Ecclesiastes 12 6

Ecclesiastes 12:6 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.

Ecclesiastes 12:6 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.

Ecclesiastes 12:6 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,

Ecclesiastes 12:6 esv

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,

Ecclesiastes 12:6 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.

Ecclesiastes 12 verses

Ecclesiastes 12 6 Meaning

Ecclesiastes 12:6 poetically describes the irreversible breakdown of the human body as death approaches. Using vivid metaphors drawn from common daily life concerning vital water-gathering mechanisms, it depicts the cessation of various life functions. The verse warns that these delicate, precious systems, once responsible for sustaining life, will inevitably fail, leading to the end of physical existence. It serves as a profound call to remember one's Creator before this final, unavoidable physical demise.

Ecclesiastes 12 6 Context

Ecclesiastes 12:6 is an integral part of one of the Bible's most poignant and beautifully crafted allegories—the description of old age and death found in verses 1-8. The overarching message of Ecclesiastes is the "vanity of vanities" or futility of life "under the sun" without God. This chapter serves as the climactic conclusion, calling readers to "Remember their Creator in the days of their youth" (12:1) before the "evil days" of old age and the inevitability of death arrive.

The preceding verses (12:2-5) present a series of poetic images—darkened lights, trembling guards, bent strongmen, grinding women ceasing, fearful heights, and vanishing almond blossoms—all depicting the failing senses, strength, and vitality of advanced old age. Verse 6 specifically focuses on the ultimate physiological failure, using the highly symbolic and metaphorical imagery of a water-drawing system breaking down, leading directly into the ultimate separation of body and spirit in verse 7. This imagery would have resonated deeply with an ancient agrarian society heavily reliant on wells and springs for survival, where the failure of such a system meant an end to life-sustaining water. The Preacher uses these universally understood pictures of precious vessels and mechanisms failing to convey the profound truth of life's fragile, temporary nature.

Ecclesiastes 12 6 Word analysis

• עד (ʻad): "Before" or "until." This temporal marker signifies a crucial deadline. It's an urgent call to action prior to an unavoidable event, reinforcing the primary exhortation of Ecc 12:1 to act now.
• אשר (ʾasher): A relative pronoun, often meaning "which," "that," or used here to connect "before" with the subsequent clauses, forming "before which" or "before that."
• ירחק (yērāḥēq): "Is removed" or "is far removed" (Heb. רָחַק, rachaq, to be distant, far off). While some versions translate this as "snapped," the primary meaning conveys separation or cessation of connection, leading to dysfunction. This suggests a loosening or detaching before the final break, hinting at the gradual decline.
• חבל הכסף (chevel hakesef): "Silver cord."
  • חבל (chevel): Cord, rope, band, measuring line.
  • כסף (kesef): Silver.
  • Interpretation: Most commentators interpret this as a metaphor for the spinal cord, central nervous system, or even the subtle spiritual cord that connects life to the physical body. Silver suggests its preciousness, delicate nature, and perhaps the white/grey appearance of nervous tissue. Its "being removed" indicates the loss of connection and sensation, critical to life.
• ויָרֹץ (wəyārōṣ): This word does not appear in the standard Masoretic text for Ecclesiastes 12:6; it seems to be a slight mis-transliteration or a different textual tradition. The verb commonly found here, in conjunction with "golden bowl," is typically `תִּשָּׁבֶר` (tiššāḇēr) meaning "is broken" (from שָׁבַר, shavar). If a verb implying "running" were intended, it would contradict the sense of breaking/failure. Assuming the intended meaning from most Bible translations, the focus is on "broken."
• גֻּלַּת הַזָּהָב (gullat hazahav): "Golden bowl."
  • גֻּלָּה (gullah): Bowl, lamp, font, globe, spherical object.
  • זהב (zahav): Gold.
  • Interpretation: Commonly interpreted as the skull that protects the brain, or the brain itself (as a "bowl" containing consciousness or life's essence). Gold emphasizes its immense value, vital importance, and perhaps the inner glow or thought process it enables. Its breaking signifies catastrophic failure of the mind or vital control centers.
• תִּשָּׁבֶר (tiššāḇēr): "Is broken" (Heb. שָׁבַר, shavar, to break, shatter). This is the key verb, clearly denoting the irreversible destruction or failure of the preceding item. It carries a sense of suddenness and finality.
• כַּד (kad): "Pitcher" or "jar." A vessel typically used for carrying water from a source.
• על המבּוע (ʿal hammabbuaʿ): "At the spring."
  • על (ʿal): Upon, by, at.
  • מַבּוּעַ (mabbuaʿ): Spring, fountain, source of flowing water.
  • Interpretation: The pitcher at the spring, when broken, symbolizes the body's circulatory system (heart/blood vessels) failing to draw and distribute the vital "water of life" from its source, or perhaps the kidneys ceasing to purify. The inability to access the spring means a cut-off of sustenance.
• וְגַלְגַּל (wəgalgal): "And the wheel."
  • גלגל (galgal): Wheel, revolving object, a pulley wheel for a well.
  • Interpretation: This likely refers to the wheel mechanism used to draw water from a deep well. It represents the vital "engine" or mechanism of the body.
• אל הבור (ʾel habbor): "At the well."
  • אל (ʾel): To, into, at.
  • בּוֹר (bor): Well, pit, cistern, dungeon.
  • Interpretation: The well is the ultimate source of water in a arid land. The breaking of the wheel at the well means the complete and irrecoverable failure of the means to draw forth life-sustaining elements from within the body itself (the "well" of life fluids/nutrients) or from without. This completes the imagery of the entire system failing.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "before the silver cord is removed / snapped, or the golden bowl is broken": These two images often point to the higher functions and structural integrity of the human body. The "silver cord" is largely associated with the spinal cord or the entire nervous system, crucial for transmitting life signals and sensory input. Its "removal" signifies the severing of this vital connection. The "golden bowl" is widely understood to represent the skull, housing the precious brain, or the brain itself, the seat of intellect, consciousness, and vital functions. Its "breaking" implies total neurological failure. Both speak to the collapse of the brain-nervous system axis, fundamental for conscious life. The use of "silver" and "gold" underscores the immense value and delicate nature of these bodily components.
• "before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well": These images metaphorically depict the breakdown of the body's internal systems responsible for circulation and purification – for replenishing life. The "pitcher at the spring" alludes to the circulatory system (heart and blood vessels) or kidneys failing to draw, contain, and distribute vital "fluids" (blood, bodily humors) from the "spring" (source of life). The "wheel broken at the well" refers to the entire mechanism for obtaining and maintaining these life-giving fluids failing; it signifies the cessation of blood flow, kidney function, or any essential life-sustaining process, stopping the internal 'drawing of water' from the 'well' of the body's own resources. These pairings reinforce each other, pointing to a systemic failure that deprives the body of essential sustenance.

Ecclesiastes 12 6 Bonus section

The four images in Ecclesiastes 12:6 have been interpreted in various ways throughout history. While specific anatomical precision wasn't the goal, the choice of such essential and easily broken objects to describe bodily failure demonstrates the Preacher's profound wisdom. The progression often suggests a sequence of vital systems shutting down. Some Jewish commentators saw the silver cord as the soul's attachment to the body. Christian tradition has largely embraced the interpretations related to neurological and circulatory system failure. The emphasis on water-gathering tools also evokes humanity's constant dependence on external and internal sources for survival, sources which ultimately fail. This verse reinforces the deep philosophical message of Ecclesiastes: ultimate meaning and purpose cannot be found in the fleeting, fragile life itself, but must be anchored in the eternal God, especially considering the certainty of our physical demise.

Ecclesiastes 12 6 Commentary

Ecclesiastes 12:6 offers a powerful, yet sobering, poetic description of the moment life gives way to death. The Preacher employs common agricultural imagery – essential components for drawing and holding water – to symbolize the catastrophic and irreversible collapse of the human body. The "silver cord" and "golden bowl" speak to the delicate, precious, and vital elements of the nervous system and brain, whose failure means the end of higher cognitive and bodily control. The "pitcher at the spring" and "wheel at the well" highlight the cessation of circulatory and metabolic functions, vital for drawing, distributing, and utilizing the "water of life." This imagery is not a scientific treatise, but a universally relatable depiction of vital systems failing, rendering the body inert and unable to sustain itself. It underscores life's fragile beauty and its inevitable endpoint, serving as a solemn reminder that there is a definite, unmovable boundary to human existence "under the sun," a boundary before which one should urgently remember and obey their Creator.