1And remember your Creator in the days of your young manhood, before the evil days come, and the years draw near when you will say, I have no pleasure in them;
2before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;
3in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the men (ish) of strength bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look out of the windows are darkened;
4and the doors are shut in the street, when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;
5also they are afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way; and the almond tree blossoms, and the grasshopper drags itself, and the caperberry fails; for the man (adam) goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about in the street;
6before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is shattered, and the pitcher is broken at the spring, and the wheel is shattered at the pit;
7and the dust (aphar) returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit (ruach) returns to God who gave it.
8Vanity of vanities, said the Qoheleth; all is vanity.
9And besides that Qoheleth was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; and he weighed and searched out and set in order many proverbs.
10Qoheleth sought to find words of delight, and that which was written uprightly, words of truth.
11The words of the wise are like goads, and like fixed nails are the masters of collections; they are given from one shepherd.
12And besides these, my son, be warned: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh (basar).
13The end of the matter, all having been heard: fear God, and keep His commandments (mitzvah); for this is the whole of the man (adam).
14For every work God will bring into judgment (mishpat), over every hidden thing, whether good or whether evil.