Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, New Living Translation Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. English Standard Version before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, Berean Standard Bible Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well, King James Bible Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. New King James Version Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. New American Standard Bible Remember your Creator before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; NASB 1995 Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; NASB 1977 Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; Legacy Standard Bible Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is broken and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; Amplified Bible Earnestly remember your Creator before the silver cord [of life] is broken, or the golden bowl is crushed, or the pitcher at the fountain is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; Christian Standard Bible before the silver cord is snapped, and the gold bowl is broken, and the jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is broken into the well; Holman Christian Standard Bible before the silver cord is snapped, and the gold bowl is broken, and the jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is broken into the well; American Standard Version before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, Aramaic Bible in Plain English Until the cord silver is cut and the gold bowl will be shattered, and the pitcher will be shattered over the fountain and the wheel will run over the well Brenton Septuagint Translation before the silver cord be let go, or the choice gold be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel run down to the cistern; Contemporary English Version The silver cord snaps, the golden bowl breaks; the water pitcher is smashed, and the pulley at the well is shattered. Douay-Rheims Bible Before the silver cord be broken, and the golden fillet shrink back, and the pitcher be crushed at the fountain, and the wheel be broken upon the cistern, English Revised Version or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern; GOD'S WORD® Translation Remember your Creator before the silver cord is snapped, the golden bowl is broken, the pitcher is smashed near the spring, and the water wheel is broken at the cistern. Good News Translation The silver chain will snap, and the golden lamp will fall and break; the rope at the well will break, and the water jar will be shattered. International Standard Version When the silver cord is severed, the golden vessel is broken, the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, and the wheel is broken at the cistern, JPS Tanakh 1917 Before the silver cord is snapped asunder, And the golden bowl is shattered, And the pitcher is broken at the fountain, And the wheel falleth shattered, into the pit; Literal Standard Version While that the silver cord is not removed, | And the golden bowl broken, | And the pitcher broken by the fountain, | And the wheel broken at the well. Majority Standard Bible Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well, New American Bible Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken, And the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the pulley is broken at the well, NET Bible before the silver cord is removed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the well, or the water wheel is broken at the cistern-- New Revised Standard Version before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at the cistern, New Heart English Bible before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern, Webster's Bible Translation Or ever the silver cord shall be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. World English Bible before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern, Young's Literal Translation While that the silver cord is not removed, And the golden bowl broken, And the pitcher broken by the fountain, And the wheel broken at the well. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Remember Your Creator…5when men fear the heights and dangers of the road, when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry shrivels—for then man goes to his eternal home and mourners walk the streets. 6Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well, 7before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.… Cross References Zechariah 4:2 "What do you see?" he asked. "I see a solid gold lampstand," I replied, "with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven spouts to the lamps. Zechariah 4:3 There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left." Treasury of Scripture Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Jump to Previous Asunder Bowl Broken Cistern Cord Crushed Cut Falleth Fountain Gold Golden Loosed Pit Pitcher Pot Remember Removed Severed Shattered Silver Snapped Spring Vessel WheelJump to Next Asunder Bowl Broken Cistern Cord Crushed Cut Falleth Fountain Gold Golden Loosed Pit Pitcher Pot Remember Removed Severed Shattered Silver Snapped Spring Vessel WheelEcclesiastes 12 1. the Creator is to be remembered in due time8. The preacher's care to edify 13. the fear of God is the chief antidote for vanity (6) Golden bowl.--Zechariah 4:3.Verse 6. - Or ever; i.e. before, ere (ad asher lo). The words recall us to vers. 1 and 2, bidding the youth make the best use of his time ere old age cuts him off. In the present paragraph the final dissolution is described under two figures. The silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken. This is evidently one figure, which would be made plainer by reading "and" instead of "or," the idea being that the lamp is shattered by the snapping of the cord that suspended it from the roof. But there are some difficulties in the closer explanation of the allegory. The "bowl" (gullah) is the reservoir of oil in a lamp (see Zechariah 4:3, 4), which supplies nourishment to the flame; when this is broken or damaged so as to be useless, the light, of course, is extinguished. The Septuagint calls it τὸ ἀνθέμιον τοῦ χρυσίον: the Vulgate, vitta aurea, "the golden fillet," or flower ornament on a column, which quite sinks the notion of a light being quenched. The "cord" is that by which the lamp is hung in a tent or a room. But of what in man are these symbols? Many fanciful interpretations have been given. The "silver cord" is the spine, the nerves generally, the tongue; the "golden bowl" is the head, the membrane of the brain, the stomach. But these anatomical details are not to be adopted; they have little to recommend them, and are incongruous with the rest of the parable. The general break-up of life is here delineated, not the progress of destruction in certain organs or parts of the human frame. The cord is what we should call the thread of life, on which hangs the body lit by the animating soul; when the connection between these is severed, the latter perishes, like a fallen lamp lying crushed on the ground. In this our view the cord is the living power which keeps the corporeal substance from failing to ruin; the bowl is the body itself thus upheld. The mention of gold and silver is introduced to denote the preciousness of man's life and nature. But the analogy must not be pressed in all possible details. It is like the parables, where, if defined and examined too closely, incongruities appear. We should be inclined to make more of the lamp and the light and the oil, which are barely inferred in the passage, and endeavor to explain what these images import. Koheleth is satisfied with the general figure which adumbrates the dissolution of the material fabric by the withdrawal of the principle of life. What is the immediate cause of this dissolution, injury, paralysis, etc., is not handled; only the rupture is noticed and its fatal result. Another image to the same effect, though pointing to a different process, is added Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or (and) the wheel broken at (in) the cistern. The picture here is a deep well or cistern with an apparatus for drawing water; this apparatus consists of a wheel or windlass with a rope upon it, to which is attached a bucket; the wheel fails, falls into the well, the bucket is dashed to pieces, and no water can be drawn. It is best to regard the two clauses as intended to convey one idea, as the two at the beginning of the verse were found to do. Some commentators, not so suitably, distinguish between the two, making the former clause say that the pitcher is broken on its road to or from the spring, and the latter that the draw-wheel gives way. The imagery, points to one notion which would be weakened by being divided into two. The motion of the bucket, the winding up and down, by which water is drawn from the well, is an emblem of the movements of the heart, the organs of respiration, etc. When these cease to act, life is extinct. The fraction of the cord and the demolition of the bowl denoted the separation of soul and body; the breaking of the pitcher and the destruction of the wheel signify the overthrow of the bodily organs by which vital motion is diffused and maintained, and the man lives. The expressions in the text remind one of the term, "earthen vessel," applied by St. Paul (2 Corinthians 4:7) to the human body; and "the fountain of life," "the water of life." so often mentioned in Holy Scripture as typical of the grace of God and the blessedness of life with him (see Psalm 36:9; Proverbs 13:14; John 4:10, 14; Revelation 21:6). Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew [Remember Him] beforeעַ֣ד (‘aḏ) Preposition Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while the silver הַכֶּ֔סֶף (hak·ke·sep̄) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 3701: Silver, money cord חֶ֣בֶל (ḥe·ḇel) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 2256: A rope, a measuring line, a district, inheritance, a noose, a company, a throe, ruin is snapped, יֵרָתֵק֙ (yê·rā·ṯêq) Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 7368: To be or become far or distant and the golden הַזָּהָ֑ב (haz·zā·hāḇ) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 2091: Gold, something gold-colored, as oil, a clear sky bowl גֻּלַּ֣ת (gul·laṯ) Noun - feminine singular construct Strong's 1543: A fountain, bowl, globe is crushed, וְתָרֻ֖ץ (wə·ṯā·ruṣ) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person feminine singular Strong's 7533: To crack in pieces [before] the pitcher כַּד֙ (kaḏ) Noun - feminine singular Strong's 3537: A pail, earthenware, a jar is shattered וְתִשָּׁ֤בֶר (wə·ṯiš·šā·ḇer) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person feminine singular Strong's 7665: To break, break in pieces at עַל־ (‘al-) Preposition Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against the spring, הַמַּבּ֔וּעַ (ham·mab·bū·a‘) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 4002: A spring (of water) and the wheel הַגַּלְגַּ֖ל (hag·gal·gal) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 1534: A wheel, a whirlwind, dust is broken וְנָרֹ֥ץ (wə·nā·rōṣ) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 7533: To crack in pieces at אֶל־ (’el-) Preposition Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to the well, הַבּֽוֹר׃ (hab·bō·wr) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 953: A pit, cistern, well Links Ecclesiastes 12:6 NIVEcclesiastes 12:6 NLT Ecclesiastes 12:6 ESV Ecclesiastes 12:6 NASB Ecclesiastes 12:6 KJV Ecclesiastes 12:6 BibleApps.com Ecclesiastes 12:6 Biblia Paralela Ecclesiastes 12:6 Chinese Bible Ecclesiastes 12:6 French Bible Ecclesiastes 12:6 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 12:6 Before the silver cord is severed (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.) |