Ecclesiastes 12:6

Ecclesiastes 12:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well.

Context of Ecclesiastes 12:6

4and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— 5they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 12:6 word by word

עַ֣ד אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־יֵרָתֵק֙ חֶ֣בֶל הַכֶּ֔סֶף וְתָרֻ֖ץ גֻּלַּ֣ת הַזָּהָ֑ב וְתִשָּׁ֤בֶר כַּד֙ עַל־הַמַּבּ֔וּעַ וְנָרֹ֥ץ הַגַּלְגַּ֖ל אֶל־הַבּֽוֹר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Or everלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• the silverכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
• cordחֶ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · cordH2256
• be loosedרָחַקrâchaq · to removeH7368
• be loosedרָתַקrâthaq · to bindH7576
• or the goldenזָהָבzâhâb · goldH2091
• bowlגֻּלָּהgûllâh · bowlH1543
• be brokenרָצַץrâtsats · to crushH7533
• or the pitcherכַּדkad · jarH3537
• be brokenשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
• at the fountainמַבּוּעַmabbûa‛ · springH4002
• or the wheelגַּלְגַּלgalgal · wheelH1534
• at the cisternבּוֹרbôr · pitH953

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 12:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Or ever the silver cord be loosed - We have already had all the external evidences of old age, with all its attendant infirmities; next follow what takes place in the body, in order to produce what is called death, or the separation of body and soul. 1. The silver cord - The medulla oblongata or spinal marrow, from which all the nerves proceed, as itself does from the brain. This is termed a cord, from its exact similitude to one; and a silver cord, from…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Be loosed - The termination of life is signified generally by the snapping of the silver cord by which the lamp hangs from the ceiling; by the dashing in pieces of the cup or reservoir of oil; by the shattering of the pitcher used to bring water from the spring; and by the breaking of the wheel by which a bucket is let down into the well. Others discern in the silver cord, the soul which holds the body in life; in the bowl, the body; and in the golden oil…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6The silver cord and the golden bowl, like human life, are very valuable. The body is like a simple clay jar that is fragile and easily broken (compare Isaiah 29:16; Jeremiah 19:1, 10–11; 22:28; 2 Corinthians 4:7).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. A double image to represent death, as in Ec 12:1-5, old age: (1) A lamp of frail material, but gilded over, often in the East hung from roofs by a cord of silk and silver interwoven; as the lamp is dashed down and broken, when the cord breaks, so man at death; the golden bowl of the lamp answers to the skull, which, from the vital preciousness of its contents, may be called "golden"; "the silver cord" is the spinal marrow, which is white and precious…Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 12:6

• Bowl
• Cistern
• Cord
• Gold
• Old Age
• Readings, Select
• Silver
• Wheel

In the dictionaries

• Allegory
• Conclusion
• Creator
• Heed
• Judgment
• Remember
• Whole
• Bowl
• Broken
• Cistern; Well; Pool; Aqueduct

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings