Bible/Ecclesiastes/11

Ecclesiastes 11:10

11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity. sorrow: or, anger

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Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

What does Ecclesiastes 11:10 mean?

Ecclesiastes 11:10 is a verse in the book of Ecclesiastes, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include סוּר (çûwr), כַּעַס (kaʻaç), לֵב (lêb). It connects to 9 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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Therefore
removeסוּרçûwr/soor/H5493to turn off (literal or figurative)
sorrowכַּעַסkaʻaç/kah'-as/H3708vexation
from
thy
heart,לֵבlêb/labe/H3820the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the centre of anything
and
put
awayעָבַרʻâbar/aw-bar'/H5674to cross over; used very widely of any transition (literal or figurative; transitive, intransitive, intensive, causative); specifically, to cover (in copulation)
evilרַעraʻ/rah/H7451bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral)
from
thy
flesh:בָּשָׂרbâsâr/baw-sawr'/H1320flesh (from its freshness); by extension, body, person; also (by euphemistically) the pudenda of aman
for
childhoodיַלְדוּתyaldûwth/yal-dooth'/H3208boyhood (or girlhood)
and
youthשַׁחֲרוּתshachărûwth/shakh-ar-ooth'/H7839a dawning, i.e. (figuratively) juvenescence
are
vanity.הֶבֶלhebel/heh'bel/H1892emptiness or vanity; figuratively, something transitory and unsatisfactory; often used as an adverb
sorrow:
or,
anger

Commentary on Ecclesiastes 11:10

HENRY_FULL · Ecclesiastes 11:10
be upon the grace of God, for from him all our sufficiency is. God puts his Spirit within us, and so causes us to walk in his statutes ( Ezek. xxxvi. 27 ), and this is that which David here begs. 2. That God would make him willing to do it, and would, by his grace, subdue the aversion he naturally had to it: " Incline my heart to thy testimonies, to those things which thy testimonies prescribe; not only make me willing to do my duty, as that which I must do and therefore am concerned to make the best of, but make me desirous to do my duty as that which is agreeable to the new nature and really advantageous to me." Duty is then done with delight when the heart is inclined to it: it is God's grace that inclines us, and the more backward we find ourselves to it the more earnest we must be for that grace. II. The sin he prays against, and that is covetousness: " Incline my heart to keep thy testimonies, and restrain and mortify the inclination there is in me to covetousness. " That is a sin which stands opposed to all God's testimonies; for the love of money is such a sin as is the root of much sin, of all sin. Those therefore that would have the love of God rooted in them must get the love of the world rooted out of them; for the friendship of the world is enmity with God. See in what way God deals with men, not by compulsion, but he draws with the cords of a man, working in them an inclination to that which is good and an aversion to that which is evil. III. His plea to enforce this prayer: "Lord, bring me to, and keep me in, the way of thy commandments, for therein do I delight; and therefore I pray thus earnestly for grace to walk in that way. Thou hast wrought in me this delight in the way of thy commandments; wilt thou not work in me an ability to walk in them, and so crown thy own work?" 37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way. Here, 1. David prays for restraining grace, that he might be prevented and kept back from that which would hinder him in the way of his duty: Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity. The honours, pleasures, and profits of the world are the vanities, the aspect and prospect of which draw multitudes away from the paths of religion and godliness. The eye, when fastened on these, infects the heart with the love of them, and so it is alienated from God and divine things; and therefore, as we ought to make a covenant with our eyes, and lay a charge upon them, that they shall not wander after, much less fix upon, that which is dangerous ( Job xxxi. 1 ), so we ought to pray that God by his providence would keep vanity out of our sight and that by his grace he would keep us from being

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Numbers 15:39

And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:

Joshua 7:21

When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. wedge: Heb. tongue

2 Samuel 11:2

And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

Job 31:1

I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?

Proverbs 4:25

Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

Proverbs 23:5

Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. set: Heb. cause thine eyes to fly upon

Isaiah 33:15

He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; righteously: Heb. in righteousnesses uprightly: Heb. uprightnesses oppressions: or, deceits blood: Heb. bloods

Matthew 5:28

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

1 John 2:16

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Topics

VanityWorldliness

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Ecclesiastes 11:10.

Genesis 18:5

And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. comfort: Heb. stay are: Heb. you have passed

Genesis 30:32

I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.

Genesis 31:52

This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.

Genesis 6:5

And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. every: or, the whole imagination: the Hebrew word signifieth not only the imagination, but also the purposes and desires continually: Heb. every day

Genesis 8:21

And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. a sweet: Heb. a savour of rest or, satisfaction for the imagination: or, through the imagination

Frequently asked questions

What does Ecclesiastes 11:10 say?

Ecclesiastes 11:10 (King James Version) reads: "Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity. sorrow: or, anger"

Is Ecclesiastes 11:10 in the Old or New Testament?

Ecclesiastes 11:10 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Reflect

As you read Ecclesiastes 11:10, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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