Ecclesiastes 12

¹Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth , before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say , I have no pleasure in them;

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

³in the day when the keepers of the house tremble , and the strong men are bent , and the grinders cease because they are few , and those who look through the windows are dimmed ,

⁴and the doors on the street are shut —when the sound of the grinding is low , and one rises up at the sound of a bird , and all the daughters of song are brought low —

⁵they are afraid also of what is high , and terrors are in the way ; the almond tree blossoms , the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails , because man is going to his eternal home , and the mourners go about the streets —

⁶before the silver cord is snapped , or the golden bowl is broken , or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain , or the wheel broken at the cistern ,

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

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

⁹Besides being wise , the Preacher also taught the people knowledge , weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care.

¹⁰The Preacher sought to find words of delight , and uprightly he wrote words of truth .

¹¹The words of the wise are like goads , and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd .

¹²My son , beware of anything beyond these . Of making many books there is no end , and much study is a weariness of the flesh .

¹³The end of the matter ; all has been heard . Fear God and keep his commandments , for this is the whole duty of man .

¹⁴For God will bring every deed into judgment , with every secret thing, whether good or evil .