Ecclesiastes 12:13
in Ecclesiastes 12When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.
KJV
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 12
Commentary
3 notes on this verseAfter all, the sum of the great business of human life is comprised in this short sentence, on which some millions of books have been already written! Fear God, and Keep His Commandments 1. Know that He Is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 2. Reverence him; pay him adoration. 3. Love him, that you may be happy.
This site's exposition
the conclusion of the whole matter
on Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
The book files its own verdict: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man, where the Hebrew reads simply this is the whole of man, the sum of what a man is for, as the commentators note. The fear of God has run under the search the whole way (3:14, 5:7, 7:18, 8:12), so the conclusion gathers a thread rather than reversing a book. The last verse answers the leveler that haunted every chapter: one event happened to all under the sun, but God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, and the bench sets Paul's day when God shall judge the secrets of men (Rom 2:16) beside it by name.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
7:2-5), or self-mortifying avarice (Ec 8:13, 17), or youth spent without God (Ec 11:9; 12:1). this is the whole duty of man--literally, "this is the whole man," the full ideal of man, as originally contemplated, realized wholly by Jesus Christ alone; and, through Him, by saints now in part, hereafter perfectly (1Jo 3:22-24;
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
In conclusion after all has been heard, fear God. Do what you can, and let your heart be [directed] toward Heaven.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And furthermore my son be admonished. More than the uprightness of the words of truth, the words written in the aforementioned books.
For every deed. That a person performs, God will bring to judgment. 58 Just as God does not allow any good deed, small as it may be, to go without reward, so too, He does not permit any bad deed, however small, to go without judgment.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ס֥וֹף | sof | [the] end of | H5490 → | 5 times |
| דָּבָ֖ר | davar | [the] matter | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַכֹּ֣ל | hakol | <the> everything | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| נִשְׁמָ֑ע | nishma' | it has been heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֤ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יְרָא֙ | yera' | fear | H3372 → | 315 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִצְוֹתָ֣יו | mitzvotav | commandments his | H4687 → | |
| שְׁמ֔וֹר | shemor | keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| זֶ֖ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | [is] all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאָדָֽם׃ | haadam | <the> humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
ס֥וֹף[the] end of
sofH5490 →5 times
דָּבָ֖ר[the] matter
davarH1697 →1440 times
הַכֹּ֣ל<the> everything
hakolH3605 →5413 times
נִשְׁמָ֑עit has been heard
nishma'H8085 →1159 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֤ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
יְרָא֙fear
yera'H3372 →315 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מִצְוֹתָ֣יוcommandments his
mitzvotavH4687 →
שְׁמ֔וֹרkeep
shemorH8104 →468 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
זֶ֖הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
כָּל־[is] all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָאָדָֽם׃<the> humankind
haadamH120 →551 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Micah 6:8He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:12–13
And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your…
- Proverbs 21:3
To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.
- Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
- Jeremiah 22:3
This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.…
- Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
- Deuteronomy 10:12–13
Through
Job 28:28And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
it leads to
- Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
- Proverbs 1:7
Where this verse is studied
1 study on this verse
Also on Ecclesiastes 12: 3 studies that walk through this chapter ▾
The subjects this verse belongs to
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.