Ecclesiastes 12

1 And remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, of which thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the time of affliction arrives and the years draw near, about which you will say, “These do not please me.”

2 before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, be darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;

Before 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 bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows are darkened,

when the guardians of the house will tremble, and the strongest men will waver, and those who grind grain will be idle, except for a small number, and those who look through the keyholes will be darkened.

4 and the doors are shut toward the street; when the sound of the grinding is subdued, and they rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;

And they will close the doors to the street, when the voice of he who grinds the grain will be humbled, and they will be disturbed at the sound of a flying thing, and all the daughters of song shall become deaf.

5 they are also afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is despised, and the grasshopper is a burden, and the caper-berry is without effect; (for man goeth to his age-long home, and the mourners go about the streets; )

Likewise, they will fear the things above them, and they will dread the way. The almond tree will flourish; the locust will be fattened; and the caper plant will be scattered, because man shall go into the house of his eternity, and the mourners shall wander around in the street.

6 — before the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be shattered at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern;

Before the silver cord is broken, and the golden band pulls away, and the pitcher is crushed over the fountain, and the wheel is broken above the cistern,

7 and the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return unto God who gave it.

and the dust returns to its earth, from which it was, and the spirit returns to God, who granted it.

8 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher: all is vanity.

Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, and all is vanity!

9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, and sought out, [and] set in order many proverbs.

And since Ecclesiastes was very wise, he taught the people, and he described what he had accomplished. And while searching, he composed many parables.

10 The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words; and that which was written is upright, words of truth.

He sought useful words, and he wrote most righteous words, which were full of truth.

11 The words of the wise are as goads, and the collections [of them] as nails fastened in: they are given from one shepherd.

The words of the wise are like a goad, and like nails deeply fastened, which, through the counsel of teachers, are set forth by one pastor.

12 And besides, my son, be warned by them: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

You should require no more than this, my son. For there is no end to the making of many books. And excessive study is an affliction to the flesh.

13 Let us hear the end of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole of man.

Let us all listen together to the end of the discourse. Fear God, and observe his commandments. This is everything for man.

14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.

And so, for all that is done and for each error, God will bring judgment: whether it was good or evil.