Ecclesiastes 12:1-11

New King James Version

Seek God in Early Life

12 Remember^(A) now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the ^[a]difficult days come,
And the years draw near ^(B)when you say,
“I have no pleasure in them”:
²While the sun and the light,
The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened,
And the clouds do not return after the rain;
³In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
And the strong men bow down;
When the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look through the windows grow dim;
⁴When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird,
And all ^(C)the daughters of music are brought low.
⁵Also they are afraid of height,
And of terrors in the way;
When the almond tree blossoms,
The grasshopper is a burden,
And desire fails.
For man goes to ^(D)his eternal home,
And ^(E)the mourners go about the streets.

⁶Remember your Creator before the silver cord is ^[b]loosed,
Or the golden bowl is broken,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.
⁷^(F)Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
^(G)And the spirit will return to God ^(H)who gave it.

⁸“Vanity^(I) of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“All is vanity.”

The Whole Duty of Man

⁹And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and ^(J)set^[c] in order many proverbs. ¹⁰The Preacher sought to find ^[d]acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. ¹¹The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of ^[e]scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd.