Ecc 12 | NASB1995 | STEP | Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth , before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say , “ I have no delight in them”;

Ecclesiastes 12

Remember God in Your Youth

1 ^aRemember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the ^bevil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”; 2 before the ^csun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; 3 in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men ^dstoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and ^ethose who look through ^{▼▼ Or holes}windows grow dim; 4 and the doors on the street are shut as the ^gsound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the ^hdaughters of song will ^{▼▼ Lit be brought low}sing softly. 5 Furthermore, ^{▼▼ Lit they}men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags himself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal ^khome while ^lmourners go about in the street. 6 Remember Him before the silver cord is ^{▼▼ So with Gr; Heb removed}broken and the ⁿgolden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; 7 then the ^odust will return to the earth as it was, and the ^{▼▼ Or breath
,} ^qspirit will return to ^rGod who gave it. 8 ^s“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”

Purpose of the Preacher

9 In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged ^tmany proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find ^udelightful words and to write ^vwords of truth correctly.

11 The ^wwords of wise men are like ^xgoads, and masters of these collections are like ^{▼▼ Lit planted}well-driven ^znails; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 But beyond this, my son, be warned: the ^{▼▼ Lit making}writing of ^abmany books is endless, and excessive ^acdevotion to books is wearying to the body.

13 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: ^adfear God and ^aekeep His commandments, because this applies to ^afevery person. 14 For ^agGod will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.