Ecclesiastes 12:11-13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
11 The sayings of the wise are like goads; like fixed spikes are the collected sayings given by one shepherd.[a] 12 (A)As to more than these,[b] my son, beware. Of the making of many books there is no end, and in much study there is weariness for the flesh.
13 [c](B)The last word, when all is heard: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this concerns all humankind;
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 12:11 One shepherd: perhaps referring to the book’s author, who gathers or “shepherds” together its contents. God could also be “the one shepherd,” the ultimate depository and source of true wisdom.
- 12:12 As to more than these: the words seem to refer to the writings of Ecclesiastes and other sages. They are adequate and sufficient; any more involves exhaustive labor.
- 12:13–14 These words reaffirm traditional wisdom doctrine such as fear of God and faithful obedience, perhaps lest some of the more extreme statements of the author be misunderstood. Although the epilogue has been interpreted as a criticism of the book’s author, it is really a summary that betrays the unruffled spirit of later sages, who were not shocked by Qoheleth’s statements. They honored him as a hakam or sage (v. 9), even as they preserved his statements about the futility of life (v. 8), and the mystery of divine judgment (8:17; 11:5).
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