Ecclesiastes 11

New International Reader's Version

Do Many Things to Succeed

11 Sell your grain in the market overseas.
After a while you might earn something from it.
²Try to succeed by doing many things.
After all, you don’t know what great trouble might come on the land.

³Clouds that are full of water
    pour rain down on the earth.
A tree might fall to the south or the north.
    It will stay in the place where it falls.
⁴Anyone who keeps on watching the wind won’t plant seeds.
    Anyone who keeps looking at the clouds won’t gather crops.

⁵You don’t know the path the wind takes.
You don’t know how a baby is made inside its mother.
So you can’t understand how God works either.
He made everything.

⁶In the morning plant your seeds.
    In the evening keep your hands busy.
You don’t know what will succeed.
    It may be one or the other.
    Or both might do equally well.

Remember Your Creator While You Are Young

⁷Light is sweet.
    People enjoy being out in the sun.
⁸No matter how many years anyone might live,
    let them enjoy all of them.
But let them remember the dark days.
    There will be many of those.
    Nothing that’s going to happen will have any meaning.

⁹You young people, be happy while you are still young.
    Let your heart be joyful while you are still strong.
Do what your heart tells you to do.
    Go after what your eyes look at.
But I want you to know
    that God will judge you for everything you do.
¹⁰So drive worry out of your heart.
    Get rid of all your troubles.
    Being young and strong doesn’t have any meaning.