This verse is often misinterpreted as endorsing reckless hedonism since youth is 'vanity,' ignoring the broader call to remove evil and the context of divine judgment in verse 9; others see it as commanding total emotional suppression by eliminating all sorrow, overlooking that 'sorrow' refers specifically to vexation or anxiety; some view it nihilistically as deeming youth worthless and pointless, missing the Preacher's intent to cherish its joys responsibly before old age arrives.
Ecclesiastes 11:10
King James Version (1769)
10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
Ecclesiastes 11:10 urges the young to banish grief and wickedness from their inner life and body, recognizing that childhood and youth are fleeting and insubstantial like vapor, emphasizing the need to live those brief years with joy, purity, and mindfulness of God amid life's transience rather than letting sorrow or sin overshadow them.