Ecclesiastes 12 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

Seek God in Early Life

Ecc 12:1Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the difficult days come,
And the years draw near when you say,
“I have no pleasure in them”:

Ecc 12:2

Ecc 12:2While the sun and the light,
The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened,
And the clouds do not return after the rain;

Ecc 12:3

Ecc 12:3In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
And the strong men bow down;
When the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look through the windows grow dim;

Ecc 12:4

Ecc 12:4When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird,
And all the daughters of music are brought low.

Ecc 12:5

Ecc 12:5Also 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.

Ecc 12:6

Ecc 12:6Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed,[fn]
Or the golden bowl is broken,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.

Ecc 12:7

Ecc 12:7Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
And the spirit will return to God who gave it.

Ecc 12:8

Ecc 12:8“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“All is vanity.”

The Whole Duty of Man

Ecc 12:9

Ecc 12:9And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs.

Ecc 12:10

Ecc 12:10The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth.

Ecc 12:11

Ecc 12:11The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars[fn] are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd.

Ecc 12:12

Ecc 12:12And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.

Ecc 12:13

Ecc 12:13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.

Ecc 12:14

Ecc 12:14For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.

See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NKJV Footnotes

(12:6)

Following Qere and Targum; Kethib reads removed; Septuagint and Vulgate read broken.

(12:11)

Literally masters of the assemblies

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For more information on this translation, see the NKJV Preface.

Ecclesiastes Chapter 12 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New Living Translation New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

Ecclesiastes 12 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

NKJV Footnotes

Ecclesiastes Chapter 12 — Additional Translations:

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