< קֹהֶלֶת 11 >
שלח לחמך על פני המים כי ברב הימים תמצאנו | 1 |
Give generously to others [some of] the money [MET] that you have; if you do that, later you will get back an equal amount.
תן חלק לשבעה וגם לשמונה כי לא תדע מה יהיה רעה על הארץ | 2 |
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].
אם ימלאו העבים גשם על הארץ יריקו ואם יפול עץ בדרום ואם בצפון--מקום שיפול העץ שם יהוא | 3 |
[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.
שמר רוח לא יזרע וראה בעבים לא יקצור | 4 |
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.
כאשר אינך יודע מה דרך הרוח כעצמים בבטן המלאה ככה לא תדע את מעשה האלהים אשר יעשה את הכל | 5 |
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.
בבקר זרע את זרעך ולערב אל תנח ידך כי אינך יודע אי זה יכשר הזה או זה ואם שניהם כאחד טובים | 6 |
[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.
ומתוק האור וטוב לעינים לראות את השמש | 7 |
It is very delightful to be alive and see [MTY] the sun [rise every morning].
כי אם שנים הרבה יחיה האדם בכלם ישמח ויזכר את ימי החשך כי הרבה יהיו כל שבא הבל | 8 |
[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.
שמח בחור בילדותיך ויטיבך לבך בימי בחורותיך והלך בדרכי לבך ובמראי עיניך ודע כי על כל אלה יביאך האלהים במשפט | 9 |
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.
והסר כעס מלבך והעבר רעה מבשרך כי הילדות והשחרות הבל | 10 |
[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.