Ecclesiastes 11–12

Cast thy bread ^aupon the waters: ^bfor thou shalt find it after many days. ^2cGive a portion to ^dseven, and also to eight; ^efor thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. ³If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the ^fsouth, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. ⁴He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and ^ghe that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. ⁵As thou knowest not what is the way of the ^hspirit, nor ⁱhow the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. ⁶In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening ^kwithhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be ^lalike good.

⁷Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to ^mbehold the sun: ⁸but if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember ⁿthe days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.

^9oRejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy ^pyouth, and ^qwalk in the ways of thine heart, and in ^rthe sight of thine eyes: ^sbut know thou, that for all these things ^tGod will bring thee into judgment. ¹⁰Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and ^uput away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

XII.Remember now thy Creator ^ain the days of thy ^byouth, ^swhile ^cthe evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when ^dthou shalt say, I have no ^epleasure in them; ^2swhile the sun, or ^fthe light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: ³in the day when the keepers of the house shall ^gtremble, and the ^hstrong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and ⁱthose that look out of the windows be darkened,⁴and ^jthe doors shall be shut in the ^kstreets, when ^lthe sound of the grinding ^mis low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all ^dthe daughters of musick shall be ^mbrought low; ⁵also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall ⁿflourish, and the ^ograsshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his ^plong ^qhome, and ^rthe mourners go about the ^kstreets: ^6sor ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden ^tbowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. ⁷Then shall ^uthe dust return to the earth as it was: and ^xthe spirit shall return unto God ^ywho gave it.

^8zVanity of vanities, saith the ^aPreacher; all is vanity.

⁹And ^bmoreover, because the ^aPreacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and ^cset in order ^dmany proverbs. ¹⁰The ^aPreacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.¹¹The words of the wise are as goads, and as ^enails ^ffastened by the masters of ^gassemblies, which are given from ^hone shepherd. ¹²And ^bfurther, by these, my son, ⁱbe admonished: ^kof making many books there is no end; and ^lmuch study is a weariness of the flesh.

¹³Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: ^mFear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. ¹⁴For ⁿGod shall bring every work into ^ojudgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.