1 REMEMBER now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor 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 be darkened,
4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

2While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

3In 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 be darkened,

4And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

5Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

6Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

7Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

8Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

9And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

10The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

11The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

12And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

II == 2nd Sam 19:35

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

V == Job 17:13 ; Jer 9:17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VII == Gen 3:19 ; Num 16:22 ; 27:16 ; Job 34:14-15 ; Ps 90:3 ; Eccl 3:21 ; Isa 57:16 ; Zech 12:1

 

VIII == Ps 62:9 ; Eccl 1:2

IX == 1st Kings 4:32

 

 

 

 

XII == Eccl 1:18

 

XIII == Deut 6:2 ; 10:12

 

 

XIV == Eccl 11:9 ; Matt 12:36 ; Acts 17:30-31 ; Rom 2:16 ; 1st Cor 4:5 ; 2nd Cor 5:10

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

2 Before the sun is darkened. and the light, and the moon, and the stars, while the clouds return after the rain;

3 When the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, And the grinders are idle because they are few, and they who look through the windows grow blind;

4 When the doors to the street are shut, and the sound of the mill is low; When one waits for the chirp of a bird, but all the daughters of song are suppressed;

5 And one fears heights, and perils in the street; When the almond tree blooms, and the locust grows sluggish and the caper berry is without effect, Because man goes to his lasting home, and mourners go about the streets;

6 Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken, And the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the broken pulley falls into the well,

7 And the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns to God who gave it.

8 Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, all things are vanity!

9 Besides being wise, Qoheleth taught the people knowledge, and weighed, scrutinized and arranged many proverbs.

10 Qoheleth sought to find pleasing sayings, and to write down true sayings with precision.

11 The sayings of the wise are like goads; like fixed spikes are the topics given by one collector.

12 As to more than these, my son, beware. Of the making of many books there is no end, and in much study there is weariness for the flesh.

13 The last word, when all is heard: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man's all;

14 because God will bring to judgment every work, with all its hidden qualities, whether good or bad.

v 1. After the suggestions from a human point of view of enjoying life in our youth, Solomon reminds that the day will come when we cannot enjoy these things. He states clearly the effects of age on the body as he zeros in on what is truly important, our Creator. Up to now many of the things have been temporary and meaningless.

v 2. This is a poetic way of saying that the darkness of death is approaching.

v 3. Keepers of the house tremble - hands and arms grow weak.
Strong men bow - backs grow stooped and legs bow.
Grinders cease because they  are few - loss of teeth.
Windows darkened - failing eyesight.

v 4. Doors closed - (not ears?) sinking in of lips and cheeks due to loss of teeth.
Rise at the voice of a bird - get up early because they can’t sleep.
Grinding is low - chewing without teeth or hearing hum of conversation. 
Daughters of music brought low - impaired voice and loss of hearing.

v 5. Afraid of that which is high - increased fear of heights due to loss of balance.
Fears in the way - fear of going out due to dangers and unsteadiness.
Almond tree flourish - hair turning gray, then white.
Grasshopper a burden - loss of strength and liveliness.
Desire fail - diminished physical appetites, taste, smell, sex.
Go to long home - approaching death, the grave, eternal home.
Mourners in streets - grieving over prolonged sickness and death.

v 6. Silver cord is loosed, golden bowl broken, pitcher broken at the fountain, & wheel broken at the cistern all refer to the shut down of nervous and circulatory system and all body processes, so the Creator must be remembered before then. 

v 7. At that point the body of man returns to dust, but the spirit that is breath (the same Hebrew word) returns to God Who gave breath to man. At this point Solomon is still thinking physically and does not refer to our individual spirits going to God.

v 8. Solomon goes back to the same theme in which he began this book, the transitoriousness of life makes the present seem meaningless, futile,1:2 vanity; 1:3 futility of labor; 1:4-7 endless routine of life & nature; 1:13,14,17, futility of wisdom; 2:1 futility of pleasure; 2:4-11, futility of wealth and works; 6:11 futility of life apart from God. 8:5, man’s view; 11:9 living for our own lusts we face eternal judgment.

v 9,10. Solomon has sought to teach by writing this book in a frank effective way in which he chose carefully his words so it would be interesting and usable.

v 11,12. The words of the wise prod us on like goads and are nailed in the mind because they are given by one Shepherd, God. Heed the words of the one Shepherd instead of wearing yourself out studying all sorts of books.

v 13,14. Solomon has not been as pessimistic as he has sometimes sounded. In his conclusion he does not retract anything about enjoying the worldly things of this life in the time and manner God has given. He stresses what is most important: (1) Faith, fear God. (2) Works, keep His commandments. Things of the future which we know had not yet been revealed in such detail so he did not comment on them. However, he is content to leave matters in God’s hands, because He would ultimately give proper judgment on everything.
Solution: 12:1, now; Conclusion 12:13 was required then, is done in love now.