Ecclesiastes 11
1 Send your bread out on the surface of the water, and many days later you will find it again.
Send forth your bread on the face of the waters, For in the multitude of the days you find it.
2 Share what you own with seven or eight people, for you never know what disaster could happen.
Give a portion to seven, and even to eight, For you do not know what evil is on the earth.
3 When the clouds are full they pour rain down upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the north or to the south, it stays where it fell.
If the thick clouds are full of rain, On the earth they empty [themselves]; And if a tree falls in the south or to the north, The place where the tree falls, there it is.
4 The farmer who pays attention to the direction of the wind knows when not to sow, and by watching the clouds knows when not to reap.
Whoever is observing the wind does not sow, And whoever is looking on the thick clouds does not reap.
5 Just as you don't know how the breath of life comes to the child in its mother's womb, so you can't understand the work of God, the Creator of everything.
As you do not know what [is] the way of the spirit, How—bones in the womb of the full one, So you do not know the work of God who makes the whole.
6 In the morning, sow your seed. In the evening, don't stop. For you have no way of knowing which crop will grow well—one may be profitable, or the other—or maybe both.
In the morning sow your seed, And at evening do not withdraw your hand, For you do not know which is right, this or that, Or whether both of them alike [are] good.
7 How sweet it is to live in the light, to see the sun rise on another day.
Sweet also [is] the light, And good for the eyes to see the sun.
8 May you live for many years, and may you enjoy them all. But remember there will many days of darkness, and all that is to come is uncertain.
But if man lives many years, In all of them let him rejoice, And remember the days of darkness, For they are many! All that is coming [is] vanity.
9 Young people, enjoy your youth! Be happy with what's good! While you're young, let your mind guide your life, and do as you think best. But remember that God will judge you for all your thoughts and actions.
Rejoice, O young man, in your childhood, And let your heart gladden you in days of your youth, And walk in the ways of your heart, And in the sight of your eyes, And know that for all these, God brings you into judgment.
10 So don't let your mind worry, and avoid things that hurt your body. Even so, despite youth and enthusiasm, life is still so hard to understand!
And turn aside anger from your heart, And cause evil to pass from your flesh, For the childhood and the age [are] vanity!
