Ecclesiastes 12

1 Remember your Creator while you are young, before days of trouble come and you grow old, saying, “I'm not enjoying life anymore.”

And remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, of which thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

2 Before the light fades—sun, moon, and stars—and rain clouds return to darken the skies.

before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, be darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;

3 Before the guards of the house tremble and the strong men are bent over, the grinders stop working because there are only a few left, and the ones looking through the windows only see dimly,

in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows are darkened,

4 and the doors to the street are shut. Before the sound of the grinding mill grows low, and you wake up early when the birds are singing, but you can hardly hear them.

and the doors are shut toward the street; when the sound of the grinding is subdued, and they rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;

5 Before you develop a fear of heights and worry about going out on the streets; when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper crawls along, and desire fails, for everyone has to go to their eternal home as the mourners go up and down the street.

they are also afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is despised, and the grasshopper is a burden, and the caper-berry is without effect; (for man goeth to his age-long home, and the mourners go about the streets; )

6 Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken; before the water jug is smashed at the spring, or the pulley is broken at the well.

— before the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be shattered at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern;

7 Then the dust returns to the earth from which it came, and the breath of life returns to God who gave it.

and the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return unto God who gave it.

8 “Everything passes! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher: all is vanity.

9 Not only was the Teacher a wise man, he also taught what he knew to others. He thought about many proverbs, studying them and arranging them.

And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, and sought out, [and] set in order many proverbs.

10 The Teacher looked for the best way to explain things, writing truthfully and honestly.

The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words; and that which was written is upright, words of truth.

11 The words of the wise are like cattle prods. Their collected sayings are like nails driven home, given by one shepherd.

The words of the wise are as goads, and the collections [of them] as nails fastened in: they are given from one shepherd.

12 In addition, my student, take care, for there's no end to book writing, and too much study wears you out.

And besides, my son, be warned by them: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

13 To sum up now that everything has been discussed: Respect God by keeping his commandments, for that's what everyone should do.

Let us hear the end of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole of man.

14 God is going to judge us for everything we do, including what we do secretly, whether good or bad.

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.