Ecclesiastes 12:4

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;

Doors - the lips, which are closely shut together as doors by old men in eating; because if they did not do so, the food would drop out.

In the streets - i:e., toward the street, 'the outer doors.' Hengstenberg explains it, the ears, which in old men are deaf.

Sound of the grinding is low - the teeth being almost gone, and the lips "shut" in eating, the sound of mastication is scarcely heard. Hengstenberg explains-When the voice of the mill (the mouth) becomes low, they are less able to make themselves intelligible.

The voice of the bird - the cock. In the East all mostly rise with the dawn. But the old are glad to rise from their sleepless couch or painful slumbers still earlier-namely, when the cock crows, before dawn. The least noise awakens them.

Daughters of music - the organs that produce and that enjoy music: the voice and ear of the old man are in a low state ().