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Ecclesiastes 11

Cast Your Bread upon the Waters

1 ^aCast your bread upon the waters,
^bfor you will find it after many days.
2 ^cGive a portion to ^dseven, or even to eight,
^efor you know not what disaster may happen on earth.
3 If the clouds are full of rain,
they empty themselves on the earth,
and if a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

5 As you do not know the way ^fthe spirit comes to ^gthe bones in the womb ^{▼

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Some Hebrew manuscripts, Targum; most Hebrew manuscripts As you do not know the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb} of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening ⁱwithhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to ^jsee the sun.

8 So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember ^kthat the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is ^lvanity. ^{▼

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The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verse 10 (see note on 1:2)}

9 ⁿRejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. ^oWalk in the ways of your heart and ^pthe sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things ^qGod will bring you into judgment.

10 Remove vexation from your heart, and ^rput away pain ^{▼

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Or evil} from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.