Ecclesiastes 12
1 Haue thou mynde on thi creatour in the daies of thi yongthe, bifore that the tyme of thi turment come, and the yeris of thi deth neiye, of whiche thou schalt seie, Tho plesen not me.
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,”
2 `Haue thou mynde on thi creatour, bifor that the sunne be derk, and the liyt, and sterrys, and the mone; and cloude turne ayen after reyn.
before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened, and the clouds return after the rain,
3 Whanne the keperis of the hous schulen be mouyd, and strongeste men schulen tremble; and grynderis schulen be idel, whanne the noumbre schal be maad lesse, and seeris bi the hoolis schulen wexe derk;
on the day the keepers of the house tremble and the strong men stoop, when those grinding cease because they are few and those watching through windows see dimly,
4 and schulen close the doris in the street, in the lownesse of vois of a gryndere; and thei schulen rise at the vois of a brid, and alle the douytris of song schulen wexe deef.
when the doors to the street are shut and the sound of the mill fades away, when one rises at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song grow faint,
5 And hiy thingis schulen drede, and schulen be aferd in the weie; an alemaunde tre schal floure, a locuste schal be maad fat, and capparis schal be distried; for a man schal go in to the hous of his euerlastyngnesse, and weileris schulen go aboute in the street.
when men fear the heights and dangers of the road, when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry shrivels— for then man goes to his eternal home and mourners walk the streets.
6 Haue thou mynde on thi creatour, byfore that a siluerne roop be brokun, and a goldun lace renne ayen, and a watir pot be al to-brokun on the welle, and a wheele be brokun togidere on the cisterne;
Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well,
7 and dust turne ayen in to his erthe, wherof it was, and the spirit turne ayen to God, that yaf it.
before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8 The vanyte of vanytees, seide Ecclesiastes, the vanyte of vanytees, and alle thingis ben vanyte.
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile!”
9 And whanne Ecclesiastes was moost wijs, he tauyte the puple, and he telde out the thingis whiche he dide,
Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.
10 and he souyte out wisdom, and made many parablis; he souyte profitable wordis, and he wroot moost riytful wordis, and ful of treuthe.
The Teacher searched to find delightful sayings and to record accurate words of truth.
11 The wordis of wise men ben as prickis, and as nailis fastned deepe, whiche ben youun of o scheepherde bi the counsels of maistris.
The words of the wise are like goads, and the anthologies of the masters are like firmly embedded nails driven by a single Shepherd.
12 My sone, seke thou no more than these; noon ende is to make many bookis, and ofte thenkyng is turment of fleisch.
And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.
13 Alle we here togydere the ende of spekyng. Drede thou God, and kepe hise heestis; `that is to seie, ech man.
When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
14 God schal brynge alle thingis in to dom, that ben don; for ech thing don bi errour, whether it be good, ether yuel.
For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
