Ecclesiastes 12

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth

1 Remember also your Creator in a the days of your youth, before b the evil days come and the years draw near of which c you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2 before d the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3 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 e those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and f the doors on the street are shut—when g the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all h the daughters of song are brought low— 5 they are afraid also of what is high, and i terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, ▼
▼ Or is a burden
 and desire fails, because man is going to his k eternal l home, and the m mourners go about the streets— 6 before the silver cord is snapped, or n the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is o shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and p the dust returns to the earth as it was, and q the spirit returns to God r who gave it. 8  s Vanity ▼
▼ The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (three times in this verse); see note on 1:2
 of vanities, says u the Preacher; all is vanity.

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

9 Besides being wise v the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging w many proverbs with great care. 10  x The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

11  y The words of the wise are like goads, and like z nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are aa given by ab one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making ac many books there is no end, and ad much study is a weariness of the flesh.

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. ae Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. ▼
▼ Or the duty of all mankind
 14 For ag God will bring every deed into judgment, with ▼
▼ Or  into the judgment on
 every secret thing, whether good or evil.

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