1 And remember thy Creator In the days of thy youth, Before the days of evil come, And the years overtake [thee] in which thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. 2 While the sun and light are not darkened, Nor the moon and the stars; Nor the clouds return after the rain: 3 In the day wherein the keepers of the house shall tremble, And the mighty men shall become bent, And the grinding [women] cease because they have become few, And the [women] looking out at the windows be dark; 4 And they shall shut the doors in the marketplace, Because of the weakness of the voice of her that grinds [at the mill]; And he shall rise up at the voice of the sparrow, And all the daughters of song shall be brought low; 5 And they shall look up, and fears [shall be] in the way, And the almond tree shall blossom, And the locust shall increase, And the caper shall be scattered: Because man has gone to his eternal home, And the mourners have gone about the market: 6 Before the silver cord be [let go], Or the choice gold be broken, Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, Or the wheel run down to the cistern; 7 [Before] the dust also return to the earth as it was, And the spirit return to God who gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher; All is vanity. 9 And because the Preacher was wise above [others,] [So it was] that he taught man excellent knowledge, And the ear will trace out the parables. 10 The Preacher sought diligently To find out acceptable words, And a correct writing, [even] words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are as goads, And as nails firmly fastened, Which have been given from one shepherd by agreement. 12 And moreover, my son, guard thyself by means of them: Of making many books there is no end; And much study is a weariness of the flesh. 13 Hear the end of the matter, the sum: Fear God, and keep his commandments: For this is the whole man. 14 For God will bring every work into judgment, With everything that has been overlooked, Whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil.
Ecclesiastes · Updated Brenton English Septuagint
Ecclesiastes 12 Updated Brenton English Septuagint
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Same Septuagint text as Brenton, with modernised spelling.
Cross references (14)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Lamentations 3:27; Ecclesiastes 11:8; Psalm 71:17–18; Proverbs 22:6; Luke 18:16
- 2 Isaiah 5:30; 1 Samuel 4:15; 1 Samuel 4:18; 1 Samuel 3:2; Ezekiel 32:7–8
- 3 Psalm 90:9–10; Psalm 102:23; Genesis 48:10; 1 Samuel 3:2; Zechariah 8:4
- 4 Jeremiah 25:10; 2 Samuel 19:35; Revelation 18:22
- 5 Job 17:13; Jeremiah 9:17–20; Job 30:23; Proverbs 16:31; Psalm 71:18
- 6 Zechariah 4:2–3
- 7 Daniel 12:2; Ecclesiastes 3:20–21; Psalm 146:4; Genesis 3:19; Job 34:14–15
- 8 Ecclesiastes 1:2; Ecclesiastes 8:8; Ecclesiastes 6:12; Ecclesiastes 4:4; Psalm 62:9
- 9 Proverbs 1:1; 1 Kings 4:32; Proverbs 25:1; 1 Kings 10:8; Proverbs 10:1
- 10 Colossians 1:5; 1 Timothy 1:15; Proverbs 16:21–24; Proverbs 1:1–6; Proverbs 8:6–10
- 11 Jeremiah 23:29; Acts 2:37; Hebrews 4:12; Ezekiel 34:23; John 3:10
- 12 Ecclesiastes 1:18; John 21:25; 2 Peter 1:19–21; John 5:39; 1 Kings 4:32
- 13 Deuteronomy 10:12; Micah 6:8; Deuteronomy 6:2; Psalms 111:10–112:1; Psalm 145:19
- 14 2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 2:16; Matthew 12:36; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Matthew 10:26
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
The almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall grow heavy, and the caper-berry shall be scattered abroad.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)