Ecclesiastes 12

1 And remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the days of evil come, and the years overtake [thee] in which thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.

Remember your Creator while you are young, before days of trouble come and you grow old, saying, “I'm not enjoying life anymore.”

2 While the sun and light are not darkened, nor the moon and the stars; nor the clouds return after the rain:

Before the light fades—sun, moon, and stars—and rain clouds return to darken the skies.

3 in the day wherein the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the mighty men shall become bent, and the grinding [women] cease because they have become few, and the [women] looking out at the windows be dark;

Before the guards of the house tremble and the strong men are bent over, the grinders stop working because there are only a few left, and the ones looking through the windows only see dimly,

4 and they shall shut the doors in the market-place, because of the weakness of the voice of her that grinds [at the mill]; and he shall rise up at the voice of the sparrow, and all the daughters of song shall be brought low;

and the doors to the street are shut. Before the sound of the grinding mill grows low, and you wake up early when the birds are singing, but you can hardly hear them.

5 and they shall look up, and fears [shall be] in the way, and the almond tree shall blossom, and the locust shall increase, and the caper shall be scattered: because man has gone to his eternal home, and the mourners have gone about the market:

Before you develop a fear of heights and worry about going out on the streets; when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper crawls along, and desire fails, for everyone has to go to their eternal home as the mourners go up and down the street.

6 before the silver cord be [let go], or the choice gold be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel run down to the cistern;

Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken; before the water jug is smashed at the spring, or the pulley is broken at the well.

7 [before] the dust also return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return to God who gave it.

Then the dust returns to the earth from which it came, and the breath of life returns to God who gave it.

8 Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher; all is vanity.

“Everything passes! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.

9 And because the Preacher was wise above [others, so it was] that he taught man excellent knowledge, and the ear will trace out the parables.

Not only was the Teacher a wise man, he also taught what he knew to others. He thought about many proverbs, studying them and arranging them.

10 The Preacher sought diligently to find out acceptable words, and a correct writing, [even] words of truth.

The Teacher looked for the best way to explain things, writing truthfully and honestly.

11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails firmly fastened, which have been given from one shepherd by agreement.

The words of the wise are like cattle prods. Their collected sayings are like nails driven home, given by one shepherd.

12 And moreover, my son, guard thyself by means of them: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

In addition, my student, take care, for there's no end to book writing, and too much study wears you out.

13 Hear the end of the matter, the sun: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole man.

To sum up now that everything has been discussed: Respect God by keeping his commandments, for that's what everyone should do.

14 For God will bring every work into judgment, with everything that has been overlooked, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil.

God is going to judge us for everything we do, including what we do secretly, whether good or bad.