Ecclesiastes 12; John 11:1–16

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Ecclesiastes 12

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth

Remember also your Creator in vthe days of your youth, before wthe evil days come and the years draw near of which xyou will say, I have no pleasure in them; before ythe sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and zthose who look through the windows are dimmed, and athe doors on the street are shutwhen bthe sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all cthe daughters of song are brought low they are afraid also of what is high, and dterrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along,1 and desire fails, because man is going to his eeternal fhome, and the gmourners go about the streets before the silver cord is snapped, or hthe golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is ishattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and jthe dust returns to the earth as it was, and kthe spirit returns to God lwho gave it. mVanity2 of vanities, says nthe Preacher; all is vanity.

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

Besides being wise, nthe Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging omany proverbs with great care. 10 nThe Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

11 pThe words of the wise are like goads, and like qnails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are rgiven by sone Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making umany books there is no end, and vmuch study is a weariness of the flesh.

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. wFear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.3 14 For xGod will bring every deed into judgment, with4 every secret thing, whether good or evil.


John 11:1–16

The Death of Lazarus

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of lMary and her sister Martha. mIt was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, nhe whom you love is ill. But when Jesus heard it he said, oThis illness does not lead to death. It is for pthe glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.

Now qJesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus1 was ill, rhe stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, sLet us go to Judea again. The disciples said to him, tRabbi, uthe Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again? Jesus answered, vAre there not twelve hours in the day? wIf anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But xif anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not xin him. 11 After saying these things, he said to them, Our friend Lazarus yhas fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him. 12 The disciples said to him, Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover. 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him. 16 zSo Thomas, called the Twin,2 said to his fellow disciples, Let us also go, athat we may die with him.