Ecclesiastes 11
1 Sende thi breed on watris passynge forth, for aftir many tymes thou schalt fynde it.
Cast thy bread upon the face of the waters; for after many days wilt thou find it again.
2 Yyue thou partis seuene, and also eiyte; for thou woost not, what yuel schal come on erthe.
Give a portion to seven, and also to eight: for thou knowest not what evil may come upon the earth.—
3 If cloudis ben filled, tho schulen schede out reyn on the erthe; if a tre fallith doun to the south, ether to the north, in what euer place it fallith doun, there it schal be.
If the clouds be full of rain, they will empty it out upon the earth; and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, on the place where the tree falleth, there will it remain.
4 He that aspieth the wynd, sowith not; and he that biholdith the cloudis, schal neuere repe.
He that watcheth the wind will not sow; and he that gazeth on the clouds will not reap.
5 As thou knowist not, which is the weye of the spirit, and bi what resoun boonys ben ioyned togidere in the wombe of a womman with childe, so thou knowist not the werkis of God, which is makere of alle thingis.
As thou knowest not which is the way of the wind, as little as what is enclosed in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou canst not know the works of God who maketh all.
6 Eerli sowe thi seed, and thin hond ceesse not in the euentid; for thou woost not, what schal come forth more, this ethir that; and if euer eithir cometh forth togidere, it schal be the betere.
In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening let not thy hand rest; for thou knowest not which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both of them will be alike good.
7 The liyt is sweet, and delitable to the iyen to se the sunne.
Truly the light is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to see the sun;
8 If a man lyueth many yeeris, and is glad in alle these, he owith to haue mynde of derk tyme, and of many daies; and whanne tho schulen come, thingis passid schulen be repreued of vanyte.
For if a man live [even] many years, let him rejoice in them all; and let him remember the days of darkness; for they will be many; all that cometh is vanity.
9 Therfor, thou yonge man, be glad in thi yongthe, and thin herte be in good in the daies of thi yongthe, and go thou in the weies of thin herte, and in the biholdyng of thin iyen; and wite thou, that for alle these thingis God shal brynge thee in to doom.
Rejoice, O young man, in thy childhood; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youthful vigor, and walk firmly in the ways of thy heart, and in [the direction which] thy eyes see: but know thou, that concerning all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
10 Do thou awei ire fro thin herte, and remoue thou malice fro thi fleisch; for whi yongthe and lust ben veyne thingis.
And remove vexation from thy heart, and cause evil to pass away from thy body; for childhood and the time when the head is black are vanity.
