Ecclesiastes 12

1Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years draw near when you will say,
“I have no delight in them”— 2before the sun and the light grow dark,
and the moon and the stars,
and the clouds return after the rain; 3on the day when the guards of the house tremble,
and the strong men bend themselves,
and the women who grind cease because they are few,
and those who look through the windows grow dim; 4when the doors are shut in the street,
as the sound of the mill grows low;
when one rises at the sound of a bird,
and all the daughters of song are brought low; 5when they are afraid of heights,
and terrors are in the road;
when the almond tree blossoms,
the grasshopper drags itself along,
and the caper berry fails—
for a person goes to their everlasting home,
and the mourners circle in the street; 6before the silver cord is snapped,
and the golden bowl is crushed,
and the jar is broken at the spring,
and the wheel is crushed at the well; 7and the dust returns to the earth as it was,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8“Vapor of vapors,” says the Teacher;
“all is vapor.”

9Beyond this, because the Teacher was wise, he continually taught the people knowledge. He weighed and searched out and set in order many proverbs.

10The Teacher sought to find words of delight, and to write upright words of truth.

11The words of the wise are like goads, and like firmly fixed nails are the masters of collections; they are given by one shepherd.

12And beyond these, my child, be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the flesh.

13The end of the matter; all has been heard: fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole of humanity.

14For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.