Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain; New Living Translation Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky. English Standard Version before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, Berean Standard Bible before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened, and the clouds return after the rain, King James Bible While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: New King James Version While the sun and the light, The moon and the stars, Are not darkened, And the clouds do not return after the rain; New American Standard Bible before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; NASB 1995 before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; NASB 1977 before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; Legacy Standard Bible before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; Amplified Bible before the sun and the light, and the moon and the stars are darkened [by impaired vision], and the clouds [of depression] return after the rain [of tears]; Christian Standard Bible before the sun and the light are darkened, and the moon and the stars, and the clouds return after the rain; Holman Christian Standard Bible before the sun and the light are darkened, and the moon and the stars, and the clouds return after the rain; American Standard Version before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain; Contemporary English Version Someday the light of the sun and the moon and the stars will all seem dim to you. Rain clouds will remain over your head. English Revised Version or ever the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, be darkened, and the clouds return after the rain: GOD'S WORD® Translation Remember your Creator before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars turn dark, [and] the clouds come back with rain. Good News Translation That is when the light of the sun, the moon, and the stars will grow dim for you, and the rain clouds will never pass away. International Standard Version Otherwise, when the sun, daylight, moon, or stars turn dark, or when clouds fail to return after the rain— Majority Standard Bible before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened, and the clouds return after the rain, NET Bible before the sun and the light of the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds disappear after the rain; New Heart English Bible Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain; Webster's Bible Translation While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, are not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: World English Bible Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain; Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionWhile that the sun is not darkened, and the light, "" And the moon, and the stars, "" And the thick clouds returned after the rain. Young's Literal Translation While that the sun is not darkened, and the light, And the moon, and the stars, And the thick clouds returned after the rain. Smith's Literal Translation Till when the sun shall not be darkened, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, and the clouds turned not back after the rain: Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleBefore the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars be darkened, and the clouds return after the rain: Catholic Public Domain Version Before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, New American Bible Before the sun is darkened, and the light and the moon and the stars and the clouds return after the rain; New Revised Standard Version before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return with the rain; Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleBefore life ebbs, beauty fades, fortune fails, and poverty returns after prosperity; Peshitta Holy Bible Translated Until the sun will darken and the light of the moon and of the stars, and the clouds return after the rain OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917Before the sun, and the light, and the moon, And the stars, are darkened, And the clouds return after the rain; Brenton Septuagint Translation While the sun and light are not darkened, nor the moon and the stars; nor the clouds return after the rain: Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Remember Your Creator1Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,” 2before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened, and the clouds return after the rain, 3on the day the keepers of the house tremble and the strong men stoop, when those grinding cease because they are few and those watching through windows see dimly,… Cross References Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light. Joel 2:10 Before them the earth quakes; the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness. Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ Mark 13:24-25 But in those days, after that tribulation: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; / the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ Luke 21:25 There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves. Revelation 6:12-13 And I watched as the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red, / and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind. Isaiah 34:4 All the stars of heaven will be dissolved. The skies will be rolled up like a scroll, and all their stars will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like foliage from the fig tree. Ezekiel 32:7-8 When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. / All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you, and I will bring darkness upon your land,’ declares the Lord GOD. Amos 8:9 And in that day, declares the Lord GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the daytime. Zephaniah 1:15 That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, Job 3:9 May its morning stars grow dark; may it wait in vain for daylight; may it not see the breaking of dawn. Job 9:7 He commands the sun not to shine; He seals off the stars. Job 38:15 Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken. Psalm 18:11 He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him. Psalm 104:19 He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set. Treasury of Scripture While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: the sun Ecclesiastes 11:7,8 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: … Genesis 27:1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. Genesis 48:10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. nor Psalm 42:7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Psalm 71:20 Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Psalm 77:16 The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. Jump to Previous Clouds Dark Darkened Grow Light Moon Rain Stars Sun ThickJump to Next Clouds Dark Darkened Grow Light Moon Rain Stars Sun ThickEcclesiastes 12 1. the Creator is to be remembered in due time8. The preacher's care to edify 13. the fear of God is the chief antidote for vanity before the sunlight, moon, and stars are darkened This phrase evokes a vivid image of the diminishing light, symbolizing the decline of life and vitality. In the Hebrew context, the sun, moon, and stars often represent constancy and order in the universe, as seen in Genesis 1:14-18. The darkening of these celestial bodies suggests a disruption of this order, reflecting the inevitable approach of old age and death. The Hebrew word for "darkened" (חשך, chashak) implies a loss of clarity and understanding, which can be seen as a metaphor for the waning of human faculties and the approach of life's end. This imagery serves as a poignant reminder of the transient nature of earthly life, urging believers to seek eternal wisdom and light found in God. and the clouds return after the rain Darkened.--See Ecclesiastes 11:8. On darkness of the heavens as a symbol of calamity, comp. Isaiah 13:10-11; Jeremiah 4:28-29; Ezekiel 32:7-9; Joel 2:1-10; Amos 8:9-10; and contrast Isaiah 30:26; Isaiah 60:10.) . . . Verse 2. - From this verse onwards there is great diversity of interpretation. While some think that the approach of death is represented under the image of a storm, others deem that what is here intended is first the debility of old age, and then, at ver. 6, death itself, which two stages are described under various metaphors and figures. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened. Under these figures the evil days spoken of above, the advent and infirmities of old age, are represented. It would be endless and unprofitable to recount the explanations of 'the terms used in the following verses. Every commentator, ancient and modern, has exerted his ingenuity to force the poet's language into the shape which he has imagined for it. But, as we said above, there are at least two distinct lines of interpretation which have found favor with the great majority of expositors. One of these regards the imagery as applicable to the effects of a heavy storm upon a house and its inmates, explaining every detail under this notion; the other regards the terms used as referring to the man himself, adumbrating the gradual decay of old age, the various members and powers that are affected being represented under tropes and images, Both interpretations are beset with difficulties, and are only with some straining and accommodation forced into a consistent harmony. But the latter seems to us to present fewer perplexities than the other, and we have adopted it here. At the same time, we think it expedient to give the other view, together with our own, as there is much to be said in its favor, and many great writers have declared themselves on its side. Wright supposes (and makes a good case for his theory) that Koheleth is referring especially to the closing days of winter, which in Palestine are very fatal to old people. The seven last days, indeed, are noted even now as the most sickly and dangerous of all the year. The approach of this period casts a dark shadow upon all the inhabitants of the house. The theory is partly borne out by the text, but, like the other solutions, does not wholly correspond to the wording. In the present verse the approach of old age, the winter of life, is likened to the rainy season in Palestine, when the sun is obscured by clouds, and the light of heaven darkened by the withdrawal of that luminary, and neither moon nor stars appear. And the clouds return after the rain; i.e. one storm succeeds another (Job 37:6). The imagery is intended to represent the abiding and increasing inconveniences of old age. Not like the spring-time of life and season, when sunshine and storm are interchanged, winter and old age have no vicissitudes, one dreary character invests them both. The darkening of the light is a common metaphor for sorrow and sadness (see Job 30:26; Job 33:28, 30; Ezekiel 32:7, 8; Amos 8:9). The symbolism of the details in this verse has been thus elucidated: The diurnal lights appertain to the soul, the nocturnal to the body; the sun is the Divine light which illumines the soul, the moon and the stars are the body and the senses which receive their radiance from the soul's effulgence. These are all affected by the invasion of old age. Some consider that this verse depicts the changes which pass over the higher and more spiritual part of man's nature, while the succeeding imagery refers to the breaking up of the corporeal frame. We should say rather that ver. 2 conveys a general impression, and that this is then elaborated into particulars. According to the interpretation mentioned above, a gathering tempest is here depicted, the details of which are worked out in the following verses.Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew beforeעַ֠ד (‘aḏ) Preposition Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while the sunlight, הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ (haš·še·meš) Article | Noun - common singular Strong's 8121: The sun, the east, a ray, a notched battlement moon, וְהַיָּרֵ֖חַ (wə·hay·yā·rê·aḥ) Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 3394: The moon and stars וְהַכּוֹכָבִ֑ים (wə·hak·kō·w·ḵā·ḇîm) Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural Strong's 3556: A star, a prince are darkened, תֶחְשַׁ֤ךְ (ṯeḥ·šaḵ) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular Strong's 2821: To be dark, to darken and the clouds הֶעָבִ֖ים (he·‘ā·ḇîm) Article | Noun - common plural Strong's 5645: An envelope, darkness, a, cloud, a copse return וְשָׁ֥בוּ (wə·šā·ḇū) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again after אַחַ֥ר (’a·ḥar) Preposition Strong's 310: The hind or following part the rain, הַגָּֽשֶׁם׃ (hag·gā·šem) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 1653: Rain, shower Links Ecclesiastes 12:2 NIVEcclesiastes 12:2 NLT Ecclesiastes 12:2 ESV Ecclesiastes 12:2 NASB Ecclesiastes 12:2 KJV Ecclesiastes 12:2 BibleApps.com Ecclesiastes 12:2 Biblia Paralela Ecclesiastes 12:2 Chinese Bible Ecclesiastes 12:2 French Bible Ecclesiastes 12:2 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 12:2 Before the sun the light the moon (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.) |
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