Ecclesiastes 12:5 (LSB)

Passage

Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blooms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home, but the mourners go about in the street.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 12:3 in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and valiant men bend down, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dark;

Ecclesiastes 12:4 and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly.

Ecclesiastes 12:5 Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blooms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home, but the mourners go about in the street.

Ecclesiastes 12:6 Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is broken and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "furthermore", "afraid", "high", "place", "terrors", "road", "almond", and "tree". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "furthermore" and "afraid", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "and the doors on the street are..." into verse 6's "Remember Him before the silver cord is...", so "furthermore" and "afraid" 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 "furthermore" and "afraid" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.