Ecc 12 | ESV | STEP | Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth , before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say , I have no pleasure in them ;

v[See ver. 8 above]

wSee Prov. 1:1

x[See ver. 8 above]

y Prov. 22:17

z Ezra 9:8; Isa. 22:23

aa Prov. 1:6; 2:6

ab Ps. 80:1; Ezek. 34:23; John 10:11, 16

ac[1 Kgs. 4:32, 33]

ad[ch. 1:18]

ae ch. 5:7; Deut. 6:2; 10:12

ag 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]

‏ Ecclesiastes 12

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth

1 Remember 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”; 2 before ^dthe 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 ^ethose who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and ^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— 5 they 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— 6 before 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, 7 and ^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

9 Besides 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. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making ^acmany books there is no end, and ^admuch study is a weariness of the flesh.

13 The 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} 14 For ^agGod will bring every deed into judgment, with ^{▼▼Or into the judgment on} every secret thing, whether good or evil.