[1] Remember your creator in your prime, before the days of trouble arrive, and those years, about which you’ll say, “I take no pleasure in these”— [2] before the sun and the light grow dark, the moon and the stars too, before the clouds return after the rain; [3] on the day when the housekeepers tremble and the strong men stoop; when the women who grind stop working because they’re so few, and those who look through the windows grow dim; [4] when the doors to the street are shut, when the sound of the mill fades, the sound of the bird rises, and all the singers come down low; [5] when people are afraid of things above and of terrors along the way; when the almond tree blanches, the locust droops, and the caper-berry comes to nothing; when the human goes to the eternal abode, with mourners all around in the street; [6] before the silver cord snaps and the gold bowl shatters; the jar is broken at the spring and the wheel is crushed at the pit; [7] before dust returns to the earth as it was before and the life-breath returns to God who gave it. [8] Perfectly pointless, says the Teacher, everything is pointless. [9] Additionally: Because the Teacher was wise, he constantly taught the people knowledge. He listened and investigated. He composed many proverbs. [10] The Teacher searched for pleasing words, and he wrote truthful words honestly. [11] The words of the wise are like iron-tipped prods; the collected sayings of the masters are like nails fixed firmly by a shepherd. [12] Be careful, my child, of anything beyond them! There’s no end to the excessive production of scrolls. Studying too much wearies the body. [13] So this is the end of the matter; all has been heard. Worship God and keep God’s commandments because this is what everyone must do. [14] God will definitely bring every deed to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or bad.
