Ecclesiastes 12

This is the final chapter of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 11 urged the reader to enjoy youth while remembering the coming judgment (Ecclesiastes 11:9–10). This chapter continues that exhortation, bringing the main body of the book to a close with a call to remember the Creator before old age and death arrive, and then concludes the book with an epilogue about the Preacher.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 Urges the reader to remember the Creator in the days of youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when one will say, "I have no pleasure in them."
• Verses 3–5 Depicts the process of aging through images such as the keepers of the house trembling, the grinders ceasing, and the almond tree flourishing. In the end, man goes "to his long home," and the mourners go about the streets.
• Verses 6–7 Speaks of death through the images of the silver cord being loosed and the golden bowl and the pitcher being broken. The dust returns to the earth, and the spirit returns to God.
• Verse 8 Repeats the refrain "Vanity of vanities" from the opening of the book (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
• Verses 9–12 Presents the Preacher as one who taught the people knowledge and set in order many proverbs. The words of the wise are likened to goads and to nails well fastened, and the reader is warned that of making many books there is no end and that much study is a weariness of the flesh.
• Verses 13–14 Concludes that to fear God and keep His commandments is the whole duty of man, and that God will bring every secret thing into judgment, whether it be good or evil.

Key Verses

• Ecclesiastes 12:1 "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth": the verse most widely quoted as an exhortation to the young.
• Ecclesiastes 12:7 "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it": recalls the accounts of creation and death in Genesis 2:7 and Genesis 3:17–19.
• Ecclesiastes 12:13 "Fear God, and keep his commandments": read as the conclusion of the entire book (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14).

People and Places

• The Preacher: In Hebrew Qoheleth, a term understood to mean one who gathers and teaches an assembly. In Ecclesiastes 1:1 he is introduced as "the son of David, king in Jerusalem," and he has traditionally been identified with Solomon. Many scholars, however, regard the author as a different, later figure.
• My son (verse 12): A form of address used in wisdom literature for one receiving instruction.
• No specific places are mentioned.

Points for Reflection

• Verses 3–5 have long been read as an allegory of the aging body. In this reading, the keepers of the house are the arms, the grinders are the teeth, those that look out of the windows are the eyes, and the almond blossoms are white hair. Other interpretations see the passage as a picture of a household struck by a storm or of a funeral procession. Whichever reading is adopted, the text itself does not spell out the specific correspondences.
• Some scholars regard verses 9–14, which refer to the Preacher in the third person, as an epilogue added by a later editor, while others see them as the author's own conclusion.
• The "one shepherd" of verse 11 is generally understood to be God. Some Christian readers connect this with the Good Shepherd.
• The judgment in verse 14 is read in connection with the New Testament teaching on the Last Judgment.

In the Korean Church

Verse 1 is frequently used in sermons for young adult ministries and church schools, and as a Scripture memorization verse. Verse 13 is widely quoted as a summary of the conclusion of Ecclesiastes.