12 

[[but remember your Creator in the flower of your age]],

ere evil days come on

and years approach when you shall say,

“I have no joy in them”;

2 

ere the sun grows dark,

and the light goes from moon and stars,

and the clouds gather after rain;

3 

when the guards tremble in the house of Life

when its upholders bow

when the maids that grind are few and fail,

and ladies at the lattice lose their lustre,

4 

when the doors to the street are shut,

and the sound of the mill runs low,

when the twitter of birds is fain

and dull the daughters of song,

5 

when old age fears a height

and even a walk has its terrors

when his hair is almond white

and he drags his limbs along

as the spirit flags and fades.

So man goes to his long, long home,

and mourners pass along the street,

6 

on the day when the silver cord is snapped,

and the golden lamp drops broken,

when the pitcher breaks at the fountain,

the wheel breaks at the cistern,

7 

when the dust returns to earth once more,

and the spirit to God who gave it. 8 Utterly vain--such is the Speaker’s verdict--everything is vain!

9 The wiser the Speaker became, the more he taught the people knowledge; many a maxim he pondered and examined and arranged. 10 The Speaker’s aim was to find pleasing words, even as he set down plainly what was true. 11 A wise man’s words are like goads, and his collected sayings are Uke nails driven home; they put the mind of one man into many a life. 12 My son, avoid anything beyond the scriptures of wisdom; there is no end to the buying of books, and to study books closely is a weariness to the flesh. 13 To sum it all up, in conclusion. Stand in awe of God, that is everything, for every man. For in judging all life’s secrets, God will have every single thing before him, to his decide whether it is good or evil.