Remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;
in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the {Or, grinding women}grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows shall be darkened,
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;
yea, they shall be afraid {Or, of danger from on high}of that which is high, and terrors shall be in the way; and the almond-tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper {Or, shall drag itself along}shall be a burden, and {Or, the caperberry}desire shall {Or, burst}fail; because man goeth to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets:
before the silver cord is {Or, snapped asunder}loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern,
and the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity.
And further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he {Or, gave ear}pondered, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
The Preacher sought to find out {Hebrew: words of delight.}acceptable words, and that which was written uprightly, even words of truth.
The words of the wise are as goads; and as nails well fastened are the words of the {Or, collectors of sentences}masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
{Or, And as for more than these, my son, be warned}And furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
{Or, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole master}This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for {Or, this is the duty of all men}this is the whole duty of man.
For God will bring every work into judgment, {Or, concerning}with every hidden thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Querverweise zu Prediger 12,7 Pred 12,7
All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Who knoweth the spirit {Hebrew: of the sons of men.}of man, {Or, that goeth}whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast, {Or, that goeth}whether it goeth downward to the earth?
And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes:
Let Jehovah, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation,
How much more them that dwell in houses of clay,Whose foundation is in the dust,Who are crushed {Or, like}before the moth!
For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls that I have made.
{Or, From morning to evening}Betwixt morning and evening they are {Hebrew: broken in pieces.}destroyed:They perish for ever without any regarding it.
So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As Jehovah liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.
And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity?For now shall I lie down in the dust;And thou wilt seek me diligently, but I shall not be.
The {Or, oracle}burden of the word of Jehovah concerning Israel.Thus saith Jehovah, who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him:
His bones are full of his youth,But it shall lie down with him in the dust.
Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of {Or, our spirits}spirits, and live?
{According to another reading, If he cause his heart to return unto himself.}If he set his heart upon {Or, man Hebrew: him.}himself,If he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
All flesh shall perish together,And man shall turn again unto dust.
Thou turnest man to {Or, dust Hebrew: crushing.}destruction,And sayest, Return, ye children of men.
His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth;In that very day his {Or, purposes}thoughts perish.
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting {Or, abhorrence}contempt.