1 Remember 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"; 2 before [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, 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 [Gen. 27:1;48:10;1 Sam. 3:2]those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and [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— 5 they 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— 6 before 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, 7 and Ps. 90:3;103:14;See ch. 3:20;Job 34:15the 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. 1:2Vanity12:8 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.
9 Besides being wise, [See ver. 8above] the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging See Prov. 1:1many proverbs with great care. 10 [See ver. 8above]The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
11 Prov. 22:17The words of the wise are like goads, and like Ezra 9:8;Isa. 22:23nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are Prov. 1:6;2:6given by Ps. 80:1;Ezek. 34:23;John 10:11,16one Shepherd. 12 My 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.
13 The 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 mankind14 For 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, with12:14 Or into the judgment on every secret thing, whether good or evil.
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