Ecclesiastes 11
International Standard Version
Preparing for the Future
11 Spread your bread on the water—
after a while you will find it.
2 Apportion what you have into seven, or even eight parts,
because you don’t know what disaster might befall the land.
3 If the clouds are full of rain,
they will pour out on the earth;
if a tree falls toward the south or the north,
wherever it falls, there it will lay.
4 Whoever keeps staring at the wind won’t sow;
whoever daydreams[a] won’t reap.
5 Just as you do not understand the way of the spirit
in the[b] womb of a pregnant mother,
so also you do not know
what God is doing in everything he makes.
6 Sow your seed in the morning,
and don’t stop working[c] until evening,
since you don’t know which of your endeavors will do well,
whether this one or that,
or even if both will do equally well.
Preparing for Old Age
7 How sweet is the daylight, and how pleasant it is for someone’s eyes to behold the sunshine! 8 Even if a person lives many years, let him enjoy them all, recalling that there will be many days of darkness to come—all of which are pointless. 9 So enjoy yourself in your youth, young man, and be encouraged during your younger days. Live as you like, consistent with your world view, but keep in mind that God will bring you to account for everything. 10 Banish sorrow from your heart, and evil from your body, since both childhood and the prime of life[d] are pointless.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 11:4 Lit. who stares at clouds
- Ecclesiastes 11:5 Lit. the bones in the
- Ecclesiastes 11:6 Lit. then give your hand no rest
- Ecclesiastes 11:10 Lit. dark hair
Ecclesiastes 11
King James Version
11 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.
4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.
6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:
8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
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