Ecclesiastes 11
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.
Send out your bread on the waters, for you will find it again after many days.
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].
Share it with seven, even eight people, for you do not know what disasters are coming on the earth.
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.
If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it will remain.
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.
Anyone who watches the wind might not plant, and anyone who watches the clouds might not harvest.
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.
As you do not know the path of the wind, nor how a baby's bones grow in the pregnant womb, so also you cannot comprehend the work of God, who created everything.
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.
In the morning plant your seed; until the evening, work with your hands as needed, for you know not which will prosper, whether morning or evening, or this or that, or whether they will both alike be good.
7 It is very delightful to be alive and see [MTY] the sun [rise every morning].
Truly the light is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to see the sun.
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.
If someone lives many years, let him be happy in all of them, but let him think about the coming days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is vanishing vapor.
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.
Take joy, young man, in your youth, and let your heart be joyful in the days of your youth. Pursue the good desires of your heart, and whatever is within the sight of your eyes. However, know that God will bring you into judgment for all these things.
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.
Drive anger away from your heart, and ignore any pain in your body, because youth and its strength are vapor.
