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Ecclesiastes 12

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Remember Your Creator in Your Youth 1–8

1
Remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; ​
2
before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain; ​
3
in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows shall be darkened, ​
4
and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;
5
yea, they shall be afraid of that which is high, and terrors shall be in the way; and the almond-tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goeth to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets: ​
6
before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, ​
7
and the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it. ​
8
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity. ​

The Preacher's Wisdom and Teaching 9–12

9
And further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he pondered, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. ​
10
The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written uprightly, even words of truth.
11
The words of the wise are as goads; and as nails well fastened are the words of the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. ​
12
And furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. ​

The Whole Duty of Man 13–14

13
This isthe end of the matter; all hath been heard: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. ​
14
For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Ecclesiastes 12

Verse 1

Remember now thy Creator — Bara, the verb of Gen 1:1, 'God created the heaven and the earth'. The command follows the call to rejoice in 11:9 and sets the days of youth against 'the evil days'. 'No pleasure' is chephets, delight. Ps 71:17 gives the pattern: 'O God, thou hast taught me from my youth.'

Verse 2

the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars — The four lights are named, and 'darkened' (chashak) returns in v.3 for those who look out of the windows. Vv.2–7 are one extended picture, usually read as the failing body of old age, as when Isaac's 'eyes were dim, so that he could not see' (Gen 27:1).

Verse 3

the keepers of the house shall tremble — 'Keepers' is shamar, the verb of 'observeth' in 11:4 and 'keep' in 12:13. The house with its guards, bowing strong men, grinders and watchers at the windows is usually read as the body in age: the arms, legs, teeth and eyes. 'Grinders' (tachan) are those at the millstone.

Verse 5

his long home — Literally 'house of eternity' (beth olam), the grave. The almond (shaqed) is named from the verb 'to watch' (Jer 1:11–12), and 'desire' (abiyyonah) is a word found only here. 'The mourners go about the streets' as in Jer 9:17, where the LORD calls for 'the mourning women'.

Verse 6

the golden bowl be broken — Gullah is the bowl of the golden lampstand in Zech 4:2–3. The cord and bowl are usually taken as a hanging lamp, the pitcher and wheel as a well, and they break one after another; 'or ever' means 'before'. The figure is one picture of life's end, which v.7 states plainly.

Verse 7

the spirit shall return unto God — The two halves undo Gen 2:7: man was 'formed… of the dust of the ground' and God 'breathed into his nostrils the breath of life'. The dust goes back 'as it was', for 'unto dust shalt thou return' (Gen 3:19), the spirit (ruach) to the giver. In 3:21 the Preacher asked, 'Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward?'

Verse 8

Vanity of vanities — These are the words of 1:2, so the book ends as it began. 'Vanity' is hebel, breath or vapour. 'The preacher' is Qoheleth, from the verb 'to gather' an assembly, the speaker of 1:1: 'The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.'

Verse 9

set in order many proverbs — Three verbs describe the work: izzen, to weigh or give good heed, chaqar, to search out, and taqan, to make straight. Solomon 'spake three thousand proverbs' (1 Kgs 4:32), and Prov 25:1 records others of his that 'the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out'.

Verse 11

as goads, and as nails — The goad (dorban) drives the ox forward, and the nail holds fast what hangs on it. Christ's words to Paul use the figure: 'it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks' (Acts 26:14). The 'one shepherd' is the giver, as in Ezek 34:23, 'I will set up one shepherd over them', and John 10:16.

Verse 12

by these, my son, be admonished — Zahar, to warn, is the watchman's verb in Ezek 3:17, 'give them warning from me'. 'Study' (lahag) and 'weariness' (yegi'ah) each occur only here. John 21:25 speaks of books beyond number about Christ's deeds: 'even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.'

Verse 13

Fear God, and keep his commandments — Yare, to fear, and shamar, to keep, are the pair of Deut 10:12–13: 'to fear the LORD thy God… To keep the commandments of the LORD'. The Hebrew has no word for 'duty': it reads 'this is the whole of man' (kol ha-adam). 'Conclusion' (sof) is the end of the matter.

Verse 14

every secret thing — The Hebrew is from alam, to hide, so 'every hidden thing'. The 'judgment' (mishpat) is the one held out to the young man in 11:9, and in 3:17, 'God shall judge the righteous and the wicked'. Paul says the same judgment is carried out through Christ: 'God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ' (Rom 2:16).