I have been talking of your works of wonder even till now. 18 Now when I am old and grey-headed, O God, give me not up; till I have made clear your strength to this generation, and your power to all those to come.
  • Ps 90:10 : 10 The measure of our life is seventy years; and if through strength it may be eighty years, its pride is only trouble and sorrow, for it comes to an end and we are quickly gone.
  • Prov 8:17 : 17 Those who have given me their love are loved by me, and those who make search for me with care will get me.
  • Ps 22:9-9 : 9 But it was you who took care of me from the day of my birth: you gave me faith even from my mother's breasts. 10 I was in your hands even before my birth; you are my God from the time when I was in my mother's body.
  • Eccl 11:10 : 10 So put away trouble from your heart, and sorrow from your flesh; because the early years and the best years are to no purpose.
  • 2 Tim 3:15 : 15 And that from the time when you were a child, you have had knowledge of the holy Writings, which are able to make you wise to salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus.
  • Gen 39:23 : 23 And the keeper of the prison gave no attention to anything which was under his care, because the Lord was with him; and the Lord made everything he did go well.
  • Gen 39:2 : 2 And the Lord was with Joseph, and he did well; and he was living in the house of his master the Egyptian.
  • 2 Sam 19:35 : 35 I am now eighty years old: good and bad are the same to me; have meat and drink any taste for me now? am I able to take pleasure in the voices of men or women in song? why then am I to be a trouble to my lord the king?
  • Gen 39:8-9 : 8 But he would not, and said to her, You see that my master keeps no account of what I do in his house, and has put all his property in my control; 9 So that no one has more authority in this house than I have; he has kept nothing back from me but you, because you are his wife; how then may I do this great wrong, sinning against God?
  • 1 Kgs 14:13 : 13 And all Israel will put his body to rest, weeping over him, because he only of the family of Jeroboam will be put into his resting-place in the earth; for of all the family of Jeroboam, in him only has the Lord, the God of Israel, seen some good.
  • 1 Kgs 18:12 : 12 And straight away, when I have gone from you, the spirit of the Lord will take you away, I have no idea where, so that when I come and give word to Ahab, and he sees you not, he will put me to death: though I, your servant, have been a worshipper of the Lord from my earliest years.
  • 2 Chr 34:2-3 : 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, walking in the ways of his father David, without turning to the right hand or to the left. 3 In the eighth year of his rule, while he was still young, his heart was first turned to the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he undertook the clearing away of all the high places and the pillars and the images of wood and metal from Judah and Jerusalem.
  • Job 30:2 : 2 Of what use is the strength of their hands to me? all force is gone from them.
  • 1 Sam 1:28 : 28 So I have given him to the Lord; for all his life he is the Lord's. Then he gave the Lord worship there.
  • 1 Sam 2:18 : 18 But Samuel did the work of the Lord's house, while he was a child, dressed in a linen ephod.
  • 1 Sam 2:26 : 26 And the young Samuel, becoming older, had the approval of the Lord and of men.
  • 1 Sam 3:19-21 : 19 And Samuel became older, and the Lord was with him and let not one of his words be without effect. 20 And it was clear to all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba that Samuel had been made a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord was seen again in Shiloh; for the Lord gave to Samuel in Shiloh the revelation of his word.
  • 1 Sam 16:7 : 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not take note of his face or how tall he is, because I will not have him: for the Lord's view is not man's; man takes note of the outer form, but the Lord sees the heart.
  • 1 Sam 16:12-13 : 12 So he sent and made him come in. Now he had red hair and beautiful eyes and pleasing looks. And the Lord said, Come, put the oil on him, for this is he. 13 Then Samuel took the bottle of oil, and put the oil on him there among his brothers: and from that day the spirit of the Lord came on David with power. So Samuel went back to Ramah.
  • 1 Sam 17:36-37 : 36 Your servant has overcome lion and bear: and the fate of this Philistine, who is without circumcision, will be like theirs, seeing that he has put shame on the armies of the living God. 37 And David said, The Lord, who kept me safe from the grip of the lion and the bear, will be my saviour from the hands of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go! and may the Lord be with you.
  • Eph 6:4 : 4 And, you fathers, do not make your children angry: but give them training in the teaching and fear of the Lord.
  • Dan 1:8-9 : 8 And Daniel had come to the decision that he would not make himself unclean with the king's food or wine; so he made a request to the captain of the unsexed servants that he might not make himself unclean. 9 And God put into the heart of the captain of the unsexed servants kind feelings and pity for Daniel.
  • Dan 1:17 : 17 Now as for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and made them expert in all book-learning and wisdom: and Daniel was wise in all visions and dreams.
  • Hos 7:9 : 9 Men from other lands have made waste his strength, and he is not conscious of it; grey hairs have come on him here and there, and he has no knowledge of it.
  • Luke 1:15 : 15 For he will be great in the eyes of the Lord; he will not take wine or strong drink; and he will be full of the Spirit of God from his birth.
  • Luke 2:40-52 : 40 And the child became tall and strong and full of wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. 41 And every year his father and mother went to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up, as their way was, to the feast; 43 And when the days of the feast came to an end and they were going back, the boy Jesus was still in Jerusalem, but they had no knowledge of it: 44 And in the belief that he was with some of their number, they went a day's journey; and after looking for him among their relations and friends, 45 And seeing that he was not there, they went back to Jerusalem, to make search for him. 46 And after three days they came across him in the Temple, seated among the wise men, giving ear to their words and putting questions to them. 47 And all to whose ears it came were full of wonder at his knowledge and the answers which he gave. 48 And when they saw him they were surprised, and his mother said to him, Son, why have you done this to us? see, your father and I have been looking for you with sorrow. 49 And he said to them, Why were you looking for me? was it not clear to you that my right place was in my Father's house? 50 And his words seemed strange to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth; and did as he was ordered: and his mother kept all these words in her heart. 52 And Jesus was increasing in wisdom and in years, and in grace before God and men.
  • Isa 26:8 : 8 We have been waiting for you, O Lord; the desire of our soul is for the memory of your name.
  • 1 Kgs 3:6-9 : 6 And Solomon said, Great was your mercy to David my father, as his life before you was true and upright and his heart was true to you; and you have kept for him this greatest mercy, a son to take his place this day. 7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in the place of David my father; and I am only a young boy, with no knowledge of how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant has round him the people of your selection, a people so great that they may not be numbered, and no account of them may be given. 9 Give your servant, then, a wise heart for judging your people, able to see what is good and what evil; for who is able to be the judge of this great people? 10 Now these words and Solomon's request were pleasing to the Lord. 11 And God said to him, Because your request is for this thing, and not for long life for yourself or for wealth or for the destruction of your haters, but for wisdom to be a judge of causes; 12 I have done as you said: I have given you a wise and far-seeing heart, so that there has never been your equal in the past, and never will there be any like you in the future.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • 2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, are not dark, and the clouds come not back after the rain;

  • Eccl 11:7-10
    4 verses
    81%

    7 Truly the light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.

    8 But even if a man's life is long and he has joy in all his years, let him keep in mind the dark days, because they will be great in number. Whatever may come is to no purpose.

    9 Have joy, O young man, while you are young; and let your heart be glad in the days of your strength, and go in the ways of your heart, and in the desire of your eyes; but be certain that for all these things God will be your judge.

    10 So put away trouble from your heart, and sorrow from your flesh; because the early years and the best years are to no purpose.

  • Eccl 12:5-8
    4 verses
    72%

    5 And he is in fear of that which is high, and danger is in the road, and the tree is white with flower, and the least thing is a weight, and desire is at an end, because man goes to his last resting-place, and those who are sorrowing are in the streets;

    6 Before ever the silver cord is cut, or the vessel of gold is broken, or the pot is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the water-hole;

    7 And the dust goes back to the earth as it was, and the spirit goes back to God who gave it.

    8 All things are to no purpose, says the Preacher, all is to no purpose.

  • 12 So give us knowledge of the number of our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom.

  • 14 In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.

  • 10 Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom.

  • 7 Keep in mind the days of the past, give thought to the years of generations gone by: go to your father and he will make it clear to you, to the old men and they will give you the story.

  • Eccl 9:9-10
    2 verses
    71%

    9 Have joy with the woman of your love all the days of your foolish life which he gives you under the sun. Because that is your part in life and in your work which you do under the sun.

    10 Whatever comes to your hand to do with all your power, do it because there is no work, or thought, or knowledge, or wisdom in the place of the dead to which you are going.

  • 4 As I was in my flowering years, when my tent was covered by the hand of God;

  • 11 There is no memory of those who have gone before, and of those who come after there will be no memory for those who are still to come after them.

  • 12 I am certain that there is nothing better for a man than to be glad, and to do good while life is in him.

  • Job 11:16-17
    2 verses
    70%

    16 For your sorrow will go from your memory, like waters flowing away:

    17 And your life will be brighter than day; though it is dark, it will become like the morning.

  • 17 Be not evil overmuch, and be not foolish. Why come to your end before your time?

  • 12 Who is able to say what is good for man in life all the days of his foolish life which he goes through like a shade? who will say what is to be after him under the sun?

  • 1 I said in my heart, I will give you joy for a test; so take your pleasure--but it was to no purpose.

  • 12 What man has a love of life, and a desire that his days may be increased so that he may see good?

  • 15 Make us glad in reward for the days of our sorrow, and for the years in which we have seen evil.

  • 11 And you will be full of grief at the end of your life, when your flesh and your body are wasted;

  • 47 See how short my time is; why have you made all men for no purpose?

  • 5 Are your days as the days of man, or your years like his,

  • 7 Do not keep in mind my sins when I was young, or my wrongdoing: let your memory of me be full of mercy, O Lord, because of your righteousness.

  • 27 See, we have made search with care, and it is so; it has come to our ears; see that you take note of it for yourself.

  • 1 My son, keep my teaching in your memory, and my rules in your heart:

  • Deut 8:11-12
    2 verses
    68%

    11 Then take care that you are not turned away from the Lord your God and from keeping his orders and decisions and laws which I give you this day:

    12 And when you have taken food and are full, and have made fair houses for yourselves and are living in them;

  • 5 My thoughts go back to the days of the past, to the years which are gone.

  • 24 I will say, O my God, take me not away before my time; your years go on through all generations:

  • 43 Because you have not kept in mind the days when you were young, but have been troubling me with all these things; for this reason I will make the punishment of your ways come on your head, says the Lord, because you have done this evil thing in addition to all your disgusting acts.

  • 5 The sun comes up and the sun goes down, and goes quickly back to the place where he came up.

  • 12 Old men have wisdom, and a long life gives knowledge.

  • 18 Let blessing be on your fountain; have joy in the wife of your early years.

  • 11 For by me your days will be increased, and the years of your life will be long.

  • 17 Who is false to the husband of her early years, and does not keep the agreement of her God in mind:

  • 3 You send man back to his dust; and say, Go back, you children of men.

  • 3 Yes, happier than the dead or the living seemed he who has not ever been, who has not seen the evil which is done under the sun.

  • 15 So I gave praise to joy, because there is nothing better for a man to do under the sun than to take meat and drink and be happy; for that will be with him in his work all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

  • 27 It is good for a man to undergo the yoke when he is young.

  • 5 I keep in mind the early days of the past, giving thought to all your acts, even to the work of your hands.

  • 1 For everything there is a fixed time, and a time for every business under the sun.

  • 2 It is better to go to the house of weeping, than to go to the house of feasting; because that is the end of every man, and the living will take it to their hearts.

  • 11 My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the desires of my heart.