Ecclesiastes 12:5–9

5 when people are afraid of heights

and of dangers in the streets;

when the almond tree blossoms

and the grasshopper drags itself along

and desire no longer is stirred.

Then people go to their eternal home

and mourners go about the streets.

6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,

and the golden bowl is broken;

before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,

and the wheel broken at the well,

7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,

and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.

“Everything is meaningless!”

9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.

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.

5 Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.

6 Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. 7 For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

8 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”

9 Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them.

5 Also they are afraid of height,

And of terrors in the way;

When the almond tree blossoms,

The grasshopper is a burden,

And desire fails.

For man goes to his eternal home,

And the mourners go about the streets.

6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed,

Or the golden bowl is broken,

Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,

Or the wheel broken at the well.

7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,

And the spirit will return to God who gave it.

8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,

“All is vanity.”

9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs.

5 You will fear high places

and will be afraid to go for a walk.

Your hair will become white like the flowers on an almond tree.

You will limp along like a grasshopper when you walk.

Your appetite will be gone.

Then you will go to your everlasting home,

and people will go to your funeral.

6 Soon your life will snap like a silver chain

or break like a golden bowl.

You will be like a broken pitcher at a spring,

or a broken wheel at a well.

7 You will turn back into the dust of the earth again,

but your spirit will return to God who gave it.

8 Everything is useless!

The Teacher says that everything is useless.

9 The Teacher was very wise and taught the people what he knew. He very carefully thought about, studied, and set in order many wise teachings.

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.

5 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;) 6 —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; 7 and the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit 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; and he pondered, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

5 Remember your Creator when someone is afraid of heights 

and of dangers along the road, 

the almond tree blossoms, 

the grasshopper drags itself along, 

⸤and⸥ the caper bush has ⸤no⸥ fruit. 

Mortals go to their eternal rest, and mourners go out in the streets. 

6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is snapped, 

the golden bowl is broken, 

the pitcher is smashed near the spring, 

and the water wheel is broken at the cistern. 

7 Then the dust ⸤of mortals⸥ goes back to the ground as it was before, 

and the breath of life goes back to God who gave it. 

8 “Absolutely pointless!” says the spokesman. “Everything is pointless!” 

9 Besides being wise, the spokesman also taught the people what he knew. He very carefully thought about it, studied it, and arranged it in many proverbs.

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 man is headed to his eternal home,

and mourners will walk around in the street;

6 before the silver cord is snapped,

and the gold bowl is broken,

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.

8 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile.”

9 In addition to the Teacher being a wise man, he constantly taught the people knowledge; he weighed, explored, and arranged many proverbs.

5 when one is afraid of heights, and terrors are in the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caper bud falls; because all must go to their eternal home, and the mourners will go about the streets; 6 before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher; all is vanity.

9 Besides being wise, the Teacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs.

5 They are afraid of heights,

and terrors are on the road.

The almond tree blossoms,

and the grasshopper draws itself along, and desire fails

because man goes to his eternal home,

and the mourners go about in the streets.

6 Before the silver cord is snapped

and the golden bowl is broken;

and the jar at the foundation is broken,

and the wheel at the cistern is broken.

7 And the dust returns to the earth as it was,

and the breath returns to God who gave it.

8 “Vanity of vanity!” says the Teacher.

“Everything is vanity!”

9 The Teacher was full of wisdom, and he taught the people with knowledge. He carefully considered many proverbs and carefully arranged them.

5 Remember your Creator before you become afraid of places that are too high.

You will also be terrified because of danger in the streets.

Remember your Creator before the almond trees have buds on them.

That’s when grasshoppers will drag themselves along.

Old men will not want to make love anymore.

Man will go to his dark home in the grave.

And those who sob over the dead will walk around in the streets.

6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is cut.

That’s when the golden bowl will be broken.

The wheel will be broken at the well.

The pitcher will be smashed at the spring.

7 Remember your Creator before you return to the dust you came from.

That’s when your spirit will go back to God who gave it.

8 “Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!”

says the Teacher.

“Nothing has any meaning.”

9 The Teacher was wise. He gave knowledge to people. He put many proverbs to the test. He thought about them carefully. Then he wrote them down in order.

5 Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags himself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street.

6 Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;

7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”

9 In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs.