Ecclesiastes
Chapter 11
1
1 Cast your bread upon the waters; after a long time you may find it again.
2
2 Make seven or eight portions; you know not what misfortune may come upon the earth.
3
When the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, wherever it falls, there shall it lie.
4
One who pays heed to the wind will not sow, and one who watches the clouds will never reap.
5
Just as you know not how the breath of life fashions the human frame in the mother's womb, So you know not the work of God which he is accomplishing in the universe.
6
In the morning sow your seed, and at evening let not your hand be idle: For you know not which of the two will be successful, or whether both alike will turn out well.
7
Light is sweet! and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
8
However many years a man may live, let him, as he enjoys them all, remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that is to come is vanity.
9
Rejoice, O young man, while you are young and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart, the vision of your eyes; Yet understand that as regards all this God will bring you to judgment.
10
3 Ward off grief from your heart and put away trouble from your presence, though the dawn of youth is fleeting.
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Footnotes

1 [1] This may refer to a spirit of adventure in business or to generosity in almsgiving. Waters: of the ocean, which sometimes carry lost treasures to the shore.

2 [2] This verse refers either to almsgiving or to the wisdom of not putting all one's cargo into a single vessel.

3 [10] Dawn . . . fleeting: literally, "youth and the dawn [of life] are vanity."


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