| 12:1 | Honor and enjoy your Creator while you're still young, Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes, |
| 12:2 | Before your vision dims and the world blurs And the winter years keep you close to the fire. |
| 12:3 | In old age, your body no longer serves you so well. Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen. The shades are pulled down on the world. |
| 12:4 | You can't come and go at will. Things grind to a halt. The hum of the household fades away. You are wakened now by bird-song. |
| 12:5 | Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past. Even a stroll down the road has its terrors. Your hair turns apple-blossom white, Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body. Yes, you're well on your way to eternal rest, While your friends make plans for your funeral. |
| 12:6 | Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over. Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends. |
| 12:7 | The body is put back in the same ground it came from. The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it. |
| 12:8 | It's all smoke, nothing but smoke. The Quester says that everything's smoke. |
| 12:9 | Besides being wise himself, the Quester also taught others knowledge. He weighed, examined, and arranged many proverbs. |
| 12:10 | The Quester did his best to find the right words and write the plain truth. |
| 12:11 | The words of the wise prod us to live well. They're like nails hammered home, holding life together. They are given by God, the one Shepherd. |
| 12:12 | But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There's no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you're no good for anything else. |
| 12:13 | The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what he tells you. |
| 12:14 | And that's it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it's good or evil. |
Ecclesiastes 12 - The Message Bible
