Ecclesiastes 12:6 Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well,

Bible > Ecclesiastes > Chapter 12 > Verse 6

◄ Ecclesiastes 12:6 ►

New International Version
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 Living Translation
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.

English Standard Version
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,

Berean Standard Bible
Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well,

King James Bible
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 King James Version
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 American Standard Bible
Remember your Creator before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;

NASB 1995
Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;

NASB 1977
Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;

Legacy Standard Bible
Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is broken and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;

Amplified Bible
Earnestly remember your Creator before the silver cord [of life] is broken, or the golden bowl is crushed, or the pitcher at the fountain is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;

Christian Standard Bible
before the silver cord is snapped, and the gold bowl is broken, and the jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is broken into the well;

Holman Christian Standard Bible
before the silver cord is snapped, and the gold bowl is broken, and the jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is broken into the well;

American Standard Version
before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern,

Contemporary English Version
The silver cord snaps, the golden bowl breaks; the water pitcher is smashed, and the pulley at the well is shattered.

English Revised Version
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;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Remember your Creator before the silver cord is snapped, the golden bowl is broken, the pitcher is smashed near the spring, and the water wheel is broken at the cistern.

Good News Translation
The silver chain will snap, and the golden lamp will fall and break; the rope at the well will break, and the water jar will be shattered.

International Standard Version
When the silver cord is severed, the golden vessel is broken, the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, and the wheel is broken at the cistern,

Majority Standard Bible
Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well,

NET Bible
before the silver cord is removed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the well, or the water wheel is broken at the cistern--

New Heart English Bible
before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern,

Webster's Bible Translation
Or ever the silver cord shall be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

World English Bible
before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern,

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
While that the silver cord is not removed, "" And the golden bowl broken, "" And the pitcher broken by the fountain, "" And the wheel broken at the well.

Young's Literal Translation
While that the silver cord is not removed, And the golden bowl broken, And the pitcher broken by the fountain, And the wheel broken at the well.

Smith's Literal Translation
Till when the cord of silver shall be removed far off, and the bowl of gold be broken, and the bucket shall be broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at the cistern.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
Before the silver cord be broken, and the golden fillet shrink back, and the pitcher be crushed at the fountain, and the wheel be broken upon the cistern,

Catholic Public Domain Version
Before the silver cord is broken, and the golden band pulls away, and the pitcher is crushed over the fountain, and the wheel is broken above the cistern,

New American Bible
Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken, And the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the pulley is broken at the well,

New Revised Standard Version
before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at the cistern,

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
Remember him before the silver cord is cut off and the golden bowl is broken and the pitcher is broken at the fountain or the wheel is broken at the cistern,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Until the cord silver is cut and the gold bowl will be shattered, and the pitcher will be shattered over the fountain and the wheel will run over the well

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
Before the silver cord is snapped asunder, And the golden bowl is shattered, And the pitcher is broken at the fountain, And the wheel falleth shattered, into the pit;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
before the silver cord be let go, or the choice gold be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel run down to the cistern;

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Remember Your Creator
…5when men fear the heights and dangers of the road, when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry shrivels—for then man goes to his eternal home and mourners walk the streets. 6Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well, 7before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Job 14:7-12
For there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender shoots will not fail. / If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the soil, / at the scent of water it will bud and put forth twigs like a sapling. ...

Psalm 90:5-6
You sweep them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning— / in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it fades and withers.

Isaiah 38:12
My dwelling has been picked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; He cuts me off from the loom; from day until night You make an end of me.

2 Corinthians 5:1-4
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. / For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, / because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ...

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

James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Psalm 103:15-16
As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field; / when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more.

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,

Isaiah 40:6-8
A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field. / The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. / The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

2 Peter 3:10
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.

Job 7:6-10
My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope. / Remember that my life is but a breath. My eyes will never again see happiness. / The eye that beholds me will no longer see me. You will look for me, but I will be no more. ...

Matthew 6:19-20
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. / But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Luke 12:33-34
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. / For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

1 Timothy 6:7
For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it.

Psalm 49:17
For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down.

Treasury of Scripture

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.

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Asunder Bowl Broken Cistern Cord Crushed Cut Falleth Fountain Gold Golden Loosed Pit Pitcher Pot Remember Removed Severed Shattered Silver Snapped Spring Vessel Wheel

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Asunder Bowl Broken Cistern Cord Crushed Cut Falleth Fountain Gold Golden Loosed Pit Pitcher Pot Remember Removed Severed Shattered Silver Snapped Spring Vessel Wheel

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

Remember Him
This phrase calls the reader to a conscious and deliberate act of recalling and honoring God. The Hebrew root for "remember" is "זָכַר" (zakar), which implies not just a mental recollection but an active acknowledgment and reverence. In the context of Ecclesiastes, this is a call to prioritize God in one's life before the inevitable decline of old age and death. It serves as a reminder of the Creator's sovereignty and the importance of living a life that reflects His glory.

before the silver cord is loosed
The "silver cord" is a metaphorical expression, often interpreted as the fragile connection between the soul and the body. Silver, a precious metal, symbolizes value and beauty, suggesting the preciousness of life. The Hebrew word for "cord" (חֶבֶל, chevel) can also mean a rope or line, indicating the tenuous nature of life. The imagery of it being "loosed" suggests the moment of death when the spirit departs from the body. This phrase emphasizes the urgency of remembering God while life endures.

or the golden bowl is broken
The "golden bowl" is another metaphor for life, with gold representing purity and worth. The breaking of the bowl signifies the end of life, the cessation of earthly existence. In ancient times, a bowl might have been used to hold oil or light, symbolizing the light of life. The Hebrew word for "bowl" (גֻּלָּה, gullah) can also mean a vessel, reinforcing the idea of the body as a vessel for the spirit. This imagery underscores the fragility and temporality of human life.

or the pitcher is shattered at the spring
The "pitcher" represents the human body, and the "spring" symbolizes the source of life. The Hebrew word for "pitcher" (כַּד, kad) refers to a container used for drawing water, a vital resource. The shattering of the pitcher at the spring suggests the end of one's ability to draw life-sustaining resources, a metaphor for death. This imagery highlights the suddenness and finality of life's end, urging the reader to seek God while they still can.

or the wheel is broken at the well
The "wheel" is part of the mechanism used to draw water from a well, essential for sustaining life. The Hebrew word for "wheel" (גַּלְגַּל, galgal) can also mean a rolling object, indicating movement and function. The breaking of the wheel signifies the cessation of life's activities and functions. The "well" represents the source of life, and the breaking of the wheel at the well symbolizes the end of one's earthly journey. This phrase serves as a poignant reminder of life's brevity and the importance of living with an eternal perspective.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) Golden bowl.--Zechariah 4:3.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 6. - Or ever; i.e. before, ere (ad asher lo). The words recall us to vers. 1 and 2, bidding the youth make the best use of his time ere old age cuts him off. In the present paragraph the final dissolution is described under two figures. The silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken. This is evidently one figure, which would be made plainer by reading "and" instead of "or," the idea being that the lamp is shattered by the snapping of the cord that suspended it from the roof. But there are some difficulties in the closer explanation of the allegory. The "bowl" (gullah) is the reservoir of oil in a lamp (see Zechariah 4:3, 4), which supplies nourishment to the flame; when this is broken or damaged so as to be useless, the light, of course, is extinguished. The Septuagint calls it τὸ ἀνθέμιον τοῦ χρυσίον: the Vulgate, vitta aurea, "the golden fillet," or flower ornament on a column, which quite sinks the notion of a light being quenched. The "cord" is that by which the lamp is hung in a tent or a room. But of what in man are these symbols? Many fanciful interpretations have been given. The "silver cord" is the spine, the nerves generally, the tongue; the "golden bowl" is the head, the membrane of the brain, the stomach. But these anatomical details are not to be adopted; they have little to recommend them, and are incongruous with the rest of the parable. The general break-up of life is here delineated, not the progress of destruction in certain organs or parts of the human frame. The cord is what we should call the thread of life, on which hangs the body lit by the animating soul; when the connection between these is severed, the latter perishes, like a fallen lamp lying crushed on the ground. In this our view the cord is the living power which keeps the corporeal substance from failing to ruin; the bowl is the body itself thus upheld. The mention of gold and silver is introduced to denote the preciousness of man's life and nature. But the analogy must not be pressed in all possible details. It is like the parables, where, if defined and examined too closely, incongruities appear. We should be inclined to make more of the lamp and the light and the oil, which are barely inferred in the passage, and endeavor to explain what these images import. Koheleth is satisfied with the general figure which adumbrates the dissolution of the material fabric by the withdrawal of the principle of life. What is the immediate cause of this dissolution, injury, paralysis, etc., is not handled; only the rupture is noticed and its fatal result. Another image to the same effect, though pointing to a different process, is added Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or (and) the wheel broken at (in) the cistern. The picture here is a deep well or cistern with an apparatus for drawing water; this apparatus consists of a wheel or windlass with a rope upon it, to which is attached a bucket; the wheel fails, falls into the well, the bucket is dashed to pieces, and no water can be drawn. It is best to regard the two clauses as intended to convey one idea, as the two at the beginning of the verse were found to do. Some commentators, not so suitably, distinguish between the two, making the former clause say that the pitcher is broken on its road to or from the spring, and the latter that the draw-wheel gives way. The imagery, points to one notion which would be weakened by being divided into two. The motion of the bucket, the winding up and down, by which water is drawn from the well, is an emblem of the movements of the heart, the organs of respiration, etc. When these cease to act, life is extinct. The fraction of the cord and the demolition of the bowl denoted the separation of soul and body; the breaking of the pitcher and the destruction of the wheel signify the overthrow of the bodily organs by which vital motion is diffused and maintained, and the man lives. The expressions in the text remind one of the term, "earthen vessel," applied by St. Paul (2 Corinthians 4:7) to the human body; and "the fountain of life," "the water of life." so often mentioned in Holy Scripture as typical of the grace of God and the blessedness of life with him (see Psalm 36:9; Proverbs 13:14; John 4:10, 14; Revelation 21:6).

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

[Remember Him] before
עַ֣ד (‘aḏ)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

the silver
הַכֶּ֔סֶף (hak·ke·sep̄)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3701: Silver, money

cord
חֶ֣בֶל (ḥe·ḇel)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2256: A rope, a measuring line, a district, inheritance, a noose, a company, a throe, ruin

is snapped,
יֵרָתֵק֙ (yê·rā·ṯêq)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7368: To be or become far or distant

and the golden
הַזָּהָ֑ב (haz·zā·hāḇ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2091: Gold, something gold-colored, as oil, a clear sky

bowl
גֻּלַּ֣ת (gul·laṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 1543: A fountain, bowl, globe

is crushed,
וְתָרֻ֖ץ (wə·ṯā·ruṣ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7533: To crack in pieces

[before] the pitcher
כַּד֙ (kaḏ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 3537: A pail, earthenware, a jar

is shattered
וְתִשָּׁ֤בֶר (wə·ṯiš·šā·ḇer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7665: To break, break in pieces

at
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the spring,
הַמַּבּ֔וּעַ (ham·mab·bū·a‘)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4002: A spring (of water)

and the wheel
הַגַּלְגַּ֖ל (hag·gal·gal)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1534: A wheel, a whirlwind, dust

is broken
וְנָרֹ֥ץ (wə·nā·rōṣ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7533: To crack in pieces

at
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the well,
הַבּֽוֹר׃ (hab·bō·wr)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 953: A pit, cistern, well

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OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 12:6 Before the silver cord is severed (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.)