Ecclesiastes 12:2 (WEB)

Passage

Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw near, when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

Ecclesiastes 12:2 Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;

Ecclesiastes 12:3 in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look out of the windows are darkened,

Ecclesiastes 12:4 and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "before", "moon", "stars", "darkened", "clouds", "return", and "after". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "before", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "Remember also your Creator in the days..." into verse 3's "in the day when the keepers of...", so "light" and "before" 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 "light" and "before" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.