Ecclesiastes12

New American Standard

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¹Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years approach when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

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

³on the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and strong men are bent over, the grinders stop working because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim;

⁴and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly.

⁵Furthermore, people are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caper berry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home while the mourners move around in the street.

⁶Remember your Creator before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;

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

⁸“Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher, “all is futility!”

⁹In addition to being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.

¹⁰The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.

¹¹The words of the wise are like goads, and masters of these collections are like driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.

¹²But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive study is wearying to the body.

¹³The conclusion, when everything has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.

¹⁴For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Ecclesiastes 12.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: A description of the infirmities of age. (1-7). All is vanity: also a warning of the judgment to come. (8-14).

vv1-7

We should remember our sins against our Creator, repent, and seek forgiveness. We should remember our duties, and set about them, looking to him for grace and strength. This should be done early, while the body is strong, and the spirits active. When a man has the pain of reviewing a misspent life, his not having given up sin and worldly vanities till he is forced to say, I have no pleasure in them, renders his sincerity very questionable. Then follows a figurative description of old age and its infirmities, which has some difficulties; but the meaning is plain, to show how uncomfortable, generally, the days of old age are. As the four verses, 2-5, are a figurative description of the infirmities that usually accompany old age, 6 notices the circumstances which take place in the hour of death. If sin had not entered into the world, these infirmities would not have been known. Surely then the aged should reflect on the evil of sin.

vv8-14

Solomon repeats his text, VANITY OF VANITIES, ALL IS VANITY. These are the words of one that could speak by dear-bought experience of the vanity of the world, which can do nothing to ease men of the burden of sin. As he considered the worth of souls, he gave good heed to what he spake and wrote; words of truth will always be acceptable words. The truths of God are as goads to such as are dull and draw back, and nails to such as are wandering and draw aside; means to establish the heart, that we may never sit loose to our duty, nor be taken from it. The Shepherd of Israel is the Giver of inspired wisdom. Teachers and guides all receive their communications from him. The title is applied in Scripture to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The prophets sought diligently, what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. To write many books was not suited to the shortness of human life, and would be weariness to the writer, and to the reader; and then was much more so to both than it is now. All things would be vanity and vexation, except they led to this conclusion, That to fear God, and keep his commandments, is the whole of man. The fear of God includes in it all the affections of the soul towards him, which are produced by the Holy Spirit. There may be terror where there is no love, nay, where there is hatred. But this is different from the gracious fear of God, as the feelings of an affectionate child. The fear of God, is often put for the whole of true religion in the heart, and includes its practical results in the life. Let us attend to the one thing needful, and now come to him as a merciful Saviour, who will soon come as an almighty Judge, when he will bring to light the things of darkness, and manifest the counsels of all hearts. Why does God record in his word, that ALL IS VANITY, but to keep us from deceiving ourselves to our ruin? He makes our duty to be our interest. May it be graven in all our hearts. Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is all that concerns man.

Key Words

RememberH2142Hebrew

זָכַר: properly, to mark (so as to be recognized), i.e. to remember; by implication, to mention; to be male

CreatorH1254Hebrew

בָּרָא: (absolutely) to create; (qualified) to cut down (a wood), select, feed (as formative processes)

daysH3117Hebrew

יוֹם: a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)

youthH979Hebrew

בְּחֻרוֹת: youth (collectively and abstractly)

evilH7451Hebrew

רַע: bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral)

comeH935Hebrew

בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)

yearsH8141Hebrew

שָׁנֶה: a year (as a revolution of time)

nearH5060Hebrew

נָגַע: properly, to touch, i.e. lay the hand upon (for any purpose; euphemistically, to lie with a woman); by implication, to reach (figuratively, to arrive, acquire); violently, to strike (punish, defeat, destroy, etc.)

whichH834Hebrew

אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.

sayH559Hebrew

אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)