Ecclesiastes 12:6 NIV

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 12:6

Or ever the silver cord be loosed ,.... As the above are the symptoms and infirmities of old age; these in this verse are the immediate symptoms of death, or what attend it, or certainly issue in it. Some by "the silver cord" understand the string of the tongue; and to this purpose is the Targum, "before thy tongue is dumb from speaking;' and it is observed F17 Vid. Castel. Lexic. Hept. col. 3662. in favour of this sense, that the failing of the tongue is no fallacious sign of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 12:6

Or ever the silver cord be loosed - We have already had all the external evidences of old age, with all its attendant infirmities; next follow what takes place in the body, in order to produce what is called death, or the separation of body and soul. 1. The silver cord - The medulla oblongata or spinal marrow, from which all the nerves proceed, as itself does from the brain. This is termed a cord, from its exact similitude to one; and a silver cord, from its color, as it strikingly... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 12:6

Or ever ; i.e. before, ere ( ad asher lo ). The words recall us to Ecclesiastes 12:1 and Ecclesiastes 12:2 , 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... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 12:6

Be loosed - The termination of life is signified generally by the snapping of the silver cord by which the lamp hangs from the ceiling; by the dashing in pieces of the cup or reservoir of oil; by the shattering of the pitcher used to bring water from the spring; and by the breaking of the wheel by which a bucket is let down into the well. Others discern in the silver cord, the soul which holds the body in life; in the bowl, the body; and in the golden oil (compare Zechariah 4:12) within it, the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 12:6

Ecclesiastes 12:6. Or ever the silver cord be loosed By the silver cord he seems to understand the spinal marrow, which comes from the brain, and goes down to the lowest end of the back-bone. And this is aptly compared to a cord, both for its figure, which is long and round, and for its use, which is to draw and move the parts of the body; and to silver, both for its excellence and colour, which is white and bright, in a dead, much more in a living body. This may properly be said to... 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 12:6

Or, &c. New figures now (in Ecclesiastes 12:6 ) introduced, referring to the arrival (Structure, above) of death itself. the silver cord: i.e. the spinal cord. the golden bowl: i.e. the head, or skull. pitcher: the failure of the heart. the wheel. On which the bucket is brought up by a rope from the cistern, or well. 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 12:6

Ecclesiastes 12:6. Or ever the silver cord be loosed.— Remember thy Creator, I say, before the silver cord be removed, and the golden pully hasteneth its motion, and the jar be dashed to pieces upon the well, and the conduit be broken, through which the water used to run into the cistern. See the note on Ecclesiastes 12:2-3. It is on all hands allowed, that the picture-part of the emblem in this verse is a well once richly furnished with whatever is necessary both to draw water and to convey it... read more

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 12:6

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 12:6

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 12:6

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 12:6

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 12:6

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 12:1-8

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 12:6

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

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Ecclesiastes 12:6

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