SEV Biblia, Chapter 12:4
y las puertas de afuera se cerrarán, por la bajeza de la voz de la muela; y se levantará a la voz del ave, y todas las hijas de canción serán humilladas;
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 12:4
Verse 4. And the doors shall be shut in the streets] 5. The doors-the lips, which are the doors by which the mouth is closed. 6. Be shut in the streets - The cavities of the cheeks and jaws, through which the food may be said to travel before it is fitted by mastication or chewing to go down the aesophagus into the stomach.
The doors or lips are shut to hinder the food in chewing from dropping out; as the teeth, which prevented that before, are now lost.
7. The sound of the grinding is low - Little noise is now made in eating, because the teeth are either lost, or become so infirm as not to suffer their being pressed close together; and the mouth being kept shut to hinder the food from dropping out, the sound in eating is scarcely heard. The teeth are divided into three kinds: - 1. The dentes incisores, or cutting teeth, in the front of the jaw. 2. The dentes canini, or dog teeth, those in the sides of the jaws, for gnawing, or tearing and separating hard or tough substances. And, 3.
Dentes molares, or grinding teeth, the posterior or double teeth, in both jaws, generally termed the grinders; because their office is to grind down the substances that have been cut by the fore teeth, separated into their parts or fibres by the dog teeth, and thus prepare it for digestion in the stomach.
8. He shall rise up at the voice of the bird - His sleep is not sound as it used to be; he slumbers rather than sleeps; and the crowing of the cock awakes him. And so much difficulty does he find to respire while in bed, that he is glad of the dawn to rise up and get some relief. The chirping ot the sparrow is sufficient to awake him.
9. All the daughters of music shall be brought low - The VOICE, that wonderful instrument, almost endless in the strength and variety of its tones, becomes feeble and squeaking, and merriment and pleasure are no more. The tones emitted are all of the querulous or mournful kind.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 4. And the doors shall be shut in the streets , etc.] The Midrash and Jarchi interpret these of the holes of the body; in which they are followed by our learned and ingenuous countryman, Dr. Smith; who, by them, understands the inlets and outlets of the body; and, by the “streets”, the ways and passages through which the food goes, and nourishment is conveyed; and which may be said to be shut, when they cease from their use: but it seems much better, with Aben Ezra and others, to interpret them of the lips; which are sometimes called the doors of the mouth, or lips, ( <19E103> Psalm 141:3 Micah 7:5); which are opened both for speaking and eating; but, in aged persons, are much shut as to either; they do not choose to speak much, because of the disagreeableness of their voice, and difficulty of speech, through the shortness of breath, and the loss of teeth; nor do they open them much to eat, through want of appetite; and while eating, are obliged, for want of teeth, to keep their lips close, to retain their food from falling out; they mumble with their lips both in speaking and eating; and, particularly in public, aged persons care not to speak nor eat, for the reason following: though some understand it, more literally, of their having the doors of their houses shut, and keeping within, and not caring to go abroad in the streets, because of their infirmities so the Targum, “thy feet shall be bound from going in the streets;” when the sound of the grinding is low ; which the above Jewish writers, and, after them, Dr. Smith, understand of the stomach, grinding, digesting, and concocting food, and of other parts through which it is conveyed, and the offices they perform; but sound or voice does not seem so well to agree with that; rather therefore this is to be understood, as before, of the grinding of the teeth, through the loss of which so much noise is not heard in eating as in young men, and the voice in speaking is lower; the Targum is, “appetite of food shall depart from thee;” and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird ; that is, the aged person, the least noise awakes him out of sleep; and as he generally goes to bed soon, he rises early at cock crowing, or with the lark, as soon as the voice of that bird or any other, is heard; particularly the cock, which crows very early, and whose voice is heard the most early, and is by some writers f274 emphatically called the bird that calls men to their work; and all the daughters of music shall be brought low ; either those that make music, and are the instruments of it, as the lungs, the throat, the teeth, mouth, and lips, so the Targum and Midrash; or those that receive music, as the ears, and the several parts of them, the cavities of them, particularly the tympanum and auditory nerve; all which, through old age, are impaired, and become very unfit to be employed in making music, or in attending to it: the voice of singing men and singing women could not be heard with pleasure by old Barzillai, ( 2 Samuel 19:36). These clauses are expressive of the weakness which generally old age brings on men; very few instances are there to the contrary; such as of Caleb, who, at eighty five years of age, was as strong as at forty; and of Moses, whose natural force abated not at an hundred and twenty; nor indeed as of Cyrus, who, when seventy years of age, and near his death, could not perceive that he was weaker then than in his youth f275 .
Matthew Henry Commentary
A description of the infirmities of age. (Eccl. 12:1-7) All is vanity also a warning of the judgment to come. (Eccl. 12:8-14)
Eccl. 12:1-7 We should remember our sins against our Creator, repent and seek forgiveness. We should remember our duties, and set abou them, looking to him for grace and strength. This should be done early while the body is strong, and the spirits active. When a man has the pain of reviewing a misspent life, his not having given up sin an worldly vanities till he is forced to say, I have no pleasure in them renders his sincerity very questionable. Then follows a figurativ description of old age and its infirmities, which has some difficulties; but the meaning is plain, to show how uncomfortable generally, the days of old age are. As the four verses, 2-5, are figurative description of the infirmities that usually accompany ol age, Eccl. 12:6 notices the circumstances which take place in the hou of death. If sin had not entered into the world, these infirmitie would not have been known. Surely then the aged should reflect on the evil of sin.
Eccl. 12:8-14 Solomon repeats his text, VANITY OF VANITIES, ALL I VANITY. These are the words of one that could speak by dear-bough experience of the vanity of the world, which can do nothing to ease me of the burden of sin. As he considered the worth of souls, he gave goo heed to what he spake and wrote; words of truth will always be acceptable words. The truths of God are as goads to such as are dul and draw back, and nails to such as are wandering and draw aside; mean to establish the heart, that we may never sit loose to our duty, nor be taken from it. The Shepherd of Israel is the Giver of inspired wisdom Teachers and guides all receive their communications from him. The title is applied in Scripture to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God The prophets sought diligently, what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. To write man books was not suited to the shortness of human life, and would be weariness to the writer, and to the reader; and then was much more s to both than it is now. All things would be vanity and vexation, excep they led to this conclusion, That to fear God, and keep his commandments, is the whole of man. The fear of God includes in it all the affections of the soul towards him, which are produced by the Holy Spirit. There may be terror where there is no love, nay, where there is hatred. But this is different from the gracious fear of God, as the feelings of an affectionate child. The fear of God, is often put for the whole of true religion in the heart, and includes its practica results in the life. Let us attend to the one thing needful, and no come to him as a merciful Saviour, who will soon come as an almight Judge, when he will bring to light the things of darkness, and manifes the counsels of all hearts. Why does God record in his word, that AL IS VANITY, but to keep us from deceiving ourselves to our ruin? He makes our duty to be our interest. May it be graven in all our hearts Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is all that concerns man __________________________________________________________________
Original Hebrew
וסגרו 5462 דלתים 1817 בשׁוק 7784 בשׁפל 8217 קול 6963 הטחנה 2913 ויקום 6965 לקול 6963 הצפור 6833 וישׁחו 7817 כל 3605 בנות 1323 השׁיר׃ 7892
