Ecclesiastes 11
1 Send forth thy bread on the face of the waters, For in the multitude of the days thou dost find it.
Tanamlah uangmu dalam usaha di luar negeri. Pasti kaudapat untung di kemudian hari.
2 Give a portion to seven, and even to eight, For thou knowest not what evil is on the earth.
Tanamlah modalmu di berbagai niaga; carilah usaha sebanyak-banyaknya. Sebab orang perlu waspada, sebelum musibah menimpa.
3 If the thick clouds are full of rain, On the earth they empty [themselves]; And if a tree doth fall in the south or to the north, The place where the tree falleth, there it is.
Ke arah mana pun pohon itu rubuh, tetap akan terbaring di tempat ia jatuh. Bila awan mengandung air hingga sarat, hujan pun turun ke bumi dengan lebat.
4 Whoso is observing the wind soweth not, And whoso is looking on the thick clouds reapeth not.
Siapa menunggu sampai angin dan cuaca sempurna, tak akan menanam dan tidak pula memetik hasilnya.
5 As thou knowest not what [is] the way of the spirit, How — bones in the womb of the full one, So thou knowest not the work of God who maketh the whole.
Allah membuat segala-galanya, dan manusia tak dapat memahami tindakan-Nya; begitu pula ia tak mengerti tumbuhnya kehidupan baru di dalam kandungan seorang ibu.
6 In the morning sow thy seed, And at even withdraw not thy hand, For thou knowest not which is right, this or that, Or whether both of them alike [are] good.
Taburlah benihmu di waktu pagi dan janganlah berhenti di malam hari. Sebab kita tak tahu taburan mana yang baik tumbuhnya. Barangkali juga keduanya tumbuh dengan sempurna.
7 Sweet also [is] the light, And good for the eyes to see the sun.
Sinar matahari membuat bahagia; alangkah senangnya bila dapat menikmatinya.
8 But, if man liveth 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.
Hendaklah engkau bersyukur kalau bertambah umur. Tapi ingat, biar engkau hidup lama di bumi, masamu di alam maut masih lebih lama lagi. Jadi, apa yang mau diharapkan pula? Semuanya percuma dan sia-sia.
9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy childhood, And let thy heart gladden thee in days of thy youth, And walk in the ways of thy heart, And in the sight of thine eyes, And know thou that for all these, Doth God bring thee into judgment.
Nikmatilah masa mudamu, hai pemuda! Bergembiralah selama engkau masih remaja. Penuhilah segala hasrat jiwamu, laksanakanlah semua niat hatimu. Tetapi ingat, Allah yang ada di surga, kelak mengadili tindakanmu semua.
10 And turn aside anger from thy heart, And cause evil to pass from thy flesh, For the childhood and the age [are] vanity!
Usirlah khawatir dan susah dari hatimu, sebab masa mudamu cepat berlalu.
