Ecclesiastes 12:3

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 12:1-7

Here is, I. A call to young people to think of God, and mind their duty to him, when they are young: Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. This is, 1. The royal preacher's application of his sermon concerning the vanity of the world and every thing in it. ?You that are young flatter yourselves with expectations of great things from it, but believe those that have tried it; it yields no solid satisfaction to a soul; therefore, that you may not be deceived by this vanity, nor too... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 12:3

In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble ,.... By the "house" is meant the human body; which is a house of clay, the earthly house of our tabernacle, in which the soul dwells, Job 4:19 , 2 Corinthians 5:1 . The Targum interprets the keepers of the house, of the knees and the trembling of them; but the Midrash and Jarchi, much better, of the ribs; man being fenced with bones and sinews, as Job says, Job 10:11 ; though trembling cannot be well ascribed to them, they being... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 12:3

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... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 12:3

The gradual decay which creeps over the body, the habitation of the spirit, is depicted under the figure of a house and its parts (comp. Job 4:19 ; 2 Corinthians 5:1 ; 2 Peter 1:13 , 2 Peter 1:14 ). In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble ; i.e. this is the case when, etc. The hands and arms are appropriately called the keepers of the house, for with them (as Volek quotes from Galen) man ὁπλίζει καὶ φρουρεῖ τὸ σῶμα παντοίως ("arms and guards his body in... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 12:3

The body in old age and death is here described under the figure of a decaying house with its inmates and furniture.This verse is best understood as referring to the change which old age brings to four parts of the body, the arms (“the keepers”), the legs (“the strong men”), the teeth (“the grinders”), and the eyes. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 12:3

Ecclesiastes 12:3. When the keepers of the house The body, which is often and fitly compared to a house; whose keepers are the hands and arms, which are man’s best instruments to defend his body from the assaults of men or beasts, and which, in a special manner, are subject to this trembling. And the strong men shall bow themselves Either the back, or the thighs and legs, in which the main strength of the body consists, and which, in old men, are very feeble. And the grinders The teeth,... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 12:1-8

Advice to young people (11:9-12:8)God’s will is that people enjoy life. In fact, they have a responsibility to do so. The writer urges young people especially to take note of this and not to misuse their mental or physical powers through developing wrong attitudes to life. However, their enjoyment of life must be according to a proper understanding of God and his character. They, like all others, are answerable to him for their behaviour (9-10).Young people should remember that God is the... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 12:3

keepers of the house: i.e. the arms of the body. house. The human body is often compared to a house (Isaiah 38:12 . Job 4:19 . 2 Corinthians 5:1 , 2 Corinthians 5:2 ; 2 Peter 1:13 ). tremble. Occurs only here, Esther 5:9 ("move"), and Habakkuk 2:7 ("vex"). See App-76 . the strong men: . i.e. the legs. Hebrew. geber. App-14 . the grinders: i.e. the teeth. cease = fail, or become unfit for use. Hebrew. batal = a passage; probably = the ear-passage. Occurs only in Solomon's writings. Here,... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Ecclesiastes 12:1-7

THE PICTURE OF OLD AGE, From Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 according to the common Translation. The royal preacher, in the first seven verses of this chapter, enforces the duty of early religion, by arguments principally drawn from the decay of the intellectual and corporeal powers in an advanced age. The evils induced upon the mental system are little more than cursorily spoken of. The inconveniences resulting to the bodily structure from a long series of years, are more particularly expatiated upon.... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Ecclesiastes 12:2-3

Ecclesiastes 12:2-3. While the sun, or the light.— Before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars be darkened, and the clouds return after the rain. Ecclesiastes 12:3. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, &c. Desvoeux; who renders the grinders, the grinding-maids, and observes, that whoever reads this description of old age with a tolerable degree of attention must observe, that the beginning of it consists of a double figure; namely, an allegory and a... read more

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