Ecclesiastes 12:4-8 in English

⁴ and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

⁵ yea, they shall be afraid of that which is high, and terrors shall be in the way; and the almond-tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goeth to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets:

⁶ before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern,

⁷ and the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity.

⁴ and they shall shut the doors in the market-place, because of the weakness of the voice of her that grinds at the mill; and he shall rise up at the voice of the sparrow, and all the daughters of song shall be brought low;

⁵ and they shall look up, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall blossom, and the locust shall increase, and the caper shall be scattered: because man has gone to his eternal home, and the mourners have gone about the market:

⁶ before the silver cord be let go, or the choice gold be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel run down to the cistern;

⁷ before the dust also return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return to God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher; all is vanity.

⁴ And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

⁵ Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

⁶ Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

⁷ Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

⁴ And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

⁵ Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

⁶ Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

⁷ Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

⁴ and they shall shut the doors in the marketplace, because of the weakness of the voice of her that grinds at the mill; and he shall rise up at the voice of the sparrow, and all the daughters of song shall be brought low;

⁵ and they shall look up, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall blossom, and the locust shall increase, and the caper shall be scattered: because man has gone to his eternal home, and the mourners have gone about the market:

⁶ before the silver cord be let go, or the choice gold be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel run down to the cistern;

⁷ before the dust also return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return to God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher; all is vanity.

⁴ and the door shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

⁵ yea, they shall be afraid of that which is high, and terrors shall be in the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and the caper-berry shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

⁶ or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern;

⁷ and the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return unto God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity.

⁴ Your ears MET will not hear the noise in the streets, and you will not be able to hear clearly the sound of people grinding grain with millstones. You will be awakened in the morning by hearing the birds singing/chirping, but you will not be able to hear well the songs that ◄the birds/people► sing.

⁵ You will be afraid to be in high places and afraid of dangers on the roads that you walk on. Your hair will become white like MET the flowers of almond trees. When you try to walk, you will drag yourself along like MET grasshoppers, and you will no longer desire to have sex. Then you will die and go to your eternal home, and people who will mourn for you will be in the streets.

⁶ Think much about God now, because soon our lives will end, like MET silver chains or golden bowls that break easily, or like pitchers/jugs that are broken at the water fountain, or like broken pulleys at a well.

⁷ Then our corpses will decay and become dirt again, and our spirits will return to God, the one who gave us our spirits.

⁸ So I say again that it is difficult to understand why everything happens; everything is mysterious.

⁴ and they shall shut the doors in the marketplace, because of the weakness of the voice of her that grinds at the mill; and he shall rise up at the voice of the sparrow, and all the daughters of song shall be brought low;

⁵ and they shall look up, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall blossom, and the locust shall increase, and the caper shall be scattered: because man has gone to his eternal home, and the mourners have gone about the market:

⁶ before the silver cord be let go, or the choice gold be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel run down to the cistern;

⁷ before the dust also return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return to God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher; all is vanity.

⁴ and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

⁵ yes, they shall be afraid of heights, and terrors will be on the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goes to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets;

⁶ before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern,

⁷ and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

⁸ “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “All is vanity!”

⁴ and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

⁵ yes, they shall be afraid of heights, and terrors will be on the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goes to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets;

⁶ before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern,

⁷ and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

⁸ “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “All is vanity!”

⁴ and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

⁵ yes, they shall be afraid of heights, and terrors will be on the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goes to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets;

⁶ before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern,

⁷ and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

⁸ “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “All is vanity!”

⁴ When the doors are shut in the street, and the sound of the crushing is low, and the voice of the bird is soft, and the daughters of music will be made low;

⁵ And he is in fear of that which is high, and danger is in the road, and the tree is white with flower, and the least thing is a weight, and desire is at an end, because man goes to his last resting-place, and those who are sorrowing are in the streets;

⁶ Before ever the silver cord is cut, or the vessel of gold is broken, or the pot is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the water-hole;

⁷ And the dust goes back to the earth as it was, and the spirit goes back to God who gave it.

⁸ All things are to no purpose, says the Preacher, all is to no purpose.

⁴ and the doors are shut toward the street; when the sound of the grinding is subdued, and they rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;

⁵ they are also afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is despised, and the grasshopper is a burden, and the caper-berry is without effect; (for man goeth to his age-long home, and the mourners go about the streets;)

⁶ — before the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be shattered at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern;

⁷ and the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return unto God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher: all is vanity.

⁴ And they shall shut the doors in the street, when the grinder’s voice shall be low, and they shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall grow deaf.

⁵ And they shall fear high things, and they shall be afraid in the way, the almond tree shall flourish, the locust shall be made fat, and the caper tree shall be destroyed: because man shall go into the house of his eternity, and the mourners shall go round about in the street.

⁶ Before the silver cord be broken, and the golden fillet shrink back, and the pitcher be crushed at the fountain, and the wheel be broken upon the cistern,

⁷ And the dust return into its earth, from whence it was, and the spirit return to God, who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, and all things are vanity.

⁴ and the doors to the street are shut. Before the sound of the grinding mill grows low, and you wake up early when the birds are singing, but you can hardly hear them.

⁵ Before you develop a fear of heights and worry about going out on the streets; when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper crawls along, and desire fails, for everyone has to go to their eternal home as the mourners go up and down the street.

⁶ Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken; before the water jug is smashed at the spring, or the pulley is broken at the well.

⁷ Then the dust returns to the earth from which it came, and the breath of life returns to God who gave it.

⁸ “Everything passes! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.

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.

⁴ And the doors shall be shut in the street, when the sound of the grinding is low; and one shall start up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

⁵ Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and terrors shall be in the way; and the almond-tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall drag itself along, and the caperberry shall fail; because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets;

⁶ Before the silver cord is snapped asunder, and the golden bowl is shattered, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel falleth shattered, into the pit;

⁷ And the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, saith Koheleth; all is vanity.

⁴ and the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

⁵ also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

⁶ or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

⁷ Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity.

⁴ And when the two doors on the streets will be locked, while the sound of the mill becometh dull, and man riseth up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;

⁵ Also when men will be afraid of every elevation, and are terrified on every way, and the almond-tree will refuse its blossom, and the locust will drag itself slowly along, and the desire will gainsay compliance; because man goeth to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets;

⁶ While the silver cord is not yet torn loose, and the golden bowl is not crushed, and the pitcher is not broken at the fountain, and the wheel is not crushed at the cistern;

⁷ When the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return unto God who gave it.—

⁸ Vanity of vanities, saith Koheleth: all is vanity.—

⁴ And they shall shut the doors in the marketplace, Because of the weakness of the voice of her that grinds at the mill; And he shall rise up at the voice of the sparrow, And all the daughters of song shall be brought low;

⁵ And they shall look up, and fears shall be in the way, And the almond tree shall blossom, And the locust shall increase, And the caper shall be scattered: Because man has gone to his eternal home, And the mourners have gone about the market:

⁶ Before the silver cord be let go, Or the choice gold be broken, Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, Or the wheel run down to the cistern;

⁷ Before the dust also return to the earth as it was, And the spirit return to God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher; All is vanity.

⁴ when the doors are shut in the streets, while the sound of the mill is low; when they rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music are brought low;

⁵ when also they are afraid of that which is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is despised, and the locust is a burden, and the caper-berry is powerless; since man goeth to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets;—

⁶ before the silver cord be snapped asunder, and the golden bowl be crushed, or the bucket broken at the fountain, or the wheel shattered at the well,

⁷ and the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return to God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity!

⁴ That will be the time when the doors are shut in the street, and the sound of grinding stops, when men are startled at the voice of a bird, and the singing of girls' voices fades away.

⁵ That will be the time when men become afraid of heights and of dangers along on the road, and when the almond tree blossoms, and when grasshoppers drag themselves along, and when natural desires fail. Then man goes to his eternal home and the mourners go down the streets.

⁶ Call to mind your Creator before the silver cord is cut, or the golden bowl is crushed, or the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the water wheel is broken at the well,

⁷ before the dust returns to the earth where it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

⁸ “A mist of vapor,” says the Teacher, “everything is vanishing vapor.”

⁴ and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

⁵ yes, they shall be afraid of heights, and terrors will be on the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goes to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets;

⁶ before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern,

⁷ and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

⁸ “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “All is vanity!”

⁴ and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

⁵ yes, they shall be afraid of heights, and terrors will be on the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goes to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets;

⁶ before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern,

⁷ and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

⁸ “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “All is vanity!”

⁴ And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding shall be low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low.

⁵ Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

⁶ Or ever the silver cord shall be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

⁷ Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return to God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities saith the preacher; all is vanity.

⁴ and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

⁵ yes, they shall be afraid of heights, and terrors will be on the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goes to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets;

⁶ before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern,

⁷ and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

⁸ “Vanity of vanities,” says Kohelet. “All is vanity!”

⁴ and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

⁵ yes, they shall be afraid of heights, and terrors will be on the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goes to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets;

⁶ before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern,

⁷ and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

⁸ “Vanity of vanities,” says Kohelet. “All is vanity!”

⁴ and shall close the doors in the street, in the lowness of the voice of a grinder; and they shall rise at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of song shall wax deaf.

⁵ And high things shall dread, and shall be afeared in the way; and an almond tree shall flower, a locust shall be made fat, and capers shall be destroyed; for a man shall go into the house of his everlastingness, and wailers shall go about in the street.

⁶ Have thou mind on thy Creator, before that a silveren rope be broken, and a golden lace run against, and a water pot be all-broken on the well, and a wheel be broken altogether on the cistern;

⁷ and dust turn again into his earth, whereof it was, and the spirit turn again to God, that gave it.

⁸ The vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, the vanity of vanities, and all things be vanity. Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, vanity of vanities, and all things vanity.

⁴ and (they) shall close the doors in the street (or and they shall close the doors to the street), in the lowness of the voice of a grinder; and they shall rise (up) at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of song shall wax deaf.

⁵ And high things shall dread, and shall be afeared in the way, (or And when they shall fear high places, and shall be afraid to go on the way, or to go out in public); and an almond tree shall flower, a locust shall be made fat, and (the) capers shall be destroyed; for a man shall go into the house of his everlastingness, and wailers shall go about in the street.

⁶ Have thou mind on thy Creator, before that a silveren rope be broken, and a golden lace run against, and a water pot be all-broken on the well, and a wheel be broken (al)together on the cistern; (Think thou upon thy Creator, before that the silver rope is broken, and the golden bowl is broken, and the water pot at the well is broken, and the wheel at the cistern is broken, yea, before all is ended;)

⁷ and dust turn again into his earth, whereof it was, and the spirit turn again to God, that gave it. (and the dust, or the dirt, return to the earth, where it was before, and the spirit return to God, who gave it.)

⁸ The vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, the vanity of vanities, and all things be vanity. Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, vanity of vanities, and all things vanity. (Emptiness and futility, said Ecclesiastes, yea, everything is emptiness and futility.)

⁴ And doors have been shut in the street. When the noise of the grinding is low, And one riseth at the voice of the bird, And all daughters of song are bowed down.

⁵ Also of that which is high they are afraid, And of the low places in the way, And the almond-tree is despised, And the grasshopper is become a burden, And want is increased, For man is going unto his home age-during, And the mourners have gone round through the street.

⁶ While that the silver cord is not removed, And the golden bowl broken, And the pitcher broken by the fountain, And the wheel broken at the well.

⁷ And the dust returneth to the earth as it was, And the spirit returneth to God who gave it.

⁸ Vanity of vanities, said the preacher, the whole is vanity.