1 Remember also your Creator in ^vthe days of your youth, before ^wthe evil days come and the years draw near of which ^xyou will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2 before ^ythe 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 tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and ^zthose who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and ^athe doors on the street are shut—when ^bthe sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all ^cthe daughters of song are brought low— 5 they are afraid also of what is high, and ^dterrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along,¹ and desire fails, because man is going to his ^eeternal ^fhome, and the ^gmourners go about the streets— 6 before the silver cord is snapped, or ^hthe golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is ⁱshattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and ^jthe dust returns to the earth as it was, and ^kthe spirit returns to God ^lwho gave it. 8 ^mVanity² of vanities, says ⁿthe Preacher; all is vanity.

9 Besides being wise, ⁿthe Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging ^omany proverbs with great care. 10 ⁿThe Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

11 ^pThe words of the wise are like goads, and like ^qnails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are ^rgiven by ^sone Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making ^umany books there is no end, and ^vmuch study is a weariness of the flesh.

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. ^wFear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.³ 14 For ^xGod will bring every deed into judgment, with⁴ every secret thing, whether good or evil.