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Ecclesiastes 12
New Catholic Bible
Ecclesiastes 12
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 12
Remember Your Creator . . .
1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth
before the bad times come
and the years draw near when you will say,
“I take no pleasure in them”;
2 before the sun and the light of day
give way to darkness,
before the moon and the stars grow dim
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 [a]when the guardians of the house tremble
and the strong men are bent over,
and the women who grind the meal
cease working because they are few in number,
and those who look through the windows
realize that their eyesight is failing;
4 when the doors to the street are shut
and the sound of grinding begins to fade,
when one waits to hear the chirping of a bird,
but all the songbirds are silent;
5 when one is afraid of heights
and is concerned about dangers on the streets.
And You Return to Your Eternal Home
Remember him—when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper is sluggish
and desire is no longer stirred,
and you return to your eternal home
while the mourners assemble in the streets.
6 Remember him—before the silver cord is snapped
or the golden bowl is broken
or the pitcher is shattered at the spring
or the wheel is broken at the well
7 and the dust returns to the earth from which it came
and the spirit returns to God[b] who gave it.
Final Editor’s Note
8 Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth;
all things are vanity.
9 In addition to his wisdom, Qoheleth taught the people knowledge, having weighed, studied, and arranged many proverbs. 10 Qoheleth sought to express his thoughts in a pleasing way and to convey truths with precision.
11 The sayings of the wise are as sharp as goads; like spikes firmly positioned are the lessons offered by a single shepherd. 12 In regard to anything beyond these, my child, beware. There is no end to the writing of many books, and extensive study results in a weariness of the flesh.
13 This is the end of my teaching.
All has been heard.
Fear God[c] and keep his commandments,
for that is the responsibility of everyone.
14 For God will bring to judgment all of our deeds[d]
and reveal all of our secrets,
whether good or bad.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 12:3 The usual interpretation is this: the guardians: the hands; the strong men: the legs; the grind[ers] . . . and those who look through the windows: the teeth and eyes; the doors: the lips; grinding: the mouth. Next there is reference to the failure of hearing; the blossoming of the almond tree: white hair; the grasshopper: sexual vigor.
- Ecclesiastes 12:7 The dust returns to the earth . . . and the spirit returns to God: the part of human beings that is earthly (dust) returns to earth, but the part that comes from God (spirit) returns to God who gave it—which foreshadows the continuation of life with God.
- Ecclesiastes 12:13 Fear God: reverence for God is the basis of wisdom (see Ps 111:10; Prov 1:7; 9:10) as well as its content (see Job 28:28) and the responsibility of everyone.
- Ecclesiastes 12:14 God will bring to judgment all of our deeds: see Eccl 3:17; 8:12-13; 11:9 and note; Mt 12:36; 1 Cor 3:12-15; 2 Cor 5:9-10; Heb 4:12-13.
Thus, at the end of this search, human beings are, as it were, liberated from false religious efforts as well as all pessimism. They discover that they are worth more than what they can possess and more than the situations that they wish to dominate. In the end, conscious of their limits, they do not rebel but learn to accept a true joy without any illusions. Abandoning all thoughts of vindication or fear, they adore the mystery of God with human freedom. The path to hope becomes possible.
Ecclesiastes 12
English Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 12
English Standard Version
Remember Your Creator in Your Youth
12 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,[a] and desire fails, because man is going to his (J)eternal (K)home, and the (L)mourners go about the streets— 6 before the silver cord is snapped, or (M)the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is (N)shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and (O)the dust returns to the earth as it was, and (P)the spirit returns to God (Q)who gave it. 8 (R)Vanity[b] of vanities, says (S)the Preacher; all is vanity.
Fear God and Keep His Commandments
9 Besides being wise, (T)the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging (U)many proverbs with great care. 10 (V)The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
11 (W)The words of the wise are like goads, and like (X)nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are (Y)given by (Z)one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making (AA)many books there is no end, and (AB)much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. (AC)Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.[c] 14 For (AD)God will bring every deed into judgment, with[d] every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 12:5 Or is a burden
- Ecclesiastes 12:8 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (three times in this verse); see note on 1:2
- Ecclesiastes 12:13 Or the duty of all mankind
- Ecclesiastes 12:14 Or into the judgment on
Ecclesiastes 12
King James Version
Ecclesiastes 12
King James Version
12 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Ecclesiastes 12
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 12
New International Version
12 Remember(A) your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble(B) come
and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them”—
2 before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows grow dim;
4 when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint;(C)
5 when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home(D)
and mourners(E) go about the streets.
6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns(F) to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God(G) who gave it.(H)
The Conclusion of the Matter
9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.(K) 10 The Teacher(L) searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.(M)
11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails(N)—given by one shepherd.[b] 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.(O)
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 12:8 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 9 and 10
- Ecclesiastes 12:11 Or Shepherd
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.