Ecclesiastes 12:2 — Bible Verse (KJV)

Ecclesiastes 12:2 in Context — Ecclesiastes 12

¹ Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

² While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

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 that look out of the windows be darkened,

⁴ And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

Read the full chapter: Ecclesiastes 12 — Living Sacrifices — Present Your Bodies →

What Does Ecclesiastes 12:2 Mean?

Romans 12:2 — 'And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God' — is one of the most important verses on Christian identity and sanctification in the New Testament. The command has two sides: a negative (stop being conformed) and a positive (be transformed). 'Conformed' (Greek: syschematizesthe) describes being squeezed into a mold — the shape of the surrounding culture, its values, its fears, its definitions of success, beauty, and meaning. 'Transformed' (Greek: metamorphousthe — where we get 'metamorphosis') describes a deep, organic change from within. The agent of transformation is the renewing of the mind — not willpower, not mere behavior modification, but the complete renovation of how one thinks. This happens through the Word of God (Psalm 119:11), through prayer (Philippians 4:7), through the work of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18). The goal is the proven experience of God's will — 'that ye may prove' implies a testing, a discerning, a living out of what God's will actually is. Romans 12:2 is the foundation of the Christian life as described in chapters 12-15: the renewed mind that produces the transformed life.

Ecclesiastes 12:2 is from the Book of Ecclesiastes (Old Testament), chapter 12. Available translations: King James Version (1611), World English Bible (2000), American Standard Version (1901), Young's Literal Translation (1862), Darby Translation (1890), Geneva Bible (1599). Read Ecclesiastes 12 in full context →