3 on 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, 4 when 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, 5 when 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.
Ecclesiastes 12:3–5
Semantically similar passages
Lamentations 5:13–15
13 Young men toil at millstones; boys stagger under loads of wood. 14 The elders have left the city gate; the young men have stopped their music. 15 Joy has left our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning.
2 Esdras 14:9–11
9 for you will be taken away from men, and from now on you will live with my Son and with those who are like you, until the times have ended. (WEB) 10 For the world has lost its youth, and the times begin to grow old. (WEB) 11 For the age is divided into twelve parts, and ten part… (WEB)
Job 18:5–7
5 Indeed, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow. 6 The light in his tent grows dark, and the lamp beside him goes out. 7 His vigorous stride is shortened, and his own schemes trip him up.
2 Baruch 31:4–5
4 Forget not Zion, But hold in remembrance the anguish of Jerusalem. (2BA) 5 For lo! the days come, When everything that is shall become the prey of corruption And be as though it had not been. (2BA)
1 Maccabees 2:62–64
62 Don’t be afraid of the words of a sinful man; for his glory will be dung and worms. (WEB) 63 Today he will be lifted up, and tomorrow he will in no way be found, because he has returned to dust, and his thought has perished. (WEB) 64 You, my children, be strong, and show yoursel… (WEB)
Psalms 103:15–17
15 As for man, his days are like grass— he blooms like a flower of the field; 16 when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more. 17 But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His rig…
2 Esdras 16:25–27
25 The trees will give fruit, but who will gather it? (WEB) 26 The grapes will ripen, but who will tread them? For in all places there will be a great solitude; (WEB) 27 for one man will desire to see another, or to hear his voice. (WEB)
Job 15:22–24
22 He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword. 23 He wanders about as food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand. 24 Distress and anguish terrify him, overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.
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