Ecclesiastes 11
1 Sende thi breed on watris passynge forth, for aftir many tymes thou schalt fynde it.
Give generously to others [some of] the money [MET] that you have; if you do that, later you will get back an equal amount.
2 Yyue thou partis seuene, and also eiyte; for thou woost not, what yuel schal come on erthe.
Share some of what you have with (seven or eight/several) [others], because you do not know when you will experience a disaster, [and if you give some of what you have to others], [when you experience that disaster, they will kindly help you].
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.
[It is always true that] when clouds are full of water, they pour rain on the earth. [Similarly], wherever a tree falls on the ground, that is where it will remain.
4 He that aspieth the wynd, sowith not; and he that biholdith the cloudis, schal neuere repe.
If farmers see in what direction the wind is blowing, they will know whether it is wise at that time to plant things or not. [It is also true that] if farmers look at the clouds [and see that they are blowing from the west, which means that it will probably rain, ] they will not [try to] harvest their crops on that day.
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.
We do not know where the wind comes from or where it goes, and we do not know how bodies are formed in women’s wombs. Similarly [SIM], God is the one who made everything, and we cannot [fully] understand what God does.
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.
[Start] planting your seeds in the morning, and do not stop planting them until the evening, because you do not know which ones will grow better, the ones you plant in the morning or the ones you plant later in the day, or whether both will grow well.
7 The liyt is sweet, and delitable to the iyen to se the sunne.
It is very delightful to be alive and see [MTY] the sun [rise every morning].
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.
[Even] if people live for many years, they should enjoy all of them. But they should not forget that [some day they will die] and then they will never be able to see any light again, and we do not know what will happen to us after we die.
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.
You young people, be happy while you are still young. Enjoy [IDM] doing the things that you want to do. But do not forget that [some day] God will judge you concerning all the things that you do.
10 Do thou awei ire fro thin herte, and remoue thou malice fro thi fleisch; for whi yongthe and lust ben veyne thingis.
[So when you are young] [MTY], do not worry about anything, and do not pay attention to the pains that you have in your body, because we will not remain young and strong forever.
