1 Remember nowe thy Creator in the daies of thy youth, whiles the euill daies come not, nor the yeeres approche, wherein thou shalt say, I haue no pleasure in them: 2 Whiles the sunne is not darke, nor ye light, nor the moone, nor the starres, nor the cloudes returne after the raine: 3 When the keepers of ye house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow them selues, and the grinders shall cease, because they are few, and they waxe darke that looke out by ye windowes: 4 And the doores shall be shut without by the base sound of the grinding, and he shall rise vp at the voice of the birde: and all the daughters of singing shall be abased. 5 Also they shalbe afraide of the hie thing, and feare shalbe in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grassehopper shall be a burden, and concupiscence shall be driuen away: for man goeth to the house of his age, and the mourners goe about in the streete. 6 Whiles the siluer coarde is not lengthened, nor the golden ewer broken, nor the pitcher broken at the well, nor the wheele broken at the cisterne: 7 And dust returne to the earth as it was, and the spirit returne to God that gaue it. 8 Vanitie of vanities, saieth the Preacher, all is vanitie. 9 And the more wise the Preacher was, the more he taught the people knowledge, and caused them to heare, and searched foorth, and prepared many parables. 10 The Preacher sought to finde out pleasant wordes, and an vpright writing, euen the wordes of trueth. 11 The wordes of the wise are like goads, and like nailes fastened by the masters of the assemblies, which are giuen by one pastour. 12 And of other things beside these, my sone, take thou heede: for there is none ende in making many bookes, and much reading is a wearines of the flesh. 13 Let vs heare the end of all: feare God and keepe his commandements: for this is the whole duetie of man. 14 For God will bring euery worke vnto iudgement, with euery secret thing, whether it be good or euill.
1 So remember your Creator while you are still young, before those dismal days and years come when you will say, “I don't enjoy life.” 2 That is when the light of the sun, the moon, and the stars will grow dim for you, and the rain clouds will never pass away. 3 Then your arms, that have protected you, will tremble, and your legs, now strong, will grow weak. Your teeth will be too few to chew your food, and your eyes too dim to see clearly. 4 Your ears will be deaf to the noise of the street. You will barely be able to hear the mill as it grinds or music as it plays, but even the song of a bird will wake you from sleep. 5 You will be afraid of high places, and walking will be dangerous. Your hair will turn white; you will hardly be able to drag yourself along, and all desire will be gone.
We are going to our final resting place, and then there will be mourning in the streets. 6 The silver chain will snap, and the golden lamp will fall and break; the rope at the well will break, and the water jar will be shattered. 7 Our bodies will return to the dust of the earth, and the breath of life will go back to God, who gave it to us.
8 Useless, useless, said the Philosopher. It is all useless.
The Summing Up
9 But because the Philosopher was wise, he kept on teaching the people what he knew. He studied proverbs and honestly tested their truth. 10 The Philosopher tried to find comforting words, but the words he wrote were honest. 11 The sayings of the wise are like the sharp sticks that shepherds use to guide sheep, and collected proverbs are as lasting as firmly driven nails. They have been given by God, the one Shepherd of us all.
12 My child, there is something else to watch out for. There is no end to the writing of books, and too much study will wear you out.
13 After all this, there is only one thing to say: Have reverence for God, and obey his commands, because this is all that we were created for. 14 God is going to judge everything we do, whether good or bad, even things done in secret.