Translations
Modern
…when the doors to the street are shut and the sound of the mill fades away, when one rises at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song grow faint,
Traditional
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;
Literal
…and the doors are shut in the streets, and the sound of the grinding becomes low, and one rises up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of the song are bent low—
Latin
…et claudent ostia in platea, in humilitate vocis molentis, et consurgent ad vocem volucris, et obsurdescent omnes filiæ carminis:
Original
Hebrew
English
…when the doors to the street are shut and the sound of the mill fades away, when one rises at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song grow faint,
Notes
This beautiful prose poem, rich with Hebrew metaphors, describes the painful decline that comes with aging. It continues from Ecclesiastes 11:7–10.
Theme notes and profiles
Glossary
Topics
Birds: Have Each Their Peculiar Note or Song Birds: Songs of, at the Break of Day Old Age: General Scriptures Concerning Select Readings: Old Age