Ecclesiastes Chapter 12
King James Version (KJV)
Other Translations
asv (asv) - eBible.org engASV USFM
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it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, whither thou goest.
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I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
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For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
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I have also seen wisdom under the sun on this wise, and it seemed great unto me:
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There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it.
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Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
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Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
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The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
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Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroyeth much good.
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Dead flies cause the oil of the perfumer to send forth an evil odor;
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so doth a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor.
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A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left.
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Yea also, when the fool walketh by the way, his understanding faileth him, and he saith to every one
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that he is a fool.
darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext
1
And remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, of which thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
2
before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, be darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;
3
in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows are darkened,
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and the doors are shut toward the street; when the sound of the grinding is subdued, and they rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;
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they are also afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is despised, and the grasshopper is a burden, and the caper-berry is without effect; (for man goeth to his age-long home, and the mourners go about the streets;)
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— before the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be shattered at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern;
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and the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return untoGod who gave it.
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Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher: all is vanity.
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And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; and 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 is upright, words of truth.
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The words of the wise are as goads, and the collections [of them] as nails fastened in: they are given from one shepherd.
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And besides, my son, be warned by them: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13
Let us hear the end of the whole matter: FearGod, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole of man.
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ForGod shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.
lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM
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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:
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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;
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and they shall shut the doors in the market-place, 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;
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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:
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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;
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[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.
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The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails firmly fastened, which have been given from one shepherd by agreement.
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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.
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For God will bring every work into judgment, with everything that has been overlooked, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil.
vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)
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Memento Creatoris tui in diebus iuventutis tuæ, antequam veniat tempus afflictionis, et appropinquent anni, de quibus dicas: Non mihi placent,
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antequam tenebrescat sol, et lumen, et luna, et stellæ, et revertantur nubes post pluviam:
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quando commovebuntur custodes domus, et nutabunt viri fortissimi, et otiosæ erunt molentes in minuto numero, et tenebrescent videntes per foramina:
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et claudent ostia in platea, in humilitate vocis molentis, et consurgent ad vocem volucris, et obsurdescent omnes filiæ carminis.
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Excelsa quoque timebunt, et formidabunt in via, florebit amygdalus, impinguabitur locusta, et dissipabitur capparis: quoniam ibit homo in domum æternitatis suæ, et circuibunt in platea plangentes.
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Antequam rumpatur funiculus argenteus, et recurrat vitta aurea, et conteratur hydria super fontem, et confringatur rota super cisternam,
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et revertatur pulvis in terram suam unde erat, et spiritus redeat ad Deum, qui dedit illum.
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Vanitas vanitatum, dixit Ecclesiastes, et omnia vanitas.
9
Cumque esset sapientissimus Ecclesiastes, docuit populum, et enarravit quæ fecerat: et investigans composuit parabolas multas.
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Quæsivit verba utilia, et conscripsit sermones rectissimos, ac veritate plenos.
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Verba sapientium sicut stimuli, et quasi clavi in altum defixi, quæ per magistrorum consilium data sunt a pastore uno.
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His amplius fili mi ne requiras. Faciendi plures libros nullus est finis: frequensque meditatio, carnis afflictio est.
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Finem loquendi pariter omnes audiamus. Deum time, et mandata eius observa: hoc est enim omnis homo:
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et cuncta, quæ fiunt, adducet Deus in iudicium pro omni errato, sive bonum, sive malum illud sit.
web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV
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Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw near, when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them;”
2
Before the sun, the light, 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 who look out of the windows are 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
yes, they shall be afraid of heights, and terrors will be on the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goes to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets;
6
before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern,
7
and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8
“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “All is vanity!”
9
Further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Yes, he pondered, sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
10
The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written blamelessly, words of truth.
11
The words of the wise are like goads; and like nails well fastened are words from the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
12
Furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13
This is the end of the matter. All has 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 is good, or whether it is evil.
ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8
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Remember also thy Creators in days of thy youth, While that the evil days come not, Nor the years have arrived, that thou sayest, `I have no pleasure in them.'
2
While that the sun is not darkened, and the light, And the moon, and the stars, And the thick clouds returned after the rain.
3
In the day that keepers of the house tremble, And men of strength have bowed themselves, And grinders have ceased, because they have become few. And those looking out at the windows have become dim,
4
And doors have been shut in the street. When the noise of the grinding is low, And <FI>one<Fi> riseth at the voice of the bird, And all daughters of song are bowed down.
5
Also of that which is high they are afraid, And of the low places in the way, And the almond-tree is despised, And the grasshopper is become a burden, And want is increased, For man is going unto his home age-during, And the mourners have gone round through the street.
6
While that the silver cord is not removed, And the golden bowl broken, And the pitcher broken by the fountain, And the wheel broken at the well.
7
And the dust returneth to the earth as it was, And the spirit returneth to God who gave it.
8
Vanity of vanities, said the preacher, the whole <FI>is<Fi> vanity.
9
And further, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge, and gave ear, and sought out--he made right many similes.
10
The preacher sought to find out pleasing words, and, written <FI>by<Fi> the upright, words of truth.
11
Words of the wise <FI>are<Fi> as goads, and as fences planted <FI>by<Fi> the masters of collections, they have been given by one shepherd.
12
And further, from these, my son, be warned; the making of many books hath no end, and much study <FI>is<Fi> a weariness of the flesh.
13
The end of the whole matter let us hear: --`Fear God, and keep His commands, for this <FI>is<Fi> the whole of man.
14
For every work doth God bring into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether good or bad.'
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).