Ecclesiastes · Majority Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 12 Majority Standard Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,”
1 Y ACUÉRDATE de tu Criador en los días de tu juventud, antes que vengan los malos días, y lleguen los años, de los cuales digas, No tengo en ellos contentamiento;
2 before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened, and the clouds return after the rain,
2 Antes que se oscurezca el sol, y la luz, y la luna y las estrellas, y las nubes se tornen tras la lluvia:
3 on the day the keepers of the house tremble and the strong men stoop, when those grinding cease because they are few and those watching through windows see dimly,
3 Cuando temblarán los guardas de la casa, y se encorvarán los hombres fuertes, y cesarán las muelas, porque han disminuído, y se oscurecerán los que miran por las ventanas;
4 when the doors to the street are shut and the sound of the mill fades away, when one rises at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song grow faint,
4 Y las puertas de afuera se cerrarán, por la bajeza de la voz de la muela; y levantaráse á la voz del ave, y todas las hijas de canción serán humilladas;
5 when men fear the heights and dangers of the road, when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry shrivels—for then man goes to his eternal home and mourners walk the streets.
5 [Cuando] también temerán de lo alto, y los tropezones en el camino; y florecerá el almendro, y se agravará la langosta, y perderáse el apetito: porque el hombre va á la casa de su siglo, y los endechadores andarán en derredor por la plaza:
6 Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well,
6 Antes que la cadena de plata se quiebre, y se rompa el cuenco de oro, y el cántaro se quiebre junto á la fuente, y la rueda sea rota sobre el pozo;
7 before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
7 Y el polvo se torne á la tierra, como era, y el espíritu se vuelva á Dios que lo dió.
8 “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile!”
8 Vanidad de vanidades, dijo el Predicador, todo vanidad.
9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.
9 Y cuanto más sabio fué el Predicador, tanto más enseñó sabiduría al pueblo; é hizo escuchar, é hizo escudriñar, y compuso muchos proverbios.
10 The Teacher searched to find delightful sayings and to record accurate words of truth.
10 Procuró el Predicador hallar palabras agradables, y escritura recta, palabras de verdad.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the anthologies of the masters are like firmly embedded nails driven by a single Shepherd.
11 Las palabras de los sabios son como aguijones; y como clavos hincados, [las] de los maestros de las congregaciones, dadas por un Pastor.
12 And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.
12 Ahora, hijo mío, á más de esto, sé avisado. No hay fin de hacer muchos libros; y el mucho estudio aflicción es de la carne.
13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
13 El fin de todo el discurso oído [es este]: Teme á Dios, y guarda sus mandamientos; porque esto es el todo del hombre.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
14 Porque Dios traerá toda obra á juicio, [el cual se hará] sobre toda cosa oculta, buena ó mala.
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)