10a. Drive sorrow from thy heart;
And put away care from thy flesh!
XII.1a. And bethink thee of thy fountain,[300]
In the days of thy youth!
XI. 10b. For youth and dawn are fleeting.
XII.1b. Dreary days are drawing near,
And years approach devoid of joy.
2. Then darkened shall be sun and moon,
And clouds come after rain alway.
3. The keepers of the house[301] shall quake,
The sturdy ones[302] shall bend themselves;
Darksome shall the windows[303] be,
4. And closed shall be the portals.[304]
The roar of the mill[305] shall be as the sparrows twitter,
The daughters of song[306] shall bow low;
5. Likewise of heights shall they be afraid,
For dread shall lie in wait.
3. The grinding maids[307] shall leave off work,
5. The almond-tree[308] shall shed its blooms;
The grasshopper[309] shall be burdened,
And the caperberry[310] unavailing.
For man goeth to his everlasting home and the mourners are in readiness in the street.
6. Asunder snaps the silver chain;
Shivered is the golden lamp;
The pitcher shattered at the brook;
The scoopwheel falls into the well.
8. O Vanity of Vanities, saith the Speaker; all is vanity![311]
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