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 12,11 Pred 12,11
Is not my word like fire? saith Jehovah; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things?
But his bow abode in strength,And the arms of his hands were made {Or, active}strong,By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob( {Or, From hence from the shepherd Or, as otherwise read, By the name of the shepherd}From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming {Or, for baptism}to his baptism, he said unto them, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
A Psalm of David.Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?
For the Chief Musician; set to {That is, Lilies, a testimony}Shoshannim Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock;Thou that {Or, art enthroned}sittest above the cherubim, shine forth.
(for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds),
He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young.
For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.
And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own know me,
Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep {Or, by Greek: in.}with the blood of an eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus,
And when the chief Shepherd shall be manifested, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away.