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Gedenke an deinen Schöpfer in deiner Jugend, ehe denn die bösen Tage kommen und die Jahre herzutreten, da du wirst sagen: Sie gefallen mir nicht; ehe denn die Sonne und das Licht, Mond und Sterne finster werden und Wolken wieder kommen nach dem Regen; zur Zeit, wenn die Hüter im Hause zittern, und sich krümmen die Starken, und müssig stehen die Müller, weil ihrer so wenig geworden ist, und finster werden, die durch die Fenster sehen, und die Türen an der Gasse geschlossen werden, daß die Stimme der Mühle leise wird, und man erwachet, wenn der Vogel singet, und gedämpft sind alle Töchter des Gesanges; wenn man auch vor Höhen sich fürchtet und sich scheuet auf dem Wege; wenn der Mandelbaum glühet, und die Heuschrecke beladen wird, und alle Lust vergehet (denn der Mensch fähret hin, da er ewig bleibt, und die Klageleute gehen umher auf der Gasse); ehe denn der silberne Strick wegkomme, und die güldne Schale zerbreche und der Eimer zerleche an der Quelle, und das Rad zerbrochen werde am Born. Denn der Staub muß wieder zu der Erde kommen, wie er gewesen ist, und der Geist wieder zu Gott, der ihn gegeben hat.
Text Authorship:
- by Bible or other Sacred Texts , Ecclesiastes 12:1-9 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Hermann Reutter (1900 - 1985), "Prediger Salomo 12, 1-9", 1973 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (John Glenn Paton) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: John Glenn Paton [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-03-25
Line count: 23
Word count: 196
Remember your Creator in your youth, before the evil days come and the years approach, when you will say, "They do not please me;" before the sun and the light, moon and stars all turn dark and clouds come after the rain; and the guards tremble in the house, and strong men bend, and millers stand idle, because they are so few, and those who look through the windows see dimly, and the doors to the street are closed, so that the sound of the mill becomes quiet, and one wakes if the bird sings, and muted are all the daughters of song; when people are afraid of high places and avoid the road; when the almond tree blooms and the grasshopper is heavy, and all pleasure ceases (for a man goes to where he will be eternally, and the mourners walk about in the street); before the silver cord falls away and the golden bowl breaks up and the pitcher is broken by the fountain and the wheel is broken at the cistern. For the dust must return to the earth, as it was, and the spirit must return to God, who gave it.
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Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2009 by John Glenn Paton, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Bible or other Sacred Texts , Ecclesiastes 12:1-9
This text was added to the website: 2009-03-25
Line count: 23
Word count: 195