Chapter 12

1So appreciate your vigora in the days of your youth, before those days of sorrow come and those years arrive of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

2before sun and light and moon and stars grow dark, and the clouds come back again after the rain:

3When the guards of the houseb become shaky,And the men of valorc are bent,And the maids that grind,d grown few, are idle,And the ladies that peer through the windowse grow dim,

4And the doors to the streetf are shut—With the noise of the hand mill growing fainter,And the song of the bird ggrowing feebler,And all the strains of music dying down;h

5When one is afraid of heightsAnd there is terror on the road.—For the almond tree may blossom,iThe grasshopper be burdened,And the caper bush may bud again;jBut man sets out for his eternal abode,With mourners all around in the street.—

6Before the silver cord snapsAnd the golden bowl crashes,The jar is shattered at the spring,And the jugk is smashed at the cistern.l

7And the dust returns to the groundAs it was,And the lifebreath returns to GodWho bestowed it.

8Utter futility—said Koheleth—All is futile!

9A further word: Because Koheleth was a sage, he continued to instruct the people. He listened to and tested the soundnessm of many maxims.

10Koheleth sought to discover useful sayings and recordedn genuinely truthful sayings.

11The sayings of the wise are like goads, like nails fixed oin prodding sticks. pThey were given by one Shepherd.

12A further word: qAgainst them, my son, be warned!The making of many books is without limitAnd much studyr is a wearying of the flesh.

13The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere God and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind:

14that God will call every creature to account for severything unknown, be it good or bad.The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere God and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind.