Wycliffe WYC
King James Version KJV
1 Have thou mind on thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before that the time of thy torment come, and the years of thy death nigh, of which thou shalt say, Those please not me. (Think thou upon thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before that the time of thy torment come, and the years of thy death approach, of which thou shalt say, These days do not please me at all.)
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;
2 Before that the sun be (made) dark, and the light, and stars, and the moon; and the clouds turn again after rain. (Before that the sun, and the light, and the stars, and the moon all be made dark; and the clouds return after the rain.)
2
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
3 When the (door)keepers of the house shall be moved, and [the] strongest men shall tremble; and [the] grinders shall be idle, when the number shall be made less, and seers by the holes shall wax dark; (When the guards of the house shall be shaken, and the strong shall tremble; and the grinders shall be idle, when their number shall be made less, and the eyes of those who see out by the windows shall grow dark, or grow dim;)
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,
4 and (they) shall close the doors in the street (and they shall close the doors to the street), in the lowness of [the] voice of a grinder; and they shall rise (up) at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of song shall wax deaf.
4
And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
5 And high things shall dread, and shall be afeared in the way (And when they shall fear high places, and shall be afraid to go on the way, or to go out in public); and an almond tree shall flower, a locust shall be made fat, and (the) capers shall be destroyed; for a man shall go into the house of his everlastingness, and wailers shall go about in the street.
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:
6 Have thou mind on thy Creator, before that a silveren rope be broken, and a golden lace run against, and a water pot be all-broken on the well, and a wheel be broken (al)together on the cistern; (Think thou upon thy Creator, before that the silver rope is broken, and the golden bowl is broken, and the water pot at the well is broken, and the wheel at the cistern is broken, yea, before that all is ended;)
6
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.
7 and dust turn again into his earth, whereof it was, and the spirit turn again to God, that gave it. (and the dust, or the dirt, return to the earth, where it was before, and the spirit return to God, who gave it.)
7
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
8 The vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, the vanity of vanities [Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, vanity of vanities], and all things be vanity. (Emptiness and futility, said Ecclesiastes, yea, everything is emptiness and futility.)
8
Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
9 And when Ecclesiastes was most wise (And for Ecclesiastes was most wise), he taught the people, and he told out the things which he did, and he sought out wisdom, and made many parables;
9
And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
10 he sought (out) profitable words, and he wrote most rightful words, and full of truth.
10
The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
11 The words of wise men be as pricks, and as nails fastened deep, which be given of one shepherd by the counsels of masters. (For the words of the wise be like pricks, and like nails driven deep, for they be given from the one Shepherd for the counsel of us all.)
11
The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
12 My son, seek thou no more than these; none end there is to make many books, and oft thinking is (a) torment of [the] flesh. (My son, seek thou no more than this; for there is no end to the making of many books, and thinking too much will only torment thy flesh.)
12
And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 All we hear together the end of (the) speaking. Dread thou God, and keep his behests; that is (for) to know, every man. (Hear now the end, or the conclusion, of all this speaking. Fear God/Revere God, and obey his commands; that is for everyone to know.)
13
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 God shall bring all things into doom, that be done; for each thing covered, either privy, whether it be good, or evil. (For God shall bring all that is done to the judgement; even each thing that is covered, or is done in secret, or privately, whether it be good, or evil.)
14
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.
The King James Version is in the public domain.