Ecclesiastes 12:4

That will be the time when the doors are shut in the street, 2 and the sound of grinding stops, 1 when men are startled at the voice of a bird, 2 and the singing of girls' voices fades away. 1

Unlocked Literal Bible

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

3That will be the time when the palace guards will tremble, 2 and strong men are bent over, 1 and the women who grind cease because they are few, 1 and those who look out of windows no longer see clearly. 1

5That will be the time when men become afraid of heights 2 and of dangers along on the road, 1 and when the almond tree blossoms, 2 and when grasshoppers drag themselves along, 2 and when natural desires fail. 1 Then man goes to his eternal home 2 and the mourners go down the streets. 1

Read all of Ecclesiastes 12

Cross References

Job 41:14Who can open the doors of his face— 1 ringed with his teeth, which are a terror? 1

Revelation 18:22The sound made by harpists, musicians, 3 flute players, and trumpeters 2 will not be heard anymore in you. 1 No craftsman of any kind 2 will be found in you. 1 No sound of a mill 2 will be heard anymore in you. 1

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