Ecclesiastes 12:6 (DBY)

Passage

before the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be shattered at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern;

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 12:4 and the doors are shut toward the street; when the sound of the grinding is subdued, and they rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;

Ecclesiastes 12:5 they are also afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is despised, and the grasshopper is a burden, and the caper-berry is without effect; (for man goeth to his age-long home, and the mourners go about the streets;)

Ecclesiastes 12:6 before the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be shattered at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern;

Ecclesiastes 12:7 and the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return unto God who gave it.

Ecclesiastes 12:8 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher: all is vanity.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "before", "silver", "cord", "loosed", "golden", "bowl", "broken", and "pitcher". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "before" and "silver", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "they are also afraid of what is..." into verse 7's "and the dust return to the earth...", so "before" and "silver" belong inside that flow. In Ecclesiastes context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "before" and "silver" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.