The Twilight of Life
1 So remember your Creator in the days of your youth:
Before the days of adversity come,
and the years approach when you will say, r
“I have no delight in them”;
2 before the sun and the light are darkened, s
and the moon and the stars,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 on the day when the guardians of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
the women who grind grain cease because they are few,
and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly, t
4 the doors at the street are shut
while the sound of the mill fades; u
when one rises at the sound of a bird,
and all the daughters of song grow faint.
5 Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road;
the almond tree blossoms,
the grasshopper loses its spring,
and the caper berry has no effect;
for the mere mortal is headed to his eternal home, v
and mourners will walk around in the street; w
6 before the silver cord is snapped,
and the gold bowl is broken, x
and the jar is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel is broken into the well;
7 and the dust returns to the earth as it once was,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it. y
8 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile.” z
The Teacher’s Objectives and Conclusion
9 In addition to the Teacher being a wise man, he constantly taught the people knowledge; he weighed, explored, and arranged many proverbs. a 10 The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and write words of truth accurately. 11 The sayings of the wise are like cattle prods, b and those from masters of collections are like firmly embedded nails. c The sayings are given by one Shepherd.
12 But beyond these, my son, be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, d and much study wearies the body. e 13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God f and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity. g 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, h including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
C. Be reverent (12:1–7). 12:1. Whereas the preceding verses challenge the young to enjoy life while they can and yet to keep in mind the dark days to come, 12:1–7 begins by challenging them to keep God in mind while they are still young, before unpleasant days come (12:1a). This, the longest of the three subsections, offers a context for the preceding calls to decisive action and joyful living. The direct command to “remember” God is rare in the OT (elsewhere only Neh 4:14; Jr 51:50; cf. Dt 8:18), as is the title “your Creator” (elsewhere only Is 43:1). “Remember” here is a logical extension of “know” in 11:9b, while “Creator” is a fitting title for the source of life’s everyday gifts, given the book’s frequent allusions to the Gn 1–3 narrative. The remainder of the text offers a threefold motivating contrast with “the days of your youth,” each commencing with the word “before” (12:1b–2, 6). Ecclesiastes 12:1b contrasts the present enjoyable days with the coming “days of adversity” (cf. 7:14), when life no longer will be pleasing.
12:2–5. In 12:2 those days of light (11:7) are contrasted with gloomy, cloud-shrouded days, when all celestial light sources are darkened. The description here reminds one of the cataclysmic day of the Lord announced by the prophets (Is 5:30; 13:10; Ezk 32:8; Jl 2:2, 31; Am 5:20; Zph 1:15). But the further description of the “day” in verses 3–5 indicates that the focus here is death, not the end of the world.
12:6–7. The third contrast begins with images of death: a broken decorative cord with its attached bowl (perhaps an oil lamp, as in Zch 4:2–3) and a shattered water jar and broken well wheel. Unlike the language of verses 3–5, 12:6 probably is not intended to be taken allegorically (i.e., anatomically). Rather, it simply emphasizes the finality, irreversibility, and destructiveness of death: the light goes out and thirst goes unquenched.
A. Theme verse: Everything is ephemeral (12:8). The concluding remarks are preceded by the repetition of the theme verse, which affirms that everything is utterly ephemeral. Verse 8 is similar in formulation to 1:2 and thus forms with it a literary bracket around Qoheleth’s investigations and findings (see “Literary Features” in the introduction to Ecclesiastes).
12:9–10. Verses 9–10 describe the Teacher’s purpose, procedure, and product, which parallel in some respects the narrative description of Solomonic wisdom in 1 Kg 4:29–34. The Teacher was a wise person who publicly instructed the people (12:9). For that purpose, he pondered (“weighed”), thoroughly investigated, and edited many proverbs. Ecclesiastes 12:10 emphasizes the intentional aesthetic, stylistic, and moral quality of these words. This verse may be referring to the Teacher’s efforts both to find (i.e., collect) apt sayings and to compose truthful sayings himself (cf. Pr 22:20–21).
12:11–12. The effect of such wisdom sayings is described in these verses. The reference to the “sayings of the wise” (12:11) appears to make a broader, even canonical, claim, since a similar phrase is used in the prologue to Proverbs (“words of the wise,” Pr 1:6; see also 22:17; Ec 9:17). Such sayings are effective, even if painful (as in Ec 7:5; cf. Ps 141:5), like prods to move cattle in the right direction. Those who master them are secure, like firmly planted nails, since these words are given by a “shepherd.” This has traditionally been understood as claiming God, Israel’s Shepherd, as the ultimate source of wisdom. Alternatively, the entire verse could be understood as developing the metaphor of a goad deftly wielded by a shepherd (see the CSB footnote). Although the OT consistently acknowledges the divine origin of wisdom (e.g., 1 Kg 4:29; 5:12; Ps 51:6; Pr 2:6; Ec 2:26) and frequently describes God as a shepherd, these two concepts are not combined elsewhere. Psalm 78:72 notes that King David employed wisdom in shepherding Israel, while Ec 12:9 implies that the Teacher viewed public instruction as a proper means for guiding the people.
12:13–14. These verses contain a summary of the Teacher’s basic message, the bottom line after all his words have been heard (12:13). Ecclesiastes 12:14 offers the motivation for heeding this charge: God’s judgment will encompass every human deed, including those carefully concealed from others. These concluding verses ultimately affirm the teachings of the main body of the book: (1) the value of revering God (3:14; 5:7; 7:18; 8:12–13), (2) the need to obey God’s commands (e.g., 5:4–6, which cites Dt 23:21–23 regarding vows; also 8:5), and (3) the certainty of divine judgment, either “under the sun” or after death (3:15, 17; 5:6; 7:17; 8:12–13; 11:9). Despite the diverse and sometimes disturbing course of the Teacher’s reflections and conclusion, at the core he has not strayed from the central convictions of the Israelite faith: “fear God and keep his commands.”