Ecclesiastes 11
1 Send forth your bread upon the face of the water: for you shall find it after many days.
Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.
2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for you know not what evil there shall be upon the earth.
Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.
3 If the clouds be filled with rain, they pour [it] out upon the earth: and if a tree fall southward, or if it fall northward, in the place where the tree shall fall, there it shall be.
If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain upon the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
4 He that observes the wind sows not; and he that looks at the clouds will not reap.
He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.
5 Amongst whom none knows what is the way of the wind: as the bones [are hid] in the womb of a pregnant [woman], so you shall not know the works of God, [even] all things whatever he shall do.
As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.
6 In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening let not your hand be slack: for you know not what sort shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether both shall be good alike.
Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.
7 Moreover the light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.
Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.
8 For even if a man should live many years, [and] rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that comes is vanity.
So if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is futile.
9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth; and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart blameless, but not in the sight of your eyes: yet know that for all these things God will bring you into judgement.
Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
10 Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh: for youth and folly are vanity.
So banish sorrow from your heart, and cast off pain from your body, for youth and vigor are fleeting.
