Ecclesiastes 12

1 Yet remember thy Creator, in the days of thy vigour, —or ever come in, the days of discomfort, and the years arrive, in which thou shalt say—I have, in them, no pleasure;

While you are still young, keep thinking about [God], who created you. Do that before [you are old] and you experience many troubles, during the years when you say “I no [longer] enjoy being alive.”

2 Or ever be darkened—the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, —and the clouds return after a downpour of rain;

[When you become old], the light from the sun and moon and stars will [seem] dim [to you], and [it will seem that the rain] clouds [always] return [quickly] after it rains.

3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the men of might bow themselves, —and the grinders cease because they are few, and they who look through the windows are darkened;

Then your [arms that you use to protect] [MET] your bodies will shake/tremble, and your [legs that support] [MET] your bodies will become weak. Many of your [teeth that you use to] grind/chew [your food] will fall out, and your [eyes that you use to] look out of windows will not see clearly.

4 And the doors in the street be closed, when the sound of the mill become low, —and one rise at the chirp of a small bird, and low-voiced be all the daughters of song;

Your [ears] [MET] will not hear the noise in the streets, and you will not be able to hear clearly the sound of people grinding grain with millstones. You will be awakened in the morning by hearing the birds singing/chirping, [but] you will not be able to hear well the songs that (the birds/people) sing.

5 Yea, at what is high, they be in fear, and there be, terrors, in the way, and the almond be rejected, and the grasshopper drag itself along, and desire perish, —for man is going to his age-abiding home, when the wailers shall go round in the streets;

You will be afraid to be in high places and afraid of dangers on the roads that you walk on. [Your hair] will become [white like] [MET] the flowers of almond trees. [When you try to walk], you will drag yourself along like [MET] grasshoppers, and you will no longer desire [to have sex]. Then you will [die and] go to your eternal home, and people who will mourn for you will be in the streets.

6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, —or the bucket by the fountain be shivered, or the wheel at the well be broken;

[Think much about God now, because] soon our lives will end, [like] [MET] silver chains or golden bowls that break easily, or like pitchers/jugs that are broken at the water fountain, or like broken pulleys at a well.

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

Then our corpses will [decay and] become dirt again, and our spirits will return to God, the one who gave us our spirits.

8 Vanity of vanities, saith the Proclaimer, all, is vanity.

[So] I say [again] that it is difficult to understand why everything happens; everything is mysterious.

9 Besides that, the Proclaimer being wise, —still further taught knowledge unto the people, and weighed and searched, arranged proverbs in abundance.

I was considered to be a very wise man, and I taught the people many things. I assembled/collected and wrote down many proverbs, and I carefully thought about and studied them.

10 The Proclaimer sought to find out words giving delight, and to note down rightly, the words of truth.

I searched for the right words, and what I have written is reliable and true.

11 The words of the wise, are as goads, yea, as driven nails, their well-ordered sayings, —given from one shepherd.

The things that [I and other] wise people say [teach people what they should do]; they are like [SIM] (goads/sharp sticks that people use to strike animals to direct where they should go). They are like [SIM] nails that stick out of pieces of wood. They are given to us by [God, who is like] [MET] our shepherd.

12 And besides, from them, my son, be admonished, —Of making many books, there is no end, and, much study, is a weariness of the flesh.

[So], my son, pay careful attention to what I have written, and choose carefully what you read that others have written, [because] writing proverbs/books is endless, and [trying to] study them all will cause you to become exhausted.

13 The conclusion of the matter—the whole, let us hear, —Towards God, be reverent, and, his commandments, observe, for, this, [concerneth] all mankind.

[Now] you have heard all [that I have told you], and here is the conclusion: Revere God, and obey his commandments, because those commandments summarize everything that people should do.

14 For, every work, will God bring into judgment, with every hidden thing, —whether good, or evil.

And do not forget that God will judge everything that we do, good things and bad things, [even] things that we do secretly.