Ecclesiastes 11

1 Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.

Cast your bread over running waters. For, after a long time, you shall find it again.

2 Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.

Give a portion to seven, and indeed even to eight. For you do not know what evil may be upon the earth in the future.

3 If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain upon the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie.

If the clouds have been filled, they will pour forth rain upon the earth. If a tree falls to the south, or to the north, or to whatever direction it may fall, there it shall remain.

4 He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.

Whoever heeds the wind will not sow. And whoever considers the clouds will never reap.

5 As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.

In the same manner that you do not know the way of the spirit, nor the way that bones are joined together in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the works of God, who is the Maker of all.

6 Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.

In the morning, sow your seed, and in the evening, do not let your hand cease. For you do not know which of these may rise up, the one or the other. But if both rise up together, so much the better.

7 Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.

Light is pleasant, and it is delightful for the eyes to see the sun.

8 So if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is futile.

If a man lives for many years, and if he has rejoiced in all of these, he must remember the many days of the dark times, which, when they will have arrived, will accuse the past of vanity.

9 Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.

So then, rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart remain in what is good during the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart, and with the perception of your eyes. And know that, concerning all these things, God will bring you to judgment.

10 So banish sorrow from your heart, and cast off pain from your body, for youth and vigor are fleeting.

Remove anger from your heart, and set aside evil from your flesh. For youth and pleasure are empty.