Ecclesiastes 12

12Remember the One who created you.

Remember him while you are still young.

Think about him before your times of trouble come.

The years will come when you will say,

“I don’t find any pleasure in them.”

²That’s when the sunlight will become dark.

The moon and the stars will also grow dark.

And the clouds will return after it rains.

³Remember your Creator before those who guard the house tremble with old age.

That’s when strong men will be bent over.

The women who grind grain will stop because there are so few of them left.

Those who look through the windows won’t be able to see very well.

⁴Remember your Creator before the front doors are closed.

That’s when the sound of grinding will fade away.

Old men will rise up when they hear birds singing.

But they will barely hear any of their songs.

⁵Remember 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.

⁶Remember 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.

⁷Remember 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.”

Have Respect for God

⁹The 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. ¹⁰He did his best to find just the right words. And what he wrote was honest and true.

¹¹The sayings of those who are wise move people to take action. Their collected sayings really nail things down. They are given to us by one Shepherd. ¹²My son, be careful not to pay attention to anything that is added to them.

Books will never stop being written. Too much studying makes people tired.

¹³Everything has now been heard.

And here’s the final thing I want to say.

Have respect for God and obey his commandments.

That’s what everyone should do.

¹⁴God will judge everything people do.

That includes everything they try to hide.

He’ll judge everything, whether it’s good or evil.