# Ecclesiastes 12.2-7 **Book:** [Ecclesiastes](/codex/ecclesiastes/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 1. Remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; > > **2. before the sun, and the light, and 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 that look out of the windows shall be 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. yea, they shall be afraid of that which is high, and terrors shall be in the way; and the almond-tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goeth to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets: 6. before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7. and the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it.** > > 8. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity. 9. And further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he pondered, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. (Ecclesiastes 12:1-9, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 1. 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. (Ecclesiastes 12:1-9, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 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, the grinders: or, the grinders fail, because they grind little 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. moreover: or, the more wise the preacher was, etc (Ecclesiastes 12:1-9, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 1. 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 [one] 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 [is] 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. (Ecclesiastes 12:1-9, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** _TBD_ - **Audience:** _TBD_ - **Location:** _TBD_ - **Time period:** _TBD_ ## Theological reading _Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._ ## Key words _Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word._ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ ## Quoted in **Arguments and defeaters:** - [Argument from Human Exceptionalism](/codex/argument-from-human-exceptionalism/), via [Ecclesiastes 12.7](/codex/ecclesiastes-12-7/) - [Argument from Irrevocability](/codex/argument-from-irrevocability/), via [Ecclesiastes 12.7](/codex/ecclesiastes-12-7/) - [Argument from Personal Identity](/codex/argument-from-personal-identity/), via [Ecclesiastes 12.7](/codex/ecclesiastes-12-7/) - [Argument from the Fear of Death](/codex/argument-from-the-fear-of-death/), via [Ecclesiastes 12.7](/codex/ecclesiastes-12-7/) - [Consciousness Emerges from Neurons Objection Defeater](/codex/consciousness-emerges-from-neurons-objection-defeater/), via [Ecclesiastes 12.7](/codex/ecclesiastes-12-7/) - [Modal Argument from Mind](/codex/modal-argument-from-mind/), via [Ecclesiastes 12.7](/codex/ecclesiastes-12-7/) **Concepts:** - [NDEs (Near Death Experiences)](/codex/ndes-near-death-experiences/), via [Ecclesiastes 12.7](/codex/ecclesiastes-12-7/) - [Resurrection of the Body](/codex/resurrection-of-the-body/), via [Ecclesiastes 12.7](/codex/ecclesiastes-12-7/) - [Soul](/codex/soul/), via [Ecclesiastes 12.7](/codex/ecclesiastes-12-7/) - [Soul and Spirit, Origin and Awareness](/codex/soul-and-spirit-origin-and-awareness/), via [Ecclesiastes 12.7](/codex/ecclesiastes-12-7/) **Lexicon:** - [H7307 - ruach](/codex/h7307-ruach/), via [Ecclesiastes 12.7](/codex/ecclesiastes-12-7/) ## Notes _Your annotations._ ## Why these four translations ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance. The four: - **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff. See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.