Ecclesiastes 12:4

and the doors to the street are shut. Before the sound of the grinding mill grows low, and you wake up early when the birds are singing, but you can hardly hear them.

Free Bible Version

In The King James Version

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;

In Context

3Before the guards of the house tremble and the strong men are bent over, the grinders stop working because there are only a few left, and the ones looking through the windows only see dimly,

5Before you develop a fear of heights and worry about going out on the streets; when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper crawls along, and desire fails, for everyone has to go to their eternal home as the mourners go up and down the street.

Read all of Ecclesiastes 12

Cross References

Job 41:14Who can open its jaws? Its teeth are terrifying!

Revelation 18:22“Never again will anyone hear music in you: the sound of harps, singers, flutes, and trumpets. Never again will craftsmen of any trade work in you. Never again will the sound of a mill be heard in you.

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 12:2-8

The Infirmities of Old Age; The Effects of Death. 1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: 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, 4… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Ecclesiastes 12:4