Ecclesiastes 12

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth

1Remember also your Creator in athe days of your youth, before bthe evil days come and the years draw near of which cyou will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2before dthe sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and ethose who look through the windows are dimmed, 4and fthe doors on the street are shut—when gthe sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all hthe daughters of song are brought low 5they are afraid also of what is high, and iterrors 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 keternal lhome, and the mmourners go about the streets
6before the silver cord is snapped, or nthe golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is oshattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7and pthe dust returns to the earth as it was, and qthe spirit returns to God rwho gave it. 8 sVanity
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 uthe Preacher; all is vanity.

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

9Besides being wise, vthe Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging wmany proverbs with great care. 10 xThe Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

11 yThe words of the wise are like goads, and like znails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are aagiven by abone Shepherd. 12My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making acmany books there is no end, and admuch study is a weariness of the flesh.

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

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