Lexham English Bible

Ecclesiastes 12:3-9 Lexham English Bible (LEB)

3. When the guards of the house tremble, and the men of strength are bent; the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows see dimly.

4. When the doors on the street are shut, when the sound of the grinding mill is low; one rises up to the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low.

5. They are afraid of heights, and terrors are on the road. The almond tree blossoms, and the grasshopper draws itself along, and desire fails because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about in the streets.

6. Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken; and the jar at the foundation is broken, and the wheel at the cistern is broken.

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

8. “Vanity of vanity!” says the Teacher. “Everything is vanity!”

9. The Teacher was full of wisdom, and he taught the people with knowledge. He carefully considered many proverbs and carefully arranged them.