Ecclesiastes 11

Modern

Literal

Cast Your Bread upon the Waters

¹Cast your bread upon the waters,

for after many days you will find it again.

¹Send out your bread on the face of the waters, for in many days you will find it.

²Divide your portion among seven, or even eight,

for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.

²Give a portion to seven, and even to eight, for you do not know what evil may come to be on the earth.

³If 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.

³If the clouds are full of rain, they will pour out upon the earth; and if a tree falls in the south or in the north, at the place where the tree falls, there it will be.

⁴He who watches the wind will fail to sow,

and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.

⁴The one watching the wind will not sow, and one looking at the clouds will not reap.

⁵As you do not know the path of the wind,

or how the bones are formed^a in a mother’s womb,

so you cannot understand the work of God,

the Maker of all things.

⁵As you do not know what is the way of the wind, as the bones in the womb of the full woman, so you do not know the works of God, who makes everything.

⁶Sow 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.

⁶In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand, for you do not you know whether this one will prosper—this one or this one, or whether the two of them alike are good.

Enjoy Your Years

⁷Light is sweet,

and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.

⁷The light also is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.

⁸So 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.

⁸For if the man lives many years, let him be glad in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many—all that is coming is vapor.

⁹Rejoice, 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.

⁹Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart be made glad in the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes, and know that for all these things God will bring you into the judgment.

¹⁰So banish sorrow from your heart,

and cast off pain from your body,

for youth and vigor are fleeting.^a

¹⁰And remove anger from your heart, and make evil pass from your flesh, for youth and black hair are vapor.