Ecclesiastes 12
12
Remember Your Creator in Your Youth
1Remember also your Creator in #[Lam. 3:27] the days of your youth, before #[ch. 11:8] the evil days come and the years draw near of which #[2 Sam. 19:35]you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2before #[Job 3:9; Isa. 5:30; Ezek. 32:7, 8]the 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 #[Gen. 27:1; 48:10; 1 Sam. 3:2]those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4and #[Ps. 141:3] the doors on the street are shut—when #[Jer. 25:10; Rev. 18:22] the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all #[ch. 2:8]the daughters of song are brought low— 5they are afraid also of what is high, and #[Prov. 26:13] terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along,#12:5 Or is a burden and desire fails, because man is going to his #[Ps. 143:3] eternal #[Job 17:13; 30:23; Isa. 14:18] home, and the #[2 Chr. 35:25; Jer. 9:17; Matt. 9:23]mourners go about the streets— 6before the silver cord is snapped, or #[Zech. 4:2, 3] the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is #[Isa. 30:14]shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7and #Ps. 90:3; 103:14; See ch. 3:20; Job 34:15 the dust returns to the earth as it was, and #[ch. 3:21] the spirit returns to God #[Job 34:14; Isa. 57:16; Zech. 12:1]; See Gen. 2:7who gave it. 8#ch. 1:2 Vanity#12:8 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 #See ch. 1:1the Preacher; all is vanity.
Fear God and Keep His Commandments
9Besides being wise, #[See ver. 8 above] the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging #See Prov. 1:1many proverbs with great care. 10#[See ver. 8 above]The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
11 #
Prov. 22:17 The words of the wise are like goads, and like #Ezra 9:8; Isa. 22:23 nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are #Prov. 1:6; 2:6 given by #Ps. 80:1; Ezek. 34:23; John 10:11, 16one Shepherd. 12My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making #[1 Kgs. 4:32, 33] many books there is no end, and #[ch. 1:18]much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13The end of the matter; all has been heard. #ch. 5:7; Deut. 6:2; 10:12Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.#12:13 Or the duty of all mankind 14For #ch. 11:9; Job 19:29; Matt. 12:36; Acts 17:31; Rom. 2:16; 14:10, 12; 1 Cor. 4:5; [ch. 3:15, 17; Gen. 18:25; Ps. 58:11]God will bring every deed into judgment, with#12:14 Or into the judgment on every secret thing, whether good or evil.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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