Ecclesiastes 12

1So appreciate your vigor; in contrast to others “Remember your Creator.” in the days of your youth, before those days of sorrow come and those years arrive of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

2before sun and light and moon and stars grow dark, and the clouds come back again after the rain:

3When the guards of the house become shaky,And the soldiers are bent,And the maids that grind, grown few, are idle,And the ladies that peer through the windows grow dim,

4And the doors to the street are shut—With the noise of the hand mill growing fainter,And the song of the bird growing feebler, And all the strains of music dying down;

5When one is afraid of heightsAnd there is terror on the road.—For the almond tree may blossom,The grasshopper be burdened,) resume its burden,” i.e., its blossom stalk and its leaves. And the caper bush may bud again; But mortals set out for their eternal abode,With mourners all around in the street.—

6Before the silver cord snapsAnd the golden bowl crashes,The jar is shattered at the spring,And the jug is smashed at the cistern.

7And the dust returns to the groundAs it was,And the lifebreath returns to GodWho bestowed it.

8Utter futility—said Koheleth—All is futile!

9A further word: Because Koheleth was a sage, he continued to instruct the people. He listened to and tested the soundness (Jer. 5.13), which occurs in such postbiblical phrases as shanim ke-thiq(qe)nan “normal years” (lit. “years according to their propriety”). of many maxims.

10Koheleth sought to discover useful sayings and recorded is equivalent to we-khathob, an infinitive employed as in Esth. 9.16 and elsewhere. genuinely truthful sayings.

11The sayings of the wise are like goads, like nails fixed in prodding sticks. They were given by one Shepherd.).

12A further word: Against them, and mah mah; so also mah (meh) in Prov. 31.2. my son, be warned!The making of many books is without limitAnd much study is a wearying of the flesh.

13The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere God and observe the commandments! For this applies to all humankind:

14that God will call every creature to account for everything unknown, be it good or bad.The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere God and observe the commandments! For this applies to all humankind.