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 12,13 Pred 12,13
For in the multitude of dreams there are vanities, and in many words: but fear thou God.
I searched in my heart how to cheer my flesh with wine, my heart yet {Or, holding its course}guiding me with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what it was good for the sons of men that they should do under heaven {Hebrew: the number of days of their life.}all the days of their life.
Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and prolong his days, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, that fear before him:
For who knoweth what is good for man in his life, {Hebrew: the number of days.}all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.
And unto man he said,Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;And to depart from evil is understanding.
that thou mightest fear Jehovah thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
He will bless them that fear Jehovah,Both small and great.
Jehovah increase you more and more,You and your children.
Blessed are ye of Jehovah,Who made heaven and earth.
And now, Israel, what doth Jehovah thy God require of thee, but to fear Jehovah thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve Jehovah thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
The fear of Jehovah tendeth to life;And he that hath it shall abide satisfied;He shall not be visited with evil.
The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; {Or, Good repute}A good understanding have all they that do {Hebrew: them.}his commandments:His praise endureth for ever.
And his mercy is unto generations and generationsOn them that fear him.
{Hebrew: Hallelujah.}Praise ye Jehovah.Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah,That delighteth greatly in his commandments.
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him;He also will hear their cry and will save them.
Jehovah taketh pleasure in them that fear him,In those that hope in his lovingkindness.
The fear of Jehovah is the {Or, chief part}beginning of knowledge;But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
Let not thy heart envy sinners;But be thou in the fear of Jehovah all the day long:
Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
And a voice came forth from the throne, saying,Give praise to our God, all ye his {Greek: bondservants.}servants, ye that fear him, the small and the great.