Ecclesiastes 12 · Verse 3

Ecclesiastes 12:3

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,
Ecclesiastes 12:3, King James Version

Ecclesiastes 12:3 in other translations

BSBon 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,
WEBin 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,
ASVin 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,
YLTIn 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,
DARBYin the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows are darkened,
BBEIn the day when the keepers of the house are shaking for fear, and the strong men are bent down, and the women who were crushing the grain are at rest because their number is small, and those looking out of the windows are unable to see;
WebsterIn 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,

What does Ecclesiastes 12:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. keepers of the house--namely, the hands and arms which protected the body, as guards do a palace (Ge 49:24; Job 4:19; 2Co 5:1), are now palsied. strong men ... bow--(Jud 16:25, 30). Like supporting pillars, the feet and knees (So 5:15); the strongest members (Psa 147:10). grinders--the molar teeth. cease--are idle. those that look out of the windows--the eyes; the powers of vision, looking out from beneath the eyelids, which open and shut like the casement of a window.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 In the day when the keepers of the house - The Body of man is here compared to a House: - mark the metaphors and their propriety. 1. The keepers shall tremble - the hands become paralytic, as is constantly the case, less or more, in old age. 2. The strong men shall bow - The legs become feeble, and unable to support the weight of the body. 3. The grinders cease because they are few - The teeth decayed and mostly lost; the few that remain being incapable of properly masticating hard substances or animal food. And so they cease; for soft or pulpy substances, which are requisite then, require little or no mastication; and these aliments become their ordinary food. 4. Those that look out of the windows - The optic nerves, which receive impressions, through the medium of the different humours of the eye, from surrounding objects - they are darkened; the humours becoming thick, flat, and turbid, they are no longer capable of transmitting those images in that clear, distinct manner, as formerly. There may be an allusion here to the pupil of the eye. Look into it, and you will see your own image in extreme minature looking out upon you; and hence it has its name pupillus, a little child, from pupus, a baby, a doll; because the image in the eye resembles such. The optic nerve being seated at the bottom of the eye, has the images of surrounding objects painted upon it; it looks out through the different humors. The different membranes and humours which compose the eye, and serve for vision, are, the tunica conjunctiva, the tunica sclerotica, the cornea, the iris, the pupil, the choroides, and the retina. The iris is perforated to admit the rays of light, and is called the pupil; the retina is a diffusion of the optic nerve in the bottom of the eye, on which the images are painted or impressed that give us the sensation we term sight or vision. All these membranes, humours, and nerves, are more or less impaired, thickened, or rendered opaque, by old age, expressed by the metaphor, "Those that look out of the windows are darkened."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ecclesiastes 12:1-7

A description of the infirmities of age. (Eccl. 12:1-7) All is vanity: also a warning of the judgment to come. (Eccl. 12:8-14) Verses 1-7 We should remember our sins against our Creator, repent, and seek forgiveness. We should remember our duties, and set about them, looking to him for grace and strength. This should be done early, while the body is strong, and the spirits active. When a man has the pain of…

Read the full comment on Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 →

Ecclesiastes 12:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

בַּיּ֗וֹםbai.Yomin the dayH3117
שֶׁיָּזֻ֙עוּ֙shei.ya.Zu.'uwhen they will trembleH2111
שֹׁמְרֵ֣יsho.me.Rei[the] keepers ofH8104
הַבַּ֔יִתha.Ba.yitthe houseH1004
וְהִֽתְעַוְּת֖וּve.hit.'a.ve.Tuand they will bend themselvesH5791
אַנְשֵׁ֣י'an.Shei[the] people ofH582
הֶחָ֑יִלhe.Cha.yil<the> strengthH2428
וּבָטְל֤וּu.va.te.Luand they will ceaseH988
הַטֹּֽחֲנוֹת֙ha.to.cha.nOtthe [female] grindersH2912
כִּ֣יkiforH3588
מִעֵ֔טוּmi.'E.tuthey have become fewH4591
וְחָשְׁכ֥וּve.cha.she.Khuand they will grow dimH2821
הָרֹא֖וֹתha.ro.'otthe [women who] lookH7200
בָּאֲרֻבּֽוֹת\׃ba.'a.ru.Botin the windowsH699

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ecclesiastes 12:3

  • Psalms 90:9-10

    For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

  • Psalms 102:23

    He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.

  • Genesis 48:10

    Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.

  • 1 Samuel 3:2

    And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;

  • Zechariah 8:4

    Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

  • 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. And Ishbi–benob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.

  • Genesis 27:1

    And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
strong.
2Sa 21:15-17; Ps 90:9,10; 102:23; Zec 8:4
and those.
2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 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:

  • Ecclesiastes 12:3

    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,

  • Ecclesiastes 12:4

    And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

Read all of Ecclesiastes 12

Ecclesiastes 12:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Cuando temblarán los guardas de la casa, y se encorvarán los hombres fuertes, y cesarán las muelas, porque han disminuído, y se oscurecerán los que miran por las ventanas;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		au jour où tremblent les gardiens de la maison, et où se courbent les hommes forts, et où chôment celles qui moulent, parce qu’elles sont en petit nombre, et où ceux qui regardent par les fenêtres sont obscurcis,
German
Elberfelder 1871		an dem Tage, da die Hüter des Hauses zittern, und sich krümmen die starken Männer, und die Müllerinnen feiern, weil ihrer wenig geworden, und sich verfinstern die durch die Fenster Sehenden,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		quando commovebuntur custodes domus, et nutabunt viri fortissimi, et otiosæ erunt molentes in minuto numero, et tenebrescent videntes per foramina;