Ecclesiastes 12:1–5

¹Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,

before the days of adversity come

and the years approach of which you will say,

“I find no pleasure in them,”

²before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened,

and the clouds return after the rain,

³on 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,

⁴when the doors to the street are shut

and the sound of the mill fades away,

when one rises at the sound of a bird

and all the daughters of song grow faint,

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.