Bible/Ecclesiastes/12

Ecclesiastes 12:2

12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

KJV

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Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;

While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

12:3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, the grinders: or, the grinders fail, because they grind little

What does Ecclesiastes 12:2 mean?

Ecclesiastes 12:2 is a verse in the book of Ecclesiastes, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include שֶׁמֶשׁ (shemesh), אוֹר (ʼôwr), יָרֵחַ (yârêach). It connects to 13 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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While
the
sun,שֶׁמֶשׁshemesh/sheh'-mesh/H8121the sun; by implication, the east; figuratively, a ray, i.e. (architectural) a notched battlement
or
the
light,אוֹרʼôwr/ore/H216illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.)
or
the
moon,יָרֵחַyârêach/yaw-ray'-akh/H3394the moon
or
the
stars,כּוֹכָבkôwkâb/ko-kawb'/H3556a star (as round or as shining); figuratively, a prince
be
not
darkened,חָשַׁךְchâshak/khaw-shak'/H2821to be dark (as withholding light); transitively, to darken
nor
the
cloudsעָבʻâb/awb/H5645properly, an envelope, i.e. darkness (or density, 2 Chronicles 4:17); specifically, a (scud) cloud; also a copse
returnשׁוּבshûwb/shoob/H7725to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point); generally to retreat; often adverbial, again
afterאַחַרʼachar/akh-ar'/H310properly, the hind part; generally used as an adverb or conjunction, after (in various senses)
the
rain:גֶּשֶׁםgeshem/gheh'-shem/H1653a shower

Commentary on Ecclesiastes 12:2

HENRY_FULL · Ecclesiastes 12:2
would fulfil his promises to them in due time, and in the mean time give them an assurance that they shall be fulfilled. What God has promised we must pray for; we need not be so aspiring as to ask more; we need not be so modest as to ask less. 39 Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good. Here, 1. David prays against reproach, as before, v. 22 . David was conscious to himself that he had done that which might give occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, which would blemish his own reputation and turn to the dishonour of his family; now he prays that God, who has all men's hearts and tongues in his hands, would be pleased to prevent this, to deliver him from all his transgressions, that he might not be the reproach of the foolish, which he feared ( Ps. xxxix. 8 ); or he means that reproach which his enemies unjustly loaded him with. Let their lying lips be put to silence. 2. He pleads the goodness of God's judgments: "Lord, thou sittest in the throne, an

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Ecclesiastes 12:5

Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

Matthew 26:41

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Mark 9:24

And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

John 5:21

For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

John 10:10

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Romans 7:24

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? the body: or, this body of death

1 Corinthians 15:45

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

2 Corinthians 7:1

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Galatians 5:17

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Ephesians 2:5

Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) by: or, by whose grace

Philippians 3:13

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Philippians 3:14

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

3 John 1:2

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. wish: or, pray

Topics

MoonOld AgeReadings, SelectStars

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Ecclesiastes 12:2.

2 Samuel 23:4

And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.

Deuteronomy 4:19

And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. divided: or, imparted

Genesis 37:9

And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

Isaiah 13:10

For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

Job 3:9

Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: the dawning: Heb. the eyelids of the morning

2 Kings 23:5

And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. put: Heb. caused to cease idolatrous: Heb. Chemarim planets: or, twelve signs or, constellations

Deuteronomy 17:3

And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;

Ezekiel 32:7

And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. put: or, extinguish thee

Frequently asked questions

What does Ecclesiastes 12:2 say?

Ecclesiastes 12:2 (King James Version) reads: "While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:"

Is Ecclesiastes 12:2 in the Old or New Testament?

Ecclesiastes 12:2 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Reflect

As you read Ecclesiastes 12:2, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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