Ecclesiastes 11

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

Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days.

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

Divide a portion into seven, yea, even into eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.

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 be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree fall in the south, or in the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be.

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

He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not 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.

As thou knowest not what is the way of the wind, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child; even so thou knowest not the work of God who doeth all things.

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 thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand; for thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

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

And the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold 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.

For if a man live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that cometh is 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.

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 thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.

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

Therefore remove vexation from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; for childhood and youth are vanity.