Ecclesiastes/Qohelet 12

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
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 time of affliction arrives and the years draw near, about which you will say, “These do not please me.”
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, and the light, and the moon, and the stars are darkened and 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 will tremble, and the strongest men will waver, and those who grind grain will be idle, except for a small number, and those who look through the keyholes will be darkened.
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 And they will close the doors to the street, when the voice of he who grinds the grain will be humbled, and they will be disturbed at the sound of a flying thing, and all the daughters of song shall become deaf.
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 Likewise, they will fear the things above them, and they will dread the way. The almond tree will flourish; the locust will be fattened; and the caper plant will scattered, because man shall go into the house of his eternity, and the mourners shall wander around in the street.
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 broken, and the golden band pulls away, and the pitcher is crushed over the fountain, and the wheel is broken above the cistern,
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 its earth, from which it was, and the spirit returns to God, who granted it.
8 Sheer futility, Qoheleth says, everything is futile.	8 Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, and all is vanity!
9 Besides being a sage, Qoheleth taught the people what he himself knew, having weighed, studied andemended many proverbs.	9 And since Ecclesiastes was very wise, he taught the people, and he described what he had accomplished. And while searching, he composed many parables.
10 Qoheleth took pains to write in an attractive style and by it to convey truths.	10 He sought useful words, and he wrote most righteous words, which were full of truth.
11 The sayings of a sage are like goads, like pegs positioned by shepherds: the same shepherd finds ause for both.	11 The words of the wise are like a goad, and like nails deeply fastened, which, through the counsel of teachers, are set forth by one pastor.
12 Furthermore, my child, you must realise that writing books involves endless hard work, and that muchstudy wearies the body.	12 You should require no more than this, my son. For there is no end to the making of many books. And excessive study is an affliction to the flesh.
13 To sum up the whole matter: fear God and keep his commandments, for that is the duty of everyone.	13 Let us all listen together to the end of the discourse. Fear God, and observe his commandments. This is everything for man.
14 For God wil cal al our deeds to judgement, all that is hidden, be it good or bad.	14 And so, for all that is done and for each error, God will bring judgment: whether it was good or evil.