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,
Parallel translations
- WEB 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,
- KJV 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,
- NKJV 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;
- NASB 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;
- NLT 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Preacher pictures the frailty of old age, as the body's strength, mobility, and senses begin to fail. It urges us to remember our Creator before these days arrive.
Overview
Continuing the allegory of aging begun in 12:1, this verse is commonly read as a poetic portrait of a declining body: trembling arms ("keepers"), stooping legs ("strong men"), failing teeth ("grinders"), and dimming eyes ("those who look out of the windows"). Ecclesiastes presses the reality that bodily vigor is fleeting, urging readers to seek God in their strength rather than waiting for weakness. This sobering honesty about mortality points beyond itself to the resurrection hope secured in Christ, who alone conquers the decay sin brought into the world.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ps 90:9–10For all our days decline in Your fury; we finish our years with a sigh.
- Ps 102:23He has broken my strength on the way; He has cut short my days.
- 1 Sam 3:2And at that time Eli, whose eyesight had grown so dim that he could not see, was lying in his room.
- Gen 27:1When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” Esau replied.
- Gen 48:10Now Israel’s eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly see. Joseph brought his sons to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.
- Zech 8:4This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of great age.
- 2 Sam 21:15–17Once again the Philistines waged war against Israel, and David and his servants went down and fought against the Philistines; but David became exhausted.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 12:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.