Ecclesiastes/Qohelet 12

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Remember your Creator while you are still young, before the bad days come, before the years comewhich, you wil say, give you no pleasure;	1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come And the years approach of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them;
2 before the sun and the light grow dim and the moon and stars, before the clouds return after the rain;	2 Before the sun is darkened. and the light, and the moon, and the stars, while the clouds return after the rain;
3 the time when your watchmen become shaky, when strong men are bent double, when the women,one by one, quit grinding, and, as they look out of the window, find their sight growing dim.	3 When the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, And the grinders are idle because they are few, and they who look through the windows grow blind;
4 When the street-door is kept shut, when the sound of grinding fades away, when the first cry of a birdwakes you up, when all the singing has stopped;	4 When the doors to the street are shut, and the sound of the mill is low; When one waits for the chirp of a bird, but all the daughters of song are suppressed;
5 when going uphil is an ordeal and you are frightened at every step you take- yet the almond tree is inflower and the grasshopper is weighed down and the caper-bush loses its tang; while you are on the way to youreverlasting home and the mourners are assembling in the street;	5 And one fears heights, and perils in the street; When the almond tree blooms, and the locust grows sluggish and the caper berry is without effect, Because man goes to his lasting home, and mourners go about the streets;
6 before the silver thread snaps, or the golden bowl is cracked, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,or the pul ey broken at the wel -head:	6 Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken, And the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the broken pulley falls into the well,
7 the dust returns to the earth from which it came, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.	7 And the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns to God who gave it.
8 Sheer futility, Qoheleth says, everything is futile.	8 Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, all things are vanity!
9 Besides being a sage, Qoheleth taught the people what he himself knew, having weighed, studied andemended many proverbs.	9 Besides being wise, Qoheleth taught the people knowledge, and weighed, scrutinized and arranged many proverbs.
10 Qoheleth took pains to write in an attractive style and by it to convey truths.	10 Qoheleth sought to find pleasing sayings, and to write down true sayings with precision.
11 The sayings of a sage are like goads, like pegs positioned by shepherds: the same shepherd finds ause for both.	11 The sayings of the wise are like goads; like fixed spikes are the topics given by one collector.
12 Furthermore, my child, you must realise that writing books involves endless hard work, and that muchstudy wearies the body.	12 As to more than these, my son, beware. Of the making of many books there is no end, and in much study there is weariness for the flesh.
13 To sum up the whole matter: fear God and keep his commandments, for that is the duty of everyone.	13 The last word, when all is heard: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man's all;
14 For God wil cal al our deeds to judgement, all that is hidden, be it good or bad.	14 because God will bring to judgment every work, with all its hidden qualities, whether good or bad.