◄ Ecclesiastes 12:3 ►
Verse  (Click for Chapter)
New International Version
when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim;

New Living Translation
Remember him before your legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble; and before your shoulders—the strong men—stoop. Remember him before your teeth—your few remaining servants—stop grinding; and before your eyes—the women looking through the windows—see dimly.

English Standard Version
in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed,

Berean Standard Bible
on 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,

King James Bible
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,

New King James Version
In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, And the strong men bow down; When the grinders cease because they are few, And those that look through the windows grow dim;

New American Standard Bible
on the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and strong men are bent over, the grinders stop working because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim;

NASB 1995
in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim;

NASB 1977
in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim;

Legacy Standard Bible
in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and valiant men bend down, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dark;

Amplified Bible
in the day when the keepers of the house (hands, arms) tremble, and the strong men (feet, knees) bow themselves, and the grinders (molar teeth) cease because they are few, and those (eyes) who look through the windows grow dim;

Christian Standard Bible
on the day when the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, the women who grind grain cease because they are few, and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
on the day when the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, the women who grind cease because they are few, and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly,

American Standard Version
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 shall be darkened,

Contemporary English Version
Your body will grow feeble, your teeth will decay, and your eyesight fail.

English Revised Version
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,

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Remember your Creator when those who guard the house tremble, strong men are stooped over, the women at the mill stop grinding because there are so few of them, [and] those who look out of the windows see a dim light.

Good News Translation
Then your arms, that have protected you, will tremble, and your legs, now strong, will grow weak. Your teeth will be too few to chew your food, and your eyes too dim to see clearly.

International Standard Version
when that day comes, the palace guards will tremble, strong men will stoop down, women grinders will cease because they are few, and the sight of those who peer through the lattice will grow dim.

Majority Standard Bible
on 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,

NET Bible
when those who keep watch over the house begin to tremble, and the virile men begin to stoop over, and the grinders begin to cease because they grow few, and those who look through the windows grow dim,

New Heart English Bible
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 who look out of the windows are darkened,

Webster's Bible Translation
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 shall be darkened,

World English Bible
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 who look out of the windows are darkened,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
In the day that keepers of the house tremble, "" And men of strength have bowed themselves, "" And grinders have ceased, because they have become few. And those looking out at the windows have become dim,

Young's Literal Translation
In the day that keepers of the house tremble, And men of strength have bowed themselves, And grinders have ceased, because they have become few. And those looking out at the windows have become dim,

Smith's Literal Translation
In the day those watching the house shall tremble, and the strong men bent themselves, and the grinders ceased for they were few, and they looking through the lattice were darkened,
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
When the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall stagger, and the grinders shall be idle in a small number, and they that look through the holes shall be darkened:

Catholic Public Domain Version
when the guardians of the house will tremble, and the strongest men will waver, and those who grind grain will be idle, except for a small number, and those who look through the keyholes will be darkened.

New American Bible
When the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent; When the women who grind are idle because they are few, and those who look through the windows grow blind;

New Revised Standard Version
in the day when the guards of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the women who grind cease working because they are few, and those who look through the windows see dimly;
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
In the day when the legs tremble and the arms weaken, and the teeth chew no more because they are few, and the eyes are dimmed,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
In the day when the Housekeepers will shake and the Masters of power are agitated, and the grinders will fail because they are few, and the watchers in the windows will grow dark
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
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 shall be darkened in the windows,

Brenton Septuagint Translation
in the day wherein the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the mighty men shall become bent, and the grinding women cease because they have become few, and the women looking out at the windows be dark;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Remember Your Creator
…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, 4when the doors to the street are shut and the sound of the mill fades away, when one rises at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song grow faint,…
Berean Standard Bible · Download


Cross References
Isaiah 3:1-3
For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water, / the mighty man and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the soothsayer and the elder, / the commander of fifty and the dignitary, the counselor, the cunning magician, and the clever enchanter.

Job 4:19-21
how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth! / They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; unnoticed, they perish forever. / Are not their tent cords pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’

Isaiah 29:10
For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, O prophets; He has covered your heads, O seers.

Zechariah 11:17
Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!”

Psalm 90:10
The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

Job 14:1-2
“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble. / Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

Psalm 39:4-5
“Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is. / You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah

Isaiah 46:4
Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.

2 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.

2 Samuel 19:35
I am now eighty years old. Can I discern what is good and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or drinks? Can I still hear the voice of singing men and women? Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?

Psalm 71:9
Do not discard me in my old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails.

Isaiah 35:3
Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!

1 Peter 1:24
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

James 1:10-11
But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field. / For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

2 Timothy 4:6-7
For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. / I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.


Treasury of Scripture

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,

strong

2 Samuel 21:15-17
Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint…

Psalm 90:9,10
For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told…

Psalm 102:23
He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.

and those

Ecclesiastes 12:2
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

Jump to Previous
Bent Bow Cease Crushing Darkened Dim Dimmed Fear Few Grain Grinding Grow House Idle Keepers Mighty Ones Rest Shaking Stand Stoop Strong Themselves Tremble Unable Watchmen Windows Women
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Bent Bow Cease Crushing Darkened Dim Dimmed Fear Few Grain Grinding Grow House Idle Keepers Mighty Ones Rest Shaking Stand Stoop Strong Themselves Tremble Unable Watchmen Windows Women
Ecclesiastes 12
1. the Creator is to be remembered in due time
8. The preacher's care to edify
13. the fear of God is the chief antidote for vanity














Berean Study Bible
on the day
This phrase sets a specific time frame, indicating a moment of significant change or realization. In the Hebrew context, "day" often symbolizes a period of judgment or transformation. It is a poetic way to introduce the inevitable decline that comes with aging, a theme prevalent in Ecclesiastes. The "day" here is not just a literal 24-hour period but a metaphorical time of life when the effects of aging become apparent.

the keepers of the house tremble
The "keepers of the house" can be understood as the arms and hands, which are responsible for maintaining and protecting the body. In Hebrew, the imagery of a house often represents the body. As one ages, these "keepers" begin to tremble, symbolizing the loss of strength and stability. This trembling reflects the frailty and vulnerability that accompany old age, reminding us of the transient nature of physical strength.

and the strong men stoop
"Strong men" likely refers to the legs or the back, which provide support and mobility. The Hebrew word for "stoop" suggests bending or bowing down, indicating a loss of vigor and the onset of weakness. This imagery conveys the humbling process of aging, where even the mightiest are brought low. It serves as a poignant reminder of human mortality and the inevitable decline of physical prowess.

when those grinding cease because they are few
This phrase is a metaphor for the teeth, which grind food. As people age, they often lose teeth, making it difficult to chew. The Hebrew context here paints a vivid picture of the diminishing faculties that come with age. The cessation of grinding signifies not only physical decline but also the loss of productivity and the slowing down of life's activities.

and those watching through the windows see dimly
"Those watching through the windows" can be interpreted as the eyes, which look out upon the world. The Hebrew imagery of windows suggests vision and perception. As eyesight deteriorates with age, the world becomes less clear, symbolizing the narrowing of experience and understanding. This dimming vision serves as a metaphor for the reduced clarity and insight that often accompany the later stages of life.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(3) In this verse we have a description of an afflicted and affrighted house: the servants below (keepers of the house; comp. 2Samuel 20:3) in consternation [the word for "tremble" occurs twice more in Biblical Hebrew (Esther 5:9; Habakkuk 2:7), but is common in Aramaean]; the masters (men of might, translated "able men "Exodus 18:21; Exodus 18:25; comp. "mighty in power," Job 21:7) in equal distress; so also the grinding maids below, discontinuing their work (Exodus 11:5; Isaiah 47:1-2); the ladies, who look out at the lattices (Judges 5:8; 2Samuel 5:16; Proverbs 7:6; 2Kings 9:30), forced to withdraw. (For the four classes, comp. Isaiah 24:2; Psalm 132:2.) . . .
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 3. - The gradual decay which creeps over the body, the habitation of the spirit, is depicted under the figure of a house and its parts (comp. Job 4:19; 2 Corinthians 5:1; 2 Peter 1:13, 14). In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble; i.e. this is the case when, etc. The hands and arms are appropriately called the keepers of the house, for with them (as Volek quotes from Galen) man ὁπλίζει καὶ φρουρεῖ τὸ σῶμα παντοίως ("arms and guards his body in various ways"). The shaking and palsy of old men's limbs are thus graphically described. This would be one of the first symptoms discerned by an observer. Taking the alternative interpretation, we should see in these "keepers" the menservants who keep watch before the house. These menials are appalled by the approach of the tempest, and quake. And the strong men shall bow themselves. The "men of power" are the legs, or the bones generally, which in the young are "as pillars of marble" (Song of Solomon 5:15), but in the old become feeble, slack, and bent. Delitzsch quotes 3Macc. 4:5, where we read of a multitude of old men being driven mercilessly, "stooping from age, and dragging their feet heavily along." In this clause it is this stooping and bending of the body that is noticed, when men are no longer upright in stature, "swifter than eagles," "stronger than lions" (2 Samuel 1:23; 1 Chronicles 12:8), fit for war and active employment. It is therefore less appropriate to see in the "keepers" the legs, and in the "strong men" the arms. Otherwise, the latter are the masters, the wealthy and noble, in contradistinction to the menials before mentioned: both lords and servants are equally terrified at the approach of the tempest, or, as Wright would say, at the touch of the sickly season (see on ver. 2). And the grinders cease because they are few. The word for "grinders" is feminine (αἱ ἀλήθουσαι, "the grinding-women," Septuagint), doubtless because grinding was especially women's business (Matthew 24:41). By them are meant the teeth, as we speak of molars, though, of course, the term here applies to all the teeth; so the Greeks used the term μύλαι for the denies molares. These, becoming few in number and no longer continuous, cannot perform their office. Otherwise, the grinding-women leave their work or pause in their labors at the approach of the storm, though one does not quite see why they should be fewer than usual, unless the sickly season has prostrated most of their companions, or that many are too frightened to ply their task. Having, therefore, harder work than usual, they stop at times to recruit themselves. But the analogy rather breaks down here; one would be inclined to suppose that their decreased numbers would make them apply themselves more assiduously to their necessary occupation. As the "keepers" in the former part of the verse were slaves, so these grinders are slaves, such occupation being the lowest form of service (see Exodus 11:5; Judges 16:21; Job 31:10). Those that look out of the windows be darkened. These are the eyes that look forth from the cavities in which they are sunk; they are regarded as the windows of the bodily structure, the eyelashes or eyelids possibly being deemed the lattice of the same. Plumptre cites Cicero, ' De Nat. Deer.,' 2:140: "Sensus interpretes ac nuntii return, in capite, tamquam in arce, mirifice ad usus necessaries et facti et collocati sunt. Nam oculi, tamquam speculatores, altissimum locum obtinent; ex quo plurima conspicientes, fungantur sue munere." The dimness in the eye and the failing in the powers of sight are well expressed by the terms of the text. It is noted of Moses, as something altogether abnormal, that at a hundred and twenty years of age "his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated" (Deuteronomy 34:7). Taking the alternative interpretation, we must regard those that look out of the windows as the ladies of the house, who have no menial work to do, and employ their time in gazing idly from the lattices (comp. Judges 5:28; 2 Samuel 6:16; Proverbs 7:6). These "are darkened," they are terror-stricken, their faces gather blackness (Joel 2:6), or they retire into corners in terror of the storm. These women are parallel to "the strong men" mentioned above; so that the weather affects all of every class - men-servants and maidservants, lords and ladies.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
on the day
בַּיּ֗וֹם (bay·yō·wm)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

the keepers
שֹׁמְרֵ֣י (šō·mə·rê)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct
Strong's 8104: To hedge about, guard, to protect, attend to

of the house
הַבַּ֔יִת (hab·ba·yiṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

tremble,
שֶׁיָּזֻ֙עוּ֙ (še·yā·zu·‘ū)
Pronoun - relative | Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 2111: To shake off, to agitate

and the strong
הֶחָ֑יִל (he·ḥā·yil)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2428: A force, an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength

men
אַנְשֵׁ֣י (’an·šê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

stoop,
וְהִֽתְעַוְּת֖וּ (wə·hiṯ·‘aw·wə·ṯū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hitpael - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 5791: To be bent or crooked

when those grinding
הַטֹּֽחֲנוֹת֙ (haṭ·ṭō·ḥă·nō·wṯ)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine plural
Strong's 2912: To grind meal, to be a, concubine

cease
וּבָטְל֤וּ (ū·ḇā·ṭə·lū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 988: To desist from labor

because
כִּ֣י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

they are few,
מִעֵ֔טוּ (mi·‘ê·ṭū)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 4592: A little, fewness, a few

and those watching
הָרֹא֖וֹת (hā·rō·’ō·wṯ)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine plural
Strong's 7200: To see

through windows
בָּאֲרֻבּֽוֹת׃ (bā·’ă·rub·bō·wṯ)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 699: A lattice, a window, dovecot, chimney, sluice

see dimly,
וְחָשְׁכ֥וּ (wə·ḥā·šə·ḵū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 2821: To be dark, to darken


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OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 12:3 In the day when the keepers (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.)
Ecclesiastes 12:2
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