What is "youth"?

When does "youth" end? What does the Bible say about "youth"? When does the next phase of life after youth (middle age?) begin?

I think youth ends at around 35, but I don't think after 35 is middle age either. Is it different for men and women?

Wow looks like I'm about to enter the middle age. That sucks

It isn't all bad. You can blame all sorts of things on your age, and people don't challenge you on it, and you're wise enough to avoid (many of) the silly things that you did when you were a youth.

There was a saying that seemed to be popular among the youth back in the day. It was this:





But wait....I'm 33. So....dang it.

All joking aside....35ish is still young, IMO. I've heard it said before that your 30's are not that different from your 20's. And so far....I'm finding that's very true.


So when does a person start getting older? Maybe 40's and onward. But I think it can also depend on your attitude and how well you take care of yourself. You might be able to "feel" young longer if you don't just sit around and mope about how you're getting older.

I was thinking about this today.

2 Kings 2:23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

This came to mind, and it's a total mistranslation, it wasn't little children, the same expression is used for younger adults in the Bible. It was basically a gang of boys pushing Elisha around, a lot better rendering is "lads", and some versions say "youths". I think youth Biblically covers all phases before maturity: childhood, teenage phase, young adult, possibly all the way until the 30s.

And something snaps when you turn about 30, I don't know what it is, but it does. Many people attest to this, and I noticed the change and it was very impactful... I noticed it in my husband when he turned 30, too... You start getting wiser. As if, your experiences of life so far start setting like muddy water would settle down, and you start seeing your life more clearly, instead of being thrown into and tossed by your experiences. @Magenta pointed out the ministry of Jesus, too. So I think 30s are where generally a spiritual, emotional, mental maturity starts for many people. Sins of the youth... makes sense to me, that this happens before the time of maturity, when we actually look back at our foolish choices. I wouldn't take my teens and 20s back if they were on 90% discount.

But this is not the Bible, this is just me thinking aloud, so take it with a grain of salt.

No idea, I looked up in the dictionary and it said the period of life between childhood and adulthood.

Thats pretty broad so maybe it really is the middle age.

I think its generally acknowledge that girls grow up/mature faster than boys. This somehow explains how women can marry a man ten or more years older, but the reverse is rare. But its kinda relative.

for example. some children have adult responsibilites at a young age maybe one or both parents are absent and they have to look after their younger siblings and basically just lose out on their childhood. And then other things can age you, like tragedy, or living in an unhealthy environment.

The mythical fountain of youth is said to keep you young but I dont know where people find it...

often quote bible verse...look up Isaiah 41:30-31

Being youthful physically...? I guess it ends when you are 27 but being youthful mentally I guess it ends when you think it has ended already and you start thinking and feeling that you are already old ...I remember that quote that says " there is a fountain of youth: it is your mind" 😉

I am 42 🤭 physically I am not youthful anymore but mentally I don't feel like I am 42 😂

thanks to 'Abraham and Sarah', we're both still feeling pretty spry & sassy these days!!!

Hi The Indian Girl,

What an interesting question! I was thinking about your thread yesterday and have been trying to work on formulating an answer.

I am wondering if it depends on how we define "youth." I'm not sure exactly how God would it define either, as people had widely varying age spans in the Bible (when did "youth" end for Methuselah, who lived to be 969 years old?)

As another example, God called Moses when he was 40 years old. Moses went to speak the Pharaoh when he was 80. And Moses died at 120, resulting in one of my favorite passages in the Bible: "Mose was 120 when he died, but his eyesight was clear, and he was just as strong as ever." I would have loved to have seen 120-year-old Moses compete with a 20-year-old young man at a task. I'm guessing that even at his advanced age, Moses could more than have held his own (after all, he had a lifetime of experience to go along with his strength.)

Would Moses still have been seen as a youth at the age of 40? I'm guessing that at the time, it's very likely. People in their 60's like to pat me on the head and tell me I'm just a baby, and I'm always thinking about a family friend who lived into the triple digits, and how that person could have easily patted a 95-year-old on the head and told THEM that they were just a baby.


I think Going Nowhere makes an excellent point here. Last year I spent some time with a friend who has a teenage son, and my friend and I were talking about how old we were getting. Her son immediately piped up and said, "You and Mom aren't old," Intrigued, I asked him why he thought that, and he replied, "Because you still get up and do stuff, Aunt Seoul, like jumping on the trampoline with us." To him, "getting old" meant no longer being active or having any fun.

Paul tells us to stop thinking like children and put childish ways behind us (1 Corinthians 13:11,) but I think there is a balance between the responsibilities of adulthood and still allowing ourselves to enjoy life and still be playful.

It's also funny how we can become adept at hiding the concerns of adulthood behind youthful activities. I still love theme parks and I particularly use to love a coaster that rockets from 0 to 120 miles an hour in less than 4 seconds.

But the reason I love coasters like this so much is because for a brief instant, I feel as if I'm finally going fast enough to run ahead of the sadness and problems of the grown-up world... Even if it's just for a couple of seconds.

Youth is something I used to have.


I don't think of someone at 35 as 'a youth.' I might even think someone 35 who says, "I still have my youth" is trying to pass as younger or else has a different understanding of 'youth' than I do. I'd think of youth as something that ends around the big 30. I might say a 30-year-old is young... if he's running for Senator or something like that. But I probably wouldn't use the word 'youth.' But that's just me.

I don’t know what I can add to the thoughts already given here, but I find it interesting that the Israelites at 12 were seen as beyond childhood. I also noticed that God seemed to see 20 as a significant Point of being responsible for your actions and choices in this portion of scripture

28So tell them: As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. 29Your bodies will fall in this wilderness— all who were numbered in the census, everyone twenty years of age or older— because you have grumbled against Me.30Surely none of you will enter the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.…

Other than that I don’t really know if the bible determines age groups. I think our “teen” phase is likely the “youth” stage as David was out protecting sheep as a “youth“. I don’t think it was a job for a child. My own thoughts though and nothing more.

Physically I think youth ends in the early 30s (latest), maybe a couple of years later for men. I'm 34 now, and I've noticed small things like hair being a bit more dull, preferring to wear flat shoes, overall concerning myself more with skincare than make-up, preferring to come home earlier (real early like 8pm) instead of staying out late, etc. We all age, and when we notice ourselves going "downhill" in small ways, I believe our youth physically is over.

Mentally, I believe you can be youthful at any age, but we have to be aware that we can easily lose our mental youth. I would equate mental youth with childlike wonder, with a thirst for knowledge and ability to think outside the box. A youthful elderly person may still like to go on a merry-go-round, however if he does not enjoy any ride at all, I would say his youth is over. An older person can still have big dreams (pursuing new hobbies, travel, etc.) and can be considered youthful, and find pleasure in the little things in life. The original owner of KFC started KFC at a late age, so I believe he had youth.

As one matures emotionally and spiritually, I believe it is a natural process to lose some of the youth. Personally, I can't help but see it as both good and bad. And, this loss of youth (i.e. the loss of childlike wonder) is much worse than any loss in physical youth. At the same time, one "grows" through emotional and spiritual maturity, and through this we also develop our into full potential, gain perspective, and gain a deeper understanding of the big/more important issues of life (world issues, spiritual matters, etc.).

I reviewed some verses on "youth" in the Bible, so I did not interpret them in such a way where "youth" is the more desirable stage in life.

20 Years old is the age where your sins are not only 100% upon your souls account but you also pay the full consequences of your sins.

Well I am not sure I could stretch it to that extent from that one verse but I cannot say you are wrong. 🤷‍♀️

Youth goes away when you realize that there are more rungs on the latter than when you started. It's harder to reach the first step, and it takes twice as long to reach the top. Middle age goes away when you have to get someone else to climb it for you.